DISTORTED REFLECTION reveal their first lyric video “Gates Of Paranoia” out from their upcoming second album “Doom Zone”. Watch the lyric video below.
Dedicated to the metal generation of the 80s. To those who learned the hard way what it means to be different.
In August 2022, Kostas Sal (ex-Sorrows Path) formed Distorted Reflection. They are totally dedicated to his unique doom vision, but even more heavy.
The famous Tomas Arfert (Candlemass, Krux) created the logo and also took care of all the artwork for the first album of the band. This was titled “Doom Rules Eternally” and was recorded, mixed and mastered at Fragile Studio by Vangelis Yal. The album was released via German Iron Shield Records on February 9, 2024. Although Distorted Reflection kept a low-profile attitude (no lives/signings, no audio/video interviews), the sales and feedback about this album were awesome with great reviews and multiple radio airplay worldwide.
On February 2025, the band entered Fragile Studio again to record the sophomore album. Same about artwork and label, Tomas Arfert and Iron Shield Records did the work and all together aim for another successful release.
The band will also present again some popular special guest. The mighty guitarist Jack Starr will perform the solo for the opening song of the album “Doom Zone” that will be out on February 27, 2026.
Houston, Texas-based black metal conjurors/recent Metal Blade Records signees, NECROFIER, will unleash their fiery new full-length, Transcend Into Oblivion, on February 27th, 2026.
NECROFIER are rewriting the rulebook in their own blood. Since 2018, the quartet has applied a spicy Texan intensity to the icy atmospheres of mid-’90s Norway, and Transcend Into Oblivion deploys their modus operandi with more power, conviction, and ingenuity than ever before. Here NECROFIER crafts a modern classic of the form, where tempestuous squalls of extremity are punctuated by sinister, melancholic, otherworldly melodies, twinkling in the gloom like will-o’-the-wisps on a black night.
“This album really ended up where I always wanted us to go,” vocalist/guitarist Bakka reflects. “It also had me digging deeper into the journey, into myself and basically everything to get it here. I felt the way the record makes you sound. Sometimes surrounded in chaos and sometimes in moments of accession. I really like what we did on the previous album, but it doesn’t compare to what we have accomplished on the new one.”
While 2023’s Burning Shadows In The Southern Night was a redoubtable beast, edging NECROFIER closer to a radiant apex, as its name suggests, Transcend Into Oblivion surpasses their previous work and elevates the band to a higher plateau. Themes and lyrics are oppressively dark and conceptually linked with the number three being especially significant on this third LP, a three-act structure comprising three three-part suites, separated by three instrumentals.
“The other records have different concepts, but they weren’t drawn out in one big piece like the new one,” says Bakka. “From the creation, the record is based on a Luciferian Dark Night Of The Soul. ‘Fires Of The Apocalypse Light My Path’ is the awakening. The first three songs are experiences and dreams that were happening as this change began, and I questioned everything I was doing. It starts feeling as though a new fire has been lit, but it grows dark as we venture into the second act, ‘Servants Of Darkness Guide My Way.’ This is the struggle and torment that comes along with the awakening. Realizing things from the past are no longer true and you see the world in a different way, and it isn’t easy. This leads into Act III, ‘Horns Of Destruction Lift My Blade.’ This is the rebirth or accession. You have been transformed; you are not who you were before. Everything has changed, you see the world differently and you take what is yours.“
In advance of the record’s release, today the band presents “Servants Of Darkness, Guide My Way I.” Bakka elaborates, “The torment and struggle that comes along with awakening. The descent into darkness to be reborn. Where at first you thought everything was done, now you learn that these trials are what help shape you while they drive you mad.”
Watch/stream NECROFIER’s “Servants Of Darkness, Guide My Way I” HERE
Transcend Into Oblivion was recorded at Southwing Studios and House Of Thorns in Houston, Texas, produced and engineered by Joel Hamilton with assistant engineering by Chris Kritikos, and mixed by Joel Hamilton at Studio G in Brooklyn, New York. The record features artwork by José Gabriel Alegría Sabogal (Whoredom Rife, Mephorash, Exhumation, Beheaded).
Transcend Into Oblivion Track Listing: 01. Fires of the Apocalypse, Light My Path I 02. Fires of the Apocalypse, Light My Path II 03. Fires of the Apocalypse, Light My Path III 04. Behold, the Birth of Ascension 05. Servants of Darkness, Guide My Way I 06. Servants of Darkness, Guide My Way II 07. Servants of Darkness, Guide My Way III 08. Mystical Creation of Enlightenment 09. Horns of Destruction, Lift My Blade I 10. Horns of Destruction, Lift My Blade II 11. Horns of Destruction, Lift My Blade III 12. Toward the Necrofier
NECROFIER Live: 12/06/2025 Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest – Denver, CO 3/28/2026 White Oak Music Hall Lawn – Houston, TX w/ Acid Bath, Obituary, High On Fire 5/22/2026 Maryland Deathfest – Baltimore, MD
[Photo Credit: Photo: Altankhuyag Erdenebat; Edit: Peter Sallai]
Breakthrough Mongolian rockers UUHAI have released the second single from their upcoming debut album, Human Herds, out January 9, 2026 via Napalm Records. With the originally-released demo version of “Khar Khulz” already gaining seven million views on YouTube, the band has finally unveiled the final master of the track. It includes their signature blend of traditional throat singing and horsehead fiddles with a modern rock sound, as well as singalong passages. The powerful “Khar Khulz” will have you booking the next flight to Ulaanbaatar in no time!
European fans will have a chance to chant along with the band during their upcoming tour with label mates NANOWAR OF STEEL. See below for all scheduled tour dates!
UUHAI about “Khar Khulz”: “‘Khar Khulz’ is a prayer, an offering, and an awakening. Through the Khulz, the earth trembles, the heavens shine, and mankind is renewed in harmony with the eternal sky.”
Amplifying the blending of throat singing and horsehead fiddles with heavy music, breakthrough rockers UUHAI bestow a captivating sound upon the Mongolian steppe with Human Herds, out January 9, 2026 via Napalm Records. After their first songs gained them millions of video views, the seven-piece band unleashes a debut album that draws from the imposing history and awe-inspiring nature of Mongolia alike. On Human Herds, UUHAI reflect on both their roots and modern society, delivering a powerful plea to everyone, everywhere, wrapped up in a heartfelt love letter to their homeland—all in Mongolian language.
Human Herds impresses with far more than just a language and instruments unfamiliar to most ears. It is a reverent invitation into the heart of Mongolia that you won’t get anywhere else, buoyant and powerful in both storytelling and musical delivery. With deep gratitude and respect, UUHAI creates an emotional ode to nature and delivers a grassroots message to society: this debut album is a powerful reminder that on this earth, we are all the same.
UUHAI about Human Herds: “Human Herds is a reflection on the unstoppable tide of humanity—our migrations, our revolts, our worship, and our wounds upon the Earth. Yet in our chaos, we must remember: we all live under one sun and one moon on Earth, sharing the same fragile home.”
On the new album, UUHAI steps into the role of perceptive storytellers, guiding listeners through the spirit and soundscape of the Far East. Following a tone-setting, appropriately atmospheric intro is the title track, “Human Herds”. A galloping hard rock anthem calling upon the forefathers, it first offers colorful descriptions of nature’s beauty along with the urge to take better care of weeping Mother Earth instead of watching her destruction, delivered in haunting antiphony—the overarching theme of the album. “Uuhai” snarlingly tells the tale of how Mongolia historically drew its strength from said connection with its surroundings, dispersing both evil spirits and other nations. It culminates in the band chanting their name, which translates to a common battle cry for good fortune—which European fans will have a chance to join in on during the upcoming tour. Sweeping “Khar Khulz” offers passages to sing along with and simultaneously conjures up images in your mind that will have you booking the next flight to Ulaanbaatar. Throughout their diverse first album, UUHAI show an imposing ability to both create intimate settings that have us witness age-old rituals and deliver catchy hits as a heavy rock troupe. “Secret History Of The Mongols” wraps up the journey. Named after the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolic language, dated to the late 1220s, the final track seduces with an enticing atmosphere, an emotional guitar solo, and another round of goosebump-inducing “uuhai” chants, invoking a collectively bright future.
Human Herds tracklisting:
Beginning
Human Herds
Ancient Land
Uuhai
Dracula
Khurai
Khar Khulz
Paradise
Uvdis
Secret History of the Mongols
UUHAI Live 2026 Motocultor Festival “Across Europe” Tour w/ Nanowar Of Steel, Lone Survivors, Cold Snap, Morphium, Defecto, Deus Ex Machina, Vaughan, Lady Ahnabel 09.01.26 NL – Tilburg / O13 10.01.26 DE – Bochum / Matrix 11.01.26 FR – Lille / The Black Lab 13.01.26 UK – Grimsby / Yardbirds Rock Club 14.01.26 UK – Southampton / The 1865 15.01.26 UK – London / O2 Academy Islington 16.01.26 FR – Vaureal / Le Forum 17.01.26 FR – Limoges / CCM John Lennon 18.01.26 FR – Bordeaux / Rocher de Palmer 20.01.26 ES – Pamplona / Totem 21.01.26 ES – Madrid / Revi Live 22.01.26 ES – Barcelona / Sala Wolf 23.01.26 FR – Toulouse / Le Metronum 24.01.26 FR – Montpellier / Rockstore 25.01.26 FR – Grenoble / L’Ilyade 27.01.26 CH – Pratteln / Z7 28.01.26 DE – Munich / Backstage 29.01.26 DE – Cologne / Gebäude 9 30.01.26 FR – Le Mans / L’Oasis 31.01.26 FR – Colmar / Le Grillen 01.02.26 DE – Herford / Kulturwerk 03.02.26 DE – Hamburg / Logo 04.02.26 DE – Aschaffenburg / Colos-Saal 05.02.26 CZ – Prague / Futurum Music Bar 06.02.26 PL – Krakow / STUDIO 07.02.26 SK – Bratislava / Randal Club 08.02.26 DE – Berlin / Lido
Today, December 5th, 2025 marks the return of AETHERNA with “Evathor”, their long-awaited new album now available on all digital platforms via Volcano Records & Promotion. Simultaneously, the Italian metal band also unveils the official music video for ‘Nemesis’, the lead single available on YouTube, watch it below.
“Evathor” is a powerful and intense record that blends the band’s heavy metal roots with a modern vision drawing from progressive and alternative influences. Across its nine tracks, the album offers a deep journey through strength and introspection, epic melodies and dark atmospheres, shaping a sonic universe that evokes the worlds of Halestorm, Evanescence, and Within Temptation while establishing a strong, distinct identity.
The album’s concept revolves around existential and visionary themes, exploring the contrast between light and darkness, the inner struggle between who we are and who we might become, and the quest for balance in a world full of conflict and distorted truths.
“Evathor” Tracklist:
Evathor
Faceless God
Inside (The Demon’s Flight)
Screaming Silence
Nemesis
Thousand Lies (Andy’s Song)
Bright Star
Endless Waltz
Sounds From Nowhere (2025)
Nemesis, the fifth track on the record, stands as the album’s beating heart. It’s a powerful, direct, and compelling song, built on a relentless rhythm section, sharp guitar riffs, and evocative vocals. Thematically, the track embodies the idea of relentless justice and personal redemption, becoming a symbol of the awareness born from pain and downfall. The official video visually reflects this emotional tension, translating it into striking and evocative imagery.
Stream Evathor on all platforms and watch the Nemesis video on YouTube here:
HÉR are seekers and storytellers. Their upcoming debut album, Monochrome, reflects polar extremes: fire and ice, violence and tenderness, bravery and care, the brutality of war and the solace that’s brought by peace.
Today, the band are releasing the album’s second advanced single. “Patience in Observation” captures one of Monochrome’s most reflective passages. The song unfolds with distilled calm, spurred along by a steady percussive pulse. Swept up by strings and smooth vocals, HÉR remain a grounding force.
“Patience in Observation is a reflective journey through the nature of life and the unchanging rhythm of the universe”, says HÉR.
“The world has been moving according to its own rules for millions of years. Our task is to find our place within this dance. ‘Patience in Observation’ is a song about calmness and precision in everyday actions, following the motto ‘calmly and precisely, piece by piece’. It serves as a warning against the desire for things too grand, which may lead us to the edge of an abyss. This is a musical meditation on acceptance and understanding, a reminder that our growth requires patience and harmony with the surrounding world”.
Tracklist: 1. Chant (10:47) 2. Needles and Bark (4:57) [WATCH] 3. Going Down (4:19) 4. Patience in Observation (3:02) 5. Slipknot (6:24) 6. Praise the Day (6:08) 7. Farewell (6:32) Full runtime: 42:11
“Hér” in Icelandic means „here”. It is a very clear calling from the band to the audience: be here, experience, be inspired, it is happening now, and it is the essence of participating in our artistic expression. HÉR was formed in Gdańsk, northern Poland. Five independent, strong musical personalities met “here”—in a specific place and time—to create communitas that are both unique and harmonious.
The music the band proposes carries the listener to 11th-century Old Norse wisdom poetry. The first inspiration for this artistic meeting were the poems of the Poetic Edda. Hér reveals wild, root-like, undiscovered musical spaces, the clash of worlds, and a glimpse of the otherworld. It uses raw means of expression and sounds, as raw as the North itself: trembling throat singing, increasing trance-like rhythm, gliding over the violin strings like over an ice surface. We start here: Iceland, the beginning of Europe. It is a musical meditation on a place, growing out of specific soil, reaching to the roots of Norse mythology but not stopping there. It is not only the wisdom of the Vikings, Odin’s recommendations for those who stand at the gates of Valhalla. The threshold of the otherworld leads further to universal, human, fundamental experiences.
By exploring the human nature described in Norse mythology, the musicians make a deep insight into the emotions embedded in its verses. They bring out the dark beauty of the North and its extremes: fire and ice, violence and tenderness, bravery and care, the brutality of war and the solace that peace brings, struggle and feast, the milky sweetness of honey and the salty tang of blood, love and hatred, birth and death, beginning and end, terror and awe…
Sestu hérna, sit here… sit here and listen, sit here and grow, sit here and drift away.
Line-up: Maciej Świniarski — Vocal, Percussion Tomasz Chyła — Vocal, Violin, Synth Percussion Piotr Chęcki — Saxophone, Percussion Tomasz Sadecki — Bass Guitar, Synth, Percussion Sławek Koryzno — Drums, Percussion
Production Credits: Recorded at Monochrom Studio, Gniewoszów, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. Produced & Engineered by Ignacy Gruszecki. Mixed & Mastered by Marcin Bors at Fonoplastykon, Wrocław, Poland.
Women-led, talented Brazilian Rock band Malvada are pleased to unveil the new single and official video, “After”, taken from their self-titled album, released on June 13, 2025, via Frontiers Music Srl.
The band commented: “This song is about things we’ve experienced through life, and we wanted to describe those scenes and the party itself. It is all about having fun with those who you love, and we tried to show this in this video. Rock n’ roll is also about partying and enjoying life as it is. This is one of the coolest songs of the album and we are really excited to show this new video to the world”.
About the album, the band stated: “It is the result of two years of work, and we are very excited to show the world how much Malvada has grown. We believe it is the best work of our lives and everyone will like it, as it shows our real essence. You will have a real experience”.
The rising star of the Brazilian rock scene has a name: Malvada, and they are ready to take over the world!
Malvada was initially formed in March 2020, during the beginning of the pandemic. With a rock n’ roll style full of personality, the band quickly attracted attention as one of the most promising acts in the Brazilian rock scene.
In January 2021, Malvada released their first single entitled “Mais Um Gole”, which gained greater prominence in the scene. Shortly afterwards, in May of the same year, it was time to release the second single “Cada Escolha uma Renúncia”, which preceded the launch of the band’s debut album, “A Noite Vai Ferver”.
In the years 2022 and 2023, Malvada solidified its presence on the national rock panorama, performing more than a hundred shows in several cities in Brazil. The band had the privilege of participating in huge festivals, such as Rock in Rio, Best of Blues and Rock, Angra Fest and Chama Rock, sharing the stage with renowned national and international rock names, like Pitty, Ira!, Angra, Viper, Edu Falaschi, Matanza, Golpe de Estado, Extreme and Tom Morello.
In November 2023, Malvada, composed of Indira Castillo, Bruna Tsuruda, Rafaela Reoli and Juliana Salgado surprised with a big announcement: the band has become the newest signee of the prestigious Italian label Frontiers Records, which has renowned bands in its catalog such as Mr. Big, Asia, Whitesnake, Jeff Scott Soto, among others, promising to take them to a new level, with opportunities to expand their reach and conquer the global market.
The new album, produced by the Brazilian Grammy awarded producer Giu Daga, promises a powerful and exciting musical experience and will be the band’s first work featuring tracks in English/Portuguese, aiming to conquer a global audience.
Malvada’s vibrant rock passion will take no prisoners!
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
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 