French groove death metal force SICKMIND has unveiled the second single taken from the band’s upcoming studio album “Babel Tower”, which will see the light of day on October 9. Following the release of the first track “New God”, SICKMIND now present “Dry Earth”, offering another intense glimpse into what listeners can expect from the forthcoming full-length.
“Dry Earth” is now available on all major streaming platforms and is accompanied by an official music video, which you can watch here:
Speaking about the lyrical theme, SICKMIND comment: “‘Dry Earth’ portrays a world devastated by environmental collapse and humanity’s self-destructive choices. Its apocalyptic lyrics are driven by crushing riffs, heavy grooves and a relentless, aggressive atmosphere.”
Tracklist: 01. While The Lights Are Still Shut (feat. Nicolas Alberny from Gorod) 02. The Chaos Beneath Our Feet (feat. Julien ‘Nutz’ Deyres from Gorod) 03. Dark Code 04. Dry Earth 05. New God 06. Shedding Skin 07. Humaless 08. Babel Tower 09. Moving Limbs 10. The Last Wandering
Hailing from Bordeaux, SICKMIND‘s current lineup has revived SILICIUM, a band originally dating back to 2008, and began its new chapter by taking the stage as the opening act for Aephanemer. A sold-out show in January 2023 marked the beginning of the new era for the band and laid the groundwork for what would become SICKMIND.
In 2024, the band recorded a new EP, released across all major streaming platforms in December, while continuing to build momentum on stage. Since 2025, the band has performed extensively across France, Spain, Portugal, and England, sharing stages at shows and festivals with acts including Eight Sins, Dagoba, Dygora, Gorod, and The Great Old Ones.
Now performing under the name SICKMIND, the four-piece is preparing to enter its next chapter with “Babel Tower”. Set for release on October 9, self-released by the band, the album expands SICKMIND’s dark and dystopian universe, drawing listeners into a world shaped by destruction, uncertainty, and the remnants of a civilization in decline. Furthermore, the album features contributions from Nicolas Alberny and Julien ‘Nutz’ Deyres of GOROD, adding their distinctive presence to the record’s dark and uncompromising sound.
SICKMIND are: Arthur Nouhaud – Vocals Maxime Roget – Guitar Thomas Darracq – Bass Antoine Fourre – Drums
Post-metal heavyweights The Ocean today reveal their newest single ‘Milk of My Dreams’, featuring Thorsten Quaeschning of the legendary Tangerine Dream.
The single is another glimpse of The Ocean‘s forthcoming Solaris record, to be released 25th September (Pelagic Records).
‘Milk of My Dreams’ is the second half of the 20-minute closing piece of The Ocean’s new and 12th studio album Solaris, inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s film of the same name. Entirely electronic, dark, hypnotic and danceable, it leads the Berlin-based heavy music collective into unfamiliar terrain, trading weight for pulse without losing any of its intensity. It closes the album’s 70-minute monolith on an unexpected note: alien yet coherent, disorienting yet strangely inevitable.
While most of the instrumental foundations of Solaris were written during the pandemic, ‘Milk of My Dreams’ is a much more recent piece, composed last year as the band began recording vocals for the album. New vocalist Enrico Tiberi wrote much of the track as a series of variations on musical themes introduced in the preceding song, ‘Ultima Esperanza‘.
Rearranged by Robin Staps and shaped by significant contributions from synth pioneer and Tangerine Dream bandleader Thorsten Quaeschning, the track became a distinctly collaborative and experimental undertaking – and may well mark the beginning of a broader creative relationship with Quaeschning.
The band first met Quaeschning while tracking drums at Berlin’s legendary Hansa Studios, where David Bowie recorded ‘Heroes’. They later spent a week at Quaeschning’s studio in Berlin-Rudow, working not only on ‘Milk of My Dreams’ but on the electronic dimension of the album as a whole.
The band comment: “Working with Thorsten has been an incredibly inspiring experience and with all of us being huge Tangerine Dream fans, a great honour of course. His knowledge of electronic music, synthesizers and sound design is extraordinary, and at the same time he’s an immensely talented and curious musician. His studio feels like a synthesizer museum — everything is connected, switched on and ready to play. What’s particularly remarkable is his ability to take a sound you can only describe in words and translate it almost instantly into something you can actually hear.”
Thorsten Quaeschning says about his collaboration with The Ocean: “It was a real pleasure to work on the new album by The Ocean Collective. At the same time, it was an interesting challenge for me, because I had to adjust some of my usual working methods and leave the safe harbour of familiar procedures. From my own musical microcosm, The Ocean Collective’s music moves through a wide range of shifting time signatures, which meant that most hardware step sequencers no longer worked in the conventional way. Of course, I could have programmed and recorded individual sections of two, three or sometimes eight bars, but I decided to play many of the sequences by hand. This made it possible to react more quickly to the time signature changes, while also giving the sequences a more organic feel through dynamics, touch and subtle timing differences. I’m very happy to be part of this album and I’m looking forward to seeing where this new collaboration may lead.”
Solaris is an album that tells a story of cosmic escapism: a journey on that ship, which is essentially a celestial rescue boat escaping from a metaphorically sinking Mother Earth. The rescue boat can be imagined as a historic naval vessel, and the lyrics and episodes of the album make reference to the real-life explorers of the past who set out to discover (back then) unknown continents and uncharted territories: Da Gama, Magellan, Sir Frances Drake, as well as the Polar explorers Amundsen, Scott, Rasmussen etc.
The Solaris album artwork is a collaborative effort by German artist Phillip Janta (Metallica, Queens Of the Stone Age, Envy) whose distinctive, highly detailed line work is instantly recognisable, and Norwegian artist Martin Kvamme who is the graphic designer behind most of Mike Patton‘s numerous projects. The deluxe version of the album will be accompanied by a hardcover, fabric-wrapped book with copper hot foil print, printed inner sleeves, a 32 pages book, seven art prints by Phillip Janta as well as a customised, retro-futuristic star constellation finder.
Solaris will be released via Pelagic Records on 25th September.
The Ocean Line-up: Robin Staps – guitar, vocals Mattias Hägerstrand – bass Jordi Farré – drums, percussion Enrico Tiberi – vocals, keys Lane Shi – vocals Emmanuel Jessua – guitar Marco Gennaro – guitar
In addition, the following musicians performed on this record: Thorsten Quaeschning – keys Orestis Zafiriou – keys Simen Eifring – trombone Jiawei Zhang – vibraphone
DESERTFEST BERLIN is coming back heavy as ever in May 2027! After an absolutely packed edition in 2026 with a monstrous lineup and two of three days entirely sold-out, the legendary festival comes back with an equally heavy and versatile first wave of bands: Lead by experimental stoner masters MELVINS the lineup highlights Oli Ackermann’s modern noise-renegades A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS, the epic Swedish adventure rockers HÄLLAS, the colossal riff machinery of BONGRIPPER, VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY, GNOME and many more including the new heavy garage punk supergroup PRIMITIVE RING and scene-favorite newcomers SPOOKY EYES from Tasmania, playing one of their very first EU shows ever at Desertfest Berlin in 2027!
With 15 years of relentless affords under the belt to push the Berlin, German and European heavy music scene alongside other great festivals, promoters, labels, media outlets and bands to live vibrantly as it does today – with an ecstatic festival atmosphere, a sweet community, cheering crowds in front of stage and amazing young bands sharing stages with absolute legends, it looks like our scene shines brighter than the seemingly dark times around and this is the DESERTFEST BERLIN energy to go for 2027, pushing this unique scene celebration even further at Columbia Venues from May 14th to 16th!
Lineup: MELVINS / HÄLLAS A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS BONGRIPPER / SMOKE BLOW VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY / GNOME INTER ARMA / PRIMITIVE RING / CARDIEL SPOOKY EYES / PINK FUZZ / SPECK / VINNUM SABBATHI And dozens more to come!
Desertfest is an international beacon of heavy music for over a decade now, since the foundation of an collaborate idea in 2012 by STEAKguitarist Reece Tee, starting DESERTFEST LONDON and by Matte Vandeven – bassist of My Sleeping Karma and founder of Sound of Liberation – promoting the first DESERTFEST BERLIN. Since then the festivals grew in scale and so did the Desertfest family, with independent festivals rising from the stoner underground all over the world in Norway, Belgium and the USA. Not as affiliated sub-festivals, just established by like-minded people, who’d give blood to push the heavy underground music scene just like Matte and Reece have all those years.
DESERTFEST BERLIN had it’s own journey, starting in 2012 with the first edition’s opening night at the legendary old Festsaal Kreuzberg, which tragically burned down about a year later as well as Astra Kulturhaus, which has opened the festival doors until 2017. Before a mandatory break during the epidemic the festival sized up to the larger Arena in Treptow in 2018 and 2019 with two absolute massive festival editions, before finding it’s new home in 2022 at Columbia Venues, where the festival grew to the legendary scene gathering we know today.
For many years the festival is promoted in collaboration with the local agency Greyzone Concerts. But already since it’s inception DESERTFEST BERLIN is a dark sanctuary to heavy music fanatics coming to Berlin from all over Europe with the most sought after bands of the entire heavy music spectrum blessing the DESERTFEST BERLIN stage each year, like SLEEP, ELECTRIC WIZARD, SAINT VITUS, PENTAGRAM, FU MANCHU, YOB, UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS, ORANGE GOBLIN, RUSSIAN CIRCLES and BRANT BJÖRK, just to name a few.
Besides the legends, DESERTFEST BERLIN always highlights a wide range of bands from the genres stoner, doom, sludge, desert rock, heavy blues, psychedelic, progressive as well as heavy rock and always shines a spotlight on the heaviest scene favorites and hottest newcomer bands in the scene, because it’s all about keeping the scene alive! To many more years of Desertfests around the world: See you at Columbia Venues Berlin from May 14th to 16th 2027!
For more than 20 years, Nytt Land have followed their living, breathing connection with ancient traditions and beliefs. Earlier this year, on March 22nd, the dark folk family duo of Natalia and Anatoly Pakhalenko welcomed the spring equinox with a career-spanning live performance in Moscow. Now, fans around the world can partake in this shamanic ritual with their new live album Ritual of Stone Sun (Live 2026).
“Nytt Land have created an album that feels less like a performance and more like opening a door into another world”, Jace Media Music writes about Ritual of Stone Sun. “Close your eyes and let the ritual begin”.
“For fans, this is more than a document of a live show”, The Razors Edge writes about the album. “For newcomers, it offers a striking entry point into the world Nytt Land have built”.
Ritual of Stone Sun (Live 2026)is now released on all digital platforms on Season of Mist, and you can experience the entire performance by watching the full concert video on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.
“Ritual of Stone Sun is dedicated to the spring transition and the awakening of nature”, Nytt Land vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Anatoly Pakhalenko says. “Many of the songs from the album are performed today by the nomadic people of Siberia during ceremonies, shamanic rituals and folk festivals”.
Catch Nytt Land this November on their first Australian tour with co-headliners Mortiis and special guest TiR.
Nytt Land Southern Ritual Australian Tour 2026 with co-headliner Mortiis and special guest TiR
November 19 – Sydney @ Factory Floor [TICKETS] November 20 – Brisbane @ Crowbar [TICKETS] November 21 – Melbourne @ Croxton [TICKETS] November 22 – Adelaide @ Ed Castle [TICKETS]
Much like the symbol of the sun itself, Ritual of Stone Sun traces back through Nytt Land’s history. The dark folk family duo’s new live album spans from the throat singing and shamanic drums of their early Nordic cycle to their most recent explorations of the ancient percussion and vocal traditions that are performed by Siberian shamans to this day.
Lead single “Ragnarök” remains a core pillar for Nytt Land’s live ritual since first appearing on the duo’s 2018 album, Oðal. Anatolly’s throat singing and mystical talharpa recall scenes from a Nordic epic. “U-Gra”, a more recent fan favorite, calls out in dedication to ancient Siberia with pounding drums and Natalie’s hypnotic chanting. In the five years since the song was released off the 2021 album Ritual, it has been played more than 3 million times on YouTube and Spotify.
The full video of Nytt Land’s March 2026 performance in Moscow includes three songs that do not appear on Ritual of Stone Sun. “Taiga”, “Totem” and “Tygir Tayii (Heavenly Sacrifice)” are all featured on the duo’s latest studio album, Aba Khan, which was released this February by Prophecy Productions.
The live video of “Ragnarök” was filmed by Sergei Kaputanuk.
Additional video credits Sound Engineer – Sergei “Lazar” Video Editor – Natalia Pakhalenko Video Color Grading and Post-Production – Anatoly Pakhalenko Sound Edition and Post-Production – Anatoly Pakhalenko, Natalia Pakhalenko
Nytt Land is a Siberian ritual / dark folk family duo founded in August 2013 by Natalia and Anatoly Pakhlaenko in the town of Kalachinsk, Western Siberia, on the banks of the Om River. Natalia and Anatoly author its music, visual language, philosophy and spiritual direction. Their art was born from life in Siberia and speaks in the voice of this ancient land: harsh, mystical, living and infinitely deep.
From the very beginning, Nytt Land developed as a family creative union in which music was perceived not simply as concert or studio art, but as a ritual path expressed through voice, breath, rhythm, silence and a living connection with the ancient traditions and beliefs of Siberia. The official description of the project defines Nytt Land as a “ritual path expressed through sound,” inspired by the traditional spiritual practices of the indigenous peoples of Siberia.
The early period of Nytt Land was closely connected with northern mythology, ancient texts, archaic folk and world music aesthetics. During its first years, the band independently released the albums Nytt Land (2013), Hávamál (2015), and Sköpun: Songs from the Elder Edda (2016), followed by Fimbulvinter (2017) and Oðal (2018). These releases established the duo’s recognizable sound: deep vocal techniques, throat singing, shamanic drums, tagelharpa, jaw harp, flutes, natural field recordings and hypnotic rhythms.
Over time, Nytt Land gradually shifted the center of its creativity away from purely Northern European sources toward the band’s own Siberian homeland, languages and indigenous spiritual traditions. An important milestone became the album Ritual (2021) through Napalm Records. The album was presented as a deep immersion into ancient percussion and vocal traditions, while the band itself described its music as Shamanic Dark Folk.
In 2023, Nytt Land released Torem, continuing their exploration of archaic texts, ritual atmosphere and organic soundscapes. In 2025, the band released Songs of the Shaman through Prophecy Productions — a work dedicated to traditional shamanic songs and incantations of the Manchu-Tungusic peoples of Siberia. This album became one of the band’s most significant steps toward the direct exploration and musical reinterpretation of Siberian shamanic heritage.
The culmination of this creative direction is Nytt Land’s new tenth full-length album Aba Khan, released on February 20, 2026 through Prophecy Productions. The material for the album was inspired by a year of traveling across Siberia, where they encountered new landscapes, people and the real spiritual traditions of indigenous culture of their homeland. While echoes of ancient mythological sources remain present in the music, the focus increasingly shifts toward the languages, imagery and ritual worldview of Siberia itself. The band dedicated Aba Khan to the ancient, beautiful and immense land of Siberia.
After signing with Season of Mist in May of 2026, Nytt Land announced Ritual of Stone Sun(Live 2026). Recorded and filmed in Moscow on March 22, 2026, the live album is dedicated to the beginning of spring and the awakening of nature. The tracklist spans from their 2026 single “Equinox” to “Ragnarök” and other songs from their early Nordic cycle.
Production credits Producer & Sound Engineer – Sergei “Lazar”, Anatoly Pakhalenko Mixing Studio – Nytt Land Studio Mixing Engineer – Anatoly Pakhalenko, Natalia Pakhalenko
For a musician, there’s one thing more empowering than being part of a newly-formed band with amazing chemistry and a batch of undeniable songs — and that’s reforming a popular, powerhouse act after thinking you’d never play together again. That’s why Dragged Under frontman and songwriter Anthony Cappocchi, rhythm guitarist Sean Rosario, and drummer Dylan Roy are so excited about the band’s third full-length album, Social Battery: Low, which reunites the vocalist and songwriter with guitarist Ryan “Fluff” Bruce and bassist Hans Hessburg three years after both quit unexpectedly and acrimoniously, leaving the future of Dragged Under, at best, uncertain.
But the best music always arises from struggle and strife.
“I was so mad when they left like that,” Cappocchi says. “It took all the fun out of it for me, and all that was left was anger. But with time, the fire turns to embers, the embers turn to ashes, and the ashes turn to dust. Then I was like, ‘What was I mad about in the first place?’ But we couldn’t have done this new album if that hadn’t happened.”
Fuelled by the volatile environment in which it was written, Social Battery: Low is a high-impact, hook-saturated blend of styles and textures — musically and lyrically — that builds on the band’s trademark hybrid of pop-punk and metalcore and launches it ever skyward. “The time off gave everyone perspective,” he says. “We realized that we were lucky to have been able to play shows and put out records in the first place. And we’re lucky to be in a position now to continue to do it. That got us pumped to make the best album we could make.”
Social Battery: Low arrives March 12, 2027 via Mascot Records. Pre-order it here.
At the same time as they’ve revisited the sound that put them on the map in 2020 with their debut album The World is In Your Way (which garnered 62M million streams to date), Dragged Under have expanded their boundaries on both ends of the musical spectrum. There are reflective acoustic passages, chirpy melodies they might previously have balked at, some attitude-laden rap-rock, brassy electronic pop, and full-on metal riffs.
Today, the band shares the video for new single “Razor’s Edge Collapse.” Watch it here.
The song was inspired by the growing costs and dangers of living in a major city, and Cappocchi’s decision to leave his hometown of Seattle and move to the sticks.
“It’s about feeling like your city is always on that razor’s edge, and any day it could all go upside-down,” he says. “We lived on a busy street right near a mall. We’d hear cops flying down our street all the time. We loved living in Seattle when we were younger, but we had to move because it got dangerous in a lot of ways and I’m not going to do anything that would put me or my kids in danger. If something happened to me, they wouldn’t have a father.”
Up until now, Dragged Under considered their second album, Upright Animals, their greatest accomplishment. An eclectic and cohesive record that deftly balanced aggression and tunefulness, it was a triumphant, but somewhat unsung release having arrived while the world was still navigating the COVID crisis. Social Battery: Low is just as well constructed, and even more surprising and energetic. It’s the sound of a band giving the world its all, engines firing with the fluidity of an F1 racecar. It’s the album everyone in the band — including Cappocchi — once thought impossible, and it jitters with the excitement of a reunion of old friends who have let bygones be bygones and re-embraced their history and connectivity.
“Our band was never better than it was with our core members — me, Sean, Hans, and Fluff,” says Cappocchi. “In a way, it’s like mom and dad got back together. And since they’ve been back, those dudes have been as committed to Dragged Under and as stoked about it as they were when they first joined. Knowing that only made us want to be bigger than ever.”
Get on board or get dragged under!
Track Listing:
1. Never Gonna Change 2. Razor’s Edge Collapse 3. Rebel Son Rise! 4. THAT’S L.O.V.E. (feat. Marrow) 5. Addicted To The Noise 6. Beautiful World (feat. PINKNOISE) 7. Older 8. Luv Me Back 9. Trix On Me 10. Brainrot 11. AlgoRHYTHM 12. Bleed American 13. A Million Reasons
Norwegian death metal force CELESTIAL SCOURGE will return with their second full-length album, “Exomia”, due for release on November 20, 2026 via Time To Kill Records.
Following 2025’s “Observers of the Inevitable”, the band pushes their sound into an even more powerful and aggressive direction, sharpening the impact of their brutal and technical death metal without sacrificing the compositional detail that has become central to their identity. The new album retains the band’s attention to intricate riffing, technical precision and dynamic songwriting, while placing greater emphasis on momentum, weight and immediacy.
CELESTIAL SCOURGE are now introducing “Foreseen Systematic Malfunctions”, the first single from “Exomia”, offering a first glimpse into a record where crushing intensity and carefully constructed arrangements continue to coexist. The album also carries forward the science-fiction narrative established on the debut, expanding its universe through a darker and more ominous new chapter.
The band comments:
“‘Foreseen Systematic Malfunctions’ is not for the faint of hearts. This track shows no mercy and really pushes our sound to new levels. It captures the overall sound and feel of the album very well but still stands on its own. The story follows as the humans try to flee from earth in their vessels and on the way, the ships encounter many hurdles and obstacles in the dark cosmos before they reach EXOMIA!”
With “Exomia”, CELESTIAL SCOURGE refine the formula established on their debut, delivering a more aggressive and direct take on their technical death metal foundations. The new album places greater emphasis on the impact of the individual songs, combining devastating intensity with a stronger focus on memorable riffs and dynamic structures. While the band’s technical approach remains a key element of their identity, the compositions flow with increased immediacy, balancing complexity and accessibility without sacrificing heaviness.
The album features additional vocals on “Spherical Aberrations” by Devin Swank (Sanguisugabogg). The drums were recorded at Bridge Burner Recording and engineered by Ørjan Kristoffersen, while the album was recorded by Sindre & Hansi. Mixing and mastering were handled by Stefano Morabito at 16th Cellar Studio, with artwork and layout created by César Eidrian.
CELESTIAL SCOURGE comment:
“‘Exomia’ is the continuation of the story from the first album, but this time it’s more dense and grimmer than ever before. We follow the humans’ evacuation from planet Earth to their new home, a planet that looks to be deserted and empty from afar. This turns out to be far from the truth as soon as they land.”
Tracklist:
1. Welcoming the Wretched 2. Foreseen Systematic Malfunctions 3. The Merciless Conflagration 4. Enshrined in Putrefying Flesh 5. Nebulous Malediction 6. Spherical Aberrations (feat. Devin Swank of Sanguisugabogg) 7. Colossal Maleficent Solar Winds 8. Exomia I 9. Exomia II (The Evacuation)
Formed in 2021 by bassist Stian Gundersen, CELESTIAL SCOURGE quickly established themselves as one of the most promising names in the Norwegian extreme metal scene. Combining technical precision, crushing brutality and a fascination for the mysteries of deep space, the band delivers a modern death metal assault built on powerful riffs, complex arrangements and a relentless sense of momentum.
The group features musicians with experience in acclaimed underground acts such as Blood Red Throne, Deception, Ruun, Vorbid and Todesking, bringing together a wide range of influences and backgrounds. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Suffocation, Deeds of Flesh, The Faceless, The Zenith Passage and Cattle Decapitation, CELESTIAL SCOURGE merge the physical impact of classic brutal death metal with a contemporary approach to songwriting and atmosphere.
After introducing their cosmic narrative with debut album “Observers of the Inevitable”, the band returns with “Exomia”, a release that expands their vision both conceptually and musically. Sharper, heavier and more focused, the album represents a further step in the evolution of a band determined to explore the outer limits of extreme metal.
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
