Category: news

Philadelphia-based indie rocker Mallory Hawk used to lead the Brooklyn punk band Customer, and she’s played in groups like Trace Mountains and M(h)aol. Later this summer, Hawk will release Chinook, her first solo album, and it’s a record worth getting excited about. We’ve already posted her early single “Felicity” and “Revolver.” Today, she shares “Caretaker,” a new song that doesn’t sound much like either of those ones. It doesn’t sound anything like the Caretaker, either.

The post Mallory Hawk – “Caretaker” appeared first on Stereogum.

Dee Palmer, the composer, arranger, and keyboardist best know for her tenure in Jethro Tull, has died. According to a note from Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, Palmer passed away at home in Shropshire supported by family members after a long illness. She was 88.

The post Dee Palmer, Jethro Tull Arranger And Keyboardist, Dead At 88 appeared first on Stereogum.

Death Angel guitarist Ted Aguilar has offered his take on what he sees as a loss of individual identity in modern metal, in a new interview with Pipeman of the “Music Feeds the Soul” podcast.

On the diversity that defined the Bay Area thrash scene, Aguilar said (transcribed by Blabbermouth): “The cool thing about the Bay Area is that every band was different. Anthrax sounded different from Overkill, Death Angel sounded different from Testament. Even the vocalists sounded different — Mark [Osegueda] doesn’t sound like Chuck Billy. Chuck Billy doesn’t sound like Sean Killian, and no one sounds like Zetro [Steve “Zetro” Souza of Exodus]. All the vocalists were very unique on their own.”

That distinctiveness, Aguilar said, is what he finds lacking in much of today’s metal: “There’s some incredible players out there. They could run circles around us. But I’m talking about identity — I can’t tell who from who. You know, it’s oversaturated with a lot of bands that basically sound the same. Some of it may be YouTube and social media, where everyone is trying to follow a template of what they think works. Back in our day, you had to figure things out. You had to be a band together, in a room with everyone learning from each other, bouncing ideas. There’s something about that organic chemistry that comes through in the music.”

Death Angel is currently on the second leg of their “Act III” 35th anniversary U.S. tour, which launched May 1 in Phoenix, Arizona with support from Vio-lence and Incite. The run wraps June 21 in Santa Cruz, California.

Death Angel was formed in 1982 in Daly City, California by members of the Pilipino-American Galeon family. The current lineup features vocalist Mark Osegueda, guitarists Rob Cavestany and Aguilar, bassist Damien Sisson and drummer Will Carroll. The band received a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance for the song “Humanicide” (2019). Their most recent studio album is Humanicide (2019, Nuclear Blast).

The post DEATH ANGEL Guitarist TED AGUILAR On His Gripe About Today’s Metal: “I Can’t Tell Who From Who” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Later this summer, Mike D will become the first Beastie Boy to release a solo album. Fifteen years after the Beasties dropped Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, their final album, Mike will hit us with Thank You, the new LP that he recorded under the name Mike D 5D. Even before he started dropping singles, Mike D went viral for performing Beasties classics with Very Nice Person, the band led by his sons Skyler and Davis Diamond. They’ve been playing smaller shows for the past month or so. Over the weekend, Mike and his sons made their TV debut on the BBC institution Later… With Jools Holland.

The post Watch Mike D Perform Two Songs On <em>Jools Holland</em> appeared first on Stereogum.

Demon/Edsel [Release date 26.06.26] The second (after Cologne) of three live albums recorded in Germany 1976, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow were promoting their Rainbow Rising LP to huge acclaim. The three albums were originally issued as double CDs a few years … Continue reading →

The post Album review: Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW – Live In Dusseldorf (3-LP vinyl) appeared first on Get Ready to ROCK!.

Pattern-Seeking Animals’ sixth album “Grimalkin” will be released on August 21, 2026, on GEP Records. It will be available as CD, LP, digital download as well as streaming on all of the usual platforms.

The word “grimalkin” originated in 16th-century English as a variation of “graymalkin” (“gray cat”) and was later popularized by Shakespeare’s Macbeth as the name of one of the witches’ familiars, a cat companion with magical and supernatural associations.

The first single “Maybe All a Dream” is out now.

1. Maybe All a Dream
2. A Flower Yet to Grow
3. Jade Sky
4. Things I Don’t Do
5. Break Away
6. Traveler on the Wrong Road Home
7. Slowly Falls the Flying Man
8. I Dream the World

https://thebandwagonusa.com/collections/pattern-seeking-animals/products/pattern-seeking-animals-grimalkin-cd-pre-order

The post Pattern-Seeking Animals announce sixth studio album ‘Grimalkin’ and new single “Maybe All a Dream” appeared first on The Prog Report.

Rounder Records [Release date 12.06.26] Move over Live And Dangerous, and Get Yer Ya Ya’s Out there is a new contender for best live album ever, and it comes in the form of a female resident of Kansas City, Samantha … Continue reading →

The post Album review: SAMANTHA FISH – Paper Doll Live appeared first on Get Ready to ROCK!.

General Information

Personnel:
Tarja Turunen
Guest musicians: Marko Hietala, Mervi Myllyoja, Niklas Pokki, Sayo Komada, Apocalyptica, Julián Bedmar, Valter Freitas, Dani Filth, Chad Smith

Production: Tarja and Mic
Mixing: Neal Avron
Release Date: June 12, 2026
Label: earMusic

Setting the Scene

The queen has returned! Taking the high seat on her old throne, symphonic metal goddess Tarja Turunen shares her newest creation, Frisson Noir, with us her needy and little bit greedy fans. Marking her tenth solo record and her first metal studio outing since In the Raw, the album also delivers a highly anticipated reunion with an old comrade alongside a lineup of fresh collaborations.

First Impression

We always expect something grand from Tarja, but sitting through Frisson Noir for the first time provides a much needed shock to the system. It takes barely a single listen to accept you are looking at what is likely the absolute best album of her entire solo career. A thick shadow hangs over the whole experience. The record feels remarkably darker and more aggressive. She trades any polite formalities for a heavy and grim mood that sinks right into your bones and refuses to leave.

Similar Sounds

If you’re into any of these artists, this album should be on your radar.

EpicaSireniaXandria

Visual Vibes

The cover features a portrait of Tarja soaked in enough icy blue to freeze hell, with the title scratched across it like a hurried threat. It is a positive warning sign of what’s about to happen as soon as you press play or drop the needle or whatever kids are doing these days to start playing music.

Track on Repeat

“At Sea“

A ten-minute song is usually too long for my attention span, but “At Sea” is an epic that easily stands as the defining triumph of the record. It weaves piano, violin, and a massive choir directly into its heavy metal foundation so naturally that the sheer scale of the songwriting demands your undivided attention for the entire runtime. Pure entertainment.

In-depth Notes

Musical Shape 🎸

The grand orchestra is stitched directly into the very marrow of the songwriting rather than being tucked away in the corner. The guitars roar with the subtlety of a freight train, creating a solid impact. This heavy foundation takes unexpected turns, like a traditional stringed instrument woven into the mix on “The Trace Outlives,” and Apocalyptica’s cellos providing tight rhythmic tension on “Tango.”

Vocal Performance 🎤

Acting surprised by Tarja’s vocal grandmastery at this point would just be embarrassing. Everyone already knows she can strip the paint off the walls, and this record simply serves as another concrete proof of her absolute godhood. She delivers a fiercely confident and aggressive performance, keeping her voice dead center even in the heaviest arrangements. She rules the space entirely. The guest vocalists add another layer to the album’s richness. Bringing Marko Hietala in for “Leap of Faith” provides a genuinely balanced duet that adds serious emotional weight, yet it never once distracts from the undeniable fact that the queen still holds her crown.

Production Quality 🎧

I personally believe that the bigger the musician is, the harder production becomes, and the more guest musicians on an album, the harder the job it is for the producer to keep the tracks from turning into a cluttered mess. Frisson Noir checks both of these squares with a huge marker, and yet, the production played a huge role in making it sound the way it is, and it completely succeeds in delivering sharp clarity while keeping all the heavy dirt entirely intact.

Themes and Concepts 💭

Frisson Noir tackles the themes of confronting your worst fears, stepping out of comfortable stagnation, and finding true strength in the pitch black. It takes a stubborn kind of grit to actively choose the unknown over safety, and Tarja’s absolute vocal command alongside the bruising orchestra provides the exact heavy machinery needed to drive that unyielding point home.

Final Verdict

★★★★★★★★★★

Tarja returns with a pitch-black hurricane of an album that is better than many aspects of life that shall remain unnamed due to magazine policy. 

Mood Meter

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Intensity

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Melancholy

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Darkness

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Emotional

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Serenity

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Energy

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Romance

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Joyfulness

Perfect For…

Nature – sitting in nature, with your thoughts
Night Walks – good for deep thinking
Working – when a co-worker comes to your desk to show you photos of his kids, turn the VOLUME UP.
Working on Arts – inspirational melodies

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The post Album Review | Tarja – “Frisson Noir” first appeared on FemMetal – Goddesses of Metal.