Hells Bells Festival has unveiled its third wave of band additions to its 2026 inaugural edition. Leading the charge is one of the most iconic voices in heavy metal history, Dirkschneider, who will bring a career-defining set of Accept classics to the Szczecin riverfront on 26-27 June 2026.
Dirkschneider will arrive in Szczecin with a very specific mission: a set comprised entirely of Accept’s greatest hits. While the performance will lean heavily on the legendary “Balls to the Wall” album, fans can expect other Accept anthems too.
In a move that deviates from typical festival hierarchies, the organisers have opted for a “Main Acts” philosophy. Rather than a single headliner, the debut edition will be driven by multiple headline shows. Dirkschneider joins the likes of Grave Digger, Cockney Rejects, Discharge, Furia, Vader and Dezerter.
Adding a heavy dose of fuzz to the lineup are Belzebong, who are widely regarded as one of Poland’s premier musical exports in the stoner/doom genre. Their hazy, riff-driven walls of sound have earned them a cult following across the international festival circuit, making them a perfect fit for the industrial atmosphere of Łasztownia.
The experimental side of the underground is represented by Dola. Over the last decade, the band has emerged as one of the most fascinating entities in Polish music, defying easy categorisation. Their sound is a bleak and beautiful fusion of avant-garde black metal, ritual ambient, and sludge, occasionally punctuated by jazz and electronic elements. It is music that demands total focus and offers a unique, immersive experience.
Finally, the festival welcomes the raw energy of Seks W Czasach Wojny (transl.: Sex in Times of War). One of the most talked-about young punk crews in Poland, they have built a massive following through a strict DIY ethic and incendiary live shows that often outshine the veteran acts on the bill. Their inclusion brings a vital, fresh spirit to the 2026 lineup, proving that the future of the Polish punk scene is in safe hands.
Hells Bells Festival will take place in the heart of Szczecin, Poland, on 26-27 June 2026. The venue is the scenic Plac Gryfitów on Łasztownia, a historic island district in Szczecin known for its iconic “Craneosaurs” (historic port cranes) and stunning views of the Oder River. The festival will deliver a mix of international legends, top domestic acts and younger new bands.
Early bird weekend tickets have sold out but general weekend tickets are still available via the official festival website. In addition to standard passes, the festival offers reduced rates for minors (ages 13-18) and special family tickets (for children under 13 with a guardian).
Black metal outfit Doedsvangr unveil the first strike from their upcoming third full-length Within The Flesh; the new single ‘Black Sun Dissolution’ which is now streamingon all platforms. Alongside the track’s release, pre-orders for Within The Flesh are officially live ahead of the album’s release on the 10th of April via Soulseller Records.
Frontman Doedsadmiral comments on the track: “Raw, Wild, Complex.“
Forged in the Nordic underground, Doedsvangr have carved a singular path through the black metal landscape since their inception in 2014. Conceived by frontman Doedsadmiral as an outlet for uncompromising brutality and creative vision, the band quickly assembled a formidable lineup, drawing members from the ranks of Nordjevel and other storied acts.
The name Doedsvangr, meaning both “fields of death” and “dead womb”, serves as a fitting harbinger of the band’s sonic and thematic intent; to explore the bleakest corners of existence with unflinching honesty and raw power.
Doedsvangr’s journey began with the critically acclaimed debut Satan Ov Suns (2017), a record that seamlessly fused the atmospheres of Finnish and Norwegian black metal. In 2019, a new line-up was established, ushering in a new era of creative exploration. The following year saw the release of Serpents Ov Old, an album that deepened the band’s reputation for delivering eccentric, visceral black metal. The band’s live presence grew with a powerful release show in Oslo, joined by Blood Red Throne, Svarttjern and appearances at various festivals. In October 2022, the EP Koinonia was unleashed, further cementing their legacy.
Now, in 2026, Doedsvangr enter a new chapter with their third full-length album Within The Flesh, set for release this spring via Soulseller Records. Hailed by Doedsadmiral as their “most bizarre and raw album to date”, Within The Flesh promises a relentless journey. Unusual, eccentric, and uncompromising.
Track-list: 1. Devil Bites Man 2. Black Sun Dissolution 3. Omnipath 4. Within The Flesh 5. Blodskam 6. The Pentagram Upon My Mouth 7. Rites Of Thorns, Rise Of Flesh
SUBMASQ, formerly known as Subterranean Masquerade, today unveils their cover of Rammstein’s “Mutter,” through an exclusive video premiere hosted by MetalSucks, celebrating their Oedipus EP, out today.
After 25 years of musical exploration and boundary-pushing creativity, long-running Israeli progressive/alt metal outfit Subterranean Masquerade begins a bold new chapter having officially changed its name to SUBMASQ. By shortening its name to SUBMASQ, the band marks an evolution that reflects both its legacy and its future.
While SUBMASQ continues to complete their impending new album – the follow-up to their acclaimed Mountain Fever LP, released in 2021 via The Lasers Edge Group’s metal label Sensory Records – this week the band unveils their first release with the truncated moniker: A new cover EP titled Oedipus. The EP features three reimagined songs, all revolving around the shared theme of mothers, including Danzig’s “Mother,” Rammstein’s “Mutter,” and Genesis’ “Mama.” Produced and rearranged by the band, Oedipus was mixed and mastered by Arie Aranovich.
SUBMASQ nowpresents their Rammstein cover, the song here delivered in their native Yiddish tongue and delivered through a bizarre video directed by Yalon Schori.
Vocalist Vidi Dolev reveals, “Together with a poet specializing in Yiddish, my grandmother’s tongue, we recreated the song as ‘Mame,’ exploring the space between the Yiddishkeit image of the ‘Jewish mother’ and a possible transgressive subtext. The result is a respectful, concept-driven reinterpretation rather than just a cover.
“We also produced a low-budget music video for the piece… While modest in production, we hope it reflects a spirit and intensity inspired by Rammstein’s work.”
MetalSucks writes, “As you can hear in the cover below, ‘Mutter’ is transformed from a melancholy, yet epic song of loss and maternal betrayal to a more bizarre take on the song. Translated into Yiddish, the song somehow feels more downtrodden, more pained in its delivery. And while it definitely starts off slow and demure at first, there definitely comes a point where the more metal arrangement bursts in. It gets louder, more accusatory at times.”
Watch SUBMASQ’s video covering Rammstein’s “Mutter” first through MetalSucks RIGHT HERE.
Oedipus will be released on all digital platforms this Friday, February 13th. Preorders are up at Bandcamp HERE. If you missed it, watch the lyric video for SUBMASQ’s cover of Danzig’s “Mother” HERE.
With the new name comes a new professional chapter as well. SUBMASQ has signed with Nick Grima Management and is preparing to announce extensive European touring throughout 2026 and 2027.
SUBMASQ carries the spirit of Subterranean Masquerade into the future—refined, reenergized, and focused on what comes next. Watch for further developments to be announced shortly.
UK technical death metal stalwarts INGESTED will release their Denigration full-length on May 8th via Metal Blade Records.
For nearly two decades, Manchester’s INGESTED has stood as one of the UK’s most uncompromising forces in extreme metal. Champions of a sound that fuses precision brutality with increasingly dynamic songwriting, they’ve evolved from underground slam pioneers into a globally recognized, forward-driving powerhouse. With Denigration, the band begins a bold new chapter, one defined by reinvention, sharpened purpose and the arrival of a new voice at the helm.
At the core of this evolution remains founding members Sean Hynes (guitars, backing vocals) and Lyn Jeffs (drums), the creative backbone whose vision, chemistry, and relentless drive have powered Ingested since day one. They are joined by vocalist Josh Davies, guitarist/vocalist Andrew Virrueta, and bassist Thomas O’Malley, completing a lineup that delivers the band’s most dynamic and commanding work to date.
Produced by Nico Beninato at The Arch Studios in Southport, UK, Denigration captures INGESTED at their sharpest and most forward-thinking. The album’s visual identity is equally striking, featuring artwork by Giannis Nakos of Remedy Art Design, whose detailed, eerie imagery reflects the record’s thematic depth and ferocious tone.
Further amplifying its scope and intensity, Denigration includes standout collaborations such as “Merciless Reflection” (featuring Damonteal Harris of PeelingFlesh) and “Watch You Fold” (featuring John Gallagher of Dying Fetus), along with additional contributions from Skyler Conder (Cell) and Kyle Medina (Bodysnatcher).
Lyrically and sonically, Denigration is a reckoning. The album is about being ground down to your smallest, ugliest version and deciding whether to give in to or weaponize it. The result is a body of work that hits harder, cuts deeper, and showcases a band unafraid to evolve while honoring the relentless extremity that forged their name. The band comments, “Musically, it’s us pulling every thread we’ve laid down over the years, slam, groove, melody, blackened dissonance, and twisting it into something that feels like a definitive statement rather than a reset. This is the sound of being dragged through the dirt and refusing to stay there.“
Of the album’s lead single, “Merciless Reflection,” the band further elaborates, “‘Merciless Reflection’ lives inside the worst room in your head. The lyrics are a spiral of intrusive thoughts, religious disillusion, and self-loathing, that feeling of turning over the same ‘barbaric cycles’ until you don’t know if you’re chasing salvation or just feeding the disease. Faith is no comfort here; it’s another blade. The narrator is banished, molded into ‘nothing but a big mistake,’ picking through the wreckage of belief and realizing redemption was never guaranteed in the first place.
“Musically, this is a deliberate love letter to the era that formed us: straight-up, no-bullshit slam. It’s primitive in all the right way, knuckle-dragging riffs, caveman groove, sections built for bodies hitting the floor, but framed with the tightness and production we’ve grown into. Bringing in D from PeelingFlesh to deliver those disgusting, gurgling vocals was about honoring the sound we grew up on and planting our flag in it now. If you’ve ever wanted that old INGESTED ugliness back, this is us saying we never lost it, we just learned how to aim it.”
Denigration Track Listing; 01. Dragged Apart (feat. Skyler Conder of Cell) 02. Merciless Reflection (feat. Damonteal Harris of PeelingFlesh) 03. Watch You Fold (feat. John Gallagher of Dying Fetus) 04. Stitch by Stitch 05. We Are All Inherently Evil 06. Dredge the Dark (feat. Kyle Medina or Bodysnatcher) 07. Oaths Betrayed 08. Beaten Beyond the Veil 09. Steel Toe Truth 10. Cold Sun
INGESTED entered their new era with significant touring momentum. The band closed out 2025 with a crushing headlining run across the United States alongside Distant, Ov Sulfur, Cell, and Crucifiction, reaffirming their status as one of extreme metal’s most powerful live acts. To set the stage for Denigration, they will tour Europe with Bodysnatcher, Psycho-Frame, and Big Ass Truck. Upon the album’s release, INGESTED will return to the US as part of the Chaos & Carnage Tour alongside Thy Art Is Murder, Carnifex, Bodysnatcher, 200 Stab Wounds, Gates To Hell, and Bodybox. Tickets are on sale now. See all confirmed dates below.
INGESTED Live Co-Headlining w/ Bodysnatcher + Psycho-Frame, Big Ass Truck: 3/04/2026 Engine Rooms – Southampton, UK 3/05/2026 The Fleece – Bristol, UK 3/06/2026 Club Academy – Manchester, UK 3/07/2026 Slay – Glasgow, UK 3/09/2026 Limelight 2 – Belfast, UK 3/10/2026 Whelans – Dublin, IE 3/11/2026 The Key Club – Leeds, UK 3/12/2026 Rescue Rooms – Nottingham, UK 3/13/2026 Asylum – Birmingham, UK 3/14/2026 The Depo – Plymouth, UK 3/15/2026 The Garage – London, UK
Direct support to Bodysnatcher w/ Psycho-Frame, Big Ass Truck: 3/17/2026 Hole44 – Berlin, DE 3/18/2026 Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, DK 3/19/2026 Logo – Hamburg, DE 3/20/2026 Faust – Hannover, DE 3/21/2026 Rock Cafe – Prague, CZ 3/22/2026 Hydrozagadka – Warsaw, PL 3/24/2026 Szene – Vienna, AT 3/25/2026 Backstage – Munich, DE 3/26/2026 KiFF – Aarau, CH 3/27/2026 Dynamo – Eindhoven, NL 3/28/2026 Matrix -Bochum, DE 3/29/2026 Trix Club – Antwerp, BE
INGESTED: Chaos & Carnage Tour w/ Thy Art Is Murder, Carnifex, Bodysnatcher, 200 Stab Wounds, Gates To Hell, Bodybox: 5/02/2026 The Van Buren – Phoenix, AZ 5/03/2026 El Rey Theater – Albuquerque, NM 5/05/2026 Vibes Event Center – San Antonio, TX 5/06/2026 House Of Blues – Houston, TX 5/08/2026 Brooklyn Bowl – Nashville, TN 5/12/2026 The Fillmore – Charlotte, NC 5/13/2026 Nevermore Hall – Baltimore, MD 5/15/2026 Reverb – Reading, PA 5/17/2026 The Brooklyn Monarch – Brooklyn, NY 5/19/2026 Ramova Theatre – Chicago, IL 5/20/2026 Val Air Ballroom – Des Moines, IA 5/22/2026 Ogden Theatre – Denver, CO 5/23/2026 The Rockwell – Salt Lake City, UT 5/24/2026 Treefort Music Hall – Boise, ID 5/26/2026 Showbox SoDo – Seattle, WA 5/27/2026 Roseland Theater – Portland, OR 5/29/2026 UC Theatre – Berkeley, CA 5/30/2026 The Wiltern – Los Angeles, CA 5/31/2026 House Of Blues – Las Vegas, NV
INGESTED: Josh Davies – vocals Sean Hynes – guitars, backing vocals Andrew Virrueta – guitar, backing vocals Thomas O’Malley – bass Lyn Jeffs – drums
Volcano Records & Promotion is proud to announce the release on all digital platforms of “Carnivore Carnival”, the debut single by M.A.G.O. (My Absolute Greatest Obsession).
Formed in California in 2025 and currently based in Rome, M.A.G.O. operate within a sonic territory where hard rock, dark metal, and witchy atmospheres coexist in a magnetic and unsettling balance. “Carnivore Carnival” is a direct and hypnotic track, built on crushing riffs and a relentless groove that leads the listener into a ritualistic and primal dimension.
The project originates from the vision of songwriter Fabian Vestod, who handled vocals, guitars, bass, drums, and keyboards, shaping a compact sound with a strong and unmistakable identity. M.A.G.O. draw their roots from influences such as Black Sabbath, Danzig, and Dead Kennedys, reinterpreted through a dark aesthetic inspired by traditional Italian witchcraft—an element that also defines their powerful stage presence and live performance approach.
The band conceives the stage as a ritual space, where music and imagery merge into an intense and immersive experience. “Carnivore Carnival” anticipates the release of “Hail The Dead”, an album recorded at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco, and marks the official beginning of a journey that M.A.G.O. are ready to share with an international audience. The official video for the track is available on YouTube, vividly bringing to life the band’s dark and spellbinding imagery with intensity and symbolic power.
With “Det Sidste Nådeskys”, VANSIND deliver a dark and cinematic folk metal song and video steeped in loss, sacrifice, and inevitable reckoning, kicking off the promotion for their upcoming studio album, “Hævnen”. “Det Sidste Nådeskys” tells the tale of a Danish horde of plunderers taking advantage of the Swedish Kings absence, setting sail towards Svealand. But the women left behind will not tolerate the invasion, and are planning a cunning defence of their land. Who will end victorious? Strength alone will never decide the outcome.
Join the premiering here:
Vansind is based in Slagelse, Denmark, and was formed in the summer of 2019 as a folk-inspired metal band. All Vansind members’ musical background is vastly different, but they have a shared love for the music and a determination to add something special to the Danish folk metal scene.
Vansind’s upcoming studio album “Hævnen”, successor to “Mørket”, will be released on May, 1st, 2026.
Lineup: J. Asgaard – male vocals Line Burglin – female vocals Rikke Klint Johansen – keyboard, tin whistle, bagpipe Kirk Backarach – guitar Nikolaj Madsen – guitar James Atkin – bass Danni Lyse Jelsgaard – drums
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 ) 