Red Reign will start the new year off right with two exciting announcements: an upcoming release of a live EP, while fans in the Anaheim, California area will soon get the opportunity to see the band live. On Thursday, January 22, 2026, Red Reign will be supporting Metal Allegiance at the House of Blues in Anaheim, California.
“We are beyond excited to be a part of, the Metal Allegiance show,” the band said. “Not only do we get to perform in from of great musicians, but it will be our first time Red Reign will be on the west coast. We look forward to bringing our music to new listeners and have the experience of our lives.”
Additionally, Red Reign will be attending the 2026 METAL HALL OF FAME at The Roxy in Los Angeles CA on Wednesday, January 21st, 2026. And on last Friday, January 16, 2026 they released ‘Live at Ardmore Music Hall,’ which was recorded on April 30, 2025, when Red Reign supported LA Guns. “We wanted to capture our live, energetic, raw sound,” the band explained. “In the studio, while recording songs, you feel compelled to make sure the song is perfect in a controlled setting. But live recording gives you a little more freedom to express the songs in a different manner.”
Hailing from Virginia, Red Reign comprised of members singer/guitarist Carlton “Bubba” McMichael, guitarist Stevie Shred, bassist Larry Moore, and drummer Sammy Lee. The quartet takes 80’s rock influences but steers them in a more contemporary direction. In 2023, they released their full-length debut ‘Don’t Look Back,’ which can be purchased via this link: https://www.dekoentertainment.com/red-reign
Overseen by Grammy Award-nominated multi-platinum producer David Ivory, the ten-track LP features such standout tracks as “Don’t Look Back” (which features a guest appearance by guitarist George Lynch), “Here I Am,” and “No Peace, No Love.” The band strongly feels that “All types of music lovers can find what they like in each one of our songs.” To check out the group’s music video for “Don’t Look Back,” click here:
And the feedback from the rock press concerning the album has been stellar, including Metal Express Radio saying “‘Don’t Look Back’ has a modern sounding production, giving the songs a fresh feel to them. The title track, in particular, is a solid rocker with a powerful message, which is to let go of the past and focus on the now. It’s heavy, melodic, and upbeat.” Additionally, Sonic Perspectives said, “If the album packs this much energy, witnessing it live might just transport you to another plane of existence.”
‘Live at Ardmore Music Hall’ Tracklisting:
1.) Red Reign 2.) Don’t Look Back 3.) No Peace No Love 4.) Bury Me Up To My Eyes 5.) Here I Am 6.) Not That Way
Danish experimental artists MEEJAH and HIRAKI have unveil their new joint single ‘Dead Calls’ along with a live session video of the track. They have also announced the release of their split EP, INTERWOVEN, out 13th March via Pelagic Records.
Both bands jointly comment: “‘Dead Calls’ is our first single from INTERWOVEN. It’s the opener of the new year 2026, which will be dedicated to the MEEJAH x HIRAKI project where our two bands blend together to one big ensemble. We are happy to finally have arrived at the release date. We have worked intensity on exchanging ideas, music and dreams back and forth and interweaving the two bands – and we hope the European audience will embrace our music as well. It feels like a match made in heaven! Our new Tapetown Session filmed on the nose of Jutland in Denmark has captured and translated our energy so well. Enjoy!”
The INTERWOVEN collaboration has induced a new set of emphases for the two Danish bands, demanding MEEJAH to go darker and heavier, while moving HIRAKI towards an experiment of intertwining complex expressions in a longer format.
The themes on INTERWOVEN spawned in the dark stage room Gloria at Roskilde Festival during a The Ocean concert where Mai Soon Young Øvlisen from MEEJAH stood in the audience, overwhelmed with a fast stream of thoughts before her inner eyes.
Memories of the old East Berlin, the Book of the Dead, the heart weighed against a feather in the afterlife, innocence and revenge – and how the executioner becomes a victim to the loss of their own humanity. When suddenly Loïc Rossetti sat down in front of her – asking her if she was okay – as if he sensed that one day she would ask him to sing with her.
Through collaborations with the LLNN brothers Rasmus and Ketil Sejersen and their industrial, hardcore project John Cxnnor, HIRAKI and Meejah met The Oceans light designer Pierre Roi des Forêts – who helped them connect to Loïc.
HIRAKI and MEEJAH decided to exchange artistic powers, common music backgrounds, combined with their shared love for the underground scene. HIRAKI plugged onto the themes – adding their trademark aggressive style, new perspectives, lyrics about malice, control, contradictions and the existential self-awareness of one’s choice to cause harm – and significantly broadened the artistic handprint.
INTERWOVEN is mixed by HIRAKI’s long time producer Klaus Q, and references common influential bands such as The Body, The Armed, Sightless Pit, Massive Attack, Julie Christmas and Death Engine.
Track list:
01. Redirect Revenge 03. Preserve Manifest 02. All Contrast 04. Dead Calls
Florida rock band Gunshine kick off 2026 with the release of their new single, “Goth Girl,” offering fans a first taste of their forthcoming full-length album, Grand Rising, due out digitally on July 24 through vnclm_ / Create Music Group.
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 will be available for purchase starting next week, including CD and double vinyl editions, alongside exclusive Gunshine merchandise. Physical formats will be sold online through the band and at upcoming live shows.
“Goth Girl”, the lead single from Gunshine’s upcoming album Grand Rising, is an irresistible hooky track with undeniable melody and attitude. A track that blends different flavors and styles seamlessly, showcasing Gunshine’s originality and songwriting prowess. This track also features a collaboration with highly acclaimed songwriter/producer Brian Howes (Hinder, Skillet, Nickelback, Daughtry).
“It started with several vocal melodies and a riff I had, then Jordan had a lyrical concept about a goth girl. We then collaborated with Brian Howes, and he loved it and we finished the rest of the song in Vancouver, Canada with him,” shares Austin Ingerman. “It was the first time we finished writing something on the spot just before tracking it, but that spontaneity brought out some magic. We recorded the basic tracks at The Armoury (where ACDC’s razor’s edge was recorded, Bon Jovi’s slippery when wet, etc), and finished all the rest at his home studio (built by Mutt Lange’s studio builder) on Vancouver Island. I came up with the breakdown on the spot while tracking at The Armoury. It was a cool unexpected left turn that shouldn’t work but does.“
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
Italian progressive death metal outfit FATE UNBURIED have signed with Time To Kill Records for the release of their second full-length album, “Neraspeme”.
The announcement is accompanied by the unveiling of the first single, “Drain”, which offers an initial glimpse into the album’s musical and conceptual direction. “Neraspeme” explores an extreme-tinged form of progressive metal where technical skill is never an end in itself, but a tool to serve atmosphere, emotion and narrative depth.
The songs unfold through unexpected twists while retaining a strong melodic core and a persistent melancholic mood ready to surface at any moment.
Further singles and all album details will be released in the coming months.
“Once all the hatred has been drained, when the anger has finished screaming and there’s nothing left to spit out, all that remains is emptiness. This track is an unrestrained outburst: hatred and rage violently spat out, raw and instinctive, without overthinking. It’s the sound of an inner void that has yet to be filled and that continues to make itself felt heavy”.
“Neraspeme” is a sonic journey into the core of a relationship in decay. A 12-track concept album, each song is designed to unsettle, surprise, and relentlessly pull the listener forward, never allowing a moment of rest.
The album is defined by sharp, powerful riffs that are often unexpectedly catchy, lodging themselves in the listener’s mind while retaining a fierce, unyielding aggression. The band skillfully weaves in progressive elements through sudden tempo shifts, intricate instrumental passages, and moments of eerily suspended atmosphere, balanced by sections driven by a strong, groove-oriented drum performance.
On a thematic level, “Neraspeme” traces the full emotional cycle of a relationship approaching its end. The tracks unfold like chapters of an inner collapse, moving from blinding anger to disoriented madness, and finally to the album’s title concept: a warped, dark form of hope that offers no redemption and ultimately dissolves like a mirage.
Line-up:
Riccardo Babbolin – Vocals, Guitar Francesco Garatti – Guitar Davide Piccolo – Bass Giorgio Piva – Drums
Discography:
Dehumanized Society (Demo) – 2012 Logos (LP) – 2017 A Pale Color Perception: Hostility (EP) – 2020 A Pale Color Perception: Observant (EP) – 2021 Neraspeme (LP) – 2026
After nearly a decade of soul searching through the Canadian wilderness, Anciients hit the road hard last year. The heavy, heady and heartfelt Canucks capped off an extensive U.S. headlining tour in support of their latest JUNO Award-winning album, Beyond the Reach of the Sun, by winning Metal & Hard Music Artist of the Year at the Western Canadian Music Awards. Now, the band are keeping their momentum rolling with their first set of tours dates for 2026.
Today, Anciients are announcing a Canadian tour with Cancer Bats, who are celebrating 20 years of their debut album Birthing the Giant. During this coast-to-coast run, the band will perform new favorites from Beyond the Reach of the Sun, along with earlier crowd-pleasers from their award-winning discography. Joining Anciients are Ontario’s Teeth (Fort Eerie) and Chastity (Whitby).
“We are very stoked to announce that we’ll be hitting the Canadian highway this spring while supporting our friends in Cancer Bats on their 20th anniversary tour”, Anciients’ frontman Kenny Cook says. “This tour is going to be a ripper”.
Anciients 2026 Coast-to-Coast Canadian Tour with Cancer Bats, Teeth + Chastity
April 3 – St. John’s, NL @ The Rock House [TICKETS] April 4 – Halifax, NS @ Marquee Ballroom April 5 – Moncton, NB @ Tide & Boar [TICKETS] April 7 – Quebec, QC @ L’Anti Bar & Spectacles [TICKETS] April 8 – Ottawa, ON @ Overflow Brewing Company [TICKETS] April 9 – Kingston, ON @ The Broom Factory [TICKETS] April 10 – Toronto, ON @ The Opera House [TICKETS] April 11 – Greater Sudbury, ON @ HQ Headquarters [TICKETS] April 12 – Thunder Bay, ON @ Black Pirates Pub [TICKETS] April 14 – Regina, SK @ The Exchange [TICKETS] April 16 – Kelowna, BC @ Metro Hub [TICKETS] April 17 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl [TICKETS] April 18 – Vancouver, BC @ Capital Ballroom [TICKETS] April 20 – Nelson, BC @ The Royal [TICKETS] April 21 – Fernie, BC @ The Northern Bar & Stage [TICKETS] April 22 – Calgary, AB @ Dickens [TICKETS] April 23 – Edmonton, AB @ Pawn Shop Live [TICKETS] April 24 – Reed Deer, AB @ Bo’s Bar & Stage [TICKETS] April 25 – Saskatoon, SK @ Coors Event Centre [TICKETS]
TBD – Winnipeg* May 16 – Montreal @ Pouzza Fest* *Cancer Bats only
Anciients’ award-winning discography is available now on Season of Mist. Order & Stream
Watch the new video for “Is It Your God”:
Beyond the Reach of the SunTracklist 1. Forbidden Sanctuary (8:16) 2. Despoiled (5:19) 3. Is It Your God (7:07) [WATCH] 4. Melt the Crown (7:08) [WATCH] 5. Cloak of the Vast and Black (6:20) [WATCH] 6. Celestial Tyrant (5:52) 7.Beyond Our Minds (4:12) 8. The Torch (4:13) 9. Candescence (4:10) 10. In the Absence of Wisdom (6:35) [WATCH]
It’s been a rough handful of years for British Columbia-based extremity-laced progressive rockers, Anciients. When the quartet unleashed their Voice of the Void album in 2016, the world appeared to be their oyster and things seemed ripe for the picking. They were coming off the success of their Heart of Oak debut from 2013, its ascendancy due in large part to a collective uptick in interest for involved, forward-thinking music. The public had moved beyond toe-dipping and tire-kicking, and were instead doing headfirst dives into exploring the likes of Opeth, Mastodon, Baroness, The Ocean, Intronaut and others who originally hailed from the extreme music underground, but had since grown, matured and scrubbed behind their ears to include heaping and healthy chunks from the outskirts of their record collections and influence pools.
The Band That Auto-Correct Loves to Fuck With™ shared stages with everyone from High on Fire and Goatwhore to Boris and Lamb of God, were in the midst of a European tour when they discovered they were JUNO Award (Canadian Grammy equivalent) winners in the heavy metal/hard rock category. The world was ready to accept Anciients into its welcoming arms. Anciients was gearing up to employ takeover methods, specifically their brand of thunderous rhythms and labyrinthine riffing bolstered by a road warrior mentality. And then, the momentum petered out and the band seemingly fell off the face of the earth.
Today, Anciients are ready and poised to resume their spirited quest for heavy metal paramountcy. There’s no doubt the band is back and with a stunning and beautiful collection of ten songs on offer in the form of new and third album, Beyond the Reach of the Sun, they are positioning to reestablish themselves as a dominant force for those who love windmilling their tresses around thoughtful tempo changes, complex harmonic layers and driving power chord shifting. But what the hell happened and where did they disappear to?
“Basically,” explains guitarist/vocalist Kenny Cook, “right before Voice of the Void was recorded, my wife had our first kid. She ended up having heart complications and almost passed away from it. We recorded the last record and once it came out, I was kind of just focusing on her, dealing with her health issues and keeping that in check. I wasn’t at the stage where I could be gone for half a year, especially with a new kid. Long story short, she’s happy and healthy now, but dealing with family issues was the main priority. It was a bit of a road.”
Adding to that bit of Anciients camp turmoil, guitarist/co-vocalist/co-founding member, Chris Dyck and the band parted ways in January of 2017. This left a gaping lineup hole at an inopportune juncture in the band’s timeline. Not only did Cook have to deal with the absence of his long-term song and lyric writing partner, but Dyck was also someone he had been splitting vocal duties with since the pair formed the band in 2009. And then, while helping his wife with her recovery, raising their new born and “because we wanted to raise our son in a small town environment,” the Cook family uprooted to Columbia-Shuswap four hours east of the Vancouver area, where drummer Mike Hannay, Brock MacInnes (Dyck’s replacement) and brand spanking new bassist Rory O’Brien still reside.
“We knew Brock from other bands he’d been in and we knew he’d be a great fit,” explains Cook. “He actually filled in for Chris on a tour we did back in 2015. As far as the vocals, I just found myself picking up the slack on both ends. It felt somewhat natural, it was definitely different. Doing the lyrics myself for the first time was somewhat daunting, but it was also something done out of necessity. But even when Chris was in the band I handled 80-90% of the vocals anyway, so it didn’t change all that much.”
Then, that whole COVID-19 thing you probably heard about once or twice hit in 2020 and put another restraining bolt on Anciients’ activity, especially touring as the Canadians found themselves dealing with stricter travel restrictions and mandates than many other countries; most notably, not being able to cross the border for almost two years. Once the dust settled, Cook had to adjust to being the lone vocalist and how that impacted the material he was writing while navigating being creative with distance between Anciients’ members for the first time. Not a biggie, as in-person writing sessions are more of a rarity these days, but because of the time elapsed since Voices of the Void, things/interests/influences changed and the band ended up scrapping half of an album’s worth of material and starting fresh. When they put their heads down at the end of 2021 with the focus being Beyond the Reach of the Sun, what was revealed a year later was more streamlined and slithery, more chest-thumpingly direct, more epic and triumphant sounding. Riffs come in explosive layered packets. Leads, harmonies and melodies are more on par with wind-tussled mountain tops instead of sweaty bar shows and the band moves with finely honed, martial accuracy as conducted by Hannay’s rocket-in-the-pocket staccato swing and accents.
Songs like “The Torch” blaze with the shirtless glisten of ‘70s stadium rock power. “Cloak of the Vast and Black” swirls and whirls with a combination of hardcore intensity, grunge groove and expansive six-string parries. “In the Absence of Wisdom” is a hurricane-sized maelstrom of classic and prog rock elevated to grandiosity by a return to their growling sludge/death early years as the song/album concludes. The album’s first single, “Melt the Crown” mixes cues from legendary fellow hosers Rush and Harlequin, turn-of-the-millennium post-metal and the most psychedelic corners of the Rise Above Records roster.
“The new record has a lot more of our rock side,” Cook offers, “and leans towards those elements of our sound and personalities, whereas Voice of the Void was pretty crushing all the way through. With the new material we’ve tried to add more dynamics to the music and give the songs more room to breathe.”
Album opener “Forbidden Sanctuary” is the soundtrack to exploration, of new worlds and sonic arrangement as sine-wave guitars pull from vintage Mercyful Fate covens and Krautrock communes with synths opening up novel textural avenues, as they do on the ethereal wispiness and space rock/sci-fi soundscapes of the instrumental “Candescence.” Beyond the Reach of the Sunsees synths and keyboards making their first appearance on an Anciients record and were played by producer/mixer Jesse Gander and Justin Hagberg at the former’s Rain City Recorders studio. In addition to augmenting the album with his skill on the black and whites, Hagberg — a member of the recently reunited 3 Inches of Blood — also helped Anciients navigate a significant last-minute hurdle, one that threatened to pull the reins back on their comeback roar.
“We lost our bass player literally a month before we were going in to record and were kind of up shit’s creek. Justin also plays in a band called Ritual Dictates with Rory and is the one who brought his name up.”
O’Brien, a former member of Vancouver’s Bushwhacker, was absolutely interested when approached by Anciients.
“We got lucky and he saved our asses at the last minute.”
Cook stepped up to the challenge of being the sole lyricist to drape Beyond the Reach of the Sun in deeply personal expressions of the inner turmoil, fear and isolation he’d experienced in himself and saw in others over the past few years. There were moments where he didn’t know whether loved ones were going to pull through and what life was going to look like were tragedy come to pass. Mental health and people living life without being able to see any light at the end of the tunnel became a very prevalent theme to tracks like “Despoiled” and “Beyond Our Minds.” And while the line that became the album’s title is taken from a David Attenborough-narrated Planet Earth documentary, it speaks more to the coming and going of despondency when one doesn’t know how dark the darkness is going to get, as in “Is It Your God,” which pulls from the manifestation of grief and how it can shatter belief systems.
“That one is a little more personal to me and my situation,” Cook says somberly. “I had a good friend of mine from when I was younger pass away from cancer. His mother was super-religious and there were ideas taken from her questioning how could something like that happen to her when she had such a strong faith.”
The title and themes of stripped away hope and piled on anguish and tumult were parlayed into the album’s spectacular cover art. Created by Adam Burke (Nightjar Illustrations), the drawing is part-pulp novel cover, part-Franzetta landscape, part-sci-fi movie poster and all a vast illustration one can easily lose themselves in while the record spins in the background.
“We gave him the concept and basic outline of how we wanted the cover to look and he took it to a whole new dimension. It turned out pretty wild!”
With all being said and done, Anciients have returned! They stand ready to ascend the prog metal ladder and get back to doing what they do best with a weighty and dense, but wholly accessible, album. It’s a collection of ten songs that possesses the ability to have those furiously banging heads also tapping into their power of self-reflection and contemplation to ponder the finality of existence, the value of life and their place in the universe.
“Totally! We’re going to take as many of the opportunities that come to us. The hiatus is over and I think with the new members and everyone being on the same page we’re ready to get out there as soon as possible. We missed out on a huge block after the last record, so we’ve got to make up for lost time. Now that everyone is happy and healthy, we plan to hit it hard.”
Guest musicians –Justin Hagberg plays keyboard on “Forbidden Sanctuary”, “Is It Your God”, “Melt the Crown”, “Candescence”, “In the Absence of Wisdom”. –Jess Gander plays synths on “Candescence” and “Cloak of the Vast and Black”.
Recording studio Rain City Recorders
Producer / sound engineer Jesse Gander Assisted by Szymon Wojciech
Mastering studio and engineer Stu McKillop @ Rain City Mastering
Mixing studio and engineer Jesse Gander Rain City Recorders
Cover artwork artist Adam Burke @ Nightjar Illustrations
How many metal musicians does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Who cares? They shorted out the entire grid hours ago. And you’re maybe going to want to think about buying your own portable generator as Nuclear Messiah draw closer.
Because, if you want to talk metal supergroups, super sessions, super whatever-you-like, Nuclear Messiah has not only got them all beat. It also has even the doughtiest hard rock warrior cowering in a corner, probably wearing ear protectors, and simply marveling at the cast of superstars filing through the studios as the sessions came together.
There’s 36 of them altogether, a staggering lineup representing every era of heavy music, and uniting icons from thrash, classic rock, hard rock, and progressive metal. And not one of them has phasers on anything less than stun – and that includes Captain Kirk, William Shatner, who voices the opening “The Prophet of Fallout.”
A thunderous all-star concept set, the forthcoming album’s called Black Flame – and how appropriate is that? The God of Hellfire himself, Arthur Brown, starred on Nuclear Messiah’s first single, a cover of Lucifer’s Friend’s classic “Ride The Sky,” before Christmas (watch it at https://youtu.be/yEaLCjdy2hk); now the new year opens with the incendiary title track, “Black Flame” itself. It’s a Chris Poland original and, for anyone schooled in the art of Megadeth’s most combustible albums, you can already guess what that means.
The heart of Nuclear Messiah, Poland’s melodic fluidity, experimental phrasing, and sheer command of tone have inspired generations. From Megadeth’s Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? to his work in OHM and Damn the Machine, Poland’s guitar sound remains one of the most distinctive in modern music.
“Chris isn’t just a guitarist — he’s a spirit of sound,” says Brian Perera, Cleopatra’s founder and the album’s executive producer. “Nuclear Messiah was built around his brilliance and brought to life by an army of legends who share his passion and precision.”
Poland isn’t the only Megadeath-er in sight, either. “Black Flame” also features fellow Mega-alumni Glen Drover (guitar) and Chris Adler (drums), alongside vocalist Ronnie Romero (Rainbow), keyboardist Jonathan Cain (Journey) and bassist Phil Soussan (Ozzy).
It’s a line-up to make your ears bleed just thinking about it.
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
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