Black/death whirlwind Belexum present their new track “Master of Masks” ahead of their forthcoming, self-titled, debut album, out this year.
Featuring members of Cloak, Mystic Priestess, Eteraz, and All Your Sisters. Belexum’s self-titled debut was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Sasha Stroud at Artifact Audio NYC and The Bone Zone PDX. Their debut will mark the first Transylvanian Recordings releases of 202666.
“I’m so sick of all the mid hardcore death metal and terrible slam nonsense that I’m going out of my way to stray away from pushing death metal; there’s only three bands I have agreed to work with in the genre for the next couple of years, and Belexum was a breath of fresh air” says Transylvanian Recordings label head Jimmy Rauh. “Just look at this insane cover by Devin Toye, it’s undeniably awesome! This album will also mark the fourth release I’ve done that Nicole Dunn was apart of, alongside Cloak, Mystic Priestess, and Rhizome, Nicole has also played in All Your Sisters and the black metal band Vaamatar.
‘This is a tiny preview of what’s to come; make sure to follow their page on here for more updates and news. We will be dropping this hammer very soon!!’
Jon Dee Graham, who passed away last Friday, was a paradox — gruff exterior, heart of gold. I’m pretty sure he liked it that way. He sang about the broken and the struggling, but he always managed to find a glimmer of hope somewhere in the story. The gruffness of his voice and his guitar […]
Bring Me The Horizon have released a video of Doomed from their L.I.V.E. In São Paulo concert film.
If you’ve not quite made it to cinemas yet to feast on the absolute masterpiece that is L.I.V.E. In São Paulo (Live Immersive Virtual Experiment), then fear not, because you can see their epic, emotional performance of the That’s The Spirit opener now.
The band have also announced a global 48-hour digital broadcast of the movie, powered by streaming company Kiswe. That takes place on April 10, and you can get your tickets now from watch.bmthofficial.com.
In our 5/5 review of the film, K! said that “what BMTH achieved in São Paolo with this movie is nothing short of sensational. The ambition, the creativity, the sheer scale of the whole thing simply highlights how they are operating on a different level right now. It’s the perfect encapsulation of the Horizon live experience and needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Just imagine what they’ll come up with next time.”
Eric Clapton has announced the return of his Crossroads Guitar Festival, set for September 26–27 at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. The 2026 edition marks the seventh installment of the festival and celebrates the 28th anniversary of the 1998 founding of the Crossroads Centre Antigua.
The two-day event will feature main stage performances and multi-artist collaborations from a wide range of guitarists spanning multiple genres. Clapton is scheduled to perform both nights.
Returning Crossroads veterans include Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr., Billy Gibbons, Buddy Guy, Sonny Landreth, John Mayer, Del McCoury Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Jimmie Vaughan. Making their Crossroads debuts are Trey Anastasio, Tommy Emmanuel, Julian Lage, and Pete Townshend.
Guitar Center will once again serve as the festival’s exclusive retail partner. The company will host The Guitar Center Experience at the venue, offering attendees access to gear, interactive exhibits, and a curated retail selection tied to the event. The exhibit will also showcase instruments from Guitar Center’s Legends Collection, including Eric Clapton’s 1956 Fender Stratocaster “Blackie,” the 1964 Gibson ES-335 he used during his time with Cream, and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 1965 Fender Stratocaster “Lenny.” Guitar Center will also induct an artist into its RockWalk during the festival. Pre-show admission to The Guitar Center Experience will open two hours before showtime each day for ticket holders.
Tickets go on sale Friday, April 3 at 10 a.m. local time. Additional information is available at crossroadsguitarfestival.com.
The full artist lineup, listed alphabetically, is as follows:
Trey Anastasio Joe Bonamassa Eric Clapton Gary Clark Jr. Tommy Emmanuel Billy Gibbons Buddy Guy Ben Haggard Sierra Hull Marcus King Sonny Landreth Julian Lage Taj Mahal Pedro Martins John Mayer Del McCoury Band John McLaughlin Keb’ Mo’ Dirk Powell Robert Randolph Kurt Rosenwinkel Daniel Santiago Tedeschi Trucks Band Pete Townshend Jimmie Vaughan Bradley Walker & Brothers of the Heart
“We are thrilled to welcome the legendary Eric Clapton and his Crossroads Guitar Festival to Moody Center. Out of the more than 380 concerts we’ve hosted since opening in 2022, this is poised to be one of the most iconic events ever to take place in our arena. It represents the very best of live music—bringing together world-class artists, passionate fans, and an unforgettable atmosphere right here in the Live Music Capital of the World,” said Michael Owens, SVP of Entertainment for Moody Center.
A Crossroads Centre Antigua booth will be set up at the event, where staff will provide information on the organization’s treatment programs and guidance for those seeking help with addiction recovery.
Scottish speed/black metal merchant James McBain dropped his latest Hellripper album, Coronach, last Friday. And if you’re anything like us, you can’t get enough of his Bathory-meets -Midnight approach to the genres. Well, you’re in luck because the Decibel Flexi Series is brining you even more Hellripper in the form of a pair of Zeke covers as an exclusive new single!
But if you want to hear Hellripper’s take on “Let’s Get Drugs” and “Mainline” you’re going to have to sign up for a deluxe Decibel subscription by Tuesday, March 31 at noon ET to ensure your copy. You don’t have much time before this offer is shot, so don’t blow it!
CHVRCHES played their first show in nearly three years at the Royal Albert Hall as support for My Bloody Valentine over the weekend, and made it a really special occasion with the debut of a new track.
Titled ‘Conman’, it finds the band in suitably ferocious form. A mashing together of deep bass, intoxicating refrains, and pattering synths, it’s a devilishly savage offering from a band that continues to push whatever boundaries they come across.
Before the song kicks into life, vocalist Lauren Mayberry, stated, “We haven’t played a show together, all of us here, for two and a half years, almost three years. I promised I’m not inside watching telly all the time, we have been making a record, and because this is a special night, we thought we would play something off that record.”
What a way to announce that something like this is coming, and what a way to set up what to expect from it.
The band released their last full-length album, ‘Screen Violence,’ back in 2021. Here is ‘How Not To Drown’ with the legendary Robert Smith of The Cure.
For now, members Martin Doherty and Jonny Scott are releasing a new album under their moniker The Leaving. Titled ‘Ultimate Buzz’, it will be released on April 24 via Avenue A / Futures ✦ / Virgin Records.
The run of Black Sabbath box-set brilliance draws to a close with the release of Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007–2009. Centred around Heaven & Hell and The Devil You Know, the final studio album with Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice, this release is poignant, as we know that, had the universe dictated otherwise and Ronnie had not passed in 2010, there would have been at least one more album to follow.
The Devil You Know would close this chapter of Black Sabbath. It is such a wonderful album, and it is prime Sabbath. “I think it was really sad,” Tony Iommi told MetalTalk on the red carpet at the world premiere of the DIO: Dreamers Never Die film. “We were really on a roll with The Devil You Know. We were touring, and we were really enjoying it. I remember talking to Ronnie when we were in Japan.”
Tony and Ronnie went for dinner one night. “We said, look, we’re not going to say we’re going to go for five years,” Tony says, “we will just try it and see where it goes. We were done with the tour, and we loved it. We enjoyed it. We were in this restaurant, and I said to Ronnie, ‘Do you fancy doing anything more?’”
Ronnie enthusiastically said yes. “We’ve got to do another album,” Ronnie told Tony.
“That was the plan,” Tony says. “That’s what we were going to do. Of course, you know, Ronnie didn’t make it. But it was going so well, and we had a great time being together. We loved working together. I loved working with Ronnie, go on the stage, and you know what he is going to do. He loved his audience and loved his fans, you know. Real genuine.”
From the opening drums of Appice, Atom And Evil delivers the slower doom sound that littered The Devil You Know. Dio’s layered vocals are powerful and pour out of the speakers with beautiful menace. Iommi is in riff heaven, and Butler and Appice underpin the song with the flair that know and love.
It is the opening to Bible Black that gives a lump in the throat. Dio’s emotion over the acoustic guitar is so definitive of the pairing, and when the band kicks in, the power from Ronnie is so tellingly unique.
The boxset has two Heaven & Hell live shows. The 2007 show from Radio City Music Hall has The Devil Cried and Shadow Of The Wind from The Devil You Know. It is the studio version of the former track, which is a massive standout.
Killer riffing from Tony Iommi seeps across the track, with Geezer’s unique bass style throbbing underneath, and Appice delivers the punch behind pace.
Listening back now, there is almost a Born Again album style to the guitar as the track powers to its close. There are no Lazy Sunday Afternoon vibes here. The music and lyrics are bleak in the style that Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell do, but it still, to this day, brings a smile to my face.
The Radio City show is awesome. After All (The Dead) menaces after the standard E5150 intro, before blasting into The Mob Rules. Ronnie’s voice was still amazingly powerful after all those years, and there is something of a celebration of the era in my ears as the launch into The Mob Rules.
The way Geezer’s bass rolls through the solo, Vinny Appice filling the drum patterns as Tony Iommi delivers a blistering solo, thrills in a way that few can match.
Throw in the live versions of Children Of The Sea and especially Lady Evil, and those ’80s memories return. The ’90s get a visit too, with Computer God sounding great. Now that was a great album and fantastic tour.
Radio City closes on Lonely Is The Word and Neon Nights. I can still remember the excitement back then, when I realised that the Heaven And Hell album closer was in the set. You had to go back to 1980 to hear that live.
Neon Nights, complete with Heaven And Hell refrain, completes the 2007 show and the closing applause, over two and a half minutes of it, and it has to be faded, reminds you that this was such a massive show.
The Devil You Know tracks Bible Black, Fear and Follow Tears make the Heaven & Hell set at Wacken Open Air Festival in 2009. Opening with The Mob Rules, the band were in great form, and Ronnie James Dio looked stylish with that wonderful wide-cuffed shirt.
Top of their game is an often-used phrase, but this set shows just how awesome the band were. This is certainly a wish I was there moment, as the 11-track set is a thing of audio beauty.
That both the Wacken and Radio City shows are included in the box set as a DVD is the icing on the cake. The bonus content, 30th Anniversary interviews and particularly the tribute to Ronnie James Dio, is emotional as it would only be a matter of months before his passing.
As with all the Sabbath boxsets, the accompanying reading material is impressive. The illustrated book with new liner notes by Hugh Gilmour, along with a replica tour book and poster, is fit for poring over with a glass of wine.
Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007–2009 matches the quality of all the Sabbath boxset reissues. It is a testament to the enduring legacy that Ronnie James Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice left.
That it was not planned to be their final hurrah does leave a certain sadness.
Does Tony think Ronnie is the greatest Heavy Metal vocalist of all time?
“I do,” Tony told MetalTalk. “He was great, and a lot of other Metal vocalists will say that as well. It was just so powerful. When I first heard him, I couldn’t believe that voice coming out. It was such an incredible voice.”
Breaking Out Of Heaven 2007–2009 is out now via BMG. The Heaven & Hell retrospective celebrates Dio’s third act with members of Black Sabbath over 4CD/Blu-ray and 7LP boxed sets. Each can be ordered via heavenandhell.lnk.to/breakingoutPR.
