Fresh off of leaving a mark on their fiery debut,Ponte Del Diavolo are fanning the flames with their upcoming second album. Drawing from the dark and dancing depths of the band’s dueling bassists and the raw spirit of their fiery live ritual, De Venom Natura delivers an all the more potent twist of blackened post-punk.
“[…]deliciously diabolical” No Clean Singing wrote in praise of the album’s spirited lead single. “Erba del Diavolo’s dramatically beautiful but spooky singing creates a key contrast as it soars and quavers above the music’s charging pulse”
Today, Ponte Del Diavolo are releasing the third and final advanced single from De Venom Natura. One of the most intoxicating spells on the album, “Lunga vita alla necrosi” is a claustrophobic descent where fascination and repulsion coexist as both seduction and destruction.
One of the shortest songs that Ponte Del Diavolo has ever written, “Lunga vita alla necrosi” strikes quick. The main riff nods to classic ‘90s black metal amidst amidst the song’s thick post-punk atmosphere. Drawing from both Italian ‘80s hardcore and early 20th-century classics, Erba del Diavolo’s vocals channel dark, compelling sensations.
As the dual bass lines move in deliberate opposition – one distorted and visceral, the other fluid and melodic – a suffocating framework is built that mirrors a mind that’s not searching for an escape but circling into madness.
PONTE DEL DIAVOLO craft a focused blend of doom, black metal, post‐punk, and wave—an aesthetic they call “blackened post‐punk.” Wave‐tinged female vocals anchor the project’s flaming core, supported by an uncommon dual‐bass setup that grounds the rhythmic guitars and a raw, dynamic drum pulse.
The result is an immersive, tension‐driven sound. Following the initial release of three EPs, the band signed to Season of Mist and unveiled their first full-length album, Fire Blades from the Tomb.
After two years on the road – appearing at leading European festivals such as Roadburn and Inferno in support of their debut – Ponte del Diavolo return with “De Venom Natura,” a record that extends and refines their musical boundaries.
Production Credits Recorded at The Deepest Sea, Turin, Italy. Produced & Engineered by Danilo Battocchio. Mixed by Danilo Battocchio at The Deepest Sea. Mastered by Magnus Lindberg at Redmount Studios, Stockholm, Sweden.
Guest Musicians Francesco Bucci Sergio Bertani Vittorio Sabelli Gionata Potenti
Sicilian guitar savant Matteo Mancuso has announced details of his new album Route 96, which will be released on 24 April via Music Theories Recordings. The album features appearances from Steve Vai, Antone Boyer and Valeriy Stepanov. He has also revealed the official video for Isla Feliz featuring the Gypsy Jazz whirlwind Antoine Boyer, which you can watch HERE.
The Rara Avis – “rare bird” in Latin – burst on the scene in 2023 with his debut album The Journey after his prodigious ability caught the attention of the likes of Tosin Abasi, Al Di Meola, Dweezil Zappa and Steve Vai. The release of his debut with its perfect storm of dazzling fingerstyle technique and beautifully crafted compositions saw him adorn the front covers of multiple Guitar magazines, being hailed as the “world’s hottest virtuoso,” “the young guitarist redefining virtuosity,” and saw his international touring take flight with sold-out shows across Europe and the US.
This year, the 29-year-old Palermo, Sicily-based Mancuso returns with his second solo album, Route 96. While his debut was made over the course of three years, this latest release was written and recorded to a much faster timeline, as is often the case with sophomore records.
“I had to squeeze it all into 2025,” he explains. “Everything you hear on the album was recorded last year. “It was so much faster, and I think it was for the best, because the album came out more homogeneous and uniform. Every tune is different, of course, but there are also some sonic qualities that are very similar”.
“This album has come at the right time. I want to have a busy 2026 in terms of tours, but I don’t want to perform the songs from the debut album. I wanted something newer and fresher. These ideas are more original and melodically stronger. There are more explorations, harmonically speaking. I think it shows who I am musically a lot better.”
Perhaps the biggest difference between the debut and Route 96 is the musical confidence on display. The concepts are more orchestrated and developed, with Mancuso showing no shortage of creative wind in the sails. As he goes on to explain, the first album was mainly arranged in a rehearsal room, working out the structure and flow of Mancuso’s music in real-time. This time, the process was much more streamlined.
Route 66 features Matteo alongside Riccardo Oliva (bass) and Gianluca Pellerito (drums) and was recorded at Fico D’India Studios in Casteldaccia, Italy and produced by Matteo along with his father Vincenzo Mancuso. The first song to be released from the album features Antoine Boyer, who brings his gypsy jazz feel to the track Isla Feliz.
Talking about the song, he says, “This is the first official video from my upcoming album Route 96. Isla Feliz is the first tune I wrote for the new record. I wanted to write something Latin-influenced using classical guitar, but I ended up using distortion as well. I had the privilege to collaborate with one of the most talented and brilliant players we have in our galaxy Mr. Antoine Boyer! We really had a great time together, and his contribution to the piece completely changed the tune in a wonderful way! Thank you so much, Antoine, for your amazing work! Thank you as always to my groove overlords Gianluca Pellerito and Riccardo Oliva. As you can see in the official video, we had the opportunity to shoot at this beautiful location, “Real Teatro Santa Cecilia” in Palermo, a huge thank you to Fondazione Orchestra Jazz Siciliana, Presidente Ignazio Garsia, Direttore artistico Luca Luzzu, Real Teatro Santa Cecilia and Direttore Fabio Lannino. Thank you also to my fellow Video makers Filippo Silvestris and Pierluigi Ferrandini.”
Elsewhere, Solar Wind features a guest spot from multiple Grammy winner and instrumental guitar mastermind Steve Vai. Then there’s Warm Sunset – a love-letter to the guitarist’s Latin influences – and Fire And Harmony, which Mancuso describes as the longest and most intense track on the album with more parts and sections than anything he’s recorded in the past.
One of the big differences between Mancuso and the large majority of his peers is his musical open-mindedness. He’s the kind of player who can not only exist but thrive in a variety of different styles
There are many reasons for the young musician to feel proud of album number two – named after his year of birth, as well as the 96kHz audio sample rate Steve Vai recommended him to record at. With a busy year of touring ahead, he’s excited to be bringing this new music to stages around the world.
“I think I know myself better musically thanks to this album,” he admits. “I did go through a process of eliminating things, and through that I realised more about the things I liked best about the music I compose and hear. The first album was made when I was studying a lot of things. Now I study less but listen more to just the music that attracts me. Route 96 is a more honest-sounding record, I would say.”
Track listing 1. Solar Wind ft. Steve Vai 2. Fire And Harmony 3. Isla Feliz (ft. Antoine Boyer) 4. L.A. Blues One 5. The Great Wall 6. Warm Sunset 7. Black Centurion 8. In The Morning Light 9. The Chicken ft. Valeriy Stepanov (Bonus Track)
1/25 San Juan Capistrano, CA The Coach House 1/26 San Diego, CA Music Box 1/27 Santa Barbara, CA Lobero Theatre 1/28 Santa Cruz, CA Rio Theatre 1/29 Sacramento, CA The Boardwalk 1/30 Berkeley, CA The UC Theatre 2/01 Phoenix, AZ MIM (6:30PM & 8:30PM) 2/02 Tucson, AZ The Rialto Theatre 2/03 Sante Fe, NM Lensic Performing Arts Center 2/04 Denver, CO Cervantes’ Other Side 2/06 Aspen, CO The Paul JAS Center 2/09 Kansas City, MO Madrid Theatre
2/10 Minneapolis, MN Dakota (7PM & 9PM) 2/11 Iowa City, IA The Englert Theatre 2/12 St. Louis, MO City Winery St. Louis 2/13 Bloomington, IL The Castle Theatre 2/16 Nashville, TN City Winery Nashville 2/17 Atlanta, GA Terminal West 2/18 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theatre 2/19 Durham, NC Motorco 2/20 Richmond, VA Richmond Music Hall 2/21 Washington, DC The Hamilton Live 2/23 Kent, OH The Kent Stage 2/25 Cincinnati, OH The Ludlow Garage 2/26 Lansing, MI Grewal Hall at 224 2/27 Chicago, IL Vic Theatre
4/09 – Catania, Italy – Zo Centro 4/12 – Palermo, Italy – Teatro Politeama 4/13 – Rende (CS) – Auditorium Unical 4/14 – Bari, Italy – Teatro Forma 4/15 – Grassina, Italy – Viper Club 4/16 Torino, Italy – Hiroshima Mon Amour 4/17 – Milan, Italy – Alcatraz 4/19 – Padova, Italy – Hall 4/20 – Bologna, Italy – Locomotiv Club 4/21 – Roma, Italy – Auditorium Parco della Musica 4/23 – Berlin, Germany – Lido 4/24 – Hamburg, Germany – Fabrik 4/25 – Frankfurt, Germany – Zoom Frankfurt 4/28 – Munich, Germany – Ampere 4/30 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
5/01 – Nilmegan, Netherlands – Doornroosje 5/03 – Esch-sur-Alzette – Rockhal 5/05 – Paris, France – Alhambra 5/06 – Barcelona, Spain – Sala Apolo 5/07 – Madrid, Spain – Sala Villanos 5/09 – Stockholm, Sweden – Debaser Hornstulls Strand 5/10 – Göteborg, Sweden – Pustervik 5/11 – Helsingor, Denmark – The Culture Yard 5/13 – Glasgow, UK – Oran Mor 5/14 – London, UK – Islington Assembly Hall 5/16 – Athina, Greece – Gagarin 205
Portuguese duo SOUL OF ANUBIS have unveiled their new single, “Mind Crusher”, featuring Keijo Niinimaa of Rotten Sound. The track arrives ahead of their forthcoming album, “Ritual”, set for release on February 20th, 2026 via Time To Kill Records.
“Mind Crusher” showcases the band at their most aggressive and focused, blending crushing riffs, dense sludge grooves, and dynamic shifts with the raw intensity that has defined SOUL OF ANUBIS over more than a decade.
“‘Mind Crusher’ represents the challenge of overcoming mental health. It is the story of an old man who realized the adversities his mind had endured throughout his life, trying to focus his story into blocks”.
Formed in 2010 in Northern Portugal, SOUL OF ANUBIS have carved out a distinct place within the European underground thanks to their explosive fusion of thrash, sludge, doom and post-metal. Their sound channels the raw urgency of Mantar, the primal energy of early Mastodon, and the relentless drive of High On Fire and Black Cobra, yet remains unmistakably their own – a visceral blend of aggression and dynamic shifts that refuses to be confined to a single genre.
On stage, the duo are known for their fierce and magnetic performances, delivering an unfiltered surge of heaviness that connects with audiences on a deeply physical level. Over the years, they have performed extensively across Portugal and beyond, building a loyal following through their intensity and authenticity.
The upcoming album promises to push their sonic boundaries even further, expanding upon their trademark blend of massive riffs, dark groove, and emotional gravity, while highlighting a newfound sense of urgency and compositional versatility.
Tracklist:
1. Ritual 2. Mind Crusher (feat Keijo Niinimaa from Rotten Sound) 3. Incarnation 4. Vermin 5. Dead Cult 6. God’s Burial 7. Human Torch 8. Unholy Tomb
Mumbai, India extreme metal force GUTSLIT return with their blistering new single “I, Berzerker”, marking the band’s first release since 2023’s Carnal and the beginning of a new chapter in their relentless evolution. Released independently, the track showcases a sharpened, ferocious sound that reaffirms GUTSLIT’s position as one of the most uncompromising bands in modern death metal.
“I, Berzerker” is a raw declaration of intent. Written as a defiant response to the notion of mellowing with age, the song captures GUTSLIT at their most primal and focused. Blistering riff work, punishing rhythms, and guttural vocals collide in a tightly constructed assault that balances precision with unrestrained aggression.
The track draws inspiration from the myth of the Berzerker, the warrior consumed by battle rage, and reinterprets it as a metaphor for creative freedom. Lyrically, the song explores instinct, release, and total immersion in the act of creation. Violence and fury become symbols of purpose, expression, and identity.
“I, Berzerker” also marks an important turning point for the band. Now operating as a five piece, GUTSLIT feature the dual guitar lineup of Ishwar Hariharan and Aditya Swaminathan, bringing a renewed melodic edge and dynamic interplay to the band’s signature brutality. The core foundation remains as vicious as ever, with Aditya Barve on vocals, Gurdip Singh Narang on bass, and Aaron Pinto on drums driving the chaos forward.
Produced by GUTSLIT, the single was recorded across Gray Spark Studio for drums and Altar Studio for guitars and bass. Engineering was handled by Saurabh Lodha, with vocals engineered by Ashwin Shriyan. Mixing and mastering were completed by Mendel Bij de Liej of EX-ABORTED, delivering a crushing yet refined sonic impact. The single artwork was created by drummer Aaron Pinto, under his visual alias Kidsquidy.
About GUTSLIT:
Formed in Mumbai, India in 2007, GUTSLIT are one of the country’s most formidable extreme metal exports. With a history spanning nearly two decades, the band blend brutal death metal and grindcore with elements of thrash and punk, delivering a sound defined by precision, intensity, and relentless aggression. GUTSLIT have toured and performed across 25 countries worldwide, appearing at major festivals including Obscene Extreme, Brutal Assault, PartySan, Summer Breeze, and Deathfeast Open Air, and sharing stages with bands such as DYING FETUS, NILE, BENIGHTED, and ABORTED. Known for their ferocious live performances and global ambition, GUTSLIT continue to push modern death metal forward without compromise.
GUTSLIT is: Aditya Barve, Vocals Gurdip Singh Narang, Bass Aaron Pinto, Drums Aditya Swaminathan, Guitar Ishwar Hariharan, Guitar
It’s been a long time since Pink Fairies fans had this much to be excited about. A new album, Covered In Pink, is released today and, on March 21, the band will be making a super-rare live appearance at Kick Butt Coffee, on Airport Boulevard in Austin, Texas.
With a line-up featuring current Fairy Alan Davey, plus guests including sci-fi legend Michael Moorcock and Headcat’s Danny B Harvey, the band promises a set full of favorites and surprises.
Davey, of course, has been a Pink Fairy since the band’s return in 2017; and before that, he was a mainstay in Hawkwind – perhaps the one band that could ever match the Fairies for adrenalin-driven underground lost in space rock’n’roll, and proved it with dozens of shared bills throughout the early 1970s.
Moorcock, meanwhile, can trace his involvement in the Pinkwind axis back to the earliest days, when he frequently depped for Hawks frontman Robert Calvert… he was also responsible for several of Hawkwind’s best-loved numbers, including “Sonic Attack,” “Kings of Speed” and “The Wizard Blew His Horn.”
And Harvey’s Headcat co-starred another Hawks legend, the late, great Lemmy – the man whose bass playing drew Alan Davey to the instrument in the first place, and lives on in Ace of Spades, the Motörhead tribute band that Davey launched back in 1999.
Also on the bill for this historic occasion, Davey’s own band Hawkestrel – trans-dimensional auralnauts of the past, present and future, with their own fearless re-envisioning of Hawkwind classics.
Covered In Pink itself is a ferocious assault upon both the Fairies own family tree, and the world that revolved around them when the band was at its excoriating peak.
And still there’s more, as Cleopatra’s Pirate Radio Cleopatra Podcast sits down with Davey’s fellow Fairy, band co-founder Paul Rudolph, for an 80 minute journey back through the Fairies past and present, while delving, too, into his time with Hawkwind, Eno and Robert Calvert, his thoughts on Motörhead, Moorcock, Melanie and more. Plus music from across the years. Catch it on YouTube, Mixcloud and your favorite podcast platform.
Finally, look out for the latest edition of Cleopatra’s official newsletter Breaking Down Barriers, coming later this month. Because… you guessed it! There’s even more Fairies in there!!!!
While still possessed by a cinematic vision, Unverkalt are throwing back the velvet curtain in favor of the veil. On their upcoming third album and first since signing with Season of Mist, the post-metal luminaries plunge into the darkness that awaits us all. Héréditaire now stands as their heaviest and most heartfelt offering.
“…gothy, doomy, ethereal”, Brooklyn Vegan wrote in describing the album’s lead single “Die Auslöschung”.
Today, Unverkalt are releasing the second advanced single from Héréditaire. While it sets fire to the myth of man’s creation, “Oath Ov Prometheus” is ignited by the band’s newly blackened spark.
“This song reflects on the illusion of greatness, how humanity crowns itself as a god to preserve its place at any cost”, Unverkalt says. “Not all who swear, serve the light. Some carry fire only to burn”.
Héréditaire comes out February 27, 2026 on Season of Mist.
Vocalist Dimitra Kalavrezou remains one of Unverkalt’s unmistakable traits. Her clean singing twists above the band’s fiery new single with all the mystifying beauty of a phoenix from the ashes. But as the first song written for Héréditaire, “Oath Ov Prometheus” reveals a haunting new depth to her voice.
“I encouraged her every day to go further with her vocals.”, Unverkalt’s guitarist and primary composer Themis Ioannou says with an appreciative smile. “But the progression of our music came naturally. We love to experiment with every album. With Héréditaire, we wanted to introduce extreme vocals because they bring out all these heavy feelings. It’s like they’re shaking you awake”.
Héréditaire is a pulse-pounding new direction for Unverkalt. Stoked by blast beats, smoky post-metal atmosphere and headbanging doom, “Oath Ov Prometheus” rages with righteous fury. Where the band’s previous two studio ventures took cues from French painting and European film noir, their upcoming album traces back to mankind’s deepest and darkest origins. With each blackened scream, its new single dismantles the myth of god’s perfect creation.
“‘Oath Ov Prometheus” speaks of the moral collapse of a future set ablaze in a world intoxicated by power”, Kalavrezou says, “where control is placed above all else, no matter the cost”.
“I enjoy discovering new, unique and compelling music in today’s overwhelming world of information, and I believe I truly succeeded with Unverkalt”, says Season of Mist labelmate and Rotting Christ frontman Sakis Tolis, who’s featured on the monolithic “I, The Deceit” from Héréditaire. “This is an exceptional piece of art, worth every minute of listening”.
The video for “Oath Ov Prometheus”was produced by Unverkalt and directed by Themis Ioannou at RAWBITE Studio.
Additional video credits:
Cinematography & Editing – Themis Ioannou Camera Equipment Support – Marcus Sander 2nd Camera Operator – Dirk Phillip Struck Photography – Heiko Kaminsky Location & PA Coordination – Dirk Woßler On-Set Support – Frank von Mersewsky Lighting – Hariolf “Harri” Lemke Prop Styling & Movement Direction – Eli Mavrychev Costume Design / Styling – Featuring pieces by Norma Kamali, WILLA & Disturbia
Tracklist: 1. Die Auslöschung (6:06) [WATCH] 2. Oath Ov Prometheus (5:40) [WATCH] 3. Ænæ Lithi (5:34) 4. A Lullaby for the Descent (5:11) 5. Penumbrian Lament (6:02) 6. Introjects (5:25) 7. I, The Deceit (feat. Sakis Tolis) (5:47) 8. Death is Forever (4:50) 9. Maladie de l’Esprit (5:34) Full runtime: 50:11
UNVERKALT are drawn to the edge. Since emerging from the underground, the Germany by way of Greece post-metal band have balanced boundless atmosphere with suffocating heaviness. Their third album and first since signing with Season of Mist doesn’t continue in that direction so much as it plunges into the darkness that’s always been waiting below. Héréditaire lifts the veil from our cursed existence. What emerges is Unverkalt’s heaviest and most heartfelt offering.
“Our aim has always been to blend softer, more romantic elements with extreme chaos. With Héréditaire that time has now come”, says the band’s guitarist and chief composer Themis Ioannou. “This album is a lament for what is far older than our very existence. It speaks of what seeps through generations, searching for an answer to one pervasive question: What do we carry that was never ours?”
From the beginning, Unverkalt was born from an urge to give life to grief. In 2017, Ioannou started the band with vocalist Dimitra Kalavrezou in hopes of creating something that was slow-burning and visceral, crushing yet delicate. Their debut made good on that promise: “…so rivetingly beautiful that you will have to deepen to digest it”, Metal Hammer Greece wrote in awe of L’Origine du Monde. “Easily on the top-10 of 2020”.
The band’s second album followed three years later to further acclaim. While swooning between obsession and annihilation, A Lump of Death: A Chaos of Dead Lovers sharpened Unverkalt’s vision by pushing their avant-garde streak with more force. “Beyond being able to point roughly towards a couple of different genres, it is utterly impossible to compare them to any other artist out there making music in the same vein”, The Sleeping Shaman admired. Echoes and Dust agreed: “It stands in its own right as a beautiful slice of filmic post-rock, a soundtrack without a movie beyond the one playing in your head”.
Héréditaire is still possessed by cinematic visions. Like a camera coming into focus, lead single “Die Auslöschung” appears through a thickening haze before it’s snapped out of a trance by drummer Christian Eggers’ fiery blast beats. The album shifts between colors, textures, even languages. Stirred by a mournful saw of strings, “Ænae Lithi” raises memories of the Great Fire of Smyrna that were handed down by Themis’ grandmother. But where previous albums took cues from French painting and European film noir, this one throws back the velvet curtain in favor a veil. “Oath Ov Prometheus” dismantles the myth of man as god’s perfect creation with Kalavrezou’s freshly blackened vocals.
“We love to experiment with every album”, Ioannou says. “With Héréditaire, we wanted to introduce extreme vocals because they bring out all these heavy feelings. It’s like they’re shaking you awake”.
While Héréditaire is a pulse-pounding new direction for Unverkalt, the album’s arc traces back to our deepest and darkest origins. Amidst the tremolo-picked wreckage of “Penumbrian Lament”, long-held beliefs are swallowed into the void of guitarist Eli Mavrychev’s death growls. “It’s all sorts of dead ideas / They cling to us all the same”, Kalavrezou whispers, only to break into screams on “Introjects” beneath Joscha Hoyer’s throbbing bass line. “The concept behind the record is tied in with the album’s overall heaviness”, she says. “Each song peels back another blackened layer of memory, trauma and suffering, which linger over us like ghosts: invisible, yet endlessly present”.
Kalavrezou’s mystifying cleans remain one of Unverkalt’s defining traits. Even when trembling beneath the monolithic riff of “I, The Deceit”, her contempt for those who stand by as the world burns is heated when forged alongside her Athenian brother-in-arms Sakis Tolis from Rotting Christ. But as the album draws to a close, Héréditaire ends shadowed in doubt for the future. “Bathed in lies / Can we make it better” she wonders before disappearing into the shivering wake left by “Maladie de ‘Esprit”.
“This album is not meant to resolve”, the band says, “but to dissolve patterns from those who came before, faceless yet familiar. The colors have drained. What remains is veiled in black, not as a symbol, but as a truth that covers everything”.
On Héréditaire, Unverkalt lift the veil on our cursed existence with their heaviest and most heartfelt offering.
Guest Musicians: Sakis Tolis — Vocals on “I, The Deceit”
Songwriting Credits: Comped by Themis Ioannou. Lyrics by Dimitra Kalavrezou & Eli Mavrychev. Lyrics for “I, The Deceit” by Dimitra Kalavrezou & Joscha Hoyer.
Recording Credits: Recorded & Engineered by Unverkalt. Drums Recorded & Engineered by Christian Eggers at Noir Surge Sound, Berlin, Germany.
Production Credits: Produced by Themis Ioannou. Vocals produced by Dimitra Kalavrezou & Eli Mavrychev. Mixed by Joshua Barber. Mastered by Lasse Lammert at LSD Studios, Lübeck, Germany.
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
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