Commenting on the new single, the band stated: “Sun” refers to the vengeful star that both gives life and takes it away: an allusion to an abusive relationship, in which emotional dependencies are fed by crumbs of affection and countered by emotional abuse”.
Jack The Joker is a modern progressive metal band with a twist, hailing from the Northeast of Brazil. The band consists of Raphael Joer (vocals) Felipe Faco and Lucas Colares (guitars), Gustavo Pinheiro (bass), and Vicente Ferreira (drums).
The band is notorious for incorporating traditional influences from their local culture, including musical styles such as maracatu, forró, baião and frevo.
Their sound draws inspiration from the eponymous renowned Brazilian novel and explores the metaphysical backlands, where human will prevail against the hostility of nature.
The instrumental arrangements delineate the environment by fusing regional genres with rock and metal to create a landscape that mirrors the themes in the lyrics.
This captivating musical odyssey has already garnered a significant amount of buzz in the prog scene through the first two singles released in 2024.
The musicality of “Denied” is structured in the rhythmic cells of maracatu, an Afro-Brazilian tradition that carries the marks of struggle and celebration. The pulsating beats breathe life into the song, creating an intense and emotive atmosphere.
Line Up: Vocals – Raphael Joer Electric/Acoustic Guitars – Felipe Facó e Lucas Colares Bass Guitars – Gustavo Pinheiro Drums and Percussions – Vicente Ferreira
BLIND EQUATION are set to release their third album “A Funeral In Purgatory” on July 18th via Prosthetic Records.
To coincide with this exciting news they have released the new single/video ‘Nothing‘. This is the first track to be taken from this new milestone LP. The band’s key songwriter James McHenry explains the difficult task of deciding which track to release first from the new record.
Every song on this release brings something different to the table, as it’s meant to be listened to in full. However when choosing a single to show some insight on what to expect from the album, I feel this song perfectly captures it while not giving away too much of what’s to come. It is heavily nu-metal inspired & overall pays homage to the early works of artists like The Prodigy, Fear Factory, Korn, Slipknot & etc while still sounding like a Blind Equation track. This is the most aggressive & the most violently passionate the project has ever been, yet it is the most atmospheric and still shimmers melodically when it needs to. And I feel that is mostly what you can expect from the upcoming album; the heavy moments are heavier and the soft moments are even more vulnerable as well. With the project being 90% digital, I wanted the instrumentals to still be as emotional as the lyrics & vocals and I feel they compliment each other the best they ever have for this record.– James McHenry
The new album ‘A Funeral In Purgatory‘ sees the band pushing the boundaries of Cybergrind even further, thus proving it’s a genre with no strict set of rules. It can stretch as far as the artist is willing to go.
McHenry describes the new record as “the heaviest & most brutal Blind Equation album to date, while simultaneously being the most soft and heartfelt”, which perfectly encapsulates the emotions felt throughout the LP. It’s intense, it’s obnoxious, but there is a whole load of feeling interwoven into the DNA of this electronic-colossus.
With new elements of gothic metal and death/doom now influencing the bands sound, There’s truly something for all fans of genre-pushing underground music here.
“There is shit you can mosh to, dance to, sing along to and cry to all in the same project”
All songs written, recorded & produced by James McHenry Mixed by Anh Rivera & James McHenry Additional production help by Anh Rivera Additional Production, Vocals & Lyrics by JOHNNASCUS on Track 3 Additional Production, Vocals & Lyrics by Strawberry Hospital on Track 7 Mastered by Angel Marcloid at Angel Hair Audio Artwork & Logo by Paris Shadrovovstov / angel gasm
This album is dedicated to the memories of Remi Gawin, Zane Todd, Emily Aideen & PD.
Upcoming shows
June 2nd – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle June 5th – Milwaukee, WI @ X-Ray Arcade w/ Vow & Bird Law June 15th – West Chicago, IL @ WC Social Clube w/ Weeping Wound June 27th – Ferndale, MI @ Pugfest July 1st – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean w/ Awakebutstillinbed & For Your Health
Rising rock singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Sierra Levesque releases her explosive new single“NEW GENERATION”, available now on all platforms. Accompanied by a bold and energetic official music video featuring live performance footage on her YouTube channel, this release marks a defining moment for the young artist fearlessly leading the revival of rock music.
“NEW GENERATION” by Sierra Levesque is a high-energy rock anthem that calls out the critics who say rock is dead—proving instead that a bold new era is just beginning. Blending modern pop hooks with powerful guitar riffs, the track is fully self-written and recorded by Sierra, showcasing her as a fearless voice leading the next wave of rock artists. It’s not just a song—it’s a statement.
Produced, mixed, and mastered with the help of legendary guitarist and producer, Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, the track blends gritty, empowering vocals and layered guitar tones that reflect both a reverence for classic rock and a fresh, Gen Z edge.
“I wrote this song to show that rock music isn’t dead, and I hope to help lead the new generation of emerging rockers—because rock n roll is here to stay,” says Sierra.
The release follows a string of standout achievements for the 20-year-old Canadian-born artist, including more than 1.5 million Spotify streams, over 250,000 social media followers, and countless performances at legendary venues like Whisky A Go Go and the Canadian Tire Centre Arena. Known for her one-woman live shows—performing vocals, lead guitar, and original fully self-recorded backing tracks—Sierra continues to break boundaries as a fully self-produced rock artist.
Currently studying Songwriting at Berklee College of Music, Sierra is not only mastering her craft, but also inspiring a new generation of music fans through both her sound and story.
Born in Pembroke, Ontario and currently based in Los Angeles, Sierra Levesque is redefining rock for a new generation. Featured in Guitar World Magazine, recognized by Guitar.com as “Gen Z’s Most Ambitious New Guitarist” and featured among “10 Young Shredders Shaping Rock and Metal Today,” she fuses pop, metal, and hard rock into anthems that are as bold as they are relatable. With a large social media following, national media recognition, and her upcoming debut album in the works, Sierra is solidifying her place as one of rock’s most exciting new voices.
Lethal Scissor Records is proud to announce the upcoming release of “Intense Digestive Release”, the brand-new EP from Indonesia’s ANALTOPSY, set to drop on June 26th, 2025.
The first single, the EP’s title track, is now streaming HERE.
With a name like ANALTOPSY and a stomach-churning aesthetic to match, there’s no mistaking what’s on offer: an unapologetic orgy of slam, driven by a savage intensity and laced with riffs and hooks that stick in your head like a surgical instrument gone wrong. Beneath the gore lies a band with genuine songwriting chops, able to balance relentless heaviness with catchy, memorable structures that will have you slamming from the first to the last blast beat.
The EP features one menacing intro and four absolutely devastating cuts, aimed squarely at fans of Abominable Putridity, Visceral Disgorge, Cerebral Incubation, Jasad and Analepsy.
Founded in 2016 in Denpasar City, Bali, ANALTOPSY has spent the past nine years honing a sound that fuses the ferocity of death metal with crushing grooves, and just the right amount of technicality. What started as a fierce DIY endeavor has now grown into a project ready to explode on the international stage and “Intense Digestive Release” is the next step in their evolution.
Produced by Analtopsy Guitars, bass and vocals recorded at CursedRat Studio Denpasar, Bali Bass tracking by Rivaldi Drums recorded at Devan Studio, Denpasar, Bali Mixed and Mastered by Endless Gruesome
Cover Artwork by Pradana Graphics Graphics CD Layout by Mrfck illustration Band Logo by Deni Deformed, revamped by Mrfck illustration Alternate logo on CD by Infinitum Graphics Band Photo by Farhan Droy
Dinosaur Pile-Up have just dropped their latest banger, the gnarly Big Dogs, taken from their first new album in six years, I’ve Felt Better, which will be released on 22 August via Mascot Records. You can listen to the track HERE.
Matt Bigland relishes the “power in positivity” of the larger-than-life Big Dogs – a gleeful takedown of ass-backwards celebrity freebie culture where the richest and most successful always ‘eat for free’ while needy nobodies scrabble for scraps.’
“Big Dogs is a big dumb song about the fact that when you’re rich and famous people give you everything for free – but when you’re hustling down at the bottom nobody gives your broke ass anything! And that doesn’t make any sense!!” Bigland says. “It should surely be the other way around!! I love this song because it feels like The Viagra Boys and Pantera fucked and then Slayer turned up for the solo. It’s cool!”
The song features extra vocals from Karen Dió, Larry Hibbitt (Hundred Reasons), and Jaws The Shark. The band have revealed a skit video to accompany it; Matt vs a big dog – check it out over their Instagram page HERE. “I got to hang out with a giant Doberman for the day, which was so cool!” he says. “I love big dogs like that. Giving it a stroke was like stroking an actual horse. Then I got to writhe on the ground for a couple hours with a leaf blower on full power pointed at my head. Which was, y’know… weird.”
Big Dogs is the third single to be taken from the reinvigorated alt-rock heroes. In April, they dropped the raucous and defiant My Way and before that ‘Bout to Lose It, which was their first new music since 2019’s Celebrity Mansions and it announced their return in a big way. The track is five years of pent-up emotion—hope, despair, resignation, and colossal bravery—let loose into a blistering 3:40 minutes of Dinosaur Pile-Up at their absolute best.
They are also “absolutely buzzing” about the chance to let it rip on a UK tour in September, starting on 5th at XOYO, Birmingham. They then play; Electric – Bristol, Garage – Glasgow, New Century Hall – Manchester and finish on 13th September at the Electric Ballroom, London. Tickets are available HERE.
There were six people in the ward the second time that Matt Bigland admitted himself to hospital. Three of them didn’t make it out alive. It’s easy to recognise why they are tightly coiled and ready to go because overcoming life-threatening illness and finding a fresh perspective on life will do that to you. As so much time has passed since their last studio album. “People need clarity about what happened,” he explained. “It’s been so cathartic to lay it out.” He began documenting his story on the band’s Instagram account in December 2024 – You can see it in his own words here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4.
Their return has been met with a wave of support by the likes of BBC Radio 1 Rock Show – “It’s good to have them back.” said Daniel P Carter – Kerrang Radio, Primordial Radio, Kerrang Magazine, NME, Dork and a host of playlisting across Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Deezer and YouTube – the response was, DPU ARE BACK!
‘I’ve felt better…’ started as a makeshift mantra. “This record is about triumph over adversity through perseverance and resilience,” he explains.
Striking up a relationship online with Karen Dió was a shard of gold in a sea of grey. In the end, real love shines through. Motivating himself to get out of the hospital, Matt kept a photo of a wedding ring on his phone and promised himself that marrying Karen would be his reward for pulling through. That promise was fulfilled in April 2022, and a thread of romance runs from their partnership through the heart of the record. So it’s fitting that Karen is part of his return and the new album.
Ultimately, this album’s seeing the light of day is a huge part of Matt’s happily ever after. He’s more focused on work, home, and life’s simple pleasures than ever. All that has underlined why music matters, which is why the album runs the whole gamut of emotions—exhaustion, mental health, empowerment, celebrity, vulnerability, and, at the heart of the album, love.
Track listing
1. ‘Bout to Lose It 2. I’ve Felt Better 3. Punk Kiss 4. Sick of Being Down 5. My Way 6. Big Dog 7. Big You And Me 8. Love’s the Worst 9. Quasimodo Melonheart 10. Sunflower 11. Unfamiliar 12. I Don’t Know Nothing And Nothing Loves me
Finnish melodic death stalwarts MORS PRINCIPIUM EST announce their long-awaited ninth studio album “Darkness Invisible.” Officially signed to PERCEPTION, the latest imprint of fast-growing label Reigning Phoenix Music, the band will once again embrace listeners with razor-sharp riffing, sweeping orchestration, melancholic harmonies, and relentless rhythmic precision – topped by Ville Viljanen’s unmistakable vocals.
Viljanen comments: “Joining PERCEPTION marks a powerful new chapter for us. We’re proud to be part of a label family that houses so many legendary titans. With their support, we’re ready to unleash our most furious, blistering and ambitious work yet. The future burns bright, shrouded in “Darkness Invisible.””
“Throughout their career, MORS PRINCIPIUM EST have kept impressing me and the rest of the metal world with solid melodic death of the faster kind. Although they’ve never been the most active live band, they succeed in growing their following with each of their releases what underlines the masterfulness of their craft additionally…and in this case, ‘[Of] Death’ is really just the beginning. Welcome to PERCEPTION!” states label strategist Nils Wasko.
MPE are also not stingy with details above all: “Darkness Invisible” will finally be unleashed upon the world on September 26, 2025, and was once again self-recorded at Ansa Studio (Ulvila, Finland); Jens Bogren mixed and Tony Lindgren mastered the ten new tracks (plus CD / digital bonus song) at Örebro, Sweden’s Fascination Street Studios (AMORPHIS, SEPULTURA, KREATOR etc.). Alvaro Valverde Fernandez was hired to create artwork and layout.
Despite delivering MPE’s much-loved trademark elements, “Darkness Invisible” is not content to simply revisit old formulas, but it expands upon them: the arrangements are more cinematic than ever, layered with subtle electronic textures, ambient passages, and dynamic shifts that mirror the emotional weight carried within the lyrics – and the result is a work that feels both cathartic and devastating.
First single ‘Of Death,’ also the opening track of their new record, a bone-shattering yet enormously melodic piece with a darkly majestic chorus, can be streamed here: https://mpe.rpm.link/ofdeathPR
“Darkness Invisible” – Track Listing:
Of Death
Venator
Monuments
Tenebrae Latebra
Summoning The Dark
Beyond The Horizon
The Rivers Of Avernus
In Sleep There Is Peace
An Aria Of The Damned
All Life Is Evil Bonus Track (digipak / digital only):
Makso Mitä Makso [ISAC ELLIOT Cover]
MORS PRINCIPIUM EST live: 22 – 24.08.2025 PT Pindelo dos Milagres – Milagre Metaleiro 05.10.2025 TR Istanbul – IF Performance Hall Beşiktaş
About MORS PRINCIPIUM EST
Over the course of seven original studio albums, MORS PRICIPIUM EST refined their modern approach to melodic death metal again and again. Members came and gone, but their music remained untouched: razor-sharp riffing, sweeping orchestration, melancholic harmonies, and relentless rhythmic precision – topped by Ville Viljanen’s unmistakable vocals.
MORS PRINCIPIUM EST were founded in Pori in 1999 and are one of the longest serving Finnish melodic death metal bands. With frontman Viljanen being the most stable members, the present quintet survived several line-up changes before original members and guitarists Jori Haukio and Jarkko Kokko returned to MPE and already took part in recording their latest offering “Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity” [2022]. Also contributing to these refreshing re-recordings from their early years were former bassist Teemu Heinola and drummer Marko Tommila. A statement to honour the group’s history and to celebrate the freshly motivated line-up, which is now set to blast out their ninth album titled “Darkness Invisible” on September 26, 2025 through new label home PERCEPTION.
MORS PRINCIPIUM EST are: Ville Viljanen | vocals Jori Haukio | guitars, programming Jarkko Kokko | guitars Teemu Heinola | bass Marko Tommila | drums
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
