Nick Bellerose’s About Us leans into a warm, twangy Americana sound, blending country-rock textures with the intensity of an all-consuming love story. The track carries a cinematic quality, pairing earthy instrumentation with a sense of emotional urgency that recalls classic country songwriting while retaining a contemporary indie-folk character. Produced by Harper James, the song draws inspiration from Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire, particularly its combination of desire, danger, and irresistible momentum. Bellerose’s songwriting focuses on the dizzying pull of love and lust, giving the track a passionate, direct quality. His broader musical identity is rooted in cinematic indie-folk, shaped by a life of dramatic changes and experiences around the world. About Us captures that restless spirit through its organic sound, memorable twang, and emotionally charged storytelling.
Multi-platinum and chart-topping hard rock outfit Bad Wolves issued their new single and music video ‘Paint It Red’ via Better Noise Music at the top of the summer. It served as the band’s first release of 2026 and the opening salvo for new singer Killboy (Sara Skinner), who made her fiery debut as the band’s new vocalist with the track. […]
Website [Release date 21.08.26] The title track opens the album with a seven minute autobiographical, anti-capitalist, anti-racist, influence checking stream of consciousness, my mouth was dry by the end of it. What an opener, and once Jack Kerouac was mentioned I … Continue reading →
Enervate is one of my favorite bands to come out of the Midwest in a while representing the exploding DIY scene in Milwaukee. All I have to say about this band is if you don’t know them you’re going to be stoked on them by the end of this article.
I found Enervate initially because they were opening up for one of my favorite bands at the time, Buggin, at Schubas in Chicago. Like most hardcore lineups this one had five to six openers with Enervate’s set in the middle. I try to listen to all the openers before a show to hype myself up and get a sense for how the night is going to go.
The band had just released their EP “All Said and Done” and Don’t Need You was the first in their Top Songs section. I was chilling in my friends basement and we put the song on and immediately had an “OH SHIT these guys are sick” moment. The songs on the EP are heavily emotion driven with super heavy breakdowns and you’ve gotta keep your head on a swivel in the pit.
“My Own Piece of Mind” picks right up where their previous projects left off. Their hard nosed sound is driven by lyrics that exude anger and frustration coming from state of the community and the haters that pretend to be a part of it, and the feeling of being stuck in life with no way out. While the EP airs a lot out its also combined with a sense of optimism that through it all you can change your situation through determination. This sense of hopefulness comes through in a more subtle way as songs like Pass Me By and Keep My Flame show the band’s sense of self exploration both personally and musically.
I had a chance to catch up with bassist, Tom Hively, about the new EP and here is what he had to say about inspiration and behind the scenes process of recording the project.
Milwaukee has a really cool hardcore scene, but I feel like it’s not as well known outside of the Midwest. What was it like coming up in that scene and how do you feel like it helped to shape your identity and sound?
“Milwaukee has always been a scene where you have to work hard for what you want and nothing is handed to you. Whether it’s getting bands to come play here, finding venues to even book shows at, or to get people to come to your shows. I feel like Enervate has always kept that DIY mindset in the approach to the band. We started the band to play local shows and to have fun with our friends. Nothing more. And we are very thankful for anything that we get to do besides that.”
How did you guys get started?
Adam (guitar) and Sean (drums) had been jamming together a little bit in 2019 in between tours of their previous band Low End. I had always wanted to do a band with Adam so the 3 of us started jamming together. We had met Lan (vocals) the previous year and thought he would be the perfect person to front it. We recorded the first demo in Feb 2020 with plans to play the first show in March 2020 and well, we all know what happened there. By the time we were able to play our first show in September of 2021, Marcus (guitar) had joined us to solidify the lineup.
What is/was your song writing process? Where were you guys pulling inspiration from for the EP? What are your inspirations in general as a band?
“Typically, someone will have a song written (or at least an idea) and bring it to practice and we’ll all provide feedback / input. It’s a collaborative process for sure. A Lot of the times what we start out with is not at all how the song actually ends up. I personally don’t write any of the music but for inspiration, we always pull from the NYHC sound but try to insert our own flair to it. We want our songs to be simple and groovy and get stuck in your head. We’re not a dance hard band but if you want, that’s cool; if you want to just bob your head and have a good time, that’s cool too.”
What was the recording process like? Who was the EP recorded with? Are there any good stories you have from the studio?
“We recorded the EP with Collin St Mary at 19 Stars Recording in Northwest Indiana. He has recorded everything we have put out thus far besides the first demo. I believe we were able to get everything done besides vocals in 2 days. Collin always offers advice / input but isn’t pushy or anything and just lets us do our thing. No crazy studio stories or anything but I did make Adam record the bass parts because I wanted them to sound better than if I did it.”
Songs like Pass Me By and Keep My Flame tease a little bit of a new direction for the sound. What was the intention there? What’s the vision for the sound going forward?
“We wanted to try something new without totally changing the sound up. Don’t worry, we won’t ever write a pop punk record or anything. But every now and again, Lan would throw in some melodic vocals live and we knew we could do something cool with it. We didn’t have a goal to do more melodic parts really, it just kind of happened. We want it to feel organic and not forced and I think we captured that feeling.”
Overarching themes are pretty strong and seems to be a fear of getting stuck, both literally and metaphorically, and a determination to not let people or circumstances get in your way. What’s the story behind this or if there are a bunch of things where are they coming from?
“Lan writes all of our lyrics but he actually provided some insight in our interview with Tyler from LDB Records and I will provide that here. “I tried to write on topics that occupied my mind a lot in the time leading up to recording. No Turning Back was a song of frustration – people that love to critique things from the outside but claim to be in it. Never actually contributing to a solution and eventually moving on to the next thing to critique. Whether it’s hardcore, real-life shit, whatever. Pass Me By was a reflection of how I felt in my own life experience at the time, feeling stagnant. I wish there were cooler stories behind some of it, but that’s how this record developed lyrically. Felt a lot like venting”.”
It’s really cool you teamed up with Hold My Own for the title track. How did you guys get linked up with them/what was it like working with them? Any good stories there?
“We’ve known Anchit for a long time, I want to say like 2011 or 2012. I met Greg in 2021 when I booked Hold My Own in Milwaukee. We’ve played a bunch of shows with them and love their band and them as people. We wanted someone to feature on My Own Peace Of Mind and Greg was one of the first people we thought of. We asked and he immediately said yes.”
*All photos are from their first show in Chicago post relase.
Def Leppard guitarist Vivian Campbell says that his cancer has returned.
In June 2025, the 63-year-old Irish guitarist reported that he was “completely in remission” from Hodgkin lymphoma, the blood cancer with which he was diagnosed in 2013. Speaking with Eddie Trunk on his SiriusXM show Trunk Nation, Campbell said “doctors told me really my only chance for [a] cure was to do a donor [stem cell] transplant. And that’s exactly what I did.”
But in a new interview conducted with Francisco Sigüenza of El Salvador’s Radio YSKL FM (as reported by Blabbermouth), the former Sweet Savage, Dio and Whitesnake guitarist reveals that the transplant “didn’t stick”, and that the cancer is back.
“There’s only been one time that I felt it was gonna kill me,” Campbell admits. “In the winter of 2023, I got really scared about what was happening and the pace at which it was happening. And I realized at that point that I had to do a donor transplant. It was my only hope to survive. And that’s what I did. I did that in January of ’25. I did a donor transplant. Unfortunately, it didn’t stick. So the cancer has returned. And I’m continuing treatments to manage it.
“I’ll probably have to do another transplant within a few years with another donor to try and see if maybe that would cure me,” he says. “But in the meantime, I’m certainly not slowing down. I’m doing as much with my life as possible, not just with Def Leppard and with [side project] Last In Line I’m also rally driving, ’cause I always wanted to do that. So I’ve been doing that more and more, ’cause I love cars and I love driving
“Life is for the living,” Campbell adds. “And I encourage everyone to look after their own health. And if you are unfortunate enough to get a cancer diagnosis to overcome the fear. Fear is inevitable when you’re first told those words. But once you get over that, you gotta realize just how to manage it and how to deal with it as best as possible, and just don’t give in.”
“I have met people in my life who, when they’ve gotten a cancer diagnosis, they’ve only focused on that,” the guitarist notes. “And they think, ‘Oh, I can’t do anything. I need to stay in bed. I can’t eat this. I can’t do that. I can’t go there.’ I’ve never felt that way. I’ve always felt like I’m gonna continue to live my life as much as possible. In fact, even more so.”
Def Leppard will tour South America in October/November, calling at:
Oct 17: Queretaro Autodroma Queretaro, MEX Oct 19: Mexico City Palacio de los Deportes, MEX Oct 21: Guadalajara, Arena VFG Guadalajara, MEX Oct 24: San Salvador Estadio Cuscatlan, SLV Oct 27: Alajuela Parque Viva, CRI Oct 30: Quito Estadio Olimpico Atahualpa, ECU Nov 02: Bogota Movistar Arena, COL Nov 05: Buenos Aires, Movistar Arena, ARG Nov 08: Santiago Movistar Arena, CHL
Color Of Noise’s Sling It Back channels the experience of recovering from a painful past into a confident, guitar-driven alternative rock track. Written after the completion of the debut album Noise Therapy, which explored the personal fallout of a destructive relationship, the song shifts its focus toward moving forward and rebuilding with the support of people who can genuinely be trusted. There is a sense of resilience running through the track, balancing the weight of its subject matter with a more determined and forward-looking energy. Rather than remaining caught in the past, Sling It Back captures the feeling of reclaiming confidence and finding strength in genuine connections. It works as a natural continuation of the story established on Noise Therapy, turning personal hardship into a message of recovery, trust, and renewed independence.
British death thrashers The Bleeding have unleashed “Immortal Flesh”, the newest preview tune from their upcoming record Godless Communion set to be out on the 18th of September (Redefining Darkness Records). Read more…
Johan Ernst Lindstrand, the vocalist of Swedish death thrash masters The Crown, revealed final Asian tour dates, scheduled to be executed in October. Read more…
