Photo Credit: Moritz Hartmann

Unprocessed are embracing spooky season with their upcoming Halloween (31st October) album release Angel. To celebrate the release, the band are connecting with their closest fans at a small run of release signings at select record shops, and two release parties with exclusive product launches. 

Unprocessed will mark their Halloween release date with a private album listening party and Q&A session taking place at Blondies Brewery on 30th October. The release party will also see the launch of an exclusive Unprocessed ‘Head in the Clouds’ lager. Fans will get to hang out and celebrate the album with the band, plus have the opportunity to purchase merchandise.

Tickets limited to 100: https://www.allotment.live/events/unprocessed-blondies-brewery-london-thu-30-oct-2025/

Following the party, Unprocessed will host an album signing and meet and greet at Rough Trade West on 31st October from 3-5pm, where fans can have access to an exclusive variant of their album Angel. 

Unprocessed - Angel - UK release week events details:

Album Release Party (UK)
Blondies Brewery - London, UK 
Thursday 30th October - 7pm-1am
Album release party, Q&A + Listening session
Featuring exclusive Unprocessed ‘Head in the Clouds’ lager.
258 Church Rd, London E10 7JQ, UK
Fancy Dress welcomed.
*No live performance.

Rough Trade West - London, UK
Friday 31st October - 3-5pm
Meet and greet, album signing 
130 Talbot Rd, London W11 1JA, UK

In Germany, the band will embark on an album release week tour of key record stores to celebrate Angel, culminating in a hometown release party in Wiesbaden, at the venue where it all began for the band. 

Unprocessed will head to the EMP Store in Leipzig, Rough Trade in Berlin, and finish up with a hometown celebration at Kreativfabrik. The tickets to their Wiesbaden event will be limited to 100 for fans, and they’ll have the opportunity to purchase the album and merch at the event.

The signing event at Rough Trade Berlin will also see the presentation of the wine collaboration with Schottwein, a local winery close to where Unprocessed are from. There will be a wine tasting of two new wines - an Unprocessed Angel Riesling, and an Unprocessed ‘Deadrosé’ Spatburgunder Rosé wine.

German event details:

EMP Store - Leipzig, Germany
Monday 3rd November 5pm-6pm
Meet and Greet and signing 
Brühl 10, 04109 Leipzig

Rough Trade - Berlin, Germany
Tuesday 4th November 5-7pm
Meet and greet, album signing, wine tasting
Karl-Marx-Straße 101, 12043 Berlin
No ticket required but you must RSVP: https://dice.fm/partner/rough-trade-retail-germany-gmbh/event/oewp7r-unprocessed-angel-wine-tasting-signing-4th-nov-rough-trade-berlin-berlin-tickets 

Album Release Party (Hometown, DE)
Kreativfabrik - Wiesbaden, Germany 
Thursday 6th November - 7pm - Close
Hometown Album release party
Murnaustraße 2, 65189 Wiesbaden
Tickets limited to 100: https://www.impericon.com/collections/unprocessed

Smart link for all events: https://ffm.live/unprocessed-angel-events

Angel releases on 31st October, pre-order here: https://ffm.to/unprocessed-angel

Unprocessed is composed of Manuel Gardner Fernandes (vocals, guitar), David Levy (bass, synths), Christoph Schultz (guitar), and Leon Pfeifer (drums). Their upcoming album Angel marks another bold step in the band’s creative evolution. Expanding their sonic palette with heavier textures and emotive and intimate lyricism that highlights their poppier side. Angel features high-profile guest appearances from Zelli of Paleface Swiss and Jason Aalon Butler of Letlive and Fever 333. These collaborations add new layers of urgency and intensity to a record that explores themes of conflict, duality, and inner transformation.

The band speaks more about the themes of Angel: "This album is more than just a record by four boys from Germany - it’s a light shone upon the unknown, like memories from the afterlife. We explored the concept of "Angel" in various ways: becoming an angel through real-life actions, hearing angels serenade, a fallen angel telling his story and becoming the Antichrist, or seeing someone as an angel through glorification. This concept inspired both the music and the lyrics. While we’re leaning more into a polished metalcore sound, the record still maintains the essence of what makes Unprocessed unique. It features some of the craziest guitar, bass, and drum work we've ever showcased as a band. At the same time, we believe it’s more accessible to the broader metal and metalcore audience, with our strongest and catchiest hooks and melodies to date.”

The band’s previous album, ...and everything in between (2023), received widespread acclaim for its complex arrangements and specifically heavy compositions. The record launched a major touring cycle which saw the band complete headline shows with many sold out across North America, and Europe, as well as performing their largest shows in China, and venturing into Japan, Thailand, Singapore and Australia for the first time. They also appeared at prominent festivals such as Download (UK), Graspop Metal Meeting (Belgium), Mystic Festival (Poland) and Resurrection Festival (Spain).

In the past two years, Unprocessed have supported major heavy acts including In Flames, TesseracT, August Burns Red, Spiritbox, and Polyphia. Their collaborative work with Polyphia guitarists Tim Henson and Scott LePage on ...and everything in between highlighted  the potential Unprocessed continues to exhibit amongst the scene’s most exciting guitar focused acts.

Central to Unprocessed’s identity is guitarist and vocalist Manuel Gardner Fernandes, whose playing has garnered international attention across online platforms and beyond. His partnership with Ibanez, including a signature model, and his ongoing guitar clinics around the world, reflect his growing status as one of the leading voices in modern metal guitar.

Unprocessed continue to push their sound forward with each release. Angel presents their most focused and dynamic material to date, offering a deeper look into the extremes of human experience without losing the technical foundations that first set them apart.

Unprocessed are:
Manuel Gardner Fernandes - Vocals, Guitars
Christoph Schultz - Guitars
David John Levy - Bass & Keys
Leon Pfeifer - Drums

For more:
www.unprocessed.band
www.facebook.com/unprocessedofficial
www.Instagram.com/unprocessedband

Track-list: 
1. 111
2. Sleeping with Ghosts
3. Beyond Heaven’s Gate
4. Sacrifice Me
5. Snowlover
6. Terrestrial
7. Your Dress
8. Where I Left My Soul
9. Solara feat. Zelli from Paleface Swiss
10. First Tongue
11. Perfume
12. Head in the Clouds feat. Jason Aalon Butler from Fever 333
13. Dark, Silent and Complete

Photo Credit: Jakob Ekvall

Long regarded as singular architects within European post-rock, EF have built a catalogue defined by dynamic patience, melodic clarity, and widescreen emotional reach. Across two decades of touring, the Gothenburg ensemble have carried that language to clubs and theatres at home and abroad, earning a reputation for meticulous, high-impact live shows and a body of work that has steadily gathered critical regard and a devoted international following.
 
In 2025, EF and Pelagic Records mark a double milestone: the 20th anniversary of Give Me Beauty… or Give Me Death! and Pelagic Records' 300th release. 
 
On 28th November 2025, EF will release a re-recorded version of their now classic debut album.

Pre-order: https://orcd.co/ef-noll

The band have marked the occasion with a brand new bonus track, 'Noll', which you can watch here: https://youtu.be/sXNeivYsIac
 
Reimagined and with expanded production, this edition is a considered re-engagement with the material that first crystallised EF’s voice. The band returns to these songs with the benefit of twenty years’ craft, presenting new arrangements that stretch time and deepen narrative, while retaining the quiet-to-catharsis arc that has always set their music apart.
 
“Since it’s our precious firstborn we wanted to give it the love it surely deserves. We felt we didn’t want to celebrate its big 20th birthday by just remastering it and we surely didn’t want to make the songs too modern and unrecognisable for the old fans. We wanted to give it a tighter, more dramatic and bombastic make over… a gentle touch of today’s EF.” (Niklas Åström)

Originally released in 2006, Give Me Beauty… or Give Me Death! introduced EF’s signature blend of cinematic guitars, patient dynamics and aching melody. For this new edition, along with an incredible cover illustration by Phillip Janta and brand-new bonus track ‘Noll’, the band returned to the material with fresh ears and clear intentions: to open more space in the arrangements and to enrich the melodic lines with orchestral colour.
 
"When we recorded the originals back in 2005 we didn’t know much about arrangements nor did we know many musicians playing strings or brass. We also didn’t have enough money to rent a studio for more than three days, which forced us to rock and record all the songs live with minimum retakes. The add-ons were later done in Daniel’s (Juline) apartment with a shitty microphone and you can hear someone doing dishes in the kitchen and the trams running by outside.

"This time we had money saved up and time to hang out in the studio to play around, arrange and track properly, but also to bring in professional musicians to fulfil our musical vision. It was intended 20 years ago but we couldn’t get it done." (Niklas Åström).
 
The compositions now open further, allowing phrases to breathe and themes to unfold with greater intention. Brass and strings thread through the arrangements to widen the harmonic field and intensify the music’s gravitational pull. Guitar architectures are voiced with more restraint and more consequence; percussion serving the songs whilst retaining the backbone. Dynamics have been sculpted with greater nuance; crescendos are permitted to unwind more slowly, and motifs are developed with discipline, small gestures accruing significance until the inevitable release, the swell of post-rock roars, in which we find EF’s lyricism within a larger, orchestral-adjacent palette.
  
For Pelagic Records, release number 300 is both a celebration and statement of intent: an affirmation that the label’s long-game approach to curation continues to reward artists who value evolution. For EF, this release closes a circle while drawing a new one around where they are now - seasoned, sonically expansive, and unafraid to reinvent and elevate.
 
Give Me Beauty… or Give Me Death! (20th-Anniversary Edition) is a document of growth rendered with care: more instrumentation, more time, more consequence. The album is an act of stewardship - both a homage and a forward-looking manifesto for EF and for discerning listeners everywhere.

EF are:
Erik Jardestig, Niklas Åström, Thomas Torsson, Kim Ruiz, Daniel Juline

For more information:
https://www.facebook.com/efmusic
https://www.instagram.com/efmusicsweden

1. Ett
2. Misinfom the Uninformed
3. Noll
4. Hello Scotland
5. Final Touch/Hidden Agenda
6. He Came, He Stayed, He Fell
7. Tomorrow My Friend...
8. ...We’ll Meet in the End

Photo Credit: Shane O’Neal

Dark Chapel, the riff-heavy powerhouse led by Black Label Society guitarist Dario Lorina, have released a new single, 'Sign of Life'. The track arrives alongside a cinematic black-and-white video, directed by Justin H. Reich, which reimagines a modern-day western posse against a dusty blacktop backdrop.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/Jmt94sl0VUg

This Friday (10th October), fans can purchase a deluxe vinyl edition of the band's acclaimed album, Spirit in the Glass, originally released in February. The Laguna EcoMix variant special edition adds two brand-new tracks - 'Hit of Your Love' and 'Echoes of a Stone Heart II' - and comes pressed on striking blue vinyl. The expanded version will also be available digitally on all DSPs and will include 'Sign of Life' as a third bonus track.

Pre-order here: https://mnrkheavy.com/collections/dark-chapel

Dark Chapel will also hit the road with Zakk Sabbath on an extensive US tour, beginning on 1st November. The band will also open for Corrosion of Conformity on 17th October in Las Vegas. 

Dario Lorina began his professional career in 2006 at age 16 as the touring guitarist with the late Jani Lane (ex-Warrant). At age 19, he joined veteran metal act Lizzy Borden, whom he toured with for four years. Dario released two instrumental records with Mike Varney on Shrapnel Records in 2013 and 2017 titled Dario Lorina and Death Grip Tribulations. He joined Black Label Society on 1st January 2014, and has since been touring worldwide alongside Zakk Wylde, performing on guitar, piano, and backing vocals. Dario dueled solos with Zakk Wylde on Black Label Society's 2022 release Doom Crew Inc. and joined him on the January 2022 cover of Guitar World Magazine.

Dark Chapel are:
Dario Lorina (guitar / vocals)
Brody DeRozie (guitar)
Mike Gunn (bass)
Luis Silva (drums)

Dark Chapel online:
www.darkchapelband.com
www.facebook.com/darkchapelband
www.instagram.com/darkchapelband
www.x.com/darkchapelband
www.Tiktok.com/@darkchapelband
https://www.youtube.com/@darkchapelband

Tracklist:

1) Afterglow
2) Hollow Smile
3) We Are Remade
4) Corpse Flower
5) Glass Heart
6) Dead Weight
7) Dark Waters
8) All That Remains
9) Gravestoned Humanity
10) Bullet in Our Chamber

Bonus Tracks
11) Hit of Your Love
12) Echoes of A Stone Heart II (Instrumental)
13) Sign of Life (digital only)

Photo Credit: Shane J. Horan

Irish math/noise rock collective GOD ALONE will release their new full length, The Beep Test, this Friday, 10th October via Prosthetic Records.

In anticipation, the band have unleashed their latest bruiser, 'Tony Gawk'. Cymbals shudder and a frenzied guitar line claws its way over a rumbling low end, while guitarist and vocalist Jake O’Driscoll delivers a throat-shredding refrain that teeters between chaos and control.

“It’s super-fast, and it definitely nods to our mathcore influences,” says O’Driscoll. “We wanted to make an extremely heavy song. Lyrically, it’s about being really sick. One time when we played a gig in Nottingham, I was very sick because I drank loads. I was so sick I thought I was possessed when I was falling asleep. I was rolling around, and I decided to make up a story about it.

Stream 'Tony Gawk' here: https://godalone.ffm.to/thebeeptestalbum
 
Pre-order The Beep Test here: https://godalone.ffm.to/thebeeptestalbum

GOD ALONE charge through styles and vibes with the velocity of a high-speed bullet train, barreling forward at a breakneck pace, busting boundaries, and beckoning listeners to hold on for dear life. The Cork, Ireland quintet mash together math rock virtuosity, metal intensity, pop hooks, techno textures, and dancefloor-ready grooves equally at home under the glow of a disco ball or in the center of the mosh pit. This is what happens when you invite a cohort of highly skilled music nerds with all of their amps and gear beyond the velvet rope and into the V.I.P. section of the club. This is controlled chaos converted into a catchy collage of sounds. This is GOD ALONE.

Watch GOD ALONE's previously released videos for the record’s title track HERE and 'Pink Himalayan' HERE. 

GOD ALONE initially surfaced back in 2016. They evolved in real-time with the likes of the Intivim EP (2016), Poll na mBrón (2018), God Alone EP (2019), and ETC (2022). Distorted Sound rated the latter “9-out-of-10,” going on to attest, “A must for any experimental rock and metal fan, GOD ALONE should be one of Ireland’s most talked about bands, and definitely one you should keep on your radar.” Nine Circles concurred, “It can’t be overstated how much ETC breaks away from the pack and does something that is so incredibly creative, and risky while they’re at it.”

Beyond packing venues in Ireland, the group lit up UK festivals such as ArcTangent, Portals, Strange Forms, Focus Wales, and more. The musicians parlayed this momentum into the creative process, co-producing The Beep Test alongside Joe Clayton of Pijn. Under the influence of everyone from LCD Soundsystem and Tears For Fears to Turnstile and Dillinger Escape Plan, the sessions maintained a D.I.Y. spirit.

“The only thing we recorded in a professional studio was the drums,” recalls O’Hanlon. “We did everything else at home – which was new for us. However, it really allowed us to experiment with tones, because nobody is telling you to hurry up or play better. We were able to take our time and make the music the best it could be.”

GOD ALONE are:

Jake O’Driscoll – guitar, vocals
Cian Mullane – bass, vocals
Jack O’Hanlon – drums
Dylan Kelly – synthesizer
Seán Thompson – guitar
 
For more information:

https://www.instagram.com/god.alone_cork
https://www.facebook.com/godalonecork

The Beep Test tracklist:

1. The Beep Test
2. Sir Laplage
3. Tony Gawk
4. Pink Himalayan
5. Hold Tight
6. Bluesine
7. Rinser
8. Rubber Hands
9. Yupasaid

Photo Credit: FRAYLE

In celebration of this Friday's release of their new album, Heretics & Lullabies (10th October Napalm Records), as well as their upcoming USA tour supporting occult rockers Dogma, USA doom unit FRAYLE have revealed their final pre-album single, 'Boo'. The track features a guest contribution from metal vocalist Jason Popson (ex Mushroomhead).

Watch the 'Boo' video here: https://youtu.be/QVAkrvi4RW8

Pre-order Heretics & Lullabies here: https://lnk.to/Frayle-HereticsandLullabies/napalmrecords

Accompanied by another one of the band's trademark high production, beautifully macabre music videos, 'Boo' injects mid-tempo flavour and multifaceted vocal balance into the album as crushing weight lands alongside each hook, with bending guitar tone and dark, sparkling atmosphere swirling around pounding percussion.

FRAYLE commented on 'Boo': “'Boo' was inspired by an incident in Germany, when Gwyn, walking alone on a dark street, startled a woman traveling with her companions. She screamed, and the entire group hurried to the other side of the road. The song is a tongue-in-cheek response to moments like these - because for some of us, every day is Halloween."

FRAYLE have revealed a slew of brand new live dates, supporting occult rockers Dogma on their fast-approaching headline tour of the USA. Dates

FRAYLE have been lauded as one of the fastest-rising, most haunting currently active modern doom metal outfits of late, infusing their sound with eclectic elements and now reinventing their trademark spectral sonic profile. Merging the heaviness of occult-driven doom and blackgaze with frontwoman Gwyn Strang's distinctively eerie vocal stylings and the crushing guitars of Sean Bilovecky, the band has fully realized their "lullabies of chaos" musical vision with Heretics & Lullabies.

Recorded by FRAYLE and produced, mixed and mastered by Aaron Chaparian at Iron Audio (Bleeding Through, Harms Way), Heretics & Lullabies is a must-listen for any fan of doom, post-metal or atmosphere-heavy alt-rock, but also a pristinely phantomic journey for any heavy music fan as it maintains its accessible edge throughout.

The album kicks off with first single 'Walking Wounded', a whispering wall-of-sound that crushes with spine-tingling stacks of harmony. The deeply punishing atmosphere continues into second track “Summertime Sadness”, an entirely reworked doom-laden cover of the Lana Del Rey hit. Airy anthem 'Boo' injects mid-tempo flavour and multifaceted vocal balance into the album as crushing weight lands alongside each hook, with bending guitar tone and dark, sparkling atmosphere swirling amid pounding percussion. Mid-album cuts such as 'Demons' and 'Glass Blown Heart' flirt with threateningly macabre lyrical poetry and otherworldly melody, while glacially-paced anthems 'Souvenirs Of Your Betrayal' – described as a deeply personal look at the depths of despair after a painful deception – and 'Run' double down on the aggressive, suffocatingly beautiful ambience and Gwyn Strang's shimmering, beckoning vocal timbre. Hair-raising 'Hymn For The Living' and standout single 'Heretic' inject heavy rock edge and arena-ready drums into the mix, before the album concludes with droning melodic masterpiece 'Only Just Once' – an unforgettable closer to this colossal modern doom compendium.
 
Heretics and hypocrites beware – Heretics & Lullabies will perpetually etch itself into the darkest corners of your psyche, taking deeper hold with each spin.

Tracklist:

1. Walking Wounded
2. Summertime Sadness
3. Boo
4. Demons
5. Souvenirs Of Your Betrayal
6. Glass Blown Heart
7. Hymn For The Living
8. Run
9. Heretic
10. Only Just Once

Heretics & Lullabies will be available in the following formats:
-1 Digipak CD   
-1 LP Black Gatefold    
-1 LP Inkspot White/Red with 8-Page Booklet (available via Napalm Records international mailorder only, limited to 400)
-Digital Album

Photo Credit: David Cleland

PREYRS, a visceral new force in alternative rock and metal, have unveiled their new single 'Bring Ur Bruises', taken from their mesmeric debut album, The Wounded Healer, out 14th November via Pelagic Records. 

Stream and pre-order here: https://orcd.co/preyrs

'Bring Ur Bruises' radiates resplendent, self-empowering positivity. Centred on the concept of the wounded healer, 'Bring Ur Bruises' implores the listener to welcome their trauma in, to own it and wear it as a paradoxical means of ultimately letting it go as triumphant, reverb-soaked guitars soar ever higher.

PREYRS are the brainchild of Belfast rock artist Amy Montgomery and drummer/producer Michael Mormecha. Fusing raw alternative rock energy with the weight of metal, the quartet's music is an electrifying clash of aggression and euphoria, darkness and uplift, chaos and control. Elements of artists as disparate as Nine Inch Nails, Chelsea Wolfe, Sonic Youth, and Julie Christmas combine to delirious and heady effect.

Busking on the streets of Belfast from the age of 15, Amy Montgomery met multi-instrumentalist Michael Mormecha a few years later and they’ve been working together ever since. Both songwriters in their own right, Michael fronted renowned Irish post-hardcore outfit Mojo Fury and worked as a producer for artists including The Bonnevilles, Mojo Fury and Joshua Burnside. They're joined as PREYRS by longtime guitarist Nolan Donelly and new bass player Ciarán McGreevy.

Known for electrifying live performances, PREYRS made their UK festival debut at Bloodstock Open Air this August, as well as appearing at Stendhal Festival in Ireland. Nominated as 'Best Live Act' and 'Best Artist' at the Northern Ireland Music Prize, Amy’s undeniably fierce and captivating frontperson energy has been her secret weapon often described as ‘otherworldly’ or ‘a force of nature’. For those seeking the epic, the healing, the aggressive and the unrelenting pulse of alternative rock and metal, PREYRS are it.

PREYRS will be supporting punk legends New Model Army across Europe this winter. 

November 
11 Legend Club, Milan IT (Supporting New Model Army) 
12 Fri-Son, Fribourg CH (Supporting New Model Army) 
13 Halle 02, Heidelberg DE (Supporting New Model Army) 
14 Sudhaus, Tübingen DE (Supporting New Model Army) 
15 Meet Factory, Prague CZ (Supporting New Model Army) 
17 Werk2, Leipzig DE (Supporting New Model Army) 
18 Capitol, Hannover DE (Supporting New Model Army) 
19 Aladdin Music Hall, Bremen DE (Supporting New Model Army) 
20 Jovel, Munster DE (Supporting New Model Army) 
21 Venlo, Grenswerk NL (Supporting New Model Army) 
28 Kyttaro, Athens GR (Supporting New Model Army) 
29 Mylos Club, Thessaloniki GR(Supporting New Model Army) 

December 
20 Palladium, Cologne DE (Supporting New Model Army) 
21 Melkweg, Amsterdam NL (Supporting New Model Army) 

PREYRS are:

Amy Montgomery - Vocals
Micheal Mormecha - Drums
Nolan Donelly - Guitars
Ciarán McGreevy - Bass

INSTAGRAM • FACEBOOK • SPOTIFY • PELAGIC ARTIST PAGE

1. Humble Eyes
2. Wave Of Wisdom
3. Into The Blue
4. Zeros, Ones & Lies
5. Bring Ur Bruises
6. Crucify
7. Change Change
8. Nova
9. W.D.I.F.L?
10. Life Is Kind

Photo Credit: Sofia Ruda

With their fourth album Viribus Unitis out on 14th November via Napalm Records, Ukrainian death metal force 1914 return with their second single -'1914 (The Siege of Przemyśl)'. Thundering doom riffs collide with ghostly historical recordings, plunging listeners into the longest siege of World War I, where the Austro-Hungarian army faced crushing defeat. Once again, 1914 make history bleed through every note, grim, grand and utterly devastating.

Watch the video for '1914 (The Siege of Przemyśl)' here: https://youtu.be/q2f4795RQko

Pre-order Viribus Unitis here: http://lnk.to/1914-ViribusUnitis/napalmrecords

k.u.k. Galizisches IR Nr.15, Gefreiter, Ditmar Kumarberg about '1914 (The Siege of Przemyśl)':
“Trapped behind fortress walls: In the icy grip of World War I, 130,000 Austro-Hungarian soldiers found themselves surrounded, starving, and desperate inside the mighty fortress of Przemyśl. From September 1914 to March 1915, the Russian army laid siege, pounding the city with artillery and choking off supplies. Months passed. Food ran out. Horses, dogs, even rats, became rations. Disease spread. Morale crumbled. And then… surrender. One of the greatest capitulations of the war. The once-proud fortress fell, handing Russia a symbolic victory on the Eastern Front. But victory was fleeting! A short-term win for Russia, but the tides turned again when the Central Powers retook the city later that year. War shows no mercy.”

Viribus Unitis deepens 1914’s commitment to historical authenticity, both lyrically and conceptually. Told through the personal accounts of a Ukrainian soldier in the K.u.K. army, the album follows  real events, tracing a timeline from 1914 to 1919, and paints a grim journey through the war’s rise, climax and hollow aftermath.

With Viribus Unitis, Latin for “With United Forces”, 1914 once again attest their unflinching brutality. More than just the personal motto of Franz Joseph I, the former emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, this title directly speaks to the band’s resilience through war, loss, and upheaval, a powerful symbol of survival and solidarity. The album builds on the band’s acclaimed conceptual approach, reaching new emotional depths and musical intensity.
 
Continuing their chronicle of World War I, 1914 shift their focus from the raw portrayal of death and destruction, to exploring themes of camaraderie, endurance, and the emotional landscapes of those who endured the horrors of trench warfare. While previous releases like The Blind Leading the Blind (2018) and Where Fear and Weapons Meet (2021) centered on the futility and finality of war, Viribus Unitis exemplifies the interpersonal bonds forged under fire and the strength of those warriors who made it home: broken, changed, yet still alive.
 
Musically, 1914 remain true to their identity, a brutal mixture of blackened death metal, slow-burning doom, and ambient war soundscapes. This time, however, their sound gains a broader dynamic range, with soaring melodic leads, orchestral textures, and haunting clean vocals that provide dramatic contrast to the crushing heaviness. 

1914 about Viribus Unitis: "Viribus Unitis is about shared strength and the idea that true power lies in unity. Alone, one may fall, together, we can prevail and achieve our goals: Defeat the enemy, escape captivity, survive and return to your family. We return with a new story. A story of life and military valor of a soldier who encountered the Great War in his native city of Lviv and went through it all. Side by side, with joint efforts of Ukrainians, Poles, Hungarians, Slovenes, Czechs, Slovaks, Jews, Croats, Bosniaks, Germans – all the peoples who made up the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire. Empires did not count people – they threw them into meat grinders where survival was only possible through unity. By helping one another. By sacrificing yourself for the sake of your loved ones and comrades.
 
"This is a story of being blinded by war and the grandeur of the empire, of the heat of battle, realisation and acceptance of reality, awakening, changing values, captivity, and liberation. It is a story of unbreakable will to live and hope amidst a terrifying and bloody war. It is a story of a new little life that changes all the rules and forces one to see the familiar from a different perspective. It is a story of love. It is a story of loss and death. Viribus Unitis is when pain, death, loss, loneliness and fear encircle you. But you’re still unbroken!"

One of the album’s highlights is a collaboration with Aaron Stainthorpe of My Dying Bride and High Parasite on '1918 Pt. 3: ADE (A Duty to Escape)', whose mournful voice adds a solemn, almost liturgical quality to this elegy of grief and brotherhood on the front lines. Viribus Unitis deepens 1914’s commitment to historical authenticity, both lyrically and conceptually. Told through real events and personal accounts of a Ukrainian soldier in the K.u.K. Army, the album traces a timeline from 1914 to 1919, painting a grim journey through the war’s rise, climax, and hollow aftermath. From the brooding opener 'War In' to the bleak closer 'War Out (The End?)', each track captures a moment in time: the brutal '1914 (The Siege of Przemyśl)', the frostbitten '1915 (Zwinin Ridge)', the crushing Alpine combat of '1916 (Südtirol Offensive)', and the madness of '1918 Pt. 2: POW (Prisoner of War)' featuring Christopher Scott of Precious Death. The album ends with '1919 (The Home Where I Died)', featuring Rome’s Jerome Reuter, a haunting portrait of a soldier who survived the war, but not its shadow. This emotional song deals with the soldier's will to live and his family values, seeing him escape from captivity to finally return home to embrace his wife and daughter. 1914 fuse blackened death metal, doom, and atmospheric textures with dramatic flourishes and guest vocals, creating their most dynamic and emotionally resonant record to date.

1914 are:
K.K. LIR. Lemberg Nr.19 Fähnrich, Rostislaw Potoplacht – Drums
k.u.k. Galizisches IR Nr.15, Gefreiter, Ditmar Kumarberg – Vocals
K.K. LIR Czernowitz Nr.22 Oberleutnant, Witaly Wyhovsky – Guitar
K.K. LIR Stanislau Nr.20 Zugsführer, Oleksa Fisiuk – Guitar
k.u.k. Galizisch-Bukowina’sches IR Nr.24, Feldwebel, Armen Howhannisjan – Bass

1914 online:
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
NAPALM RECORDS

Viribus Unitis track list:

1. War In (The Beginning of the Fall)
2. 1914 (The Siege of Przemyśl)
3. 1915 (Easter Battle for the Zwinin Ridge)
4. 1916 (The Südtirol Offensive)
5. 1917 (The Isonzo Front)
6. 1918 Pt 1: WIA (Wounded in Action)
7. 1918 Pt 2: POW (Prisoner of War)
8. 1918 Pt 3: ADE (A duty to escape)
9. 1919 (The Home Where I Died)
10. War Out (The End?)

Viribus Unitis will be available in the following formats

- 2-LP Gatefold Vinyl Hardcover Book MARBLED ORANGE/BLACK/RED, incl. 72p Booklet – strictly limited to 500 copies worldwide
- 3-LP Gatefold Vinyl MARBLED CRISTALLO/GOLD, incl. Bonus Vinyl* – strictly limited to 300 copies worldwide (Napalm Records Mailorder only)
- Wooden Box Edition, incl. Digipack, Bonus CD*, Flag, Pendant, 4 Cards – strictly limited to 300 copies worldwide (Napalm Records Mailorder only)
- 2-LP Gatefold BLACK
- Black Vinyl & Shirt Bundle (Napalm Records Mailorder only)
- Digipack & Shirt Bundle (Napalm Records Mailorder only)
- 4 Page Digipack
- Digital Album
 
*incl. the following bonus tracks:
1 War In
2 Die Karpathenschlacht (Rework 2025)
3 Die Karpathenschlacht (Ship Her Son RMX)
4 8 × 50 mm R. Infanterie Repetiergewehr M.95 (Rework 2025)
5 8 × 50 mm R. Infanterie Repetiergewehr M.95 (Kadaitcha RMX)
6 War out

Photo Credit: Niklas Karlsson

Beware of the antlers!
 
Ahead of their acclaimed and awaited new album, Death Above Life, (3rd October via Century Media), Sweden’s Orbit Culture release new single 'Bloodhound'.

Watch the nightmarish, horror movie influenced video by their longtime partners Riivata Visuals here: https://youtu.be/YPTAlZOH0jU
 
The band comment: "'Bloodhound' is probably the angriest song we’ve written to date. We’ve always been somewhat reluctant to use explicit language in our music - maybe out of habit, maybe out of respect, I honestly don’t know. But when that opening riff came to life, it just had this raw, primal energy that demanded something more. The song sounded furious from the start, and to match that intensity, we knew it was time to break our own rules and let the anger speak freely.

"The lyrics came together faster than almost anything we’ve done before. It was like this outburst - a childlike hammering of aggression onto the page. Usually, we try to keep ourselves in check, to polish things a bit. But this track is the 1% of the time where we didn’t. Where we couldn’t.

"'Bloodhound' is about anger - at people, at situations, at an industry that often exploits the very people trying to make it within it. It’s about the cycle of revenge, the moments of acceptance, and then the anger flaring up again because nothing really changes. This song is about reclaiming your voice, your power, your worth. It’s about calling out the bloodsuckers, the manipulators — and making sure they don’t get to take from you anymore."
 
Death Above Life is finally out tomorrow, 3rd October 2025. ”The album represents change, a new beginning,” says guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Niklas Karlsson. “It brings up a lot of good and bad emotions but it’s a big change for the better. It feels like a rebirth.”
 
International media feedback has been nothing short of glowing, following selected quotes:

“With an album as strong as this, Orbit Culture really should now be considered as legitimate contenders for heavy music’s next big breakthrough band for fans of modern, but classically inspired, metal, much like Lamb Of God and Machine Head have been in the past.” - Metal Hammer UK
 
Album of the month! “Orbit Culture have grown from an insider tip to the next big thing in just a few years, and Death Above Life is just the next logical step to success. That aside, it's also a damn good record. Melodies, heaviness, sophisticated songwriting – simply seductive.” - Metal Hammer DE
 
“Bigger, heavier, more ambitious: Orbit Culture bulk up and make a bid for greatness on fifth album.” - Kerrang!
 
“The new songs are even darker, harder and more visually powerful, creating a truly oppressive atmosphere with their heavy industrial grooves, cool modern thrash and subtle death metal harmonies with a Gothenburg influence. Orbit Culture offer innovative, contemporary metal that has a breathtakingly high standard.” - Rock Hard DE

Purchase Death Above Life here: https://orbitcultureband.lnk.to/DeathAboveLife-Album

Celebrating the release of Death Above Life, Orbit Culture will be meeting fans to sign copies of the album at HMV Vault, Birmingham on 3rd October at 5pm. Click here to reserve for space and for information: https://hmv.com/Live/Orbit-Culture

Orbit Culture have already released three songs and videos taken from Death Above Life, Hydra, the album title track, 'The Tales of War' and 'Nerve'.

Following their triumphant main stage set at Download Festival, Orbit Culture return to the UK this November on the Death Above Life tour. Catch them on the following dates, with Gaerea and Atlas in support:

08 Nov: Damnation Festival, Manchester
10 Nov: NX, Newcastle
11 Nov: SWG3, Glasgow
12 Nov: Stylus, Leeds
14 Nov: KK's Steel Mill Wolverhampton
15 Nov: Electric, Bristol
16 Nov: Electric Ballroom, London

Hailing from the small town of Eksjö, Sweden (located between the revered metal cities of Gothenburg and Stockholm), the quartet (guitarist and vocalist Niklas Karlsson, guitarist Richard Hansson, bassist Fredrik Lennartsson and drummer Christopher Wallerstedt) have grown into a global force, melding together riffs that are equal parts thrash, death metal and industrial with arresting hooks and a layered atmosphere that invites comparison to Gojira, Metallica and Static-X while carving out something that is uniquely their own.

Orbit Culture’s 2023 album Descent and their subsequent EP release The Forgotten topped many year-end lists in 2023, including Metal Hammer who described the album as: “a formidable entwining of modern metal’s most effective and exciting strands into an impressive milestone.” Exhaustive worldwide touring and a steady stream of crowd-pummeling festival slots across the globe, have set the stage for something much larger. 

Orbit Culture are a band poised. They are the sound of metal in the most modern sense.

Orbit Culture are:
Niklas Karlsson - guitar / vocals
Richard Hansson - guitar
Fredrik Lennartsson - bass
Christopher Wallerstedt - drums

Orbit Culture online:
https://www.orbitculture.com/
https://www.facebook.com/OrbitCulture/
https://www.instagram.com/orbitculture
twitter.com/orbitculture
https://www.youtube.com/user/OrbitCultureOfficial
https://www.tiktok.com/@orbitcultureofficial

Track list:
1. Inferna
2. Bloodhound
3. Inside The Waves
4. The Tales Of War
5. Hydra
6. Nerve
7. Death Above Life
8. The Storm
9. Neural Collapse
10. The Path I Walk

Death Above Life comes in various formats and is up for pre-order:
Ltd. CD Digipak
Gatefold black 2LP
Ltd. Gatefold greenish ReVinyl 2LP (600x) via cmdistro.de & selected Indie retailers, Orbit Culture & MerchCare
Ltd. Gatefold transp. red 2LP (500x) via Levykuappa Äx (FIN), HMV (UK) & in France
Ltd. Gatefold neon yellow-black marbled 2LP (500x) via EMP
Ltd. Gatefold Sparkle Starlight 2LP (500x) via Orbit Culture & MerchCare SOLD OUT
Ltd. Gatefold transp. light blue-black marbled 2LP (500x) via Orbit Culture live on EU tour
Gatefold fruit punch 2LP (US version)
Ltd. Gatefold transp. coke bottle green 2LP (US version) (1000x) via all US Indie retailers
Ltd. Gatefold white 2LP (US version) (300x) via Revolver Magazine
Ltd. Gatefold metallic golden 2LP (US version) (500x) via centurymedia.store, Orbit Culture & Night Shift Merch
Ltd. Gatefold black-grey marble 2LP (US version) (500x) via Orbit Culture & Night Shift Merch
Standard CD Jewelcase (Japan)
Digital Album

Photo Credit: Oli Duncanson

Known for their eclectic mix of synth-heavy melodies and crushing riffs, fronted by the sultry and androgynous tones of singer Cherry Duesbury, Defences have taken what we all love about metalcore to the next level. Over 10 years, 2 EPs and 3 LPs, the underlying theme of the necessity for introspection, self-reflection and finding your inner strength bears strong. Self-acceptance-core at its finest.

Today, the band from Hertfordshire, UK, return with their new single 'Lithium Kiss'.

Watch the video to 'Lithium Kiss' here: https://youtu.be/ot_rVLHvYfY

Stream the single here: https://defences.lnk.to/lithiumkiss

"The inspiration for 'Lithium Kiss' came from one of our members’ personal experience being prescribed the mood-stabiliser Lithium for a couple of years, and the frustrations and difficulties that came along with the benefits," comment Defences. "When treatment stopped, rather than feeling like before, there was instead a feeling of being almost hyper-rational, rather than feeling like they could react instinctively and naturally. 'Lithium Kiss' is NOT about not taking your medication and taking care of yourself and we would never want it to come across that way. It’s instead a crystallization of a paranoia that we are consumed by illness and treatment, adversity and reconciliation. The Lithium Kiss is our way of referring to this relationship, the symbiotic necessity for difficulty to bring about individual growth, whilst ensuring that it does not come to consume you."

Following the single release, Defences embark on an extensive UK & European tour. 

Defences live supporting RØRY:
03.11. UK, Sheffield - The Foundry
04.11. UK, Newcastle Upon Tyne - Northumbria University 
06.11. UK, Liverpool - O2 Academy
07.11. UK, Southampton - O2 Guildhall
09.11. UK, Wolverhampton - KK's Steel Mill
10.11. UK, Torquay - The Foundry

Headline dates:
04.12. UK, Bristol - Rough Trade
05.12. UK, London - Downstairs at the Dome
06.12. UK, Nottingham - Bodega
08.12. UK, Manchester - The Deaf Institute

Defences have completed numerous tours across the UK and EU with several sold-out headline shows, not to mention numerous festival appearances, including The Great Escape, Download, Takedown, Turbulence and Burn It Down. They have already achieved more than 15 million streams with their releases and have been featured on some of the biggest streaming playlists.

Defences are:

Cherry Duesbury - Vocals
William Young - Keys, Vocals
Calum Wilmot - Guitar
Owen Hughes-Holland - Bass
Kyle Parke - Drums

Defences online:
FACEBOOK
YOUTUBE
INSTAGRAM
HOMEPAGE
TIKTOK