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Apparently Chilean death-thrash crew Ripper raised quite a ruckus in the 2014-2017 period with a series of well-regarded hyperkinetic death-thrash albums, the most recent of which was 2016s Experiment of Existence. I missed all of this buzz-worthy carrying on and came to their latest release completely tabula rasa. Sometimes that’s the best way to greet a band with established history, as you bring no expectations or biases developed from past experience. The version of Ripper I encountered on their 3rd album Towards Rebirth are coming off a nearly 10-year layoff to deliver mega-aggressive, speed-drenched death-thrashery of an impressive caliber, reminding of early days Sepultura, Morbid Saint, and at times even Nocturnus (R.I.P. Mike Browning). While it’s safe to say Ripper’s sound and approach are stuck in the late 80s/early 90s, they attack their assignment with so much wanton exuberance that it’s hard not to get behind the effort and enjoy the ensuing conflagration. But how much raw aggression can a band push out after 10 long years collecting rust and dust?

After a tasty and brief instrumental opening, Ripper rips it up on “World of Darkness,” blasting and thrashing like an industrial meat mauler. But wait…I know that wild opening riff from somewhere, but where? Why, it’s almost exactly the lead riff from Riot’s immortal speed metal gem “Thundersteel”! How dare they filch such an iconic piece of New York metal history! Ultimately it isn’t too big a deal, since that “borrowed” riff is consigned to history almost immediately and they blanket the field with numerous other frenzied leads and multiple transitions up and down the tempo dial. This is pure thrash insanity with frenetic drumming, berserk basslines, and vocals that sound like vintage Max Cavalera after bad Taco Bell lettuce. The title track offers no respite with a slick cascading lead riff that kicks names and takes ass as the high-velocity madness runs wild and free. The guitar work is especially inspired, and the commitment to thrashing until death and beyond is much appreciated. The maelstrom of maniacal speed has no let-up, and as Ripper try to rupture space and time, you’ll be treated to nods to the early days of Morbid Angel on “Into the Coldness of Land of Dead” and “The Source Exterminator,” and “Message from the Other Side” recalls the early days of Deathrow.

The biggest surprise is the 6-minute instrumental “The Secret Dawn.” It’s a throwback to the 80s where such long-winded compositions were normal and almost expected, as bands sought to flex their wank hands to impress the masses. While I’m normally not the biggest fan of such non-vocal shred factories, this one is an engaging ride from start to finish, and it leaves me quite impressed with what Ripper are capable of. Elsewhere, the slightly more techy vibe of “The End of the Universe” brings the Nocturnus flavor to the airlock, and it’s a fun little ditty. The writing and playing are solid, and though every track is a blast fest, there are interesting musical choices and enough nifty riffs per song to keep the brain engaged. Do the individual tracks eventually start to blur together? Sure, but it’s an entertaining enough blur. At just under 42 minutes, things move too fast for Towards Rebirth to feel overlong, though a minute of 2 could probably be shaved off a track here and there.

The boys in Ripper are a talented lot. Patricio Spalinger and new slinger Nicolás Young come at you at full force 120% of the time with a cavalcade of ripping, tearing thrash lines and side-quests into zippy old school death grooves. What I like most about their six-string interplay is how it reminds me of so many 80s and 90s bands without really ripping any of them off (minus that whole Riot thing). There are some truly impressive riff and solo moments here, and these cats know how to craft cool, memorable leads that stick. New bassist Tomás Barriga plays at a berserk pace, delivering a chaotic low-end rumble that’s very audible and sounds like he’s always on the verge of losing control. At certain moments, his playing begins to sound like a car engine about to overheat, and that adds to the sheer rush of the music. Patricio Spalinger’s death vocals are one-dimensional and often no more than a rough bark, but they fit the style well and detract not at all.

Towards Rebirth is a rocket ride full of overdelivered speed, and there’s enough raw energy here to power a small town. It doesn’t offer anything new, aside from a very sore ass after all the kicking it receives here. I had good fun with Ripper’s latest, and it’s got me digging into their earlier releases hoping for more of the same. Ripper are reborn hard and mean, and they want to sonically abuse your ears. Let them.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Dark Descent
Websites: facebook.com/ripperchileoficial | instagram.com/ripper.chile
Releases Worldwide: July 24th, 2026

The post Ripper – Towards Rebirth Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Canadian roots rock band The Commoners have released their new single, “Runnin’ Blind,” available now on all streaming platforms. The track serves as the first preview of the band’s upcoming third studio album, which is scheduled for release in 2027. An official music video for the single has also been released.

“Runnin’ Blind” will also lend its name to The Commoners’ 12-date UK tour this November. The run will feature special guest Spencer Mackenzie, a fellow Gypsy Soul Records artist.

“The song symbolizes running full speed down a dark road and trusting you’ll make the turn before it’s too late,” says The Commoners lead guitarist, Ross Hayes Citrullo. “We wanted to capture that high-octane energy where everything feels urgent, loud, and off the rails. The song features blazing guitars and a driving organ to get that authentic retro vibe. It’s a track built to strip gears and rattle some speakers. We’re looking forward to performing the new single and other new songs from the forthcoming album when we tour the UK in November.”

Frontman Chris Medhurst said the band aimed to create a song with plenty of attitude while exploring uncertainty through its lyrics.

“Musically, we wanted something that carried a lot of swagger and rock and roll grit,” says the Commoners frontman Chris Medhurst about the new single. “Lyrically it confronts that uneasy feeling of moving forward when you can’t see what’s right in front of you. It sets a bold tone for the upcoming album.”

Bassist Ben Spiller said the song draws directly from the band’s experiences touring over the last several years.

“We wrote ‘Runnin’ Blind’ as a reflection on the last few years we’ve spent living on the road,” adds bassist Ben Spiller. “Touring has a way of throwing you into situations you could never plan for. Sometimes you just must trust your instincts and keep moving. That’s really where the song came from. It’s a lighthearted look at the chaos, misadventures, and unpredictability that come with chasing this dream, but it’s also a love letter to that lifestyle, and a reminder that some of the best stories come from the moments you never saw coming.”

The post The Commoners reveal “Runnin’ Blind” video appeared first on Blues Rock Review.

From First To Last have shared their first new piece of music since Lil Lotus joined the band on vocals, and it is as quintessential as it gets.

Titled ‘Your Name In Red Ink’, it’s a track that could have been pulled straight out of 2005, with claustrophobic riffs, caustic howls and earnest emotions on show in abundance. It finds the band slotting themselves snuggly back into the sound and scene that they helped to forge without letting nostalgia take over.

The result is compelling, crushing and captivating, with Lotus fitting the bill for what is needed for such a legendary band perfectly.

It’s also the band’s first track as part of the Fearless Records family.

Lotus had this to say about the track and the signing, stating “We are excited to drop our first song off the EP and announce we are working with Fearless. ‘Your Name in Red Ink’ is a good blend of all the different stuff I love about FFTL — plus new and old screamo/emo. I am really excited to see how everyone receives it.”

The beginning of something special? You bet.

The post From First To Last Share Timeless New Track ‘Your Name In Red Ink’ appeared first on Rock Sound.

Explore Rights Management/Cherry Red [Release date 03.07.26] We’ve commented previously that this band is not exactly prolific and, sadly, we’re not aware of any live shows either. This probably says more about the state of music and opportunities to gain … Continue reading →

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At the turn of the millennium, Jimmy Eat World were finished. Their third album, ‘Clarity’, was a commercial disaster, despite great reviews, and Capitol promptly dropped them in 1999. Through returning to the world of regular jobs, releasing a singles compilation, buying copies of ‘Clarity’ at cost to shift across a five week European tour and deciding they didn’t need to pay for management, the band just about got the cash together for one more album. One more shot at making it work in the music industry. Luckily, they weren’t alone in their faith; producer Mark Trombino offered to work for free as he was convinced their sessions would result in a smash hit. Their friends hired equipment for them. As drummer Zach Lind wrote the final cheque for the mixing, he prayed it wouldn’t bounce. 

The result was the platinum-selling ‘Bleed American’, the album which catapulted Jimmy Eat World into the mainstream. Last time anyone checked, it sold close to two million copies and is now recognised as one of the main reasons why emo became the sound of the early noughties. But why? It has to be because of the way that Jimmy Eat World managed to distill the spirit of transience and uncertainty into every note. It’s a record that wobbles on an uneasy footing, switching between reassurance and nervousness, and speaks to any time when the outcome of a choice was absolutely not guaranteed to be good. It’s also a record that creeps into your life at just the right time; for me, it was seven years after its release in the wasteland summer between finishing my education and entering the “Real World”, during which I mooched off friends whose futures were far more secure than my own. It’s the album for trying not to bite your nails when you think about what comes next. Even the titles laden with uncertainty: when I bought a copy, it was just called ‘Jimmy Eat World’. The band were concerned that ‘Bleed American’ would be read as a threatening imperative – “bleed, American!” – after the 9/11 attacks so they quietly removed the title until the album’s reissue. 

The ‘Bleed American’ era in Jimmy Eat World history is defined by their status as a singles band, and the string of singles are as good a place to start as any. ‘The Middle’, AKA the song which strained your pinky finger on Guitar Hero World Tour is still a jam, the gentle ‘hey’ offering a mental hug to the girls stuck between a rock and a hard place. The title track evokes a whole scene in just a list of nouns. ‘Sweetness’ – my favourite song on the album, if not my favourite song of the entire Proto-Emo era – sums up that sickening sensation of realising that you just aren’t good enough for the object of your affection, and being forced to pick yourself back up and move on even though you feel like the bottom of someone’s shoe. The tightly-wound ‘A Praise Chorus’ feels like the pep talk you’d give yourself in order to get yourself out of bed in that rejection situation, whether you’re listening to ‘Crimson and Clover, over and over’ or you’re on your feet, on the floor and good to go. Each single captures an entire scene or mood in a few minutes, and that’s what makes them so magical; the sensation crammed into each song will be unique to each listener, but at the same time, universal. For a brief few minutes we’ll all be sharing our own version of the same scenario, soundtracked by Jimmy Eat World.

It’s not just me who saw this record as a friend when we needed one. Paramore and Fall Out Boy have cited ‘Bleed American’ as being influential in their sound. We’d have no ‘Misery Business’ and we wouldn’t be able to ‘Dance Dance’, at least, not in the way we could now. Jimmy Eat World would have been consigned to the list of nostalgic “should’ve been much bigger than they were” bands, and we’d never have ‘Always Be’ or ‘Coffee And Cigarettes’ with their Breakfast Club Coming Of Age magnificence. It was a friend in a cardboard sleeve to so many acts, but most importantly to the band themselves. Jimmy Eat World will be playing a massive park show in London this summer, and if we trace the roots back, that show will come from their determination to create ‘Bleed American’. Everything that we love about Jimmy Eat World in 2026 comes from this album, and a whole lot of our own personal growth too.

KATE ALLVEY

Posted on July 24th 2026, 11:42am

Beartooth have shared a fresh piece of their upcoming record ‘Pure Ecstasy’, and it is a heavy one, in message and matter.

Titled ‘Eyes Closed’, it is the sort of riff-laden epic that Caleb is so undeniable at producing, but the heft of the track is built around the feelings found within. With this album being one that encapsulates Caleb’s journey towards expressing his true self, this particular chapter finds him full of doubt and worry. Religious guilt, societal pressures and everything in-between have him thinking that pushing it all back inside and letting it linger is the best option, when the complete opposite it true.

But within that, there is anger. And that anger results in an absolutely devastating listen.

Caleb had this to say about it:

“There are so many fun riffs to play on ‘Eyes Closed.’ It felt incredible to scream it out and let go. The song was written from the ground up with Jordan, and the moment it was a demo, we knew we had something special.”  

Get stuck in.

‘Pure Ecstasy’ is set for release on August 28 via Fearless Records.

It will also include ‘Bullshit’, which sounds a lot like this:

The band are set to take the album around the UK and Europe later this year, with support coming from Silverstein and Kingdom of Giants.

Here are all the dates:

Here are all the dates you need to know:

SEPTEMBER

17 – FRANKFURT Jahrhunderthalle
18 – OBERHAUSEN Rudolf Weber Arena
19 – HAMBURG Sporthalle
21 – BRUSSELS Ancienne Belgique
22 – TILBURG 13
24 – PRAGUE SaSaZu
25 – BERLIN Uber Eats Music Hall
26 – MUNICH Zenith
27 – VIENNA Gasometer
29 – MILAN Fabrique
30 – ZURICH Halle 622

OCTOBER

01 – PARIS Elysee Montmartre (France)
03 – LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
05 – LEEDS O2 Academy Leeds
06 – GLASGOW Barrowland Ballroom

The post Beartooth Unleash Bludgeoning New Track ‘Eyes Closed’ appeared first on Rock Sound.

[Cover Art by Kristian Valbo]

I love the story behind the music. Not that it has to be some dramatic, sensational, or lurid tale. Rather, I just really appreciate how a little window into the artistic process can color one’s experience to elucidate, clarify, or even flip one’s perspective. The story behind Jordsjø’s ninth album, Pestkrønikene, is a simple one: founding (and only full-time) members Håkon Oftung and Kristian Frøland wanted to celebrate the band’s 10 year anniversary with something special, so they recruited some friends, dusted off some old ideas, and recorded a brilliant tribute to the music of their lives in the classic form of a concept album. Simple, yes, and so very important because, when you hear the way they put it all together, it underscores the love that went into making this record.

Imitation, of course, is the sincerest form of flattery, and there’s a lot of it in the arts. There’s nothing wrong with that. Imitation can be fun and entertaining. Tribute, on the other hand, or homage, as likely as it is to imitate to some degree, is about respect and admiration. And there’s a lot of that in the arts, as well. There’s always been plenty of it in the relatively tiny world of hard rock and heavy metal, but in recent years there’s been an explosion of heavy music that grounds itself in the aesthetics of the 70s, running the full range from imitation to homage with the expected range of results. And one particular niche has produced some of the best of it from bands like Tanith, Phantom Spell, Hällas, and Wytch Hazel, who make records that absolutely swell with the abundant spirit of heavy metal before it became Heavy Metal. Whereas those bands and others like them draw primarily from the hard rock of the time, Jordsjø’s work has mostly pulled from that era’s progressive rock sphere, albeit with a fondness for folk and a fresh take on that distinctive Scandinavian flair. For Pestkrønikene, Jordsjø zeroes in on that sweet spot where the two overlap and, when you realize that, the Dying Victims connection makes so much more sense (and then more still when you know that amazing cover art came from Obliteration/Aura Noir drummer, Kristian Valbo, who also guests on the penultimate song).

So Pestkrønikene sounds like Jordsjø, but it also sounds like a lot of other bands, recalling in some way or another the likes of Gentle Giant, Genesis, Yes, King Crimson, Rush, Camel, Wishbone Ash, Budgie, and even a bit of what-if-Steve-Howe-played-lead-guitar-on-Rocka-Rolla (phew!). Sometimes they sound like a few at once and sometimes like none of that at all. Which is so fitting, given how stylistically agile they’ve been within their domain (bring back the bass clarinet, please!). It’s also a great reflection of that wonderful album art in which the wizard is conjuring swaths of colorful light, beautiful and magical, but apparently innocuous. But then there’s the little woodland cryptids in the tree behind him who may just be enjoying the show but also look like they might be up to some mischief.

The real beauty of Pestkrønikene is how well it executes its concept. It’s all centered on that title, which translates as “The Plague Chronicles” and seems to be about the cycle of tragedy and rebirth throughout time and how it unfolds in the strange, fantastical place that wizard and his little buddies call home. These eight songs run through an impressive range of styles, as expected with that assortment of influences, and it’s clear each was selected for its suitability to the piece of the story that song or element of it tells. All in, it’s complex and intricate in the way of progressive rock, of course, and yet it all feels so easy, smooth and fluid, so that the album’s 36 minutes breeze by effortlessly. Above all, this album is engaging. Pestkrønikene invites active listening with its compelling story and uncanny emotive energy, and the songwriting is so strong that low, slow pastoral sections carry all the vitality of the hard rockin’ riff runs and instrumental fireworks, even when the flame burns a little lower.

The title track serves as chapter one, feels like classic Scandinavian prog, and imbues the air with an eeriness that feels somehow familiar, both threatening and inviting. “White Magic” is an upbeat rocker that features Jon A. Henriksen of Jordsjø pals, Black Magic (of course), on vocals as the White Magic Man (not the wizard on the cover, I think he comes later). It’s so irresistibly catchy it could anchor the Kool-Aid party playlist. It also portends the collapse of the world around that party.

Good fantasy has to have interesting bad guys and “Seven Heads” is the sound of the baddies having fun, as buoyant and playful as it is sinister. Then tracks four and five constitute the centerpiece of the story, remarkable in many ways, not the least of which is that they carry that weight easily as instrumentals: “Kaosvelde – Vasallens Elegi” (“Chaos Realm – Vassallen’s Elegy”) is a pastoral progressive folk piece with flute, recalling classic Jordsjø with slow melancholy, implying helplessness in the face of tragedy; its companion piece, “Kaosveldets Endelikt” (“Chaos Realm’s End”), captures the dynamic energy of the calamity with a barrage of nascent heavy metal power, fully charged and majestic, as Wobbler founder and keyboardist, Lars Fredrik Frøislie, fills the sky with stunning fire and light.

Wobbler vocalist Andreas Prestmo paints “The Awakened” in the vibrant colors of symphonic rock as he intertwines his lines with those of Oftung’s Mellotron and big bouncy bass to highlight the rise of hope and regeneration in the wake of tragedy. Meanwhile, “Spiritual Lament” lays out an absolute specimen of epic progressive rock in the smoky light of burgeoning heavy metal. And, finally, “Talisman II” rolls the ‘eavy into the intricate framework of symphonic prog, as Henriksen returns to ring in the era of rebirth with pristine melody, and the instrumental coda raises eyes and hands to the sky, hopeful and resolute.

Maybe the truest thing to say about Pestkrønikene is that it really does pay tribute in the most loving way, with as much heartfelt creative fire as doe-eyed reverence. Jordsjø made this album because they love this music. They needed absolutely no other reason. And maybe the best part of this approach to album making, aside from the sheer quality of the songs, is that the artists’ chronicle becomes the willing listener’s amazing adventure. At the very least, we get to enjoy the telling of a wonderful story, and in the most special moments, it’s as if the artists have opened a portal and invited us into their magical world.

The post Jordsjø – Pestkrønikene Review appeared first on Last Rites.

Swedish hard rock band Black Blood Sthlm release ‘Holy Man‘, the second single taken from their self titled upcoming EP, set for release on September 18th, 2026. Listen to ‘Holy Man‘ – here After opening this new chapter with ‘In the Wind‘, the band now moves forward with a song that adds another piece to the […]

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