Melbourne alternative garage rock trio Desert Fire will unleash their debut single, “R.A.D.I.O.”, on 22nd May across all major streaming platforms, marking the band’s first official recorded outing.
Fast, sharp and impossible to ignore, “R.A.D.I.O.” kicks the door in with biting guitars, a relentless rhythm section and a vocal that cuts clean through the noise. Sitting somewhere between garage rock swagger and raw rock’n’roll urgency, it’s a no-nonsense introduction from a band built for volume, sweat and stages that feel too small.
Lyrically, the track leans into ambition, image and expectation, giving the song a tongue in cheek undercurrent beneath its punch. That friction adds weight to a debut that hits hard on first listen but lingers well after. “We wanted our first track to land like a punch but still have something sim mering underneath,” the band says. “R.A.D.I.O. felt like the right place to start – it’s got the energy, the hook and the attitude that define Desert Fire.”
The single was recorded, mixed and produced by Ricki Rae at Lighthill Sound Recording in Riddells Creek, Victoria, mastered by Bill Skibbe at Third Man Mastering in Detroit, and pressed as a limited edition 7” at Third Man Pressing. Featuring guest backing vocals by Jackie Yamada and Ramonda Carrico.
Desert Fire is a Melbourne alt-rock trio featuring Stevie Reds, Roachy and Rachie Reds. Loud, direct and driven by melody, groove and force, “R.A.D.I.O.” serves as the band’s opening shot.
The debut single lands on 22 May 2026 across all major streaming platforms, with a limited 7-inch vinyl edition available online and at upcoming shows.
Can you hear them gnawing? They’re almost through the walls!
American thrash metal pioneers FLOTSAM AND JETSAM are gearing up to unleash their explosive Napalm Records debut album Rats In The Temple, on August 28, 2026.
The legends from Arizona have been a fixture of the metal scene for the better part of the last four decades. With modern renaissance records like The End of Chaos, (2019) and I Am the Weapon, (2024), capturing the glory of their inceptional material, the Kerrang! championed classic Doomsday for the Deceiver, (1986) and No Place for Disgrace, (1988), it’s no wonder they’re still raising hell for their throngs of dedicated fans along festival circuits internationally!
Rats In The Temple lunges out full force with 13 rabid onslaughts of ornate guitarmonies, pummeling double bass kicks, hypnotic bass grooves, and exalted frontman Eric A.K. Knutson’s unmistakably haunting wail. As the temple is besieged by vermin, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM line the walls with grim tales of death, abuse, betrayal, and war, inviting listeners into a dark world not too distant from our own.
Frontman Eric A.K. Knutson said about the album: “This record is a BEAST, truly our best effort to date!! Do yourself a favor. Dim the lights, grab a drink, put the headphones on, and crank this up. You will not be sorry you did!!!”
Rats In The Temple opens strong with the stadium-ready hooks and dizzyingly precise performances of “Harvesting The Hate” and “Damnation”, before delving into thrash virtuosity on “Absolution”. The iconic guitar duo of Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley paint vividly ghoulish images on tracks like “Blame The Knife” and “Rats In the Temple”, then continue to flex their metal muscle on “The Ghost Behind My Door” and “First on the Spike”, invoking pure first-wave excellence with a pummeling modern menace. “The Edge of Nowhere” builds inescapable suspense before firing listeners out of a gun, full throttle into “Last Rites”, another standout track for the band. The legendary rhythm duo of drummer Ken Mary and bassist Bill Bodily take center stage on the anti-war anthem “A Taste For War”, their methodical syncopation invoking images of tanks and boots on the ground. “Her Blood Your Pain” brings ornate, medieval guitarmonies before “Anthem For The Broken” goes full balls to the wall, and “Going Down That Way” hits listeners with heavy riffs and even heavier truths. Rats In The Temple remains enthralling throughout, giving listeners entry to numerous of the band’s metal chambers, sampling a refined and eclectic serving of influences.
Churning like magma beneath the Earth, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM have only been growing more and more fiery with time, and Rats In The Temple sees the band exploding to the surface in a magnificent and awe-inspiring blaze. For fans new and longstanding, you cannot escape them; they’re through the walls.
Rats In The Temple Tracklist: 1. Harvesting the Hate 2. Damnation 3. Absolution 4. Blame the Knife 5. Rats in the Temple 6. The Ghost behind my Door 7. First on the Spike 8. The Edge of Nowhere 9. Last Rites 10. A Taste for War 11. Her Blood your Pain 12. Anthem for the Broken 13. Not Going down that Way
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM Are: Eric A.K. Knutson – Vocals Michael Gilbert – Guitars Steve Conley – Guitars William Bodily – Bass Ken Mary – Drums
DOMINUM, the rising stars of modern metal, unveil the second track cut from their upcoming full-length Night Is Calling, set for release on July 3, 2026, via Napalm Records. The infectious anthem, entitled “Doctor Doctor,” is driven by crushing riffs and irresistible hooks, showcasing the band’s signature blend of theatrical horror themes and massive sing-along choruses, destined to echo across festival crowds. Following their previously released banger, “The Circus is in Town,” the second single, “Doctor Doctor,” is served alongside a high-quality official music video, telling the bittersweet story of sickening love.
With their sophomore studio album, The Dead Don’t Die (2024), DOMINUM, led by mastermind and singer Felix Heldt—better known as Dr. Dead—stormed into the top 10 of the German charts. Together with his zombies, Tommy Kemp (guitars), Patient 0 (bass), and Victor Hilltop (drums)—DOMINUM has already taken this undead spectacle to major stages across Europe. Touring alongside icons such as Bruce Dickinson, Avantasia, Battle Beast, and Peyton Parrish, the band has proven its strength both at major festivals and during their own headline shows.
Dr. Dead comments on “Doctor Doctor”: “What if a doctor needs to go to the doctor? When the one who heals everyone else can’t heal himself anymore. ‘Doctor Doctor’ is my confession, wrapped in obsession. A story about a love that feels like a cure at first… but slowly becomes the disease. My pulse races, the symptoms worsen, and suddenly the medicine stops working. I know it’s killing me. But still, I crave another dose. Because some love won’t save you. Some love just eats you up alive. And when the fever rises and my heart won’t listen to reason, there’s only one question left: Is there anyone left who can save me? Yours, Dr. Dead”
DOMINUM open the next chapter of their dark, theatrical universe with their new full-length Night Is Calling. With their bombastic sound and outstanding stage presence, the band continues its rapid ascent on the international metal scene, without losing sight of its strengths: theatrical, melodic, and uncompromising modern metal—driven by the dark charisma of Dr. Dead and his zombies. One thing is certain: the Living Dead Squad continues to grow.
Night Is Calling is now available for pre-order, with selected formats including the bonus album Live at Wacken 2025.
Dr. Dead on Night is Calling: “They grow up so fast. – Ugh. It makes me sick. And now I feel it myself: my zombies have grown up. Our creation… has grown up too. But unlike the pitiful rest, we don’t mourn our childhood. No. We revel in who we are. Being a child, being an adult—what does that even mean? Anyway, the world lies at our feet, and we can do whatever we damn well please. Believe me from firsthand experience: an army of zombies makes everything a hell of a lot easier… and way more fun with every bit of trouble getting the punch it deserves. We have the power to reshape our world. And oh, we do. Night is Calling – this is our outlet. Stronger melodies, heavier riffs, sharper, unflinching lyrics—honesty as our deadliest weapon. We are who we are. And you… you’re in this whether you like it or not. The undead are on the march, more relentless than ever. Join us immediately, willingly… or a little later when we come to your neighborhood. Either way… we’ll be seeing you. Dr. Dead.”
Produced by Felix Heldt and mixed by renowned producer Jacob Hansen, Night is Calling expands the band’s sonic universe with even heavier riffs, bigger choruses and cinematic drama. The explosive opener “The Circus Is In Town” throws listeners straight into DOMINUM’s twisted carnival, while infectious anthems such as “Doctor Doctor” and “Dark Melodies” deliver massive hooks destined to echo across festival crowds. The powerful title track “Night is Calling” (feat. Battle Beast) further highlights the band’s growing presence on the international metal stage.
Night is Calling Tour 2026: w/ The Night Flight Orchestra 24.11.26 FR – Paris / La Machine du Moulin Rouge 25.11.26 DE – Frankfurt / Batschkapp 27.11.26 DE – Hamburg / Grosse Freiheit 36 28.11.26 DE – Leipzig / Hellraiser 01.12.26 HU – Budapest / Barba Negra 02.12.26 AT – Vienna / Szene 04.12.26 CH – Pratteln / Z7 05.12.26 DE – Saarbrücken / Garage 06.12.26 BE – Sint Niklaas / De Casino 08.12.26 UK – Manchester / O2 Ritz 09.12.26 UK – Bristol / Bristol Electric 10.12.26 UK – London / Electric Brixton 12.12.26 DE – Oberhausen / Turbinenhalle 13.12.26 DE – Utrecht / Tivoli Vredenburg 15.12.26 DE – Berlin / SO36 16.12.26 DE – Hanover / Capitol 18.12.26 DE – Stuttgart / LKA Longhorn 19.12.26 DE – Munich / Backstage 20.12.26 DE – Nuremberg / Hirsch
Festivals: 22.-23.05.26 CH – Cornaux / Corn’Rock Festival 05.-07.06.26 CZ – Pilsen / Metalfest Open Air 01.-04.07.26 DE – Ballenstedt / Rock Harz Festival 03.-06.07.26 SE – Knislinge / Time To Rock 24.-25.07.26 DE – Bissingen / Wisdom Tooth Festival 13.-15.07.26 DE – Sulingen / Reload Festival
23.08.26 DE – Sankt Goarshausen / Loreley Freilichtbühne (w/ Judas Priest, Thundermother) … more to be announced
DOMINUM are: Dr. Dead – Vocals Patient 0 – Bass Victor Hilltop – Drums Tommy Kemp – Guitars
Masquerage, led by Kimmo Perämäki—known from Spiritus Mortis and Celesty has released the last single, ‘In The Vault’ from their upcoming sixth album Atomic Spies.
–Composed by Kimmo Perämäki –Lyrics by Marko Ylä-Häkkinen –Mixed & mastered by Kimmo Perämäki –ISRC: FI3FC2655504 –Single cover by Kimmo Perämäki
The band comments: ” “In The Vault” takes you to the final moments of the world – where the wheat is separated from the chaff, the men from the boys, and we see who survives, and at what cost?
“In The Vault” delivers storytelling wrapped in the spirit of ’70s and ’80s heavy rock!
Are you ready for the end of the world?”
Atomic Spies Track list:
On The Edge Of Beliefs
Atomic Spies
The Devil To Pay
In The Vault
By Design
Everfrost
The Healthiest Man To Die
Pain Of Punishment
Waves
–All music written by Kimmo Perämäki –All lyrics written by Marko Ylä-Häkkinen –Produced, recorded, mixed, mastered by Kimmo Perämäki. –Album cover art by Saija Lehto
Masquerage is a Finnish melodic metal band founded in 1998, blending elements of AOR, heavy metal, and power metal into its distinctive sound. The band was formed by cousins Kimmo Perämäki (Spiritus Mortis, Celesty) and Marko Ylä-Häkkinen.
In its early days, the band operated under the name Unchained, and in 1999 the lineup was completed by keyboardist Mika Maunus. At their very first rehearsals as a trio, Marko introduced Mika to Kimmo with the words: “Here’s Mika, our new keyboard player. Can’t really play anything, but he learns fast.” Well, the credentials were clearly sufficient, and Mika was in. This core trio—Perämäki, Ylä-Häkkinen, and Maunus—laid the foundation for Masquerage’s early sound and released the band’s first two demos.
In 2000, the band changed its name to Masquerage, reflecting the roles and masks people wear in different situations—and what may lie beneath them. This theme has remained a strong element in the band’s lyrics ever since. That same year, bassist Mikael Kontolampi joined, and the band began moving more deliberately toward a professional direction.
The early 2000s were marked by active live performances and several demo releases.
In 2004, the lineup expanded with a second guitarist, Jukka Viitasaari, and with this formation Masquerage released its debut album Work-Holic-Fool (2005) in collaboration with Soultonics. Its follow-up, Moonlight Time (2008), was released independently.
In 2009, Viitasaari stepped aside, and the four-piece lineup released their third album Backstabber in cooperation with 57Records.
In 2014, longtime bassist Kontolampi departed, and Kimmo and Marko began collaborating with the U.S.-based Stormspell Records—a partnership that would shape Masquerage’s future releases.
Bassist Ossi Raiski joined the band in 2015, after which Masquerage reactivated and released the albums Breaking the Masks (2016) and Hangman’s Revelations (2018) through Stormspell Records.
The COVID-19 pandemic briefly slowed the band’s activity, but in 2024 Masquerage returned to working on new material. The new album entered production in 2025, resulting in the band’s sixth studio album, Atomic Spies, set for release on May 29, 2026, in collaboration with Stormspell Records and Inverse Records.
Masquerage continues its determined journey toward a firmly established position in the melodic heavy rock and metal scene—combining strong melodies, infectious hooks, and thematically rich lyrics.
Line-up: Kimmo Perämäki – Guitar & Vocals Ossi Raiski – Bass Mika Maunus – Keyboards Marko Ylä-Häkkinen – Drums
Wormholedeath is pleased to announce the signing of Belgian speed/heavy metal band Drakkar. The label has entered a licensing agreement with the band for their forthcoming album Invasion, scheduled for release on June 19, 2026.
Founded in 1983, Drakkar built their reputation on the European metal circuit throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. Their 1988 debut albumX-Rated, released through New Musidisc (Paris), earned strong critical recognition and led to support slots on major European tours with Queensrÿche, Metallica, Overkill, and Slayer. The record has since become a touchstone of the Belgian metal scene.
After a period of inactivity, the band reformed in 2011 with a new lineup. X-Rated was remastered and reissued in 2012, produced by Simone Mularoni (DGM), with original vocalist Fab “Leni” Vanbellinghen returning to the fold in 2013. The reformed band recorded Once Upon a Time in Hell in 2014, featuring Jonas Sanders of Pro-Pain on drums, and went on to play over 80 dates across Europe, including the Power, Prog & Metal Festival in Mons. A live album, Once Upon a Time Hellive, followed in 2016.
The band suffered a significant loss when founding member Thierry Del Cane passed away shortly after. They chose to continue in his memory. Subsequent years brought further lineup shifts alongside new recordings, including three singles and a music video released between 2022 and 2025.
Invasion marks a new chapter: Leni Andersen returns on vocals, and founding member Guy Duvy is back on bass. The current lineup is completed by Thomas Vanhorebeek and Nico RR on guitars, and Adrien Delgambe on drums (member since 2015). Adrien is the son of former drummer and founding member Tim Delval, bringing the band back to its roots alongside Guy and Leni, and continuing to deliver their signature furious heavy/speed metal.
To celebrate the announcement, the band has released the single and video “666 ‘n’ Rock’n’ Roll (Tribute to Them)”, a track dedicated to two icons of metal: Ozzy and Lemmy.
1 To The Shores 2 Invasion 3 Far Away 4 Mad Clown 5 Bloody Mary 6 Crying Out 7 Never Touch The Stars 8 666 ‘n’ Rock’n’ Roll (Tribute to them) 9 The Everlasting Journey
Norwegian heavy metal band Triosphere are pleased to announce the release of their new studio album, titled “Oceans Above, Stars Below”, scheduled for August 28, 2026, via Frontiers Music Srl.
Following the recent release of the single “Monster’s Ball”, Triosphere now share the new track “Of Tyrants”, along with an official video, available below.
The band described the song by saying: “While our music over the years has been described as heavy metal with elements of thrash, “Of Tyrants” is more thrash with elements of heavy metal! In-your-face attack with a catchy chorus and fierce guitar solos! Lyrically, it falls in the same category as the first single off the album, “Monster’s Ball”; how the history of mankind is one that’s layered thick with self-righteous destruction, led by a handful of tyrants, yet the tyrant lies dormant within us all”.
“For the video, we went to Rome and the brilliant Greta and Ray in Kinorama Studio! These two hold a wide range of talents and have created killer visuals for this song! This studio already comes with a strong recommendation, and we will certainly add to that!”, they added.
The band commented: “This has been a long, loooong haul! But we are happy and proud to say that we once again feel we’ve made a strong and killer album and thrilled to have teamed up with the great Frontiers Music for bringing this out into the world! It’s a more intense album, both in atmosphere and speed, with hooks and melodies that’s cooler than ever, and we deeply hope and believe the listeners will feel it was well worth the wait!”
“As with our previous album, we knew that we wanted legendary Jens Bogren at Fascination Street Studios to do the mix of the album. The studio could at that time offer brand new, stellar facilities, so we decided to also record the drums and vocals there together with the excellent engineer/producer Alexander Backlund”, they continued. “This has lifted the audio quality of our albums to a new level, and we’re just so excited to finally share it all with the rest of the world!”
Furthermore, they added: “We’re also thrilled to properly share with you the album cover artwork by Giannis Nakos of Remedy Art Design! We were well familiar with Giannis’ quality-work when we first reached out to him, and based on our discussions around the album title and lyrics, he has created a truly intriguing eye-catcher of an artwork!”
Triosphere’s music moves in between hard rock, power prog and thrash metal, and presents uniquely honest and hard-hitting songs; from the heaviest to the calmest, from intricate to classic, all led by strong melodies and compelling guitarwork.
Triosphere released their debut album “Onwards” on FaceFront Records in 2006/2007. It received rave reviews, and the award “Best Metal Album” from the world’s largest independent music organization JPF’s at their annual JPF Awards in Nashville in 2009.
In 2010, the band signed with AFM Records, who released their sophomore album “The Road Less Travelled” (2010), and “The Heart Of The Matter” (2014). Both albums received huge critical acclaim worldwide and consequently a growing number of listeners.
Throughout the years, the band has had the privilege of touring with some of the truly great names within the rock and metal genre: their first tours in 2006 and 2007 was with W.A.S.P., and in the years to follow they have toured Europe with Arch Enemy, Sonata Artica, Kamelot, Timo Kotipelto, Jorn, Crimson Glory and Sirenia.
They’ve opened for Dio and Nightwish, and played festivals like Wacken Open Air, Progpower USA, 70 000 Tons of Metal, Tons of Rock and Metaldays, to name a few.
The bands’ solid quality both on record and stage have earned them a steadfast audience and listeners around the world, and their long-awaited new album perfectly encapsulates the essence of Triosphere, standing the test of time.
“Oceans Above, Stars Below” Tracklist:
1. Premonition 2. Of Tyrants 3. Oceans Above, Stars Below 4. Monster’s Ball 5. Through The Phantom Wall 6. Shorelines 7. Lightning In A Bottle 8. Encore 9. Embers 10. Orpheus’ Bane 11. Cadence Of Chaos 12. Gjenklang
Line Up: Ida Haukland – bass and vocals Marius Bergesen – guitars Tor Ole Byberg – guitars Kenneth Tårneby – 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
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 