Milwaukee Metal Festival 2027 is making its triumphant return and is pleased to reveal the first wave of legendary bands! Extreme metal innovators Meshuggah will be celebrating their 40 year anniversary with a headlining set and will also be joined on Friday by thrash metal vets Testament and New Orleans sludge legends Crowbar, while doom metal masters YOB and grindcore stalwarts Pig Destroyer and Repulsion will also appear during the festival. Many more bands will soon be announced… stay tuned!!
The festival will once again return to The Rave/Eagles Club and will take place from May 14 – 16, with the pre-party kicking off on May 13! Passes and tickets are available now at THIS LOCATION.
Milwaukee Metal Fest 2026 will once again showcase a wide range of metal styles, including death metal, doom, hardcore, metalcore, thrash, industrial, and underground extremity, with performances spread across multiple stages throughout the venue. In addition to live music, the festival will feature a dedicated floor for merchandise and collectibles, giving fans access to exclusive band merch, vinyl, rare items, and more throughout the weekend.
The current lineup is now as follows with more TBA:
Founded in 1987, Milwaukee Metal Fest is one of the longest-running and most influential metal festivals in the United States, with a rich history of showcasing groundbreaking artists across the heavy music spectrum. After establishing itself as a cornerstone of American metal through the late 1980s and 1990s, the festival was revived in 2023 under the direction of Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta, ushering in a new era while honoring its legacy. Today, Milwaukee Metal Fest continues to unite fans and artists for an uncompromising celebration of metal across the iconic stages of The Rave/Eagles Club.
Cape Town alternative rock outfit Southern Wild released their new album, The Art Of Feeling Nothing, on 30 October 2026, via Just Music.
After a six-year journey shaped by unexpected turns, distance, personal challenges and a renewed creative spirit, Cape Town’s Southern Wild finally unveil The Art Of Feeling Nothing, a deeply personal nine-track album that captures not only the evolution of the band, but the people they’ve become along the way.
Since emerging in 2015, Southern Wild have spent the past decade developing a distinctive sound at the intersection of alternative rock, post-rock, neo-soul and folk. Known for their emotionally charged performances and genre-crossing approach, the band has appeared on the main stages of festivals including Up The Creek, Rocking the Daisies, Smoking Dragon and Oppikoppi, and has had the opportunity to open for international heavyweights Incubus and The Cure during their South African tours.
Recording of The Art Of Feeling Nothing began in 2019 with producer Theo Crous. What was initially intended to be a straightforward album recording soon became a much longer journey. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic brought the process to a halt, while changing circumstances saw band members move in different directions. Frontman Dave spent four years in Zambia, and for extended periods the album remained unfinished.
When the band eventually reunited, they returned to the material with fresh perspectives and a renewed sense of purpose. Interestingly, the album itself became a reflection of that journey. The first five tracks were written before life pulled the band apart, while the final four emerged after years of separation, capturing two distinctly different chapters in their lives.
“Some albums capture a moment. This one captured the people we became while trying to finish it,”explains the band.
The album’s title reflects the tension between holding on to the things that make us feel alive and the ways modern life can gradually teach us to suppress those feelings. Through routine, responsibility, information overload and the inevitable changes that come with growing older, The Art Of Feeling Nothing explores the moments when feeling less becomes a way of coping. Rather than providing definitive answers, the album leaves room for listeners to find their own meaning in the music.
The extended recording process also brought changes to the band’s sound and lineup. With the arrival of lead guitarist Conrad Birch, whose distinctive and expansive guitar work became an integral part of the album’s final sound, Southern Wild now return as a re-energised four-piece, embracing a new chapter while retaining the musical identity that has defined them from the beginning.
Raw, unfiltered and drenched in emotion, The Art Of Feeling Nothing is more than an album that took six years to complete. It is a document of friendship, change, resilience and the enduring connection between four musicians and the songs that brought them back together.
“I am the center, why can’t you see? Everything here revolves around me Everything I think is a fact And everything I say is sensational.”
Gothenburg metalcore quartet Grayscale Season have released a video for ‘mov’, the final single before their new album The Weight of Things We Cannot Touch arrives on 20th November 2026.
Pre-order The Weight of Things We Cannot Touchhere
‘mov’ is the main character problem written from the inside. It is self-delusion held alongside full knowledge of the fracture running through it, and other people stop being people entirely:
“Each corpse becomes a background figure in my shining light.”
The last line gives the whole thing away: “Can you hear me? I’m falling.”
Guitarist Richard Sörensen wrote the entire instrumental at home before showing it to anyone. The song is simple on the surface with more happening underneath than on most of the album, and it has the best drumming on the record, including a blast beat that costs the song no momentum at all. Producer George Lever liked the bendy breakdown enough that it now appears twice instead of once.
Richard Sörensen comments: “Nuances and details in the guitar playing. It’s still pretty simple but there’s more going on than in some of the other tracks. The female vocal sample at the end kinda calls back to the first track of the album, ‘Strung Up’. This time it’s in English though.”
Grayscale Season have never sounded much like their hometown. Formed in Gothenburg in 2012 and independent throughout, the four-piece pair crushing low-tuned riffs with a fragile falsetto, because that is what it sounds like when someone performs strength while falling apart underneath it. They have toured the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and played Helltown Festival in 2024. Press comparisons have run to Loathe, Deftones, Humanity’s Last Breath and The Acacia Strain. The Weight of Things We Cannot Touch is their most direct record and their least resolved.
The album takes its name from a Japanese word. ‘Yarusenai’ describes the sadness or anger you feel when you know exactly what is wrong and have no way at all to fix it, and Grayscale Season have built an entire record out of that condition. Across eleven tracks the narrator sees precisely what is wrong with him and stays in the wrong room anyway, conforms anyway, says the thing too late anyway. The album keeps looking for somewhere outside itself to put the grief, first in contempt for other people and then in the ground. Neither works. Only the closing track names something reachable, and what it grieves is not the loss of that thing but the years spent looking past it.
On the sound of the record, vocalist Eddie Lejhagen comments: “I don’t think we really had a specific reference for how the album would sound. Melancholy is probably what I wanted the album to have a lot of, and I think we managed to pull that off. As for the screamed vocals, Deafheaven is probably a major inspiration – the desperation in it, but melancholic at the same time.”
The Weight of Things We Cannot Touch was produced by George Lever (Loathe, Sleep Token), who worked with the band remotely while they recorded everything themselves, a first for them. The album was mixed by Buster Odeholm (Humanity’s Last Breath, Bring Me The Horizon) and mastered by Seth Munson (Teddy Swims), with additional top line production and piano by Aurora Karme Nord.
Tracklisting: 01. Strung Up 02. soulmogged 03. Yarusenai (Ghost) 04. Infinite cc 05. Exit 06. Second Breath 07. mov 08. Square Terror 09. Heart&Ache 10. HER 11. I Know What You Are
Grayscale Season are: Adam Dahlman – Bass, clean vocals Richard Sörensen – Guitar Eddie Lejhagen – Harsh vocals Johan Carlbom – Drums
Former Accept vocalist David Reece discusses his new Bangalore Choir album ‘Payload’, revisiting his Accept legacy, plus an emotional reunion with ACCEPT and Wolf Hoffmann that will see him performing alongside the band for two special European dates after 37 years.
In an interview with The Metal Voice’s Jimmy Kay, Reece opened up about the creative direction behind Payload, his continued passion for songwriting, and the unexpected invitation from Accept guitarist Wolf Hoffmann that has brought a long chapter of his musical history full circle.’
Scheduled for release on November 6, 2026, via El Puerto Records, Payload sees Reece continuing to explore the melodic hard rock sound that originally established Bangalore Choir with its 1992 debut, On Target.
Following the positive response to last year’s Rapid Fire Succession: On Target Part II Reece felt it was time to bring fresh songwriting perspectives into the project.
Reece reflected in the musical direction of Payload, an album that balances harder rockers with mid-tempo material and slower melodic moments.
While Payload provided plenty to discuss, the biggest revelation of the interview was undoubtedly the news surrounding Reece’s relationship with his former bandmates in Accept.
After approximately 37 years without direct communication with Wolf Hoffmann, Reece received an unexpected message while he was in Bulgaria performing at a festival in August.
Initially, he almost dismissed the communication as another spam call. However, when he checked his email, he discovered a message from Hoffmann himself.
The message was simple but life-changing.
“Hi David, how are you? I wonder if you’d be interested. I’d be very honored if you would join Accept live and perform some songs with us on the upcoming Teutonic Titans tour.”
Reece was overwhelmed by the invitation.
“I think I almost broke into tears,” he admitted. “The weight of it kind of being over. Like, finally I can.”
For a singer whose time with Accept has remained an important and sometimes complicated part of his musical history, the invitation represented much more than simply another concert opportunity.
It was an opportunity to reconnect with people he had once shared an important chapter of his life with.
Reece confirmed that he will join Accept for two special appearances: November 21, 2026 – Oberhausen, Germany December 2, 2026 – Alcatraz, Milan, Italy
Although the exact songs have not been revealed, Reece confirmed that he will perform a few songs with the band.
He did, however, reveal one of the selections: “Hellhammer.” (from Eat the heat)
“That’s one of the obvious given,” he said.
Tracklist
1. Tear It All Down 2. Cost Of The Grind 3. Believing 4. I’ll Take The Risk 5. The Damage That Remains 6. Nothing Left To Prove 7. Breakdown Unforgettable 8. Even If It’s Nothing 9. Answer The Call 10. Bitter End 11. Late To The Party 12. Won’t Fool Me Again
Line-up
• David Reece – Vocals • Andy Susemihl – Guitars, Background Vocals • Steve Gordon MIA – Guitars • Tommy McWilliams – Drum
BETTER NOISE MUSIC is thrilled to welcome hard rock stalwarts SOiL to the label’s global roster, thus launching the band’s next decade of dominance. The partnership is a collision of two forces in the hard rock world who were ultimately made for one another.
“SOiL could not be more excited to sign with Better Noise Music. What can I say — they are the BEST at what they do in the music business and beyond. It’s a dream come true to work with Allen Kovac and his top notch team of industry experts. We can’t wait to unleash the new SOiL material to the world with them,” states bassist Tim King.
Over nearly three decades, SOiL have released seven full-length studio albums, all the while remaining a consistent touring act on the international hard rock circuit, selling over 2 million albums worldwide.
“SoiL are such legends in the rock genre with an impressive catalog and even more impressive collection of new material. It’s an honor to welcome them to the Better Noise roster,” states Lexie Viklund, Director of A&R at Better Noise.
To herald the new era, the band has also shared the new song “ENEMY X.” Listen here.
“‘Enemy X’ is a song that is a voice for everything going on in the world today,” explains King. “The turmoil, the fighting, the finger pointing, the negatives. So many people focus on the drama and negative aspects of life that they lose sight of the important things. That leads to anger and confusion and eventually, hatred. At the end of the day, as the lyrics to ‘Enemy X’ state: ‘DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO YOU’RE OUT HERE FIGHTING? DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT SIDE YOU’RE ON?‘ We want people to self-reflect, the world needs it right now.”
“Enemy X” is surely the riff-forward anthem you want to accompany you on any self-reflection journey! And it’s a mere taste of what’s to come, as full-length is on the horizon for 2027.
Soil are touring the UK this fall with FINGER ELEVEN. All dates are below.
SOIL ON TOUR, remaining shows: 10/31 — Wolverhampton, UK 11/1 — Hull, UK 11/3 — Glasgow, UK 11/4 — Newcastle upon Tyne, UK 11/5 — Burgh Castle, UK 11/6 — Nottingham, UK 11/7 — Manchester, UK 11/8 — Bradford, UK 11/10 — Northampton, UK 11/11 — Southampton, UK 11/12 — Torquay, UK 11/13 — Bristol, UK 11/14 — Camden, UK 11/15 — Margate, UK
Formed in 1997, SOiL quickly took the scene by storm. To date, they’ve sold over 2 million albums worldwide on the strength of career-spanning hit singles “Halo,” “Unreal.” “Redefine,” “The Lesser Man,” and “Shine On.”
The band was initially signed to J Records (BMG) by music industry legend Clive Davis, the man who signed legendary acts like Pink Floyd and Aerosmith. SOiL’s major label debut Scars which was released in September 2001. MTV airplay, the Metal Edge Reader’s Choice Award for “Next Big Thing,” and tours with Ozzy Osbourne and Rob Zombie propelled the band to arena stages. 2004 saw the release of re.de.fine, which the the band spent a year on the road in support of, cementing their status as road warriors and a live act not to be missed.
True Self (2006) and Picture Perfect (2009) followed, proving that SOiL were here to stay. Whole arrived in 2013 and was met with continued radio support, and the band released the greatest hits collection Scream: The Essentials in 2017. It included alternate versions of familiar material, allowing SOiL to indulge their creative sides. Play It Forward, a collection of covers, landed in 2023. In addition to covers of classics from White Zombie and Motorhead, as well as the Ramones, the band offered a unique twist on Halsey’s smash hit “Nightmare.”
Which brings us to today — a respected, consistent career of hard hitting anthems, inimitable drive, an Iron Man work ethic, and proven touring track record. SOiL will continue to elevate with a new label partner by its side. Better Noise has consistently invested in guitar-driven music, championing both legendary acts and the genre’s next wave. Welcoming SOiL to the roster reinforces a commitment to keeping heavy music thriving, proving there’s still a place where iconic bands can evolve, release meaningful new music, and continue shaping the future of modern rock.
SOIL ARE: Ryan McCombs — Vocals Tim King — Bass Adam Zadel — Guitar TJ Taylor — Drums
Rock and horror icon ROB ZOMBIE celebrates Halloween with the release of his brand new music video for ‘Sir Lord Acid Wolfman,’ taken from his latest studio album, The Great Satan, available now via Nuclear Blast Records.
Arriving on the most fitting day of the year, the new video brings another chapter of Zombie’s twisted musical universe to life. Fueled by monstrous riffs, infectious grooves and his unmistakable brand of macabre theatrics, ‘Sir Lord Acid Wolfman’ delivers everything fans have come to expect from the legendary musician and filmmaker.
The track was also featured as the B-side to Sheri Moon Zombie’s new single ‘I Love My Robot’ that was recently released on limited-edition picture disc (sold out worldwide).
Released earlier this year, The Great Satan marked Zombie’s return to his Hellbilly roots, delivering 15 tracks of high-octane, horror-infused rock and metal. Featuring songs including “Punks And Demons,” “Heathen Days,” “(I’m A) Rock ‘N’ Roller,” “Tarantula” and “Black Rat Coffin,” the album further solidifies his standing as one of heavy music’s most distinctive creative forces.
As a rock icon and filmmaker with a unique vision, Rob Zombie has continuously challenged audiences as he stretches the boundaries of both music and film. He has sold more than fifteen million albums worldwide, and is the only artist to experience unprecedented success in both music and film as the writer/director of nine feature films including “HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES,” “THE DEVIL’S REJECTS,” “THE MUNSTERS” and the number one smash “HALLOWEEN.”
After five years, Rob Zombie is back with new music as he announces his latest record, THE GREAT SATAN, out on Nuclear Blast in 2026. The new music brings Zombie back to his Hellbilly roots with frenetic cuts such as ‘Punks And Demons,’ ‘Heathen Days,’ ‘(I’m a) Rock ‘N’ Roller’ and ‘Tarantula.’
Rob Zombie has achieved great success in the music industry, first as a member of the multi-platinum band White Zombie and later as a solo artist with even greater results collecting numerous multi-platinum and gold albums along the way including Hellbilly Deluxe, The Sinister Urge and Educated Horses. Rob Zombie’s most recent record, The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy (2021), debuted at #9 on Billboard’s Top 200 chart, making it his 7th consecutive solo album to debut in the top 10.
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
