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Angel Du$t by Nat Wood |


Stream “Pain Is A Must” everywhere:
angeldustmoney.lnk.to/painisamust

Pre-order COLD 2 THE TOUCH:
https://angeldustmoney.lnk.to/cold2thetouch

Watch the music video for “Pain Is A Must” below



Lead vocalist Justin Tripp said of the upcoming release. “This is who I am, and I speak for the band too: these are people who are always going to be playing aggressive rock & roll. It’s happening whether you like it or not. I’m me, and if you get in my way, I’m gonna crush you.”

Who are Angel Du$t?

Angel Du$t are touring worldwide in support of COLD 2 THE TOUCH, kicking off on 26th February with a free record-release evening in Baltimore, followed by aNorth American tour. See full itinerary below.




COLD 2 THE TOUCH album artwork courtesy of Prescription PR



COLD 2 THE TOUCH track list:
1. Pain Is A Must
2. Cold 2 The Touch
3. I’m The Outside
4. Jesus Head
5. Zero
6. Downfall
7. DU$T
8. Nothing I Can’t Kill
9. Man On Fire
10. The Knife
11. The Beat





Upcoming Shows:

26/02 Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage (free record release show)
27/02 Washington DC @ St. Stephen’s Church
28/02 Philadelphia, PA @ Lithuanian Music Hall
01/03 Rutherford, New Jersey @ The Williams Center
02/03 Albany, NY @ Ophelia’s
03/03 Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
05/03 Toronto, ON @ East End United Basement
06/03 Grand Rapids, MI @ Pyramid Scheme
07/03 Milwaukee, WI @ X-Ray Arcade
08/03 Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
09/03 Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
11/03 Tulsa, OK @ Mass Movement Community Arts
12/03 Dallas, TX @ Rubber Gloves (NOT SO FUN WKND)
13/03 Houston, TX @ The End (NOT SO FUN WKND)
14/03 San Antonio, TX @ Paper Tiger (NOT SO FUN WKND)
15/03 Austin, TX @ Regal Room (NOT SO FUN WKND)
17/03 Tucson, AZ @ Urbxn
18/03 Phoenix, AZ @ Rosetta Room
19/03 San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick
21/03 Los Angeles, CA @ 1720
22/03 Berkley, CA @ 924 Gilman
24/03 Portland, OR @ High Limit Room
25/03 Seattle, WA @ Washington Hall
26/03 Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Fest
27/03 Salt Late City, UT @ Fellowship Hall
29/03 Denver, CO @ Marquis
01/04 St Louis, MO @ Off Broadway
02/04 Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups
03/04 Pittsburgh, PA @ Preserving Underground
04/04 New York, NY @ Brooklyn Bowl
06/04 Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
30/04 Brisbane, AU @ The Triffid
02/05 Melbourne, AU @ 170 Russell
03/05 Sydney, AU @ Liberty Hall
05/05 Adelaide, AU @ Lion Arts Factory
06/05 Perth, AU @ Amplifier Bar
30-31/05 Detroit, MI @ Tied Down Detroit

27/02 w/ Crown Of Thornz, Backlash, Love Sick
28/02-01/03 w/ Crown Of Thornz, Combust, Love Sick
02/03 w/ Combust, Love Sick
03/03 w/ Béton Armé, Combust, Love Sick
05/03 w/ Big Boy, Mil-Spec, Eskrima
06/03 w/ Negative Approach, Big Boy, Bad Beat, The Sissy Boys
07/03-09/03 w/ Big Boy, Bad Beat
11/03-15/03 w/ Béton Armé
17/03 w/ Midrift, Béton Armé
18/03-21/03 w/ Midrift, Béton Armé, Leave No Doubt
21/03 w/ Béton Armé, Leave No Doubt
24/03-29/03 w/ Home Front, Béton Armé, Odd Man Out
01/04-03/04 w/ Outta Pocket, Jivebomb
04/04 w/ Outta Pocket, Jivebomb, Vanity
05/04 w/ Death Threat, Outta Pocket, Jivebomb
30/04-06/05 w/ Superheaven



Angel Du$t online:
Bandcamp / Twitter / Instagram / Run For Cover Records

Last weekend was crowned by the release of Amaranthe’s new single and music video, “Chaos Theory.” Staying true to the sound fans have come to expect, the band delivers yet another high-energy track driven by their unmistakable brand of metal.

Watch the music video for Amaranthe’s “Chaos Theory” below.

The post Amaranthe release new single and music video for “Chaos Theory” first appeared on FemMetal – Goddesses of Metal.

Night has a tendency to reveal a second skin beneath us, one that deviates from the proper customs of daylight’s mundane monotony. As a teenager growing up in the nineties, once the sky went dark, I can remember life having such an intoxicating mystery to it, one that I desperately wanted to explore to the fullest, but was limited to a television and a computer. There were no cell phones, no social media, and no constant scrolling to dull our senses. We left that to things like MTV, and on one winter’s night in 1997, MTV did more than just dull my senses. It detonated a bomb within my brain and left such an impact that nearly thirty years later, I am still inclined to tell you this story.

It happened during the airing of one of my favorite shows, 120 Minutes, a program that played a barrage of up and coming indie bands as diverse as you could imagine. One music video would feature a heavy band attacking your senses with walls of guitars and drums so raw they felt like they were breaking your TV speakers. On the other side of the coin, you’d have a somber band swirling simple chords from a mellow keyboard, with a singer so mesmerizing you’d wonder how the human voice could extract such emotion. Then there was the night I heard the sample from Kool & the Gang titled “Funky Man” looped and pitched up, which gave way to one of the best music video experiences I can remember. I use the word “experience” because that’s precisely what these were at the time. We were young, obsessive, angry, angst ridden teenagers looking to light up whatever counter culture was prime for igniting, and music videos helped fuel that fire.

The video for Smack My Bitch Up started with a POV shot from someone getting ready for a night on the town, a night that would soon devolve into such debauchery that there still may be a mark on the ground of that basement from where my jaw hit the floor. It showcased everything from drug use to vomiting to straight up full nudity with explicit sex, all of it making even the hottest Hollywood sex scenes feel timid in comparison. It was something you’d never see on television, and my brain was equal parts confused and amazed as this all unfolded in front of my terribly impressionable adolescent eyes, especially given the unique twist at the end. Not only was it my first experience seeing this type of smut on television, but it was also my first introduction to The Prodigy, a band that would forever cement itself as a major influence on so much of what I would later create as a musician.

Following such an intense evening was a day at school where I asked all my friends if they had seen the same thing I did, with little to none of them making sense of what I was talking about. Few believed me, and it didn’t help my case that MTV decided not to air the video anymore due to its vulgarity, but the impact had already been made. I was led down a rabbit hole that pulled me deep into the band’s albums, live performances, and merchandise. Hell, I even contemplated cutting my hair to look like the devil horned frontman, Keith Flint. Needless to say, I wasn’t alone, as the album Fat of the Land skyrocketed to the top of everyone’s playlists, with countless great tunes polluting the airwaves that our parents all but condemned from the earth.

The song Smack My Bitch Up was just as creative as the music video, with samples from bands like Kool & the Gang, as I mentioned before, while also utilizing samples from current bands at the time like Rage Against the Machine. It was creativity on acid, and I loved every minute of it. The band showed me how to carve my own corner in a landscape filled with copycats and clones. While everyone was trying to imitate the massive grunge movement that came before, bands like The Prodigy were leading their own charge and creating music just as heavy as any underground metal band at the time.

They had the sound, the look, the attitude, and even after all these years, their legacy remains intact. Losing Keith (RIP) didn’t slow them down either, as the band continues to move forward, drawing massive crowds that pay homage to their past while paving the way for future artists to draw inspiration from these unique musical madmen. I’ll never forget the first time I saw that video or the intensity it stirred within me. It was a feeling I still chase, a reminder of how good music should feel. Raw, uncensored, unabashed, and completely unrestrained from the confines of what society thinks it wants to hear.

The post The Night an Uncensored Music Video Rewired My Brain appeared first on Autumns Eyes.

In addition to helping introduce the New England Patriots ahead of kickoff, Jon also popped up in a State Farm commercial.

The post Jon Bon Jovi Didn’t Do the Super Bowl Ad for Money — He Did It for This appeared first on Audio Ink Radio.

Powerhouse rock icons Guns N’ Roses will headline the 2026 bp Adelaide Grand Final Sunday Concert on Sunday 29 November, bringing Paradise City to the City of Churches’ iconic street circuit this November. Following their massive 2025 tour across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, Guns N’ Roses will head to Adelaide. This […]

by Victor Giol

In the early fall of 2023, the progressive rock world was lit up with excitement by the announcement that Mike Portnoy would be returning to Dream Theater after his shocking departure more than a decade earlier. As the news spread quickly, a new question arose: how would the bands in which Portnoy had remained active and productive during his time away from DT continue moving forward? The long-hoped-for reunion, complete with expectations of a new album, reunion tour, and subsequent album tour, suddenly placed the future of Morse/Portnoy collaborations into question, at least from a timing perspective. Would there still be room for Portnoy to operate outside the Dream Theater universe?

The answer arrived like a surprise gift on Christmas morning. In early December 2025, the Neal Morse Band, now known as NMB, revealed that the band had convened in secret, at Eric Gillette’s home studio, to write and record a new album during the spring of 2025. Featuring the familiar and formidable lineup of Neal Morse, Mike Portnoy, Randy George, Eric Gillette, and Bill Hubauer, NMB delivers a fun, inspired, and deeply engaging album in L.I.F.T., their fifth studio release and first since Innocence & Danger in 2021.

L.I.F.T. immediately distinguishes itself as a strongly focused, single-disc concept album. As fans have come to expect from NMB, the opening track “Beginning” serves as an instrumental overture, instantly easing the listener in with top-tier production and compositional finesse. Memorable, singable melodic themes are introduced right away and seamlessly transition into the next track. “Fully Alive” launches the narrative with Morse and Hubauer trading vocal lines and harmonies during verses. This mid-paced piece steadily builds, highlighted by its soaring chorus and the first of many blazing Eric Gillette guitar solos.

“I Still Belong” acts as a brief transitional piece that would feel at home on ‘The Similitude of a Dream’ album from 2016, featuring a passionate vocal performance from Morse, before giving way to the instrumental “Gravity’s Grip,” where the band flexes its technical chops and showcases its continued musical maturation atop Portnoy’s relentless rhythmic foundation. This sets the stage for the musical highlight of the album’s first half, “Hurt People.” An anthem-like rocker with Gillette on lead vocals, the track features a thrilling middle instrumental section with dueling guitar and keyboard lines, intricate odd-time shifts, and dynamic drum fills that will have listeners air-drumming along. This is NMB’s musicianship firing on all cylinders. Next is the dramatic and emotionally charged “The Great Withdrawal,” highlighted by an over-the-top Gillette solo before the song winds down to Neal Morse’s lone voice.

The first half of the concept continues with the polyphonic piano introduction of “Contemplation.” This short instrumental leads to “Shame About My Shame” which marks the point in the story where the main character has hit bottom and comes to terms with being broken. Morse’s vocals shine alongside the backing choir, while the guitar solo—tinged with a Pink Floyd–like atmosphere—ushers the mood from shame and sadness toward hope and joy.

The second half of the album picks up with “Reaching,” an uplifting, uptempo rocker where NMB’s collective vocal harmonies are fully on display. The emotional arc now trends upward, with the song’s chorus standing out as one of the album’s highlights. Morse and Gillette split lead vocal duties on this one, while the modulation to a higher key provides an extra lift. This song recalls previous NMB anthems like “The Call” and “The Great Adventure.” “Carry You Again” begins with Morse on vocals and acoustic guitar before gradually building into a full-band arrangement, combining a steady groove with a wall of harmonized voices. The track strikes a balance between the unmistakable sound of NMB and the uplifting spirit of a modern worship song.

The album concludes with a powerful trifecta that brings the concept to its climax and resolution. “Shattered Barricade” serves as a transition into “Fully Alive Pt. 2,” which reintroduces earlier musical themes with renewed energy—most notably in the final 90 seconds, where some of the album’s heaviest instrumentation and arrangements take center stage. All of this leads into the expected, but nonetheless incredible, closing epic, “Love All Along.” At over 11 minutes, the track serves as a microcosm of L.I.F.T., beginning with a somber, restrained vocal from Morse before steadily building and recalling earlier lyrical and musical motifs. Morse, Gillette, and Hubauer trade vocal lines alongside a harmonizing choir, culminating in an epic ending that only the Neal Morse Band can deliver.

It is clear that NMB has crafted yet another excellent album, driven by collective inspiration, focused intention, and a long-established chemistry that continues to deepen with each release. L.I.F.T. strikes an ideal balance between conceptual narrative, musical virtuosity, compositional depth, melodic accessibility, and progressive complexity, all woven together by the magic sauce, Rich Mouser’s unparalleled mix mastery. The result is an instant NMB classic that can comfortably stand alongside the band’s most beloved releases.

Order now here: https://nmb.lnk.to/L.I.F.T.-Album

Released on Feb. 27th, 2026 on InsideOutMusic

The full track-listing is as follows:
1.Beginning 06:48
2.Fully Alive 05:02
3.I Still Belong 03:32
4.Gravity’s Grip 02:03
5.Hurt People 08:05
6.The Great Withdrawal 05:08
7.Contemplation 02:20
8.Shame About My Shame 05:50
9.Reaching 07:32
10.Carry You Again 05:02
11.Shattered Barricade 01:25
12.Fully Alive Part 2 06:18
13.Love All Along 11:18

Neal Morse / vocals, keyboards, guitars
Eric Gillette / guitars, vocals
Bill Hubauer / keyboards, vocals
Randy George / bass
Mike Portnoy / drums, vocals

The post NMB – L.I.F.T. (Album Review) appeared first on The Prog Report.

The 2026 concert calendar just got even busier for Hunnu Rock pioneers The Hu and cello metal standouts Apocalyptica as the bands announce today that they’ll be hitting the road together for a run of shows this May and June. The tour kicks off on May 12 in Silver Spring, MD, and will take them across the country before wrapping in Anaheim, CA, on June 7. Joining The Hu and Apocalyptica will be platinum-selling Finnish rock band The Rasmus.

Public on-sale for the tour will begin Friday, February 13th at 10 AM local time. Official artist presales for The Hu and Apocalyptica will be available starting Wednesday, February 11th at 10 AM local time through Thursday, February 12th at 11:59 PM.

Venue presales will be available on Thursday, February 12th, from 10 AM to 11:59 PM local time. Special VIP packages, including meet and greet experiences and exclusive merchandise, will also be available for purchase. Fortickets and additional information on VIP packages, visit here pre-sale code ‘THEHUN’ and this location pre-sale code  ‘CELLOS’.

In addition to closing all shows on this tour, The Hu are celebrating the recent release of their latest single, “The Real You”.

“The Real You single is the representation of our new album, The Hun,” says Temka – Temuulen N (band’s tovshuur player, throat singer). “While we have traditional songs that have our signature rhythm in our third album, there are a few upbeat, fast songs such as this single. We recorded this song thinking of our ancestors, riding fast on horseback through the landscape. Listen to this song to express the feelings you have buried inside and feel the overwhelming energy we pass through to you. Enjoy.”  

“The Real You” is one of the few songs from The Hu in which Western music components are prominent. As evident in the wording, the song is asking the listeners not judge others but focus on themselves and to become a better person. Derived from the Mongolian proverb, “Don’t worry about what is on top of a person’s head, just worry about what is not on yours.”

Formed in 1993 at the world-renowned Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, Apocalyptica began life as a loving, lo-fi nod to Metallica from four classically trained musicians with no greater ambition than to explore their favorite band’s music with their chosen instrument.

The project would take on a life of its own when they finally released Plays Metallica By Four Cellos in 1996. Unbeknownst to Apocalyptica, they’d just boarded a rocket ship that would propel them through eight rapturously received records, a staggering six million records sold, and a relentless touring schedule that would see them bringing their uniquely symphonic concept of heaviness to every time zone and countless festival stages around the world. Most recently, following the 25^th anniversary of their debut record, the band released their latest album, Plays Metallica, Vol. 2, to widespread acclaim.

The Hu and Apocalyptica Spring 2026 Tour Dates

• 5/12/2026 — Silver Spring, MD — The Fillmore
• 5/13/2026 — New York, NY — Palladium Times Square
• 5/14/2026 — New Haven, CT — College Street Music Hall
• 5/15/2026 — Stroudsburg, PA — Sherman Theater
• 5/18/2026 — Milwaukee, WI — The Rave / Eagles Club
• 5/19/2026 — Green Bay, WI — EPIC Event Center
• 5/20/2026 — Maplewood, MN — Myth Live
• 5/22/2026 — Memphis, TN — Minglewood Hall
• 5/23/2026 — Irving, TX — The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
• 5/24/2026 — San Antonio, TX — Aztec Theatre
• 5/26/2026 — Houston, TX — Warehouse Live
• 5/27/2026 — Oklahoma City, OK — Diamond Ballroom
• 5/29/2026 — Phoenix, AZ — The Van Buren
• 5/30/2026 — Las Vegas, NV — The Theater at Virgin Hotels
• 5/31/2026 — Valley Center, CA — Harrah’s Resort SoCal – The Events Center
• 6/04/2026 — Reno, NV — Grand Theater
• 6/06/2026 — Los Angeles, CA — The Wiltern
• 6/07/2026 — Anaheim, CA — House Of Blues

The post THE HU & APOCALYPTICA Announce 2026 U.S. Tour With THE RASMUS appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Metal scientists at the Institute of Hessian Studies (IHS) today revealed research that shows definitely how the guitar as the lead compositional instrument leads heavy metal songs but not rock ones.

For the first time, this provides an empirical framework to distinguishing metal from rock and hybrids of rock that, like Opeth or Pantera, often disguise themselves as metal despite having much more pop culture intentions.

This research illustrates the principle that metal is something driven by guitar (meaningful riffs, conversing, through-composed) and not driven by vocals. This principle of metal was mentioned in the metal FAQ.

(more…)

Led Zeppelin – Becoming Led Zeppelin (DVD) Eine der meist im Print besprochenen DVDs des letzen Jahres war wohl „Becoming Led Zeppelin“. Und alle diese

Mayhem have a funny legacy. They’ve been roughly three to five different bands, depending on how you define their eras and bandleader reigns, and assumed a festival-headling prestige that betrays their controversial history and disquieting music, parading the former on the road during their 40th anniversary tour last year. It’s a strange place for the once-shocking, now elder, outfit. Note, however, that they’ve been an off-kilter (at times experimental, at times simply out-of-step) project longer than they were ever a dangerous and traditional black metal band. They’ve pushed the genre to harder, more alien, and more technically-demanding areas than any other long-running act in the notoriously iterative black metal sphere. Yet, the true crime dramas hold as integral parts of their history, even though their longest-serving members have never been principal songwriters. 

Their latest record, Liturgy of Death, is only their third that guitarist Teloch primarily composed, even though he’s been the lead guitarist and songwriter for a dozen years. It’s marketed as a certification of Mayhem’s enduring artistry, a fair claim for a group’s seventh album, but that artistry has shifted nearly every half-decade. Is this moreso a celebration that Necrobutcher has kept the band’s license for this long?

…

…

Here’s what’s to celebrate–this is as close as Mayhem will ever come to a De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas sequel. That’s a factor of Daemonn (2019), their last record, attempting to recapture De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas a quarter century after its release. It largely succeeded without attempting to progress what Mayhem originally recorded on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas. Liturgy of Death, then, is similarly tightly wound and operatic black metal to that of Mayhem’s debut (and Daemon), just more sure of itself. It threads the needle between the ephemeral and the solid, dashing in and out of perceptibility with regular tempo changes. Sometimes, you can firmly hold onto Mayhem’s intentions, like with the stellar and rollicking “Aeon’s End.” Othertimes, they indulge their moodiness (“Funeral of Existence”). A retread of their debut, this is not.

Furthermore, Liturgy of Death announces its part in the Mayhem bloodline, unlike most of their albums. Compare Teloch’s modest developments to Blasphemer’s resume as lead songwriter. Blasphemer was varied, in that 2000’s Grand Declaration of War, 2004’s Chimera, and 2007’s Ordo ad Chao each contained out-of-left-field tracks and pivoted away from their predecessors. Teloch, meanwhile, is more trepidatious and less prone to outlandish ideas, preferring sonic homogeneity. You can trace his steps from 2014’s Esoteric Warfare to Daemon to the way Liturgy of Death ties the modern Mayhem into the imposing shadow Mayhem cast in the 90s. As such, Liturgy of Death is consistent, in that much of what lead single “Weep for Nothing” does is present everywhere. The dynamic song structures and arresting performances give each track value, but none rise above the rest. There are no “Crystalized Pain in Deconstruction”s from Grand Declaration or “Illuminate, Eliminate” from Ordo ad Chao, which is to say that the Mayhem eccentricities are nuzzled inside tracks and mostly come from Attila’s unpredictable vocals, which range from breathless whispers “Despair” to operatic belts on “Weep for Nothing.”

It should be said that these distinctions speak to the differences between Liturgy of Death and the rest of Mayhem’s discography rather than the album’s quality because, somehow, Mayhem are consistently good. The metrics of “good” changes with personal taste, and Mayhem have always tested their audience to expand what they considered to be “in good taste,” but they’ve never slumped into laziness, commodified their sound, or strolled away from black metal. And that’s despite the shifting leaders and visions. Or, perhaps, that’s because of it, considering every release sounds energized, regardless of how much changes behind the scenes. 

Every Mayhem era, in some way, reacts to what came before it, a scab that heals with a new coat of flesh and different cells. And the guiding principle has simply been to push boundaries, neatly tying into what lay at the heart of the original impulse that drove a group of Norwegian teens–to offend and disarm. What offends and who to offend changes through time, and Mayhem’s aim has occasionally been its fanbase. Liturgy of Death is, like Daemon before it, a reconciliation with Mayhem’s identity and what’s expected of them. It claws at what De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas tried to do, only now, Mayhem have decades of experience, so the playing is tighter and the compositions more ambitious. 

Yet, that’s ultimately all there is to Liturgy of Death; high-quality black metal that plays how a Mayhem album should. It establishes a safe zone and patrols it. To disparage Mayhem for that ignores how tumultuous and shaky their identity has been. They’ve harvested surprise and extremity throughout their career, so it’s just a tad strange for them to offer relief for once. For the first time in 40 years, they’ve released an album that’s expected of them.

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Liturgy of Death is available via Century Media Records.