Category: news

– August 5th, 2026 –

“Death Mask Messiah” To See Release August 28th On Metal Blade Records

Photo by Morgenrot Visions

Watch/stream EXUMER’s “Allocated Savagery” HERE

“Allocated Savagery” is the latest single from veteran German thrash legion, EXUMER. The track comes by way of the band’s latest studio album, Death Mask Messiah, set for release on August 28th through Metal Blade Records.

Death Mask Messiah is inspired conceptually by US politics of the last decade, the pandemic, the use of misinformation to stir up cultural divides, etc. Vocalist Mem V. Stein also explores the 30-year anniversary of Waco, Texas and the standoff with the Branch Davidians.

“‘Allocated Savagery’ delivers a brutal musical and lyrical account of the event,” comments Mem. “The track captures the intensity of the confrontation with the ATF, while reflecting on themes of misinformation and division that still resonate today.”

Stream EXUMER‘s “Allocated Savagery” HERE.

Watch EXUMER‘s previously released video for “Death Mask Messiah” HERE.

Death Mask Messiah serves as EXUMER‘s first new studio output in seven years and further cements the band’s legacy as a dauntless thrash metal institution. A logical and compelling progression from their three previous albums, the 11 ferocious songs, produced by Dominic Paraskevopoulos (Kreator, Caliban) and mixed and mastered by Arthur Rizk (Soulfly, King Diamond), take a more brutal and direct musical approach.

Recorded from December 2025 through January 2026, Death Mask Messiah is also the first EXUMER LP recorded with the rhythm section of drummer Jerome Reil and bass player Alex Voss. “You can feel their young energy, coupled with our trademark aggression and experience,” says Mem. “The band sounds more focused and yet raw, thanks to their addition to the lineup.”

The sequencing of Death Mask Messiah mirrors the intended lyrical and conceptual narrative to the music guitarists Ray Mensh and Marc B. composed for the album. The result is an auditory and emotional rollercoaster ride worth repeating. “I think we are heading toward a thrash renaissance, with legacy bands like us, Exodus and Kreator dropping new albums, and younger bands becoming very popular with younger fans,” Mem observes. While it’s been a few years since EXUMER‘s last album, Death Mask Messiah is doubtless worth the wait, the band believes that, “it’s always quality over quantity for EXUMER, and we hope and believe people appreciate that approach.”

As a bonus, Death Mask Messiah includes a guest and a cover song: Nasty Ronnie Galletti from American metal legends Nasty Savage sings on EXUMER‘s version of his band’s track “Unchained Angel.” EXUMER supported the band in 1988 on their first European tour.

Death Mask Messiah features front art and layout by Björn Gooßes of Killustrations (Sodom, Vomitory) and will be released on CD-Digipak and digital formats as well as vinyl in the following color variants:

180g Black
“Galaxy” Red/Black
“Saturn” Grey/Brown Ripple (Ltd. 250)
“Onyx” Black Ice w/ White Splatter (Ltd. 250)

Find pre-orders at: metalblade.com/exumer

Death Mask Messiah Track-Listing:
01. Death Mask Messiah
02. Blinding Skies
03. Sin Bleeder
04. Eradication
05. Ravishing Waste
06. Allocated Savagery
07. Serpent
08. Fratricide
09. Scorcher
10. Frozen Ground
11. Unchained Angel (Nasty Savage cover feat. Nasty Ronnie)

EXUMER Live:
10/23/2026 Nuclear Winter Festival 2026 – Hirschaid, DE
11/21/2026 Alcatraz & Pluto Festival – Deinze, BE
2/20/2027 Endzeit Festival 2027 – Essen, DE
7/26/2027 Nackenbrecher Open Air – Teuchern, DE

“EXUMER is a legendary powerhouse with history to crush any stage they play. There is great history from 1988 with Nasty Savage touring Europe and I am honored to be a part of this project!” — Nasty Ronnie, Nasty Savage

“This is like jumping into a time machine set for 1986! Good old hard-nosed yet catchy German thrash metal the way it was always meant to be. Thank you to EXUMER for making me feel like I am 21 again!” — Danny Lilker, Anthrax, Brutal Truth, Nuclear Assault, SOD, etc.

“With Death Mask Messiah, EXUMER have elevated their craft. Tight and incisive riffing, pummeling drums, and Mem’s vocal attack at full force – the band is in top form. An extremely satisfying listen.” — Jeff Matz, High On Fire

“Classic German thrash with all the spirit and energy of their early days, but more focused and precise. EXUMER are one of the very few ‘legacy’ bands where modern production clearly enhances the musical aggression, without detracting from any of the original metal message. Well done, boys!” — Brian “Mitts” Daniels, ex-Madball

EXUMER:
Mem V. Stein – vocals
Ray Mensh – guitars
Marc B. – guitars
Alex Voss – bass
Jerome Reil – drums

https://www.facebook.com/exumerofficial
https://www.instagram.com/exumerofficial

Buy iTunes Artist Page Artist News

Ghost frontman Tobias Forge has recorded a new version of Accept’s 1980 deep cut “Save Us,” joined by Anthrax bassist Frank Bello, Korn drummer Ray Luzier and Accept themselves. The track appears on Teutonic Titans 1976–2026, a 19-song album marking 50 years since Accept formed in Solingen, Germany, out September 4 via Napalm Records.

The record features guest appearances from 50 rock and metal musicians, including Rob Halford on “Balls To The Wall,” Kirk Hammett and Mikkey Dee on “Fast As A Shark,” and Billy Corgan on “Love Child.” Accept guitarist Wolf Hoffmann has said Forge was not on his radar until they met at a show in Stockholm, where Forge told him “Save Us” was his favourite Accept song.

STREAM THE METAL BREAKDOWN DAILY NOW:

On today’s Metal Breakdown Daily, Scott Penfold gets into the latest, breaking hard rock and metal news stories. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and take the show with you.

The best story in this one isn’t the collaboration. It’s what happened before it.

Wolf Hoffmann Had No Idea What Forge Was Talking About

Tobias Forge and Wolf Hoffmann met at a show in Stockholm. By Hoffmann’s own admission, Forge wasn’t really on his radar before that.

They got talking, and Forge told him that “Save Us” was his favorite Accept song. He’d even wanted Ghost to cover it at one point, though those plans got scrapped.

Hoffmann’s reaction, in his own words: “Save Us? I don’t even remember that song.”

He wasn’t being dismissive — he genuinely had to go back and listen to it. Nobody had ever mentioned that track to him. Not fans, not journalists, not other musicians. Forty-six years of interviews and it had never once come up.

Then he went and saw Ghost play, and the whole thing clicked. He came away thinking it suited Forge’s style perfectly and that he could imagine him doing it well. His verdict on his own forgotten song: it’s a fun one.

There’s something genuinely lovely about that. A man who’s spent half a century in one of Germany’s most important metal bands, being reintroduced to his own back catalogue by a Swedish guy in corpse paint who’d been quietly loving a track nobody else noticed.

What The Song Actually Is

“Save Us” comes from 1980 — early Accept, years before “Balls To The Wall” and “Restless And Wild” made them one of the defining acts in European metal.

It’s a deep cut in the truest sense: not a single, not a live staple, not a track that turns up on compilations. The kind of song that survives only because somebody somewhere kept playing the record.

Turns out that somebody was Tobias Forge.

The new version features Accept alongside Forge on vocals, Frank Bello on bass and Ray Luzier on drums. You can hear it now via the official static video.

Ghost Are A Serious Covers Band, And People Forget That

Worth saying, because this is going to get written up as a novelty guest spot and it isn’t.

Ghost have released three EPs made mostly or entirely of covers, the most recent being Phantomime in 2023. In 2021 they contributed “Enter Sandman” to The Metallica Blacklist. Interpreting other people’s songs is a core part of what Forge does, not an occasional sideline — and he’s unusually good at it, largely because he doesn’t try to out-muscle the original. He finds the melody underneath and rebuilds around it.

Which is exactly what a forgotten 1980 Accept track needs.

There’s a neat irony in it, too. Forge wanted Ghost to cover this song and the plan fell apart. So instead of a Ghost cover of Accept, he’s ended up singing it with Accept, on their own anniversary record. That’s a considerably better outcome than the one he originally had in mind.

If you want more Forge oddities, our piece on his unreleased 2008 solo album leaking onto YouTube is one of the stranger corners of his career — a record that once sold for over five thousand dollars as a physical CD.

We Also Recommend – Ghost Albums Ranked Worst To Best — The Definitive List

The Rest Of Teutonic Titans Is Ridiculous

This isn’t a small tribute record. Fifty guest musicians across nineteen songs.

Confirmed so far:

• Rob Halford sings “Balls To The Wall”
• Kirk Hammett and Mikkey Dee play on “Fast As A Shark”
• Billy Corgan appears on “Love Child”
• Tobias Forge, Frank Bello and Ray Luzier on “Save Us”

Also confirmed for tracks that haven’t been revealed yet: K.K. Downing, Overkill’s Bobby Blitz, and Fozzy’s Chris Jericho.

Halford on “Balls To The Wall” is the one that’s going to move the needle for most people — two of the most recognisable voices in metal history colliding on the song that defined one of them.

Teutonic Titans 1976–2026 lands September 4 via Napalm Records.

Check Out – Bands That Wear Masks: The 13 Best Masked Rock And Metal Acts, And The Nu-Metal Pioneers Who Beat Slipknot To It

Everyone On This Record Is Having A Big Month

Look at the timing. It’s a genuinely odd convergence.

Tobias Forge: Ghost are on hiatus after the Skeletour run, but their second concert film, 2 Big To Rig, hits IMAX and cinemas worldwide on August 26 — shot on 16mm at two sold-out Mexico City shows. It follows Rite Here Rite Now, which became the highest-grossing hard rock cinema event in US history.

Frank Bello: Anthrax release Cursum Perficio on September 18 — their twelfth album and first in a decade.

Ray Luzier: Korn tour Europe and the UK across October and November.

Accept: currently mid-way through a 50th anniversary run. They play Helsinki Metal Fest on August 7, two UK headline dates plus Stonedead in Newark later this month, then a European headline tour from November into December.

Four acts, four major campaigns, one September release date sitting in the middle of all of it.

Whether that’s coordination or coincidence, it means this record is going to be very hard to miss.

TL;DR

• The track: a new recording of Accept’s 1980 deep cut “Save Us,” out now
• Who’s on it: Accept, plus Tobias Forge (Ghost) on vocals, Frank Bello (Anthrax) on bass and Ray Luzier (Korn) on drums
• The album: Teutonic Titans 1976–2026, a 19-song set marking 50 years of Accept, out September 4 via Napalm Records
• Scale: 50 guest musicians across the record
• Also confirmed: Rob Halford on “Balls To The Wall,” Kirk Hammett and Mikkey Dee on “Fast As A Shark,” Billy Corgan on “Love Child,” plus K.K. Downing, Bobby Blitz and Chris Jericho on undisclosed tracks
• The backstory: Forge told Wolf Hoffmann that “Save Us” was his favourite Accept song. Hoffmann didn’t remember the track and had to go back and listen to it
• Ghost’s covers history: three covers EPs including 2023’s Phantomime, plus “Enter Sandman” on The Metallica Blacklist in 2021

FAQ

A forgotten 1980 deep cut, resurrected because one Swedish singer never stopped loving it. What’s the Accept song you’d have picked? Let us know in the comments.

Follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news

The post Ghost’s Tobias Forge Sings On A New Accept Cover With Members Of Anthrax And Korn appeared first on Loaded Radio.

Ahead of the release of her new album ‘BLOODLETTING’, RØRY is on the cover of Rock Sound…but we can’t show it to you.

Featuring a photograph deemed too inappropriate for the social media algorithm, we can only present it to you online in this custom-made, sealed-off packaging. The only way you will see the cover is by opening it up and looking inside…

Inside the magazine, confronting grief, mortality and the darkness that lingers even after your wildest dreams come true, RØRY takes us through the fantastical story of latest album ‘BLOODLETTING’.

You can get yours alongside a limited edition signed poster, with just 200 available, right now from SHOP.ROCKSOUND.TV

You can also pick up a copy of ”BLOODLETTING’ on exclusive transparent red cassette, limited to just 250 copies, now as well. Only at SHOP.ROCKSOUND.TV

The post RØRY Is On The Cover Of Rock Sound appeared first on Rock Sound.

Only four weeks until the second edition, Dutch extreme metal festival NOX OCCULTUM has revealed the running order for the two day event at the Hall of Fame venue in Tilburg, the Netherlands. Friday 4 September: Mainstage:BEHERIT (FI) 22:15 – 23:15CIRITH GORGOR (NL) 20:45 – 21:30HADOPELAGYAL (DE) 19:30 – 20:15SHEWOLFF (BE) 18:30 – 19:00BLOED (NL) 17:30 – 18:00 Saturday 5 September: Mainstage:SAMAEL (CH) […]

Source

Interview: Strangle Wire at Offal Fest

Interviewed by Patrick O’Reilly

Belfast based Strangle Wire stop by for a chat at Offal Fest.

We discuss their set at the festival, the Irish scene, the bands history, dream venues to play, upcoming plans and more.

You can listen to the interview below, or jump over to any of the usual streaming services!

Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music

Check out all of our interviews on the usual podcast channels!

Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music

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

The post Interview: Strangle Wire at Offal Fest appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

In her most recent work, the Philadelphia electronic producer Eev Frances turns synths and programmed beats into alternately hyperactive and serene music inspired by the Y2K-era IDM boom. Today she’s following up last year’s well-received Sometimes I Forget To Breathe (which was billed as an EP but felt like a full-length statement to me) with a new album called i will hold You in my heart until I can hol d you in heaven.

The post Stream Eev Frances’ Impressive IDM/Ambient Album <em>i will hold You in my heart until I can hol d you in heaven</em> appeared first on Stereogum.

(written by Islander) On September 4th the Bergen-based melodic black metal band Sworn will release their fifth album, Null Crowned the Infinite, which follows their well-received fourth album, A Journey Told Through Fire (2023). The new album is a conceptually ambitious and coherent work, one which traces the cyclical nature of the cosmos from its […]

The post AN NCS PREMIERE: SWORN — “THE ENTROPIC VOID” appeared first on NO CLEAN SINGING.

Marta Cikojevic is a member of the Montreal band TOPS, and she also makes solo music under the name Marci. In a few weeks, she’ll release Mask Lady And Late Night Girl, her second Marci album, and we posted lead single “Butterfly Sticker.” Today, she shares the bleary, synthy new track “Liquid Heartbeat.” The song and its Elliot Weaver-directed video both have an edge of glamorously lo-fi hedonism working for them. Check it out below.

The post Marci – “Liquid Heartbeat” appeared first on Stereogum.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLEEDING ANTLERS Return With Darker, Heavier Sophomore Album Songs of Praise Out August 22, 2026
For Fans of Pallbearer, Candlemass, and Type O Negative
Six years after emerging from the shadows with their critically acclaimed debut Stagmata , UK doom metal collective Bleeding Antlers return with their long-awaited sophomore album, Songs of Praise , arriving August 22, 2026 .
Born from what was originally meant to be nothing more than a stag party adventure across Europe in 2016, Bleeding Antlers transformed an unlikely brotherhood into one of underground doom’s most distinctive voices. Blending crushing doom metal with progressive rock, sleaze, folk shanties, and gothic atmosphere, the band has carved out a sound that is both theatrical and deeply immersive.
Where Stagmata introduced the world to Bleeding Antlers, Songs of Praise pushes their vision even further into the darkness.


” Stagmata was us finding the sound of Bleeding Antlers. Songs of Praise is us learning what to do with the silence around it. More space, more weight, and a lot darker in tone than Stagmata. “


Produced, mixed, and mastered by Simon Bismarck , Songs of Praise presents seven haunting compositions that explore temptation, loss, mythology, mortality, and spiritual conflict. Despite its title, this is no traditional hymnbook. These are songs of devotion aimed toward altogether different altars.
From the apocalyptic groove of “When the Sun Bursts” to the folk-horror atmosphere of “Meet Me in the Woods at Midnight,” the Norse-inspired weight of “Fimbulwinter,” and the haunting reinterpretation of Lana Del Rey’s “Blue Jeans,” the album offers a diverse yet cohesive journey through doom-laden storytelling. It concludes with “Crooked Lines,” an epic meditation on faith, temptation, and the eternal struggle between light and darkness.
Track Listing

The Devil of Mariazell
Meet Me in the Woods at Midnight
Blue Jeans
When the Sun Bursts
The Ghost of Oliver Reed
Fimbulwinter
Crooked Lines
Bleeding Antlers first captured attention with Stagmata , earning widespread praise throughout the underground metal community.
Critical acclaim for Stagmata :
“Behind the satyr masks and cloven-hoofed animal obsession they have genuinely excellent songs and an album that draws you in with each listen.”
4.5/5 – Emerging Rock Bands Magazine
“Perhaps the finest set of sleazy psychedelic doom shanties ever committed to record.”
The Metal Show
“Folk-goth glamour, Hammer-horror camp and drunken satanic swagger… you’d have a hell of a good time.”
No Clean Singing
“Stagmata is the sound I wish Metallica had evolved into after Reload.”
7.5/10 – Rock Hard Greece
To celebrate the release, Bleeding Antlers will embark on a series of UK headline performances beginning in September, followed by appearances at Rustfest , North West Doom Fest , Godivageddon , and additional festival dates extending into 2027.
With Songs of Praise , Bleeding Antlers have crafted an album that is darker, more dynamic, and more emotionally powerful than its predecessor while remaining unmistakably their own. Equal parts cathedral doom, occult folk tale, and drunken midnight sermon, the record stands as the band’s boldest statement to date.
Album Information

Artist: Bleeding Antlers
Album: Songs of Praise
Release Date: August 22, 2026
Genre: Doom Metal
For Fans Of: Pallbearer, Candlemass, Type O Negative
Produced, Mixed & Mastered By: Simon Bismarck
Band Lineup


Simon Bismarck – Vocals
Good Luke – Guitar
Prince Ben – Bass
Bad Luke – Brown Notes
Ghost Pete – Drums & Vocals
Check out the video: 


Listen / Pre-Save / Follow

Pre-Save: https://bleeding-antlers.ffm.to/songsofpraise
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/BleedingAntlers
Bandcamp: https://bleedingantlers.bandcamp.com
Website: https://bleedingantlers.com
Email: Bleedformedonington@gmail.com

What do you think the band name Devil Master actually means? As in: Are they masters of the devil, or are they just masterful at being devils? Probably the latter, right? That’s just something I’ve been thinking about. Anyway, Devil Master, Philadelphia kings of old-school face-painted punk-metal, are about to return with their new album Bloody Dreams, and we already posted the excellently titled lead single “You Worms’ Vain Delusions.” Today, they share a new death anthem called “Death Anthem.”

The post Devil Master – “Death Anthem” appeared first on Stereogum.