Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett has criticised the state of the current pop scene in a new interview. Speaking to The Irish Times during the metal legends’ stayover in Dublin where they played two huge shows as part of the latest leg of their ongoing 72 Seasons world tour, Kirk took aim at the more straightforward ways in which people are able to make music now, chiefly thanks to the huge advances in technology over the last two decades.
“I kind of lament those days when people had to really struggle to learn, because it’s all in the struggle,” he explains. “And it’s all in the determination and being inspired at the same time that forces you to come up with your own stuff and eventually your own sound and style. I just worry about, how things are so perfect these days, the musicianship. It’s great that all these guitar players have all this vast knowledge of technique at their fingertips. I wonder where it’s leading to.
“I hope it leads to a better quality of pop music, popular music, and just a better quality of songwriting,” he muses. “Because right now, songwriting and pop music is crap. I’m hoping that all these great musicians who can teach themselves through the internet step up and put all that great learning and all that great inspiration into creating new stuff, new songs, the future of music, and at a higher standard than what it is now. Because I’ll say it again, K-R-A-P. Crap. Sorry for all you pop fans out there.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Kirk pays tribute to hugely influential, Dublin-based rock icons Thin Lizzy, who put on the first show Kirk ever attended as a fan when still a young teenager.
“I saw Thin Lizzy when I was 14-years-old in San Francisco,” he says. “It was the first concert I ever saw. And I couldn’t believe that was the band on stage. The guys that I would stare at on the album cover were actually up there on stage.
“These people were real. To me, they’re like comic book superheroes, come to life. I’ll never forget that concert. And Phil Lynnott, Brian Robertson, Scott Gorham, Brian Downey…it was amazing I have to say. It was fantastic.”
Metallica’s 72 Seasons tour will climax with a historic residency at the Las Vegas sphere later this year.
There can’t be many places in the world where you can get married by someone dressed as Freddie Mercury, celebrate by watching an aerial stunt show from the top of a big wheel, then round out your night seeing Linkin Park deal out hit after hit to a crowd 100,000 people strong.
That’s precisely how you could have spent your time at Rock In Rio Lisboa over the weekend though.
Transforming Lisbon’s Parque Tejo into the ‘City Of Rock’ for four days throughout June, as the festival returned for its 11th year, Rock Sound was there to capture the fun – and there was a hell of a lot it to be had.
Since the inception of the multi-day festival in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro back in 1985, Rock In Rio has grown exponentially. Branching out to Lisbon for the first time in 2004, over the years it has expanded to include so much more than music, and this year is no different.
Even before stepping on-site, you could swing by historic pastry shop Pastéis de Belém for a collaboration with Linkin Park, with queues snaking around Lisbon’s streets in hopes of grabbing exclusive goodies from the band.
Once you make your way to the grounds of the City Of Rock, though, good luck trying to cram everything on offer into your schedule. There’s an airshow that plays out like the ultimate half-time show each day, lighting up the sky with a demonstration of synchronized loops, dives and pyrotechnic effects. There are immersive experiences all throughout the iconic Route 85, celebrating four decades of music and culture. Just a short walk away, you’ll find the School of Rock, a space dedicated to platforming the next generation of talent with performances by students from across the globe.
You can hop on the giant wheel for views of the festival site and the Tagus River, there’s a zip line travelling directly in front of the main stage, and there’s even a whole area dedicated to Portugal’s love of football, broadcasting the World Cup matches on a huge screen.
Then, of course, there’s the music. On the festival’s opening day – dedicated to the pop universe and its biggest chart-topping stars – we saw Katy Perry top the bill with a set that found her dancing with aliens, fending of calls from her exes on prop phones, and crowd-surfing in a giant inflatable water bottle.
It was a triumphantly fun way to kickstart Rock In Rio Lisboa 2026, but the festival’s second day moved the spotlight over to the rock world. Rounding out with Linkin Park headlining to a crowd of 100,000, here’s a run through of every artist we managed to catch throughout the day.
Grandson
“No matter what they try to tell you… You are not alone, and you should not be afraid,” Grandson declared mid-way through his opening set on the festival’s main stage, setting the tone for an hour of politically charged rap-infused rock ragers. Taking aim at everything from the militarisation of technology (‘AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY ROBOT’) and nationalism (‘LITTLE WHITE LIES’) to society’s role in pushing people to commit unspeakable acts (‘Darkside’ and ‘YOU MADE ME THIS WAY’), frustration flows through every moment of Grandson’s time onstage, but it’s served up in a way that encourages community over complacency. Emphasising the importance of standing together, channelling our anger into forward motion, and picking one another up when we fall – there’s no better way to kickstart a day celebrating the immense power of rock music.
Photo by Andre Saudade
The Pretty Reckless
If you managed to catch The Pretty Reckless at Download earlier this month, you know that they’re essentially the perfect festival band. Embodying an unstoppable rock-and-roll energy and with enough devilishly anthemic tracks to more than comfortably fill their hour-long stint on the World Stage, from the second Taylor Momsen and co. step onstage – it’s clear they’ve not come to play around. From the rousing stomp of ‘Death By Rock and Roll’ to the gorgeous sensuality of early cuts ‘Miss Nothing’ and ‘Make Me Wanna Die’, everyone in the field appears transfixed, captivated by the sheer rock power radiating from the four musicians before them. A stunning display of the type of mystifying, unifying wonder this music is capable of creating, it’s further proof that The Pretty Reckless are at the top of their game right now.
Photo by Hugo Moreira
P.O.D.
When you can launch into a set with a song loaded with the kind of fervent energy and rousing singalongs that ‘Boom’ boasts in abundance, you’re onto an absolute winner, especially when you’re faced with an audience as enthusiastic as this. With the evening’s antics in full swing by the time the Californian nu-metal icons take to the Palco Music Valley stage, the likes of ‘Satellite’ and ‘Youth Of The Nation’ transport us straight back to 2001, whilst newer cuts ‘Afraid To Die’ and ‘I Got That’ showcase the punchy, scream-along choruses that dominate 2024 album ‘Veritas’. With temperatures soaring to 32 degrees in Lisbon, warming up is almost the last thing Rock In Rio Lisboa needs, but as the crowd disperses after a last roaring rendition of ‘Alive’ – P.O.D. have ensured that vibes are at an all-time high.
Photo by Lucas Coelho
Cypress Hill
There’s something about Cypress Hill firing out a whole hour of psychedelic rock-infused hip-hop tunes as the blazing Portuguese sun goes down that feels almost magical. Stepping onto the World Stage right before Linkin Park, over three decades on from their formation, the Californian crew are still going strong. Whilst that’s partly thanks to their 1996 hit ‘Illusions’ bringing a new generation of fans into the fold with its recent TikTok resurgence, it’s also down to the fact that they have so many absolutely undeniable songs in their arsenal, ready to deal out to a crowd more than ready to play. Powering through the high-octane haziness of ‘I Wanna Get High’ and ‘Hits From The Bong’ and the almost playful fury of ‘Can’t Get The Best Of Me’ and ‘(Rock) Superstar’, despite B-Real having to cut things short due to a crowd injury after ‘Insane In The Brain’, the quartet proved exactly why they belong in front of crowds this size.
Photo by Andre Saudade
Linkin Park
Since joining the band back in 2024, Emily Armstrong has said that ‘Waiting For The End’ is her favourite Linkin Park song, and when you see her perform it tonight – it’s incredibly easy to believe. Powering through the final few shows of a relentless touring schedule, as the ‘A Thousand Suns’ cut reaches its emotional climax, her voice cracks as she raises a hand to wipe at her eyes. In front of her, there of plenty of people doing the exact same thing.
That simple collective reaction speaks volumes about the magnitude of this moment, capturing so much of what this band has come to mean to the 100,000 people stood in this field. With some having set up camp at the barrier from the minute the festival’s gates opened, it’s a reminder that Linkin Park is a family, and everyone is welcomed to join.
Closing out Rock In Rio Lisboa’s first weekend with an unstoppable headline set, that spirit of unity soars through the band’s entire set. Early classics ‘Crawling’ and ‘One Step Closer’ are met with raucous response from the seemingly never-ending sea of bodies, whilst the likes of ‘Two Faced’ and ‘Up From The Bottom’ spark similar chaos, closing out with shouts of, “we love you, Emily!”.
With an incredibly well-deserved break from touring ahead, Linkin Park’s return to Rock In Rio Lisboa emphasises that no matter how much has changed, their core message will always remain the same. Rock music is about togetherness. It’s about supporting each other through the darkest and brightest moments. It’s about trying to focus on what unites us, rather than what divides us. And in 2026, we need that more than ever before.
Photo by Andre Saudade
Rock In Rio Lisboa will return this weekend, with Rod Stewart headlining the World Stage on June 27 and 21 Savage closing things out on June 28.
We’re now into the final day of Amazon Prime Day, but if you’re quick, there’s still time to get a sweet discount on a fresh pile of rock and metal t-shirts. We’ve already had a look at some brilliant Sleep Token merch deals, but if your loyalties lie elsewhere, I’ve got you covered.
Let’s kick things off in the US, where you can get this Black Sabbath World Tour 1978 Sketch t-shirt with a 20% discount – down from $24.99 to £19.99.
If you’re in the UK and have been enjoying seeing Metallica on the latest leg of their M72 tour and want a throwback t-shirt, then there’s 30% off this ...And Justice For All tee, which is down from £20 to just £13.98.
Prime Day: Rock and metal t-shirts – save up to 30% There’s still time to grab a nice discount on a selection of rock and metal t-shirts this Prime Day. Take a sift through and see if anything else catches your eye – then get it quick, because Prime Day will soon be over.View Deal
There are loads of cut-price tees on Amazon, but let’s focus back in on the US for a bit.
Def Leppard are one of the biggest rock bands on the planet and I can recall going into my local HMV back in 1987 and buying Hysteria on cassette. I also saw them on that tour in Edinburgh, but I’m getting side-tracked by nostalgia! If you want to display your love of that era of the band, then this classic Hysteria t-shirt is down from $29.99 to $23.99.
Prefer your rock a little more classic? Then how about this Led Zeppelin 1975 US tour t-shirt? It’s down from $24.99 to $20.79 and it’s one of my favourite designs in this list of Prime Day t-shirt discounts.
If you’re after something a little more straightforward, then this AC/DC red logo t-shirt should fit the bill – and it’s down from $25.99 to $20.79. Meanwhile, Motorhead fans can get their fix with this awesome Snaggletooth design, which has been reduced from $24.99 to £19.99 and it’s a bona fide classic look.
Let’s take a look at the UK side of things again, and you really can’t go wrong with a Pink Floyd The Dark Side Of The Moon design. It’s down from £24.99 to 18.99 for Prime Day.
We’re still getting over the loss of The Prince Of Darkness so if you’d like to pay homage to Ozzy, you can get your hands on a Diary of A Madman tee at Amazon, with the price cut from £24 down to £20.28.
Another classic logo design is on display with this no-nonsense Linkin Park tee, with the price cut from £24.99 to £20.99 making it a must-have for fans of the band.
My final pick goes to the band of the moment: Rush. Geddy and Alex are on tour right now with drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold – and the four of them are delivering spectacular shows. They won’t be in the UK until next year, but while we wait, you can relive the good old days with this America 1977 Tour t-shirt – down from £24.99 to £20.99.
“I think The Black Sea is the perfect introduction to the sonic world we’ve created between us,” says the Marillion guitarist. “We have a very special chemistry.”
“For The Black Sea, our joint guitar sounds with the keys created a strong vibe of intrigue along with a sense of a musical dark sea adventure,” adds Hackett, adding, “It’s not the kind of album that guitarists normally make together.”
“You’re trying to create an atmosphere… like painting a picture,” Rothery continues. “Taking people on a journey.”
The pair are joined on The Roaring Sea with Hackett’s new keyboardist, Riccardo Romano, who has also performed in Rothery’s band as well as French proggers Nine Skies, and who also co-wrote, mixed and played keyboards and bass, and drummer Leon Parr, also from Rothery’s band.
The Roaring Sea is available on several formats, including a limited edition CD+Blu-ray mediabook edition including Dolby Atmos (by Andy Bradfield) and High Resolution Stereo mixes. The album will also be available as a standard CD and a Gatefold 180g LP, cut at half-speed at Abbey Road Studios by Miles Showell. All feature artwork and layouts have been created by Simon War.
I’m almost certain whichever genius told us to never judge a book by its cover never opened the promo package to Astriferous’ Atavistic Unraveling to get a load of this.
Legion. For the Security. Dawn of Possession. Formulas Fatal to the Flesh. Anyone worth talking to about this kinda thing can absolutely draw some accurate conclusions from that. Let’s run through them.
Those albums rule. Atavistic Unraveling probably rules.
Yes! It’s not a canonically great death metal album, but this is an extremely satisfying and calorically dense 37-minutes of death metal. It might just end up being one of my favorites of the whole year.
But … it’s probably some tribute/worship act.
Release date: June 16, 2026. Label: Me Saco Un Ojo.
No! You can’t draw a direct line from Astriferous to any single legacy act like you can with, let’s say, Exhumed to Carcass. Their press material references an admiration for the “the swarming morbidity of early ’90s Finnish death metal,” and while you can dust and find fingerprints of Depravity’s Silence of the Centuries and Demigod’s The Slumber of Sullen Eyes, this is truly just idiomatic death metal that competes through really interesting riffs, eerie atmosphere and cohesive performances.
Ah yes, “meat and potatoes” death metal. A beachhead against the nowadays perversion of my beloved genre.
Yes! BUT ALSO NO! Haha! The “Don’t judge a book by its cover” guy was right! Steeped though it may be in OSDM’s warm waters, Atavistic Unravelling is, deep down, a freaky little record. Tee-shirts and press packets be damned, the only band I really want to talk about in relation to Astriferous is Canadian quirkmeisters Voivod.
You’ll hear it first in the closing minute of album opener “Carriers of the Curse,” where after serving up the skirt steak and fingerlings Astriferous hit you with the BAM! What is that riff that drags itself out of the shit n’ mud Gale Snoats style at 4:07? This riff bespeaks a crew of dudes who enjoyed a season in the shade beneath Dimension Hatröss’ learning tree. Sneaky, spiraling stuff that gets its claws around your ankle and says “heyyy c’meeeere.” Even better, this outro seamlessly bleeds into four massive snare hits that initiate the following track, “The Floating Catacombs.” And that right there just about sums it up. If Atavistic Unraveling were a battle jacket, all the bands featured in the press photo above have patches in places of honor, but they’d live in harmony with this as the centerpiece.
Listen to those lurching, dissonant chords at 1:17 of “Dissolution of Eternity” or the jittery flat-fiths that stutter throughout “Proto-Embryo (The Third Tribulation).” Only the players can tell you which artists directly influenced the idiosyncratic riffing style that predominates throughout Atavistic (and maybe they’d draw a more direct line to death metal acts like Immolation and Demilich). All I can tell you is what I hear. I hear a deep and abiding love of Voivod couched within a decidedly unadulterated approach to death metal. And that makes me very, very happy.
I knew the tee-shirts wouldn’t steer me wrong. Atavistic Unraveling rules.
Yes! It’s death metal that comes to you via the genre’s very handy filtering mechanism, which selects almost exclusively for musicians who really like death metal. So, Astriferous’ compositions do not betray an interest in turning death metal into something different. What I do hear, though, is a band that loves death metal. And one that pairs the requisite talent with a robust understanding of heavy metal’s history to contribute something worthwhile to the genre. It’s death metal well done, with a little something extra. Dig in.
Zurück auf dem Holy Ground: Der originale WACKEN Shot 2026 aus der Bio-Safterei Voelkel. Ein Kick für laute Tage und lange Nächte – fruchtig-scharf mit Ingwer und Chili sowie vielen natürlichen Vitaminen. Streng limitiert im exklusiven Design ist der Shot für Sammler*innen längst ein Must-have.
Entdecke Voelkel auf dem Farmers Market, probiere dich durchs Bio-Sortiment und drehe am Glücksrad: Jeden Tag warten neue Gewinne auf dich.
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Waterparks have dropped a new piece of their upcoming album ‘JINX’ and it finds them in a suitably cheeky mood.
Titled ‘BETTER THAN THERAPY’, musically it is classic bubblegum Parx. Addictively catchy, wonderfully buoyant and shimmering in all the right ways. But dive in a little bit deeper and you’ll find a very honest look at what it means to find someone to walk this wild Earth with who is just as unpredictable and unrelenting. It’s cheeky, chaotic and gooey-eyed, everything that the band continue to embody better than anybody else.
There’s even a little bit of a heavy riff in there for the moshers.
As Awsten Knight puts it, “Here’s the thing. I actually haven’t been to therapy in a couple years and I think it’s catching up with me…”
‘JINX’ is set for release on July 24 via BMG. Here is previous single, ‘PROWLER’:
Waterparks are on the cover of the latest issue of Rock Sound.
Northern rock heavyweights Massive Wagons have announced a very special co-headline UK tour with Bradford rock legends Terrorvision. The Roar of the Roses Tour will bring together two of the UK’s most electrifying live acts for a celebration of British rock, kicking off in January 2027. Despite years of crossing paths on festival bills and […]
After months of anticipation, The Pretty Reckless have finally released their fifth studio album, Dear God, marking the band’s first full-length record since 2021’s Death By Rock And Roll.
Led by the unmistakable voice of Taylor Momsen, the album continues the band’s evolution while staying true to the hard rock sound that has earned them a loyal worldwide following. Across its 14 tracks, Dear God explores themes of vulnerability, redemption, struggle and resilience, combining emotionally charged songwriting with powerful guitar-driven arrangements. The album arrives via Fearless Records following a series of singles that introduced fans to this new chapter, including For I Am Death, When I Wake Up, Love Me and the title track Dear God.
The title track stands out as one of the album’s emotional centrepieces. Built around Taylor Momsen’s commanding vocal performance, the song gradually develops from restrained verses into a soaring chorus before culminating in an expressive guitar solo. Speaking about the track, Momsen described it as “desperation set to music,” reflecting the album’s darker and more introspective direction.
Produced by Jonathan Wyman alongside Taylor Momsen and Ben Phillips, Dear God showcases a band willing to embrace a more personal and uncompromising style of songwriting while retaining the heavy riffs and melodic hooks that have defined The Pretty Reckless throughout their career.
The release also coincides with the beginning of an extensive 2026 world tour, which will see the band perform across North America before heading to Europe and the UK later this year.
Whether you’re a long-time fan or discovering the band for the first time, Dear God is an album that rewards repeated listens, balancing moments of introspection with explosive hard rock energy.
You’ll hear it first in the closing minute of album opener “Carriers of the Curse,” where after serving up the skirt steak and fingerlings Astriferous hit you with the BAM! What is that riff that drags itself out of the shit n’ mud Gale Snoats style at 4:07? This riff bespeaks a crew of dudes who enjoyed a season in the shade beneath Dimension Hatröss’ learning tree. Sneaky, spiraling stuff that gets its claws around your ankle and says “heyyy c’meeeere.” 
