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I am a killer of killers of the killing line of men who kill every night
Wa-ooooooooo!
No more mumbo jumbo from your medicine man
Your badland heart is all mine

Mask Appeal came together with the blunt inevitability of a bar fight nobody had to schedule. Mike Shelbourn’s jungle-born drums chase the song through the underbrush, snapping branches, kicking up dirt, and grinning at the damage. Dan Graziano’s bass slithers beneath him with oily confidence, a low-end bad conscience that keeps finding another corner to coil around. Dante White Aliano’s guitar tears at the edges, sometimes with a deathrock leer, sometimes with a garage-punk fever, sometimes like a man carving warnings into a fence he plans to climb anyway.

These are Los Angeles music-scene veterans, and you can hear the road rash in their playing. Their histories run through Detroit Cobras, Oozelles, The Starlite Desperation, Gestapo Khazi, Neighborhood Brats, Frontier Club, and more. They know the racket from the inside: the blown amp, the bent bill, the cheap motel sink, the promoter with soft hands and a hard story.

Their most recent single, Badland Bloodrite, is a song about crossing the line after the line has already warned you, cursed you, spat tobacco juice at your boots, and told you exactly what kind of fool you are. Mask Appeal builds the track around a violent myth of possession and trespass, where love comes dressed as a blood oath, and geography behaves like a trap with teeth. The karst is the key image: porous ground, hidden chambers, sudden drops, the earth pretending to be solid until appetite steps forward and vanishes waist-deep into its own ruin.

From there, Badland Bloodrite sinks into a psychic badland where romance, conquest, inheritance, and murder all share the same cracked cup. The vocals proclaim a murderous lineage while trying to seize another person’s heart and fate, and every warning not to cross the karst lands with the force of an old taboo. This is border music in the least respectable sense: the border between hunger and harm, between wanting someone and wanting to own the air around them.

The reference points crowd around the song like shrouded witnesses: Theatre of Hate and Death Cult with their desert-stained drama; The Birthday Party with their deranged grin; Bauhaus in their theatrical pallor; The Stranglers with their raven-clad menace; The Contortions in their crooked angles; Bow Wow Wow in their tribal snap; PIL in their bass-led unease; and Echo and the Bunnymen in their grand, doomed reach.

Mask Appeal uses those ghosts as gasoline for the fire, but Badland Bloodrite leaves its ugly implications standing in plain view. It sounds hot, sick, funny in the cruel places, and wired to old fear. The song knows trespass can be seduction, theft, ceremony, and sentence all at once, and Mask Appeal rides straight over the karst with their eyes open.

Listen below and order the single here.

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The post Los Angeles’ Mask Appeal Summons Old-School Gothic Rock Mysticism With “Badland Bloodrite” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

The next album instalment from our unrelenting death metal machine Psycroptic is out in July.

Once again featuring vocals Jason Peppiatt teaming with Origin’s Jason Keyser across the release, The Pulse on Annihilation is the band’s first album for Metal Blade and drops just in time for their Australian tour jaunt with Rivers of Nihil in August.

The Pulse of Annihilation is out on July 17. First single Gathering a Venomous Herd is available now.

Australian gothic/modern metal act Victoria K unveil ‘Oh So Weary‘, the first single taken from the upcoming album ‘The Pleasure Of Sorrow‘. Listen to ‘Oh So Weary‘ – here​ With ‘The Pleasure Of Sorrow‘, Victoria K moves toward a darker and more intimate sound, combining gothic atmospheres, modern heaviness, haunting melodies, and emotionally driven songwriting. The […]

The post Victoria K’s New single ‘Oh So Weary’, The 1st Glimpse From Upcoming Album ‘The Pleasure Of Sorrow’ appeared first on ROCKPOSER DOT COM.

The punk-leaning pop star spoke to Popcast about tapping the vibrancy of 1980s new wave and the sentiment of “Sex and the City” on her new album “You Seem Pretty Sad For a Girl So in Love.”

Over the 16 years of The Rockpit we’ve received review submissions from all over the world — some that sit comfortably within the site’s hard-rocking core and others that challenge it in unexpected and rewarding ways. Vinyl Floor have been one of those welcome constants. Releasing their debut the very year The Rockpit came into existence, the Danish duo now return with their sixth album, Balancing Act, and quite possibly their finest work to date.

Built around the songwriting partnership of Daniel Pedersen and Thomas Charlie Pedersen, Balancing Act is an atmospheric, deeply melodic record that draws heavily from the golden age of late-60s and early-70s British Pop, whilst weaving in progressive flourishes, orchestral textures, and a wonderful sense of inbalance and unease. Rather than aiming for instant hooks or glossy commercial polish, Vinyl Floor creates an immersive listening experience that rewards patience and repeat plays.

Recorded live at Studio Möllan in Malmö and mastered by Søren Vestergaard, the album feels warm, organic, and timeless, with acoustic guitars, understated electronics, horns, and sweeping string arrangements combining beautifully throughout.

There are numerous highlights across the thirteen-track release, but ‘Mr. Rubinstein’ for me and probably most listeners stands tall as the emotional core: it’s a slow-building, harmony-rich composition elevated by stunning arrangements from the Danish Symphony Orchestra.

‘Tell the World It Happened’ is equally compelling, and hypnotic in its use of looping piano motifs and darker vocal textures, whilst ‘Less Dystopian Book’ (Love the title) injects a world-weariness into the mix, cleverly exposing the realities of the music industry without losing the album’s melodic heart. It’s a wonderful ‘balancing act’ with the band balancing introspection with elegance, crafting songs that feel both intimate and expansive simultaneously.

What makes Balancing Act resonate so strongly is its assuredness. There’s no sense of excess or overstatement here –  just experienced musicians trusting their instincts and allowing the songs room to breathe. In a world increasingly obsessed with immediacy and noise, Vinyl Floor has delivered an album that succeeds through atmosphere, subtlety, and above all honesty. Six albums in, the duo sound more assured than ever, and Balancing Act stands as a mature, sophisticated achievement that deserves to reach far beyond the indie underground.

The post ALBUM REVIEW: Vinyl Floor – Balancing Act appeared first on The Rockpit.

Melbourne extremists Melting have released their second EP.

Recorded in Sydney and stripped back to expose their sheer power, A Pathetic Excuse for A Life is out today, streaming everywhere via Greyscale.

You took my hand and took my pain
This kind of chance, it has no name
Into the night
The shadows become truth 

Corlyx’s Sweeter Than Blood, the first single from the band’s forthcoming twelve-track record, takes vampire romance seriously, though not so seriously that one cannot hear a faint bat-wing rustle of theatrical pleasure. The song lives in the Gothic bargain between appetite and devotion, where the lover may be rescuer, risk, or both. Its title suggests intimacy as a force stronger than hunger, which is a useful proposition for anyone trying to date a mysterious count from the ‘Old Country.’ Guitars cut cleanly through the mix, the drums give the track a firmer physical spine, and Caitlin Stokes sings as though desire has led her into a room where every promise arrives with paperwork and possibly a puncture wound.

The release marks another turn in Corlyx’s ongoing transformation. What began as a darkwave duo has grown through a post-punk trio phase into a full-band lineup, now sharpened by the arrival of British drummer Flow Toulman. The result, by the band’s own account, leans toward an alternative rock-meets-classic 80s post-punk synthesis, with goth and deathrock moving to the forefront, while the electronic club DNA remains alive beneath the surface. One can hear kinship with Strange Boutique, The March Violets, Octavian Winters, Feyleux, and Anne Bennett, though Corlyx’s current approach has more bite than polish. There are fangs in the catchy-as-hell hook, but thankfully, no one is making a meal of it.

“This song was inspired by Dracula’s deep enchantment for his beloved Mina, how his love was sweeter than his bloodlust,” says Stokes. “I drew parallels from this idea with my own life experiences in having walls up, guarding my heart, and finally meeting the person who showed me what love could be.”

Sweeter Than Blood follows a nocturnal encounter in which love feels restorative and suspect at once. A cold pull leads the speaker away from ordinary daylight and toward someone who can remove pain, offer protection, and possibly open a wound of another kind. Romance is a threshold: one person stepping toward another while still remembering what abandonment taught them. The heart may be guarded, but the lock has begun to crumble into love dust.

Stokes has also framed Corlyx’s new material as part of a broader return to instruments, bodies, and visible musicianship. “Bands more than ever now need to separate from machines, the listener needs to know right away that a human musician(S) made the song,” Stokes insists. “Just another puzzle piece that pushed us in this direction, but in a subconscious way, it certainly wasn’t deliberate when we started making this next record. It just sort of turned out this way naturally.”

Brandon Ashley describes the shift in similarly practical terms. “We started writing the demos for our next album by having our new drummer track first, this brought a lot new energy, and the guitar sounds we normally use needed more variety,” he explains. “We still have all our classic post-punk sounds, some of them being very unique to us, but as the songs developed we realised things were sounding altogether more Rock.”

The video, directed and edited by Stokes, extends that transformation into image. She also handled the set design and band styling, hand-making many parts of the outfits, with Jason Kahl partially shooting the clip. In it, Stokes appears in a striking white vampire cape, wandering through halls with goblets, severe glances, and ceremonial poise. Around the band performance, the imagery suggests old blood, guarded hearts, and the glamour of surrender. Corlyx enters its next era with a song that treats love as fever, a bargain, and a cure…with just enough fang to leave an imprint in the skin.

Watch the video for Sweeter Than Blood below:

Listen to Sweeter Than Blood below and order the single here.

Follow Corlyx:

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The post “Into the Night” — Goth Rockers Corlyx Sing of Dracula-inspired Romance in Video for “Sweeter Than Blood” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

LEVITATION will return to Austin, Texas, this September with another four-day run of psych, post-punk, darkwave, punk, metal, indie rock, and electronic music spread across the city’s Red River District, East Side venues, and beyond.

The 2026 edition is set for Sept. 10 through 13, with more than 20 shows already announced and 4-day passes and single-show tickets on sale now through Levitation.fm/tix.

This year’s lineup includes Bikini Kill, Molchat Doma, Angine de Poitrine, American Football, The Garden, Die Spitz, Peter Hook & The Light, Smerz, Arlo Parks, Cabaret Voltaire, Acopia, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Man or Astro-Man?, Los Thuthanaka, Elder, Monolord, Friko, Automatic, Sweeping Promises, DITZ, Nitzer Ebb, Tanukichan, Gibby Haynes, Melt-Banana, Pearl & The Oysters, ALI, Primitive Ring, Earth Tongue, and more.

Radio/East will serve as the festival’s central hub this year, with an expanded two-stage layout, while LEVITATION’s late-night and club shows will continue across Austin at Stubb’s, Mohawk, Elysium, 29th St. Ballroom, The 13th Floor, and Central Presbyterian Church.

For the post-punk and darkwave faithful, Saturday is the obvious centerpiece: Molchat Doma tops a Radio/East bill featuring Cabaret Voltaire, Peter Hook & The Light, Automatic, DITZ, Novulent, and I Speak Machine. That same night, Nitzer Ebb headlines Elysium with SINE and Curse Mackey.

Thursday night brings Buzz Kull, Max Fry and Kontravoid to Elysium, while Friday’s Radio/East bill pairs Bikini Kill with Die Spitz, Gibby Haynes’ Butthole Surfers Mania, Sweeping Promises, Melt-Banana and Powerplant. Sunday’s Radio/East show still has a mystery headliner listed as “?????” alongside Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Elder, Primitive Ring, Messa, and Earth Tongue.

Additional artists, DJs, and visual artists are still to be announced.

See the full schedule below.

LEVITATION 2026 Schedule

Thursday, Sept. 10

American Football, Tanukichan, Nine Perfect Lives
Stubb’s

Smerz, Mietze Conte, Acopia
Radio/East

Arlo Parks
Mohawk

Gurriers, Radium Dolls
29th St. Ballroom

Buzz Kull, Max Fry, Kontravoid
Elysium

Friday, Sept. 11

Bikini Kill, Die Spitz, Gibby Haynes: Butthole Surfers Mania, Sweeping Promises, Melt-Banana, Powerplant
Radio/East

The Garden, and more
Stubb’s

Temples, Friko, Poppy Jean Crawford, Villagerrr
Mohawk

Evening Elephants, Jackson Marshall
29th St. Ballroom

Los Thuthanaka, and more
Elysium

El Ten Eleven, and more
The 13th Floor

Saturday, Sept. 12

Molchat Doma, Cabaret Voltaire, Peter Hook & The Light, Automatic, DITZ, Novulent, I Speak Machine
Radio/East

Angine de Poitrine, Man or Astro-Man?
Stubb’s

Monolord, REZN
Mohawk

Takuya Nakamura, and more
29th St. Ballroom

Nitzer Ebb, SINE, Curse Mackey
Elysium

Croz Boyce — Avey Tare & Geologist of Animal Collective
Central Presbyterian Church

ALI, Pearl & The Oysters
The 13th Floor

 

Sunday, Sept. 13

Secret headliner TBA, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Elder, Primitive Ring, Messa, Earth Tongue
Radio/East

Rehash, Makeout Reef
Mohawk

Lunar Vacation, Closebye
29th St. Ballroom

Iguana Death Cult, and more
The 13th Floor

Founded in 2008 as Austin Psych Fest by members of The Black Angels and friends, LEVITATION has grown from a psych-rock gathering into one of the country’s most reliable showcases for underground and independent music. The festival was later renamed in honor of Austin psych-rock pioneers The 13th Floor Elevators, who reunited at LEVITATION in 2015 for the band’s 50th anniversary.

The festival has since expanded far beyond its original psych-rock roots, pulling in dream pop, punk, metal, darkwave, electronic music and experimental sounds while keeping the immersive light shows, visuals, vintage gear and blown-out amps at the center of the experience.

Tickets are on sale now at Levitation.fm/tix.

Follow Levitation:

• Website
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The post Levitation 2026 Lineup Announced With Bikini Kill, Molchat Doma, Peter Hook & The Light, Nitzer Ebb, Cabaret Voltaire, Automatic, Buzz Kull, Kontravoid, and More! appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Members of Comeback Kid, Hot Water Music and Cancer Bats guest on the record.

The post Dead Tired (Alexisonfire) Premiere “Edge Of Entropy” From Their New Album “Hornets Of Fall” appeared first on Theprp.com.