5X Platinum-certified alternative rockers THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS —vocalist Ronnie Winter, his multi-instrumentalist brother Randy Winter, guitarist Josh Burke, bassist Joey Westwood, drummer John Espy, keyboardist Nadeem Salam, and newest member K Enagonio on vocals — rode the crest of a major career wave in 2025. They released X’S FOR EYES via BETTER NOISE MUSIC and enjoyed Fall 2025 appearances at key festivals, including Aftershock, When We Were Young, and Warped Tour Orlando.
Today, the band cruises into 2026 with the release of the deluxe edition of X’S FOR EYES. The expanded version features four additional tracks: the previously released “Angels Cry“; “Perfection” (Feat. Mayday Parade’s Derek Sanders); “Not Today“; and “Slipping Through (No Kings)” (Screams Version). Get the deluxe version here.
“The surprise guest vocalist and alternate versions really make this the most exciting deluxe edition in the history of our career,” declares Ronnie Winter.
To celebrate the release, the band has also shared the lyric video for “Not Today.”
The 11 original songs on X’s For Eyes found the band revving up their caffeinated pop sensibilities, throwing down the punishing riffola, delivering more electronic and ambient flourishes, and topping all of it off with Winter’s high-pitched emoting. Factor in some A-list cameos from Sleeping With Sirens’ Kellin Quinn( “Always The King”) and Escape The Fate frontman Craig Mabbitt (“Worth It”) and the end result is one of the best offerings of the band’s career. For this album, Winter was able to reconcile the deep, sometimes nagging thoughts he’d been harboring, post-pandemic. When the proceedings get melancholy or troubling lyrically, the band is ready to propel these songs into pogo-popping dance floors, furious mosh pits or moments of reverent, tribunal phone-waving. It’s always been a cathartic listen and now it has been super-sized with four additional songs that are sure to please the RJA faithful!
Formed in 2004 in Jacksonville, Florida, the band has accrued Gold and multi-Platinum singles—including their massive 5x Platinum hit single “Face Down” (which has over 176 million views on YouTube), 2x Platinum “Your Guardian Angel“(which has over 37 million views on YouTube) — and 2x Platinum-certified debut album, DON’T YOU FAKE IT, alongside numerous high-ranking radio chart positions and a robust digital history of over 1.5 billion career streams. “The core fanbase has always been there,” Winter says. “It’s a family band. Why? Because we stick up for people.” Sometimes it’s hard to believe that THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS began their expedition into the hearts and minds of a generation 20 years ago. Their blazing 2006 single “Face Down” delivered both anthemic choruses and a strident message about domestic abuse, achieving both sales accolades and adoration from crowds all over the planet.
X’S FOR EYES DELUXE EDITION TRACK LISTING: “Always The King” (Feat. Kellin Quinn) “Purple Halo” “Perfection” “X’s For Eyes“ “Bad Beat” “Slipping Through (No Kings)“ “Angels Cry“* “Home Improvement“ “Twenty Hour Drive” “Kins and Carroll” “Getting By” “Worth It” (Feat. Craig Mabbitt) “Not Today”* “Perfection” (Feat. Derek Sanders)* “Slipping Through (No Kings)” (Screams Version)* *ADDITIONAL TRACKS
THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS will be touring through Spring, with a run of dates in their native Florida and a brief stint in South America. They will also appear in the Philippines and at Sonic Temple in May. All forthcoming dates are below.
THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS ON TOUR: 2/26 — Gainesville, FL — The Wooly 2/27 — West Palm Beach, FL — The Banyan Live 2/28 — St. Augustine, FL — Cafe Eleven 3/1 — Tallahassee, FL — Fire Betty’s Arcade Bar 3/5 — Tampa, FL — The Orpheum 3/6 — Pensacola, FL — Vinyl Music Hall 3/7 — Biloxi, MS — The Sanctuary – Biloxi 3/20 — Ciudad de México, MX — Foro 28 3/21 — Bogotá, CO — Relevent Music Hall 3/25 — Recoleta, CL — Sala Metrónomo 3/26 — Abasto, AR — UNICLUB 3/28 — São Paulo, BR — Hangar 110 – Música & Cultura 5/8 — Manila, PH — SM Mall of Asia 5/9 — Cebu City, PH — Waterfront Hotel & Casino Cebu City 5/14 — Columbus, OH — Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
Fresh off the successful releases of the last two “Babylon A.D.” albums (‘Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day’ & ‘When The World Stops’), Derek Davis brings his creative energy to life with his solo project, penning a brand new explosive up-tempo rocker, ‘Running Man‘.
The funk driven, hard-hitting rock/metal track delivers the angst and vocal delivery for which he is known. Both lyrically and musically, the track speaks to the frustration and passion of the forgotten man in today’s ever changing world. The AI evolution and political divide that shapes our thoughts and lives are explored through his cinematic story telling.
“Running Man” is a rock anthem at its core, with an uptempo fist pounding funkifed bass line and searing guitar riffs, the hooks never stop. Davis’s exploration of combining Hard Rock, old school R&B and Funk is awe inspiring and leaves the listener wanting more. Having played all the instruments, mixing and producing the track, as well as editing and creating the accompanying video, he once again proves to be a visionary force in the music industry. Derek Davis is a multi-talented performer, singer, songwriter, musician and producer who delivers it all with ‘Running Man’!
Derek Davis: Davis has showcased his extraordinary singing, songwriting, and musicianship in several areas. He has had several songs placed in films and TV, and has recorded six studio albums, three live albums and two EPs with the band Babylon A.D. He also wrote all the tracks, produced and released the band “American Blues Box” album and wrote, created and produced three solo albums “Revolt”, “Revolutionary Soul” and “Resonator Blues” as well as seven solo effort singles and videos
Over the last few years Derek Davis has performed, produced, wrote or co-wrote all the tracks for the Babylon A.D.s releases: 2018’s “Revelation Highway” Via “Frontiers Records” – 2023,“ Live Lightning” on Perris/Apocalypse Records, 2024’s “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day”, Perris/Apocalypse Records and in 2025, “When The World Stops” from Kivel Records. He has also created 10 Videos in this time for each single released by the band, and has done multiple tours in the United States, the U.K and Greece, proving once again the band’s staying power in the history of hard Rock.
PRESENT DAY… As 2026 begins Derek Davis a has full schedule set for the rest of the year. Two more video/singles are scheduled for release by Babylon A.D. Davis is in full throttle writing mode for his next solo effort, another Soul inspired Funk Rock album that is set for release in the fall. The first track “Running Man” will be released on 10th March as a single and video.
Over the years, Derek Davis has amassed a published music catalogue of over 200 original compositions, very impressive and quite suitable compared to other artists. Derek has also mastered his video editing skills and production skills and is always trying something new to expand his musical journey. Derek Davis is the consummate, Singer/Songwriter/Musician/Producer, a born creator with a natural gift in the music landscape of our times
Samson Branch photo by Jaakko Karppinen — Rotterdamn! photo by Juha-Matti Myllymäki/Karma Photoworks
Rotterdamn! & Samson Branch featuring drag king artist Tom of Puukko released an interesting collaboration single Show Me Your Clothespins! via Inverse Records.
RotterDamn! and Samson Branch have known each other for years, but it was only in 2025 that they decided to join forces and strengths. The first result of this collaboration is this song Show Me Your Clothespins!.
The song Show Me Your Clothespins! suggests that the badges of honor of warlords be exchanged for clothespins and asks not to trust dictators and selfish people, but to encourage people to be themselves.
The track features clean vocals and instrumentation by pop and rock musician RotterDamn!. Metal musician Samson Branch provides growls and second guitar. The song also features a brief guest appearance by drag king Tom of Puukko.
–Composed, lyrics & arranged by Jussi Heiniluoma –Cover art compiled by RotterDamn! –Mixed by RotterDamn! –Mastered by Svante Forsbäck –ISRC: FISAP2400001
BIOGRAPHIES:
RotterDamn! toured for years as a guitarist for rock bands until he had a motorcycle accident. As a result, his hand was operated three times, followed by challenges to playing the guitar. The break was continued by covid-19. This life change caused RotterDamn!´s interest in synthesizers.
According to listeners, his music is influenced by Prodigy, Daft Punk, and Depeche Mode.
Samson Branch is a thrash and death metal artist hailing from Vaasa, Finland, active in the metal scene since 2004. His music combines relentless intensity, technical precision, and a dark atmosphere that explores the shadowed depths of the human mind and extreme emotional states.
Tom of Puukko is a drag king character who created a spirit and sang a short segment on the song Show Me Your Clothespins!
Swedish old-school death metallers DEMONICAL post live video of the song “By Hatred Bound”, recorded at Chronical Moshers Festival2025 in Germany. The song is lifted from the band’s 2022 album “Mass Destroyer”, available on Agonia Records.
Watch the clip, here:
DEMONICAL was spawned in 2006 by then-former Centinex members, Martin Schulman (bass), Ronnie Bergerståhl (drums) and Johan Jansson (ex-guitars & ex-vocals), with a mission to return to the roots of death metal. The now-fivepiece has made good on that promise with a vengeance, traversing a HM2-beaten path of melodic, Swedish death metal, replete with darkness and brutality. Their 2024’s live effort “Victorious Death – Live In Latin America” crowns a discography of seven studio albums and three EPs, interlaced with regular tours. One of their most recent treks, “Titans Of Darkness Tour”, has seen the band journey across Europe with Inquisition, with most of their shows sold-out.
The present-day line-up, apart from long-running members Schulman and Bergerståhl, comprises vocalist Charlie Fryksell, alongside guitarists Johan Haglund & Eki Kumpulainen.
In 2025 the band released a split EP with Inquisition titled “Deadly Alliance”.
Tour dates:
May 9, 2026 – Klubb Oväsen, Bollnäs, Sweden May 16, 2026 – Steelfest Open Air, Hyvinkää, Finland May 23, 2026 – Palacio Metal Fest, Sevilla, Spain Jun 13, 2026 – Vingåkers Vrålet, Vingåker, Sweden Jul 3, 2026 – Obscene Extreme Festival, Trutnov, Czech Republic Jul 11, 2026 – Dunndret Festival, Karlskoga, Sweden
In one of the most exciting twists in what is already shaping up to be a true Year Of Metal, Serpent from Eden, the much-acclaimed California metal band featuring guitarist John “Gumby” Goodwin (Ozzy Osbourne, Ringo Starr, George Clinton) step aside from their “regular” career, to present a very special new album – a tribute to fallen bandmate Nick Menza, with the drummer himself a key presence on every single track.
For over 30 years, Gumby, Menza and bassist Darwin Ballard played together, building up an exemplary body of work whose entire story has already been told across no less than twenty “volumes” of documentary, available on YouTube, and detailing the trio’s brutal assault upon the nation’s ears via live footage, videos, photos and interviews.
Now, to mark the 10th anniversary of the drummer’s passing, Serpent From Eden are set to release a full album’s worth of unreleased music – a tribute to their friend and a vivid snapshot of “what might have been.”
Friends since childhood, Gumby and Ballard met Menza while in their teens, when their band Emeralde were soundchecking at the Santa Monica College Amphitheater at the time.
“We set up,” says Gumby, “and I blasted out a few riffs on my guitar to sound check my rig, and after I put my guitar down and started walking backstage, I heard a thunderous explosive sound and the most articulated heavy rock drumming ever from someone not named John Bonham!”
It transpired that Emeralde’s regular drummer had enlisted a couple of his students to act as roadies for the gig, and as one of them came walking around the corner , Gumby excitedly asked him “Who’s that drumming?” “That’s Nick, Steve’s drum roadie” came the reply, to which the guitarist immediately responded, “No he’s not, he’s our new drummer!”
Gumby and Menza would play together for the remainder of the drummer’s life, in both their own groups (Rhoads, The Green, Von Skeletor, Soma and Freaktricity) and, briefly, as part of the crazy train that is Megadeth. According to Gumby, “our soundman Neil Schaefer was now working for them, and and he originally brought Nick and I as stage tech/understudies, as Jeff Young and Chuck Behler were already showing signs of their soon to come dismissals. In fact, the whole band crashed hard after the end of the So Far, So Good, So What Tour and was disbanded while Dave Mustaine went to rehab.”
Eventually Mustaine emerged and was ready to play again and, after a series of successful rehearsal sessions with the band, Menza officially embarked upon what Gumby describes as “a ten year run of success seldom seen in the rock world.”
Unfortunately, he continues, “that same success lead to jealousy and unfair treatment from bandleader and strong-boss Dave Mustaine…” tensions which led not only to Menza’s “dismissal and banishment from the Megadeth universe,” but are also captured in the lyrics of Serpent From Eden’s new single,“Promises, Conspiracies, and Lies.”
And look out for the video, coming soon to YouTube
Released today, “Promises, Conspiracies, and Lies” is the ideal introduction to what is to follow – and the culmination, explains Gumby, of a remarkable chain of events.
It was while Serpent From Eden, Gumby’s current band, were working on their own new album that the guitarist began sifting through old tapes, in search of material they might want to work on.
Instead, to his amazement, he discovered he had enough tracks, from so many recording sessions, to create an entire new album with Menza playing drums on every song!
Serpent From Eden bandmates Pauli Infantino (vocals), James Yokoi (bass), and Chris Tracy (drums), and Darwin Ballard too will also be heard on the album, while special guests Chris Poland and fellow Medadeth-er David Ellefson also contribute stellar performances. Producer Max Norman then distilled everything into this collection of songs, to help the world remember a true rock legend and hear him play killer new music for the first time in many years!
The result is a stand out collection of powerful, dynamic, and melodic hard rock music that will be impossible to pigeon hole as one style but it is still highly cohesive as a whole, all bound together by just one intention – to honor Nick Menza in the way he would want to be honored, with an uncompromising, heavy musical statement, encompassing his wide range of musical tastes but always with his ever insatiable need for musical power!
Since taking root in 1990, Green Carnation have reaped the success of their lofty ambitions. On just their second album, the prog bards authored one of the longest continuous epics in metal’s hallowed archives. Just last year, the band set sail on an epic album trilogy with The Shores of Melancholia, which washed onto best-of 2025 lists at PROG, Loudwire, Angry Metal Guy and other major publications. Now, as they descend into deeper, darker and doomier depths on the upcoming Part II of A Dark Poem, the Norwegian natives are adding another memorable scene to their storied career.
Today, Green Carnation are thrilled to announce a show in their hometown of Kristiansand with Deep Purple. The band will join the forefathers of heavy metal at one-day festival Dirty Old Town Live on June 14 alongside Turbonegro and Slomosa. During their set, Green Carnation will perform hits from across their discography, including the booming and bloodied new single “Sanguis (Blood Ties)”.
“Playing a show in our hometown alongside Deep Purple is something we never thought would happen”, Green Carnation says. “With several other amazing bands on the lineup, this show is certainly looking like one that will go into the history books and stay with us forever”.
Dirty Old Town Live 2026 with Deep Purple, Turbonegro, Slomosa, Green Carnation, Young Fogertys + DJ Maciek Ofstad (Kveleertak) June 14 – Kristiansand, Norway @ Odderøya [Tickets]
In September, Green Carnation are returning to the stage in Kristiansand for another unforgettable evening. During their headlining show at the Kilden Performing Arts Centre, the band will perform A Dark Poem in its entirety for the first and final time – including the as-of-yet unannounced Part III. Already, fans from 18 different countries have purchased tickets for this once-in-a-lifetime event.
An Evening with Green Carnation performing Part I, II and III of A Dark Poem
September 12 – Kristiansand, Norway @ Kilden Performing Arts Centre [TICKETS]
Catch Green Carnation at European summer festivals June 6 – Tampere, Finland @ Ankea Festival [TICKETS] August 1 – Ungarn, Hungary @ Feke Zaj Festival [TICKETS]
Watch the video for “Sanguis (Blood Ties)”:
A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis comes out April 3 on Season of Mist.
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
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 ) 