Category: news

Ohio metalcore favourites MISS MAY I are thrilled to share the first taste of new music for 2026 and they drop the video for new single Die on the Vine, which is full of galloping guitars, plate-shifting breakdowns, and memorable melodies.

“Die on the Vine captures a mid-life reckoning — coming to terms with how deeply childhood experiences and unresolved trauma shape who we become,” the band explains. “The song reflects the moment where denial stops working and self-awareness sets in. If those patterns are something you have to live with, the choice becomes whether to decay under their weight or grow stronger through them. Die on the Vine leans into that tension, framing survival as adaptation: sharpening your thorns over time instead of letting the damage define you.”

What wise words set to a metallic maelstrom! MMI will appear at both Inkcarceration Festival in Ohio and Rock Fest in Wisconsin this coming July. More live shows will be announced in due course.

For now, though, it’s time to Die on the Vine. Die on the Vine follows last summer’s video for Pray For Silence.

DIE ON THE VINE – OUT NOW
https://mmi.ffm.to/die

The post MISS MAY I Share First New Music Of 2026 With Video For ‘Die on the Vine’ appeared first on The Rockpit.

This song hits you like an early Led Zep riff, then Samantha launches into some vocals so brimming with attitude they blow you back and pin your ears to the wall. This song is already getting airplay on Planet Rock, … Continue reading →

The post Single review: SAMANTHA FISH – Rusty Razor appeared first on Get Ready to ROCK!.

If, like me, you played a lot of the original Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), then you might agree that the game has a nigh unbeatable vibe. The densely forested hills rolling into the distance, the subtle call of a nearby Nirnroot, the grossly overconfident mudcrabs, the endearing jank of two townspeople conversing like they’ve only just discovered human language; it’s a distinctly cozy high fantasy setting that feels like home in a way few modern games could hope to replicate. Thus, I was excited to learn that Velothian, the epic post-black metal act that was previously featured on the 2024 EP Roundup for their Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind-themed EP Path of the Incarnate, now draws from Oblivion as inspiration for their debut full-length, Mythic Dawn. Path of the Incarnate enraptured me with its intimate riff-work and imaginative atmospheres, so with Mythic Dawn, has Velothian survived their first jump from EP to full-length?

Velothian play a folk-tinged, somber kind of epic/ethereal post-black metal that strikes a good balance between distant tranquility and gritty textures. While there’s a great deal of woodsy ambiance and dreamy chants, the metal enjoys a satisfying, weighty presence whether it’s airy, open-note chords à la Alcest (“The Great Forest,” “Forgotten Ruins,” “Mania”) or direct, blasting riffs (“The One From My Dreams,” “Dragonfires”). Mythic Dawn uses its inspiration tastefully to create something all its own, never feeling schlocky or gimmicky like “video-game metal” often does. Speaking of, I was elated to discover some references to the original Oblivion OST throughout Mythic Dawn. For example, the soft piano melody of Oblivion’s “Auriel’s Ascension” translates beautifully into acoustic guitars and serves as a jumping-off point for the sunlit harmonies of “Mania,” and the game’s main theme makes an understated appearance in “The One From My Dreams.”¹ I appreciate that Mythic Dawn never feels like a direct 1:1 of Oblivion’s music or aesthetic, maintaining its own identity and imagery even as it incorporates melodies from the game’s OST such that those unfamiliar with Oblivion won’t feel like they’re missing something.

In Mythic Dawn, Velothian have preserved that expansive yet grounded quality I loved about Path of the Incarnate and even improved on it through tighter songwriting and a more verdant soundscape. One ought look to “The Great Forest” for how Velothian construct atmospheres with intelligence and restraint: softly striking guitars ring between rich arboreal sounds and sparse chanting, blooming into a simple but textured, evocative riff in the verse. “Mania” is another atmospherically decadent track, sustaining nearly every note played to create a dreamy haze above gorgeous chord progressions. Velothian understand the benefit of brevity, never bogging a song down with an excess of mindless riffing or languid ambiance, which keeps a slower song like “Forgotten Ruins” or a more varied track like “Night Mother” engaging throughout. Whereas the textures and melodies paint the vivid imagery, it’s largely the guitar’s mixing that gives the music its tactile, grounded feeling. It’s felt especially strongly in the galloping “The One From My Dreams” where the riffs have a gripping, full-bodied crunch to them that draws you in and directly places you into the world Velothian are evoking.

It’s clear that Velothian have grown a lot in the time leading up to this debut, but that does serve to highlight the few areas that stand to further improve. While the mix is overall an improvement over Path of the Incarnate’s, the cymbals can be a little distracting in the heavier tracks, namely “The One From My Dreams.” Though both “Mania” and “Dragonfires” are well-written, each song ends with non-sequiturs that don’t feel properly fleshed out. “Deadlands” is the only track that actually loses me; the riff-work is solid, and I enjoy how the drums resolve into the chorus, but it lacks the quiet, moving majesty of the other songs that keep me returning to them. But ultimately, these finer details of Mythic Dawn do little to diminish its charm or impact. When Mythic Dawn ends (after a tasteful 40-minute runtime, might I add), the good always shines much brighter than the not-as-good.

I’ve long been excited for what Velothian would do after Path of the Incarnate, and Mythic Dawn has rewarded my patience. This album is an improvement on their previous work in many ways: the songwriting is tighter, the sound is crisper, and the atmospheres more vivid. Velothian are still a little rough around the edges, but Mythic Dawn nevertheless well establishes Velothian’s unique voice and songcraft. This is maturely written, and imaginative ethereal post-black metal that has cemented Velothian as one of the better video-game-based metal bands out there, and I shall be enjoying Mythic Dawn for a long time yet.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: PCM
Label: Self-Release
Websites: facebook | bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: February 1st, 2026

The post Velothian – Mythic Dawn Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Winter is the worst time of year. Christmas falls at its halfway point, a celebration of its ending, almost as though we’re saying “Thank god, the light is returning.” Things are different in Finland. Toward the arctic circle, the sun is shrouded by the horizon. For fifty days a year, the country is lost in the deep, unending darkness of winter. The sun never rises. This is the place Atlas call home. ‘Sunder’ is their third album, one bathed in this atmosphere. It captures the dark, the torment of existing within it and explores how a massive guitar riff might just save you.

Using the opening track ‘Sermon Of The Dying Light’, they quickly establish the tone of what will follow; layering on that atmosphere bringing to mind the setting sun, the creeping sense of dread, the night stretching over the landscape. It’s a short but effective way of drawing you in. Then the riffs are unleashed. Like its name suggests, ‘Tower’ is a massive, imposing achievement. Perhaps the album’s most straightforward song, it is built around a huge groove and a stuttering, almost djent guitar. It has a strong sense of momentum and sets the tone using vocals that are a roar and cockroach hiss. This neatly establishes the band’s songwriting credentials before collapsing completely into a rumbling rush of double bass pedal and eerie moans. It is, in a word, great. ‘Salt and Sulphur’ shares its style and clear vision, but uses a pagan-style chanting and is the first time we hear gasps of beautiful singing. This is also where the album shows its hand; it’s both carefully layered and emotionally complex.

As a five-piece metal band with no designated synth or player, it is implied that the album’s tone and indeed its personality, are shaped by Buster Odeholm’s mixing and mastering; aware of its contrasts and striking a careful balance. It’s structured but never clean-cut, with vocals often relegated to being a strange, distant screech, almost like the void calling out, but it’s never glossy nor off-putting. The way the sounds weave together is dark and delicious, like a black forest gateaux; thick and rich, yet sinfully gluttonous.

The obvious comparison here is Orbit Culture and their recent album ‘Death Above Life’, not just because the bands are on tour together either. The sound is dark, heavy, propulsive and they share the same massive, eardrum bursting guitar chords and thumping rhythm parts. Although Atlas’ work shares the same sense of darkness it is more ruminant, more thoughtful, deeper. So, of course, they then start to do something different.

With three albums under their belt, they have the experience – and the established discography – to leave the straightforward behind. The deep and darkly beautiful ‘I Whisper Your Name Like A Curse’ is a masterpiece of haunting melancholy. It stings like snow blown across the wilderness, the cold and bitterness of the darkest nights. The aptly named ‘Coven Of Two’ combines a similar sound with a heavier, metallic structure and in doing so produces the album’s striking lead single. Impressive on its own, in context it becomes bridge between two emotions, it’s the point where the band’s muscles starts to flex.

At the halfway mark ‘Altar Of Your Love’ splinters the sound. The slow, thumping drums give it space to expand and shift the tone, creating a clear, thoughtful split. It’s like it physically moves the record from rolling despair to anxiety based distress. On the record’s first half the darkness is oppressive but it’s never smothering, ‘Tower’ and ‘Salt And Sulphur’ feel like big groove-based metal songs while on the second it’s more expansive and emotional, the trick is that it’s always compelling. It’s never insufferable, it’s never repellent, but equally it avoids a slight, mainstream sound. There’s a careful balance that is reinforced by the album’s short, focused runtime. Curiously, there is a shift, just a small space, where another track might have slotted, but what makes it so interesting is that it’s one you subconsciously fill with hope.

In Finland, national service is mandatory. All men are required to complete a year in the army. The meaning of this has changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Less a formality, duty or an adventure, it comes with a sense of foreboding. The genuine sense that your life might be at stake in a game you cannot control. ‘Sunder’ has this in the back of its mind, it is no surprise the record embraces a sense of emotional turmoil, particularly in its second half. ‘Anodyne’, with the addition of female vocals and pick scratches, all wrapped in the shrouds found in the record’s first half, perfectly captures the sound of distress and makes it the record’s most striking and defining song.

The production is powerful and there is a slick sense of self; this is an accessible, artistic metal record, filled with strong songs. ‘Sunder’ is a portrait of distress and despair painted with the sadness of winter.

IAN KENWORTHY