Rancid Offal Promotions, the organisers behind events such as Offal Fest and Goremageddon, have launched a brand-new showcase series designed to spotlight the next generation of extreme metal talent and provide one emerging act with the opportunity to open Offal Fest 2026.
This competition invites fans to play a direct role in the festival’s curation, as attendees at each heat will be responsible for voting for their favourite bands to determine who progresses to the final stage. The showcase series is built on a commitment to supporting the local scene and rising international talent, ensuring the festival’s opening slot is earned through pure live intensity and crowd support.
The competition begins with Heat 1 on 8 February 2026, which features a heavy-hitting billing including Vast Slug, World War Three, Erectomy and Mindhold. This will be followed quickly by Heat 2 on 22 February 2026, where Combat Evolved, Dushman, 12 Gauge Autopsy and War Bastard will take to the stage to compete for their place in the final.
Organisers have emphasised that every single vote matters and have encouraged the community to turn out in force to support these rising acts. While the dates for the preliminary rounds are now set, the date for the final will be announced in due course and is set to feature a surprise guest headliner to close out the competition.
“We are so stoked to give these bands a real shot at opening the big stage next year,” says the team at Rancid Offal Promotions. “The scene is absolutely crawling with talent right now, and letting the fans decide who gets onto the Offal Fest bill feels like the best way to keep things authentic. Make sure you get down to the heats and vote, because your voice is literally what puts these guys on the poster for July.“
Tickets for the showcase heats are available now and can be purchased through the official competition website at https://battleoftheslams.com/. Further details regarding the surprise headliner and the final date will be released via social media channels in the coming months.
Dedicated to the most extreme facets of gore, grind, slam, and brutal death metal, Offal Fest has solidified its status as a vital fixture in the international metal calendar following its sold-out 2025 edition. The 2026 festival, scheduled for 24-26 July at its new Manchester home, The Bread Shed, is headlined by two major UK-exclusive performances from genre pioneers Devourment and Ohio powerhouse Regurgitation, the latter making their debut appearance on UK soil. The comprehensive lineup features a global roster including New York legends Immortal Suffering, Japan’s ButcherABC, and Korea’s Fecundation, alongside a formidable domestic contingent headlined by the “wobble-box” specialists Crepitation and the official reunion of Infected Disarray. Bolstered by further international talent such as GutturalSlug, Unbirth and DarkallSlaves, Offal Fest 2026 aims to build upon the momentum of previous years, which saw exclusive sets from acts like Skinless and Wormed, to provide a definitive weekend of brutality for the global extreme music community.
Finnish alternative rock/metal band Latvija has released their sixth single named Pear Tree. Previous releases have been well received on various music platforms. Pear Tree is Latvija’s first single with the lyrics in English. And the language choice works well on this one. Man behind the artist name Latvija, Heikki Lätti, has composed music throughout his life. The single also features singer Panu Pakarinen and seventeen years old drummer Taisto Tolvanen, who further complement the song with their own contributions.
”The chorus of the song was first created based on the guitar riff, after which it was completed with the vocal melody and words. The lyrics are from the pen of Riikka Söyring” Latvija tells about the song.
–Recording: Lätti, Rautiainen ja Juha Kapiainen –Mix and mastering: Janne Tolsa / Note On Studio –Record Label: Levypirtti –Cover Artwork: J. Patrikainen –ISRC-code: FILV22500003 –Catalogue number: LPIRTTI19
Songwriter and Guitarist Andrzej Citowicz with Wife Shereen Shoukry Citowicz Release Deeply Personal Album on First Day of 2026 – “Now I Understand” Lyric Video Marks New Year’s Day Debut of Album Written Through Loss, Resilience, and 53 Years of Untold Stories.
In an unexpected New Year’s Day release, CITOVITZ AND FIREFLIES OF FEBRUARY—the musical partnership of songwriter and guitarist Andrzej Citowicz and his wife, Shereen Shoukry Citowicz—have released “My Story,” a surprise 12-track album available now on all major streaming platforms.
Unlike their recent Italian Christmas collaboration, “My Story” represents something far more personal and unexpected: an entire album where Andrzej composed every song, but Shereen wrote all the lyrics—transforming 53 years of lived experience, overlooked pain, and unspoken trauma into music.
A SURPRISE ALBUM BORN FROM SURVIVAL
“My Story” arrives without advance promotion or industry fanfare—released on January 1st, 2026, as an honest beginning to a new year following one of the darkest periods in the couple’s life. “This album wasn’t planned as a surprise release,” Andrzej Citowicz explains. “But after everything we’ve been through—the loss of our son, the grief, the struggle to keep breathing—we realized this couldn’t wait for traditional album cycles or marketing strategies. These songs needed to exist in the world. My wife’s words needed to be heard. On the first day of 2026, we wanted to give something real, something honest, something that might help someone else who’s been overlooked, unappreciated, or broken by life.”
The 12-song collection translates trauma into music, grief into melody, and survival into art—continuing the couple’s evolution from Andrzej’s deeply personal “Living Room Rockstar Part 2” (dedicated to their stillborn son Jonasz) through their Italian Christmas singles, and now into this complete collaborative statement.
SHEREEN’S VOICE: 53 YEARS OF UNTOLD STORIES
While Andrzej Citowicz has spent years processing emotion through music, “My Story” marks the first time his wife Shereen has claimed the narrative entirely through her own words. “My wife sums up her 53 years of life in this album,” Andrzej states. “It is her message to the world—a world that was often cruel and unfair to her. She was overlooked and unappreciated for so long. With my music, she is voicing her own traumas and laying out the truth. If you too are overlooked and unappreciated, this is for you.”
The discovery of Shereen’s remarkable voice during their Italian Christmas recordings revealed one hidden dimension of her talent. “My Story” reveals another: her ability to transform personal pain into universal truth through lyrics that speak for anyone who has been dismissed, diminished, or denied.
“These aren’t just her stories,” Andrzej emphasizes. “They’re the stories of everyone who was told they didn’t matter, everyone who carried trauma in silence, everyone who survived what they were never supposed to survive. She’s giving voice to all of that. Every lyric comes from lived experience. Every word is earned.”
“NOW I UNDERSTAND” – THE ALBUM’S OPENING STATEMENT
Leading the album is “Now I Understand,” accompanied by a lyric video released simultaneously on New Year’s Day. “This song is crucial,” Andrzej explains. “It represents that moment when everything suddenly makes sense—when you look back at your life and understand why things happened the way they did, why you had to go through what you went through, why the pain had purpose. My wife wrote these lyrics from a place of hard-won wisdom. After 53 years of being overlooked, she finally understands her own story. And now she’s sharing that understanding with anyone who needs it.”
The lyric video allows listeners to connect directly with Shereen’s words—to read, absorb, and recognize their own experiences reflected in her truth. “We wanted people to see the lyrics as they listen,” Andrzej notes. “These words matter. They deserve to be read, considered, felt. This isn’t background music. This is someone’s life, translated into language that might help someone else survive theirs.”
FROM LOSS TO MUSIC: TRANSLATING EVERYTHING
The couple’s recent journey—from the devastating loss of their son Jonasz to the revelation of Shereen’s musical gifts—has been marked by their choice to transform unbearable pain into creative expression. “We translate everything into music and lyrics,” Andrzej states simply. “It’s how we survive. After losing Jonasz, music was the only language I had. Now, with ‘My Story,’ my wife has found her own language too. We’ve taken the hardest moments of our lives—loss, grief, trauma, being overlooked and unappreciated—and we’ve made something from them. Not to glorify the pain, but to prove that even the worst experiences can be transformed into something that matters, something that connects, something that helps.”
The album continues the musical evolution established in their earlier collaborations, with Andrzej’s guitar-driven compositions providing the foundation for Shereen’s unflinchingly honest lyrics. “I write the music from my heart,” he explains. “She writes the lyrics from her lived experience. Together, we’re creating something neither of us could make alone. That’s what ‘My Story’ represents—two people who’ve survived the unsurvivable, creating art from the wreckage.”
A MESSAGE FOR THE OVERLOOKED AND UNAPPRECIATED
Throughout “My Story,” the album speaks directly to those who have felt invisible, dismissed, or denied their truth. “If you’ve ever felt like the world didn’t see you, like your pain didn’t matter, like your story wasn’t worth telling—this album is for you,” Andrzej emphasizes. “My wife spent 53 years being overlooked. She spent decades with her trauma unacknowledged, her experiences diminished, her voice unheard. ‘My Story’ is her way of saying: I was here. I survived. My story matters. And so does yours.” The surprise release on New Year’s Day carries symbolic weight—a declaration that new beginnings are possible even after profound loss, that voices can be found even after decades of silence, that stories can be told even when the world tried to silence them.
“Starting 2026 with this album feels right,” Andrzej reflects. “It’s a statement of survival, of resilience, of refusing to let pain have the final word. My wife’s lyrics prove that even when life has been cruel and unfair, you can still create something beautiful from what tried to destroy you.”
TECHNICAL AND ARTISTIC APPROACH
Musically, “My Story” maintains Citovitz’s signature approach—guitar-driven compositions influenced by classic rock craftsmanship while embracing contemporary production techniques. But the lyrical focus shifts entirely to Shereen’s perspective, creating an album that balances Andrzej’s melodic sensibility with Shereen’s narrative truth.
“I wanted the music to serve her words,” Andrzej explains. “Every guitar line, every arrangement choice, every production decision was about creating space for her lyrics to breathe, to be heard, to land with the weight they deserve. This isn’t a guitar showcase. This is her story, supported by my music.”
The 12-track collection covers the full range of human experience—from trauma to healing, from being overlooked to being seen, from survival to understanding. “We didn’t hold anything back,” he states. “These songs are honest about the hardest parts of life. But they’re also honest about hope, about resilience, about the possibility that understanding can come even after decades of pain. That’s what ‘My Story’ offers—not false optimism, but earned hope.”
CONTINUING THE JOURNEY: FROM ITALIAN CHRISTMAS TO “MY STORY”
“My Story” follows the couple’s Italian Christmas singles “Notte Di Stelle” and “Un Altro Domani,” which marked their first musical collaboration and the discovery of Shereen’s vocal abilities. “Those Christmas songs revealed that my wife had this incredible voice,” Andrzej recalls. “But ‘My Story’ reveals something deeper—that she has stories that need to be told, experiences that need to be voiced, truth that needs to be heard. The progression feels natural. First, we discovered she could sing. Now, we’re discovering what she needs to sing about.”
The couple’s evolution from Andrzej’s solo grief processing in “Living Room Rockstar Part 2” through collaborative holiday celebration and now into full album-length storytelling demonstrates music’s capacity to hold everything—from individual mourning to shared joy to collaborative truth-telling.
“Every project has been necessary,” he reflects. “‘Living Room Rockstar Part 2’ was me trying to survive losing Jonasz. The Italian Christmas songs were us celebrating life and partnership after that darkness. ‘My Story’ is my wife claiming her own narrative after 53 years. They’re all connected. They’re all part of the same journey from loss toward healing, from silence toward voice, from alone toward together.”
AVAILABILITY AND FUTURE PLANS
“My Story” is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and all major streaming platforms. The lyric video for “Now I Understand” is available on YouTube.
The couple plans to continue their collaborative work, with more music from the “My Story” collection to be promoted throughout 2026. “This is just the beginning of my wife’s voice being heard,” Andrzej promises. “She has more to say. The world needs to hear it. And I’ll keep writing music that gives her the platform she deserves—the platform she was denied for too long.”
About Andrzej Citowicz: Andrzej Citowicz is an acclaimed Polish guitarist and songwriter currently based in Cairo, Egypt. As a former recording artist for DownBoys Records, he has built a reputation for emotionally resonant songwriting and distinctive guitar work. His music combines classic rock influences with contemporary production, creating a sound that bridges generational and cultural gaps while maintaining artistic authenticity. His YouTube channel has garnered over 70,000 views from an international audience.
At the beginning of December last year, after a lengthy hiatus, FROM ASHES REBORN announced their return, which was celebrated with the release of their first single, “Chasing Utopia”.
The brand new follow-up single, “In Truth Divided”, also gives a captivating preview of the upcoming second album “Chasing Utopia” – the highly explosive follow-up to their 2018 debut “Existence Exiled”!
Further information, artwork and release details will follow shortly. Stay tuned and follow the band on their social media channels to stay up to date.
Between hope and doom, between salvation and deception – “Chasing Utopia” tells of a world that has lost itself. A world in which meaning has become a commodity – and truth a tool of those who know how to sell it …
The band describes the new single: “‘In Truth Divided’ tells of the disintegration of shared reality – when convictions become walls and truth becomes a weapon. The song shows how easily people take refuge in certainty and lose understanding in the process. Musically aggressive and melancholic at the same time, it builds bridges between anger and insight. A piece about division, self-deception – and the courage to seek one’s own truth nonetheless.”
With their brilliant debut album, FROM ASHES REBORN confidently counted themselves among the most promising new MELODIC DEATH METAL bands from Germany. Founded in 2017, the talented musicians from Wittlich presented a stunning first work … [ … learn more here » ]
LINE-UP Ronny • Vocals Dirk • Lead & solo guitar Sebastian • Rhythm guitar & backing vocals Thomas • Drums
Germany’s ferocious metal war machine Daily Insanity have risen from the ashes with a thunderous return. Their brand new single “Back To The Front” is out now, and marks the band’s first new release since 2022.
The new track is fronted by none other than Yakir Shochat, the powerhouse vocalist of Israeli thrash metallers Hammercult. His raw and hostile voice pushes the song straight into attack mode, adding a sharp edge that cuts through every riff and every beat.
Built on tight, razor-edged riffing and pounding drums, the song moves relentlessly forward with no room to breathe. There is no finesse and no restraint here – only force, momentum and the refusal to step back. No nostalgia, no trends – just metal played hard and without compromise!
“Back To The Front” is out now on all major streaming platforms.
Brutal Planet Records drags Six Feet UnderUnburied and Bringer of Blood from obscurity with their first fully distributed vinyl editions. Unburied is pressed on Opaque Turquoise Vinyl and on CD. These nine unreleased tracks—grim outtakes from the Undead, Unborn, and Torment sessions—capture Six Feet Under in their most visceral and unrefined state. As Chris Barnes noted: “I always felt like these tracks were excellent Six Feet Under material. Real raw and in their earliest form.”
Previously available only as a flimsy, low-quality cardboard-sleeve promo that barely surfaced in the collector world, Unburied has long been considered nearly impossible to obtain. This Brutal Planet Records edition finally gives these unearthed horrors a proper home in a jewel case with a 12-page lyric booklet, remastered by Rob Colwell and officially welcomed into the Metal Icon Series.
Brutal Planet Records resurrects the album with its first worldwide retail vinyl release, pressed on Opaque Turquoise Vinyl and mastered for vinyl by Rob Colwell. Housed in a traditional jacket with a 12×12 lyric insert, this edition finally gives Unburied the high-quality physical treatment fans have been waiting for. Only 500 LPs are being pressed. When they’re gone, they’re gone.
The only previous vinyl pressing appeared briefly in Italy as a magazine kiosk bonus. It sold out instantly, was never placed into retail distribution, and is now almost impossible to locate. This Brutal Planet Records edition finally gives Unburied a proper physical home with upgraded sound mastered for vinyl by Rob Colwell, a traditional jacket, and a 12×12 lyric insert.
Brutal Planet Records also brings Bringer of Blood back from the underground, resurrecting one of Six Feet Under’s most savage chapters with its first-ever U.S. vinyl release. Originally unleashed in 2003 and recorded at Morrisound Studios, this album captures the band at peak ferocity—thick, pulsing riffs, grisly atmosphere, and Chris Barnes’ unmistakable guttural roar carving through each track like a bone saw.
SIX FEET UNDER – UNBURIED (Jewel Case CD)
Release Date: Out Now
For years, Unburied was the ghost in the Six Feet Under catalog — originally released digitally in 2018, with only a tiny number of flimsy cardboard-sleeve promo CDs that almost nobody ever found. The nine tracks on this album were pulled from the Undead, Unborn, and Torment sessions, and as Chris Barnes himself has said: “I always felt like these tracks were excellent Six Feet Under material. Real raw and in their earliest form.”
Key Features & Collector Details:
First-ever real CD distribution of Unburied
Jewel case CD with 12-page lyrics insert booklet
Nine previously unreleased tracks
Material sourced from the Undead, Unborn, and Torment sessions
Remastered by Rob Colwell
Part of the elite Metal Icon Series on Brutal Planet Records
Original cardboard-sleeve CD was extremely limited and poorly distributed
Licensed from Metal Blade Records
Limited to 1,000 copies worldwide
SIX FEET UNDER – UNBURIED (Opaque Turquoise Vinyl) Release Date:February 15, 2026
One of the rarest items in the SFU universe is the old Italian kiosk-only vinyl pressing of Unburied. It was never distributed, vanished instantly, and has been almost impossible to locate since the day it appeared.
Key Features & Collector Details:
First-ever worldwide retail vinyl release of Unburied
Nine previously unreleased tracks
Traditional jacket with 12×12 lyrics insert
Pressed on Opaque Turquoise Vinyl
Material sourced from the Undead, Unborn, and Torment sessions
Mastered for Vinyl by Rob Colwell
Part of the elite Metal Icon Series on Brutal Planet Records
Licensed from Metal Blade Records
Original Italian kiosk-only vinyl pressing was extremely limited to 444 copies
Limited to 500 copies worldwide
Tracks Violent Blood Eruption – 1:51 Midnight In Hell – 3:35 Gore Hungry Maniac – 3:37 Re-Animated – 3:10 Intent To Kill – 3:24 The Perverse – 3:26 Possessed – 2:47 As The Dying Scream – 3:58 Skin – 0:31
SIX FEET UNDER – BRINGER OF BLOOD (Blood Red Vinyl) Release Date:February 15, 2026
Originally released in 2003 and recorded at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Bringer of Blood was only ever pressed on vinyl once — in Germany over 20 years ago — and has been out of print ever since. This new Brutal Planet edition is the first U.S. vinyl release and is pressed on Blood Red Vinyl as part of the Metal Icon Series.
Remastered by Rob Colwell and packaged with a 12×12 full-color insert, Bringer of Blood captures Six Feet Under at peak ferocity. If you love the classic groove-driven heaviness of Haunted and Warpath, this album is absolutely essential.
Highlights include: “Amerika the Brutal” “One Shot One Kill” “Bringer of Blood” “Blind and Gagged” “Claustrophobic” “Escape from the Grave”
From the blunt-force violence of “Amerika the Brutal” to the slow, suffocating crawl of the title track, Bringer of Blood drags listeners deep into the horror-laced world that defined Six Feet Under’s early reign. Long out of print and previously pressed only in Germany, this Brutal Planet Records edition finally does the album justice, pressed on Blood Red Vinyl, newly remastered, and limited to 500 copies.
Key Features & Collector Details:
First-ever U.S. vinyl release of Bringer of Blood (2003).
Pressed on Blood Red Vinyl — a collector-exclusive color.
Previously only available as a small 2003 German pressing — long out of print.
Recorded March–April 2003 at Morrisound Studios, Tampa, Florida.
Produced by Chris Barnes (Six Feet Under / ex-Cannibal Corpse).
Includes “Amerika the Brutal,” “One Shot One Kill,” and the title track.
Mastered for Vinyl by Rob Colwell.
Includes full-color 12 × 12 insert with lyrics and band photos.
Officially licensed from Metal Blade Records.
Limited to 500 copies worldwide.
Tracklist Sick In The Head – 3:03 Amerika The Brutal – 3:02 My Hatred – 2:28 Murdered In The Basement – 2:33 When Skin Turns Blue – 3:05 Bringer Of Blood – 2:53 Untitled – 0:23 Ugly – 2:08 Braindead – 3:21 Blind And Gagged – 2:39 Claustrophobic – 2:51 Escape From The Grave – 3:28
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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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 