Category: news

  • Walls Of Jericho Premiere New Single & Music Video “Agency” From Upcoming New Album “System Error: Humanity”

    Walls Of Jericho‘s newest single “Agency” went online this morning, August 26th. The long-running metalcore outfit will feature the track on their forthcoming new album “System Error: Humanity“, which Napalm Records will release on November 13th. Frontwoman Candace Buckingham offered the following explanation for the latest track: Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com
  • Earshot Premiere New Single & Music Video “Love Left”

    Earshot‘s new single “Love Left” was shared by the band this morning, August 26th. The track arrives through the alternative metal band’s new label home, Judge & Jury Records. That label was co-founded by Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, P.O.D.) and Three Days Grace‘s Neil Sanderson. The aforementioned duo also co-produced the newly unveiled… Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com
  • Black Spikes Premiere New Single & Music Video “DULKES” From Upcoming New Album “Ydos”

    Lithuanian avant-garde metal band Black Spikes have unveiled one final single ahead of the imminent arrival of their new studio album “Ydos“. While Napalm Records will release the album this Friday, August 28th, a new Rokas Baškys-directed visual for the featured track “DULKES” (‘dust’ in English) has just premiered online. The band … Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com
  • Vana Premieres “In Your Name” Live Video From Long Beach, CA ‘Vans Warped Tour’ Show

    Alternative metal artist Vana has released a live video for her single “In Your Name“. The clip was filmed during the band’s set at the July 25th, 2026, Long Beach, CA stop of this year’s ‘Vans Warped Tour‘. That performance marked the New Zealand-based artist’s first time playing a U.S. festival. Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com
  • Ligature Marks Premiere New Single & Music Video “Weapons” From Upcoming New Sophomore Album

    Ligature Marks‘ new single “Weapons” has arrived online as a preview of their upcoming sophomore album. The group features members of Vintersea, Syx, Inflict and Proven, and they recorded the new track at Falcon Recording Studio with Gabe Johnston. The band’s own guitarist Karl Whinnery directed the accompanying music video, explaining his visi… Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com
  • “You’re going to see an oversized bat eat the head off of a human.” Take a look inside Universal Studios’ Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness haunted house

    Universal Studios’ Ozzy Osbourne: Prince of Darkness haunted house will open later this week at Halloween Horror Nights in Orlando (and in Hollywood on September 3). And thanks to YouTube channel Exploring Attractions you can now take a preview inside the spooky dwelling.

    Please note: it features a lot of skulls.

    According to a press statement, the two immersive attractions will transport fans through “iconic moments spanning more than four decades of music, imagery and storytelling” and create “a powerful new touchpoint for fans around the world.” The haunted house features scenes inspired by the artwork of legendary albums including Blizzard Of Ozz, Diary Of A Madman, Bark At The Moon, No More Tears and Ordinary Man.

    “Ozzy Osbourne didn’t just help define heavy metal — he created a cultural phenomenon that has influenced generations of music, art and horror,” says John Murdy, executive producer of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood. “We previously had the privilege of collaborating with Ozzy, and this new haunted house is an opportunity to honor his extraordinary solo career. Inspired by all 13 of his albums, guests will journey through the dark, surreal worlds that fueled his music and cemented his legacy as the one and only Prince Of Darkness.”

    Lora Sauls, assistant director of creative development and show direction for art, design and entertainment at Universal Orlando, spoke to Metal Hammer recently to offer a glimpse into what to expect.

    “You’re going into a very Gothic church or temple-like [structure], you’re going to see above you the Ozzy Osbourne symbol, Ozzy is there with all of his cloaked minions or followers,” says Sauls. “There’s vision pools that you’re seeing some of his concerts and you’re seeing him on stage in, and then you go into the dungeons and you’re seeing him in the dungeon – Patient Number 9, if you will.

    “Then what I love is you’re going to see an oversized bat eat the head off of a human. Role reversal in such a good way. You’re going into the cemetery and seeing Ozzy as the werewolf. You’re gonna see the Crazy Train and get on the Crazy Train with Ozzy as the conductor of the Crazy Train.

    “And you end with Ozzy on his throne from his very last concert. We got the assets of that throne, so you’re going to see the Prince Of Darkness on his throne with his dragon beside him. I love the dancing demons – female dancing demons that are very 80s-inspired, they’re amazing – that are kind of leading up to that throne. Then there’s a very special final scare in that scene. So we think there’s going to be a lot of people that have an emotional connection to this house. It is an absolutely gorgeous house. It checks all the gothic, horror box off for us. It is beautiful.”

    Are you ready? Then step inside…

    “Ozzy never stopped pushing boundaries, and he loved anything that gave fans a new way to experience his music and the worlds he created,” Sharon and Jack Osbourne jointly stated when the attraction was announced. “Halloween Horror Nights has done an incredible job bringing that spirit to life. Walking through these haunted houses, you’ll recognize so many moments inspired by his music and imagination. It’s a wonderful tribute to Ozzy, and we hope fans have as much fun experiencing it as he would have had seeing it come together.”

    The Ozzy Osbourne: Prince Of Darkness haunted houses open for business on August 28 at Universal Orlando Resort and September 3 at Universal Studios Hollywood. Both attractions will be open until November 1.

  • Review FLOTSAM AND JETSAM “Rats in the Temple”

    Flotsam and Jetsam are one of those bands that delivered an exceptional debut, raise the bar with their second album, and, despite a few ups and downs along the way, never really disappoint. Doomsday for the Deceiver was their milestone debut, and with No Place for Disgrace followed a second record that took the band’s… Continue Reading →
  • Review EXUMER “Death Mask Messiah”

    Exumer got off to a strong start in the mid-’80s with Possessed by Fire. The title track in particular has become a classic when it comes to thrash metal. With their second album, Rising from the Sea, Mem von Stein and his bandmates scored another hit before things went quiet for the band. Exumer called it quits… Continue Reading →
  • “A blur of Rhinestones sparkling in the spotlights”: Ghost offer a rare, stylish glimpse behind the curtain with concert film/documentary 2 Big To Rig

    Ghost magazine cover

    (Image credit: Future)

    Ghost are playing Rats. ‘They’re still coming at you / And there is nothing you can do’, goes the song. “But there is something I can do!” Tobias Forge/Papa V Perpetua shouts to a crowd of 20,000 devotees at Mexico’s Palacio de los Deportes. “Tear you a new asshole – each!”

    It’s very generous of him. Filmed across two nights of the Skeletour in September 2025 and directed by the tour’s creative director Amir Chamdin (who’s overseen seven of the band’s music videos), this is Ghost’s second concert movie, 2 Big To Rig. While 2024’s Rite Here Rite Now was shot on the Impera cycle and spliced live footage from a pair of gigs at the Los Angeles Kia Forum with skits furthering the Ghost lore, this document of the Skeletá era is more about romanticising their show. It features segments with crew members talking about how logistically complex the production is. “It’s too big to rig!” laughs one – adding that, still, they manage it every night.

    2 Big… opens with Peacefield, the first track on Skeletá, and is startling from the off. Shot on 16mm film, it looks like an 80s VHS tape, grainy and high contrast. The effect is jarring, but 100 percent Ghost, indirectly nodding to their mythology and evoking nostalgia for a past that never existed, as if they’re a historic band playing a seminal concert like Live Aid. Where Rite Here Rite Now crisply revealed every thread of embroidery on the band’s costumes, 2 Big… is a blur of Rhinestones sparkling in the spotlights.

    Watching it on an IMAX screen, you’re simultaneously immersed in a thrilling analogue world where Ghost are all that exist for the next 90 minutes, yet confused about why you can’t pick out the visual details at such scale. At one point, there’s a clip of a woman behind the scenes, touching up the silver bones painted on someone’s shoe. It’s exactly the kind of detail that Rite Here Rite Now revelled in showing during the live parts, but this film deliberately obscures. The format does allow for a brilliant moment, though, where the kaleidoscopic prism lens effect used on Papa’s face during Majesty – usually shown on the stage’s screens – is blown up to the size of three London buses, a montage of ghostly visages filling your field of vision.

    Of course, there are the songs. And what songs! It’s hard not to dance in your seat as the likes of Cirice, Satanized, Year Zero and the rest keep on coming. It’s louder than a gig – bring earplugs – and the camera work makes you feel like you’re onstage as part of the crew, getting up close with each person, seeing guitar solos from behind, and noticing other crew members crouching in the shadows. The crowd shots are genuinely beautiful, the camera looking out at a sea of ecstatic faces, some crying, some screaming, many painted in Papa makeup. There’s an emotional intimacy to this film that the glossy Rite Here Rite Now didn’t have.

    Yet, as the title suggests, 2 Big To Rig also throws a spotlight on the sheer scale of the Skeletour production, via black-and-white segments with the crew. Ghost have a team of at least 120 people, plus a local crew of a similar size on each stop. The enormously heavy Grucifix that hangs over the band while they play is shown on the venue floor during set-up, and a crew member needs a leg-up to get on it. Of another part of the production, a man says, “You might not want to film this – it’s not working,” highlighting how much effort goes into making the whole thing look seamless. This is as much a love letter to the often-overlooked people who bring Ghost to life, as it is to the bandmembers themselves.

    It’s also a love letter to the fans, without which there would be no tour. After Papa apologises for cancelling a show the night before because he was struck down by the “curse of Montezuma”, they squeal with joy. Whenever he speaks in Spanish, they squeal with joy. When he promises to tear them a new asshole (each!), they… well, you get the idea. It’s a lot of fun. In heartwarming footage from outside the venue, one Ghost fan proposes to another.

    Seeing as phones weren’t allowed on the Skeletour, Ghost get to decide how it’s immortalised, and 2 Big To Rig is just that: a rapturous spectacle captured in an undefined time. The graininess is a stylistic risk and can be frustrating at times, but you don’t come to Ghost looking for normal. You come to be welcomed into a world like no other.

    2 Big To Rig hits cinemas and IMAX screens worldwide today (Wednesday, August 26). Get your exclusive Ghost x Metal Hammer bundle, featuring a magazine cover and t-shirt unavailable in shops, via the Louder webstore.