LORD OF THE LOST extend their latest journey with yet another innovative collaboration, coming in the shining form of I’m A Diamond. For the latest single leading up to OPVS NOIR Vol. 3, which releases on April 10, 2026 via Napalm Records, the genre-defying band teams up with German medieval metal torchbearers SALTATIO MORTIS. Featuring […]Blog
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LORD OF THE LOST Collaborate With SALTATIO MORTIS On ‘I’m A Diamond’
LORD OF THE LOST extend their latest journey with yet another innovative collaboration, coming in the shining form of I’m A Diamond. For the latest single leading up to OPVS NOIR Vol. 3, which releases on April 10, 2026 via Napalm Records, the genre-defying band teams up with German medieval metal torchbearers SALTATIO MORTIS. Featuring […] -
Canadian Skate Punk Group TeethOut Releases Cover Of Mazzy Star’s Classic “Fade Into You”
Skate-punk band TeethOut have released a newly reworked version of Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You,” featuring PEI indie-pop powerhouse KINLEY, revisiting a cover that originally appeared on their 2025 EP Here We Go. The original version marked a bold departure for TeethOut, reimagining the iconic track as a fast, melodic pop-punk anthem. While the band […] -
Levels Announce New Album “This Will Make You Feel Again”
Central Arkansas quartet LEVELS — Kolby Carignan [vocals], Jager Felice [guitar], Jacob Hubbard [bass], and Dalton Kennerly [drums] — are thrilled to announce the April 10 release of their new album This Will Make You Feel Again via SharpTone Records. Pre-order it here. Today, the band shares the video for the double single “Fume” and “Death Dance.” Regarding “Fume,” the band states, “The song explores the emotional weight of a relationship […] -
A View From The Back Of The Room: A.A Williams (Natt Sabbath & Mike Chew)
A.A. Williams & Spotlights — Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, 03.02.26
Spotlights (9) opened the evening with a set that immediately established the tone: immersive, textured, and quietly powerful. Formed originally in San Diego before relocating to New York, the band: Mario Quintero (guitar/vocals), Sarah Quintero (bass/vocals), and Chris Enriquez (drums) have built a reputation for blending shoegaze ambience with heavy, slow-burn metal, drawing comparisons to bands like Deftones and Pallbearer.Their set focused heavily on material from their Tidals EP, moving through the record in sequence before closing with a newer track. Opening with Walls, the room was immediately filled with dense, pulsing distortion and raw emotional weight. Mario’s vocals shifted between restrained melody and harsher delivery, while Sarah’s bass created a deep, resonant foundation that could be felt through the floor of the venue. The sound was heavy but never overwhelming; textured rather than aggressive.
The Grower leaned further into a doom-shoegaze atmosphere, slow and cathartic, with the kind of low-end presence that makes smaller venues feel enormous. The interplay between bass and guitar created a hypnotic quality that held the room’s attention completely. Tracks like Hover and To The End continued that balance between ambience and heaviness, with drummer Chris Enriquez providing a steady, deliberate backbone that allowed the songs to expand naturally. There’s a patience to Spotlights’ songwriting, nothing feels rushed, and live, that restraint makes the heavier moments land with real impact.
By the time they reached Joseph, the set shifted into a more ambient space, before closing with Sunset Burial, which blended delicacy and distortion in equal measure. The transition from softness to heaviness across the set felt intentional and cohesive, making the performance feel less like a support slot and more like a carefully constructed introduction to the evening. Spotlights were intense yet accessible, a genuinely compelling start to the night and a perfect tonal bridge into what followed.
After a quick changeover, A.A. Williams (10) took to the stage in low light and near-silence, immediately transforming the atmosphere in the room.
Classically trained as a pianist and cellist before moving into guitar-led alternative music, A.A. Williams has developed a sound that sits comfortably between post-rock, gothic ambience, and modern metal. Since the release of her debut album Forever Blue in 2020, followed by Songs From Isolation (2021) and As The Moon Rests (2022), she has built a reputation for performances that prioritise emotional weight and atmosphere over spectacle.
At the Hare & Hounds, that approach translated beautifully. From the opening moments, she wove dark, gothic ambient magic through the room, holding the audience in complete stillness. Her voice; controlled, expressive, and quietly powerful, carried effortlessly over the band’s expansive sound.
Songs from across her catalogue appeared throughout the set. Material from Forever Blue felt particularly powerful in this setting, with Glimmer, Love And Pain, Dirt, and Melt translating into deeply immersive live moments. Glimmer felt fragile and almost folk-like in its delivery, while Melt built gradually from near-silence into a towering emotional crescendo.
Newer material sat seamlessly alongside it. Pristine moved from delicate restraint into thunderous intensity midway through, while As The Moon Rests filled the venue with rich guitar textures and slow-burn power. Throughout the set, the contrast between softness and heaviness remained the defining feature of the performance.
A.A. Williams doesn’t rely on theatrics or dramatic stage presence, the power lies entirely in the music and atmosphere. In a venue as intimate as the Hare & Hounds, that restraint becomes mesmerising. By the time the closing song faded out, the room felt suspended in that quiet emotional space her music creates.
Both Spotlights and A.A. Williams delivered performances that felt deeply connected in tone and intention, an ambient-metal pairing that worked effortlessly together. -
YAKKIE – ‘Kill The Cop Inside Your Head’
It’s no surprise that DIY punk supergroup YAKKIE’s debut offering, ‘Kill The Cop Inside Your Head’, is a political, feminist melting pot of anti-capitalist rage. The band is fronted by Dream Nails founder Janey Starling, who returns to the stage after stepping away from making music to focus on full-time anti-prisons activism. Starling is joined by drummer Maeve Westall of Jasmine.4T and Itoldyouiwouldeatyou, guitarist Robin Gatt, previously found fronting Personal Best and on bass for Petrol Girls, and bassist Laura Ankles of Colour Me Wednesday.
The concept of the “cop inside your head” originates from Brazilian theatre director Augusto Boal, whose framework of the “theatre of the oppressed” puts the focus on active observation of theatre over passive spectating. Boal suggested that people do not act upon their political beliefs because they have internalised external oppressions. The cop in your head is preventing you from taking action, and YAKKIE are telling us to destroy the restrictions that it’s enforced on our behaviour.
The opening and title track is a short, staccato call to action. It’s political, absolutely, but it’s also melodic, riff-laden and foot-tappingly addictive. This theme is constant throughout the record; smart musicianship and powerful lyrics sitting side by side, buoyant rhythms and infectious licks underpinning heavy subject matter with skill and sensitivity.
‘Criticise Me’ leans heavily into the sound of a 90’s movie score with an up-tempo challenge on controlling relationships. Described as an “anti-fuckboy anthem”, ‘He Sleeps Alone’ picks apart the notion of the male loneliness epidemic and puts the focus on the culture of “situationships” created by men’s insecurities and desire for superficial validation. ‘Lean Out’ mixes up the tempos, as a propelling rhythm section accompanies a lyrical snarl declaring “they call it care, we call it unpaid work.” This track shines the spotlight on performative feminism and the capitalist rhetoric of individualism.
Juxtaposing the powerful rejection of toxic societal norms and calls to tear down patriarchal aggressions, there’s a vulnerability in ‘Atlas’, which opens with two minutes of stripped-back, delicate bluesy melodies before dropping into a solid grunge beat. The raw emotion of the lyrics, “I’ve outgrown the deepest love I’ve ever known,” show a sensitive and stark contrast to the ferocity of the previous track, hinting at the softness that can coexist with fury.
The pace picks up again with big riffs on the second single to be released, ‘Rabbit’s Got The Gun’, a textured anthem of resistance. ‘Right of Reply’ is a righteously angry delve into the reporting of fatal domestic violence, highlighting the way the media often shapes the narrative in a way that seems to blame women for their own deaths. ‘Secrets’ is another slower track awash with reverb, the tender vocals rising into a primal crescendo. The melody carries echoes of Skunk Anansie’s ‘All I Want’, a suggestion of the influence of the 90s political rock scene on YAKKIE’s music.
Another similarity between this confident debut and the music of bygone decades is that it was all recorded live onto reel-to-reel tape in just four days. This return to analogue feels critically relevant for the overtly anti-capitalist sentiment that embodies YAKKIE’s songwriting. There’s an authenticity from the fuzzy guitar string slides and a palpable energy in every track. It’s impossible to listen to this album without picturing the band bouncing around in the studio, fuelled with ardent vigour and a whole lot to say.
‘Take It All’ opens with the the spoken words “Yeah y…OK fine” over residual feedback and a rhythmic reset, a moment that cements the live nature of the recording. A rare imperfection, an unrehearsed beginning that makes the track feel that much more tangible, real and personal. Final track ‘Under The Pavement Is The Beach’ is an upbeat, singalong anthem. In a world of digital streams and commercially driven single releases, this album was written to be listened to in order and it’s clear that this concluding track is an intentional parting message of hope. It’s the ultimate act of rebellion and resistance: “We’ll scream…and we’ll plant some seeds…we’ll find a way out.”
It’s one thing telling you to kill the cop inside your head, but to do it so convincingly and in such an enjoyable manner is quite something else. YAKKIE write the kind of music that really does make you want to join a union, reject authority, gather the masses to protest and stand up for the oppressed. ‘Kill the Cop Inside Your Head’ is a call to action to mobilise, to find a collective voice and believe in your own power. Get ready to join the revolution.
ELLIE ODURNY
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HOWLING BELLS Share Latest Single ‘Melbourne’
UK-based Australian trio Howling Bells has just released their latest single Melbourne, marking the final release before the arrival of Strange Life, their first album in over 12 years, on February 13. Juanita explains: “Melbourne is a song about deep yearning and ultimately grief. It explores a unique inner conflict many of us feel when […] -
ANDRZEJ CITOWICZ Releases New "My Revenge" EP on His 50th Birthday alongside ‘Time Is a Thief" Lyric Video!
“Time Is a Thief” Lyric Video Premieres Alongside Full EP Release on February 10th, 2026.Melodic Hard Rock Statement from Living Room Rockstar Who Never Stopped Believing.
Cairo, Egypt – February 10, 2026 – On his 50th birthday, Andrzej Citowicz’s CITOVITZ AND FIREFLIES OF FEBRUARY releases “My Revenge,” a five-song EP that maps fifty years of refusing to disappear. Citovitz and The Fireflies of February—the project comprising Citowicz, his wife and lyricist Shereen Shoukry Citowicz, and longtime collaborator bassist Patryk Szymański—premiere the complete EP alongside a lyric video for “Time Is a Thief,” a song about survival when survival felt impossible.
“My Revenge” arrives not as celebration but as statement: proof of existence after everything that said existence shouldn’t continue.
“My Revenge” EP is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and all major streaming platforms.
The lyric video for “Time Is a Thief” premieres simultaneously on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmOpZ09ethk
FIFTY YEARS: AGAINST ALL ODDS
February 10th, 2026 marks Andrzej Citowicz’s 50th birthday—a milestone that once felt unreachable.
“Some years, fifty felt impossible,” Citowicz reflects. “When grief sat heavier than breath. When loss carved holes I didn’t know how to fill. When the world said stop and my heart barely whispered keep going. But here I am. Fifty years of refusing to disappear.”
The journey to this moment has been marked by profound loss—the death of his son Jonasz, documented in his deeply personal album “Living Room Rockstar Part 2″—and the sustained survival that followed. “My Revenge” transforms that survival into sound.
“Revenge isn’t about anger or bitterness,” he explains. “My revenge is existence after everything that said I shouldn’t exist anymore. It’s breathing when breathing felt impossible. It’s creating after everything tried to silence me. It’s still standing with a guitar in my hands after fifty years of being told this was impossible.”
The EP title carries layers of meaning beyond defiance.
“Fifty isn’t what it was for our parents’ generation,” Citowicz observes. “Our 50 is different. Still unfinished. Still learning. Still proving something. These five songs are rehearsals for whatever comes next—not endings, but preparation. Fifty doesn’t mean done. It means experienced enough to know what matters. Scarred enough to understand survival. Humble enough to keep learning.”
THE FIREFLIES OF FEBRUARY: LIGHT IN THE DARKEST SEASON
The project name—Citovitz and The Fireflies of February—carries its own significance, drawn from the only fireflies that shine during dark winter months.
“Fireflies of February are the rare lights that appear when everything else has gone cold,” Citowicz explains. “That’s what we are: me, my wife Shereen who writes the words I can’t say, and brothers like Patryk Szymański who became family through music. We’re the lights that refused to go out in the darkest season.”
This collective survival—personal, creative, collaborative—forms the foundation of “My Revenge.”
“Marriage, brotherhood, music—these are what kept me breathing when nothing else could,” he states. “Shereen held me through the worst of it. Patryk stood beside me when I couldn’t stand alone. The guitar gave me a language when words failed. This EP is all of that woven together—survival as collaboration, creation as revenge against everything that tried to destroy us.”
“TIME IS A THIEF”: EVERY WORD MEANS A LIFE
The lyric video for “Time Is a Thief” premieres alongside the full EP, offering visual accompaniment to one of the project’s most personal tracks.
“Every word in this song means the world to me,” Citowicz states quietly. “More than that—it means my life. My fight. My dreams. My hope. Being broken and getting up every single day. When people watch this lyric video, they’re not just reading words—they’re reading fifty years of survival translated into language.”
The song confronts mortality, loss, and the passage of time with unflinching honesty while maintaining hope that creation can transcend what time steals.
“Time takes everything eventually,” he reflects. “But music—what we create—that stays. That’s the only revenge against time that works. You can’t stop it from stealing. But you can make something that outlasts the theft.”
MARRIAGE AS SURVIVAL: SHEREEN’S VOICE IN THE DARKNESS
Throughout “My Revenge,” Shereen Shoukry Citowicz’s lyrics provide the emotional core—words that map not just her husband’s journey, but her own fifty-three years of being overlooked, unappreciated, and surviving anyway.
“Without my wife, I literally would not have made it to fifty,” Citowicz states with absolute certainty. “She held me when I was breaking. She wrote words I couldn’t find. She believed in this music when belief seemed impossible. Every song on this EP exists because she kept me alive long enough to create it.”
The collaboration between husband and wife—his melodies, her words—creates something neither could achieve alone.
“Shereen sees what I feel before I can name it,” he explains. “She writes the truth I’m trying to play. After all these years together, we’ve learned to speak the same language through music. Her lyrics on this EP are some of the most powerful she’s ever written. They carry weight because they’re earned through actual survival.”
Their marriage—seventeen years and counting—provides the foundation for creation that transforms pain into art.
“Jon Bon Jovi taught me you can be devoted to one person and still create wild, passionate music,” Citowicz notes. “You don’t have to choose between commitment and creativity. Shereen is proof of that. She’s my partner in life and in music. My revenge against loneliness is still being married to someone who knows my darkness and stays anyway.”
PATRYK SZYMAŃSKI: A DECADE OF BROTHERHOOD
Bassist Patryk Szymański’s presence throughout “My Revenge” represents more than musical collaboration—it embodies over a decade of genuine brotherhood forged through shared survival.
“Patryk makes my songs complete,” Citowicz states. “Not just musically—though his bass work is phenomenal—but humanly. He’s been there through the moments when music was the only thing keeping me alive. Through the loss of Jonasz. Through grief that had no words. He stayed when staying was hard. That’s brotherhood.”
The musical chemistry between Citowicz and Szymański reflects years of playing, creating, and surviving together.
“We’ve shared more than stages and studios,” Citowicz reflects. “We’ve shared grief, joy, silence, sound—everything that makes up a life in music. You can hear that connection in every track. You can’t fake the kind of chemistry that comes from genuine brotherhood. Patryk understands what I’m trying to say before I say it. That’s what a decade of friendship becomes.”
Szymański’s bass lines throughout “My Revenge” provide the foundation that grounds Citowicz’s guitar work while allowing it to soar—a perfect metaphor for how brotherhood supports individual expression.
MUSICAL PHILOSOPHY: BON JOVI, DEF LEPPARD, AND THE CRAFT OF SURVIVAL
Musically, “My Revenge” honors the classic rock traditions that shaped Citowicz while embracing modern production techniques—creating melodic hard rock that feels timeless but sounds current.
“I grew up with Bon Jovi and Def Leppard posters covering my walls in Wałbrzych, Poland,” Citowicz recalls. “Those bands taught me about melodic craft, about hooks that stay with you, about guitar-driven rock that still serves the song. But they also taught me something deeper—Jon Bon Jovi showed me you can survive anything if you stay true to yourself. You can honor commitment while creating passionate music. That philosophy runs through everything I make.”
The production balances raw emotion with polished execution—never sacrificing feeling for technical perfection, never abandoning craft for pure confession.
“Desmond Child and Jon Bon Jovi taught me about hooks—those moments that grab you and don’t let go,” he notes. “But they also taught me that commercial appeal and emotional honesty aren’t opposites. You can write a song people want to sing along to that still means something real. That’s what I’m always chasing—music that connects immediately but rewards deeper listening.”
The result is an EP that bridges generations: appealing to listeners raised on 80s rock anthems while sounding vital and contemporary.
“I wanted these songs to feel timeless but sound today,” Citowicz explains. “The melodic sensibility, the song structure, the way guitars and bass work together—that’s pure 80s hard rock influence. But the production, the sonic clarity, the way everything sits in the mix—that’s using everything we can do now. It’s respecting where I came from while living in the present. Just like turning fifty—honoring the past while refusing to be finished.”
THE LIVING ROOM ROCKSTAR AT FIFTY
Throughout his career, Citowicz has embraced the identity of “living room rockstar”—someone who never achieved mainstream success but never stopped believing music matters.
“I never became the rockstar on those posters in my teenage bedroom,” he acknowledges. “I never played stadiums or signed major deals. But I’m still here. Still writing. Still recording. Still finding people who connect with what I’m trying to say. After fifty years, I’m still standing with a guitar in my hands.”
This persistence—creation without guarantee of recognition—forms its own kind of revenge against a world that measures worth by commercial success.
“My revenge isn’t about proving them wrong,” he clarifies. “It’s about proving that creation itself matters more than recognition. That making music because you have to is more real than making music because it sells. I’m a living room rockstar because that’s where the truth lives—not on stages, but in small rooms where you play because stopping would mean death.”
The EP’s five tracks collectively represent this philosophy: songs created not for charts or fame, but for survival and connection.
TRACK-BY-TRACK: FIVE SONGS, FIFTY YEARS
While “You’re Not My Friend—You’re My Brother, My Friend” and “Time Is a Thief” serve as the EP’s emotional anchors, each of the five tracks carries its own weight and purpose.
“Every song has its own story, its own reason for existing,” Citowicz notes. “But they all connect around this idea of revenge as creation—of refusing to let pain, loss, or being overlooked have the final word. Of still standing with a guitar after everything that tried to knock you down.”
The collective statement is clear: survival itself is creative act, and creation itself is revenge against everything that tries to silence you.
“These five songs are my line in the sand,” he states. “They say: I made it here. I survived everything that tried to stop me. And I’m not finished—I’m just getting started. Fifty isn’t an ending. It’s preparation for whatever comes next.”
FROM “MY STORY” TO “MY REVENGE”: A CREATIVE PROGRESSION
“My Revenge” arrives less than six weeks after Citowicz’s surprise album “My Story,” released January 1st, 2026, which featured lyrics entirely written by Shereen chronicling her fifty-three years of survival.
The rapid progression from one project to the next reflects creative urgency born from survival.
“‘My Story’ was Shereen’s voice—her fifty-three years, her truth, her refusal to stay silent after being overlooked for so long,” Citowicz explains. “‘My Revenge’ is mine. But they’re connected. Both are about refusing to let pain write the ending. Both prove that even when life tries to destroy you, you can still create. Both say: we’re still here, still making music, still refusing to disappear.”
The thematic and sonic continuity between projects demonstrates that survival isn’t singular achievement but ongoing practice.
“You don’t survive once and finish,” he reflects. “You survive every day. You create every day. You choose to keep going every day. ‘My Story’ and ‘My Revenge’ are both part of that daily choice—the choice to make something from what tried to break us.”
A BIRTHDAY THAT MEANS SOMETHING
For Citowicz, releasing “My Revenge” on his 50th birthday transforms what could be arbitrary date into meaningful marker.
“I know sometimes a birthday is just a date on a calendar,” he acknowledges. “But hopefully not this time. Hopefully this one means something. Fifty years survived. New music released. Still standing. Still married to someone who tolerates my hair and my dreams with equal patience. That feels like more than just a date. That feels like winning.”
The decision to premiere the EP on his birthday wasn’t strategic marketing but personal necessity.
“This EP had to come out on my fiftieth birthday,” he states simply. “These songs are proof I made it here. They’re the evidence that I survived everything that tried to stop me from reaching this day. Releasing them on any other date would miss the point—they are my birthday, more than cake or candles or celebration. They’re what fifty years of survival sounds like when you turn it into music.”
THE LYRIC VIDEO: MAKING WORDS VISIBLE
The premiere of the “Time Is a Thief” lyric video alongside the full EP release serves specific purpose: making Shereen’s words visible, readable, present.
“I wanted people to see the lyrics as they listen,” Citowicz explains. “These words matter. They deserve to be read, considered, felt. This isn’t background music. This is someone’s life—my life, Shereen’s life—translated into language that might help someone else survive theirs.”
The lyric video format emphasizes the collaboration at the heart of the project: his melodies, her words, their shared survival.
“Every word you’ll see in that video represents something real,” he states. “Every line earned through actual living, actual suffering, actual survival. When people watch it, they’re not just reading lyrics—they’re reading fifty years of refusing to let pain have the final word.”
LOOKING FORWARD: WHAT COMES AFTER REVENGE
While “My Revenge” serves as definitive statement about reaching fifty, Citowicz makes clear this isn’t conclusion but continuation.
“These five songs are rehearsals for whatever comes next,” he explains. “Fifty doesn’t mean finished. It means ready for the next chapter. Ready to keep creating. Ready to keep surviving. Ready to keep turning pain into something beautiful.”
The future remains unwritten—and that’s precisely the point.
“My revenge against time, against loss, against everything that tried to destroy me is simple,” Citowicz states. “I’m still here. Still creating. Still believing music matters. And I’m not stopping. That’s the best revenge I can imagine—refusing to be finished when the world expected me to disappear.”
CRITICAL RECEPTION AND INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
Recent recognition adds context to “My Revenge” release: Metal Pedia named both “Living Room Rockstar Part 1” and “Part 2” as Albums of the Year, while Citowicz’s YouTube channel recently surpassed 100,000 views—milestones that validate persistence without mainstream support.
“These recognitions mean something,” Citowicz acknowledges. “They say that music made in living rooms, released independently, created from survival rather than strategy—that can still matter. That can still reach people. That’s its own kind of revenge against an industry that said you need major labels and radio play to matter.”
But the real measure of success remains more personal.
“If these songs help even one person survive their own darkness,” he states, “if they remind someone that creation is possible after destruction, if they give hope to someone who lost it—then everything was worth it. That’s what music is for. Not charts or streams or recognition, but connection. Human to human. Survivor to survivor.”
AVAILABILITY AND PREMIERE DETAILS
“My Revenge” EP is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and all major streaming platforms.
The lyric video for “Time Is a Thief” premieres simultaneously on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmOpZ09ethk
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About Andrzej Citowicz:
Andrzej Citowicz is an acclaimed Polish guitarist and songwriter currently based in Cairo, Egypt. As a former recording artist for DownBoys Records, he has built a reputation for emotionally resonant songwriting and distinctive guitar work. His music combines classic rock influences with contemporary production, creating a sound that bridges generational and cultural gaps while maintaining artistic authenticity. His YouTube channel has garnered over 70,000 views from an international audience.
Connect with Andrzej Citowicz:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7aIeg5DyI7xwkYLsBgJNWf
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AndrzejCitowicz
Instagram: https://instagram.com/citovitz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/citovitz/
℗© 2026 Citovitz and The Fireflies of February / Andrzej Citowicz -
Peeling Back The Sonic Curtain With SEANN NICOLS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: SEANN NICOLS Seann Nicols is a Billboard-charting vocalist, producer, and vocal architect whose career defines the intersection of elite performance and technical innovation. Having fronted acts such as Adler’s Appetite, Quiet Riot, and Ratt, Seann has mastered the most demanding vocal styles in rock history. As the frontman for Westfield Massacre, he […] -
Complete List Of Mammoth Songs From A to Z
Wolfgang Van Halen launched Mammoth in Los Angeles, California, in 2015, first as a solo studio project built around writing, playing, and producing on his own terms, and later as a full-time band after Van Halen ended in 2020, following Eddie Van Halen’s death. The name connects directly to Van Halen history, since Mammoth was one of the early names used by Eddie’s band before it became Van Halen, and Wolfgang later adopted that legacy with his father’s blessing. For much of its existence, the project was billed as Mammoth WVH, then in 2025, the name was shortened to Mammoth
The post Complete List Of Mammoth Songs From A to Z appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.
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Reviews: Big Big Train, Karnivool, Tailgunner, Demonic Resurrection (Matt Bladen)
Big Big Train – Woodcut (InsideOut Music)
Is there any band more British than Big Big Train? I mean that by them being a sprawling collection of nationalities all working and creating together, drawing influence from shared tradition while also infusing their own heritage, in a musical harmony. So I don’t mean British in the sense certain Toby Jug Faced politicians would have you believe.
Proudly flying the flag for progressive rock grandeur, folk intimacy and lyrical storytelling, Big Big Train are still forging away led by band founder Gregory Spawton (bass), as Woodcut is the second full length featuring vocalists Albeto Bravin who took over the mic following the passing of longtime vocalist David Longdon. It’s also their first concept record, which for a prog band is mad, however every prog band needs one and BBT don’t scrimp with a 16 track, 66 minute “human exploration of art, faith and endurance.”
Heady stuff indeed but BBT have always been able to pull things like this off, despite members from England, Scotland, Italy, the USA, Sweden and Norway, Woodcut sounds very British, as I stated, a throwback to simpler times, wrapped in the classical/folk motifs spawned from Claire Lindley’s violin and Paul Mitchell’s trumpet, Inkwell Black begins the this tale with nostalgia, before we are introduced to our protagonist on The Artist, the first stabs of Oskar Holldorff’s organs coming here while Gregory Spawton keeps the track moving forward with technical bass and mellotron, the heartbeat of the band on tracks like Albion Press.
It begins the record with what I would consider a ‘classic’ prog sound, the multiple voices all in union throughout, countering and harmonising with each other as every emotion wrought moment comes from Alberto Bravin. With a band made up of multi instrumentalists it difficult to decipher who plays what where, brass, violin and bass excluded, but then that’s the point, BBT have always been a band that work as collective each with a wide array of skills that they can bring to the cinematic scale of their albums.
All I know is that it’s definitely the drum work of Nick D’Virgilio beneath it all, steering off-time beats with enormous fills, then switching to restraint when called for, his link with Spawton is instinctive, a rhythm section that locks you in to the record in a similar way to a band like Yes on Warp And Weft. Fear not though guitar fans as for all the keyboards (a lot of members) and vocals (a lot of members), there’s plenty of guitar too mostly acoustics and 12 strings to carry through the naturalistic analogue feel of the concept, though Rikard Sjöblom gets to wield those dramatic free flowing leads on Light Without Heat and bluesy solo on Warp And Weft.
In conjunction with the record, Big Big Train have launched a website full of hidden content connected to the story of this record which adds more depth to the overall concept of this nostalgic, beautifully realised new record. Rich in English/Scottish folk traditions, Woodcut is a masterpiece of conceptual progressive rock. 9/10
Karnivool – In Verses (Cymatic Records/The Orchard)
It’s been almost 13 years since Aussie genre originators Karnivool have graced us with their grooving style of progressive metal.
One of the bands that inspired the whole Djent sound of today, Karnivool have gained cult status over 20 years as one of the seminal Australian bands, the classic records such as Themata, Sound Awake and Asymmetry, cementing them as a band whom a whole host of acts owe their sound to. They’re played some massive gigs in their time but most recently in the UK they were one of the headliners at ArcTanGent and rightly so as there is a festival full of bands who have been inspired by Karnivool, making for a full circle moment for so many.
However Karnivool are never a band to release a record because they have to, because label pressure makes them, no they do everything on their lane terms, calls it selfish, call it creative, call it what you want but you don’t get a Karnivool album until they decide it’s ready. The band experimenting, comparing and creating away in their studio to bring to life some of the most anthemic and emotive prog metal around. It’s the reason why the band have three almost perfect albums in their back catalogue, so what about their fourth? Has 10 years of life experience and a 13 year recording period produced another showstopper, in league with longtime collaborator Forrester Savell? Well almost.Let me explain; In Verses is very deliberate, a record crafted for two purposes, satiate their rabid fans with another ten tracks of grooving magic to dance awkwardly too. However it’s also a record to introduce themselves to a new audience, fans of this music that may not know about the band, who may religiously attend ArcTanGent but may not know about the influence of a band like Karnivool, 13 years is a long time in music after all.
In Verses was conceived through “feelings of frustration, catharsis, and a rediscovery of identity” and it begins exactly as you’d want, jangling guitar melodies lead into a big bass this from Jon Stockman and it’s into the grooving chunky riffs from Drew Goddard and Mark Hosking, the classic prog touches coming though their guitars harmonic, intricate guitar parts.
The inspiration of alt/prog bands like Tool, a track such as Aozora and 2021 single All It Takes both put the bottom heavy grunt of Tool with introspection in the lyrics and keening vocals of Ian Kenny. There also the grunge moments, where they bring in the massive riffs of Soundgarden and Animation is full of the angst of Nirvana the expressive drumming from Steve Judd is at the core.
Now In Verses is the sound of band who’ve been through some shit, you can feel the trauma and the catharsis throughout this record. It’s a band rediscovering who they are joined by their buddy Guthrie Given on Reanimation, it’s perhaps a record that is a bit more contemplative and pensive than their previous three, as such it’s not as heavy, there’s more balladry and lighter alt rock moments here, not just the start stop heaviness.
Is it perfection? No. But this is a record from a band who have struggled with all manner of things outside their existence as a group, these moments of strife and struggle are disclosed on In Verses, making for a Karnivool record that takes a more angst driven path, that will open up their fanbase to more than just prog metal fans. 8/10
Tailgunner – Midnight Blitz (Napalm Records)
Despite only appearing on the scene in 2022, Tailgunner’s rise through the ranks has meteoric. They are a band who are very obviously inspired by the NWOBHM, when Bristol metal ruled the world and bands like Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Saxon and Judas Priest ruled the world.
Their EP and debut album were both packed with twin axe harmonies, bass gallops and air raid siren vocals, so they have a crossover appeal for older fans who want to re-live the glory days of heavy metal as well as young fans who will able to experience the energy packed NWOBHM sound for the first time. The band have supported some of their heroes (they are the main support to Fozzy this month) but it was their run with KK’s Priest that solidified their place as the true heirs to the heavy metal throne. So much so the KK himself has produced their sophomore record Midnight Blitz, putting his faith, support and expertise behind the band.
Midnight Blitz is classic British metal worship but for the modern generation, it doesn’t languish in former glories nor does it shamelessly copy the inspirations, this second album very much seeing Tailgunner defining themselves as their own entity. With power metal on the title track at the beginning of the record and Eulogy at the end , they have chorus heavy melodic metal on Tears In Rain, the songwriting has become more varied, pulling from inspirations across the heavy metal spectrum, with speed metal on Follow Me In Death and the Maiden-like Dead Until Dark allowing Rhea Thompson and Zach Salvini to peel off that razor sharp twin axe attack.
The rhythm section of Bones (bass) and Eddie Mariotti (drums) steam full speed ahead on the pirate infused Barren Lands And Seas Of Red, but can also use restraint when they want a mid-pace groove. Tailgunner though are not a band to take their foot off the gas, the blistering heavy metal rarely stops as Chris Carns unleashes those huge vocals, across the record, more polished after all that touring they’ve been doing.
They can slow down though with the 80’s AOR balladry of War In Heaven, featuring some keys from Adam Wakeman. It may prove to be Tailgunner’s most divisive song but you know what? Where it sits in the middle of the album perfectly splits this record like the LP’s of old as the riffs come back with that Brit metal might on Blood Sacrifice and on that engine roars for the rest of Midnight Blitz.
Slick, refined and anthemic, Midnight Blitz is more than slavish worship, it’s a whole new church of heavy metal from these modern torchbearers. 9/10
Demonic Resurrection – Apocalyptic Dawn EP (Self Released)
25 years is a long time for a band, more so in the often turbulent Indian heavy music scene, any band who want to play heavy metal in countries where often they can’t or are marginalised for doing so, get support from me. Demonstealer and his band Demonic Resurrection have been a little quiet as of late, a band welcomed warmly on UK stages.
Their last release was a compilation celebrating 20 years, but in 2026, Apocalyptic Dawn is not only a celebration of 25 but seems to be a reactivation of this cult Blackend death metal band. The artwork from Gaurav Basu aka Acid Toad is beautiful but the songs are just as exciting if you’re a fan of extreme music.
Demonic Resurrection feel like a band again, back to being a four piece Demonstealer’s riffs and snarling growls (and some clean shouts) are front and centre but Swarnava Sengupta doubles the battery as Nikhil Rajkumar crushes you into dust. The rhythm trio all mesh well, bringing a celebratory mood but a renewed urgency, Aditya Swaminathan meanwhile pulls out the incendiary leads as often as he can.
With constant changes in pace on opener The Great Famine, it’s progressive and punishing, the orchestrals/keys swelling in the background to bring that epic sound DR have always been associated with aided by the the mix and mastering of Keshav Dhar (Sky Harbour), picking out the technical prowess here is easy.
Even in the background of second track Of Blindness And Divinity, you can hear the keys here and extra vocals on Apocalyptic Dawn XXV from Anabelle Iratni building up the layers of these songs to reintroduce the epic style of Demonic Resurrection to many who perhaps have forgotten about them since their last full length in 2017.
The 2025 version of the title track, is a re-record of a track from their second album and showcases the band as they are today, recharged, reloaded and ready to strike again. 25 years has presented plenty of challenges but Demonic Resurrection continue to break boundaries and deliver top flight extreme metal. 8/10