Category: news

The ‘A Darkness Is Spreading Across North America Tour’ to be precise.

The post No Cure, Big Ass Truck IE, Bayway & Boltcutter Summer North American Tour Unveiled appeared first on Theprp.com.

Performing at Loud As Hell Open Air Festival 2026 w/ Fallujah, Allegaeon, Summoning the Lich, Crimson Shadows, Edge of Paradise, and more!

Fresh off the release of their debut album This Is The Way, West Coast extreme‑metal force Gravemass has announced a run of Western Canadian tour dates for summer 2026. The trek, appropriately titled “This Is The Way Tour 2026,” will see the band unleash their ferocious live assault across British Columbia and Alberta from July 31st to August 8th (dates listed below).

The tour follows the eruption of  This Is The Way, a debut forged from decades of West Coast metal lineage. Featuring members of Zimmers Hole, Punch Drunk, 3 Inches of Blood, Revocation, Just Cause, West of Hell, Savannah, Process, Subversion, and The Golers, Gravemass is the convergence of long‑standing forces within Vancouver’s extreme‑music underground.

Guitarist Mayan Hate, who wrote the album’s music in an intense two‑month burst, describes the project as a natural evolution among lifelong friends.

“We’re all West Coast metal heads who’ve known each other for decades. I wrote the music between breaks in other projects and showed it to Lorde Heathen. He immediately wanted in. From there, we recruited the rest of the band, guys we’ve all known forever.”

Vocalist Lorde Heathen also adds;

“Brutal, angry, fast, dark, and evil, this album delivers exactly that: an unrelenting barrage of sinister riffing, death‑metal vocal ferocity, and rhythmic devastation. It draws from the chaos of the modern world. All the lyrics come from the shit‑hole world order that exists right now.” 

Track Listing:​
1. Slaves To Pain – 2:38
2. This Is The Way – 3:45
3. Horned King – 2:54
4. Harvest of Souls – 2:53
5. Spitting Hell – 2:07
6. Black Bell – 2:50
7. Fallen – 3:27
8. Gravemass – 3:51
9. Abandon – 2:01
10. Poison Temple – 3:11
Album Length: 29:41

While This Is The Way was written by Mayan Hate with lyrics by Lorde Heathen, the band confirms that album two is already underway and will be a fully collaborative effort.

Gravemass will also appear at Loud As Hell Open Air Festival 2026, joining a stacked lineup featuring Fallujah, Allegaeon, Summoning the Lich, Crimson Shadows, Edge of Paradise, and more. Festival info is available at: https://www.loudashell.ca.

Known for channeling the ferocity of their influences, Slayer, Venom, Morbid Angel, Watain, and Napalm Death, Gravemass promises a live show that is nothing short of a full‑scale assault.

“The live show is where we bring it all together. We want to bring this experience to the masses,” says Lorde Heathen.

With This Is The Way unleashed March 6, 2026, via End Game Records Inc., Gravemass now turns its focus to the stage, marking the beginning of a new chapter in West Coast extreme metal. More music, more brutality, and a deeper collaborative evolution lie ahead.

Gravemass – Western Canada – This Is The Way Tour 2026:
July 31 – Bridgeview Theater – Kamloops, BC
Aug 1 – Loud As Hell Open Air Festival – Drumheller, AB
Aug 3 – Temple – Edmonton, AB
Aug 4 – The Owl – Lethbridge, AB
Aug 5 – The Royal – Nelson, BC
Aug 6 – The Globe – Nanaimo, BC
Aug 7 – The Lucky Bar – Victoria, BC
Aug 8 – Green Auto – Vancouver, BC

Add to your Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/album/0ROzZyUacjjY7dC6xOwtg5

Bandcamp: https://gravemass.bandcamp.com/

Videos:

“This Is The Way”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR9gy-AD8-E

“Fallen”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ4ws87xOJs

“Spitting Hell”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r477FZl1VFo

Album Band Line Up:
Lorde Heathen – Vocals
Mayan Hate – Guitar
Murderer of Colonizers – Guitar
Bowels of Hell – Bass
Destroyer of Souls – Drums

More info: 

​https://endgamerecords.com/​

​http://www.gravemass.com/​

​https://www.facebook.com/people/Grave-Mass/61556695854887/​

https://www.instagram.com/gravemass1/

Source: ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS

We liked “Wants For Everyone” and “Fool In Your Room” — the first two singles from Slippers’ upcoming debut album Slippers 08 — both so much that they each made our lists of the Best Songs Of The Week. Today Madeline Babuka Black is sharing the album’s final single “Wasted Tonight,” a sweet and fuzzy…

The post Slippers – “Wasted Tonight” appeared first on Stereogum.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ROYAL HUNT DROPS ELECTRIFYING LIVE VIDEO FOR “LAST GOODBYE” FROM POSADA ROCK FESTIVAL 2023

Danish progressive and power metal veterans Royal Hunt have released a brand-new live performance video for “Last Goodbye,” captured at the explosive Posada Rock Festival 2023 . The footage delivers a raw, high-energy snapshot of a band locked in and firing on all cylinders, doing what they do best in front of a packed and fully engaged crowd.
Watch the live video here:
The performance captures Royal Hunt in peak form, blending precision, emotion, and that unmistakable melodic power that has carried them through decades of global touring and studio work. It is one of those festival moments where everything lines up just right, sound, crowd, and band all hitting the same frequency.
Keyboardist and founding member André Andersen reflects on the show with zero hesitation. “We all had a really, really good day playing at that fest. The sound was happening and the crowd was great, so everybody was in top form. Sometimes festivals can be a bit chaotic, but not that one.”
He also explained why “Last Goodbye” earned its place on the band’s recent EP, Behind the Curtain . “Last Goodbye is one of our most requested songs, so considering the inclusion of a couple of unplugged tracks on that EP, an up-tempo, energetic song to follow them was a given.”
The EP itself arrived in multiple formats through NorthPoint Productions and King Records, with vinyl handled by Night of the Vinyl Dead, backed by strong global fan demand. It stands as both a celebration and a reminder that Royal Hunt are still pushing forward while staying true to their signature sound.
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1PMdP7oiKzPNewkNOYTh2i
Get physical copies: www.royalhunt.com
ABOUT ROYAL HUNT

Formed in 1989 by keyboardist André Andersen, Royal Hunt built their reputation on a fusion of progressive sophistication and symphonic power metal muscle. With over 1.8 million albums sold worldwide and decades of international touring, the band remains a cornerstone of European melodic metal.
Their recent years have seen major festival appearances across Europe including Leyendas del Rock (Spain), Jailbreak Festival (Denmark), Epic Festival (Denmark), and Posada Rock in Romania, alongside a successful Japanese tour in 2025. They also delivered standout sets at the 70,000 Tons of Metal cruise festival in 2026, with more major summer dates confirmed.
UPCOMING TOUR DATES

9 July – Budapest – Analog Music Hall
10 July – Bratislava – Randal Club
12 July – Beclean – Celtic Transilvania
BAND LINEUP

André Andersen – keyboards
DC Cooper – vocals
Andreas Passmark – bass
Jonas Larsen – guitars
Andreas “HABO” Johansson – drums
More info: www.royalhunt.com

 Connect with Royal Hunt
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2CzAMm46coQpauDZj4a4ic
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/royal-hunt/72774929
https://www.instagram.com/royalhunt_official
https://www.facebook.com/royalhunt
Contact: info@northpoint-productions.com

Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition held its world premiere on Tuesday night (May 5) at Cineworld Leicester Square in London. Red-carpet interviews with fans and band members were conducted by Vanessa Warwick, the former host of MTV‘s Headbangers Ball. Pro-shot footage from the event can be seen below.

Iron Maiden‘s official documentary begins a limited theatrical run on May 7. The film traces the band’s five-decade career using unprecedented access to their official archives and is directed by Malcolm Venville (Churchill At War) and produced by Dominic Freeman (Spirits In The Forest: A Depeche Mode Film). Alongside the band, the documentary features on-camera contributions from actor Javier Bardem, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, Public Enemy‘s Chuck D, Kiss‘s Gene Simmons, and others.

Key art was created by Spanish illustrator Alberto “Akirant” Quirantes, who previously designed Iron Maiden‘s 50th-anniversary commemorative coin for the Royal Mint in 2025.

In an interview with Australia’s Heavy, singer Bruce Dickinson explained the band’s deliberate decision to stay out of the editorial process: “When we knew there was going to be a documentary, the first thing was that we really didn’t want to be involved in it in terms of editorial or whatever. You have to have a hands-off approach because you want somebody to look at it and tell the story. Obviously, there are so many… this documentary could be ten hours long, but then everybody would lose the will to live. [Laughs] So you’ve got to make the story concise. There are going to be fans who say, ‘Oh, they missed out this and what about that’ — yeah, sure, but for people who don’t know the story of Iron Maiden, this is a great introduction to the band.”

Dickinson continued: “Because of that, we wanted an external take on our career, and you can’t really be fiddling about with that and going in every five minutes saying ‘change this’ or ‘I don’t like that’, ‘Oh, my hair looks messy in that picture.’ None of that crap. We’re not a bunch of poodles. It is a bit warts and all, but I think that’s great. There’s nothing in there that I would want to change.”

During an April 13 appearance on SiriusXM‘s Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk, bassist Steve Harris was asked why now was the right time to tell the Maiden story on film. Harris said (transcribed by Blabbermouth): “Well, in actual fact, it wasn’t us. It’s about us, but not by us. That’s the difference. So it’s a documentary, which they came to us with an idea that they wanted to do, and it changed a little bit from the original idea. They were gonna do it more about the fans, and it still is, to a certain degree. So, yeah, it’s not by us. They wanted to use our artwork and everything, and it seems as if it’s our documentary. It’s not. I think they really should have put out that it’s a documentary about Iron Maiden, not by Iron Maiden, because it’s not us. We didn’t have that control that we would normally have if we were doing it ourselves, of course.”

Harris added: “Yeah, we cooperated with it and we did interviews for it and all that stuff — we did what they wanted us to do — but if we’d have done it, I think we’d have done it in a slightly different way, and I’ll say no more. But I still think the end result is… Well, I’ll say no more because it preempts whatever. I think people should just go and see it and see what they think.”

When Trunk asked whether the film covers the band’s overall history, Harris said: “Yeah, it’s historical stuff. There’s a lot of historical stuff for the first hour, probably, I suppose. So, yeah, I think people have gotta watch it and make their own minds up, really.”

Drummer Nicko McBrain, speaking to Kerrang! magazine, reflected on the challenge of condensing 50 years into a single film: “When you think about it, there’s 50 years of history to Iron Maiden. How do you tell that story in 90 minutes or so? That’s an awful lot to cram in, but I thought it was brilliant. I was overwhelmed by the whole thing, to be honest. There was a lot of information to absorb, so I was like a sponge.”

McBrain continued: “But the one thing I took away is how wonderful it was to see the fans tell their stories about what we mean, and what we’ve meant, to them. And of course, we have the wonderful Javier Bardem — who’s a great mate of mine — and Lars Ulrich, Chuck D, Gene Simmons, and so many other celebrities, too. But what impressed me the most was the interaction of the fans. There were a couple of moments when they were talking that I actually started to have a tear run down my cheek, and my wife just looked at me and squeezed my hand.”

Founded by Harris in East London in 1975, Iron Maiden has released 17 studio albums, sold over 100 million records, and played nearly 2,500 concerts across 64 countries. The documentary arrives mid-way through the band’s two-year “Run For Your Lives” world tour, which celebrated the band’s 50th anniversary in 2025. The tour continues in 2026 with over 50 shows worldwide, including a one-of-a-kind festival event called EddFest at Knebworth Park, England, on July 11.

The post Watch Pro-Shot Footage Of The World Premiere For IRON MAIDEN’s Official Documentary “Burning Ambition” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

The band’s lineup features members of Sanguisugabogg, Suffocation and more.

The post Death Metal Supergroup Ablation Joined By Ex-Suffocation Vocalist Frank Mullen On New Song “Victim Kink” appeared first on Theprp.com.

The sleeper awakens.

The post REZN Debut “Cloudfall” Music Video, New Album “Cycles In The Infinite Dream” Due In July appeared first on Theprp.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHEMICAL BURN ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM THE FURY OUT MAY 22, 2026 VIA MEGASONIC RECORDS

Groove-powered heavy metal juggernauts CHEMICAL BURN return with their most intense and emotionally charged record to date, The Fury , set for release on May 22, 2026 via MegaSonic Records.
Forged in the California underground in 2001 by Mike Garnica, Chemical Burn has spent over two decades carving out a sound built on crushing groove, blistering aggression, and unfiltered live energy. Drawing influence from heavyweights like Pantera , Testament , and Machine Head , the band has consistently delivered a modern metal assault rooted in old-school grit and stage-tested intensity.
From their early breakout Bury Your Demons (2005) to the relentless force of Raining Anvils (2015), Chemical Burn built a reputation for high-impact groove metal laced with raw emotion. But the years following brought upheaval, lineup changes, and global disruption that would have ended most bands. Instead, it became fuel.
Vocalist and founder Mike Garnica reflects on the new record with absolute conviction:


“This record came out of one of the most intense and emotional creative runs I’ve ever experienced. Every riff, every lyric was forged with purpose, and I pushed myself further than ever before. Vocally, I broke past just screaming, layering in melodies and harmonies that clash and fuse with the ferocity, creating something heavier, more dynamic, and more alive.”


Following the challenges of the post- Raining Anvils era, including the forced pause of the COVID years and the retirement of longtime drummer Kevin Jackson after a life-altering accident, Garnica rebuilt Chemical Burn from the ground up. The result is a revitalized lineup featuring drummer Mark Miller and guitarist Kosta Varvatakis, injecting new firepower into the band’s already volatile sound.
Working remotely with longtime collaborator Andy Green (40 Grit, Secrets of the Sky), the band reshaped their rhythmic foundation into something tighter, heavier, and more punishing than ever. That evolution is fully realized on The Fury , a record that captures controlled chaos with surgical precision.
To bring the album to life, Chemical Burn reunited with acclaimed producer Juan Urteaga at Trident Studios, known for his work with legendary acts including Exodus , Machine Head , and Testament . The result is a crushing, modern production that amplifies the band’s raw aggression without losing its human edge.
The Fury is not just a comeback. It is a statement of survival, reinvention, and refusal to break.
Where past releases documented struggle and endurance, The Fury channels pressure into confrontation. It is heavier, sharper, and more dangerous than anything Chemical Burn has released before.
Pre-save / Stream: https://chemicalburn.hearnow.com/
Album Title: The Fury
Release Date: May 22, 2026
Label: MegaSonic Records
Produced by: Chemical Burn and Juan Urteaga
Recorded, Mixed, Mastered at: Trident Studios
Chemical Burn is back. Louder, tighter, and fully unchained.

Connect: 
Website: https://www.chemicalburnband.com/
Contact: chemicalburninfo@yahoo.com

Posted on May 6th 2026, 6:30p.m.

Mike D with the master plan? A few weeks back the Beastie Boy went viral by performing his group’s stone cold classic “So Whatcha Want” in a surprise appearance with Very Nice Person, the band led by his sons Skyler and Davis Diamond, at the Ojai Valley Women’s Club. He’d guested with the boys two nights earlier at Malibu surf shop Brothers Marshall, but the Ojai show is the one that went nuclear on social media. Now it seems Michael Diamond is ready to put on some proper performances.

The post Mike D Announces Shows Following Viral Performance Of Beastie Boys Songs With His Sons appeared first on Stereogum.