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  • The Darkness announce best-of album and tiny London celebration show. “Crock Of Hits will hold you as you tremble. And gently force you to succumb to its aural splendour”

    The Darkness have confirmed that their forthcoming ‘best of’ compilation album Crock Of Hits will be released via Warner Music on November 27. News of the album first broke in May, when the band released their epic theme song for this year’s Masters Of The Universe movie.

    To celebrate the album’s release, Justin Hawkins & Co. will play the Moth Club in East London on September 17. The club has a capacity of just 300, whereas the band’s next scheduled appearance in London will be staged at the 20,000-capacity O2 Arena.

    Pre-sale tickets for the show at the Moth Club will go on sale via Dice at 10am UK time on Tuesday, September 8, with the general sale kicking off 48 hours later.

    “The first rule of Moth Club is, don’t fly into the lightbulb,” says Justin. “Just kidding – nocturnal Lepidoptera rejoice! We’re coming to play at the Moth Club. That thing about burning yourself to a crisp is more of a guideline than a rule, so come celebrate The Darkness on this special night and listen upon our works ye mighty and rejoice!”

    Due to what Dice are describing as “an error”, tickets to the show originally went on sale on Friday, prior to the band’s official announcement. These orders have been cancelled, and purchasers will be refunded.

    Crock Of Hits will be available in four different configurations – single vinyl, double vinyl, single CD and triple CD – with the extended formats containing live tracks, radio sessions, and a new edition of the Masters Of The Universe theme featuring Queen’s Brian May. Full tracklists below.

    Crock Of Hits will startle you,” proclaims Justin. “Hold you as you tremble. And gently force you to succumb to its aural splendour. A ‘best-of’ curated by us, so you can be certain it’s the bestest of the bestiest. Suck it up, people!”

    The band will promote Crock Of Hits with a UK and Ireland arena tour in December, with support from American country rock band Brothers Osborne and fellow Lowestoft rockers A at the Scottish, English and Welsh shows. Full dates below.

    The Darkness: Crock Of Hits packshot

    (Image credit: Warner Music)

    The Darkness: Crock Of Hits tracklist

    Vinyl LP
    1. I Believe In A Thing Called Love (Single Version)
    2. Growing On Me [3:30]
    3. Love Is Only A Feeling
    4. One Way Ticket (Radio Edit)
    5. Barbarian (Radio Edit)

    1. Open Fire (Radio Edit)
    2. Heart Explodes
    3. Nobody Can See Me Cry
    4. The Longest Kiss
    5. Rock And Roll Party Cowboy
    6. Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)

    Double LP
    1. I Believe In A Thing Called Love (Single Version)
    2. Love Is Only A Feeling
    3. Growing On Me
    4. Get Your Hands Off My Woman
    5. Friday Night [2:56]
    6. One Way Ticket (Radio Edit)

    1. Is It Just Me?
    2. Every Inch Of You
    3. She Just a Girl, Eddie
    4. Barbarian (Radio Edit)
    5. Open Fire (Radio Edit)
    6. Solid Gold

    1. Japanese Prisoner Of Love
    2. Rock And Roll Deserves To Die
    3. Heart Explodes
    4. Motorheart
    5. Nobody Can See Me Cry

    1. The Longest Kiss
    2. I Hate Myself
    3. Rock And Roll Party Cowboy
    5. Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)
    6. Masters Of The Universe (Full Version)

    Single CD
    1. I Believe In A Thing Called Love
    2. Love Is Only A Feeling
    3. Growing On Me
    4. Get Your Hands Off My Woman
    5. Friday Night
    6. Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)
    7. One Way Ticket
    8. Is It Just Me?
    9. Every Inch Of You
    10. She Just A Girl, Eddie
    11. Barbarian
    12. Open Fire
    13. Solid Gold
    14. Japanese Prisoner of Love
    15. Rock And Roll Deserves To Die
    16. Heart Explodes
    17. Nobody Can See Me Cry
    18. The Longest Kiss
    19. I Hate Myself
    20. Rock And Roll Party Cowboy
    21. Masters Of The Universe (full version)

    Triple CD
    1. I Believe In A Thing Called Love
    2. Love Is Only A Feeling
    3. Growing On Me
    4. Get Your Hands Off My Woman
    5. Black Shuck
    6. Friday Night
    7. Christmas Time (Don’t Let The Bells End)
    8. I Love You 5 Times
    9. One Way Ticket (Radio Edit)
    10. Is It Just Me?
    11. English Country Garden (Live)
    12. Knockers
    13. Every Inch Of You
    14. She Just A Girl, Eddie
    15. Street Spirit (Fade Out) (BBC Session)

    1. Barbarian
    2. Open Fire
    3. Hammer & Tongs
    4. Million Dollar Strong
    5. Roaring Waters
    6. All The Pretty Girls
    7. Buccaneers Of Hispaniola (Live)
    8. Solid Gold
    9. Japanese Prisoner Of Love
    10. Lay Down With Me, Barbara
    11. Rock ‘N Roll Deserves To Die
    12. How Can I Lose Your Love
    13. Heart Explodes
    14. We Are The Guitarmen
    15. Confirmation Bias

    1. Welcome Tae Glasgae
    2. Nobody Can See Me Cry
    3. Motorheart
    4. You Don’t Have To Be Crazy About Me… But It Helps
    5. Speed Of The Nite Time
    6. The Longest Kiss
    7. I Hate Myself
    8. Rock And Roll Party Cowboy
    9. Hot On My Tail
    10. Walking Through Fire
    11. Masters Of The Universe (Full Version)
    12. Mortal Dread
    13. Masters Of The Universe (Featuring Brian May)

    The Darkness The Best Of… UK and Ireland tour 2026

    Dec 01: Belfast The Telegraph Building, UK
    Dec 02: Cork The Savoy, Ireland
    Dec 03: Limerick Live At The Big Top, Ireland
    Dec 08: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
    Dec 09: Leeds First Direct Bank Arena, UK
    Dec 11: Manchester AO Arena, UK
    Dec 12: Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK
    Dec 13: Cardiff Utilita Arena, UK
    Dec 15: Brighton The Brighton Centre, UK
    Dec 16: London The O2, UK

    Find The Darkness tickets.

    The Darkness tour poster

    (Image credit: The Darkness)
  • Monte Warden & the Wagoneers – Doghouse Flowers

    Back in the day, before streaming or downloading, many people (most, perhaps) discovered new music by browsing record stores. While fine for artists that were easily categorized, that presented a problem for groups that were mashing together genres and trying to create a new sound. Austin was one epicenter of that creative experimentation, and one […]
  • 70,000 TONS OF METAL 2027: TALIA HOIT SET TO TAKE “WHEN THE SKIES FALL” TO THE HIGH SEAS – @thebeast

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    TALIA HOIT SET TO TAKE SYMPHONIC METAL TO THE HIGH SEAS AT 70,000 TONS OF METAL 2027
    Following the Release of Her Acclaimed New Album “When The Skies Fall,” Talia Hoit Joins a Stacked International Lineup Featuring Exodus, Wolfheart, Brymir, Avaland and More

    JACKSON, TN – September 3, 2026 – The timing couldn’t be better for Talia Hoit .
    Just days after the release of her powerful new full-length album “When The Skies Fall” via SAOL, a division of CMM GmbH , symphonic metal artist Talia Hoit has been officially confirmed for 70,000 Tons of Metal 2027 , bringing her music to one of the most prestigious and unique metal festivals in the world.
    Hoit’s appearance aboard the 2027 sailing comes at a pivotal moment in her career. Her second full-length album, released August 28, has already received international attention, including an impressive 8/10 rating from legendary German metal publication Rock Hard Magazine .
    Now, she is taking that music to sea.
    70,000 Tons of Metal 2027 will feature 60 bands performing two sets each , bringing thousands of metal fans together for an unparalleled festival experience aboard the ship.
    And the lineup is getting seriously heavy.
    Among the latest wave of artists announced alongside Talia Hoit are legendary thrash metal veterans Exodus , Finnish melodic death metal powerhouse Wolfheart , Finnish melodic metal act Brymir , cinematic metal project Avaland , and Famous Strangers , adding even more international firepower to an already massive 2027 lineup.
    For Talia Hoit, being selected for the festival represents a major new chapter following the release of When The Skies Fall .
    The album finds Hoit pushing her deeply personal songwriting into a larger symphonic metal landscape, combining intimate piano and vocal compositions with sweeping orchestration, powerful metal instrumentation, and emotionally charged performances.
    Rock Hard Magazine’s Iberis praised the album as an “even more powerful and evocative evolution” of Hoit’s 2024 debut Oceans , ultimately describing When The Skies Fall as:


    “A work as powerful as it is fragile.”


    The publication also characterized Hoit’s songwriting as “art born from urgent necessity, not commercial calculation.”
    Those words speak directly to the heart of Hoit’s music.
    Long before the songs became fully realized symphonic metal compositions, many began as personal reflections, poems, melodies, and emotional processing. Hoit describes this foundation as her “piano confessional” , where deeply personal experiences become the starting point for songs about identity, transformation, love, grief, loss, resilience, and emotional survival.
    Now those songs are headed to one of metal’s most legendary stages.
    And in the case of 70,000 Tons of Metal, the stage just happens to be floating in the middle of the ocean.
    FROM “WHEN THE SKIES FALL” TO 70,000 TONS

    The release of When The Skies Fall marks a significant evolution in Talia Hoit’s artistic journey.
    Following her 2024 debut album Oceans , Hoit has expanded her sound into a cinematic and emotionally expansive form of symphonic metal while maintaining the intimate songwriting foundation that makes her music uniquely personal.
    Singles including “All You Want” and “Again” have already introduced listeners to the album’s emotional world, while the complete ten-track record tells a much larger story of what happens when everything familiar begins to crumble and the struggle to discover what remains.
    That journey now continues aboard 70,000 Tons of Metal.
    For an artist whose music explores the tension between devastation and hope, there may be no better setting than a ship filled with thousands of metal fans, surrounded by ocean, with some of the world’s most respected metal acts performing just steps away.
    Talia Hoit is going to sea.
    And she’s bringing When The Skies Fall with her.
    70,000 TONS OF METAL 2027

    70,000 Tons of Metal is the world’s largest heavy metal cruise, bringing 60 metal bands and thousands of metal fans together for an unparalleled festival experience at sea. Every band performs two sets during the voyage, giving fans an opportunity to experience their favorite artists in an intimate and completely unique environment.
    The 2027 lineup continues to expand, with recent announcements including Talia Hoit, Exodus, Wolfheart, Brymir, Avaland, Famous Strangers and more.
    For official festival information and the latest lineup announcements:
    https://70000tons.com/home/
    WHEN THE SKIES FALL

    Artist: Talia Hoit
    Album: When The Skies Fall
    Genre: Symphonic Metal
    Release Date: August 28, 2026
    Label: SAOL, a division of CMM GmbH
    Format: Full-Length Album
    Tracks: 10
    Status: OUT NOW
    For Fans Of: Nightwish, Within Temptation, Epica, Delain, Evanescence
    LISTEN TO “WHEN THE SKIES FALL”

    https://orcd.co/wtsf
    Listen to “Again”:
    https://music.suricatemusic.com/Again
    ROCK HARD MAGAZINE REVIEW

    8/10
    “A work as powerful as it is fragile.”
    “Art born from urgent necessity, not commercial calculation.”
    Rock Hard Magazine – Iberis
    PRESS / MEDIA

    For press inquiries, interviews, reviews, premieres, features, and coverage: zach@metaldevastationradio.com


       Connect: 
    http://www.taliahoit.com/ 
    https://www.facebook.com/taliahoitofficial
    https: //www.youtube.com/@taliahoit 
    https://instagram.com/talia_hoit 
    https://open.spotify.com/artist/3XtANhnSi6eU5Ol9zegWvW
    https://taliahoit.bandcamp.com
    https://patreon.com/taliahoit
    Contact: taliahoit.management@gmail.com
    Photo Credit: Jonathan Betz 
  • New Name, Veteran Hands: VIOLENCE ONLY Detail Their Debut EP

    The name may be unfamiliar, but the musicians behind VIOLENCE ONLY are anything but newcomers to brutal death metal. Drawing personnel from Between The Killings, Stabbing, Flesh Hoarder, Horrific Visions, Embodied Torment and Enfrenzied, the US-based group will release its self-titled debut EP on November 6 through Comatose Music. After several delays, the five-track recording […]

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  • The Debut Grows Darker: SAGITTARIUS Release “Voice of Myst”

    “Disaster Dawn” opened the campaign for Abomination of Mind. Its follow-up now pushes SAGITTARIUS further into the darker and more progressive territory promised by their debut album. The Polish heavy metal band have released “Voice of Myst,” the second single taken from Abomination of Mind, which arrives worldwide on October 9 through Wormholedeath. Built around […]

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  • Rubber Band Gun Shares Surprise New Album Bloodwork Feat. Sam And Louise Sullivan & Star Moles

    Within the independent music world, there’s been a growing enthusiasm this year for Historic New Jersey, a recording collective and/or record label in Philadelphia making retro-tinted pop-rock, scrappy yet finely crafted, familiar but seemingly beamed in from an alternate timeline. The hype started to build in February, when Emily Moales graced us with her brilliant Star Moles album Highway To Hell, and it intensified this summer, when siblings Sam and Louise Sullivan released their charming and inspired Love & Devotion. Kevin Basko, whose home studio plays host to all this creation, has been regularly name-dropped in coverage of these projects, and it’s left me wondering when we’d get a potential breakthrough release from his own project, Rubber Band Gun. Without notice, that time has come.

    The post Rubber Band Gun Shares Surprise New Album <em>Bloodwork</em> Feat. Sam And Louise Sullivan & Star Moles appeared first on Stereogum.

  • Track Premiere: Grant the Sun Besmirch Musical Tedium with “Tedium”

    It always stops me in my tracks a little bit when I’m reminded that the same Martin Rygge that is responsible for one half of the guitar insanity in Oslo avant-grinders Beaten to Death is also responsible for one half of the chin-stroking technical wizardy in Oslo progressive metal trio Grant the Sun. The band took a small corner of the prog metal community by surprise with their debut, Voyage. Comparisons were drawn to Meshuggah, post-SYL Devin Townsend, newer Cynic and the like, none of which anyone in their right mind would dispute. Three years on and the band — also consisting of drummer Håvard Sveberg and guitarist/bassist/vocalist Markus Lillehaug Johnsen — are ready, set and itching to offer up their latest work, Biomes. Set to be issued by Mas-Kina on October 16th, Biomes continues in the same vein, though with an increased expansiveness in the chord selection and arrangement department and a greater sense of melodic maturity.

    “Tedium” is the album’s first single (and second track) and today we’re offering an advance listen. Says the band about the song: “‘Tedium’ is about the endless desert, a barren and boring landscape that never changes. It was one of those songs we had no idea how to approach when it came time to record the drums. The track is a bit all over the place, with an early Pantera vibe running through it, but somehow all those different elements came together in the end. We felt ‘Tedium’ became the perfect single to showcase what this record has to offer: unpredictable, restless, and heavy.”

    For more info, pre-orders and all that jazz, connect at:

    Bandcamp

    Instagram

    Facebook

    Mas-Kina Recordings

    The post Track Premiere: Grant the Sun Besmirch Musical Tedium with “Tedium” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

  • Metal & Beer Fest: Denver 2026 Is Only 3 MONTHS AWAY! Make Your Plans NOW!

    We’re just three months away from the return of Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Denver—the world’s loudest, heaviest, headbangingest, two-day craft beer event—so it’s time to make those December 3-5 weekend plans NOW!

    Southern doom supergroup Down make their first Denver appearance in over 12 years to headline Saturday night (December 5), while crossover thrash metal legends Suicidal Tendencies will unleash their first Denver headline performance in over eight years on Friday night (December 4).

    The already stacked artist bill, presented by BLKIIBLK Records, is rounded out by: legendary DMV grind force Pig Destroyer (performing a special 25th anniversary Prowler in the Yard set); reunited progressive psych sludge institution Kylesa; New York hardcore legends Cro-Mags (performing a special 40th anniversary The Age of Quarrel set); Denver’s own Americana gunslingers Wayfarer; freshly resurrected death/thrash/crust killers Black Breath; progressive sludge crew Intronaut (performing for the first time in over four years); masked mincecore marauders Haggus and Denver doom lords In the Company of Serpents.

    But that’s just the (sober) half of it! America’s most metal breweries and meaderies will descend upon the beer capital of America to provide essential suds to the soundtrack of crushing metallic thuds! Presented by American craft beer vanguard 3 Floyds Brewing (IN), the murderous maelstrom of malts includes Featured Breweries—and MeaderyWarPigs Brewing (IN), XUL Beer Company (TN), Brimming Horn Meadery (DE), Bear Cult Brewing Co. (DE), Odell Brewing Co (CO), Zymos Brewing (CO), Mythk Brewing (FL), Surly Brewing Co (MN), Left Hand Brewing (CO), plus pours from Ratio Beerworks (CO).

    Daily lineups can be found below. All ticket options for Metal & Beer Fest: Denver 2026, including single-day tickets, are ON SALE NOW!

    DECEMBER 4 TICKETS
    DECEMBER 5 TICKETS
    TWO-DAY TICKETS
    THREE-DAY TICKETS (INCLUDES PRE-FEST)

    IMPORTANT: We’re already down to an extremely limited number of three-day passes that include tickets to the official Metal & Beer PRE-Fest at Ratio Beerworks (Larimer Street location) on December 3 with Clusterfux,  Axeslasher and Victim of Fire. Full daily lineups below.

    DECEMBER 3 (Pre-fest at Ratio Beerworks)
    Clusterfux
    Axeslasher
    Victim of Fire

    DECEMBER 4 (at Fillmore Auditorium)
    Suicidal Tendencies
    Pig Destroyer
    (special Prowler in the Yard set)
    Cro-Mags
     (special The Age of Quarrel set)
    Black Breath
    Haggus

    DECEMBER 5 (at Fillmore Auditorium)
    Down
    Kylesa
    Wayfarer
    Intronaut
    In the Company of Serpents

    “Just Metal” Ticket (21+)

    Admittance to the day’s event, but as the name suggests, you just get to see the show—no beer samples.

     Metal & Beer” Ticket (21+)

    Admittance to the day’s event plus unlimited* sampling from our diverse lineup of national breweries presented by 3 Floyds. Decibel Magazine Metal & Beer Fest: Denver 2026 sampling cups provided. Limited tickets available per day.

    *Please note: In extremely extreme cases, certain high-ABV pours will be ticketed, with attendees receiving a limited number of tickets available to redeem for each offering.

    Hails and ales to our sponsors!

    BLKIIBLK Records
    3 Floyds Brewing
    WarPigs Brewing
    Relapse Records
    Metal Blade Records
    XUL Beer Company
    Dunable Guitars
    Nuclear Blast Records
    IndieMerchStore
    Brimming Horn Meadery
    Bear Cult Brewing Co.
    EMG Pickups
    Surly Brewing Co.
    Zymos Brewing
    Mythk Brewing
    Odell Brewing Co.
    Left Hand Brewing
    Prosthetic Records
    Infernal Spirits
    Tankcrimes
    Dark Descent Records
    Sauce Leopard
    Ratio Beerworks

    The post Metal & Beer Fest: Denver 2026 Is Only 3 MONTHS AWAY! Make Your Plans NOW! appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

  • Top 10 Rocking Rod Stewart Songs From The 1970s

    Rod Stewart Songs

    Our Top 10 Rod Stewart songs list covers the songs the legend released as a solo artist during the 1970s. Rod Stewart has released so much material and has been a member of so many bands that it would be impossible to make an overall top 10 Rod Stewart songs list that covers his entire career. We also intended to focus on his rock material from the 1970s. Although Rod Stewart released solo albums in the 80s and 90s, we narrowed this list to his classic songs recorded during the 1970s. Rod Stewart’s first official solo album was released in

    The post Top 10 Rocking Rod Stewart Songs From The 1970s appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

  • Conflict Without Respite: FEBRUUS Stream Their Second Album in Full

    There may be no 15-minute epic on Construction of Conflict, but FEBRUUS have hardly made their music easier to navigate. The Swedish progressive death metal project instead compresses its twists, rhythmic disruptions and stylistic collisions into eight tightly packed tracks, most of which run for approximately five minutes. The entire album can now be streamed […]

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