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One audience member's defecation in the pit led to a messy and sickly situation in the moshpit at a recent Devilskin performance. Continue reading…

Krallice release a lot of music. Mick Barr and Colin Marston formed the experimental New York black metal band back in 2007, and their self-titled debut came out a year later. Since then, they have cranked out a ton of records. Today, they announce plans for their first-ever European tour, which is crazy to think about, and they also announce plans to follow 2024’s Inorganic Rites with a new double LP called Scour Order.

The post Krallice Announce New Album <em>Scour Order</em>: Hear “Living Useless Ritual” appeared first on Stereogum.

The Rolling Stones and audio masters Technics have collaborated to release a new set of limited-edition True Wireless earbuds.

The EAH-AZ100E1K in-ear headphones will officially launch on August 28, but with only 5000 units available, you’ll have to be super quick to able to pre-order a pair before they’re snapped up.

The branding is on-point, with the band’s iconic lips logo used on the charging case, with the group’s name scrawled on top of the unit in red. As for the earbuds themselves, they boast a 10mm magnetic fluid driver and aluminium diaphragm which help deliver “high-quality sound full of realism and energy across a wide frequency range.”

You’ll be able to listen to 10 hours of music with ANC activated from a full charge, and they carry an IPX4 water resistance rating.

You can connect up to three Bluetooth devices to the earbuds so you won’t have to through the hassle of re-pairing them when switching between your phone, laptop etc, and you’ll be able to tweak your EQ settings when listening to the new Stones album Foreign Tongues through the Technics app.

The Rolling Stones x Technics EAH-AZ100E1K earbuds are priced at $299/£259 with limited stocks available via Technics and Amazon.

(Andy Synn returns to the darkness with a revitalised Altarage and their new album, out Friday) There’s an excellent question that Sir Michael Caine once asked, and answered… “why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up again.” And, make no mistake about it, there’s certainly a pretty decent (and vocal) number […]

The post ALTARAGE – COGWHEEL appeared first on NO CLEAN SINGING.

It’s that time of year again where we talk to as many bands as we can who are raring to blow you away at Catton Park! Coventry nu-metalcore monsters Meet Your Maker will be opening the Stowford Press New Blood Stage bright and early on Friday at Bloodstock 2026. We previously reported on their confirmation … Continue reading Road To Bloodstock 2026: Meet Your Maker

Pavement have been working their way across America over the past week and a half, playing a short summer tour that suggests their reunion will continue on a small scale in perpetuity, which rules. That tour coincided with my family vacation, which does not rule, especially since they broke out a treasured rarity at the show closest to my home base.

The post Pavement Play “Greenlander” For The First Time In 34 Years appeared first on Stereogum.

It’s a blisteringly hot day. Streams of sweaty metalheads pour from the humid dark of the U-Bahn into the daylight, flinching like vampires. Berlin may be in the middle of a heatwave, but that hasn’t deterred most of this crowd from arriving at the Olympiastadion in our finest black. This is – by far – … Continue reading Gig Review: System of a Down / Queens of the Stone Age / Acid Bath – Olympiastadion, Berlin (July 8th, 2026)

A couple of months ago, Headsplit Records unleashed the debut album of a Norwegian band called Nedgravd. Promising the most evil of death metal in the vein of Infester, Molested, Imprecation, and such, this will not be an easy listen…

Bellowing riffs erupt into a cavernous onslaught of malevolent evil with thunderous drums and horrific vocals. The meandering sway of sacrilegious savagery is unnerving and has this raw and guttural production that perfectly suits the sound. Some of the vocals remind me of Glen Benton in Deicide’s earliest (and best) moments, but the riffing is far more akin to bands like Infester with their unusual and brutal occult atmosphere. With the low tuning, the guitars, bass, and drums sometimes merge into this destructive singular form of pulverising morbidity to then separate into vengeful entities in their own right. The off-kilter oddities in the drumming are totally killer and add to the disquieting feel of the record while those gargantuan guitars keep this ever-flowing molten essence of pure malice. Mixing higher and lower vocals, the demented and possessed snarls, howls, and growls could not be better suited to the darkened invocations of death they are performed on.

Worshiping at the profane altar of some of the most obscure and wicked death metal, Nedgravd manage to twist this sound into something of their own without tainting it in the slightest. This is an honourable tribute to older bands and yet something refreshing and totally different to most of what the current old-school death metal bands play. This is some putrid sorcery of epic proportions that will certainly leave most wimps buried. Along with the obvious death metal elements, there is an atmosphere that reminds me of certain US black metal such as Von, Demoncy, or Profanatica (along with Finland’s Beherit). Listen to the brief solo in “Paragon of Impiety” – it’s total madness that only an adherent of Trey Azagthoth could come up with! These Norwegian maniacs fully get what death metal should be!

Utilising their longer songs to explore charnel pathways many dare not enter, Nedgravd takes us to a place death metal rarely visits. Sampling of such perfect movies as The Devil Rides Out (1968) further elevates the experience, which is something I am totally engrossed in from the very start and find my attention utterly bewitched and bound by “Ascension” until the end. I remember being a kid, the first time I heard Deicide and Morbid Angel, and being a mixture of excited and scared. Nedgravd perfectly encapsulates that rare feeling many of us chase in death metal that has become so rare thanks to a huge abundance of tamer, safer, and simply less exhilarating material. Nedgravd, conversely, feels truly and profoundly vicious.

Primitive occult evil, this is death metal for those maniacs who preferred the obscurities of the 90s, which were perhaps overlooked next to more technical or groovy bands (or alternatively, they were simply saved for the elite few and never meant for fickle trend-chasers). Either way, Nedgravd pour fuel on the embers of occult death metal and ignite a blazing inferno of evil for the underground dwellers who deserve to hear it. An incredibly strong and impressive debut that embodies everything I want in an obscure, twisted, and suffocating death metal record.

“Do you believe in the power of darkness? The power of darkness is more than just a superstition. It is a living force, which can be tapped at any given moment of the night…”

Andy LaRocque has broken his silence on his shock exit from King Diamond, telling fans the split after more than 40 years was mutual, friendly and respectful — while the man stepping into his shoes, Gus G., has responded to stunned fans with a video message revealing that LaRocque personally reached out to wish him well. The Greek guitar hero also confirmed he’s already working with King Diamond on new music, including the long-awaited “Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920” album.

STREAM THE METAL BREAKDOWN DAILY NOW:

Scott Penfold breaks down the biggest lineup shakeup in metal this year on today’s Metal Breakdown Daily — what Andy LaRocque’s exit really means for King Diamond, why the Gus G. era might arrive faster than you think, and where Lex Legion fits into all of it. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and take the show with you.

Andy Speaks: No Drama, Just A New Chapter

When the news dropped Friday that Andy LaRocque and King Diamond were done after four decades, the metal world braced for the messy part. It never came.

On Sunday, the 63-year-old Swedish guitarist — the only musician besides King himself to play on every King Diamond studio album — posted a message to fans confirming what the band’s statement had already suggested. Leaving what he described as a family after 40-plus years of music, friendship and memories wasn’t easy, he said, but the two sides “mutually decided to part ways in a respectful and friendly manner,” with both camps wishing each other the best.

And Andy’s next move is already in motion. His full focus now is Lex Legion — the band that reunites four-fifths of King Diamond’s classic late-’80s lineup, with LaRocque joined by drummer Mikkey Dee, guitarist Pete Blakk and bassist Hal Patino, plus Pagan’s Mind vocalist Nils K. Rue out front. Their self-titled debut is out now through MNRK Music Group, and Andy has been adamant in interviews that Lex Legion material is its own beast — not recycled King Diamond songs from his vault.

Think about what’s actually ending here. Andy co-founded King Diamond with the King out of the ashes of Mercyful Fate in 1985. Abigail. Them. Conspiracy. That melodic, neo-classical lead voice woven through every horror story King ever told on record — that’s LaRocque. Forty years, twelve albums, zero bad blood on the way out. In this business, that’s practically a miracle.

We Also Recommend – King Diamond’s Wildest Stories You Probably Don’t Know

Gus G. Answers The Shock — And Drops A Detail Nobody Expected

Meanwhile, the new guy gets it. In a video message posted Sunday, Gus G. — the Firewind founder and former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist announced Friday as King Diamond’s new full-time guitarist, writer and touring member — addressed the elephant in the room head-on. He acknowledged fans are shocked, called LaRocque a legend whose shoes will be an honor to step into, and thanked King for choosing him, saying “it’s a big, big honor for me.”

Then came the detail that tells you everything about how friendly this split really is: Gus revealed that Andy — who he calls a buddy — sent him a personal message wishing him well in the gig. The outgoing legend texting his own replacement to say good luck. You don’t get that in the messy breakups.

Gus also made it clear he’s not walking in as a hired gun. He says he’ll bring his own vibe while honoring the catalog on stage — and that he’s even more excited about writing new music with King and finally getting the long-gestating album moving. That would be “Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920,” the first chapter of King’s planned horror trilogy, which has been in the works with ten tracks on the board for a while now — and which King has been promising in various forms since before the pandemic derailed everything.

His resume backs the confidence. Born Konstantinos Karamitroudis in Thessaloniki, Greece, Gus has fronted Firewind for over two decades and ten albums, spent 2009 to 2017 as Ozzy’s lead guitarist — playing on the Grammy-nominated “Scream” — and guested with everyone from Bruce Dickinson to Arch Enemy. The man can flat-out play.

Check Out – King Diamond Guitarist Gives Timeline Update on “Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920” Album—And You’re Probably Not Gonna Like It

What Happens Now

So here’s the scoreboard: Andy rides off with Lex Legion and his Sonic Train Studios empire, King Diamond gets a world-class shredder with fresh fuel in the tank, and the album fans have waited years for suddenly has real momentum again. Everybody’s working, nobody’s feuding, and the King remains the most delightfully unbothered man in metal.

The Gus G. era of King Diamond starts now. Strange days. Good ones, though.

Also Check Out – Lex Legion Debut “Sleep Eternally” — King Diamond Icons Finally Reveal Their Sound

TL;DR

• Andy LaRocque confirmed Sunday that his exit from King Diamond after more than 40 years was mutual, friendly and respectful, with both sides wishing each other well.
• LaRocque’s focus is now Lex Legion, featuring fellow King Diamond alumni Mikkey Dee, Pete Blakk and Hal Patino with Pagan’s Mind singer Nils K. Rue — their self-titled debut is out now via MNRK.
• Gus G. (Firewind, ex-Ozzy Osbourne) responded to fan shock in a video message, revealing LaRocque personally messaged him to wish him well.
• Gus joins King Diamond as a full member who will write, record and tour — and says he’s excited to finally get the “Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920” album moving.
• LaRocque co-founded King Diamond in 1985 and is the only musician besides King to appear on all twelve of the band’s studio albums.

FAQ

Metalheads, be honest — can anyone truly fill Andy LaRocque’s shoes in King Diamond, or is Gus G. exactly the right call? Drop your take in the comments, and follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.

The post Andy LaRocque Breaks His Silence On Leaving King Diamond After 40 Years — And The Private Message He Sent To The Man Replacing Him Says It All. appeared first on Loaded Radio.

Last Friday, our great deconstructionist pop star Charli XCX released her new album Music, Fashion, Film. The record gets its title from a line in Charli’s song “SS26“: “Nothing’s gonna save us/ Not music, fashion, or film.” But even if those things won’t save us, Charli continues to participate in all three arenas. Since the LP release, Charli has already shared more music and a film. No fashion, though, unless the mere act of being Charli XCX and wearing clothes counts as “sharing fashion.”

The post Charli XCX Shares More Music, Film appeared first on Stereogum.