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Jon Pardi emerged as one of the most recognizable voices in modern traditional country music by keeping fiddles, steel guitar, and honky-tonk energy at the center of his recordings. Born in Dixon, California, in 1985, he developed his musical interests through country music and performed long before his records became country radio staples. He moved to Nashville as a young adult and signed with Capitol Nashville, making his early singles the starting point for a career that brought the sound of California dance halls to a national audience. His first full-length album, Write You a Song, appeared in 2014, following

The post Complete List Of Jon Pardi Songs From A to Z appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

Let’s be real for a second: we all need some good alternative rock music every once in a

A rebirth is born of bold new ambition.

Contrary to the opinions of some, thrash has always been a subgenre of heavy metal focused on innovation and progression since it came roaring out of the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, and several other areas inside and outside the United States. Of the former contingent, the late 80s would bring an impressive array of late-comers that stretched the very meaning of thrash metal, culminating in what would be the turn of the decade vanguard.

Alongside the likes of Heathen and Testament, Hayward natives Forbidden brought a more nuanced and forward-looking take on the marriage of metal and hardcore, exploring an eclectic blend of influences that could be construed as progressive, though still firmly rooted in the stylistic template originally established by Metallica, Megadeth, Exodus and other forefathers of the Bay Area sound. Now following over a decade of silence in the studio, this former powerhouse has struck back with a titanic eponymous LP and new lineup that proves a classic never dies nor does it settle for living in the past.

Of the original membership that comprised this mighty quintet, only the songwriting and riffing chops of guitarist/founder Craig Locicero and the steady foundation of bassist Matt Camacho remain, but one would not know it based on the sonic results. The acquisition of former Attitude Adjustment drummer Chris Kontos, also known for his past work with Bay Area heavy-hitters Machine Head and Testament, establishes an immediate level of gravitas to the rhythm section that translates into a pummeling yet also adaptive framework that plays perfectly to Forbidden’s signature blend of contrasting stylistic elements.

San Jose native and guitarist Jeremy Von Epp also proves a valuable pick up despite packing a resume of lesser known bands, working well alongside Locicero in formulating a merciless riffing attack and playing equally competently off of his elder axe-wielding compatriot in trading technical lead segments. Yet the most consequential change is the introduction of former Imagika vocalist Norman Skinner, whom seamlessly fills the shoes of former singer Russ Anderson and effectively navigates the eclectic blend of vocalizations required of this outfit’s signature style and adding his own unique USPM flair on top.

In relation to their rich yet now distant past accomplishments in the studio, Forbidden has effectively crossed into the modernity of the mid-2020s with a balance of traditional and newer auditory tricks that is comparable to how Testament has navigated the changing times since the beginning of the previous decade. The production work of Zack Ohren (Immolation, Machine Head) serves the blend of neck-destroying aggression and haunting atmospheric go-betweens well with a colossal wall of sound that is as dynamic as it is forceful.

Pummeling thrash entries like “Single Point Failure”, “Burning The Lungs Of Earth” and “Divided By Zero” are case studies in how infusing a multifaceted blend of raw thrashing fury and a consonant melodic edge can be amplified to a state of sheer glory with present-day studio magic, to speak nothing of managing to be pure earworm fodder despite all of the mad technical high-jinks and sectional twists and turns. Pile on top a similar mold of calculated ferocity in “The Burden”, as well as more long-winded and involved cousins like “Mutually Assured Dysfunction” and slow-growing technical showcase “Sol Grave”, and roughly half of this album’s 62-minute duration is spent bringing the kinetic vintage sound of 1990s Twisted In Form into the 2020s.

Naturally, all that occurs under the sun with the Forbidden moniker stamped on it is not focused on high octane thrashing with a technical twist, and the eponymous addition to their discography is no exception. Among the less conventional fair to emerge from pool of Bay Area rage is a slower paced, almost doom-like creep in “DCLXVI” that is the first to incorporate a haunting foil to all of the carnage, emerging both in a generally dense atmosphere and a more pronounced level of clean vocalizations out of Skinner, forming a sort of ghostly choir around this usual blend of rage-filled shouts and growls.

“Jisei” takes things even further into left field by going head first into full on balladry, yet amid what is generally a meditative affair of clean singing and guitars is a looming sense of sorrow and dread that blends well with the album’s overall tone of discontent. The bass heavy and mid-paced grooving stomp of “Psyclops” and the rapid fire yet static and industrial-toned “Sycophantasy”, also featuring a prominent guest voice slot by Mastodon’s own Brann Dailor, land a little closer to something that Machine Head might have done but pull no punches in the technical department. Topping it all off is a near 10 minute epic slough that throws everything in Forbidden’s arsenal but the kitchen sink and somehow comes out coherent at the other end in “Flower Of Life”, arguably the most original concoction in this quintet’s more than 40 year career.

If at first they were regarded as one of the most unconventional players in the 80s Bay Area explosion, Forbidden has definitely maintained that identity all but to a fault on the album that also carries their name. It’s often stipulated that an album that comes late in any band’s career with an eponymous title arises from having something to prove, and whether that was the mentality that Craig Locicero and the rest of the gang carried into the studio with them or not, the result speaks to a band that is bent on re-conquering former heights and establishing a lasting presence in a scene that has definitely not stood still in their absence. It is yet to be seen if they will ever match the insane level of greatness that they achieved early on with their adrenaline packed 1988 debut Forbidden Evil or its progressive juggernaut of a follow up Twisted Into Form, but in a scene that has become heavily saturated with bands looking to recapture the 80s, Forbidden is one that is firmly rooted in the present and well poised to meet the future with a closed fist.

Release Date: October 23, 2026
Record Label: BLKIIBLK Records
Genre: Thrash Metal

Musicians:

• Craig Locicero / Guitars
• Matt Camacho / Bass
• Chris Kontos / Drums
• Norman Skinner / Vocals
• Jeremy Von Epp / Guitars

Forbidden Tracklist:

1. Single Point Failure
2. Burning the Lungs of Earth
3. Divided by Zero
4. DCLXVI
5. Psyclops
6. Jisei
7. Mutually Assured Dysfunction
8. Sycophantasy
9. The Burden
10. Sol Grave
11. Flower of Life (Chaos by Design)

Order the album here.

The post FORBIDDEN – Forbidden (Album Review) appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

After five straight years of sold-out devastation, MELBOURNE DETHFEST returns in 2027 with its most colossal edition yet. Australia’s premier extreme metal festival will descend upon The Croxton, Thornbury for the first time, transforming the venue into a two-stage, all-day celebration of everything heavy, brutal and uncompromising. Leading the charge are none other than Swedish […]

If – like HEAVY – you like your tunes dark, theatrical, and packed with an absolute mountain of sonic intensity, then you have no doubt heard of Pyrefly. HEAVY had the pleasure of sitting down with the band, one of the most mesmerizing and devastating acts currently tearing up the Australian underground scene. If you […]

Northlane have announced that the release date of their new album ‘Anemoia’ is being changed, but have shared a new track as a treat for everyone being so understanding.

Originally due to drop on October 30, the record will now be released on November 27. This is due to production delays.

But it does mean that we have ‘Deathwish’ to enjoy now, a track that the band see as a companion to their previous single ‘Crucified’. A woozy, breathless, euphorically compelling blend of drum and bass battery and caustic metal thrills, it is the peak of the band’s attempt to build bridges that have defined this cycle so colourfully.

Vocalist Marcus Bridge had this to say about it:

‘Deathwish’, is “a companion song to ‘Crucified,’ but where that song surveys the landscape, ‘Deathwish’ zooms in on the individual. It’s written from the first-person perspective of someone who is entirely unwilling to listen – convinced of their own reality, blind to anyone else’s. I’m the centre of the universe / I’m blind to what you need. The lyrics aren’t self-referential, but it communicates an understanding of the psychology well enough to inhabit it, and the chorus turns the lens slightly inward: am I the one that’s cursed? I know it’s all I’ve come to be.”

And here is ‘Crucified’, so you get the whole vision:

Northlane have also announced that their upcoming tour of Australia and New Zealand is being rescheduled to May 2027 due to the need for guitarist Josh Smith to receive immediate care for this “worsening chronic health”.

The band are still due to head over to the UK and Europe to support Dayseeker later this year. Here are all of the dates:

NOVEMBER

28 – WOLVERHAMPTON KK’s Steel Mill
29 – WOLVERHAMPTON KK’s Steel Mill

DECEMBER

01 – LEEDS Project House
02 – MANCHESTER Academy 1
03 – BRISTOL Prospect
05 – GLASGOW O2 Academy Glasgow
06 – LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
08 – PARIS Élysée Montmartre
09 – OBERHAUSEN Turbinenhalle 1
10 – HANNOVER Capitol
12 – WARSAW Proxima
13 – BERLIN Huxley’s Neue Welt
15 – PRAGUE Lucerna Music Bar
16 – MUNICH Tonhalle
18 – AMSTERDAM Melkweg

The post Northlane Share New Track ‘Deathwish’, Move New Album Release Date appeared first on Rock Sound.

If your idea of a good festival weekend involves guitars, band stories and a few familiar names doing something unexpected,…

When affordable synthesisers arrived just as punk ran out of its initial puff, the new machinery offered an alternative to picking up a guitar and learning three chords.

Thus, tens of thousands of converts plugged in a keyboard and learned three notes – which, of course, is all you need if you have something to say.

The Human League were there at the vanguard. Mainly hailing from post-industrial Sheffield, they always believed in the DIY ethic of punk, even if they expressed it through MIDI pop. And therein lay the prog, especially with the arrival of former Rezillos guitarist Jo Callis in time for 1981’s Dare.

The pop-culture-obsessed ex-art student had delivered a number of hit singles with an approach heavily powered by David Bowie and Mick Ronson; and so it would prove here. (Callis’s 21st-century band FingerHalo gave a convincing live adaptation of The Width Of A Circle, one of Bowie’s proggiest tracks.)

Dare will always be remembered for the smash hit Don’t You Want Me, so ubiquitous that it’s still earning co-writers Callis, singer Phil Oakey and keyboardist Adrian Wright royalities to this day. It’s irrefutably pop – until you listen to the chord structure leading to the chorus and in the chorus itself.

A technical expert will have to explain what’s going on, but it plays on the notion of straightforward construction by presenting alternative inversions of chords near the ones you think you’re hearing. Prog or what?

Don’t You Want Me is the last track on Dare because no one thought it would do anything. Earlier on, though, we have Seconds – and, at this point Callis, Oakey and Wright have transplanted themselves to the world of krautrock, complete with motorik beats, droning backing notes and minimalist leads.

Meanwhile Oakey delivers his lyrics – addressing how the world changed with the assassination of JFK in 1963 – with an almost wilful dismissal of verse-chorus structure.

Such dark, subversive alternative influences are all over what’s regarded as a genre-defining pop record. That’s partly down to producer Martin Rushent, whose proggy credentials by then included Gentle Giant, The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Groundhogs, Curved Air and The Stranglers.

The you-can-do-it-too influence of Dare contributed to the Musicians’ Union’s attempt to ban synths in the mid-80s; meanwhile, Rushent helped invent the notion of the remix album, helming 1982’s Love And Dancing under the banner of The League Unlimited Orchestra. It contains a seven-minute version of Don’t You Want Me where you can really hear those weird chords in action.

Seconds remains a massively drawn-out, theatrical part of The Human League’s performances, offering audiences a shamelessly prog moment amid the electronic, not-quite- new-romance. It’s evidence that Dare is a secret prog album hidden in plain sight – which is pretty daring by any measure.

In punk rock’s history, a lot of albums haven’t hit as hard as Rancid’s … And Out Come The Wolves. Its effects are still being felt today. A lot of bands took inspiration from Rancid’s ska punk sound, but for filmmaker Danny Peykoff he used the record as the basis of his directorial debut. The aptly titled, …And Out Comes The Wolf. Z2 Comics has taken the reins on the official comic adaptation of the film.

The story follows Willy, a young punk rocker and drug dealer, who is counting on his best friend Brixton and his baseball skills to get out of Berkeley. Things go awry when Max, a drug dealer that Willy ratted on, is released from prison and forces him to sell his new product. Little bags of cocaine that have Val Kilmer’s hat and moustache ala his 1993 turn as Doc Holiday in Tombstone. After getting dumped by his girlfriend, Willy and Brixton meet two girls on the bus. It all goes downhill from there. While it’s not a difficult or unfamiliar web to untangle it is an interesting story nonetheless. The characters that inhabit the world are niche to fans of Rancid and East Bay punk or punk rock in general, but are unique enough.

Willy is our narrator and guide through his punk rock world. He rides this weird line of being this drug dealer punk rocker teenager who’s tough life seems to intersect and even ruin the others in it. This typically comes off with statements on what is or what’s not, but not here. It’s not too preachy. I think it can be hard to make a punk rock story without doing so. In general. I remember multiple people saying that about SLC Punk!, and I’d like to think time has been much kinder to it. What is and isn’t punk has evolved since it’s inception. This story doesn’t really focus on this rather than the plot itself which is a bit refreshing in a punk rock story.  

Kevin Mellon is a force to be reckoned with while pulling double duty as writer and artist. I’m not able to review if this is a good adaptation, as I’ve yet to see the movie. The comic Mellon has written based on Danny Peykoff, Jamie Neese, and Jason Neese’s script works well. The art almost has an Archie and the gang style to it, if Archie and Jughead sold drugs and jumped into pits. I loved Gab Contreras’s colors on Z2’s Blues Brothers comic and I think her game has definitely stepped up here. Given that Z2 does mostly music related comics, Contreras pivoting to a different genre does not seem to have any bearing on her quality. Tom Williams’s letters are the perfect amount of chaos for this story.

While there are a ton of Rancid easter eggs, a term I use loosely because some of them are glaring obvious, they don’t detract from the story. There are characters named after songs along with direct references to the band themselves. Willy has an unhealthy fixation on OG Rancid drummer, Brett Reed, while a female character named Ruby has been burned by a bass player named Matt. 

Despite being a drummer, we never actually see Willy play drums. He does show up to the Ivy Room to watch a band play and jump in the pit. While the scenes at the Ivy Room establish a lot more tone, characters and essentially the catalyst of the story. In general, I’m usually disappointed in comic book adaptations of movies. Sometimes things are left out. I remember a Shaun of the Dead comic adaptation that missed the best parts from the movie, but time makes that determination. 

…And Out Comes the Wolf functions well as a story, it’s a fun ride and has nods to the East Bay, Rancid, along with the landmark record this film/comic took its title from. If you’re chomping at the bit to see what this story is about and can’t find a theater to see the film, this could hold you over. On the other hand this may also be a great companion piece to what may be your next favorite punk rock movie.

…And Out Comes The Wolf is available through the Z2 website in a few different editiions.

Hard Rock Hell promoter Dark Watch has announced that it has ceased trading, with the November 2026 festivals cancelled just weeks before they were due to take place. The announcement has left ticket holders facing uncertainty and renewed concerns over outstanding payments to musicians and other people working in live music.

Dark Watch announced its decision on 20 October, directing lead bookers to check their emails. In a message circulated to ticket holders and seen by MetalTalk, signed by Jonni Davis, the organisation said its November events could not proceed. These include Hard Rock Hell 19, scheduled for 5–8 November, and HRH Prog 16, scheduled for 12–15 November, at Seal Bay Resort in Selsey, West Sussex.

“We are heartbroken to share that Dark Watch has ceased trading. As a result, our November events cannot go ahead,” the message stated.

Financial pressure and a search for a buyer

In the communication, Davis said the business had spent recent months trying to keep events operating but had reached a financial position it could not overcome. The message cited a difficult trading climate, rising costs, unfinished websites and problems affecting a new site.

Davis also said that a prospective buyer had come close to agreement before the process was delayed. According to the message, that left the organisation unable to meet suppliers’ conditions in time to stage the November events. It said operations had stopped while a buyer was being sought.

The communication did not name an administrator or liquidator, and MetalTalk has not independently established that a formal insolvency appointment has been made. Ceasing trading and entering administration are not the same thing.

Unpaid fees: the impact on musicians

The announcement follows publicly reported disputes over payments connected with HRH events. In February 2023, bands withdrew from Hammerfest amid controversy over booking and payment arrangements.

A Forest of Stars said at the time that they had not been paid for a December 2022 HRH Vikings appearance. More recently, Anvil and Killer raised concerns over deposits ahead of HRH19, as previously reported by MetalTalk.

Blues-rock guitarist Jack J Hutchinson has said he is owed money for headlining HRH Blues in September. He subsequently reported an £800 loss of earnings associated with the show and has shared a PayPal link after supporters offered to help him and his band.

“As an independent musician often surviving on a shoe string budget, it’s pretty hard to take,” Hutchinson wrote in a public statement. His account illustrates the practical consequences of a missed payment for working musicians who budget around expected performance income.

The total value of any unpaid artist, crew or supplier fees has not been established. The fact that complaints have been made does not, on its own, determine which legal entity is responsible for any particular debt.

Some brands set to continue

The ticket-holder message said HRH Sleaze and HRH Blues, together with other city-based brands, had been acquired by Sheffield venue Network and would continue as planned. It also said HRH 66, Off Yer Rocka and Hard Rock Hell Radio would continue as separate entities.

The message does not explain the terms of those arrangements or whether purchasers have assumed any existing liabilities. Those claims about future events and acquisitions have not yet been independently confirmed by the organisations named.

Ticket holders advised to seek protection

Lead bookers were advised to contact their credit or debit card providers to ask whether a claim might be available, and to check any applicable travel, accommodation or ticket insurance. The message did not set out a direct refund timetable or procedure.

A loss for the wider live music community

Beyond the financial consequences for those affected, the disappearance of these long-running events is another blow to the live music ecosystem. Over the years, HRH stages have hosted established acts while giving smaller bands opportunities to reach audiences they might otherwise struggle to find.

That contribution does not erase legitimate questions about payments and accountability. But it does underline why the closure is more than a story about a promoter. Fans lose events, musicians lose work, and staff and suppliers face the possibility of unpaid bills.

MetalTalk previously approached HRH for comment on the Anvil and Killer dispute but did not receive a response. We will update this report if further information about the closure, refunds or outstanding payments becomes available.

The post Hard Rock Hell: Dark Watch Ceases Trading As November Festivals Are Cancelled first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.