Remembered mostly for her late-’60s stint with THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Dorothy Moskowitz quit show business for good a few years further down the line only to see the renewed interest in her oeuvre, which prompted the now-retired lady … Continue reading →
U.S. death Metal giants Incantation might just be ready to rechristen themselves In-CAN-tation, as they have announced a new food drive initiative as the band continues its leg of the “Praise the Beast North American tour” alongside fellow bruisers Belphegor, Hate and Narcotic Wasteland.
“As a musician, I have had times when things have been tight, including the last few years, so I know how difficult it is to sometimes choose between medical bills and paying for food or housing. I understand this is the life I chose and, in fact, I’m proud of it,” says longtime frontman John McEntee.
“The are others less fortunate who don’t even have the chance to afford food or shelter. So, I decided to have a food drive at the remaining shows on this tour and donate to the local food banks in the venues’ communities.”
The band requests that fans bring non-perishable food donations (cans, dry goods, etc.) at the door of the events each night.
“I know times are rough, and if you can’t bring anything, I totally understand. But if you can give, let’s do our part to help out our local communities,” McEntee offer. “We need local people in the cities where we are playing to provide us with contacts for local food banks, or even better, people willing to help us drop off the collected food after the show.”
The initiative was partly inspired by an issue earlier on the tour where in Incantation do not have access to venue hospitality each show, resulting in the members not having meals of their own for several nights.
“I know what it’s like, and I don’t want anybody on the face of the Earth to go through this,” McEntee continues. “We have had so many people reach out with help after I made my last post about our hospitality issues, and all of us in the band appreciate all the kind gestures. The more I thought about it, the more I realized there are people in much more dire situations. We will get through our own stuff, but we need to help others. We need to give back. If you are local to these cities and can help us transport the donations, please reach out!”
So don’t devour death — help others devour no-perishable goods and catch Incantation on their remaining date with with Belphgor, Hate and Narcotic Wasteland below:
02/27 Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
02/28 Haltom City, TX @ Haltom Theater
03/01 Houston, TX @ Scout Bar
03/02 San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger
03/05 Mesa, AZ @ The Rosetta Room
03/06 San Diego, CA @ Brick by Brick
03/07 San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge
03/08 Roseville, CA @ Goldfield Trading Post
03/09 Los Angeles, CA @ 1720
03/10 Anaheim, CA @ The Observatory
After years of fronting some of rock’s most iconic acts, Erik Grönwall returns with a solo album titled “Bad Bones” out on May 22nd. Today we get a first taste of the album in the shape on the title track ‘Bad Bones‘. Known worldwide for his powerhouse vocals and commanding stage presence, Erik has made […]
Atreyu have revealed everything you need to know about their new full-length, the follow-up to 2023’s ‘The Beautiful Side of Life’.
It’s going to be titled ‘The End Is Not The End’, and will be yours on April 24 via Spinefarm.
Frontman Brandon Saller had this to say about it:
“We realized what made Atreyu great in the beginning was that we didn’t sound like anyone else. We didn’t really make sense anywhere. We weren’t an emo band, a metal band, a punk band — but somehow it all worked. We kind of just carved our own path.”
“It’s our heaviest, most metal record we’ve made. But it’s also the biggest musical journey we’ve taken in years.”
The artwork looks like this:
And the tracklisiting like this:
1. The End Is Not The End 2. Dead 3. Break Me 4. All For You 5. Ghost In Me 6. Glass Eater 7. Wait My Love, I’ll Be Home Soon 8. Ego Death 9. Death Rattle 10. Children Of Light 11. In The Dark 12. Afterglow 13. Break The Glass
That means that it includes the previously released ‘Ego Death’ and ‘Dead’, but also the freshly unleashed ‘All For You’. A metal ballad of the highest calibre, it showcases Brandon’s undeniably spine-tingling vocals abilities as well as the band’s insatiable knack for making even the most beautiful of lyrics feel crushing.
The band had this to say about the song:
“It’s hard to give someone what they want or need when they don’t know what that thing is. It’s hard to love someone who doesn’t love themselves.”
The band will be heading on tour in various capacities across the US in support of the new record. Here are all the dates.
APRIL
15 – MILWAUKEE The Rave^ 17 – DES MOINES Wooly’s^ 18 – ST. LOUIS Delmar Hall^ 20 – INDIANAPOLIS Egyptian Room at Old National Centre* 21 – LEXINGTON Manchester Music Hall* 22 – BIRMINGHAM Iron City Bham* 24 – MOBILE Soul Kitchen Music Hall* 25 – DESTIN Club LA* 27 – CORPUS CHRISTI House Of Rock^ 28 – DALLAS House of Blues* 29 – OKLAHOMA Diamond Ballroom*
MAY
01 – DENVER Summit* 02 – ALBUQUERQUE Sunshine Theater* 04 – WICHITA The Cotillion* 05 – SPRINGFIELD Regency Live* 07 – DAYTONA BEACH Welcome to Rockville+ 08 – GREENBORO Hangar 1819^ 09 – NORTH MYRTLE BEACH House of Blues* 11 – NORFOLK The NorVa* 12 – HARRISBURG XL Live* 14 – MCKEES ROCK Roxian Theatre* 15 – COLUMBUS Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival+ 16 – BALTIMORE Nevermore Hall* 17 – ASBURY PARK House of Independents^ 19 – CHARLOTTE The Fillmore* 20 – KNOXVILLE The Mill & Mine*
After removing my clothes, I wade into the promo sump. Yes, nakedness is advised for such a foray, as any loose material can get you ensnared by the bog’s filtration and disposal machinery or by the foul denizens that reside within the sludge. I enter herein with a single purpose in mind: to find a promo that will restore my credibility as a reviewer, if I ever had any to begin with. Since my return to the hall, I’ve written 3.5 after 3.5, and I am in search of something that will bring my average down before I am made to “non-suspiciously” disappear again. I reach down and grasp a promising prospect. Pieces of congealed n00b meat and 16-year-old promo remains fall from the cover, revealing a band name that sounds like some guy’s last name and a photo of several dudes in various tough-guy poses. I smile, allowing myself to hope that I’ve found what I’m looking for. Further investigation reveals Rozario’s Northern Crusaders to be a 50-minute-long heavy/power metal album, and I tell myself that this has 2.5 written all over it. Yep, this’ll do.
My confidence grows when I see that these Norwegians have picked the album’s first two songs as singles. “Fire and Ice” starts things off with some energetic power metal-infused heavy metal that brings Dream Evil immediately to mind. After a huge earworm chorus and some killer riffing and leads, the song winds down, and I’m horrified to realize that I’ve been involuntarily smiling and headbanging the whole time. Fear not, I say to myself. The next single can’t be as good. “We are One” takes the momentum of the opener and runs with it. I hear Brainstorm. I hear Dio. I hear more Dream Evil. I hear an even bigger chorus. Shit.
Not to worry! I’m sure they’ve simply stacked the singles at the front because they’re the best tunes. A qualitative drop-off is sure to come! Just as those foolish words finish leaving my mind-lips, “Down Low” slaps me across the face with a down-tuned chug that I didn’t see coming. This PED-enhanced version of Rozario, also seen on “Sleepless” and “Betrayed,” fits the Brainstorm mold alluded to above, and even ventures towards Mystic Prophecy levels of heaviness. “Crusader” and “Die Like Warriors” both see the band putting their Saxon pants on, their quality daring me to add them both to my “SWOARDS” playlist of battle-ready metal.
I finish Northern Crusaders for the first time and am surprised at just how fast the album’s 50 minutes flew by. I play it again. I like it even more. I am totally fucked. Sure, I can look across the album’s track list and pick out two songs that I don’t absolutely love (“Coming Home” and “The Warning”), but they’re still good songs whose place in the runtime almost totally mitigates any potential impact they could have had on the overall flow. I’m rather pissed that singer David Rosario puts in a journeyman performance with his weathered voice, and I’m even more upset that he’s filled his near-eponymous band with so much talent, particularly on guitar. The duo of Stein Hjertholm and Taran Lister has filled these tracks with muscular riffs, beautiful leads, and face-melting solos, and this is a huge reason that Northern Crusader feels so effortless and easily replayable. Even the production is fantastic. Gah! What a catastrophe!
It’s now been several weeks since I plucked this from the sump. As I put the finishing touches on the review and prepare to enter the final rating, I am suddenly aware of a presence in the room with me. I look up from my laptop screen to see 3.5 glaring at me with a sinister smile on its face. “You couldn’t live with your own failure,” it says. “Where did that bring you? Back to me.” I type the score, realizing it is futile to resist, fully aware that I’ve made the mistake of judging Rozario’s Northern Crusaders by its cover. I slam my computer screen down, stand up, and walk away, naked and full of shame.1
Swedish modern power metal force METALITE have officially signed a worldwide contract with PERCEPTION – A Division Of Reigning Phoenix Music, marking a major new milestone in the band’s rapidly ascending career!
Following the signing, the band have unleashed their brand-new single, “Our Time Has Come”, a high-energy anthem that showcases everything fans have come to expect from METALITE: massive melodies, driving riffs, and a futuristic edge wrapped in razor-sharp production.
Guitarist, producer, songwriter and founder Edwin Premberg comments: “We’re beyond excited to finally share our new single Our Time Has Come with you. This song kicks off a powerful new chapter for METALITE and marks the beginning of our upcoming concept album ‘Discovery’ where the story continues on a new planet and humanity begins a new life. It’s a classic METALITE track – full of high energy, soaring melodies, and that unmistakable METALITE sound. This is only the beginning, and we can’t wait to take this journey together with you”.
With its soaring vocal lines, pounding rhythm section, and cinematic synth layers, “Our Time Has Come” captures METALITE at full throttle. The track blends melodic precision with modern production punch, delivering an arena ready chorus that’s impossible to ignore.
Formed in 2015 by guitarist Edwin Premberg and vocalist Emma Bensing, the band quickly gained recognition for its fresh and modern take on melodic metal and their 2017 debut album Heroes in Time set the stage for METALITE’s rise.
In 2019, the band entered a new era with Biomechanicals, marking the debut of vocalist Erica Ohlsson. Their evolution continued with A Virtual World in 2021, an album that expanded on their sci-fi themes while delivering massive soundscapes and powerful melodies.
With Expedition One (2024), METALITE embarked on their most ambitious project to date. A visionary concept album set in the year 2055, it tells the story of a renegade team searching for a new world, exploring themes of human evolution, technology, and survival.
In 2024, the band welcomed drummer Erik Junttila to the lineup, bringing new energy and power to their sound. His premiere gig with the band took place in Linköping at the beginning of 2025, marking an exciting new chapter in METALITE’s journey.