German metalcore outfit Our Mirage return with their brand-new single ‘God Behind Your Eyes,’ continuing the band’s steady run of impactful releases. Following the strong reception of their most recent singles, the band once again build on their established sound and sharpen their emotional and sonic identity.
‘God Behind Your Eyes’ blends dynamic heaviness with melodic tension, driven by layered guitars, precise rhythms, and a focused vocal performance that sits at the core of the track. The new single reflects Our Mirage’s ability to move between intensity and atmosphere while keeping their songwriting direct and grounded.
With growing international attention, extensive touring, and a proven track record across streaming platforms, Our Mirage have firmly established themselves within the modern metalcore landscape. ‘God Behind Your Eyes’ marks the next step in that trajectory and sets the course for what’s coming next.
Catch the band live: 28.01.26 – Nürnberg, Z-Bau 29.01.26 – A-Wien, Viper Room 30.01.26 – München, Backstage Club 31.01.26 – Frankfurt, Batschkapp 05.02.26 – Hannover, Kulturzentrum Faust 06.02.26 – Hamburg, Molotow 07.02.26 – Göttingen, Musa 11.02.26 – Leipzig, Conne Island 12.02.26 – Berlin, Hole 44 13.02.26 – Münster, Sputnikhalle 14.02.26 – Bremen, Tower 20.02.26 – Stuttgart, Im Wizemann (Club) 21.02.26 – Köln, Essigfabrik 14.03.26 – Essen, Zeche Carl
German metalcore force Any Given Day return with their brand-new single ‘Bleed To Shine,’ marking the next step in the band’s ongoing evolution. Following a run of successful releases and consistent international touring, the band continue to sharpen their sound and push forward with renewed focus.
‘Bleed To Shine’ delivers a precise balance of weight and drive, combining dense guitar work, tight rhythms, and a focused vocal performance that highlights the band’s trademark intensity without losing momentum. The track reflects Any Given Day’s ability to evolve within their established sound while maintaining the direct impact that has defined their career so far.
With a steadily growing global audience, extensive festival appearances, and multiple international tours under their belt, Any Given Day remain a constant presence within the modern metalcore landscape. ‘Bleed To Shine’ underlines that position and sets the tone for the band’s next phase.
California’s hardcore heavyweights Lionheart are back in full attack mode and now unleash the ultimate statement with the release of their brand-new single and title track ‘Valley Of Death II.’ Following the massive impact of their comeback single ‘Bulletproof,’ the relentless follow-up ‘Roll Call,’ and the explosive ‘Death Grip’ featuring Kevin Skaff of A Day To Remember, the Oakland kings raise the stakes once more – and make it crystal clear that this new era is built for absolute domination.
‘Valley Of Death II’ is the sonic embodiment of everything Lionheart stand for: crushing grooves, merciless riffs, and commanding gang shouts that hit straight to the chest. As the title track of their upcoming album, the new single carries the full weight of the band’s legacy while pushing their sound into even darker, heavier territory.
With pre-orders for the new album already in full swing, Lionheart continue their unstoppable run toward the release of Valley Of Death II, set to drop on 9th January 2026 via Arising Empire. The record marks the long-awaited sequel to their 2019 fan-favourite and promises a darker, more aggressive, and uncompromising chapter in the band’s career.
To complete this massive new era, Lionheart will return to Europe in January 2026 for a huge headline tour, joined by Madball, Gideon, and Slope. With ‘Bulletproof’ igniting the start and ‘Roll Call’ now following immediately, Lionheart make one thing crystal clear: this next chapter is already in full attack mode.
On the heels of a wildly successful Australian tour with sold-out shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide, SEBASTIAN BACH announces his 2026 North American headlining tour, The Party Never Ends, kicking off February 26 in Highland, California at Yaamava’ Casino.
The tour will bring Bach’s unmistakable voice as he delivers the iconic hits from his days in SKID ROW, alongside fan favorites from his expansive solo catalog, including material from his latest album, Child Within the Man, hailed by Metal Hammer as “an unapologetic celebration of what Sebastian Bach does best,” with Associated Press saying “…it shows a fierce performer in prime fighting form…his vocals remain sharp and his songwriting talents as cunning as ever,” In addition, “(Hold On) To the Dream” track was included in Consequence’s 30 Best Metal & Hard Rock Songs of 2024 which described the song as “…a career masterpiece from the former Skid Row singer. Baz hits some of the highest notes of his career on the sweeping ballad, an inspiring anthem about perseverance.“
Joining the tour as direct support are modern rock standouts STITCHED UP HEART. handpicked by Sebastian Bach for his 2020 tour celebrating the debut SKID ROW album. That tour was ultimately cancelled due to COVID, making this long-awaited pairing finally come full circle.
VIP Meet & Greet Packages will be available. For full details and ticket links, visit www.sebastianbach.com.
Additionally, Sebastian Bach has also dropped a new “Car Wash Hot Wax” edit of the single “What Do I Got to Lose?”, delivering a hotter, extended bikini car wash performance by none other than his wife, Suzanne. “What Do I Got to Lose?” made an immediate splash at radio, debuting as the #1 Most Added track upon release, bridging Sebastian Bach’s iconic legacy with his modern solo relevance.
SEBASTIAN BACH NORTH AMERICAN HEADLINING DATES
Feb 26 – Highland, CA – Yaamava Casino* Feb 27 – Fresno, CA – Tower Theatre Feb 28 – Oroville, CA – Feather Falls Casino* Mar 02 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theatre Mar 04 – Victoria, BC – Capital Ballroom Mar 06 – Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall Mar 07 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Depot Mar 09 – Billings, MT – The Pub Station Ballroom Mar 10 – Minot, ND – The Original Mar 13 – Des Plaines, IL – Des Plaines Theatre Mar 14 – Florence, IN – Belterra Resort Casino* Mar 15 – Wyandotte, MI – District 142 Mar 18 – Marion, IL – Marion Culture Civic Center Mar 20 – Millvale, PA – Mr. Smalls Mar 21 – Jim Thorpe, PA – Penn’s Peak* Mar 22 – Hampton Beach, NH – Wally’s Mar 24 – Albany, NY – Empire Live Mar 25 – Harrisburg, PA – Capitol City Music Hall Mar 27 – Leesburg, VA – Tally Ho Theater Mar 28 – Greenville, SC – Radio Room Mar 29 – Charleston, SC – Music Farm Mar 31 – Jacksonville, FL – Five Apr 02 – Sebastian, FL – Capt Hirams Hall Apr 03 – St. Petersburg, FL – Ferg’s Entertainment Center* Apr 04 – Destin, FL – Club LA Apr 06 – Nashville, TN – Cannery Hall Apr 10 – West Wendover, NV – Peppermill Casino*
*no STITCHED UP HEART
ADDITIONAL ONE-OFF DATES 2025 Dec 12 – West Siloam Springs, OK – Cherokee Hotel & Casino* Dec 13 – Roland, OK – Cherokee Casino and Hotel Dec 27 – Airway Heights, WA – Pend Oreille Pavilion at Northern Quest Resort & Casino
2026 Jan 7 – Snoqualmie, WA – Snoqualmie Casino Jan 17 – Lincoln City, OR – Chinook Winds Casino Resort Jan 24 – Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena w/ Tesla Feb 21 – Newton, NC – Newton Performing Arts Center Feb 26 – Highland, CA – Yaamava’ Theater* Mar 14 – Florence, IN – Belterra Casino Resort Mar 21 – Jim Thorpe, PA – Penn’s Peak May 31- Lake Charles, LA – L’Auberge Casino Aug 21 – Gatlinburg, TN – The Mountain Festival 2026 Oct 3 – Saint Charles, MO – The Family Arena w/ Great White and Quiet Riot
About Sebastian Bach:
With an inimitable presence as loud as his instantly identifiable voice, SEBASTIAN BACH has left a San Andreas Fault-size imprint on music, theater, film, television, and culture. Moreover, his influence only continues to magnify. He has penned and voiced some of the most iconic anthems in rock history, crafting a catalog highlighted by generational hits such as “18 and Life,” “I Remember You,” “Youth Gone Wild,” “Slave To The Grind,” “Wasted Time,” and “Monkey Business,” to name a few. He has made history as “the first heavy metal singer on Broadway” with a now legendary turn in Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical in addition to leading roles in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Jesus Christ Superstar. He has appeared in dozens of television series and films, ranging from “Trailer Park Boys” and “Robot Chicken” to “SpongeBob SquarePants,” “The Masked Singer,” and “Hell’s Kitchen.” Speaking to his versatility, he’s the rare force of nature who can duet with Axl Rose and reprise a seven-season recurring role on “Gilmore Girls.”
For three decades, Theodor Bastard have bridged the traditions of the old world with the new. Now, five years removed from their last full-length journey, the Karelian pioneers of electro-folk are beginning a new venture that reconnects with their earliest roots.
Today, Theodor Bastard are releasing their first single in five years. While written specifically for the award-winning Russian crime drama The Method, “Nebo” offers an initial glimpse at the band’s upcoming ninth studio album. Yana Veva’s vocals continue to twirl with the fragility of snow, but the way the song’s beat rolls like smog recalls their early electronic experiments with World Music.
“We leaned on analog synthesizers, most notably the Soviet-era Polivoks and modern Arturia MiniBrute”, says Theodor Bastard’s founding member Fedor Svolotch. “Our recent albums have focused more on acoustic and ethnically-inflected textures. Returning to analog gear felt like coming home to a language we missed”.
Theodor Bastard were commissioned to write “Nebo” for the third season of The Method’, which premiered on Kinopoisk last Friday, December 12. The song plays during the show’s end credits and will soundtrack one of its pivotal scenes.
Theodore Bastard’s latest album Volch’Ya Yagoda, along with the recently reissued Vetvi and Oikoumene, are available now through Season of Mist.
Theodor Bastard take listeners to unexplored and other worlds. From the cold and twilight realms of the marshy swamps of taiga and mossy tundra, to unexplored places where the earthly plane and the spiritual world are separated only by a thin ghostly veil. For over twenty years Theodor Bastard have been known for their amazingly serious attitude to the world beyond that very frontier.
Theodor Bastard is one of Russia’s most unusual bands representing the electronic Karelian neofolk genre. Also elements of dark wave and trip hop are present in the band’s music. The message doesn’t carry out everyday problems and is mainly focused on mythology and shamanism. The hallmarks of the band are the unique and bewitching lead vocals of multi-talent Yana Veva and the impeccable sound producing skills of Fedor Svolotch, founder of the band who created the band 20 years ago.
From album to album, Theodor Bastard carefully and masterly combine many different exotic and traditional instruments. The special northern atmosphere of their albums is created with Nordic nyckelharpa and jouhikko, primeval flutes created from tree roots and shamanic percussion.
“We live in the north of Russia in Karelia, which has a difficult fate” states band leader Fedor Svolotch. He continues: “This is a harsh northern region with unpredictable nature, with spruce and pine forests. Bears are found here. Moose and hare come straight to my house. In Karelia there are beautiful cliffs and clear lakes with fresh water. These are our personal places of power, the places where stones and winds are talking to us. Singing for us a songs of the northern harsh nature”.
Theodor Bastard consists of seven musicians, turning their performances into a dark magic act that sends the audience back to Northern musical traditions, to the Karelian and the Russian folk. The musicians use a lot of electronic devices, ethnic instruments and hand-made instruments from stones, human bone and the roots of Karelian birch.
In addition to their eight studio albums, Theodor Bastard have composed soundtracks for the dark horror video game “Pathologic 2” and “Life is Feudal: MMO”. They have performed at Castlefest, Dark Bombastic Evening and other major European festivals and have received two prestigious Russian music awards: The Golden Gargoyle, as the best Russian band in the World Music genre, and the Russian World Music Award for their contribution to the development of ethno-music.
Their latest single, “Nebo”, appeared in a key scene during the third season of the Russian crime drama The Method. It will also appear on the band’s upcoming ninth album.
“Nebo” recording line-up: Alexander Starostin (Fedor Svolotch) – Synths, Guitars, Drum and Synth Programming, Sound Design Yana Veva – Vocals, Synths
Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Revolution Saints) releases today “You Can Give”, the new single and official video taken from the fourth album of his solo project Joel Hoekstra’s 13, “From The Fade”, out on February 27, 2026, via Frontiers Music Srl.
Hoekstra stated: “’You Can Give’ is a heavy, riff-driven track. Although some of the riffs could be described as metal, it still falls under the category of melodic hard rock. Vinny Appice and Tony Franklin do an amazing job laying out a strong, creative foundation. Girish Pradhan delivers a powerful, emotional vocal performance while Derek Sherinian and Jeff Scott Soto provide the perfect complimentary parts on keys and backing vocals respectively. Lyrically, the song is based on music itself singing to me and essentially highlights what can be the downside of an attempt to maintain a strong work ethic”.
Joel commented: “The songs were built from the guitar riffs up. Most of the riffs were written during the time I was filling in with Accept, so there is a heavier edge to this album overall. That being said, the album still would be more accurately described as melodic hard rock, not straight-up metal”.
“As always with the Joel Hoekstra’s 13 albums, I wrote the style of music that inspired me to pick up the guitar and tried to focus on SONGS for you to enjoy, not overly self-indulgent guitar solos”, he continued. “HUGE thanks to Vinny Appice, Tony Franklin, Derek Sherinian, Girish Pradhan and Jeff Scott Soto for bringing the songs to life! I hope you all enjoy ‘From The Fade’ as much as I enjoyed making it!”
Joel Hoekstra’s 13 returns with its fourth studio album, “From the Fade” – a dynamic collection of 10 brand-new tracks that combine soaring melodies, thunderous riffs, and the high-level musicianship fans have come to expect.
Once again, guitarist and composer Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake, Cher, Trans-Siberian Orchestra) is joined by an elite cast of rock veterans: powerhouse drummer Vinny Appice (Black Sabbath, Dio), legendary bassist Tony Franklin (The Firm, Blue Murder), virtuoso keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Sons of Apollo), and rising vocal sensation Girish Pradhan (Girish and The Chronicles, The Nail).
“From The Fade” delivers a blend of classic hard rock and modern melodic metal, characterized by tight arrangements, technical precision, and emotionally charged performances. Each track reflects Hoekstra’s signature songwriting – rooted in tradition but pushing the genre forward with a fresh and contemporary sound.
This is more than just a studio project; it’s a statement of intent from one of rock’s most respected guitarists and his band of world-class collaborators.
New York guitarist Joel Hoekstra currently plays for Whitesnake and Trans Siberian Orchestra. Joel is also well-known for his work with: Cher, Night Ranger, the Broadway show Rock of Ages, his fill in work with Foreigner, Accept, his annual sets on the Monsters of Rock Cruise, recording projects like Revolution Saints, Iconic, viral collaboration videos with the likes of Dino Jelusick, Arnel Pineda, Mike Portnoy, Billy Sheehan and his acoustic shows with Brandon Gibbs.
Exhibiting a knack for music education, he has also been a frequent columnist for Guitar World Magazine, taught at Musician’s Institute, Rockstars of Tomorrow, Guitar Workshop Plus and often been a counselor at Rock N’ Roll Fantasy Camp.
Over the years, Joel has released three instrumental solo albums and three critically acclaimed albums with his side project Joel Hoekstra’s 13. Most recently, he was the guest guitarist on Dancing with the Stars (Hair Metal Episode) and played with Cher at her Rock N Roll Hall of Fame induction and the SNL 50 Homecoming Concert.
“From The Fade” Tracklist:
1. You Can Give 2. The Fall 3. Lifeline 4. Will You Remember Me 5. Misunderstood 6. Start to Fight 7. All I’d Do 8. Free To Be 9. The End Of Me 10. Quite The Ride
Line Up: Joel Hoekstra – guitars Girish Pradhan – lead vocals Vinny Appice – drums Tony Franklin – bass Derek Sherinian – keyboards Jeff Scott Soto – backing vocals
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
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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 