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“Defixiones”, the newest single from Opera IX‘s soon-to-be-released long player Veneficium, has premiered online in the form of an official music video.
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The work on Hulder‘s third studio album is completed. Details of the Verbolgen, tracklist and cover artwork, are at your disposal below. Official release date: August 7, 2026 (20 Buck Spin).
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Puscifer – San Diego Civic Theatre – May 13, 2026

I was completely unprepared for Wednesday night’s Puscifer show in San Diego.  I’ve been to hundreds of concerts, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard cleaner sound, with the possible exception of David Gilmour at the Hollywood Bowl in 2016, and that’s rarified air.  The lighting, choreography, and musicianship were off the chart, and the 3000 people packed inside the San Diego Civic Theatre got the show of their lives. 

Puscifer

I became aware of Puscifer almost 20 years ago when “Cuntry Boner” suddenly came blasting out of my satellite radio, and I almost crashed my car listening to the lyrics.  I had no idea they were a Maynard James Keenan project at first, but as I did a deep dive into them, I soon came to realize what an interesting venture it was.  Despite having the same vocalist and leader, Puscifer sounded nothing like Tool or A Perfect Circle – comedic at times, theatrical always, with live shows that could easily be considered performance art, they looked and sounded like no one else. 

The new album Normal Isn’t came out in February, and ten of the eighteen songs performed on this night were from it.  While leaning heavily into the new material, the evening’s setlist was curated like a favorite record from the 1970’s, where extreme care was taken so that one song would set up the next, and you’d be taken on a sonic journey as the evening unfolded and revealed itself.

The stage had two levels, and the show started with Maynard and Carina Round atop the upper level in front of a video screen displaying “Puscifer” and behind the drums and dual Moog keyboards.  They descended the stairs during the second song, and both spent most of the night close to the audience.  The lighting was moody and theatrical, and continually shifting in intensity, color, and what was being hidden or revealed.  The third full-time member Mat Mitchell on guitar and keyboards sounded incredible – I can’t stress how amazing the musicianship was at this show, further complimented by Gunnar Olsen on drums, and Josh Moreau on bass.  As mentioned earlier, the sound was superb, with each instrument and voice clearly definable, with nothing getting muddied in the mix.  The stellar acoustics provided exactly the right atmosphere for Carina’s haunting and ethereal voice to form a textured and symbiotic bond with Maynard vocals, creating an unreal sonic experience.  In addition to the next-level acoustics, the visuals and choreography between Maynard and Carina demanded your full attention, with the only decision required was who to look at. 

While “Cuntry Boner” was nowhere to be found in the setlist, Maynard did bring out a Shake Weight during “Mantastic”, and opening act comedian Dave Hill appeared on stage during “The Remedy” to present a wooden box holding two Nerf handguns for a duel between Maynard and Carina.  Both faced off, before taking ten paces, turning, and firing.  When toy pistols proved ineffective, Maynard moved to a crossbow, while Carina emerged holding a large, over-the-top Nerf gun to get in the final word. 

A cool element was the no photo/video policy.  Signs were posted everywhere, and security was roaming the theater to keep people from pulling out their phones and causing a distraction, both to the performers and the audience.  I’ve been to shows where phones were placed in a sealed bag for the duration of the show, but this version using the honor system proved to be effective, with zero phones coming out from my vantage point.  It was a welcome addition – while we’d all like to have a souvenir to take home from the show or to post online, being in the moment and enjoying the incredible visual showcase without someone in front sticking their arms up in the air to get their phone higher than the person in front of them was refreshing. 

This was one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen.  The musicianship was outstanding, and the setting it was presented in was more like a Broadway show than a rock concert, and I mean that in the best possible way.  Every element was considered and thought of, and the spectacle was unlike anything I’ve seen at a concert, making for a truly memorable night. 

Puscifer is:

• Maynard James Keenan – Vocals
• Carina Round – Vocals
• Mat Mitchell – Guitar/Production
• Gunnar Olsen – Drums
• Josh Moreau – Bass

Setlist:

1) Thrust

2) Self Evident

3) Bad Wolf

4) Normal Isn't

5) The Algorithm

6) The Quiet Parts

7) Pendulum

"Bangers and Mashups" Short Film

8) The Arsonist

9) Mantastic

10) Bullet Train to Iowa

11) The Remedy

Intermission

12) Horizons

13) ImpetuoUs

14) Momma Sed (Versatile Mix)

15) Seven One

16) Grand Canyon

17) Conditions of My Parole

18) A Public Stoning

Dave Hill

I discovered Dave Hill a few years ago while scrolling on Instagram.  Suddenly there was some awkward guy riding his bike poorly, doing sad parkour, ripping sweet guitar solos, and knocking over and flipping off traffic cones…all to a Pantera soundtrack.  Who is this guy? 

Not to bore you, but my wife and I went to Europe a few years ago to see concerts.  I paid the guitarist of the band we were traveling to see to make a Cameo video to surprise my wife with details of the trip, but it was terrible.  Unsolicited, he sent a second video, which was also hilariously awful.  Determined to make things right, I hired Dave to do a Cameo video for $40.  Dave was great, and went on and on for about six minutes, culminating by suggesting I take my wife to a restaurant in Stokholm Sweden called Rolfs Kök (sound it out phonetically), which we made a point of Ubering to when we were in Stokholm.

Dave’s humor is slightly off kilter, nervous, and uncomfortable.  Tonight’s show was filled with an unmotivated demonstration of nunchucks, a rundown of local San Diego locations, pushups, berating his band, and (as he described them) “sweet ass bike tricks” that I would describe as semi-underwhelming and child-like BMX tricks executed in slow motion.  I couldn’t gauge if the audience initially knew what was going on, but if not, they figured it out quickly and were soon cheering wildly.  He was a perfect fit for Puscifer, and I can see why Maynard chose him to open. 

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You may note that I haven’t published a full review in more than a week. You may also note that my most recent contribution to AMG Productions was a ranking for the best of death metal’s old guard. You may peek at the score below and question my ability to remain objective in light of my recent musical diet. But worry not, dear reader! Objectivity is my prime objective, Fairness and Justice my guiding lights. You can rest assured that this review of Ignobleth’s debut LP, Manor of Primitive Anticreation, contains naught but Unbiased and Very Correct Opinions™.

Hailing from northern Italy, Ignobleth peddles a unique blend of black and death metal. This trio, comprised of A.L. on guitar, A.B. on bass and vocals, and M.O. on drums, combines the esoteric psychosis of Ritual Ascension with the grime and filth of Rotpit and an HM2 pedal. The result is a worship service held in the darkest recesses of a city sewer system. Murky, mangy riffs echo and multiply as they careen down lightless, sweating passageways, and haunted rasps reverberate in the mire. Together, Ignobleth creates an oppressive and turbid atmosphere, most acutely felt on “Proselyte Pig I” and “And the Lunar Mass Shatters.” The loping, swinging main riff of the former evokes gothic, vaudevillian horror, while M.O.’s icy kit work on the latter encourages eldritch panic.

Speaking of M.O., his percussive assault is perhaps the highlight of Manor of Primitive Anticreation, but not for the reason you might think. Indeed, he effortlessly oscillates between blackened blasts, death-infused rhythms, and punky beats (“Warped Abyssal Architecture,” “Forked Tongues”), but the predominance of the drums here is largely a result of a very subpar production job. Vocals and drums are centered on an unnecessarily wide sound stage with strings as far left and right as they can go, and as a result, each track feels less like a cohesive song and more like instruments playing at the same time. And while A.L.’s guitar is fairly clear when spotlighted for leads and hooks, the second the rest of the band joins in, it becomes barely audible mush. Prime examples include “Obelisk of Deformity,” which, during faster paced sections, becomes a wall of indeterminable sound, and “Proselyte Pig II,” which drowns its main riff in vat of sludge, such that I can barely hear more than two notes when I know A.L. is playing several more.

Would that the woes of Manor of Primitive Anticreation stopped there. Ignobleth includes an intro and three separate interludes on an album spanning only 11 tracks (“Intro,” “Spores,” “Interlude: Lecherous Sex Magick,” and “Manor of Primitive Anticreation”¹). Interludes and ambient pieces can work, but here, they’re little more than minorly spooky synths, garbled spoken word, and choral bits that annoyingly interrupt the main course. Manor of Primitive Anticreation boldly includes even more ambience in the outro of “And the Lunar Mass Shatters,” and the last two minutes of album closer, “Among the Seventy-Two Embalmed Ekpyrotic Gods.” Even if the pacing were tighter and less stilted, the songwriting itself leaves much to be desired. Repetition runs rampant through the album (“Among…,” “Proselyte Pig I,” “Obelisk of Deformity”), blunting riffs and passages that could have bitten much harder. There’s also an overreliance on wordless howls over mildly furious instrumental sections. It’s so frequent that song structures seem composed almost entirely of bridges and solos with few verses or choruses to be found, compounding the album’s repetitive tendencies.

This has been a frustrating album to work with. While Ignobleth’s tone is deliciously vile, the songwriting and production leave me deeply disappointed. Over several spins, I got the distinct impression that Manor of Primitive Anticreation isn’t blackened death metal so much as something that sounds vaguely like it. It’s fine in the background, but direct attention reveals it to be a shallow imitation. Much of Manor of Primitive Anticreation seems geared toward a live audience—song structures, tone, prevalence of blast beats—and I have no doubt that it fucks quite hard in such a setting. Unfortunately, this style does not translate well to a studio production, much less the review process.

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Rating: 1.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Caligari Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: April 17th, 2026

The post Ignobleth – Manor of Primitive Anticreation Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

The old school pop-punk vibes are strong on the new split 7″ featuring J Prozac and Space Age Zeros, and I am here for it! Out on Critical Mass Music, this split is hitting all the right notes with me largely because so many of my favorite pop-punk records over the years have been in this format. 

It’s always a pleasure to review anything that J Prozac is involved with, and Space Age Zeros are one of the best of the newer pop-punk groups out there. Sometimes the J Prozac recordings are a little different from the stuff he puts out with The Prozacs. So the twist with “Digging Holes” is that it reminds me of classic Prozacs! This is textbook Lookout! Records–influenced pop-punk with the melodic lead guitar and whoa-oh harmonies in the forefront. But what perhaps makes this more of a J Prozac song is the more mature perspective in the lyrics. I like how Jay has shown that pop-punk for grown-ups can still sound like the pop-punk we all grew up on. “Chemical Reaction” was a nice surprise. It’s a semi-acoustic number that still has the spirit of pop-punk. Musically, this is a little more MTX than Screeching Weasel, and Jay really excels in this space. I love the sentiment of the song. It’s a positive, feelgood number all the way, and we need more of that kind of energy in the world.  

On the Space Age Zeros side, “Cheryl Scott” gives me all the feels. This is throwback pop-punk that’s melody-forward and wears its heart on its sleeve. It’s got a crisp, clean sound that takes me back to a time when my musical world revolved around the Parasites. “Seasons of You” has a different feel: rougher around the edges and more melodic punk than pop-punk — but still super-catchy and full of heart. 

And so there you have it. The key to a successful split is getting two bands that go well together and making sure they can bring quality material to the table. There are no throwaways here. This could easily have been two individual singles that both would have been worth buying. Putting them on one record is a deal and a steal!

Back with its first new release in a few years, Sourpunch lets it rip on the excellent new EP Shake Them Bones. This Rhode Island–based foursome fronted by Jenn Lombari (also of the excellent melodic punk duo Stubborn Hearts, which also includes drummer Doug Metivier) plays awesome high energy punk/pop/rock ‘n roll music that will get your heart pounding and your toes tapping. “Lipstick and Black” and “Gin Buzz” are in rockin’ pop-punk territory, while “Rebound n Down” is full of ’50s OG rock ‘n’ roll spirit. The theme song “Sourpunch Stomp” is a party-starter with a touch of Devil Dogs swagger. “Dead Friends” is fast and frenzied and poignant is hell. “Going up the Country” is a rocked-up cover of the Canned Heat classic. With Jenn Lombari, you’re always going to get passion and feeling in the vocals. So even though this is a fun record to put on and shake them bones to, there’s an emotional depth and soul to a lot of these songs that is sometimes missing in punk rock ‘n’ roll world. If you like no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll that kicks a whole lot of ass but can also make you laugh and cry, this EP is for you!

Halestorm put on the performance of a lifetime at Sonic Temple 2026