Epictronic is thrilled to announce the official signing of Germany’s rising alternative/nu-metal powerhouse, GREYLINE, to its global roster. This partnership kicks off today with the release of their second single, “Outside,” a precursor to the band’s highly anticipated debut album slated for mid-November 2026.
GREYLINE’s music deals directly with mental struggles, self-doubt, and the search for stability, offset by recurring themes of hope, self-discovery, and personal strength. Their sound draws on the weight and urgency of early 2000s nu-metal: heavy guitar riffs, driving drums, and vocals that shift between vulnerability and raw intensity, updated into a contemporary format without losing the directness that defined the genre.
The single “Outside” takes on the experience of being stuck in a repetitive daily routine, the feeling of moving through the same loop without relief, and the moment of breaking out of it. Stepping outside. Noticing that clarity and space were there all along.
The single follows the band’s debut release, the first single Voices and sets the tone for what to expect from the upcoming album.
Colombia’s Poison The Preacher have never cared much for genre boundaries. Since emerging from Bogotá’s underground with a volatile blend of thrash, hardcore, death metal and Latin-infused aggression, the quartet have rapidly built a reputation as one of South America’s most exciting heavy exports and with their forthcoming EP Things I Want, due 17th July via Seek and Strike, they sound ready to kick the doors off entirely.
First single ‘Chicken Out’ arrives as the perfect introduction to the EP’s sharper, heavier direction. Serving as the emotional core of the EP it’s a song vocalist/guitarist Juan Pablo Carrera describes as his most personal writing to date. Built around regret, fear and emotional self-sabotage, the track explores how the fear of vulnerability can destroy something meaningful before it ever truly begins.
“I was so afraid of falling in love and felt that I wasn’t good enough for her,” he says. “I was so afraid of being hurt that I didn’t want to get involved emotionally and ultimately that was the mistake that ruined everything. The song really speaks to this regret. I now want to convey the simple message to love as much as you can. It’s better to try than to live with the regret of not trying.”
Mixed and mastered by Charles Toshio (Sunami, Big Boy, Spy, Gulch), Things I Want pushes Poison The Preacher beyond straightforward crossover worship into something far more personal and explosive.
“We started working on these songs as soon as we finished writing our debut album, Vs The World, and these songs just came naturally to us,” explains vocalist/guitarist Juan Pablo Carrera. “This new EP is easily the next step for us, a real evolution towards a more definitive and unique sound. It’s more refined, aggressive, harder and heavier. We are pulling inspiration from all over the place and this is a more accurate representation of all our influences.”
That refusal to stay in one lane has become central to the band’s identity. Poison The Preacher’s sound crashes together pit-starting hardcore grooves, razorwire thrash riffs, death metal violence and moments of unexpected melody and atmosphere, music designed equally for hardcore kids and metalheads. “This is metal made for hardcore kids, but this is also hardcore made for metal-heads,” says Carrera. “With this new release, those lines between genres have blurred more and more.”
While Things I Want hits with all the violence fans have come to expect, its thematic focus digs far deeper. Inspired by obsession, ambition and unattainable dreams, the EP’s striking artwork features a mutilated Daruma doll, traditionally a Japanese symbol of perseverance and fulfilled goals, with one eye violently torn away.
“The EP talks about broken dreams, toxic purposes, things that you would give your entire life to, but they may never become true,” Carrera explains. “It’s a testament to obsession and ambition, in both a good and a bad way. It’s okay to have a purpose, to have a dream that you want with all your heart, but you can’t let it consume you and destroy your life.”
That emotional honesty arrives at a pivotal moment for the band. Their 2025 debut album Vs The World earned widespread praise across the metal press for its explosive collision of crossover thrash, hardcore and Colombian musical identity, with critics highlighting the band’s ferocity, musicianship and refusal to sound like anyone else. Publications including Metal Hammer, Distorted Sound, Metal Temple and Dead Rhetoric praised the band’s ability to merge old-school crossover intensity with modern heaviness and distinctly Latin American influences, while their live reputation has continued to grow through shows alongside acts including Suffocation, Agnostic Front,In Flames and Overkill.
Now, with Things I Want, Poison The Preacher are preparing to take that momentum worldwide. The band will spend July touring across Europe, including appearances at both Wacken Open Air and Obscene Extreme Festival, landmark moments for a band becoming one of Colombia’s most vital heavy exports.
“It’s a huge achievement for us to be the first Colombian band to be directly booked by Wacken Open Air and Obscene Extreme,” says Carrera. “The live show is the most important part for us. The energy is different, it’s going to make you love us or love us even more.”
If Vs The World introduced Poison The Preacher as a rising force, Things I Want feels like the sound of a band fully kicking into overdrive, more dangerous, more ambitious and more emotionally fearless than ever before.
Track-list: 1. Things I Want ft Speed 2. Last Time I’ve Seen The Sun 3. Ran Out Of Options 4. Chicken Out
EUROPE & UK: UNDEAD TIME SUMMER TOUR 2026
01-04.07 Obscene Extreme, CZ 05.07 Cluj-Napoca, RO @ Flying Circus 06.07 Bucharest, RO @ Expirat 10.07 Trnje, SI @ Trnje Festival 11.07 Maribor, SI @ Dvorana Gustaf 12.07 Graz, AT @ Wakuum 14.07 Nuremberg, DE @ TBA 15.07 Basel, CH @ Quarterdeck 16.07 Charleroi, BE @ MCP Apache 17.07 Antwerp, BE @ Music City 18.07 Monheim, DE @ Sojus 7 19.07 Esch-sur-Alzette, LU @ MK Bar 20.07 London, UK @ Helgi’s Bar 22.07 Manchester, UK @ Star and Garter 23.07 Newcastle, UK @ Trillians 24.07 Burnley, UK @ Sanctuary 25.07 Glasgow, UK @ Ivory Blacks 29.07 Wacken, DE
German gothic metal pioneers CREMATORY release their much-awaited “Greatest Hits” album, “English Hymns & Deutsche Hymnen”, today via ROAR – A Division Of Reigning Phoenix Music. The compilation celebrates 35 years of the band’s career and brings together CREMATORY’s most iconic tracks and milestones, offering a retrospective journey through decades of their impressive history. At the same time, the band is currently on tour, performing fan favorites and new highlights live across Europe.
“English Hymns & Deutsche Hymnen” is available as an expansive three-CD edition as well as limited double-vinyl formats. The 3-CD set includes “English Hymns,” “Deutsche Hymnen,” and “Engulfed in Darkness Demo.” The vinyl editions come as a Neon Green double vinyl (English Hymns) and a Turquoise double vinyl (Deutsche Hymnen). Order your copy of this must-have gem, one that belongs into every well-sorted dark metal record collection, here: https://crematory.rpm.link/greatesthitsPR
“Greatest Hits” – Vinyl Track Listing
LP “English Hymns”:
The Eyes Of Suffering Shadows Of Mine Tears Of Time Lost In Myself For Love Fly The Fallen Greed Pray Shadowmaker Ravens Calling Rise and Fall Inglorious Darkness Destination The Future Is A Lonely Place Born (Exclusive Bonus Track) Wrong Side of the Mirror (Exclusive Bonus Track)
LP “Deutsche Hymnen”:
Ist Es Wahr Ewigkeit Tick Tack Kaltes Feuer Höllenbrand Kein Liebeslied Auf Der Flucht Haus mit Garten Falsche Tränen Kommt Näher Virus Tränen der Zeit Trümmerwelten Welt Aus Glas Das Letzte Ticket Blind (Exclusive Bonus Track) Flammenmeer (Exclusive Bonus Track)
Formed in 1991 in Mannheim, Germany, CREMATORY have become one of the most enduring and influential acts in European gothic metal. Over more than three decades, the band evolved from their early death metal roots into a distinctive style combining heavy riffs, melodic keyboards, industrial textures, and contrasting vocal approaches.
Throughout their career, CREMATORY have explored themes of life, pain, introspection, and atmosphere, often blending deep growls with clean vocals to create a sound both powerful and haunting. Their growth in the 1990s brought them recognition across Europe through relentless touring and festival appearances.
The “Greatest Hits” album reflects the band’s bilingual legacy. “English Hymns & Deutsche Hymnen” gathers key tracks from across their catalogue in both languages and also includes the band’s earliest demo recordings, offering fans a comprehensive retrospective of CREMATORY’s long and influential journey. With 35 years of history, countless tours, and a legacy that helped shape European gothic, death and industrial metal, “Greatest Hits” stands as both a celebration of CREMATORY’s past and a powerful reminder that the band remains as vital as ever!
In support of the release, the band is currently on tour. Make sure to catch CREMATORY at the following dates below, with many more to be announced soon:
May 17 – Potsdam, DE – Lindenpark May 22 – Oberhausen, DE – Kulttempel Jun 04 – Selb, DE – Rock Club Jun 05 – Salzburg, AT – Rock House Jun 07 – Pilsen, CZ – Metal Fest Jun 25 – Oschersleben, DE – Metal Dayz Festival Jun 26 – Leipzig, DE – Hellraiser Jul 04 – Mülheim / Ruhr, DE – Castle Rock Festival Jul 31 – Wacken, DE – Wacken Open Air Aug 22 – Pindelo Dos Milagres, PT – MMOA Festival Aug 28 – Barcelona, ES – Ripollet Rock Festival
CREMATORY is: Felix Stass – Vocals Rolf Munkes – Guitar Oliver Revilo – Bass Katrin Jüllich – Keyboards, Samples Markus Jüllich – Drums, Programming
Vanaheim, an international storytelling caravan, has its roots in the land of the far sight, namely the Netherlands, in the city of Tilburg. Since their founding in 2015, the quintet has been on an everlasting journey through foreign lands, to spread folktales of their own.
Today, Vanaheim release their new single and lyric video for the song “Eendracht Maakt Macht“.
“We wanted a song that grabs you right away, without a long intro, which led to „Eendracht Maakt Macht“ (English: Unity Makes Strength). It takes you through different moods, starting dark and tense, then gradually opening up into more folk-inspired, melodic parts. A strong sense of unity was central to the song, since it tells the story of villagers coming together to search for the miller. The Ijsel & Waal Choir plays an essential role, listen closely and you can hear the villagers sing”, comments the band and continue with an insight on the lyrics: “The song tells of a village where the beloved miller has vanished. Haunted by his friend’s death and after seeing spectral lights on the meadows, he desperately warned of a looming threat. To his frustration, his cries fall on deaf ears, leaving him alone with terrors no one else believes. When the familiar sound of his presence is replaced by an unsettling silence, the community unites to find him. Though by time he has become a withdrawn shadow of his former self, driven by mental isolation and haunting visions, yet the villagers decide to put their judgments about him aside. They recognize a lost friend who has been transformed by striking events and external pressure. As the village grapples with guilt and responsibility, they look at him with compassion and the message remains clear: it takes a collective effort to support those who have strayed, ensuring no one is left behind, no matter how heavy the burden.”
Already, since the first two self-released outputs, an EP in 2017 (“The House Spirit”) and an LP in 2022 (“Een Verloren Verhaal”), all eyes and ears of the scene were directed on Vanaheim. Counting as the candidate for bringing back the golden era of folk metal and for returning the genre to the glory that it once had. “Een Verloren Verhaal” struck the scene like a meteor and was often highlighted by the metal press as album of the year 2022.
2023 to 2025, the hype around the band lifted them onto stages of major festivals in Europe, like Graspop Metal Meeting (BE), Wacken Open Air (DE), Wave Gotik Treffen (DE), Milagre Metaleiro (PT) and enabled them to widen their audience while touring with genre veterans like Manntra, Heidevolk, Ensiferum and playing support shows for Alestorm and Equilibrium.
Vanaheim paved their way into the heart of the scene and are ready to take the next big step. In the continuation of their success, the band signed a record deal with Fireflash Records, teamed up with MasterMoldMusic as their management team and found a trustful partner in RTN Touring for booking endeavors.
On September 4th, 2026, Vanaheim will release their highly anticipated follow-up concept album, which carries the name “Roede voor de Borst” together with a new band design and lyrics that tell a tragic, emotional but engaging story. The new album features top musicians like Coen Janssen of Epica and Nils Fischer of Eluveitie, who enhanced the band’s sound with their performances on all new tracks. The Dutch luminary of all things symphonic and melodic metal, aka Joost van den Broek produced, recorded and mixed the album before it was mastered by Finnish mastering legend Mika Jussila in Helsinki.
“Roede voor de Borst” involves the listener in an immersive storyline about regrets, despair, hope and salvation. A musical journey full of surprises coated by a Dutch 19th century setting that pulls you deep into a book of untold legends. The Dutch vocals award these songs with an emotional honesty which leads every sung word directly under your skin. With a rousing mix of symphonic heaviness, elegant folk-inspired melodies and grounding death metal riffs, Roede voor de Borst represents the next level of Vanaheim and a new level of epic folk metal.
Italian heavy metal band Heavenfall officially releases their new studio album “Thorn” today (May 15th) via Rockshots Records, marking the culmination of a creative journey that has progressively revealed the band’s most mature, introspective, and emotionally layered work to date. To celebrate the release, the band also unveils the official stop-motion video for “The Wind Chimes Garden”, one of the album’s most atmospheric and emotionally resonant compositions.
Across its eleven tracks, “Thorn” moves beyond traditional heavy metal formulas in favor of a more fluid and emotionally connected songwriting style. The album retains a strong riff-oriented foundation, but compositions evolve through layered guitar work, carefully shaped dynamics, and continuous interplay between aggression and atmosphere. Faster songs deliver immediacy and impact, while slower and mid-tempo passages introduce darker grooves and more reflective tonalities that reinforce the album’s introspective core.
The guitar work remains central throughout the entire record, alternating between incisive rhythmic patterns and expressive melodic phrasing. Rather than functioning as mere embellishment, lead guitars actively reinforce the emotional direction of each composition. Tracks such as “Midnightingale” reveal a more fragile and melancholic side of the band through bittersweet harmonic development and nuanced arrangements. At the same time, the closing suite “Stramonium” expands the album’s progressive scope without sacrificing cohesion or narrative flow.
Lyrically, “Thorn” explores emotional fragmentation, self-confrontation, and the lingering psychological weight carried through life experiences. The album title itself symbolizes the emotional splinter that remains embedded within the individual, continuously shaping perception, memory, and identity. Rather than relying on abstract symbolism alone, Heavenfall maintains a direct yet poetic lyrical approach, allowing themes of disillusionment, emotional isolation, and self-deception to emerge with both personal intimacy and universal resonance.
Coinciding with the album release, Heavenfall now premieres the official stop-motion video for “The Wind Chimes Garden”. One of the album’s most evocative moments, the song explores emotional withdrawal and the fragile balance between protection and freedom. Built around ethereal melodies, melancholic atmospheres, and a deeply introspective lyrical perspective, the track perfectly embodies the emotional depth and artistic direction that define “Thorn”.
Watch the official music video – Video by Stefania Balzarotti:
Wanikiya Record/Promotion announces that “I Live For Your Love”, the first official single by the Italian hard rock band SHARP N’ LOUD, is finally available on all major digital platforms.
A highly anticipated and meaningful debut, marking the band’s official entry into the music scene with a track that immediately makes their identity, intentions, and artistic vision clear.
Formed in 2024 in the Marche region, in the province of Macerata, Sharp n’ Loud are five musicians united by their passion for classic hard rock — visceral, direct, and uncompromising — inspired by the energy of the ’80s and ’90s, yet shaped with a modern and personal attitude.
With “I Live For Your Love”, the band chooses to introduce themselves not through an aggressive or purely high-impact track, but through an intense and emotionally charged ballad, immediately showcasing strong songwriting maturity and a clear expressive vision.
The single tells a story of emotional rebirth — a journey that begins with emptiness and loneliness and transforms into a declaration of inner strength. At the heart of the song lies love in all its forms: as salvation, as energy, and as the driving force capable of rebuilding what once seemed lost.
“I Live For Your Love” is not just a debut, but a statement of identity: Sharp n’ Loud choose to start from genuine emotions while maintaining a solid rock sound deeply rooted in their nature.
The track anticipates the band’s first album, “Room 2080”, currently in production with Wanikiya Record/Promotion. An ambitious project that will blend classic hard rock with modern production, unfolding within a sci-fi narrative designed to make the listening experience immersive and cinematic.
With this first official step, Sharp n’ Loud begin their journey with determination and vision, after already gaining important live experience, including participation in “Fatti Scoprire” by RockerTV and sharing the stage with acts such as Chris Catena’s Rock City Tribe and Lost Reflection.
Today, the band presents itself to the audience with a clear identity and a precise direction, further strengthened by the evolution of the lineup and constant studio work.
The message is direct, unfiltered, and full of energy: “Sharp n’ Loud bring Rock where it’s needed!!”
And today the journey officially begins.
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 