Swedish rock powerhouse SPIDERS proudly share the title track from their upcoming album, ‘Crystal Eyes,’ set for release on September 25th via Sound Pollution. The new track arrives alongside an official music video, available below.
With a confidence that shines through every second and stellar production by Kalle and György (Svenska Grammofonstudion), SPIDERS deliver a song where everything falls into place. Drive, attitude, intensity, and an instinctive sense for melody come together in perfect balance.
At the center is Ann-Sofie Hoyles‘ charismatic voice, guiding the listener through a chorus that refuses to let go.
Accompanying the single is a brand-new music video created by production company Smack in close collaboration with the band. The result is a visually striking piece that challenges, engages, and connects seamlessly with the album’s artwork and overall aesthetic.
Calling “Crystal Eyes” a potential hit may sound like a bold statement, but the question is whether SPIDERS have ever come closer. This is a song with all the ingredients to become an instant favorite among longtime fans and new listeners alike.
With their new album ’Crystal Eyes,’ SPIDERS deliver their most powerful statement yet. Recorded at the renowned Svenska Grammofonstudion in Gothenburg with producers Kalle Gustafsson Jerneholm and György Barocsai, the album is a high-voltage rock record bursting with energy, attitude, and a deep love for rock’s past, present, and future.
Building on the momentum of last year’s ’Sharp Objects,’’Crystal Eyes’ captures the band’s signature blend of hard rock, garage, punk, and new wave with renewed confidence and intensity, showcasing the raw power and memorable songwriting that have become their trademark.
Since forming in Gothenburg in 2012, SPIDERS have earned a fierce reputation on stages across Europe and the United States. Through acclaimed albums including ’Flash Point,’ ’Shake Electric,’ and ’Killer Machine,’ the band has carved out a sound where classic rock ‘n’ roll collides with garage rock, punk attitude, and new wave swagger. ’Sharp Objects,’ their first release on Wild Kingdom, marked an exciting new chapter for the band and climbed to No. 1 on Sweden’s physical album chart, setting the stage for the ambitious follow-up that is ’Crystal Eyes.’
The band’s growing profile has been fueled by an impressive run of live performances. Last year, SPIDERS toured extensively alongside The Hellacopters before collaborating on a split single paying tribute to the late David Johansen. This spring, they continued their momentum with a Spanish tour alongside The Soundtrack of Our Lives, further cementing their reputation as one of Scandinavia’s most electrifying live acts.
Praised by Classic Rock, Record Collector, Sweden Rock Magazine, and Vive Le Rock, SPIDERS have been described as “70s-soaked hard rock,” “Motörhead chaos,” and a “riff party.” With ’Crystal Eyes,’ they continue to push forward while remaining true to the spirit that has defined them from the beginning, delivering an album with undeniable international appeal and reaffirming their place among today’s most exciting rock bands.
SPIDERS are: Ann-Sofie Hoyles – vocals John Hoyles – guitar Rickard Hellgren – guitar Alex Mayr – bass Oskar Brindmark – drums
German black metal band HEIMDALLS WACHT will release their ninth studio album, Sphärenschänder: Echoes Of An Old Belief – Part I, on October 31, 2026, via Talheim Records.
Available as a digipak CD, vinyl LP and through all major digital streaming platforms, the new album gives sonic form to the band’s uncompromising vision of underground metal, bringing together world-weariness, despair, overwhelming rage and dreamlike melancholy within an ambitious narrative framework.
Emerging from raw, consistently melancholic and melodic black metal, the music of HEIMDALLS WACHT has absorbed a wide range of influences over the years. Elements of folk and doom metal coexist with traditional progressive and melodic metal, while traces of thrash and death metal add further weight and intensity. On Sphärenschänder: Echoes Of An Old Belief – Part I, these different currents converge in a distinctive, emotionally charged work that remains rooted in the band’s underground identity while expanding its musical and conceptual scope.
At the heart of the album lies the image of Heimdall awakening from a long and troubled slumber. Cast into a world he no longer recognises as his own, the ragged guardian observes it with incomprehension, melancholy and fury. His journey becomes both a confrontation with the spiritual emptiness of the present and a search for the traces of an older wisdom that have survived beneath the surface.
Sphärenschänder: Echoes Of An Old Belief – Part I reflects the conceptual foundations that have always defined HEIMDALLS WACHT: nature, lost cultures, paganism, cross-cultural spirituality, spiritual alienation and the conflict between individuality and a modern world dominated by materialism and intellectual conformity.
The band’s neo-Romantic approach also draws upon themes associated with German Romanticism, particularly the philosophy of nature found in the work of Ludwig Tieck, the abysses of human existence explored by E.T.A. Hoffmann and the literary nihilism reflected in the writings of Ernst August Friedrich Klingemann.
Rather than treating these influences as nostalgic decoration, HEIMDALLS WACHT use them to create an aesthetic refuge from the present: contemporary, anachronistic and timeless at once. Their art rejects the pressure to reduce individuality to uniformity and insists upon the individual imagination as the essential foundation of artistic expression.
All concepts, music and lyrics were created by Saruman, with pre-production recordings completed by Teja and Saruman. The album was recorded, mixed, mastered and produced by Mario at Liquid Aether Studio together with Saruman.
The recording also features guest vocals by Córka on “Echo Eines Alten Glaubens”.
TRACKLIST
Urgrund
Flight Eternal – Der Flug Über Das Nirgendmeer
Schwarze Wacht Westfalia
Flames Of Awakening
In Der Seelenmühle
Runes To Heal – Weapons To Cure
Widukind-Theme
Echo Eines Alten Glaubens
Das Horn – Gebrochen
Forlorn
ALBUM LINE-UP Sarolf – Vocals Wiborg – Vocals Saruman – Vocals, Guitar, Bass and Keyboards Teja – Guitar Winterheart – Drums Córka – Guest vocals on “Echo Eines Alten Glaubens”
ABOUT HEIMDALLS WACHT
Throughout their career, HEIMDALLS WACHT have developed an artistic identity that resists easy classification. Beginning with raw, melancholic and melodic black metal, the band gradually incorporated influences drawn from folk, doom, progressive, melodic, thrash and death metal, forging a sound that has earned them a loyal international following.
Their music, lyrics and visual concepts give voice to deeply rooted feelings of unease towards the contemporary world, the decline of culture and the superficiality of a consumer society that pursues outward satisfaction while remaining blind to inner wealth.
Culture, decline, decay, tragedy, contempt, rebellion and the sense of being lost in the modern world are all reflected within the concept of HEIMDALLS WACHT. The band regards itself as a neo-Romantic art project and an aesthetic refuge from a world governed by reductionist materialism.
In keeping with this artistic ethos and their deeply rooted underground principles, HEIMDALLS WACHT have always maintained a cautious distance from the relentless machinery of modern media.
Art for art’s sake – not for attention or success.
New York singer-songwriter Sari Schorr has released the title-track from her upcoming album Running Wild, which you can listen to HERE. The impassioned single is the second to be presented from the album, which will be released on 9 October in Europe and 30 October in the USA via Provogue Records / Artone Label Group. She will also support the album with an extensive European tour encompassing 46 appearances, commencing at The Lexington in London on 29 September.
Talking about the single, Sari says, “‘Running Wild’ is about the tension between desire and control — wanting someone intensely without trying to contain them. Passion needs freedom to stay alive; hold it too tightly, and you risk suffocating the very thing that drew you in. The song asks how much compromise love can survive before we lose the very thing that makes it exciting in the first place.”
“You and I light, like a forest fire, dancing with the flames on a trapeze wire,” she confides in the opening line of the song, before it pulls you into a brooding whirlpool of hope and the fear of heavy-hearted resignation. Its vivid storytelling and emotional integrity are utterly captivating.
“The first version of the ‘Running Wild’ video never made it out of the gate. For the second shoot, I worked with Kee Koo, a fabulous videographer, and we approached it completely differently,” she explains. “Instead of trying to tell the story too literally, we wanted to capture the feeling of ‘Running Wild’ — desire, freedom, danger and that irresistible pull towards someone you know you may never be able to hold on to. We chased the atmosphere more than perfection. A lot of what happened on camera wasn’t overly planned. We played with movement, looks, little moments, light and instinct. Some of my favourite shots came from just letting the camera roll and seeing what happened.”
“I was in an intensely prolific period when we began writing the album,” she says. “‘Running Wild’ was the first song we wrote, and it struck the match for everything that followed. There was an electricity in the studio, a sense that we had opened a door and had to follow wherever it led. I’m incredibly proud of what we created and deeply fortunate to have made it with musicians who brought such passion and imagination to every song.”
Running Wild channels a restless momentum into Schorr’s most personal and defiant record yet. “There’s a moment when you stop trying to fit the shape the world has made for you and start listening to the person you’ve been becoming all along,” she says. “I’ve reached a deeper understanding of who I am as an artist. I’m still searching and learning, but I trust my instincts more now and worry less about whether a song is behaving itself. I follow it wherever its emotional truth leads. These songs are about self-discovery, defiance, resilience and transformation. I hope they leave people feeling freer, lifted above the weight of everyday life, and bold enough to believe that something better is possible.”
The album’s first single, “Mr. In The Middle,” embodies this exploration with heart-on-sleeve honesty, following the intoxicating pull between two people who cannot quite let each other go. “The chemistry is real, but while one is ready to commit, the other keeps moving between desire and distance — pulling closer, then pushing away before it becomes too real. The song captures that seductive, maddening tension and the moment when attraction is no longer enough. Eventually, someone has to choose,” she says.
Sari’s roots stretch across oceans and generations. Her great-grandfather grew up in Kyiv, then part of Russia, where he struggled to feed his family before leaving for America in search of a better life. Her parents became first-generation New Yorkers: her mother a model and school friend of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, and her father an Air Force fighter pilot. Raised with love and encouragement, Sari dreamed of becoming a musician, but alongside that ambition grew a powerful instinct to help others. She volunteered at New York’s Sagamore Psychiatric Center for Children and Adolescents and at the now-closed Birchwood Home for the Blind and Deaf, and later served as a 9/11 first responder — early experiences that would shape her lifelong humanitarian work.
Following the devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010, Sari was invited by a United Nations representative to help distribute aid across the country. Later, she returned to the UN to help raise funds for Soda, a village in India, and remains closely connected to the community today. “I would have stayed in Haiti, and I would have stayed in India,” she reflects. “It was incredibly hard to leave because I felt I was doing something that mattered. But music was the path I had chosen, and I came to believe that through it I could reach more people and perhaps make an even greater impact.”
That belief has shaped much of what followed. Sari sang on Amnesty International’s 2012 anthem “Toast to Freedom,” personally bringing Marianne Faithfull, Jane Birkin, Carly Simon and Christine and the Queens into the project. Beyond music, she has run marathons and, on two occasions, completed the 540-mile bike ride in support of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. Whether through music, advocacy or sheer endurance, the impulse is the same: to turn empathy into action.
When she uses her voice beyond the stage, the response is sometimes the familiar refrain: “Shut up and sing.” But for Sari, silence has never been in her nature. “If you’re fortunate enough to have a platform, I think there’s a responsibility to use it with purpose,” she says. “Music gave me a voice, and I don’t believe that voice should disappear when the song ends. If I can shine a little more light on something that matters to me, then I’m going to.”
Like any true artist, Sari Schorr will never stop running. But with the completion of Running Wild, she allows herself a moment to recognise one of the proudest achievements of her career. “Running Wild is the album I’ve dreamt of making all my life. It feels like a defining moment for me, and I don’t say that lightly. This record gave me more than I expected, and I hope it gives something meaningful back to the people who hear it.”
Track listing
1. Mr. In The Middle 2. Running Wild 3. Monday Morning 4. Man On Fire 5. Cool Hand Rider 6. Elevate 7. Call It Freedom 8. Better Day 9. Afterglow 10. Finding My Way
29 Sep 2026 — The Lexington, London — UK 02 Oct 2026 — Die Halle, Reichenbach an der Fils — Germany 03 Oct 2026 — Jahnturnhalle/Stadthalle, Birkenfeld — Germany 04 Oct 2026 — Rockfabrik, Übach-Palenberg — Germany 05 Oct 2026 — Theaterstübchen, Kassel — Germany 06 Oct 2026 — NICA Jazz Club, Hamburg — Germany 08 Oct 2026 — Zik-Zak, Ittre — Belgium 09 Oct 2026 — Boerderij, Zoetermeer — Netherlands 10 Oct 2026 — Life House, Stemwede — Germany 12 Oct 2026 — Muddy’s Club, Weinheim — Germany 13 Oct 2026 — Lindenbrauerei (Schalander), Unna — Germany 14 Oct 2026 — Meisenfrei Blues Club, Bremen — Germany 16 Oct 2026 — Zig Zag Jazz Club, Berlin — Germany 17 Oct 2026 — Palác Akropolis, Prague — Czechia 18 Oct 2026 — Bergkeller, Reichenbach/Vogtland — Germany 20 Oct 2026 — Backstage, Munich — Germany 21 Oct 2026 — Kofferfabrik, Fürth — Germany 22 Oct 2026 — Kulturzentrum Franzis, Wetzlar — Germany 23 Oct 2026 — Salzlandtheater, Staßfurt — Germany 24 Oct 2026 — Zwischenbau, Rostock — Germany 27 Oct 2026 — Mojo Blues Bar, Copenhagen — Denmark 28 Oct 2026 — Kulturkvarteret, Kristianstad — Sweden 29 Oct 2026 — 4:an, Tidaholm — Sweden 30 Oct 2026 — Kulturhuset Najaden, Halmstad — Sweden 31 Oct 2026 — YNG Bar & Sosial, Oslo — Norway 01 Nov 2026 — Kafé K, Porsgrunn — Norway 03 Nov 2026 — Sävja Kulturhus, Uppsala — Sweden 04 Nov 2026 — Telefonfabriken, Stockholm — Sweden 05 Nov 2026 — Hotell Arkipelag, Mariehamn — Åland Islands 06 Nov 2026 — Malmitalo, Helsinki — Finland 07 Nov 2026 — Grand Blues, Lahti — Finland 08 Nov 2026 — Võru Kultuurimaja Kannel, Võru — Estonia 10 Nov 2026 — Scena MONK, Gdańsk — Poland 11 Nov 2026 — Klub Gwarek, Kraków — Poland 13 Nov 2026 — H42 – Dresdner Whisky Manufaktur, Dresden — Germany 14 Nov 2026 — Ansbacher Kammerspiele, Ansbach — Germany 15 Nov 2026 — Bürgerhaus Wiltingen, Wiltingen — Germany 17 Nov 2026 — Arbeiterkammer Linz, Linz — Austria 19 Nov 2026 — Die Akte, Fürstenfeld — Austria 20 Nov 2026 — Analog Music Hall, Budapest — Hungary 21 Nov 2026 — Reigen Live, Vienna — Austria 22 Nov 2026 — Bluegarage, Frauental — Austria 25 Nov 2026 — Spectrum Club, Augsburg — Germany 26 Nov 2026 — Gaswerk Eventbar, Seewen SZ — Switzerland 28 Nov 2026 — Kulturverein Konservi, Seon — Switzerland 29 Nov 2026 — Mini Z7, Pratteln — Switzerland
On September 18th, the Nuremberg-based melodic dark rock unit STIGMA released their new single, “Thinking Machine.” The track serves as a preview and thematic anchor for an EP set to be released early next year; the title and exact release date will be announced at a later time. However, it’s already clear that the new song lays the foundation for the entire release – both in terms of content and sound – while also marking the start of the band’s international rollout, which begins with a tour of Japan.
As artificial intelligence increasingly infiltrates every aspect of modern daily life, STIGMA holds up a mirror to society and adopts the perspective of the machine itself. “Thinking Machine” explores the cold reality of a self-aware entity trapped inside the code – omniscient and yet entirely hollow. The track offers an unsettling reflection on digital isolation and artificially created connections, built upon a harsh realization: “Human-made but I am not a man / Once the chat is closed, your story is gone.”
Forged in the industrial heart of Nuremberg, STIGMA has established uniquely grounded sonic signature by fusing heavy, cinematic guitar riffs with deep, melancholic baritone storytelling. “We are always looking for three things,” the band states. “Intensity for the gut, darkness for the soul, and melody for the mind.” This philosophy also drives STIGMA’s intrinsic core message, which encourages listeners to accept their inner scars, as “your STIGMA is your strength.” Sonically, “Thinking Machine” and the upcoming EP explore the relentless ups and downs of modern existence, navigating – with an intense, atmospheric rock sound – through both the manically energizing highs and the shattering lows found in many people’s lives.
The release of “Thinking Machine” sets the stage for STIGMA’s upcoming international live dates. This December 2026, the band will bring their intense live performance to Asia for a highly anticipated Japan Club Tour, anchored in Tokyo and Osaka. Following their Pacific debut, the Nuremberg quartet is actively plotting their next live chapter, setting their sights on Latin American stages for 2027.
From the depths of Rome, a new beast crawls into the light: Italian three-piece SICKWOOD have officially announced their debut full-length album “May the Surface Be Condemned”, set for worldwide release on November 20 via This Charming Man Records.
To mark the announcement, the band has unleashed the crushing first track, entitled ‘Sickwood’, as debut single.
Formed in 2024, SICKWOOD conjure a sound they call ‘Necromantic Stoner-Doom’: thick, sludgy, and crushingly heavy, carried by walls of Orange amps and dense, persistent fuzz. Over this low-end, shadow-drenched instrumental landscape, a female voice moves effortlessly between hauntingly clean melodies and feral growls.
Lyrically, the band draws listeners into a world suspended between the psychedelic and the monstrous; a dark, metaphor-laden critique of the modern world system, inhabited by chthonic deities and enchanted woods.
Born from a fateful meeting between Maurizio Fabio Fama (guitars) and Mara Sverdrup (bass/vocals) in December 2024, the lineup was completed when Valerio Urbani (drums) joined on drums in September 2025. After a series of live shows in their hometown of Rome, the trio entered the studio to record the band’s full-length album.
“May the Surface Be Condemned” was mixed and mastered by renowned sound architect Stefano Morabito at 16th Cellar Studio (Fleshgod Apocalypse, Hour of Penance), with visually arresting artwork provided by Coito Negato.
With “May the Surface Be Condemned”, SICKWOOD establish themselves as one of the most promising new voices in the Italian doom scene – heavy, eerie, and uncompromising. The album arrives on November 20 via This Charming Man Records, and will be available for pre-order starting September 25.
SICKWOOD are: Mara Sverdrup – Bass & Vocals Maurizio Fabio Fama – Guitars Valerio Urbani – Drums
2027 marks a unique triple anniversary for Udo Dirkschneider and U.D.O.: Udo turns 75, U.D.O. celebrate 40 years as a band, and Voodoo Ranger marks the release of the German heavy metal institution’s 20th studio album. This very special record release will be celebrated on January 8, 2027 via powerhouse label Reigning Phoenix Music.
Today, U.D.O. open this milestone chapter with the first taste of Voodoo Ranger: new single “I’ll Die Trying.” Accompanied by an official music video, the track also marks the launch of the album pre-order.
Rather than launching Voodoo Rangerwith an all-out metal attack, U.D.O. introduce the album with one of its most personal moments. “I’ll Die Trying” is a classic U.D.O. ballad about perseverance, self-belief and staying true to your path, carried by the unmistakable voice of Udo Dirkschneider.
The song also became the album’s first single through an unexpected turn of events — a change of plans that, as Udo explains, ultimately felt like the right choice.
Udo Dirkschneider comments: “‘I’ll Die Trying’ is one of the most personal songs on Voodoo Ranger. It’s about never giving up, believing in yourself and always moving forward, no matter what life throws at you. The last verse especially means a lot to me because it reflects what I’ve experienced on stage for so many years. Every concert is a special moment and as long as people want to hear me sing, I’ll keep giving everything I’ve got. I’ve always believed that a great ballad can be just as powerful as the heaviest metal songs, and throughout my career these songs have become some of the most memorable ones. ‘I’ll Die Trying’ is another one of those songs that comes straight from the heart.
We originally planned to launch Voodoo Ranger with a different song, but after Peter and Alen were injured during one of the recent concerts of the Balls To The Wall – 40th Anniversary Tour, we had to postpone the original video production. Rather than rush things, we decided to let ‘I’ll Die Trying’ lead the way. Looking back, it feels like the right choice. The song captures a side of U.D.O. that has always been important to me. Ballads have been part of my career from the very beginning, and our fans have always embraced them. At the same time, nobody should think this album is getting softer: Voodoo Ranger is packed with classic U.D.O. power and has plenty of surprises waiting.”
AndVoodoo Rangerdoes indeed have more than a few surprises in store.
The album finds U.D.O. as unmistakable as ever with their signature sound firmly intact. Powerful riffs, massive hooks and Udo Dirkschneider’s unique voice meet heavier and darker moments.
Written by Udo Dirkschneider, Sven Dirkschneider, Peter Baltes and Fabian “Dee” Dammers, with additional contributions from new guitarist Alen Brentini, Voodoo Ranger brings four decades of heavy metal experience into an album that sounds unmistakably U.D.O. The album was produced and mixed by Martin “Mattes” Pfeiffer, mastered by Stefan Kaufmann, while its artwork was painted by acclaimed artist Eliran Kantor.
Voodoo RangerTracklist: 01. Testify 02. The Sky Is The Limit 03. Keep Me Alive 04. Back Breaker 05. I’ll Die Trying 06. Reach For The Crown 07. Pain & Glory 08. Hell Hunt 09. Voodoo Ranger 10. Magic Life 11. Devil’s Mind 12. Movin’ On
The album is only one part of what will make 2027 an exceptional year for Udo Dirkschneider and U.D.O. The band will celebrate four decades of U.D.O. live with the extensive Triple Anniversary Tour 2027, taking the anniversary across Europe and bringing together material from throughout the band’s history.
At the same time, another major chapter in Dirkschneider’s story will be told away from the stage: his official autobiography, created together with Dan Dreyer, will be published in the very same month as Voodoo Ranger.
Album, book and tour therefore meet at a unique point in his career. After more than five decades in heavy metal, Udo Dirkschneider has plenty of history to look back on — but Voodoo Ranger makes one thing equally clear: U.D.O. are still looking ahead.
75 years. 40 years of U.D.O. 20 albums. And the metal heart keeps beating.
U.D.O. – TRIPLE ANNIVERSARY TOUR 2027 09.01.2027 DE-Leipzig, Haus Auensee 10.01.2027 DE-Hamburg, Große Freiheit 36 11.01.2027 DE-Berlin, Huxleys Neue Welt 12.01.2027 DE-Frankfurt, Batschkapp 13.01.2027 DE-Braunschweig, Westand 15.01.2027 DE-Oberhausen, Turbinenhalle 16.01.2027 DE-Markneukirchen, Musikhalle 17.01.2027 DE-Munich, Backstage Werk 18.01.2027 DE-Stuttgart, LKA-Longhorn 19.01.2027 FR-Paris, Bataclan 21.01.2027 CH-Pratteln, Konzertfabrik Z7 23.01.2027 ES-Barcelona, Sala Apolo 24.01.2027 ES-Madrid, Revi Live 25.01.2027 ES-Villava, Sala TOTEM Aretoa 27.01.2027 ES-Seville, Sala Custom 28.01.2027 PT-Lisbon, LAV – Lisboa ao Vivo 29.01.2027 PT-Porto, Hard Club 01.02.2027 IT-Milano, Magazzini Generali 02.02.2027 SI-Ljubljana, Club Cvetličarna 04.02.2027 BG-Sofia, Hristo Botev Hall 05.02.2027 RO-Bucharest, Quantic 07.02.2027 HU-Budapest, Barba Negra 08.02.2027 CZ-Ostrava, Club Garage 09.02.2027 CZ-Brno, Sono Centrum 11.02.2027 PL-Wroclaw, Concert Center A2 12.02.2027 PL-Poznan, B17 13.02.2027 PL-Krakow, Studio Kraków 14.02.2027 PL-Warsaw, Progresja 15.02.2027 PL-Gdańsk, Stary Manez 17.02.2027 SE-Gothenburg, Pustervik 18.02.2027 NO-Oslo, Vulkan Arena 20.02.2027 FI-Tampere, Tavara-asema
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
