Swedish black metal veterans Dark Funeral will release a new live album, A Beast to Praise, on Aug. 21, 2026, via Century Media Records. Recorded at Fållan in Stockholm in 2022 during the touring cycle for their sixth studio album, We Are the Apocalypse, the release spans 13 tracks and runs approximately 70 minutes (69:30). A first preview arrives today in the form of a live video for “The Arrival of Satan’s Empire.”

Guitarist and founding member Lord Ahriman said: “A Beast to Praise captures a very important moment in the history of Dark Funeral — not only the live release ritual for We Are the Apocalypse, but also our return to the stage after years of silence during the pandemic. That night at Fållan was intense in every possible way. The energy in the room, the fire, the audience and the atmosphere all came together into something far beyond an ordinary concert. This release is the immortal document of that night. With the release of this live album and the upcoming European touring cycle in the fall of 2026, we now close the chapter surrounding We Are the Apocalypse. At the same time, we are already deeply focused on the next era of Dark Funeral and hard at work creating new material for what will become our next studio album, planned for release in 2027.”

Pre-order the album here.

The full track listing is:

• “Unchain My Soul” (7:45)
• “The Arrival of Satan’s Empire” (3:54)
• “My Funeral” (5:35)
• “Leviathan” (4:50)
• “We Are the Apocalypse” (4:57)
• “Open the Gates” (4:38)
• “When I’m Gone” (6:16)
• “Goddess of Sodomy” (4:09)
• “Vobiscum Satanas” (4:45)
• “Nail Them to the Cross” (5:30)
• “Let the Devil In” (5:27)
• “The Secrets of the Black Arts” (4:50)
• “Where Shadows Forever Reign” (6:45)

We Are the Apocalypse (2022) entered the charts across Europe upon release, including No. 6 in Germany, No. 13 in Finland, No. 28 in Switzerland, No. 29 in Austria and No. 31 in Sweden. Dark Funeral will next embark on the massive “In League With Satan” European tour alongside Behemoth and Dimmu Borgir in October.

Dark Funeral was founded in 1993 by Lord Ahriman and Blackmoon. Their independently financed debut mini album was recorded in January 1994 at Dan Swanö’s Unisound Studio and released May 4, 1994. The band has since toured 45 countries and released seven studio albums. Diabolis Interium was nominated for Best Metal Album at Sweden’s P3 Guld awards, and Where Shadows Forever Reign received both the P3 Guld award and Germany’s Metal Hammer Award. A 30th Anniversary Edition of the band’s debut was released in August 2024 via Century Media, remixed by David Castillo. The current lineup is Lord Ahriman (guitar), Chaq Mol (guitar), Heljarmadr (vocals), Adra-Melek (bass) and Jalomaah (drums).

The post DARK FUNERAL Announce “A Beast To Praise” Live Album, Share Video For “The Arrival of Satan’s Empire” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Saxon have announced the first U.K. and Ireland leg of their “Gods of Thunder” world tour, with further international dates to be revealed in the coming months. The 11-date run spans February 13–27, 2027, and will feature the return of the band’s legendary 30-foot mechanized Eagle stage prop for all shows except Cardiff, where venue restrictions apply. The band will also revive their full “Castles & Eagles” stage production.

The mechanized Eagle was originally constructed in the early 1980s by Midlands-based company LSD, built using airport runway landing lights, as Saxon prepared to tour their seminal Denim and Leather album. It became an enduring symbol of the band and inspired the title of their acclaimed 1982 U.K. Top 5 live albums: The Eagle Has Landed. Frontman Biff Byford said, “We wanted to make the ‘Gods of Thunder’ U.K. and Ireland tour extra special. And what better way than to fly our beloved Saxon Eagle again… Get ready for take-off!” Tickets go on sale June 26 at 9 a.m. via saxon747.com.

The full schedule is:

• Feb. 13 — Civic Hall, Wolverhampton
• Feb. 14 — O2 Academy, Glasgow
• Feb. 16 — Telegraph Building, Belfast
• Feb. 17 — 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin
• Feb. 19 — O2 Apollo, Manchester
• Feb. 20 — O2 City Hall, Newcastle
• Feb. 21 — City Hall, Sheffield
• Feb. 23 — The Great Hall, Cardiff
• Feb. 24 — Beacon, Bristol
• Feb. 25 — O2 Guildhall, Southampton
• Feb. 27 — Eventim Apollo, London

The tour supports Saxon’s forthcoming 25th studio album, due January 22, 2027 — a date Byford revealed exclusively to France’s Last Ride podcast. Fans will be able to pre-order the record in early September, with the first single and video expected the same month. Producer Andy Sneap (Judas Priest, Exodus, Accept) finished mixing the album in January 2025. The new record will follow Hell, Fire and Damnation (January 2024, Silver Lining Music), also produced by Sneap.

The post SAXON Announce 11-Date 2027 “Gods Of Thunder” U.K. & Ireland Tour; New Album Due January 22 appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Last week the Atlantic posted an upsetting report about datasets of music that are being used to train AI. If they weren’t already aware, major artists from Bad Bunny to Nirvana are part of it. The Atlantic identified over 21 million recordings across four datasets. I even did a quick search on my favorite artists such as Squirrel Flower and the Cramps, and both of their music included. One of the many artists who’s speaking out after searching their name is SZA.

The post SZA Warns AI Is Exploiting Black Artists, Calls Out Diplo appeared first on Stereogum.

When Hendrix arrived in the UK in 1966, the rock world tilted on its axis and he shot from unknown to superstar and changed everything

As work continues on their fourth studio album, BEAST IN BLACK has officially welcomed Finnish guitarist Markus Venehsalo into the band’s ranks. The group was deep into the recording sessions for the next release when the need arose for a second guitarist capable of handling guitar solos for the album. At that stage of production, […]

Beartooth have shared “Bulls***,” the third pre-release single from their forthcoming sixth studio album, Pure Ecstasy, due Aug. 28 via Fearless Records. The track follows previously released singles “Pure Ecstasy” and “Free.”

Frontman Caleb Shomo said of the new track: “‘Bulls***’ is a familiar song I’ve written many times. I wanted to revisit the musical style that was the catalyst of so much healing and discovery in my earlier years of Beartooth. It’s an exercise in letting the truth out about what you’re sick of in your own life. Sometimes the easiest way to deal with something is to yell about it as loud as you can. Can confirm, it felt as amazing to do this exercise now as it did when I was 19.”

Pure Ecstasy is also Beartooth’s first release with Fearless Records and their most collaborative album to date. Early songwriting contributions came from Skyler Accord (Issues, Twenty One Pilots, Bilmuri), while production work with Jordan Fish (Bring Me the Horizon, Poppy, Architects) pushed Shomo toward a rawer examination than on any previous record. For the first time, Shomo did not perform every instrument himself — drummer Connor Denis tracked drums across the album at NRG Recording Studios, while bassist Oshie Bichar and guitarists Zach Huston and Will Deely all played larger roles in the record than on past releases.

Beartooth will support the album with a world tour beginning Sept. 17 in Europe. The North American leg launches Nov. 11 in Boston and includes stops at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Nov. 12 and the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on Dec. 18. Don Broco, Magnolia Park, and Windwaker are the support acts for all dates.

Beartooth was formed by Shomo in Columbus, Ohio, in 2013. Their previous album, The Surface (2023), debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative and Hard Music charts and yielded the No. 1 rock radio singles “Might Love Myself” and “I Was Alive.” The band’s catalog has accumulated more than 1.3 billion streams globally, with certified-gold “Hated” and platinum In Between (2016) among the key releases in their back catalog.

The post BEARTOOTH Stream Third Single “Bulls***” From Upcoming “Pure Ecstasy” Album appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Having wrapped up their vast Arcane Dimensions Tour earlier this year, symphonic metal powerhouse EPICA have now unveiled a soul-stirring live version of their track Sirens – Of Blood And Water, featuring the formidable Alissa White-Gluz, Elize Ryd and Charlotte Wessels. This spine-tingling version, which was also captured on video, was recorded early this year […]

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Listen to the best in new, heavy music every week with HEAVY‘s new weekly HEAVY AUDIO MAG, featuring music from our weekly cover artist plus new premieres, hit predictions, and killer tracks we just know you want to listen to from bands featured over both digimags and some just because we want to put them […]