OVERTOUN have unveiled “Yūrei”, the second single taken from their upcoming third full-length album “Death Drive Anthropology”, due out on February 13th, 2026 via Time To Kill Records.
Musically, “Yūrei” sharpens the band’s death–thrash core with an unsettling melodic tension, where tightly wound riffs, dynamic rhythmic shifts, and subtle Latin and folk-inflected nuances converge into a focused and oppressive atmosphere.
“Inspired by Japanese folklore, the title refers to the yūrei , spirits trapped between worlds, a reflection of humanity’s eternal struggle with the shadow of death. This song also embodies our deepening bond with Japan, a connection that grew even stronger during our 2025 tour. This is another step into the ritual”.
On “Death Drive Anthropology”OVERTOUN expand their fierce Chilean/American identity, channelling the death drive (Thanatos) into a relentless exploration of human rituals, mortality, and cultural collapse – a true Book of Death forged in sound.
Rooted in the primal force of ’90s death–thrash yet sharpened by a modern, incisive edge, the album fuses Latin rhythms, folk-tinged guitars, and razor-tight riffs, featuring standout guest performances by Max Phelps (CYNIC, DEATH TO ALL), Enrico H. Di Lorenzo (HIDEOUS DIVINITY) and Shantanu Vyas (HAZING OVER).
Produced by acclaimed Argentinian mastermind Martín Furia (DESTRUCTION, BARK), “Death Drive Anthropology” further cements OVERTOUN as one of the most compelling and forward-thinking forces emerging from the Latin American metal landscape.
Tracklist:
01. What Unites All (feat. Max Phelps) 02. The Final Beat 03. Memento Mori (feat. Enrico H. Di Lorenzo) 04. Dur Khrod 05. Jade, Gold, Obsidian 06. Yūrei 07. Weeping 08. Wind And Water (feat. Shantanu Vyas) 09. The Waves Suite: Siren 10. The Waves Suite: Ocean 11. The Waves Suite: Caleuche 12. Death Drive Anthropology
OVERTOUN is a death-thrash metal band based between Santiago, Chile, and Boston, MA, fusing the rich musical heritage of Latin America with the complexity and aggression of technical death metal. Founded by Agustín Lobo and Matías Bahamondes, the band solidified its lineup with Yoav Ruiz-Feingold (Atheist, Graviton) on vocals and Matías Salas on bass.
Their discography includes two full-length albums: “Centuries of Lies” (2018) and “This Darkness Feels Alive” (2021). The latter was mastered by Flemming Rasmussen (Metallica) and won Best Metal Artist at the 2022 Chilean Pulsar Awards (Chilean Grammys), earning strong praise from the specialized media.
OVERTOUN has performed extensively throughout Latin America, with five national tours in Chile, a tour in Brazil, and shows in Argentina, sharing the stage with Death To All, Sinister, Cryptopsy, and Atheist. In 2025, the band completed its first tour of Japan, including performances in Yokohama and Tokyo, with an appearance at the Tokyo Brutal Fest.
Produced by Martín Furia (Destruction, Bark), OVERTOUN’s third album marks a bold new chapter, introducing darker, genre-defining material that aims to amplify Chilean metal’s global presence.
January 2nd saw the release of There Should Have Been A Rainbow – the NY Folk Sessions 1963-1965, 19 tracks (11 on the vinyl edition) spotlighting the repertoire that Melanie would take into the New York and New Jersey folk clubs at the height of the early 1960s folk revival.
Lost until now, and forgotten about even by Melanie herself, the tracks here were recorded over a period of two years by her high school drama teacher Larry Kassab, using a domestic reel to reel machine. They then lay all-but undisturbed for 60 years before Kassab’s nephew, author Michael J Moore, passed them along to Melanie’s family.
“I can’t count how many times I listened to that 3” reel-to-reel tape over the next few years,” Moore says, although he admits, “After I moved on to better equipment and other music, I forgot about that tape, but I never forget about Melanie.”
Already spotlighted by Mojo magazine among the essential archive releases of 2026, There Should Have Been A Rainbow captures Melanie at an age (she was just 16 when the first session took place) when many performers are said to be still trying to find their voice.
That is not an issue here. Already her tone, her delivery and her guitar playing are instantly recognizable, while her songwriting, too, was developing fast. Five Melanie originals are included here, including a title track that she once described as the first song she ever wrote.
Her talent as an arranger and interpreter, too, was already coming to the fore. Although her core repertoire of traditional folk was certainly influenced by such contemporaries as Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Hedy West and Caroline Hester, Melanie’s musical vision owed little to their blueprints.
Seven of the songs here are taken from 19th century scholar Francis J Child’s The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, aka The Child Ballads, and Melanie is already toying with both lyric and arrangement – the energy, emotion and most of all, defiance with which she concludes that epic tale of betrayal and murder, “Matty Groves,” surely ranks among her most powerful performances ever. Contrarily, her take on “Barbara Allen” – released as a single last month – captures her at her most vulnerable.
Other traditional songs here include a unique version of “I Never Will Marry,” its extemporized spoken word passage illustrating the humor that was already essential to her performing style; and it is illuminating, too, to compare Melanie’s version of “All My Trials” to Baez’s own, possibly definitive reading. Even at 16, Melanie had no intention of being labeled a copyist.
Several of these songs wiould reappear in Melanie’s later repertoire, among them the 1959 country ballad “Long Black Veil,” revisited during studio sessions in 1979; Ritchie Valens’ rock’n’roll hit “La Bamba,” rerecorded for a 1975 single; and Malvina Reynolds’ protest song “What Have They Done To The Rain,” to which Melanie returned in 1988, on her Cowabonga album.
The most powerful takeaway from this collection, however, is the realization that a full three, even four years before Melanie was finally permitted to record her debut album (1968’s Born To Be), she was already in a position to do so.
Would such a release have resembled this? We cannot say.
But it is patently clear that – even if we regard these as simple demos – much of the attention and acclaim that awaited Melanie in her 20s might easily have been granted her in her teens. In fact, the vinyl edition of this album has been designed to replicate what that album might have sounded like, focusing on the folk songs but opening, as does the CD, with that self-penned title track.
History has already confirmed that Melanie was destined to be ranked among the most visionary songwriters and performers of her era. This collection proves that history was late to the party.
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
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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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