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Story Of The Year has released their seventh studio album, A.R.S.O.N., out everywhere now via SharpTone Records.

A.R.S.O.N. is where energy, emotion, and precision collide. It proves that Story of the Year thrives in the tension between rage and restraint, destruction and rebirth, channeling catharsis with deliberate control. An acronym for All Rage, Still Only Numb, the title sets the stage for a record that turns their explosive intensity and heaviest material yet inward, grappling with anxiety, emotional unrest, and the shadows we carry. Fusing the sharp, modern post-hardcore sound that’s earned them countless fans with polished production and flashes of their early roots, A.R.S.O.N. captures a band pushing forward: matured, focused, and fearless as ever.

Listen to A.R.S.O.N. HERE

“With A.R.S.O.N., we wanted to continue the energy and momentum that we built on Tear Me To Pieces. We once again put every bit of heart and soul into writing songs that we truly love and connect with,” shares frontman Dan Marsala. “A.R.S.O.N. has some of the heaviest songs we’ve ever written, but also some of the biggest choruses of our career. We’ve never been afraid to take chances with our writing, and this record is no different! We went back with the amazing Colin Brittain to produce and co-write, with help from co-producers Dan Book and Kevin McCombs. Such an amazing team of talented humans! They continue to make our band sound better than ever!”

From the emotional and instrumental intensity of Disconnected to the balance of rage and melody in focus track See Through, A.R.S.O.N. finds the band at their most sonically aggressive and evolved, finding their own version of heaviness. “The great songs are never the ones you agonize over. They just sort of happen. That is our mindset these days: nothing is forced or calculated. Lyric ideas free flow with no real agenda, and the first couple of lines begin to inform us what the song wants to be about. Same with the music: sometimes it’s heavy, sometimes it’s acoustic. It’s whatever happened to come out that day. When you get into that zone the great songs almost write themselves. It’s a beautiful place to be, and that was the mindset of A.R.S.O.N.,” explains guitarist Ryan Phillips.

Story Of The Year exploded onto the scene with their groundbreaking debut Page Avenue, one of the first albums of its kind to sell over a million copies. The breakout single Until the Day I Die quickly became both an enduring anthem and a mission statement for the band. What began as four friends working in a St. Louis pizza joint evolved into a movement, connecting deeply with fans through every era. From Page Avenue (2003) to In the Wake of Determination (2005), The Black Swan (2008), The Constant (2010), Wolves (2017), and Tear Me to Pieces (2023) the band, comprised of Dan Marsala, Ryan Phillips, Josh Wills, and Adam Russell, has delivered a signature blend of melodic aggression, raw vulnerability, and anthems built to scream along to in the dark.

A.R.S.O.N. TRACK LISTING:
01.Gasoline (All Rage Still Only Numb)
02. Disconnected
03. See Through
04. Fall Away
05. 3 am
06. Into The Dark
07. My Religion
08. Halos
09. Good for Me / Feel so Bad
10. Better Than High
11. I Don’t Wanna Feel Like This Anymore

Credit: Marcus Wallinder

2026 is shaping up to be another impressive year for the band. They kicked off the year with performances on the Emo’s Not Dead Cruise, and will celebrate the release of the record with an in-store signing at Vintage Vinyl in their hometown of St. Louis today, followed by a special headlining show tomorrow. Later in the year, they’ll bring their infectious energy to the stages of The OC Super Show, Welcome To Rockville, Sonic Temple Festival, Download Festival, Upheaval Festival, and Rock Fest. A full list of dates can be found below, and tickets can be purchased at https://www.storyoftheyear.net/tour.

The post STORY OF THE YEAR Release Highly Anticipated 7th Album ‘A.R.S.O.N.’ Out Everywhere Now appeared first on The Rockpit.

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 →

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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

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