Pacific Northwestern doom and drone masters Sunn O))) previously announced a new, self-titled album was coming out on April 3 via Sub Pop. They also announced a North American tour and released the album’s first single not too long ago. Well, earlier today they kinda repeated themselves by announcing an E.U. and U.K. tour and released the second single off their upcoming album, titled “Butch’s Guns”.
With this being the duo’s first album in six years, it’s a pretty big deal. This second single is thick, sludgy, and supremely heavy. At times, it drones on to a point of almost being painful to listen to — there are parts where their sound just rattles in my brain case.
Additionally, if you live in the U.K. or European Union, you’re in luck because the band also announced some tour dates in that part of the world. The tour will run from June 23 in Zurich and come to a close on July 7 in Berlin.
Sunn O))) will be released on April 3 via Sub Pop, but you can preorder your copy today. Additionally, you can make sure you get to see Sunn O))) live by checking the announced tour dates and getting your tickets today.
Sunn O))) U.K. and European Tour Dates
06/23 Zurich, CH @ Rote Fabrik 06/24 Antwerp, BE @ Trix 06/25 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso 06/26 Köln, DE @ Essigfabrik 06/28 Bristol, UK @ Prospect Building 06/29 Brighton, UK @ Corn Exchange 06/30 Liverpool, UK @ The Dome 07/01 Leeds, UK @ Project House 07/02 Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute 07/03 London, UK @ Troxy 07/06 Berlin, DE @ Silent Green (Betonhalle) 07/07 Berlin, DE @ Silent Green (Betonhalle)
Sunn O))) North American Tour Dates
04/01 Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren 04/04 Austin, TX @ Emo’s 04/05 Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall 04/06 New Orleans, LA @ Civic Theatre 04/07 Atlanta, GA @ The Goat Farm 04/09 Columbus, OH @ The Bluestone 04/11 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer 04/13 Montreal, QC @ Le National 04/14 Toronto, ON @ 131 McCormack 04/16 Chicago, IL @ Salt Shed 04/18 Iowa City, IA @ Englert Theatre 04/19 Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
Following his recent Thick Neck single, LA rapper Ando San has just dropped another new tune. As well as having a grooving riff, iLL sees him recalling his metal youth and screaming in his own music for the first time.
“iLL is a song that highlights how trying to build a career as an independent artist requires so much work and so many decisions to be made all the time, that it can physically make you unwell,” he shares. “Musically, this song is a culmination of my metal and hip-hop roots. I’ve never really had harsh vocals in my music, and I’ve always been able to do it since I was a teenager – I actually started out as a metal vocalist before I was a rapper.”
What Does ‘Your Favorite Toy’ Reveal About Foo Fighters’ New Era?
The title track signals a tonal shift — leaner, moodier, and laced with sardonic bite — while preserving the band’s unmistakable DNA.
TL;DR:
Foo Fighters announce twelfth studio album Your Favorite Toy Title track debuts as first new music of 2026 Album arrives April 24 via Roswell Records/RCA Records Massive “Take Cover” world tour launches June 10 Queens Of The Stone Age joining as direct support on most North American dates
After more than two decades of defining mainstream rock’s emotional and sonic backbone, Foo Fighters are once again rewriting expectations.
The band has officially announced their twelfth full-length studio album, Your Favorite Toy, arriving April 24 — and the opening statement is already here.
The Title Track Lands With A Different Kind Of Edge
“Your Favorite Toy” doesn’t creep in politely.
It hooks instantly — but not with the bright, celebratory surge many fans might expect.
Instead, the track pulses with:
• Jagged, fractured guitar textures • Unsettling keyboard stabs • A relentless rhythmic drive • A distinctly sardonic Dave Grohl vocal tone
Lyrically, Grohl leans into something darker, taunting, almost venomous:
“Get back. Hear that, boy? Someone threw away your favorite toy for good.”
It’s catchy. It’s tense. It’s unmistakably Foo Fighters — yet unlike anything in their catalog.
Grohl describes the track as the creative ignition point: “‘Your Favorite Toy’ really was the key that unlocked the tone and energetic direction of the new album… It was the fuse to the powder keg of songs we wound up recording. It feels new.”
That phrase — “feels new” — carries weight for a band this deep into their career.
Because reinvention at this stage is rare.
The Album: Lean, Focused, And Intentionally Cohesive
Recorded at home and co-produced by the band alongside Oliver Roman, the album presents a tight, purposeful tracklist:
Caught In The Echo
Of All People
Window
Your Favorite Toy
If You Only Knew
Spit Shine
Unconditional
Child Actor
Amen, Caveman
Asking For A Friend
Notably, “Asking For A Friend” — released last year — now sits as the closer, reframing that single within a larger creative arc.
The Tour Machine Reignites
The album announcement arrives alongside confirmation of Foo Fighters’ “Take Cover” world tour.
The global run kicks off June 10 in Oslo before transitioning into a highly anticipated North American stadium leg beginning August 4 in Toronto and wrapping September 26 in Las Vegas.
Queens Of The Stone Age will provide direct support on nearly all dates — a pairing that practically guarantees seismic live energy.
Ilan Rubin’s Role In The Band’s Live Evolution
This cycle also continues Foo Fighters’ newest lineup chapter.
Drummer Ilan Rubin, officially introduced during the band’s 2025 return to the stage, now anchors the rhythmic backbone following Josh Freese’s departure.
Grohl’s onstage introduction of Rubin became an instant fan moment: “The most badass motherfucker, Ilan Rubin, is playing drums in the Foo Fighters right now. It’s official.”
Rubin’s pedigree — Nine Inch Nails, Angels & Airwaves, Danny Elfman — injected fresh precision and dynamic control into the band’s live attack.
The Shadow Of Taylor Hawkins Still Resonates
Any Foo Fighters narrative inevitably circles back to Taylor Hawkins.
His loss in 2022 fundamentally reshaped the band’s emotional landscape, leading to tribute concerts, global fan memorials, and one of rock’s most visible grieving processes.
Yet what continues to define Foo Fighters is not retreat — but forward motion through reinvention.
Why This Album Feels Important
Twelve albums in, Foo Fighters could comfortably deliver nostalgia.
Instead, “Your Favorite Toy” suggests:
• Risk-taking over safety • Mood over bombast • Tension over familiarity
And perhaps most importantly:
A band still chasing evolution rather than legacy maintenance.
For longtime fans, that’s not just refreshing.
It’s essential.
FAQ
When is Foo Fighters’ new album released? Your Favorite Toy arrives April 24 via Roswell Records/RCA Records.
Is “Your Favorite Toy” the first single? Yes — it marks the band’s first new music of 2026.
How does the new song sound? Darker, sharper, and more sardonic while retaining core Foo Fighters identity.
Who is Foo Fighters’ current drummer? Ilan Rubin.
Is Foo Fighters touring in 2026? Yes — the “Take Cover” world tour begins June 10.
Foo Fighters Bio
Formed in 1994 by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters evolved from a solo project into one of the most dominant rock bands of the modern era. Blending melodic hooks with explosive dynamics, the band built a multi-generational legacy through albums like The Colour And The Shape, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, Wasting Light, and But Here We Are. Known for marathon live performances and emotional authenticity, Foo Fighters remain a defining force in contemporary rock.
The darkness closes in, the world seems just too hard, you wrap yourself up in the blankets, stay in bed and hope the world will go away, and then, the season changes, you pull away the covers and emerge as a different person entirely. Mothica has battled the darkness and the experience shapes her new EP ‘Somewhere In Between’.
Just like a creature emerging from a chrysalis, Mothica’s form has changed. The slow electronic pulses and understated choruses of 2024’s album ‘Kissing Death’ have evolved, the five tracks here are defined by guitars, her wings have spread. It’s a rock sound similar to that of Chrissy Constanza, Against The Current or Yours Truly. The difference is that being a moth is very different to being a caterpillar. Suddenly her singing voice is competing with guitars and overall effect is like trying on a shirt that’s a size too big – it’s loose around the collar and spare around the wrists, it’s a good fit rather than a great one.
Without a doubt ‘Save Your Roses’ is the EP’s strongest statement. Taking its cues from pop-rock it basks in a comfortable groove then powers itself into a satisfying chorus. The trick though is how she switches back and forth between softer parts, creating a see-saw and a deep hook. It’s a neat display of what she can do. Similarly the way ‘Somewhere In Between’ makes a strong, immediate grab for your attention means it is a clear standout.
However it’s not all plain sailing, ‘Evergreen Misery’ feels like she’s being squeezed out by the guitars and the melody struggles to keep its head above the water, making it feel flat. Indeed, the general problem is that her voice is sorely lacking a bit of power, or even some sass. The best tracks mask this shortcoming, like ‘Weapon’ where the choir-like backing gives her voice space to breathe or the title track where a memorable guitar riff provides an excellent place to hide.
Fuelled by anxiety medication and a trip to rehab, the EP is a eulogy to addiction. While an artist doesn’t need a terrible experience to fuel their work, it has prompted her to use a new toolkit, to explore a darker, heavier space. To be clear, it’s not a huge step – it’s not that far from her musical roots, especially as all the tracks are girdled by electronics – but it makes them simmer with restlessness and alluring discomfort. The almost funfair-style wurlitzing on ‘Bullet’ lends a slightly evil feel while on ‘Evergreen Misery’ the sound of water dripping on a pan is reflected in the lyric “Rain on me.” Indeed, given its inspiration you’re never far from some striking imagery, notably on the aforementioned ‘Weapon’ where she describes “a gun inside my head” while considering the sense of loss that defines the title track.
Despite not being entirely comfortable, Mothica has spread her wings and leaped into a new sound. Neither soaring nor stalling, it’s certainly ‘Somewhere In Between’.
(Join us in congratulating NCS writer Gonzo on his engagement! Also join us in enjoying his reviews of four recommended January releases.) I’ve yelled about how February is a useless fucking month at least once in the past, but this year feels a little different. For me personally, anyway. Yes, you may have noticed that […]
mgk has shared a new video for one of the highlights of his 2025 album ‘lost americana’, showcasing what to expect from his current live show.
The track itself is ‘starman’, a soft creation that samples Third Eye Blind’s ‘Semi-Charmed Life’ throughout the chorus. It’s one of the catchiest hooks ever crafted, and in the middle of a song like this it feels thoroughly modern and in tune with what mgk is trying to embody with this current era.
And that is even more evident in how his stage is set up. Featuring a huge model of the Statue of Liberty, with lighter and cigarette in hand, it’s a nod to the iconic nature of the album’s sound mixed in with more of how Colson sees the world, and the country he loves, right now. Littered with moments from the show, featuring plenty of pyro and fans completely losing their minds singing along, it certainly whets the appetite and makes you want to be a part of it, too.
Have a watch and a listen below.
mgk kicked off 2026 with the release of a track that has been an underground fan favourite for years. That’s ‘time of my life’, one of the first pieces of music that Colson wrote with Travis Barker, and it sounds a lot like this.
mgk bring his incredible stage setup to this side of the Atlantic when he returns to the UK and Europe in the Spring, with support from Julia Wolf.
Guitarist Adam Miller was a founding member of Johnny Jewel’s great and frustrating Italo-disco crew Chromatics, and he spent two decades in that band. His tenure ended in 2021, when the non-Johnny Jewel members announced that Chromatics were done. Jeff Schroeder, another guitarist, had a 16-year run as a member of Smashing Pumpkins, and it…
We represent Somerset’s foremost sorcerer, who crafts brittle Dungeon Synth under the moniker Flickers from the Fen. Being firm followers of both thee wizard himself and of Invisible Oranges’ excellent coverage of the scene, we thought you might like what he does too. His latest collection of stewed synthesis – Stoned in Gielinor – arrives 3/3/23. Select the above link to add this item to your inventory, but we prithee do not share it with anyone ‘side yourself and your organisation. For formality, you’ll find a press release attached too. Do let us know if you have any queries or if you would like to cover the collection, perhaps yourself or Jonathan Carbon may be interested? We can also send a fine compact cassette of the recordings if you wish.
Eternal hails,
This was forwarded to me in early 2023 with the email showcasing the Old School RuneScape logo. It was signed Mercian Sam and came with the famous crossed swords emoji. I was rereading it recently and laughing at the absurd dedication to character. I wonder how many other emails were sent out. It’s a wonder Invisible Oranges got this first. Who could say no to it? It is pure charm.
It has been two years since the release of Stoned in Gielinor, the debut from UK-based Flickers from the Fen. I received the promo because of my involvement with dungeon synth (or maybe because I talked a lot about video games), but even in 2023, it was questionable how much the terms “dungeon” and “synth” applied to Flickers From The Fen. Much has happened since this first email, including another record, numerous reprints on labels like Dungeons Deep, headlining spots on a US tour, and write-ups in Bandcamp Daily and Angry Metal Guy. Their latest development is the third entry in their Stoned in Gielinor series, which we’re premiering below.
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Credit: Peter Beste
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First, some lore. Mercian Sam and I were in DC a few days after the 2025 Texas Dungeon Fest. They were beginning a tour with fellow UK synth act Orcus, as well as Amn and Silencio Permanente. For a chance encounter through email, it felt surreal to be speaking with them, in the US, outside at a local metal venue that served savory pies. Sam was drinking non-alcoholic beer and talking about being vegetarian. We chatted about the golden age of NA drinks and the reality of still paying bar prices for fancy tasting water. The beer choice was a part of a new lifestyle adopted after a past life spent with “too much weed.” I think it was even mentioned as a “wreckhead period,” which I assume is English slang similar to burnout.
I bring this up to contrast with the playful album title, Stoned in Gielinor. Being stoned while playing video games and hiding from the world is a funny pitch, but I eventually came to see that the figure adorning the debut was in fact the creator, Mercian Sam. Flickers from the Fen, then, seems to be a project of transformation and celebration of the spirit which revels in joy and redemption.
Flickers from the Fen isn’t what you think of when describing dungeon synth, but an artist like this doesn’t become something like this without a community like dungeon synth. Dungeon synth, for me, has always been about fantasy-adjacent experimental electronics. Flicker’s unique take on folk music through the lens of fantasy could have only come through a community like this, since we all seem weird and starve for something genuine. The Stoned in Gielinor series fits that bill, beginning as a tribute to sleepless nights spent on RuneScape and evolving into an admiration for the dungeon synth scene itself.
You can preview Stoned in Gielinor III before it releases on Friday and read my conversation with Mercian Sam about the record, his tours, and his penchant for climbing during concerts.
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Since this is the third Stoned in Gielinor installment, we can safely call it a trilogy. How does the third release fit into your world? Did you ever think you would be making three of these?
With every album I made of the trilogy, the original inspiration of Old School RuneScape (OSRS) faded further away, and the fen itself loomed larger and larger. With Stoned in Gielinor III, the original motivation of soundtracking childhood late-night RPG sessions is still there, but there’s an attempt to create something new rather than ape a previous experience. On album 1 (and 2 to an extent), I was looking back to a time when fantasy felt more potent than it did in the here and now. With that nostalgia came an attempt to reference the nooks and crannies of Gielinor very nakedly, often through the OG soundfonts and homely riffs people associated with OSRS. But now, fantasy as an everyday state feels so much more alive to me than it did when the project began. It’s in the friendships and deep connections I’ve made in the scene, it’s hidden in the rural landscape that surrounds my home in the fen, it’s present in the ancient folk music that creeps its way into our sound at the edges. Living in that space as opposed to pure nostalgia is what Stoned in Gielinor III is trying to do, and the album art speaks to that, a portal from one way of being to another. I did have a trilogy planned from the start, but I didn’t think this would be the direction it’d go, and I’m pleased it did.
Though I think Stoned in Gielinor III is a fine record on its own, it works best as a conclusion to ideas presented in the previous two installments. Over time and throughout the records, the music becomes more refined, from playful chaos to a cinematic journey that is full of nostalgia and majesty. Though the music was created much in the same way throughout the records, the melodies feel more animated, as if they were stepping out of the computer screen. If we are going by album covers, the entire hero’s journey begins with a wizard in front of a computer before being swept up in blurs of colors then finally travelling into some mystical portal. Visually, this sort of journey represents one of motion, which seems antithetical to a static existence. This sort of presentation can only come from a person who is constantly editing a vision to its natural conclusion. Much like its creator, the figure adorning these album covers never seems able to stand still and find themselves in very high places threatening bodily injury.
During your last tour, I heard you had a penchant for finding the craziest places to run around in the venue. In DC, you ran out onto the patio of the Pie Shop. What was the most exciting (dangerous) place you got yourself into?
Literally the moment I walk in any venue, I’m like, “Where can I get to?” And we played such a variety of venues (from squats to churches) on the 2025 US tour that there were all number of climbs to reach. I think the most fun must’ve been violin scrubbing for my life, standing on a spit high above the stage at Southgate House Revival in Newport, KY. The minute I stepped over the safety rail, I realised the platform was vibrating and for a second I thought it’d all come crashing down with me atop. Talk to me about the UK Dungeon Synth scene or its developments. I have been seeing more shows around that part of the world.
Everything’s coming up Blighty. It feels like there’s a real hunger for more dungeon synth on the isle lately. We’ve got not just the odd gig or all-dayer now, but regular event series from the likes of Greater Restoration in the South East, BDSN in Brighton, and Cryptic Steel in Glasgow. More and more international artists are making stops around the UK and I feel like that’s because the DIY scene has been putting in the work and peeps have been turning out to shows. Long may it continue!
Now that your US tour is over, what was the best and worst American food you had last year?
Best food: Bento from Koriente (RIP) in Austin. Worst food: Grilled Cheese Sandwich from a rural gas stop in Iowa. The locals gave me the stink eye and the sandwich tasted like farts.
What were some of your favourite releases of 2025?
What are your plans for 2026 (promotion / US/ UK tour)
We’re launching the album at Life After Death Festival in London on Saturday, February 21st with the biggest iteration of the band (sextet) ever, then going on tour (with a different band lineup every night) with Elyvilon, Hermit Knight, and L A N D S R A A D to the following cities:
Feb. 27th – Glasgow
Feb. 28th – Manchester
Mar. 1st – Bristol
Mar. 2nd – Brighton
Mar. 3rd – Paris
Mar. 5th – Utrecht (Echoes from the Dungeon Fest pre-show)
We’re mad psyched to be supporting Quest Master in Bristol and London on April 3rd and 4th, respectively.
Following that, FftF will be headlining Appalachian Dungeon Fest in rural Kentucky (Wiley’s Last Resort, Whitesburg) June 13th, and I’ve heard a whisper in the fen that news of more US dates around the fest will materialise soon…
