Photo Credit: Greg Vorobiov

Internationally acclaimed blues-rock guitarist, singer and songwriter Eric Steckel has released his new single 'Axe To Grind', taken from his studio album Sandstorm, out 11th September via OPEN / SPV Recordings. 

Watch the video to 'Axe To Grind' here: https://youtu.be/3Vx1O8AMGX0

Stream the single and pre-order the album here: https://ericsteckel.lnk.to/sandstorm

"I always had this idea, you know, in the back of my mind of doing a song with this title because it's just a great play on words and you guys know I love my distorted guitars," Eric Steckel shares. "So there's kind of a triple meaning almost, you know, with this. And so this was a cool song to write, a really fun song to record. Hope you guys can relate to it and feel it." 

In an era where pedalboards, laptops and samples have become commonplace, American blues-rock/metal guitarist and singer Eric Steckel goes against the grain and harkens his listeners back to the days when great guitars were played loudly through great amps. Hailed by many as the top rising star of Blues/Rock, Eric delivers a powerhouse performance that has left audiences in 30 countries (and counting) mesmerized. 

Eric has toured worldwide sharing the billing with Steve Vai, Gregg Allman, Johnny Winter, John Mayall, Ray Charles, Larry Carlton, Robben Ford, and others, and was voted into Total Guitar magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Blues Guitarists of All Time" and named one of "10 Future Blues Stars” by Guitar Player.

Eric will be touring Sandstorm live in October. UK and Ireland dates here: 

02.10.2026 UK, Edinburgh - Sneaky Pete's
03.10.2026 UK, Manchester - Gullivers
04.10.2026 UK, Nottingham - Rough Trade Nottingham
05.10.2026 UK, London - Colours Hoxton
06.10.2026 IE, Dublin - Whelans

"My forthcoming new album, Sandstorm is the most fun I’ve had making a record in my career thus far," comments Eric Steckel. "The incredible vibe in the studio brought forth tons of new and spontaneous material such as the title track 'Sandstorm' which instantly became my favourite track on this album and a perfect representation of this body of work." 

Eric Steckel's signature blend of hard rock and blues - often dubbed “Bluesmetal” - is a must-see for fans of guitar-driven music. His momentum is also reflected online, with a rapidly growing fanbase and strong engagement across platforms - currently 156,000 followers on Instagram and 178,000 followers on Facebook.
 

Eric Steckel online:
https://www.facebook.com/ericsteckelofficial
https://www.instagram.com/ericsteckelofficial
https://www.youtube.com/@steckeltube
https://www.tiktok.com/@ericsteckel
https://ericsteckel.com/

Tracklist:

1. When It Rains, It Pours
2. The Other Guy
3. Blues for the Lonely
4. What I Wanna Believe
5. Sandstorm
6. Empty Promises
7. El Paso Sugar
8. Axe To Grind
9. She's A Golddigger
10. Back to Life

Photo Credit: PLAIINS

British/German alt-punks PLAIINS invite us to tear the roof off with their hard-hitting new single, 'Cookie Jar'. Building on the massive momentum of over 3 million streams and rave reviews from Visions and Kerrang! (who dubbed them "cartoonishly gobby"), the track tackles the millennial grind - capturing the frustration of working endlessly only to realize that the promised reward of a secure, comfortable life is out of reach.

Listen to 'Cookie Jar' here: https://Plaiins.lnk.to/cookiejar

Drawing inspiration from Kid Kapichi, Bad Nerves, The Hives, IDLES, and PUP, the song blends a gritty British punk feel in the verses with a swaggering, Kid Kapichi-style groove in the pre-chorus. The chorus hits with full force - massive, anthemic, and built around PUP-inspired vocals, Hives-esque guitars, and roaring gang vocals, all capped off by a guitar solo with a clear nod to My Chemical Romance.

Hot on the heels of their highly praised debut album Happy Faces (2025) and their recent teaser 'Look Ma, I’m A Don', 'Cookie Jar' kicks off an exciting new chapter for the band. PLAIINS are set to light up the festival circuit across Europe this summer, followed by a UK run in autumn and a major winter tour through Germany's top cities alongside Smile and Burn and The Pill. 

PLAIINS about the new single:
“'Cookie Jar' is written from a millennial perspective about growing up being promised a very specific version of adulthood: work hard, go to university, get a good job and you'll be rewarded with financial security, a house and a holiday once a year. But the economic landscape changed, the goalposts moved, and yet our generation is still often blamed for being lazy or entitled. The song comes from the frustration of working 60 hours a week and still feeling like it's almost impossible to get ahead. The “cookie jar” is the modest, normal life we were told hard work would guarantee us.”

PLAIINS have announced the UK leg of their No Monkey's On My Back tour. Dates:

UK Tour 2026
30.09. Leeds, UK
01.10. Birmingham, UK
02.10. London, UK
03.10. Bristol (Attitude Festival), UK

PLAIINS are:
Chris Reardon - Vocals, Guitars
Timon Lanzinger - Bass
David Suhlrie - Drums
Florian Kaninck - Guitars

PLAIINS online:
https://www.tiktok.com/@plaiinsband
https://www.facebook.com/plaiinsband
https://www.instagram.com/plaiinsband_
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3gUHDc3I3G1bFRElrj90fR?si=cIPo71aqRg-Cr_gHw_3svQ

Photo Credit: Ebru Yildiz

Los Angeles’ Drag Talk have announced their debut album, Drink The Ocean, set for release 30th October via MNRK Heavy, sharing washed-out, fuzz-drenched lead single 'Pony Up' alongside the news. The first new music from the band since 2024’s Rosy Crown EP, the track offers an introduction to an album where ’90s indie rock nostalgia, shoegaze haze and Britpop melodicism collide with huge hooks, lush atmospherics and Jutty Taylor’s genre-fluid vocals.  

Watch the video for 'Pony Up': https://youtu.be/FV4G4WaSNI4 

Stream the single here: https://dragtalk.ffm.to/ponyup

PreSave the album: https://dragtalk.ffm.to/drinktheocean

Nothing else sounds quite like Drag Talk. Built around vocalist Jutty Taylor, guitarists Ross O’Carroll, Matt Ripp Bennett and Neil Popkin, and drummer Hayden Scott, the band brings together musicians with long and intertwined histories. Taylor and Scott previously played together in Grammy-winning Swedish rock band Ghost, while Popkin and Bennett were formerly bandmates in War Tapes. The chemistry between them is palpable, a creative brotherhood forged through years of friendship and musical experience, but given a distinctly new shape through Drag Talk.

Drag Talk - Pony Up

The band began to take form during the pandemic, when home demos recorded by O’Carroll provided the germ for what would become Drag Talk. They released debut single ‘Egyptian Flesh’ in 2022, followed by the Dogs EP in 2023 and Rosy Crown in 2024. By the time the latter arrived, the band had cultivated a devoted following, translating their hazy, immersive sound into sell-out shows on both coasts and ultimately signing with MNRK Music Group.

Drink The Ocean is a lovingly layered creation that connects on multiple levels, its recurring themes of injustice and femininity flavoured with Taylor’s spiritual and esoteric interests. Even the album’s title is open to interpretation: a dismissive kiss-off; an ode to one-life-to-live experimentation and excess; or an allusion to the struggles that beset the album’s creation.

Produced by Tom Syrowski, the band’s sole producer to date, Drink The Ocean was recorded between his Los Angeles home studio and Hollywood’s legendary Henson Studios. Drawing on the shimmer of Swervedriver, The Verve and The Jesus and Mary Chain while folding in dream-pop, psych and classic rock, the album finds Drag Talk pushing familiar ’90s guitar language somewhere stranger, more emotionally charged and distinctly their own. 

Guest appearances on Drink The Ocean include uber-producer Brendan O’Brien (RATM, AC/DC) playing Hammond organ on the album’s brooding title track, and Ghost’s Olivia Morreale singing backups on the stomping 'Welcome to the Aeon'.

Equally entrancing on late night home-alone headphones or at packed, immersive shows, Drag Talk has conjured a sonic and emotional niche just when none seemed left to discover. A rare creative brotherhood steeped in personal and musical chemistry, they’re a band for alt-rock fans who want to nudge the familiar forward, refract the comfortable and respectfully reframe tradition.

Drag Talk online:

Website | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | Facebook | Bandcamp

Drink The Ocean tracklisting:

01. Pony Up
02. Kingdoms
03. Breath and the Blood
04. Welcome to the Aeon
05. SY About it 
06. Drink the Ocean
07. Mr. High Life
08. Don’t Be Long
09. Would It Kill You 
10. Redline 

Photo Credit: Mateo Torres

Legendary hardcore force WALLS OF JERICHO are back with their long-awaited new album System Error: Humanity dropping 13th November 2026 via Napalm Records. Following the triumphant release of their first single 'The Ascent' praised by fans and critics for its “fierce breakdowns and demolishing riffs” (Metal Injection), today, WOJ unleash their exceedingly ferocious follow up 'Agency'. 

Watch the video for 'Agency' here: https://youtu.be/T_v4OG8Pqkk

Pre-order the album here: http://lnk.to/WallsOfJericho-SystemErrorHumanity/napalmrecords

Like a bullet from a gun, 'Agency' takes off at 100 miles an hour in explosive thrash excellence, before turning around and dropping you on your head with a tectonic breakdown. Iconic frontwoman Candace Buckingham gives a moving sermon of self-actualization, galvanizing listeners to fight for their inalienable, human rights.

Candace Buckingham comments: “'Agency' is a song about freedom. The kind that lives within you, the kind no one can take away, and the kind you have to fight for every single day.”

On the album, she continues: “System Error: Humanity is a raw, unapologetic, and our most aggressive record to date. We set out to capture the chaos, intensity, and raw energy of our live show rather than chase perfection. Lyrically, it's a rebellion against the modern forces that fracture identity: comparison, conformity, distraction, and the endless pressure to perform instead of live. At its core, this album is about reclaiming your attention, owning your choices, and becoming who you were before the world told you who to be. Kill the noise. Reclaim yourself.”

Clobbering listeners out of the gate with 'True Til’ Death', the band affirms the triumph of their comeback with rabid aggression: iconic frontwoman Candace Buckingham immediately commands listeners with her gargantuan growls. The discordant violence of tracks like 'The Ascent' and 'Untouchable', tap into something truly primal and kick you back a reading level with their claustrophobic chord work, while more thrash driven tracks like 'The Flame' and 'Agency', take off at 100 miles per hour, plowing through a plethora of protein packed riffage and solos. Lyrically the band is stoking the flames of discontent, with tracks like 'Agency', 'Borrowed Ground', and 'Last Judgement', delivering empowering messages of reclamation, self determination, and human rights, encouraging listeners to fight for a better world. The record also features a premier slew of guests including Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe on 'Broken Mouths Can't Speak', his beckoning howl joining Candace on a ferocious duel attack; and Guy Kozowyk of The Red Chord on 'Humanity', propelling the groove laden pit starter into cataclysmic levels of chaos. After some more delicious violence, and a transcendent slow burn in the form of 'A Brighter Fire', 'The Reckoning' finishes things off with an epic, catastrophic energy that is bookended with one of the album’s most punishing breakdowns, bound to send some unlucky concertgoers to the dentist. 

Legendary producer and Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou (NAILS, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Code Orange, and Every Time I Die) is behind the boards, capturing the band’s ferocious live energy while maintaining a pristine presentation. Powerful, fierce, and stirring, WALLS OF JERICHO re-emerge with righteous purpose and brutal dedication, humanity may be the source of the system error, but we are the system, and we are the solution. 

WALLS OF JERICHO are: 
Candace Buckingham - Vocals 
Aaron Ruby - Bass 
Dustin Robert - Drums 
Bobby VaLeu - Guitar 
Kyle Gailey - Guitar 
Chris Towning - Guitar

WALLS OF JERICHO online:
https://www.facebook.com/WallsofJericho
https://www.instagram.com/wojofficial

System Error: Humanity tracklist:

1. True Til' Death  
2. Beginning           
3. The Flame          
4. The Ascent         
5. Broken Mouths Can't Speak (feat. Randy Blythe)
6. Untouchable      
7. Rise       
8. Agency 
9. Unchained          
10. The End Before 
11. Humanity (feat. Guy Kozowyk)
12. Borrowed Ground           
13. Last Judgement
14. A Brighter Fire (feat. Patsy Puopolo & Matthew Ruby)The Reckoning

System Error: Humanity will be vaailable in the following configurations: 

1 LP Dark Yellow Black Splatter Deluxe Version Vinyl

With LP Sized Booklet – strictly limited, Napalm Records Shop exclusive

1 LP White Label Vinyl With LP Sized Booklet, Covercard, and Certificate – strictly limited, Napalm Records Shop exclusive

1 LP Solid Gold Vinyl – strictly limited, Retail GSA exclusive

1 LP Translucent Yellow Vinyl – strictly limited, Retail North America exclusive

1 LP Solid Verde Vinyl

1 CD Digipak

Digital Album

Essex punks The Meffs have revealed their newest single 'God Complex' ft. Donots, another glimpse of their second album Business, coming 11th September via FLG. 

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/bZ0ygWcGv4g
Stream the single here: https://ffm.to/themeffs-godcomplex
Pre-order Business here: https://ffm.bio/businessalbum

The band comment: "Who are you when nobody's watching? We all know someone who portrays the perfect life, ready to one-up you at any chance, but it's a scary place behind the mask. Featuring special guest Ingo from German punk rock band, DONOTS, and with a huge earworm of a riff, this is The Meffs' biggest genre-crossover to date. Taken from Business out on FLG in September. Produced by SiKth guitarist, Dan Weller."

Despite a whirlwind 2025, which included supports with The Sex Pistols, The Undertones, selling out headline shows across the UK and Europe, Glastonbury, 2000trees, and Download Festival, Lily (guitar and vocals) and Lewis (drums) somehow managed to find the time to write and record 11 tracks of their most politically charged, hard-hitting music to date.

With producer Dan Weller at the helm, Business is a modern punk classic. Fan favourites like 'So Modern' (Keep Up)' are captured with all the energy and scuzziness from the band's live show, and title track 'Business' goes hard, taking taking aim at the challenges found within today's music industry.

There is no shortage of fast paced moments; 'Love To Lose' is the ideal hype song, while 'Fight' crams minutes of energy into one thirty second burst. Other highlights include 'Disorder (Wake Up)' - a commentary on the world as we know it; or 'Like Gravity', a journey of self-deprecation. On Business, The Meffs prove they are not a band to be pigeonholed. 

Since exploding onto the UK scene, The Meffs have built up a reputation as purveyors of frantic punk rock and an absolute must-see live sensation. A hugely impressive DIY outfit, they have already supported Alice Cooper, Kings of Leon at BST Hyde Park, Bearded Theory, Beautiful Days festival, and The Damned. The duo are also Music Venue Trust patrons and longtime supporters of grassroots venues - and are currently supporting Stiff Little Fingers across the UK.

Business will only see the band deliver their values to an ever-increasing circle - an unashamedly powerful record, political and astute, and begging to be played loud.

The Meffs are:
Lily Hopkins (vocals/guitar)
Lewis Copsey (drums/backing vocals)

Watch The Meffs live:

21/08/2026    Parkenfestivalen    Bodø    Norway
22/08/2026    Pstereo Festival    Trondheim    Norway

30/08/2026    All Points East    London    UK (supporting Twenty One Pilots)

05/09/2026    The Foundry Burn It Down    Torquay    GB

03/10/2026    North East Calling    Northumbria University    Newcastle upon Tyne    GB
10/10/2026    Cretin Hop Festival    La Boissière-de-Montaigu    FR

16/10/2026    Live Music Hall    Köln    DE (supporting Levellers)
17/10/2026    Muziekgieterij    Masstricht     NL (supporting Levellers)
18/10/2026    The Depot    Leuven    NL (supporting Levellers)
20/10/2026    The Picturedome     Holmfirth    UK (supporting Levellers)
22/10/2026    Mandela Hall    Belfast    UK (supporting Levellers)
23/10/2026    Vicar Street    Dublin    IE (supporting Levellers)
24/10/2026    Barrowland Ballroom    Glasgow    UK (supporting Levellers)
29/10/2026    York Barbican    York    UK (supporting Levellers)
30/10/2026    Venue    Llandudno    UK (supporting Levellers)
06/11/2026    Substage    Karlsruhe    DE (supporting Itchy)
07/11/2026    Sputnikhalle    Münster    DE (supporting Itchy)
08/11/2026    M.A.U.    Rostock    DE 
10/11/2026    TOWER Musikclub    Bremen    DE
11/11/2026    The Pump    Kiel    DE
12/11/2026    Kleine Freiheit    Osnabrück    DE
13/11/2026    Capitol Hannover    Hannover    DE (supporting Itchy)
14/11/2026    Beatpol    Dresden    DE (supporting Itchy)
19/11/2026    Rock City    Nottingham    UK (supporting Levellers)
20/11/2026    The Prospect Building    Bristol    UK (supporting Levellers)
21/11/2026    Eventim Apollo    London    UK(supporting Levellers)
12/12/2026    The Adrian Flux Waterfront    Norwich    UK (supporting Sham 69)

The Meffs online:
https://www.facebook.com/Themeffsuk
https://www.instagram.com/themeffsuk

Tracklist:

1. Dreamin'
2. What A Nightmare
3. Where Did It All Go Wrong?
4. Business
5. Law
6. Fight
7. Disorder (Wake Up)
8. Love To Lose
9. So Modern (Keep Up)
10. God Complex
11. Like Gravity 

Photo Credit: Levi Price

Slothrust are pleased to present 'Dystopian Cemetery' and 'Twisted Paradise,' two brand new singles from the acclaimed LA-based alt-rock veterans, that examine queer romance and sleep paralysis. The singles are taken from new album What They Grow In The Garden, out 18th September via Equal Vision / Rude Records.

Watch the 'Dystopian Cemetery' lyric video here: https://youtu.be/hHMCqUaAtpM

Watch the 'Twisted Paradise' visualiser here: https://youtu.be/j5SQ0RnZBGk

Pre-save What They Grow In The Garden here: slothrust.lnk.to/WhatTheyGrowintheGarden

Pre-order What They Grow In The Garden here: https://www.ruderecords.com/collections/what-they-grow-in-the-garden

“Do not forget the delights that are possible within your own mind,” Leah Wellbaum of Slothrust says of 'Dystopian Cemetery,' a song featuring a collaboration with noted producer/keyboardist Willy Beaman. “Tap back into the freedom mindset you felt as a child and follow what charms you. Pull on the threads of curiosity and let them lead you to the magic of your consciousness.” 

Of 'Twisted Paradise,' Wellbaum adds, “I have always been incredibly impacted by my dreams — I have experienced profound healing from my dreams, as well as incredibly disturbing mental states that linger for days. This song examines the beauty and the horror of the subconscious mind when it is let off its leash at night when we go to sleep” .

Produced by Slothrust and Jordan Witzigreuter (The Ready Set), What They Grow In The Garden, the band’s forthcoming Equal Vision Records debut, is the result of a band pushing itself to the absolute limit: the riffs hit harder, the hooks are catchier, the stylistic shifts even more unexpected. Billed as “dystopian theatre rock,” the album’s 12 tracks make good on that promise — a band once compared to Nirvana now sounds more like a grungier Queen, or the best album Muse never made. 

Lyrically, the album is also an examination of the hive mind that explores what it means to be human and live in a system designed to exploit our perceived weaknesses by means of capitalism. The band wanted to explore old archetypal places like “the garden” and “the lake” through an allegorical and surrealist lens that encourages listeners to look inward for their big truths instead of at their phones. "We really want people to take away a message from this album of self-liberation amidst the flickers of seemingly inescapable dread," Leah Wellbaum and Will Gorin of Slothrust said. "Despite the permeating blue light of the external world, it is still possible to find your freedom and identify your core truths if you go within." 

Gravitating toward demos that spoke to a more universal dissatisfaction, Wellbaum kept in mind their musical peers suffering in a collapsing industry; they thought of the screen-addiction epidemic; they thought of life under late capitalism and overconsumption. All of these, of course, are connected: it keeps us numbed. “We're getting further and further away from tactile, organic humanity,” Wellbaum says, and urges listeners to access the agency they have within these systems. A backlash against digital dependency, the songs on What They Grow In The Garden detail the impossibility of truly outrunning complicity, but they make some leeway into stepping away from the cold blue light of phone screens. 

Every Slothrust album is more ambitious than the last, from their lo-fi beginnings on 2012’s Feels Your Pain to the polished rock on 2021’s Parallel Timeline, produced by longtime Garbage engineer Billy Bush. While the band has changed a lot over the years, they’ve never lost their capacity for surprise. What They Grow In The Garden may be Slothrust’s first album as a duo, but it’s their biggest and wildest record to date. 

Slothrust online:
Official | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify

What They Grow In The Garden track list:

1 - Dissolve The Delusion
2 - Burn The Deck
3 - Smile
4 - Ring The Bell
5 - Twisted Paradise
6 - Hearst Castle
7 - 00101001
8 - What A Night
9 - Absolute Power
10 - Keep Us Thirsty
11 - The Lake
12 - Dystopian Cemetery

Photo Credit: Sabrina Joy 

New York-based death metal corpse grinders UNDEATH have announced a UK headline tour. The news follows their signing to Relapse Records who will release their highly anticipated 4th studio full-length.

The headline tour, which also includes dates in Italy and Germany, follows their extensive run supporting Suffocation throughout Europe.

UK Dates:

4 Nov - Milton Keynes, Craufurd Arms
5 Nov - London, Downstairs at The Dome
7 Nov  - Leeds, Boom
8 Nov - Glasgow, Slay
10 Nov - Liverpool, Quarry
11 Nov - Birmingham, Flapper
12 Nov - Southampton, The Joiners
 
UNDEATH recently finished recording their to-be-announced, new full-length album with Colin Marston (Krallice, Gorguts, Defeated Sanity, Origin & more) @ Menegroth / The Thousand Caves studio in Pennsylvania.
 
UNDEATH frontman Alexander Sason commented: “It’s time to unveil the next chapter for UNDEATH: We’re honored to announce that we’ve signed to Relapse Records. Relapse is a label every member of this band has admired and respected since we were young metalheads obsessing over Necrophagist and Dying Fetus, and for our band to now be a part of that amazing history (and such a badass roster full of bands we love) feels like a dream actualized.
 
"Our fourth album is recorded and in the chamber. We’ll have more details on that a little later, but for now just know that our fastest, darkest and most straight up evil record to date is on the way, and Relapse putting it out just feels right.”
 
UNDEATH rose to infamy since forming in Rochester, New York, in 2018. From the gory, wild-eyed splatter of the band's embryonic period (Demo '19 and Sentient Autolysis) to the fervent fan and press acclaim of debut Lesions of a Different Kind (2020), the Billboard Chart-topping successor It's Time...To Rise from the Grave (2022) & most recently More Insane (2024).
 
Previous album It's Time... To Rise from the Grave caught a wave of acclaim on TheNeedleDrop's YouTube channel, earned Best New Music from Pitchfork, and, most impressively, rocketed to the top of Decibel Magazine's Top 40 Albums of 2022, along with a coveted cover feature.
 
The Rochesterians' mastery of the extremely extreme is no mean feat. They've logged over 250 shows to date (sharing the stage with Exodus, The Black Dahlia Murder, Suffocation, et al.), played festivals in the U.S. (Decibel Metal & Beer Fest, Milwaukee Metalfest), Denmark (Copenhell), the Netherlands (Into the Grave), the U.K. (Download, Damnation), and Beam even has a Dunable Guitars signature model, the 'Skeletonizer.'

UNDEATH online:
https://undeathmetal.com/
https://www.instagram.com/undeathNY/
https://www.facebook.com/undeathNY/
https://undeath.bandcamp.com/

Photo Credit: Frank Guerra

Colorado's genre-defying Dreadnought have announced the pre-order for their forthcoming album Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light, due 11th September via Vesperian. Alongside the announcement, the band have unveiled a second glimpse of the record with new single 'Colors Of Our Broken Hearts'.

Stream the single and/or pre-order the album here: https://tr.ee/vesperian_dreadnought

With Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light, Dreadnought enter the most clearly defined and boldly reinvented chapter of their career to date. Continuing to bend and re-code the boundaries of heavy music, the album moves between chaos, purity and power, weaving synthesizers and electronic elements into a songwriting approach that feels more direct and immediate than ever, while retaining the expansive, otherworldly character that has always made the Colorado band so difficult to categorise. Described by Dreadnought as "World Building Metal Etherea," the record is a fitting evolution of a sound that has never sat comfortably within a single genre.

Where previous releases unfolded across vast and demanding terrain, Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light finds Dreadnought at their most focused, sharper and more immediate yet no less ambitious or singular. Progressive metal, folk, electronics and atmospheric exploration converge across an album that moves between stillness and upheaval, grief and transcendence, tracing an inner conflict that feels simultaneously cosmic and deeply personal.

The album was mixed by Julius Mauranen of Oranssi Pazuzu and mastered by Jaakko Viitalähde, while its visual world comes courtesy of Eisner Award-winning artist Christian Ward. His psychedelic, neon-charged artwork provides a fitting visual counterpart to an album that refuses easy definition.

Still impossible to define. Still impossible to ignore.

Check out previous single 'The Archive' here. 

Discography:
Lifewoven (2013)
Bridging Realms (2015)
A Wake in Sacred Waves (2017)
Emergence (2019)
The Endless (2022) 

Dreadnought are:
Jordan Clancy: Drums, Percussion
Kevin Handlon: Bass Guitar
Kelly Schilling: Vocals, Guitars, Keys, Synth
Ryan Sims: Vocals, Guitars

Dreadnought online:
 www.dreadnoughtdenver.com   
www.instagram.com/dreadnoughtdenver  
www.facebook.com/dreadnoughtband 
www.dreadnoughtdenver.bandcamp.com  

Vesperian online:
www.vesperian.world
www.instagram.com/vesperian.world/

Tracklist 

1. Tiamat's Gate
2. The Archive
3. Colors Of Our Broken Hearts
4. Serpents Of The Moon
5. Aeonwar
6. The Twilight Protectorate

German hardcore powerhouse HALF ME return with their crushing new single 'Psalm', offering another dark and unsettling glimpse into their upcoming album DOGMA, due for release on 23rd October 2026 via Arising Empire.

With the album’s pre-order already underway and its release drawing ever closer, 'Psalm' reveals a slower, more brooding side of HALF ME while losing none of the weight and intensity at the core of their sound.

Watch 'Psalm' here: https://youtu.be/_avFeVaHWyc
Pre-order DOGMA here: https://arisingempire.com/halfme

Trading outright chaos for cold introspection, 'Psalm' is driven by sparse grooves, sombre melodies and raw vocals that gradually pull the listener deeper into its oppressive atmosphere. Rather than relying on sheer force, the track builds its impact through restraint and tension, allowing every groove and vocal line to carry a sense of unease. It is a colder and more deliberate approach that broadens HALF ME’s sonic palette without abandoning the crushing heaviness that defines the band.

Lyrically, 'Psalm' confronts obedience, denial and faith built on fragile foundations. Images of golden gospels and paper prayers expose the emptiness behind systems of belief that demand submission without question, while the recurring “Will we ever learn?” becomes increasingly haunting as the track unfolds. The result is a song that turns HALF ME’s aggression inward, replacing immediate chaos with a lingering sense of dread and sharpening the thematic edge of their songwriting in the process.

That sense of disillusionment connects directly to the wider concept behind DOGMA. The album reflects on a society willingly taking part in its own collapse, exploring how fear, division and manufactured dilemmas keep people occupied with survival while discouraging them from questioning the systems around them. Truth and lies dissolve into blurred lines, creating a state in which obedience becomes normalized and people unknowingly participate in their own downfall.

Rather than pretending to offer solutions, DOGMA begins from the unsettling assumption that the damage may already be irreversible. The record instead asks listeners to look closer, challenge what is presented as absolute truth and expose the structures that thrive on fear and obedience. HALF ME’s upcoming crusades extend that same idea, not as a call to arms, but as an invitation to look behind the dogma.

Within that world, 'Psalm' stands out through its controlled intensity. Crushing metallic hardcore remains at its foundation, but the song gives atmosphere, dynamics and emotional weight more room to breathe. Its restrained approach makes the moments of heaviness hit even harder and demonstrates how HALF ME continue to push their sound beyond straightforward aggression.

Since emerging from Germany’s heavy music scene, HALF ME have established themselves as one of the country’s most exciting modern hardcore acts. Following their debut album SOMA, millions of streams and extensive touring across Europe, the band have built a reputation for combining uncompromising heaviness with a willingness to push beyond the conventions of the genre.

With 23rd October moving closer, 'Psalm' adds another piece to the increasingly bleak world of DOGMA. Haunting, heavy and deliberately restrained, the single shows a different side of HALF ME and offers another indication of the range and intensity that awaits on the new record.

HALF ME - European Crusade 2026
27.11.2026 | Dynamo | Eindhoven, NL
28.11.2026 | Musikzentrum | Hannover, DE
29.11.2026 I Die Stadtmitte I Karlsruhe, DE
30.11.2026 | Das Bett | Frankfurt am Main, DE
01.12.2026 | Naumanns I Leipzig, DE
02.12.2026 | Weberknecht I Vienna, AT
03.12.2026 | Mechanik I Warsaw, PL
05.12.2026 | Subzero I Prague, CZ
06.12.2026 | Kent Club I Hamburg, DE
08.12.2026 | Backstage By The Mill I Paris, FR
09.12.2026 | Downstairs At The Dome I London, UK
10.12.2026 | Key Club I Leeds, UK
11.12.2026 | Rebellion I Manchester, UK
12.12.2026 | O2 Institute3 I Manchester, UK
13.12.2026 I Gebäude 9 I Cologne, DE
15.12.2026 I Schüür I Luzern, CH
16.12.2026 I Hansa 39 I Munich, DE
17.12.2026 I Skaters Palace Cafe I Münster, DE
18.12.2026 I Mikropol I Berlin, DE
19.12.2026 I Z-Bau I Nürnberg, DE
20.12.2026 I Tower I Bremen, DE

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