Cleopatra Records are saddened to learn of the death of Terry Reid, one of the greatest vocalists to emerge from the 1960s, and a great friend to the label as well.
While Terry is probably best remembered for the things that he didn’t do – join Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple, for example, despite being invited – the career that he did follow featured highlights aplenty, and we were overjoyed when Terry joined the Cleopatra family, appearing on tributes to Pink Floyd, Badfinger, The Beatles and The Who, and sounding as phenomenal in his later years as he ever did in his youth.
One of the stars of the 1971 Glastonbury Fayre, Terry revisited those days for his final Cleopatra recording, duetting with fellow Glasto legend Melanie on a gorgeous, and heartfelt cover of Bob Dylan’s “Mr Tambourine Man” for a single earlier this year.
“This was a great opportunity to look back and remember some really fun festival times,” said Terry at the time. “And a special voice I always hear ringing across the meadows. Melanie has a very distinctive style you could love and recognize from miles away. One of a kind.”
With “Darkness Invisible” looming on the horizon (September 26, 2025 via PERCEPTION – A Division of Reigning Phoenix Music), Finnish melodic death metal masters MORS PRINCIPIUM EST have unleashed the third single from their highly-anticipated new record. Along with the new track comes MPE’s first band performance music video since 2016’s ‘Reclaim The Sun,’ making their fans’ level of excitement going sky high.
The storyline follows a faceless, cape-wearing character on its way through a sinister landscape. Starting in the middle of the forest and concluding at the conjuring of an almighty monstrosity from the raging sea, the main protagonist’s path is scarred by multiple shuddering happenings: unknown people hung up and crucified, beings crawling on burning grounds, infested rotting carcasses, helpless humans caught in blood-soaked waters and a fallen angel mark the horrifying mission. Join the ritual of ‘Summoning The Dark’!
Jori Haukio (guitars/programming) states: “We’re returning with a haunting new visual for our new single ‘Summoning The Dark.’ Directed by JP Kaukonen and shot deep within the mystic and ancient woodlands of Finland, the video blends modern high-end production with a subtle fantasy-horror narrative. A dark, immersive journey to a summoning beyond the point of no return.”
“Darkness Invisible” was recorded at Ansa Studio in Finland and mixed by Jens Bogren and mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden. The album record blends razor-sharp riffing, sweeping orchestration, and Ville Viljanen’s unmistakable vocals with a more cinematic and emotionally dynamic sound.
MORS PRINCIPIUM EST live:
23.08.2025 PT Pindelo dos Milagres – Milagre Metaleiro 05.10.2025 TR Istanbul – IF Performance Hall Beşiktaş
About MORS PRINCIPIUM EST
Over the course of seven original studio albums, MORS PRICIPIUM EST refined their modern approach to melodic death metal again and again. Members came and gone, but their music remained untouched: razor-sharp riffing, sweeping orchestration, melancholic harmonies, and relentless rhythmic precision – topped by Ville Viljanen’s unmistakable vocals.
MORS PRINCIPIUM EST were founded in Pori in 1999 and are one of the longest serving Finnish melodic death metal bands. With frontman Viljanen being the most stable members, the present quintet survived several line-up changes before original members and guitarists Jori Haukio and Jarkko Kokko returned to MPE and already took part in recording their latest offering “Liberate The Unborn Inhumanity” [2022]. Also contributing to these refreshing re-recordings from their early years were former bassist Teemu Heinola and drummer Marko Tommila. A statement to honour the group’s history and to celebrate the freshly motivated line-up, which is now set to blast out their ninth album titled “Darkness Invisible” on September 26, 2025 through new label home PERCEPTION – A Division of Reigning Phoenix Music.
MORS PRINCIPIUM EST are: Ville Viljanen | vocals Jori Haukio | guitars, programming Jarkko Kokko | guitars Teemu Heinola | bass Marko Tommila | drums
Critically acclaimed American guitarist and vocalist Samantha Fish is pleased to announce her February and March 2026 “Paper Doll” UK Tour. Planet Rock’s 48-hour ticket pre-sale starts 10am on Wednesday 6 August via planetrock.com. Password: SAMANTHA2026
Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday 8 August at Altickets.com and SamanthaFish.com. Tickets for the Edinburgh Queen’s Hall show are available HERE.
The UK tour follows Samantha’s new studio album Paper Doll which received across-the-board rave reviews. Samantha recently performed her single “Lose You” on The Kelly Clarkson Show. In 2025, “Lose You” was one of the most played songs on the UK’s biggest classic rock radio station, Planet Rock.
Samantha will perform songs from her new album Paper Doll, plus tracks from her classic albums including Wild Heart, Chills & Fever, Belle of the West, Death Wish Blues, Faster, and Kill or Be Kind.
Samantha was Grammy-nominated for “Contemporary Blues Album of the Year” for her collaboration with Jesse Dayton on Death Wish Blues. Total Guitar voted Samantha as one of the “Top 100 Greatest Blues Guitarists” of all-time. In 2024, she joined Slash on his S.E.R.P.E.N.T.US tour.
After launching her recording career in 2009, Samantha established herself as a rising star in the contemporary blues world.
The charismatic singer-guitarist-songwriter has earned a reputation as a guitar hero and a powerful live performer, while releasing a series of acclaimed albums that have shown her restless creative spirit consistently pushing her in new, exciting, and often unexpected musical directions.
The New York Times called Fish, “An impressive blues guitarist who sings with sweet power,” and “One of the genre’s most promising young talents.” Her hometown paper, the Kansas City Star wrote: “Samantha Fish has kicked down the door of the patriarchal blues club and displays more imagination and creativity than some blues veterans exhibit over the course of their careers.”
Samantha believes her musical future is an open road. “I’m never going be a traditional blues artist, because that’s not who I am,” she says. “But it’s all the Blues for me. When Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf came out, what they were doing didn’t sound like anything that had been done in Blues before.
Continues Samantha, “You’ve got to keep that kind of fire and spirit. I’m never going to do Muddy Waters better than Muddy Waters, so I try to be who I am, and in doing that, I find my best voice.”
A DHP & Regular Presentation By Arrangement With ATC Live presents
SAMANTHA FISH FEBRUARY / MARCH 2026 “PAPER DOLL” UK TOUR
PLANET ROCK 48-HOUR TICKET PRE-SALE 10AM WEDNESDAY 6 AUGUST 2025 VIA PLANETROCK.COM – PASSWORD: SAMANTHA2026
BABYLON A.D. is excited to release the title track and the first single and video from their new album WHEN THE WORLD STOPS. The new album will be released on CD September 1st via Kivel Records. The digital release of the album follows a month later.
Derek Davis, Babylon A.D. lead singer had this to say about the first single, ““When The World Stops” is an apocalyptic love story about two young lovers facing the end of the world. The lyrics are very visual so a listener can really follow the story and the video we have just released conveys the imagery beautifully. I love writing lyrics that have a message and a theme, sort of like a mini movie, and this track I believe really captures the visual I was trying to capture. This song is a nice hard hitting up-tempo kick ass tune. A 100 percent Babylon A.D. track that I’m sure our the fans will love.”
Produced, Mixed, Engineered by Derek Davis @ The BADMOFO’s Recording Studio, Pleasanton, CA. Drums recorded by: Brad Barth @ Audio Voyage Livermore CA.
BABYLON A.D. are Derek Davis – Vox – Guitar – Keyboards Ron Freschi – Guitar – B Vox John Mathews – Guitar Dylan Soto – Drums – Acoustic Guitar on “The Damage Is Done” Craig Pepe – Bass – B Vox
Special guest: Julie Pacheco – Piano on “Love Is Cruel”
Babylon A.D. is excited to bring the WHEN THE WORLD STOPS tour to Europe this September.
2025 Babylon A.D. Tour Dates:
Aug 8 – Whisky A Go Go – West Hollywood, CA Aug 15 – Wild Goose Saloon – Parker, CO Aug 16 – Liquid Joe’s – Salt Lake City, UT Sept 4 – Underworld – London, United Kingdom Sept 5 – Suburbia – Southampton, England Sept 6 – Hard Rock Hell Sleaze Festival – O2 Academy – Leicester, England Sept 7 – Eleven – Stoke-on-Trent, England Sept 10 – Bannerman’s – Edinburgh, Midlothian Sept 11 – Yardbirds Rock Club – Grimsby, United Kingdom Sept 12 – Nightrain – Bradford, United Kingdom Sept 13 – Vinyl Tap Preston – Preston, England Sept 14 – The Patriot – Crumlin, Wales Sept 16 – The Victoria – Swindon, United Kingdom Sept 20 – Piraeus Club Academy – Athina, Greece
About Babylon A.D.
Formed in 1987, Babylon A.D. hail from the San Francisco Bay Area, CA. Original members, Derek Davis vocalist/songwriter, guitarist’s and music writers John Mathews and Ron Freschi drummer James Pacheco and bassist Rob Reid met in high school before they began playing together as “The Persuaders” making a name for themselves with their powerful live performances and catchy songwriting skills becoming one of the top drawing original Hard Rock bands in the Northern CA.
In 1989 the band changed their name to “Babylon A.D.” and caught the attention of Arista Records President and industry music mogul “Clive Davis”, who signed them at a live showcase in Los Angeles thanks to their impressive three song demo and a home made video. John Mattews departed the band and was replaced by another high school friend Dan De La Rosa just before their self-titled album “Babylon A.D.” was released in 1990. The album included their hard rock classic hits “Bang Go The Bells”, “Hammer Swings Down” and “The Kid Goes Wild”, which featured Screaming “Sam Kinison” and was the trailer song and promotional video for Orion Pictures (ROBO COP 2). The band scored three #1 songs at Metal Radio and reached Gold status on their first release, which spent 38 weeks on the Billboard top 200, peaking at # 46. Their sophomore effort (Nothing Sacred) was produced by the legendary “Tom Werman” and released in 1992, it produced two more top-ten metal rockers. “Bad Blood” and “So Savage the Heart”. Constant touring throughout the early 1990s and several MTV videos made them one of hard rock fans favorite bands.
In 1999 the band and released “Live In Your Face” on Apocalypse Records, a compilation of live tracks recorded at various cities’ across America. Their next release “American Blitzkrieg” soon followed in 2002 and both records were well received by critics and fans alike. In 2008 the band released Babylon A.D. “In The Beginning” on Perris Records, a compilation of songs from the original demo tapes that secured them their recording contract with Arista Records.
After a long hiatus the band started playing and recording again in 2014. Touring across the States and Europe releasing the four song E.P “Lost Sessions”. in 2018 John Matthews rejoined the group and the band signed with Frontiers Records for their forth studio release “Revelation Highway” Four singles/ videos and more touring followed through the beginning of 2020. In 2022 original members James Pacheco and Robb Reid left the band for other pursuits remaining connected to the bands legacy and part of a brotherhood of friendship that has lasted for over 30 years!
PRESENT DAY…
Fast forward to 2023, BABYLON A.D. announced new members Craig Pepe (bass) and Dylan Soto (drums) and a new live concert album “Live Lightning” from Perris Records. The album included their top-ten rock-radio classic hits from their debut album as well as songs from “Nothing Sacred”, “American Blitzkrieg”, and “Revelation Highway”.
In 2024 they released their 5th studio album on Perris Records titled “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day”. The 11 track album is classic Babylon A.D. firing on all cylinders, showcasing great songwriting talent, performances and the hard rock sound the band is known for.
Over the past 20 odd years, Hooded Menace have stood not as a bridge but a pillar between two different realms of underground metal. The cultishly beloved band’s upcoming seventh album is still bound by a morbid obsession with classic horrors. But on Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, Finland’s stewards of death-doom remain far from stuck in their ways. Lead single “Portrait Without a Face” cranks up the neon-soaked nightmares while digging out a grave new surprise from under their long-sleeve.
Watch below the classic horror video for “Portrait Without a Face”.
The video for “Portrait Without a Face” was directed by Tekla Valy with additional footage filmed by Mikko Saastamoinen.
Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration comes out October 3, 2025 on Season of Mist.
Hooded Menace continue to pave a harrowing path for undying metal legions who crave creepier, crushing tempos. The band’s new single opens with drummer Pekka Koskelo pounding like death’s door. Their flesh-eating muse still looms over Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration. Cover artist Wes Benscoter recreates director Amando de Ossorio’s the Blind Dead in all of the film’s ghoulish glory. But the album hammers home the influence of ’80s heavy metal that was rung in by previous LP The Tritonus Bell. With its conspiratorial web of leads, “Portrait Without a Face” bears a glowing resemblance to King Diamond.
The lasting influence of Candlemass and Paradise Lost hasn’t vanished without a trace, but Hooded Menace continue to break the mold that they’ve set for death-doom. While the bone-crushing riffs of founding member Lasse Pyykkö cement the rock-solid foundation beneath Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, even he was surprised when sculpting the album’s lead single. Like an echo from beyond the grave, what should appear within “Portrait Without a Face” but the haunted moan of a cello.
“Sucked into the realm of sweet damnation“. Vocalist Harri Kuokkanen growls deep into the dead of night, as if lured down a darkened hallway by former live bassist Antii Poutanen’s sorrowful string saws.
Tracklist 1. Twilight Passages (1:04) 2. Pale Masquerade (7:50) 3. Portrait Without a Face (7:15) [WATCH] 4. Daughters of Lingering Pain (7:25) 5. Lugubrious Dance (7:20) 6. Save a Prayer (6:12) 7. Into Haunted Oblivion (9:47)
For closing in on two decades, Hooded Menace have stood not as a bridge but the pillar between two underground realms. The band’s upcoming seventh album still paves the way for metal legions who prefer headbanging to more creepily, crushing tempos. However, while Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration is still rooted in a cultish obsession with the classics, these stewards of death-doom remain far from stuck in their ways.
Starting as a teenager in the late ’80s, founding member Lasse Pyykkö got his start in Joensuu, Finland with the band Phlegethon. But the undead spirit that’s guided Hooded Menace since its 2007 conception first appeared back when he was just a young hesher. Dracula, Poltergeist, A Nightmare on Elm Street and other horrors piqued his morbid curiosity. Though later on, it was feasting on the cult classic Tombs of the Blind Dead that spawned the band’s accursed two-track demo.
“It’s the dark element”, Lasse recalls when asked what Hooded Menace draws from its source material five albums removed from the band’s terrifying breakthrough Never Cross the Dead.
The blind dead still stand watch over Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration. Returning cover artist Wes Benscoter recreates the Knights Templar in all their glowingly ghoulish glory. “Pale Masquerade” paints a familiar scene, summoning Amando de Ossorio’s flesh-eating muse with a fresh heap of Lasse’s bone-crunching chugs. “The dead army grows“, Harri Kuokkanen commands with growls that reek of the crypt. Lifelong converts will quickly fall in line behind steadfast drummer Pekka Koskelo, who dips “Daughters of Lingering Pain” into the same dripping vat of wax as the band’s 2010s effigies for Relapse Records. The lasting influence of Candlemass and Paradise Lost hasn’t vanished without a trace. But Hooded Menace continue to break the mold they helped set for death-doom right from the album’s opening jump scare. Neon keys beam through “Twilight Passages” as if firing up a time machine.
Reinvention isn’t new to Hooded Menace. While a menacing vocalist in his own right, Lasse passed the proverbial mic torch to Kuokkanen for the gloomier melodies that haunted the band’s initial offering after signing with Season of Mist late in 2016. Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed was also pulled more from the shadows of their imagination as opposed to the silver screen. Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration trends further in that direction; the lyric sheet unfurls like a house of psychological horrors, where the hallways are hung with shattered mirrors and faceless portraits. Only this time around, the trio really hammered home the influence of ’80s heavy metal that was rung in by previous long-player The Tritonus Bell. “Lugubrious Dance” twists between the hallucinogenic spires of Cathedral in conspiracy with King Diamond before cranking into a chorus that’s classic Hooded Menace.
MicroPitching and other effects aren’t the only tricks of the trade that are pulled out from under Hooded Menace’s cloak. Traditional death-doomers might have been pleasantly surprised by the band covering W.A.S.P., so imagine the delighted screams upon hearing a Top of the Pops’ gem like “Save a Prayer” splattered in their signature blood-soaked dread. Lasse’s riffs still cement the rock-solid foundation beneath Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, but even he was surprised when sculpting its lead single. What should appear from the double bass swirling amidst “Portrait Without a Face” but the moan of a cello. Like an echo from beyond the grave, the cry of strings reappears during the album’s grand finale. Former live bassist Antti Poutanen sorrowfully saws as the band marches, gallops then sinks back “Into Haunted Oblivion”.
On Lachyrmose Monuments of Obscuration, Hooded Menace cast death-doom in a ghostly new light.
Line-up Harri Kuokkanen — Vocals Lasse Pyykkö — Guitar, Bass, Keyboards Pekka Koskelo — Drums
Guest Musicians Antti Poutanen — Cello John McNulty — Spoken Word
Production Credits Recorded by Heikki Marttila at Guru Studio, Joensuu, Finland. Mixed by Heikki Marttila. Mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studios, Portugal.
Sátan, an emerging metal festival in Iceland, is now pleased to reveal the next wave of bands for 2026 and is now welcoming Canadian heavy-hitters VOIVOD, UK heavy metal outfit TAILGUNNER, and Icelandic’s own WISTARIA! The third edition of the festival will take place in Stykkishólmur on the Snæfellsnes peninsula from June 4-6, 2026!
Passes for next year are now available at THIS LOCATION.
The recent 2025 edition was a massive success, integrating an array of alternative genres from hardcore to extreme while showcasing some of the best that Iceland has to offer alongside international legacy acts. Wyatt’s Metal revered the three-day spectacle as “Iceland’s BEST Metal Festival,” for which his detailed review can be seen here:
Sátan is a three day metal festival happening in Stykkishólmur on the Snæfellsnes peninsula. The festival focuses on offering a variety of Iceland’s best metalbands as well as a carefully curated selection of international bands.
The organization behind Sátan consists of metalheads and musicians that have been active in the Icelandic scene for up to 30 years and have extensive experience of organizing music festivals and concerts as well as general band related activities.
Everyone is welcome at Sátan regardless of origin, skincolor, religion, gender or sexual orientation and there is only one goal: that everyone, staff, bands and guests, go home smiling after a great festival!
Sátan is committed to zero tolerance against violence and violence of any kind invalidates your ticket!
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
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 