NIAMH is an alternative metal band formed in 2016 in Vercelli, Italy, with roots in hardcore and electronic music.
After a striking debut with Corax (2018), they made a name for themselves on the European scene with SuperSonic (2019) and Autumn Noir (2021), released under the U.S. label Electric Talon Records. They’ve shared the stage with acts like Enter Shikari, Dark Tranquillity, Lacuna Coil, and Arch Enemy.
In 2024, they signed with German label Lucky Bob Records and released People of the Underworld, pushing their sound into even more cinematic and intense territory. Now, with a new dual-guitar lineup and an increasingly powerful live show, NIAMH continues to carve out a space in the heart of the European underground.
Semper Acerbus is an American Melodic Metalcore band that brings us to the brink of poison and pain like exotic plague doctors bursting from the shadows and forging a path for us into the light! The band just dropped a brutal new single and music video entitled “Suffering Awaits“. The music video was directed by Marc Coronado at Gorzugis Lounge in Del Rio, Texas. This is the first single & music video taken from their upcoming full-length album Following Omens which will be released on January 9, 2026 via Eclipse Records. The album was produced by Chris Mora (Upon a Burning Body, Kingdom Collapse, Chimaira) at Warhorse Recordings (San Antonio, TX).
Watch the “Suffering Awaits” music video right now, here:
Suffering Awaits is a straightforward performance music video, with very little acting” says lead vocalist Nelson Acerbus. “We chose this track because it’s an in-your-face brutal song and we wanted to come back with the new stuff at full power. Initially we were thinking of a more intricate script and storyline but slowly we changed to a more straightforward music video. We tried to translate the song’s lyrics to visual imagery through colors and contrast acting, portraying a very subtle individual thinking about what’s bothering him vs the raw nature of the song.”
Semper Acerbus go straight for the jugular with their blistering third metalcore album titled Following Omens, blasting us across deserts, dunes, mountains, and woodlands deep and dark in the pit of the heart. The vocals are a nuclear fusion of rip-saw growls accented and built on in key moments with layers of traditional lead and harmony lines both modern and medieval, all meant to paint you pictures and sever your soul. The rhythm tracks crash like waves in the wild, and the lyrics are mirrors haunted by the shadows of our deepest and darkest emotional ghosts. Moreover, this album is a guitar-lover’s dream, often schemed with melodic soloing deep in the mix during the verse, and in effect, sounding like orchestral strings in a supernatural soundtrack echoing inside a damp cave, a deep tunnel, or the nave of some sinister, abandoned, desecrated church. The more nostalgic platform solos are intricate and aesthetically gratifying, and the massive rhythm riffs are often so rich and complex that it feels like knights, rooks, and kings have overtaken a checkerboard. The album was produced by produced, mixed, and mastered by Chris Mora (Upon a Burning Body, Kingdom Collapse, Chimaira) at Warhorse Recordings in San Antonio, Texas. Artwork for the album and singles was created by Federico Bossinga at Abstract Chaos Design (Dark Funeral, Dimmu Borgir, Oceano, Old Man’s Child). Following Omens by Semper Acerbus will be released on January 9, 2026 via Eclipse Records.
Pre-Save or Pre-Order Following Omens at this location.
Following Omens track listing 01. Suffering Awaits 02. Unwanted 03. One Day at A Time 04. The Gallows 05. Alluring Vendetta 06. Archangel 07. Wounded 08. Torn Inside 09. District Coward
Semper Acerbus lineup Nelson Acerbus (vocals), Jaime Vargas (guitar), Joe Dragich (guitar), Sammy Farhat (bass), Tyler Thomas (drums)
Exactly 40 years to the day since it was first released, Parlophone Records are pleased to announce a brand new, beautifully packaged, limited collectors 2LP colour vinyl edition of IRON MAIDEN’s classic album LIVE AFTER DEATH.
Featuring the original revered gatefold sleeve artwork, the album comes with two 140g vinyls (one in blue, the other in yellow) featuring the 2015 audio remastering. The package also includes a replica 24 page World Slavery Tour programme, bringing back to life the original tour programme for new generations.
Additionally, the vinyl features a replica tour pass and a glossy 12 page booklet, which contains the original eight page booklet alongside an exclusive and brand new essay entitled Rime And Punishment: Celebrating 40 Years Of Live After Death, where Iron Maiden fan club editor Alexander Milas interviews Steve Harris, Nicko McBrain, Rod Smallwood and acclaimed illustrator Derek Riggs about the legendary album.
As Steve Harris explains of the time, “We were touring our arses off. It was literally just, ‘record, tour, record, tour’ – we didn’t stop. Rod was cracking the old whip, and that was the right thing to do. I mean, we were totally up for it, it’s not like we were doing stuff that we didn’t want to do. You think you’re invincible – ‘Yeah, we’ll take that on, no problem.’ That’s the way to crack it. It’s the only way for a band like us because we had no radio play whatsoever back then.”
Widely acclaimed as not just the greatest heavy metal live album of all time, but one of the most iconic live releases in any musical genre, LIVE AFTER DEATH was recorded mostly during the four nights that Maiden played at Los Angeles’ Long Beach Arena in March 1985. The final side of the double album was recorded during the four nights the band played at Hammersmith Odeon in October 1984.
Both sets of concerts were part of the ground-breaking World Slavery Tour, in support of the band’s 1984 album Powerslave, which started in Poland and featured 187 concerts across 331 days. The tour firmly established Iron Maiden as one of the most exciting live bands on the planet, a reputation that they carry to this day.
PRE-ORDER LIVE AFTER DEATH 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION HERE
Now in their 50th year Iron Maiden have released 17 studio albums and sold well over 100 million records worldwide, played almost 2,500 live shows across 64 countries, been the recipients of a Grammy Award and a Brit Award among many other accolades, most recently joining the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd with their very own Royal Mail stamp set, and also honoured by the Royal Mint with a collection of official coins released in 2025.
Their beer, Trooper Beer, is now in its twelfth year and has sold in excess of 40 million pints and is distributed in 68 countries including six local variants in USA, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Sweden and Australia. 2025 marks the band’s official 50th year and is being celebrated by a two-year world tour entitled Run For Your Lives and a range of events and products including their first ever official hardcover visual history book, Infinite Dreams.
A documentary film about Iron Maiden by Universal Pictures Content Group will be released in early 2026, and the band will continue their two year Run For Your Lives World Tour through Europe and beyond. The tour includes a huge and historic performance at Knebworth Park in the UK on July 11th 2026.
RUN FOR YOUR LIVES EUROPEAN TOUR DATES 2026
MAY 2026 23 – Athens, GREECE – OAKA 26 – Sofia, BULGARIA – Vasil Levski Stadium 28 – Bucharest, ROMANIA – Arena Națională 30 – Bratislava, SLOVAKIA – Národný Futbalový Štadión
JUNE 2026 02 – Hanover, GERMANY – Heinz von Heiden Arena 10 – Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS – Ziggo Dome 17 – Milan, ITALY – San Siro Stadium 22 – Paris, FRANCE – Paris La Défense Arena 28 – Lyon – Décines, FRANCE – Groupama Stadium
JULY 2026 07 – Lisbon, PORTUGAL – Estádio da Luz 11 – Knebworth, UK – Knebworth Park
“Labyrinth of Distress” is the brooding new single from Belgian death metallers ABYSMAL DESCENT. The song, now streaming exclusively at Mystification Zine, is the latest single preceding the band’s debut LP, “Dismal Thoughts”, due out October 31st 2025 via Nuclear Winter Records.
From the depths of Brussels’ death metal underground rises ABYSMAL DESCENT, a new entity forged from the ashes of Dehuman and strengthened by the twisted visions of R.S., L.L. (Putrid Offal, Echo Solar Void, Terrifiant) and M.D. (Echo Solar Void). Soon joined by R.M. (Neptunian Maximalism) and A.L. (Saqra’s Cult), the band completed a sinister line-up dedicated to conjuring a harrowing requiem of death metal.
Their debut full-length, “Dismal Thoughts”, will be released via Nuclear Winter Records on October 31st, 2025 – a suitably unholy date for this descent into sonic darkness. Drawing inspiration from legendary forces such as Immolation, Morbid Angel, and Incantation, the album weaves a tapestry of gloom and malevolence, crushing riffs and abyssal atmospheres.
“Dismal Thoughts” is a testament to death metal’s most oppressive traditions: a record that drips with menace, channeling both the cavernous weight of old-school brutality and the suffocating dread of modern extremity. It is a soundtrack to decay, despair, and the shadows that loom ever closer.
Prepare to be engulfed.
Tracklist:
01. Discordant Calls 02. Labyrinth of Distress 03. Death Rope 04. Dismal Thoughts 05. Obscured Visions 06. Fragmented Soul 07. Abyss of Despair 08. Imaginal Horror
Line-up:
Laye Louhenapessy – Drums Martin Dozot – Guitar Rafaël Sellekaerts – Guitar Romain Martini – Bass Adrien Luxen – Vocals
In 2017, Roman Sayenko of Drudkh started a new band built on raw black metal. Now, Windswept are casting a cold spell over a dark moment in Ukrainian history on their upcoming third full-length.
Today, Windswept are announcing their new album The Devil’s Vertep with its lead single “Investigation”. Inspired by The Black Book of Kremenets Castle, the album reconstructs the witch trials in Western Ukraine that took place from 1753 to 1754 across six stark and visceral songs. “Investigation” marks the turning point on this timeline, where accusations harden into judgement.
Drawing from the first interrogation of Yevka Stanorykha, “Investigation” mirrors the tension between truth and torment. Jagged guitars, volatile tempo shifts and Roman Sayenko’s rasp recreate the psychological pressure of a 1754 courtroom. Each cycle becomes a reenactment of interrogation itself: repetition, denial and the slow dissolution of will.
Tracklist:
Infanticide (6:10)
Investigation (7:18)
Torture & Confession (8:38)
The Potion (6:58)
Nest of the Witches (4:57)
Verdicts (7:54) Full runtime: 42:09
WINDSWEPT return with The Devil’s Vertep, a new full-length rooted in historical documentation and stark musical expression. Inspired by The Black Book of Kremenets Castle 1747–1777, the record traces the witch trials of 1753–1754 in Western Ukraine, unfolding as a conceptual narrative across six compositions. Each track immerses listeners in a chilling atmosphere of accusation, confession, and execution, rendered through raw black metal shaped by both immediacy and conviction.
The project was founded in 2016 by Roman Sayenko, best known as the driving force behind Drudkh, alongside two close collaborators. Conceived as a space for spontaneity and instinctive creation, Windswept sought to capture black metal in its most unfiltered form. Sessions were approached with minimal preparation, often recorded in only a matter of days, ensuring the vitality of live performance informed every moment. While echoes of Sayenko’s other work could be felt, Windswept’s essence lay in improvisation and a raw fidelity to the Ukrainian black metal tradition.
Their debut, The Great Cold Steppe (2017), was stark and unforgiving, reflecting the desolate landscape of its title. The record quickly distinguished itself for its icy atmospheres and direct execution, a distillation of black metal at its harshest. This was followed in 2018 by the Visionaire EP on Ván Records, which deepened their exploration of fleeting, improvisatory intensity. A year later, The Onlooker (2019, Season of Mist: Underground Activists) reaffirmed the band’s commitment to spontaneity. It offered a fierce, stripped-down sound that echoed early traditions while maintaining Windswept’s hallmark rawness.
With The Devil’s Vertep, Windswept turn toward historical narrative. Drawing on trial records preserved in the Black Book of Kremenets Castle, the album reconstructs testimonies of women accused of witchcraft, their brutal interrogations, and the violent judgments passed upon them. Each piece is tied to a specific chapter: “Infanticide” opens with the grim discovery of a newborn’s corpse, “Investigation” and “Torture & Confession” trace the harrowing interrogations, while “The Potion,” “Nest of the Witches,” and “Verdicts” reveal the network of accusations and the sentences delivered.
While The Devil’s Vertep marks Windswept’s first venture into Ukrainian demonology and witchcraft, these themes trace back much earlier in Roman Sayenko’s creative path. In the autumn of 1996, Sayenko began developing an unfinished project titled KOZLONOGYI (Goat-Footed): a concept rooted in the same folkloric and mythological territory that would later resurface within The Devil’s Vertep. Although KOZLONOGYI never moved beyond a few rehearsals, its sketches and early riffs became the foundation for Windswept’s latest work. By reviving and re-working these ideas nearly three decades later, Sayenko bridges eras of black metal evolution, imbuing The Devil’s Vertep with a distinctly 1990s sensibility and reverence for the early traditions that shaped his artistic identity.
Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Viter Music with production handled internally, The Devil’s Vertep balances immediacy with conceptual cohesion. Its stark presentation reflects the gravity of the source material, while the cover art by Obsidian Bone situates the work in a visual landscape as unsettling as the music itself. By channelling the voices of the past, Windswept expand their raw black metal vision into a work of historical remembrance, turning archival fragments into a haunting artistic statement.
Line-up: R. — Vocals & Guitars T. — Bass V. — Drums
Production Credits: Recorded at Viter Music. Produced & engineered by R. & V. Mixed & Mastered by V. at Viter Music.
The Australian rocker Cassidy Paris unveils today her new single and official video, “Nothing Left To Lose”, taken from her highly anticipated sophomore album, “Bittersweet”, scheduled for November 21, 2025, via Frontiers Music Srl.
Cassidy Paris is also thrilled to share that she will be returning to the UK in May next year, for the “Finish What We Started” headlining tour, starting on May 13th in Hastings, and wrapping up on May 24th in Newcastle.
Everyone who pre-orders “Bittersweet” from the Frontiers UK store by 6.00pm on Thursday (and anyone who has already ordered a copy from the webstore) will be sent a pre-sale link via email this Friday at 10am.
Talking about her new single, Cassidy said: “I instantly connected to ‘Nothing Left To Lose’ as it represents times when you feel so alone and in pain. You feel like no one is listening or really understands what you’ve been through. It’s when people twist things and lie to try and paint a picture that is fabricated. They manipulate others to suit their own agenda, making you feel like you’re going crazy. ‘Nothing Left To Lose’ is one of my favourite tracks off ‘Bittersweet’ and I can’t wait to see what you think”.
Known for her distinctive blend of ‘80s-inspired rock attitude with a modern twist, Cassidy Paris is stepping confidently into her own identity as an artist with “Bittersweet”, the powerful follow-up to her acclaimed 2023 debut album “New Sensation”.
“My debut album was ‘80s infused with a current vibe”, Cassidy explained. “With Bittersweet, I’m stepping even more into who I am as an artist – influenced by icons like Debbie Harry, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, and Lita Ford, but always with my own spin on things”.
“This is the most honest and raw I’ve ever been with songs. This record feels like it’s a part of me. Like reading a diary of my life over the past couple of years. Releasing this is both so exciting and equally emotional because, when I started, I had no idea of the journey I would go on personally in my life”, she added. “It makes me beam with happiness that these songs are yours now. This record is love, strength and immense heartbreak. It’s emotions on a level I didn’t even know existed prior to this season of life. It truly lives up to its name in its entirety. I hope you to love it as much as I did creating it”.
Featuring songwriting contributions from Paul Laine and Steve Brown, “Bittersweet” showcases Cassidy’s growth not just as a performer but as a songwriter with a message. Lyrically honest and emotionally charged, the album balances hook-filled anthems with heartfelt ballads, capturing both vulnerability and strength.
Cassidy continues to stand out as a passionate voice in modern rock, not only for her music but for her advocacy. A strong supporter of Metalheads Against Bullying, she regularly performs in schools around Melbourne, using her platform to inspire resilience and authenticity in young fans.
As a teenager growing up in Australia, there’s likely very few others out there with ambitions of being a “rock star”. Especially considering rock music isn’t exactly regarded by the mainstream as the “coolest” thing in the 2020’s.
However, Cassidy Paris is an exception, determined to make rock music a ‘cool’ thing again and inspire a new generation of younger fans to not only listen to rock ‘n’ roll, but maybe even pick up a guitar, instead of a phone.
At the age of 11, Cassidy met singer songwriter Paul Laine (ex Danger Danger, The Defiants), who developed a unique mentoring role. Paul took Cassidy under his wing to help develop her as an artist and songwriter, collaborating with her in songwriting and producing her music.
From early on, Cassidy has wanted to deliver a strong message through her music. In 2018, she released the song “Stand”, a heartfelt song about ‘standing up for yourself’ as a young woman.
Having already performed in the USA, UK, and Japan, Cassidy’s global fanbase continues to grow rapidly. Despite the postponement of some European dates due to personal circumstances, she is planning to return stronger than ever with new shows in the UK and Ireland.
With “Bittersweet”, Cassidy Paris reaffirms her position as one of rock’s most exciting young talents – bringing heart, power, and purpose to every note.
Cassidy is endorsed by Fender Guitars, Ernie Ball & Wornstar Clothing.
“Bittersweet” Tracklist:
1. Butterfly 2. Nothing Left To Lose 3. Finish What We Started 4. Wannabe 5. Getting Better 6. Give Me Your Love 7. Can’t Let Go 8. Undecided 9. Sucker For Your Love 10. Brand New Day 11. Is Anybody Out There 12. Turn Around And Kiss Me 13. Stronger
MAY 13 – The Carlisle – Hastings MAY 14 – The Cavern – Raynes Park MAY 15 – The Patriot – Crumlin MAY 16 – Leo’s Red Lion – Gravesend MAY 17 – Eleven – Stoke MAY 20 – The Craufurd Arms – Milton Keynes MAY 21 – Waterloo – Blackpool MAY 22 – Billy Bootleggers – Nottingham MAY 23 – Bannermans – Edinburgh MAY 24 – Trillians – Newcastle
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 ) 