Category: news

Merrimack debut a new single, a cover of “Wrong”, written by Martin L. Gore and originally recorded by Depeche Mode for their 2009 album Sounds Of The Universe.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mephisto Odyssey’s Mikael Johnston Receives RIAA Gold Certification for His “Crucified Dub” of Static-X’s “Push It”
Alternate version developed with Wayne Static during the band’s early Warner Bros. era earns Gold status, highlighting one of Static’s most notable creative collaborations outside Static-X
April 21, 2026 — The RIAA has officially certified Static-X’s iconic single “Push It” as Gold. Among the versions featured on the original 1999 maxi-single was the “Crucified Dub,” an alternate version created by Mikael Johnston of Mephisto Odyssey with creative input from Wayne Static.
Johnston recently completed a 2026 remaster of the track at Pop Twist Studios. The updated version is now streaming here:

The accompanying video was edited by filmmaker Matt Zane.
Wayne Static did not just approve of the “Crucified Dub” — he embraced it, recognizing the creative chemistry he shared with Johnston as something distinct from the core Static-X sound. That connection became the foundation for an ongoing creative partnership.
Static later contributed vocals and writing to Mephisto Odyssey’s “Crash” from the album The Deep Red Connection . The track was featured on the Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker soundtrack, received significant alternative rock radio play and MTV2/MTVX rotation, and was supported by a music video directed by Len Wiseman, featuring Koichi Fukuda on guitar.
Over the following years, Wayne Static continued to work with Johnston whenever he wanted to explore material outside the traditional Static-X framework. Johnston and Mephisto Odyssey contributed remixes and alternate versions for several key tracks, including:


“Love Dump” (Mephisto Odyssey Voodoo Mix) — featured on the 2001 film Valentine soundtrack
“Cold” (Mephisto Odyssey Remix) — released on German promotional singles tied to the Queen of the Damned soundtrack and distributed to winners of a Static-X fan contest
Additional remixes for Static-X tracks including “This Is Not” and “Black & White”

Johnston and Wayne Static remained close collaborators and friends until Static’s passing in October 2014.
In addition to his own work, Johnston has become a visible supporter of filmmaker Matt Zane’s upcoming unauthorized documentary on Wayne Static and Tera Wray, a project that has faced resistance in some circles. Johnston has granted Zane permission to use his 2025–2026 reimagining of “CRASH: Reborn” in the film.
“Wayne was genuinely happy with how the ‘Crucified Dub’ turned out, and that trust led to us working together on several projects over the years,” Johnston said. “I’m proud of the music we created together, and I’m happy to support Matt’s documentary. Wayne’s story deserves to be told honestly, not filtered or controlled by people with their own agendas.”
As interest in Wayne Static’s unreleased recordings and unfinished projects continues to grow, Johnston’s long and well-documented history with Static has placed him at the center of ongoing discussions about how the singer’s legacy should be preserved and presented moving forward.
Mikael Johnston continues to work at Pop Twist Studios in Texas.
Media Contact: poptwistmanagement@gmail.com & zach@metaldevastationradio.com

Grunge worship.

The post Matt Cameron (Soundgarden/Ex-Pearl Jam) Took On Bad Omens’ “Just Pretend” For Drumeo, Shared Praise For Sleep Token appeared first on Theprp.com.

The band were left stranded and have faced a domino effect of losses since.

The post Jungle Rot Launch GoFundMe After Canceled Flight Derailed Their European Tour appeared first on Theprp.com.

This month, Harmony Tividad releases Lifetime, the followup to her sleazy electro-pop masterpiece Gossip. So far she’s previewed Lifetime with “Where Strangers Go,” “Anything,” “Apple Pie,” and “I’m Still Learning How To Leave You,” all of which reverberate with the introspective indie pop of her Girlpool days. Now, she’s back with another one called “Best Dressed.”

The post Harmony Tividad – “Best Dressed” appeared first on Stereogum.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CEMETERY ROT UNCLOG THE SEWERS WITH NEW SELF-TITLED TRACK FROM UPCOMING ALBUM “DECOMPOSING BODIES UPON THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE”

From the filth-soaked underground of Kern County, California comes a new slab of pure death metal rot. Cemetery Rot return with a self-titled track lifted from their forthcoming full-length, Decomposing Bodies Upon the Altar of Sacrifice , arriving via CDN Records .
This is not polished. Not cleaned up. Not watered down for comfort. This is death metal dragged straight through the sewer line and left to ferment.
Cemetery Rot have always operated like they crawled out of the pipes rather than a practice space. Formed in 2022 by guitarist and vocalist Gar, the band quickly carved out a name with their debut EP Euphoric Consumption of Human Flesh , establishing a sound rooted in early 90s demo-era death metal brutality. No gloss. No compromise. Just decay, despair, and distortion.
Now they push deeper into the rot with a new self-titled track that sets the tone for their upcoming record Decomposing Bodies Upon the Altar of Sacrifice . The song leans hard into what the band has always represented, suffocating atmosphere, low end punishment, and that cold reminder of what death metal is supposed to feel like when it is done right.
Cemetery Rot describe themselves as coming “from the sewers,” and honestly, it tracks. This is music that sounds like it was unearthed, not recorded. A direct transmission from the slumber of decay, where everything is collapsing in slow motion and loving every second of it.
For anyone still loyal to the raw spirit of early tape-trading era death metal, this is aimed right at you.
Watch and listen here:
https://cdnrecords.com/artists/cemetery-rot/

ABOUT CEMETERY ROT

Cemetery Rot emerged in 2022 from Kern County, California, formed by guitarist and vocalist Gar. The project quickly built its identity around a sewer-drenched aesthetic and a sound inspired by early 90s death metal demos. Their work channels decay, despair, and suffocating atmosphere into a raw, unfiltered sonic assault.
ABOUT CDN RECORDS

CDN Records is dedicated to pushing extreme music in its rawest and most uncompromising forms, supporting artists who keep underground metal ugly, honest, and loud.
No polish. No filter. Just rot.

 Follow the band at these links:
https://cemeteryrot.bandcamp.com/track/it-came-from-the-sewers
https://www.instagram.com/cemetery_rot/
https://linktr.ee/cemetery_rot
https://cdnrecords.com/label-artists/cemetery-rot/

They might want to look into how to undo curses.

The post Vianova’s Laptop Hits The Stage After Their Drummer Required Surgery And His Live Fill-In Got Hospitalized appeared first on Theprp.com.

Celebrity cameos and classic Rush Easter eggs welcome fans to the show. Continue reading…

When Andy LaRocque says a new project came together naturally, he means it took 18 years. The seeds of Lex Legion — the debut album from the band of the same name — were planted back in 2008, when LaRocque and fellow King Diamond guitarist Pete Blakk started throwing riffs around in his studio outside Gothenburg. Nothing clicked into place right away. Life got in the way, as it tends to.

Then the pandemic hit, and suddenly there was time. Blakk played some of the material for Mikkey Dee, the longtime Scorpions drummer who spent two decades behind the kit for King Diamond. Mikkey‘s reaction was immediate. “Wow, this is really good,” LaRocque recalled Dee saying. “I want to be a part of this. Let’s call Andy to see if he’s interested, too.”

LaRocque said he barely needed to hear a note before signing on. “Pete and I work very well together, so I didn’t even really have to hear the songs. We’re going to do something good together — I was sure.”

From there, the band filled out into something that will look very familiar to fans of a certain classic King Diamond era: bassist Hal Patino and Pagan’s Mind vocalist Nils K. Rue rounded out the lineup, putting four-fifths of a classic King Diamond configuration back in the same room. Or at least in the same email chain. Given Dee‘s touring commitments with Scorpions, the album was recorded across multiple sessions, with Dee visiting the studio four or five separate times just to track drums.

The result is a debut that clocks in at under 40 minutes across nine songs, and LaRocque sees that brevity as a feature, not a flaw: “I think around 40 minutes is just perfect. It gets kind of intense. If you have good songs and good flow in the order of the songs, that’s a perfect length.”

He pointed to Van Halen II (32 minutes) and Rush‘s Hemispheres (36 minutes) as reference points, albums that made every second count. Lex Legion belongs in that same conversation.

The album opens with “Sleep Eternally,” which the label chose as the lead single. LaRocque said the band deferred to the label’s instincts on the single selections and had no regrets. “I think it was a great choice, actually.” The second single, “Gypsy Tears,” takes a different angle — something closer to a metal love story — and the video treatment matches the song’s vibe.

The sequencing holds up throughout. “Life Eternal” hits hard near the end of the record, a fast and aggressive cut that sets up the closing instrumental perfectly. That final piece brings the album home in a way LaRocque is clearly proud of: “There comes like an instrumental piece which just ends the album in a perfect way,” he said. “Hopefully, that’s what the listeners and the fans will appreciate. It’s just a great sequence the way it’s put together.”

One of the album’s subtler moments comes on “When the Stars Align,” where the keyboard work draws an unmistakable line back to the early King Diamond records, specifically the playing of Roberto Falcão, who appeared on Fatal Portrait and Abigail in the 1980s. LaRocque confirmed the connection was deliberate: he had reached out to Falcão in 2022 to contribute keyboards to some songs being written for the next King Diamond album, and that collaboration stuck with him.

“What you hear now is not by him, but it’s kind of inspired by Roberto, actually,” LaRocque said.

Those King Diamond recordings remain the benchmark in LaRocque‘s own mind. When asked about underrated work in his catalog, he acknowledged that listeners tend to fixate on the early records, and he gets it: “From Fatal Portrait up to maybe The Eye — of course we did a lot of really good things after that, too, but there is something special about those first four or five albums that you’ll remember forever. It was very unique, and it was a different time.”

On the topic of Patino, whose exit from King Diamond over a decade ago was reportedly not smooth, LaRocque was characteristically blunt: water under the bridge. “That was like 12, 13 years ago. We’re too old to hold grudges. We just want to have a good time and be friends.”

Rue was chosen partly for his vocal range, broad enough to handle whatever the material demands without defaulting to constant high-pitch histrionics, and partly because LaRocque already knew him from a project 15 years prior. Geography also factored in; Rue is based in Scandinavia and can make the trip to Gothenburg without anyone booking a transatlantic flight.

“His range is amazing, but we didn’t want him to sing high-pitched all the time — though he can do that if it’s necessary,” LaRocque said. “And he’s a good friend, which matters, too.”

The band is already developing material for a second album, described as being in roughly the same territory as the debut. LaRocque was careful to frame Lex Legion as its own thing rather than a continuation of any prior band.

“We don’t want it to be like a clone or copy or even a continuation of something we did before. This is something we try to make completely new. But again, you can’t really erase the way we play or the way we think when it comes to writing and playing music. You will hear some 80s influences in the music, of course.”

Live shows are being planned for 2027, with the caveat that the album’s current runtime is too short for a full headline set. The plan is to have new songs ready, possibly a second release as early as next spring or summer, before committing to a touring schedule. For now, LaRocque and the band are waiting to see how the debut lands. Given what’s on it, the wait should be short.

Lex Legion is out June 12 via MNRK Heavy. Order your copy here.

The post “You Can’t Really Erase The Way We Play Or The Way We Think,” Says ANDY LAROCQUE — And LEX LEGION’s Debut Proves It In Spades appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

The group were headed out that way in July/August.

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