Photo credit: Jiawei Zhang

Post-metal heavyweights The Ocean today reveal their newest single 'Milk of My Dreams', featuring Thorsten Quaeschning of the legendary Tangerine Dream.

Stream here: https://youtu.be/FgBsVDqgJi4

The single is another glimpse of The Ocean's forthcoming Solaris record, to be released 25th September (Pelagic Records). 

Pre-order here: https://orcd.co/theocean-solaris

'Milk of My Dreams' is the second half of the 20-minute closing piece of The Ocean’s new and 12th studio album Solaris, inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky’s film of the same name. Entirely electronic, dark, hypnotic and danceable, it leads the Berlin-based heavy music collective into unfamiliar terrain, trading weight for pulse without losing any of its intensity. It closes the album’s 70-minute monolith on an unexpected note: alien yet coherent, disorienting yet strangely inevitable.

While most of the instrumental foundations of Solaris were written during the pandemic, 'Milk of My Dreams' is a much more recent piece, composed last year as the band began recording vocals for the album. New vocalist Enrico Tiberi wrote much of the track as a series of variations on musical themes introduced in the preceding song, 'Ultima Esperanza'.

Rearranged by Robin Staps and shaped by significant contributions from synth pioneer and Tangerine Dream bandleader Thorsten Quaeschning, the track became a distinctly collaborative and experimental undertaking - and may well mark the beginning of a broader creative relationship with Quaeschning.

The band first met Quaeschning while tracking drums at Berlin’s legendary Hansa Studios, where David Bowie recorded 'Heroes'. They later spent a week at Quaeschning’s studio in Berlin-Rudow, working not only on 'Milk of My Dreams' but on the electronic dimension of the album as a whole.

The band comment: “Working with Thorsten has been an incredibly inspiring experience and with all of us being huge Tangerine Dream fans, a great honour of course. His knowledge of electronic music, synthesizers and sound design is extraordinary, and at the same time he’s an immensely talented and curious musician. His studio feels like a synthesizer museum — everything is connected, switched on and ready to play. What’s particularly remarkable is his ability to take a sound you can only describe in words and translate it almost instantly into something you can actually hear.”

Thorsten Quaeschning says about his collaboration with The Ocean:

“It was a real pleasure to work on the new album by The Ocean Collective. At the same time, it was an interesting challenge for me, because I had to adjust some of my usual working methods and leave the safe harbour of familiar procedures. From my own musical microcosm, The Ocean Collective’s music moves through a wide range of shifting time signatures, which meant that most hardware step sequencers no longer worked in the conventional way. Of course, I could have programmed and recorded individual sections of two, three or sometimes eight bars, but I decided to play many of the sequences by hand. This made it possible to react more quickly to the time signature changes, while also giving the sequences a more organic feel through dynamics, touch and subtle timing differences. I’m very happy to be part of this album and I’m looking forward to seeing where this new collaboration may lead.”

Solaris is an album that tells a story of cosmic escapism: a journey on that ship, which is essentially a celestial rescue boat escaping from a metaphorically sinking Mother Earth. The rescue boat can be imagined as a historic naval vessel, and the lyrics and episodes of the album  make reference to the real-life explorers of the past who set out to discover (back then) unknown continents and uncharted territories: Da Gama, Magellan, Sir Frances Drake, as well as the Polar explorers Amundsen, Scott, Rasmussen etc.

The Solaris album artwork is a collaborative effort by German artist Phillip Janta (Metallica, Queens Of the Stone Age, Envy) whose distinctive, highly detailed line work is instantly recognisable, and Norwegian artist Martin Kvamme who is the graphic designer behind most of Mike Patton's numerous projects. The deluxe version of the album will be accompanied by a hardcover, fabric-wrapped book with copper hot foil print, printed inner sleeves, a 32 pages book, seven art prints by Phillip Janta as well as a customised, retro-futuristic star constellation finder.

Solaris will be released via Pelagic Records on 25th September.

The Ocean Line-up:

Robin Staps – guitar, vocals
Mattias Hägerstrand - bass
Jordi Farré – drums, percussion
Enrico Tiberi – vocals, keys
Lane Shi – vocals
Emmanuel Jessua – guitar
Marco Gennaro – guitar

In addition, the following musicians performed on this record:

Thorsten Quaeschning – keys
Orestis Zafiriou – keys
Simen Eifring – trombone
Jiawei Zhang – vibraphone

The Ocean online:
Label Website
Instagram
Facebook
Bandcamp
Spotify
YouTube

Track list:

1. 52°30'11" N, 13°26’12“ E
2. Departure Song
3. Light Pollution
4. Simulacra
5. Belligerence
6. Ultima Esperanza
7. Milk Of My Dreams
8. 51°28'30" S, 73°6'11" W

Photo Credit: Jacob Moinz

Alternative rock outfit Anberlin have announced CURRENCY, the band's highly anticipated ninth studio album and the first full-length release to feature Matty Mullins as lead vocalist. Marking the beginning of a bold new chapter, CURRENCY builds on the momentum of 2024's Vega, where Mullins made his recording debut on two tracks, and signals a renewed creative energy for a band that has continually evolved throughout their nearly 25-year career. Produced by the band alongside Kellen McGregor (Memphis May Fire), the eleven-track album embraces both Anberlin's storied past and an exciting future, proving that growth and reinvention can coexist without sacrificing the band's unmistakable identity.

Today, the band offers another taste of what’s to come on the new record - 'GRAVITY' - which follows the release of 'NEVERAFTER' and its accompanying music video, directed by Anberlin drummer Nathan Young, and Jacob Moniz. 

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/6ULC4vtxNDw

Pre-order CURRENCY here: https://anberlin.lnk.to/CURRENCY

Vocalist Matty Mullins adds “GRAVITY is about coming to terms with the fact that our time here is limited and choosing to live in a way that leaves nothing unsaid and nothing undone. It wrestles with the weight of mortality, but ultimately finds peace in letting go of fear and embracing the people, moments, and purpose that matter most.”

On the new record, vocalist Matty Mullins shares “The overall theme of CURRENCY is what happens after everything you built your identity on falls apart. It’s a journey through heartbreak, loss, addiction, shame, and the lies we tell ourselves. Instead of staying in the wreckage, it’s about finding the strength to face the truth, let go of what was killing you, and become someone new. I believe that healing doesn’t begin when the pain ends, it begins when you finally stop running from it.”

Rather than looking back with hesitation, CURRENCY finds Anberlin moving forward with confidence. Drawing from a collection of previously unfinished songs while giving Mullins the space to leave his own creative mark, the album balances soaring rock anthems with deeply reflective moments, exploring themes of perseverance, vulnerability, and hope. Featuring standout tracks including 'Neverafter,' 'Highstakes,' and the emotionally resonant 'Trenches' featuring Switchfoot, CURRENCY reaffirms Anberlin's commitment to creating music that connects through honesty and resilience. More than simply the next album in the band's catalogue, CURRENCY is a statement of renewal—one that celebrates where Anberlin has been while embracing everything that lies ahead.

Anberlin will hit the road with longtime friends and alternative rock mainstays Switchfoot for an extensive run of tour dates later this year. The tour brings together two of the genre's most enduring and influential bands, giving fans the opportunity to experience Anberlin's next chapter live while celebrating a catalogue that has resonated for nearly 25 years. As the band ushers in a new era with CURRENCY, the upcoming shows promise a dynamic set that blends beloved fan favourites with the powerful new material, underscoring the renewed energy and excitement driving Anberlin forward.

Anberlin are:
Matty Mullins (Vocals),
Christian McAlhaney (Guitar & Vocals)
Joseph Milligan (Guitar)
Deon Rexroat (Bass)
Nathan Young (Drums).

Anberlin online:
Website | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Spotify

CURRENCY track listing:

1. NEVERAFTER
2. GRAVITY
3. HIGHSTAKES
4. GHOST
5. MEDICATE
6. TRENCHES ft. Switchfoot
7. AFTERMATH
8. RELAPSE
9. DISPLACE
10. LIES
11. ASHES

After more than two decades of carving out their own space between crushing heaviness and expansive atmosphere, Rosetta return with their final full-length album, Temporal Lapse, set for release on 27th November via Pelagic Records. Alongside the announcement, the band unveil the album’s first single, ‘The Native Hue of Resolution’, marking the return of a band whose music has always found its power in the tension between weight and space, devastation and beauty.

Watch the album trailer video here: https://youtu.be/JijpDz5oat8

Pre-order Temporal Lapse here: https://orcd.co/rosetta-temporallapse

The band comment on the new single, "Sometimes deep grief can provoke a strange ambivalence: isolation is both a comfort and its own particular misery."

The album’s long-awaited arrival comes after years of upheaval, during which the original concept for Temporal Lapse shifted dramatically. When work began in late 2019, Rosetta initially set out to explore climate change and the grief of watching the natural world disappear. The pandemic brought that process to a halt, and when the band eventually returned to the material, personal loss had changed the perspective entirely.

“In late 2019 when we began working on the songs, we intended to focus on climate change. As we explored that concept, we became interested in the grief / loss dimension of environmental destruction — essentially, the human experience of loss as nature gives way to something else," comments guitarist, Matt Weed. "However, in 2020 the pandemic stopped the whole process cold, and it took years to get started again. In that time, a lot of personal grief and loss happened. I lost my house to a fire in 2022. Eric and I both lost our dads. Rather than looking at climate change through the lens of grief and loss, we ended up looking at personal grief and loss through the imagery of climate change and apocalypse.”

That sense of upheaval runs through Temporal Lapse, an album shaped by resilience, grief and the ways people change when confronted with experiences that cannot be undone. Rosetta remain unmistakably themselves, but there is a greater breadth to the band's sound: heavier passages collide with melodic and textural elements, cleaner vocals sit alongside their trademark intensity, while electronics and increasingly intricate guitar arrangements create new contrasts within the songs.

The result is a record that can feel both enormous and deeply intimate. ‘The Native Hue of Resolution’ offers the first glimpse into that world, bringing together the physical weight and atmospheric reach that have defined Rosetta since their earliest releases, while pointing towards the wider emotional and sonic territory explored across Temporal Lapse.

The album was recorded across several years and locations, with its own history becoming intertwined with that of the band. Drums were recorded over a full week in a 1920s stone church sanctuary outside Philadelphia, the same building where Rosetta held their very first rehearsal in June 2003.

“It felt good to come back around and use that building again. We did guitars and bass a month later (August 2024) at the Radar Studio in Connecticut, owned by Will Benoit from Pelagic labelmates SOM. Then there was another long hiatus after the birth of my son. We finally got together to write and record all the vocals in Austin, Texas in December of 2025, which took ten days,” comments Matt Weed.


Elsewhere on Temporal Lapse, ‘The Pale Cast Of Thought’ lands with a sense of desperation and crushing intensity, while ‘Dvora’ builds tension through hypnotic melody, pre-battle percussion and a slow-rising swell of distortion, with Johnny Dang of O'Brother contributing slide guitar, piano and synths. ‘Ribbon Of Dawn’ moves from a raging, thrashing opening into something unexpectedly hopeful before its melodies grow increasingly complex and heavy, charging towards the threshold.


At the heart of the album is a question about what happens to us after loss, whether we emerge from it fundamentally broken or fundamentally changed.


For Rosetta, Temporal Lapse is ultimately both an ending and a reflection on everything that came before it. The band have been clear that this is their final album in their current form, bringing the story of Rosetta to a deliberate close rather than disappearing without resolution.

“This is the final album. We're not breaking up; there's always openness to doing interesting things together in the future. But even as far back as 2019, we intended to release one more full length as a capstone, do a ‘victory lap’ tour around the world, and then be done with Rosetta as it existed before,” comments Weed.

With Temporal Lapse, Rosetta leave behind a record that carries the density, volume and scope that have characterised their music for more than twenty years, while embracing space, melody, reflection and vulnerability. It is abrasive and beautiful, turbulent and meditative, a final statement from a band still willing to push against the boundaries of what their music can contain.

Rosetta are:

Mike Armine - Vocals, Samples
David Grossman - Bass
Eric Jernigan - Vocals, Guitar, Bass
Bruce McMurtrie - Drums
Matt Weed - Guitar, Bass, Producer/Engineer

Discography:

The Galilean Satellites (2005)
Wake/Lift (2007)
The Anaesthete (2013)
Quintessential Ephemera (2015)
Utopioid (2017)
Terra Sola EP (2019)
Sower Of Wind EP (2019) 

Rosetta online:
Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp

Tracklist:

1. Curl Up And Deny
2. The Winepress
3. Dvora
4. Self-Dealing Position
5. The Native Hue Of Resolution
6. The Pale Cast Of Thot
7. Ribbon Of Dawn
8. Epilogue

Photo Credit: Pep Williams

Metal juggernauts Darkest Hour will return to the UK in February 2027 with Frozen Soul, following the release of their 30th October album Suffer Divine (MNRK Heavy).

Dates:

01.02.27 UK Bristol Electric Bristol
02.02.27 UK Glasgow Slay
04.02.27 UK Manchester Club Academy
05.02.27 UK Birmingham XOYO
06.02.27 UK Leeds Stylus
07.02.27 UK London Scala

The band comment: "We love this new album so much and thus we are both proud and excited to bring our Suffer Divine album release to Europe in 2027 alongside the crushingly heavy Frozen Soul. Creating this new album was a galvanizing experience and we can’t wait to bring this new fire and energy to European and British soil." - Mike Schleibaum 

"Touring the EU & UK has been some of the most fun, memorable, and fulfilling experiences of our lives. We’ll celebrate the release of our 11th record the best way possible, with live shows, and you in the pit!” - John Henry 

Recorded with producer Mark Lewis (Whitechapel, The Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse) across 11 ferocious tracks, Darkest Hour's upcoming record Suffer Divine distills everything the band love about heavy music from force to spirit. 

Stream the crushing title track now.

Listen: https://darkesthour.ffm.to/sufferdivine
Watch: https://youtu.be/wb3cAMPkOkI

Darkest Hour’s music carries the passion, pressure, and purpose of hardcore with an unapologetic reverence for melodic riffs, death metal stomp, speed, and twin-guitar harmonies. The band’s forthcoming album Suffer Divine is a no-holds-barred, invigorated slab of aggression where hardcore urgency and emotional meaning behind every note continue to power their metal obsessions with tone, attack, and riffs. 

Darkest Hour will also perform as direct support for Fear Factory on U.S. dates this autumn.

After three decades of defining the intersection of melodic death metal and hardcore, Darkest Hour continue to deliver music as vital as it is visceral. Darkest Hour clawed their way out of the DMV area in 1995. Throughout the ensuing years, they tallied tens of millions of streams and quietly built a diehard fan base. Circling the globe, they packed hundreds of shows and touched down on every continent, save Antarctica. Along the way, they notably notched five Top 3 debuts on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart. 2017’s Godless Prophets & the Migrant Flora marked the group’s third #1 bow on the latter in addition to crashing the Top 10 of the Top Vinyl Albums Chart.

Darkest Hour are:

John Henry – vocals
Mike Schleibaum – guitar
Nico Santora – guitar
Aaron Deal – bass
Travis Orbin – drums

For more information:
https://www.instagram.com/darkest_hour_official 
https://twitter.com/darkesthourrock 
https://www.facebook.com/DarkestHourDudes/ 
https://www.tiktok.com/@darkest.hour.official 
https://www.youtube.com/@darkesthourdudes
https://www.mnrkheavy.com

Photo Credit: Lame Perfect

Leading the way for their upcoming studio album Monumental, out on 23rd October 2026, via Napalm Records, Ukrainian modern metal architects IGNEA today unveil their third single, entitled 'Prefab.' The track arrives as a highly industrial metal anthem feat. aggrotech and electro-industrial icon Andy LaPlegua of Combichrist, whose voice perfectly complements the offering of IGNEA’s vocalist Helle Bohdanova as well as the song’s atmosphere and theme, thus turning it into a true rave soundtrack for metalheads.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/Ce5XostPo3g

Pre-order the album here: http://lnk.to/Ignea-Monumental/napalmrecords

IGNEA’s new record Monumental is set around the concept of nostalgia, with 'Prefab' getting in line with this idea, as it’s looking at two sides of the album’s overall theme - architecture and collective memory.

Vocalist Helle Bohdanova commented: “‘Prefab’ reflects on the darker side of nostalgia -prefabricated socialist buildings, originally meant to give everyone a roof over their heads. But like many socialist ideals, the concept was flawed at its core: uniform, industrial, stripping people of individuality and personal choice, making them feel like ants inside their own homes. Remnants of this architecture still stand across Europe - from Ukraine and Poland, from Germany to France - and while people may recall personal memories of them, that nostalgia is often bittersweet at best, rooted in poverty and authoritarian regime.

"As Ukrainians from a post-Soviet country, we grew up surrounded by the physical remains of a system that promised a bright future and delivered the opposite. What’s stranger is that even knowing how flawed it was, many people still feel a pull toward certain parts of Soviet life. And it’s not just us - plenty of Westerners romanticize Soviet aesthetics too, nostalgic for a past they never lived.

"In the ‘Prefab’ video, we wanted to convey the feeling of a confined, uniform space, a cramped room representing a typical Soviet apartment, where only the tenants ever change.

"When we shaped the demo around ‘Prefab’, we were basically hearing Andy’s vocals in the back of our minds, and we’re so glad he agreed to lend his voice. Having Combichrist as part of the industrial metal banger on our upcoming album—what could be more iconic? 

Tune into this ‘cemetery for serial dreams’ and try not to headbang!”

Monumental is IGNEA’s second full-length album that was written during the full-scale war in Ukraine. The recording process mostly took place in the winter of 2025-2026, during icy temperatures and long power outages in Kyiv.

Helle Bohdanova says about Monumental: “Back in the 17th century, nostalgia was considered a deadly disease - and in many ways, it still is. It’s a universal feeling experienced by every human being, pulling us toward a past that felt gentler than it truly was, especially during the bitter moments of the present. Much of this album was inspired by modernist architecture - concrete giants built to signal progress and a brighter future, now slowly decaying. They’ve become a sort of memory box: monuments to unrealized dreams, where the future that was once imagined never arrived, yet continues to echo through the ruins and bright mosaics.”

On Monumental, IGNEA takes the listener on nostalgic rides, with all their ups and downs, expressed in music and lyrics, carrying a sense of gentle sadness and reflection, as nostalgia can bring back beautiful memories, darkened by the awareness that these moments will never happen again. 

Following Dreams of Lands Unseen (2023), the band navigates through unique facets of the past across nine tracks - from the grandeur and ambition of Cold War space dreams to the melancholy of urban decay and forgotten modernist structures, all the way to the emotional weight of personal and collective memory. All lyrics on Monumental were written by vocalist Helle Bohdanova. The music was composed by keyboardist Yevhenii Zhytniuk, with additional contributions from Helle Bohdanova. Mixing and mastering were handled by Grammy Award-nominated producer Jacob Hansen, known for his work with bands such as DELAIN, Amaranthe, Volbeat, Amon Amarth, Arch Enemy, and Epica.

UK dates with Evergrey:

25.11.26 UK - Southampton / The Brook
26.11.26 UK - Birmingham / Asylum
27.11.26 UK - London / The Underworld
28.11.26 UK - Leeds / The Key Club
29.11.26 IE - Dublin / Opium
30.11.26 UK - Belfast / Limelight 2
01.12.26 UK - Glasgow / G2
02.12.26 UK - Newcastle / Anarchy Brew
03.12.26 UK - Manchester / Rebellion
04.12.26 UK - Bristol / Strange Brew
05.12.26 UK - Nottingham / Saltbox

IGNEA are:

Helle Bohdanova – Vocals
Yevhenii Zhytniuk – Keys
Dmytro Vinnichenko – Guitars
Oleksandr Kamyshyn – Bass

 IGNEA online:

WEBSITE
FACEBOOK
INSTAGRAM
NAPALM RECORDS

Track-list:

1. Darkness   
2. Dreams of Lands Unseen    
3. Presence of the Past        
4. Prefab (feat. Combichrist)
5. What Buildings Dream of   
6. I am in Hell 
7. Between No Longer and Not Yet    
8. Harmony Manufactured (feat. Hiraes)
9. Nadir

Monumental will be available in the following formats:

·       1-LP Splatter Vinyl, incl. LP-Sized Booklet – strictly limited (Napalm Records EU Shop only)

·       Bundle 1-CD Jewelcase + T-Shirt (Napalm Records EU Shop only)

·       1-LP Solid Silver Vinyl

·       1-CD Jewelcase

·       Digital Album

Photo Credit: Levi Price

Slothrust are pleased to present 'Hearst Castle,' the new single from the acclaimed LA-based alt-rock veterans. The single comes ahead of their new album What They Grow In The Garden, out 18th September via Equal Vision / Rude Records.

Stream 'Hearst Castle' here: https://youtu.be/UIceAA7es4Qd

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

The band comment: "This song is a fictionalized retelling of the kidnapping of Patty Hearst from the perspective of Hearst Castle itself. It addresses cycles of wealth and the moments where we choose to look away, and the moments we choose to wake up and consider the lack of equality in the system. The way we chose to tell this story is emblematic of the way that history always gets distorted to favor the narrative of whoever has the microphone. In this case, we pass the microphone to the castle itself, as well as to the elephant seals that surround the castle. Neither of these things generally get a voice unless you listen very carefully. Perhaps it is true that the soul speaks the quietest. The elephant seals have been on this planet longer than any of us. As Patty’s story progresses, they offer three whispered pieces of wisdom that humans seem to forget as their minds are polluted by greed and power. Consider their words a warning. “Everything you build on the shore will be swallowed”, “Anyone you trap in a towel will betray
you”, and “You better be careful what you toss in the wishing well”."

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: Eleftheria Kalpenidou

Greek psychedelic rock visionaries VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY have unveiled a brand-new music video for 'Requiem', another striking cut from their forthcoming studio album, Venceremos, out this Friday via Napalm Records.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/nul8ViTNLAo

Pre-order the album here: http://lnk.to/VillagersOfIoanninaCity-Venceremos

With 'Requiem', VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY now reveal another compelling facet of Venceremos. Reflective and uncompromising, the song turns its attention to endings and the final reckoning, when everything else falls away and all that remains is the truth of how a life was lived.

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY comment on the new single: “'Requiem' is a reflection on endings, where the journey fades, and only truth remains. It’s about facing yourself at the final moment, weighing a life lived. You lived your life or fell their fraud? Will you go with massive guilt or calm in serenity? ”

Standing at the emotional core of the record, Venceremos surges forward with dynamic shifts, crystal-clear vocal delivery and a commanding crescendo that masterfully balances tension and release. Blending crushing heaviness with soaring bagpipe melodies and an unrelenting forward momentum, the epic title track captures the band's signature sound while delivering a powerful message of resilience, hope and perseverance.

The band comment: "Venceremos is a promise that even in the darkest moments, hope endures. 'Venceremos' isn't about winning, it's about refusing to break. It’s about resilience and overcoming fear, choosing to stand your ground, and believing that freedom, no matter how distant, will come in the end."

Set in a dystopian future shaped by illusion, control and fear, Venceremos unfolds as a journey through exile, resistance and awakening. It follows those who rise against a broken world, rejecting gods and modern kings in order to reclaim freedom and meaning. Through struggles, hopes, fears and deep reflections on existence, one truth remains constant: the quest is one, and its name is freedom.

Driven by epic guitars, pulsating basslines and layered traditional instrumentation, VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY’s first single 'Ghosts in the sky' builds a dense, immersive atmosphere where powerful heavy rock meets ritualistic psychedelia.

““Ghosts in the sky” is the vessel that carries all our hopes and dreams“, the band reveal. “It is a call to stand together in the face of fear, where hope travels like a distant star and freedom is worth every fight. It’s about defiance, unity, and believing in change, even when everybody says it won’t come.“

Rather than bending to trends, VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY sharpen their identity. The upcoming album presents itself as heavy, direct and intense, driven by a raw and immediate energy. It leans decisively into heavy rock and metal, pushing into more aggressive territory while unfolding with a genuinely progressive spirit, where each composition evolves with purpose and depth.
Ritualistic rhythms, expansive arrangements and traditional instrumentation such as bagpipes and zourna are not mere embellishments, but essential elements of the band’s sonic language. Folk and Hellenic elements meet powerful riffs and dynamic structures in a sound that feels direct, distinctive and entirely their own.

Produced and recorded by Alex Karametis at Magnanimous X Studio in Greece, and mixed and mastered by Jacob Hansen at Hansen Studios, Venceremos captures clarity and depth in equal measure. With this release, VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY deliver a powerful statement and a journey through darkness, defiance and the unbreakable force of rebellion. As one of the key names in post-stoner and heavy prog rock, the band once again reinforces their place within the scene, with Venceremos standing as a defining step in their ongoing evolution.

In support of Venceremos, VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY will play an album release show in Athens taking place on September 20 at the Lycabettus Theatre, one of the city's most legendary open-air venues, before the band embarks on a series of shows across Greece's major cities and an extensive European Tour in March 2027 with dates to be announced soon.

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY online:
Website: https://www.vic-band.com/epk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/villagersofioanninacity
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/villagersofioanninacity
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/artist/0N8D2mPKMd3MWIhqdfpTBp
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/vicband2010
 
VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY are:
Alex Karametis – Vocals, Guitars, Synths
Akis Zois – Bass
Aris Giannopoulos – Drums
Dimitris Brentas – Winds

Venceremos tracklist:
1. Alienation
2. Home
3. Ghosts in the sky
4. Venceremos
5. The Ruiner
6. No fear
7. Here and now
8. Epitaph
9. Requiem

Venceremos will be available in the following formats:
- 1CD Digipack
- 2LP Gatefold Black 
- 2LP Gatefold Solid White (Limited to 500 Copies, Greece Only)
- 2LP Gatefold Solid Baby Blue (Limited to 500 Copies, Germany/Austria/Switzerland Only)
- Full Digital Album
 Napalm Records Webstore/s:
- 2LP Gatefold Testpressing LP-sized Booklet, Covercard (numbered), Certificate of Authenticity (numbered, dated), Limited to 50 Copies Only
- 2LP Gatefold Circle  Translucent Red, Black Vinyl Booklet 20 pages (Limited to 300 Copies)
- 2LP Gatefold Circle Translucent Red, White (Limited to 300 Copies)
 Band Store Exclusive:
- 2LP Gatefold Marbled Cristallo Gold Black (Limited to 300 Copies)
- 2LP Gatefold Marbled White Gold Black (Limited to 300 Copies)

Photo Credit: Cristian Danner

Indiana-based blackened thrash/speed metal quartet Wraith will unleash their sixth full-length, Descent Into Darkness, on 13th November via Prosthetic Records. Drawing inspiration from the brutality, chaos and human cost of World War I, the album sees Wraith turn their trademark breakneck attack towards the consequences of conflict, the warnings that go ignored and the uncomfortable parallels between history and the world we find ourselves living in today.

The first taste of Descent Into Darkness arrives with 'Final Warning', a furious opening salvo of pummelling drums, razor-sharp riffing and Matt Sokol’s savage vocals. Built around the ominous refrain “No final warning. Planet in mourning,” the track barrels through punishing riffs before detonating into a crushing breakdown and screeching final solo.

Watch Wraith’s 'Final Warning' video here: https://youtu.be/AoKwUoXDj8w 

Pre-order Descent Into Darkness here: https://wraith.ffm.to/descentintodarkness 

"It’s a story about ignoring warnings,” explains Sokol. “No matter what side of the political spectrum you sit on, very scary things are happening in the modern world. We’re acting as if it doesn’t really matter though. At the start of WWI, there were signs politically that everything was soured and mistakes were being made. Unfortunately, it led to one of the largest military conflicts ever. It’s a cliché, but history repeats itself. Don’t ignore the warning. If you do, it could be too late.”

Across Descent Into Darkness, Wraith channel the speed and raw aggression of classic thrash and speed metal through a darker, distinctly contemporary lens. The riffs come fast and filthy, the drums hit with relentless precision and Sokol’s vocals deliver every line with a hostile urgency. But beneath the sheer velocity is an album with something to say. Rather than treating history as distant or safely contained in textbooks, Wraith use the events of WWI to examine the patterns of human behaviour that continue to repeat, and what happens when warnings are ignored until there’s no way back.

“It’s relentless,” says Sokol. “It’s fast, but it’s simultaneously crushing and heavy. We always say, ‘We’re a no-gimmicks thrash metal band’. We try to make the live show as intense as listening to the record in your car really loudly. When we play, it’s lean and mean. We definitely let the music do the talking.”

Recorded during 2026 with co-producer CJ Rayson, Descent Into Darkness sees Sokol draw more directly than ever on his background as a historian and history teacher. Much of the album is rooted in WWI, with individual songs drawing from different battles, periods and perspectives from the conflict.

“I majored in history, and now I’m a tenth-grade history teacher,” he notes. “I find a lot of inspiration from certain eras, so Descent Into Darkness is heavily themed around WWI. Most of the songs pull from some battle or phase of conflict. Even the artwork depicts a battlefield with a reaper in the clouds. We’re telling stories from various perspectives. I’m interested in what these events were like for the people you don’t necessarily read about: the folks working in the mills or the soldiers who didn’t want to be there. I try my best to envision the experience within the music.”

That fascination with history and human experience gives Descent Into Darkness an added dimension, but the record remains unmistakably Wraith. Since forming, the Indiana quartet have steadily sharpened their blackened take on thrash across Wraith (2017), Heed the Warning (2018), Absolute Power (2019) and Undo the Chains (2021), the latter spawning fan favourites including ‘Dominator’, ‘Cloaked In Black’ and ‘Gatemaster’. Their 2024 album Fueled By Fear earned praise from Metal Storm, who called it “one of the most fun metal rollercoasters of this year,” while Blabbermouth declared, “For those who prefer their thrash to be enthusiastically blackened prior to consumption, Wraith are getting everything right.” Along the way, they have brought their ferocious live show to stages including Dynamo and toured alongside the likes of EXCITER and Midnight.

Now, with Descent Into Darkness, Wraith take everything that has defined them, speed, aggression, stripped-back songwriting and an unapologetic love of thrash and give it a darker purpose. “We’re doing our best to push the boundaries,” Sokol concludes. “I’m immensely proud of this body of work. We’ve matured, but it’s still a Wraith record.”

Wraith are:

Matt Sokol – vocals, rhythm guitar, leads
Mike Szymendera – drums, backing vocals
Chris Petkus – bass, backing vocals
Jason Schultz – rhythm guitar, leads, backing vocals

Wraith online: 
Facebook || Instagram || Prosthetic Records

Descent Into Darkness Track-listing:

1. Descent Into Darkness
2. Final Warning
3. Atomic Queen
4. Terminal Embrace
5. Over The Top
6. Misery And Malice
7. Lord Of Wolves
8. Chainscraper
9. No Man’s Land
10. Back In The Trenches

Photo Credit: Dom Delfino

New York metalcore quartet Downswing have unveiled their new single ‘At My Worst’, just as the band prepare to hit the UK for a run of live dates this September with Casey. And, somewhat ironically, the track finds the band sounding anything but. A potent collision of crushing riffs, huge hooks and visceral urgency, ‘At My Worst’ sees Downswing sharpen their melodic metalcore attack without sacrificing any of the weight or emotional intensity that has defined them since their formation in 2016.

Listen to ‘At My Worst’ here: https://downswing.ffm.to/atmyworst

The band explains, “‘At My Worst’ at its core is about the struggle to find and maintain balance in all aspects of life. Trying to chase the hopes and dreams you once saw yourself attaining, but not fully realizing what the true cost of that was and how it would impact other aspects of your life.”

Since forming in 2016, Downswing have steadily carved out their own space within the modern metalcore landscape, building their sound around groove, atmosphere and emotional weight. Early releases including the Dark Side of the Mind EP (2017) and Good Intentions (2020) established the band within the underground, while their reputation for intense, high-energy live performances continued to grow. The New Lows EP followed in 2022, with Let This Life Devour You arriving in 2024 and further expanding the band's sonic palette. Their most recent album, And Everything Was Dark, released via MNRK Heavy in late 2025, saw Downswing push that evolution further, combining gargantuan riffs and crushing breakdowns with expansive atmosphere, massive hooks and increasingly introspective songwriting.
With ‘At My Worst’, that progression continues. Heavy without becoming one-dimensional and melodic without ever losing its bite, the track captures Downswing at a point where aggression and accessibility sit comfortably side by side, delivering a song that hits hard but leaves plenty to chew on afterwards.

With ‘At My Worst’ now out in the world, Downswing will take their new material on the road this September, heading across the UK and Europe with a run of dates alongside Casey. Whether playing packed hometown rooms or winning over new audiences on the road, the band continue to build on everything that has brought them here, growth, expression and authenticity. Having weathered hardships, lineup changes, personal loss and the ever-shifting landscape of heavy music, Downswing have emerged more assured than ever in who they are and where they’re headed next.
Downswing tour dates:

 * w/ Casey

Sept 22 - London, UK, Scala*
Sept 23 - Glasgow, UK, Slay*
Sept 24 - Cardiff, UK, The Globe*
Sept 26 - Nottingham, UK, Billy Bootleggers
Sept 27 - Manchester, UK, Star & Garter
Sept 28 - Leeds, UK, Hyde Park Book Club
Sept 29 - Birmingham, UK, The Flapper
Oct 1 - Cologne, DE, Die Kantine*
Oct 2 - Saarbrucken, DE, Garage*
Oct 3 - Vienna, AT, Flex*
Oct 4 - Leipzig, DE, Werk 2*

Downswing are:

Nicholas Manzella - Drums
Harrison Seanor - Vocals
Anthony Salvaggio - Guitar
Christopher Arnold - Bass

Downswing online: 
Facebook || Instagram || TikTok || MNRK Heavy website