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What’s the best hair metal song of all time? It’s a big question, and it deserves a big answer. Here’s our pick.

The post The Best Hair Metal Song of All Time Encompasses the 1980s appeared first on Audio Ink Radio.

It’s April and you know what that means. It means that March fucking flew in, punched us in the nose, and left. Thank the metal gods we’ve got music to keep us steady. We had a bunch of favorites last month, and here they are.

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No/Más – No Peace

Deathgrind from the US

I won’t pretend that I was as familiar with No/Más as much as I was with the fact that I should be, but No Peace has proven a wonderful place to rectify that. 22 minutes of blistering deathgrind with a welcome emphasis on sick riffs and plenty of swaggering grooves and mosh parts in amongst all the expected blasts and punk beats to grant the album a level of variation and memorability that can often elude music this violent. Stand-outs like “Blood Soaked Soil” and the title track show off a lot of the band’s range within tight sub-two-minute runtimes, while sixth track “Leech” provides a highlight that borders on straight crossover thrash with its killer riffing and catchy harmonised leads.

– Ellis

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Alicia Cordisco – My Restless Temple

Power metal from the US

Another month, another hell of an Alicia Cordisco record in our roundup article. This time it’s her solo project, and My Restless Temple is a far cry from last year’s melodic black metal release: this time Cordisco’s stylings are of the power metal variety. As per usual, the guitar work is killer, with hooky riff after hooky riff ruling the runtime and soaring leads that uplift the spirit. Along for the ride are a number of vocalists, primarily Jordan Rutledge (also of Cordisco’s side project Justicar) and Aya Druïd, the latter of whom’s vocal timbre has an uncanny resemblance to that of Amy Lee of Evanescence fame. Also joining the festivities are vocalists Kristin Starkey (Twilight Force), Bethany “Beef” Pitts (Transgressive), John Yelland (Judicator, Behölder), and Lux Edwards (Soulmass), plus bassist Joshua Payne, who handles the low end across the album. All work together with glorious synergy in service of Cordisco’s tremendous songwriting, and it amounts to an exhilarating yet thoughtful listen that’s worth revisiting several times over. 

– Kep

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Axe Dragger – Axe Dragger

Trad heavy metal from the US

Blame it on me being a guy in his mid 40s, but when I first saw mention of Axe Dragger, I rolled my eyes and assumed it was some lame attempt to cash in on the surge of popularity surrounding Castle Rat (the first song on Into the Realm is literally “Dagger Dragger”). Boy, oh boy, was I ever wrong; this is a full-on supergroup comprised of such metal legends as Bob Balch, Pete Campbell, Terry Glaze, and Frederik Isaksson, and this is most certainly not another “doom ‘n’ roll” album. This is true, in-your-face traditional heavy metal from the early ‘80s, so get ready to bang your head after you cut the sleeves off all of your t-shirts. I hope your body is crop top ready, because you’re gonna want one by the time you get to the end of this record.

– Kirk

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Dropkick Murphys / Haywire – New England Forever

Hardcore Punk from the US

THE BOYS ARE BACK THE BOYS ARE BACK THE BOYS ARE BACK AND THEY’RE LOOKING FOR TROUBLE!!!!!!!!!!!

– Ellis

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Foetorem – Incongruous Forms of Evergrowing Rot

Death metal from Denmark

Y’all may remember that death metal is my true love, and Denmark’s Foetorem came directly for my heart with this one. The project’s first proper release, Incongruous Forms brings the grimy, gristly goods in the form of utterly filthy riffs that lurch, groove, plod, toll, and brutalize in equal measure. This is death metal of the doom-tinged variety, with plenty of grisly atmosphere and an overall feel of grime and entrail stench. The band’s overall mix is a well-balanced one and the riffs feature a surprising amount of variety, from your typical gritty chugging to nifty bile-drenched angularity to Autopsy-core slow gore death, even going so far as to expand the texture and get atmospheric with clean tones on “Mors Viaturis – The Death Traveler”. There’s no denying that even here on their first record Foetorem have the juice—but I wouldn’t be too eager to drink it. 

– Kep

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World I Hate – Total Nuclear Annihilation

Hardcore from the US

The third entry on my provisional AOTY list to clock in at under 18 minutes—after the Crush Your Soul and Killing Pace LPs detailed in our Jan and Feb spotlights respectively—Total Nuclear Annihilation is every bit the ripper its runtime, title, artwork and creators’ previous efforts all promise. Hard, fast and mad as hell, the band’s label Convulse Records puts it best: ‘This is bludgeoning hardcore for end times. The bomb’s gone off and now you’re stuck here. Tough luck. You won’t survive.’ Shout-out Milwaukee.

– Ellis

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Ravenspell – Obsidian King

Power metal from Canada

I realize this is kinda early to start talking about what’s going to be Album of the Year, but I need y’all to understand something: THERE’S A SONG ON THIS ALBUM THAT DIRECTLY REFERENCES ARMY OF DARKNESS. It even opens with one of the best quotes in the movie much less all of cinema. If that’s not Album of the Year worth, I don’t know what is. Yeah, sure, power metal isn’t as “kvlt” as death metal or black metal, but this album is fun and doesn’t take itself too seriously, because I think one think we as music fans forget is that metal is an incredibly unserious music genre. We just take it really seriously. I have a better idea: Start listening to Obsidian King and let your body do whatever feels natural. You won’t regret it.

– Kirk

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Power Paladin – Beyond the Realm of Enchantment

Power metal from Iceland

Sometimes a band just finds that je ne sais quois between albums and releases something that’s on an entire different plane than their previous material. That’s what Power Paladin have done here, in my opinion: they found it. I did not care for their first record With the Magic of Windfyre Steel (2022), though it had its share of fans, but Beyond the Reach of Enchantment has proven to be an addictive listen for me in the short nine days (as of writing) since it came out. These are lively, triumphant tunes, and the band now feels less like a cheesy facsimile of power metal tropes and more like an actual good metal band playing power metal. The individual performances are great across the board and frontman Atli Guðlaugsson puts up a particularly great showing, playing the ideal slick but powerful partner to some nifty riffage. Keep an ear out for the soaring tones of Majestica’s Tommy Johansson on “The Arcane Tower”, too, the two voices pairing remarkably well. This record is a super fun listen, which is all I want, really.

– Kep

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Zerre – Rotting on a Golden Throne

Thrash metal from Germany

If 2025 was The Year I Became a Death Metal Guy, then 2026 is looking like it’s going to be The Year I Become a Thrash Metal Guy. Yeah yeah, I still think of thrash as “if shitty American pilsner needed a music sponsor,” it’s incumbent to remember that German beer is exponentially better than American beer. So, if German beer is better than American beer (which it is, don’t bother arguing), then German thrash is better than American thrash (which the existence of Kreator proves beyond the shadow of a doubt). When paired with last month’s pick of Lead Injector, you’ll have a really hard time arguing with how utterly unfuckwithable German thrash is.

– Kirk

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Seclusion – Sobrevivencia

Oi!/Hardcore from the US

I’ve got well into what you could probably call “sensitive tough guy” music lately, which is ironic considering I’m probably more of an “insensitive weak guy” myself, but anyway… like a couple of my 2025 favourites in Skinhead and Recollection, Washington D.C.’s Seclusion combine the gruff voice of a frontperson who sounds like they’ve smoked a whole pub with that gloriously catchy brand of punk that sits right in the sweet spot between Oi! and hardcore. This is music to pile on your mates to, dedicated to “all those in struggle for human, earth, and animal liberation” to make it that much sweeter.

– Ellis

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Goatsmoker – E.R.I.S.

Stoner/doom from Denmark

I’m not going to count the number of goat-themed metal bands because these are short write-ups, but Denmark’s Goatsmoker is another in a long line of goat bands that will likely outlive us all. At this point, it should be no surprise to our readership that I love me some good, old-fashioned stoner/doom. The heavier the riffs the better. And Goatsmoker’s riffs are thick, viscous, and filthy as hell. Just massive, oppressive, and absolutely devastating stuff.

– Kirk

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Dionysiaque – La tourbe des rêves

Doom metal from France

I readily admit that I didn’t expect to like this album. The first Dionysiaque outing—despite near-universal praise from those in the scene who tried it out (including our own Westin)—didn’t vibe with me. That’s why it’s so damn cool that La tourbe des rêves utterly hooked me within the first half of its first track, and just kept reeling me in with the remaining runtime. These Frenchmen fucking RIFF, man, heavy bands of thick doom licks offset by passages of raw, pulverizing thrash. Vocalist N.C. has a tone rarely heard in metal these days: stentorian baritone, theatrical and rough around the edges, captivating and downright spooky at times. He pushes those pipes into shouting screams, too, plus even throws in a wail or two. And the whole thing is thematically tight as a drum? Yeah, turns out I’m gonna be running this record back a whole hell of a lot.

– Kep

The post March Release Spotlight appeared first on Noob Heavy.

Another weapon for his robust arsenal.

The post Polyphia’s Tim Henson Demonstrates His Burgeoning Slide Guitar Chops With “He Is Risen” appeared first on Theprp.com.

Spanish death dealers Caustic have never moved quickly in their pursuit to release new music—there’s a six-year gap between their first two albums, a ten-year gap between the second and third and now eleven years to Inner Deflagration, Caustic’s fourth album. Formed in 1992, Caustic are a product of their time, delivering pure, riff-focused death metal with technical precision.

Given the nature of the songs, comparisons to bands like Cannibal Corpse, Cryptopsy and Deicide are inevitable, but there’s a strong undercurrent of groovier ’90s bands like Dying Fetus and Pyrexia. The tight songwriting also means the 10 tracks on Inner Deflagration breeze by, leaving you wanting more.

Inner Deflagration is out on April 10 via Horror Pain Gore Death but the whole album is below for your early listening. Hopefully it won’t be another decade until the next one!

The post Full Album Stream: Caustic – “Inner Deflagration” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

(written by Islander) The Russian band Goatpsalm first caught our attention almost a full decade ago, when we reviewed their third album Downstream a few months before its February 2016 release by the UK’s Aesthetic Death label. Back then I wrote (in part): The music of Goatpsalm is spacious, mystical, shamanic. It conjures images of […]

The post AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): GOATPSALM — “BENEATH” appeared first on NO CLEAN SINGING.

Metallica is heading into 2026 with a full touring schedule already in motion, and they’ve just added two more shows to the end of it. The band has announced a No Repeat Weekend at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on November 19 and 21, timed to the venue’s 25th anniversary.

The band put it plainly in their announcement: “Just as we’re getting ready to head out on the road for the first shows of ’26, we’ve added two more gigs to the calendar to wrap up the year. Join us at the intimate Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT, to celebrate their 25th anniversary… as we like to say, they’re just getting started!”

“You know the drill: two nights, two totally different set lists with no songs repeated, two unique special guests, and one great weekend!” the band continues. “Joining us on November 19 will be our tour buddies Suicidal Tendencies, and on November 21, our new friends Spiritbox.”

The ticketing breakdown: single-day and two-day tickets go on sale Friday, April 10, at 10 AM ET / 7 AM PT, with both dates also available at the Mohegan Sun Box Office from Saturday, April 11. Fifth Members — the band’s fan club — get early access via presale beginning Wednesday, April 8 at 10 AM ET / 7 AM PT.

Metallica framed the weekend in the terms their fanbase has come to expect from the format: “Two nights, two totally different set lists with no songs repeated, two unique special guests, and one great weekend!”

The No Repeat Weekend concept was introduced during the band’s M72 world tour and has become a reliable draw, essentially a guarantee that fans attending both nights will hear two entirely different shows. At a venue like Mohegan Sun Arena, which holds around 10,000 people, the scale is considerably more contained than what the band typically works with. The arena sits within a sprawling entertainment and gaming complex along the Thames River in southeastern Connecticut, accessible from New York, Boston, Hartford, and Providence.

Metallica noted the company they’ll be joining on the venue’s roster: “We hope to see you there as we join a long list of artists who have performed at the arena, including Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Lady Gaga, Chris Rock, Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Joel, Beyoncé, and many more. Twenty-five years and over 3,000 events later, we’re honored to help celebrate this milestone.”

The Connecticut dates cap what is shaping up to be one of the band’s busier years. Before November, Metallica will make history as the first hard rock band to perform at the Sphere in Las Vegas, with a residency called “Life Burns Faster” scheduled for eight initial dates in October. The No Repeat Weekend format carries over there as well, with no songs repeated between each Thursday and Saturday pairing throughout the run.

The post METALLICA Add Two Connecticut Dates In November With SUICIDAL TENDENCIES & SPIRITBOX As Guests appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

The stories behind the making of Uriah Heep’s 1972 breakthrough album

Once again, they'll do No Repeat Weekend with different opening acts on each night. Continue reading…

To promote their forthcoming studio release Satanic Chaos Legions, death metallers Nunslaughter have launched a music video for the newly streaming single “Jesus Fucking Dies”.
Read more…

Heavy metal’s reigning kings in Metallica have newly added a pair of fall shows to their 2026 slate. The diamond-certified thrash metal legends have just been booked for November 19th & 21st concerts at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. Those dates are part of a promotion celebrating the 25th anniversary of that venue.…

The post Metallica Announce Two November Shows With Suicidal Tendencies & Spiritbox appeared first on Theprp.com.