A brand-new and powerful international adventure begins, showcasing the most modern and hard-hitting metal!
AS WE STRAY, a band from Turin with deathcore roots and contemporary metalcore influences, announce the release of their new single “Fill the Distance”, available from November 14th, 2025 on all major digital platforms under Wanikiya Record/Promotion.
With a modern, powerful, and cutting-edge sound enriched by deep lyrics and existential themes, AS WE STRAY have already captured the attention of both audiences and critics thanks to their Project: IRIS, an artistic journey involving the release of singles up to February 2026. Following the success of “BRØKEN BØNES” and “THE REMEDY”, which quickly reached thousands of listeners, the band is ready to return with another explosive production.
At the same time, AS WE STRAY continue to stand out on the live front as well, with sold-out shows in their hometown, high-profile concerts alongside bands such as Crystal Lake, Meshuggah, Jinjer, Soilwork, and Nergal, and appearances at festivals like “We Are Deathcore.”
The release of “Fill the Distance” marks yet another crucial milestone in the band’s journey. Together with Wanikiya Record/Promotion, they aim to further expand their presence both nationally and internationally, through interviews, reviews, radio airplay, and collaborations with media, webzines, festivals, and global playlists.
“Fill the Distance” will be available on all digital platforms starting November 14th, 2025! Get ready for a sonic storm that takes no prisoners.
Follow AS WE STRAY on all social media, YouTube, and streaming platforms. Welcome to the future of metal. Welcome to the Wanikiya Record/Promotion family.
Italian doom metal outfit MESSA are pleased to unveil their new video for “Reveal.” The track comes off the band’s critically-adored new full-length, The Spin, released in April via Metal Blade Records.
Based in the band’s eclectic, self-defined “scarlet doom” sound, The Spin rises, falls, broods, bites, comforts, and destroys, all the while resounding with both instinctive magic and obsessive, concerted hard work. After lighting up the underground with a triptych of increasingly distinctive and wondrous records – 2016’s Belfry, 2018’s Feast For Water, and 2022’s Close – with The Spin, MESSA is audibly equipped for the proverbial big leagues.
Decibel Magazine championed, “… a sweeping statement that draws equally from doom and goth rock, with hefty doses of classic heavy metal and jazz thrown in.” Deaf Forever concurred, lauding the band’s, “…strongest album to date,” that, “definitively establishes MESSA as one of the most exciting and creative bands of the modern era.” Gushed New Noise Magazine, “…though all of their output makes for easy recommendations, it’s The Spin that finally shoulders MESSA out of the niche, best-kept-secret parameters they’ve been snagged in and onwards towards the oh, so elite, ‘many are called but few are chosen’ province of unequivocal, rock n’ roll preeminence. This is analogous to Soundgarden’s flight path from Badmotorfinger to Superunknown.” Added Metal Hammer Germany, “Anyone who appreciates the free-spirited combination of an exceptional voice with plenty of quiet moments and some blaring riffs will find MESSA to be the perfect band.”
Comments the band on their “Reveal” video, “The main riff in ‘Reveal’ manifested itself spontaneously. Our guitar player Alberto dreamed of it one night. He suddenly woke up at 4:00am and recorded it with his phone so he wouldn’t forget it. It was the most immediate song to write out of all those we wrote for The Spin and it features two key elements: the typical, ‘blues’ use of slide guitar and the ‘metal’ element of the blastbeats.
This video was entirely shot with analog equipment in a tire warehouse in our hometown. We chose the lo-fi aesthetic on purpose, using the dynamism of strobe and neon lights. We tried to make it as spontaneous as the songwriting process for the track.”
Watch MESSA‘s previously released video for “At Races” HERE, “The Dress” HERE, and “Fire On The Roof” HERE.
The Spin was partly recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered by Maurizio “Icio” Baggio and includes synth work by Andrea Mantione (Nuovo Testamento) on “Fire On The Roof” and cover art by Nico Vascellari (Uroboro, 2023. Nero Portoro marble, tire. 57 x 57 x 10 cm).
The record is available now on CD, vinyl, and digital formats at: metalblade.com/messa
Next month, MESSA will serve as direct support to Paradise Lost on a month-long European trek. The Ascension Of Europe Tour 2025 begins on October 9th in Manchester, United Kingdom and runs through November 6th in Antwerp, Belgium. Additional support will be provided by Lacrimas Profundere and High Parasite on select shows. See all confirmed dates below.
MESSA w/ Paradise Lost, Lacrimas Profundere: 10/09/2025 New Century Hall – Manchester, UK 10/10/2025 KK’s Steel Mill – Wolverhampton, UK 10/11/2025 University – Newcastle, UK 10/12/2025 Garage – Glasgow, UK 10/14/2025 Rescue Rooms – Nottingham, UK 10/15/2025 SWX – Bristol, UK 10/16/2025 The 1865 – Southampton, UK 10/17/2025 Islington Assembly Hall – London, UK 10/19/2025 Tyrant Fest – Lille, FR ** w/ Paradise Lost, High Parasite: 10/20/2025 Elysée Montmartre – Paris, FR 10/21/2025 La Rayonne – Lyon, FR 10/23/2025 Live Music Hall – Cologne, DE 10/24/2025 Rockhal – Luxembourg, LU ** 10/25/2025 Conrad Sohm – Dornbirn, AT 10/26/2025 Hall – Padova, IT ** 10/28/2025 Backstage Werk – Munich, DE 10/29/2025 Palac Akropolis – Prague, CZ 10/30/2025 Boogaloo – Zagreb, HR 10/31/2025 SiMM City – Vienna, AT 11/01/2025 Durer Kert – Budapest, HU 11/03/2025 PTR/L’Usine – Geneva, CH ** 11/04/2025 Z-Bau – Nürnberg, DE 11/05/2025 Pandora – Utrecht, NL 11/06/2025 Trix Hall – Antwerp, BE ** Paradise Lost, MESSA only
More on MESSA: MESSA‘s signature sound absorbs influences from jazz and blues, punk and prog, and black metal and dark ambient, but their restless experimentalism has extraordinarily smooth and assured results. The Spin incorporates another new element, interpolating an ’80s goth rock vibe in typically full-blooded fashion. “We don’t like to repeat ourselves and we constantly try to find a new language to express while keeping our identity,” stresses the band. “This time we delved into the decade of the 1980s. We are not part of the ‘dark scene’ in any way. The influence for this record looks back to the early goth rock/dark wave rather than the later emanations of the genre.” In addition to Sisters Of Mercy and Virgin Prunes, the band cites records by Killing Joke, Mercyful Fate, Jimmy Page, Journey, The Sound, Boy Harsher, and Vangelis as impacting significantly upon the creation of The Spin.
Something that seems to get both easier and harder at the same time are Sara’s remarkable vocals. With greater experience of stage and studio, her beguiling pipes continue getting stronger and more versatile; so the singing here is more assertive and confident, but the singer’s concerted push to new heights comes somewhat at the expense of a healthy mental equilibrium. “For this record I gave up parts of my own sanity,” reveals Sara. “I wore myself in so many different ways… You can’t lie when you’re singing. My aim was to record my parts in the most honest way possible. Mix-wise, the vocals are more on the spotlight, in true ’80s fashion. The lyrics touch on multiple topics throughout the record; destroying one’s ego, impossible cursed love, giving up on yourself, others’ expectations, self-sabotage, resurrection. While we were touring the US I reread some books by Cormac McCarthy. It was crucial to pave the way I wanted to express myself. I think the lyrics this time are more ‘straight in your face.’ I used metaphors like I always did, but I wanted to get more verbally naked and raw. I never spoke so clearly in our previous records about insecurity, misery, uneasiness, anguish and distress.”
MESSA: Sara – vocals Marco – guitars/bass Alberto – guitars Rocco – drums
Progressive metal giants Opeth have announced the second part of their North American tour for 2026. This time, the Swedish masters of melancholy, Katatonia, will be joining them as a special guest.
With the tour, Opeth is promoting their latest album, The Last Will & Testament, which you can order here. The kickoff is on February 5, 2026, at The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, New Jersey. From there, the tour will take Opeth & Katatonia through a total of 15 cities throughout the entire month of February, which we have listed below.
Opeth on European Tour – Dates 2025
But first, before they head to the USA, the “The Last Will & Testament” European tour is kicking off in a few days. Here are the dates:
29.09.2025 – Hamburg, Laeiszhalle
30.09.2025 – LU – Luxembourg, Rockhal
01.10.2025 – Mannheim, Rosengarten
02.10.2025 – CH – Zurich, Komplex 457
04.10.2025 – AT – Vienna, Vienna Metal Meeting
06.10.2025 – IT – Milan, Alcatraz
07.10.2025 – HR – Zagreb, Culture Factory
08.10.2025 – HU – Budapest, Barba Negra
10.10.2025 – BG – Sofia, Asics Arena
11.10.2025 – RO – Bucharest, Laminor Arena
14.10.2025 – Dresden, Schlachthof
The Last Will & Testament North American Tour Dates 2026
2/5 Montclair, NJ The Wellmont Theater
2/6 Boston, MA Orpheum Theatre
2/7 Philadelphia, PA The Fillmore Philadelphia
2/10 Detroit, MI Masonic Jack White Theatre
2/11 Chicago, IL Riviera Theatre
2/12 St. Louis, MO The Pageant
2/14 Dallas, TX The Bomb Factory
2/15 Houston, TX Bayou Music Center
2/16 San Antonio, TX Majestic Theatre
2/18 Colorado Springs, CO Pikes Peak Center
2/20 Las Vegas, NV The Pearl
2/21 Riverside, CA Riverside Municipal Auditorium
2/22 Sacramento, CA Channel 24
2/24 Seattle, WA Paramount Theatre
2/25 Vancouver, BC Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
Sydney alternative metal outfit Reliqa are back with pounding new single, ‘Your Touch‘, a genre-blending anthem about ambition’s darker side and the risk of losing sight of what you love, out now via Greyscale Records and Nuclear Blast.
Written in close collaboration with artist and producer James McKendrick (Void of Vision), ‘Your Touch‘ blends the quartet’s trademark progressive metalcore roots with bright, dance-driven textures, pushing deeper into newfound sonic territory on their follow-up to last year’s debut album Secrets of the Future.
“Your Touch is a continuation of a close-to-heart idea we started exploring on Secrets of the Future, about the fear of ambition going too far,” says the band. “It’s about having tunnel vision, where your sight’s set on a single target so narrowly that one day you realise you’ve left everything you love behind. The song is full of outer space imagery for that reason – it felt like a fitting metaphor for making bold moves that leave you more isolated than ever.”
The music video, directed by Colin Jeffs of Ten of Swords Media, sees the band in a spacecraft-like setting that mirrors the song’s themes of confinement, ambition and isolation. Watch it here.
Since rising out of Sydney’s underground, Reliqa have established themselves as one of Australia’s most exciting new prospects. Trailblazers in their own right, they’ve shared stages with the likes of BABYMETAL, Spiritbox, Periphery, Make Them Suffer and more, as well as touring with Good Things Festival last year. Their 2024 debut album showcased a band leaving no stone unturned in their quest for total musical expression, harnessing the most savage and passionate elements of modern metal fused with electronica, pop, prog and post-hardcore for the thrill of it.
With every new experience, they have endeavoured to bottle everything they felt and feed off it as much as possible as they look to the next milestone. Remembering exactly how it felt to watch their dreams playing out before them and using it as a light as they venture into the unknown.
‘Your Touch‘ is the next leap in Reliqa’s unstoppable ascent. Out now via Greyscale Records & Nuclear Blast. Stream it HERE.
Finnish black metal -group Mourniaty has already pricked ears with their first two single releases, Kyynelten Virta & All Your Lies, sung respectively in Finnish and English.
On the third and final single preceding the Musta Maa -debut album (to be released on 7th of November through Inverse Records), the band yet again refuses to bow down before anyone building places of worship, but will rather see them fall with their shrines.
Mixed by Karulainen & Joona Rinne / Deep Noise Studios Mastered by Saku Moilanen / Deep Noise Studios Album cover by Karulainen
When you get fed up with Christianity and Paganism starts to arouse your interest, interesting things are often created. Sometimes this process needs an accelerant, which is exactly what happened when Karulainen and Metällinen found themselves to be merged in the same family tree. Now, what else would fresh, Finnish relatives do but make aggressive noises together? This gave an outlet for the music Karulainen had already been writing.
Finnish Mourniaty began its life as a smoldering project already in 2015. It burst into raging fire five years later, when situations in life permitted concentrating on music full-time. When bass player Tenho joined the group in 2022, Mourniaty finally became a real band instead of two men with backing tracks.
Karulainen describes Mourniaty’s music as black metal, which combines mid-tempo grooves and even symphonic arrangements combined with lyrics sung in both Finnish and English, which revolve around themes of Paganism and Anti-Christianity. The debut album, “Musta maa” (Black Earth), will be released thru Inverse records on digital platforms and in cd-format in November of 2025. What a perfect soundtrack for the darkest season of the year.
Brazilian Heavy Metal band, Mortticia, has released the single “Mistakes“, the first power ballad of their career, bringing deep reflections on the mistakes we make throughout life and how they shape our path toward the inevitable end, giving meaning and purpose to existence.
“After all, if from birth to death everything went right and we only did what was expected of us, our life would be nothing more than the flight of a bird with the predictable trajectory from the nest to the grave,” highlights the band.
Listen to “Mistakes” on all streaming platforms or via Spotify, here.
About the composition, the band also comments: “It is a song in which we carefully worked on the melodies to create one of those addictive ballads like those of Helloween or Angra. For the first time, we worked with an arranger for the keyboards, and this elevated the instrumental to another level.”
Founded in 2010 in the Brazilian city of Alegrete-RS, Mortticia moved in 2012 to Porto Alegre-RS and became one of the Brazilian exponents of the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal (N.W.O.T.H.M.), a movement that has been gaining strength on the global scene by revitalizing the classic sound of the genre with a more modern and sophisticated approach, without straying from its essence. The band’s discography includes several singles, an EP released physically on CD and cassette tape by labels in Romania and Brazil, and now they are preparing to present their long-awaited debut album.
The current lineup of Mortticia features Lucas Zawacki on vocals, Lucio Brenner on rhythm guitar, Gustavo Galho on lead guitar, Guilherme Hoppen on bass, and Doug Mansur on drums.
“Mistakes” was produced by renowned music producer Renato Osorio, former member of Hibria, and features the participation of Rafael Kurai in the keyboard arrangements. The cover art, signed by artist Gus Bringel, visually translates the essence of the song by bringing together elements such as the bird, the cemetery, and the figure of Mortticia, in a composition marked by colors and strokes reminiscent of the classic albums of the 80s and 90s. The promotional photography is by José Florêncio.
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s ASA unveil the long-overdue release of "Collective Failure" + first music video for title-track! Check it out and stay tuned for more news! Click image to watch the video
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
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Visionary artist KIMMO KUUSNIEMI's ANCIENT STREAMING ASSEMBLY (ASA) have released “Aurora Nuclearis”, a powerful 12-minute audiovisual experience, dedicated to the Late Keyboardist Esa Kotilainen. - Click image to watch the video