I put this on expecting exactly what you’d expect from a new Nunslaughter record – fast riffs, blasphemy, a bit of chaos, maybe a couple songs I’d forget by the next morning New Nunslaughter always gets the first spin immediately. Been that way for years.
At this point Nunslaughter have been doing this for so long that you almost stop thinking about “new” records from them. They just exist. Another album shows up, Don of the Dead is still barking about Satan and desecration, and life goes on. But Satanic Chaos Legions actually feels sharper than I expected.
The first thing that hit me was how immediate it is. No dragging intros, no filler mood-building, no wasted space. The title track gets straight to work and by the time “Jesus Fucking Dies” kicked in I already knew this was going to stick better than I even thought. It’s got that stupidly simple hook that only Nunslaughter can get away with.
That’s always been their strength. Not complexity, not technical playing – just knowing when a riff is enough.
“Unsacrament” and “Peukharist” are probably the ones I kept coming back to most. Both have that old rotten feel, like something that could’ve fit on Goat without sounding out of place. Then “Cathedral of Stench” turned out to be the one I kept going back to most too. It drags more than the others, slower in parts, almost like it’s trying to crawl instead of run. Didn’t think that would be the one sticking in my head, but here we are.
Don sounds rough as hell on this thing. Maybe rougher than before. Works for me. Never wanted this band sounding sharp or polished anyway. Half the charm is that it feels like it could all fall apart if you pushed it too hard.
Same with the sound. Guitars are filthy, bass is buzzing underneath, drums cracking loud enough without taking over everything. You can hear what’s going on, but it still sounds dirty. That’s enough.
What I noticed after a couple spins was that nothing here feels mailed in. That’s the main thing. Plenty of old bands keep going because that’s what they’ve always done. This doesn’t feel like that. Feels like they were actually into it.
That’s usually what sticks with me anyway.
And yeah, it’s not Hell’s Unholy Fire. Didn’t expect it to be.
Fresh from the Halestorm set at Download, Lzzy Hale and guitar-slinger Joe Hottinger brought their Unplugged Sessions to The Garage in Glasgow for the first of five shows.
Lzzy & Joe Unplugged – The Garage, Glasgow – 14 June 2026. Photo: Mark Ritchie
Halestorm, throughout their history, have always been a people’s band, constantly touring and coming regularly to hundreds of different markets across the US, Europe and more.
Always happy to chat and have photos taken, calling out to the fans who do multiple shows from the stage, Lzzy’s open and honest discussions with fans on social media, the band and their freaks fan base, we are all the same is always the message.
Lzzy & Joe Unplugged – The Garage, Glasgow – 14 June 2026. Photo: Mark Ritchie
The problem with how successful they have been with that strategy is that over time, there are more and more people in their rock family and the venues have to get bigger to compensate.
As someone who saw their first Glasgow show as third act on a bill headlined by Theory Of A Deadman, I will not have been alone in watching them up on the city’s OVO Hydro Arena stage and feeling wistful about those smaller gigs of yore.
Lzzy & Joe Unplugged – The Garage, Glasgow – 14 June 2026. Photo: Mark Ritchie
It is for that reason there is such an air of anticipation in The Garage tonight. The scene of Halestorm’s first headline gig in the city is sold out again tonight, but this time for just half of the band.
Billed as an evening with Lzzy And Joe, this is not officially a Halestorm event, probably out of respect for the two missing members. But the freaks have come out in force to get to see two of their heroes up close and personal again.
No support, the two stars of the evening just wandered onto the stage and started doing their stuff. Honestly, it was just mind-blowing to see how easy this is for them.
Lzzy & Joe Unplugged – The Garage, Glasgow – 14 June 2026. Photo: Mark Ritchie
Starting with a couple of ‘spicy’ tunes, they are not afraid to get personal about their long-term relationship or pretty much anything else, including threesomes as referenced in Do Not Disturb!
Nothing is off limits, it seems, and while the set obviously must have pre-planned elements, you can see the chemistry between the two, the banter about their lives, and that a look or a word from either one through the set can take things off on a totally unplanned tangent.
Without the full rock band sound, the rockier Halestorm tunes like Love Bites and I Miss The Misery still worked, with raucous crowd sing-alongs and an audience rhythm section. But the format lends itself to making the gentler side of their sound become goosebump special.
The Silence was just amazing, Gold Dust Woman was the pick of the covers that were played, and Familiar Taste Of Poison sounded fresh and new yet still deliciously familiar.
Lzzy & Joe Unplugged – The Garage, Glasgow – 14 June 2026. Photo: Mark Ritchie
The obligatory Scotland tops and No Scotland No Scotland No Party section was a nice nod to their surroundings and a set closer of Here’s To Us was sung with huge gusto on and off the stage. Tell them to go fuck themselves indeed!
This was inevitably going to be a great night, Lzzy’s charisma and vocal chops, Joe’s easy yet eloquent acoustic stylings, a crowd who loved them both before they even set foot on the stage, the only mystery was which songs they would choose to wow us with.
Lzzy & Joe Unplugged – The Garage, Glasgow – 14 June 2026. Photo: Mark Ritchie
And wow us all they did. All I have to do now is persuade the full band to do week-long residencies in The Garage next tour instead of playing the OVO Hydro. Whatever the ticket price, it would be worth it.
Raise those horns, Glasgow, few have earned like these two legends.
Lzzy & Joe Unplugged – The Garage, Glasgow – 14 June 2026. Photo: Mark Ritchie
June
The Garage, Glasgow490 Sauchiehall St, Glasgow G2 3LW
Lzzy Hale and guitar-slinger Joe Hottinger will be bringing their much-loved Unplugged Sessions to five venues in June 2026. The Halestorm pair will play in Glasgow and roll through Southampton, London,
Event Details
Lzzy Hale and guitar-slinger Joe Hottinger will be bringing their much-loved Unplugged Sessions to five venues in June 2026. The Halestorm pair will play in Glasgow and roll through Southampton, London, and Dublin, before finishing up in Belfast. The dates arrive immediately after the band are slated to headline the Opus stage at 2026.
Lzzy Hale and guitar-slinger Joe Hottinger will be bringing their much-loved Unplugged Sessions to five venues in June 2026. The Halestorm pair will play in Glasgow and roll through Southampton, London,
Event Details
Lzzy Hale and guitar-slinger Joe Hottinger will be bringing their much-loved Unplugged Sessions to five venues in June 2026. The Halestorm pair will play in Glasgow and roll through Southampton, London, and Dublin, before finishing up in Belfast. The dates arrive immediately after the band are slated to headline the Opus stage at 2026.
Lzzy Hale and guitar-slinger Joe Hottinger will be bringing their much-loved Unplugged Sessions to five venues in June 2026. The Halestorm pair will play in Glasgow and roll through Southampton, London,
Event Details
Lzzy Hale and guitar-slinger Joe Hottinger will be bringing their much-loved Unplugged Sessions to five venues in June 2026. The Halestorm pair will play in Glasgow and roll through Southampton, London, and Dublin, before finishing up in Belfast. The dates arrive immediately after the band are slated to headline the Opus stage at 2026.
Lzzy Hale and guitar-slinger Joe Hottinger will be bringing their much-loved Unplugged Sessions to five venues in June 2026. The Halestorm pair will play in Glasgow and roll through Southampton, London,
Event Details
Lzzy Hale and guitar-slinger Joe Hottinger will be bringing their much-loved Unplugged Sessions to five venues in June 2026. The Halestorm pair will play in Glasgow and roll through Southampton, London, and Dublin, before finishing up in Belfast. The dates arrive immediately after the band are slated to headline the Opus stage at 2026.
Lzzy Hale and guitar-slinger Joe Hottinger will be bringing their much-loved Unplugged Sessions to five venues in June 2026. The Halestorm pair will play in Glasgow and roll through Southampton, London,
Event Details
Lzzy Hale and guitar-slinger Joe Hottinger will be bringing their much-loved Unplugged Sessions to five venues in June 2026. The Halestorm pair will play in Glasgow and roll through Southampton, London, and Dublin, before finishing up in Belfast. The dates arrive immediately after the band are slated to headline the Opus stage at 2026.
Billy Morrison takes a deep dive into his psyche with “Hollow,” the title track of the British guitarist, singer, and songwriter’s album of the same name out August 7 via TLG | ZOID distributed by Virgin Music Group. The sonically explosive and lyrically gripping single is released today (June 12) along with an artful and […]
There is a certain difficulty in reviewing this because part of the allure of this 40th anniversary is the package that comes with the physical releases on vinyl and CD. The accompanying books, containing rare photos, the liner notes and interviews is, for me the interesting part of this.
Throw in a live performance from 1985 (Bochum, Germany) which captures them in a raw, unpolished state where they were just starting to get their identity pulled together. Kerry King has said that this is where Slayer became Slayer and I’m not sure that I agree with that statement. It’s a favourite of Trey Azagthoth, but I also think that’s because saying Reign In Blood is your favourite is kind of a popular statement.
Personally, had they stayed on this course then we wouldn’t be treating them with the same reverence, but let’s put that to one side. The album itself still sounds like it was recorded in a cave but at least sounds clearer than its original state. I think that there is zero point talking about them, apart from they represent where King and Hanneman were inspired by at that time.
Longer songs, repeated lead breaks and a approach that felt that they tried to shoehorn as much as possible in each song. They haven’t tried to update it, overdub or add any frippery which is definitely in keeping with Slayer. For the album, if you liked it then, they you will like it now. What I do find is that these generally feel overlong, but at that time, and certainly when I first heard it around 87 or 88 (along with RIB) it was cool, but Reign was better.
The live album is warts and all, quality is so-so but that only adds to it. The primal energy is there, the intensity in performance that would only grow with subsequent tours. Some of the higgggghhhhhhhhhh notes that Tom hits, you forget that at the time Priest, Mercyful Fate screams were a massive part of what aspiring singers should be doing.
Using Black Magic as an example of this, the speed is increased with no loss in execution and the segue into Die By The Sword, the breaks in Tom’s voice as he keeps up with this pace is great to hear. Live, this is where the songs from Show No Mercy and Hell Awaits take on a better form, although I’m not sure where the extended lead break in Die came from, but I’ll take it anyway. As a live document of that time, its fantastic. Its one that showcases that as a live band they would tear the place apart.
Revisiting the songs, especially those that have remained relatively deep cuts has been great. The live album, yes its rough but that is the charm behind it. This is the real attraction in this release as something I’ve never heard before. Adding these to the booklets, ticket stubs that come with it, it is a fantastic release for fans of this band.
For giving it a score, the music alone deserves a 7. Reasoning behind it is simply that the songs, different from Show, and as good as they are, are just ok. Of course I’m saying this with the hindsight of what came next and how their sound developed. Put it together with the package, it’s a 9/10
What’s the best album Nikki Sixx has ever been a part of? No matter what you say the correct answer is The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack from his band Sixx A.M. Now ask the same question about Shinedown and you may get a few people with different opinions, however on their eighth album record, they’re definitely looking to write their definitive statement as a band.
Like that soundtrack record, EI8HT features a cinematic feel to it, musical ideas come from across the genre spectrum, with the heavy rocking of Dance. Kid. Dance, the hip shaking arena bait of Burning Down The Disco to Searchlight which made it’s debut at Grand Ole Opry, it’s a record where no ideas are overlooked or dismissed.
18 glossy, stadium size tracks, with risks that a band shouldn’t be taking eight albums into their career and with such a defined style behind them, but that’s never been enough for Shinedown, they’ve always courted the crossover crowd, pop lovers, country fans, classic rockers and their radio rock fandom all combined together here.
Now unlike a recent record I listened to that was over an hour, EI8HT flies by from the Def Leppard-like Three Six Five, to the blue collar nostalgia of Young Again and the modern edge of Bear With Me. There’s a myriad of influences on this record which will give it broad appeal but never makes it feel disjoined.
Even with the furious Machine Gun shifting to the the orchestral balladry of Back To The Living, through the electro thump of Deep End and the closing acoustics of The Pilot, EI8HT is a captivating album from Shinedown, touching on every part of their career.
I’ll be honest I didn’t want to like this, I wrote the band off after Sound Of Madness, but EI8HT could be their best album. 9/10
The Freqs – No God On The Gold Coast (Gum Cuzzler Records) [Spike]
If you’re going to claim you’re intent on “delivering high decibel raw energy through a couple of guitars and a drum set,” you’d better not show up with a polite, over-engineered record. Salem’s The Freqs have clearly taken that threat seriously.
No God On The Gold Coast is a short, sharp, and brilliantly chaotic debut that clocks in at just under twenty-six minutes, sounding less like a studio album and more like a live set recorded in a cellar while the police are banging on the door. It’s got that grimy, unstable friction of The Jesus Lizard or early Queens Of The Stone Age (back when QOTSA actually had some dirt under their fingernails) making it one of the most immediate, unpretentious rackets to land in the review box this year.
The album hits the ground at a full sprint with John Travolta, and immediately, the production choices stand out. It’s raw, it’s noisy, and it possesses a massive, analogue-heavy thud that feels like it’s vibrating in your very marrow. Guitarist Seth Crowell’s faulty pickups apparently spent the recording sessions catching accidental local radio interference between takes, and instead of cleaning up the signal, the band kept those weird, bleeding voices in the final mix. It’s a brilliant, “no safety net” choice that makes you feel like you’re sitting right in front of the monitors while the room is actively melting.
The momentum shifts into the frantic, heavy-set grooves of Chainsawman and Lo IQ. On Lo IQ, they make great use of a Robert Downey Jr. Wall Street sample to open the track, featuring a caustic vocal contribution from Nicholas Pentabona (Bedtime Magic) that sounds like a throat full of sand. The sheer velocity continues through CLEARANCE WRECK and It Might Be Rabies, where the band refuses to offer a single moment of “experimental” reprieve or radio-ready polish. It’s simple, direct, and incredibly loud.
One of the standout moments on the album is Secondhand Jesus, featuring Andrew Wong (Miracle Blood) on guest vocals, which leads into the pure, high-velocity blast beats of Short King. At just under a minute and a half, Short King is a total, teeth-grinding sprint that acts as a perfect, visceral pivot before they drag you into the final, sludge-drenched crawl of Nite Hag. It’s a sophisticated bit of pacing that keeps the album’s short runtime from feeling like a repetitive blur.
By the time the final, discordant feedback of Nite Hag eventually cuts out, you’re left with a silence that actually feels a bit uncomfortable. The Freqs have documented a state of total, frantic urgency. It’s the kind of record that acts as an unvarnished reminder that you don’t need a massive budget to make a massive impact. It’s a properly noisy debut which has got me checking the gig listings and hoping that they will be over to our side of the water sometime soon. 8/10 JPT Scare Band – Live At Crosstown Station (Ripple Music) [Rich Piva]
JPT Scare Band is an important part of Ripple Music history (look it up) and this lost recording, Live At Crosstown Station, captures a band that started bringing out their proto-heavy and psych in the 70s live in Kansas City in 2011 in all of their glory and where they belong, on the stage ripping it up.
Live At Crosstown Station is five tracks of the band ripping up their bluesy proto goodness, with the opener, Hungry For Your Love, bringing it all and setting the stage for this killer set. The recording sounds amazing, especially how the rhythm section was captured.
Terry Swope is a psych guitar god who should be way more known then he is, and he certainly proves that on this recording, especially on the opener and on Hungry Amazons. The closing two tracks, Acid Blues and I’ve Been Waiting, is 17 minutes of heavy proto psych that fans of bands from Leaf Hound, to Golden Earring, to Blue Cheer will love. Great stuff.
I ask a lot of Todd and Ripple Music, but I will keep doing it as long as he keeps releasing such killer stuff. Bring us some more JPT Scare Band! If there is more in the vaults that is remotely close to Live At Crosstown Station it needs to be consumed. Killer. 8/10
12th June 2026 Support: Midnight, Cryptosis Words: Dan Barnes Photos: Rich Price
Back at the Rebellion Bar in Manchester for one of the most anticipated events of the summer – for me, anyway. While the masses have braved the elements and relocated to Leicestershire for the Download festival this weekend, and are enjoying Limp – and probably soggy – Bizkits, we’re ensconced in the smouldering heat of Rebellion for one of the most Metal shows on the calendar this year.
Dutch destroyers, Cryptosis, have been able to witness the co-headliner carnage first hand every night on this tour, and as the last English date arrives, the three-piece is in devastating form. Firing up with a spooky intro, Faceless Matter gets things moving, with smoke pots and some serious power trio action. This is the most metal you’ll see: pure, unadulterated dedication to the craft of pummelling an audience. Blending uncompromising pace with atmospherics and a blackened thrash approach pays dividends as they move into Reign of Infinite, also taken from last year’s Celestial Death sophomore record. There’s a Venom energy in the vocal delivery of Laurens Houvast, who evokes the classic metal of back-in-the-day by playing shark-fin guitar.
Rhythm section of bassist Frank te Riet and drummer Marco Prij create a rock-solid platform upon which Laurens can operate, with Marco setting the precedence for the evening for superlative drumming. It’s Cryptosis’ first time back in Manchester since 2022 and their shows with Vektor, and they appear to have recaptured that thrashing momentum into The Silent Call. Third newbie of the night, Absent Presence, slows things down but increases the intensity for a doomy head-bobber; In Between Realities speeds thing right up again. It’s back to the 2021 debut for the closing duo of Death Technology and Transcendence, arriving as they do with youthful exuberance and blasting smoke pots. What a way to start the show!
It’s rammed solid for Athenar and his blackened thrash machine that is Midnight as they continue to celebrate fifteen-years of their debut full-length, Satanic Royalty. Another three-piece, masked and mysterious, Midnight blast off by going way back to the very beginning with demo track, Unholy and Rotten’s classic heavy metal sound. Second record, No Mercy for Mayhem is represented by the infectious chorus of Evil Like a Knife’s speed metal assault; it’s a foot to the floor riotous number that sees the first surfer heading over.
Then it’s a full play through of the debut record from the title track’s dirty riffing and thunderous bass lines to the thrashing beats and crash-ending of Shock Til Blood, it’s another punishing masterclass of how to do Metal. Classic gallops colour Necromania, Black Damnation veers between caveman aggression and precision technicality; Rip this Hell suggests being a ballad before ripping into something heavy and intense, and Lust Filth and Sleaze is primed to make you break the speed limit.
Athenar admits his love for the United Kingdom and its history as far as heavy music is concerned, leading into the very Venom speed metal of Violence on Violence. He even helps a surfer onto the stage without missing a bass beat during Savage Dominance, before calling for Manchester’s best football chant, admitting he’s drinking water, and waxes lyrically about the dubious benefits of Carlsberg Special Brew. Climaxing with the abrasive punk attitude of Fucking Speed and Darkness and the Metal-as-Fuck F.O.A.L. – or Fuck Off and Live – it’s hard to imagine watching a support band that makes you forget that there’s a headliner to come on. Even more so when Voivod is that headliner, but such was the nature of this Midnight set.
Whispered concerns were being muttered of how Voivod could follow what Midnight just did, but you don’t have forty-five years under your belt, fifteen records, a bunch of EPs and Live albums, as well as a rabid fan-base and limitless respect for ingenuity for nothing. Impossible to define and even more impossible to emulate, these Canadians have forged a career from being utterly unique and following their own path. The crowd appears to have thinned out a little after Midnight’s set, but those of us left are ready to pay homage to one of Metal’s most innovative and enduring acts.
With no new record to promote, other than the live Symphonique album, the band use this opportunity to take Manchester on a whistle-stop tour of their vast discography. Experiment and Tribal Convictions, both from 1988’s classic Dimension Hatröss album start the set, bookending the more contemporary – though no less essential – Obsolete Beginnings from The Wake. The organisation of the tracks show that Voivod have never really stood still, and their progressive, spacey extremity was as vibrant and vital in 2018 as it was in 1988.
After the hypnotism of Tribal Convictions, it’s back to the Eighties and the Rrröööaaarrr record for the balls-out thrashing of Korgüll the Exterminator, as Chewie blasts those old riffs like they were his very own. Nothingface’s The Unknown Knows has a grooving pattern and Snake scats over the mid-section as only he can; he admits to needing to stretch his vocal cords out a little for the only detour into the Eric ‘E-Force’ Forrest era material, Nanoman, and to his credit, Snake does a credible job outside of his usual comfort zone.
A war-torn Tornado follows; Snake and bassist, Rocky, drape covers over their heads in tribute to Midnight, before smashing into the debut album’s title track, War and Pain. This is what a sweetly purring machine looks and sounds like, with every facet operating at prime levels. Chewie’s fretboard is almost down to the wood in most places and behind the kit, constant and founding member, Away, might look like a university professor, but he’s the scourge of any drums he sits behind.
Graphics on the rear screen spool through a series of album art inspired images which, when studied, are deeply disturbing. Deep cut, Condemned to the Gallows, the first song the band ever recorded and included on 1984 To the Death… demo, has started to get played more of recent years, after spending four decades in storage. Pink Floyd’s Astronomy Domine sums up Voivod to perfection with it’s spacey, progressive vibes, it’s as much their song now as it is Floyd’s. Leaving only the band’s eponymous song, Voivod, to bring an end to the set and the evening.
Were Voivod in any danger of not competing with Midnight? Possibly not, but when two awesome band like this lock-horns, the only winner are the folks with the tickets in their hands. We’re only halfway through June and there’s already been so many great gigs this year that December’s End of Year poll is shaping up to be a joyous headache.
Ontario, Canada-based tech deathcore/death metal five-piece Eaten By Sharks premiere a new single and lyric video by the name of "In Tidal Chaos". The track is taken from their upcoming new album "The Undertow Of Hate", which will be out in stores July 17, 2026 via CDN Records.
Check out "In Tidal Chaos" streaming via YouTube and Spotify for… Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com
Austin, Texas-based deathcore outfit Bludgeon The Weak premiere a new single and music video by the name of "Loss of a Figure". The track is taken from their current EP "Execution", out in stores now.
Check out "Loss of a Figure" streaming via YouTube and Spotify for you now below.
Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com
Gold-certified metalcore outfit Ice Nine Kills have begun rolling out their new single, “Play Dead”, a horror-themed collaboration with the popular asymmetrical multiplayer game Dead By Daylight.
The partnership adds another chapter to the band's long-running fascination with horror culture and media. Dead By Daylight itself has a history of… Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com
New Nunslaughter always gets the first spin immediately. Been that way for years.
