A chorus “that even your tonedeaf grandma can sing along to” is how Niklas Stålvind introduces WOLF’s latest single. Released today, “Walpurgis Night” follows “Death Satellite” and “Waltz Post-Mortem” as the third preview of the Swedish band’s tenth studio album, Hour of the Wolf. The album is announced for 20 November 2026 through Fireflash Records. […]
Think of Boss Keloid, and clever, carefully crafted sludgy music comes to mind. Entertaining for sure. I remember spending a brief couple of moments in their company at 2021’s Damnation Festival, interviewing them in the bowels of Leeds University, having frustratingly missed their set due to another interview.
They had released Family The Smiling Thrush a few months before, an album that was epic in many ways and one that rightly featured in many end-of-year lists. It is time to revisit that soon too.
Another band I lost sight of in the continued flood of new music, their sixth album reminds me why Boss Keloid were on the playlist for much of 2021.
Boss Keloid – Float & Aperture: One Of 2026’s Most Immersive Albums
Now much more progressive rock than sludge, although they retain some of those mucky elements, Float & Aperture is expansive, creative, and blends genres to the extent it is almost impossible to add labels. Just the way it should be.
Their sound remains familiar. Even after years without hearing them, the crunch on Pedestal brings their tone flooding back. Gentle enough to interest those with the lighter aural palate, but with enough bite to interest fans of a heavier persuasion, the seven tracks on offer allow you to explore and indulge.
There are parts where this is almost a jazz breakdown. There are moments on Pedestal, the nine-minute-plus sonic highways of Landslide and Weight, where you wonder if this could be just a magnificent jam session that just happened to be recorded. Such is the organic nature of how Boss Keloid express themselves in their music.
Perhaps the greatest thing about Float & Aperture is that it is both a warm old friend and an interesting new acquaintance. There is something here to capture the interest of all.
And then there are the emotions which are carved in the lyrical content. Alex Hurst weaves the intensity into songs that draw on personal experience, life challenges and situational outcomes. Whilst we all know these moments, to draw them into the intricate webs that Boss Keloid spin is impressive.
“The lyrics to Pedestal explore both the positive and negative sides of isolation, as well as its causes and effects,” Hurst says. “The song also contains a 10-year-old riff from the Keloid archive we finally found a way to use properly.”
Hurst’s delivery ranges from the gruff Neil Fallon to the higher and more melodic Eddie Veder style. His span is wide, and he gives it everything.
Behind this cracking album is a change in the band’s approach to writing. Opening with a more collaborative approach has worked magnificently.
Just take a listen to the closing song, Sanguine. It is full of character and represents the latest in the band’s 15-year-plus career. “We wanted to challenge ourselves and each other more than ever during the writing process for this album and developed a completely new way of working together as a result,” xxx says.
“Our writing process was more collaborative, experimental, and challenging than ever. We encouraged each other to tap into our musical and personal influences, as well as life experiences, to generate ideas.
“We wanted more focus and enjoyment around the interplay and dynamics between melody and rhythm, and a better clarity and balance between our instruments and parts. We couldn’t be happier with the result and believe this is our strongest work to date.”
Deeply personal, yet openly accessible, this is an album that will keep giving for months to come. “Embracing life, rolling with the punches and the waves of beauty, and not being afraid to channel and express those experiences through art, music, love, anger and wisdom. Experience tells a story if you don’t mind sharing it.”
Alongside Hurst, Ste Arands, Paul Swarbrick and Liam Pendlebury-Green have created one of the most enjoyable and immersive albums of 2026.
Clearly and rightly proud of their work, Boss Keloid may well have brought their best yet. With Church Road Records on their side, this is one brilliant piece of work.
Boss Keloid release Float & Aperture on 23 October 2026. For more details, visit Church Road Records here.
Today, Germany-based alternative metal band SEVEN BLOOD have shared their brand-new single ‘Kill Switch’. The track delivers a powerful mix of alternative rock, metal, and metalcore, tackling crucial themes such as female independence, empowerment, mental health, and the raw rage following a toxic breakup.
Lyrically, the track is a clear statement against societal expectations: they powerfully push back against labels like ‘too loud’ or ‘hysterical’ and celebrate breaking free from restrictive patterns. The raw musical energy is reflected in lines that make it clear this newly found strength can no longer be shut down. The song serves as a reminder to recognise your own strength and not to be intimidated by the fear of others when standing up for yourself. “There’s no kill switch.”
“’Kill Switch’ was born out of pure exhaustion from shrinking myself to make others comfortable,” explains lead singer Azaria Nasiri. “To anyone who’s ever been told they take up too much space: this is your anthem. There is no kill switch anymore. It’s our turn now.”
Produced, mixed, and mastered by Andreas Hartmann, the high-energy track features driving instrumentals and deeply emotional vocals ranging from tears of rage to passionate demands for more. ‘Kill Switch’ powerfully demonstrates that SEVEN BLOOD are ready to relentlessly forge their own path and make no compromises.
SEVEN BLOOD will kick off their 2027 with two huge tours. The first a German run with critically acclaimed alternative artist RØRY and the second is a big twenty-two date tour with US metalcore favourites Memphis May Fire and Swedish quartet Dead By April, where SEVEN BLOOD appear as special guests. Tickets are available now for all shows. See a full list of upcoming dates below and find more information here.
Ancient seas, floods and the shifting course of the Demer provide the inspiration for OERHEKS’ debut album, De Stroom. Across four tracks and approximately 41 minutes, the Belgian black metal project explores water’s relationship with the landscape of Cagghenvinna, the Demer valley and the Hageland region. The album arrives on 24 November 2026, with Amor […]
VICIOUS, the solo project from Thornhill’s Jacob Charlton, has shared a new track, showcasing the decadent depths of alternative pop they are willing to descend to.
The song is titled ‘Capulet’ and serves as the second release from the project, following on from 2025’s ‘Opium’.
Musically, it’s clear what elements of the project exist within the Thornhill universe, but even more clear the elements that have been waiting for their chance to shine in a vessel such as this.
A blend of woozy synths, sultry beats and gorgeously emotive refrains, it’s a song that allows Jacob’s voice to be the centre of attention. Pulling from the catchiness of modern pop as much as the experimentation at the core of RnB, it’s a stunning step into a new world.
Jacob had this to say about the roots of the project:
“At its core, this project is an exhale, a way to let the unfiltered sounds in my head spill out beyond any boundaries. It is about creating art alongside close friends, stepping into a space of comfortable tension, and gently cultivating a tight-knit community bound together by the spirit of VICIOUS.
Having cultivated this sound since my earliest years after high school, refining it required patience to unearth its true resonance within my own ever changing taste. Unbound by any single genre, the creative process has been guided simply by intuition, following each vision of inspiration while remaining open to evolution, knowing that the journey often reshapes the final sanctuary. To release it now feels like the weight I’ve been carrying has suddenly lifted off my shoulders.”
And here is ‘Opium’, so that you are all caught up:
New single ‘False Gods’ by witch rock artist Annicke Shireen takes a different route into the heavier themes of her upcoming debut solo album DELIRIUM (out Friday, the 13th November 2026). The track has a catchy, almost pop-driven groovy foundation, with prominent drums and bass carrying the song forward. It sounds energetic and accessible while carrying a more cynical and quite relatable message underneath as it deals with the experience of going through therapy and personal growth, then returning to everyday life and noticing how many of the same toxic patterns remain unchanged.
Watch the official music video for ‘False Gods’ here Pre-order DELIRIUMhere Early digital release on Bandcamp on 23rd October, 2026 here
One of ‘False Gods’ defining musical details is the shift from D minor in the verses to D major in the chorus. Annicke deliberately used the change to create the cynical feeling of having “big feelings but make it positive.” The catchy surface of ‘False Gods’ is therefore part of its character: the music pulls you in before the disillusionment underneath becomes clear.
Annicke Shireen about ‘False Gods’: “We put so much faith in people, systems, and ideas because we want something to hold on to, but then we learn and change, and we begin to see things differently. Once we’ve done that internal work, the outer world doesn’t always accommodate us in the way it once did because it hasn’t changed with us.”
Tracklist: 1. Paper Skin Rite 2. Heresy 3. Come To Light 4. False Gods 5. How To Cure A Feeling 6. Not Your Mother 7. Loud Hag 8. To Belong 9. The Circle 10. Queendom
Upcoming live dates: Oct 14, 2026 – Online – Listening Party Oct 23, 2026 – Ede NL – Astrant Oct 31, 2026 – Capelle aan den IJssel, NL – Capsloc Nov 12, 2026 – The Hague, NL – Grey Space (record release show)
Line-up: Annicke Shireen – Vocals Davy Knobel – Guitars Jos Driessen – Bass Wouter Macare – Drums & Percussion Kati Rán, Anna Baumann – Backing vocals
HOSTILIA have released their second album, The Curse of Khamun, today, 23 October 2026, through Hammerheart Records. The nine-track record is available on CD, LP and digital platforms. It follows last year’s debut, Face the Fire, continuing a period that has taken the Gothenburg thrash band onto stages alongside The Haunted and Dismember. Founded in […]
The Smashing Pumpkins frontman discusses his embrace of pop stars like Sombr and Olivia Rodrigo, his passion for guitar rock and has a few choice words for those who dismissed it.
