Combat Records are proud to announce the signing of the sleazy thrash outfit, Osiris Rex from Tampere, Finland. Combing elements of catchy old school thrash with classic heavy metal and a pinch of modern death, served with over the top guitar solo’s. Osiris Rex are not your father’s thrash! We will be releasing/re-releasing their four track debut EP, “Arrival of the new Dawn” some time this.
In the meantime, the band are currently finishing the songwriting for their debut album “By Order of the Prophet” which they will be recording at the end of the year at Miehola Studio’s under the watchful eye of Korpiklaani main man, Jonne Järvelä, who will be producing.
Vocalist Superstar Joey Severance, on behalf of the band had this to say: I’ve been a fan of Combat Records since the olden days and we are extremely grateful for the opportunity to represent such a classic label.
We look forward to releasing high quality Metal to the public and hopefully one day taking it to them straight to the stage! We are also looking forward to helping participate in putting Combat Records back on the map after all this time. Metal, forever!
Osiris Rex are: Superstar Joey Severance – Vocals John Creweholm – Lead Guitar V. Grave – Lead Guitar Henry Steel – Bass Jerry Iron – Drums
Florida rock band Gunshine released their fourth track, “Finite,” offering fans a taste of their forthcoming full-length album, Grand Rising, due out digitally on July 24 through vnclm_ / Create Music Group.
“‘Finite’ is one of my favorite tracks off the new record. I wrote all the vocal melodies and the riff while actually working on a different song. I then dropped what I was working on and finished writing the melodies, riff, and arrangement for what became ‘Finite’. I thought it had a powerful, driving feel to it, but with a super melodic chorus which is what I’m naturally drawn towards,” shares Austin Ingerman.
He adds, “The title ‘Finite’ was inspired by a book I was reading called ‘Four Thousand Weeks’ where it mentioned multiple times in the book ‘We’re so finite’, advising people to try their best to value life’s special moments and to not stress too much about work and finances, etc. Our time is limited and if you’re always seeking ‘the next thing’, the present moment will pass you by. Jordan and I then sat down and finished writing the lyrics together. This song was one of the first ones completed for the album.”
The song was tracked in Las Vegas with producer/engineer Chris Collier. Chris also mixed and mastered the track, as well as, the whole record.
While the digital release of Grand Risingarrives later this summer, fans won’t have to wait long to get their hands on the record. Physical copies of the album, including CD and double vinyl editions, alongside exclusive Gunshine merchandise, are available for purchase online at https://gunshine.diggers.store/ The CD and double vinyl will also be sold through the band at upcoming live shows.
“We tracked the whole record, (except “Goth Girl” and “Single Looks Good On You”), in Las Vegas with producer/mixer Chris Collier (Korn, Mick Mars, Whitesnake, Lynchmob). I’ve been working with Chris for about 9 years now. He’s incredibly talented, has a great ear, and adds a heavy hitting production value that makes the songs sonically translate very well,” says Austin Ingerman. Hailing from Pensacola, Florida,Gunshinehave built a reputation on catchy vocal melodies, clever lyrics, blistering guitar riffs and solos, and a lethal rhythm section. Their sound blends edgy, raw Rock ’n’ Roll attitude with a melodic, Pop-forward sensibility, creating music that hits hard while remaining instantly memorable. Combined with theirhigh-energy, commanding live performances, Gunshine continue to enthrall listeners and prove themselves a force to be reckoned with.
With Grand Rising,Gunshine raise the bar yet again in an exciting evolution of the band. The album takes listeners on a dynamic journey filled with genre-bending twists and turns, shifting moods, and unexpected vibes—all while staying true to the core elements that set Gunshine apart. Featuring 13 tracks, each single-worthy in its own right, Grand Risingis poised to become a modern-day rock classic.
Tracklisting: Grand Rising Finite Goth Girl Single Looks Good On You My Oh Miley Mystery Man Down Leave the Light On I Know You Love Me Capt’n Save a Hoe Shark Lounge (feat. Michael Starr) Valentine Table Dancing
Maltese black metal entity SAĦĦAR has announced the release of its new full-length album, “Migja ta Mohh Mignun”, set to arrive on June 12th, 2026 via Time To Kill Records.
Following the project’s recent signing with the label, the album marks a significant step forward in SAĦĦAR’s artistic evolution, further refining a sound rooted in isolation, heritage and a deeply personal vision. Emerging from a scene far removed from the genre’s traditional strongholds, SAĦĦAR continues to carve out a distinct identity within the contemporary black metal landscape.
“Migja ta Mohh Mignun” expands on the project’s established sonic framework, blending harsh intensity with subtle melodic layers and a pervasive sense of decay. The result is a work that feels both immersive and unsettling, enveloping the listener in a bleak, almost otherworldly atmosphere.
Balancing aggression and introspection, the album pushes deeper into expressive territory while remaining faithful to the raw essence that has defined SAĦĦAR’s output so far, offering a compelling glimpse into the next phase of its evolution.
“Every sorcerer who displays their power attracts the eyes of unwelcome folk. That’s how the Sorcerer Falzun was eventually summoned from his palace and forced to face the Inquisitor, only for Falzun to fool the Inquisitor and disappear. His heresies were true, his power unfathomable. This is the 4th chapter from the concept album ‘Miġja ta’ Moħħ Miġnun’ (Journey of a mad mind), a journey is filled with occult rites, supernatural encounters, where in the end, this quest leaves Falzun both cursed and exalted; a figure suspended between madness, immortality, and damnation”.
Tracklist:
01. L-Għatxan 02. Għerf Minsi 03. It-Tarf tal-Kożmu u ta’ Ruħi 04. Fil-Palazz Sejjaħtilhom 05. Il-Miġja sa Sqallija 06. Ftakar fija! 07. L-Antikrist il-Ġdid (bonus tracks for CD only) 08. Id-Dinja Taħt Pajjżi 09. L-Imlejka
SAĦĦAR began as the brainchild of Marton Saliba, with the aim of creating harsh and extreme music rooted in black metal. From the outset, the project has balanced raw, blast-beat-driven tracks with more mid-tempo material enriched by synths and samples, often blending these elements together. Most of the lyrics are written in Maltese, SAĦĦAR’s native language. The first demo, “Genesis of Demise”, followed a year later by the album “Maġija Sewda”, gained attention both locally and within the wider underground scene during the MySpace era.
Following the well-received split “Thine Triumphant Death” and a subsequent album that was never officially released, SAĦĦAR entered an indefinite hiatus. The project returned in 2013 with renewed intensity through the EP “Mera Mkissra”, showcasing a stronger focus on folklore elements, mid-tempo pacing, and synth-heavy arrangements. From then on, SAĦĦAR maintained a steady output, releasing an average of one EP or album per year until 2020, when the pandemic brought activities to a halt—though writing and studio work continued in preparation for future releases.
The release of the 2015 album “Kruha u Kefrija” also marked SAĦĦAR’s live debut, leading to performances supporting acts such as Destroyer 666, black metal legends Mayhem, and industrial outfit Gothminister. During the pandemic, SAĦĦAR remained active by contributing to online events, including Metal Injection’s “Slayathome” series and the Grimfest online festival.
In early 2020, SAĦĦAR was nominated at the Malta Music Awards in both the “Metal” and “Album in Maltese” categories for “Qilla tal-Qrun”, which was well received within the scene. In late 2022, the project embarked on its first tour with a live lineup, spanning nine consecutive days across four countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania), marking an important step forward in its live evolution.
SAĦĦAR’s sound can be described as “ruinous” black metal—combining grand, larger-than-life symphonic elements with minimal, almost doom-like riffs, as well as intense tremolo-driven passages and ambient, synth-based compositions. This wide-ranging approach is reflected in a discography of over 100 songs. Lyrical themes range from occult and folklore-inspired narratives to death, misanthropic catastrophes, and occasional critiques of organized religion.
Following the 1975 Relayer tour, the members of YES took a hiatus for each of the five members to produce solo albums. For lead vocalist JON ANDERSON, it meant bringing a mobile recording unit to his home in Buckinghamshire, UK, to create a self-produced album where he played all of the instruments, assisted by YES sound engineer Mike Dunne. The result was ‘Olias of Sunhillow,’ which was released by Atlantic Records on July 9, 1976, debuting at #8 on the UK album charts and #47 on the Billboard top 200.
JON comments on the upcoming release:
“The dream of Olias was to spend time learning how to play the numerous instruments I had collected over a period of time… which I kept in my garage…..ranging from guitars, Koto and ethnic flute instruments, harp and percussion to modern electronic keyboards.
I had sketched out the framework of a story relating to the power of music and connected to the Seven Sisters star system, The Pleiades.
“All very simple, really. The evolution of the idea took me on an everlasting mission, driving me a bit crazy but nonetheless a satisfying experience which has stood the test of time….hoping you enjoy the journey!
“Best wishes, Jon🙏”
With long-time YES artist Roger Dean not available, JON enlisted artist David Fairbrother-Roe, who was recommended to JON by a friend, to create the elaborate packaging for the album.
This July, Mobile Fidelity, a label known for high-end audio releases, will be rereleasing ‘Olias of Sunhillow’ on 180gram vinyl.
About the re-release, Mobile Fidelity states:
“Jon Anderson’s ‘Olias of Sunhillow’ is a cult classic. Strictly limited to 2,000 numbered copies and featuring deluxe packaging that replicates the original gatefold jacket with an inner hinged panel and embossed textures, Mobile Fidelity’s 50th anniversary reissue is only the second domestic vinyl version of the concept album since its 1976 release. Preorder your 180g 33RPM LP copy now!”
EMPTINESS, the Belgian extreme music apparition founded in Brussels in 1998, will release their seventh full-length album, Nowhere Speaks, through Season of Mist. The record spans ten tracks and opens not with an introduction but with continuation: the first sound heard is a riff picked up mid-bar, precisely where their 2014 album Nothing But The Whole ended in abrupt, unexplained silence. That break, long discussed among the band’s following, was not a mistake. Nowhere Speaks resolves it by entering the gap and closes by looping back to the opening riff of Nothing But The Whole, sealing the two records into a deliberate cycle.
Between those structural anchors, the album builds a world defined entirely on its own terms: a dimension removed from all human presence, governed by forces and energies that operate without acknowledgment of whoever is listening.
The music recorded for Nowhere Speaks is dense, live, and physically present in a way that distinguishes it sharply from its predecessor. Where Vide (2021) was distortion-free, sung in French, and recorded in the isolated conditions of the pandemic, the new album returns to weight, intensity, and a full-band physicality. The entire record, with the exception of vocals, keyboards and additional effects, was captured live in the studio after four years of preparation, testing and rehearsal. The result has a coiled, inhabited quality: the pressure is not processed or applied in post; it is played.
Nowhere Speaks does not ask to be understood. It asks to be entered.
Nowewhere Speaks is out July 17th, 2026 via Season of Mist.
Tracklist: 1. Nothing but the Whole (Part 2) (01:19) 2. The Threat (04:07) 3. Nowhere Speaks (05:37) 4. Darkness Commands (01:02) 5. Words to Wind (08:24) 6. One Must See All (01:29) 7. When the Whole Arrives (05:43) 8. The Clash of Forces (03:08) 9. Next in Line (04:15) 10. All for Nothing (06:37) Full runtime: 41:44
With Nowhere Speaks, EMPTINESS descends into a dimension stripped of all human trace, a place governed by its own silent logic, where unfamiliar forces and energies move with intent that has nothing to do with the listener. The album does not narrate; it confronts. Its opening track, “Nothing But The Whole (Part 2)”, begins mid-riff, picking up exactly where Nothing But The Whole (2014) cut off, the abrupt ending that baffled fans for years and became one of the more discussed gestures in underground metal. The closing track of Nowhere Speaks then returns to the opening riff of that same 2014 record, completing a deliberate loop between the two albums, beginning and ending inside each other. It is the band’s central idea made structural: nothing and everything at the same time, a cycle with no fixed point. After the stark withdrawal of Vide (2021), distortion-free and sung in French, this is a return to density, weight and immersive intensity, recorded live in the studio after four years of preparation, and entirely unconcerned with making its listener comfortable.
Founded in Brussels, Belgium in 1998, EMPTINESS set out with a clear and uncompromising intention: to explore darkness not as aesthetic but as territory. Drawing from black and death metal as departure points rather than destinations, the band approached extreme music with an experimental orientation from the start, shaping a sound that resisted easy classification. Early demos established a presence in the underground, their reception confirming that something distinct was forming in the Belgian capital.
The debut full-length Guilty to Exist(2004) laid the foundation, establishing the band’s identity without yet fully realizing its potential. Oblivion(2007) was where that potential first arrived completely: a record of exceptional production depth, commanding guitar work and a heaviness of atmosphere that made it, in retrospect, one of the defining metal releases of that year.
Error (2012), released through Dark Descent Records, pushed further into dissolution and atmosphere, sacrificing structural clarity in favour of immersion. Menacing, dissonant and unrelenting, it cleared space for what came next.
Nothing But The Whole (2014) was the album that opened EMPTINESS to a broader critical audience and remains their most discussed and celebrated statement from that first phase. Strange, hypnotic and formally resistant to genre convention, it held the raw force of extreme metal while stripping back its mechanics, allowing texture, dread and silence to carry weight where blast beats and tremolo picking had previously stood. Its closing moment, a riff severed mid-phrase as though the record had simply ceased to exist, drew years of speculation from listeners. It was not an error. It was a promise deferred.
Not For Music(2017), the band’s first release through Season of Mist, represented a categorical departure. Moving away from extreme metal frameworks entirely, the album drew on goth rock, coldwave, industrial and post-punk, pursuing a palette of dark music that felt fully inhabited rather than borrowed. Recorded at the band’s own Blackout Studio in Brussels, its final form was shaped with the involvement of Jeordie White (MARILYN MANSON, A PERFECT CIRCLE, NINE INCH NAILS), with mixing and mastering by Sean Beavan (GUNS N’ ROSES, NIN, SLAYER). The resulting record reached audiences well beyond the metal world, confirming EMPTINESS as a serious proposition across multiple scenes.
Vide (2021) took the band’s trajectory to its most formally radical point. Recorded in isolation, across apartments, a cabin in the woods and a Brussels rooftop, sung entirely in French and stripped of all distortion, it was a claustrophobic document of confinement and perceptual dislocation. The surrounding global context only reinforced the collapse between the inner world being constructed and the one outside. EMPTINESS performed the album in its entirety at Roadburn Redux 2021, a pairing that confirmed their standing within the avant-garde and experimental underground as precisely as any review could.
Since then, EMPTINESS has operated with complete artistic autonomy. Jérémie Bézier oversees all aspects of production, while Olivier J.L.W. directs the visual dimension of the project in its entirety. What had long been an internal dynamic became fully asserted: a closed circuit where sound and image are conceived, shaped and finalized from within.
Nowhere Speaks is not a return. After the most introverted and isolated record of their career, the band opens outward into density and live intensity. The album, developed over an extended period of time, was composed by Jérémie Bézier and Olivier J.L.W., who oversee its production across both sonic and visual dimensions, bringing the work to completion as a unified whole, committed to tape live in the studio. The structural conceit of opening mid-riff from where Nothing But The Whole ended, and closing with that album’s opening riff, is not nostalgia. It is the same logic that has always governed EMPTINESS: the cycle without a fixed point, beginning and ending inside each other, nothing and everything at the same time. The band has spent years demonstrating that they do not move in straight lines. Nowhere Speaks is a continuation from a point the listener was not meant to forget.
Line-up: Jérémie Bezier — Vocals, Bass Olivier J.L.W. — Guitars Simon L. — Guitars Dea Hydra — Synths Laye Louhenapessy — Drums
Frontiers Music Srl is pleased to announce the signing of The L.I.F.E. Project, the dynamic collaboration between guitarist and songwriter Josh Rand (Stone Sour) and powerhouse vocalist Casandra Carson (Paralandra, Casandra’s Crossing).
This new partnership marks an important step forward for the band, bringing their musical vision to a broader international audience. With Frontiers Music Srl’s support and a new album on its way, The L.I.F.E. Project is set to further expand its reach and continue building on its distinctive sound.
Josh Rand commented: “I’m pleased to announce that The L.I.F.E. Project will be joining the Frontiers family. It was important to me to be on a label that wanted to be cutting edge in the industry, but still have that mom and pop relationship with the artist. I’m looking forward to working with Jeff and Tom to bring The L.I.F.E. Project to our loyal fans!”
Jeff Stevenson, General Manager at Frontiers Label Group, added: “We’re incredibly proud to welcome The L.I.F.E. Project to the label. From the moment we heard the new music created by Josh and Casandra, it was clear they continue to bring a unique vision and emotional depth that aligns perfectly with our mission here at Frontiers. We’re excited to partner with them and help bring their artistry to a larger global audience.”
Born from a shared musical vision and an undeniable creative chemistry, The L.I.F.E. Project represents a fresh and compelling artistic union. While Rand had long envisioned launching a female-fronted project, it wasn’t until 2020 – when a mutual connection introduced him to Carson – that the idea truly began to take shape. What started as an exploratory collaboration quickly evolved into something far more meaningful, laying the groundwork for a project driven by purpose and artistic synergy.
Musically, The L.I.F.E. Project fuses Rand’s signature heavy riffs and affinity for strong melodic hooks with Carson’s commanding and versatile vocal delivery. Drawing inspiration from classic metal, thrash, and progressive influences, the project channels the raw energy and spirit that first inspired Rand to pick up the guitar, while offering Carson the opportunity to explore new sonic and emotional territories.
Over time, the band has crafted a distinct sound that balances intensity with accessibility, underpinned by a natural creative partnership. Their material reflects a thoughtful and organic development process, allowing ideas to evolve freely and cohesively.
Lyrically, The L.I.F.E. Project sets itself apart by venturing beyond traditional rock themes, embracing broader narratives and concepts. Their songs often draw from history, social issues, and real-world tensions, exploring themes such as empowerment, resistance, and societal challenges. This approach adds depth and substance to their music, complementing its powerful sonic foundation.
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
Ads
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 ) 