A Nocturnal Journey Through Industrial Dreams and Dark Seduction
This album doesn’t just unfold—it pulls you into a shadowed dimension where sound becomes atmosphere and emotion turns into vision.
The opening track Labyrinth of Fools paves the way with a mysterious sound design that sparks curiosity. There’s a sense of anticipation in the air before the groove locks in, bringing with it a dystopian and industrial aura. The vocals glide over this structure, shaping a world that feels futuristic and haunted.
With Sugar, the mood shifts into something more hypnotic and seductive. The track evokes the image of a dark mermaid luring you into the unknown. There is a subtle danger beneath its charm, as the melody wraps around you while the production keeps a steady, entrancing pulse.
crucifera Exostential Review
Better? reveals another layer of the artist’s identity. Here, experimentation takes center stage, blending electronic textures with a darkwave foundation. The result feels lighter yet still immersive, like a noir mirage drifting through a foggy cityscape. It’s less unsettling, yet equally captivating in its own way.
One of the standout moments arrives with Pity. The slow and deliberate rhythm creates a dense, misty atmosphere that feels almost otherworldly. The vocals, treated with reverb and a megaphone-like effect, seem to echo from beyond, adding a ghostly presence that lingers throughout the track.
The cinematic quality of this record becomes even more evident as it unfolds. At times, it feels like the perfect companion to the neon-lit solitude of films such as Blade Runner, where emotion and isolation blend into a single aesthetic experience.
Burning to Death injects a surge of energy with a driving, almost anthemic rhythm. The verses introduce a more intricate structure before the chorus expands with force. The snare cuts through the mix with a punch reminiscent of classic ’80s productions, giving the track a powerful backbone.
Closing the album, Black Tongues leans into a more gothic direction. The distorted guitar creates a nocturnal atmosphere, while the composition highlights the rock influences behind the project. It’s a fitting conclusion that reinforces the artist’s versatility and vision.
This is an artist with a clear identity and a willingness to explore different sonic territories. The album stands as a cohesive journey—dark, immersive, and emotionally charged—crafted for listeners who appreciate depth and atmosphere.
The atmosphere of “The One” by XNRS hits like a storm. The track erupts with an intensity reminiscent of a battalion of tanks charging forward. This relentless energy defines the essence of dystopian metal, a genre that XNRS navigates with exceptional skill. From the very first note, the listener is thrust into a world where sound and fury intertwine, creating vivid images of powerful machines advancing through a desolate landscape.
The track opens with a solid and heavy rhythm that establishes a commanding presence. The percussion is forceful, grounding the song in a way that is invigorating and claustrophobic. Each beat resonates, mirroring the relentless march of the guitars. The distorted tones of the guitars weave in and out with precision, moving along defined pathways that resemble the rigid lines of military formations. Their technical mastery showcases an impressive ability to maintain intensity while executing complex progressions.
As the rhythm section holds everything in place with impeccable precision, the interplay between the bass and kick drum stands out. Tempo changes are seamlessly integrated, with rhythmic variations that enhance the overall experience. The energy shifts but never falters, keeping the listener engaged and anticipating what comes next. The rhythm remains tight, encapsulating the relentless spirit of the track as it builds momentum.
The One by XNRS – Sound and Atmosphere
When the vocals enter, they slice through the aggressive orchestration with a cold and determined presence. The growl maintains a balance between frenetic energy and controlled depth. XNRS’ lead vocals exhibit a unique blend of hysteria and low-end brutality, adding layers of intensity to the mix. This dynamic vocal performance contributes significantly to the song’s dystopian theme, instilling a sense of urgency that enhances the driving narrative.
The song progresses with a series of contrasting sections that spotlight the band’s musicianship. Each musician plays with a level of expertise evident in their interactions. Guitar riffs are not only powerful but also intricate, reflecting the band’s technical acumen. They move fluidly, drawing the listener into an intense sonic experience. The rhythm section manages to support these formidable melodies without overshadowing the overall mix.
As the track continues, newer elements come into play, adding depth to the composition. This progression maintains a sense of forward motion that keeps the adrenaline pumping. Each repetition of the main motifs only reinforces their compelling nature, drawing the listener in deeper.
The One – Performance and Production
While “The One” builds towards its climax, it doesn’t shy away from dynamic contrast. Moments of relative calm momentarily break the unyielding energy, creating suspense before the next wave of intensity crashes through. This maneuver not only showcases their ability to compose but also highlights their understanding of dynamics within metal.
XNRS successfully delivers a piece that resonates with power and precision. “The One” stands as a striking example of dystopian metal, illustrating their technical ability and deep sonic exploration. Their cohesive sound reflects a collective of talented musicians, each playing a crucial role in shaping the overall experience.
With commanding rhythms, technical guitar work, and fierce vocal delivery, XNRS asserts their place in the metal genre. “The One” showcases their talent, pulling listeners into a relentless audio battleground.
Rik Emmett didn’t rush back to Triumph. He had to be talked into it, pitched like a reluctant investor, and the closing argument didn’t come from ticket projections or streaming data. It came from his wife.
The band had been assembling their case for a while. The NHL had started using a Triumph song during the Stanley Cup playoffs. The reaction was strong enough to move metrics — the band hit number one on Shazam. Gil Moore and Mike Levine came to Emmett with all of it laid out. He took it home.
“So I go to my wife, who’s the ultimate authority on everything for me. And I go, OK, honey, they’re talking about going back on the road. And she goes, let’s do pros and cons.” The first proposal he offered: he’d have to hire a trainer and get back in shape. She stopped him there: “She said, stop right there, bro. That’s a good enough reason. I don’t need to hear any other reasons [Laughs].”
He’s been going to the gym ever since. There’s a personal trainer. There are ten-pound weights, which he admits with a laugh he’s calling “women’s weights.” And there’s the matter of the double-neck guitar — thirteen pounds on the shoulder — which is precisely why none of this is optional.
Rehearsals with Moore started in January, with the wider band coming in March. That wider band is significant: Phil X, Todd Kearns, and Brent Fist join to flesh out what Emmett cheerfully calls the first-ever six-piece power trio. The dynamic is new, but Emmett has thought carefully about how it needs to work.
“I really want those guys to feel like shareholders — stakeholders — in what this is. It’s not ‘they’re sidemen playing Rik‘s songs.’ This is becoming your song now, too. You have to invest yourself in this.”
He’s not just being diplomatic. The argument he’s making is actually about what makes the songs matter in the first place. The Triumph catalog has outlasted the band’s original run precisely because the music found its own life, in arenas, in sports broadcasts, in the playlists of people who weren’t born when some of these records came out. Phil X, he says, is already holding on to it.
“The fans sit out there and go, this is the soundtrack of my life. I’m not going to let this go. And you go, OK, good — because this guy Phil, who’s an unbelievably great guitar player, he’s holding on to it, too. And he’s going to make it happen for you.”
Photo by Trevon Marsh
The scale of what’s coming is not lost on Emmett. Toronto has seen him in intimate rooms, with an acoustic guitar and a jazz sensibility. Arenas are a different proposition: scripted, production-heavy, built on grand gestures rather than quiet moments. He acknowledges the difference, but doesn’t seem rattled by it: “When you’re doing a big show, it’s grand gestures, and it’s lights, and it’s production, and it’s scripted. You’ve got to hit your marks. This is where the flashpots go off. It’s like being in a play more than improvising.”
The physical part is what he’s working on. There are moments in rehearsal, he says, where he catches himself sitting down and has to remind himself to get up, move around, find the rock star posture again: “I spread my legs in the rock star pose, and I lift my guitar up, the grander gestures. And I go, all right — I have a lot of motor memory for that. I’m comfortable in that skin.”
He invokes Keith Richards and Mick Jagger to make a point about how two completely different kinds of performers can occupy the same band. Emmett knows which one he is — the one who runs around with a Flying V between his legs — but he also knows there’ll be space for the other guy in there too.
Relearning the catalog has been its own strange experience. Moore will reference something from a record, and Emmett will find he’s forgotten it entirely. He listens back, watches his own hands on the old footage, and something clicks: “It’s like you’re rediscovering yourself. And maybe this is what Alzheimer’s is like — everything’s new again. Everything’s fresh. I’m making fun of it. But it is an interesting and enjoyable process.”
He remembers Neil Peart describing the same thing after Rush came back from time off — the band sounding, in Peart‘s words, like a bad cover version of themselves for the first two weeks. Emmett recognized it immediately: “There’s a lot I’m going to have to remember.”
What’s keeping him going, beyond the trainer and the rehearsals and the logistics of a major tour, is something more personal. His grandchildren — who call him Bubba, not grandpa — have never seen this version of him. His family knows the acoustic shows, the intimate sets. They don’t know the arena: “To share this across two generations — what a beautiful gift. What an unbelievably great thing to have happen.”
He pauses, then adds the caveat that’s pure Emmett: “I just hope I don’t fall down and split my pants.”
There’s a poetry book coming too, written during COVID, published through ECW, built around an alter ego called Alvaro Fallas, who lets him say things that optimistic arena rock never quite permitted. But that’s a different conversation. Right now, Triumph has a chapter left to write, a tour to deliver, and a guitarist who’s been doing women’s weights for two months to make sure he can carry a thirteen-pound double-neck guitar across North American stages.
This is the fifth album from Canadian death metallers Archspire. If 2017’s Relentless Mutation was a Big Deal, 2021’s Bleed the Future was a Really Big Deal. So, with a new drummer in tow, (from Oubliette), expectations are high for Too Fast to Die. Can Archspire rise to the occasion? Thankfully, it’s a yes. Yep, it’s … Continue reading “Archspire – Too Fast to Die (Review)”
Lord Of The Lost show their emotional side and present the final video of the OPVS Noir trilogy with the music video for their single “The Days Of Our Lives”. With the release of OPVS Noir Vol. 3 this Friday, April 10, the band concludes the album trilogy that began in the summer of 2025. “The Days Of Our Lives” is a soulful and seemingly hopeless ballad, situated somewhere between a soundtrack and cold electronica, and, as the closing track, serves as the curtain call for the entire work.
The most out-of-the-box of the full album trilogy, OPVS NoirVol. 3, the third and final chapter of Lord Of The Lost‘s latest journey, sees the six-piece close this era on a fulminant high note, intertwining heavy guitars and dark electronica with compassionate messages and cinematic orchestrations. It continues to push the band’s unpredictable path without settling for the familiar. Rounding off this impressive work, the album takes listeners by the hand and guides them through their darkest paths.
Following the captivating Blood & Glitter, which brought them to the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 and a #1 chart entry in their native Germany to go along with it, Lord Of The Lost once again demonstrate their unmatched diversity on OPVS Noir Vol. 3. Initiated by beautiful cello melodies, “Kill The Lights” is an overture like no other, setting a dark mood, but also unafraid to switch it up to make room for catchy and reassuring “I’m A Diamond.” Stomping “I Hate People” invites horror punk icon Wednesday 13 to an industrial duet about equality, after which gentle “The Shadows Within” hits twice as hard with its symphonic arrangement.
Next, Chris Harms and parting Kissin’ Dynamite frontman Hannes Braun deliver “La Vie Est Hell,” before going back to “Square One.” “When Did The Love Break?” is a heartfelt song of lost love – the addition of whimsical vocals by Ambre Vourvahis of Xandria drives the emotions of this universal topic right home. After “Your Love Is Colder Than Death,” Lord Of The Lost team up with Damien Edwards of British glam rock band Cats In Space for the captivating duet “Take Me Far Away”, before the album closes with a ballad, “The Days Of Our Lives” – the sweeping track simultaneously being the closest Lord Of The Lost have ever been to a cinematic soundtrack. The happy ending is skipped, almost making it sound like a goodbye…
OPVS Noir Vol. 3 will be available in the following formats:
1-LP Liquid Vinyl PURPLE-BLACK with 12-page booklet – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive (strictly limited) – SOLD OUT!
1-LP Gatefold SPLATTERED SILVER/BLACK with 12-page booklet – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive (strictly limited)
1-CD in paper sleeve for everyone that already own a OPVS NOIR Collectors Edition (= Earbook or Wooden Box Set)
1-CD 6-page Digisleeve with 16-page booklet
Music Cassette Noir with silver print – Napalm Records Mailorder & LORDSHOP exclusive (strictly limited) – SOLD OUT!
Digital Album
DEEP DIVE Edition, containing OPVS Noir Vol. 3 Digisleeve with 16-page booklet, USB Stick incl. 8 so called “audio stems” per song, so you can deep dive into listening to the vocals only, the guitars only, the drums only, and so on. Also perfect for musicians to create your own playthrough versions or for audio engineers to create remixes. CD and USB stick bundled in a cloth bag – Napalm Records Mailorder Europe & LORDSHOP exclusive
DA emerged from the NWOBHM band Desolation Angels, when former guitarist Robin Brancher formed the group in 2021 with vocalist Matt Oakman. They were soon joined by bassist Neil Craddock and drummer Dan Smith.
Photo courtesy of San PR
The album’s use of atmospherics adds depth and sincerity to the storytelling in the music. The opening track, “Daisy Chains,” kicks off with ominous cracks of thunder, gradually building in a slow, rhythmic patterns before erupting into Oakman’s towering vocals, which play a significant role throughout the release. Another highlight of the release is the use of multi-layered vocals in the chorus, adding rich harmonies to the music. As exemplified here, and in the beautiful, tear-jerking ballads “Angels” and the latest single “Forever Enslaved”
“Snake” and “Rock It” are fist-clenching rock anthems, while “Pillars of Death (Desolation)” delivers dark, distorted riffs reminiscent of early Black Sabbath, paired with slick, menacingly constructed guitar lines. The album closes with unforgettable hard rock anthems like “Spiralling Nowhere” and “The Devil’s On My Side,” before finishing with the epic twelve-minute progressive track “You Gotta Believe It.”
Overall, DA aim to bring something old into the modern rock world. The songs are well-crafted, while the music is fresh and heavy, with plenty of headbanging to enjoy.
DA are set to release their self-titled debut album on Friday, 10th April.
Album tracklisting: 1. Daisy Chains; 2. Higher; 3. Snake; 4. Pillars of Death; 5. Rock 6. Angels; 7. Forever Enslaved; 8. Spiralling Nowhere; 9. The Devils on My Side; 10. You Gotta Believe It. SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
If you love dark music like this:
