Nevertel have shared their first new music since debut album ‘Start Again’, in the form of the wickedly nostalgic ‘OTHERSIDE’.
Photo credit: Alex Benis
It comes ahead of the band’s upcoming UK and European tour, which kicks off in June.
Speaking on ‘OTHERSIDE’, the band’s Raul Lopez has shared:
“‘OTHERSIDE’ is where nostalgia meets creativity. It felt like we tapped into our younger selves and wrote riffs and experimented with guitars a lot more on this one. Sonically, our goal was to mesh early 2000’s grunge with hip-hop/electronic production. We even recorded organic sounds like zippers, crushed water bottles, stomps, and Jeremy beatboxing over the first verse of the song.”
They’ve also unveiled a music video for the track that finds the band in a dark, damp warehouse, threatened by a strange mob banging at the walls outside and fighting their way in.
Check it out below:
Nevertel will be heaving overseas for a headline tour this summer.
Take a look at the full list of dates below:
JUNE
10 – HRADEC KRALOVE Rock For People 13 – DONINGTON Download Festival 15 – GLASGOW Classic Grand 16 – NEWCASTLE The Clun 17 – LEEDS The Key Club 19 – MANCHESTER The Deaf Institute 20 – BRIGHTON Patterns 21 – LONDON Underworld 24 – DORTMUND FZW Club 25 – YSSELSTEYN Jera On Air 26 – LEIPZIG Impericon Festival 27 – MUNSTER Vainstream Rockfest 29 – STUTTGART Wizemann Studio 30 – WIESBADEN Kesselhaus
Words and interview by: Kyra Jade Coming up very soon in May, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls will be joining long time buddies Bowling For Soup on their Bowl Your Bones Australian Tour. Frank Turner graciously jumped on to chat with HEAVY MAG before making the long journey to our shores! Luckily this isn’t […]
Petrichor, the sixth full length album from Greece’s epic metal stalwarts Battlelore, commences with the sound of rain and an invitation to reflect. That word, “petrichor,” is a relatively new one (coined by scientists in 1964) but it marks a sensation as old as our ability to perceive it.
pe·tri·chor
: a distinctive, earthy, usually pleasant odor that is associated with rainfall especially when following a warm, dry period
The smell of fresh rain on dry ground; it’s a pleasant but portentous thing. We don’t always know what comes with rain, especially if it’s an infrequent guest. Anyone with four walls to call their own knows how much of our mental forces are marshaled toward finding ways to divert it from our doorstep. But we nevertheless bask in the smell of petrichor, appreciate it for what it is, and stiffen our backs to face what is to come.
Release date: April 24, 2026. Label: No Remorse Records.
I hope you’ll forgive me for taking that time to express to you how Battleroar’s latest feels before telling you how it sounds. Because beyond the genre specifics and production details, what I find most satisfying about Petrichor is that it seems to have a story to tell. One of bravery and daring deeds, yes, but also of weariness that borders on resignation before circling back to gratitude for the opportunity to step once more into the breach, my friends. For you see, I am a warrior, as are you.
To my ears, this is Battleroar’s most stout offering to date—a disposition you may be inclined to associate with American practitioners of this style—yet Petrichor also finds them sounding more European than ever. The compositions march with a heavy footfall, but I don’t hear swagger on the track, I hear something like resoluteness. Take for example “Atē, Hybris, Nemesis,” a mid-paced wanderer that really only embraces its inner berserker once a bit of chaos strikes at the 4-minute mark in the form of a storm-calling violin solo performed by newcomer Alex Papadiamantis. Here the song shakes itself awake with something like the urgency of a prizefighter tasting his own blood for the first time. Here we get that full-spectrum feeling of thunderous drums and galloping guitars. Here we get that subtle barometric shift from “something is coming” to “something is here.” Petrichor. Longtime fans of Battleroar oughta know that Petrichorfeatures the debut of vocalist Michalis Karasoulis. I don’t think I’m being too hyperbolic by describing Karasoulis’ performance as a significant departure from those logged by former vocalist Gerrit Mutz on Codex Epicus (2018) and Blood of Legends (2014). Mutz was game and gritty, but Karasoulis is, frankly, a fuckin’ killer. While not a paint scraper, he’s soulful, sturdy and emotive despite never sounding taxed by his vocal lines. You hear his full bag of tricks on mid-album highlight, “The Earth Remembers, The Rain Forgives.” The rich, weathered timbre of Karasoulis’ voice is one thing, his expansive range is another and yet another still is the cheek-piercing hook of the chorus’ vocal melody. It’s easily my most replayed moment on an album that offers more than a few. You’ll want to hear it, feel it, again and again.
If any fans are harboring suspicions that Karasoulis’ refinement might rob Battleroar of its rugged charm, I’d like to collegially suggest you just drop that. Because, here’s the thing, the instrumentalists in Battleroar have sharpened their game as well. On a song-by-song basis, this is some of the heaviest and most melodic work the band has put to wax. Memorable riffs abound (“What is Best in Life?” might have more “damn, I wanna learn how to play that” moments than any track I’ve heard this year).
The guitar leads throughout Petrichor are melodic but rarely ornate, and while Papadiamantis’ violin adds a dash of flash, his focus seems to be coloring in some emotional shades not present on the band’s earlier work. It’s not the time to definitively argue that this is the best Battleroar album, but they’ve put their noses to the grindstone to create an album that’s both technically accomplished and emotionally resonant. I think it’s something the band oughta be proud of and fans oughta embrace.
It’s notable to me that this is the first Battleroar album to be released since the passing of longtime mentor / collaborator Mark Shelton. Shelton’s Manilla Road is tops among Battleroar’s similar artists list on Metal-Archives.com, despite the fact that the two bands don’t really sound all that similar. Of course, Battleroar plays epic heavy metal, a style Shelton pioneered–but the connection is deeper than just that. Shelton means so much to so, so many because he told stories in his own voice. It’s why Manilla Road’s style could dramatically shift from one album to the next (stop to consider that Crystal Logic precedes Out of the Abyss by just five years) and fans would embrace the progression as nothing less than totally natural. Because it was Shark being Shark. Is Battleroar on that level? I have a feeling even founder and mastermind Kostas Tzortzis would slap me if I suggested such a thing. But they’re telling their own story, and they’re only getting better. The something that’s coming might already be here. Petrichor.
Interview by Ali Williams HOKKA are not easing their way into their new release. They are kicking the door off the hinges, draping the room in red capes and dark mythology, then having the nerve to make it all look effortless. Speaking with HEAVY, Joel Hokka comes across as the kind of frontman who has […]
The Xcerts have revealed everything you need to know about their upcoming album, the follow-up to 2023’s ‘Learning How To Live And Let Go’.
Photo credit: Sam Carter
Titled ‘i think i want to go home now’, it will be released on July 10 via FLG Records.
Voalist Murray Macleod had this to say about what the record represents for them:
“It was really time for us to band together and celebrate our friendship. We’re so proud that we’re still doing this, because we started the band 23 years ago. It’s astonishing really. This really is the purest Xcerts record there’s been since the first one. We dug really deep to discover what the defining sound of our band is and bled it all out”.
Take a look at the album’s artwork below:
To celebrate the announcement, the trio have also shared new single ‘pretty ugly’.
One of their heaviest offerings to date, Murray has spoken about the meaning behind the song:
“A nod to Scatterbrain but also heavily inspired by UK post hardcore bands like Kids Near Water and Tribute to Nothing whilst pushing the sound forward. Lyrically, it’s comically brutal. The vocals are borderline incoherent but that was intentional.”
“Another emotion I haven’t put in a song for a very long time is anger and at the time I found myself feeling very angry at the world. So this song takes a swipe at people who were criticising the band during a period when my family was going through a lot”
“The second verse is about my father and what he was going through after his cancer diagnosis. I reference the machinery that cut out my dad’s tumour, the Da Vinci XI, and also Van Gogh. ‘Maybe I’ll splatter my brains against the wall, then you can all dissect the art, I’ll do one better than Van Gogh and cut em both off.”
“The song is heavy in sound and heavy with emotion, so it was important to say something a bit left field because that’s what happens when you’re having an internal meltdown.”
Blues-infused alt rock duo When Rivers Meet embrace the future and refuse to give in to fear on the scorching video for defiant new single ‘The Script‘. ‘The Script‘ is OUT NOW on all digital platforms – here A rallying call for the would-be courageous, the second track culled from upcoming album ‘Rhythm Rust & […]
Last night (April 21), Electric Callboy took over California’s Kia Forum and surprised fans with a guest appearance from Sum 41‘s Deryck Whibley.
With the band performing their cover of Sum 41’s iconic hit ‘Still Waiting’ at their live shows recently and Frank Zummo currently behind the kit as their touring drummer, it was only a matter of time until it happened.
Joining the metal party starters on stage as confetti floated down around them, Deryck seemed on top form as he leant a helping hand on the rendition of his band’s 2002 single.
Speaking on their cover of ‘Still Waiting’, Electric Callboy have said:
“Sum 41 has been with us since our youth, and Still Waiting was one of those songs we grew up with. When Frank Zummo helped us out at the festivals in Australia, we spontaneously played the song live for the first time. When it became clear that Frank would be accompanying us on drums at the European festivals, the idea was born: we would go into the studio with him and record the song our way. It’s just crazy to work with someone whose band we used to celebrate so much. We hope you celebrate the song as much as we do!”
Check it out below:
Electric Callboy are set to release their new album ‘TANZNEID’ on August 07 via Century Media Records.
“When we rock together in denim and leather, we live forever!” That rallying cry from frontman Joel O’Keeffe sets the tone for Airbourne’s explosive new single Alive After Death (Last Plane Out) and the band’s next chapter. The track arrives alongside the announcement that Airbourne’s self-titled sixth studio album will be released on 28 August […]
Today, Tarja releases ‘I Don’t Care‘, the second single from her upcoming studio album ‘Frisson Noir‘. On thisuncompromisingly heavy track, she joins forces with Dani Filth, the iconic voice of Cradle of Filth, uniting two of metal’s most instantly recognisable and expressive voices. Tarja’s soaring soprano collides with Dani Filth’s razor-sharp screams, creating a striking […]
Words and interview by: Kyra Jade Coming up very soon in May, Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls will be joining long time buddies Bowling For Soup on their Bowl Your Bones Australian Tour. Frank Turner graciously jumped on to chat with HEAVY MAG before making the long journey to our shores! Luckily this isn’t […]
Longtime fans of Battleroar oughta know that Petrichor
Interview by Ali Williams HOKKA are not easing their way into their new release. They are kicking the door off the hinges, draping the room in red capes and dark mythology, then having the nerve to make it all look effortless. Speaking with HEAVY, Joel Hokka comes across as the kind of frontman who has […]
“When we rock together in denim and leather, we live forever!” That rallying cry from frontman Joel O’Keeffe sets the tone for Airbourne’s explosive new single Alive After Death (Last Plane Out) and the band’s next chapter. The track arrives alongside the announcement that Airbourne’s self-titled sixth studio album will be released on 28 August […]