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L.A. Guns will release a new live CD and DVD, Live From The Guild Theatre, on July 3 through Cleopatra Records.

The collection was recorded on July 10, 2025, at The Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, California, during a show celebrating the release of the band’s then-new studio album, Leopard Skin. The performance captures L.A. Guns running through a set packed with fan favorites, including “Electric Gypsy”, “One More Reason”, “The Ballad Of Jayne” and other staples from the band’s catalog.

To preview the release, L.A. Guns have shared the official music video for “Electric Gypsy”, the first single taken from Live From The Guild Theatre.

The lineup featured on the release includes vocalist Phil Lewis, guitarist and founding member Tracii Guns, bassist Johnny Martin, guitarist Ace Von Johnson, and touring drummer Shawn Duncan.

Released in April 2025, Leopard Skin marked L.A. Guns‘ return to Cleopatra Records, continuing the band’s productive run of recent releases.

Since forming in 1983, L.A. Guns have remained one of the key acts to emerge from the Sunset Strip hard rock scene. The band has sold more than six million records worldwide, with albums such as L.A. Guns and Cocked And Loadedearning gold certification. The latter included “The Ballad Of Jayne”, which became one of the group’s biggest hits, reaching No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 25 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

Through lineup changes and shifts in the music industry, L.A. Guns continued recording and touring throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Following their appearance at SiriusXM’s Hair Nation festival in 2016, the band entered the studio to record The Missing Peace, which became Frontiers Music Srl‘s highest-selling release of 2017. They followed that effort with The Devil You Know in 2019, another album that was well received by fans and critics alike.

With Live From The Guild Theatre, L.A. Guns offer a snapshot of the band’s current era while revisiting the songs that have kept them a fixture of the hard rock scene for more than four decades.

The post L.A. GUNS Shares Music Video For “Electric Gypsy” From Upcoming Live Album “Live From The Guild Theatre” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Cro-Mags – the iconic New York hardcore band led by frontman Harley Flanagan—have announced their debut on BLKIIBLK. The new track “Wired for Chaos” marks Cro-Mags’ first new music in six years and gives fans a taste of what’s to come. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/EXK-nvpMwb0?si=mNEZjjdFqsMZcKio “Wired for Chaos” – a title taken from last year’s… Continue Reading →

Meg Duffy and Emile Mosseri have both been prolific forces in modern music — Duffy as frontperson for Hand Habits and guitar hero for artists like Kevin Morby and Perfume Genius, Mosseri as an Oscar-nominated composer and member of the Dig — and those histories intertwine. Since meeting a decade ago in New York, the…

The post Hand Habits & Emile Mosseri Cover Ani DiFranco On New EP <em>Your Lemon</em> appeared first on Stereogum.

The first wave has been revealed.

The post Enslaved, Candlemass, Voivod, Etc. Lead 2027 ‘Maryland Deathfest’ Lineup appeared first on Theprp.com.

The unparalleled legacy of Emmylou Harris stands as one of the most transformative, genre-defining pillars in the history of American country, folk, and roots music. Emerging in the early 1970s as the essential vocal partner to the cosmic American music pioneer Gram Parsons, Harris quickly stepped into her own spotlight as a brilliant interpreter of songs and visionary bandleader. Blessed with a pristine, emotionally piercing soprano voice that can communicate profound heartbreak with the slightest fracture, she permanently reshaped the Nashville landscape. By surrounding herself with her legendary, virtuoso backing group, The Hot Band, Harris masterfully bridged the gap between

The post The Complete List of Emmylou Harris Songs From A to Z appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

I tend to get Bristol’s Froglord mixed up with all the other current bands with the word “Frog” in their names, but that always changes when I hit play on one of their tracks. When I do that, I’m like, “Oh right, this is the Frog band that kicks ass.” Their new single “Croak” is…

The post Froglord – “Croak” appeared first on Stereogum.

Raw energy meets uncompromising rock ’n’ roll: The Australian band C.O.F.F.I.N has been shaking up the international rock scene for over 20 years and is coming to Germany in the winter of 2026. C.O.F.F.I.N stands for “Children Of Finland Fighting In Norway”—it’s not really surprising that the four band members came up with this name… Continue Reading →

Since opining on thrash metal’s 2026 resurgence in Nukem’s The Grave Remains review, a steady stream of thrash clans have continued to trickle into the promo sump. Next up is Vancouver power trio W.M.D.,¹ short for When Minds Develop. Formed in 2015, W.M.D. unleashed debut Lethal Revenge in 2018 before losing all but one of their founding members—guitarist and vocalist Skyler Mills. After recruiting bassist Jon Power and drummer Ryan Idris in 2023, this wrecking crew set to write and record their sophomore opus Against All Warnings. Eight years is a long time between albums, and turning over nearly the entire band can radically shift its dynamics. Has W.M.D. cleared these hurdles and incubated weapons of thrash destruction, or do they deliver a new album Against All Warnings?

W.M.D. plays thrash the way the old school intended—breakneck and direct. Against All Warnings mostly reminds me of East Coast acts, specifically Overkill and Anthrax, due to the in-your-face attitude, low-frills precision, and spirited bass spunk. Although these benchmarks are most immediate, subtler influences surface by way of Megadethian technicality and razor-sharp riffing à la classic Exodus. I’d also be remiss not to mention Hyperia, which currently features Mills and Power while hosting Idris as their live drummer. Regardless, W.M.D. absorbs the thrash that came before and forges it into a sound all their own—and it rips.

Taking crossover’s blistering speeds and supercharging them with riveting performances, Against All Warnings rams oodles of riffs, grooves, and rolls into forty engrossing minutes. I’m a sucker for bass presence, and W.M.D. packs enough beef to induce a weeklong case of the meat sweats. Jon Power discharges his burly low-end throughout Against All Warnings, bouncing and clanging with the vim and vigor of Verni or DiGiorgio (“Kleptomania,” “The Thin Red Line”). Idris rounds out the rhythm section, nimbly whipsawing across the kit as he maneuvers through full-throttle barrages (“Against All Warnings,” “Painful Vengeance”), half-time chugs (“The Thin Red Line,” “Already Dead”), and herky-jerky stutter stops (“Post Human Predator”). Mills takes on the rest, laying down barbed hooks (“The Black Expanse”) and snotty vocals that recall Lich King and Havok. As the cherry on top, guests Casey Trask (“Post Human Predator,” “Painful Vengeance”) and Kai Sakaguchi (“Against All Warnings”) contribute scorching solos, ensuring there’s never a dearth of pyrotechnics. In all, there’s no weak link in the chain, and Against All Warnings bristles with thrashy vitality.

Nearly as impressive as W.M.D.’s onslaught is their elusion of critical flaws. Against All Warnings sidesteps major pitfalls as W.M.D. navigates the treacherous channels of thrash, dancing along the knife’s edge between the genre’s primary criticisms: unoriginal and retreaded compositions and unserious stylings. Rather, the trio plays infectiously vibrant metal with utter conviction, and I’m here for every second of it. This doesn’t mean the album is perfect, however, and some fine-tuning would elevate Against All Warnings even higher. First, penultimate track “Already Dead” lingers at the end, which would be more palatable if it were the finale. Instead, after a slightly prolonged fade of thunder, we’re given “Painful Vengeance.” Switching the order of these tracks or pushing “Painful Vengeance” even earlier would work better. Also, while the production is warm and organic, the album plays a little too quietly. It’s not an issue if I’m only listening to Against All Warnings, but its songs are noticeably muted when thrown into a playlist with other material. Still, these complaints prove minor quibbles compared to the indisputable boom W.M.D. unleashes.

Thrash detractors may not be convinced by Against All Warnings, but they should be. It’s impossible to deny the energy and conviction coursing through W.M.D.’s balls-out blitz, where relentless speeds, head-banging hooks, and rousing choruses embody W.M.D.’s full-tilt bonanza. Against All Warnings ensconces itself as the best thrash album I’ve heard so far in 2026,² and sets a high bar for the rest of the year. Somebody ought to sign these Canucks, because they’re peddling a potent brew that’s guaranteed to please, Warnings be damned.

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Rating: Great
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: June 5th, 2026

The post W.M.D. – Against All Warnings Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

With flickering flames and that familiar whiff of sulphur hanging in the air, DIMMU BORGIR have finally returned. Eight long years after Eonian, the Norwegians are back with Grand Serpent Rising, and the good news is that this doesn’t feel like a band trying to recapture former glory. Instead, it sounds like a band that knows exactly who they are and still has something to prove.

I’ve never been among those fans who dismissed everything DIMMU BORGIR released after Death Cult Armageddon, but I have to admit that Eonian never fully clicked with me. It had moments, plenty of them in fact, but too often the songs felt buried beneath layers of orchestration and studio wizardry.

Grand Serpent Rising works because the band have finally stopped burying every good idea under three more. The orchestral side is still there, but it no longer dominates everything in sight. More than once I caught myself focusing on the guitar work, which wasn’t always the case on Eonian.

Fredrik Nordström’s production helps. It’s big, obviously – nobody comes to a DIMMU BORGIR album looking for a raw rehearsal-room sound – but it never turns into a wall of indistinguishable noise. The riffs have definition, the drums crack when they need to, and Shagrath sounds like he actually means every word he’s barking.

“Ascent” was the first track that really grabbed me. It has that self-assured swagger DIMMU have always excelled at, somewhere between menace and theatre. “Ulvgjeld & Blodsødel” pushes in a similar direction, while “Slik Minnes en Alkymist” brings a colder mood that feels rooted in the band’s Norwegian identity rather than their symphonic excess.

I’ve seen a few people complain about the running time, and I understand why. Seventy minutes is a lot to ask from any listener. Yet the longer songs justify themselves better than I expected. “The Qryptfarer” and “The Exonerated” never feel like collections of disconnected ideas stitched together for the sake of sounding epic. Even “Gjǫll”, which easily could have overstayed its welcome, manages to hold attention until the final notes fade out.

Not everything lands perfectly. There are still moments where the band’s love of grandeur gets the better of them, and trimming five or ten minutes from the album probably wouldn’t have hurt. But those are relatively small complaints.

What surprised me most is how energized DIMMU BORGIR sound. This doesn’t feel like a veteran band going through familiar motions. It feels like a band that still has something to say. Whether it ultimately joins the ranks of Enthrone Darkness Triumphant or Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia is another question entirely, but it’s easily the most convincing thing they’ve released in years.

https://dimmuborgir.bfan.link/grandserpentrising

When the Egyptian pharaoh died leaving only an infant as his legal successor, the state needed a placeholder. This happened around 1479 BC, which places her reign roughly eleven hundred years after the Great Pyramid was built and fourteen hundred years before Cleopatra took the throne. Hatshepsut stepped in as the regent queen. Her job was to keep the seat warm and smile for the priests until the boy came of age. The political establishment expected a temporary babysitter to quietly step aside when the boy grew up. Hatshepsut seized absolute power and took the entire empire instead.

Taking control required bypassing a rigid political system that had zero framework for a female king. Hatshepsut systematically adopted the visual markers of absolute rule. She ordered her statues carved with the traditional ceremonial beard and assumed the formal male titles of the pharaoh. This was a calculated political hack. By checking all the religious and ceremonial boxes required by the state, she forced the elite class and the priesthood to recognize her absolute authority and legitimize her reign.

With her position secured, she pivoted the empire toward massive wealth generation. She abandoned the endless military campaigns of previous kings and directed her resources toward logistics and international trade. Hatshepsut funded an enormous naval expedition to the Land of Punt, located in the modern day Horn of Africa near Somalia. Her fleet returned loaded with raw gold, ivory, and live myrrh trees. Flooding the state with luxury goods stabilized the Egyptian economy and created a level of prosperity that made her untouchable by any political rivals.

Political power requires physical permanence. She launched one of the most aggressive building programs in Egyptian history to embed her rule into the landscape. Her mortuary temple at Deir el Bahari is a masterpiece of manipulation. She deliberately instructed her architects to build with slimmer multisided columns. This specific design was a direct copy of the older highly revered Middle Kingdom architecture built by Mentuhotep II right next door. She used ancient architectural styles to visually anchor her untraditional reign to a historic golden age and prove she belonged in the lineage of the great kings. She expanded this dominance to the Karnak Temple complex, erecting towering red granite obelisks heavily inscribed with her accomplishments. Two decades after she died, the political establishment tried to delete her. Thutmose III and his successors ordered her name chiseled out of stone monuments and smashed her statues to maintain the illusion of an unbroken line of male succession. The coverup failed completely. Her physical footprint was so deeply integrated into the infrastructure of the empire that archaeologists easily pieced her true reign back together.

Hatshepsut recognized that the system was built to keep people like her out. She learned the exact rules of her establishment and used those very protocols to bypass the gatekeepers and secure her authority. Once she had the power, she backed it up with undeniable economic results and monumental architecture that outlasted her tenure. When later rulers tried to erase her legacy from the historical record, her foundation was simply too massive for them to dismantle. That is how Hatshepsut dismantled centuries of rigid tradition, and it is the exact blueprint for taking control and excelling in a broken world today.

The post She’s In Charge: Hatshepsut’s Blueprint for Absolute Power first appeared on FemMetal – Goddesses of Metal.