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 unleashing an anthemic new single, “Tactics of Terror,” which can be found at THIS LOCATION.
Nukem Bassist Don Lauder comments,
“Tactics of Terror’ starts with a heavy power groove that evolves into a monster of a song, with lyrics that punch you in the mouth just as hard as the music. And what’s hitting hard right now? The People vs The Government. Both sides fully believing that they’re the ‘good guys;’ both sides fully invested in the power struggle of the world. The best grooves that move you are the simple ones, so our music video puts you right there with us as we jam the hell out of this intense song for intense times.”
The track is taken from the band’s forthcoming sophomore full-length, ‘The Grave Remains,’ which is due on April 10, 2026 via Redefining Darkness. Pre-orders are now live in the U.S. HERE and the rest of the world HERE.
The artwork for ‘The Grave Remains’ was created by Megan Mushi.
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
Metal Blade Records is proud to announce the signing of Japanese metal sensation Broken by the Scream. Known for their explosive fusion of crushing metal riffs, modern extreme metal heaviness, deep growls, harsh screams and contrasting melodic vocals, the band has been steadily carving out a unique space in the global heavy music scene – and this marks a powerful new chapter in their career.
Broken by the Scream will make their Summer Breeze Open Air debut this year, bringing their uncompromising live show to one of Europe’s premier metal festivals. The band will also play Wacken Open Air and Reload Festival, further cementing their presence on the European festival circuit. More summer dates in Europe will be announced soon!
Live Dates: February 7 – JP – Kichijoji Shuffle, Tokyo February 22 – JP – Kichijoji SEATA, Tokyo March 4 – JP – Aoyama RizM, Tokyo March 30 – JP – Shinjuku Antiknock, Tokyo May 2 – JP – Shibuya Metal-Kai, Tokyo May 24 – JP – Nishikawaguchi Hearts, Saitama May 29 – JP – Tokyo Kinema Club, Tokyo (headline show) July 29 – DE – Wacken Open Air, Wacken August 13 – DE – Summer Breeze Open Air, Dinkelsbühl August 14 – DE – Reload Festival, Sulingen
Their distinctive style has continued to shock and captivate heavy music audiences both in Japan and worldwide. In 2025, BBTS performed on the main stage at Resurrection Fest in Spain and at Japan Expo in France as part of their 9-date European tour across 7 countries.
Beyond the stage, Broken by the Scream are already hard at work on new material, with fresh music currently in development. While details remain under wraps, fans can expect new songs that continue to push the band’s aggressive, genre-defying sound even further.
More news on live dates and upcoming releases will be revealed in the coming months.
Broken By The Scream are: Tsubaki Nanaougi Shizuku Mikogami Io Nozukidaira Yayoi Takayashiki
F.O.A.D. Records proudly announces the reissue of “Off the Pigs”, the final studio statement from California powerviolence legends PLUTOCRACY.
Watch the trailer below.
Formed in 1988 in Redwood City, PLUTOCRACY remain one of the most singular and uncompromising forces ever to emerge from the West Coast underground. Their sound has always defied rigid categorization: a volatile collision of multi-layered vocals, jagged and angular riffing, neck-snapping tempo shifts, rap-inflected passages, and bursts of noise, all welded together by a relentless, top-tier grinding powerviolence backbone. Few bands have ever captured such a raw and confrontational energy while maintaining a sense of chaotic precision.
Originally recorded in 2010, “Off the Pigs” stands as the band’s last studio effort: a fierce and unfiltered document of street-level realism, anti-authoritarian conviction, and a deeply rooted unrest mentality. Upon its initial release, the record saw only a scarce and highly limited pressing, quickly becoming a sought-after item among collectors and longtime devotees of the genre. Over the years, its reputation has only grown, cementing its place as a vital chapter in PLUTOCRACY’s legacy.
Now, F.O.A.D. Records brings this landmark release back into circulation, giving a new generation of listeners the chance to experience one of powerviolence’s most distinctive and boundary-pushing statements. Standing in the same lineage as cult names like Spazz, Crom, Agents Of Satan, and No Le$$, PLUTOCRACY remain a band that cannot be neatly boxed in—singular in vision, sound, and attitude.
This reissue of “Off the Pigs” is accompanied by a very limited edition t-shirt and is strictly limited to 300 copies worldwide: 200 on classic black vinyl and 100 on blood red vinyl. Once again, this is a release aimed squarely at those who value the raw, the confrontational, and the uncompromising spirit of the underground.
Green Carnation have never been afraid of a challenge. Just last year, the Norwegian captains of progressive metal finally set sail on an epic three-part voyage that had eluded them for more than thirty years. The Shores of Melancholia washed onto year-end lists at PROG, Loudwire, Angry Metal Guy and other major publications. Now, after reaching crushing new highs during its opening chapter, the band are descending into deeper, darker and more personal depths with Part II of A Dark Poem.
Today, Green Carnation are announcing A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis by premiering the stirring new music video for the first part of its booming and bloodstained title track with Metal Injection. “Sanguis” fights to stay afloat amidst familial wreckage with clear conviction and a flawless chorus. Though whether those traumas stay buried won’t be revealed until the album comes out, when fans can hear the full nine-minute version of this song in all its grand gloom and doom.
“We wanted A Dark Poem to start off with guns blazing”, Green Carnation vocalist Kjetil Nordhus says in reference to Part I. “But for Part II, we have some very personal stories that we want people to hear. Sanguis invites listeners into our darkest inner rooms with some of the most raw and vulnerable songs that we’ve ever written”.
“A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis hold some of the most personal lyrics that I’ve ever written”, says Stein Roger Sordal, the band’s bassist and primary lyricist. “The lyrics are so personal that I had to go many rounds with myself over whether or not to tone them down. In the end, I chose to keep them as honest as possible”.
The video for “Sanguis” (Blood Ties)” was directed and edited by Rikard Amodei.
Additional video credits
Camera – Jonas C.E. Kiplesund
Lighting – Joakim Stien
Set sound – Ruben Lervåg
Photography – Lars Gunnar Liestol
Child actor – Julian Hansen Flemmen
Special thanks to Kilden teater og konserthus and Cultiva
A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis comes out April 3 on Season of Mist.
If Green Carnation set sail from a familiar place of melancholy on The Shores of Melancholia, then Sanguis finds the veteran prog metal crew far out at sea, fighting to stay afloat against the storm that’s raging in their mind’s eye. “A house, not a home, a heart made of stone, I survived you”. While founded by current guitarist and former Emperor bassist Tchort in the early ‘90s, since A Blessing In Disguise, the band’s bleeding heart has been held in the pen of bassist Stein Roger Sordal. As with the bulk of Part I, Sordal wrote all the lyrics to Part II. However, whereas previous album opener “As Silence Took You” only scratched at the trauma on the surface, “Sanguis” plunges into the emotional undercurrents raging below.
“This song paints a pretty grim picture of my childhood”, Sordal says. “I do have great memories from that time, too, but parts were very dark. I had some tough issues with my father, but I now know that he had it worse. I didn’t think about that when I was younger, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that there is usually more to the story”.
“It took Stein Roger almost 50 years to understand why his father treated him the way he did”, Nordhus says about his dear bandmate. “He didn’t understand until he had kids of his own and was watching them grow up”.
With its unforgettable chorus, “Sanguis” vows to wash away the stains of the past. “Father, I do realize that the cards you were given destroyed you”. Swells of piping hot organ and a hopeful glimmer of keys from Green Carnation’s long-time producer and newest member Endre Kirkesola mend those old bloodied wounds. But even pulse-pounding drummer Jonathan Pérez can’t keep the ghosts at bay forever. Bjørn Harstad’s triumphant guitar solo waxes then wanes into a long and lonely riff that looms like a shadow. While the final part of the song can’t come soon enough, it’s clear by the way Nordhus solemnly swears that dark clouds await up ahead. “In the light of life, I will not follow you”.
Part II introduces more peaks and valleys into the trilogy’s overarching narrative. But if A Dark Poem contains a silver lining, it’s in the creative partnership that’s helped Green Carnation endure for more than three decades. “It would be different if I had only known Stein Roger for two months, but I know everything that has happened in his life for the last 30 years”, Nordhus says when explaining how he gives voice to the words of his lifelong friend. “It’s easy for me to understand and relate to all of his struggles, all of his pleasures and joys, because I’ve been a part of them as well”.
Tracklist 1. Sanguis (9:05) [WATCH] 2. Loneliness Untold, Loneliness Unfold (4:04) 3. Sweet to the Point of Bitter (5:58) 4. I Am Time (5:39) 5. Fire in Ice (7:03) 6. Lunar Tale (5:25) Full runtime: 37:16
No matter how long or where the journey has taken them, Green Carnation have never been afraid of a challenge. After reaching crushing new highs during the grand and gloomy opening chapter to their long-awaited album trilogy, the Norwegian prog bards are descending into deeper, darker and more personal depths with Part II of A Dark Poem.
“We wanted A Dark Poem to start off with guns blazing. Judging by the reaction, The Shores of Melancholia was successful in doing that”, the band’s vocalist Kjetil Nordhus says. “But for Part II, we have some very personal stories that we want people to hear. Sanguis invites listeners into our darkest inner rooms with some of the most raw and vulnerable songs that we’ve ever written”.
“The second part of A Dark Poem holds some of the most personal lyrics that I’ve ever written”, says Stein Roger Sordal, the band’s bassist and primary lyricist. “The lyrics are so personal that I had to go many rounds with myself over whether or not to tone them down. In the end, I chose to keep them as honest as possible. I mean, am getting older and I do have some life experience to back them up”.
Founded in the early ‘90s by Emperor’s original bassist Tchort, Green Carnation amassed a cult following behind critical acclaim for Light of Day, Day of Darkness, an album containing a single hour-long song that still resonates as one of the most ambitious epics in metal’s archives. Current members Bjørn Harstad (guitar), Stein Roger Sordal (bass) and Endre Kirkesola (keyboard, producer) along with Nordhus, were already in place by 2001. But whether it was the gothic crush of A Blessing in Disguise or pitch-black hard rock of The Quest Offspring, Green Carnation continued branching out through the mid-2000s. Even before going on hiatus in 2007, they still flashed a flare for the dramatic by performing their acoustic verses underneath a mountain dam.
“Green Carnation use Leaves of Yesteryear to prove once again they are titans of the craft”, Metal Injectionwrote about the band’s 2020 comeback album, which welcomed drummer Jonathan Pérez.
However, there was one tale – or three, to be exact – that eluded them for more than three decades. The idea for an album trilogy penned after Shakespeare’s tragic Ophelia stems all the way back to their earliest reflections of life and death, but when the first part of A Dark Poem was unfurled in 2025, right away, it was clear that Green Carnation had completed their masterpiece. The Shores of Melancholia washed onto year-end lists atLoudwire , Angry Metal Guyand other major publications.
“Epic in both scope and sound, the latter being the band’s rich, melodic take on the genre best described as Rainbow’s Rising if it were a prog album”, PROG wrote. “Part I works as an entity in its own right while also leaving the listener desperate to hear the next installments”.
If Green Carnation set sail from a familiar place of melancholy on The Shores of Melancholia, then Sanguis finds the band far out at sea, fighting to stay afloat against the storm that’s raging in their minds. Whereas Part I only scratched at the surface, the epic title track that opens Part II vows to forgive and forget old bloodied wounds. Over the course of nine minutes, cresting cleans and swells of organ from long-time producer and newest member Endre Kirkesola try and wash away the familial wreckage — only for a traumatic childhood memory to come flooding back during the song’s doomy coda.
“Father was boiling, mother was crying / The children left scared in their beds”. A fiery shiver of a riff slowly spirals downward, as if trapped inside a mental hell.
“It paints a pretty grim picture of my childhood”, Sordal says about “Sanguis”. “I do have great memories from that time, too, but parts were very dark. I had some tough issues with my father, but I now know that he had it worse. I didn’t think about that when I was younger, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that there is usually more to the story”.
“It took Stein Roger almost 50 years to understand why his father treated him the way he did”, Nordhus says about his dear bandmate. “He didn’t understand until he had kids of his own and was watching them grow up”.
The heaviness that launched Green Carnation during Part I of A Dark Poem has aged like a fine wine on Sanguis. “Sweet to the Point of Bitter” balances meaty riffs with a pleasing melody and underlying notes of resentment. “You will acknowledge I was broken / Before you came around”. With a guitar solo that winds like the winds of change, “I Am Time” demands immediate recognition. “In your mind, I’m tomorrow / For your sake, I should be today”.
But while “Fire In Ice” stokes the political flames viewed from The Shores of Melancholia with pounding windchills of double bass, Part II reveals Green Carnation at their most raw and vulnerable. As was the case for most of Part I, Sordal penned all the lyrics to Sanguis. However, in a rare appearance not seen since the burden was his alone, he steps to the mic on “Loneliness Untold, Loneliness Unfold”. With an arrangement that’s plucked like the petals of a wilted flower, the song now stands as one of the more barren and stirring in their discography. “Do you want to die?” Sordal poses to a distant familiar of the band. His delicate delivery confirms his fear of already knowing the answer.
“These songs come as they are, with no filter”, Sordal says. “I needed to set these stories free and let them out”.
“Part II deal with personal loss and sadness”, shares Nordhus, though as he’s quick to explain, Sanguis isn’t all gloom and doom. “Those feelings can be almost comforting, like stories you hear about the calm that people experience before they die”. Indeed, if A Dark Poem contains a silver lining, it’s in the creative partnership that’s helped Green Carnation endure for more than three decades. “It would be different if I had only known Stein Roger for two months”, Nordhus continues in explaining how he gives voice to the words of his dear friend. “It’s easy for me to understand and relate to all of his struggles, all of his pleasures and joys, because I’ve been a part of them as well”.
Part II introduces more peaks and valleys into the overarching narrative of A Dark Poem, but nowhere does the album’s bleeding-heart core shine through more achingly than its closing ballad. Graced by Ingrid Ose’s soothing flute, “Lunar Tale” positively sparkles, even as it casts a rather grim beacon into the future. “The end justifies the means, you’ll see”, Nordhus sings with eerily quiet confidence. As the piano seeps beneath the moonlight, Sanguis leaves fans hanging in suspense over where this trilogy will end.
Recording lineup Kjetil Nordhus – Vocals Stein Roger Sordal – Bass, Rhythm Guitars, Lead Guitars, Keyboards, Lead Vocals on “Loneliness Untold, Loneliness Unfold” Bjørn Harstad – Lead Guitars, Effects Endre Kirkesola – Keyboards, Synthesizers, Organs, Effects, Backing Vocals on “Lunar Tale” Jonathan Alejandro Perez – Drums
Guest musicians Ingrid Ose – Flute on “Lunar Tale”
Live lineup Kjetil Nordhus – Vocals Stein Roger Sordal – Bass Tchort – Guitars Bjørn Harstad – Guitars Trond Breen – Guitars Endre Kirkesola – Keyboards
Recording, Mixing & Mastering Studio DUB Studio
Production Credits Producers – Endre Kirkesola, Stein Roger Sordal, Kjetil Nordhus Sound Engineers – Endre Kirkesola, Bjørn Harstad Mixing Engineers – Endre Kirkesola, Bjørn Harstad Mastering Engineer – Lawrence Mackrory
Available now on all digital platforms and accompanied by a lyric video on YouTube, ‘Wild Crowd’ is the new single from hard rockers ROCKLUST, released via Volcano Records & Promotion.
The track is a blast of electric energy, groove, and stage spirit that captures and conveys the visceral essence of raw, uncompromising rock. With influences ranging from Whitesnake to Extreme and Motörhead, Wild Crowd showcases the band’s wild and untamed soul, unfolding in a crescendo of powerful riffs, tight rhythms, and a gritty, charismatic vocal performance.
It’s an intentionally iconic track — an adrenaline-fueled anthem of passion, rebellion, and a visceral connection with the audience and the live scene. The single is the third preview from the upcoming album Smoking Wheels, due for release in April 2026, and stands as a true manifesto for those who live rock as a lifestyle and identity. The sound is rough, direct, and stripped of any frills: the band plays like they’re on a packed stage, surrounded by a wild crowd — the very image that gives this no-holds-barred track its title.
Scottish progressive metal band Dvne announce the release of their powerful performance at Hellfest Open Air 2023. “Live at Hellfest” features a selection of songs exclusively from Dvne‘s acclaimed album Etemen Ænka, showcasing the band’s crushing heaviness, atmospheric depth, and commanding live presence. Recorded in front of a massive festival audience, the release captures the raw energy and immersive sound that have made Dvne one of the most compelling acts in modern progressive metal.
Live at Hellfest arrives as Dvne prepares to hit the road as support for Igorrr, marking an exciting new chapter for the band and offering fans a raw snapshot of their live presence.
Formed in Edinburgh in 2013 by displaced Frenchman Victor Vicart and native Scot Dudley Tait, post-metal prog-sludge artisans Dvne have been building a powerful head of steam since their second album, 2021’s kaleidoscopically mesmerizing Etemen Ænka. Their first release for the legendary Metal Blade Records label, the LP was a concerted hike up the greasy pole for this enigmatic outfit, enabling Dvne to embark on UK and European headline tours and win spots at such discerning festivals as Hellfest, ArcTanGent, Desertfest, Damnation and Resurrection. Then the stunning third album Voidkind in 2024 propelled this expanded five-piece line-up (welcoming Maxime Keller on keyboards) to the top of their game.
Certainly Voidkind succeeds in finding new modes of expression for Dvne. The songs are more pointed, direct and memorable, but the soundscape still has a radiant, evolving, hypnotic flow, the effect achieved with fewer layers of sonic ornamentation, consciously urging closer to Dvne‘s incendiary live sound.
Today, The band has embarked on their European tour as support for labelmates Igorrr.
Igorrr w/ DVNE & thoughtcrimes: 2/05/2026 La Boite Noire – Meisenthal, FR 2/06/2026 Im Wizemann Hall – Stuttgart, DE 2/07/2026 Backstage Werk – Munich, DE 2/08/2026 Alcatraz – Milan, IT 2/10/2026 Kino Siska – Ljubljana, SI 2/11/2026 Gasometer – Vienna, AT 2/12/2026 Roxy – Prague, CZ 2/13/2026 Barba Negra – Budapest, HU 2/14/2026 Progresia – Warsaw, PL 2/16/2026 Loftas – Vilnius, LT 2/17/2026 Helitehas – Tallinn, EE 2/18/2026 Kulttuuritalo – Helsinki, FI 2/20/2026 Fryshuset – Stockholm, SE 2/21/2026 Rockefeller – Oslo, NO 2/22/2026 Amager Bio – Copenhagen, DK 2/24/2026 Metropol – Berlin, DE 2/25/2026 FZW – Dortmund, DE 2/26/2026 Tivoli – Utrecht, NL 2/27/2026 L’Aeronef – Lille, FR 2/28/2026 Le 106 – Rouen, FR
DVNE is: Victor Vicart – guitars, vocals Daniel Barter – guitars, vocals Dudley Tait – drums Alexandros Keros – bass Maxime Keller – keys
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 ) 