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  • Album Review: Wolfbastard – Satanic Scum Punks

    Album Review: Wolfbastard – Satanic Scum Punks

    Reviewed by Matthew Williams

    If you are in the market for some short sonic blasts of nihilistic black metal then look no further than “Satanic Scum Punks” from Manchester’s finest, Wolfbastard. This is proper in your face, pedal to the metal aggressive noise, as the band release new material for the first time in four years, with eleven new tracks that show you no mercy whatsoever.

    The trio of Dez (guitars/vocals) Si (bass) and drummer Dave, aren’t here to make friends and influence people, they are here to bring you filth, fury and menace with their turbo charged belligerence. The madness begins with opener “It’s Fucking Dark” which has a simple opening riff alongside a gently pounded drum before you get the anguished scream and mighty shout of “Fuck Off” and like an atomic bomb, it explodes into life!!!

    The album title track follows, and it starts that relentless hammering that black metal is famous for. Its fast and furious with layers of demonic screams and shouts but more importantly, its bloody enjoyable and their riffs have that angry edge to it, that I love most about other bands in the genre like Midnight. They also have a scornful range of song titles, “Let The Bastards Burn” being just one, and it works beautifully with their destructive compositions, and you know that this trio would ignite the flames of those fires.

    Album Review: Wolfbastard - Satanic Scum Punks

    You get a mighty rush of adrenaline on “Hail Satan Kurwa” as they ramp the tempo up further with merciless drumming and frenzied, deathly screams from Dez. “F.O.T.D.” is like a battering ram to your senses, and what’s impressive is that they don’t waste their notes by over complicating the songs, as it’s a full-frontal assault, and woe betide anybody getting in their way. There’s a slightly more measured approach on the opening of “Blood on Steel” but they are soon back to their hostile selves, with more screeching guitars and booming bass.

    There’s a tidy bass intro from Si that starts “Drink for Hell” and I can see this becoming an anthemic song, with the chorus being chanted by audiences far and wide. It’s rapid and unapologetic with rage before it leads into the fabulous “Fuck The Bastards”, which sees their ballistic anger go off the charts. It’s over way too quickly, but that’s why it works so well, as they don’t elongate the songs, but they leave you wanting more.

    With that in mind, “Manic Street Creatures” hurtles into your eardrums at one hell of a pace, and is probably my favourite track, as it’s 97 seconds of unadulterated chaos. I’m sure that “You Fucking Rat” must be aimed as someone they dislike, and they finish how they started with a mighty venom filled “fuck off” at the end of “B.I.F.F.O”.

    For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

    The post Album Review: Wolfbastard – Satanic Scum Punks appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

  • LIME CORDIALE’s Climate-Focused Lime Green Festival Welcomes New Partner – The Australian Conservation Foundation

    Announcing their climate-focused festival Lime Green earlier this year, brotherly duo and organisers Oli and Louis Leimbach of Lime Cordiale today share news of an important new partner joining the festival’s initiative, The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF).

    One of Australia’s most influential environmental organisations led by Adam Bandt, the ACF prides itself on its bold advocacy that works towards a future where both nature and people thrive. From climate solution campaigns and grassroots mobilisation to rigorous legal action and environmental investigations, the organisation works to activate everyday Australians to help hold government and corporations accountable for environmental harm.

    BUY TICKETS

    ACF CEO Adam Bandt says, “We won’t save the planet with doom and gloom – our plan is to have fun and dance alongside great Australian artists while also working hard to hold government and big corporations to account for trashing our environment,

    Bringing their core mission to the festival, ACF CEO Adam Bandt will be present, encouraging climate conversations before hitting the stage for one of his much-loved DJ sets.

    I can’t wait to warm up Lime Green Festival with a DJ set and meet lots of folks in the crowd to chat about meaningful ways to take climate action. Hats off to the organisers for pulling off a music festival for climate action – this is the type of dedication we need from all industries to turn down the heat on the climate crisis.”

    A deeply aligned partnership, Oli and Lou share their excitement about ACF’s involvement. “We’re so stoked to have the ACF on board with our festival. They really are one of Australia’s climate leaders and we’ve always looked up to everything they do. And now they’ve REALLY stepped it up by putting their CEO on the lineup as the opening DJ!”

    THE LINE UP

    The Lime Green Festival will feature a carefully balanced program of live performances and activations that spotlight community and business leaders and innovators from the growing regenerative movement.

    The music line-up boasts established Australian talent, along with pathways to showcase emerging and local artists, featuring;

    Lime Cordiale
    The Dreggs
    aleksiah
    PASH
    Plus new additions to the line up
    TONIX
    Sticky Beak
    and triple j Unearthed Winner to be announced

    Joining the line up are Adelaide’s very own fast-rising electro force TONIX. Turning heads with their extra-terrestrial sound and immersive live shows, fans of Rüfüs Du Sol, M83, Ruel and LCD Soundsystem will be in awe of their performance.

    Bringing their upbeat riffs to the Lime Green stage are four-piece surf rockers Sticky Beak. Another homegrown SA act much-loved for their catchy melodies and wiggy sound, their explosive live set is one you won’t want to miss.

    In partnership with Chugg Music, Lime Green Festival is a bold experiment in what the future of live music can look like when climate action is placed at the centre of the experience. Designed as a 100% off-grid event, the festival is built on a commitment to reducing environmental impact while still delivering a vibrant, high-quality day of music, culture and connection.

    Tickets to Lime Green Festival are on sale now via limegreenfestival.com

    If you would like more information or are interested in donating to The Australian Conservation Foundation, please visit their website www.acf.org.au

    The post LIME CORDIALE’s Climate-Focused Lime Green Festival Welcomes New Partner – The Australian Conservation Foundation appeared first on The Rockpit.

  • Welcome To The Freakshow With SAMORA SQUID

    Photo by Matthew Hedges Internationally renowned Lutruwita/Tasmanian genuine sideshow freak Samora Squid will be doing an hour of their most full-on material for SQUID’S SUNDAY SIDESHOW, a DIY punk residency at famed Naarm/Melbourne venue The Tote, and don’t say you weren’t warned. Sword swallowing. Live piercing. Extreme contortion. A Samora Squid show is shocking, confronting, […]
  • NEPTHISIS Earns 9/10 Review for Shadows Call — A Dark, Cinematic Triumph – @thebeast

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    NEPTHISIS Earns 9/ 10 Review for Shadows Call from Jenny Tate’s Rock Queen Reviews
    Read the review: https://jennytate.wordpress.com/2026/03/11/nepthisis-shadows-call/
    Cinematic gothic rock artist Nepthisis continues to captivate critics with her haunting Halloween compilation Shadows Call , which has received a 9/ 10 rating from reviewer Jenny Tate on her blog Rock Queen Reviews .
    In the detailed breakdown of the release, Tate praises the album’s dark theatrical energy, calling it “ a thunderclap of ominous yet infectious sounds.”
    The review highlights the project’s cinematic approach to gothic rock, with richly layered atmosphere, powerful vocals, and dramatic percussion helping bring the songs to life. Tracks like “ Call It The Witching Hour,” “ Something in the Night,” “ In The Shadows,” and “ Gonna Get A Villain” are singled out for their dark storytelling and immersive sound design.
    Tate also commended Nepthisis’ vocal delivery and lyrical intensity, describing the record as a “ mass of power and dark, metallic seduction” filled with memorable melodies and commanding performances.
    Across the nine- track compilation, Nepthisis blends gothic rock, dark metal, and industrial electro elements into a sound that feels equally cinematic and haunting. The album’s dramatic drum crashes, atmospheric production, and hypnotic vocal layers help build a shadowy sonic world that the reviewer describes as both immersive and empowering.
    Released October 21, 2025, Shadows Call arrived as a seasonal collection steeped in gothic storytelling and supernatural themes. The compilation followed Nepthisis’ 2025 single All Is Fair and the full- length album History Dies , further establishing the artist’s growing presence in the dark alternative music scene.
    Fans of dark, cinematic soundscapes and gothic rock will find plenty to love in Shadows Call , which continues to draw attention for its theatrical presentation and haunting atmosphere.
    Stream Shadows Call
    https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/nepthisis/shadows-call
    Artist: Nepthisis
    Release: Shadows Call
    Genre: Cinematic Gothic Rock / Dark Metal / Industrial Electro- Rock
    Release Date: October 21, 2025
    For press inquiries, interviews, or additional information:
    zach@ metaldevastationradio. com

    Shadows Call by NEPTHISIS

    Follow NEPTHISIS:
    https://www.sheilaeden.com/
    https://open.spotify.com/artist/70vm3Zd4XlWqy4sVr3jZeZ
    https://nepthisis.bandcamp.com/
    https://music.apple.com/us/artist/nepthisis/1584530307
    https://www.facebook.com/Nepthisis/
    https://www.instagram.com/nepthisis/
    https://www.tiktok.com/@nepthisis/
    https://www.youtube.com/@nepthisis
    Contact: DarkIrisPR@gmail.com
  • XTINGUISH THE CODE: Bronx, New York Metallic Hardcore Outfit To Release The Conflict LP March 27th On Grey Matter Records; “Despair” And Preorders Posted

    photos by Joseph Maran Bronx-based metallic hardcore band XTINGUISH THE CODE presents their second album, The Conflict, set for release March 27th on Grey Matter Records. A band with NYHC running through their DNA, XTINGUISH […]

    The post XTINGUISH THE CODE: Bronx, New York Metallic Hardcore Outfit To Release The Conflict LP March 27th On Grey Matter Records; “Despair” And Preorders Posted appeared first on INFRARED MAGAZINE.

  • “We took a break and made some tea. Within 20 minutes Steve had written the words.” How Humble Pie made the ultimate whiplash boogie white boy blues

    With its monolithic riff and yelping lead vocal, the live version of Stone Cold Fever typifies Humble Pie, one of the best live blues-rock bands of their era
  • Seattle’s Ghost Fetish Returns With the Soft-Focus Synthpop Dream of “Someone”

    Seattle’s Ghost Fetish returns with Someone, a song that wears its longing lightly but leaves a lasting impression. There is something quietly spellbinding in the way it moves, balancing romantic ache with a calm, graceful restraint. Rather than pushing toward melodrama, the band lets the feeling gather slowly, giving Someone the soft, suspended glow of a memory that has not quite faded and a desire that has not quite found its words.

    The track carries traces of Kraftwerk’s clean-lined discipline, though here that sense of order is softened into something far more tender and dream-struck. Ghost Fetish takes those old components and lets them breathe, until the machinery feels less mechanical than intimate: analog tones churning gently like old machines lost inside a dream. The synths move in slow succession, warm and luminous, with a motorik pulse underneath, but they are framed with a pop instinct closer to New Order’s Power, Corruption and Lies, where pleasure and panic can occupy the same room and stare each other down without blinking. There is also a melancholic whimsy in the song that recalls a Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me-era Cure deep cut or B-side, the whole thing seeming to drift slowly out of reach like a dream kissed by dawn light slipping through a windowsill.

    And Fenwick sings through the bubbling reverie as though he is trying to talk himself into composure while the room tilts around him. At moments, there is a large-hearted reach that suggests Arcade Fire; elsewhere, the emotional directness calls up Future Islands, that same willingness to sound wounded in full view of the crowd without sanding away the edge. It gives the song a bruised grandeur, a sense of desire turning over in its sleep and waking up with its fists clenched.

    Listen to Someone below and order the single here.

    As the latest preview of Sculpture, due June 11th, 2026, Someone feels like a promise that Ghost Fetish have sharpened their sense of drama without losing the nerve that made them worth watching in the first place. Grand confusion may be the condition of the age, but this lovely song finds a small clarity inside it: love, lust, fear, and need, all dressed in black and lit from below.

    Catch Ghost Fetish live:

    • 4/30/2026 – Seattle – Baba Yaga
    • 5/1/2026 – Portland – Coffin Club

    Follow Ghost Fetish:

    The post Seattle’s Ghost Fetish Returns With the Soft-Focus Synthpop Dream of “Someone” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

  • Friday Dies Dive Deep Into New Single “I’d Rather Trust a Stranger” and Upcoming Album The Sky is the Ocean – @thebeast

    Friday Dies Dive Deep Into New Single “ I’d Rather Trust a Stranger” and Upcoming Album The Sky is the Ocean

    There’s something refreshing about a band that doesn’t tiptoe around their message. Friday Dies have always leaned into honesty, grit, and raw perspective, and their latest single “ I’d Rather Trust a Stranger” proves they are still pushing forward with that same spirit.
    The track serves as the first glimpse into the band’s upcoming album The Sky is the Ocean , and according to the band, it stands apart from the rest of the material in a big way.
    A Song Built on Hard Truths

    For vocalist Shay Hazlewood , the song comes from deeply personal ground.
    She explains that the lyrics are rooted in real life experiences where systems and people who were supposed to provide support ultimately failed.
    Instead, she found that strangers with no obligation often proved more reliable than institutions meant to protect and guide.
    That stark reality is exactly what fueled the title and emotional core of the song.
    Why This Song Led the Charge

    Interestingly, “ I’d Rather Trust a Stranger” wasn’t the obvious pick at first. Guitarist Mark Friday says the track is somewhat of a “ stepchild” compared to the rest of the album.
    While most of the upcoming record leans more heavily into traditional metal roots, this particular song pushes outside those boundaries. That difference is exactly why it became the lead single. Once it started gaining momentum internally, the band decided to let it run with the spotlight.
    Blending Thrash, Melody, and Classic Influences

    Musically, the track showcases an interesting blend of elements.
    Mark intentionally set out to combine classic rock foundations with modern melodic sensibilities and even hints of Baroque- influenced structure. The result is something that still carries the aggression thrash fans expect while adding a more layered and thoughtful approach to the songwriting.
    Compared to earlier material, the band notes that the aggression is still there. The difference lies in how it is delivered.
    Earlier songs often relied on more overt vocal ferocity. On this track, the intensity comes through a steadier, more stoic cadence that gives the message room to breathe.
    Enter Shay Hazlewood

    One of the most noticeable shifts for the band is the presence of Shay Hazlewood on vocals.
    Mark admits he originally set out simply to find a female vocalist for the album. After discovering Shay, the collaboration came together quickly and naturally.
    What surprised him most was the depth of her lyric writing. Her perspectives and thematic ideas brought a dimension to the material that he hadn’t previously explored.
    That influence extended into the songwriting itself. Mark wrote the song specifically with Shay’s voice in mind, shaping the composition to match her tone and delivery.
    Studio Precision, Stage Chemistry

    While the band approached the studio sessions with a focused and almost “ nerdy” level of detail, the live dynamic tells a different story.
    According to Mark, the chemistry on stage is organic and constantly shifting. Each show and each song brings slightly different energy, creating a performance that evolves night after night.
    That unpredictability is exactly what keeps things exciting.
    The Meaning Behind The Sky is the Ocean

    The upcoming album title carries a much larger concept behind it.
    For Shay, The Sky is the Ocean represents what she describes as the false realities people are often fed through modern media and centralized narratives.
    Rather than delivering answers, the band wants listeners to ask questions.
    The lyrical themes lean heavily into occult imagery and philosophical exploration. The goal is not to dictate truth, but to encourage people to seek it themselves and recognize inconsistencies that often hide beneath the surface.
    Mark describes the album as a kind of journey through unfamiliar worlds, where each discovery pulls back another layer of the veil.
    From Four- Track Saturdays to a Grammy- Winning Studio

    The band’s evolution is also evident in the production process.
    Mark recalls that their earliest recordings were made in a duplex on a simple four- track recorder, all knocked out in a single Saturday.
    The new album, by contrast, was recorded at the Grammy- winning Trax 52 studio with a dedicated engineer and far more time to refine the material.
    That shift reflects the band’s growth without sacrificing the raw authenticity that fans have come to expect.
    Thrash Roots and Staying Authentic

    Through the years, Friday Dies have built a loyal cult following, something Mark attributes to authenticity.
    The music, the lyrics, and the live performances all stem from a genuine place rather than chasing trends.
    He also believes thrash metal has endured largely because it avoided the commercial pitfalls that affected many other genres. It remains largely written and performed by musicians who are passionate about the craft.
    Life on the Road

    Touring continues to be a major part of the band’s identity.
    The recent “ Protect Your Temple” run across the East Coast brought its share of challenges, but the fans stood out as the highlight.
    Unexpected moments also popped up along the way. One city that left an impression was Dayton, Ohio , which the band describes as a surprisingly charming stop on the route.
    When fans catch them live as new material rolls out, they can expect an energetic performance designed to pull the audience into the music and take them somewhere else for a while.
    A Film in Spirit

    If “ I’d Rather Trust a Stranger” were a movie, Shay imagines it somewhere in the realm of John Wick .
    Not because of the violence, but because of the attitude. Instead of revenge through force, the song represents calling out those who once held power and declaring that the fear they relied on no longer works.
    Old School Values

    When it comes to format preferences, the band keeps things classic.
    Vinyl wins.
    No hesitation.
    And if they had the chance to tour with one legendary thrash act from any era, Mark says the pick would be Coroner , the influential Swiss technical thrash pioneers.
    Looking Ahead

    So where does the band see themselves a year from now?
    The answer is simple and honest.
    Touring and making enough money to eat.
    It is the kind of grounded response that sums up the band’s outlook. No inflated promises, just the commitment to keep creating, keep playing, and keep connecting with people.
    For Mark, the long game is about staying relevant while reminding fans that real life still happens outside the digital world.
    Music, concerts, and shared experiences remain some of the best ways to reconnect with that reality.
    If The Sky is the Ocean succeeds in doing one thing, the band hopes it sends listeners home with more questions than answers, and maybe a little curiosity about what lies beneath the surface of the stories we are told every day.
    And if the first single is any indication, Friday Dies are ready to take listeners on that journey. 🤘
    Listen to “I’d Rather Trust a Stranger” now: https://open.spotify.com/track/7kOGWzbER426y5IXwgaREs