Atmospheric black metal outfit SOTABOSC has announced their debut full-length album “El Batec dels Maquis”, set for release on April 17 via Dunk!Records. To mark the occasion, the band has unveiled their first single and 17-minute monolith “El Batec dels Maquis / Records vius en la foscor”, offering a raw, intense first glimpse of what’s to come.
Listen to “El Batec dels Maquis / Records vius en la foscor” below andStream it HERE
SOTABOSC was founded in 2023 in Barcelona by Oscar Linares and Manel Song, known for their work in Syberia, together with Xavi Forné, creator of the dark-folk project Ulmus and founder of Error! Design. In 2025, the project solidified with the addition of David Rodríguez on vocals and Gerard Serrano on bass, completing a lineup deeply connected to the Catalan underground scene.
Firmly rooted in an anti-fascist ethos, SOTABOSC conveys its message through lyrics sung entirely in Catalan and a carefully crafted visual identity, including artwork, logos, stage aesthetics and graphic materials. Their artistic and political discourse form a coherent whole that is integral to the project.
Tracklist:
01. Nerthus 02. Heimdall 03. Freyja 04. El batec dels Maquis / Records vius en la foscor
The band’s debut album unfolds in two complementary sections. The first reimagines three compositions from Ulmus, originally instrumental and written for acoustic instruments, now transformed into a sound shaped by atmospheric black metal with strong post-rock influences. The new lyrics focus on animals, forests and the natural environment, forming a narrative arc that connects with the second half of the album.
The second part consists of a single track exceeding 15 minutes, where SOTABOSC expresses its purest musical identity: raw black metal roots, expansive instrumental passages and experimental structures inspired by post-rock. The vocals – harsh and evocative – pay tribute to the Maquis and their anti-Francoist resistance in Catalonia during and after the Civil War.
With this debut, SOTABOSC establishes a project in which identity, narrative intent and sonic depth merge into an artistic statement that is both musical and political.
“El Batec dels Maquis” was recorded, mixed and mastered at Siete Barbas Studio in Barcelona by Daniel Gil, with layout design handled by Error! Design and symbology created by Woodcvtter Illustration.
Hamburg-based melodic thrash metal powerhouse GODSNAKE are proud to announce the release of their third studio album “Inhale The Noise”, set to be unleashed on April 17th, 2026 via Massacre Records.
As a first taste of the new record, the band has released the opening single “Lost & Forgotten”, a powerful and anthemic track that perfectly represents the album’s dynamic songwriting, sharp riffing and emotional depth.
Lyrically, “Lost & Forgotten” is a hymn for outsiders and misfits – a personal yet universal statement about belonging, identity and finding strength within the metal community. Driven by a catchy guitar melody and a solid groove, the song immediately gets under your skin with a chorus built to stay.
The band comment: “‘Lost & Forgotten’ presents an awesome potpourri of metalheads we care about who are really into GODSNAKE. Fantastic Musicians and Bands (for example Peavy from Rage, Gerre from Tankard, Michael Ehré, Alex Beyrodt, Tom Naumann, René Jauernik, Ozzyfied, Grace And Fire… just to name a few), media partners, promoters, die-hard fans… we’ve got them all. Or at least a whole lot of them 😉 A damn hot lineup of freaks & friends giving this piece of music the perfect faces ❤️🤘🏻”.
“Inhale The Noise” marks a new step forward for GODSNAKE: heavier, more aggressive and more diverse than ever, while remaining firmly rooted in the band’s trademark blend of melodic hooks, thrash metal energy and memorable choruses.
Produced by GODSNAKE themselves and Lasse Lammert at LSD Studios (Alestorm, Wind Rose, Gloryhammer), the album delivers a massive and modern sound that enhances both the fast, thrashy moments and the more epic, atmospheric passages.
The album also features outstanding guest appearances by Jean Bormann (Rage), who contributes blistering guitar solos on three tracks, further elevating the intensity of the record.
“Inhale The Noise” will be released in the following formats:
Digipak CD
Transparent Yellow Vinyl LP
Digital.
With its uncompromising attitude, strong messages and refined songwriting, GODSNAKE once again prove their ability to evolve without losing their core identity. “Inhale The Noise” is an album that demands to be played loud – and felt just as intensely.
To celebrate the album release, GODSNAKE have confirmed several live shows and festival appearances for spring and summer 2026, including a special album release show in their hometown Hamburg.
GODSNAKE live: 18.04.2026– DE Hamburg, Bambi Galore (Album Release Show) 02.05.2026 – DE Andernach, Andernach Metal Days 23.05.2026 – DE Frankfurt, Ponyhof Club (w/ Eradicator) 13.06.2026 – DE Kulmbach, Ulmich om Braand 27.06.2026 – DE Oschersleben, Rock & Metal Dayz
GODSNAKE are: Torger – Vocals Stevo – Guitars The Walt – Bass Sidney – Drums
Wooden Shadow‘s new single “The Great Feast” is an energetic, fast-paced and versatile product, where the genres bounce between folk metal and melodic death metal. Although the song is full of tempo, the song also includes a bit of atmosphere through clean guitars and an accordion. The songwriting is really maxed out, and there is no lack of mood at all! “The Great Feast” is also a sample of what Wooden Shadow’s upcoming second full-length album has to offer.
–Composed & lyrics by Jeremia Ponto –Single cover by Hannes Vuohijoki –ISRC code: FI3FC2597302
From year 2020 onwards, the first demo (Meaning of Wonders) also started a new project. Wooden Shadow is the solo project of Jeremia Ponto from Ylöjärvi, where the genres vary between melodic styles in the form of different formats. As a rule, founder Ponto writes his compositions based on melodic death metal, but there are also combinations of folk and melodic black metal. Jeremia Ponto, 25, describes his solo project: “Ever since I started making my first compositions, I had in mind to write diverse music that fits the colors of my project itself. Let the people, who find my music to listen to decide for themselves what my genre represents. I define my music as “melodic metal” because it feels more realistic to me as a composer.”
As their latest album, Gospel of Bones, continues to resonate, today, FUNERAL are sharing a new lyric video for “Three Dead Men”. This song is an autobiographical reflection by drummer and composer Anders Eek on the loss of three close friends within a seven year period, including former Funeral members Einar Fredriksen and Christian Loos.
The vocals on “Three Dead Men” are performed by guest vocalist Espen Ingierd of Beyond Dawn, whose restrained and human delivery contrasts with the operatic approach heard elsewhere on Gospel of Bones. The song’s slow tempos and dense arrangements favor atmosphere and emotional gravity over excess. It addresses grief as a lasting condition rather than a closed chapter, aligning closely with the album’s broader focus on lived experience, endurance and emotional aftermath.
The new video for “Three Dead Men” uses symbolic imagery centered on movement, stillness and isolated physical gestures to convey memory, absence and vulnerability. Rather than offering narrative resolution, its closing moments suggest continuation, with emotional weight remaining present as life moves forward.
Tracklist: 1. Too Young To Die (8:39) 2. Yestertear (5:57) 3. Procession of Misery (9:51) 4. These Rusty Nails (7:28) 5. Ailo’s Lullaby (2:18) 6. My Own Grave (7:17) 7. To Break All Hearts Of Men (9:05) 8. Når Kisten Senkes (8:02) 9. Three Dead Men (7:49) Total runtime: 1:06:31
Cover Art by Tristan Diaz Bastie
Melancholy. Pain. Loss. Solitude. Those had been just some of doom metal main themes ever since bleak pouring rain and the sound of church bell in the distance gave birth to the genre on BLACK SABBATH self-eponymous debut over five decades ago. But how many musicians have actually been bearing in their very flesh those gut-wrenching feelings?
Anders Eek – FUNERAL’s founding member, drummer and indisputable leader since 1991 – doesn’t particularly see it as a badge of honour, but he’d be the first to admit that somehow, the “death and loss we had to go through over the years were extremely painful yet inspiring, as a musician and as a human being.” And indeed, ever since their very first rehearsal in a basement in their hometown of Drammen, just outside of Oslo, Funeral had been ridden with problems and tragedy. Originally inspired by CATHEDRAL, CANDLEMASS, BLACK SABBATH, TROUBLE etc, they very quickly set out to create the most depressing and slowest form of doom/death possible at a time when their home country was being hailed as the birthplace of black metal. They went through several labels over the years, only to see them bust soon afterwards. Plagued by recurrent line-up problems, they even lost two of their key members Einar André Fredriksen (bass) and Christian Loos (guitar) in 2003 and 2006, respectively, to suicide and overdose.
But somehow, Eek never surrendered, but instead overcame all those obstacles by releasing over the years a slab of classics, each with its own, distinct personality, from the utter misery of the delicate yet none-so-extreme 1995 debut album ‘Tragedies’ to the more melodic and accessible 2001 gothic/doom masterpiece ‘In Fields Of Pestilent Grief’ or 2012 symphonic masterpiece ‘Oratorium’. Still, after the 30th anniversary concert in Oslo, april 12th 2022, also featuring the original singer Toril Snyen on the track «taarene», “life got in the way” as Anders puts it. “Some of us had kids, others moved out. Even I had quite a lot of things going on in my personal life and, at least for a while, maybe less drive to keep on carrying on the weight of the band on my shoulders. I never stopped writing music though because it’s something I’ve always done anyway.
2021 sees the band releasing Praesentialis in Aeternum(something along the line of “here eternally”) as a “natural progression. Guesting on opening track ‘Ånd,’ the first single off the record, is Lars Nedland, Sindre’s own brother of BORKNAGAR and SOLEFALD fame. It’s also the first album for their new partner, Season of Mist.
In 2020 Eek started writing what was to become the album Gospel of Bones, to be released in October 2024.
In 2022 Singer Sindre Nedland was replaced by the professionally trained baritone opera singer Eirik Krokfjord (specialized in the works of Richard Wagner), known from both the Norwegian Opera Choir, as well as having several leading roles in operas both in Norway and abroad.
Violinist Ingvild Johannessen also joined the ranks, and the band moved away from programmed orchestration, and recorded all strings analogue.. This time around also incorporating the traditional Norwegian instrument the Harding fiddle, which is a key element throughout the entire upcoming album, moving the band slightly towards a more «folk» sound, combined with the classical opera-vocals of E. Krokfjord. Hopefully building bridges between both metal music, folk- rock and classical music.
Roughly 20 tracks were composed throughout the Covid pandemic(9 of whom made it to the studio), and yet again recorded and mixed at Toproom Studio, by Børge Finstad.
Violinist Øyvind Rauset, from the cult Norwegian folk-rock band FOLQUE, is performing on 2 tracks as a guest musician, as well as Espen Ingierd, with his very distinct singing-style in the vein of John Lennon, Michael Gira (SWANS)etc from cult doom/death band BEYOND DAWN singing on 2 tracks.
The album also contains an instrumental cover song , written by Kjetil Selvik, and is a melancholic piece only consisting of harding fiddle and church organ.
The lyrical content of the album is an autobiography of life’s mishaps of drummer/composer A. Eek, and deals with real darkness, misery, pain and loss. A Gospel of Bones.
BraveWords Records is pleased to announce the signing of PHIL SOUSSAN who will be releasing a new solo album, “Cosmo Fighters” in 2026.
Phil commented on signing with BraveWords Records and his new solo album, “I am thrilled to be working with the BraveWords Records team on my new album. To me Bravewords represents a truly modern label with modern ideas, thanks to their global presence and brand as the defining source for anything that is happening in the world of rock – kind of like having your go-to music magazine as your label! I am looking forward to collaborating and bringing each release that we have planned for this record right in front of my amazing fans, old loyal and new – the people who inspire us to do all of this.
These songs were written and recorded over the last year. I had locked myself away in the studio and just started writing and recording tracks as I went along. I started in April and finished the album in about November – it was very quick. As such, while writing, I actually played all the instruments and performed all the vocals (with the exception of one track that features Richie Kotzen on guitar and two tracks that feature drummers Carmine Appice and Jay Schellen)
The songs are really about what is going on in the world; chaos, division and the rise of social media to become an incredible tool that can be used for good, or at the same time a weapon that can be used for bad. It is up to us to use our human intelligence, so as to not become controlled by the futuristic villains that we were warned about in science-fiction movies! The styles of the songs run the gamut, from production hit to modern metal, with a lot of surprises. I am so proud of this record, the energy and the emotion that was captured. I hope that listeners will enjoy this collection of music, a trippy journey through the world of my experiences and musical influences that inspired me to create this album!”
Tim Henderson, BraveWords Records, “Phil’s resume dating back to OZZY’s classic solo album, The Ultimate Sin, is unmatched in the world of hard rock and BraveWords Records is honoured to work with this legendary musician as he continues to shine with everlasting youth.”
Giles Lavery BraveWords Records A&R, “We are delighted to add Phil Soussan to the BraveWords Records roster… his legendary work with Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Vince Neil and ongoing with Last In Line, to name just a few, speaks for itself. Phil has some great new solo music to put out into the world and we are honored to be with him on this journey.”
Phil Soussan is a British bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer, known as a member of the rock bands Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, the Vince Neil Band. Big Noize and Last in Line. As a writer and producer he has worked with Dokken, Toto and Steve Lukather. As a bass player has performed and recorded with John Waite, Richie Kozten, Jani Lane, and the French legend Johnny Hallyday. Phil was also a regular featured artist in the Las Vegas hit show “Raiding the Rock Vault”
With Ozzy Osbourne, Soussan played on the 1986 album The Ultimate Sin and co-wrote the hit single “Shot in the Dark”. He toured with Ozzy through the entire “Ultimate Sin” tour.
After leaving Ozzy in 1988 he accepted an invitation to be included in a new band for Billy Idol and is featured on the “Charmed Life” album. He then co-wrote and played on Vince Neil’s first solo album “Exposed” after which he went on to co-write the Steve Lukather “Luke” album. More recently he is a member of Last in Line, the band formed out of the original Dio lineup. Together with Vivian Campbell and Vinny Appice, the band tours regularly, and have released three albums and an EP.
Phil previously released two earlier solo albums; Vibrate (2006) and No Protection (2012)
MICHAEL SWEET, the acclaimed singer-songwriter and frontman for the multi-platinum Christian rock band STRYPER, has just released the new single “Lord” – the second single from his upcoming solo album. His most personal and spiritually resonant solo album yet, The Master Plan is set for release on April 3, 2026 via Frontiers Music Srl.
With its heartfelt lyrics and spiritual sincerity, The Master Plan is designed to inspire peace, faith and encouragement — music that comforts the weary, uplifts the spirit, and celebrates the profound love at the center of Sweet’s faith journey.
Co-produced by Sweet and Jeff Savage (TobyMac, Jars of Clay, Natalie Imbruglia), this deeply worship inspired record marks a bold departure from his previous solo work — blending heartfelt devotion with fresh musical textures and melodic depth unlike anything he has done before. Sweet’s unmistakable voice leads a tapestry of heartfelt worship, inviting listeners to reflect, celebrate and draw closer to the timeless truths at the heart of his message. With sweeping arrangements and a sincere spiritual core, the album offers both comfort and inspiration for moments of prayer, praise and quiet contemplation.
Sweet is best known as the frontman for iconic Christian rock back STRYPER. With over 10 million albums sold worldwide, STRYPER is renowned for its distinctive brand of “heavenly metal” and extraordinary crossover success. The group ascended to prominence in the 1980s with Billboard Top 40 hits like “Calling on You,” “Honestly,” and “Always There for You,” and has maintained a global fanbase ever since. STRYPER is the first band to ever have two songs in MTV’s Top 10 simultaneously with their hits “Free” and “Honestly.” Sweet also has a successful solo career, is a founding member of rock outfit Sweet & Lynch, and he served as the vocalist & guitarist for the legendary classic rock band BOSTON from 2007-2011.
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 ) 