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The post Guilt Trip, Gates To Hell & Mauled Fall North American Tour Announced appeared first on Theprp.com.

He clarifies previous suggestion that he was done with the Grateful Dead offshoot. Continue reading…

Polish technical thrash/death metal trio GODSLUT have unveiled “Self-made Gods,” the second single taken from their forthcoming album, The Art of Deconstruction. The record will arrive on September 4, 2026, through Selfmadegod Records. Guitarist and vocalist Krzysiek Śniadecki describes the subject of the new track in characteristically direct terms: “The post-2020 era in a nutshell […]

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On April 2, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth asked General Randy George to stand down as Army Chief of Staff. No public explanation was given. According to reporting from the Washington Post, the Army’s most senior officer was reportedly forced into early retirement — roughly a year short of forty years of service — after Hegseth wanted him to shelve an investigation into a military helicopter flyby near Kid Rock’s Nashville home. The musician himself is not accused of any wrongdoing. And the man now publicly defending the general is the frontman of Tool.

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Scott Penfold walks through the latest hard rock and metal news stories on today’s Metal Breakdown Daily. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and get it every weekday morning.

What actually happened, in order

The sequence matters here, so let’s take it plainly.

March 28. Two Apache helicopters from the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Campbell fly past Kid Rock’s sprawling Nashville property — the residence he refers to as the Southern White House. Rock posts a video of the flyby with the caption: “God Bless America and all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend her.”

Shortly after. The two pilots are suspended while the Army opens an investigation into whether safety regulations were breached.

Then. Hegseth reinstates both pilots. He announces it on X: “Thank you @KidRock. @USArmy pilots’ suspension LIFTED. No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots.”

April 2. Hegseth asks General Randy George to stand down as Army Chief of Staff. No public explanation is given for the decision.

Now. The Washington Post reports that George’s departure followed Hegseth wanting him to shelve the flyby investigation. Per that reporting, George told colleagues he felt it was important to follow typical protocol and determine whether any safety regulations had been violated. He was reportedly driven from his role shortly afterward.

April 28. Rock and Hegseth both draw criticism after taking a US military helicopter ride together as part of America’s 250th birthday celebrations. Hegseth posts about it, calling Rock a patriot and a huge supporter of the troops.

Kid Rock isn’t the one being questioned

Worth stating clearly, because a lot of the reaction online is going to skip past it.

Kid Rock has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He didn’t authorise the flight. He didn’t dispatch the aircraft. He posted a video of two helicopters flying past his own house, with a caption honouring the fallen.

Every decision that followed — opening the safety review, suspending the pilots, reinstating them, and whatever led to a four-star general leaving his post — was made inside the military chain of command. That’s where the story lives.

He also hasn’t commented on the reporting about General George, and had no obvious reason to know about it.

You can hold whatever view you like about the man’s politics. On the facts of this particular story, he’s a musician who filmed something flying over his garden.

Joined my friend @KidRock — and some of our great @USArmy Apache pilots — for a ride this morning. (More to come on that!)

Kid Rock is a patriot and huge supporter of our troops. The War Department is wasting no time celebrating America’s 250th — home of the free because of the… pic.twitter.com/7EyhlaCeUj

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) April 28, 2026

The Maynard James Keenan connection

Here’s why this landed on a heavy metal news site, and it’s genuinely remarkable.

Maynard James Keenan and Randy George were classmates at West Point Prep. They ran cross-country together.

Keenan has posted publicly in George’s defence, and his account of their history is worth reading properly.

His framing: most of his classmates at West Point Prep were there with a single mission — to graduate West Point and serve. Focus, drive, a plan, and zero compromise. Keenan says he was one of the few with doubts and inner conflict.

When he eventually declined his appointment to West Point, most people around him saw it as an enormous mistake. A handful didn’t. They knew him well enough to respect the decision.

One of those supportive classmates was Randy George.

Keenan’s point, four decades later, is simply that he’s returning the favour. He notes George went on to become a four-star general and Chief of Staff of the US Army, was approaching his fortieth year of service, and says he can’t imagine how disappointed and upset the man must feel at being asked to retire early.

He signs off by telling George that they’re there for him, and suggesting it might be time for a beer or three.

Think about what that means for a moment. The man who fronts one of the most significant bands in modern heavy music — a career built on questioning institutions and authority — was once on track for West Point. He walked away. And the person who backed him on the hardest decision of his young life became the highest-ranking officer in the United States Army.

Forty years later, one of them is speaking up for the other.

You could not invent it.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MJ Keenan (@iamthebriefcase)

Where Keenan is right now

Context on the man making that statement, because he’s had a considerable few months himself.

Keenan underwent a hip replacement on August 26 after an injury in Luxembourg during A Perfect Circle’s European tour, and confirmed the same night that he wouldn’t be cancelling any of the roughly 27 shows he has booked across 18 countries between September and Christmas — because fans had bought tickets and booked non-refundable travel.

He’s fronting Tool at Riot Fest, Louder Than Life and Aftershock this month, then taking Puscifer across Europe and the UK behind Normal Isn’t, then A Perfect Circle and Puscifer through Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Hawaii.

He’s also been writing for all three bands throughout, and running vineyards in Arizona alongside it.

He is not, in other words, a man with spare time for statements he doesn’t mean.

Also Recommended – TOOL Guitarist Adam Jones Give an Update on the Band’s Potential Las Vegas SPHERE Residency and their Upcoming Studio Album

What’s confirmed and what isn’t

Being precise about this matters, so here it is separated out.

Confirmed: the flyby happened on March 28. The pilots were suspended. Hegseth reinstated them and said so publicly in his own words. George was asked to stand down as Army Chief of Staff on April 2, with no public explanation given. Rock and Hegseth took a helicopter ride together on April 28 and drew criticism for it.

Reported, not confirmed: that George’s departure was a consequence of his wanting the safety investigation to proceed. That comes from Washington Post reporting citing what George told colleagues.

Not established: any official reason for George’s retirement. The Department has offered no public explanation, then or since.

We’ll update if that changes.

TL;DR

• What happened: two Apache helicopters from Fort Campbell’s 101st Combat Aviation Brigade flew past Kid Rock’s Nashville home on March 28, 2026. He posted a video of it.
• What followed: the two pilots were suspended pending an investigation into whether safety regulations were breached. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth reinstated them, announcing it on X with the words “No punishment. No investigation. Carry on, patriots.”
• The general: on April 2, Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff General Randy George to stand down. No public explanation was given.
• The reporting: the Washington Post reports George was reportedly forced into early retirement after wanting the safety investigation to run its course, having told colleagues he felt it important to follow protocol. He was approaching his fortieth year of service.
• Kid Rock’s position: he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. He posted a video of a flyby over his own property.
• The music connection: Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan, who studied alongside George at West Point Prep and ran cross-country with him, has publicly voiced his support.

FAQ

A forty-year friendship that started at West Point Prep, and one of them speaking up for the other. Keep it locked on the Loaded Radio stream — follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.

The post Outrage Mounts As Army’s Top General Forced Into Retirement For Probing Kid Rock Helicopter Stunt appeared first on Loaded Radio.

A new video teasers seems to imply as much anyway.

The post Gallows Appear To Be Teasing A Reunion With Frank Carter appeared first on Theprp.com.

She’s just being “Miley” now. Miley Cyrus, one of her generation’s defining pop stars, has a new album on the way, and she has dropped the “Cyrus” from her name. This feels like an implicit rebuke of her father, the troubled country star Billy Ray Cyrus, but she hasn’t come out any said anything about that yet. She also hasn’t said much about her new LP. It’s called Bass Persuades, and it’s coming out in just a couple of weeks.

The post Miley (Cyrus) Announces New Album <em>Bass Persuades</em> appeared first on Stereogum.

Overkill will be performing an old school set, while Left To Die will be celebrating 40 year’s of Death’s “Scream Bloody Gore”.

The post Overkill, Left To Die, Secret Chiefs 3, Mortem & More Added To 2027 ‘Maryland Deathfest’ appeared first on Theprp.com.

In his second appearance with the group, Hugo Valenti tackled an 'Escape' deep cut. Continue reading…

Darkest Hour has locked in the details on album number 11. Suffer Divine drops on October 30 and it has been produced by Mark Lewis (Whitechapel, The Black Dahlia Murder, Cannibal Corpse). The 11-track record hits every note the band is known for, from sheer force to something closer to spirit.

Frontman John Henry laid out the intent behind the song and the record’s first single: “Our first single and title track of the new album ‘Suffer Divine’ is about justice and accountability. This one goes out to anyone who chooses to push and peddle hatred and division, to anyone who would break down others to feed their sadistic, insatiable ego.”

Darkest Hour has always split the difference between hardcore’s urgency and death metal’s technicality, and “Suffer Divine” leans hard into both, pairing twin-guitar melody with the kind of aggression that doesn’t let up. There’s real weight behind every riff here, the kind that comes from a band still finding new ways to hit hard after three decades.

The title track is out now, and it’s every bit as merciless as the name implies.

Guitarist Mike Schleibaum didn’t hold back describing what went into making the album: “This album is so special to us. We’ve had the support of an amazing team at the label, the incredibly talented Mark Lewis, and each other as we have navigated the process that gave birth to ‘Suffer Divine’. The result is one blistering album. It’s full of rage, thrash, and aggression but also feels musically dense. Sonically, this is an album born out of love for things like melodic death metal.

“Conceptually, the album touches on the idea that you can derive self-worth (and some value) from your own suffering,” he adds. “In fact, the creation of this album was the personification of that actual act. There is so much rage, anger, and pain put into this record, yet at the same time it holds in itself so much hope. It’s equal parts hope, rage, and empathy.”

Darkest Hour hits the road this fall as direct support for Fear Factory, with the run kicking off in Missouri and wrapping with back-to-back nights in Los Angeles:

Thirty years deep into a career built on blending melodic death metal with hardcore, Darkest Hour hasn’t slowed down. The band came up out of the DMV region in 1995 and has since racked up tens of millions of streams, played hundreds of shows across every continent except Antarctica, and landed five Top 3 debuts on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart. Their 2017 album, Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora, gave them their third No. 1 on that chart and even cracked the Top 10 of the Top Vinyl Albums chart.

Darkest Hour is:

John Henry / Lead Vocals 
Mike Schleibaum / Rhythm Guitar 
Nico Santora / Lead Guitar 
Aaron Deal / Bass
Travis Orbin / Drums

The post DARKEST HOUR Unveils Eleventh Album “Suffer Divine” & Drops Crushing Title Track appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Amorphis and Insomnium will co-headline 25 North American dates this autumn, with US melodic death/doom act Hinayana opening. The run starts November 17 at Paradise Rock Club in Boston and finishes December 19 at Irving Plaza in New York, taking in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta along the way. And there’s a detail buried in the announcement that makes this considerably more significant than a standard package tour: Insomnium’s tenth album arrives thirty-two days before the first show.

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Scott Penfold covers the latest hard rock and metal news stories on today’s Metal Breakdown Daily. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and get it every weekday morning.

The timing is the story

Here’s what the press release doesn’t lead with.

Insomnium’s Netherworlds is out October 16 via Century Media. It’s their tenth album. The tour opens November 17.

Thirty-two days. Which means North America gets the live debut of an entire record barely a month after release — no European run first, no festival season to break the songs in. Whatever those songs turn into live, these twenty-five rooms are where it happens first.

For a band whose material is built on atmosphere and slow-building emotional weight rather than immediate impact, that’s genuinely rare. Most bands road-test new material for six months before crossing the Atlantic.

Meanwhile Amorphis are continuing to tour Borderland, released September 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music — which by then will be over a year old and thoroughly settled into the set.

One band playing a record they know inside out. One playing songs almost nobody has heard live. That contrast is the reason to go.

Every date on the tour

Twenty-five shows, November 17 through December 19, with Hinayana opening throughout.

Nov. 17 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
Nov. 18 – Montreal, QC – Theatre Beanfield
Nov. 19 – Toronto, ON – The Concert Hall
Nov. 20 – Columbus, OH – The King of Clubs
Nov. 21 – Detroit, MI – Magic Stick
Nov. 23 – Chicago, IL – House of Blues
Nov. 24 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
Nov. 25 – Lincoln, NE – Bourbon Theatre
Nov. 27 – Denver, CO – The Gothic Theatre
Nov. 28 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall
Nov. 30 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
Dec. 01 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
Dec. 02 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox Market
Dec. 04 – Berkeley, CA – The UC Theatre
Dec. 05 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent Theater
Dec. 06 – Mesa, AZ – The Nile Theater
Dec. 08 – Austin, TX – Come And Take It Live
Dec. 09 – Dallas, TX – Granada Theater
Dec. 11 – Orlando, FL – The Abbey
Dec. 12 – Jacksonville, FL – The Albatross
Dec. 13 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
Dec. 15 – Richmond, VA – The Canal Club
Dec. 16 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage
Dec. 18 – Reading, PA – Reverb
Dec. 19 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza

Ticket on-sale details weren’t included in the announcement. Watch both bands’ channels.

The Karelia connection nobody’s mentioning

Here’s a piece of context that reframes this from “two Finnish bands” into something more interesting.

Insomnium formed in Joensuu, in the heart of North Karelia — the eastern Finnish region that sits against the Russian border and carries a distinct cultural identity, its own dialect, and a folklore tradition that runs deep.

Amorphis, meanwhile, made their name on Tales From The Thousand Lakes in 1994 — a record built almost entirely on the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic compiled from Karelian oral poetry. Their debut was literally called The Karelian Isthmus.

So this isn’t two bands from the same country happening to share a bus. It’s two bands drawing on the same body of northern myth, three decades apart, from opposite ends of the relationship with it — one from the region, one from the mythology.

That shared root is audible in the music. It’s why both bands sound melancholy in a way the Swedish melodeath tradition doesn’t quite. Gothenburg gave the genre its guitar language; Finland gave it its sadness.

Check Out – ODIN’S CHOSEN: 13 Best Viking Metal Bands Ranked: The Definitive Pillars of the North

Amorphis and Borderland

Some context on how Amorphis got here, because the way they made this record is unusual.

Their 2022 album Halo was their sixth number one in Finland, cracked the German top three, and won them two Emma Gaala awards — Band of the Year and Export of the Year. It was, by any measure, a peak.

Rather than rushing a follow-up while the momentum was there, they did the opposite: stepped back from live performance entirely and focused on writing. Almost nobody does that anymore. The economics of modern touring push bands to write on buses and in dressing rooms, which is exactly what Polyphia and I Prevail have both described doing this year.

The result was Borderland, released September 2025, and their first record with producer Jacob Hansen — who is also behind Amon Amarth’s forthcoming The Allfather Awakens, out October 2.

The band’s arc across 35 years is genuinely remarkable: from the sinister death metal of The Karelian Isthmus, through the genre-defining Tales From The Thousand Lakes and Elegy, into the melodic grandeur of Eclipse and Skyforger, and on to the synthesis of Under The Red Cloud and Queen Of Time.

The lineup is Tomi Joutsen on vocals, Esa Holopainen and Tomi Koivusaari on guitars, Olli-Pekka Laine on bass, Santeri Kallio on keyboards and Jan Rechberger on drums.

Insomnium and Netherworlds

Ten albums in, and Insomnium have never made the same record twice.

Netherworlds is described as a journey deeper into the shadows — sweeping atmospheres, poignant melodies and crushing heaviness, with what the band call their most nuanced and emotionally resonant songwriting to date.

The production story matters here. It marks the start of a new era: producer and engineer Miiro Varjus took on a pivotal role and became the band’s closest creative confidant during the writing and recording. The album was then finished at Fascination Street Studios, mixed by Jens Bogren with mastering by Tony Lindgren.

Bogren is worth flagging. He’s the man who produced Amon Amarth’s peak-era records and worked on some of the most important albums in the entire melodeath canon. If a record needs to sound simultaneously majestic and intimate, he’s the first call in Europe.

For anyone who came to this music through In Flames or the Viking metal end of the spectrum, Insomnium are the band that took the same building blocks somewhere colder and sadder — closer in spirit to atmospheric black metal than to anything anthemic.

Also Recommended – The Most Influential Women In Modern Metal Right Now (2026 Ranking)

Don’t skip Hinayana

Opening every date, and worth arriving early for.

Hinayana are an American melodic death/doom band who’ve spent the last few years quietly building a reputation for exactly the sort of heavy, mournful atmosphere this bill is built on. On a tour where both headliners deal in slow-building melancholy, they’re a genuinely coherent opener rather than a filler slot.

Three bands, one aesthetic, no wasted sets. If you’re mapping out the rest of the year’s touring, this one belongs near the top for anyone who likes their metal sad.

TL;DR

• What’s announced: Amorphis and Insomnium will co-headline 25 North American dates, with Hinayana supporting throughout.
• When: November 17, 2026 at Paradise Rock Club in Boston through December 19 at Irving Plaza in New York.
• Canadian dates: Montreal on November 18, Toronto’s Concert Hall on November 19, and Vancouver on November 30.
• The key detail: Insomnium’s tenth album Netherworlds arrives October 16 via Century Media — thirty-two days before the tour opens, making this the record’s live debut.
• What Amorphis are touring: Borderland, released September 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music and their first album with producer Jacob Hansen. The band stepped away from live performance entirely to write it.
• Behind Netherworlds: produced with Miiro Varjus, mixed by Jens Bogren and mastered by Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios.

FAQ

Two of Finland’s finest, three Canadian dates, and an album nobody’s heard live yet. Which city are you catching them in? Tell us below. And keep it locked on the Loaded Radio stream — follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.

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