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  • Inscribed – Upon the Twisted Throne Review

    If you love Atheist and always hoped they would release music less subtle than Piece of Time, you’re in for a fucking treat. Inscribed’s debut Upon the Twisted Throne bursts at the seams with oodles of noodles and rippin’ death thrash, and its trappings are olde and raw, evoking aesthetics from a time long before this Miami sound machine was conceived. What Inscribed lacks in restraint, though, they counterbalance with white-knuckle enthusiasm as they barrel through nine bite-sized, bass-fraught knots of labyrinthine compositions. 2026 has witnessed a slew of exciting thrash and thrash-adjacent platters already, but when all is said and done, will Inscribed sit Upon the Twisted Throne and claim the crown?

    Though I consider Inscribed’s debut to be more thrash than death, Upon the Twisted Throne skirts many of thrash’s conventions. First, the band inhabits an interesting arena where the trademark palm mutes and chugs withdraw to make room for Inscribed’s guitar ‘n’ bass bonanza. Besides Atheist, Evie Austin’s ebullient bass recalls Cannibal Corpse’s Alex Webster and ex-Death, ex-Sadus bassist Steve Digiorgio’s frenzied fretwork, awhirl with ever-shifting moods and grooves. On guitar, Mario Alvarez occasionally röars into a Voivodian dimension via erratic riffing (“Demolition Zone”) and everything-but-the-kitchen-sink anarchy (“Time Still Passes”),1 while elsewhere he leans into Nocturnus-tinged eruptions and flurries (“On the Stage of Death,” “Evasive Mind”). Lucas Moore, the third leg of Inscribed’s tenacious tripod, pulls double duty on drums and vocals, sounding a dead ringer for Destruction’s Schmier with his sufficiently nasty growls while supplying a gnarly drum performance to boot. All told, the sheer aural audacity that Inscribed showcases is dazzling, and regardless of the influences they conjure, the end result downright sizzles.

    Inscribed’s performances delight across Upon the Twisted Throne, where no one lets off the gas for thirty-four minutes straight. Austin’s low-end machinations struck me hardest my first time through Throne, where she plucks, pops, and punches with an insatiable lust for MOAR. Her style solidly inhabits lead bass territory, effectively sharing duties with Alvarez, and together their tandem begets a heady brew. The opening salvo of “Inquisition for Hatred,” “Machinery of War,” and “Demolition Zone” wallops with unconventional structures and protean songwriting that never settles in one place before Upon the Twisted Throne twirls you in another direction. And really, the album does this its entire way through, never content to lock in on a melody or riff before jumping to another. In this way, Upon the Twisted Throne reminds me of Megadeth’s debut, where Inscribed packs in an album’s worth of seeds and ideas into each track. On one hand, this approach makes for listening that quakes with possibilities and rewards repeated spins, but it also erodes the memorability of individual riffs and songs.

    Inscribed covers an immense swath of notes in just over half an hour, cementing Upon the Twisted Throne as a vibrant debut. The production is raw yet clear, allowing listeners to pick out guitars, bass, drums, and vocals at any given moment. This is fantastic news given Inscribed wrote an album that oozes fun and intricacies worth exploring again and again. And though sometimes ‘fun’ can be code for silly, there’s nothing unserious about Upon the Twisted Throne. That said, there is an opportunity to hone the songwriting and give individual tracks more distinct identities, as Inscribed’s pure exuberance can make it difficult to latch onto specific passages. Still, the album is crafted with such blatant love for inspirations that the music becomes obscenely contagious.

    Upon the Twisted Throne quickly wormed its way into my ever-expanding 2026 thrash cache, where my favorite genre-specific releases get abused when I want to bang my head with a cold one (or two) in tow. Given the runway ahead of these precocious metalheads and how well they’ve coalesced in so short a time, Inscribed has potential written all over them. I’ve greatly enjoyed my time with these Florida folks, and if you’ve got the fortitude for a quick sesh of fiery death thrash, I highly recommend you pop a squat Upon the Twisted Throne.


    Rating: Very Good
    DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
    Label: Awakening Records
    Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
    Releases Worldwide: June 19th, 2026

    The post Inscribed – Upon the Twisted Throne Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

  • Vista Blue – So Much Music!


    I’ve noticed, and I am sure you have too: the sheer amount of music that’s out there and available to listen to these days is vast, overwhelming, and growing exponentially. But leave it to Vista Blue to remind us that that’s not necessarily a bad thing. On its new single “So Much Music!”, the band reflects on this world we now live in. There really is so much music out there that no one could ever keep up with everything. We will all die without hearing hundreds of records we may have loved. You’ve got new bands and artists popping up every day. You’ve got reissues of old stuff you love and old stuff you may have never heard but would like to hear. Heck, The Glow Bots broke up in ’98 while recording “Genie in the Amp,” and their label just released the unmastered tracks on Bandcamp. But you know what? It’s all OK! 

    This song manages to poke fun at the deluge of music that’s literally at our fingertips yet still frame it in an ultimately positive light. And the cover art is a tribute to all of you out there who love music too much to ever worry about there being too much of it. You can say that the worst thing about music today is that anyone can release a song. But isn’t that also the best thing about music today? Aren’t we better off without corporate suits dictating which music the world gets to hear? That would be like allowing one franchise to dominate Major League Baseball (oh, wait). Sure, with all the options people have for “consuming content,” it’s harder for bands to get anyone to listen or care. But still, you eventually find your niche and connect with your people. “So Much Music!” is a vintage Vista Blue song. It’s upbeat pop-punk that mixes humor with a genuine spirit of love for music. In a way, it’s like a sequel to  “Somebody’s Favorite Band.” You’ve got a lot of things going on in life and may never actually check out that new Chromadome EP. But someone out there knows every song by heart. 

    On the virtual B-side, the faster, punkier “She Only Listens To Blue” is another love letter to music geekery. It’s a simple concept, as it’s about a girl who believes that the blue album is the only good Weezer record. I could probably start a war if I stated an opinion on this topic, so I’ll just say a lot of you will have your own strong opinions one way or another. And isn’t that the sort of thing that makes it so much fun to be a rock nerd? You may know someone who only listens to blue. You may be that person. But you probably don’t have to travel far to find someone who is willing to die on the hill of Hurley having a couple of good songs. I like that the narrator in the song is a good sport about all of this. If two people with very different opinions about Weezer can maintain a functioning relationship, there has to be hope for this world. 

    I know what you’re thinking: What’s Vista Blue doing releasing music on any day other than Friday? Well, you know there’s so much music out there. Sundays are lighter traffic for new releases. And now you’ve got all week to find four minutes to listen to this gem of a single. Hey, all you bands out there putting music into the world: I salute you!

  • Top 10 Otis Redding Songs

    Otis Redding Songs

    Our Top 10 Otis Redding Songs list looks back at the career of one of the greatest singers of all time. While many R&B and soul singers became best known for either uptempo numbers or ballads, Otis Redding could dominate both. He could rock and swing with tremendous force, then make a listener feel every ounce of pain in one of his slow, wounded performances. It is impossible not to wonder what Redding might have accomplished if his life had not been cut short in a plane crash in 1967. He had already created an extraordinary body of work and

    The post Top 10 Otis Redding Songs appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

  • In the Market For Blues 2026 Photo Gallery

    40 blues bands ascended upon Omaha, Nebraska, for In the Market For Blues on August 1, put on by the Blues Society of Omaha. The all-day festival was held across 10 venues in downtown Omaha.

    The headliner of the festival was Texas Headhunters, the trio consisting of Jesse Dayton, Ian Moore, and Johnny Moeller.

    Performances captured by Blues Rock Review included the Texas Headhunters, Artur Menezes, Mathias Lattin, and the Omaha/Kansas City Kings of the Blues.

    View the 3-page photo gallery below.

    [See image gallery at bluesrockreview.com]

    The post In the Market For Blues 2026 Photo Gallery appeared first on Blues Rock Review.

  • Sebastian Bach is Starting a New Album

    The legendary hard rock vocalist tells UCR what fans can expect. Continue reading…
  • Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin and The James Clark Institute – Split single


    For the seventh time, Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin have released a digital split single that finds them swapping songs with another band or artist. If this just involved straight copies of the original songs (like you might hear at a live show), this series would have gotten stale by installment 2. But somehow Moss has turned the “Let’s both cover one of each other’s songs!” concept into a proper art form. I always look forward to these splits, and I’m always pleased by what I hear. Part of that is the musical diversity of the bands and artists Moss collaborates with. But an even bigger part of it is the approach.  

    In this latest installment, Moss teams up with Toronto’s The James Clark Institute. Moss notes that The James Clark Institute’s cover of “A Donkey” (from Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin’s album Now with More Rockets) is very, very different from the original. But he points out that’s an entirely good thing. “That’s what keeps me interested in doing this series of split singles, ” he says. “The one rule is that no one does a note-for-note cover. But beyond that, there are no limits on how one goes about reinterpreting the other’s song.” You can really hear that no-limits philosophy coming to life on TJCI’s version of “A Donkey.” While the original is all fire, fury, and snarl, Clark reimagines it in his signature style of modern and slightly quirky guitar pop. It’s fascinating to hear two very distinctive vocalists with extremely different styles put their stamps on the same song. Here the remake proves to be as powerful as the original but in an entirely different way. If you didn’t know better, you’d think Clark wrote the song, part of which is because he made many changes to the lyrics. It would not sound out of place on any of his records. 

    On their half of the split, Moss and Skin-Tight Skin cover “Bettie Page Rides A Donkey” from Clark’s album Sideshow Unattraction. That’s right: both songs on this release mention donkeys, which makes for a very cool connection. Moss, backed by Glenn Kowalski (from 7 Door Sedan) on lead guitar, Tom McNally on bass, and Steve Naff on drums, transforms Clark’s stripped-down, melody-driven original into a deliberately paced and somewhat other-worldly glam-punk rocker. The significantly altered arrangement and Moss’s cool, understated vocal delivery completely change the feel of the song. Moss and his band manage to honor the genius of Clark’s original, but they don’t hesitate to make it their own. This is what doing cover songs is all about! 

    Out of all the split singles Moss has done since he launched this project in 2024, this particular one shows the highest degree of creative reinterpretation yet. If you appreciate someone else’s song enough to want to record it yourself, you ought to appreciate it enough to want to make it your own. Both of these tracks here sound like almost completely new songs, and I love it! If you’re a fan of Rob Moss and Skin-Tight Skin, be on the lookout for another split (with TA-80) in September and a Moss solo single in October!

  • Steve Harris Would Only Change One Thing About Hated Maiden Album

    The bassist believes an adjustment to the 1990 record would save it, and says one track proves it. Continue reading…
  • DRAGONLAND Share Music Video For New Single “Survival Of Mankind” From Upcoming New Album “Prophecies”

    Swedish symphonic power metal veterans Dragonland have released “Survival Of Mankind,” the first single from their upcoming seventh studio album, Prophecies, due October 23 via Scarlet Records. A music video for the single is available now.

    Prophecies is described as a “hard-hitting and meticulously crafted symphonic power metal journey” encompassing soaring melodies, fast riffing and epic orchestrations. The album revisits and reimagines territory traversed by Dragonland in the past while exploring new terrain, covering epic fantasy stories, gripping ballads and blazingly fast power metal anthems across a diverse range of lyrical themes.

    Prophecies was produced, mixed and mastered by legendary Swedish producer Fredrik Nordström at his Studio Fredman — the facility behind landmark albums by In Flames, Arch Enemy and Hammerfall. The album artwork was created by Pedro Sena, whose portfolio includes work for Amon Amarth and Kreator.

    In July 2026, Dragonland announced the departure of longtime guitarist Olof Mörck — who also serves as guitarist and keyboardist in Amaranthe — and issued a statement: “a unanimous decision, and should not come as a surprise, as his immense success and hard work with Amaranthe leaves him with very little time available at his disposal.

    “Olof is an old and dear friend, and some of us go way back before Dragonland even started. We still remain the best of friends.

    “As a final contribution from Olof to the Dragonland universe, for the upcoming album, we have recorded a track written by him and Elias [Holmlid, keyboards] back in 2013. It is kind of a lost chapter and it felt truly special finally bringing it to life in the studio.

    “We wish Olof the absolute best with his future endeavors.”

    Dragonland’s current lineup is: Jonas Heidgert on vocals, Jesse Lindskog on guitars, Elias Holmlid on keyboards, Anders Hammer on bass, and Johan Nunez on drums.

    Dragonland formed in Sweden in 1999 and have spent more than two decades crafting meticulously arranged symphonic power metal with fantasy-rooted themes. Prophecies is the band’s seventh studio album.

    The post DRAGONLAND Share Music Video For New Single “Survival Of Mankind” From Upcoming New Album “Prophecies” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

  • Phil Collins Reveals He Nearly Died in 2024

    Genesis icon’s family considered switching off his life support machines during seven-month stay related to alcohol abuse. Continue reading…
  • Sid Wilson Breaks His Silence After His Reported Slipknot Firing By Launching A New Merch Store

    sid-wilson-promo

    Sid Wilson has posted publicly for the first time since TMZ reported he was permanently fired from Slipknot — and the post is a promotional video for his updated independent merch store, sidthe3rdshop.com. It contains no mention of Slipknot, the reports, or his status in the band.

    As of publication, neither Slipknot nor Wilson has confirmed or denied anything, and no reason for the reported dismissal has been given by anyone. The only responses from inside the band’s orbit have come from guitarist Jim Root, who urged fans not to believe everything they read, and Stacy Thomson, wife of guitarist Mick Thomson, who posted a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off gag about secondhand rumors.

    🎧 STREAM THE METAL BREAKDOWN DAILY NOW:

    On Monday’s Metal Breakdown Daily, Scott Penfold counts up three days of Slipknot signals — a guitarist saying slow down, a bandmate’s wife quoting Ferris Bueller, and Sid Wilson selling t-shirts like it’s any other weekend. What that pattern actually suggests, and the one reading that says the opposite. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and take the show with you.

    Three days. Still nothing.

    We covered the initial TMZ report on Friday and Jim Root’s response on Saturday. Here’s day three, and it’s the strangest installment yet.

    Sid Wilson finally posted. Everyone leaned in. And it was an ad.

    What He Actually Posted

    Wilson returned to Instagram with a short promotional video pointing fans at his revamped independent merch store, sidthe3rdshop.com.

    That’s the whole post. No statement. No mention of Slipknot. No mention of the reports. No acknowledgement that the entire metal internet has spent 72 hours arguing about whether he still has a job.

    Just: here’s my store, go buy something.

    You can read that as tone-deaf. You can read it as opportunistic — his name recognition is at a genuine all-time peak this weekend and a merch launch has never had better free promotion.

    But there’s a third reading, and it’s the one worth sitting with: that is not how someone behaves when their career just got detonated.

    A man who’s actually been cut loose from a band he’s been in since the late ’90s, permanently, with no warning, does not spend the next 24 hours cutting a merch promo. He goes quiet, or he lawyers up, or he posts something raw at 3am. Wilson did the most boring thing imaginable. He went back to work.

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    Add Up The Signals

    Here’s what almost nobody is doing with this story: counting.

    Signal one — Jim Root. Saturday night, the guitarist posted to his Instagram Story telling fans not to believe everything they read, to stop, think, take a breath, and wait for more information. He never named Wilson or TMZ. He also soundtracked it with “‘Til We Die,” the All Hope Is Gone closer about this band being bonded to the end. That song choice was not an accident.

    Signal two — Stacy Thomson. The wife of guitarist Mick Thomson followed with her own Instagram Story: the famous Ferris Bueller’s Day Off bit where a rumour gets relayed through a chain of somebody’s friend’s sister’s boyfriend’s brother’s girlfriend, ending with the punchline that it’s apparently pretty serious. She followed it with a second post telling people not to believe everything they read on the internet, and noting for the record that it’s a great movie.

    That’s not cryptic. That’s mockery. She is openly taking the piss out of the reporting.

    Signal three — Sid himself. Business as usual.

    Three data points, all pointing the same direction: nobody close to this band is behaving like a man just got fired.

    Meanwhile the band’s official channels show no lineup change. No replacement named. No statement. Nothing removed.

    Also Recommended – Slipknot Members 2026: Current Lineup And Who’s In The Band Now

    The Reading That Cuts The Other Way

    Now let’s be honest, because a one-sided article is a worse article.

    Silence from Slipknot does not automatically mean the report is wrong. It can just as easily mean lawyers.

    Slipknot is not a band, structurally — it’s a substantial business with corporate entities, publishing splits, merchandising rights and touring agreements attached to it. Removing a member who’s been there since the late ’90s is not a phone call, it’s a legal process. And while that process is running, the correct advice from any attorney is to say absolutely nothing publicly.

    Under that reading, everything above still fits. Root’s post could be him protecting a friend from a pile-on rather than denying the news. Stacy Thomson could be mocking the speculation about why rather than the fact of it. And Wilson posting a merch link could be exactly what someone does when they’ve just lost their primary income and need their independent revenue working.

    We’ve seen this band do the quiet exit before. Craig Jones simply stopped being there in 2023 and it was never really explained. Jay Weinberg found out and the announcement came later.

    So: two plausible readings, both internally consistent, and no way to choose between them from the outside.

    Where This Actually Stands

    Precisely, because precision is still in short supply:

    Reported: TMZ, July 31, citing one unnamed source with direct knowledge, says Wilson was told Friday afternoon that he was permanently removed from Slipknot.

    Confirmed: nothing. No statement from the band. No statement from Wilson. No reason given by anyone. No replacement. No change to the band’s official channels.

    Pushback: Jim Root urging patience without denying anything, and Stacy Thomson openly mocking the rumor mill.

    Wilson’s own contribution: a merch ad.

    That’s it. That’s the sum total of three days.

    There’s also been speculation spilling into Wilson’s personal life this weekend built on an Instagram repost that wasn’t even originally written by the person who shared it, with no stated context. We’re not touching that, and we’d suggest nobody else should either. There is a child in that situation, nobody has connected it to anything, and if this whole report turns out to be wrong, that’s going to look very ugly in retrospect.

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

    What We’re Watching For

    A formal statement is now overdue. When it comes, it’ll tell you which reading was right.

    If Slipknot confirms the departure, expect the usual: a short, warm, uninformative post thanking Wilson for his years of service. If the report was wrong, expect something sharper — and expect Root to be first through the door, because he’s already halfway there.

    Either way, Wilson himself will speak eventually. He always has.

    For the full context on his role in that band — the scratching under “Eyeless,” the industrial texture that gave the debut its unsettling edge — our Slipknot albums ranked and mask deep dive both cover how much of #0 is baked into the band’s DNA.

    Our Slipknot lineup page is being held at unconfirmed until somebody puts their name on a statement. Three days of cryptic Instagram Stories is not a source.

    TL;DR

    • What happened: Sid Wilson posted publicly for the first time since the firing reports — a promo video for his merch store, sidthe3rdshop.com
    • Did he address the reports? No. Zero mention of Slipknot or his status
    • Official confirmation: still none, from the band or from Wilson, three days in
    • Jim Root’s response: urged fans not to believe everything they read and to wait for more information — soundtracked with “‘Til We Die”
    • Stacy Thomson’s response: the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off rumour-chain gag, plus a follow-up telling people not to believe everything on the internet
    • Original report: TMZ, July 31, one unnamed source, no reason given
    • Slipknot’s channels: no lineup change, no replacement, nothing removed
    • Two readings: the pushback suggests the report may be wrong — or the silence is legal counsel while a member exit is formalised

    FAQ

    Has Sid Wilson said anything about being fired from Slipknot?

    Not directly. His first post since the reports was a promotional video for his merch store, sidthe3rdshop.com, with no mention of Slipknot or his status in the band.

    What is Sid Wilson’s merch store?

    sidthe3rdshop.com, his independent merchandise store, which he relaunched in an updated form and promoted on Instagram over the weekend.

    Is Sid Wilson still in Slipknot?

    Unconfirmed. TMZ reported on July 31 that he had been permanently removed, but neither Slipknot nor Wilson has confirmed or denied it, and the band’s official channels show no lineup change.

    What did Jim Root say about the Sid Wilson reports?

    Root posted to Instagram Stories urging fans not to believe everything they read and to wait for more information. He never named Wilson or the report, and did not deny it. The post was soundtracked by Slipknot’s “‘Til We Die.”

    Who is Stacy Thomson and what did she post?

    She’s the wife of Slipknot guitarist Mick Thomson. She shared the well-known Ferris Bueller’s Day Off gag about a rumour passing through a long chain of friends-of-friends, followed by a post telling people not to believe everything they read online — widely read as mockery of the reporting.

    Has Slipknot made an official statement?

    No. As of publication the band has said nothing, named no replacement, and made no change to its official channels.

    Why was Sid Wilson reportedly fired?

    No reason has been given by anyone — not the band, not Wilson, and not the source who spoke to TMZ.

    Three days, two cryptic posts from the Slipknot camp, one merch ad, and still not a single official word. What’s your read — is Sid out, or is this whole thing wrong? Let us know in the comments.

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    The post Sid Wilson Breaks His Silence After His Reported Slipknot Firing By Launching A New Merch Store appeared first on Loaded Radio.