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Last month, Kylie Jenner was the face of the new Meta AI Glasses campaign, and Ninajirachi was disappointingly the soundtrack. On Thursday (July 9), Lorde performed at the Mad Cool Festival in Madrid and spoke up against smart glasses.

The post Lorde Speaks Out Against “Fucked Up” AI Glasses appeared first on Stereogum.

He'll be on this trek until late November. Continue reading…

In a couple months, Turnstile will be heading out on a big tour with a bunch of openers. But first, the hardcore crew was celebrated by their hometown of Baltimore with an Orioles game dedicated to them at Camden Yards.

The post Orioles Host Turnstile Night appeared first on Stereogum.

Once upon a time, Spread the Disease was a frenetic Canadian metalcore band playing a brand of skronk-heavy, screamo-adjacent murder music laced with electronic and black metal influences. Their 1998 debut, We Bleed From Many Wounds, is something of a classic among chaotic metalcore devotees, while 1999 follow-up The Sheer Force of Inertia is respectable in its own right. Yet life has a habit of getting in the way of intense musical pursuits, and after those two albums, the band called it quits. Years later, Spread the Disease has reunited and returned with an intimidating slab of aural annihilation: the ominously titled The Darkness. The Dread. The Suffering., which purports to expand upon the black metal elements of their earlier work. Can this cohort of Canucks recapture the caustic vitriol of their youthful output?

The Darkness. The Dread. The Suffering. is less of a maximalist, mathy affair than Spread the Disease’s previous work. Instead, the band opts for a more straightforward merger of second-wave black metal frostbite and 2000s metalcore beef, a combination that works largely because everybody involved seems determined to play it as angrily as humanly possible. Opener “Light Opaque” establishes a formula much of the album follows, its five-plus minutes alternating between meaty tremolo passages and classic At the Gates “0-7-5” riffing over syncopated chugs. “Gods and Politics” weaves blackened leads and tried-and-true blast sections into classic hardcore moves, including a tom-led pullback and satisfying d-beats, while lead single “Indoctrinated” unleashes a blistering array of icy riffcraft that recalls Anaal Nathrakh with the occasional punky power-chord section. For the most part, this is plenty effective. The songs carry an exciting sense of momentum, the individual parts are competent if somewhat expected, and each transition feels natural. I only wish the longer runtimes yielded more genuinely standout moments.

Spread the Disease does make some considerations for album flow, placing short interludes between the main tracks and slightly shifting its blackened hardcore milieu on the B-side. “Intermezzo I” is a brief harsh noise piece that breaks up the onslaught of the opening tracks, while “Intermezzo II” takes a more ambient approach, propelled by chime-like clean guitar. “Outro,” meanwhile, closes the album with a somber sound collage. The final two “main” tracks also put a different spin on the band’s established formula. “Summer Wanes” leans into a more Zao-like, rollicking metalcore assault accented by bursts of blackened tremolo, while the seven-minute “The Blight in Their Eyes” opens up into a sludgy second half, transforming what could have been a typical breakdown into an effective, atmospheric conclusion.

There are a lot of impressive elements to The Darkness. The Dread. The Suffering., but for me, the pieces never quite coalesce into something greater than the sum of their parts. Spread the Disease knows how to pack these songs with well-constructed, pissed-off riffs that blur the line between metalcore and black metal, but despite the variety on display, some ideas linger just a tad too long. Certain riffs feel like boilerplate black metal or cliché metalcore, and their juxtaposition doesn’t necessarily elevate them. With each main song passing the five-minute mark, the propulsive energy that fuels the record can occasionally dwindle, especially when a repetitive tremolo riff overstays its welcome. On a brief, 30-minute album with only five non-interlude tracks, these moments stand out more than they otherwise might. Despite this issue, the individual performances are consistently strong, and tracks like “Summer Wanes” and “Gods and Politics” demonstrate a well-considered take on this particular sound.

With The Darkness. The Dread. The Suffering., Spread the Disease has delivered an intriguing piece of blackened hardcore. There are plenty of fun ideas throughout the record, and it certainly isn’t lacking in aggression, but it’s missing a certain oomph and the considered songwriting needed to tie everything together. Fans of the band’s early material curious to hear its black metal tendencies dragged further into the foreground, should not be dissuaded, and it is undeniably cool to hear Spread the Disease sounding this venomous after so many years. Yet, beneath the frost, blasts, and nonstop riffing lies a record that strikes me as merely average. A nasty reunion, certainly. Just not quite a triumphant one.

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Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Hypaethral Records
Websites: spreadthedisease.bandcamp.com | instagram.com/spreadthedisease_official
Releases Worldwide: July 10th, 2026

The post Spread the Disease – The Darkness. The Dread. The Suffering. Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

He explains why music is too frustrating for him to enjoy, and how he found refuge in “conducting nature” instead. Continue reading…

Once again, the summer belongs to Charli XCX. The Brat followup, Music, Fashion, Film, arrives in less than two weeks, and the severely lovable pop star brought some of its singles to a surprise show at the 650-cap Music Hall Of Williamsburg in Brooklyn last night.

The post Charli XCX Performs Live Debuts & Rarities, Brings Out Clairo, Underscores, & Kim Petras In Brooklyn appeared first on Stereogum.

Emerging from Tokyo’s darkwave and post-punk scene, Japanese artist Lilii Mar and the band Sex Virgin Killer are heading to Europe this July for a two-part, seven-date tour. The run offers European audiences a special opportunity to experience two closely connected sides of masa’s work: the atmospheric solo vision of Lilii Mar and the full-band intensity of Sex Virgin Killer. It begins with three Lilii Mar performances in Germany and France from July 11 through July 15, followed by four Sex Virgin Killer shows in Finland from July 16 through July 19.

The first leg spotlights Lilii Mar, the solo project of masa, founding member, composer, vocalist, and guitarist of Sex Virgin Killer. Across shows in Freiburg, Strasbourg, and Berlin, masa will bring a sound rooted in Tokyo’s darkwave and post-punk underground, drawing on gothic rock, coldwave, and neo-psychedelia through angular guitars, stark electronic textures, and dramatic vocals.

The final Lilii Mar date at Madame Claude in Berlin on July 15 serves as the link between the two legs, with masa performing alongside Hammer of Sex Virgin Killer. The following night, the full band begins its four-date Finland run in Helsinki, continuing through Hämeenlinna and Tampere before concluding in Kouvola on July 19. Together, the back-to-back tours offer a concentrated introduction to one of Tokyo’s distinctive darkwave projects, moving from Lilii Mar’s solo material into the broader sound and presence of Sex Virgin Killer.

Lilii Mar — Germany/France Tour 2026

• July 11 — Slow Club, Freiburg, Germany
  with Laura Schen
  DJs: Bleakphil & tiefenstadt (Young & Cold Records)
• July 12 — Péniche Mécanique, Strasbourg, France
  with Douce Angoisse
  DJs: Justine Maze & Post Traumatic
• July 15 — Madame Claude, Berlin, Germany
  with The Marquis is Dead and Nurse3d
  DJs: Tot Onyx & Berlin Bunny
  Lilii Mar performs with Hammer of Sex Virgin Killer.

Twenty-four hours after Berlin, the center of gravity shifts north. Sex Virgin Killer opens its first Finnish run at Helsinki’s Bar Loose, followed by shows at Suisto in Hämeenlinna, Vastavirta in Tampere, and Galleria Loiva in Kouvola. Across the four nights, the Tokyo group will be joined by a changing cast that includes Alucard, Ravenous Medicine, Silent Scream, Naakka, Aus Tears, Gravitational Constant, and Mimi De Morfin.

Sex Virgin Killer — Finland Tour 2026

• July 16 — Bar Loose, Helsinki
  with Alucard and Ravenous Medicine
• July 17 — Suisto, Hämeenlinna
  with Silent Scream and Naakka
• July 18 — Vastavirta, Tampere
  with Aus Tears, Gravitational Constant, and Mimi De Morfin
  Outo Valo will appear at a separate free event in the same building that day.
• July 19 — Galleria Loiva, Kouvola
  with Naakka

The tour also brings the finished vinyl edition of ANGEL (International Version) directly to European audiences. Released this past March through Young & Cold Records, the international edition is now available as a limited pressing of 333 copies. The records will make their first tour-merch appearance at Lilii Mar’s Berlin finale on July 15, before following Sex Virgin Killer throughout the Finnish dates beginning July 16.

ANGEL exists in two distinct forms: an international edition issued through Young & Cold Records and a Japanese edition released by masa’s own lilii sound loom. The versions differ in their mixes, mastering, track sequences, and visual presentation. The international edition was mixed and mastered by Daniel Hallhuber, with art direction by Atsuo of Boris, logo design by Lejoly Lucile, and photography by Yoshihiro Mori.

Across its nine tracks, the international version advances with severe, angular poise: guitars cutting in slanted lines, synthesizers gleaming like wet glass, and drums tightening each song into a dark ceremonial frame. Aisha and Lilii Mar layer and exchange vocals above arrangements produced by the band, while Hammer’s percussion and electronics keep the music moving between post-punk urgency, gothic drama, and coldwave restraint.

Among the record’s central cuts is “The Lights Will Fall (International Version)”, selected to soundtrack the tour announcement. It appears alongside “Angel,” “Bright Nightmare (ver. Dance in Gloomy Lights),” “Saturate My Soul,” “Parasite On You,” “The Arrow,” “A Stranger,” “Hikari No Tate,” and “Lissajous.”

Listen to ANGEL (International Version) and order the limited vinyl through Sex Virgin Killer’s Bandcamp or Young & Cold Records.

Follow Lilii Mar:

• Instagram — Sex Virgin Killer/Lilii Mar
• Bandcamp

Follow Sex Virgin Killer:

• Bandcamp — Worldwide Shipping
• SVK Web Store — Japan

The post Tokyo Darkwavers Lilii Mar and Sex Virgin Killer Embark on European Tour — SVK’s “ANGEL (International Version)” Out Now on Vinyl! appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

“AI generated” and “AI assisted” badges will help fans know what they’re getting. Continue reading…