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Bands:	If These Trees Could Talk
Release:	The Hidden Hand
Genre:	Post-Rock, Post-Metal
Country:	USA
Release Date:	10th of July 2026
Released via:	Metal Blade Records

Personally, I have a rather special connection to this band, as they were one of the bands – along with Red Forest – that got me hooked on the post-rock genre many years ago. Many of their songs are still regular features on my post-rock playlists, which is why I’ve always found it a shame that we’ve heard so little from the band. Ten years have passed since their last album. It wasn’t until 2024 that the band made a comeback with the song “Trail of Whispering Giants”. The announcement of their (first) fourth studio album didn’t come until 2026.

„This release means a lot to me not only spiritually but emotionally“, said Zack Kelly in the press release. He founded the band in 2005 together with his brother. „There were a lot of up-and-downs during the making of this album and the journey took longer than anticipated, but the end goal is to make music that holds an emotional imprint, and I hope we have succeeded.“ And I think that once you’ve listened to the album, you’ll understand what they mean. It tells of the struggle to carry on, of literally falling forwards – only to return with another album in the end.

I’m deliberately choosing not to single out any individual tracks, as that wouldn’t do justice to the album’s overall structure. I always find this particularly difficult with concept albums like this. If, however, I were to ask myself which tracks will find their way onto my playlists, my first choice would be “Blurry Creatures.” The song combines choral vocals with three guitars, which simply invite you to close your eyes and lose yourself in the music.

“Metanoia” manages, in a wonderful way, to convey both hope and despair at the same time – a combination I haven’t heard in this form for a long time. And “Moon Machine” is the classic, over-the-top post-rock track that takes you through the entire emotional spectrum of the genre. Intense passages alternate with emotive moments and quiet pauses. At times the instruments support one another; at others, they stand in opposition, as if vying for dominance.

All in all, it’s fair to say that the band has evolved without compromising their signature sound. The electronic elements have been expanded, whilst the soundscapes of their earlier albums have been retained and thoughtfully enhanced. You can tell straight away: yes, that’s If These Trees Could Talk. That’s exactly what I like most about this album, because it brings back memories of when I first discovered Post-Rock.

In terms of quality, it is also a typical instrumental Post-Rock album that needs no lyrics – the sound alone is enough to tell a story. Or rather: to give us scope for our own interpretations. The album title leaves precisely this scope open, and I have found myself questioning my initial interpretations of the content more than once. Perhaps that, in the end, is the greatest strength of this album.

Grungy hardcore duo SWAMPFOOT keep the Caps Lock on in their new video for the track “AIM LOW.” In fact, the emphatic New Yorkers are an all-caps, all-the-time kind of band and that spirit carries through in their new video. The pair—Cliff Hodson (vocals/bass) and Jordan Greene (drums)—are shot performing live via an ever-turning fisheye lens, with the lyrics to this sludgy masher stamped across the screen in massive letters. The track is one of three on SWAMPFOOT’s just-released debut EP. A brand new full-length is expected in November 2026.

AIM LOW was produced by Kenny Eaton, who recorded and mixed it at Mystery Ton Studios. The EP was officially released a couple weeks ago and is currently available digitally here. Check out the band’s upcoming East Coast live dates below the video.

Bassist/vocalist Hodson had this to say about the track:

“‘AIM LOW’ is an ode to self sabotage, satirically glorifying the act of chasing comfort in order to evade any possible risk of disappointment or failure.”

SWAMPFOOT live dates:

07/10 Ithaca, NY – Nocturnal Cafe

07/18 Binghamton, NY – Crowbar Arcade

07/25 Boston, MA – O’Brien’s Pub – Grub, Sweat & Beers Fest

08/29 Washington, DC – DC9

The post Video Premiere: SWAMPFOOT – “AIM LOW” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Album Review: DevilDriver – Strike And Kill

Reviewed by Tim Finch

Twenty four years ago, Dez Fafara started jamming with local musicians in Santa Barbara alongside his then active Coal Chamber entity. Those sessions would end up formulating what we know and love to be DevilDriver. A full ten albums later the band return once more with album number eleven, ‘Strike and Kill’.

After the dual volumes of th last release, ‘Dealing With Demons’, it is time for the band to refocus and serge forward with a new emphasis. ‘Strike and Kill’ is their launch pad for a new wave of brutality and it delivers in spades.

From the opening drum blast and trademark Fafara scream on ‘Dig Your Own Grave’ the listener is jettisoned into the DevilDriver world. The onslaught of razor sharp riffs and visceral vocals never lets up, all delivered with a hammer blow that will decimate lesser beings.

There is no let up throughout, but the band do have a knack of lulling the listener into a false sense of security. ‘Dead in The Water’ has a slow, marauding intro that seemingly is building an epic tune before the band flip you on your head and take a baseball bat to your eardrums at breakneck speed.

‘Sanctified in Scars’ adds an industrial edge and an almost Slipknot inspired foundation whilst the album builds in intensity. Each track hits faster and harder than the previous as Fafara and clan aim to destroy you at every turn. By the time ‘Never Coming Home’ lands – if you survive that long – the onslaught is unstoppable yet the introduction of some classic melo-death riffaging and even an acoustic segue cannot save you now.

DevilDriver have built a career off intense, dramatic, hard hitting songs. But ‘Strike and Kill’ takes it up a notch, or three, never giving up, never letting you go. A career defining album that will capture the hearts of fans new and old. Take a bow DevilDriver, you’ve outdone yourselves.

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Album Review: DevilDriver – Strike And Kill appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Let me start by saying that the nom de jure adopted by this French heavy/speed metal act gives me a minor case of major league OCD. Was Iron Onslaught unavailable? How about Iron Slaughter? Iron SlaughterER?¹ Anywho, the duo behind Iron Slaught started life in 2015 with their Crusading Metal Mercenaries debut,² and it’s taken them 11 long years to get back in the black with sophomore outing, Metallic Torments. Exactly what kind of metallic torments await the listener, you ask? Well, the formula here is a potent merger of 80s Germanic thrash like Deathrow, Vendetta, and Iron Angel with classic heavy metal and touches of black and death included for extra spice. Does that sound a touch overly ambitious? Mayhaps, but the gruesome twosome behind this project brings a lot of energy and verve to the war hall, and damn if they don’t deliver pure tundra thunder at times. That’s enough to get Steel slaughting³

After a lengthy but interesting instrumental intro, the real fire gets to spreading on “Ghastly Obsession.” This is fast, aggressive 80s speed excess with a premium on catchy, melodic leads that remind me of Running Wild or their blackened descendant, Forefather. In fact, some of the rollicking, rocking riffs are so Running Wild, I almost donned an eye patch and bought meself a parrot. This means the song is plenty of wild, lawless fun, and it will bring the privateers to the YARRRRd. “The Executioner” is another rip ride, brimming with blackened thrash energy and 80s heavy metal bravado. Some of the guitar work is straight up 80s Mercyful Fate, but these moments eventually give way to German-flavored speed assaults with mucho machismo. “Soldier of Fortune” is pure 80s gold with a joyously anthemic, fist-pumping energy and wild guitar pyrotechnics. The clean vocals are interesting and not always great, but they work well enough to sell the product.

Several tracks are sung entirely in French, including the very Bütcher-esque “Condamné Pour L’Éternité” and the large-and-in-charge power ballad “Charme Funeste.” Both work despite being the language barrier for uncouth clods like myself, though the latter feels a touch too portly at 7 minutes. Many of my favorite moments arrive during the equally stout 8-plus minutes of closer “Fatal Retaliations,” where the level of blackened thrash reaches Desaster levels of berserk lunacy. There’s also a competing Grave Digger vibe that rudely and Germanically injects itself, thereby making the whole construct feel loony and amusingly over-the-top as the time passes by quickly. There’s more than enough sheer chaos in this one to keep you entertained as the duo stretches itself to the utmost compositionally. At a trim 44 minutes with no tracks tanking and only minor issues with bloatage, there’s enough unbridled enthusiasm on Metallic Torments to keep you locked in and thrashing along.

Iron Jérémy⁴ handles guitars and vocals, and his fretboard surfing is quite impressive. The dude can noodle up a storm, but he also has a firm grasp on how to craft memorable, ear-snagging riffs that stick the landing. Whether he’s borrowing from various heroes of 80s classic metal or veering into the extremes of thrash and black metal, there’s a keen sense of purpose and craftsmanship to what he does. His rough, raw thrash bellows and harsher blackened rasps are solid and effective, and even when he ventures into clean singing, he manages to pull it off more often than not, and at times he really brings it. Partner-in-grime Nikrass mans the bass, and though he isn’t all that audible amid the mayhem, he provides a solid foundational rumble upon which they build a temple to batshit craziness. The drums were apparently programmed, but I didn’t detect that on my review spins, so they did a good job there.

Metallic Toments is one of those unsung little albums you happen upon that ends up punching way above its weight, and there’s no way to blast this and not get your metal mood elevated. It’s easy to digest, high-octane, and ambitious enough to throw some surprises at the listener. Iron Slaught may not be a household name, or even have a name worthy of entry into most houses, but they know how to bring the metal to the filthy masses, and bring it they do here. Bless this poorly monikered mess.

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Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Gates of Hell
Websites: ironslaught.bandcamp.com |facebook.com/profile.php
Releases Worldwide: July 10th, 2026

The post Iron Slaught – Metallic Torments Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

The band returned to active duty back in 2024 following a lengthy hiatus.

The post Shields To Call It Quits Following August Farewell Show appeared first on Theprp.com.

China’s most unhinged fusion of anime culture and brutal death metal, Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship, returns with its most ambitious and chaotic work to date: “2D Complex,” releasing July 10, 2026 through Gore House Productions and Stillbirth Records. Before the album officially drops, fans worldwide will get an early chance to experience the full record through an exclusive premiere on NoCleanSinging, […]

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Posted on July 8th 2026, 7:43pm

The Emmy nominations are out, and they include a lot of pop stars.

The post Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Lady Gaga Nominated For 2026 Emmys appeared first on Stereogum.

The band have opened up on their life and times with Brent Hinds in a new mini-documentary titled ‘The Mastodon In The Room’.

The post Mastodon Reflect On Reluctantly Parting Ways With Brent Hinds: “We Really Were Coming From A Place Of Love” appeared first on Theprp.com.

BETWEEN NOTHING is a melodic death metal band from Poznań, Poland, founded in 2008 by guitarist and songwriter Tomasz Frąckowiak. Over the years, the band has developed a distinctive sound built around heavy yet melodic guitar riffs, soaring lead guitar work, and rich keyboard and orchestral arrangements. Following the release of their debut demo in 2009, the […]

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