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New Zealand’s Haast Hunter have released Plastique, the title track off their forthcoming debut album. The expected release date is not confirmed yet, but the band say to expect the full release around August 2026. Plastique is the first release from Haast Hunter featuring their new vocalist (Sinaea Elizabeth). The title track is an exploration […]

Perdomo Kravitz 2026 Penumbral confessions and other confectionary stories concocted by two tune-pursuing producers. There’s a lot of striking aspects in what ‘s been doing for over a decade now, including year-long album cycles and tireless playing on a myriad … Continue reading →

The post PERDOMO KRAVITZ – Goodbye Sun appeared first on DMME.net.

German black/thrash/heavy metal trio Witching Hour return for your soul, eight long years since their last outburst ...and Silent Grief Shadows the Passing Moon. Alongside contemporaries like Nocturnal, Cruel Force, and Manzer, Witching Hour’s recent output has been well-received by critics and audiences alike. This puts the upcoming Decending… Where Time Has Ceased to Exist, Witching Hour’s fourth release in 20 years, in a prime position to compete well in its field. Will Descent… lead to greatness or will Witching Hour fumble the landing?

In some ways, they’ve threatened both. Witching Hour are an incredibly talented bunch, deftly straddling fences between black metal char, heavy metal righteousness, and thrash metal vitriol. Descending…’s warm and natural tones enhance these qualities, presenting a product that is easy on the ear while deadly to the spine. Songs build around long-form structures, with the shortest cut measuring over six minutes (not counting the fluffy instrumental intro), but overall runtime slots in at a tight 43 minutes. This makes repeat listens easy to approach. Sounds like everything is in place to secure a high score on the board, right?

Unfortunately, the songwriting lets Descending… down. Witching Hour’s latest epic suffers the same flaw as its predecessor: a lack of compositional dynamics and an overabundance of recycled parts. Each song taken out of the whole makes a compelling case. “Where Time Has Ceased to Exist” sets the bar quite high for the rest of the record, churning with a heavy metal swagger and roaring with spirit through epic leads, scorching tremolos, and thrashy switch-ups. Similarly, “Profane Resurrection of a Presumed Dead” hooks its claws into the brain with an insidious chorus bark and fiery guitar and percussion work. However, when unified as a whole, it’s all too easy to interchange phrases and measures between songs without fragmenting the experience. I can place my mark on two opposite sides—and stick a couple more pins in the center—and the same riffing motif, similar leads and flourishes, suspiciously familiar vocal runs, and the exact same bass-snare alternation greet me.

Doubly damning, epic 11-minute closer “…and Then Came the Flames” showcases all of these issues in a microcosm, establishing a concise summary of everything heard thus far. And just like the others, taken out of the album context, the song rocks. Reminiscent of the same kind of grand, hellish adventure that Bütcher so gloriously captures on 666 Goats Carry My Chariot, “…and Then Came the Flames” feels complete, exciting, and wild, at least at first. As the track progresses, recycled parts and pieces cheapen the experience until I’m desperate to jump off the boat as it reaches shore. This mirrors my experience with the album as a whole. Fun and entertaining in the initial throes, it becomes a slog to get through in remarkably short order. By the time the closer wraps up, I’ve heard multiple iterations of the same ideas, spliced and arranged to deceive me into believing, if only for a moment, that I could pick any of these songs (minus the opener proper) out of a lineup without a cheat sheet.

Confounding as it is, Witching Hour represents a clash between having great ideas and writing songs that don’t adequately support or develop them. Instead, Descending… drops their best work into a sea of repetitive structures and monotonous bloat in the hopes that observers might then discern and appreciate them. With at least a half dozen spins under my belt at the time of writing, I did indeed find worthy gems to take home—and when isolated from the collection, those gems really sparkle. However, those rewards don’t quite justify the expanse of fluff and drag that bog Descending… down. In another world where Witching Hour invoked a greater variety of techniques, tempos, and textures to fortify their compositions and bring reliability to excitement, this record would’ve been a barnburner. As it is, it never truly catches fire, and leaves me wanting.

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Rating: Disappointing…
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: May 22nd, 2026

The post Witching Hour – Descending… Where Time Has Ceased to Exist Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Nicky MacKenzie‘s Lost and Found is a deeply affecting pop ballad that transforms self-reflection into something both intimate and universally relatable. Built around heartfelt songwriting and atmospheric production, the track captures the quiet emotional reckoning that arrives when distractions fade and unresolved thoughts come rushing back. Its delicate balance of vulnerability and strength allows every lyric to resonate, while the rich sonic textures add depth to its confessional core. Honest, soulful, and emotionally immersive, Lost and Found stands as a poignant highlight from the Morals EP and a testament to the power of looking inward.

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Olivia Rodrigo loves Robert Smith. Last year she called him a “personal hero of mine” before bringing him out for some songs at Glastonbury, and her you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love lead single “drop dead” mentions the Cure’s 1987 hit “Just Like Heaven.” If that isn’t enough, the second album single was literally called “the cure.” Last night, the pop star did a surprise set at Primavera Sound and was joined by Robert Smith to debut their new collab “what’s wrong with me.”

The post Olivia Rodrigo & The Cure’s Robert Smith Debut New Song “what’s wrong with me” At Primavera Sound appeared first on Stereogum.

Coma's exit is due to "an unfortunate personal and private matter," the band stated on June 6. Continue reading…

From Y&T Bandsintown:

Each year people travel from all over the country and all over the globe to attend Y&T‘s Mystic Theatre weekend of shows. These shows always sell out, so don’t delay this year. Get your tickets early for Friday or Saturday, November 20th or 21st or make it an entire Y&T weekend with both shows! Gretchen Menn Trio opens both nights.

https://yandtrocks.com/tour/

PLUS:

• Monsters of Rock Cruise 2027, May 6-11 – Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico: Tickets
  Y&T with Tesla, Extreme, KK’s Priest, Sebastian Bach, Winger, Queensrÿche, and many, many more bands!
• See the full list of Y&T shows and get your tickets today.

Here are the essentials from a brief but record-smashing run of seven studio projects. Continue reading…

"Musically, we kind of knew what we didn't want to sound like," the bassist tells UCR, remembering the early days of the future punk legends. Continue reading…

Joshua Ray Walker’s Ain’t Dead Yet and Steve Earle’s Guitar Town are separated by four decades, but they share a clear country music lineage. Both albums come from writers who use traditional country materials without treating them as fixed rules. Earle’s 1986 debut helped open space for country records with tougher guitars, direct storytelling, and singer-songwriter focus. Walker’s new album works in that same lane, with a more personal and present-tense sense of survival.