Employing a dazzling mix of glam rock, hard rock, and progressive rock, ANGEL‘s outrageous, white-satin-heavy image and equally over-the top stage shows, making them one of the more colorful arena rock bands of the mid-’70s and early ’80s. Discovered by KISS bass player, Gene Simmons, the group issued their eponymous debut album in 1975, which hewed closer to prog rock than the glam pop that would be on future endeavors like White Hot (1978) and Sinful (1979). The group released a total of five studio albums and one live album before going their separate ways in 1981. The band officially re-formed in 2019 with original members, Punky Meadows and Frank DiMino, and released their comeback studio effort, Risen, later that October and followed up with Once Upon A Time in 2023.
The group’s sophomore album Helluva Band was originally released in 1976 for Casablanca Records with a line-up comprising of Frank DiMino (vocals), Punky Meadows (guitar), Gregg Giuffria (keyboards), Mickie Jones (bass), and Barry Brandt (drums). Helluva Band was a strong and quick follow up to their classic 1975 debut and featured the epic “The Fortune” alongside heavier tracks like “Mirrors” and “Feelin’ Right”.
Watch “Feelin’ Right” here:
Now to celebrate the 50th Anniversary this classic has been remastered and is being released on both a 6-panel CD digipak and on 180G vinyl in two amazing Limited-Edition Colors with liner notes by journalist Dave Reynolds. There are only 400 of the Splatter and 600 of the Red Swirl available with a limited number of bundles signed by the 4 surviving original members, Frank DiMino, Punky Meadows, Gregg Giuffria, and Barry Brandt.
Feelin’ Right The Fortune Anyway You Want It Dr. Ice Mirrors Feelings Pressure Point Chicken Soup Angel Theme
The current line-up of Angel starts its Farewell Tour in March, and it will continue through 2027. Watch out for more dates as they are announced.
ANGEL
March 27 – The Wildey Theatre – Edwardsville, IL
ANGEL w/STARZ
April 17th – Sellersville Theater – Sellersville, PA April 18th – Debonair Music Hall – Teaneck, NJ April 19th – Bijou Theatre – Bridgeport, CT May 2nd – Tupelo Music Hall – Derry, NH May 3rd – The Vault Performing Arts Center – New Bedford, MA May 28th – The Token Lounge – Lakewood, OH May 29th – The Winchester Music Tavern – Lakewood, OH May 30th – The King of Clubs – Columbus, OH May 31st – Jergels – Warrendale, PA
ANGEL
August 7th – Whisky A Go-Go – Hollywood, CA August 8th – The Bootlegger – Las Vegas, NV
ANGEL w/STARZ
October 24th – Alamo City Rocktober Fest – San Antonio, TX October 28th – Shank Hall – Milwaukee, WI October 30th – Arcada Theater – St. Charles, IL
Hungarian Black Metal one-man band MERCULISTARYA unleashed its debut album “Áradó fájdalom a tűnődés medrében” after a two decades-long waiting, in conspiracy with Pest Records and Metal Ör Die Records this February 20th.
“Áradó fájdalom a tűnődés medrében” is the deeply personal and emotional work of Árpád Szenti, known from his work in bands like Thy Catafalque, Ahriman, Athame or Damnation, and is now available here https://pestrecords.bandcamp.com/ and here https://pestrecords.limitedrun.com/.
About the album: “Áradó fájdalom a tűnődés medrében is a concept album, each song connected, each meaning intertwined, forming a single immersive narrative. It follows a thorn‑ridden path of struggle, fear, disappointment, madness, resignation, and death, contrasted against the vastness of nature, its elemental force, its mysticism, and the unseen dimensions that pulse beneath reality.
This album is a fragment of my soul. Through MERCULISTARYA, I unearthed emotions and energies that could not have surfaced through any other form of expression.
MERCULISTARYA is a long‑standing personal vision, a vessel through which my inner world takes musical form. Rooted in the darker currents of old‑school Black Metal, it draws from the place where the genre first spoke to me. The earliest foundations were laid in 2002, when the songs began to take shape, guided by dreams, shadows, and the subconscious landscapes that inspired both the music and the lyrics.
Despite years of obstacles, the album was first recorded in 2009 but remained unreleased as my focus shifted toward the bands in which I served as drummer (Athame, Ahriman, Sentio Ergo Sum, Damnation, Fagyhamu, Voidshrine, and Thy Catafalque). MERCULISTARYA was set aside, waiting for its moment.
In 2024, with renewed experience and a stronger technical foundation, I chose to resurrect the material and re‑record the entire work. This final version is the true realization of what the project was always meant to be.” Árpád Szenti
The guitar virtuoso Matteo Mancuso reveals his brand-new single, Solar Wind, featuring the legendary Steve Vai. The song is taken from his new album Route 96, which will be released on 24 April via Music Theories Recordings.
Requiring no introduction, Steve Vai stands among the most awe-inspiring guitarists in the world. For more than five decades, he has continually redefined the limits of the instrument. He has also openly praised the young Sicilian guitarist Mancuso, widely regarded as one of the most exciting emerging talents today, as he pushes the guitar to new frontiers of his own. So having the two appear on the same song is a mesmerising spectacle.
Solar Wind is the opening track on the as yet released new album from Mancuso and sees the multiple Grammy winner and instrumental guitar mastermind Vai trade licks with Mancuso. Having him appear on the record was a huge honour, says Mancuso, and his contributions ended up making the opening track the most important song on the album. “Solar Wind is a really special song to me. I believe Steve brought a whole new dimension to the music. I was listening to a lot of his solo records like Passion And Warfare while composing this music. He sent back his parts in just a couple of weeks and what he played was spectacular. It’s not shreddy, I wanted something melodic rather than over the top, but still very Vai-like.”
There are many reasons for the young musician to feel proud of album number two – named after his year of birth, as well as the 96kHz audio sample rate Steve Vai recommended him to record at. Solar Wind is the second song to be released from the album following Isla Feliz featuring the Gypsy Jazz whirlwind Antoine Boyer.
Mancuso burst on the scene in 2023 with his debut album The Journey after his prodigious ability caught the attention of the likes of Tosin Abasi, Al Di Meola, Dweezil Zappa and Steve Vai. The release of his debut with its perfect storm of dazzling fingerstyle technique and beautifully crafted compositions saw him adorn the front covers of multiple Guitar magazines, being hailed as the “world’s hottest virtuoso,” “the young guitarist redefining virtuosity,” and saw his international touring take flight with sold-out shows across Europe and the US.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the debut and Route 96 is the musical confidence on display. The concepts are more orchestrated and developed, with Mancuso showing no shortage of creative wind in the sails. As he goes on to explain, the first album was mainly arranged in a rehearsal room, working out the structure and flow of Mancuso’s music in real-time. This time, the process was much more streamlined.
One of the big differences between Mancuso and the large majority of his peers is his musical open-mindedness. He’s the kind of player who can not only exist but thrive in a variety of different styles.
Route 66 features Matteo alongside Riccardo Oliva (bass) and Gianluca Pellerito (drums) and was recorded at Fico D’India Studios in Casteldaccia, Italy and produced by Matteo along with his father Vincenzo Mancuso.
Track listing 1. Solar Wind ft. Steve Vai 2. Fire And Harmony 3. Isla Feliz (ft. Antoine Boyer) 4. L.A. Blues One 5. The Great Wall 6. Warm Sunset 7. Black Centurion 8. In The Morning Light 9. The Chicken ft. Valeriy Stepanov (Bonus Track)
Unverkalt have always been drawn to the edge. Since emerging from Greece’s underground catacombs in 2017, the five-piece post-metal band have balanced boundless atmosphere with suffocating heaviness. But now, on their upcoming third album and first for Season of Mist, they are plunging into the darkness that’s always waited for them below. While wrestling with the weight of our accursed history, Héréditaire now stands as their heaviest and most heartfelt offering.
“The contrasting elements at play in Héréditaire, from the gloomy to the raging and the eerie to the explosive, make it a compelling listen that rewards over time”, Dead Rhetoric writes in an 8/10 review. “Unverkalt grapple with the emotions and atmosphere with masterful tone and intention, eliciting a response that leave you reflecting on what you just heard and make you want to return to it once again”.
“This is an album that refused resolution because resolution would be dishonest”, Metal Kaozwrites in a 10/10 review. “Is there a light at the end of this tunnel? There’s no promise of one, only the insistence that you keep walking”.
Héréditaire was released yesterday, February 27 on Season of Mist, and you can hear all nine foundation-shaking songs by listening to the full album playlist on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.
“Our aim has always been to blend softer, more romantic elements with extreme chaos. With Héréditaire that time has now come”, Unverkalt’s guitarist and chief composer Themis Ioannou says. “This album is a lament for what is far older than our very existence. It speaks of what seeps through generations, searching for an answer to one pervasive question: What do we carry that was never ours?”
Unverkalt are still possessed by a cinematic vision for post-metal. As if coming into focus, lead single “Die Auslöschung” appears from behind a slow-moving haze before it’s snapped out of its trance by fiery blast beats. But whereas the band’s previous albums took cues from French painting and European film noir, Héréditaire throws back the velvet curtain in favor of a veil. “Oath Ov Prometheus” dismantles the myth of man as god’s perfection creation with Dimitra Kalavrezou’s freshly blackened vocals.
“We love to experiment with every album”, Ioanno says. “My two favorite genres are black and post-metal. With Héréditaire, we wanted to blend the two together. Introducing extreme vocals brings out all these heavy feelings. It’s like they’re shaking you awake”.
Héréditaire is a pulse-pounding new direction for Unverkalt, but the album’s arc traces back to our deepest and darkest origins. “The concept behind our new album ties in with the band’s heavier direction”, Kalavrezou says. “Each song peels back another blackened layer of memory, trauma and suffering, which linger over us like ghosts: invisible, yet endlessly present”. Beneath a surging bass line, “Introjects” rips away beliefs that were never ours but inherited like a disease between generations.
Kalavrezou’s mystifying cleans remain one of Unverkalt’s defining traits. But her contempt for those who watch the world burn is all the more heated when forged alongside her Athenian brother-in-arms and Season of Mist labelmate Sakis Tolis from Rotting Christ on the monolithic “I, The Deceit”. As the album draws to a close, Héréditaire ends shadowed in doubt for the future. “Bathed in lies / Can we make it better” she wonders before disappearing into the shivering wake left by “Maladie de ‘Esprit”.
“This album is not meant to resolve”, the band says, “but to dissolve patterns from those who came before, faceless yet familiar. The colors have drained. What remains is veiled in black, not as a symbol, but as a truth that covers everything”.
On Héréditaire, Unverkalt lift the veil on our cursed existence with their heaviest and most heartfelt offering.
“I enjoy discovering new, unique and compelling music in today’s overwhelming world of information, and I believe I truly succeeded with Unverkalt”, Sakis Tolis says. “This is an exceptional piece of art, worth every minute of listening”.
Tracklist: 1. Die Auslöschung (6:06) [WATCH] 2. Oath Ov Prometheus (5:40) [WATCH] 3. Ænæ Lithi (5:34) 4. A Lullaby for the Descent (5:11) 5. Penumbrian Lament (6:02) 6. Introjects (5:25) [WATCH] 7. I, The Deceit (feat. Sakis Tolis) (5:47) 8. Death is Forever (4:50) 9. Maladie de l’Esprit (5:34) Full runtime: 50:11
UNVERKALT are drawn to the edge. Since emerging from the underground, the Germany by way of Greece post-metal band have balanced boundless atmosphere with suffocating heaviness. Their third album and first since signing with Season of Mist doesn’t continue in that direction so much as it plunges into the darkness that’s always been waiting below. Héréditaire lifts the veil from our cursed existence. What emerges is Unverkalt’s heaviest and most heartfelt offering.
“Our aim has always been to blend softer, more romantic elements with extreme chaos. With Héréditaire that time has now come”, says the band’s guitarist and chief composer Themis Ioannou. “This album is a lament for what is far older than our very existence. It speaks of what seeps through generations, searching for an answer to one pervasive question: What do we carry that was never ours?”
From the beginning, Unverkalt was born from an urge to give life to grief. In 2017, Ioannou started the band with vocalist Dimitra Kalavrezou in hopes of creating something that was slow-burning and visceral, crushing yet delicate. Their debut made good on that promise: “…so rivetingly beautiful that you will have to deepen to digest it”, Metal Hammer Greece wrote in awe of L’Origine du Monde. “Easily on the top-10 of 2020”.
The band’s second album followed three years later to further acclaim. While swooning between obsession and annihilation, A Lump of Death: A Chaos of Dead Lovers sharpened Unverkalt’s vision by pushing their avant-garde streak with more force. “Beyond being able to point roughly towards a couple of different genres, it is utterly impossible to compare them to any other artist out there making music in the same vein”, The Sleeping Shaman admired. Echoes and Dust agreed: “It stands in its own right as a beautiful slice of filmic post-rock, a soundtrack without a movie beyond the one playing in your head”.
Héréditaire is still possessed by cinematic visions. Like a camera coming into focus, lead single “Die Auslöschung” appears through a thickening haze before it’s snapped out of a trance by drummer Christian Eggers’ fiery blast beats. The album shifts between colors, textures, even languages. Stirred by a mournful saw of strings, “Ænae Lithi” raises memories of the Great Fire of Smyrna that were handed down by Themis’ grandmother. But where previous albums took cues from French painting and European film noir, this one throws back the velvet curtain in favor a veil. “Oath Ov Prometheus” dismantles the myth of man as god’s perfect creation with Kalavrezou’s freshly blackened vocals.
“We love to experiment with every album”, Ioannou says. “With Héréditaire, we wanted to introduce extreme vocals because they bring out all these heavy feelings. It’s like they’re shaking you awake”.
While Héréditaire is a pulse-pounding new direction for Unverkalt, the album’s arc traces back to our deepest and darkest origins. Amidst the tremolo-picked wreckage of “Penumbrian Lament”, long-held beliefs are swallowed into the void of guitarist Eli Mavrychev’s death growls. “It’s all sorts of dead ideas / They cling to us all the same”, Kalavrezou whispers, only to break into screams on “Introjects” beneath Joscha Hoyer’s throbbing bass line. “The concept behind the record is tied in with the album’s overall heaviness”, she says. “Each song peels back another blackened layer of memory, trauma and suffering, which linger over us like ghosts: invisible, yet endlessly present”.
Kalavrezou’s mystifying cleans remain one of Unverkalt’s defining traits. Even when trembling beneath the monolithic riff of “I, The Deceit”, her contempt for those who stand by as the world burns is heated when forged alongside her Athenian brother-in-arms Sakis Tolis from Rotting Christ. But as the album draws to a close, Héréditaire ends shadowed in doubt for the future. “Bathed in lies / Can we make it better” she wonders before disappearing into the shivering wake left by “Maladie de ‘Esprit”.
“This album is not meant to resolve”, the band says, “but to dissolve patterns from those who came before, faceless yet familiar. The colors have drained. What remains is veiled in black, not as a symbol, but as a truth that covers everything”.
On Héréditaire, Unverkalt lift the veil on our cursed existence with their heaviest and most heartfelt offering.
Guest Musicians: Sakis Tolis — Vocals on “I, The Deceit”
Songwriting Credits: Comped by Themis Ioannou. Lyrics by Dimitra Kalavrezou & Eli Mavrychev. Lyrics for “I, The Deceit” by Dimitra Kalavrezou & Joscha Hoyer.
Recording Credits: Recorded & Engineered by Unverkalt. Drums Recorded & Engineered by Christian Eggers at Noir Surge Sound, Berlin, Germany.
Production Credits: Produced by Themis Ioannou. Vocals produced by Dimitra Kalavrezou & Eli Mavrychev. Mixed by Joshua Barber. Mastered by Lasse Lammert at LSD Studios, Lübeck, Germany.
Chrysalis Records are proud to present the latest in the acclaimed UFO reissue series: the classic 1981 album ‘The Wild, The Willing and The Innocent’.
Reissued on stunning 3LP tri-fold sleeve 180gm vinyl and 2CD Digipak formats on May 1st, 2026, the album now sounds more dynamic and detailed than ever, thanks to new remastering from the original tape transfers.
Originally released on January 16th, 1981, this pivotal album captures the band at a creative high point, blending soaring melodies, powerful performances, and Phil Mogg’s unmistakable voice. The lineup had modified a little with the debut of keyboardist/guitarist Neil Carter, replacing Paul Raymond. Carter also supplied backing vocal and saxophone on ‘Lonely Heart.
Lead singer Phil Mogg recalled, “Neil had a box of tricks. Getting the backing vocals was great, though I still don’t think he’s forgiven me for making him play saxophone. He was a great add to the band. Plus, he was a nice bloke.”
Drummer Andy Parker said “Neil was just an incredible musician. He brought another energy into the band.
This deluxe edition also includes a brand-new mix of the previously unreleased Live at theHammersmith Odeon, recorded on January 29th, 1981, by Brian Kehew, offering an electrifying snapshot of UFO’s energy on stage. Original 7” edits of the two singles “Couldn’t Get It Right” and “Lonely Heart” released with this album are included as well as an alternative mix of album standout “It’s Killing Me”.
The set is rounded out with newly written liner notes by Michael Hann, featuring fresh interviews with Phil Mogg and Andy Parker, alongside a collection of previously unseen photographs from the era — making it an essential addition for fans and collectors alike.
“The Wild, the Willing and the Innocent is, hands down, the best UFO studio album: it’s melodic, it’s experimental, it’s memorable, and it rocks. It was the perfect encapsulation of everything UFO could be.” – MICHAEL HANN, LINER NOTES
TRACKLISTING
CD1 – The Wild, The Willing & The Innocent – 2026 Remaster Chains Chains Long Gone The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent It’s Killing Me Makin’ Moves Lonely Heart Couldn’t Get It Right Profession Of Violence Couldn’t Get it Right (7” Edit) Lonely Heart (7” Edit) It’s Killing Me (Alt. Mix) *
CD2 – Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, 29th January 1981 – Newly Mixed * Long Gone Chains Chains Lonely Heart Cherry Mystery Train Only You Can Rock Me Too Hot To Handle Lights Out Rock Bottom Doctor Doctor Shoot Shoot *Previously Unreleased
LP1 – The Wild, The Willing & The Innocent – 2026 Remaster Chains Chains Long Gone The Wild, The Willing And The Innocent It’s Killing Me Makin’ Moves Lonely Heart Couldn’t Get It Right Profession Of Violence
LP2 / LP3 – Live at Hammersmith Odeon, London, 29th January 1981 – Newly Mixed * Long Gone Chains Chains Lonely Heart Cherry Mystery Train Only You Can Rock Me Too Hot To Handle Lights Out Rock Bottom Doctor Doctor Shoot Shoot *Previously Unreleased
UFO ‘The Wild, The Willing and The Innocent’(2026 Remaster – Deluxe Edition) is released on double CD and 3LP on May 1st, 2026 on ChrysalisRecords. Order link: https://ufo.lnk.to/TWTWATI
To mark three decades of passion, creativity, and unforgettable music, Frontiers Records proudly presents a special anniversary release: a brand-new rendition of “Little Drops Of Heaven”, featuring Robin McAuley on vocals.
Aldo Lonobile, producer of the track and Head Of A&R Europe at Frontiers Label Group, commented: “Revisiting one of my favourite song from Pretty Maids for Frontiers’ 30th anniversary felt incredibly special. This song carries a certain emotional weight and melodic strength that made it stand out from the very beginning. It’s a tribute to the legacy of the label, but also a reminder of how timeless great songs can be.”
“I’ve always liked Pretty Maids and especially the band’s songwriting. Ronnie Atkins has a unique style and when Aldo at Frontiers approached me to record this cover, I couldn’t wait to get into the studio and apply myself to the song. The lyrics and melody are so catchy it stays with you. I tried to keep the integrity of the song but also add some of my own style, so hopefully they like my version”, added Robin McAuley.
Originally recorded by Pretty Maids, this melodic rock gem is reimagined with a powerful new performance by Robin McAuley (Black Swan), whose unmistakable voice brings renewed intensity and emotion to the track.
Recorded exclusively as part of the label’s 30th anniversary celebrations, this fresh interpretation honours the spirit of the original while delivering a dynamic, contemporary edge.
Under the expert production of Aldo Lonobile, the single features a stellar lineup of musicians: Alessandro Mammola (guitar), Andrea Arcangeli (bass), Alessio Lucatti (keyboards), Alfonso Mocerino (drums).
“Little Drops Of Heaven” stands as a tribute to Frontiers’ rich legacy in melodic rock – a celebration of timeless songwriting, world-class musicianship, and the enduring connection between artists and fans.
Powerful, melodic, and emotionally charged, this new version captures the unmistakable spirit of Frontiers while breathing new life into a beloved classic.
Line Up: Robin McAuley – vocals Alessandro Mammola – guitar Andrea Arcangeli – bass Alessio Lucatti – keyboards Alfonso Mocerino – 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
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