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Along with a new merch drop for it.

The post Lorna Shore’s “War Machine” Music Video Debuts appeared first on Theprp.com.

General Information

Personnel:

Nicole Willerton – vocals
Tuomas Seppälä – keyboards, guitars
Emil Pohjalainen – guitar
Joonas Pykälä-aho – drums
Jukka Hoffren – bass

Producer: Tuomas Seppälä
Release Date: June 26, 2026
Record Label: Napalm Records

Setting the Scene

It takes a certain kind of confidence to reach your eleventh album and decide not to keep doing what has always worked. Amberian Dawn spent years shaping a sound that served them well, but Temptation’s Gates makes it plain the Finnish quintet has no interest in standing still. The reason for that change is Nicole Willerton. Making her debut behind the microphone, she isn’t here just to sing the melodies and keep everything in order. She brings a little more weight and roughness into the band’s soaring songs. It is a clear turn toward a heavier sound, one that gives an already strong catalog a fresh sense of purpose.

First Impression

Imagine sitting at your desk, buried in numbers, stubborn computers, and people who seem determined to make the day longer than it ought to be, only to find yourself on a horse crossing wide green plains. That would be a welcome change, wouldn’t it? Then the horse lifts off the ground and keeps right on going through the sky. That is about the same feeling I had the moment Temptation’s Gates began to play. The music carries a steady weight beneath melodies that drift high above it, and the two move together so naturally that the whole thing feels both grand and easy at the same time.

Similar Sounds

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

NightwishStratovariusSonata ArcticaXandria

Visual Vibes

The album cover depicts Taylor Momsen seated at a school desk, staring into a barren wall beneath a black cross pointing downward. This stark visual of isolated rebellion perfectly captures the dark emotional territory and heavy, unfiltered grit driving the music.

Track on Repeat

“Moon”

“Moon” places carefully woven vocals over a truly heavy instrumental rush before breaking into a soaring guitar solo. If this album were a city, this track would be the beautiful landmark that both the people who live there and those just passing through would make time to visit.

In-depth Notes

Musical Shape 🎸

The music on Temptation’s Gates is a bird with two wings: a flowing melodic side and a powerful layer of guitars and drums. Both work together perfectly, carrying the songs through the air with a graceful sense of movement. The title track gets things moving immediately with a fast melody that wastes no time taking flight. “The Vision of Dreaming” handles the heavier parts of the journey, building from atmospheric verses into crushing choruses before settling into a calmer bridge that keeps the whole thing from becoming a one-note sprint. The band keeps this energetic momentum going until “Undying Colours” finally gives the listener a chance to rest. Here, the tempo drops and the aggression fades away at exactly the right moment. Then “Moon” comes in and tears that calm apart. It opens with a rapid guitar riff and keeps the instrumental side running at full speed until the solo reaches its highest point. “The Garden” follows with more strong instrumental moments before “Phantasmagoria” brings everything to a close with a beautifully melodic finale.

Vocal Performance 🎤

Nicole Wellerton steps into the role of the new vocalist and immediately proves to be a remarkably fitting addition to the band. Her voice has a perfect tone that follows the melody so closely that the two might as well be glued together. The title track introduces her with undeniable flair, while “The Vision of Dreaming” puts her versatility to work right away. She carries the calm bridge with pure vocal control before the song throws her back into its heavier sections. She handles incredible high notes and harsh vocals with the same steady confidence. On “Moon,” her singing intertwines naturally with the rapid instrumentation, eventually returning after the guitar solo to push an already epic song to an even higher peak. Even when the pace slows to a crawl on “Undying Colours,” her performance remains just as impressive. She moves through every technical and melodic challenge this album demands without ever sounding like the music is asking too much of her.

Themes and Concepts 💭

Lyrically, the album takes on the rather complicated business of admitting what the heart wants, escaping the judgment of others, finding hope in a world that often seems determined to crush it, and searching for something deeper than ordinary connections. Thankfully, the music does not stand in the corner pretending it has nothing to do with all this trouble. The frantic heavy riffs carry the feeling of wrestling with inner demons, while the sweeping melodies and sudden changes in pace arrive like moments of clear air after a long struggle. The songs understand that even the darkest thoughts occasionally need a place to rest.

Final Verdict

★★★★★★★★☆☆

It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Temptation’s Gates taking off beautifully with brilliant vocals and a wonderfully heavy melodic flow before making a perfect landing.

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…

Working on arts – good for inspiration
Driving – windows closed, singing your heart out along
Thinking in nature – symphonic metal in nature is like the tzatziki in gyros
Working at office – especially when you need to get rid of the noise Steve makes. Fuck you, Steve

Get the Album

Napalm Records

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The post Album Review | Amberian Dawn – “Temptation’s Gates” first appeared on FemMetal – Goddesses of Metal.

“Ain’t no post-credits scene. We can all just leave.” That’s the refrain from Open Mike Eagle and Kenny Segal’s new single “Watching A Movie Called Freedom By Myself.” I don’t think we’re supposed to take that line literally. Similarly, I don’t think this is a song about a solo viewing of Freedom, the 2014 film in which Cuba Gooding Jr. escapes slavery on the Underground Railroad. Or at least it’s not just about that. I think the “freedom” here is more conceptual, and so is the “movie.” Open Mike Eagle is a master of the allegory, and he’s found a resonant one here.

The post Open Mike Eagle & Kenny Segal – “Watching A Movie Called Freedom By Myself” appeared first on Stereogum.

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Anthrax have today released “The Edge Of Perfection,” the second single from their long-awaited 12th full-length studio album Cursum Perficio out September 18 via Megaforce Records. The new single is highlighted by clean guitar echoes and cymbals that gently shake until a blastbeat blows open the doors. Guitars buzz like a motorboat on the River Styx, making waves through the darkness. In their wake, a crushing rhythm trails the melody of lead singer Joey Belladonna’s lament, “My heart breaks…I’m on the edge…I’m on the edge of perfection.”

For the video, the multi-Grammy Award-nominated New York hard rock titans—Scott Ian (guitar), Charlie Benante (drums), Frank Bello (bass), Joey Belladonna (vocals), and Jonathan Donais (guitar)—teamed up with director and Academy Award-winner Joel Harlow (Star Trek and Alice in Wonderland) to create a spectacular cinematic experience that takes the hero from a dream into an evening of magic where he encounters underworld evil, interspersed with live performance footage.

The clip includes appearances from martial artist Wes Scarpias, actress Ashley Edner-Tancharoen, actor Troy James, actor and Academy-Award winning make-up and special effects creator Rick Baker, actor Rod Maxwell, and actor Fedor Steer.

“It’s the apex predator of Anthrax songs,” grins Ian. “I think it’s the best song we’ve ever written and the best thing I’ve ever been a part of creatively. What’s the most powerful emotion that moves me more than anything? Of course, it’s love. Nothing moves me like the deep feeling that I get from my wife and son. I’m living on that edge for the rest of my life. This is mine, but there are a lot of ways to ruin it. I’ve ruined it in past iterations of my life, but it got me to where I am. Love is perfection, and I like being on the edge of it. I don’t want everything to be about all of the same shit. This record has a whole bunch of love, a whole bunch of fun, and a little hate.”

Benante adds: “When I think about songs like ‘Only’ and ‘Indians,’ you know that you hit something and you can feel it. That’s the way I felt about ‘The Edge Of Perfection.’”

“The Edge Of Perfection” follows Cursum Perficio’s first single and video, “It’s For The Kids.” It’s a classic Anthrax ripper locked and loaded with buzzsaw-sharp riffs, explosive drumming, and a howling and head-banging hook. It undoubtedly has all the makings of a future live staple.

Cursum Perficio marks the band’s first record in ten years since 2016’s For All Kings, which debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. The phrase Cursum Perficio is Latin for “My journey has come to an end,” “My journey is over,” or “I complete my journey.” It proves apropos for such a complete body of work.

Cursum Perficio can be pre-order/pre-save here in the following available formats:

• Standard CD
• Target exclusive CD with a fabric patch of the album cover
• Standard black double LP with pop-up gatefold
• Target exclusive double LP
• Red zoetrope with pop up gatefold
• Amazon exclusive double LP
• Purple zoetrope LP with pop-up gatefold
• Merch exclusive
• Lilac vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold
• Metal Injection exclusive white vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold
• Talk Shop Live exclusive signed with red ripple vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold; Indie exclusive – red, orange yellow vinyl double LP with pop-up gatefold.

The band dove into recording Cursum Perficio in earnest during 2022, working out of Dave Grohl’s Studio 606 in Los Angeles. They carefully pieced together what would be this magnum opus, mining their history with reverence, delivering on fan expectations tenfold, and broadening the scope of their signature sound. Produced by Jay Ruston and Anthrax, the result is an album that’s as angry, aggressive, and alive as their most celebrated fare.

The post ANTHRAX Shares Second Single Video “The Edge Of Perfection” From Their Upcoming Album “Cursum Perficio” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Greetings, Decibel readers!

We’ve got a lot of great music for you this week, as all five albums below represent a different take on dark extremity. From punk-rock bluster to brutal death detonations, you’ll have no shortage of sonic energy to fuel your weekend.

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Cranial Osteotomy – Vortex of the Dark Knowledge

Alright, let’s just blow the doors off right away. This is the band’s first album since 2011’s Victim of Wicked Sickness. And although the wait has been long, it should prove totally worth it for fans of brutal death metal. If you know what you want and you want it done well (and you like it brutal), then stare right into the vortex, my friends.

Stream: Apple Music

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Grim Legion – Harbingers of Death

From our full-album stream of Harbingers of Death:

“Grim Legion is quite a departure from the music that guitarists John Paradiso and Randy Cavanaugh play with funeral doom mainstay Evoken. No one who’s heard Evoken will be surprised that Paradiso and Cavanaugh have technical chops, but they might be surprised by the speed, precision and frantic solos on Harbingers of Death. They’re matched in intensity by drummer Ryan Donato, who blasts forward with impressive energy. When Grim Legion do slow down, it recalls the death/doom style of Asphyx or Incantation.”

Stream: Apple Music

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Haserot – Advent of Suffering

A new contender enters the death metal arena! Haserot hails from Houston, Texas, and this is the band’s debut album. The band’s style is punchy, powerful, and shows a contemplative side that makes songs like “Madness and the Void” worth revisiting to hear what you missed the first time around. It’s a finely honed sound that most strongly resembles Bloodbath in that it takes a classic death metal sound and seeks a path to carry it into the future.

Stream: Apple Music

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NightFreak – Midwest Rattlesnakes

Punk rock made by people who love metal! Basically think of Zeke if they threw in some 80s riffs and drum patterns, then called up the guys from Every Time I Die to collaborate on the final product. I’m extremely picky when it comes to punk nowadays, but these Chicago-based outfit has my full endorsement.

Stream: Apple Music

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Sojourner – Gateways

Good to catch up with this band and their epic and theatrical take on gothic black metal. It’s basically like Draconian if they decided to play fast. I really liked what they band was up to on Premonitions and it’s great to hear them further perfect their brand of melancholic fury.

Stream: Apple Music

The post Five For Friday: July 10, 2026 appeared first on Decibel Magazine.