Photo Credit: Chantik Photography

Norwegian pop/folk outfit Kalandra unveil the first single 'Let Me Be Open', taken from the much anticipated third studio album The Other Side. The new album is set for 13th November via By Norse Music.

Watch 'Let Me Be Open' Here: https://youtu.be/TXVwWDO1hnI
Stream here: https://bfan.link/let-me-be-open
Pre-order here: https://bynorsestore.com/en/bnm-pre-orders

Kalandra take the listeners on a breathtaking journey through dreams and nightmares on their new full-length. 'Let Me Be Open' encourages the free and openmindedness we gradually lose more and more as we grow older. In dreamy and uplifting soundscapes, vocalist Katrine chants: "Let me be open and ready to recieve". The song expresses hope, and inspires to not be ruled by fear, and rather to explore and remember the curiousity and spark of childhood.

Katrine explains: "There’s a moment when you realise how much of yourself you’ve learned to hold back. 'Let Me Be Open' grew out of that feeling, the longing to loosen your grip, let go of some of the fear, and rediscover the sense of wonder you had as a child. It’s a song about making space for something softer to emerge, and trusting that not every shadow needs to be fought."

On the album, the band explores the mysterious imagery of the subconscious where memories, fears, and imagination quietly intertwine. Thematically following a series of vivid and recurring dreams over the past few years. Katrine, together with bandmate Jogeir Daae Mæland, began exploring the world of dream analysis. Keeping a notebook by the bed, they started writing down fragments of dreams the moment they woke. Those scattered images, emotions, and subconscious narratives, became the foundation for a new collection of songs.

Kalandra are simultaniously announcing their biggest headliner tour in Europe to date, with special guest singer-songwriter Finnegan Tui from New Zealand. The 2027 tour starts on 26th February in Cologne and ends 27th March in Amsterdam. A full list of confirmed dates can be found below.

Tickets will go on sale Monday 31st August at 11:00 CEST HERE

Kalandra Norway
26.11.2026 Folken, Stavanger 
27.11.2026 KICK, Kristiansand
04.12.2026 Kulturhuset, Bergen
05.11.2026 Sinus, Bodø
11.12.2026 SALT, Oslo
12.12.2026 HAVET, Trondheim

Kalandra 2027 EU/UK tour w/ Finnegan Tui
26.02.2027 Gebaeude 9, Cologne
27.02.2027 Backstage, Munich
28.02.2027 Im Wizemann Club, Stuttgart
02.03.2027 Trinity, Bristol
03.03.2027 Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
04.03.2027 Slay, Glasgow
05.03.2027 Manchester Academy 2, Manchester
06.03.2027 Islington Assembly Hall, London
07.03.2027 Botanique, Belgium
09.03.2027 Moritzbastei, Leipzig
10.03.2027 Szene Wien, Vienna
11.03.2027 A38, Budapest
12.03.2027 Hype Park, Krakow
13.03.2027 Niebo, Warsaw
14.03.2027 FRANNZ Club, Berlin
16.03.2027 Kollektivet Livet, Stockholm
18.03.2027 Monument, Gothenburg 
19.03.2027 Hotel Cecil, Copenhagen
20.03.2027 Logo, Hamburg
21.03.2027 Rock Café, Czech Republic
23.03.2027 Dynamo, Zurich
24.03.2027 Legend Club, Milano
25.03.2027 Rayonne, Lyon
26.03.2027 Machine du Moulin Rouge, Paris
27.03.2027 Paradiso, Amsterdam

The dream world has inspired many great works of art over the centuries. The phantasmagorical terrain inhabited by Lewis Carroll, Salvador Dali and David Lynch is where we now find Scandinavian alt-prog-folk artisans Kalandra, whose elegant blend of Nordic pop savvy and dark atmospheric rock has been a developing sensation for 15 years. Formed while the core members were studying at Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, their remarkably assured 2020 debut album The Line - over 54 million streams and counting - was followed by 2022's immersive video game soundtrack Kingdom Two Crowns: Norse Lands. In 2024, their captivatingly majestic A Frame Of Mind album powerfully affirmed Kalandra's ascendancy - as did their sold-out headline show at Oslo's 1300-capacity Rockefeller venue earlier this year. Their proven genius for weaving ethereal melodies into raw and eerie musical landscapes makes them a perfect fit for a concept album about dreaming, as we are presented with on The Other Side. 

Determining the theme before writing began, the band started 'dream journalling': jotting down their nocturnal visions and working them into songs. "It's been very helpful to write down my dreams," affirms singer Katrine. "It definitely affected how I wrote lyrics. I would love to do this again, have some sort of loose concept, it brings the record together."

"Knowing the theme was dreaming was helpful to me musically too," adds guitarist Florian. "We could have these dreamy effects in there. I feel most of the songs have nightmarish or dreamy parts, one way or another. There are still a lot of different themes here though, there's folklore, current events, introspective stuff, life and death... Everything can fit into dreams lyrically speaking, it's just life, it's all-encompassing." 

Kalandra have long since settled into their own versatile musical identity, embracing effective contrasts between shimmering joy and aching melancholy, sounding atavistically ancient but stylishly contemporary, otherworldly but firmly rooted in woodland soil. Kalandra's open-minded, open-hearted signature sound may take in several reference points, but it remains impervious to easy categorisation. Freely cited inspirations on The Other Side's heavy guitar quotient include Alice In Chains and Bring Me The Horizon, while neoclassical legends Dead Can Dance, Norwegian electro-alt-rockers Pyke and Oslo 'doomgaze' unit Leonov also made their mark on Kalandra's creative psyche. Even so, this is a band that will always obey their own singular muse:

"To me it's about trying to write something I haven't heard before," says Florian. "That's not to say it hasn't been done! But if I haven't heard it before, then it piques my interest."

Line-up:
Katrine Ødegård Stenbekk - Vocals
Jogeir Daae Mæland - Guitar, Keyboard
Florian Bernhard Döderlein Winter - Guitar
Oskar Johnsen Rydh - Drums

Follow Kalandra
https://www.kalandra.no
https://www.facebook.com/Kalandramusic
https://www.instagram.com/kalandramusic

Track-list:
1. In The Shadows 
2. Animal (feat. Elinborg) 
3. Lost In The Dark
4. Let Me Be Open
5. Chasing Dreams
6. A Ship Has Left The Shore
7. Beauty And The Beast
8. Descend The Stars (feat. Árstíðir)
9. The Other Side (feat. Árstíðir)
10. Melanchoholic 

Photo Credit: Timo Maczollek / Nat Enemede

Legendary symphonic metal unit KAMELOT unveil the final single from their forthcoming epic album Dark Asylum, out this Friday via Napalm Records. Iconic frontman Tommy Karevik is joined by labelmates and upcoming tour partners, Visions of Atlantis’s Clémentine Delauney and Decessus frontwoman and current Miss World Chile Ignacia Fernández, for an exhilaratingly dynamic vocal trio. With all of its bombast and bravado, 'Sanctuary' sees the band firmly planting their feet before leaping into their triumphant, intercontinental victory lap.

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ_Yfxt0Bgo

Pre-order the album here: https://lnk.to/Kamelot-DarkAsylum/napalmrecords

Guitarist and founding member Thomas Youngblood commented on 'Sanctuary': “'Sanctuary’ represents the moment when the darkness of RavenHill is finally left behind. The song is about hope, freedom and finding your way back to yourself after everything you’ve endured. The video takes the story beyond the walls of RavenHill and gives us a glimpse of life after the escape, a new beginning, but one still shaped by the memories and scars of the past. With Tommy, Clémentine and Ignacia bringing three distinct voices to the song, it gives ‘Sanctuary’ an emotional depth that perfectly reflects the journey from darkness into light.”

This Friday, alongside the album’s release, the band kicks off their extensive Dark Asylum World Tour in Orlando, FL, bringing audiences throughout into the spirit breaking halls of RavenHill Asylum cities like in New York, NY, Seattle, WA, and Dallas, TX for North America, and Tilburg, NL at Kamfest, London, UK, Warsaw, PL, and Barcelona, ES. This is a spectacle that should not be missed. 

Set within a shadowed Neo Victorian-era world, Dark Asylum invites listeners beyond the gates of RavenHill Asylum - an imposing institution once built as a grand cathedral, now repurposed into a place where science, faith, and madness uneasily coexist.

KAMELOT push further into cinematic and atmospheric territory on Dark Asylum, diving deeper into theatrical darkness while preserving the signature hooks that define their sound. Candlelight trembles along towering arches and cold stone corridors as you are greeted familiar spectres: Avantasia mastermind Tobias Sammet, Eluveitie’s Lea-Sophie Fischer, Visions of Atlantis’s Clémentine Delauney, Decessus frontwoman and current reigning Miss World Chile champion Ignacia Fernández, Rannveig Sif Sigurðardóttir and Sólveig Sara Leupold, and Billy King. Identity fractures, reality bends, and control slips into unseen hands, guiding its central figure through a descent into psychological darkness that ultimately leads toward transformation… and perhaps sanctuary. From the cinematic sweep of 'Ashen World' to the introspective depth of 'Sanctuary', and the layered mystique of 'Ivy, My Dear', Dark Asylum unfolds as a fully immersive journey, blending orchestral grandeur, haunting melodies, and theatrical storytelling into one cohesive vision.

Will you find sanctuary?
Or will you wander its halls for eternity?

Deepening the immersion of RavenHill, Dark Asylum will be released on a plethora of exciting platforms including standard gold, solid silver, and classic black vinyl editions, certified vinyl with the white label, white splatter, and blood filled variants, the latter of which are each paired with an official 24 page booklet. Multiple CD digipak available, with the two disc version including an instrumental version of the album, alongside cassette and digital options.

UK tour dates with Exit Eden and Temperence:
01/11/26 UK - London / Shepherd's Bush Empire
03/11/26 UK - Manchester / O2

KAMELOT are:
Tommy Karevik - Vocals
Thomas Youngblood - Guitars
Oliver Palotai - Keyboards
Sean Tibbetts - Bass
Alex Landenburg - Drums

KAMELOT online:
WEBSITE || FACEBOOK || INSTAGRAM || NAPALM RECORDS

Dark Asylum tracklist:
1. Sanctorium
2. Ashen World (feat. Ignacia Fernández)
3. ⁠Dark Asylum
4. Sanctuary (feat. Clémentine Delauney & Ignacia Fernández)
5. Nocte Veritas
6. One Last Masquerade (feat. Tobias Sammet)
7. ⁠Ivy, My Dear
8. Godlike Alchemy
9. The Sleeping Mind (Orphic Paradigm)
10. Kaleidoscope
11. Enigma (Think of Me)
12. Cassandra’s Disease
13. Beneath the Moon (Tunglið) (feat. Rannveig Sif Sigurðardóttir, Sólveig Sara Leupold, Lea-Sophie Fischer)
14. ⁠The Puppet King
15. ⁠Sanctum Requiem    

Dark Asylum will be available in the following formats:

1-LP White Label Edition, incl. LP-Sized Booklet 24 pages, Certificate, Covercard – strictly limited (Napalm exclusive)

1-LP Liquid BLOOD FILLED Vinyl, incl. LP-Sized Booklet 24 pages, Certificate– strictly limited (Napalm exclusive)

2-CD 36 pages Earbook, incl. Instrumental Album – strictly limited (Napalm exclusive)

1-LP Zoetrope Vinyl, incl. LP-Sized Booklet 24 pages – strictly limited (Napalm exclusive)

1-LP White Splatter Vinyl, incl. LP-Sized Booklet 24 pages – strictly limited (Napalm ROW exclusive)

1-LP Solid Gold Vinyl – strictly limited (Napalm ROW exclusive)

1-LP Marbled Oxblood Red/Black Vinyl – strictly limited (Napalm US exclusive)

1-LP Solid Silver

1-LP Black Vinyl

Digipak CD

Cassette

Photo Credit: Jascha Kreft

In late October, Vesperian will release A New Way To Life, the debut album by Berlin-based duo Tschaikowsky & Kann. Their music moves through ambient, Krautrock and kosmische Musik in equal measure — meditative and slow-burning, with a dreamlike, introspective pull that rewards deep listening.

Ahead of the album, the duo will release a 12" maxi-single 'I Thought This Was Going To Be My Year', which will also appear on the album. The B-side holds two exclusive pieces, 'Slow Morning' and 'Slow Evening', available on vinyl only on this maxi-single. All three tracks are entirely instrumental.

Order the physical and listen to 'I Thought This Was Going To Be My Year' here: https://linktr.ee/vesperian
 
Tschaikowsky & Kann are Niklas Tschaikowsky (guitars) and Leonhard Kann (synthesiser, drum computer, field recording). Their sound draws on a lineage of German electronic and experimental music — echoes of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Harmonia and Brian Eno run through it — filtered into a quieter, more contemporary register. The duo has already shared stages with artists including Hayden Pedigo, Minami Deutsch and Blood Incantation.
 
The maxi 12" is pressed on clear/light-blue vinyl, limited to 300 copies worldwide, and will not be repressed in this configuration. Further details on the forthcoming album will follow shortly.
 
The pre-order for Tschaikowsky & Kann’s debut album, A New Way To Life, will start on 15th September.

Tschaikowsky & Kann online:
tschaikowskykann.bandcamp.com/
www.instagram.com/tschaikowsky.kann

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

'I Thought This Was Going To Be My Year' tracklist:

1.    I Thought This Was Going To Be My Year (11:51)
2.    Slow Morning (11:26)
3.    Slow Evening (3:27)

Total playing time: 26:44

Photo Credit: Pelagic Records

French progressive visionaries Hypno5e have revealed their new single 'Molecular Angel', from forthcoming album Trame Noire, set for release on 6th November via Pelagic Records. 

Watch the video to 'Molecular Angel' here: https://youtu.be/bTncZLYiiKk

Stream and pre-order here: https://orcd.co/hypno5e

On the new single and video, the band comment: "'Molecular Angel' is the turning point in Trame Noire’s trajectory, marking the moment when the mutation of the surrounding space gives way to the character’s inner transformation.

"Direct and raw, the track unfolds over a relatively short span of time for an Hypno5e song. It moves through ethereal passages before ending in a frantic chaos that announces the album’s second half.

'"Molecular Angel' was conceived differently from the rest of our compositions: with no detours, more condensed, and focused on a direct and immediate expression."

Since 2003, Hypno5e have made a distinct, indelible mark on the progressive heavy music scene. Their self-styled ‘cinematic metal’ mixes heavy music, the avant-garde, post-rock, immersive samples and Latin American influences across widescreen songs. On their much-anticipated seventh album, Trame Noire, they continue their unique journey.

Trame Noire is named after the French term for "dark infrastructure": urban architecture designed to preserve the blackness of the night for nocturnal species. It tells the story of a protagonist who confronts his trauma over the course of one night, as every insect, every flap of a wing and every change in temperature brings back long-buried memories.

Parallel to the new album release and celebrating their over 20 years of existence, Hypno5e are releasing a complete discography 13LP boxset, which features the new album alongside the studio albums Sheol (2023), A Distant Dark Source (2019), Alba (2018), Shores of the Abstract Line (2016), Acid Mist Tomorrow (2012) as well as debut album Des Deux L’une Est L’autre (2007), the latter for the first time on vinyl.

Album opener ‘Lost Fires’ rises from lonely keys to a section driven by Jessua’s lush vocals, followed by hulking guitars. ‘Falmer’ offers some of the sweetest and hardest moments of Hypno5e’s career: a hypnotic detour evokes the prime of Pink Floyd, then crashes into a metallic thunder that sounds like Gojira gone black metal. ‘Molecular Angel’ channels old-school prog, drums clamouring beneath gorgeous singing and ambient instruments, and ‘Bare Bones’ is a guitar-powered attack, incorporating wild leads and hammering thuds. The 10-minute title track is a suitably dynamic finale, but it remains consistent in its utter, bittersweet beauty.

Trame Noire was approached quite differently to their previous work, opting for a more organic sound. The band limited their use of samples to reflect the lyrics’ focus on one voice and one character. Plus, they used a warmer, looser style of production: less traditionally tech-metal, more inspired by the masterpieces of 70s psychedelic rock.

Even the artwork – painted by Emmanuel’s father, co-lyricist and frequent collaborator Thierry Jessua – is a raw, unrefined sketch, more human than what was seen on past covers. “This time I wanted to discover another language,” Emmanuel commented. “Every album should tell its story differently. I never want Hypno5e to become predictable.”

All this evolution also reflects the fact that Trame Noire was the first album to be made from start to finish with Hypno5e’s current lineup, rounded out by co-guitarist Jonathan Maurois, bassist Charles Villanueva and drummer Pierre Rettien.
“The new lineup brings different atmospheres,” Emmanuel continues. “It doesn’t mean that Hypno5e is going to be this way forever now, but I think there was a more direct and free way of composing. Everybody had more of a say on the decisions and the structures we put on the album.”

Trame Noire is another bold statement in a career defined by non-conformity. Shorter, warmer and presented in a totally different way to previous works, it ensures that Hypno5e remain one of one, even after more than two decades.

Hypno5e are:
Emmanuel Jessua (guitar, vocals)
Jonathan Maurois (guitars)
Pierre Rettien (drums)
Charles Villanueva (bass)

Hypno5e online:
https://www.instagram.com/hypno5eofficial
https://www.facebook.com/hypno5e

Track list:

Side A
1. Lost Fires
2. Falmer

Side B
3. Molecular Angel
4. Bare Bones
5. Trame Noire

Photo Credit: Shane Eckert

Thrash legends Flotsam and Jetsam are gearing up to release their forthcoming album Rats In The Temple, out 28th August via Napalm Records. Today, they offer fans the final glimpse of the flames within - with 'The Edge of Nowhere'. 

Watch the lyric video here: https://youtu.be/76uJFzdV0SQ

Pre-order the album here: https://lnk.to/FlotsamAndJetsam-RatsintheTemple/napalmrecords

'The Edge of Nowhere' builds suspense with eastern scales before firing listeners out of a gun, full throttle through thrash metal excellence. Churning like magma beneath the Earth, FLOTSAM AND JETSAM have only been growing more and more fiery with time, and Rats in the Temple sees the band exploding to the surface in a magnificent and awestriking blaze.
 
Frontman Eric A.K. Knutson says about the track:
“‘The Edge of Nowhere’ is about knowing when to dig your heels into the ground and hold the line. We wanted to write a track that made people feel strong when things get tough. Always speak your mind. Even if 9 times out of 10, it takes you nowhere. You never know when you'll get that 1 time that pushes you through.”

Flotsam and Jetsam are known for their trailblazing blend of blistering thrash and soaring power metal - established on breakthrough records like the Kerrang!-championed classic Doomsday for the Deceiver (1986), No Place for Disgrace, (1988), and Cuatro, (1992) and refined in their current renaissance with the German chart-climbing The End of Chaos, (2019), Blood in the Water, (2021), and I Am the Weapon, (2024) - are back with their newest diamond, and Napalm Records debut, Rats In The Temple, out 28th August.

With nearly four decades on the scene, countless world tours, and appearances at prestigious festivals like Wacken, Graspop, Bloodstock, Alcatraz, and Rockhard, they’ve carved their sound down to a fine point, piercing listeners with earth-shattering blast beats, scorching guitars, epic string arrangements, and exalted frontman A.K. Knutson’s unmistakably haunting wail. 
 
Frontman Eric A.K. Knutson about the album:
“This record is a BEAST, truly our best effort to date!! Do yourself a favor. Dim the lights, grab a drink, put the headphones on, and crank this up. You will not be sorry you did!!!”

Rats In The Temple opens strongly with the stadium-ready hooks and dizzyingly precise performances of 'Harvesting The Hate' and 'Damnation', before delving into thrash virtuosity on 'Absolution'. The iconic guitar duo of Michael Gilbert and Steve Conley paint vividly ghoulish images on tracks like 'Blame The Knife' and 'Rats In the Temple', then continue to flex their metal muscle on 'The Ghost Behind My Door' and 'First on the Spike', invoking pure first-wave excellence with a pummelling modern menace. 'The Edge of Nowhere' builds inescapable suspense before firing listeners out of a gun, full throttle into 'Last Rites', another standout track for the band. The legendary rhythm duo of drummer Ken Mary and bassist Bill Bodily take center stage on the anti-war anthem 'A Taste For War', their methodical syncopation invoking images of tanks and boots on the ground. 'Her Blood Your Pain' brings ornate, medieval guitarmonies before 'Anthem For The Broken' goes full balls to the wall, and 'Going Down That Way' hits listeners with heavy riffs and even heavier truths. Rats In The Temple remains enthralling throughout, giving listeners entry to numerous of the band's metal chambers, sampling a refined and eclectic serving of influences. 

Churning like magma beneath the Earth, Flotsam and Jetsam have only been growing more and more fiery with time, and Rats In The Temple sees the band exploding to the surface in a magnificent and awe-inspiring blaze. For fans new and longstanding, you cannot escape them; they’re through the walls.

Flotsam and Jetsam are:
​​Eric A.K. Knutson - Vocals
Michael Gilbert - Guitars
Steve Conley - Guitars
William Bodily - Bass
Ken Mary - Drums
 
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM Online:
WEBSITE
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
NAPALM RECORDS

Track list:
1. Harvesting the Hate
2. Damnation
3. Absolution
4. Blame the Knife
5. Rats in the Temple
6. The Ghost behind my Door
7. First on the Spike
8. The Edge of Nowhere
9. Last Rites
10. A Taste for War
11. Her Blood your Pain
12. Anthem for the Broken
13. Not Going down that Way

Rats In The Temple Will Be Available in The Following Formats:

2-LP Gatefold (White Label Edition), incl. LP-sized Booklet – Napalm Mailorder exclusive
2-LP Gatefold (Splattered Vinyl), incl. LP-sized Booklet – Napalm Mailorder exclusive
2-LP Gatefold (Solid Red), incl. LP-sized Booklet – Napalm Mailorder exclusive
2-LP Gatefold (Black)
1-CD Digisleeve
Digital Album

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