Category: news

  • Triskelyon – To Release ‘Metalmorphosis’ Album

    On August 21st, Canadian thrashers Triskelyon will release fifth studio album entitled Metalmorphosis. To taste a first piece of the new material, check out the song called “Heartbreaker”.
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  • Road To Bloodstock 2026: Change Persona

    It’s that time of year again where we talk to as many bands as we can who are raring to blow you away at Bloodstock! Change Persona will be living it loud on the EMP stage on the Friday
 Interview: Change Persona Simple things first – where are you guys from? We are dotted all … Continue reading Road To Bloodstock 2026: Change Persona
  • The Noctambulant – Streaming New Track

    Following their recent signing to Terminus Hate City, melodic black metallers The Noctambulant now present a video for the newly released single “Skeleton Key”. The song appears on the group’s forthcoming studio record Revival, due on September 18th, 2026. Recorded at Tri-Rush Studios, it was engineered and produced by E. Helvete and D. Franseth. Mixed and mastered by Daniel Thabet at Liquid Studios.
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  • Sacred Steel – New Material In The Making

    One year after the release of Ritual Supremacy record, German heavy/power metal crew Sacred Steel is located in a studio in Ludwigsburg (Germany) where they have start tracking new tunes for their next long player.
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  • Verdun – Abyssal Womb Review

    Each writer here in the Hall has their own ritual for fishing new promo from the sump. Some utter incantations to eldritch gods. Some engage in druidic rites under the full moon. Some offer blood sacrifices to our Ape Overlord and heed the direction of the splatters. While my own ritual is a closely guarded secret, I can tell you that Verdun’s genre tag, “blackened dissonant sludge,” bypassed all ritual requirements. I swiped the French four-piece’s third LP so fucking fast I got dizzy. Of course, the genre tags we glean from labels’ promo language have no objective connection to quality or reality. Does Abyssal Womb deliver the promised goods, or is it just another case of hollow hyperbole?

    Abyssal Womb marks a substantial departure from Verdun’s earlier work. 2014 debut The Eternal Drift’s Canticles used the same crushing, long-form structures as Cough or Warhorse. In 2019, sophomore effort Astral Sabbath saw the band experiment more heavily with abrasive and blackened textures, but it would take seven years for those elements to be fully realized. On Abyssal Womb, Verdun is still fundamentally a sludge band—and has the groove to prove it—but they’ve dispensed with much of the atmospherics and psychedelia of previous releases in favor of a darker and more direct sound. Roughly 15 minutes shorter than its predecessors, Abyssal Womb gets in, delivers grit, groove, and unease in equal measures, then makes like a tree and fucking leaves.

    Where blackened dissonance served as a decoration on Astral Sabbath, it suffuses nearly every second of Abyssal Womb. Whether vocalist David Sadok rasps in French (“La Lame et la Chair,”1 “Les Noces du NĂ©ant”2) or in English, he’s malevolently caustic. What surprised me most was how much more terrifying he is in French. The rhythm section often sways between exhausted, blackened plodding (“Silent Witness”), macabre processions (“Funeral of the Cosmic Knight,” “Rise of the Atomic Ghouls”), and sludgy grooves (“He Who Killed the Devil”), but Jay Pinelli’s strident leads curdle blood at every opportunity. Even when I know it’s coming, his dreadful solo in “Funeral of the Cosmic Knight” sends shivers down my spine, reminding me of the primal fear in Primitive Man’s Observance. This is one of my favorite moments on the album, along with the imperious march on the back half of “Rise of the Atomic Ghouls.” Drummer Geraud Jonquet violently punctuates Pinelli’s stomping, palm-muted chugs in a way that feels like I’m ascending the steps to the gallows.

    There’s plenty to praise on Abyssal Womb. Unsettling blackened plucking opens “Silent Witness.” Florian Celdran’s bass cleverly caresses the gaps between sustained chords in “La Lame et la Chair,” and Verdun weaves a few surprisingly emotive passages through the album (“Funeral of the Cosmic Knight,” “The Man Behind My Eyes”). “Les Noces du NĂ©ant” opens on a powerful sadboi doom riff that resurfaces throughout, and the track serves as a great closer, leaving me suitably unsettled, anxious, and unsafe. There’s less to critique, but there is some. “The Man Behind My Eyes” feels like a low point, failing to coalesce as well as the rest of Abyssal Womb. There’s a bafflingly non-sequitous noir-shaded bass solo in “He Who Killed the Devil,” and several tracks shoot past ideal endings in favor of dedicated outros or reprisals (“Silent Witness,” “He Who Killed the Devil,” “The Man Behind My Eyes”). None of these are dealbreakers—or even close—but they can briefly shake me out of Abyssal Womb’s immersion.

    I rolled the dice on Verdun, declining to listen to advance tracks or previous output and trusting in the genre tag alone. This strategy doesn’t normally yield the best results, but it certainly paid off here. Abyssal Womb sees Verdun venturing deep into unknown waters and dredging up something dark and grisly, something that sets the teeth on edge. Abyssal Womb isn’t without its faults, but they’re not calamitous, nor do they overly detract from the band’s exciting new direction. If Verdun’s trajectory is any indication—and I hope it is—Abyssal Womb could be the first few steps toward something buried even deeper in the lightless abyss.


    Rating: 3.0/5.0
    DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
    Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
    Websites: Official | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
    Releases Worldwide: June 26th, 2026

    The post Verdun – Abyssal Womb Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

  • Pallbearer – North American Tour Dates Confirmed

    In August and September, doom metal collective Pallbearer will be heading out on a 27-date tour of North America. Confirmed dates and venues are listed below.
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  • Bad Wolves – Return With New Vocalist, Unveil ‘Paint It Red’ Video

    Bad Wolves have debuted a music video for their new single, “Paint It Red”. The latter is the band’s first new music, featuring new vocalist Sara “Killboy” Skinner.
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  • The Black Dahlia Murder Announce European Headline Tour Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of “Nocturnal”

    – June 30th, 2026 –

    Michigan Melodic Death Metal Icons Return to Europe with a Career-Spanning Headline Tour

    The Black Dahlia Murder today announce “Two Decades Of Nocturnal,” a European headline tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark 2007 album Nocturnal. The tour will see the Michigan melodic death metal veterans perform a special set drawing heavily from the landmark album alongside fan favorites spanning their entire catalog, bringing one of extreme metal’s most beloved records back to European stages this winter for a series of headline shows.

    Tickets go on sale today at: tbdmofficial.com

    Photo credit: Marshall Wieczorek

    Comments vocalist Brian Eschbach: “Super excited to announce this celebration of Nocturnal’s 20th anniversary which we will present across Europe this winter. The set will feature a great deal of material off the band’s third release. Can’t wait to see y’all again

    Released on September 18, 2007 via Metal Blade Records, Nocturnal marked a defining moment in The Black Dahlia Murder‘s career and in American extreme metal at large. Recorded with Eric Rachel at Trax East and mixed by Jason Seucof at Audiohammer, the album debuted at No. 72 on the Billboard 200 and earned the band Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods Award for Best Underground Band. With its visceral combination of flesh-searing riffage, mind-bending guitar solos, and disgustingly poetic lyricism, Nocturnal pushed the boundaries of melodic death metal with an intensity and craft that resonated far beyond American shores. It remains, nearly two decades on, widely regarded as the gold standard of modern US melodic death metal and one of the most important extreme metal records of the 21st century.

    European metal press recognized Nocturnal‘s significance from the moment of its release. Metal Hammer UK honored the album’s release era by naming the band Best Underground Band at their Golden Gods Awards – a prize The Black Dahlia Murder were too busy touring to collect in person. Kerrang! has consistently cited the record as a cornerstone of modern melodic death metal, while Distorted Sound has described the band as “one of melodeath’s greatest, most consistent bands” – praise rooted firmly in the standard Nocturnal set.

    The Black Dahlia Murder have faced extraordinary challenges since Nocturnal‘s release and emerged from each one stronger. The passing of beloved co-founder and vocalist Trevor Strnad in 2022 threatened to end the band entirely, but the remaining members – led by co-founder Brian Eschbach, who stepped into the vocalist role – chose to honor Trevor’s legacy by carrying the band forward. Their tenth studio album, Servitude (Metal Blade Records, September 2024), marked Eschbach’s recorded debut as lead vocalist and lyricist, and was met with near-universal critical acclaim across Europe and beyond.

    Kerrang! declared that Eschbach’s vocal performance “fits perfectly,” and that Servitudefaces down existential concerns with determination and defiance. Forged from tragedy and loss, it honours their fallen friend while celebrating the survival of The Black Dahlia Murder as an ongoing entity.Metal Hammer UK praised the record, writing that the band “skillfully picked up where they left off… deciding to channel and celebrate him instead and the results are glorious.” Distorted Sound noted that “Eschbach is a commanding, venomous presence and never feels like a hollow recreation of Strnad,” reaffirming The Black Dahlia Murder‘s place as “one of melodeath’s greatest, most consistent bands.

    The band’s return to European stages in 2024 – their first since 2019 – saw them perform at some of the continent’s most prestigious festivals, including Download Festival (UK), Graspop Metal Meeting (Belgium), Hellfest (France), Wacken Open Air (Germany), Brutal Assault (Czech Republic), Party San Open Air (Germany), Alcatraz Metal Festival (Belgium), and Bloodstock Open Air (England). Fresh from a triumphant Spring Fling 2026 US headline run and an ongoing co-headline North American tour with Arch Enemy, The Black Dahlia Murder arrive in Europe at the peak of their powers – bolstered by the addition of acclaimed guitarist Wes Hauch (Alluvial, ex-The Faceless) as a full member of the lineup.

    TOUR DATES:
    01/14/2027 Frankfurt, DE – Batschkapp
    01/15/2027 Köln, DE – Essigfabrik
    01/16/2027 Bochum, DE – Matrix
    01/17/2027 Berlin, DE – Columbia Theater
    01/18/2027 Hamburg, DE – GrĂŒnspan
    01/20/2027 Copenhagen, DK – Pumpehuset
    01/21/2027 Stockholm, SE – Debaser
    01/22/2027 Oslo, NO – John Dee
    01/23/2027 Gothenburg, SE – Filmstudion
    01/24/2027 Hannover, DE – Faust
    01/25/2027 Prague, CZ – Futurum
    01/26/2027 Krakow, PL – Kwadrat
    01/27/2027 Budapest, HU – DĂŒrer Kert
    01/28/2027 Ljubljana, SLO – Kino Siska
    01/29/2027 Vienna, AT – Flex Club
    01/30/2027 Salzburg, AT – Rock House
    01/31/2027 MĂŒnchen, DE – Backstage
    02/02/2027 Paris, FR – Petit Bain
    02/03/2027 Lille/Wasquehal, FR – The Black Lab
    02/04/2027 London, UK – The Dome
    02/05/2027 Tilburg, NL – O13 Next Stage
    02/06/2027 Drachten, NL – Drachten Deathfest
    02/08/2027 Nantes, FR – Le Ferrailleur
    02/09/2027 Toulouse, FR – Le Rex
    02/10/2027 Fribourg, CH – Fri-Son
    02/11/2027 Winterthur, CH – Gaswerk
    02/12/2027 Audincourt, FR – Le Moloco
    02/13/2027 Metz, FR – Haunting The Chapel
    02/14/2027 Karlsruhe, DE – Substage

    Tickets available at: tbdmofficial.com

    ABOUT THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER:
    Formed in Waterford, Michigan in 2001, The Black Dahlia Murder are one of the most critically acclaimed and enduring bands in American extreme metal. Signed to Metal Blade Records since their debut full-length Unhallowed (2003), the band has released ten studio albums – eight of which charted on the US Billboard 200, with 2011′s Ritual peaking at No. 31 – and built a fiercely devoted global fanbase through relentless touring and an unwavering commitment to their craft. Multiple Summer Slaughter Tour headlining slots, appearances at Wacken Open Air, Graspop Metal Meeting, Download Festival, Hellfest, Louder Than Life, Ozzfest, and Warped Tour, and recognition including Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods Award for Best Underground Band have marked a career defined by consistency, passion, and artistic growth. Their tenth album, Servitude (September 2024), marks a powerful new era led by co-founder Brian Eschbach, who stepped into the vocalist role following the passing of beloved co-founder Trevor Strnad in 2022. With acclaimed guitarist Wes Hauch now a full member of the lineup, The Black Dahlia Murder continue to build on a legacy that remains as vital and uncompromising as ever.

    Current Lineup:
    Brian Eschbach – vocals
    Ryan Knight – guitar
    Wes Hauch – guitar
    Max Lavelle – bass
    Alan Cassidy – drums

    Follow The Black Dahlia Murder:
    https://www.tbdmofficial.com
    https://www.metalblade.com/tbdm
    https://www.facebook.com/theblackdahliamurderofficial
    https://www.instagram.com/theblackdahliamurder_official
    https://x.com/bdmmetal
    https://www.youtube.com/@blackdahliamurdertv
    https://www.tiktok.com/@tbdm_official

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  • “Using our history, our genocide, our pain to their political advantage”: System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian lambasts Israel for recognising Armenian genocide amidst Palestinian conflict

    System Of A Down singer Serj Tankian has criticised Israel for recognising the Armenian genocide of 1915 and ’16 as the country continues its military actions in the West Bank and Gaza, which have been described as genocide by a United Nations commission.

    In a video statement released via the social media account Vocal Politics, the Armenian-American vocalist says “fuck you” to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, after they acknowledged the Ottoman Empire’s mass killing and deportations of Armenian Christians during World War I.

    The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum estimates that between 664,000 and 1.2 million Armenians died as a result of the Ottomans’ actions between spring 1915 and autumn 1916.

    In a statement on Sunday (June 28), Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel had “fulfilled a moral duty by recognising the historical truth, and rejecting attempts to deny it”. The decision still requires ratification by the Israeli parliament.

    Tankian takes issue with the timing of the recognition, as Israel had for many years refused to recognise the Armenian genocide. According to French newspaper Le Monde, the country avoided the topic to preserve its political relationship with Turkey.

    However, that relationship has soured in recent years, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan became a vocal critic of Israel’s military engagements with Palestine, which intensified following Palestinian nationalist terrorist group Hamas’ attack on the Nova music festival in October 2023. An estimated 1,200 people died in the attack.

    Tankian also accuses the Israeli government of having previously used pro-Israel lobby group the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) to discourage the US from recognising the Armenian genocide. The US ultimately recognised the genocide in 2021.

    The singer says in the video (via The PRP): “For many years, Israel’s government used AIPAC to lobby the US Congress to not recognise the Armenian genocide, to prevent Congress from recognising the Armenian genocide, due to their relationship with Turkey, their intelligence sharing with Turkey, et cetera.

    “Today, the Netanyahu cabinet decided to recognise the Armenian genocide of 1915: a genocide that led Hitler thinking that he could do what he could do to the Jews in the 1930s and 1940s.

    “The fact that this government is already committing genocide in Gaza and Lebanon decided to recognise the genocide of my grandparents is the worst fucking thing that they could have done to Armenians – by using our history, our genocide, our pain to their political advantage.

    “Fuck you.”

    Last September, a UN commission found that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Genocide is defined in the 1948 genocide convention as the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

    Israel strongly denied that it was committing genocide against Palestinians, calling the findings an “attempt to delegitimise and demonise the state of Israel”.

    Then, earlier this month, a UN commission of inquiry accused Israel of deliberately targetting children in Gaza, leading to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Israel denied the allegation, calling it a “libellous sham”.

    According to a BBC report on June 23 this year, at least 73,035 people have been killed by Israelis in Gaza since the Nova festival attack, including more than 21,280 children. This is based on data released by the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are seen as reliable by the UN.

    The Vocal Politics video is not the first time that Tankian has spoken out against what he sees as modern-day genocide. During System’s headline set at the Sick New World festival in Las Vegas in April, he sang the traditional Armenian prayer Der Voghormia in remembrance of the Armenian genocide’s victims and said onstage, “The problem is that genocide still occurs today, around the world. We have not learned our lesson of people over profits.”

    System are currently touring Europe, supported by Queens Of The Stone Age and Acid Bath. The shows kicked off with a 29-song performance at Strawberry Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on Monday (June 29). The band will play at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on July 13 and 15.