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The complaint follows a bitter dispute between the two parties.

The post Static-X File Lawsuit Against Matt Zane For Copyright Infringement, False Light, California Penal Code Violations & More appeared first on Theprp.com.

The universe ignites, expands and finally erases itself across the six tracks of SWORN’s fifth album. Null Crowned the Infinite is now streaming in full through Black Metal Promotion ahead of its September 4 release. Three years after A Journey Told Through Fire, the Bergen-based melodic black metal band returns with a concept album that […]

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Posted on September 3rd 2026, 5:37pm

Great records offer something deeper than what glimmers on the surface, whether conceptual, musical, emotional or otherwise. Without at least one of these tethers, connecting with an album beyond a cursory listen presents significant challenges. Yet the best music, the kind that transforms listening into an experience, extends multiple threads with which to affix. It’s no wonder, then, that I resonate with Sigh’s oeuvre with such soul-plumbing profundity. Their concepts pierce with poignant potency, their compositions astound with instrumental mélanges that seem unthinkable on paper but coalesce exquisitely in fact, and Sigh’s main man, Mirai Kawashima radiates a charismatic earnestness within his music that I find utterly charming. Now, thirteenth album Goh-Ka is here, and once again we must cast a critical eye toward one of metal’s most singular entities. After thirty-six years, can Tokyo’s wonderfully weird export still Goh the distance?

Many of Sigh’s albums flaunt high concepts, and their recent output has centered around psychological and mortal themes that prove morbidly fascinating. In Somniphobia explores the opaque limbo between the waking world and sleep, Hangman’s Hymn details the final thoughts of a sinful man leading up to his execution, and Shiki got personal for Kawashima, where he allegorizes the inevitability of death with the four seasons. Goh-Ka serves as a natural progression from Shiki, its conceptual inspirations drawn from Kuso-zu, ‘a series of Buddhist illustrations depicting the nine stages of a human body’s decomposition after death, created to encourage meditation on the impermanence of life.’¹ Although Goh-Ka’s premise of decomposition and the ephemeral nature of existence might seem like it requires a dour soundtrack, Kawashima & Co. instead manifest these themes with competing currents of ebullience and pensiveness.

Sigh sounds as vibrant as ever on Goh-Ka, welding together an eclectic amalgam of instruments and styles that guides listeners through a kaleidoscopic haze of one of their lushest sonicscapes to date. Flitting melodies and crushing riffs crash and congeal on “Anzenshokon,” which starts with layered, modulated vocals recalling Black Sabbath’s “Planet Caravan,” supported by flute and tribal drumming. Then come the implacable riffs and Mirai’s harsh rasps, inciting a stimulating duality as the track progresses. “Jinmenjushin” exhibits another enthralling back-and-forth modality, beginning with a creepy crawl reminiscent of Slayer’s “South of Heaven”² that quickly ramps up the speed into a hyper-melodic chorus lightly recalling Imperial Circus Dead Decadence. The performances on Goh-Ka astound with stunning muscle and violent grace, where myriad ideas weave together into a gorgeous tapestry of avant-garde black metal. Mike Heller’s contributions underpin all the tracks with impossibly deft rhythms and grooves, squeezing in rabid fusillades one moment and swinging into a subtle shuffle the next (“Kuso-shi 1, 2, and 3,” “Jigoku-Zoshi 1: Unkamusho”). Ginzaburo Abe lays down some striking shamisen (“Unputenpu,” “Kuso-shi 1, 2, and 3”), imbuing Goh-Ka with a tantalizing folksiness, and Mirai’s keyboards ground the record with classic hard rock heft.³

Goh-Ka unquestionably delivers conceptual and musical depth, yet it’s the emotional well I drink from deepest. Despite the macabre backdrop of death and decomposition, overwhelming doses of joy and catharsis saturate Sigh’s latest. Lead single “Unputenpu” is downright effervescent, and Mikael Åkerfeldt furnishes the perfect guest spot⁴ on a song that so readily evokes the psychedelic flourishes of 2010s Opeth. “Kuso-shi 4, 5, and 6” smolders with seesawing dispositions of pathos and release, electrifying me each listen with its seamless balance between the two. The latter half of “Kuso-shi 8 and 9: Mettaijakujo” likewise bubbles with an uplifting spirit even as tumultuous elements buffet the heavily synth-backed passages. By the song’s end, a satisfying finality cements the perfect capstone on an album fraught with essential moments.

Each time I spin Goh-Ka, I fall in love all over again. After thirty-six years and thirteen albums, Sigh remains unflappably equipped to slap. Their music teems with intricate layers and a boundless eccentricity that allows each release to stand on its own while always adhering to their uniquely fabulous voice. Sure, the slow fadeout from “Jinmenjushin” might stretch a tad too long and “Kuso-shi 7” feels dispensable compared to the rest, but in the end Goh-Ka leaves me in awe of the depth of Sigh’s vision and daring. If you were worried about Angry Metal Guy’s Law of Diminishing Recordings™ setting its sights on Sigh, don’t. Instead, you can rest easy knowing Sigh continues to Goh the extra mile on their best album since In Somniphobia.

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Rating: Excellent!
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Peaceville Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: September 4th, 2026

The post Sigh – Goh-Ka Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Nails has officially signed to Closed Casket Activities, marking the deal with a new release, Fear Based Life. The two tracks land as a blunt-force preview of the band’s fifth full-length, due out in summer 2027, and put an official stamp on a working relationship that’s been building for well over a decade.

Nails shared the following statement on the signing: “Nails has been very fortunate to work with great labels. Throughout the band’s existence, there hasn’t been a bad label the band has worked with. In fact, they’ve all been great.

“A look into the backend of Nails, I’ve been working with Justin Louden of Closed Casket Activities since 2011. All Nails decisions regarding tour decisions, business decisions, all of the behind the scenes stuff…. we conferred with him to help with perspective and insight regarding how we made our moves and executed the vision for Nails. There hasn’t been a more instrumental asset to Nails than Closed Casket Activities in the past 15 years.

“Signing a record deal with Closed Casket Activities is the best move for Nails and we know this is going to serve Nails the best for the band’s needs.

“We hope you enjoy our new two-song ‘Fear Based Life’ release, and we will have our fifth LP out in summer 2027. Thank you for supporting Nails.”

The two songs were recorded by Andrew Solis and mastered by Nick Townsend. Cover art comes from Jef Whitehead (Wrest), with additional artwork by Cavan Hoover, photography by Duran Levinson and layout and text handled by Martin Stuart.

On the release itself, the band added: “Nails put these two songs together November/December 2025. Writing them was a true collaborative effort between the three of us. We decided to release them as we thought they complemented each other well together. Jef Whitehead a.k.a. Wrest did an incredible job with the front cover artwork as well as Cavan Hoover with the inner artwork. The photography was done in Berlin, Germany by Duran Levinson. The layout and text was completed by our friend Martin Stuart. It was a great experience putting this release together and working with everyone who collaborated on it including Closed Casket Activities. We hope you enjoy it.”

Fear Based Life is streaming now, with a vinyl pressing arriving Oct. 9 via Closed Casket Activities.

The post NAILS Signs With Closed Casket Activities & Releases “Fear Based Life” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Simple Minds started off in Glasgow way back in 1977, which means that the group’s two longtime members, singer Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill, are about to celebrate their 50th anniversary. They’re on the short list of acts that I’ve written about in both of my columns The Number Ones and The Alternative Number Ones, and they’re still going.

The post Simple Minds Announce New Album <em>Sacrosanct</em>: Hear “Beginner Boys” appeared first on Stereogum.

The singer of Echoberyl opens a new creative chapter with an intimate, delicate and melancholic project inspired by the past.

Cecilia, known as the voice of Echoberyl, is opening a new creative path under the name Blue Cecilia. This new project was created as a musical space dedicated to exploring a more intimate and delicate side of the artist, through sweet and melancholic songs inspired by the past.

The project begins with “Ante Lucem”, a track that unfolds as a wordless introduction, built around a gentle melody that gradually invites the listener into a soft and melancholic inner world.

Rather than being a continuation of Echoberyl, Blue Cecilia creates a space of its own, allowing Cecilia to explore different emotions and sonic textures. The simplicity of “Ante Lucem” leaves room for the melody to take centre stage, allowing each listener to find their own meaning within it.

With this new project, Cecilia looks towards the past from an intimate perspective, shaping a collection of songs inspired by memories, sensations and atmospheres connected to other times.

“Ante Lucem”, the first release from Blue Cecilia, is now available on Spotify and all major digital platforms.

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Listen: https://open.spotify.com/track/791mSCeOZQCiIaM0Zi1XoP?si=n66bYaSPQwuxU18bk3jJFw&utm_source=copy-link
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Watch music video: https://youtu.be/Ta9LT9th0uA?is=RYPbouYxdo76VtGO

The post BLUE CECILIA presents “Ante Lucem”, Cecilia’s new musical project first appeared on FemMetal – Goddesses of Metal.

(written by Islander) This trio of talents from Austria and Québec who joined together to form Détresse introduced themselves just last year through a startling debut album named Pessimismes, released by Vendetta Records. We described its music as “emotionally raw, explosively cathartic, and unrelenting in its intensity”, but also as “saturated in agony and hopelessness”, […]

The post AN NCS PREMIERE: DÉTRESSE — “LES NUITS JAUNES” appeared first on NO CLEAN SINGING.

Stockholm’s God Mother will share their third full-length album, Köttvärld (translated: Meat World), scheduled for release September 25.

Check out the track “False Self” from the album below ahead of the release.

“Living in a world where hope of a better tomorrow and joy is an act of resistance—This song is about finding footing for yourself and community by not letting your life be run by those in claimed power,” the band say.

Tracked by God Mother and Staffan Birkedal across several iconic Stockholm locations, including Soundtrade Studios, Studio Ovett, Hermitage Recording, and Total Recording. Mixed by Michael Dahlström at Total Recording, with mix consulting by Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna), except for the track “Healer Lodge,” which was mixed by bassist Daniel Noring. Mastered by Magnus Lindberg at Redmount Studios.

Preorder the album here.

The post Track Premiere: God Mother – “False Self” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Here’s a lyric for you: “God’s got a picture of the whole world burning, down to the details of his hot white ash.” That’s the opening line from Emma Ruth Rundle’s new single “God’s Picture,” and it’s also the fantasy at the song’s center. Rundle is a master of bleak and heavy mood music, and she’ll release her new album These Killing Times in a couple of weeks. We’ve already heard the early tracks “Powerless” and “Enough.” “God’s Picture” keeps the streak going.

The post Emma Ruth Rundle – “God’s Picture” appeared first on Stereogum.