Wormholedeath Records is thrilled to announce the signing of DRAB, the heavy rock juggernaut whose self-titled debut album will erupt worldwide on June 6, 2025. Hailed as a visceral fusion of grunge-era darkness, thunderous riffs, and dystopian intensity, DRAB’s music is a time-traveling beast—raw, relentless, redefining modern rock’s boundaries.
A Statement from DRAB: “We are very pleased to announce our partnership with Wormholedeath Records in the international release of our self-titled debut album!.”
Born in Chaos, Forged in Fire
DRAB’s origin is as gritty as their sound. In 2020, the band germinated in a musty New Orleans storage locker as the world retreated into isolation. What began as a cathartic escape from pandemic-era despair evolved into a sonic exorcism, recorded in an olive-drab Masonic Temple-turned-studio in Covington, LA, with producer Jack Miele (The Meters, Galactic). The result? A self-titled debut that channeled the paranoia and claustrophobia of the times into a blistering manifesto.
Underground Titans Rise
Since their debut, DRAB has dominated the New Orleans metal underground, earning accolades like Rock-N-Review’s #1 Album of 2022 and sharing stages with icons like Soulfly, Pallbearer, and YOB. Their 2024 single “Tyrannic”—produced by Grammy-winner Adrian Bushby (Muse, Foo Fighters)—marked a darker, sharper evolution, blending surrealist visuals with labyrinthine riffs that caught fire across streaming platforms.
The Sound of Rebellion
DRAB’s music is a molten collision of decades: the swagger of 1970s hard rock, the rebellion of 1980s metal, and the brooding angst of 1990s grunge. Tracks like “Afterburner” (available now on Bandcamp) showcase their signature blend of haunting atmospherics and bone-crushing grooves. Whether it’s a name that evokes the mundane and dreary, or the dregs of 16th-century gutters and brothels, Drab’s music is anything but what the name might imply. It’s a steel blade that is only getting sharper with time
Tracklist:
Lonely Place
Huntress
Stand Up
Sand
Break That Chain
Candyman
Dumpster Fire
Been Too Long
Bite Down
Sirens
Check out the album’s teaser:
DRAB’s Current Lineup: Steve Mignano – Guitar/Vocals Casey Freitas – Bass Aaron Levy – Drums
Legendary heavy metal supergroup DOWN – featuring vocalist Philip H. Anselmo, guitarists Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein, drummer Jimmy Bower, and bassist Pat Bruders – is pleased to announce their official signing with Nuclear Blast Records! The band is currently in the final stages of recording their long-awaited new full-length, slated for release in 2026.
In a collective statement, Nuclear Blast comments, “Nuclear Blast is proud to be in the trenches with NOLA legends DOWN as their partner in their long overdue return to the metal world. In addition, we are excited to bring some of their key past catalog releases back into the spotlight, especially on the vinyl side. There are so many longtime DOWN fans at Nuclear Blast who are excited to be working with one of their all-time favorite bands. 2026 can’t come soon enough!”
Adds the band: “It’s good to sign with Nuclear Blast Records. It’s a good label home and we’re ready to make some awesome recordings!” – Philip H. Anselmo “Having already been a part of the Nuclear Blast family with Corrosion Of Conformity, it is an honor and a privilege to be here as well with my brothers in DOWN. The team at Nuclear Blast is a well-oiled machine and you can definitely tell they love what they do. We are in the right place.” – Pepper Keenan “Nuclear Blast is a great label that put out some excellent records. It’s an honor to have them work our jams!” – Jimmy Bower
Updates on new DOWN music will be unveiled in the months to come. In the meantime, don’t miss DOWN when they headline night one of this year’s edition of the Milwaukee Metal Fest. For more info, visit: therave.com/metalfest. The show follows the band’s recent Western US tour with Danzig.
DOWN Live: 5/16/2025 Milwaukee Metal Fest @ The Rave/Eagles Club – Milwaukee, WI
You know it’s DOWN as soon as you hear them. There’s no mistaking those gargantuan riffs, swamp blues leads, crashing drums, and hypnotic howls for absolutely anybody else under the sun. The band upholds a certain tradition that countless fans celebrate, expanding their own musical mythos as they leave its pillars intact and untouched.
With a collective resume encompassing Pantera, Corrosion Of Conformity, Crowbar, and EyeHateGod, the quintet puffed out its first haze of sonic smoke from the belly of gritty old New Orleans on the 1995 platinum-selling classic, NOLA. At that moment, they naturally summoned something akin to a ritual, continually partaking in it with critically revered offerings — Down II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow in 2002, Down III: Over The Under in 2007, Down IV – Part One in 2012, and Down IV – Part Two in 2014. Their shows built a certain live lore with unforgettable runs alongside Metallica and Heaven & Hell, as well as coveted spots on iconic festivals like Download, Soundwave, Ozzfest, and so many others, forever delivering passionate, powerful, pure heavy music you can feel deep down in your soul.
After proving to be a force to be reckoned with through the critical and commercial triumph of their latest album March Of The Unheardand a massively successful, sold-out European tour, Swedish melodic death metal powerhouse THE HALO EFFECT return with a brand new offering.
The band proudly releases ‘Not Yet Broken’ — a heavy, hypnotic, and deeply melodic anthem that until now was exclusively available as a Japan-only bonus track. Fueled by crushing riffs, haunting melodies, and the unmistakable energy that defines THE HALO EFFECT’s sound, ‘Not Yet Broken’ stands as a testament to the band’s unwavering creative fire.
Guitarist and main songwriter Niclas Engelin comments:”I think we are fortunate to have this flood of creativity going since day one. Here is another song we have been waiting for you all to hear, it’s been talked about for a loooong time and now the time is right to unleash this riff/melody – monster for you all! This song was written during the long inspiring sessions we had for the album Days Of The Lost. We hope you will enjoy this song as much as we do, let’s bring it on the set list for this summers festivals!!”
Talking about summer festivals…catch THE HALO EFFECT live at following festivals and club shows:
26.06. GR Thessaloniki – Rockwave Festival 28.06. FI Helsinki – Tuska Festival 17.07. DE Neunkirchen Vlyn – Dong Open Air 18.07. DE Weil am Rhein – Baden in Blut 07.08. ES Alicante – Leyendas del Rock 08.08. GER Büdesheim – Krawall ‘O’ Open Air 09.08. CZ Jaromer – Brutal Assault 10.08. SLO Bratislava – Majestic Music Club 12.08. LUX Luxembourg – Dem Atelier (**Machine Head support) 13.08. GER Dinkelsbühl – Summer Breeze 14.08. GER Lindau – Club Vaudeville 15.08. GER Sulingen – Reload Festival 16.08. GER Cudrefin – Rock the Lakes Festival 29.08. RO Campulung Muscel – Posada Rock Festival 30.08. GER Schramberg-Tennenbrom – Metalacker Festival 21.11. BU Sofia – Joy Station 22.11. TUR Istanbul – If Besiktas 25.11. JP Osaka – Bigcat 26.11. JP Tokio – Toyosu Pit
Today marks the epic convergence of three cultural titans: Diablo®, the critically acclaimed franchise that defined the Action RPG genre; acclaimed manga, Berserk; and Finnish heavy metal band, BEAST IN BLACK, who have collaborated to launch an exclusive track ‘Enter The Behelit.’ Releasing on limited-edition vinyl and worldwide digital distribution, a music video debuts today as well to mark the unleashing of this unholy event.
The crossover event with Berserk – the beloved, classic manga written and illustrated by Kentaro Miura – will take place in Diablo® IV and its mobile instillation, Diablo Immortal, beginning May 6 and May 1 respectively. Both Diablo and Berserk explore themes of good versus evil against a backdrop of terrifying darkness, making this crossover a perfect match for fans.
The Maxi Single
The limited-edition maxi single will feature a brand-new song ‘Enter The Behelit’ from BEAST IN BLACK, inspired by Berserk and produced exclusively for the game, as well as remastered versions of fan favourite tracks ‘Die By The Blade’ from the album From Hell With Love, and ‘The Fifth Angel’ from the band’s debut album, Berserker. With many songs taking inspiration from Berserk story and characters, the Finnish heavy metal band’s music often reflects the undercurrents of struggle, fighting against overwhelming odds, and battling inner demons – themes that are prevalent in the games of the Diablo franchise.
Two hundred maxi singles have been lathe cut on black and red marbled vinyl and feature artwork from Diablo IV and Diablo Immortal, all created hand in hand the Diablo art team and the Berserk IP holders. The front of the vinyl heroes Diablo IV, while the back features key art from Diablo Immortal. The vinyl also includes a turntable zoetrope slipmat, band stickers, behind the scenes negative photos and concept art from the Diablo IV development team behind the Berserk partnership.
The essence that swells in boundless volumes from the juxtaposition of light and darkness, angels and demons, good and evil, the carnal and the spiritual, is the key that seamlessly binds together the aesthetics and narratives of Diablo, Berserk and Beast In Black’’, said Anton Kabanen, guitarist and songwriter on BEAST IN BLACK. “To somewhat poetically reflect on this extraordinary yet congruous collaboration I can say it feels almost as if this newborn and destined-to-be trinity has been designed by the God Hand itself. On behalf of Beast In Black’s team I express our sincerest gratitude to the dedicated teams at Blizzard, Berserk and Nuclear Blast. Thank you for making this happen. And finally, my individual acknowledgement and bottomless gratitude goes – as always – to Kentaro Miura’’.
The track will be digitally distributed by Beast in Black’s record label, Nuclear Blast, and will go live on streaming platforms on April 28th, with a music video being launched on Nuclear Blast’s YouTube channel.
‘Enter The Behelit’ is accompanied by a bespoke video from award winning director, Katri Ilona Koppanen, who also directed the music videos for BEAST IN BLACK tracks: ‘Moonlight Rendezvous’, ‘Hardcore’, ‘Power Of The Beast’ and ‘One Night In Tokyo’. The exclusive video features an animated trailer, inspired by Diablo and Berserk and incorporates the band’s love of the manga and gothic art of Diablo, bringing the story of ‘Enter The Behelit’ to life.
Shot in Helsinki, Finland, the music video will also receive a behind the scenes making of video showcassing the collision of the dark worlds of Diablo x Berserk, with the support of Beast in Black.
Berserk Crossover in Diablo Games
Diablo IV Season 8: Belial’s Return, will launch on 29th April and heralds the return of Belial, one of Diablo’s Great Evils, and marks the continuation of Diablo’s dark storytelling in the form of challenging boss fights and even greater spoils.
For the month of May, Diablo players will have the chance to slaughter demons donning iconic Berserk-themed cosmetics. to date and incredible in-game content.
In Diablo IV, this includes the Berserker armour for the Barbarian, Skull Knight skin for the Necromancer, as well as the “Chimimoryo” as an in-game pet. Additional items can also be earned through gameplay or for purchase in the in-game shop.
In Diablo Immortal, players will be able to gear up in Guts’ Berserker armour or Griffith’s incarnated armour, play alongside a Golem as a familiar, and even face off against iconic characters from the Manga series. The crossover includes a boss fight with Nosferatu Zodd, one of the most formidable foes of the Berserk series, an eclipse inspired Survivor’s Bane mini-game and Griffith and Guts inspired cosmetics for every class of the game.
Photo credit: Stephanie Carbal (except Dovas by Mia Demonz)
Bay area thrash metal legends TESTAMENT are very pleased to announce that they will return to Europe this autumn for a full-fledged co-headline tour with death metal trailblazers OBITUARY! After an extensive 2024 Summer festival run and a highly successful tour supporting their peers KREATOR and ANTHRAX at the end of last year, this October will see the mighty TESTAMENT lay waste to some of Europe’s most renowned venues. Rounding off this killer tour will be none other than German thrash metal pioneers DESTRUCTION and black/death metal juggernaut GOATWHORE from New Orleans.
TESTAMENT‘s Eric Peterson (guitars) commented: “Alright! We are super excited to announce the beginning of our Thrash of the Titans campaign event! Coming to Europe this October with co-headliners OBITUARY and very special guests DESTRUCTION & GOATWHORE! We will have a special deep cut set along with classics and of course some new songs! OBITUARY will be doing a special set as well doing their classic “cause of death” material and DESTRUCTION also will have new record out as well! Looking fwd to see you all again out there! Long live Thrash! Long live metal!“
TESTAMENT | OBITUARY w/ guests Destruction & Goatwhore 05-Oct-25 DE – Hannover @ Capitol 07-Oct-25 UK – Bristol @ Beacon 08-Oct-25 UK – Birmingham @ O2 Academy Birmingham 09-Oct-25 IE – Dublin @ Olympia Theatre 10-Oct-25 UK – Manchester @ Manchester Academy 11-Oct-25 UK – London @ O2 Forum Kentish Town 12-Oct-25 BE – Antwerp @ Trix 13-Oct-25 DE – Stuttgart @ LKA Longhorn 14-Oct-25 DE – Hamburg @ Große Freiheit 36 16-Oct-25 CH – Pratteln @ Z7 Konzertfabrik 17-Oct-25 DE – Wiesbaden @ Schlachthof 18-Oct-25 IT – Milan @ Live Club 19-Oct-25 DE – Saarbruecken @ Garage 21-Oct-25 SI – Ljubljana @ Media Center 22-Oct-25 AT – Vienna @ Arena 23-Oct-25 PL – Wroclaw @ A2 24-Oct-25 DE – Munich @ TonHalle 25-Oct-25 DE – Oberhausen @ Turbinenhalle 26-Oct-25 NL – Utrecht @ Tivoli Vredenburg – Ronda
Highly acclaimed dark-synth artist PERTURBATOR has released a video for his brand new single ‘The Art Of War‘.
James “Perturbator” Kent has never been one for half measures. From the moment he emerged, he embodied the raw, visceral spirit of a resurrected retro-electronic sound. But where others wallowed in the sugar-coated nostalgia of synthwave, Kent obliterated those clichés, leaving a scorched-earth legacy in his wake.
‘The Art Of War‘ is yet another example of PERTURBATOR‘s uncompromising, clear vision and his will to constantly evolve as an artist.
James Kent commented: “The Art of War” is the 6th track of the album and the most EBM sounding one. It’s about our propensity to make everything a spectacle and how we consume acts of violence as entertainment.“
PERTURBATOR’s genesis dates back to 2012, when releases like Night Driving Avenger, TERROR 404, and I Am the Night propelled him to the forefront of the retro-electronic scene. Critics eagerly likened him to giants such as John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream, and Goblin, but Kent already had a vision that went beyond easy comparisons. His restless ambition led to a pivotal moment in 2014 with Dangerous Days, a magnetic and shadow-drenched masterpiece. By 2016, The Uncanny Valley had cemented his status, climbing the Billboard charts while plunging into even darker sonic depths.
But for Kent, it still wasn’t enough. In 2017, New Model signaled a bold shift. Gone were the pop culture references and neon nostalgia. In their place, Kent channeled the icy austerity of Kraftwerk, the visceral intensity of Nine Inch Nails, and the claustrophobic textures of Lorn, determined to defy the expectations of a fanbase hungry for retro comfort.
With Lustful Sacraments (2021), PERTURBATOR further solidified his reputation as a visionary artist, unflinchingly exploring humanity’s inevitable decline. Musically, the album delved into the shadowy aesthetics of the 1980s and 1990s, blending gothic atmospheres with suffocating electronic textures and precision-cut production.
After two years of relentless touring across the globe Perturbator is poised to make 2025 a year to remember.
PERTURBATORUK & EUROPEAN HEADLINE TOUR 2025 w/ support form KÆLAN MIKLA and GOST. 05.11 – FR, Nantes – Stereolux 06.11 – FR, Lille – Aeronef 07.11 – UK, London – O2 Forum Kentish Town 08.11 – UK, Manchester – Damnation Festival 11.11 – AT, Vienna – Arena 12.11 – HU, Budapest – Dürer Kert 13.11 – CZ, Prague – SaSaZu 14.11 – DE, Berlin – Huxleys 17.11 – LT, Vilnius – Loftas 19.11 – FI, Helsinki – Kulttuuritalo 21.11 – SE, Stockholm – Fallan 22.11 – DK, Copenhagen – The Grey Hall 23.11 – NO, Oslo – Rockefeller 25.11 – DE, Hamburg – Gruenspan 26.11 – NL, Nijmegen – Doornroosje 27.11 – BE, Brussels – Ancienne Belgique 28.11 – DE, Cologne – Live Music Hall 29.11 – FR, Meisenthal – La Boite Noire 01.12 – DE, Munich – Muffathalle 02.12 – SO, Ljubljana – Kino Šiška 03.12 – IT, Milan – Live Club 04.12 – CH, Lausanne – Les Docks 05.12 – FR, Paris – Le Bataclan 06.12 – FR, Paris – Le Bataclan
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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