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Today, legendary Christian metal pioneers Stryper proudly release their 18th studio album, Throne Of Thorns, out now via Frontiers Music Srl. Decades into their journey, Stryper continues to reaffirm their status as one of the most influential and enduring bands in classic metal, seamlessly blending their signature message with a sound that remains as powerful and relevant as ever. To celebrate the release, the band also unveil an official visualizer for their new single, “Shadowbreaker”.

On the new track, Michael Sweet comments: “’Shadowbreaker’ is a full throttle banger and a great way to end the album. It represents our heavier side perfectly, and where we’re at as a band in 2026.”

Throne of Thorns showcases the band at the height of their creative powers, delivering a masterclass in songwriting and musicianship. The album is packed with grand, meticulously crafted arrangements, where thunderous rhythms, soaring guitar harmonies, and anthemic choruses come together in a style that is unmistakably Stryper. Each track is infused with both intensity and melody, capturing the essence of classic metal while pushing their sound forward with renewed energy and purpose.

At the forefront stands the unmistakable voice of Michael Sweet, whose passionate, powerful, and instantly recognizable delivery continues to define the band’s identity. His vocal performance on Throne of Thorns is nothing short of extraordinary, effortlessly moving between soaring highs and emotive depth, adding a timeless quality to every song.

Perry Richardson says: “The best music doesn’t come from comfort. It comes from living, struggling, growing, and refusing to quit. I hope these songs find you exactly when you need them.”

With Throne Of Thorns, Stryper not only honors their legacy but expands upon it, offering an album that will resonate with longtime fans and newcomers alike. It’s a bold, inspired statement from a band that refuses to stand still—proof that true metal greatness only grows stronger with time.

Guitarist Oz Fox concludes: “I’m really happy with the final outcome of this record and of the heart that went into it. Michael continues to pour everything he has into the music and the message; Robert brings the power and energy that has always been the pulse of Stryper; Perry’s musicianship, vocal talents, and dedication are second to none, and I’m grateful to be on this journey with all of them.”

Order Throne of Thorns here.

The post STRYPER Release New Album “Throne of Thorns” & Unveil New Single “Shadowbreaker” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Tonight, the road takes me to Hamburg’s Barclays Arena, where Amy Lee and Evanescence are set to take the stage. The band is currently touring across Europe and the UK, with a stop in the autumn city on the Elbe. Poppy is along for the ride as an additional special guest, while Nova Twins have… Continue Reading →

Satanic Planet has released a video for “Church Burning,” the newest single from its upcoming album, Dead Deities. Rodrigo Espinosa directed the clip, and the record is due Oct. 30 through Relapse Records.

The group brings together Lucien Greaves, co-founder and spokesperson of The Satanic Temple, Luke Henshaw (Planet B, Sonido De La Frontera, First Power Crew, Variations In The Key Of The Afterlife), Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Misfits, Mr. Bungle, Dead Cross) and Justin Pearson (The Locust, Swing Kids, Deaf Club).

Greaves said the song responds to a real attack on his organization. “In 2022, a man wearing a t-shirt with ‘GOD’ printed across the chest set fire to The Satanic Temple headquarters, a legally recognized church, in Salem.

“This is a song about the hypocrisy of religious violence and how our opposition destroy their own ethical credibility every time they have attacked us with arson, bombs, and violent assaults. We will always rebuild. It is their own church they burn.”

On Dead Deities, the band sounds like a unit that has settled into itself. The album is a bleak, aggressive and thoroughly sour call to arms against autocracy in an era of Christian nationalism. Greaves, Henshaw, Lombardo, and Pearson now work as a full band in the studio, and the tighter focus shows in the music and lyrics. Greaves describes the material as more personal and closer to the goals of The Satanic Temple, which uses art, action and activism to “encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practiced common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits.” The band and the organization aim to back anyone who is needed in the fight against theocracy, apathy and inequality.

Musically, the album travels through modern dark music, with tolling bells, blackened synths, ugly noise interludes, mountain-sized drums and group vocals that sound like nightmares. The first single, “Sam Alito‘s Mom,” takes aim at Justice Sam Alito, the conservative jurist who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. Greaves and Pearson twist their vocals around each other at a slow, growling crawl. The record draws on decades of touring and experimentation, from Slayerand The Locust to Planet B‘s avant-garde sci-fi hip-hop and the strange metal orchestrations of Mr. Bungle.

Greaves also explained the story behind the first single. “In an effort to preserve reproductive rights in the face of theocratic opposition, The Satanic Temple has opened three abortion clinics and is currently working toward opening a fourth.

“We named the first of our clinics ‘Sam Alito’s Mom’s Satanic Abortion Clinic’, and following the opening of the fourth clinic, we are going to sue to establish our religious freedom to ship abortion pharmaceuticals to any state in the U.S. regardless of their restrictions on bodily autonomy. This is our fight, and this is our song about that fight.”

The album lands in a period of political backsliding, and it delivers protest music with equal parts bark and bite. Satanic Planet casts itself as a band with your back in dangerous times, while hoisting the gore-soaked spine of your enemy toward the sun. Dead Deities is aimed at flags and crosses alike, all in service of a kinder and more livable world.

The post SATANIC PLANET, Featuring DAVE LOMBARDO, Shares New Single “Church Burning” From Upcoming Album “Dead Deities” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Two weeks prior the release of their Guillotine record, Hatesphere present a video clip for another new track in preview titled “Mouth Filled With Barbed Wire”.
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Album Review: Valley of the Sun – The Blacklight Sessions

Reviewed by Matthew Williams

My first introduction to Ohio’s Valley of the Sun was in 2019 when I first heard “Old Gods” and I was instantly hooked by their fuzzy guitar sound, stoner rock riffs and low-end bass. Their follow up, “The Chariot” made my Top Ten albums for 2022 and I finally got to see them live in Manchester the following May, cementing my love of their music.

Now signed to Heavy Psych Records, the trio led by founding member Ryan Ferrier (guitar & lead vocals) are back with their sixth album, “The Blacklight Sessions” as they take it back to their roots, with bluesy jams mixing it up with psychedelic musings alongside pounding stoner riffs. With Chris Sweeney on bass and Johnny Kathman on drums, this collection of songs is quintessentially Valley of the Sun and promises to devour all before it.

Opening with “The Whiskey Elf” the band let the music do their talking, with big, bold notes let loose from the start, as their distinctive sound emanates from the speakers. I really enjoy that they start with an instrumental number, because it reminds you of the power they have and your mind, body and soul is fully invested, as it should be. And there’s no let-up, as they rip into the excellent “Low Not Slow” with the unmistakable voice of Ferrier bulldozing over another excellent riff, plus a bit of cowbell appears in the mix. It’s already a song that I don’t get tired of listening to, much like the aforementioned “Old Gods”.

They have come up with a great title for the next track, “The Long Song”, and as it suggests, it’s over ten minutes, opening with a more melancholy, somewhat ponderous opening. But a quarter of the way in, their explosive sound energises the song, with a big riff dominating the middle section. They rhythm will get your head moving, there’s a chugginess to it in the middle that I couldn’t help but smile over as the layered notes detonate all over the instrumental composition. The ten minutes flies by far too quickly but when it’s over, you get another slab of goodness in the shape of “A Greater Meaning”.

This one feels different from the start, shorter, feistier, with a deeper, softer vocal, as they challenge the boundaries of their genre head on. Of course, it changes tempo along the way, but it’s great to see them mix things up and evolve their musical output. “Mountain” is another long track, with a moody start, emphasised by the bassline which builds up from the energy of the drums. Their collective intensity is audible as they deliver another monstrous song that will captivate audiences.

And then there was one, “No Hope” brings up the rear, another heavy, measured track that oozes class from the trio. There’s a burst of noise that roars and deafens on impact, weaved with intricate melodies as the soothing vocal tones of Ferrier fractures the music. It reminds me of the Sum 41 album, “All Killer, No Filler” and that description perfectly summarises what Valley of the Sun have done here.

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Album Review: Valley of the Sun – The Blacklight Sessions appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Album Review: Godflesh – Decay

Reviewed by Patrick O’Reilly

“Repent, for the end is nigh!” Could be the message accompanying this album. Godflesh will soon cease to exist, and extreme metal will have lost one of its most important voices. The process of making and performing this bands content has changed band mastermind Justin Broadrick both physically and mentally, and following abdominal surgery Broadrick has revealed that the band is now “Physically impossible” for him to continue with and has now been “rendered useless” 

As we set up to mourn an irreplaceable pinnacle of extreme metal though we are able to bask in the warm glow of ‘Decay’ the bands tenth and penultimate album, and any fears that Broadrick is going out quietly with a whimper are well and truly denounced as ‘Decay’ is pure, unrelenting Godflesh! 

Opener ‘Master and Slave’ opens with a crushing riff that doesn’t let up for the entirety of the track, pulsing with industrial menace and harsh vocals. It is a pummeling way to open the album and a statement of intent from Broadrick. 

Track 2 ‘Living Ending’ is a throwback to the band’s early material. Drum machine delivering an artificial, alien beat over which the pounding bass of Ben Green hammers out pure rhythm. Add to this confrontational vocals that seem to be there to challenge and intimidate, and you have a classic Godflesh vintage. 

Third track ‘Feral Colony’ ups the pace and sounds like the kind of thing that would be playing in a cyber-goth club in a William Gibson novel. Kind of like techno if it was slowed down a bit and made REALLY heavy.  

‘Fear of Man’ mixes spikes of shrill guitar and synth with an almost transcendent vocal approach, as close to spiritual as this album gets, while fifth track ‘Fodder’ is back to the grinding bass and crushing intensity. 

Album closer, Consume Me’ is an 11-minute-long beast of a track, ridiculously heavy, slow and claustrophobic. 

‘Decay’ is more than a statement, it is an epitaph, a final fuck you to the music industry from a band that never compromised on its vision. It has the weight of years of pain and sorrow, exorcised through this music, yet in its lighter moments, and they are fleeting, still manages to raise you to the heavens. All of this and we still have another album to come! 

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Album Review: Godflesh – Decay appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

The secret gig featured hits, rarities and the debut of the band's latest single. Continue reading…

Album Review: Frozen Crown – The Legend of the Six Kings

Reviewed by Matthew Caldwell

Italian power metal has a history of churning out some big names. Rhapsody of Fire, Elven King and Ancient Bards quickly spring to mind, but it’s time to start including Frozen Crown as one of the genre’s most vibrant and exciting modern metal bands.

With an impressive six albums in just eight years, you’d be forgiven for thinking the quality may have ebbed… but you’d be mistaken. The Legend of the Six Kings sees Frozen Crown not only dabbling in slightly darker spheres, but also taking a more narrative-driven approach.

The album opener ‘Lightning in the Sky’ shows exactly what Frozen Crown are about: power, speed, and melody. It’s as infectious as ‘Steel and Gold’ from their previous album and is surely going to become a live staple. ‘Who Wants to Burn in Heaven’ and ‘Reborn’ give off Maiden vibes with plenty of galloping and twin guitar harmonies. On the former, Giada ‘Jade’ Etro invites you to “raise your bastard swords!”. With her soaring vocals sounding better than ever, we don’t need telling twice!

After the Lord of the Rings-inspired track ‘The One’ comes the biggest surprise of the album: a power metal cover of ‘Iris’ by American alternative rock band Goo Goo Dolls. The 1998 superhit appears out of absolutely nowhere. Jade’s soft vocals are disarming. Placing this song in the middle of the album is a brave choice. Would it have been better to put it at the end as a bonus track? Possibly. But having it here serves as both an intermission to the melodic bombast, and a moment to stop the listener in their tracks as it is just so unexpected. It may be a stroke of genius.

How do you follow that? ‘Winter Hearts’ answers the call. Thunderous double bass drumming drives the track before some harsh growls help solidify this as one of the album’s best songs. And the chorus is catchy as hell with a key change midway through. Epic stuff. As the album draws to a close, they mix it up with some waltzing time signatures, slightly slower chugging riffs, and three lead guitarists competing for the top prize as the band’s best shredder. The title track brings the saga to a close and includes another appearance of the growled vocals. Power metal needs more of these clean and harsh vocal combinations. They inject fresh life into the genre.

Frozen Crown have raised the bar for modern melodic power metal bands with this release. It’s a fist-in-the-air, lean-back, scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs kind of album, reminiscent of late 90s and early 2000s power metal. They have consistently put out great albums, and if they continue on this trajectory, the genre is in safe hands indeed.

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Album Review: Frozen Crown – The Legend of the Six Kings appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Right now, the members of the adventurous Toronto death metal crew Tomb Mold are really stretching their creative legs. Two Tomb Mold members are also members of Daydream Plus, the instrumental space-prog emo group who released the album Second Last Day of Summer a few months ago. (The chiptune version dropped last week.) Now, guitarist Derrick Vella, one of the Tomb Mold members who isn’t in Daydream Plus, is coming back with another album from his duo Dream Unending, who combine guttural death-doom with noodley ’80s studio-rock in fascinating ways.

The post Dream Unending Announce New Album <em>Certain Uncertainties</em>: Hear “Strained Sincerity” appeared first on Stereogum.

American death metal bands, Drawn And Quartered and Noroth, are proud to announce the ‘Lord Of Sacrifice European Tour’. The latter is scheduled to be executed in late October and first half of November.
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