California has always been fertile ground for thrash metal, leading the charge with some of the genre’s most legendary acts. San Diego’s NUKEM follows in the footsteps of thrash metal’s founding fathers, producing the kind of time-tested, neck-breaking thrash that invokes deep nostalgia while still sounding fresh and modern.
The thrashers are now pummeling fans with a performance video for the single “Policies of Hate,” which can now be found at THIS LOCATION.
The track is taken from the band’s new sophomore full-length, ‘The Grave Remains,’ which was released on April 10th, via Redefining Darkness. The album can be purchased in the U.S. HERE and the rest of the world HERE.
The artwork for ‘The Grave Remains’ was created by Megan Mushi and can be found below along with the tracklist.
Nukem is a Thrash metal force from San Diego, California, that delivers an honest, old school thrash attack. Formed in 2012, Nukem released their 2016 debut album “The Unholy Trinity,’ which was mixed & mastered by Ulrich Wild (Pantera, Static X, Dethklok, White Zombie) and was released via Sleaszy Rider Records out of Greece.
Nukem had entered the studio in 2024 once again with Ulrich Wild to work on our second album. Ten songs of pure molten metal! Some songs are full on unstoppable Bay Area style Thrash metal violence while others are more of a mid tempo power groove. Nukem has now forged a new union with Redefining Darkness for the release of their oncoming onslaught… stay tuned!
Recording Lineup: Steve Brogden – Vocals & Guitar Norm Leggio – Drums Don Lauder – Bass
Live Lineup: Steve Brogden – Vocals & Guitar Norm Leggio – Drums Don Lauder – Bass Xander Gambini – Guitar
Special Guests: Gary Holt (Exodus, Slayer) – Solo on ‘Empress of Evil’ Lee Altus (Exodus/Heathen) – Solo on ‘Don’t believe a word’ Rob Cavestany (Death Angel) – Solo on ‘Into the Kill Zone’ Russ Tippons (Satan) – Solo on ‘Random Acts of Violence’ Laura Christine (Dark Angel/Warface) – Solo on ‘Empress of Evil’
Cover Art: Megan Mushi
Produced by Steve Brogden & Nukem Recorded at The Wilderness with Ulrich Wild & Forge Audio with Steve Brogden Forge Audio with Steve Brogden Mixed by Ulrich Wild Mastered by Maor Appelbaum
For Fans Of: Exodus, Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Overkill
Italian trio SCONFITTA will release their debut album “Essere Nessuno” on May 1, 2026, marking the first official statement from a project built on the deliberate rejection of success, coherence and convention.
SCONFITTA has as its sole objective in failure.
By fluidly blending various niche musical genres, from hardcore punk to metal, passing through dark wave, post-punk, and jazz, we aim to be a dissonant and out-of-tune note in the paradoxically homogeneous and artificially harmonious chorus of protest music. In a system, both related to the music industry and life in general, that promotes the hegemony of ambition and considers victory the sole measure of excellence, even protest is stifled within traditionally predefined genres and languages, which end up neutralizing its revolutionary force by confining it to an uncritical and self-referential model.
The lyrics are important, and they are all political.
Shifting rapidly between feelings of anger, introspection, indignation, and reflection, “Essere Nessuno” speaks only to those and with those who have no interest in winning, only to those and with those who place the nobility of failure before success at all costs.
Schizophrenic music against standardized dissent.
FFO: Negazione, Mr Bungle, Refused, Hüsker Dü, and Johnny Dorelli (for non Italians, imagine some ‘70s nightclub jazzy vibes of sort). But all blended together.
Tracklist:
1) Sconfitta (3:33) 2) Brucia sempre così (2:34) 3) Senza esempi (3:27) 4) Buio nella mente (2:35) 5) Lunghe ombre (1:39) 6) Non un vizio di forma (2:01) 7) Essere nessuno (3:25)
SCONFITTA was born from a (bad) idea by Simone. After failing almost all of his previous musical incarnations (Antropofagus, Feed Them Death, Nganga, Grieving Sea, Pseudodoxia), he felt the need to create a new project to add to the long list of things no one else really needed. The nearly seven years spent with Giorgio (Derhead, Katiusha, Dual, Grieving Sea, Ultio) stubbornly sowing seeds of failure with the label Brucia Records became the blueprint on which the duo decided to lay the foundations for their new musical failure.
Last but not least, Enrico arrives to complete the debacle. Technically gifted and strangely showing no signs of obvious mental health issues, he is still a drummer and therefore plays and collaborates with various bands simultaneously (ExpiatoriA, IKITAN, The Healing Process, Derhead, and Noisext). He’s the most handsome and successful of the three, but he’ll lose by osmosis.
In just a few months, the trio has composed an album without rhyme or reason that’s unlikely to please anyone, and they’ve even topped it all off with a little book that no one will ever read.
Defeated, possibly, by name and by nature, but always by choice.
30 years since they first donned metal’s crown of horns, Cryptopsy remain insatiable as ever. The Montreal legends’ latest album, An Insatiable Violence, received their second nomination for Best Metal/Hard Music Album at this year’s JUNO Awards, a category they won two years ago. Now, as they prepare to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their Decibel Hall of Fame inducted album, None So Vile, with a headlining run on this year’s Decibel Magazine Tour, Cryptopsy are proving once more why they are the most vile band in death metal.
Today, Cryptopsy are releasing the uncensored version of the music video for “Malicious Needs”, the second single and harrowing finale of An Insatiable Violence. While initially labeled too vile for unfiltered consumption on YouTube, the uncensored video fully reveals the explicit desires feeding our digital fantasies.
“‘Malicious Needs’ is the last song that we wrote for An Insatiable Violence and right away, we were all completely enamored with it”, Cryptopsy vocalist Matt McGachy says. “We are thrilled to finally unleash the fully uncensored version of the video, which brings the dystopian horror story behind our latest album writhing and screaming into the light! Come see us perform this song during our headline set on this year’s Decibel Magazine Tour, which starts this month! ”.
“Between the strength of the material on their latest release, An Insatiable Violence, and the anniversary celebration of their landmark, None So Vile, 2026 is clearly the year of Peak Cryptopsy”, Decibel Magazine’s Editor-In-Chief Albert Mudrian says. “We couldn’t be more honored to bring the band’s paramount present and potent past together to headline this year’s Decibel Magazine Tour”.
Chat with Matt McGachy ahead of Cryptopsy’s headline run on The Decibel Magazine Tour during this Saturday’s Reddit AMA.
Cryptopsy Reddit AMA r/TechnicalDeathMetal Saturday, April 18 @ 1 pm Eastern Time
The Decibel Magazine Tour 2026 with Cryptopsy (celebrating 30 years of None So Vile), Necrot, Fulci and Blood Monolith
April 30 – Worcester, MA @ Palladium (Upstairs) [TICKETS] May 1 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Monarch [TICKETS] May 2 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage [TICKETS] May 3 – Philadelphia, PA @ Decibel Metal & Beer Philly [TICKETS] May 5 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell) [TICKETS] May 7 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall [TICKETS] May 8 – Dallas, TX @ The Studio [TICKETS] May 9 – Austin, TX @ Come And Take It Live [TICKETS] May 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Belasco [TICKETS] May 13 – San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick [TICKETS] May 14 – Berkeley, CA @ Cornerstone [TICKETS] May 16 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater [TICKETS] May 17 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon [TICKETS] May 20 – Denver, CO @ Oriental Theater [TICKETS] May 22 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe [TICKETS] May 23 – Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge [TICKETS] May 24 – Detroit, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom [TICKETS] May 25 – Cleveland, OH @ The Grog Shop [TICKETS] May 26 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Preserving Underground [TICKETS] May 27 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace [TICKETS] May 28 – Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre [TICKETS]
An Insatiable Violence, None So Vile and other albums from Cryptopsy’s fearsome discography are now available through Season of Mist
Tracklist 1. The Nimis Adoration (4:10) 2. Until There’s Nothing Left (3:59) [WATCH] 3. Dead Eyes Replete (3:57) [WATCH] 4. Fools Last Acclaim (3:26) 5. The Art of Emptiness (4:16) 6. Our Great Deception (4:21) 7. Embrace the Nihility (3:50) 8. Malicious Needs (5:52) [WATCH]
More than 30 years into their storied career, Montreal death metal innovators Cryptopsy return with their ninth studio album, An Insatiable Violence, set for release on June 20, 2025 on Season of Mist.
Revered in extreme metal circles for such groundbreaking classics as 1994’s Blasphemy Made Flesh and the 1996 magnum opus None So Vile, Cryptopsy find yet another gear on An Insatiable Violence, which further solidifies the band’s place in the upper echelon of death metal. Coming out of the pandemic, the band dedicated themselves to staying on top of their game more than ever before, with the intention of consistently putting out a new record every two years. That started with 2023’s acclaimed As Gomorrah Burns, and continues 21 months later with An Insatiable Violence.
“We had to write the majority of An Insatiable Violence while on the Death to All tour, which was something we’d never done before”, vocalist Matt McGachy says. “Flo [Mounier, drums] and Chris [Donaldson, guitar] really put their hats on. It was a feat”.
“Ever since COVID our focus is clearer, a lot of work gets done faster, and we push each other to get it done.”, Mounier says.
In addition to featuring some of the fastest passages Cryptopsy has ever recorded – keen listeners will even hear the odd gravity blast from Mounier, a rarity from the virtuoso drummer – the controlled chaos of their signature sound is offset by well-timed passages that ease off the gas pedal enough to allow listeners to come up for some air. That dynamic rage on An Insatiable Violence in turn makes the more aggressive moments hit even harder, which is immediately noticeable on the harrowing “Until There’s Nothing Left” and the chugging closing track “Malicious Needs”. Olivier Pinard anchors “Fools Last Acclaim” with stunning authority (keeping pace with Mounier is an unenviable task) while Donaldson offsets gnarly, atonal riffs with melodic passages throughout the record. “It’s a continuation of As Gomorrah Burns,” McGachy says, “We really wanted to make a groovy record, and we think we’ve done it.”
It seems as though nothing is scarier than real life right now, and An Insatiable Violenceis a commentary on today’s society as though filtered through the transgressive, countercultural perspectives of J.G. Ballard and David Cronenberg.
“It all came to me in a dream in August 2023,” elaborates McGachy. “I woke up, I took my phone, and I wrote down the title of the record. It’s about a person that wakes up every day and fixes a machine. Tinkers with it, tries to make it better all day long, sweating in the sun, and then at night, they strap themself into this machine and the machine tortures them, and they love it. Then they wake up the next day and fix it again to make it more efficient, to keep harnessing it, and then just keep doing it over and over again.
While fantastically twisted, An Insatiable Violence mirrors our toxic relationship with social media. “We’re continuously trying to feed this algorithm of the machine while it’s totally tearing us apart socially and psychologically”, McGachy continues. “’The Nimis Adoration’ is about mukbang, these Korean people that eat too much food on the Internet. Piles and piles of food. A poor girl died on a live cam”.
At the center of the album is the mind-boggling percussion skill of Mounier, arguably the most imposing Canadian drummer not named Peart, who dominates such standout tracks as “Dead Eyes Replete”, “Fools Last Acclaim”, and “Embrace the Nihility”. “I look at Flo as an Olympic athlete,” says McGachy. “I want to push this guy to go a lot faster than Cryptopsy’s previous releases. We have so much more to give, and I wanted just drain it all out of him while he’s still at the top of his game, because he is. He’s crushing.”
“I mix up a lot of a physical activity, like resistance training into the drumming,” Mounier says. “I recently developed new techniques that make it easier to go even faster, so I tried to push that on this album. My focus is now more on dynamics and the touch of the snare, a certain snap of the snare, a rim shot on the snare, the toms, a light touch or a hard touch. Live, I can really let go, you know, give the sound guy a hard time,” he adds with a laugh.
For McGachy, who has always boasted a powerful, guttural death growl, the rigors of touring have enabled him to evolve as a vocalist, and he turns in a revelatory performance on An Insatiable Violence. In addition to ear-scraping screams that rival George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, McGachy unleashes the deepest, filthiest death growls of his career. “Gomorrah was the first album that I recorded with my full false chord scream, which is something that I’d only just touched on The Book of Suffering: Tome II in little sections,” he says. “We did at least 140 shows since Gomorrah. I exclusively did my false chords during all the songs that we performed on None So Vile and Blasphemy Made Flesh. And then, when we did go into the studio for An Insatiable Violence, Chris would be like, ‘Deeper, you must go deeper!’”
Another fearsome vocalist from Cryptopsy’s lore pops back into the booth on An Insatiable Violence. “When we were recording the vocals for ‘Embrace the Nihility’, Chris had the idea of ending the song with the same vocal pattern as the end of ‘…and Then It Passes’”, McGachy remembers. “We figured if we were going to rip ourselves off, then we may as well get the real thing. We were honored that Mike DiSalvo accepted. We are all huge fans of Cryptopsy’s DiSalvo era. His vocals on this album are an ultra Easter egg for our fans”.
In addition to the effusive praise As Gomorrah Burns received from within the metal scene, the 2023 album achieved a first for Cryptopsy: earning them their first ever JUNO Award in 2024 for Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year. “We had little-to-no expectations of winning” says McGachy. ”We didn’t even go to the ceremonies because we were on tour in Europe with Atheist. On the day we found out that we won, we had a crazy 18-hour drive from Derby to Germany, plus a ferry ride. But we still partied for 48 hours. Flo bought an expensive bottle of champagne”.
Cryptopsy recognize that not every death metal band sticks around long enough to win a Canadian Grammy 30 years into their career. The cover art for An Insatiable Violence was created by the late, great vocalist Martin Lacroix. “The album artwork has got to be one of the most important things to us!”, the band says. “Martin Lacroix was one of our vocalists, one of our great friends and one of the nicest people that anyone could have the privilege to meet. We really wish he was here with us to share this moment. His perfect smile would say it all! Rest in peace brother”.
With Cryptopsy’s latest career renaissance showing no signs of slowing down, the recent accolades are only the beginning. An Insatiable Violence reaches a new peak in a career loaded with them.
Lineup Flo Mounier – Drums Matt McGachy – Vocals Christian Donaldson – Guitar Oli Pinard – Bass
Guest Musicians Mike DiSalvo performs vocals on “Embrace the Nihility”
Recording, Mixing & Mastering Studio Christian Donaldson’s Studio
Production, Sound & Mixing Engineer Christian Donaldson
When you’re looking for a great guitar solo, you need a great guitarist to play it. Thats what William Shatner thought as he was playing through the early material he has already gathered for his upcoming Metal album, and that’s exactly what he did.
Shatner was listening back to “The Grim Reaper,” a new song that he cowrote with guitarist Marcus Nand, and while he was personally happy with the performance, he also sent their demo to the Rainbow/Deep Purple legend to ask what he thought, and what he might do different.
Ritchie got back to him directly. ““The guitar solo on what you sent is very good. I don’t feel I can add anything to change or improve it.”
So Nand, already widely regarded as one of the best, if under-rated, guitarists on the current scene, known for his refined, tasteful playing style, takes one more giant step towards immortality. Ritchie, after all, is renowned for his refusal to accept second best… if he says something’s good, you’d better believe it’s good.
And Nand is good, his eclectic upbringing formulating a style that spans the flamenco traditions of Spain, the soulful depths of blues, and the raw power of rock. This unique blend has garnered him significant recognition, notably through his work with long-time David Bowiesideman Mike Garson; the metal band Freak Of Nature, featuring Mike Tramp; and the world music-infused rock ensemble Ziroq, alongside another Bowie veteran, bassist Carmine Rojas.
Blackmore, who has previously collaborated on two William Shatner albums, the Blues and Christmas albums, also expressed his gratitude for being considered for this new project and conveyed his encouragement.
And so work continues apace on this most eagerly-awaited of albums, but if you can’t wait to hear just how good a guitarist Nand is, catch his debut solo album The Traveler, released in 2024 by Cleopatra Records. Garson, Tramp and Rojas all appear on the album, alongside Billy Idol collaborator Steve Stevens.
Wormholedeath is proud to announce the signing of Canada’s premier Symphonic Power Metal Opera force, LIVA, for the worldwide reissue of their masterful album, Ecce Mundus, due for release on May 29, 2026.
Ten years after their previous release, Liva returns with a new album, Ecce Mundus (“This is the world”). According to composer Pier Carlo Liva, this is his most ambitious work since Requiem (2002).
The album pushes the band’s signature blend of power metal and classical music even further. Expansive sonic exploration and detailed orchestration open up a broader instrumental scope. Liva also returns to Latin texts, drawing from medieval sources and themes rooted in Antiquity. The record explores the glory of Rome, the story of Samson and Delilah, and enduring human flaws such as greed, corruption, and hypocrisy—issues that remain unchanged from ancient times to today.
Known for its symphonic power metal opera approach, Liva is among the first Canadian acts to merge classical music and metal in this format.
The lineup on the new album features Nadine Guertin (soprano), Pier Carlo Liva (death and tenor vocals, guitars, electronics), Martin Tremblay (bass), and Claude Lacroix (drums). Following the recording, Philippe Leblanc joined the band as the new drummer.
Liva’s back catalog includes Requiem (2002), a heavy metal interpretation of the Latin requiem mass; De Insulis (2007), based on the Latin texts of 12th-century theologian Alain de Lille; and Human Abstract (2013). In March 2002, the band performed live with a 13-piece chamber orchestra for a Radio-Canada broadcast. The following year, they received the MIMI award for “artiste le plus avant-gardiste” (most avant-garde artist), recognizing their fusion of classical and metal.
Over the years, Liva has shared the stage with acts such as Voivod, Gorguts, Nightwish, Kataklysm, and Therion.
The album also features key collaborators. Christophe Pilon contributed orchestrations, while Christophe Viau created the album artwork. Long-time collaborator Patrick Bouchard, who has worked with the band since 2002, handled the graphic design.
Ecce Mundus was recorded and mixed by Pier Carlo Liva at Magic Forest Studio. Mastering was completed by Maxime Lacroix at House of Gain Studio.
Tracklist: 1-De avaritia et luxuria mundi 2-Materiae summa 3-Ecce mundus demundatur 4-Sunt 3m34s 5-Samson & Dalila I 6-Samson & Dalila II 7-Obscura 😯 Roma nobilis 9-Silence
Experience the power and grandeur of Ecce Mundus through the video for “Samson & Dalila, Pt. 1″:
Denmark’s finest AOR export, Boys From Heaven, unveil today a new single, “Hold Your Heart”, along with an official video, ahead of their upcoming third studio album, “The Wanderer”, set for release on May 22, 2026, via Frontiers Music Srl.
The band commented: “Every great rock album needs a grand ballad. “Hold Your Heart” is the hopeful melancholic flipside to our previous single. Where “How Long” was a tale of regret, “Hold You Heart” is the hopeful story of a hopeless romantic, the longingly naive inner monologue of a dreamer. And if the saxophone fade-out towards the end doesn’t immediately transport you to a simpler, more carefree time, then we don’t know what will!”
“The Wanderer” marks a significant milestone for Boys From Heaven, as their debut release for Frontiers Music. Known for their unique blend of 80s rock nostalgia and fresh, forward-thinking songwriting, the band continues to carve out their own niche – one that evokes the timeless class of Toto, the smooth sophistication of the L.A. soft rock scene, and their own Scandinavian melodic sensibility.
Produced by frontman Chris Catton together with the band, and mixed and mastered by genre heavyweight Erik Martensson (Eclipse, W.E.T.), this new chapter sees Boys From Heaven refining their sound to its purest form.
The result is an album that shines with lush, almost luxurious arrangements, velvety layers of keys and sax, pristine harmonies, and melodies that stay with you long after the music stops.
The band stated: “Recording the last record ourselves and having Erik Martensson take care of mixing and mastering was a winning combination, so we had no doubt that we wanted to do the same thing with “The Wanderer”.
“With the new album we’ve leaned even harder into that 1980’s synthesizer-driven power rock sound, and our fans can definitely look forward to an album which is high-energy right from the first chord is struck, all the way to when the last note has rung out”, they added. “We can’t wait to share it with you all!”
With special guest contributions from Lucas Szczyrbak (bass) and Michael Catton (background vocals), the album is a true ensemble effort, executed with taste, precision, and emotion. From the first track to the last, the band demonstrates their deep respect for the genre’s legacy while injecting it with rich textures, impeccable songwriting, and a clarity of vision that’s rare in modern melodic rock.
Warm yet vibrant, technical yet deeply human, this album confirms that Boys From Heaven are not just students of AOR – they’re master craftsmen.
“The Wanderer” Tracklist:
1. I’ll Wait 2. Hotline 3. Hold Your Heart 4. Street Life 5. Say Goodbye 6. How Long 7. Eileen 8. I Will Never Let You Down 9. Time Is On Our Side 10. Till The Bitter End
Line Up: Chris Catton – Lead vocals Jonas Klintström Larsen – Saxophone Mads Noyé – Keyboards Mads Schaumann – Guitar and backing vocals Søren Viig Mathiesen – Drums
Guests: Lucas Szczyrbak – Bass Michael Catton – Background vocals
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
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