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  • Kissing Kaos: New Video ‘Heartache & Scars’ Out Today

    Kissing Kaos unveil today the official video for ‘Heartache & Scars‘, a heartfelt anthem about turning life’s struggles into strength. With its soaring chorus, driving guitars and powerful melodic hooks, the track raises a glass to the scars we carry and the experiences that made us who we are, refusing to look back and choosing […]

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  • Reviews: Iron Flame, Only Echoes, Castiel, Suffer UK (Matt Bladen)

    Ironflame – Worlds To Conquer (High Roller Records)

    Ohio musician Andrew Della Cagna has been a a got it name on the Ohio trad metal scene for a long time now. He’s been a part of Brimstone Coven and Icarus Witch but Ironflame has always been his pet project. It’s Cagna’s solo outfit as he writes, plays and sings everything in true multi-instrumentalist, virtuoso fashion.

    Founded in 2016, Worlds To Conquer is the fifth full length on which Cagna can show off his passion for classic heavy metal and it is a passion that has meant this album has been been recorded over three years, as Cagna’s live guitarists add solos, it’s also the first Ironflame record where Cagna mixes and masters to give it a retro contemporary sound.

    Building from Night Closes In, through the driving Legions Of Fire, there’s plenty of heavy metal history contained in these tracks and while Ironflame never fully get into the lane of speed metal, through Crimson Shores gets close, Worlds To Conquer has a lot of anthemic heavy metal with tracks such as Shadow Slave and the battle hymn of Valhalla Is Calling.

    It seems there are plenty of Worlds To Conquer for Cagna and Ironflame with this fifth studio record. 7/10

    Only Echoes – Born Adrift (Braeburn Records)

    Instrumental post metal act Only Echoes have dropped a conceptual, six song 35 minute EP which concerns a journey through hostile waters.

    It certainly begins with hostility as with the title track you can feel the churning waters cascading all around you, open water and very little hope as Only Echoes begin this journey with that feeling of desperation, their innate heaviness separating them many of the other post-metal bands.

    It’s metallic, instrumental storytelling at its most potent, the brilliant producing, engineering, and mixing from Austin Minney capturing the dynamic power of the band as they go though shimmering tones and more heaviness on Tempest which segues into the synth forward Inter we step into the Dreamlike state of Steps Ahead Of Drowning, the heaviness sprawling into ambience, creating the drama in this concept record.

    With the final of Shimmering Death, the chapter closes on this harrowing tale told through musical intensity. A record to avoid if you have aquaphobia but if thrilling journey for those who enjoy cinematics from their post metal. 7/10

    Castiel – All Returns To Hollow And Silence (Seek and Strike)

    I struggle with deathcore, that’s it, that’s the review, it really has to do something to make me pick up and take notice.

    Unfortunately Austrian deathcore bands are exactly the reason why the genre is tough for me. Their new EP All Returns To Hollow And Silence, is four tracks but that’s enough, there’s only so much start-stop chug, into double kick blasts, into punch riff breakdown hangs I can deal with.

    I get it’s supposed to be atmospheric and immersive, especially as this is concept release but I find it boring when there such little deviation, give me a melodic part, an electronic part, something other than just breakdowns and chuggage. There’s some strings that add to the story being told here and I’m sure if you’re a fan of deathcore in all it’s formed there’s a much higher level of understanding.

    Unfortunately even with quite a few previous releases I don’t find too much to get excited about on All Returns To Hollow And Silence, except when it returned to silence, but that’s just me I’m sure. 5/10

    Suffer UK – Soul From Flesh (Self Released)

    Yet more deathcore, this time from Wolverhampton but unfortunately it may be the same result as their Austrian freunde. Categorised as brutal and slamming it’s deathcore just how you would want it, with as much brutality as you can get but not much of anything else.

    Soul From Flesh is also an EP and begins with an intro track that sets a symphonic element that is more pronounced, but it’s still chug, chug, blegh even in what they call their ‘third chapter’ after more line up changes that has lead to a new vocalist and guitarist.

    I will say the vocals are often much closer to black metal than death so there is a raw quality to their music but again it’s the lack of variation that distracts me from enjoying it, there’ll be lovers of this but I had to Suffer to get anything from it. 5/10

  • Nordic Noise 2027 – First Five Bands Confirmed, Early Bird Tickets On Sale

    Since 2013, Nordic Noise has brought together fans of hard rock and heavy metal for an intense and intimate festival experience featuring international acts, established Danish bands and some of the most exciting new talent on the scene. In 2027, Nordic Noise presents 12 bands across 2 days – Friday, May 7th and Saturday, May […]

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  • Charnel Crown – Interview

     
    Charnel Crown are a Dublin-based groove metal band made up of four hard-working, working-class musicians. Formed in December 2025, the band deliver heavy, riff-driven metal played straight from the soul rather than any desire to reinvent the wheel. Their sound is rooted in honesty, groove, and intensity, blending groove, aggression, and modern metal precision, music made by working-class metal fans, for working-class metal fans. While the band itself is new, its members are far from inexperienced, having performed extensively across Ireland and taking direct support slots with acts such as Xentrix, Chelsea Grin, Avatar, Fozzy, Jinjer, and Evil Scarecrow.
     
    Hi and welcome to this interview. Tell us about your latest release.

    Our latest release is our debut EP, Such Is Life, which came out on August 15th through Wanikiya Records. It’s a five-track EP and really serves as the introduction to who Charnel Crown are and what we’re about. We actually had the whole EP recorded before we even went public as a band, so this release has essentially been with us from day one.

    The EP was recorded, mixed, mastered, and produced by JSR Audio up in Belfast. We released three singles in the build-up — “People Like You,” “In For A Penny,” and the title track “Such Is Life.” The music video for “People Like You” was shot by NVRMNT, “In For A Penny” had a lyric video created by Very Metal Art UK, and the “Such Is Life” music video was shot by Conor Tobin during our debut live show in Fibber Magees in Dublin. The EP artwork was designed by The Dark Side Art. There was a lot of work put into making Such Is Life more than just five songs thrown online, so it feels fucking great to finally have the whole thing out there.

    How would you describe your sound?

    We’d describe our sound as groove metal at its core, but there’s a lot more going on around that. We pull from groove, thrash, nu-metal, and alternative metal, with big riffs, heavy grooves, and an emphasis on writing songs that actually stick with you. We’re not particularly interested in fitting neatly into one subgenre — if it sounds heavy, feels right, and gets your head moving, it belongs in Charnel Crown.

    What do you write about?

    A lot of what we write about comes from the environments we grew up in and the things we’ve experienced personally. Such Is Life itself is almost an homage to that typical Irish attitude of accepting that things are fucked and just getting on with it. The state of mental health in this country is dire. Having gone through the system myself and having to fight tooth and nail just to receive some form of help, it really opened my eyes to how much stigma regrettably still exists around it.

    It also reflects the backgrounds we grew up in. Drug use is rampant, there’s an awful lot of shady behaviour, and plenty of problems that people would rather brush under the carpet. People often try to dilute those issues by saying “everywhere is bad,” rather than actually acknowledging what’s happening in front of them. That attitude of shrugging your shoulders and saying “such is life” is really at the heart of it. The EP takes that phrase and turns it into an expression of the anger and frustration that comes from actually living through those things.

    What do you listen to when you are home?

    Honestly, a bit of everything. Metal is obviously a massive part of it — Pantera, Korn, Deftones, Black Sabbath, and Tool would all be in there — but we’re definitely not a band that exclusively listens to metal. Between us, there’s rap, dance music, grassroots blues, and plenty of other stuff thrown into the mix. We just love music. If something has a good melody, a great atmosphere, or just makes you feel something, we’re not too concerned about what genre it’s supposed to belong to. If it’s good, it’s good.

    What is your favourite live performance so far?

    Terrorfest 3 at Mono’s Bar, without a doubt. There was such a DIY feeling to the whole thing. We’d been drinking from fairly early in the day, and I remember showing up with a rake of cans and a bottle of Fireball to share with the other bands and people in the crowd. There was just a real sense of everyone being there together and having a good time, and sadly you don’t see enough of that anymore.

    We’re a band that likes to have fun when we play. The music will always come first, but to us, the difference between a gig and a show is the experience. We don’t want to play gigs — we want to put on shows. We want the crowd involved and to feel like they’re part of it rather than just standing there watching us. We grew up watching bands that had a genuine connection with their audiences and looked like they were having as much fun as everyone watching them. Unfortunately, you sometimes have to go through quite a few bands before finding one that genuinely wants to give the audience more than they get back. Those bands absolutely still exist, and we want Charnel Crown to be one of them.

    Tell us a funny story that happened in the studio or on stage.

    Imagine this: you’ve locked yourselves away in a rehearsal room for six months writing. You record the EP, do the promo, photoshoots, videos, interviews, and then build your debut show up even further by announcing you’re shooting the music video for the title track that night. Then, after the very first song, the guitarist’s amp decides it’s had enough. Absolute pandemonium.

    We all just looked at each other and started laughing. Thankfully, we’re not fresh out of the box, so we know how to roll with the punches. Dan, the sound engineer that night, was an absolute lifesaver and helped Stephen switch the amp out and get everything running again. In the meantime, Dean suddenly had to become a stand-up comedian for a few minutes and keep the crowd entertained. The show ended up going better than we ever could have predicted, but you genuinely couldn’t write it. Six months building everything up and one song into your debut show it’s basically, “Wham, bam, thank you ma’am — there goes the amp and all the credibility we’ve spent six months building.” Looking back, it’s fucking hilarious. At the time, maybe slightly less so, but we recovered.

    What are your favourite albums?

    Between all of us, there are definitely a few albums that would have to be mentioned:

    • Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park

    • Magma by Gojira

    • Master of Reality by Black Sabbath

    • The Poison by Bullet For My Valentine

    • Vulgar Display of Power and Far Beyond Driven by Pantera

    • Follow the Leader by Korn

    They’re all very different records from different periods, but each one has had an impact on us in some way — whether it was making us fall in love with heavy music in the first place, influencing how we write, or simply being an album we can still throw on from start to finish. It’s probably a pretty good snapshot of some of the musical DNA that makes up Charnel Crown.

    Which musician would you like to meet for a beer?

    Ozzy would probably be the obvious choice, and for good reason. The man helped lay the foundations for the music we all love. To sit down over a beer and hear firsthand about those early Black Sabbath years, the birth of heavy metal, and everything he experienced throughout that career would have been incredible. There aren’t many people who have left that kind of mark on music.

    The Pantera lads would absolutely be up there too. That band had a huge influence on us, not just musically but in terms of attitude, energy, and what a heavy band can bring to a live show. To have shared a few beers with those guys and listened to the stories from their years on the road would have been something special.

    What would you ask for backstage if you were the most important band on Earth?

    Nothing too unreasonable — a pallet of Guinness, several bottles of Fireball, and one completely unnecessary bowl of M&M’s with a specific colour removed just so people know we’ve officially become insufferable.

    We’d need a fully stocked kebab station for after the show, a PlayStation with four controllers, and a framed photograph of Ozzy watching over the dressing room like some sort of patron saint of bad decisions. Then, buried right at the bottom of the rider in tiny writing: “Please provide water.” We’re professionals, after all.

    What are your plans for the near future?

    We’ve got a pretty packed few months ahead of us:

    • Sept 18: Fibber Magees (Dublin) supporting Broken Habit w/ Praelium and South Sector

    • Sept 26: Platform 5 (Westmeath) for Too Far Fest w/ Too Far Fetched

    • Oct 24: The Athenaeum (Wexford) supporting Equinox

    • TBC: Limerick date (to be announced soon)

    • Nov 7: The Cellar (Galway) supporting Ren Marabou & The Berserkers w/ Misery Goblin and Graveworms

    • Nov 14: The Watchtower (Louth) w/ Equinox, Answerer, and Bile

    On top of all the shows, we’ll finally have Charnel Crown merch available very soon. The EP is out now, so the focus is on getting out there, playing as much as possible, and continuing to build from what we’ve started.

  • Neck Cemetery – ‘Midnight’ Single Premieres

    Heavy metal purveyors Neck Cemetery have released a Jörn Reese-directed video for “Midnight”, the first single form their next studio album The Curse Of Neck Cemetery.
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  • Full Full Full – Half A Cassette CD EP (Engineer Records)

    Today, we have some more melodic music for your listening pleasure. If you’ve been looking for honest, soulful,

  • Mason Release New Single ‘This Thing Called Love’, Feat. Steve Overland

    Mason are now gearing up for the release of their third album ‘Edge Of Destruction‘ which is out on September 25th, and release their first single from this, ‘This Thing Called Love‘, on August 22nd. Marcus Mason comments “we were incredibly fortunate to collaborate with legendary vocalist and songwriter Steve Overland (FM, Lonerider, Kings Of Mercia, Overland), […]

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  • The Foreshadowing – Unveil Title And Release Date Of Upcoming Record

    The Foreshadowing have set Ozymandias as the official title of their sixth full-length instalment, which will be released on November 20th, 2026 through Lifeforce Records. “The Wave Is On The Right Side”, the first single from the album, will be available on September 1st.
    Read more…

  • Ozzfest confirms return to Birmingham’s Villa Park next year

    Ozzfest has confirmed its return to Villa Park stadium in Aston, Birmingham next year.

    The former travelling heavy metal festival, launched by Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne and his wife/manager Sharon in 1996, will have its first edition since 2018 take place at the venue where the Prince Of Darkness performed his retirement show on July 5 last year.

    Ozzy died on July 22, just 17 days after the gig, following a heart attack at his home in Buckinghamshire. He was 76.

    The official statement promises “more info on everything coming soon”. Sharon, 73, said in an exclusive interview with Metal Hammer last month that the event will be one or two days long, depending on fan interest. She added that she was speaking to potential performers and headliners, and would offer news soon.

    She told Billboard in January that Ozzfest will return with a lineup that transcends its past niche of rock and metal, with a focus on young talent.

    “It was something Ozzy was very passionate about: giving young talent a stage in front of a lot of people,” she said. “We really started metal festivals in this country. It was [replicated but] never done with the spirit of what ours was, because ours was a place for new talent. It was like summer camp for kids.”

    Even though only a Birmingham event has been confirmed, Sharon has said that she wants to bring the festival back to the US, as well.

    The Osbournes started Ozzfest after fellow travelling festival Lollapalooza refused to give Ozzy a spot on their lineup. The inaugural edition was a two-day tour with dates in Phoenix, Arizona and San Bernardino, California. Ozzy headlined with support from Slayer, Danzig, Biohazard, Sepultura and more.

    As nu metal began to gather steam in the late 90s, Ozzfest became famous for putting up-and-coming artists on its bill. Such acts as Slipknot, Limp Bizkit and System Of A Down performed at the festival around the release of their debut albums.

    Ozzfest expanded to have international offshoots in markets including the UK, Germany, Belgium and Japan before hosting its final incarnation – a single show in Inglewood, California – in 2018.

    In 2023, Sharon explained why Ozzfest went away, saying on her family podcast The Osbournes that other managers got greedy.

    “It was a very weird beast,” she said, “because all the bands were our mates, but the managers were greedy, and for some reason they thought that we were making billions on it and we weren’t. We made a profit. But it was not like – we couldn’t retire on it. And managers and agents wanted more and more and more, and it just wasn’t cost-effective anymore. We stopped because it just wasn’t cost-effective.”

    However, the following year, she added that “of course” Ozzfest can return one day. “You can do it for a baby stage, but you still need the headliners,” she said. “It’s always great to have the baby stage, I mean, that’s what it’s all about – breaking new bands. That’s why we did it.”

    Ozzy’s retirement show, Back To The Beginning, took place at a sold-out Villa Park and was live-streamed by more than five million people worldwide. Ozzy performed both with his solo band and his fellow Black Sabbath co-founders. The support lineup included Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Tool, Gojira, Anthrax and Mastodon. Proceeds from the event went to the charities Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity and Acorns Children’s Hospice.

    Sharon told Hammer last month that a Back To The Beginning concert film will hit cinema screens later this year.

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  • ACCEPT – Wolf Hoffmann on 50 Years of Accept and the Future: “I Never Thought I’d Be in This Business This Long”

    Wolf Hoffmann has been a member of Accept for 50 years, from the band’s early days in Germany to the present. Along the way, Accept […]

    The post ACCEPT – Wolf Hoffmann on 50 Years of Accept and the Future: “I Never Thought I’d Be in This Business This Long” appeared first on Metal-Rules.com.