Patti Smith, David Byrne, Youssou N’Dour and other artists remember the performances, chance meetings and rainouts of the concert series that has defined New York City summers.
There’s still a tendency for people to raise an eyebrow when Kiefer Sutherland’s name appears on a gig poster. Nowadays, it’s more in a sense of “Oh, yeah, he does music, too,” rather than a “This should be interesting…” It’s great to be back in KK’s, somehow, for the first time this year. With a … Continue reading Gig Review: Kiefer Sutherland / Colin Andrew – KK’s Steel Mill (14th May 2026)
Let’s be honest for a second. When you hear that Karnivool is touring, your ears instantly prick up. They are the undisputed kings of Australian progressive rock, a band that makes complexity sound like second nature. But when the tour announcement dropped, the words Car Bomb and TesseracT were slapped on the bill alongside them, […]
Indonesian melodic post-black metal band Finsmoonth will release their sophomore album, Chrysalis of Astral Tears, on June 13, 2026, through Disaster Records. The album will be available in CD format. The new record is shaped around vulnerability, inner fracture, loss, hope, and the slow transformation of pain into light. Across six tracks, Finsmoonth guide the […]
Geoff Tate – Operation: Mindcrime Part III (Self Released)
20 years since Part 2 and 38 years since the influential Part 1, Geoff Tate returns with the third part of his conceptual magnum opus Operation: Mindcrime. In case you didn’t know Operation: Mindcrime, by Queensryche is seen as one of the most important concept records in progressive music history up there with The Wall it’s a dystopian tale of “political manipulation, revolution, and identity.”
It features tracks that are considered classics and much the same way Roger Waters did with The Wall, when he left Pink Floyd, Geoff Tate has made it his mission to adopt Operation: Mindcrime as being the foundation of his solo career. This means that both Queensryche and Tate perform songs from this album right and as we speak Tate is on a tour playing the album in full for the last time.
In 2006 just before he left the band they released a second chapter of the record but it didn’t quite hit the heady heights of the first record, inspired by The Bush era, it reshaped some of the lore while adding more.
So what about Part III, the first released under Tate’s name alone? Well he returns to the world of Mindcrime with a record that has the spirit of the first one. The advancement of technology and current American culture all influencing the story this time round as it takes the perspective of Dr X, the originals main antagonist, perhaps making you re-evaluate the character after all these years.
While he may not quite have the highs he did then, Tate is still a great vocalist, embodying the characters fully to tell these stories with drama and pathos of a thespian, his biggest influence being Tom Jones when delivering power in the lows and mids. He’s joined by the excellent vocals of Clodagh McCarthy as Sister Mary.
The band are also highly skilled; Kieran Robertson, Dario Parente, and Amaury Altmayer sharing the guitars, as Robertson and Tate take keys and bulk of the writing too, Rich Baur is a star behind the kit while bass and production comes from Disturbed’s John Moyer, his groove powering Set You Free.
The music is the right mix of progressive metal, on I’ll Eat Your Heart Out and You Know My Fu*king Name, introspective balladry from Do You Still Believe, tinged with electronics, and anthemic choruses on The Answer and Power.
Operation: Mindcrime III then. It was never going to surpass I, but it is better than II, so if you’re a Tate fan, or even a Queensryche loyalist, you’ll get a lot out of it too. 8/10
Cyhra – Requiem For A Pipe Dream (Reigning Phoenix Music)
It’s been 10 years since Swedish supergroup Cyhra formed, an alliance between, vocalist Jake E (ex-Amaranthe) and guitarist Jesper Strömblad (The Halo Effect/ex-In Flames), they were joined by drummer Alex Landenburg (Kamelot), guitarist Euge Valovirta (Suburban Tribe) and bassist Peter Iwers (The Halo Effect/ex-In Flames).
They’ve released three records but the line up today sees Iwers having departed as Valovirta and Strömblad playing bass in the studio, adding Marcus Sunesson (Ronnie Atkins) as another guitarist. Valovirta also plays the keys and co-produces alongside Jake E.
So album four seems Cyhra as a well honed veteran unit, on this record, they’re looking to cement who they are, more ferocious, bigger, bolder but more vulnerable and melodic, there’s no room for compromise or slavish following of what’s hot and what’s not, Requiem For A Pipe Dream is an album more collaborative than any previously, each member bringing influence from their previous alliances into Cyhra.
This chemistry can be heard on track such as Ghostbound where the anthems of Amaranthe merge with the double blast of In Flames, the electronic creepiness comes in on Miss Me When I Gone, it’s melodic metal with a harder edge and some shifts that may take you by surprise. In The Centre Of A Miracle is an emotive Euro-ballad while Skin From Bones takes breakdowns and puts them with some rap vocals.
Though for many the style they’d want from Cyhra is bonus track Hold Your Fire which features Samy Elbanna from Lost Society. Requiem For A Pipe Dream has Cyhra roaring back with their most cohesive and diverse record yet. 8/10
Erik Grönwall – Bad Bones (Greenwall Entertainment)
Erik Grönwall is a bit of melodic rock superstar, he’s been the voice of H.E.A.T, Skid Row and Michael Schenker, so a set of pipes that’s in demand and he’s finally doing something for himself with the release of Bad Bones.
A solo record where he can put wrote the songs he wants bringing his brilliant vocals to what is fully his own music rather than stepping into the shoes of someone else. He describes it like so “it’s time to tell my own story”, Bad Bones a personal and honest record that follows it’s own path.
So what kind of performer does Erik want to be outside of other people’s bands? Well he seems to stick to the melodic rock style, from the bouncy title track, the stomp-clap of Save Me, through the Scorpions strut of Twisted Lullaby, to emotional balladry of Praying For A Miracle and Written In The Scars.
However there’s even forays into Queen/Broadway on Who’s The Winner Now and blues on the hip shaking How High, all slickly produced, performed well and sung with that skill that sees him as a go to voice for so many classic bands, Bad Bones shows what Erik Grönwall can do when left to his own devices. 7/10
Leatherwitch – First Spell (Listenable Records)
Heavy metal lives in the heart of Marta Gabriel, the ex-frontwoman of Crystal Viper, she’s a very in demand session musician and has turned these skills into her new project Leathewitch.
A solo record, Marta writes/sings/plays/produces everything on First Spell, with Giuseppe Taormina adding guitar solo. It’s very much the creation of Marta, paying homage to her influences through her keenly trained heavy metal instincts.
Erupting with metallic power, Heroes And The Dice, is inspired by D&D with classic metal melodies, while Beast Inside is precision speed metal, Bound By The Night and Silver Stallions both have Maiden gallops.
It’s not all full speed ahead as The New Beginning slows it down for some metal balladry as the 80’s metal sound returns for Two Tons Of Steel, continuing right through to a very true cover to Walls Of Jericho/Ride The Sky by Helloween.
Anyone who has heard anything that Marta Gabriel has been involved in, will find no surprises on First Spell, but a whole load of heavy metal worship from one of the genres most loyal warriors! 7/10
If you like Amorphis, Swallow The Sun, Insomnium, etc, then the third album from Fires In The Distance, the impressive quartet from Newington, Connecticut, should right up your street. Six songs that stretch over close to 50 minutes means long epic pieces that provide ample opportunity to flex both the mind and body. The latter is in some of the dynamic musicianship on offer, the former in some of the subject matter to which the band connect.
“Our music comes from raw feeling,” said founding guitarist and songwriter Yegor Savonin. “Each new record depicts a different experience and time period in our lives, with which the sound and atmospherics evolve and reflect this as well.”
Fires In The Distance – Circadian Promise – It really is an album to immerse yourself in
It really is an album to immerse yourself in, and I probably have not given myself enough time to really get deeply involved. However, there is no problem enjoying the quality here on the behemoth of a collection of tracks.
Mid-album sees Lightless Days Of A Songless Bird, a gargantuan piece that has a title which fits the genre so well, but which is so well balanced that you cannot help but play it over again. Huge riffs, melancholic passages and epically soaring soundscapes all wrapped up in a majestic nine minutes. A huge song amongst a collection of massive tracks indeed.
Utilising keyboards and synths to add texture and layers to their songs, Fires In The Distance’s sound is refreshing in the world of Melodic Death Metal.
“This album is a little bit darker than the others,” explains Yegor Savonin. “It delves into the concept of spiritual death and losing your soul while still living and explores the existential concepts of accepting and coming to terms with and embracing the bleaker side of realities which we will all face at one point or another.”
By This Time Tomorrow sees guest Johan Reinholdz, of Dark Tranquillity / Andromeda, provide some searing lead work on a track that also has an unusual change of tempo mid-song.
A personal song to Savonin, it resonates deeply. “It’s essentially about a grieving process and letting go of something that was a huge part of your life. Also, understanding that sometimes, when you’re completely broken, shattered, no one’s gonna be there for you, not because of apathy but circumstance. Accepting that, being okay with it, and moving on.”
Guttural vocals dominate, but the cleans take on a huge part of the freshness here. Once The Silence Takes Your Place is a case in point, with the delivery of new vocalist Brendan Hayter (guitar/additional lyrics) and bassist Craig Breitsprecher (backing vocals) raging over the delicate melodies that cascade across the dynamic passages. It’s all anchored by Jordan Rippe’s solid drumming.
This is not a jolly record. “Circadian Promise ruminates on mental health, existentialism in the form of mortality salience, and perseverance, but this time with a focus on seeking acceptance of the inevitable (including aging and death among the “circadian promises” of the title). Yet there’s a sense of optimism, albeit challenging, in its quest for solace through realism”.
Aided by a clean production from longtime producer Dave Kaminsky and Randy Slaugh, this is a bleak yet uplifting release that should propel Fires In The Distance to the next level.
With touring planned, they are a band to keep an eye and an ear out for as the year pans out.
Fires In The Distance release Circadian Promise on 12 June 2026 via Prosthetic Records. For more details, reach out to the band on Bandcamp.
NECROMONGER opens the crypts once again with “Bloody Picasso”, the third advance single taken from their upcoming debut album “Emanation of the Dying Perceptions”. If the previous singles already hinted at the sickening nature of this new Bulgarian entity, “Bloody Picasso” delves even deeper into its universe of horror, decay, and mental decomposition. […]
Let’s be honest for a second. When you hear that Karnivool is touring, your ears instantly prick up. They are the undisputed kings of Australian progressive rock, a band that makes complexity sound like second nature. But when the tour announcement dropped, the words Car Bomb and TesseracT were slapped on the bill alongside them, […]
