Much anticipated, and preluded with three fantastic single releases earlier in the month, Chat Pile’s Who Loves the Sun unleashes exactly what we were all hoping for in the bands fifth studio album. The nasty-sounding Oklahoma quartet’s particular brand of racket has affected and inspired the airwaves for a few years now, with a unique and pretty special brand of noise-meets-sludge-meets-hardcore, with a post-punk twist of despair thrown in for good measure.
Creature starts off the album with a trademark ugly aggression, helped along by the pure filth of the bass tone, twisting into the crashing rhythms of one of the pre-released tracks Deep Blue. The album progresses to Same Rules with an unsettling atmosphere that reminded me a little bit of some of Earthtone9’s slower and darker sounding tracks.
PEN I S MALL comes in next with a notably more aggressive and abrasive feeling to it, more straightforward aggression than the dark nastiness of previous tracks; another one that was released prior to the album coming out and for good reason – this is a track to play to your mates who don’t know the band and show them what Chat Pile are all about. Shrine and Intruder both show off a pretty cool throwback 90’s sound whilst also remaining modern and innovative with really cool and noticeable guitar riffs as a main hook, and Kayo Dot vibes in relation to musical artistry.
Sinister, sludgy and noisy are the main focus of Christabel ’26, before back to more heavy, gross guitar-led stand-out track Influence. The bands true avant-garde and artistic side shines through next with the spoken work horror show that is Family Funeral reminiscent of some of Oxbow’s finer work, before the finale of October All the Time wraps up the album as though it’s the aftermath of something truly awful and despairing (totally in a good way!).
This is a cracking album. If you’re a fan of Chat Pile anyway you won’t be disappointed by any means. It delivers what we’d like it to in terms of just about everything really, and delivers it well, with gusto, aggression and a foul taste. Newbies to the band will be impressed with the bands unique and innovative approach to the genre, almost the perfect balance between art-rock and no-bullshit. Play loud and play often.
Sharon Osbourne has publicly defended Marilyn Manson against the sexual assault and abuse allegations made against him since 2021. Speaking with her son Jack on the latest episode of The Osbournes podcast, she called Manson a great artist, said she doesn’t believe he did what he’s been accused of, and described him as a friend who always will be. She went considerably further than that, too — making a graphic claim about something she says she personally witnessed involving one of the women currently suing him. Manson has never been criminally charged and denies all of the allegations.
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Scott Penfold covers the Sharon Osbourne comments on today’s Metal Breakdown Daily — what she actually said, where the legal case genuinely stands, and why the distinction between civil and criminal keeps getting lost in this story. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and get it every weekday morning.
What she said
Her position, in her own framing.
She began by calling Manson a great artist and saying she doesn’t care what anybody says — pre-empting the complaints she expected. Her argument on the allegations themselves ran along two lines.
First, a general point about the accusations. She noted that women abuse men too, and questioned whether Manson had ever presented himself as anything other than what he is — asking whether he’d ever tried to be light and breezy, a surfer guy. Her conclusion: people knew what they were getting themselves into.
She extended that to the circumstances, saying people were begging to get on the tour bus, begging to get near him and be photographed, and asking what they expected.
Second, and directly: she said she doesn’t think he did what they said, that he’s a friend and always will be, and that she doesn’t believe half of it.
Then the firsthand claim. Sharon stated that she personally witnessed one of the women suing Manson — whom she described as a major part of the case — initiate a sexual encounter with him, unprompted, at Soho House. She said Manson did not ask for it.
Asked by Jack whether she was physically present, she confirmed she was, and said she was there with manager and film producer Andy Gould.
Her stated reason for going public with it: there are two sides to every story, and people should leave him alone.
Jack’s response was to point out that she may now find herself pulled into the proceedings.
We are not reproducing the explicit detail of that claim. It concerns an unnamed woman who has alleged sexual assault, it is unverified, and Sharon is the only source. The substance of what she’s alleging and the argument she’s making with it are above. Andy Gould has not commented, and the woman has not responded.
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Where the case actually stands
This is the part that keeps getting flattened in coverage, so let’s be precise.
The allegations. More than a dozen women have come forward since Manson’s former fiancée Evan Rachel Wood publicly accused him in early 2021 of abuse during their relationship. Several filed civil lawsuits alleging sexual assault, abuse and related claims. Manson has consistently denied all of it. His manager, label and talent agents dropped him at the time.
What’s been resolved. He settled with actress Esmé Bianco in January 2023 and with an unidentified accuser in September of that year. A suit brought by Ashley Morgan Smithline was withdrawn, with Smithline recanting and saying she’d been manipulated into making the allegations. Manson also filed a defamation suit against Wood, which he ultimately withdrew in November 2024 after repeated setbacks.
What’s still live. A suit filed by Bianca Allaine Kyne in 2024, alleging incidents in the 1990s. And a jury trial in the case brought by his former personal assistant Ashley Walters — scheduled for November 15, 2027, five years after the original filing. Walters alleges sexual harassment, sexual assault, sexual battery and infliction of emotional distress relating to 2010 and 2011.
The criminal side. After a four-year investigation, the LA District Attorney’s office declined to file charges in January 2025. DA Nathan J. Hochman stated that the domestic violence allegations fell outside the statute of limitations and that prosecutors could not prove sexual assault charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
So: no criminal charges, ongoing civil litigation under a far lower burden of proof, and consistent denial from Manson throughout. That’s the honest state of it, and it’s a more complicated picture than either side’s supporters tend to present.
Why Sharon is speaking now
The connection is recent and specific.
Manson contributed a video tribute to Ozzy Osbourne at the Back To The Beginning all-star show on July 5 this year, and was invited to attend Ozzy’s private funeral.
Sharon has never been a stranger to saying exactly what she thinks — The Osbournes podcast has been built on that for years, and her career before it was built on it too. But she’s talking about someone she’s describing as a friend, in the months after her husband’s death, on a show she makes with her son.
Whatever you make of the content, that’s the context it comes from.
Setting aside the firsthand claim entirely, the argument Sharon makes around it is the piece that will generate the most heat — and it deserves examining rather than just quoting.
Her framing is essentially that Manson never hid who he was, that people sought his company knowing that, and that they therefore share responsibility for what followed.
That’s a genuinely contested position. Supporters will read it as a fair point about adults making choices with full information. Critics will read it as the oldest deflection there is, and note that a persona is not consent.
It’s worth saying plainly: that argument is not a legal defence, and it isn’t how any of these cases will be decided. Consent isn’t waived by knowing what someone’s stage act is like. Whether the specific allegations happened is a separate question entirely, and one a jury may address in November 2027.
Both things can be true — that the allegations remain unproven, and that “you knew what he was like” is not the reason they’re unproven.
Manson himself has had an active year. One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2, his thirteenth album, arrived on August 14 via Nuclear Blast, and was expanded with a bonus track a fortnight later. He’s currently out on the Freaks On Parade tour with Rob Zombie, with two Antichrist Superstar 30th anniversary shows at The Wiltern booked for Halloween and November 1.
He has not commented on Sharon’s remarks.
TL;DR
What happened: Sharon Osbourne publicly defended Marilyn Manson on the latest episode of The Osbournes podcast, speaking with her son Jack.
What she said: that Manson is a great artist, that she doesn’t believe he did what he’s accused of, that he’s a friend and always will be, and that she doesn’t believe half of it.
Her argument: that Manson never presented himself as anything other than what he is, and that people who sought his company knew what they were getting into.
The firsthand claim: she says she personally witnessed one of the women suing him initiate a sexual encounter with him unprompted at Soho House, with manager Andy Gould present. The woman is not named and has not responded.
The legal position: Manson has never been criminally charged. The LA DA declined to prosecute in January 2025. Three civil suits have been resolved; one remains live, and a jury trial in the Ashley Walters case is set for November 2027.
Why now: Manson contributed a video tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in July and was invited to the private funeral.
FAQ
What did Sharon Osbourne say about Marilyn Manson?
On the latest episode of The Osbournes podcast, she called Manson a great artist, said she doesn’t think he did what he’s been accused of, described him as a friend who always will be, and said she doesn’t believe half of the allegations. She also argued that people who sought his company knew what he was like, and made a firsthand claim about something she says she witnessed involving one of the women suing him.
Has Marilyn Manson been convicted of anything?
No. Manson has never been criminally charged. Following a four-year investigation, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office declined to file charges in January 2025, citing the statute of limitations on domestic violence allegations and an inability to prove sexual assault charges beyond a reasonable doubt. He denies all allegations against him.
What is the status of the lawsuits against Marilyn Manson?
Three have been resolved — settlements with Esmé Bianco and an unidentified accuser, and a withdrawn and recanted suit from Ashley Morgan Smithline. A suit filed by Bianca Allaine Kyne in 2024 remains live, and a jury trial in the case brought by former personal assistant Ashley Walters is scheduled for November 15, 2027.
Why is Sharon Osbourne defending Marilyn Manson?
She described him as a longstanding friend. Manson contributed a video tribute to Ozzy Osbourne at the Back To The Beginning event in July 2026 and was invited to attend Ozzy’s private funeral. Her stated reason for speaking publicly was that there are two sides to every story.
Has Marilyn Manson responded to Sharon Osbourne’s comments?
Not as of publication. Manson is currently touring North America on the Freaks On Parade run with Rob Zombie, following the August release of his thirteenth album One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2.
Unproven allegations, a declined prosecution, an active civil case, and one of metal’s most outspoken figures deciding to say something. Keep it locked on the Loaded Radio stream — follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.
When we think of The Netherlands and their metal scene, metal heavyweight acts Epica and Within Temptation often take the limelight, and can be considered the nation’s finest exports alongside tulips, clogs, and Heineken lager! However, there’s a rather intriguing and overlooked folk rock and metal scene brewing in the nation’s underground, brewing alongside Amstel. The likes of Sowulu, Heidvolk, and Iskandr are amongst those spearheading this shift from symphonic music and through to a darker side of metal, mixing this with traditional folk instruments and anthems.
Another band within this movement, and under the spotlight today is none other than Vanaheim. Given their impressive festival and touring pedigree that includes slots at Wacken Open Air and Grasspop Metal Meeting, whilst sharing the stage with the likes of Ensiferum, Alestorm, and the aforementioned Heidvolk, they’re not one to overlook! With sights set on an autumn tour headlined by scene legends Tyr, they’ll go into this on the back of their new opus “Roede voor de Borst”. So, what can we expect from their second studio full length?
Well, let’s address the elephant in the room; the language barrier. With an estimated 25 million Dutch speakers globally, it’s safe to say this is a minority language (especially when you consider around 620 million speak Spanish or 130 million German speakers). Whilst this means most people won’t be able to connect to the underlying stories and narratives being portrayed, instead Vanaheim find themselves oddly in a position of power. See, by singing in their native tongue, they can convey emotion and grit in their voices that likely wouldn’t have been possible in a foreign tongue. Also, the unique inflections and sounds of Dutch gives them an identity in the marketplace. Just look at what Rammstein achieved by sticking to (mostly) German – who even knew what ‘Du Hast’ meant before they heard it on Kerrang!? Also, it’s not so much what Vanaheim say, it’s how it’s delivered. Zino delivers harsher growls and screams that instantly command respect. But it’s really the gang style choruses with multiple clean voices joining in unison for the choruses and thus providing the vocal hooks. The kind you’ll want to sing along to once you’ve sank a few bottles of Grolsch (this will be the last of the Dutch beer analogies, I promise) and thus capturing the spirit of the ale house and drunken sing-alongs, where staying in tune is optional. After all, isn’t that the essence of folk music, metal or otherwise?
So, now that the linguistics lesson is over, what can we expect from the underlying music?
Guitar driven anthems like ‘Geestenmist’ (which opens up the album) and ‘Het Laaste Licht’ seem rather on brand for Vanaheim; chunky and choppy guitar riffs that sit above a rich tapestry of woodwind and operatic choir voices to add the melodic focal point as well as adding a dramatic and epic vibe to proceedings. Though they can really crank up the distortion on tracks like ‘Kroos en Slijk’ and lay down satisfying headbanging grooves, though not losing any of the folk spiced melody.
Some songs feel more epic than others. Take ‘Eendracht Maakt Macht’ for instance, translating as (roughly) ‘unity makes strength’. They got the strength part right! One of the standouts on the album, this spans multiple movements within seven minutes and with constantly shifting dynamics and textures, you’ll be hooked and thoroughly immersed and engaged through the ever-changing landscape.
Which brings me onto the next point; song and overall album length. Hovering around seven minutes each, this may make some casuals squirm. Though this longer than usual track length is necessary to allow the movements time to brew and flow organically, rather than being forced through the mincer to be condensed into a more radio friendly format. Nope, Vahaheim sticks to their guns here, and seven minutes flies faster than seven minutes should do. As does the album, at a rather modest six track length. The end result is a package that feels digestible without feeling too overwhelming.
Omni burst out of Atlanta a decade ago with Deluxe, a debut album that placed them at the forefront of a post-punk resurgence. Now the band is putting out a 10th anniversary deluxe Deluxe to mark the occasion. The two-disc set includes the 10 original album tracks and their demos plus the 2017 singles “Fever Bass” and “Thesis” and two previously unreleased songs, “Loud Talking” and “Coliseum.”
Bluegrass phenom Billy Strings is a bigtime metalhead who came up playing in metal bands, and he seems to have a special affection for Montreal tech-death legends Cryptopsy. Last year, Strings played a solo on Cryptopsy’s 30th-anniversary medley of re-recorded songs from their 1994 debut Blasphemy Made Flesh. When Strings put together his own Ionia Freak Fair festival in his Ionia, Michigan hometown last weekend, he made sure to have a metal stage, booking Cryptopsy alongside bands like Bane, For The Fallen Dreams, and Flesh & Blood Robot. Then he joined Cryptopsy onstage at the festival.
Recommended for fans of: Sadist, Cynic, Obscura Sometimes it’s a real struggle to decide what band to focus on for the next edition of “The Synn Report”… and sometimes, like this one, it’s an easy choice. One thing that made it pretty easy was that so far this year we’ve had editions focussing on scorching […]
In 35 years with AFI, Davey Havok has seen a whole lot more than just a thousand dazzling outfits in the mirror. From witnessing the Cali punk feeding frenzy of the 90s to becoming one of the 21st century’s great goth icons and brushing right up against the ceiling of the mainstream, he’s endured some of the most drastic turnovers in the industry that alternative music has ever seen.
Ahead of their first UK shows in nine years supporting last year’s none-more-black Silver Bleeds The Black Sun…, we catch up with dark punk’s prince to reflect on the journey so far.
ANSWER THE CALL OF THE MACABRE
“I was born in 1975, so when I was a kid, punks and death rockers were at the malls, Kiss Meets The Phantom Of The Park was on TV, and I was enamoured of the look and wanted to know more about it. I was fascinated by the ‘other’ and motifs of the underdog and what was considered to be horrific or grotesque. Why that is fundamentally, I can’t say, but I was raised Catholic and that oppression really informed my desire to reclaim my identity as a kid.”
BE AWARE OF PEOPLE’S INTENTIONS
“After Green Day broke, it really changed everything in a way punk hadn’t seen since the Sex Pistols, and it caused similar problems. After we signed to [The Offspring frontman] Dexter Holland’s Nitro Records for Very Proud Of Ya, someone made the mistake of sending the promo posters to [legendary California punk venue] Gilman Street. When we came there someone had taken all of those posters and made a big dollar sign on the ceiling!
Ethically we didn’t have a problem with people signing to bigger labels, and many bands from our scene learned that the indies were often more corrupt than the majors.”
VISUAL SELF-EXPRESSION IS A POWERFUL TOOL
“In being analytical about my looks – which I eventually started to do because people talked to me about it – I began to realise how much my look is contextual. The way I look now is very much a reaction to the current epoch that we live in, where I feel that the world is surreal and everything is an uncanny bastardisation of something familiar.
If you look at Decemberunderground, me being drawn to white and pink eyeshadow and pops of colour was a response to shiny, happy-sounding bands having adopted more sombre looks. I think self-expression through style can be very powerful.”
VEGAN STRAIGHT EDGE IS MORE THAN A LABEL
“I discovered straight edge when I was 15. I was involved in this music but I didn’t understand the self-destructive side of it, and I couldn’t believe it when I heard Minor Threat. It was what I was thinking about.
My father and I went to see Def Leppard last year. Some of the best riffs ever written are on Pyromania.
Davey Havok
Through the straight edge scene I was educated on animal rights, but I saw a lot of people using veganism as an identity rather than because it was the right thing to do. I was hesitant to go vegan because it was so trendy, but there was no way to consume animals and not be participating in the torture and murder of them, so I have been for 28 years now. It’s something I wish I had participated in since I was conscious.”
WE LOVE THE EMBRACE OF METAL
“If anyone who listens to metal appreciates what we do, I’m very touched, because I feel that metal in its purest state is one of the few genuine subcultures that still exists. We do not make anything that sounds too metal, so to have appeal to that community really means a lot to me.
Neurosis are one of the greatest bands ever, I used to go see them playing at Gilman Street, and if we’re counting hair metal I am in on that! My father and I went to see Def Leppard last year, and those three part harmonies are fucking high. Some of the best riffs ever written are on Pyromania.”
LET THE MOMENT TAKE YOU
“Steel Panther used to be called Metal Shop and would have a party in Hollywood every Monday night. They were entirely a cover band but were in character and would do skits the entire time where the band-members would fight and break up. It created this really bizarre revivalist hair metal scene that was both tongue-in-cheek yet totally sincere.
If you were a musician you’d inevitably find yourself being brought up onstage, and I would frequently go and sing Live Wire by Mötley Crüe or Talk Dirty To Me by Poison with them.”
KNOW WHAT TO TURN DOWN
“The writing of Decemberunderground was a miserable period. We had signed to Dreamworks, but they sold it to Interscope. Bummer.
Our A&R guy was hellbent on trying to get [Interscope boss] Jimmy Iovine – who had expressly claimed in the press that rock is dead – to pay attention to AFI, and so it was suggested that we collab with Jimmy’s great love at the time, which was 50 Cent. I have nothing against 50 Cent, but what does that even mean?!
Even worse was this was the era when ringtones were the new technology craze. I love this man and I still see him once a month at the least, but this motherfucker says to me, ‘What if you were to be the first band to write a ringtone album?’”
GRIT YOUR TEETH THROUGH THE TRENDS
“[When the emo boom of the 2000s happened] we couldn’t relate to that at all, but unfortunately the press pointed out that we wore make-up like these guys who wore make-up so we must be like them.
That term was bizarre, because of course the first incarnation of emo was referring to often very aggressive post-hardcore. These bands sounded nothing like Rites Of Spring or Mohinder, and I’d imagine these bands also didn’t like identifying with that term. There were only a couple types of guitar music on the radio, and we had louder, more aggressive guitar than what was going on with the New York dance rock scene, but we also certainly weren’t coming from pop punk. We probably did have more in common with 50 Cent!”
LET EVENTS PLAY IN YOUR FAVOUR
“When Girl’s Not Grey came out as a single and made it to the Top 10 [of Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart], that was unbelievable. We were then gonna go with Bleed Black as the second single ’cos it had bigger hooks, but KROQ picked up and started playing The Leaving Song Pt. II, which was a much heavier song, and our manager told us, ‘We can’t tell them to stop!’ I’m screaming on that song and it’s not an obvious single, but if you’d said to us that it had that potential… Then why not? That’s fun!”
HITS AREN’T WRITTEN, THEY’RE MADE
“It breaks my heart that Miss Murder will always represent us, and that I will die and someone will look up AFI and Miss Murder is what they’re gonna find. I don’t dislike Miss Murder, it’s a pretty good song! But never, even when we wrote it, did I think that it was the greatest song. I even voted to not put it on the record, but that experience really proved to me that it was all about marketing, because everything after Decemberunderground is better than Decemberunderground.
I have campaigned to keep it off the setlist and recently succeeded. When we play a festival or when we’re playing a city where we feel we have a few more passive fans, we’re gonna play it, and I don’t mind it, but I do enjoy the optics of removing it from the set.”
APPROPRIATE FOOTWEAR IS IMPORTANT
“I went to see the Circle Jerks and my plan was to test out this sneakerboot that I was gonna possibly wear onstage and see if they can survive the aggression. Fashion and veganism and function for my behaviour onstage rarely meet. During the Adolescents, I’m down there slamming and I look down and the heel from my shoe is just gone.
I limp upstairs with two halves of my shoe, and I’m crying to the promoter that my plan was to also dance for the Circle Jerks and now I couldn’t. The promoter lent me his shoes! That’s community, right there, and I sent him AFI socks as thanks.”
PHYSICAL COMMUNITY IS THE REALEST THING
“We’re living in a very surreal world that rates content over substance. It’s something we saw coming and did nothing to stop and now we’re living in a world of disconnection. The post-human element of existence is now actually veering into the true dystopias that were written about in the 50s and 60s.
It’s a horrifying, desolate reality, where participation in any sort of true human experience is at an unprecedented low for the species. All I can do is create, as this desperate act that acts as a flare.”
Silver Bleeds The Black Sun is out now via Run For Cover
Premier Irish exports Fontaines D.C. announced their Romance follow-up Dopamine Chamber two weeks ago, and they’ve been debuting songs from the album at their live shows lately. Another new one made it into their set at the Leeds Festival on Saturday. “Happy For You” begins slowly and ominously but gradually builds intensity before truly taking off at the end. Watch footage from the crowd below.
Anyone who willingly attends a Good Charlotte show in 2026 is already demonstrating a certain level of impaired judgment. So maybe it’s not that surprising that one of those Good Charlotte fans would then allegedly drunkenly steal an ambulance from the show and crash it into both a truck and a wall.
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