Onstage, “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and Adrien Brody in “The Fear of 13.” Plus: Cardi B goes on tour, Lise Davidsen takes on Isolde at the Met, 100 years of Martha Graham and more.
Buffalo, New York hardcore collective Spaced will join forces with Oregon-based hardcore punk group Dry Socket for a string of shows across the United Kingdom. Read more…
Ingested have parted ways with vocalist Josh Davies. Davies joined the UK deathcore outfit in 2024, stepping in as the replacement for founding frontman Jason Evans.
For their upcoming tour supporting Bodysnatcher and Big Ass Truck, the band will have DeathStroke vocalist Adam Mercer handling vocal duties.
The group issued the following b… Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com
Lithuanian band Juodvarnis have been shaping their own dark, atmospheric world for nearly a decade and a half, and with each new release they continue to push the boundaries of what the band can be. Their latest full-length, Tėkmės (“streams/currents”), explores loss, impermanence, and the darker regions of the emotional spectrum.In the interview below, band […]
Domhain are a post-black metal band from Northern Ireland and this is their debut album. I’ve been looking forward to hearing an album from Domhain ever since first catching them at 2024’s Fortress Festival, (and then narrowly missing them with Saor a couple of months later). In Perfect Stillness contains 35 minutes of material, and is … Continue reading “Domhain – In Perfect Stillness (Review)”
It was something of a shock to remind myself that Sylosis have been in existence for over a quarter of a century. But then the grey matter stirs, and I recall a much younger me stomping around the mosh pit in 2009’s Sonisphere as the band opened the Bohemia Stage. Since then, the band’s journey has been eventful to say the least, with Josh Middleton the one constant.
Recent output has been consistently well received, with 2023’s A Sign of Things To Come achieving excellent reviews. Move forward three years, and another line-up shift which sees Middleton and drummer Ali Richardson joined by new bassist Ben Thomas whilst Conjurer’s Conor Marshall moves to rhythm guitar, having covered the low-end duties on the previous two releases.
In The New Flesh, Sylosis have likely pulled off the album of their long career.
Relentless in their work ethic, Sylosis are now moving into veteran status, which blows my mind. What adds to the incendiary carnage is just how the band can deliver another album that straddles not just genres but age groups.
I have friends in their 50s who are anticipating this album more than most in 2026, and having now spent some time with The New Flesh, it is hard to see past this for a top-five contender this year.
Managing to blend sonic heaviness with melodies that haunt and hang in the memory is no mean feat. But one listen to Erased, one of the early singles from The New Flesh, provides the necessary evidence.
Yes, there are the growling roars, massive riffs and seismic breakdowns, but Middleton can also use his vocal range to huge effect. It is one beast of a song and comes early enough in this record. It is sandwiched between two gargantuan tracks, the opening hammer blasts of Beneath The Surface and the cascading riff wall that is All Glory, No Valour.
The New Flesh is rammed with anthems that should appeal to a huge audience. The chugging drive on Lacerations is complemented by some bursts of visceral Thrash alongside the mix of growls and harmonious cleans.
Mirror Mirror bursts out with a ferocity honed over the past two decades, snarling and spitting with venom and aggression. Bursts of screaming lead work run in parallel with the punishing battery that the band conjure up.
Underneath it all, there is a groove which hails from the ’90s, but Sylosis are in a place where their kaleidoscopic sound draws from others and forms an identity that is definitely theirs. Yes, the breakdowns, the riffs and the style at times echo many of their peers, such as the breakneck speed that surges through Spared From The Guillotine, but there is a distinction now that makes this truly Sylosis.
The variation in styles is one of the key attractions of this band. Adorn My Flesh is a rager underpinned by subtle synths that add flavour and layers. This is Metal for the modern day, yet there is also more than a nod to the old school. The title track demands you bang your head. A powerful and dynamic build-up explodes into a lethal melee of destructive face-melting Metal.
It is perhaps the overall combination of the musicianship, the composition and the delivery which makes The New Flesh such an exciting album. The production is sharp, complementing the razor-sharp lead work, allowing Middleton’s vocals space and ensuring that the thick rhythmic engine room brings the heft.
The anthems flow fast and furious throughout this release, but nowhere is it more apparent than on the Pummelling penultimate track, Circle Of Swords. A heady mix of tempos, ranging from Doom-rich riffs to Hardcore stomping, with Middleton bringing some of his most bruising vocals. It is a giant of a song that suddenly switches with a melodic solo that shines before the suffocating wall of intensity closes once more.
One of the biggest songs that Sylosis have ever written, this is intensity in the extreme. That it leads to the epic album closer Seeds In The River, which is just majestic, makes it even better.
Catchy enough to appeal to the wider Metal community but retaining sufficient grit and aggression to retain their loyal fanbase, in The New Flesh, Sylosis have likely pulled off the album of their long career.
The New Flesh is released on 20 February 2026 viaNuclear Blast Records. Pre-orders are available from sylosis.os.fan.
Sylosis will release their seventh studio album The New Flesh on 20 February 2026 via Nuclear Blast, launching the era with a crushing title track and their biggest ever UK,
Event Details
Sylosis will release their seventh studio album The New Flesh on 20 February 2026 via Nuclear Blast, launching the era with a crushing title track and their biggest ever UK, European and North American tours.
Sylosis will release their seventh studio album The New Flesh on 20 February 2026 via Nuclear Blast, launching the era with a crushing title track and their biggest ever UK,
Event Details
Sylosis will release their seventh studio album The New Flesh on 20 February 2026 via Nuclear Blast, launching the era with a crushing title track and their biggest ever UK, European and North American tours.
Sylosis will release their seventh studio album The New Flesh on 20 February 2026 via Nuclear Blast, launching the era with a crushing title track and their biggest ever UK,
Event Details
Sylosis will release their seventh studio album The New Flesh on 20 February 2026 via Nuclear Blast, launching the era with a crushing title track and their biggest ever UK, European and North American tours.
As you probably know, sometimes rock music may seem repetitive and bland, with many good bands working hard to get to the top of the music chain, but with little to no avail of reaching greater audiences, mainly because their music offers nothing new. It’s due to the fact that many of those bands are […]
As you probably know, sometimes rock music may seem repetitive and bland, with many good bands working hard to get to the top of the music chain, but with little to no avail of reaching greater audiences, mainly because their music offers nothing new. It’s due to the fact that many of those bands are […]
15th February 2025 Support: Alien Weaponry, Witch Club Satan
Words: Matthew Williams
Photos: Tom Atkin
Arriving at the venue just in time to witness one of the current flavours of the month, Witch Club Satan. The Norwegian all-female black metal trio have that visual appeal, as they slowly amble on stage in their horned costumes, and begin with one of the only songs I know, “Fresh Blood, Fresh Pussy”. It’s dark and grizzly, creating that satanic atmosphere that they wish before drummer Johanna Holt Kleive comes to the front for the piano soliloquy “Mother Sea” which ends with them slowly, ponderously walking off stage.
They return, to a rumbling background sound, and kick into “I was Made by Fire” but hampered by a spluttery guitar sound. They indulge their political side by saying “Silence is a crime” and want no mercy for Netanyahu and Epstein, and plough into “Black Metal is Krig”, which has insane amount of satanic laughter at the start, and see Hedda, using a violin bow to play her bass. An interesting set to witness, that some would have enjoyed, others not so.
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
When reviewing Alien Weaponry’s “Tangaroa” back in 2021, I put them on my must-see bands list, and here I was finally seeing them live. The blend of traditional maori songs and meanings are great to hear, and when drummer Henry Te Reiwhati de Jong stands aloft his kit and starts a traditional dance, they kick off in style with “Ru Ana Te Whenua”. Its fast paced, with a great sounding bass from Turanga Morgan-Edwards and they’ve got lots of movement on stage.
They are full of energy, with singer/guitarist Lewis Raharuhi de Jong, controlling things as they play “Te Riri o Tawhirimatea” and the crowd get fired up, even more so when the distinctive opening riff of “Mau Moko” comes along. Their music makes me think this is what the English defence must have felt like when Jonah Lomu made that massive bruising surge through them in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, battered and bruised.
They only play five songs, but all are immensely powerful, none more so than “Taniwha” which is excellent. They have the taped vocals from Lamb of God’s Randy Blythe who Lewis comments “are my all-time favourite band” and end with “Tangata” a song about a traditional maori custom. It’s more fast and furious music, and with a wall of death chucked in for good measure, I now regret not having seen these before, as they were superb.
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
And so, onto the headliners for the evening, Avatar, visiting one of their favourite cities as part of their “A Night to be Torn Apart” tour. With a rumbling of thunder, all eyes are fixed on the stage, as the drum rise splits to allow the hooded band members to walk through. Carrying a lantern, part frontman/part clown/part court jester for the evening, Johannes Eckerstrom, sings “Captain Goat” in a motionless state. There’s a touch of mystique around their presence, and with cloaks off, the synchronised headbanging begins during “Silence in the Age of Apes”.
With red curtains draped at the back and sides of the stage, I don’t think I was quite prepared for what was about to unfold. It’s a theatrical performance led by Eckerstrom, an act he’s honed well over the years no doubt. “The Eagle has Landed” and the faster “In the Airwaves” see him in complete control, “you are beautiful, you are special, you are Manchester, we are Avatar” just in case anybody needed reminding.
I love the fact that the two set of 8 lights, in rows of four, move around the stage, to create a dramatic and at times, jolly atmosphere, all adding to the spectacle. They have songs packed with solos, prominent bass lines, especially in “Death and Glitz”, and dominating drums. There’s the usual clap along sections, as the frontman appears in his red coat, hat and cane, but he has an expansive vocal range to much his showmanship.
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
A mysterious figure appears on stage, with a cymbal on top of his head, which drummer John Alfredsson hits once to start off the impressive sounding “Blod” which sees the first crowd surfer emerge. “I’m starting to feel good, starting to break a sweat” quips and animated Eckerstrom as he introduces “The Dirt I’m Buried In”. With more cracking solos, the songs flow well, and they’ve got a certain swagger about their well-rehearsed performance.
With the drummer now stage left, as I looked, on a smaller kit, they all stand motionless in a line across the front to play “Colossus” before the high energy returns for “Torn Apart”. After this, the band take a rest, as a piano emerges from between the drums, and Eckerstrom tells us a story about their first gig in Manchester as Satan’s Hollow. “There is so much love in this room right now, it’s disgusting” as he laughs and whilst wearing his “piano jacket” the band saunter back to play the elegant “Howling at the Waves”.
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
With the sound of a radio changing stations, they introduce “Legend of the King” which sees Jonas “Kungen” Jarlsby sit upon a throne playing his solos, which made me laugh, as it’s a sight to behold, but adds to the pageantry. “Let It Burn” really gets the crowd bouncing, and the song has that touch of Marilyn Manson about it in parts, before the anthemic “Tonight we must be Warriors” roars out, with a high energy display from the quintet on stage, as the military style drums fade out and they exit to loud applause.
Hooting owls signal the start of the brilliant “Don’t Go in the Forest” as Eckerstrom teases the crowd by saying “you only shouted one more song, we wanted to do three, but we respect your wishes and will only play one”. The cries of two more songs ring out and with several deep inhales of his armpit, “Smells Like a Freakshow” sees the audience go nuts. “What a night. Thank you, it’s been energising” and with horns in the air, they finish with “Hail the Apocalypse” to end what has been a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining evening in Manchester.
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
