Before returning to South America and bringing back their Darkness Over X-Mas Tour CALIBAN are releasing a cover version of a song that is very close to their collective heart – “You Only Live Once” by Suicide Silence. Both bands toured together on legendary tours in 2009 and 2016 and Caliban featured the late Mitch Lucker on their scene anthem “We Are The Many”.
Caliban comment: “‘You Only Live Once’ has always been more than just a song to us – it’s a reminder of what connects this scene: honesty, intensity, and brotherhood. Suicide Silence and Mitch shaped an entire generation of heavy music and inspired countless bands. We played many shows together over the years and always had a great time — on stage and off. Mitch was one of those rare people who carried both relentless energy and genuine kindness wherever he went. Covering this track is our way of paying respect to him and to the legacy he left behind – a legacy that reminds us to live loud, without regret.
30/11 Bogotá, Colombia – Capital Music 02/12 Santiago, Chile – Sala Metrónomo 04/12 Buenos Aires, Argentina – Uniclub 06/12 São Paulo, Brazil – Fabrique Club
CALIBAN are also bringing back their Darkness Over X-Mas Tour 2025: Special Guests: Mental Cruelty, Doomcrusher & Strength
For over two decades, CALIBAN has stood as one of the defining forces in Metalcore. With their latest album “Back From Hell” the German band continues to evolve their sound while staying true to the intensity and emotion that have defined their career. Led by founding members Andreas Dörner (vocals) and Marc Görtz (guitar), the band’s current lineup includes new vocalist and bassist Iain Duncan, whose clean vocals, songwriting skills and diverse perspective and experience bring a fresh dimension to their already powerful dynamic. Complemented by longtime drummer Patrick Grün and guitarist Denis Schmidt, CALIBAN’s formidable lineup is poised to deliver a relentless and emotionally charged experience that reaffirms their status as Metalcore pioneers.
CALIBAN: Iain Duncan – bass, vocals Patrick Grün – drums Andreas Dörner – vocals Marc Görtz – guitar Denis Schmidt – guitar
The UK’s most exciting new heavy band, HERIOT, have released their new single ‘Commander of Pain’.
Debbie Gough (vocals/guitar) comments: “‘Commander of Pain’ is an ode to 90’s death metal. This is a song born of the inspiration we’ve gained from playing live alongside many different genres of metal bands. We wanted to write a track paying tribute to our favourite aspects of heavy music.'”
‘Commander of Pain’ was produced by Erik Bickerstaffe (Loathe) and mixed and mastered by Randy LeBoeuf (Kublai Khan, Loathe, Gideon, The Acacia Strain).
HERIOT are currently touring North America for the first time, supporting Trivium, with Jinjer. Early 2026 sees the quartet supporting SikTh at two special UK shows, as the progressive metal pioneers celebrate the 20th anniversary of Death Of A Dead Day.
Upcoming HERIOT dates below:
2025: 15-Nov Milwaukee, WI The Eagles Ballroom 16-Nov Cincinnati, OH The Andrew J Brady Music Center 18-Nov Indianapolis, IN Egyptian Room at Old National Centre 19-Nov Waukee, IA Vibrant Music Hall 20-Nov Minneapolis, MN Uptown Theater (no Jinjer) 22-Nov Winnipeg, MB Burton Cummings Theatre 24-Nov Edmonton, AB Midway Music Hall 25-Nov Calgary, AB Grey Eagle Event Centre 26-Nov Missoula, MT The Wilma 28-Nov Spokane, WA The Podium 29-Nov Garden City, ID Revolution Concert House 1-Dec Salt Lake City, UT The Union Event Center (no Jinjer) 3-Dec Riverside, CA Riverside Municipal Auditorium 5-Dec Albuquerque, NM Revel 6-Dec Oklahoma City, OK The Criterion 7-Dec Fayetteville, AR JJ’s Live 9-Dec Springfield, MO Shrine Mosque 10-Dec Kansas City, MO Uptown Theater 12-Dec New Orleans, LA The Fillmore New Orleans 13-Dec Dothan, AL The Plant 14-Dec Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live
HERIOT‘s first tour across the ocean sees the young UK quartet continue their ascendancy following the smash success of their incredible debut album Devoured by the Mouth of Hell (Century Media, 2024).
Devoured by the Mouth of Hell was recorded and produced by HERIOT‘s Jake Packer with Josh Middleton (Sylosis, Architects) and mixed and mastered by GRAMMY Award-winning Will Putney (END, Fit For An Autopsy, Better Lovers), with additional engineering by Justin Hill (SikTh, Betraying the Martyrs).
NME, Kerrang! and Upset magazine cover stars, Devoured by the Mouth of Hell was been critically acclaimed worldwide as the breakthrough metal album of the year. Celebrating the release, HERIOT performed an intimate album release show in Bristol, which instantly sold out. Following the album release, HERIOT toured the UK and across Europe supporting Fit For An Autopsy and Sylosis, alongside Darkest Hour.
In April of this year HERIOT celebrated Devoured by the Mouth of Hell with a UK headline tour across five sold-out dates, including a show at London’s iconic The Underworld.
HERIOT‘s debut album continues their ascendancy as the pre-eminent new force in the UK heavy scene. The album follows ‘Siege Lord‘ and late 2023’s ‘Soul Chasm‘, the first two glimpses of new material following their signing with Century Media and support shows with Architects in summer of 2023.
HERIOT‘s debut EP Profound Morality (2022, Church Road Records) catapulted the quartet into the global spotlight, with praise worldwide and a debut, sold-out, headline tour across the UK. The band have since supported Lamb Of God, Thy Art Is Murder, RoloTomassi, and performed to packed tents at Download Festival, 2000trees, Wacken Open Air, Bloodstock, Mystic Festival and many more, gathering a legion of fans in the process. They since followed Profound Morality with the ferocious standalone single ‘Demure‘ (February 2023, Church Road Records).
Fully-focused and with a razor-sharp edge, the awe-inspiring double-vocal attack of Jake Packer and Debbie Gough is all-conquering; the titanic support of Erhan Alman (guitar) and Julian Gage (drums) rock-solid.
HERIOT have deservedly been grabbing attention with all four pairs of hands, weaponising metallic sludge and hardcore, unholy levels of distortion, speed and gut-punching talent. Elements of Nails, Knocked Loose, Code Orange, and Vein.fm combine and collide to exhilarating effect, creating a sound that is truly groundbreaking, fully worthy of the notice the band are achieving.
In their short recent history HERIOT have caught the attention of NME, Pitchfork, The Guardian, Metal Hammer UK, Rock Sound, Brooklyn Vegan, Kerrang!, Revolver, and Knotfest, among many others, heralding the quartet as “one of the most promising young bands in modern metalcore”, and “probably the best new metal band in Britain”.
Following the announcement of a 2026 EU/UK headline tour and currently supporting Annisokay on their European run, modern metalcore unit THE NARRATOR continue to showcase their chops with another adrenaline filled hulk of a song called ‘Aurora‘, which is out today!
Turning hope into a nightmare, ‘Aurora‘ expresses the fear of an impending military conflict reaching what once felt like a safe and distant place.
Alongside the single a stylish music video has been released, which you can check out below.
20.11.25 DE Saarbrücken Garage 21.11.25 DE Dortmund FZW 22.11.25 DE Cologne Carlswerk Victoria 23.11.25 DE Berlin Huxley’s Neue Welt 25.11.25 DE Frankfurt am Main Batschkapp 26.11.25 DE Stuttgart Im Wizemann 28.11.25 CH Zurich Dynamo 29.11.25 IT Milan Legend 01.12.25 DE Munich Backstage 02.12.25 AT Vienna Simm City 03.12.25 HU Budapest Barba Negra 04.12.25 PL Krakow Hype Park 05.12.25 CZ Zlin Masters Of Rock Cafe 06.12.25 DE Leipzig Haus Auensee 15.01.26 UK London The Garage 16.01.26 UK Leeds Key Club 17.01.26 UK Bristol Thekla 18.01.26 UK Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Headline Show:
20.12.25 DE Essen Zeche Carl
THE NARRATOR – EUROPEAN HEADLINE TOUR 2026
30.09.26 CH Aarau, Kiff Aarau 01.10.26 AT Wien, Flex Café 03.10.26 DE München, Backstage Club 04.10.26 DE Stuttgart, Im Wizemann 06.10.26 CZ Prag, Rock Cafe 07.10.26 DE Leipzig, WERK 2 – Kulturfabrik Leipzig e.V. 08.10.26 DE Berlin, Frannz-Club 09.10.26 DE Hamburg, Bahnhof Pauli 10.10.26 DE Köln, Club Volta 11.10.26 NL Haarlem, Patronaat 13.10.26 DE Wiesbaden, Schlachthof Wiesbaden Kesselhaus 15.10.26 UK London, The Black Heart 16.10.26 FR Paris, La Maroquinerie 17.10.26 NL Tilburg, Little Devil 18.10.26 BE Antwerp, Kavka Oudaan
Nuclear Blast Records is proud to welcome HOKKA, a powerful new force in Finnish rock, to its global roster. The band unites three major names from Finland’s rock legacy: former BLIND CHANNEL frontman Joel Hokka, THE RASMUS founding member and former guitarist-songwriter Pauli Rantasalmi, and phenomenal young drummer Jimi Aslak.
HOKKA makes an explosive entrance with their debut single, ‘In the Darkness’, available today on all major streaming platforms: https://hokka.bfan.link/inthedarkness
Accompanied by an epic and visually stunning music video, the song introduces the signature elements of HOKKA’s sound: deep, dark, and cold Nordic melancholy fused with a modern rock edge. Their music channels the emotional intensity of early-2000s Finnish rock while pushing boldly into new territory with unapologetic energy and ambition.
Watch ‘In the Darkness’ now and experience the dawn of HOKKA:
With a magnetic debut and a fearless creative vision, HOKKA is poised to become the next breakout act from Finland’s rich rock scene.
The band will make their first live appearance on Finnish YLE’s major New Year’s Eve TV show, broadcast live from Oulu-halli on December 31st.
“Different generations of Finnish rock are united for this newborn band proud to be part of Nuclear Blast Records roster.” commentsJoel Hokka
Following the critical acclaim of their first collaboration in 2020, hallowed avant-garde doom acts BELL WITCH and AERIAL RUIN have released the next chapter of their profound, haunting partnership today. “Stygian Bough Vol. II“, available now from Profound Lore, is a monumental opus of crushing doom that takes listeners on an epic soul purging journey spanning nearly an hour over 4 songs.
Over the album a cyclical world unfolds in which different perspectives of how various forms of worship empower, eclipse, destroy and feed on each other is explored. “All four songs explore different aspects of worship or awe – transcendent experiences in different contexts,” vocalist and guitarist Erik Moggridge says.
Each of the album’s musical pieces set themselves apart from the individual bands’ non collaborative catalog. The resulting record is steeped in mysticism, legend, and the examination of “the connective threads that shape and influence the culture, mythology, and customs of all human societies throughout time in unique, localized ways,” says bassist Dylan Desmond.
The cover of the album is adorned by a stunning painting by acclaimed artist Denis Forkas (Behemoth, Wolves in the Throne Room). The piece encapsulates the focused attention and emotional heft of the record. “Denis Forkas’ cover art immediately spoke to me with the symbolism of the severed head,” says Desmond. “In conjunction with Stygian Bough’s aligning with James Frazer’s book The Golden Bough, the branch of symbology concerning severed heads throughout human societies is fascinating. No doubt, this fascination has been shared by many of our ancestors as well as those yet to come; it is something of our identity.”
“Stygian Bough Vol. II”is available on limited edition 2xLP vinyl and CD.
Additionally, BELL WITCH and AERIAL RUIN will embark on tours of North America and Europe in December/January in support of “Stygian Bough Vol. II”. Tickets are available now at THIS LOCATION
STYGIAN BOUGH North American Tour Dates:
12/10/2025 – Portland, OR – Star Theater 12/11/2025 – Eugene, OR – John Henry’s 12/12/2025 – Bellingham, WA – The Shakedown 12/13/2025 – Seattle, WA – Clockout Lounge 12/14/2025 – Vancouver, BC – The Pearl 5/29-31/2026 – Toronto, ON – Prepare The Ground
STYGIAN BOUGH European Tour Dates:
26.01.2026 – Warsaw, PL – Voodoo 27.01.2026 – Wroclaw, PL – Łącznik 28.01.2026 – Brno, CZ – Kabinet Muz 29.01.2026 – Vienna, AT – Arena 30.01.2026 – Munich, DE – Feierwerk 31.01.2026 – Dresden, DE – Club Pushkin 01.02.2026 – Munster, DE – Sputnikhalle 03.02.2026 – Paris, FR – Backstage By The Mill 05.02.2026 – London, UK – The Dome 06.02.2026 – Newcastle, UK – Cluny 07.02.2026 – Glasgow, UK – Stereo 08.02.2026 – Sheffield, UK – Corporation 09.02.2026 – Manchester, UK – Rebellion 10.02.2026 – Birmingham, UK – Hare & Hounds 12.02.2026 – Brussels, BE – Magasin 4 13.02.2026 – Nijmegen, NL – Doornroosje 14.02.2026 – Hannover, DE – Cafe Glocksee
About STYGIAN BOUGH:
Aptly named in reference to the aforementioned book, Stygian Bough, the collaboration between Bell Witch (Dylan Desmond, Jesse Shreibman) and Aerial Ruin (Erik Moggridge) enlivens its unbodied presence resembling both projects as a conduit in its own separate entity.
The partnership at the center of Stygian Bough is over in a decade in the making, growing from Moggridge’s recurring contributions to the Bell Witch catalog. Their initial collusion occurring on the debut Bell Witch album Longing (2012) following which, Moggridge would return to guest on both Four Phantoms (2015) and Mirror Reaper (2017).
Stygian Bough is:
Erik Moggridge – Vocals and Guitar Jesse Shreibman – Drums & Percussion, Organ, Piano, Synthesizer Dylan Desmond – Bass, Synthesizer
Swedish thrash metal juggernaut MEZZROW are back and louder than ever: Today marks the release of their brand-new studio album, “Embrace The Awakening”, out now via ROAR – A Division Of Reigning Phoenix Music, marking a thunderous new chapter in the band’s legacy.
To crank the mayhem up another notch, MEZZROW have also just unleashed a crushing new music video for the blistering track “Sleeping Cataclysm”, delivering a full-frontal assault of razor-sharp riffs and apocalyptic groove. No nostalgia trip here; this is present-day thrash with teeth!
“Embrace The Awakening” is now available on 2-CD Digipak including the Keep It True – Live bonus album, 1-LP Vinyl in Bloodred Sky Marbled edition, as well as in Digital formats: Order your copy of this must-have rager, one that belongs into every well-sorted thrash metal record collection, now at: https://mezzrow.rpm.link/embracePR
MEZZROW built themselves a name in the thrash metal scene during the late eighties with their critically acclaimed demo tapes, “Frozen Soul” and “Cross of Tormention”. In 1990, they released their classic debut album “Then Came the Killing” through Active Records (Candlemass a.o.), a subsidiary of Music for Nations. The album is still today considered as one of the best, if not the best, thrash metal releases from Sweden and Scandinavia.
During 2021 MEZZROW rose from the ashes, when bass player Conny Welén (ex-Hexenhaus) and singer Uffe Pettersson (ex-Rosicrucian) decided to make a new mark in the thrash metal world of today, together with new guitarists Magnus Söderman (Nightrage) and Ronnie Björnström (ex-Defiatory, ex-Aeon), as well as drummer Alvaro “Alvis” Svanerö (Imperial Domain).
Following their comeback album “Summon Thy Demons” (2023, Fireflash Records) and the much-acclaimed ”Keep It True – Live” record, MEZZROW started writing material for their third album. Eight new songs were later on chosen to become “Embrace The Awakening”, a Bay Area Thrash Metal monster made in Sweden! ”We wanted the new album to sound a bit more straight forward without stepping away too much from „Summon Thy Demons“,” Uffe recently said. “We feel that we’ve achieved that and at the same time kept our roots intact.”
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 ) 