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Arckanum are back and stronger then ever before. Driven by Thursian Power, Shamaatae has just finished the recordings of the upcoming long player Beswærilsin, which will be released this October through Darkness Shall Rise Productions. To shorten the wait, a special pre-release EP Motestandarin will be released later this month, featuring two tracks from the upcoming album.
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Independent heavy and alternative music gathering Uprising Festival has officially announced its return for a landmark tenth edition. Rebranded as Uprising X, the two-day event is scheduled to take place on 9th–10th April 2027. The announcement brings a monumental structural shift for the independent staple, which is permanently relocating from its historical roots in Leicester … Continue reading Uprising Festival relocates to KK’s Steel Mill for landmark tenth edition: Uprising X

For the second time this month, I seem to have selected a band for review that was born from the ashes of another. Goddess, a stoner doom collective from Stockholm, Sweden, was formerly known as Goatess. Purgatory Under New Management and Blood and Wine were both warmly received by Saunders in 2016 and 2019, respectively. Following the departure of founding guitarist Niklas Jones afterwards, the remaining members decided to rebrand as Goddess. Does the debut Ritual of the Cloven Hoof herald a divine ascension for these horned disciples?

By and large, Goddess doesn’t sound all that different from Goatess. The core songwriting pillars are still the lumbering, looping grooves of Electric Wizard and the swaggering, bluesy stoner riffs of Sleep. Karl-Martin Bruhe, who was also the vocalist on Blood and Wine, has a gravelly, smoky edge to his voice that adds a good amount of pep. He reminds me a bit of Aganoor’s Dan Ghostrider, albeit in a less grungy, more chilled-out environment. These building blocks, which form the backbone of Ritual of the Cloven Hoof, may seem simple on the surface, but they are arranged in different combinations to produce an impressive variety of power levels as the record unfolds.

Goddess is at their best when they play at either extreme of this spectrum of intensity. My favorite moment in “Inquisition” occurs midway through when they take a break from the traditional licks and grooves, switching to hypnotic tom rhythms which combine perfectly with the psyched-out guitars. This style is also used to great effect in the intro of “To Be King,” which gradually ramps up and culminates with some unexpectedly vicious growls and snarls in the final verse. Ritual of the Cloven Hoof would have benefitted from more of this aggression, which is otherwise absent outside of a brief moment towards the end of “Blood Fever.” Drummer Kenta Karlblom is perhaps the most important influence, making the ebb and flow feel natural, with subtle yet satisfying fills and transitions.

As I spent more time with Ritual of the Cloven Hoof, I noticed an inverse relationship between song length and song quality. “Godless” and “Born Again Heathen” are solid enough slabs of doom metal, but they spread too few riffs over too many minutes. The latter feels especially plodding and could have done without the spoken word segment or such a long psychedelic jam in the middle. The upbeat hard rock riffs that open the next (and shortest overall) track “Devil’s Reef,” are like a breath of fresh air afterward. That said, the total runtime is a tight 38 minutes, which is much more digestible compared with the hour-plus runtimes of all three Goatess records.

With Ritual of the Cloven Hoof, Goddess picks up right where Goatess left off without missing a beat. Prior fans will not be disappointed by this new incarnation. Goddess continues to traverse a wide swath within classic doom and stoner rock, at times thick and weighty and others mesmerizing and easygoing. Ritual of the Cloven Hoof resolves prior issues of overall bloat, although some of the longer tracks overstay their welcome. Slower stretches notwithstanding, stoner doom enthusiasts willing to undertake this pilgrimage will uncover ample rewards from this ritual.

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Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Majestic Mountain Records
Websites: goddessbandofficial.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/baldersounds
Releases Worldwide: May 22nd, 2026

The post Goddess – Ritual of the Cloven Hoof Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Chad Gray completed a successful mini run with several sold out shows. He feels the metal kids have spoken and they want more. So, the legendary vocalist Chad Gray of Mudvayne and Hellyeah has added more shows around the U.S. for this coming Fall. Gray hopes everyone will join him in celebrating his 30 year career with 30 Years of Madnesss wherever they can! These unique events will feature hits of Mudvayne and Hellyeah with special guest Marcus Rafferty (Touring Guitarist for Mudvayne), Devin Attard on drums, Nick Villarreal on bass, and Joe Bonasorte on Guitar.  

Support on the tour will come from Butcher Babies and Devils Cut.

Presale Tickets will be available starting June 9th with a Citi presale at 12pm local.  Additional presales will run throughout the week ahead of the general on sale beginning on Friday Jun 12th at 10am local time.

Chadnesss Dates:

• July 17 – Cadott, WI – Rockfest *
• August 28 – Bloomington, IL – The Castle Theater
• August 29 – Kansas City, MO  – VooDoo at Harrah’s Kansas City
• August 30 – Des Moines, IA – Wooly’s
• September 1 – St. Louis, MO – Delmar Hall
• September 2 – Lincoln, NE – The Bourbon Theatre
• September 3 – Minneapolis, MN – Varsity Theater
• September 5 – Milwaukee, WI – The Rave/Eagles Club – Eagles Ballroom
• September 6 – Chicago, IL – Outset
• September 8 – Cadillac, MI – The Venue
• September 9 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues
• September 11 – Boston, MA – Big Night Live
• September 12 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount
• September 14 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts
• September 15 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
• September 17 – McKees Rocks, PA – Rosina Theatre Presented by Citizens
• September 18 – Louisville, KY – Louder Than Life Festival *
• October 2 – Sacramento, CA – Aftershock Festival *
• October 4 – Los Angeles, CA – The Bellwether
• October 5 – San Diego, CA – House of Blues
• October 6 – Santa Ana, CA – Observatory OC
• October 10 – San Antonio, TX – The Aztec Theatre
• October 11 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
• October 12 – Dallas, TX – The Studio at The Factory
• October 14 – New Orleans, LA – House of Blues
• October 16 – Clearwater, FL – OCC Road House & Museum – Music Hall
• October 18 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore Charlotte – The Underground
• October 19 – Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
• October 20 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl

* Festival Dates

Tickets can be purchased here: www.chadnesss333.com

Since forming Mudvayne in 1996 and Hellyeah in 2006, Chad Gray’s voice has captured  metal hearts all across the world. Gray wants likeminded people who have been along  for the ride  to join him and go down the rabbit hole in celebrating “30 years of Madnesss” with both Mudvayne and Hellyeah songs.  

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Follow CHAD GRAY:

• https://www.chadnesss333.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/chadgrayofficial/
• https://www.instagram.com/chadnesss/

The post Chad Gray 30 Years of Madness Continues with Fall 2026 Dates appeared first on Go Venue Magazine.

It’s amazing to think there was a time when BIG|BRAVE performed as an acoustic project. During the early 2010s, the then-nascent band were a folk duo. Their evolution since – from duo to trio – has dramatically broadened the band’s scope. During this time, the Canadians have traversed most of experimental rock’s many hues, but drone and doom metal remain their specialities. With their latest album, there’s another new addition, that of longtime touring bassist Liam Andrews. BIG|BRAVE are sonically expanding once more.

While not vastly different from some of the band’s previous work, their tenth album – ‘in grief or in hope’ – does lean liberally into the abstract. While BIG|BRAVE do remain within the ballpark of folk-tinged drone music, there aren’t many riffs here. Previous releases, such as 2024’s magnificent ‘A Chaos Of Flowers’, were undeniably experimental. But the music was consistently underpinned by easily identifiable riffs. While there are some riffs on ‘in grief or in hope’, they do not constitute the album’s defining features.

The band don’t play their instruments on ‘in grief or in hope’; they interact with them. It’s a lofty claim, but one that’s evidenced by the album’s credits, which list every musician as “playing” the amplifier. Take note of this: a tool used to make an instrument louder is now the instrument itself. The result; noise. And, for the most part, it’s actually rather beautiful.

Take ‘what may be the kindest way to leave’, the album’s opener and, at just over 7-minutes, its scene-setter. The piece is built around a distorted soundscape that is suspended in motion; quivering underneath its own weight. It possesses a quiet heftiness. To this end, BIG|BRAVE have tamed noise. Despite the constant threat that it will escape them, ‘in grief or in hope’ remains remarkably controlled under their watchful stewardship.

Their skilful compositional approaches lead also to the hazy soundscapes that underscore ‘holding tongue’, as the gentle ringing of strings swell with each dizzying release. It adds a protean quality to proceedings; equally pleasant on the ear as it is difficult to predict.

The counterpart to all this is Robin Wattie’s voice. The noise of the album is all-consuming, but Wattie ensures everything remains grounded. Her vocals are intimate. Whether distantly obscured behind growing instrumental swirls in ‘the ineptitude for mutual discernment’ or upfront and wounded during ‘a shape of shame’ – her performances here are frequently breathtaking.

The sound of Wattie’s vocals is further enhanced by the content of her lyrics. Grief and hope are the album’s underlying emotions, but the expressing of these emotions is impressionistic – there aren’t many lyrics across the album in general. This is a mixed blessing. While there are occasions when the brevity of Wattie’s words reads like an indecipherable extract from ‘Finnegans Wake’, BIG|BRAVE do frequently produce fractions of sentences that are themselves pure poetry. Simple phrases become elevated by Wattie’s expressive voice: “I am tested while you get to walk away” from ‘verdure’, for example, is suitably chilling.

BIG|BRAVE’s purposefully, and mostly successfully, vague approach to lyrics neatly centres on the album’s core themes, but they are perhaps best explored on ‘skin ripper’. “The truth of grief lies in what is left of hope” is a lyric that effectively summarises what ‘in grief or in hope’ stands for. It is a lyric that invites meditation. Is hope the antidote to grief, or is grief itself so painful precisely because it thwarts all hope? By adopting an ambiguity to their lyrics, BIG|BRAVE allow us as listeners to ask these questions. As if to emulate this, ‘skin ripper’ is then bolstered further by a shrewd approach to tempo, whereby rhythmic undulations ebb and flow between the conflicting yet strangely intertwined dual emotions.

This all then culminates with the album’s closing title track, which bluntly asks: “when does one feel the most/is it in grief or is it in hope.” It is apropos that only this far into the album do BIG|BRAVE fully form such a manifesto. The album subsequently becomes a live self-led journey that aims to uncover the complexities of these feelings. Heaving crushes of distortion accompany this resolution as a solution is finally reached.

And then… the album ends. Abruptly, and with no fanfare, it simply finishes. It’s an unusual finale that is, intentionally perhaps, underwhelming. But having traversed mountains of distortion and an even heavier emotional foundation, such a unanimous conclusion is, while odd, strangely satisfying. And strangely hopeful too.

BEN WILLIAMS

Posted on June 10th 2026, 11:57a.m.

To celebrate 20 years of existence, Nekrogoblikon have announced a month-long headlining tour over the lands of North America. Aborted, Signs Of The Swarm, and Party Cannon will join them as support.
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Following the high-voltage impact of “Electrifyed”, the Tygers Of Pan Tang return with ‘Forevermore‘, a track that continues to showcase the band’s ability to fuse classic NWOBHM roots with vivid storytelling and renewed creative fire on the way to the British band’s upcoming album. Built on a soaring, riff-driven foundation and infused with a strong […]

The post Tygers Of Pan Tang Release ‘Forevermore’ From Their Upcoming Studio Album appeared first on ROCKPOSER DOT COM.

Heavy metal four-piece from Brazil, Malvada, has debuted a visualizer video for their newly streaming single titled “Aventura Favorita”.
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Thirty years after the tragic loss of frontman Bradley Nowell, California’s premier ska-punk icons Sublime have defied the impossible. The band has returned with their new album Until the Sun Explodes (June 15), their first full-length studio album of entirely original material since 1996. Arriving via Atlantic Records, this highly anticipated 21-track LP is a […]