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Poison The Well drummer Chris Hornbrook has recently unveiled a full multi-cam drum play-through of “Thoroughbreds“, taken from the band’s latest album, Peace In Place, which arrived earlier this year. The metalcore veterans have the following dates scheduled for October: Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com

30 years after the release of their first album, Chicago melodic punk band Sludgeworth return with their 2^nd LP, Second Time Around.  According to their Bandcamp bio, this is a culmination of both a reunion from Riot Fest and weekly booze-filled jam sessions.

What they present to us is a new collection of melodic punk rock songs to get you headbanging and remembering the good old days.  It may have just been a natural result from multiple hangouts, but there is very noticeable attention given to the creation of Second Time Around that has very clear messages that go beyond being an old punk band. 

Ultimately, it is a personal album for the band. The core themes from this album include reminiscing and offering advice for their younger selves (“Can’t Change Yesterday”, “Hurry Up, I Don’t Have Forever”).  It does also address the present and the uncertainties of the nation in songs such as “Simulation” and “Tipping Point”.

Second Time Around also features some really great guitar riffs, standout beats, and clean vocals.  It’s very well an album that could’ve been released in the early 90s if the band stuck around, sharing the same melodic punk sounds as No Use For A Name and Propagandhi.

Overall, this is a fantastic melodic punk album that sounds like it’s from the 90s punk era. Despite a 3-decade time skip, Sludgeworth has aged finely and proves that older punk bands can still put out absolute bangers.  So hit up an old friend, grab a beer, and laugh about the past, because Second Time Around is meant just for that.

Favorite songs: “Hold Steady”, “Our Better Angels”, “Trouble Brewing”

“Second Time Around” by Sludgeworth is available for purchase on Bandcamp.

Hamburg shoegaze outfit The First Eloi releases “Drawn Into These Headlights,” mixed and mastered by legendary producer James

Live Review: ArcTanGent 2026 – Thursday

20th August 2026
Words: Matt Noble
Photos: Rich Price

My first band of the weekend was Belgian post-metallers Psychonaut. Their low tunings give them a sludgy quality from the early Baroness playbook, as well as a bit of post-hardcore emotivity in the vocal delivery. With an enchanting stage presence, they calmly let their music and soundscaping do the talking, which is often spacey and ethereal. At times, the hypnotic rhythms even give their set somewhat of a tribal feel. This really is the sort of set to lose yourself to. It’s not all standing around pensively stroking beards, though, as they made time to engage the crowd and get everyone clapping along, living up to their slot on the main stage at a festival of this size. Showing their strength as individuals and as a unit, their polished and atmospheric performance isn’t just ‘good vibes’, but a spellbinding set that really shows off what the band is all about.

French post-black titans Alcest unfortunately had their set cut short due to logistical and travel issues, but made every second count on the main stage as soon as the lights dimmed. Their dreamy black metal is tailor-made for a festival like Arctangent, and they received a deservedly warm reception for their atmospheric, professional and technically flawless performance. Setlist staples like ‘Sapphire’ or the closing ‘Eclosion’ showed them in fine form, with their haunting vocal melodies, layered instrumentation and occasional blasts into extreme territory making their case as a festival highlight for many present. Last time out they were on the second stage. Delivering a (shorter) performance today with musical brilliance and heaps of presence, this felt like a step up even from then.

What can be said about Igorrr? It’s rare to have the adjectives ‘gothic’, ‘operatic’ and ‘electronic’ all in one place in a reviewer’s notepad, but no one else sounds like Igorrr, and don’t they know it. Utilising such a wide range of influences, to witness Igorrr is an experience of sorts. The instrumentation is unconventional, the lighting is manic – and that’s exactly what draws people into their musical cult. They get the crowd moving and dancing quickly, building a proper festival atmosphere, almost causing the band’s watertight performance to go over people’s heads. Hair-raising blackened vocal screeches and blasts of electronica keep us all on our toes for the full 75 minutes. The best and simplest way to describe and remember this performance would be the sheer intensity of it all, from the stage production, to the musical quality, to the titanic physical presence of those on stage. Again, this is a band that feels most at home at a musically open-minded event like Arctangent, and they really deliver the goods tonight. 

Thursday night headliner Chelsea Wolfe follows on to pull out all the stops for such a (deservedly) high-profile slot. Her striking stage show and incredible sense of aura and grandeur command the main stage, but with a graceful calmness as the overflowing tent is lulled into a trance for over an hour. Amid the quiet moments, the crowd is incredibly respectful, hanging onto every note. But when they turn up to eleven, the band’s soundscaping, crushing distorted guitars, and use of electronics sound truly immense out the front, while Wolfe’s haunting, ethereal vocals lead with elegance. 

After a guest vocal appearance from Alcest’s Neige that added a sense of one-off and ‘you had to be there’ to the festival headline, Wolfe played three songs from ‘The Dark’, her latest album that came out the following day (or about an hour after the set ended, in real time). This really felt like a special, celebratory performance that lived up to its billing. Closing with ‘16 Psyche’ to a rapturous reception, her set ended on a genuinely high note. Time to place your bets on a runthrough of ‘Bloodmoon: I’ with Converge this time next year?

Photo credits: Rich Price

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

The post Live Review: ArcTanGent 2026 – Thursday appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

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Live Gallery: ArcTanGent 2026 – Thursday

20th August 2026
Photos: Rich Price

Chelsea Wolfe

MØL

Igorrr

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza

Alcest

XO Armour

Michael Cera Palin

Nordic Giants

Benthos

Psychonaut

Klamp

Iskandr

Witchsorrow

Terminals

Sleemo

Photo credits: Rich Price

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

The post Live Gallery: ArcTanGent 2026 – Thursday appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Featuring guest guitarist Juancho Gómez of Masacre

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The Netherlands-based symphonic deathcore band Tenuem premiere a new single and music video by the name of "The Forsaken, The Damned, The Condemned". The track appears on their brand new EP “Beneath The Field ov Bones“, which is out in stores as of today. Check out "The Forsaken, The Damned, The Condemned" streaming via YouTube and Spotify f… Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com

Posted on September 1st 2026, 12:47pm

Fat Lars releases nostalgic single “Sunset Ride,” a California-inspired track resurrected and refined with a new lineup. Alternative