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  • Cancer Bats – ‘Give Me Dirt’

    What do you do after seven albums as Canada’s hardest band? Take a break of course, and after two decades of head-banging, Cancer Bats surely deserved their time off. ‘Give Me Dirt’, their latest album, is supposedly inspired by nature and travel, but that’s like saying ‘Blood Meridian’ is a book about cowboys. Yes, it technically is, but with the harshest, most unrelenting nightmare-adrenaline poured on top so that the summary doesn’t even seem to encompass half of what really happens. The side of nature that vocalist and lyricist Liam Cormier channels into ‘Give Me Dirt’ is red in tooth and claw, monumental and awe-inspiring, and mostly a loose ribbon to tie together Cancer Bats’ most ambitious album to date.

    We knew what was coming, as ‘Stay Stuck’, last year’s single drop, feels like an avalanche in itself, a song for seizing the day and letting the pit take you wherever it wants to. ‘Don’t Trip’ contains the same rush: the sensation of your muscles tensing, ready for fight-or-flight to kick in. That’s what Cancer Bats do so incredibly well, and they’ve turned that quality up to the maximum on ‘Give Me Dirt’. Just take the title track, for instance. Clanging shifts into stripped down riffs into chanted ferocity and a sensation of being dared to respond like we’re each being personally challenged to go harder. It’s a magnificent four-minutes, and having a clear vision of what Cancer Bats wanted to accomplish helps us see through the fuzz of distortion and out the other side. 

    While we’re here for Cancer Bats, we’re loving that they’ve brought their friends along for the party. Nate Newton of Converge joins the gang for the blistering opener ‘World Wild Fire Death Race’. It’s a song of devastation and surviving by the skin of your teeth, stacked with endless guitar laid down at a breakneck pace. ‘Bright Eyes Of Gold’ sees Chris Cresswell of The Flatliners digging in for a song of resistance against all forms of oppression, and Brooklyn Doran steps away from her usual queer indie scene to lend her vocals to ‘Long Tooth’, a song that swerves between desolate beauty and near-painful ferocity. If you’ve been wondering what Efrem Schulz of Manic Hispanic and Death By Stereo has been up to recently, now you know: he’s been adding a layer of solidarity via vocal cameos. ‘Fools Like You’, the track where Schulz take the lead, drags the punk end of the Cancer Bats sound to the forefront, and it’s just as incendiary as you might imagine. 

    While the special guests make all these tracks, well, special, the real surprise on ‘Give Me Dirt’ is ‘Ocean Crash’. It’s a narrative of a journey to destruction, with an unexpectedly clear vocal from Cormier and a slow, pulsing bass that feels like it could be a movie on it’s own in the right hands. The way that Cancer Bats can make a song feel like the end of the world is inevitable is masterful, and shows how far they’ve evolved. Search beneath the fuzz and fury and you’ll find that this is a deeply personal record that comes from the heart via the strong core muscles needed to headbang and scream through it. “I’d rather be a dreamer than dying inside,” yells Cormier on ‘Positive Grid’, and his sense of ambition and resolution is what makes ‘Give Me Dirt’ such an exciting record. This is a new step for Cancer Bats towards a destination that has yet to be revealed, but wherever it is, we’ll have a damn good time reaching it with them. 

    Kate Allvey

  • Revelation – Former Guitarist Died

    Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter John Brenner has passed away at the age of 59. Best known for his work with Revelation, Against Nature and Have Mercy. The latter confirmed the news via their Facebook profile.
    Read more…
  • Brighten up your music room with the colourful and eye-catching Majority Stylo and Folio turntables

    I’m always on the lookout for new eye-catching, budget turntables, with one of my favourites, the super-affordable Gadhouse Brad Retro MKII record player, launching last summer.

    But my loyalties to that particular player are being severely tested thanks to the colourful and smart-looking Majority Stylo and Folio turntables.

    Let’s look at the Stylo first. Majority say the range has been designed for music fans taking their first steps into the world of vinyl, or those looking to upgrade their beginner turntable.

    The Stylo is available in five distinct colours, making it stand out from the crowd: Blackout, Sol Yellow, British Racing Green, Blue Steel and Oxblood. The two-speed, belt-driven Stylo features Bluetooth 5.3, has a built-in preamp and RCA line and phono connections. There’s an adjustable counterweight, aluminium platter and has anti-skate control.

    In addition, it boasts an Audio-Technica AT3600L moving magnet cartridge, carbon fibre tonearm and the stylus is replaceable.

    The Majority Stylo is available right now for £159.95.

    On to the Majority Folio and the main difference between it and the Stylo is that it features in-built stereo speakers. It’s also has Bluetooth and features USB recording so you can turn your vinyl collection into digital files through your computer. There’s also RCA output, AUX input, and a headphone connection.

    The Folio also has s-shaped tonearm, adjustable counterweight, in-built pre-amp and the same Audio-Technica cartridge that’s in the Stylo.

    Available in Plywood, Blackout, Sol Yellow, British Racing Green, Blue Steel and Oxblood, the Folio is priced a £169.95.

    Specs

    Majority Stylo

    • Bluetooth 5.3 output for compatible Bluetooth speakers and headphones
    • Belt drive turntable
    • 33⅓ and 45 RPM playback
    • Audio-Technica AT3600L moving magnet cartridge
    • Replaceable stylus
    • Carbon fibre straight tonearm
    • Adjustable counterweight
    • Anti-skate adjustment
    • Aluminium platter
    • Built in pre-amp
    • RCA line and phono output
    • Ground connection
    • Pitch control
    • Phono/Line switch
    • Dust cover included

    Majority Folio

    • Bluetooth 5.3 input and output
    • USB playback and USB recording
    • Belt drive turntable
    • 33⅓ and 45 RPM playback
    • Audio-Technica AT3600L moving magnet cartridge
    • Replaceable stylus
    • S-shaped tonearm
    • Adjustable counterweight
    • Aluminium platter
    • Built in pre-amp
    • RCA output
    • 3.5 mm headphone output
    • AUX input
    • Pitch control
    • USB controls
    • Dust cover included
  • Avulsed – Share Another Cover Track

    Spaniards Avulsed have unveiled a new cover, “The Exordium”, from the long-ago disbanded Swedish death metal band Crematory (originally released on 1990 demo The Exordium). This music piece will be featured on the band’s upcoming covers album, Nordic Embryogenesis.
    Read more…
  • A Night In Texas unleash new single “A Primal Conditioning”

    From upcoming album ‘The Darkest Side of Humanity’

    Source

  • Kelly Osbourne Posts A Series Of Pointed Messages Appearing To Address Sid Wilson, Asking For Her Dogs, Her Possessions And Child Support

    Kelly Osbourne and Sid Wilson

    Kelly Osbourne has posted a series of pointed messages to Instagram that appear to be directed at her former fiancé, Slipknot’s Sid Wilson, days after reports that he was removed from the band. In the posts, Osbourne writes about accountability and deflection, states she is no longer willing to accept the situation, says she wants to heal and raise her son, and asks to be left alone.

    She also requests the return of her dogs and her possessions, and raises the subject of child support. Osbourne does not name Wilson at any point. Wilson has not responded publicly. None of the claims have been verified, no legal filing has been reported, and the reported reason for Wilson’s Slipknot exit — per TMZ — related to his treatment of his bandmates rather than anything in his personal life.

    🎧 STREAM THE METAL BREAKDOWN DAILY NOW:

    On today’s Metal Breakdown Daily, Scott Penfold walks through the two Sid Wilson stories that broke within hours of each other — why the internet is about to weld them into one, and why the reporting says they’re separate. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and take the show with you.

    Two things happened yesterday. They are not the same thing, and by tomorrow most people will believe they are.

    What Osbourne Actually Posted

    Kelly Osbourne shared a run of messages to Instagram on Sunday night.

    The first is written in general terms — about how the loudest defence of guilt is rarely innocence but distraction, about people who won’t face themselves and turn on someone else instead, and about taking accountability. There’s a line about broken mirrors and seven years of bad luck, and one about some people being sicker than others.

    The second is more direct. She writes about wanting the other person to take responsibility, says she won’t accept the situation any longer, says she’s done, and states that she wants to be happy and has a son to raise. She asks to be left alone and to be allowed to heal, and says she can no longer protect the person from themselves.

    The third is the most concrete: she asks for her dogs back, for her possessions, and raises child support.

    She also shared several quotes about protecting her child.

    At no point does she name anyone.

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    What That Does And Doesn’t Establish

    Here’s where we’re going to be more careful than most of the coverage you’ll read today.

    What’s concrete: she has asked publicly for the return of property and pets, and raised child support. Those are specific, checkable things and they point unmistakably at a co-parenting relationship. Osbourne and Wilson have a son, born in November 2022. The context is not really in doubt.

    What isn’t concrete: everything else. The language about guilt, accountability, masks and sickness is doing a lot of work while specifying nothing. She does not say what she is alleging. She does not describe an incident. She does not name a person.

    That gap is going to be filled within the hour by people who know nothing, and whatever they decide it means will be repeated as fact by Wednesday. We’re not going to guess, and we’d ask you not to either.

    There is no legal filing reported. No representative for either party has commented. Wilson has not responded and has not had the opportunity to. Everything above is one person’s public statement about a private relationship, and that’s all it currently is.

    Slipknot's-Sid-Wilson-and-Kelly-Osbourne-engagement

    The Part Everyone Is About To Get Wrong

    Now the thing actually worth your time.

    Because these posts landed within hours of the reporting on Wilson’s Slipknot exit, the two are already being welded into a single narrative — that he was thrown out of the band because of this.

    The reporting says otherwise.

    TMZ’s follow-up on Wilson’s departure stated that the decision had been building for a long time and came after the band had had enough of how he treated his bandmates. That’s a band-internal matter, between colleagues, about working relationships. It has nothing to do with a former partner, and TMZ did not connect the two.

    So what you have is two separate stories about the same person surfacing on the same weekend. That’s not nothing — it’s a rough few days for anyone — but it is not evidence that one caused the other, and treating it as such means inventing a chain of events that no one has reported.

    If somebody later establishes a link, we’ll cover that. Right now nobody has.

    Also Recommended – The Real Reason Slipknot Wear Masks Isn’t What Fans Expect

    The Relationship, For Context

    Wilson and Osbourne were friends for years before they began dating in 2022. Their son was born that November and carries both parents’ surnames.

    In July 2025, the pair got engaged at Black Sabbath’s farewell show at Villa Park — the night Ozzy Osbourne played his final performance, and weeks before his death. Wilson proposed backstage, and it was one of the more genuinely joyful footnotes to a day that turned out to be historic.

    In March 2026, it was reported that the engagement had quietly ended some weeks earlier. They were last photographed together at the Grammy Awards in February.

    That’s the full public record of it, and we’re going to leave the rest alone. There is a three-year-old in the middle of this whose parents are both public figures, and he did not sign up for any of it.

    Check This Out – The 13 Most Brutal Slipknot Songs Ever Recorded (Ranked)

    Where The Slipknot Story Stands

    Separately, and to be clear about it: Wilson’s status with Slipknot remains officially unconfirmed.

    TMZ has published two reports — the initial claim on July 31 that he had been permanently removed, and Sunday’s follow-up stating the decision was long in the making, that it followed problems with how he treated his bandmates, and that the band had planned to announce it themselves this week before losing control of the timing.

    Slipknot have said nothing. Wilson has said nothing. No replacement has been named, and the band’s official channels are unchanged. Our Slipknot lineup page reflects the current reporting and will be updated the moment anything official arrives.

    Twenty-eight years in that band, and the influence of #0 across their catalogue is not in question regardless of how any of this ends.

    Kelly Osbourne social media post about Sid Wilson
    kelly-osbourne-social-media-post-2
    Kelly Osbourne confronts Sid Wilson

    TL;DR

    • What happened: Kelly Osbourne posted a series of pointed messages to Instagram on Sunday night that appear to address Sid Wilson
    • What she said: wrote about accountability and deflection, said she’s done and wants to heal and raise her son, asked to be left alone, and requested the return of her dogs and possessions along with child support
    • She did not name him at any point in the posts
    • Wilson’s response: none. He has not commented
    • Verification: none. No legal filing reported, no representatives commenting, nothing independently confirmed
    • The connection to Slipknot: none established. TMZ’s reporting attributes the band decision to how Wilson treated his bandmates, a separate matter
    • Their history: friends for years, together from 2022, son born November 2022, engaged July 2025 at Black Sabbath’s farewell show, split reported March 2026

    FAQ

    What did Kelly Osbourne say about Sid Wilson?

    She posted a series of messages to Instagram addressing accountability and deflection, saying she is done and wants to heal and raise her son, asking to be left alone, and requesting the return of her dogs and possessions along with child support. She did not name Wilson at any point, and he has not responded.

    Did Kelly Osbourne accuse Sid Wilson of anything specific?

    Her posts use general language about guilt, accountability and responsibility without describing any specific incident or making any specific allegation. Nothing has been verified, and no legal filing has been reported.

    Was Sid Wilson fired from Slipknot because of Kelly Osbourne?

    There is no reporting to support that. TMZ’s follow-up on his exit attributed the band’s decision to how he treated his bandmates — a band-internal matter — and did not connect it to his personal life. The two stories surfaced within hours of each other but have not been linked by any source.

    Are Kelly Osbourne and Sid Wilson still together?

    No. They got engaged in July 2025 at Black Sabbath’s farewell show in Birmingham, and it was reported in March 2026 that the engagement had ended several weeks earlier. They have a son, born in November 2022.

    Has Slipknot confirmed Sid Wilson’s departure?

    No. Two TMZ reports citing unnamed sources have described his removal, but the band has issued no statement, named no replacement, and made no change to its official channels.

    Two separate stories, one weekend, and a lot of people about to decide they’re the same one. We’ll report what’s confirmed and nothing else — but what’s your read on where the Slipknot situation lands? Let us know in the comments.

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    The post Kelly Osbourne Posts A Series Of Pointed Messages Appearing To Address Sid Wilson, Asking For Her Dogs, Her Possessions And Child Support appeared first on Loaded Radio.

  • System Of A Down’s Serj Tankian says drummer John Dolmayan is tired of Donald Trump despite past support of US president: “I know so many Armenians in Los Angeles who voted for Trump and now regret it”

    System Of A Down singer Serj Tankian claims that his drummer and brother-in-law John Dolmayan has grown “tired” of Donald Trump, despite his passionate defence of the US president in the past.

    Talking to Rolling Stone Italy, the frontman says that the drummer’s support of Trump should be referred to in the past tense, after Dolmayan got tired of the president for unspecified reasons.

    “First of all, I don’t want to speak for John about his political views; that wouldn’t be fair. I can say that the verb ‘was’ [a Trump supporter] is correct,” says Tankian. “I can’t say for sure that it still is. I think he, too, got tired of Trump, like many others.”

    He also reveals that Dolmayan is a former supporter of Democratic president Barack Obama. “I’ll tell you one thing: before Trump, John voted for Barack Obama. I don’t even know if he says it publicly, but it’s true. People change. I know so many Armenians in Los Angeles who voted for Trump and now regret it. That’s all I can say.”

    The singer, who once called Dolmayan’s support of Trump “frustrating”, adds that even though their differing opinions have made their relationship “complicated” at times, they still love each other.

    “But I’m certainly not the only person in the world who has a brother-in-law with different political views,” he explains. “It happens to a lot of people. Yet that doesn’t stop us from doing what we truly do: loving each other. We share so many things: our origins, our Armenian identity, our culture, our music, and everything we’ve built together over thirty years. And that carries a lot of weight. Yes, it’s difficult at times. But times change. Opinions change.”

    In June 2020, following the Black Lives Matter protests in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, Dolmayan called Trump “the greatest friend to minorities”.

    “The most attacked president in history yet the greatest friend to minorities!” the drummer wrote on social media. “Don’t believe it? Look at the stats. Don’t like it, doesn’t change the truth of it.”

    The following month, Dolmayan claimed that Black Lives Matter “never had legitimacy” and was a “propaganda tool” of the Democratic Party. In 2022, he said that the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic “is and always has been about money”. He later claimed to have lost “hundreds of thousands of fans” due to his opinions.

    Dolmayan is far from the only American to have seemingly turned his back on Trump. Last week, according to a CNN poll, the president’s approval rating slid to 34 percent. This matches his previous all-time low in January 2021, after he attempted to incite an insurrection and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

    The poll also found that only 28 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s actions in Iran. 25 percent said that the war has been worth it in terms of cost and American lives lost, whereas 74 percent said that the resultant rising fuel prices have caused them at least some hardship.

    No stranger to making bold political statements himself, Tankian recently lambasted Israel for recognising the Armenian genocide of 1915, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government faces accusations of genocide for its ongoing military actions in the Gaza Strip. (Israel denies that it is committing genocide in the region.)

    “The fact that this government is already committing genocide in Gaza and Lebanon decided to recognise the genocide of my grandparents is the worst fucking thing that they could have done to Armenians – by using our history, our genocide, our pain to their political advantage,” Tankian said. “Fuck you.”

    System Of A Down completed a stadium tour of Europe in mid-July and are booked to play Sick New World Texas in October.

  • “It shows off the rockier side of our collaboration.” Hackett & Rothery up the tempo on new single, Red Dragon

    Renowned prog guitarists Steve Hackett and Steve Rothery have shared another single, Red Dragon, from their upcoming Hackett & Rothery album, The Roaring Waves, which the pair release through InsideOut Music on August 28.

    “Red Dragon shows off the rockier side of our collaboration; it starts with the sound of a hurdy gurdy (an instrument which originated in medieval Europe around the 10th century), followed by a heavy guitar riff by myself and great guitar melodies and sitar guitar by SH,” says Rothery.

    “Red Dragon was the name of the ship that was used by the East India Trading Company in its early years,” adds Hackett, shedding further light on the nautical themes behind the record. “I used a sitar guitar amongst others to give that authentic Eastern feel…”

    The pair are joined on The Roaring Sea by Hackett’s new keyboardist, Riccardo Romano, who has also performed in Rothery’s band as well as French proggers Nine Skies, and who also co-wrote, mixed and played keyboards and bass, and drummer Leon Parr, also from Rothery’s band.

    Hackett & Rothery have previously shared a video for The Black Sea.

    The Roaring Sea is available on several formats, including a limited edition CD+Blu-ray mediabook edition including Dolby Atmos (by Andy Bradfield) and High Resolution Stereo mixes. The album will also be available as a standard CD and a Gatefold 180g LP, cut at half-speed at Abbey Road Studios by Miles Showell.

    Pre-order The Roaring Sea.

  • Listening Now : An Overnight Low – Moth

    An Overnight Low explore restlessness and longing through the atmospheric indie soundscape of Moth. Built around the image of a moth drawn toward an alluring but potentially deceptive light, the song captures the human tendency to chase comfort, connection, and fulfillment even when they remain just out of reach. Dreamy textures and introspective songwriting give the track a quietly hypnotic quality, while its sense of movement keeps the arrangement gently evolving. Thoughtful and emotionally nuanced, Moth transforms its central metaphor into a compelling reflection on desire, repetition, and the search for something that always seems slightly beyond reach.

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