Finnish dark heavy rockers MANDY MANALA with their highly anticipated sophomore album “Something Wicked”, set for release on May 29, 2026 via Argonauta Records, following the strong acclaim and growing international attention generated by their debut release. The album will be available on CD, deluxe colored vinyl and digital formats.
Join with us the worldwide premiering here, ahead of its release:
With this new chapter, the Finnish dark heavy rock outfit push their sound further into heavier, darker and more atmospheric territories, refining their identity while maintaining a powerful melodic core. Blending dark heavy rock, stoner and occult influences, Something Wicked delivers a dynamic and immersive listening experience built on crushing riffs, hypnotic grooves and a cinematic approach to songwriting.
The haunting and charismatic vocals of Christa Nedergård guide the listener through themes of darkness, desire and mysticism, elevating the band’s sonic depth and emotional impact.
Appealing to fans of Ghost, Lucifer, Chelsea Wolfe and Fleetwood Mac, Mandy Manala stand out for their unique balance between heaviness and melody, combining vintage atmospheres with a modern, evocative sound.
Cover art by Ritva Pääjärvi
Tracklist:
Bloodred Chapel of Sin
Nocturnal Bites
Bridges
Shoebox
Psalm 77:7
Underneath The Sea
Beneath A Steel Sky
The Dark Passenger Pt.2
Something Wicked
With Something Wicked, Mandy Manala deliver a darker, heavier and more refined album, marking a decisive step forward after the success of their debut and confirming their place within the modern heavy rock scene.
Chicago metal legends Aftermath are celebrating 40 years of musical chaos with the release of a brand-new lyric video for their classic track “When Will You Die?” The video made it premiere on crypticrock.com.
“’When Will You Die?’ was one of the songs that when we were writing and rehearsing it, we knew the pit would go crazy. Looking back on it all these years later we were totally right. It’s been a crowd favorite since the beginning,” says the band.
“When Will You Die?” is not a song about philosophical or hypothetical questions of your own mortality. It is not deep, not meant to question one’s existence or death in any profound way. Rather, the lyrics were based on a friend of Kyriakos “Charlie” Tsiolis’ desire to see the death of a family member happen sooner than later.
The wealthy relative held his money and the family member’s inheritance of that money over his head. Hoping the relative’s death would change his own life for the better, the family member could not wait for the day to come. Ironically, the wealthy old man lived for decades beyond 1987 when the song was written and recorded.
The lyric video directed by Mike Savage is an even darker version of the subject of the lyrics. Drawing on many heavy metal cliches in the visuals to draw the storyline even further into the realm of how money corrupts your soul. Visually it goes well beyond any Aftermath lyric video in telling the story in the form of a movie.
Currently the band is in the studio putting the finishing touches on their 4th studio album.
The band states, “We are excited to be back in the studio. We can’t wait for everyone to hear this album. It’s heavy, it’s catchy, and in typical Aftermath fashion it sounds totally different from our previous albums.”
The new album is being recorded at Electrowerks Recording, with engineering and mixing by Chuck Macak. Additional details, including the album title, tracklist, and release date, will be announced in the coming months.
Chicago based Aftermath, fronted by Kyriakos “Charlie” Tsiolis, formed in October 1985 when Charlie and his schoolmate Steve Sacco (Guitar) got together. This early incarnation with Adam (Bass) and Ray Schmidt (Drums) released their first demo in 1986 featuring “Sentenced to Death”, “Revenge”, “Shotgun” and “The Aftermath”.
In 1987, they unleashed their second demo entitled Killing the Future featuring the tracks “When Will You Die”, “Going No Place”, “Chaos”, “Meltdown” and “War for Freedom”. The band pursued a mind-blowing speed and technical brand of thrash that soon set them apart from the pack and in the process made them a pioneering crossover thrash band.
The tracks “War for Freedom” & “When Will You Die” were both featured on the British Metal Forces magazine_compilation LP Demolition: Scream Your Brains Out in 1988. Their appearance on the Metal Forces compilation further expanded the band’s international appeal.
By 1988, the band’s musical direction was changing, and Adam’s raw and simple bass lines would soon be replaced with complex and technical bass parts handled at first by John Lovette. Ironically, John never played bass on any Aftermath recording and was not even a bass player. He wanted to join the band so badly, however, that he came to the audition with a friend’s bass he had just started to play. The speed and complex playing he displayed were like nothing the members had ever seen before on bass. He landed the gig that day. When the band decided it was time to add a second guitarist, Lovette told his bandmates of his desire to switch to guitar and for the first time he came clean he was a guitar player pretending to be a bass player all along. His bass playing was surpassed by his guitar skills and the band found its second guitar player, but unfortunately the search for a bass player was forced to resume. Luckily, the search (for the time being, anyway) ended with Danny Vega. His warm and precise playing was the perfect complement to the guitar playing of Lovette and Sacco and worked amazingly well with Schmidt’s powerful drumming. With Lovette handling most of the song writing duties, Aftermath was about to make an unbelievable musical change.
By 1989, that change brought on by Lovette’s writing and the band’s musical tastes and stylings had slowed and matured as evidenced by the release of the underground classic demo Words That Echo Fear. Danny Vega was replaced on bass by Chris Waldron. The band went onto to become a trailblazing progressive/technical thrash band in the years that followed.
In 1990, based on the huge international success of the Words that Echo Fear demo, the metal label RoadRacer Records (a subsidiary of Roadrunner Records) approached the band for a demo deal, which resulted in a live four track demo featuring the songs “Eyes of Tomorrow”, “Afraid Of Time”, “The Act Of Unspoken Wisdom” and “Reflecting Pictures”. Negotiations eventually broke down and Aftermath signed to New York’s Big Chief Records. The label’s collapse halfway through the recording sessions led to a long delay in finishing the record. While the band struggled to pay the studio bill, the album the band started to record in 1990 would not see the light of day for four years. The experience left the band reeling and forced them to issue the album under their own imprint with the help of their manager through Zoid Recordings in 1994. Four long years had passed since the initial recordings for the record Eyes of Tomorrow and the scene had dramatically changed.
The album was subsequently re-released on Thermometer Sound Surface / Zoid and released yet again four years (1998) later on Black Lotus Records in a re-mastered version.
Quite famously, Aftermath, in a notable court case Tsiolis v. Interscope. Records. Inc., 946 F.Supp. 1344, 1349 (N.D.III. 1996) sued high-profile millionaire rapper DR. DRE over the ownership of the Aftermath name. The Rapper tried to buy the name for $50,000, which the band rejected. The band sued him. As part of the settlement, Interscope Records signed the band. To the label’s surprise, the band delivered a record under the moniker Mother God Moviestar. Its eponymous Electro-Metal debut was released in March 1998. The case has been studied in law schools around the US related to the issue of trademark dilution.
Aftermath has continued to receive critical acclaim as one of the major influences in the genre. The band was featured on pages 9 and 10 of Gary Sharpe-Young’s A – Z of Thrash Metal, available on Cherry Red Books. Aftermath is also given an entire feature section in Alexandros Anesiadis’ 2019 book Crossover the Edge: Where Hardcore, Punk, and Metal Collide.
Twenty-five years after its formation, Aftermath’s music made its return in 2011 with the release of the Box Set 25 YEARS OF CHAOS on Area Death Productions and the vinyl When Will You Die on F.O.A.D. The reemergence of one of the most original thrash bands ever continued in 2014 with their decision to reunite for several concerts in 2015.
Coming off their first show in 20 years at Ragnarokkr Metal Apocalypse in their hometown of Chicago, the band ripped the stage apart at Headbanger’s Open Air in Hamburg, Germany that summer. In the Fall of 2015, the reunion continued with the reissue of Eyes of Tomorrow. With an expanded booklet and remastered by Paul Logus (Pantera, Steel Panther), Shadow Kingdom Records released the band’s debut along with bonus material. Following this release was the Killing the Future reissue on Divebomb Records. Once again Paul Logus remastered the tracks from their original source and created a wall of sound in the process. Killing the Future, along with the expanded booklet and bonus tracks from the band’s 1986 first demo completed the celebration of the band’s 30th anniversary.
In 2017, the band started writing the material for their new album. There is Something Wrong is an 11-song opus recorded by Chuck Macak. mastered by Ted Jensen and released through Ingrooves by Zoid Entertainment and The Label Group. A concept record in the truest sense of the word, the album features a mix of old-school crossover thrash and technical/progressive metal and is a commentary on what is wrong with the world today. A calling out of the masses to wake up and know the real enemy. The music is urgent, and the lyrics challenge the listener to seek the truth. Aftermath went back to its early days and revived its crossover thrash stylings on several songs, but those are only samples of what the listeners have in store for them once they put on their headphones and listen to There is Something Wrong in its entirety.
In 2020, Aftermath released a re-imagined version of the John Lennon classic, “Give Peace a Chance”. The song was remixed and remastered for the new album and included on the record because of the message.
“John Lennon’s urgent call for peace in Give Peace a Chance is more important today than ever, and our call for peace with this cover is the perfect message to follow up our previous album. We released a dark concept album with a bleak message and felt it was important to follow that up with something positive. The visuals in the video are as important as the lyrics in a way. We live in a visual world today and this video needed to get out the message of HOPE. Having a young girl be the focus of the video was our way of getting that across. Seeing only positive acts when she puts on Lennon’s famous glasses was the perfect visual metaphor. Lennon’s message is transmitted not only through his lyrics but also through the perspective created by his unique lenses” says the band.
The video was directed by critically acclaimed video director Steven Nathan in New York City.
Aftermath unleashed their highly awaited masterpiece, No Time to Waste, through Zoid Entertainment/TLG/INgrooves on March 17, 2023. This release stands as the triumphant conclusion to a powerful trilogy, representing a notable departure from the somber tones of its predecessor.
In an exclusive statement, Kyriakos “Charlie” Tsiolis shared, “We take immense pride in this album, a culmination of a trilogy that commenced with our debut. Crafted during a challenging era in contemporary history, ‘No Time to Waste’ emerges as an anthem of hope. In contrast to our previous dark conceptual endeavor, we’ve refined this record. The ten tracks within are both weighty and charged, delivering a potent metal experience coupled with a profound message – that collectively, we can overcome, but time is of the essence.”
AFTERMATH is: Kyriakos “Charlie” Tsiolis – Vocals Steve Sacco – Guitar Ray Schmidt – Drums George Lagis – Bass
Pat Travers and Bob Dylan. It’s a marriage made… if not in heaven, then at least in a place where dreams come true and the blues keep rolling. On March 20, 2004, early a tour that would keep them on the road across North America and Europe until July, the Pat Travers Band headed to Houston, Texas, to record what would become one of the most exhilarating live albums of his career, Snortin’ Whiskley..
Accompanied by southern rock maestro Greg T. Walker (Lynyrd Skynyrd/Blackfoot) on bass and former AC/DC skin basher Simon Wright on drums, Travers would lead this ruthlessly stripped back trio deep into their roots.
The result, releasing on June 26, is a Texas-sized slab of electrified blues packed with epic versions of fan favorites “Boom Boom Out Go The Lights” and “Snortin’ Whiskey”; barnstorming work-outs… including a colossal 13-minute version of “Born Under A Bad Sign”; and well-chosen covers – the Allman Brothers’ “Statesboro Blues,” Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return); and – released as a single today – Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited,”
Not that their rendition of the title track from the bard’s second album of 1965, has much in common with Dylan’s original – as Travers warns at the outset of the song, “we’re gonna kick your ass.” And then this leanest, meanest line-up of them all slams into a Mach 2 firestorm, percussion and bass setting up an irresistible pace and rhythm, while Travers. Plays like a man possessed, his guitar spilling liquid fire over all around.
Hungry and raw, the energy never dips. If anything, it gets even more intense as the show rolls on, until that closing salvo of ”Born Under A Bad Sign” and “Statesboro Blues” makes it clear that no-one on earth could have followed it, and that includes the band.
Cleopatra Records and Pat Travers go back a long way, with close to two dozen releases highlighting both his most recent recordings and a string of historic live albums dating back to 1980. Is Bluesed Out in Houston the best of them all? That’s for you to decide.
Track listing 1 Highway 61 Revisited 2 Life In London 3 Just Enough Money 4 Voodoo Child (Slight Return) 5 Crash And Burn 6 Rock ‘N’ Roll Susie 7 The Pain 8 Inside Looking Out 9 Snortin’ Whiskey 10 Boom Boom Out Go The Lights 11 Born Under a Bad Sign 12 Statesboro Blues
While masters of the vile art known as death metal since the early ‘90s, Defiled aren’t relics or custodians for the old-school. The Japanese legends have shared stages with Morbid Angel, Mayhem and Cannibal Corpse, but, historically, they’ve carved their own singular path through metal’s hallowed crypts. Their upcoming ninth album continues to alter the genre in unthinkable ways. On Altered State, they deliver a dizzying blast of death metal straight from the future.
“While rooted in death metal’s formative years, the record pushes far beyond genre orthodoxy”, Metal Injection wrote upon the announcement of Altered State. Distorted Sound noted how the album is “continuing to expand on the band’s long-established blend of old-school death metal, technical thrash riffing and progressive rock compositional logic”.
Today, Defiled are releasing a music video for the third and final advanced single from Altered State. While upholding death metal’s raw speed, the title track from the band’s new album upends all conventions at every twist and turn.
“This song showcases our core identity”, Defiled guitarist and founding member Yusuke Sumita says. “The tempo shifts lean more toward progressive or fusion methodologies than traditional death metal, creating a dramatic, thrilling atmosphere that defies monotony”.
The video for “Altered State” was created by Seaside99works.
Can’t wait for Altered State? You can hear the entire album before it comes out by RSVPing to this week’s Bandcamp Listening Party.
Defiled Altered State Bandcamp Listening Party – RSVP Thursday, May 28 @ 12:00 pm Central European Summer Time / 6 am Eastern Time
After hearing them pound out three albums in four years, metalheads would be forgiven for assuming Defiled had reached the highest level, that there were no horrors left for them to reveal. Altered State quickly quiets any further foolish suspicions. Like a spider, the title track spins a web that’s both catchy and impossible to grasp .
“Altered State is undoubtedly one of the most unconventional entries in our discography” Sumita says. “Defiled have shifted our focus toward concepts that we and death metal as a whole have overlooked. We invite anyone to join us in exploring the outermost edges of the genre”.
Defiled are still guided by the underground spirit, but “Altered State” descends into the deepest and darkest corners of our warped reality. Bassist Takachika Nakajima and drummer Keisuke Hamada cut sharply between slippery grooves. “Receive the power”, Shinichiro Hamada growls after summoning a demonic solo with his whammy bar. As the band whip into one final head-spinning frenzy, they rip apart any and all preconceptions of death metal. “You are now in an altered state”.
Artwork by Wes Benscoter
Tracklist 1. Dazed in Blindness (2:59) 2. Altered State (3:05) [WATCH] 3. Obsession (3:04) [WATCH] 4. Portal (3:39) [WATCH] 5. Necro-Force (2:31) 6. The Degradation (3:51) 7. Genocidal Stage (2:27) 8. Metamorphosis of Evil (3:11) 9. The Ultra Death (2:42) 10. Zombified (2:17) 11. Lunatics (3:07) 12. Prophecies (3:29) 13. Demolition (3:25) 14. Apocalyptic End (3:25)
Hear the title track, “Obsession”, “Portal” and other songs from Altered State during Defiled’s Japanese summer tour, as well as their upcoming shows with Incantation and Brujeria.
Defiled 2026 Altered State Japanese Tour
June 9 – Tokyo @ Holiday with Incantation June 10 – Yokohama @ El Puente June 11 – Fussa @ Chicken Shack June 12 – Tokyo @ Earthdom June 13 – Fukushima @ Sora June 13 – Sendai @ Solfa June 14 – Aizuwakamatsu @ Karando June 14 – Niigata @ Rocka June 15 – Nagano @ Rosebery Cafe June 16 – Kofu @ Bodega June 17 – Iida @ Space Tama June 18 – Nagoya @ Studio 246 June 19 – Osaka @ Hokage June 20 – Okayama @ Dogvult June 20 – Hiroshima @ Agit June 21 – Fukuoka @ Reflex June 21 – Sasebo @ Distortion June 22 – Mabi @ Branch
Defiled 2026 Japanese Dates with Brujeria
September 15 – Tokyo @ Cyclone September 16 – Osaka @ Socore Factory
Defiled truly are their own island. While active since 1992, during death metal’s golden era, the Tokyo legends are neither relics nor custodians for the old-school. They do not follow Western traditions. They cannot be reduced to tokens like kimonos or samurai. Like the Japanese salamander, they continue to evolve in isolation, free from passing trends. Founding member and guitarist Yusuke Sumita and his band of warriors remain masters of the form, but their upcoming ninth album bears only a passing resemblance to the genre’s past or present. On Altered State, Defiled unleash a dizzying blast of death metal straight from the future.
“Like many other bands, our musical roots are heavily influenced by early ‘90s death metal and ‘80s thrash and hardcore, however, our interpretation is different and has branched off from the current scene”, Sumita says. “On Altered State, there are many catchy hooks, but tricky progressive rhythms and song structures can be found as well. The album may not be understandable after a few listens, but it taps into a blind spot that many bands have missed”.
Though they’re indifferent to scenes within the larger world of metal, Defiled’s presence has spread far and wide for more than three decades. The band’s 1994 debut EP, Defeat of Sanity, quickly proved prescient after inspiring the name of their future Season of Mist labelmates Defeated Sanity. Their first three full-lengths – Erupted Wrath (1999), Ugliness Revealed (2001) and Divination (2003) – were allmixed by none other than the legend himself, Jim Morris, at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida. Early successset them upon a war path through the Japanese underground and onto the international stage. Defiled ransacked Milwaukee Metal Festival and banged heads with Morbid Angel, Mayhem, Cannibal Corpse and Incantation.
Since signing with Season of Mist in 2003, Defiled have shown no sign of slowing down. Despite enduring some changes between 2011’s In Crisis and 2016’s Towards Inevitable Ruin, the personnel around Sumita is now locked in with Keisuke Hamada pounding on drums, Takachika Nakajima nailing down bass and Shinichiro Hamada handling both guitars and vocals. Starting with Infinite Regress in 2020, this lineup is currently riding a seemingly endless hot streak. After reaching The Highest Level in 2023, they topped themselves once more with 2024’s Horror Beyond Horror.
“Horror Beyond Horror again finds Defiled stuck on the upswing”, Decibel wrote in an 8/10 review. “With their eighth studio album since 1992, the Tokyo death metal longhairs’ third pandemic-era disc completes a four-year hothouse of peak ability, creativity and volatility”.
Metalheads can be forgiven for assuming Defiled had already reached peak shredding, that there were no horrors left for them to reveal. But Altered State quickly quiets any leftover suspicions. Lead single “Portal” opens with a reminder that this band can sharpen even traditional riffs before breaking into a series of tempo shifts that unlock another plane of existence. Though still influenced by sounds that came from the underground, the album delves even deeper into their psychic perception of our warped reality with a twist of inspiration from Stravinsky. Occultists gather around the shapeshifting groove that seizes hold over “Obsession”.
“Both musically and lyrically, Altered State is an expansion of The Highest Level and Horror Beyond Horror”, Sumita says. “The music is a combination of old-school death metal, technical-thrash riffs and the rhythmic changes of progressive rock. The lyrics are based on the dystopian world presented in George Orwell’s science-fiction masterpiece 1984. They express the madness that everyone living in the present currently feels”.
Altered State isn’t afraid to wind through the darkest and most mysterious corners of our collective consciousness. But listen closely to Defiled and all secrets will be revealed. “Receive the power”, the band command on the album’s title track with a chaos that only they can control.
Production credits Recorded at Studio Zot in Tokyo, Japan Producer – Yusuke Sumita Sound Engineers – Shinichiro Hamada and Keisuke Hamada Mixing and Mastering Studio – Studio Nest in Chiba, Japan Mixing and Mastering Engineer – Kenji Kikuchi
Songwriting credits: Music and lyrics by Yusuke Sumita
JAYLER, the fast-rising UK rock band igniting a new generation of rock fans, have released their powerful new single and video, ‘Hate To See It End’. The track is taken from debut album Voices Unheard, a record already being hailed as one of the most important new rock releases of 2026. Blending the soul and swagger of classic rock with the urgency and emotion of modern youth, Voices Unheard, will be released this Friday via Silver Lining Music. For pre-orders go to this location.
“Hate To See It End’ is about that moment you feel something slipping through your hands… when you know it matters, but you can’t stop it. It’s raw, it’s honest – and it’s about not following the crowd when everything in you says go your own way” – JAYLER
The album features the singles ‘Riverboat Queen’, ‘Down Below’ and ‘Need Your Love’, with the latter hitting 1 million views in the first three weeks of release. Watch/Listen here.
The eagerly anticipated new albumVoices Unheardwill be released on May 29th 2026, via Silver Lining Music. Due to incredible demand and in celebration of the release, JAYLER will host a series of exclusive album launch shows and in-store signing sessions across the country, giving fans the opportunity to meet the band up close, have their albums signed and capture the moment with photos.
At a time when so much modern music feels manufactured and disposable, Voices Unheard stands as a defiant statement. This an album built to inspire arenas, unite generations and reignite belief in rock music again.
“This album is everything we are. It’s about feeling lost sometimes, wanting freedom, wanting connection and trying to find your place in the world. We grew up loving music that made people feel something real, and that’s what we want this album to do. We want people to turn it up loud, escape for a while and feel like they belong to something.” – JAYLER
Having already built a loyal following from their high-voltage performances, 2026 will see JAYLER bring their unfiltered intensity to their biggest audiences yet. The band will join Sammy Hagar across the UK this summer before heading out on arena dates across the UK and Europe with Deep Purple later this year.
30 May – Jacaranda Baltic, Liverpool (UK)*** 31 May – HMV Vault, Birmingham (UK)*** 1 June – The 100 Club, London (UK)*** 2 June – Rough Trade, Nottingham (UK)*** 3 June – Rough Trade, Bristol (UK)*** 6 June – Sweden Rock Festival, Sölvesborg (SE) 6 July – The Civic Hall, Wolverhampton (UK)* 7 July – O2 Apollo, Manchester (UK)* 9 July – British Airways ARC, London (UK)* 10 July – 2000trees, Cheltenham (UK)* 11 July – British Airways ARC, London (UK)* 12 July – British Airways ARC, London (UK)* 21-22 August – Parkenfestivalen, Bodø (NO) 29 Sep – Arena 8888, Sofia (BG)** 1 Oct – BT Arena, Cluj-Napoca (RO)** 2 Oct – Papp László Sportaréna, Budapest (HU)** 4 Oct – TIPOS Aréna, Bratislava (SK)** 5 Oct – Wiener Stadthalle, Vienna (AT)** 7 Oct – O2 Arena, Prague (CZ)** 8 Oct – Atlas Arena, Łódź (PL)** 10 Oct – Stark Arena, Belgrade (RS)** 11 Oct – Boris Trajkovski Arena, Skopje (MK)** 13 Oct – Telekom Center Athens, Marousi (GR)** 16 Oct – Hallenstadion, Zürich (CH)** 17 Oct – Unipol Forum, Milan (IT)** 19 Oct – Sant Jordi Club, Barcelona (ES)** 20 Oct – Movistar Arena, Madrid (ES)** 22 Oct – Adidas Arena, Paris (FR)** 23 Oct – Lotto Arena, Antwerp (BE)** 25 Oct – Royal Arena, Copenhagen (DK)** 26 Oct – Avicii Arena, Stockholm (SE)** 28 Oct – Spektrum Arena, Oslo (NO)** 29 Oct – Scandinavium, Gothenburg (SE)** 31 Oct – Qi Arena, Leipzig (DE)** 1 Nov – Sporthalle, Hamburg (DE)** 3 Nov – Westfalenhalle, Dortmund (DE)** 4 Nov – Uber Arena, Berlin (DE)** 6 Nov – Festhalle, Frankfurt (DE)** 7 Nov – Arena, Nuremberg (DE)** 9 Nov – Ziggodome, Amsterdam (NL)** 10 Nov – Zénith, Strasbourg (FR)** 12 Nov – Arkéa Arena, Bordeaux (FR)** 13 Nov – Zénith Nantes Métropole, Saint-Herblain (FR)** 15 Nov – LDLC Arena, Lyon (FR)** 18 Nov – Utilita Arena, Newcastle (UK)** 19 Nov – OVO Hydro, Glasgow (UK)** 21 Nov – bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham (UK)** 22 Nov – AO Arena, Manchester (UK)** 24 Nov – Eventim Apollo, London (UK)** 25 Nov – Royal Albert Hall, London (UK)**
*Special Guests to Sammy Hagar **Special Guests to Deep Purple ***Acoustic & Electric Album Launch Shows
More shows around the world to be announced soon.
Voices Unheardwill be available as a CD, 12” Vinyl Album variant and digital formats. For pre-orders, go to this location
Track Listing:
Intro
Down Below
Riverboat Queen
Need Your Love
The Getaway
Bittersweet
Hate to See it End
Over the Mountain
Alectrona
Lovemaker
The Rinsk
Produced by George Perks
JAYLER:
James Bartholomew – Vocals / Guitar Tyler Arrowsmith – Guitar Ricky Hodgkiss – Bass / Keys Ed Evans – Drums
“Who wants to burn in Heaven if you can rule forever down in Hell?”
The legend starts: FROZEN CROWN head into their very own age of gold with the announcement of their new album, The Legend of the Six Kings, coming October 2, 2026 via Napalm Records. Taking a more narrative approach than previous releases, their sixth album sends the Italian band on an epic quest. The ten brand-new heavy power metal tracks expand their dynamic repertoire into a slightly darker, but nevertheless illustrious, direction. With lead vocalist Giada “Jade” Etro changing her formerly cheerful approach to claim the sinister titular frozen crown, the band shows its true form with this straightforward punch of a record. The Legend of the Six Kings has FROZEN CROWN take the throne deserving of their band name. A powerful work of rousing heavy power metal and massive vocal arrangements, the six-piece delivers a glorious performance filled with energetic melodies and catchy choruses. The Legend of the Six Kings matures the band’s trademark sound and makes sure that these six kings and queens will remain what the title states: legends. The album is open for pre-order now—find various formats below.
FROZEN CROWN about The Legend of the Six Kings: “With our sixth album—our second on Napalm Records—we continue our search for the quintessential FROZEN CROWN tune, distilling the key elements of our sound and style into increasingly concise and straightforward songs, stripping away all unnecessary frills. The Legend of the Six Kings draws directly from our debut album The Fallen King, continuing the saga of the Kings and the Tyrant, as we are—thanks to a brilliant newly extended team—finally able to do justice to what we had in mind with the original concept of the band. The visionary genius of Raoul Noise (the video maker behind all our new videos and band photos), the masterful craftsmanship of Daria Gislon (who designed and built the throne and the literal ‘frozen crown’) and of course the outstanding artistic talent of Sheila Franco (who hand painted our album cover art) gave life to the vibrant, obscure, frozen world we had in mind since the very beginning of the band, somewhere between J. R. R. Tolkien’s harmonious and regal aesthetics and Robert E. Howard’s brutality. The Legend of the Six Kings brings not only new visuals, but also an empowered sound, with the young war hearts getting older on the battlefield and becoming an increasingly leading force of the Crown (with drummer and multi-instrumentalist Niso Tomasini becoming a more integral part of the songwriting together with singer Giada ‘Jade’ Etro and mastermind Federico Mondelli) and new warriors joining our ranks (Aleksandra Stamenkovic and her scorching, old school, abrasive guitar leads). This sixth album depicts the strength of our six band members, and our personal idea of Power Metal infused in ten catchy tracks touching the most varied nuances of the genre, from raw and uncompromising Speed Metal, to the sumptuous magniloquence of Symphonic Metal, to the occasional linear chaos of Melodic Death Metal, but always sounding as FROZEN CROWN as ever!”
The speedy opener “Lightning in the Sky” situates the band on a battlefield, swords shining bright and fire in their eyes, setting the theme for the rest of the album on which FROZEN CROWN deal blow after winning blow. “Who Wants to Burn in Heaven” determines the direction the band takes with their campaign: the choir-powered, groovy song illustrates Hell as the realm of their eternal rule, calling on their legions to join in on their chants live. The following epos, “Reborn”, is a powerful anthem of steadfastness as well as a bolstering tale about team spirit. “The One” continues the theme of The Legend of the Six Kings being inspired by Tolkien’s masterpiece “The Lord of the Rings”, wrapping the band in mysterious darkness with sweeping songs shining bright. Here, FROZEN CROWN also show magnificent instrumental abilities through a majestic guitar solo where the three guitars intertwine, beautifully harmonizing together. Going extra catchy, the Italian band slides in a cover of “Iris”: originally by American alternative rock band Goo Goo Dolls, this 1998 track became an international superhit. FROZEN CROWN take its power and make it power metal, covering the entire spectrum from waltz-time ballad to high-speed drums and vocals full of pathos. “I just want you to know who I am” should be a given thing hereafter! “Winter Hearts” contrasts this venture into the mainstream instantly with easily recognizable heavy riffs to start, growls to hammer in the message, and a chantable chorus to close the deal—a grand track, reminiscent of the band’s classic songs from their 2018 debut, The Fallen King. The epic storytelling continues throughout melancholic “River of Time” and assertive “Through the Fire”, singalong potential included. “To the Stars” gifts The Legend of the Six Kings additional live character before the title track, “The Legend of the Six Kings”, rises to full glory. Nearing epic melodic death metal in its growled verses, the song is another duet between Jade and guitarist Federico Mondelli, who adds fierce growls and clean vocals.
The Legend of the Six Kings tracklisting:
Lightning in the Sky
Who Wants to Burn in Heaven
Reborn
The One
Iris
Winter Hearts
River of Time
Through the Fire
To the Stars
The Legend of the Six Kings
FROZEN CROWN LIVE 2026
ONLY HEADLINING SHOW of the year 06.13.26 DE – Regensburg / Eventhall Airport Obertraubling
North America Supporting KAMELOT, Special Guest: VISIONS OF ATLANTIS 08.28.26 – Orlando, FL / Hard Rock Live 08.29.26 – Atlanta, GA / The Masquerade (Heaven) 08.31.26 – Dallas, TX / The Studio at the Factory 09.02.26 – Phoenix, AZ / The Van Buren 09.03.26 – Las Vegas, NV / House of Blues 09.04.26 – Anaheim, CA / House of Blues 09.05.26 – San Francisco, CA / The Fillmore 09.07.26 – Vancouver, BC / Vogue Theatre 09.08.26 – Seattle, WA / Neptune 09.10.26 – Salt Lake City, UT / Rockwell at The Complex 09.11.26 – Denver, CO / Summit Music Hall 09.12.26 – Kansas City, MO / The Truman 09.14.26 – Minneapolis, MN / First Avenue 09.15.26 – Milwaukee, WI / The Rave 09.17.26 – St. Charles, IL / The Arcada Theatre 09.18.26 – Cleveland, OH / Globe Iron 09.19.26 – Toronto, ON / Phoenix Concert Theatre 09.20.26 – Montreal, QC / MTELUS 09.22.26 – Quebec City, QC / Theatre Capitole 09.24.26 – Glenside, PA / Keswick Theatre 09.25.26 – Worcester, MA / The Palladium 09.26.26 – New York, NY / Palladium Times Square 09.27.26 – Silver Spring, MD / The Fillmore Silver Spring
Europe Supporting Beast in Black, Special Guest: Sonata Arctica 26.10.26 UK – London / O2 Forum Kentish Town 27.10.26 BE – Brussels / Ancienne Belgique 28.10.26 NL – Tilburg / Poppodium 013 29.10.26 DE – Leipzig / Haus Auensee Leipzig 31.10.26 AT – Vienna / Gasometer 01.11.26 HU – Budapest / Barba Negra 02.11.26 CZ – Zlin / Sports Hall Datart 03.11.26 PL – Gliwice / Prezero Arena 05.11.26 DE – Berlin / Columbiahalle 06.11.26 DE – Hanover / Swiss Life Hall 07.11.26 DE – Ludwigsburg / MHP Arena 08.11.26 DE – Offenbach / Stadthalle 09.11.26 FR – Paris / L’Olympia 11.11.26 ES – Barcelona / Razzmatazz 1 12.11.26 ES – Madrid / Sala La Riviera 13.11.26 ES – Bilbao / Santana 27 14.11.26 FR – Toulouse / Le Bikini 15.11.26 FR – Lyon / Le Transbordeur 17.11.26 CH – Zurich / Komplex 457 18.11.26 IT – Milan / Alcatraz 20.11.26 DE – Munich / Zenith 21.11.26 LU – Luxembourg / Rockhal 22.11.26 DE – Oberhausen / Turbinenhalle 23.11.26 DE – Hamburg / Inselpark 24.11.26 SE – Gothenburg / Eriksbergshallen 25.11.26 SE – Stockholm / Arenan Fryshuset
FROZEN CROWN are: Giada “Jade” Etro – Lead and Backing Vocals Federico Mondelli – Lead Guitar, Lead and Backing Vocals Niso Tomasini – Drums Francesco Zof – Bass, Backing Vocals Alessia Lanzone – Lead Guitar Aleksandra Stamenkovic – Lead Guitar
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 ) 