Photo by Heidi Tuulia Photography @portraitsbyheidituulia
Finnish stoner/punk rock band Alkemia is set to release their debut EP which is named simply as “Alkemia EP”. The release date is October 24th 2025 and it will come out via Inverse Records. The first single ‘Höyrypää’ is unleashed today with a music video which is available below.
The band comments: “The inspiration for Höyrypää was the life of Motörhead’sLemmy. The song can be seen as depicting a desperate run from death on a steep mountainside. This is, of course, better than running day after day in a hamster wheel.”
Metal Hall of Fame inductee, Blaze Bayley, is proud to confirm eleven shows in ten cities / ten countries, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the release of “X Factor”, the 10th album release by Iron Maiden.
Blaze, who fronted Maiden during 1994-1999, when the band ushered in its’ darker, more introspective and progressive period, will play the album in full, plus the rare ‘B sides’ at ten carefully selected locations. This landmark tour gives fans an exciting once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the album performed live in its entirety.
Here’s the tour schedule, including an exclusive in each of the countries listed:
October 2025 2nd: GERMANY, Wurzburg, Keep It True Festival 10th: NORWAY, Hamar, Oslo, Festiviteten 11th: SWEDEN, Jonkoping, Metal Fest 17th: FINLAND, Helsinki, On The Rocks – SOLD OUT 18th: FINLAND, Helsinki, On The Rocks – SOLD OUT 24th: PORTUGAL, Lisbon, Club RCA 25th SPAIN, Seville, Club Supra
November 2025 1st: UK, Wolverhampton, KK’s Steel Mill 7th: ITALY, Rome, Traffic Live Club 8th: GREECE, Athens, Gazarte 15th: FRANCE, Marseille, South Troopers Festival
With standout tracks like “Sign of the Cross,” “Lord of the Flies,” and “The Unbeliever”, the album marked a turning point in Maiden’s evolution and remains a cult favourite among die-hard fans.
Blaze will perform with his regular band, the musicians from Absolva: Chris Appleton: guitar Tom Atkinson: guitar Luke Appleton: bass Martin Mcnee: drums
The X Factor artwork has been re-imagined by Akirant Ilustration (Madrid) https://akirant.es/ who also includes Iron Maiden and Star Wars on his client list.
Since leaving Iron Maiden in 1999, Blaze has pursued a successful solo career, including twelve studio albums, the latest being ‘Circle of Stone’ (2024) which attracted critical acclaim, often cited as one of his best.
Tickets for the tour are on-sale (except the 2 sold-out shows in Helsinki) and ticket links available at https://www.blazebayley.net/tour.htm – the X Factor 30 Tour follows directly on from Blaze’s Silicon Messiah 25th Anniversary Tour, celebrating his iconic debut solo record.
Finland’s I, Cursed, who combine angry and furious death metal and grindcore, released their new Heretical Onslaught EP on September 11th 2025. The EP is released in cooperation with Finnish record labels Inverse Records & Meara Music which is also an agency and event producer based in Ulvila.
I, Cursed’s previous EP, Death Holograms, was a bleak and cold affair in terms of production. The new EP, Heretical Onslaught, is bleak like its predecessor, but a bit warmer, though still closer to a circulatory arrest and collapse. I, Cursed has also undergone some line up changes. Nico Brander, who played guitar on the new EP, has stepped aside. Bassist and the band’s main composer and lyricist Ville-Veikko Laaksonen has taken over on guitar. Joni Suodenjärvi, a familiar face from bands such as Cannibal Accident, Hateform, Mors Principium Est, and others, has been recruited as the band’s new bassist. I, Cursed will be touring Finland extensively throughout the fall with their new EP.
Track list:
Malignant
Impure
Nothing From The Ruins
Disfigurement
Funerary
Loss
Swarm
Death Pays It All
-Music & lyrics composed & written by Ville-Veikko Laaksonen -Produced & arranged by I, Cursed -Engineered by Ville-Veikko Laaksonen, Nico Brander & Jesse Simola -Recorded at Firefield Avenue & Soft Neon Audiovisual Studio Mixed & mastered by Jerkka Perälä -EP cover by Jerkka Perälä
Discography: I, Cursed / Blood Service S/T Split EP 2023 (Meara Music) Bloodsoaked / Storm Parade Double Single 2023 (Meara Music) Blades Single 2024 (Inverse Records / Meara Music) Sorrower Single 2024 (Inverse Records / Meara Music) Death Holograms Single & EP 2024 (Inverse Records / Meara Music) Disfigurement Single 2025 (Inverse Records / Meara Music) Death Pays It All Single 2025 (Inverse Records / Meara Music) Nothing From The Ruins Single 2025 (Inverse Records / Meara Music) Heretical Onslaught Album 2025 (Inverse Records / Meara Music)
Decibel Magazine is currently streaming I Watched You Burn, the new full-length from Australia’s NICOLAS CAGE FIGHTER, in its ravenous entirety. The premiere comes in advance of the record’s official release today, September 12th through Bleeding Art Collective and Blood Blast Distribution (Nuclear Blast Records/Believe).
Offers drummer Matt Davenport, “I Watched You Burn is the band taking its all-out assault to a new level, a confirmation of the sound and standing we have carved out over the years, and the demonstration of the new volatility that has been added to our sound through the influence of death and black metal. Still hardcore at its foundation, but through these influences, now broader in its brutality and far more incendiary. Like the central figure in the concept behind the album, it is unhinged and violent. Huge thanks to the team behind the album, and to everyone that has preordered or pre-saved the album and merch, thank you! See you on the road!”
Adds Decibel, “They bulldoze through ten ferocious tracks, balancing their death metal, hardcore and black metal influences adeptly. We’re trying our best to avoid any trite MMA references here, but I Watched You Burn will definitely (aurally) bruise and batter you.”
StreamNICOLAS CAGE FIGHTER’s I Watched You BurnHERE.
Watch NICOLAS CAGE FIGHTER’s previously released video for “I Watched You Burn” HERE and “The Executioner” HERE.
I Watched You Burn was mixed and mastered by Christian Donaldson (Suffocation, Cryptopsy, The Agonist, Get The Shot) and will be released on CD, LP, and digital formats.
Find orders in the US HERE, in Australia/New Zealand/Asia HERE, and Europe/UK HERE.
NICOLAS CAGE FIGHTER is a four-piece metal-driven hardcore act from Ballarat, Victoria. The band’s critically acclaimed 2022-released debut full-length, The Bones That Grew From Pain, led to features in key music media outlets including Decibel Magazine and a front-page feature in HEAVY Mag while also featuring on a number of renowned Spotify Playlists.
This year’s follow-up, I Watched You Burn, continues the trajectory. “If this album was a Nic Cage film, it would be Mandy,” vocalist and lyricist Nick Moriarty notes. “It’s dark, savage, and has a righteous thirst for bloody vengeance; we are pushing our sound to new extremes.
“I Watched You Burn as a whole is a bit of a concept album lyrically,” he further elaborates, “one that continues exploring the themes which were covered in our earlier releases but builds on these concepts in more of a narrative and fantastical story-driven manner. Where [2021’s] Cast You Out EP was an introspective exploration of the self-struggling to overcome adversity in an unforgiving world, The Bones That Grew From Pain was a reflection of how the people around us handle the same burdens and project our misery outwards. I Watched You Burn is the culmination of a world which has unraveled and imploded under the weight of its occupants’ ignorance and malicious past, and a first person perspective into the extermination of all life on Earth. This is the tale of an immortal serial killer on a dying planet, coming to terms with life, death, and what it truly means to be human.”
In early 2025, it was revealed in The Guardian that the actor Nicolas Cage himself is a fan of the band, not only commenting that he thinks the band is terrific but also quoting some of the band’s lyrics in an interview. With vicious go-for-the-throat sound and an incendiary live performance, NICOLAS CAGE FIGHTER have truly earned the reputation of their namesake.
” A fight song if there ever was one.” – Metal Injection on “Garden Of The Grieving Mother”
“It’s dense and unfriendly… I Watched You Burn is on the right trajectory pushing past the raw brutality of their debut and showcasing an ability to control their songwriting to cause the utmost destruction.” – Wall Of Sound
“Some songs hit like a brick wall. Others hit like the brick wall’s angry cousin who’s just found out humanity’s on fire – and he’s holding the match. That’s what I Watched You Burn sounds like…” – Crannk
“…engaging and dynamic…I Watched You Burn leaves little doubt that these guys are the next big thing in Australian deathcore, if not on the global stage.” – Heavy Blog Is Heavy
“With no stone left unturned, not one note missed, the overabundance of talent in this band shows no signs of slowing down. If the man himself, Nic Cage, endorses this band, then it can’t be a wrong move in diving deep into this album and their entire back catalogue… You cannot sleep on this album or this band, for that matter. NICOLAS CAGE FIGHTER came to set the world ablaze, and this album will be the soundtrack to the pyrotechnic demise they intend to bestow upon us.” – Heavy Mag
Epictronic is proud to announce the launch of its brand-new digital platform, developed in partnership with California-based GoldLeaf Media. The platform has been built to offer fans, artists, and industry partners a fresh, intuitive, and immersive experience.
From the latest news and releases to music videos and exclusive content, visitors can now explore everything Epictronic has to offer in one place—while discovering the growing roster of international talent shaping the label’s vision.
This launch marks a significant step in Epictronic’s mission to amplify creativity, innovation, and authenticity across the global indie rock scene.
A special thanks goes to Emma Coleman for her outstanding contribution and support in bringing this project to life.
Portuguese gothic metal veterans INHUMAN have officially announced their highly anticipated new album, “GLORIÆ”. The band’s fourth studio album is slated for a November 7 release via Alma Mater Records and marks a powerful return in 2025. Along with the debut single “Conspiratio”, INHUMAN has also released a brand new music video, offering an intense first glimpse of what to expect.
Commenting on “Conspiratio”, the band offers: “Conspiratio navigates the twilight of deceit and despair, where anguish blooms like fire over shattered hopes. Dense, piercing riffs weave with haunting echoes, crafting a soundscape of an imminent, crumbling apocalypse.“
Tracklist:
Absent Glory
Conspiratio
Seed of Ancient Hate
To Reign In Captivity
Illuminate the Pain
Semblance of Reality
Overgone
The Dreariest One
Do Fim dos Dias
Visionary State
Formed in December 1992 in Silves, a historic city in Portugal’s Algarve region, INHUMAN has been a cornerstone of the country’s gothic metal scene for over three decades. From their 1996 debut “Strange Desire” to the seminal 1998 follow-up “Foreshadow”, the band has consistently blended classic influences with a unique musical identity.
Their 2020 album, “CONTRA”, produced by Daniel Cardoso (Anathema, Moonspell, Angelus Apatrida) and released on the label led by Moonspell’s Fernando Ribeiro, marked a significant comeback. The album earned widespread acclaim, re-establishing the band’s status and paving the way for their latest effort.
Inspired by the Latin phrase for “of glory,” “GLORIÆ” is INHUMAN‘s most mature and daring album to date. Written during a challenging period for the band and once again produced by Daniel Cardoso, the new work delves deeply into themes of personal growth, overcoming obstacles, and self-discovery.
Lyrically, the album uses the concept of glory – and its absence – as a metaphor for personal struggles and triumphs. The band has also embraced a minimalist visual aesthetic, focusing on the interplay of presence and absence to invite listeners to interpret the subjective nature of glory.
As INHUMAN explains: “At this stage of our career, we feel the need to strip away unnecessary layers, both visually and conceptually. The focus is clear: the music must speak louder than any image. Our approach with ‘GLORIÆ’ is simple yet bold – let the music be at the heart of our existence.”
“GLORIÆ” is not just an album; it is an artistic manifesto from a band that has stood the test of time, continues to push boundaries, and leaves an indelible mark on the Portuguese metal scene.
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 ) 