The post Country Singer-Songwriters John PayCheck & Struggle Jennings Join Forces To Reignite The Outlaw Spirit On New Single Collaboration âSons Of The Spark,â Arriving May 15 appeared first on INFRARED MAGAZINE.
One 1980s song has everything a party needs—catchy riffs, unforgettable vocals, and an energy that won’t quit.
The post A 1987 Hit is Simply the Best Party Song of the Decade appeared first on Audio Ink Radio.
The Hu have announced their third studio album, HUN, which will be released on 24 July via Better Noise Music. Alongside the announcement, the Mongolian Hunnu Rock pioneers have unveiled the new single Lost Soul featuring Jonny Hawkins of Nothing More.
The new track blends traditional Mongolian instrumentation and throat singing with melodic Modern Heavy Metal influences. Built around pounding percussion, hypnotic riffs and a soaring chorus from Hawkins, the song explores themes of resilience, courage and identity.
“We have been unpacking surprises one by one,” Galaa of The Hu said. “Hunnu Rock transcends cultures and, in that respect, we have made Lost Soul with Jonny Hawkins. To not get lost on your journey, keeping your values and making your way through life with the courage to face obstacles – these are the messages we are sending our fans with this song.”
Jonny Hawkins added: “I am so excited to team up with a band as committed to their craft as The Hu. It’s unlike anything I’ve done before.”
HUN features 11 tracks inspired by Mongolian culture and mythology while expanding the band’s globally recognised sound. The album includes tracks such as Warrior Chant, The Men, Echoes Of My Father, Horsemen and Universe. The digital version will include the collaborative version of Lost Soul featuring Hawkins.
The Hu earlier announced an extensive UK and European headline tour for September and October 2026 with SKALD as special guests. The run includes dates in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Paris, Berlin and Zurich. The band will also appear alongside Iron Maiden at Knebworth Park on 11 July for the Run For Your Lives tour stop.
Ahead of the European dates, The Hu will co-headline a North American tour with Apocalyptica before joining the Freaks On Parade US tour with Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson.
HUN will be available in digital and CD formats worldwide from 24 July, with multiple vinyl editions and exclusive box sets arriving on 11 September. Pre-orders are available from thehu.lnk.to/hun. For a full list of dates and tickets, visit the band’s website here.
MetalTalk will have an interview with the band out in the coming days. Keep your eyes out here!
Jamie Webster enters a new reflective new era, announcing new single, Just Begun, fourth album, Running Round The Sun and UK tour dates. Modern folk hero and British songwriting success story, Webster returns with a new, 12-track album and releases his first new music of 2026, as well as getting back to his roots as […]
The post Jamie Webster: New Single, Album and Tour Announcement appeared first on Louder Than War.
The Awakening (Prelude) opens the Canticle Of The Moonshade Realm, the debut EP from Wirriekow. If there is an argument for not listening to music via streaming, then missing the move into track two, Spaewives Evince (Act 1), or even listening in the wrong order, means you miss the story of the riffs and the atmosphere of this three-act structure rooted in Perthshire myth.
Release Date: Out Now
Words: Steve Ritchie
Wirriekow is the brainchild of Martin Robbie, whose previous bands include Mass Worship (Century Media), In Tongues, Anchor and City Keys.
For this project, he has returned to first principles, recruiting longtime friends Kristian Sator on vocals and Ross Tanbini on drums, the latter currently studying under world-renowned drummer Virgil Donati.
“This EP is a gritty reflection of the village where it all started,” Kristian Sator said. “Created by my good friend Martin, these four tracks dive into the darker corners of our roots. With Ross on drums and Martin on guitar, it feels like old times. I’m incredibly proud to be a part of this project.”
Listening, you can feel that Canticle Of The Moonshade Realm is built around a shared musical language. The concept draws on the myths and legends of Perthshire, Scotland, a fertile ground for supernatural horror, but for me, it is the riffs that first dragged me in.
The narrative follows a protagonist awoken by three witches and drawn through ancient ritual toward a climactic emergence of evil, told across four tracks structured as prelude and three acts, The Awakening, Spaewives Evince, Buried Moon and Seven Stars, and the closing A Thin Place Of Liminal Static.
The sonic foundation is late ’90s Death ‘n’ Roll, the Swedish sound that Entombed and Carcass defined, filtered through a Scottish sensibility and executed with deliberate authenticity.
The guitar parts were tracked on an ’80s BC Rich Gunslinger through an original ’80s BOSS HM2 pedal by someone who has previously recorded at Sunlight Studios in Sweden under producer Tomas Skogsberg.
Mixed by Robbie himself and mastered by Dan Swanö, whose credits include Edge Of Sanity, Nightingale and Witherscape, the EP has an intensity and organic warmth that keeps it from feeling clinical. Sator’s vocal performance, recorded with a broken nose, carries a rawness that no amount of studio polish could manufacture.
Tanbini’s drumming drives the EP with precision and authority without ever crowding the atmosphere that Robbie has so carefully constructed.
It was the riffing on Act 1 (which I listened to first) that sucked me in. Do not make the mistake I made. Start from The Prelude and run right through. It is a great 12 minutes.
Canticle Of The Moonshade Realm is the first in a series of planned releases. On this evidence, the series is worth following. Stream and download at Bandcamp.
The iconic Ayr Pavilion is set to welcome live music back to its historic stage, marking a new chapter for one of Scotland’s most recognisable entertainment venues. The venue is reopening with a renewed focus on live rock, touring artists, heritage acts and high-quality tribute productions.
Reintroducing itself to the live circuit as a 650-capacity standing and 250-seated venue, the Ayr Pavilion is positioning itself as an exciting stop for touring acts, heritage artists and tribute shows across multiple genres.
Situated on the Ayr seafront, the Pavilion has long been a landmark for entertainment in the region, hosting countless performances that have helped shape Scotland’s live music culture. The revitalised venue will feature a state-of-the-art house PA system supported by a professional in-house technical team.
“We’re really looking forward to welcoming live gigs back to The Pav,” Venue owner Curtis Briggs said. “Its history speaks for itself, and there’s a lot more music in the old lady yet.”
Ian McCaig of Plan B Events, the team behind the WinterStorm Rock Festival in nearby Troon, is working with the venue to help shape and promote the live programme through the remainder of the year and into 2027.
“The Ayr Pavilion was pivotal for so many of us kids of the ’70s and ’80s and provided us with so many memorable gigs through the years,” McCaig said. “It will be so good to hear live rock music on that stage again. I can’t wait.”
Bookings and promoter enquiries are now open. You can find out more details at the Ayr Pavilion Facebook page or on the web here.
The post Ayr Pavilion Reopens Historic Seaside Venue For Live Rock Shows first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.
I am a couple of weeks behind the release of this Rush For Solo Piano by David Sanderson, but it is still worth drawing attention to this fabulous release that arrived recently and in time to coincide with last weekend’s RUSHfest Scotland event, which looked to have been a fantastic success.
Release Date: Out Now
Words: Paul Hutchings
Arranged, produced, engineered, and recorded by David, this five-track album features four Rush classics and a medley delivered in a unique, thrillingly different way. Album art by the legendary Hugh Syme merely enhances the overall project, with all proceeds going towards the Funding Neuro charity.
RUSHfest Scotland has produced six albums since Neil Peart’s untimely death in 2020. The Songs for Neil Vol 1-6 have contributed to over £150,000 that the event has raised since its inception, and although Rush For Solo Piano is a limited vinyl run, there is still an option for purchase via Bandcamp.
The album opens with a stirring rendition of A Farewell To Kings. Although the song is instantly recognisable, the arrangement is fantastic and provides a totally different approach to the song.
Xanadu follows, and it is again a glorious performance. A track full of atmospheric tension, David has managed to capture the overall feel and drama in his version, which spans close to ten minutes. Musically, this is astonishingly good, and it hits hard in the emotional feels. The jazzed-up conclusion works magnificently, and the whole song is a creative genius that fits into multiple settings.
For high stakes, the dramatic Prelude in Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres is hard to beat in the Rush catalogue. David takes a really good shot at this, the intensity of the opening bars switching to the more mellow parts of the song.
He can capture the vibe of what is probably the progressive masterpiece in the band’s catalogue, run close by the obvious 2112, Fountain Of Lamneth and The Necromancer, with a style all his own. Making a classic track both interesting and with an unusual spin is what really catches the ear here.
And classics do not get much bigger than Closer To The Heart. The Rush anthem that stirs the blood, this is a faithful reprise that once more grabs the emotions. It is going to take some strength not to weep tears of joy in the forthcoming months.
And it leads to The Big Medley, an 11-minute montage of Rush tracks from their early years. Listening to it on the RUSHfest Scotland play through prior to release was great fun as those online vied with each other to hit the virtual buzzer first when identifying the likes of Lakeside Park, Fly By Night and Bastille Day.
With mere weeks to go before those first dates in LA, taking time to spend with this album seems a pure and cleansing way to prepare. The ride is about to start, and Rush For Solo Piano is a beautiful way to get the motor running.
Rush For Solo Piano by David Sanderson is out now and is available via Bandcamp.
MetalTalk’s Rush At 50 series explores the emotional impact of Rush’s 2026 return to the stage, beginning in Los Angeles on 7 June. Through conversations with devotees, tribute performers, organisers and writers, Paul Hutchings captures how Rush’s music, evolution and legacy continue to inspire deep loyalty, connection and admiration across the global fan community.
Funding Neuro is a UK charity that funds and supports innovative research into neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, motor neurone disease, glioblastoma, and DIPG, with a focus on accelerating new treatments and improving patient outcomes.
The post David Sanderson Captures The Spirit Of Rush On Remarkable Solo Piano Tribute first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.
Youth Valley plunge into emotional disorientation on pills, a haunting collision of washed-out shoegaze textures and simmering post-punk tension. Screaming guitars, hypnotic repetition, and detached vocal delivery create a suffocating yet strangely beautiful atmosphere that mirrors themes of depression, numbness, and self-destruction. Beneath the haze of reverb and distortion lies a sharp emotional core, balancing vulnerability with cold restraint in deeply affecting fashion. Dark, immersive, and emotionally raw, pills captures the bittersweet melancholy and sonic intensity that define Youth Valley’s distinctive sound.
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