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The United Kingdom has a legacy of bands that push back on their government. From the earliest incarnations of bands like the Clash and the Sex Pistols to bands like Crass and the Subhumans, the pedigree is definitely there. The long-established The Mistakes from Poole, UK, carry that torch and dust off the trails blazed by these earlier bands. Their new album, Die Laughing, is evidence of that.

Die Laughing opens with the song “Battle,” with a riffy intro that signals back to East Bay Ray’s better days. This song is full of the piss and vinegar needed to set off an album with this much angst. While there are a few softer moments, a term I use loosely, “Battle” immediately shows that The Mistakes took the lessons these previous bands taught us seriously and presents them in a great opening track with enough political bite to make Joe Strummer proud. It’s loud and fast, and it gives the finger to the proper authorities. It’s a battle cry for the oppressed and a warning to the oppressors.

While there’s no shortage of shitty politicians in the world, The Mistakes target the world’s douchiest billionaire, Elon Musk, in a ska punk song that hits all the marks. Symbolically, Musk is a good replacement for Margaret Thatcher and the Queen as someone completely out of touch with a normal person. This leads into the anthemic one of the poppier moments on the album, “Life’s Too Short.” While this doesn’t lessen the ire in the song, it is a contrast from most of the tracks on Die Laughing.

Some moments feel very symbiotic with American punk rock, especially some of the ’90s Epitaph punk rock. The songs “The Pit” and “Sons” are fantastic examples of this. You could throw this song on a late ’90s Punk-O-Rama. Fast punk in the vein of Pulley or Straight Faced, with bass lines clearly influenced by Rancid’s Matt Freeman on some songs.

Then you get to a song like “Get Cancelled” that feels like a TSOL song in the melodic phrasing and the vocal delivery of the chorus. I feel like I’ve heard about some of the British influence on some of the street punk bands, but you never hear about it the other way around. This record feels like the product of that. While early American punk had the art part of it down, British punk brought a lot of the attitude and pushback regarding social issues. The Mistakes do a great job of continuing this sentiment.

My only complaint would be that this album sounds too bright in spots. While it’s clear that the Mistakes put a lot of heart into this record, it just sounds a smidge too polished for me. I’m not saying it’s not a valid piece of punk rock because it wasn’t recorded through a tin can; it’s just a bit smoother than I would like. The mastering gives this record a shine it doesn’t necessarily need.

Overall, this is a phenomenal record. I keep saying I wish that these types of songs and lyrics weren’t still relevant, but unfortunately we live in a world where they’re still necessary. The Mistakes have put together thirteen songs that get you ready for the fight. Influenced by bands from both sides of the pond, there’s something for everyone on Die Laughing. While this would be the perfect place to drop a pun about how not getting this album would be a mistake, I will say Die Laughing is one of the better punk records I’ve heard this year. They are able to take these influences and repurpose them in a way that doesn’t sound redundant or like they’re beating a dead horse.

Check it out now on Sell the Heart Records.

What do you listen to death metal for? Are you a riff-centric fellow? Do you prioritize emotional catharsis? Do you like super artistic statements or are you here for a collection of banging songs? Spain’s Altarage have carved out quite a career for themselves over the last decade, beginning life as a much more predatory Portal before branching out into elements of drone and audible disease, but never wavering in their commitment to the savage and violent. Seventh album Cogwheel is rooted in the plight of the industrial worker, a major thematic shift for a typically ethereal band. I’ve had the misfortune of working in a manufacturing warehouse for a few years, and I was very curious to hear how a group rooted in cosmic horror would handle such a down-to-earth topic, so clock in with me and let’s get ready for a long day at the office.

Despite being no slouch in requisite bursts of speed and blasts, the overall vibe of Cogwheel is morose and plodding. The chords are foul, with the constant smashing of Primitive Man and a bone-crushingly heavy guitar tone that sounds like slowly being buried under liquid cement.¹ It’s an album as gray as its cover, with cuts like “Wielder” offering up the methodicalness of Godflesh while drummer Phlegeton alternates between lightning assaults and drum-machine impressions. Look to “Future Wreck” for an industrial vibe, with mid-paced chords crashing together like factory gears, and Bassist Mikel Glez rumbling away under the noise. That theme of exhaustion and weariness is deeply embedded within the album’s DNA, as each cut beats you into submission over and over again.

Taken from the perspective of an average consumer of tunes, Cogwheel is a remarkably frustrating release. Songs are overly long, riffs are obnoxiously repetitive, and the drone elements are an annoyance in place of actual music. There’s an overreliance on quarter-note clanging, such as in “Not a Proper Burial”, (a gosh darn shame, as it also features one of the most devastating, and devastatingly short, riffs on the whole album), and “Peso Muerto” ends on completely atonal guitar scrapping in half notes for a full minute. There’s an unnecessary Sun 0))) tribute in all eight minutes of “1988” which does nothing for the album except being a track you regretfully recall existing. “Ichor” kicks off with nauseating strums and more half-note popping before evolving into a full-blown “Portal take you to your heaviest night at the opera” impression, with vocalist Javier going all in on vibrato-laced cleans which don’t quite suit the music underneath. And let’s not forget the three-minute ending of more string screeches, continuing the disquiet and the discontent.

And yet, when considered through the lens of what Altarage set out to accomplish, there’s an argument to be made that Cogwheel is an artistic joy.² Every major criticism hurled at it suddenly becomes an important puzzle piece when viewed as the depiction of the overworked and spiritually malnourished industrial laborer. The riffs sound beaten and defeated, much like the broken factory employee. The few leads sound dismal, angry, and bitter, much like (presumably) that worker’s inner being. The songs are needlessly excessive in length, much like a shift, and the actual music repeatedly descends into mindless cacophony, much like the background noise emanating without remorse from the machines all around. Without pounding the metaphor to dust, Cogwheel offers up an auditory example of “commit to the bit”, taken to the most extreme maximalism. “Industrial Offering” could make a great soundtrack for the line of workers slowly trudging into another abysmal day, clocking in and disappearing under the factory smoke, leaving behind them their dreams and aspirations for another round of soul-crushing misery. Suddenly, all of Cogwheel’s points of agitation reveal themselves as purposeful and impassioned, carefully arranged for peak affect on the focused listener.

What then, is the honest reviewer to do? Cogwheel isn’t for casual listening; there are only a few riffs on here of any note, and there’s no reason for it to be seventy-five minutes long. And yet, major credit must be given for crafting such an album, where what would be extreme blemishes in the hands of another band turn into a well-thought-out artistic presentation. And so, we return to the original question of why we listen to death metal. Let the arbitrary score be a starting point for you, dear reader, to answer for yourself. If you’re seeking something engaging, violent, and immediate, deduct a full point and keep it moving, as there’s little for you here. If you appreciate music as a transcendental art piece, add a full point and stand in wonder at a thoughtful creation from a very forward-thinking band. For my part, I can’t find myself reaching back to this record much, particularly over The Approaching Roar, but I still must declare Altarage’s mission a resounding success.

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Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Sentient Ruin Laboratories
Website: Official Album Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: July 31st, 2026

The post Altarage – Cogwheel Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

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A summer programme celebrating David Bowie at Lightroom in King’s Cross will feature live performances, pitch-black album listening sessions, an outdoor concert and a book launch exploring the artist’s record collection.

The events run alongside David Bowie: You’re Not Alone, Lightroom’s immersive production built around landmark Bowie performances. The show is scheduled daily until October, with evening screenings extended into January and a special celebration planned for 8 January 2027, which would have been Bowie’s 80th birthday.

Peter Gregson Responds To Bowie’s Berlin Era

Cellist and composer Peter Gregson will present six concerts at Lightroom on 3, 4 and 5 September, with performances at 7pm and 9pm each evening. Created as a response to the work of Bowie, Brian Eno and their contemporaries during the Berlin era, the shows will combine live music with bespoke visuals drawn from David Bowie: You’re Not Alone and live camera work.

Using Lightroom’s HOLOPLOT spatial audio system, Gregson’s programme will include a new arrangement of Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint for electric cello, Brian Eno’s Music for Airports, Gregson’s recomposed Bach Prelude and newly written pieces. Each concert will also feature a different selection of Bowie covers.

Pitch-Black Bowie Album Listening Sessions

Pitchblack Playback will stage two remaining sessions in complete darkness: Let’s Dance on 4 August and Earthling on 11 August, both at 7pm. Each album will be played in full through the venue’s spatial audio system, followed by a screening of David Bowie: You’re Not Alone.

Free King’s Cross Summer Sounds Concert

On 13 August, Bowie Nights will open King’s Cross Summer Sounds with a free outdoor concert at Coal Drops Yard from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

The line-up includes Ashaine White, Jack Kaye, formerly of The Magic Gang, and a surprise headliner. Each artist will include a Bowie cover in their set, reflecting his continuing influence on contemporary music.

White blends alternative rock with soulful vocals and emotive songwriting, while Kaye has returned with new solo material six years after The Magic Gang.

David Bowie Music Lover Book Launch

On 25 September, former Bowie publicist Alan Edwards will interview Bowie’s friend and collaborator Geoff MacCormack and co-author Jérôme Soligny about their new book, David Bowie Music Lover.

The book explores Bowie’s inspirations through his personal record collection. The event will also discuss Heritage of London Trust’s project to restore Bowie’s childhood home at 4 Plaistow Grove, a house MacCormack knew during his own childhood.

David Bowie: You’re Not Alone

Written and directed by Mark Grimmer and Tom Wexler, the immersive production uses footage selected from the David Bowie Archive in New York to revisit performances spanning Space Oddity, Diamond Dogs, Let’s Dance and Blackstar.

The soundtrack has been reconfigured for Lightroom’s spatial audio system by sound designer Gareth Fry. The production is fully authorised by the David Bowie Estate. Tickets and further information are available from Lightroom in King’s Cross.

“Celebrating the multifaceted nature of art and artists is one of Lightroom’s central missions.” Lightroom chief executive Richard Slaney said. “That’s what these Bowie Nights are aiming to do.

“Peter Gregson’s live shows in September will be a fantastic and truly unique opportunity to see a brilliant musician play a show that will feel completely new, just as with our Yuja Wang x Hockney concerts in 2023 and 2024, but this time celebrating the influence of David Bowie and his contemporaries.

“There’s also the chance to listen to Bowie’s own classic recordings in three pitch-black album listening evenings, which will be very special and a totally new format for Lightroom.”

Bowie Nights tickets are available from lightroom.uk/bowie-nights and David Bowie: You’re Not Alone tickets are available from lightroom.uk/whats-on/david-bowie-youre-not-alone

The post David Bowie Nights Bring Peter Gregson, Pitchblack Playback And Summer Sounds To King’s Cross first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.

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