Category: news

Bloodstock Bound: Martyrs Saint

As Bloodstock gets closer, we delve deep into the line up to find out more about some of the bands playing the New Blood and EMP stages at this years event.

Today we chat with Martyrs Saint

Please introduce yourselves.

Brandon- Lead Vocals and rhythm guitar 
Amaré- Lead Guitar and backing vocals 
Harv- Bass and backing vocals 
Louie- Drums

How would you describe your sound?

Very aggressive and dynamic 

How did you land your spot on the Bloodstock bill?

We were fortunate enough to win the Bristol M2TM

How tough was the competition this year?

Bristol is absolutely stacked with amazing bands and artists so this years competition was brutal, any one of us was deserving of a spot at Bloodstock.

What does playing at Bloodstock mean to you?

Honestly it’s the biggest privilege of our careers so far and we’re incredibly humbled to have the opportunity!

For people who’ve never seen you live, what can they expect at Bloodstock?

Mountains and mountains of energy on stage.

What day are you performing?

On the Friday

What other bands are you looking forward to watching at Bloodstock this year?

Lamb Of God, Biohazard, Sepultra and Judas Priest 

Playing the New Blood Stage is just the first steppingstone in a bands journey. What’s next in your plans for world domination?

Getting our nose to the grindstone and staying the course

Are you camping with the fans? Which campsite are you heading for?

Still to be determined in all honesty haha!

You’ve gotta keep hydrated at Bloodstock, what is your drink of choice for the weekend?

A healthy mix of water, caffeine and beer/cider 

See you at Bloodstock in a few weeks!

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The post Bloodstock Bound: Martyrs Saint appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Drummer Steven Sweet has dealt with a long list of serious ailments in recent years. Continue reading…

Welcome to Four Records! Each episode, we feature one guest as they discuss the four records that helped shape them at four different times in their life. This week, our guest is Todd Smailes from the bands Suburban Life and formerly Gentlemen Prefer Blood. In 2024, Suburban Life put out their debut EP, Sympathy Tracks. 

Todd Smailes’s Four Records:

0-10: Beach Boys- Pet Sounds

Teenage: Guns N’ Roses – Appetite For Destruction 

Twenties: The Weakerthans – Fallow

Recent Record: Lost Balloons – Self-Titled

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Email: fourrecordspodcast@gmail.com

www.DyingScene.com

Opening song: Rad Skulls – Loud as Shit

Closing song: Lucas Perea – Underneath Ashes

Now that we're around the halfway point of the year, we're taking a look at our personal favorites. Continue reading…

As I snatch their sophomore, Monument aux morts from the jaws of the dormant Shark, the irony of reviewing an act called Viande¹ as a vegan is not lost on me. Fortunately, the meat they’re serving is of the metaphorical kind—brutal, nasty, chewy. After L’Abime dévore les âmes saw all souls eaten, a Monument to the dead comes in comiseration castigation for the misstep into that abyss. At first blush, Monument aux morts seems to follow also in its predecessor’s grimy doom-death-black stylistic tracks; but there’s more to the descent this time. Coming four years since Viande first crawled out of the earth, can it strike the death blow its predecessor narrowly missed?

Monument aux morts changes little about Viande’s culinary style, continuing to draw heavily from the Incantation school of death metal, though now with more prominent disorienting flourishes that vividly recall Thantifaxath (“Sacrifice Ardent,” “L’homme Brasier”). The atmospheric side leans closer to that of Praise the Plague—grand and menacing—on the slower end (“Linceul Immense,” “Une cage d’os”), and Ultha on the faster—vocals excepted—(“Germes de mort”). Together, these create a darker and more dissonant offering which in turn makes the omnipresent echo and whines of feedback that bleed tracks together feel even more smothering. Dense and heavy at fast as well as moderated tempos, Monument aux morts succeeds in creating a persistent aura of horror even as it wavers before the threshold of total envelopment.

Viande’s ability to unsettle has improved, thanks to deeper, more nuanced compositions. Guitars snake ominously and twist themselves into ever more gut-wrenching patterns (“Sacrifice ardent,” “Germes de mort,” “L’homme brasier”), whilst tremolos also slip more often into an eerie shiver (“Linceul immense”). The pervasive atmosphere uses reverb intelligently, without detracting from each song’s momentum, and often pulls in the horrifying sounds of screams (“Sacrifice ardent”) and strange synthetic whines (“L’esprit cachot”). Malevolent minor melody bleeds in as a short-lived, swaying foothold in the mire (“Une cage d’os”) of churning scales or feedback. Amidst the chaos, oddly compelling grooves take hold (“Linceul Immense,” “Cercueil de vase”). The culmination of these aspects is a consistently frightening texture, which peaks when it all combines to form thrilling, even darkly beautiful, shapes that step outside of a clear (sub-)genre boundary. At these times, Monument aux morts ceases to be merely a punishing, dirt-choked slab of blackened death-doom,², but a consuming miasma of discordant scales and impossible drums (“Sacrifice ardent,” “L’homme brasier”), or a rippling, oddly mesmerising chasm driven deeper through layers of rhythm and almost-melody (“Monolithe de chagrin,” “L’esprit cachot”).

And yet, Monument aux morts fails to maintain the vice grip on the listener it periodically holds. This is partly down to production that’s fittingly crushing and filth-encrusted for the album’s brutal death leanings, but thereby flattens the more prominent atmospheric side. Aside from above-noted highlights, and the odd sharp turns into the unusual, the majority of Monument aux morts’ eight movements progress along the same lines. The shared components—lurching from resonant tremolos into gallops, retreats to minimalistic whining and half-present drums, recurrent sludgy stomping—are effective in themselves. The issue comes with their repetition across a runtime that approaches an hour, where overlapping song transitions cause things to blur still further into an indistinct mass.

Viande are getting closer to the masterwork of horror they suggest they’re capable of. Despite being longer, Monument aux morts holds a more commanding presence than their debut and the germs of dark brilliance have grown to larger aspects that are truly gripping when they take over. All that remains is for Viande to stitch them together and give them the richer master their depths deserve.

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Rating: Good
DR: 6³ | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: July 31st, 2026

The post Viande – Monument aux morts Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Hailing from London (UK), Iridium are excited to announce the signing of a new deal with Napalm Records. Coinciding with this news, the band also present a brand new song “Endgame”, which will appear on their upcoming EP Hell Is Just A Halfway House.
Read more…

South Carolina singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Hannah Wicklund has released her new single, “Red Gorilla,” the latest preview of her forthcoming fourth studio album, War On Women; Calling All Good Men, due August 28 via Strawberry Moon Records.

Built around a funky blues rock groove, “Red Gorilla” showcases Wicklund’s guitar work with wah-driven riffs and soaring solos while paying tribute to Harambe, the gorilla whose 2016 death at the Cincinnati Zoo sparked worldwide attention. The accompanying music video features Wicklund performing in front of her own painting of Harambe.

“Red Gorilla was written ten years ago, the day the Harambe the Gorilla was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo. It still to this day is a dark stain on American and Human history,” Wicklund said.

“In this song, my aim is to remind the listener that the warning lights have been flashing for a long time, and that money and greed will not save us from our fate if we do not work to heal this earth and the societies that have destroyed it. Human beings are but a small piece of a far greater ecosystem, and we must radically choose to care for our environment, or we will be even more lost as a species than we are right now.”

War On Women; Calling All Good Men follows Wicklund’s 2024 album The Prize and marks her first full-length release since regaining control of her career after a prolonged battle to retain the rights to her music. The 13-song album explores themes of social change, personal resilience and environmental awareness while blending rock, blues, soul, folk, gospel and pop influences.

The album’s title track was released on June 29 as an a cappella performance. Wicklund said the song was inspired by events spanning nearly a decade.

“‘War On Women’ is a song that I began writing in 2016,” says Hannah. “The day I learned about the abuse so many girls suffered from at the hands of Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics, and finished eight years later, the weekend after the 2024 election when the phrase “Your Body, My Choice” was touted as a victory slogan amongst boys and men. I alchemized my rage into a song meant to be a call to action for all the good men of this world to take a stand and begin using their power and their voices to protect women and girls instead of predators; for only then can we call you our brothers and only then can we keep you as lovers.”

Wicklund also revealed an unconventional release strategy for the album. While the vinyl and CD editions will arrive in full on August 28, the album’s 13 tracks will be released individually to streaming platforms over the course of a year, with each song arriving on a full moon.

Alongside the music, Wicklund has launched The Strawberry Moon Tribune, an independent arts and culture magazine that she serves as editor-in-chief. Each issue corresponds with a single from the album and is released on each new moon, featuring contributions from artists and experts exploring the themes behind the music.

TRACK LISTING

War On Women
Red Gorilla
Evil Is A Corporation
Marionettes
The Pier
Diamonds
Daggers
The Token
Whistle To Blow
Stockholm
Cowards & Kings
Total Truth
Calling All Good Men

The post Hannah Wicklund unleashes “Red Gorilla” appeared first on Blues Rock Review.

This week featured new tour announcements from Godsmack, Story of the Year, Agnostic Front and more. Continue reading…

Chuck Billy opens up about his upcoming memoir, 'Holding My Breath,' reflects on the legacy of Testament and much more in this interview. Continue reading…

GRAMMY Award-winning Austin-based artist Ruthie Foster has released her new single, “Tangled,” from her forthcoming studio album, Just Say Yes, due out August 28 via Sun Records.

The new song follows the recent singles “Take Time” and “Thank You,” both of which will appear on the 10-track album. Along with the new single, Foster has also announced a new string of tour dates, including an October 5 performance at Bleecker Bell in New York City.

Co-written by Tyler Bryant and Foster, “Tangled” is a passionate anthem centered on breaking free from life’s struggles.

“This song came from telling myself the truth,” reveals Foster. “Sometimes that’s where the untangling begins.”

Just Say Yes follows Foster’s GRAMMY Award-winning album Mileage, which earned Best Contemporary Blues Album. Produced in Nashville by Tyler Bryant, the new record features songwriting collaborations with Bryant, Rebecca Lovell and Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe, and Mike Seal. Blending soul, roots and blues, the album reflects Foster’s personal journey through growth, resilience and self-discovery.

“I’m amazed at how I got to this place,” Foster says.

Reflecting on the inspiration behind the album’s title, Foster added, “I wrote this thing on a sticky note and it just said ‘Just say yes.’”

The album was recorded during a break from touring after Foster suffered a torn meniscus while running to catch a flight. She underwent knee surgery after the recording sessions and said the experience gave her a new perspective.

“It’s not just about age. It’s really about the miles I’ve put on,” she says. “Every step matters.”

The songs on Just Say Yes also draw from changes in Foster’s personal life, including her recovery and relationship challenges.

“Every last one of these songs are about some aspect of my life,” Foster explains.

“This was my way of being true to who I am and knowing that I’m in yet another transition in my life, which is how these albums tend to happen,” she continues.

TRACK LISTING

Thank You
Come on Up (ft. Larkin Poe)
Hold On
Yes
Take Time
Doubling Back
Tangled
Sitting Still
Maybe It Up
Reachin’

TOUR DATES

Jul 10 – Columbus, OH – Bicentennial Park
Jul 11 – Deadwood, SD – Deadwood Blues Festival
Jul 17 – Taos Pueblo, NM – She Rises International Women’s Music Festival
Jul 24 – South Park Township, PA – South Park Amphitheater
Aug 1 – Woodstock, NY – Sun Records Midnight Ramble
Aug 2 – Woodstock, NY – Sun Records Midnight Ramble
Aug 12-13 – Big Indian, NY – Catskills Crossroads Blues Camp
Aug 14 – Brattleboro, VT – Stone Church
Aug 16 – Thornton, NH – White Mountain Boogie N’ Blues
Aug 20 – Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain Arts Center
Aug 21 – Plymouth, MA – Spire Center for the Performing Arts
Aug 22 – Falmouth, MA – Falmouth Academy
Aug 23 – Albany, NY – The Egg
Aug 25 – Okoboji, IA – Pearson Lakes Art Center
Sep 10 – Escondido, CA – Dragonfly Music Festival
Sep 12 – Las Vegas, NV – Big Blues Bender
Sep 13 – Cerritos, CA – Cerritos Center For The Performing Arts
Sep 15-18 – Nashville, TN – AmericanaFest
Sep 19 – Jonesboro, AR – The Sunken Lands Songwriting Circle w/ Roseanne Cash, Rhett Miller, John Leventhal
Sep 23 – London, UK – The Lexington
Sep 24 – Paris, FR – Le Duc Des Lombards
Sep 26 – Assen, NL – Crossroads Festival
Sep 30 – Natick, MA – The Center for the Arts *
Oct 1 – Rockport, MA – Shalin Liu Performance Center *
Oct 2 – Portsmouth, NH – Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club *
Oct 3 – East Greenwich, RI – Greenwich Odeum *
Oct 5 – New York, NY – Bleecker Bell *
Oct 24 – Hopkins, MN – Hopkins Center For The Arts
Oct 31- Nov 7 – San Diego – The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise
Nov 19 – Tomball, TX – Main Street Crossing
Feb 26 – Mar 5 2027 – Miami, FL – Cayamo

The post Ruthie Foster releases “Tangled,” co-written by Tyler Bryant appeared first on Blues Rock Review.