BONSAI KITTEN have released a new single and video ‘Raise Your Glass’ on Metalville.
‘Raise Your Glass’ is a swinging rock tune with a hard and fast double bass in the chorus and a very catchy hook that makes a clear statement with ‘Raise Your Glass To Better Days’.
BONSAI KITTEN – you’ve seen the name countless times and you can find the band’s stickers in almost every club across Germany, but what kind of music does this band led by frontwoman and founder Tiger Lilly Marleen actually play?
Musically, the band’s style has evolved over the years from punk-a-billy to punk rock to metal with blues influences. Band leader Tiger Lilly Marleen reorganised her band in 2019 with blues rock guitarist Wally. Together with blues rock guitarist André ‘Wally’ Wahlhäuser, Markus ‘Spoxx’ Schütze on the 3-string and Guido Schade, they will be on the road from 2026.
With headline tours throughout Germany, concerts in Finland, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Czechia and as far afield as Bangkok, Thailand, as well as tours in Hungary and England, festival appearances at Rock im Park, 2x Metal Hammer Paradise, Ruhrpott Rodeo, Satanic Stomp Rebellion Punk Music Festival and support shows for The BossHoss, Dick Dale, D-A-D, Nashville Pussy, The Toy Dolls and New Model Army, as well as a duet with Jesper Binzer from D-A-D in a new version of Black Sabbath’s WAR PIGS.
LINE UP Tiger Lilly Marleen – vocals André „Wally“ Wahlhäuser – guitar Marc Reign – drums Spoxx – bass
Rockshots Records is proud to announce the release of the new lyric video for “Eclissi”, taken from “Myth of Mankind“, the third full-length album by Italian folk metal act Aexylium.
“Eclissi” marks a defining moment in Aexylium’s artistic journey. Musically rooted in the band’s unmistakable fusion of modern metal intensity and traditional folk instrumentation, the track stands out as the first song in the band’s career written entirely in Italian, a deliberate and meaningful choice that reinforces its emotional impact and narrative depth. Layered choirs, wide melodic lines, and a carefully balanced orchestral framework make “Eclissi” one of the most evocative compositions on “Myth of Mankind,” while also enhancing its strong potential in a live setting where audience interaction becomes an integral part of the song’s identity. Commenting on the track, the band explains that “Eclissi fits perfectly with the musical lines of the album and represents a new expressive space for us. Writing in Italian allowed the lyrics to flow more naturally, strengthening the emotional connection between words and music while the choirs make it especially powerful during live performances.”
The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Davide Tavecchia at Twilight Studio, ensuring a powerful yet detailed production that highlights both the band’s metallic core and its rich instrumental textures. The front cover was designed by Gustavo Sazes (Arch Enemy, Machine Head, Amaranthe).”Myth of Mankind” represents the most mature and personal chapter in Aexylium’s discography, addressing introspective and abstract themes while consciously stepping beyond genre stereotypes without losing sight of the band’s roots.
Formed in Italy in 2014, Aexylium have steadily built a strong reputation within the European folk metal scene, performing at major festivals such as Dong Open Air, Tanzt!, and Montelago Celtic Festival and sharing the stage with acts including Blind Guardian, Elvenking, Wind Rose, and TÝR. Following the releases of “Tales From This Land” (2018) and “The Fifth Season” (2021), the band returns with “Myth of Mankind“, an album that fully encapsulates their growth in terms of songwriting, production, and artistic vision.
The lyric video for “Eclissi” offers listeners and media partners a focused insight into one of the album’s most distinctive tracks, highlighting both its linguistic uniqueness and its role within the conceptual and musical framework of “Myth of Mankind“.
For fans of Eluveitie, Korpiklaani, Amorphis, Folkstone, Alestorm, and Mago de Oz, “Myth of Mankind” (released May 23, 2025) is available digitally and on CD at https://lnk.to/koGz58.
Track Listing: 1 – Fontes et Omnia 2 – The Queen 3 – Hexe 4 – Into Oblivion 5 – In Sorrow 6 – Myth of Mankind 7 – Eclissi 8 – Wild Hunt 9 – Surrender 10 – Northern Lights 11 – Eternity
Irish nu-metalcore contenders Following The Signs return today with their explosive new single, ‘Break The Frame’, the latest track to be unveiled from their forthcoming EP EVOLVE, set for release on March 20th.
Following on from the defiant charge of previous single ‘Call To Rise’, ‘Break The Frame’ pushes the band’s message even further — confronting restriction, expectation, and the invisible structures that confine identity and ambition. It’s a track rooted in defiance and personal awakening, calling on listeners to reject imposed limitations and carve out their own path, regardless of opposition.
Musically, ‘Break The Frame’ captures the full weight of Following The Signs evolved sound. Formed in Cork in 2018, the five-piece have built a reputation for combining groove-heavy nu-metal influences with the precision and aggression of modern metalcore. The new single delivers pummeling riffs, thunderous breakdowns, and soaring yet abrasive vocal dynamics, all underpinned by a sharpened sense of atmosphere and control. It’s direct, urgent, and unflinching.
Commenting on the track, the band says; “Break the frame is written with the idea of living in a simulation connected to a machine, the mainframe. The story is written about waking up from the mainframe due to a glitch. Upon waking you realise the simulated world is not what it seems, so you fight to break free from the mainframe to live in the real world.“
‘Break The Frame’ serves as a crucial piece of the narrative arc that defines ‘EVOLVE’, a five-track statement exploring survival, resistance, societal pressure, and transformation in an increasingly fractured world. Where ‘Call To Rise’ stood as a rallying cry against oppression, ‘Break The Frame‘ turns inward, challenging the psychological and structural barriers that prevent growth and change.
The forthcoming EP marks the band’s most cohesive and focused body of work to date. Following the impact of their debut album Conflictions and singles such as ‘Birthright’ and ‘Stand Tall’, ‘EVOLVE’ represents a significant step forward both sonically and conceptually. The record captures a band refining their identity while expanding their creative scope.
Recent live performances in Warsaw and Kraków, Poland, their largest international shows to date, have further demonstrated the band’s growing momentum beyond Ireland, solidifying their reputation as a rising force within the modern heavy music landscape.
With the release of ‘Break The Frame’ today and ‘EVOLVE’ landing on March 20th, Following The Signs continue to position themselves at the forefront of Ireland’s heavy scene — delivering music that is both ferocious in sound and fearless in message.
Evolve track-listing; Stuck in place Call to rise Break the frame Evolve Infectious
Following The Signs are: Alan Jevens – Vocals Noel Crowley – Guitars Vincent Renoux – Guitars Rory Taylor – Bass Chris Hanlon – Drums
Northern Irish metal outfit Nihilanth return with their blistering new single ‘Don’t Pray For Me’, the follow up to 2024’s crushing release ‘Ruin’. The track is taken from the band’s forthcoming second EP, Detritus Of Ruin, due for release on March 20th.
‘Don’t Pray For Me’ sees Nihilanth leaning further into the darker, more abrasive edges of their sound, channeling death metal intensity through the band’s established groove-laden framework. It is a track built on weight and intent, pairing suffocating heaviness with razor-sharp precision.
‘Don’t Pray For Me’ is available on all major streaming platforms, HERE.
Lyrically, the single is one of the most direct statements the band have made to date. The inspiration stems from a personal experience guitarist Pete Craig had after moving to Belfast, shaping a broader commentary on religious fanaticism and the damage it can inflict across all denominations of faith. While recognising the right to individual belief, the track challenges the imposition of those beliefs on others, particularly when used to incite fear, hostility or division.
‘Don’t Pray For Me’ reflects on how many global conflicts and societal fractures can be traced back to religion or religious persecution. Growing up in Ireland and Northern Ireland, these themes are far from abstract, giving the track a lived-in authenticity that cuts deeper than rhetoric. The result is a bleak but honest examination of how ideology, when weaponised, can bring out the worst in people.
The single sets the tone for Detritus Of Ruin, a record that captures Nihilanth at their most focused and fully realised. Following their 2023 debut EP Destroyer Of Worlds, the band experienced significant line-up changes. Rather than halting progress, that period became a turning point. With the current line-up now firmly established, this EP represents the sound Nihilanth have been driving towards since their inception.
Across the EP, raw aggression is balanced with atmosphere and control. Breakdown sections are delivered with purpose, while subtle layers of synths and strings expand the band’s sonic scope without diluting their core intensity. Themes of self-destruction sit alongside wider societal observations, tackling corruption, prejudice and the influence of organised religion with unflinching honesty.
First single ‘Ruin’ introduced this chapter with a devastating statement of intent, featuring guest vocals from Patrick Scanlon of Belfast hardcore band If It Bleeds. Tracks such as ‘Fractured’ showcase a modern metal edge, while ‘Fangs’ underlines Nihilanth’s refusal to be confined to one lane, blending multiple heavy disciplines into a sound that is unmistakably their own.
Detritus Of Ruin is not a reinvention but a realisation. It is the sound of a band that has weathered change, sharpened its identity and emerged heavier, tighter and more confident than ever.
‘DETRITUS OF RUIN’ tracklist: Ruin The Emergent Truth Fangs Don’t Prey for Me
Nihilanth are: Aidan Thompson, vocals Pete Craig, guitar and backing vocals Lee Park, guitar Andy Parkinson, drums Jim Ward, bass
SACRIVERSUM were formed in 1992 in Łódź (Poland), playing old school Death Metal with progressive elements and atmospheric sounds, making their complex mixture special and unique. Their debut album „The Shadow Of The Golden Fire“ was released in 1994, at a time when a lot of Death Metal bands started to push their boundaries and became more experimental. Their music was a perfect fit along with legendary bands like PESTILENCE,DEATH,GOREFEST & ATHEIST. And this counts for SACRIVERSUM and their upcoming new album „Before The Birth Of Light“ even more.
SACRIVERSUM have released their first single “Let Us Ride The World”:
Stream the Track: https://save-it.cc/fireflash/let-us-ride-the-world
„Before The Birth Of Light“ will be released on May 8th and is available on CD, limited vinyl (300 copies) and digital.
“The entire message of this album can be understood literally and historically, as a depiction of the Viking invasion, but it can also be understood metaphorically, as a representation of the extraordinary strength, dynamism, and unstoppable energy that a well-matched group of people can bring to their actions. The song “Let Us Ride The World” is about what we feel when we create a force together that allows us to conquer the world, simply. This is how not only musicians who enjoy playing together in a band feel, but also everyone who has managed to gather others around them on the basis of “team spirit.” In the lyrics, literally, a band of Vikings addresses Thor, one of the most important deities of that mythology. Today, in modern times, we could say: “We go as a herd, no one can defeat us!”.
The album stands for raw Death Metal, with those incomparable Hammond organs. DEATH meets DEEP PURPLE. Their sound is a mixture of the above mentioned acts and is not too far apart from the latest BLOOD INCANTATION album. Both combine tradition with fiction. You have to hear and experience this Death Metal gem. Since 2022, SACRIVERSUM are back and continue, where they ended up with their debut album. Those nine new tracks on „Before The Birth Of Light“ are possibly the best songs SACRIVERSUM ever composed – once you got into it, they don’t let you go. It is a dark ride into another dimension, another time and another space. You are captured in their own world, in a time before the birth of light.
SACRIVERSUM is: Remigiusz „Remo” Mielczarek – bass, vocals Krystian „MacKozer” Kozerawski – guitar Olaf “Olafsson” Kozerawski – guitar Krzysztof „Baran” Baranowicz – keyboards Jan „Trocin” Traciński – drums
In an unprecedented gathering of rock and metal royalty, Cleopatra Records proudly announces the April 24 release of Black Flame, Nuclear Messiah’s thunderous, all-star concept album.
Built around the visionary guitar mastery of Chris Poland, the legendary former Megadeth guitarist whose emotive phrasing and fusion-driven technique helped redefine modern metal, Black Flame is a sonic prophecy uniting 36 of the most iconic musicians in rock and metal history across five decades.
Produced by Cleopatra founder Brian Perera, Derek Hughes, and Jürgen Engler, with A&R direction by long-term Cleopatra Records consultant John Lappen, Nuclear Messiah stands as both resurrection and revelation — a celebration of musicianship, legacy, and unrelenting fire.
And keeping its seat warm while we await the main attraction, a new single peels off the full length masterpiece, and it’s a monster!
The heart of Nuclear Messiah, Chris Poland’s melodic fluidity, experimental phrasing, and sheer command of tone have inspired generations. From Megadeth’s Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? to his work in OHM and Damn the Machine, Poland’s guitar sound remains one of the most distinctive in modern music.
“Chris isn’t just a guitarist — he’s a spirit of sound,” says Perera. “Nuclear Messiah was built around his brilliance and brought to life by an army of legends who share his passion and precision.”
But he is not alone. “Electric Burn” alone also features fellow Megadeth alumni Marty Friedman and Chris Adler, alongside Blue Öyster Cult bassist Joe Bouchard and Ross The Boss/Let Us Prey frontman Marc Lopes, for a soul-searing slice of molten metal – and, as the climactic track on this already scintillating album, you know it’s going to be mega.
Dramatic, too, is the video, sliced from Kazy Tauginas’s multiple award-winning award winning movie Mirror Life: Modern Zombies, in which the world is blighted by a new pandemic that makes Covid look like a summer sniffle.
“‘’Electric Burn’ is just that…this song is on fire,” says Chris Poland. “Chris Adler is smokin’ hot and the rest of the band follows suit. I mean, come on, freakin’ Marty Friedman is on this track. It’s one of my favorites.”
As for the album itself, “This record has so many metal icons playing on it,” he continues. “It’s really a must for any metal head’s record collection.”
He’s not wrong, either. Blazing out from William Shatner’s commanding spoken introduction, a staggering lineup represents every era of heavy music, from Vanilla Fudge to the Kings of Thrash, via Guns N’Roses, Uriah Heep, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath, UFO, Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Deep Purple, Yngwie Malmsteen, Thor, Testament, Night Ranger, the Michael Schenker Group, Yes and more.
Eye-opening covers, too, will be ripping open your ears – Lucifer’s Friend, May Blitz, NWOBHM heroes Holocaust and the immortal Uriah Heep (a killer take on “Look At Yourself”); and, while the remainder of the album is all new material, each song composed by the line-up that performs on it, reflecting, too, upon the history of hard rock, prog and metal – a living timeline of rock and metal, from the pioneers of the past to the trailblazers of today.
It’s more than a collaboration. It’s a metal summit, the multi-generational union of the artists who shaped the evolution of heavy music itself.
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
Click image to watch the video
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 