Category: news

Septicflesh and Decapitated are to embark on their co-headline ‘The Final Assault Tour’ in Poland next March. Joining them on the road as support are going to be Frontside and Damnation.
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During my recent conversation with Heidi Shepherd, one word surfaced repeatedly while discussing the new Butcher Babies album, Nightbloom. Survival.

Butcher Babies – Nightbloom

Release Date: Out Now

Words: Rhys Tagg

Heidi Shepherd explained that the record was focused on what comes after suffering rather than the suffering itself. Described as “a love letter to my past”, Nightbloom draws from heartbreak, uncertainty and deeply personal experiences.

Opening the album is Lost In Your Touch, one of the singles released ahead of Nightbloom. The opening moments carry some of the aggression longtime fans will recognise immediately, but there is a stronger emphasis on melody this time around, and overall the record is more radio-friendly and heavily produced. 

The chorus does much of the heavy lifting. The guitars hit with force, while the vocal hook lingers once the track finishes. Anyone coming to Nightbloom expecting the relentless attack of the band’s earlier records may need a little time to adjust.

That becomes even more apparent on Sincerity. For me, this is where the album really starts to reveal itself. The soaring vocals showcase a cleaner side of Shepherd’s voice that often sits in the shadows behind the band’s heavier reputation. There is still plenty of weight here, but the song succeeds because it gives the melody room to breathe.

With Carla Harvey no longer part of the line-up, there was always going to be curiosity around how Butcher Babies would sound as a single-vocalist outfit. Credit to Shepherd, she never sounds uncomfortable carrying that responsibility. Nightbloom gives her more freedom to explore different approaches across the record than ever before.

Howard Benson’s production helps to strike somewhat of a balance, but at times it can be overkill. Overall, the album sounds modern, and there is still enough grit in the guitars to stop the heavier moments from losing their edge.

Not every experiment lands equally well, as some of the electronic flourishes are more effective on certain songs than others. Broken & Beautiful benefits from its electronic opening because it immediately grabs attention and establishes its own identity. Are You Waiting Up arrives at exactly the right moment in the running order, slowing the pace and allowing the record some breathing room.

Black Clouds Over Georgia caught my attention for different reasons. The heavy electronic introduction initially points one way before Shepherd’s vocal performance takes the song somewhere else entirely. The Southern flavour in her delivery gives the track a distinct personality with her heavy enunciation.

Lyrically, the strongest material arrives late in the album. I found myself returning to Leaving California more than any other song here. There is a tension running through the track, caught between letting go and holding on. The chorus is huge, the emotion feels earned, and by the time it reaches its conclusion, it is easy to understand why listeners may gravitate towards it.

If Nightbloom has an overarching anthem, this is probably it, though critically it does suffer from the aforementioned production and radio-ready leaning.

The album closes with Black Dove, which likely offers the most familiar-sounding track of the lot. After some of the stylistic detours elsewhere, it provides a reminder that the band’s heavier instincts remain.

Nightbloom will almost certainly divide opinion among sections of the fanbase and wider audience. Some listeners will undoubtedly miss the full-throttle aggression and dual vocals that defined earlier releases.

Others will welcome the increased focus on melody and songwriting.

Either way, Butcher Babies sound comfortable in the space they have created for themselves here, and that confidence carries the album a long way.

Butcher Babies released their new album, NIGHTBLOOM, on 2 October 2026 via Judge & Jury Records. For more details, visit ffm.to/nightbloom. The album single Blame It On The Wind has already surpassed one million Spotify streams.

The post Butcher Babies / Nightbloom: Survival, Reinvention And A New Era first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.

Italian epic doomers Obsidian Church have released “Specter Of Despair”, the second single from their upcoming debut album Stonebound.
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French black metal band infused with Celtic mythology, Fir Bolg, will unleash their next full-length effort Triskelion on November 27 through Schwarzdorn Production. The 13-piece music output was engineered and mixed by David Argi. Mastering was handled by Damien Rainaud.
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The longtime friends and creative partners on what U2 still means — and what would make them call it quits.

Getdown Services are enjoying one of those drastic upward surges that rarely happens to new bands. In the past year they’ve toured Australia, New Zealand and America, appeared on Later… With Jools Holland and been booked for two headline nights at London’s Roundhouse. Harry Styles and Harry Hill are both fans. It’s a long way from the youth centres, skittles alleys and village fêtes of their early gigging years in and around Minehead.

“We’ve crammed it in this year,” guitar-playing half Josh Law says. “It’s only July and we’ve spanned continents. We’re like migratory birds.”

“But much, much less beautiful…” co-conspirator/old friend Ben Sadler deadpans.

That self-aware humour (the duo’s Bandcamp page proclaims them to be “Britain’s Best Band”) is key to Getdown Services’ appeal, combined with biting, socially alert lyrics that invite comparisons to Sleaford Mods and Beastie Boys. But it’s not all snark and beats. They’re audibly rockers at heart, in love with the likes of AC/DC, The White Stripes and T.Rex (so many of Law’s guitar parts are pure Bolan). By turns funny and heartbreaking, acerbic and tender, their new LP Massive Champion reflects it all.

“We get away with ripping T.Rex off far too much,” Law says, grinning. “But the Sleadford Mods comparisons, I think that happens because of the way we do it live – it’s a laptop and two English guys swearing.”

Law and Sadler met in middle school, where they played bass and drums in a band with another singer, covering the likes of Blur, White Stripes and Kasabian. Realising the chemistry between them, the pair left to do their own thing. Six years of small gigs, different names and generally feeling out of place followed. Bruised, albeit enthused, they got day jobs and left music for weekends.

“Josh played banjo in a folk trio, I played drums in an indie band,” Sadler says. “But we’d been so crushed by our experience of being absolute freaks when we were younger, we weren’t so arsed about trying to do it properly again for a while.”

Covid changed that. Suddenly with time to spare, they restarted and rebranded, free of the pressure to be successful that marred their teens. In time they toured extensively, prioritising overlooked towns. Things escalated.

For now they’re keeping the guitars ’n’ laptop gig set-up (initially a means to create full sounds on the cheap), filling stages with livewire presence and DIY anthems about real life, everyday insecurities, even love. Music that makes ‘lo-fi’ feel huge.

“We’ve had to think about whether we’re going to go that way,” Josh says, “or are we going to fill the stage with more people or equipment. But there’s something to be said for less is more.”

Massive Champion is out now via Breakfast Records. Getdown Services tour the UK in November and December. For dates, visit Seated.

The singer joins Zach Bryan’s new single, Olivia Rodrigo teams up with Chappell Roan, Fireboy DML vows longevity and more.

The extremely online group made its first live appearance as a foursome at the American Dream Mall in New Jersey.

What drives these rockers in their work as members of U2? They discussed the question on “The Interview.”

On “The Interview,” Bono and the Edge talked about what has kept U2 going, 50 years after the band came together at a Dublin high school.