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The UK alternative music scene has been rocked to its core. In a stunning fall from grace, the organizers behind the Slam Dunk Festival—the crown jewel of the UK’s pop-punk and hardcore calendar—have officially announced that a high-ranking director has agreed to step down. While the official statement stops short of naming him, the move comes less than 48 hours after founder Ben Ray was publicly accused of multiple counts of sexual assault and rape in a series of harrowing social media posts.

For a festival built on community and “safe spaces,” these allegations are more than just a legal hurdle; they are an existential crisis. With the massive 20th-anniversary event featuring Good Charlotte and Sublime just weeks away, the scene is left wondering who is actually steering the ship.

“The Director Has Agreed to Step Down”: Breaking Down the Statement

Addressing the “distressing” nature of the news, the Slam Dunk board didn’t mince words in their formal address today. They acknowledged the trauma these reports have caused fans, artists, and staff alike. While the board emphasized that the individual in question “strongly refutes” the claims, the decision for him to walk away was made “in consultation with the board” to prevent the festival from becoming a total lightning rod for controversy.

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The full official company statement from Slam Dunk Festival:

“COMPANY STATEMENT: WE ARE AWARE OF ALLEGATIONS PUBLISHED YESTERDAY RELATING TO ONE OF OUR DIRECTORS. WE TAKE THESE ALLEGATIONS SERIOUSLY AND UNDERSTAND THAT THEY MAY BE DISTRESSING AND HARD TO PROCESS FOR OUR COMMUNITY. OUR SLAM DUNK FANS, STAFF, AND ARTISTS ARE, AS ALWAYS, OUR TOP PRIORITY. WHILE HE STRONGLY REFUTES THESE ALLEGATIONS, THE DIRECTOR IN QUESTION HAS AGREED, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE BOARD, TO STEP DOWN FROM SLAM DUNK OPERATIONS WHILE THIS MATTER IS ONGOING. SLAM DUNK REMAINS COMMITTED TO MAINTAINING A SAFE, RESPECTFUL, AND INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT FOR ALL EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, AND CUSTOMERS. OUR VALUES AND CULTURE ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO HOW WE OPERATE, AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO UPHOLDING THEM. IT WOULD BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR US TO COMMENT FURTHER ON AN ONGOING LEGAL MATTER. HOWEVER, WE PROMISE TRANSPARENCY AND HONESTY TO OUR SLAM DUNK COMMUNITY AND WILL PROVIDE UPDATES WHEN IT IS APPROPRIATE TO DO SO.”

The Allegations That Rocked the Scene

The industry was ignited on April 23 when actress and performer Jenny Miller shared her story. This wasn’t just a vague accusation; it was a detailed account of a betrayal of trust. Miller alleged that Ray, whom she considered a “friend,” assaulted her on multiple occasions while she was incapacitated.

More disturbing were the claims that Ray used his position at Slam Dunk as a lure, allegedly offering Miller professional roles involving VIP operations at the festival. For many in the UK scene, Ben Ray is Slam Dunk. He launched the brand as a club night in 2006 and built it into a multi-million-pound empire. Seeing that empire’s founder step down under these specific circumstances is a “Where were you?” moment for the British rock community.

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The 20th Anniversary: Can the Music Continue?

Slam Dunk is currently in the 11th hour of preparation for its biggest year yet. With Hatfield and Leeds set to host thousands of fans next month, the organizers are now tasked with the impossible: running a massive international operation while their founder sits at the center of a legal firestorm.

As the matter moves into the hands of lawyers, the focus remains on the survivors and the safety of the fans. Slam Dunk has built its reputation on being “by the fans, for the fans.” Whether that reputation survives the summer of 2026 remains to be seen.

For continuous coverage on this developing story and the potential impact on the 2026 festival season, stay locked into the Loaded Radio live stream and the Loaded Radio Podcast.

TL;DR: The “Slam Dunk” Crisis at a Glance

• The Exit: A Slam Dunk director (confirmed to be founder Ben Ray) has officially stepped down from all festival operations.
• The Allegations: Performer Jenny Miller publicly accused Ray of multiple counts of sexual assault and rape, alleging he used his industry position to facilitate the abuse.
• The Defense: The official board statement claims the director “strongly refutes” the allegations but is stepping aside as the matter moves into legal channels.
• The Festival: Slam Dunk 2026 is still scheduled to proceed next month, but leadership is in a state of emergency.

 

 

 

 

 

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The post BREAKING: Slam Dunk Festival Director Steps Down Following Assault Allegations appeared first on Loaded Radio.

Now with a psychedelic cumbian vibe.

The post 311 & Los Mirlos Release Reimagined Version Of “Amber” appeared first on Theprp.com.

London metal experimentalists Pupil Slicer dropped their album Fleshwork last year. Today they’ve teamed up with the industrial noise pop act Tayne, also from London, on a single called “W.N.” It’s a hefty industrial track with eerie vocals, a compulsively listenable synth loop, and unhealthy amounts of of searing bombast. The B-side for “W.N.” is…

The post Pupil Slicer & Tayne – “W.N.” appeared first on Stereogum.

Hedging my bets

I don’t believe you’re a crook

But this ain’t my first rodeo

That’s the oldest trick in the book 

Brian Michael Henry has always carried himself like a man who wandered out of a downtown piano bar with a head full of pulp paperbacks and a pocket full of strange phone numbers, and his latest EP, Hustler, feels like the notebook he dropped on the sidewalk sometime after midnight. Five songs, five little dossiers on desire, decay, and dicey situations.

Musically, Henry keeps one foot in classic songwriting and the other in a pile of synthesizers that hum like old appliances. The piano still knows how to carry a tune, the guitars lean in at the right moments, and his baritone moves through it all with the calm of someone who has already seen how this story ends. He’s pulling from Lou Reed, Magnetic Fields, a little Jim Steinman drama, a hint of OMD gloss. It feels like a late shift, and you’d best bet he’s clocked in with some spicy reading material.

“I read Jean Genet’s The Thief’s Journal last year, and it got me to write the title song,” says Henry. You can hear that book breathing all over Hustler. The title track follows a figure who never stays still long enough to be pinned down, living on charm, paperwork, and the practiced art of keeping one foot out the door. There’s affection in the gaze, but also a shrug, as if love were something you could file away under “pending” and revisit when the cops stop circling the block.

Faster, sparked by Jackson Pollock’s spectacularly ill-advised final drive, barrels forward with a grin that’s just a little too wide to be trusted. It plays like a convertible with a stuck accelerator, summer air whipping through while someone in the passenger seat tries to turn heartbreak into a punchline. You can almost see the headlights stretching out into forever, which is usually a sign that forever is about to end.

Then Henry strands himself in My House, a song born in some snow-choked corner of Illinois where even the furniture seems to have opinions. The place creaks, stomps, and remembers things nobody bothered to write down. It’s domestic life turned hostile, where the dog won’t come inside and the stairs sound like they’re carrying someone who forgot to leave. You get the sense that the house isn’t haunted so much as irritated, which might be worse.

My Book arrives with Henry’s own confession: “He came back to my place. He was so hot. But when we got down to it, I discovered that he had a fetish for being neglected.” The situation escalates into something both absurd and oddly tender, the kind of encounter that makes you question whether desire is a straight line or a series of detours through increasingly strange neighborhoods. Henry tries, fails, and reports back with a shrug that doubles as a punchline.

By the time we reach The Oldest Trick, the romance has turned transactional, though nobody seems particularly upset about it. “It’s about a John who has a really sweet relationship with his hustlers. At least I think it is,” Henry says, and that uncertainty is half the charm. Money changes hands, illusions get negotiated, and somewhere in there, you catch a glimpse of something like sincerity, blinking in the fluorescent light.

Hustler is brief, a little crooked, and full of characters you wouldn’t necessarily trust with your wallet, but you might follow them anyway, just to see where they end up.

Listen to Hustler below and order the EP here.

Follow Brian Michael Henry:

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The post “This Ain’t My First Rodeo” — Brian Michael Henry Pays Homage to Jean Genet and More With “Hustler” EP appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

“In Grief Or In Hope”, the latest new single and title track from the Big Brave‘s forthcoming studio album, has surfaced online. Check it out.
Read more…

Nietzsche famously said that God had long since checked out, leaving no forwarding address. Now we’re all loitering in the glowing vestibule of our own making, lit by OLED screens instead of stained glass. In America circa now, everybody’s a little messiah with a front-facing camera, canonizing their own reflection in real time, chasing likes like absolution. No pulpit required—just a ring light and the nerve to believe your own press. Why swallow some preacher’s sweat-soaked sermon when you can sanctify yourself, body and bandwidth, a feedback loop of self-worship—half revelation, half peep show, and maybe nobody’s even there.

Battery Licker’s Don’t Look Away comes crawling out of Dallas, where you are still more likely to run into a ten-gallon hat than a goth band, which makes the project a fine little anomaly in cowboy country. They bottle the restless rebel-youth charge of the 80s and 90s, then lace it with industrial bite, post-punk pressure, goth-rock gloom, noise damage, and grunge rot. Imagine The Damned and Type O Negative raising a delinquent child on the languid spoken-word weirdness of Southern Culture on the Skids and the Butthole Surfers, and you are near the right gutter. Don’t Look Away itself sounds like a busted sermon broadcast from a cracked phone in a motel bathroom: the former “new generation” reporting back from the ruins, older now, angrier maybe, but also relieved to discover the confusion was communal all along.

The song comes from the upcoming album New American Jesus, and the title is no polite metaphor. Nietzsche’s corpse is somewhere in the corner, smoking and watching America replace the dead deity with the selfie stick. God is gone, so the feed becomes the altar; the influencer becomes the idol; the algorithm becomes scripture with worse prose.

The central figure is Warhol’s fifteen-minute prophecy boiled down to fifteen seconds, a self-declared saint with Travis Bickle’s wounded glare and a smartphone where the weapon used to be. Fame here feels cheap, desperate, disposable, less a crown than a paper hat from some fast-food monarchy of the damned.

Visually, director and editor Chris Northrup keeps the video in a grainy black-and-white industrial register, nodding to Judas Priest’s Painkiller while letting the slow opening drift toward early Gregg Araki: bored kids, bad rooms, beautiful doom, America with the lights half-dead. The deliberately lousy voiceover is a smart wound in the polish, a crooked human fingerprint pressed against a culture allergic to blemish.

Shot by Northrup, Denny Saldivar, and Brian Ryden, with costume design by Ryden, the clip stars the band and Saldivar as witnesses to their own cheap apocalypse. Don’t Look Away works because it knows the joke is already on us, and still has the nerve to laugh with its mouth full of blood.

Watch below:

Follow Battery Licker:

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The post If You Gaze Into the Feed… — Dallas Industrial Punk Outfit Battery Licker Shares Video for “Don’t Look Away” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

Disturbing allegations were made against the festival’s founder on social media this week.

The post ‘Slam Dunk’ Festival Founder Steps Down Following ‘Refuted’ Allegations appeared first on Theprp.com.

The speech came during the first stop on Marilyn Manson's current U.S. tour. Continue reading…

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Voidchaser – Interstellar I (April 9, 2026)

Formed in 2023 and based in Montreal and Stockholm, prog metal trio Voidchaser join the line of new and impressive bands making waves in the genre. Now with their sophomore album, Interstellar I, they showcase their dense and layered wall of sound paired with massive and memorable choruses. The deep space concept album features guest appearances by Charlie Griffiths on the massive track “Hyperconverter” and Michael Eriksen on the closing track “Renew.” It is at times relentlessly heavy and at other times unexpectedly melodic, blending sounds of Between the Buried and Me, Dream Theater, Mastodon, Devin Townsend, and others into a really fun listen. The band also leans into dynamic shifts and cinematic textures, giving the album a sense of scale that matches its cosmic theme while still keeping the songs tight and engaging. This is certain to be one of the more entertaining progressive metal albums you’ll likely hear this year, with enough depth to reward repeat listens. This is a must listen.

Order here: https://voidchaser.bandcamp.com/album/interstellar-i-lp

Tracklisting
1.The Grand Design 02:27
2.Welcome to Terra Corp 05:10
3.Initiation Day 07:59
4.Hyperconverter (feat. Charlie Griffiths) 07:26
5.Anything for Love 04:42
6.Rain / Solar Winds 06:33
7.Ivory Tower 07:13
8.Renew (feat. Michael Eriksen) 06:54

Chad Bernatchez — Vocals, Guitar
Jici Lord-Gauthier — Guitar, Bass
Colin MacAndrew — Drums

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Brass Camel – S/T (April 15, 2026)

Recorded at Chalet Studios and co-produced by Kevin Comeau (Crown Lands), Brass Camel’s new self-titled album also features a mix from Terry Brown (Rush), bringing a warm, classic edge to the band’s sound. The record marks a true arrival for the current lineup, serving as both a refinement and evolution of their style while completing a loose trilogy of releases that defines their identity. With a stronger emphasis on lyrical storytelling and a broader dynamic range, the album explores a variety of concepts through dense, detailed arrangements that balance ambition with accessibility. There is a clear classic prog influence throughout, drawing from Yes and Frank Zappa, at times even leaning into bluesy territory, while maintaining a loose, raw, and funky feel that is not often found in modern prog. “Why Bother” even sounds like it could be on Queen II. The result is a confident and fully realized statement, packed with subtle moments and standout ideas that continue to reveal themselves with each listen.

Order here: https://brasscamelband.bandcamp.com/album/brass-camel

Tracklisting:
1.You’ve Got Time 04:48
2.What Are You Going to Do 03:42
3.Why Bother 04:03
4.Can’t Say We Didn’t Try 03:16
5.Ice Cold 03:48
6.Careful What You Wish For 04:48
7.Everybody Loves a Scandal 04:40
8.Catch Us If You Can 05:41
9.Last Call 04:33
10.This is Goodbye 05:16

Daniel Sveinson – electric guitar/vocals
Curtis Arsenault – bass/vocals
Aubrey Ellefson – keyboards/vocals
Wyatt Gilson – drums and percussion

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HeKz – Qisma (April 3, 2026)

UK prog metal group HeKz return with a new concept album titled Qisma, featuring a strong lineup of guests including John Mitchell and Adam Holzman. Following the cinematic opening of “The Gates of Kybagrad,” things kick into high gear with the title track, a full-on metal piece that would feel right at home on a modern Iron Maiden release. The production is stellar and the musicianship equally strong, with vocalist Matt Young delivering powerful performances with a dramatic flair, particularly on “The Future is Here.” This is an ambitious, expansive album, featuring no fewer than two tracks exceeding the 20-minute mark, inviting listeners to fully immerse themselves in its scope. It closes in fitting fashion with the anthemic “A Leap of Faith.” With each track serving as a chapter in the story, the band pushes into bold territory, approaching the concept album format with confidence and delivering impressive results.

Order here: https://hekz.bandcamp.com/album/qisma

Tracklisting:
1.The Gates of Kybagrad 02:01
2.Qisma 03:54
3.The Future Is Here 06:22
4.Defiance 04:31
5.Captured 04:09
6.Venom 06:42
7.The Great Out There 23:53
8.The Road Home 05:54
9.Break The Spell 06:01
10.Overlord 21:04
11.Virtual Utopia 06:23
12.A Leap of Faith 06:19

Matt Young – Vocals, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Additional Guitars, Percussion
Tolis Zavaliaris – Guitars
Lucia La Rezza – Violin, Cello, Double Bass
Jerry Sadowski – Drums

John Mitchell as THE OVERLORD
Mark Bogert – Guitars on THE GREAT OUT THERE
Adam Holzman – Keyboards & Moog Solo on VIRTUAL UTOPIA
Moyano el Buffalo – Percussion on THE ROAD HOME
Stella D Angelo, Duncan Greenway, Lucia La Rezza, Tolis Zavaliaris – Choir on A LEAP OF FAITH

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Holosoil – Look Up EP (April 17, 2026)

Newcomers Holosoil have just released their debut EP Look Up on InsideOutMusic, marking an impressive first statement from the Berlin/Helsinki-based quartet. Formed in 2024 by Victor Nissim (bass), Jan Kurfürst (guitar), and Altaïr Chagué (drums), with Emelie Sederholm stepping in on vocals, the band quickly establishes a distinct identity across the five tracks on the EP. Tracks like “Spirals” offer a strong entry point, driven by a memorable chorus and dynamic shifts, while “Animal” leans into a more uptempo, groove-heavy approach that highlights the band’s versatility. Sederholm’s vocal delivery stands out with a unique tone and phrasing that gives the material added character, while Chagué’s drumming is particularly notable, injecting energy and precision into every track. There is a raw, exploratory feel to the EP that works in its favor, suggesting a band still pushing boundaries while already demonstrating a clear sense of direction. Look Up is a promising debut that positions Holosoil as a band worth following closely.

Order here: https://holosoil.lnk.to/LookUp

Tracklisting:
1.Look Up 03:03
2.Cracks 03:28
3.Spirals 04:04
4.Freakshow 04:52
5.Animal 04:20

Altair Chague – Drums
Jan Kurfuerst – Guitar
Victor Nissim – Bass Guitar
Emelie Sederholm – Lead Vocalist

The post New Release Spotlight: Voidchaser / Brass Camel / HeKz / Holosoil appeared first on The Prog Report.

Last week, attendees of this year’s Monsters of Rock Cruise boarded the Norwegian Joy and embarked on a trip from Miami to Grand Turk full of good times and great music. It was supposed to be a celebration of all things rock and metal on the high seas, but one dude apparently didn’t get the memo. For one dude, it was a chance to allegedly get belligerently drunk and throw a bitch fit at someone during an exclusive VIP party.

That one dude was ex-Skid Row and current Twisted Sister frontman Sebastian Bach. At least, that’s according to the first-person account shared earlier today by TuFF vocalist and Metal Sludge founder Stevie Rachelle.

In a post over on Metal Sludge, Rachelle claims the incident started on the final night of the cruise. A couple days prior, he’d been told by one of the cruise’s photographers that both Sebastian Bach and Stryper’s Michael Sweet had been talking about him and wanted to meet up in person. Now, Rachelle and Sweet are on good terms these days, he said he quickly learned where he stood with Bach — who he’d once been labelmates with back in the ’80s — during the Artists Only VIP Party.

Upon approaching the newly anointed Twisted Sister vocalist, Rachelle said he was immediately berated and accosted with all kinds of slurs. Oh and weirdly enough, an allegedly high amount of references to Bach’s dick.

“I kept my composure as he repeatedly called me a ‘fat homo’, and continued to ask me, ‘do you want to see more pictures of my cock’, he made sure to add, ‘your website sucks’ and also told me, ‘I’m going to have you kicked off this ship.’

“This went on and on, more insults followed but the ‘Fat Homo’ and asking me about his ‘Cock’ was repeated over and over… perhaps 6-8x… not sure what that all meant.

“I stayed calm, didn’t use any profanity and never even raised my voice… but, I made sure to stand right in front of him and stared at him similarly to the in-ring stare-down from Mike Tyson towards Peter McNeeley.

“I just watched him as he ranted and flailed all over… the same thing we’ve seen on YouTube videos when he throws a temper-tantrum. At some point security arrived and got in-between us, and separated us… of course once they were there, Bach‘s anger, and threatening words “let me at him” got louder and more aggressive.

“I stood there calm and offered the following: ‘I’m right here… come get me.’ Bach blurted out; ‘Fuck You, you Homo!’ again.”

Apparently, this was all in response to years of Metal Sludge covering Bach and his well-documented bad behavior. Rachelle contends that all of his coverage was “either A. 100% truth, or B. the opinion of those who have contributed” to the site.

While it’s understandable for a public figure to take issue with how they’re being portrayed in the media, it’s another thing to do so hurling homophobic slurs at people. Remember, this is the same guy that Rachelle points out was photographed in a 1990 issue of Metal Edge magazine wearing a shirt that read “AIDS: KILLS FAGS DEAD”. He said at a later date that he understood it was “not cool to make fun of death,” he followed that up by saying that he “[does] not know, condone, comprehend or understand homosexuality in any way, shape, form or size.”

So yeah, dude talks a lot about his dick to other men but it’s Rachelle who’s a “homo”. Strange.

According to Rachelle, security eventually had him removed at Bach’s request. That led him to be escorted out of the party, but his girlfriend was not thrown out with him. Still, when she went to go tell the other people she was chatting with that she had to leave, Bach allegedly began berating her. Here’s Rachelle’s recollection of what happened:

“Once I was outside the club, my girlfriend came to ask what happened as she was seated with her friends on the other side of the venue… I explained what went down and she went back to tell her friends she was leaving.

“Upon her re-entering the venue, Bach accosted her, got right in her face and berated her with insults: ‘F#@k you! You F#@king C#%t. You F#@king B!tch’ and more.

“My girlfriend was not with me for 1 second in that club, I was with other guys, and she was with her friends… not sure how he even knew she was my girlfriend, but regardless, he found her and went after her like only a coward would.”

If that’s true, that’s a massive L as the kids say, Baz. Huge bitch ass move. Real small pee-pee energy, bud.

Bach comes from a time when bad behavior by rock stars was anticipated and oftentimes celebrated. Those were the days when excessively teased out hair ruled the Strip, excessive alcohol and drug use was the norm, and women were nothing but sex objects that fueled countless songs of girls only being seventeen and whatnot. Hell, the “bad boy” persona basically made bands like Mötley Crüe, Poison, Guns N’ Roses, and the like.

Sadly some folks from that era seem to have never gotten the memo to reign it back in their advanced age. For them, the party never ended and unfortunately, it’s led to some super cringe-inducing moments on and off stage. Bach is allegedly one of those people, having found himself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons numerous times since his Skid Row days. At 58 years old, he just can’t help but keep acting out.

Rachelle ultimately closed out his statement/recollection/post by offering up a sort of olive branch to Bach. He suggests that the Canadian-born singer get treatment for his alcohol abuse while hoping that one day they could talk like grown-ups in the future. Rachelle is a bigger man than most, given the circumstances.

After reading what Rachelle allegedly experienced, I keep thinking one thing: Dee Snider is famously straight-edge. Up until recently, he’d never taken drugs, smoked cigarettes, or drank alcohol. The guys in Twisted Sister are used to that kind of leadership. What’s going to happen during their tour when Bach begins to have solo ragers and acts like a fucking moron on stage, screaming at women and being an all around dick? We’ve seen it before, so it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

The post Report: Sebastian Bach Threw an Embarrassing Drunken Bitch Fit at Tuff’s Stevie Rachelle on Monsters of Rock Cruise appeared first on MetalSucks.