Evilean have released their third single, “Damzel of Death.” The track is written from a first-person perspective, centering on the life of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, and the systemic failures that preceded her actions. By shifting the focus toward the impact of long-term trauma, they challenge the standard narrative surrounding her judgment. The single is available now on all streaming platforms.
The project is built on the foundation of 90s death metal, characterized by a dense, suffocating atmosphere and a relentless mechanical drive. They avoid modern over-production in favor of a heavy, biting sound that mirrors the aggression of the genre’s early underground era. This release follows their previous singles, “Lost Cause” and “Bitchcntscumfck,” further establishing their identity through intense, vocal-led storytelling.
These three tracks are part of their debut EP, Exhumation Evilean, which is set for a full release on April 3rd.
Joe Bonamassa announces a new Rory Gallagher tribute album, Kenny Wayne Shepherd celebrates 30 years of Ledbetter Heights, plus new music from Robert Jon and the Wreck and Ghalia Volt.
Tickets for the Wacken Open Air are available here.
On April 18th, 2026, 35 Wacken warm-up concerts will rock the globe! Almost 24 hours will pass between the first show in Japan and the last in Mexico, all of them filled with the best heavy metal music, with celebrating fans coming together for this special event. A live experience carried by the legendary Wacken spirit.
The worldwide party is being organized by various promoters from the global community of the Wacken Metal Battle, the festival’s own band competition, which now includes 102 participating nations. Promoters from 35 of these countries have joined forces for the Wacken anniversary to celebrate the worldwide warm-up party.
“The core idea is to bring the world together and unite it through what we love most: music! That’s what the Metal Battle community stands for, that’s what we stand for, and that’s what Wacken Open Air has represented since day one,”emphasizes festival founder Thomas Jensen.
In Germany, the warm-up will be celebrated at Hamburg’s Betty club starting at 8 p.m. The Boston-based band Lansdowne will bring their hook-driven, energetic rock to the Hanseatic city. The international event “One World One Stage” is being organized by Salman U. Syed, who is responsible for the Metal Battle at W:O:A and has been shaping the global networking of the scene for years.
(Phantom Excaliver – Photo Credit: WOA Festival GmbH)
“The sense of unity within the metal scene is strong worldwide, and bands as well as promoters in the individual countries immediately threw themselves into setting a powerful sign of unity while celebrating 35 years of Wacken Open Air together with us!”
The event in Hamburg on April 18th, therefore, seamlessly joins the global chain of parties. The event stands for unity, passion, and heavy metal without borders.
Tickets and further information about the warm-up parties around the globe are available here.
Additionally, impressions from the shows in all participating countries will be shared during the day via the social media channels of the Wacken Open Air. #oneworldonestage
Each country will present bands in a club selected by the local Metal Battle promoters.
For example, in Canada, Toronto, ON’s The Garrison will host the 2018 Canadian battle champions, Centuries of Decay as guest headliners for the Ontario Final along with Toronto round winners Dawn Vally, Gravearth, and Misothronos. More info here.
And in the USA, Tampa Bay, FL’s The Brass Mug will host the Southeast Regional Final with Endera (Savannah, GA), Nocturnal Dawn (Orlando, FL), Esca (GA / SC), ENDURUS (Tampa, FL), Dead Alive (Nashville, TN), Ramtha (St. Petersburg, FL) with guest co-headliner Psykotribe (Tampa, FL) and headliner Malevolent Creation (Tampa, FL). More info here.
In Tokyo, Phantom Excaliver will perform alongside three other Japanese bands. The musicians won the Wacken Metal Battle in 2023 and joyfully accepted their prize, after their singer briefly fainted. “The line-up at our warm-up party brings together the history, present, and future of the Japanese metal scene,” says Yutaro Shindo, Japan’s Metal Battle promoter.
Organizer Raúl Saavreda from Bogotá is also eagerly anticipating the event in his hometown: “Our warm-up party will be insane! With Tribute2Wacken, the first tribute band dedicated to a festival will perform — playing only songs devoted to the Wacken Open Air.” Additional tribute bands will perform highlights of British Heavy Metal. Saavreda is also the founder of Wacken Latinos, an association of Latin American fans who visit the Holy Ground in northern Germany every year. “A year without W:O:A is unimaginable for me,” he states. “When I first went there in 2019, Wacken changed my life. On the fields, I recharge my batteries — it’s a special time when I reunite with friends and fully devote myself to metal. The festival is my religion.”
Stjepan Juras from Zagreb confirms that most globally active promoters share similarly close ties to W:O:A. The respected music manager, author, and Iron Maiden expert represents Wacken Open Air and Metal Battle in his native Croatia, where he also organizes the warm-up party. “Wacken is not just a festival. The spirit and the community set it apart from other festivals. That’s also thanks to founders Thomas Jensen and Holger Hübner, who celebrate among their fans, maintain close contact with visitors, and are truly part of the scene.”
Since the very beginning, the motto of both W:O:A organizers has been “By fans for fans!” and that naturally applies to the 35 warm-up shows on April 18, 2026, as well. “Normally, Wacken welcomes the world,” says founder Holger Hübner. “On this day, it’s the other way around: the world welcomes Wacken and together we celebrate a global heavy metal party.”
Tickets for the Wacken Open Air are available here.
Dutch band Bragolin know their way around a dance floor as if it were lit by candlelight, fireflies, and dread. On their latest full-length album, I Don’t Like What It Does to Me, Edwin van der Velde takes the familiar pleasures of darkwave and post-punk and draws them into something stranger and more enchanted, giving the record the air of a fable told at midnight and scored for the club. The hooks arrive fast, the atmosphere never loosens its grip, and the songs move with a furtive elegance, as melody and menace circle each other like figures glimpsed through smoke and ritual light.
The album’s opener, Not All Are Real comes tearing out of the gate with the kind of fear that makes your spine sit up straight. The premise is simple and nasty: something false has slipped among the living, and by the time anybody notices, it may already be too close. Bragolin drives that paranoia hard, with post-punk guitars that cut clean and cold while the rhythm section keeps the thing stalking forward. There is a grand sweep to it, too, especially with the string section entering the frame, and that added scale gives the song lift.
I Run and Hide pulls a sly move by stripping out guitars entirely and building the whole engine from layered Clavinets, a choice that gives the track a clipped, obsessive tension from the start. There is an 80s ballad mood tucked into its frame, bringing to mind Pink Turns Blue. The arrangement stays lean, all momentum and nerve, mirroring the lyric’s cycle of flight and avoidance as it circles tighter and tighter, until panic begins to feel less like an episode than a structure you live inside.
Elsewhere, the record opens its coat, revealing a few extra daggars. Feel This Flame Unfold, featuring Carrellee, is a lovely surprise, a duet that moves with grace and a little ache (saluting the older goths whose bodies may be less cooperative than they were twenty years ago), while the urge to disappear into lights and smoke remains gloriously intact.
Tar With Salt Foam, inspired by The Lighthouse, brings in the stink of sea air and shipwrecked nerves, with coldwave bass synth and Bass VI pushing against organ tones and field-recorded textures.
I Salute You Ancient Ocean brings Isolde Woudstra into the fold, her spoken word presence gliding over an 80s-inspired psychedelic dance track with an easy air of ceremony. Beneath it, a disco beat kicks up just enough heat to suggest a touch of Grace Jones and the blissed-out lift of Q-Feel’s Dancing In Heaven, giving the song a curious, ecstatic glow.
Then there is This Presence Like a Breeze, which may be the clearest statement of Bragolin’s particular magic. The song turns a woodland into a psychic trap, with some unseen terror making itself known through motion, breath, and pressure. In This Lightless Hall heads inward instead, toward burial, echo, and the peculiar solace of surrender, with subtle trip-hop elements giving the song a slow, sinking poise. By the title track, the album is staring straight into the rot at the center of the self and reporting back without flinching.
I Don’t Like What It Does to Mehas movement, menace, and a wry sparkle in its eye. Bragolin sound fully locked in here, drawing from gothic dance music, horror film mood, and post-punk muscle without getting trapped by homage. This is a record for people who like their pleasure with a little poison in it, and Bragolin serve it up generously.
Play it loudly! Listen to I Don’t Like What It Does To Me below and order the album here.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is marking three decades of Ledbetter Heights the way it deserves: by going back in and recording the whole thing again.
The 30th anniversary re-recording of his 1995 debut arrives 05/08, and to mark the announcement Shepherd has released lead single “Deja Voodoo” across all streaming platforms. A national tour celebrating the milestone is already underway, with the band playing the album in full each night — something that, remarkably, never happened even during the original release cycle.
“This is the album that put me on the map, and I still enjoy listening to it because my goal has always been to make music I want to listen to,” Shepherd says. “Unfiltered and straight from the heart.”
The original Ledbetter Heights came out when Shepherd was 18, recorded while he was still splitting time between high school in Louisiana and sessions in Memphis. Signed by Irving Azoff at 16, he wrote or co-wrote the majority of the material — no small thing for a teenage blues guitarist at the time. The album was named in honour of a historic neighbourhood in his hometown of Shreveport, paying tribute to blues legend Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter.
It moved quickly. Ledbetter Heights went Gold within months and earned Platinum certification by early 1996, spending 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart. Guitar World ranked Shepherd the third-best blues artist in the world at the time, behind only B.B. King and Eric Clapton.
The re-recording doesn’t attempt a reinvention. The 12-song sequence is intact, and Shepherd returned to his original 1995 rig for the sessions to keep the sonic foundation consistent. The differences are ones of craft rather than concept: arrangements are more considered, the guitar work more deliberate, and the performances shaped by three decades of playing these songs live.
“Before I could identify with the lyrics, I always could identify with the feeling of the blues,” he says. “When you pour your heart out, everyone can feel that.”
One notable change: “Riverside” has been significantly reworked, slowed down, and smokier than the original. Everything else keeps faith with what was there.
The biggest shift, and the one long-time fans have apparently been asking about for years, is the presence of Noah Hunt on lead vocals throughout. Hunt joined the band in time for sophomore album Trouble Is… and has appeared on every Kenny Wayne Shepherd record since — but not on Ledbetter Heights. This re-recording closes that gap.
“I have had a lot of fans over the years wonder what Ledbetter Heights would have sounded like if Noah had been the singer at that time,” Shepherd says. “Now they’ll get their chance to hear it.”
Also returning is drummer Chris “Whipper” Layton, a founding member of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, who played on the original sessions. The album was co-produced with Jerry Harrison, whose work with Shepherd goes back to Trouble Is… and its own 25th anniversary re-recording.
“I met him when I was 15,” Shepherd says of Layton, “and every night when I turn around and lock eyes with him, I’m reminded of how incredible it is to be playing with him.”
The Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour launched 02/19 in Dallas and runs through spring 2026, with Jimmie Vaughan joining in Austin and Nashville, and Eric Johnson appearing in Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale. Each show runs two sets: the full album, then a second set drawing from Shepherd‘s wider catalogue.
Additional dates will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit here.
“Revisiting this album put me back in touch with the wonder and excitement of those days,” he says. “I didn’t know what lay ahead.”
Not long ago, making professional-quality music meant booking expensive studio time, hiring session musicians, and navigating the gatekeepers of the traditional record industry. Today, a teenager with a laptop and a pair of headphones can produce a chart-worthy track from their bedroom, upload it overnight, and wake up to thousands of streams. The digital revolution has fundamentally rewritten the rules of music production, distribution, and discovery, and nowhere is that transformation more visible than in the explosive growth of online beat stores.
From the Studio to the Screen: A Brief History
The democratization of music production began quietly in the late 1990s and early 2000s when digital audio workstations (DAWs) like Pro Tools, FL Studio, and Ableton Live started becoming accessible to independent producers. Suddenly, the costly hardware racks and mixing consoles of traditional studios could be replaced, or at least supplemented, by software running on a home computer. Sample packs, MIDI loops, and virtual instruments began flooding the market, giving producers an ever-expanding palette of sounds at a fraction of the cost of live recording sessions.
As broadband internet became widespread, a natural next step emerged: producers began selling their beats online. What started as rudimentary personal websites and early forum marketplaces evolved into sophisticated e-commerce platforms where a producer could list hundreds of beats, set licensing tiers, accept instant payments, and deliver files automatically — all without leaving home. The concept of the online beat store was born, and it quickly became one of the most disruptive forces in the music industry.
The Online Beat Store Ecosystem Today
The modern online beat marketplace is a thriving, multi-million-dollar ecosystem. Independent producers, hip-hop beatmakers, trap artists, and lo-fi composers all coexist in a vast digital marketplace where artists from Lagos to Los Angeles can connect with vocalists, rappers, and songwriters from every corner of the globe. Platforms like BeatStars, Airbit, and Traktrain have become household names in producer circles, offering built-in storefronts, streaming previews, and instant licensing agreements. But beyond the major platforms, thousands of independent producers run their own dedicated stores, a testament to the entrepreneurial spirit the digital age has unlocked. One standout example is rbeatz, a platform that exemplifies what a focused, independent beat store can offer: a curated catalog, flexible licensing options, and a direct connection between producer and artist, without the noise of a crowded marketplace.
Licensing Models and How Beats Are Sold
One of the most significant innovations that online beat stores introduced is the tiered licensing model. Rather than selling a beat outright in a single transaction, producers now offer multiple license types to accommodate different budgets and use cases. A basic non-exclusive lease might allow an artist to use a beat for a limited number of streams or copies, while premium licenses, exclusive, trackout, or unlimited, grant broader rights at a higher price point.
This model benefits both sides of the transaction. Artists gain access to professional-quality instrumentals at accessible price points, often for as little as $20 to $50 while producers can sell the same beat multiple times under non-exclusive terms, generating recurring revenue from a single creative work. It is a business model uniquely enabled by the digital environment, one that simply would not have been viable in the pre-Internet era of music.
Social Media, Streaming, and the Discovery Revolution
The rise of online beat stores did not happen in isolation; it was turbocharged by the simultaneous growth of social media and streaming platforms. YouTube became the go-to platform for producers to showcase their work, with “type beat” searches (e.g., “Drake type beat” or “Travis Scott type beat”) evolving into a massive discovery engine. A producer releasing a well-optimized beat video could rack up hundreds of thousands of views, funneling potential buyers directly to their store.
TikTok has further accelerated this trend, with short-form beat previews and production clips going viral and introducing new audiences to independent producers. Instagram Reels and SoundCloud continue to play important roles as well, creating a diversified discovery funnel that producers can leverage to build a global fanbase without any traditional label support. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), streaming now accounts for over 67% of global recorded music revenue, a reality that has made digital-first distribution strategies not just viable, but essential.
The Producer As Entrepreneur
Perhaps the most remarkable cultural shift sparked by online beat stores is the transformation of the music producer from behind-the-scenes collaborator to independent entrepreneur. Today’s top independent producers think like brand builders. They cultivate social media followings, develop signature sounds that become recognizable across genres, and diversify income streams through beat sales, sample packs, mixing services, online courses, and mentorship programs.
This entrepreneurial turn has been supported by a wealth of educational resources. Platforms like Coursera and YouTube are full of tutorials on mixing, mastering, and music business fundamentals. Industry publications such asBillboard regularly cover the independent music economy, reflecting how seriously the broader industry now takes the self-released and self-distributed artist. The message is clear: you do not need a label to build a career in music anymore.
Challenges in the Digital Landscape
Of course, the democratization of music production comes with its own set of challenges. The sheer volume of content available online means competition is fiercer than ever. A producer today is not just competing with the artist in the next city, they are competing with millions of creators worldwide. Standing out requires not only exceptional music but also a strong personal brand, consistent content creation, and savvy marketing.
Intellectual property and copyright issues also remain a persistent concern. The ease with which sounds, samples, and beats can be shared online creates ongoing questions about ownership, attribution, and fair compensation. Beat stores have introduced licensing agreements precisely to address these issues, but educating artists about the importance of proper licensing is still an ongoing challenge across the industry.
The Future of Digital Music Production
Looking ahead, the trajectory of online beat stores and digital music production points toward even greater accessibility and innovation. Artificial intelligence is already making waves, with AI-assisted composition tools, stem separation technology, and automated mastering services becoming mainstream. NFT-based music ownership models are being explored as new ways for producers to monetize their catalogs and offer unique value to collectors and fans.
Despite these rapidly evolving technologies, one thing remains constant: the creative spirit of the independent producer. Whether it is a beatmaker crafting late-night loops in a home studio or a full-scale production house running a professional online storefront, the fundamental drive to make great music and connect it with the world, has never been more empowered than it is today. The online beat store is not just a marketplace; it is a symbol of what music creation looks like in the 21st century.
The digital music revolution is not coming — it is already here. And for producers, artists, and fans alike, the best may be yet to come.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd has announced a newly recorded 30th anniversary edition of his breakthrough album Ledbetter Heights, set for release on May 8. The Kenny Wayne Shepherd project revisits the record that launched his career, arriving alongside the release of the lead single “Deja Voodoo,” which is now available on streaming platforms.
Originally released in 1995, Ledbetter Heights quickly became a major success, going Gold within months and reaching Platinum status by early 1996. The album spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Chart and helped establish Shepherd as one of the leading young voices in blues rock. He wrote or co-wrote most of the material, an uncommon feat for a teenage artist at the time, and named the album after a historic neighborhood in his hometown tied to blues legend Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter.
At a time when grunge dominated popular music, Shepherd emerged with a sound rooted firmly in the blues. Signed by Irving Azoff at just 16 years old, he recorded the album while still in high school, splitting time between classes in Louisiana and studio sessions in Memphis.
The 30th anniversary edition finds Shepherd revisiting the original material with decades of experience behind him. The sessions feature longtime collaborator Chris “Whipper” Layton, a founding member of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, along with co-producer Jerry Harrison, who has worked with Shepherd on multiple projects. Shepherd also returned to his original 1995 guitar rig for the recordings.
“This is the album that put me on the map, and I still enjoy listening to it because my goal has always been to make music I want to listen to,” Shepherd says. “Unfiltered and straight from the heart.”
The re-recording maintains the spirit of the original while offering a more refined and expressive approach shaped by years of touring and recording. Shepherd says that emotional connection has always been central to his music.
“Before I could identify with the lyrics, I always could identify with the feeling of the blues,” Shepherd says. “When you pour your heart out, everyone can feel that.”
Over the past three decades, Shepherd has built a consistent career in blues rock, earning six GRAMMY nominations and releasing 12 studio albums. His sophomore release, Trouble Is…, marked another major milestone, reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and spending 20 weeks atop the Blues Chart. He has also shared the stage with artists including Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
The release of Ledbetter Heights (The 30th Anniversary Sessions) coincides with Shepherd’s ongoing anniversary tour, where he is performing the full album live along with a second set spanning his career.
Ledbetter Heights (The 30th Anniversary Sessions) Track Listing:
Born with a Broken Heart “Deja Voodoo” Aberdeen Shame, Shame, Shame One Foot on the Path Everybody Gets the Blues While We Cry (Live) I’m Leaving You (Commit a Crime) (Let Me Up) I’ve Had Enough Riverside What’s Goin’ Down Ledbetter Heights
2026 Ledbetter Heights 30th Anniversary Tour:
Friday, April 10th – Joe Bonamassa’s Beach Vacation – Miramar Beach, FL Saturday, April 11th – Tampa Bay Blues Festival – St. Petersburg, FL Sunday, April 12th – Hard Rock Live – Orlando, FL Tuesday, April 14th – Broward Center @ Au-Rene Theater – Ft Lauderdale, FL** Wednesday, April 15th – Florida Theatre – Jacksonville, FL** Thursday, April 16th – Charleston Music Hall – Charleston, SC Saturday, April 18th – Hollywood Casino – Charles Town, WV Sunday, April 19th – Palace Theatre – Greensburg, PA Wednesday, April 22nd – Brown County Music Center – Nashville, IN Thursday, April 23rd – Taft Theatre – Cincinnati, OH Friday, April 24th – Hard Rock – Gary, IN Saturday, April 25th – MGM – Northfield, OH Sunday, April 26th – Hollywood Greektown Casino / Music Hall – Detroit, MI Wednesday, April 29th – GLC Live @ 20 Monroe – Grand Rapids, MI Thursday, April 30th – Pabst Theatre – Milwaukee, WI Friday, May 1st – Blue Gate PAC – Shipshewana, IN Saturday, May 2nd – Hard Rock – Rockford, IL Sunday, May 3rd – Hoyt Sherman Theatre – Des Moines, IA Tuesday, May 5th – Virginia Theater – Champaign, IL Thursday, May 7th – Uptown Theatre – Kansas City, MO Friday, May 8th – Walker’s Bluff Casino – Carterville, IL Saturday, May 9th – The Factory – St. Louis, MO Saturday, June 13th – Paradise Theater @ Margaritaville Resort Casino – Bossier City, LA Sunday, June 14th – The Buddy Holly Theatre – Lubbock, TX Wednesday, June 17th – Kiva Auditorium – Albuquerque, NM Thursday, June 18th – Rialto Theatre – Tucson, AZ Friday, June 19th – Celebrity Theatre – Phoenix, AZ Saturday, June 20th – Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts – Cerritos, CA Sunday, June 21st – Oxnard Performing Arts Center – Oxnard, CA Tuesday, June 23rd – California Center for the Arts – Escondido, CA Thursday, June 25th – Capitol Theatre – Salt Lake City, UT Thursday, September 10th – Big Blues Bender – Las Vegas, NV Friday, September 11th – Sunset Center – Carmel, CA Saturday, September 12th – Blue Note Summer Sessions – Napa, CA Sunday, September 13th – Center for the Arts – Grass Valley, CA Tuesday, September 15th – McDonald Theatre – Eugene, OR Wednesday, September 16th – Moore Theatre – Seattle, WA Thursday, September 17th – First Interstate Center for the Arts – Spokane, WA Friday, September 18th – Alberta Bair Theater – Billings, MT
