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Blues Rock Weekly highlights new music from Ben Poole and Elles Bailey, plus Dan Patlansky, Robin Trower, and Joanne Shaw Taylor.

The post Blues Rock Weekly – September 25, 2026 appeared first on Blues Rock Review.

Lisbon death metallers CRUCIVORE have unveiled the video for “Devourer of Existence,” the latest advance single from their debut album Desecration. The twelve-track record arrives on November 13, 2026, through Testimony Records, with distribution by SPKR. Recorded and edited by Beatriz Mariano, the video accompanies a song that guitarist Ricardo Jorge describes as one of […]

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Wacken TV dropped professional-grade video from Savatage‘s July 30, 2026 set at Wacken Open Air in Wacken, Germany, and it’s now streaming for anyone who missed being there in person.

The featured tracks:

00:00 “Gutter Ballet”
06:46 “Edge Of Thorns”
13:03 “Hall Of The Mountain King”

Three days earlier, on July 27, the progressive metal veterans brought their show to the Amphitheater of Pompei, Italy, one of the oldest Roman amphitheaters still standing. A full orchestra joined Savatage onstage, turning the gig into something the band doesn’t often replicate.

Savatage got its start in Tampa, Florida, built around brothers Jon Oliva and Criss Oliva. The band’s catalog swings between career highs and genuine heartbreak, anchored by landmark records like 1987’s Hall Of The Mountain Kingand 1991’s rock opera Streets, both still holding up with longtime fans. After Criss Oliva died following the release of 1993’s Edge Of Thorns, the surviving members pushed forward and eventually landed on 1995’s Dead Winter Dead.

Across four decades, Savatage has built one of metal’s more obsessive fanbases, one that kept the pressure on during the band’s roughly 20-year absence from the road. That pressure paid off with a 2015 comeback set at Wacken Open Air in front of 80,000 people, a performance that cemented the band’s legend status all over again.

Riding that 2015 momentum, Savatage made news in 2025 by booking its first proper headline shows since 2002. The European run pulled in longtime members of “The Legion” alongside younger fans catching the band for the first time. That included four South American dates in April 2025 and 10 European stops in June 2025, with festival slots at France’s Hellfest and Belgium’s Graspop Metal Meeting mixed in.

Rounding out that lineup alongside Middleton, Caffery, Pitrelli, Plate and Stevens were two new touring keyboardists, Paulo Cuevas and Shawn McNair.

Stevens first joined Savatage in 1992, stepping in for Jon Oliva on vocals. He fronted the band across four albums, Edge Of Thorns (1993), Handful Of Rain (1994), Dead Winter Dead (1995) and The Wake Of Magellan (1997), before exiting in 2000 and clearing the way for Jon Oliva‘s return. Both singers shared the stage for the band’s 2015 Wacken reunion.

Savatage‘s most recent studio album, Poets And Madmen, arrived in 2001 with Jon Oliva back on lead vocals after Stevens left for family reasons. That same stretch saw Pitrelli depart to join Megadeth, though he stuck around long enough to record guitar solos before officially leaving. A short U.S. tour followed, with Fates Warning opening the early dates and Nevermore taking over for the rest. To cover Stevens‘ old parts, Jon Oliva brought in Damond Jiniya of Diet Of Worms, freeing Jon Oliva up to take a bigger role on vocals himself.

The post Watch SAVATAGE Tear Through “Hall Of The Mountain King” In Pro-Shot Wacken Footage appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

The Statement: After consultation with local officials, we have made the difficult decision to cancel The Prodigy on September 25th and CBGB Festival on September 26th at Under The K … Continue reading Organizers Cancel The CBGB Festival Due To Severe Weather Forecast →

Filmed in Krakow, Poland last December.

The post Till Lindemann Launches “Sport Frei” Live Video From His Just Released Concert Film/Album “Live In Krakow” appeared first on Theprp.com.

CARNATION have released “Blackmouth,” the opening track from their upcoming album Symphony in Flesh, due on October 16, 2026. The song pairs driving death metal riffs, blast beats and groove with a narrative about how public hostility can reproduce itself. Its lyrics depict constant criticism and negativity as vultures circling a vulnerable target, drawing parallels […]

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Crypta has released “A Portrait Of Decay,” the first track to showcase the Brazilian death metal band’s new lineup and offer a glimpse into the next chapter of their sound. The track arrives following the April 2026 announcement of Victoria Villarreal as the band’s new permanent guitarist, completing the four-piece lineup alongside Fernanda Lira (bass, vocals), Luana Dametto (drums) and Tainá Bergamaschi (guitar).

“A Portrait Of Decay” was recorded in Belgium in June 2026 and engineered, mixed, and mastered by Yarne Heylen at Project Zero Studio. The track is out now worldwide on all major streaming platforms and as a strictly limited seven-inch vinyl release. Its artwork was created by Brazilian artist Marcos Miller.

An official music video accompanies the release, with a script written by drummer Dametto. She states: “The video clip is both an almost poetic contrast to the harsh death metal sound but also a cinematic depiction of the lyrics: An ethereal and almost dream-like landscape that represents someone’s true state of being, clear thoughts and light emotions, that slowly dissipate with the passing of time and changing of surroundings, and with the night and a much darker environment, after a while, feelings of being adrift and astray arise, showing that our conditions and time can directly change the way we see ourselves and the way we feel and interact.”

The single arrives just in time for Crypta to kick off their North American tour with Arch Enemy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Septicflesh and Thrown Into Exile, beginning Oct. 5 in Riverside, California. Crypta was formed in 2019 by former Nervosa members Dametto and Lira. Their most recent album, Shades Of Sorrow, was released in August 2023.

The post CRYPTA Shares New Single “A Portrait Of Decay” Featuring New Lineup With Guitarist VICTORIA VILLARREAL appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Brazilian death metallers CRYPTA have released “A Portrait of Decay,” their first track featuring new permanent guitarist Victoria Villarreal. Accompanied by an official music video, the single explores dissociation as a way of enduring pain and suffering, offering the first glimpse of the band’s musical direction following the Shades of Sorrow album cycle. Villarreal’s addition […]

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The Chilean thrashmongers in Critical Defiance have been slinging molten riffs and high-octane violence for over a decade, and on fourth LP Rivers of Blood the carnage continues. The band formed in 2010, and though they released a couple of demos and a split between 2014 and 2016, it took nine years before the world got its clutches on full-length debut Misconception. Since then, Critical Defiance has maintained a steady release schedule with sole original member Felipe Alvarado at its epicenter. In his review of Misconception, the esteemed Cherd observed that while Critical Defiance nailed the construction of riffs, weaving them into a coherent whole fell short. Seven years and three albums later, does Critical Defiance drown out the detractions in Rivers of Blood?

Rivers of Blood feels and sounds like the culmination of everything Critical Defiance has accomplished so far. Where Misconception put the world on notice with whirlwind riffs weighed down by a touch of bloat, sophomore record No Life Forms trimmed the fat and honed Critical Defiance’s thrash attack to a keen knife’s edge. Follow-up The Search Won’t Fall… ballooned the runtime back out,¹ seeing a wide range of track lengths and engaging compositions that, while good, dealt less urgency than its predecessor. Like No Life Forms, Rivers of Blood reins in the runtime to a scant half hour while lacerating listeners with razor-sharp riffs, supplying an electrifying swing back into the less-is-MOAR camp. The immediacy of Rivers runs rampant across thirty-one minutes, where Critical Defiance rips and rages across tracks like “Innate to Kill” and “Glorify War” without ever feeling rushed. Conjuring the likes of Kreator, Sadus, and Exumer on Rivers of Blood, Critical Defiance continues their aggrieved assault without compunction.

Alvarado floods Critical Defiance with a talented cast, and nary a dull moment dams the Rivers of Blood. Though featured in previous albums, the acoustic passages on opener “Red Omen” and interlude “Ceremony of the Final Call” imbue Rivers of Blood with wistful moments that offset the murderousness heard elsewhere. Album centerpiece “Valparaíso” also features captivating acoustic strums, but that’s not all—Alvarado channels the spirit of Kreator’s Mille Petrozza on vocals, bassist Diego Tello discharges truculent low-end thunder, drummer Rodrigo Poblete detonates dynamite fills with frenzied velocity, and guitarists Mauricio Toledo and Sebastián Palominos (along with Alvarado) create intricate layers of leads and riffs that guide listeners through the track’s eight minutes. As good as “Valparaíso” is, though, other tracks consistently bolster Rivers of Blood’s savage competence. “Innate to Kill” pushes Critical Defiance’s speed full throttle while “Rivers of Blood” eases the relentless ferocity to highlight clean backing vocals and a pugnacious strut. Additionally, “Glorify War” proves a strong closer. The bass intro barrels into full-blown chaos, and, by the end, Critical Defiance’s wicked barbarity meshes with acoustic frills to end the album by uniting the delicate with the domineering.²

With all the positive momentum condensed into such a tight package, Critical Defiance leaves little room for complaint. The production lends a throwback aesthetic that might seem muddy, yet every instrument cuts through the mix without feeling overcrowded. The songwriting demonstrates clever tension and pacing, where frenzied riffs circulate in swelling storms as songs surge into seductive solos (“Valparaíso”), churning chugs (“The Feeling Destroyer”), and the aforementioned acoustic threads (“Rivers of Blood,” “Glorify War”) that tie the entire album together. Conversely, my quibbles are minor, like wishing for a little more cohesion during the transitions on the back half of “Valparaíso” or a bit more riff development on “The Feeling Destroyer” and “Dead Tongues.” Not that the licks are drab by any means, but Critical Defiance seethes with expertise, and their flashes of technicality characterize the best moments on Rivers of Blood.

Critical Defiance unleashes torrents of riffs and vitriol on Rivers of Blood, imperiling the levees of restraint with its most potent moments. On album number four, these Chileans prove that their arrangements flay with finely-tuned precision and evoke the old school without ever feeling stale. What I enjoy most about Rivers of Blood is the act’s balance—retro and fresh, gentle and primitive, straightforward and complex. Rivers of Blood teems with vitality and a head-rattling punch, and Critical Defiance’s chops and maturation continue to progress and impress to an extent that I eagerly anticipate what they do next. Until then—stay Bloodthirsty my friends.

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Rating: Very Good
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Websites: Bandcamp³ | Facebook | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

The post Critical Defiance – Rivers of Blood Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Swedish punk-metal veterans WOLFBRIGADE have unveiled the video for “Doomrunner,” the latest single from their upcoming album Howl From Underground. Due on October 9, 2026, through Metal Blade Records, the record follows 2024’s Life Knife Death and finds the band rethinking how they capture their sound in the studio. Commenting on the new track, the […]

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