Metal has been a ruin since 1994, but a handful of acts show that there is some life in the corpse, and Solips from Asgrauw shows great promise with its melodic high energy black metal.
Riffs take inspiration from not only early Graveland but early Necrophobic and Sacramentum, showing a talent for writing melody lines that become expansive over time and counterpoint the stirring rage of the rhythmic patterning.
Songs feel more like death metal in composition, in that they rage through a series of alterations to a verse-chorus structure in order to drop the listener back into an early riff so that it feels completely alien and new.
When David Bowie parted company with legendary long-standing guitarist Reeves Gabrels in 1999, he picked up the phone to ask Helmet‘s Page Hamilton to join his band for his Hours world tour.
In order to impress his new boss, guitar prodigy Hamilton practiced for 16 hours a day, learning 30 songs including Cracked Actor, Rebel Rebel and Changes. For that phone call meant more to the Portand-born musician than Bowie could possibly have known.
“Reeves, who’s been a friend of mine for many many years, was going through a very difficult time in his life and he and Bowie parted ways after 13 years,” Hamilton recalled in a 2016 interview with Louder. “Bowie knew Helmet – we had met two years earlier at a festival in Germany – I met him and he was like, ‘Helmet? I love Helmet!’ And I started laughing, like, Yeah… right. Right! And he says, ‘We go way back!’
“He was just a really gracious human being,” Hamilton continued. “Just so nice for a guy that has changed so many people’s lives and influenced so many musicians. In Germany, I tried to get him to talk about Ziggy Stardust when he jumped off speakers and broke his leg. He was wearing just his underwear as he was in the middle of a costume change, and I’m like, So what happened? What happened? And he smiled and said, ‘Oh God… I don’t remember much from back then.’
“He liked me, and when he later called, I had just left my wife. It was one of the worst times in my life. I was crashing on my manager’s couch and I had got back to the apartment at four in the afternoon. I’d met some chick, been to an after-hours Budweiser pool hall… it was pathetic. I was a pathetic mess.”
“And I’ve said this before, but he pulled me out of a real shitty time,” the guitarist admitted. “He might have saved my life. Because I would have continued – I’d gone out with my buddy Erik Sanko from Skeleton Key and Lounge Lizards who said, ‘We’ve been out for 38 nights in a row.’ And I was saying, Alright! Let’s make it 39! And I’m talking until after sunrise. So it’s amazing that in that state of mind I could have learned thirty David Bowie songs and gone out and played them.
“He didn’t know how I was living before I got the call, he didn’t know that I was going through a divorce. But Coco, the super-great lady who was with David said to me: ‘You know, David’s been very happy since he’s been sober.’ At the time he’d been sober for 12 years. I was like, Yeah… but I’m of Scottish, Irish, Welsh descent with German and Native American in me. I have all the drinking genes. It’s probably not happening for me. But my tribute to David Bowie would be to say: He’s not like you and me.”
On the day that they released a remixes album featuring ‘reimagined’ takes on songs from last summer’s Never Enough by artists as diverse as Elton John, jazz-influenced Mancunian electronic producer and DJ Floating Points, death metal stalwarts Dying Fetus and their O.G. Baltimore hardcore bros Angel Du$t, it feels entirely apposite that Turnstile are playing the closing weekend of London’s All Points East festival on an eclectic bill, headlined by the bold and brilliant Californian rapper Tyler, the Creator, leaning heavily into alt. hip-hop and EDM.
Given that they’ve spent a portion of their summer playing special guests to Deftones in mainland Europe, it would, presumably, have been an easy win for the quintet to have lobbied for a late evening slot at last weekend’s APE Presents Outbreak festival in this same park, instead of performing today alongside the likes of Clipse, Sexyy Red, BB Trickz and Ravyn Lenae. But Turnstile didn’t get to where they are today by staying in their lane, or adhering to tried and trusted industry templates. Know any other hardcore bands with the chutzpah, wit and humanity to walk onstage at a festival to the sound of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers duetting on Islands In The Stream, and have their audience singing along in delight? No, no, you don’t.
With that said, if you saw Turnstile headlining Outbreak festival here last summer, you can probably guess with some confidence which songs made the cut when the quintet had to trim 2025’s 75 minute set-list down to tonight’s hour on stage, with choice cuts from Glow On and Never Enough – Blackout, Holiday, Mystery, Birds, Dull, I Care – given equal weighting. You might even have a feeling of déjà vu when, just like last summer, the roaming cameras onstage pick out a fan holding aloft a retro rotary telephone in the rain during Dull, as frontman Brendan Yates sings, “Deep in the night, I’m waiting for the call.” But the inclusion of a cover of The Stone Roses’ I Wanna Be Adored is another inspired little deviation from orthodoxy.
The truth is that, whatever they choose to do right now, Turnstile can do no wrong. And if tonight feels like a genuine victory lap in front of a partisan audience who cheer their every move, you can’t say that they haven’t earned it. At one point Yates talks about the UK feeling like“a second home” for the band, humbly adding“Thank you for always making it feel like home” to warm cheers. This sense of mutual respect makes for a wonderful feel good vibe throughout, and a genuine sense that the bouncing pit is a safe space for all.
After a joyous T.L.C. (Turnstile Love Connection), with their allotted hour complete, Turnstile exit the site’s West Stage with several thousand curious newcomers to the party now fully welcomed, integrated and converted. Gig by gig, year on year, this band are building not just a community, but a legacy, and it’s a wondrous experience to be part of. Thank You (Falettinus Be Arse Elves Agin).
New England melodic/progressive metal band delivers a dark and atmospheric visual journey through fear, ghosts, and the demons within
New England melodic/progressive metal outfit VALE END have released their new music video for “Umbra,” available now exclusively through Metal Devastation Radio .
Blending eerie atmosphere, melodic heaviness, progressive musicianship, and powerful female-fronted vocals, Vale End have developed a sound that draws from influences ranging from Black Sabbath and Alice In Chains to Opeth, Mastodon, and Deftones . With “Umbra,” the band brings those elements together for a dark and visually engaging new release.
The band explains why they chose “Umbra” as their next single:
“We chose Umbra as our next single because we felt the lyrics complimented the slow, dark groove of the song. This lyric video has some excellent visuals tied into it as well that really make the lyrics come alive, wait until the end for some of the best of those visuals!”
Lyrically, “Umbra” explores the fear of allowing our darkest emotions to take control, using supernatural imagery to represent the ghosts, anxieties, and inner demons that can consume us.
“Umbra’s lyrics tap into the fear of letting our darkest feelings take a hold of us in an almost supernatural way, being overwhelmed by the ghosts of our lives and the anxieties that become our demons. Death feels as if it looms over us in our dark thoughts but there is always a light to bring our souls back to better places.”
Those themes fit naturally with the band’s overall identity.
Vale End takes its name from Vale End Cemetery in Wilton, New Hampshire , a historic cemetery with a reputation for being one of the most haunted locations in New England. Dating back to before the American Revolution, the cemetery and the folklore surrounding it have helped inspire the band’s fascination with the darker side of New England history.
Originally formed as a creative outlet for musicians who were involved in separate projects, Vale End quickly developed into a full-time band focused on writing and performing music they were passionate about.
Their sound combines powerful, sometimes soaring clean vocals with eerie guitar chord voicings, heavy riffs, intricate bass work, and hard-hitting, articulate drumming. The result is a style that manages to be melodic and progressive while still bringing plenty of weight and aggression.
The band’s five-song EP Prosthetic Waltz established that foundation. Recorded in September 2024 at Seven West Studios in Charleston, West Virginia, the EP was produced, engineered, recorded, and mixed by Chris “OJ” Ojeda of Byzantine , with mastering handled by Alan Douches of West West Side Music in New York.
With the release of “Umbra,” Vale End continue building toward an ambitious future that includes expanding their live reach, connecting with new audiences, recording more material, and pursuing opportunities for touring, distribution, and label support.
VALE END
Jo’Rinda Johnsen – Vocals Jason Kuntz – Guitar Ty Snitko – Live Bass Robert “Jamie” Clark – Drums
WATCH “UMBRA”
The new Vale End music video for “Umbra” is available now.
Watch it below and discover why this New England outfit is one to keep an eye on.
Connect with the band:
https://www.facebook.com/ValeEndBand/ https://www.instagram.com/valeend11/ https://www.valeend.com/
METAL FOR NEPAL Launches Emergency Appeal Following Devastating Nepal Floods
The organization rooted in Nepal’s metal and arts community is calling on the global heavy music family to help communities devastated by catastrophic flooding
The global metal community has never exactly been known for sitting quietly on the sidelines when people need help. Now, Metal For Nepal is asking that community to once again come together following a devastating natural disaster that has torn through communities in Nepal.
On the morning of August 26, 2026 , a sudden and catastrophic flash flood surged through the Bhotekoshi River system in Nepal’s Rasuwa and Nuwakot districts, after originating from the Tibetan side of the border. Villages, roads, bridges and critical infrastructure were swept away or severely damaged, leaving families displaced and communities facing an enormous humanitarian crisis.
The exact chain of events that triggered the disaster is still being investigated. Initial assessments pointed toward a possible glacial lake outburst flood, while subsequent geological assessments have examined the possibility of an ice avalanche creating a temporary debris blockage that later failed. What is beyond dispute is the scale and speed of the destruction.
The flood traveled downstream through the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli river systems, affecting communities well beyond the initial impact zone. Search-and-rescue operations involving the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police remain underway, while damaged roads, bridges and difficult mountain terrain continue to make access extremely challenging.
Communities Were Hit With Almost No Warning
According to Metal For Nepal, the disaster swept through settlements along the Bhotekoshi and Trishuli rivers, including areas around Timure and Syabrubesi in Rasuwa.
The organization reports that six major hydropower and transmission facilities were damaged, resulting in an estimated 430 MW of lost generating capacity , roughly one-eighth of Nepal’s installed power capacity. Flood warnings have also been extended to downstream districts including Dhading, Gorkha and Chitwan.
For the people living in these communities, however, the statistics only tell part of the story.
Homes, belongings and food supplies have been destroyed. Families have been displaced. Children are among those facing the immediate consequences, including loss of shelter, clean water and access to basic necessities.
And that is where Metal For Nepal is stepping in.
Metal For Nepal Is Mobilizing Again
Metal For Nepal was founded in 2015 by members of Nepal’s metal community , including the band Underside, following the devastating earthquakes that struck the country that year.
Working alongside international supporters and local partners, the organization helped rebuild more than 300 homes in Gorkha following the earthquakes. Since then, its work has expanded to include food distribution, vaccination campaigns, hot meals, education initiatives and other humanitarian projects.
Now, the organization is once again activating its network.
Metal For Nepal says it is working with established local NGO partners in Nepal to deliver emergency assistance to affected communities, including emergency supplies, clean water and longer-term rebuilding support.
While children are a particular priority because of their vulnerability following a disaster, the organization stresses that the response will serve affected people of all ages.
“We need to come together exactly like we did after the 2015 earthquake. The heavy metal and tattoo community has always shown up for people in need, and this moment is no different. Every donation goes straight toward getting families and children the support they need right now.” Flower KC, Director, Metal For Nepal
This Is Where The Metal Community Comes In
This isn’t about a record release. It isn’t about streaming numbers, chart positions or who is headlining the next festival.
It’s about people.
The heavy music community is spread across virtually every corner of the planet, and Metal For Nepal has spent more than a decade proving that the connections created through music can be turned into something tangible when disaster strikes.
A donation doesn’t have to be enormous to matter. Metal For Nepal is asking people to contribute whatever they can, while also encouraging musicians, promoters, media outlets, artists, tattoo communities and fans to help spread the word.
If you can’t donate, share the appeal .
If you’re a band, post it.
If you’re a promoter, put it in your newsletter.
If you’re a metal media outlet, run the story.
If you have a platform, use it.
Sometimes the most valuable thing you can give is simply helping the right message reach the right people.
How You Can Help
Metal For Nepal has established an Emergency Appeal for the August 2026 Nepal floods , with donations supporting its response alongside local partners on the ground.
Emergency Appeal: Metal For Nepal Emergency Appeal 2026
Donate: Metal For Nepal Donation Page
Main Website: Metal For Nepal
The organization says the situation remains fluid and that its emergency appeal will be updated as verified information becomes available.
The Metal Family Has A Long Memory
Nepal’s metal community has already shown the world what can happen when musicians and fans decide that their scene can be about more than music.
After the 2015 earthquake, the international metal community answered the call.
Now Nepal needs that same spirit again.
This is one of those moments when the metal family needs to turn the volume up for something that actually matters.
Share the appeal. Donate if you can. Get the word out.
Because when disaster strikes, the heavy metal community has always had a pretty simple rule:
We take care of our own.
American hard rock veterans Night Ranger have released their new Best Of collection through Frontiers Music Srl. To mark the release, the band has also unveiled “Wasted Time” (Live from Sweetwater Studios), complete with an official music video.
The collection brings together newly remixed and remastered versions of songs from across Night Ranger’s career, combining their established hits with selections from their more recent records. The album is available on CD and vinyl, with the double-LP edition offered in black, gold and orange splatter variants.
“The new Best Of is a celebration of not only our classic hits but also what we’ve created over the last 20 years. And we’re just gonna keep cranking it cause we’re having too much fun to stop! So enjoy the ride and see ya on the road!”, comments Jack Blades.
The band’s catalog includes some of the defining material of American melodic rock, from “Sister Christian” and “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” to “(You Can Still) Rock In America.” The new collection revisits those staples with refreshed mixes and masters while covering more than four decades of music.
Alongside the better-known tracks, Best Of includes “When You Close Your Eyes,” “Four In The Morning” and “Time Of Our Lives,” as well as later songs including “High Road,” “No Time To Lose,” “Somehow Someway,” and “Truth.” Together, the selection covers the melodic hooks, guitar-driven arrangements and big choruses that have remained central to Night Ranger’s sound.
The current lineup features Jack Blades on bass and vocals, Kelly Keagy on drums and vocals, Brad Gillis and Keri Kelli on guitars, and Eric Levy on keyboards.
The collection also adds two bonus tracks. One is the newly recorded live version of “Wasted Time,” captured at Sweetwater Studios and paired with the new video. The other is a live rendition of “Feliz Navidad,” giving the band an opportunity to show a lighter side of their stage repertoire.
With a summer 2026 tour ahead, Best Of offers a broad overview of Night Ranger’s catalog, bringing the classic material together with the band’s more recent work and newly remastered versions of their songs.
MINISTRY Unleashes New Single “We Hate” Ahead Of Final Album Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery)
Industrial metal pioneers Ministry have released their new single “We Hate,” the second track to emerge from what is being billed as the band’s final studio album, Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery).
After more than four decades of industrial noise, political fury, controversy, experimentation and enough sonic destruction to make a busted factory sound like a recording studio, Ministry is preparing to call it a day.
The Al Jourgensen-led outfit has unleashed “We Hate,” the latest single from Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery), which is scheduled for release October 30, 2026 through Cleopatra Records.
And if the title wasn’t already a pretty big clue, Jourgensen apparently isn’t planning to go quietly.
The new track takes aim squarely at the current political climate, with Ministry once again using its music as a weapon against what Jourgensen sees as the increasingly absurd state of American society. The accompanying video, directed by Joshua Bradford, continues that confrontational approach.
The song follows “Burned Out,” which was released in July and served as the first preview of the forthcoming record.
Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery) will feature 10 tracks:
Crickets
Voices of Hate
Clown Car
We Hate
Delete
Grifter
The White Man Lied
Singularity
Burned Out
We’re Still Here (feat. Paul Barker)
One of the most significant moments on the album comes with its closing track, “We’re Still Here,” which features the return of longtime Ministry bassist and collaborator Paul Barker. Barker’s involvement gives the album an especially interesting connection to Ministry’s past as Jourgensen prepares to close the book on the band’s studio career.
The current Ministry lineup contributing to the record includes guitarists Monte Pittman and Cesar Soto, bassist Paul D’Amour, keyboardist John Bechdel and drummer Pepe Clarke Magaña, alongside Jourgensen.
45 Years Of Ministry
Founded in Chicago in 1981, Ministry began life with a considerably different sound from the industrial-metal juggernaut that would eventually emerge.
The band’s early material leaned heavily into synth-pop and the emerging electronic sounds of the era, culminating in the 1983 debut With Sympathy. Jourgensen soon began pushing Ministry into considerably darker and heavier territory, resulting in landmark releases including Twitch (1986), The Land of Rape and Honey (1988) and The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste (1989).
Then came 1992’s Psalm 69: The Way to Succeed and the Way to Suck Eggs, which propelled Ministry to its biggest level of mainstream recognition and earned the band its first Grammy nomination.
Over the decades, Ministry became one of the defining forces behind industrial metal, influencing countless bands while maintaining Jourgensen’s reputation for saying exactly what he thinks, whether anyone asked him to or not.
The band has released 17 studio albums, eight live releases and numerous side projects, while touring across five continents. Jourgensen has also survived enough personal and professional chaos to fill several bands’ worth of memoirs, documentaries and rock ‘n’ roll cautionary tales.
Ministry went on an indefinite hiatus in 2013 before returning in 2018 with AmeriKKKant. That record continued the band’s long tradition of political commentary, something that remained central to subsequent releases including 2021’s Moral Hygiene and 2024’s HOPIUMFORTHEMASSES.
Last year’s The Squirrely Years Revisited saw Jourgensen revisit and rework material from Ministry’s early synth-pop period.
Now, with Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery), Jourgensen appears ready to put a final stamp on the Ministry legacy.
One Last Trip Around The World
Ministry will support the album with an international farewell tour, giving fans one more opportunity to experience the band’s blend of industrial metal, electronic chaos and politically charged aggression in the live setting.
The European portion of the farewell campaign is currently scheduled to kick off April 2, 2027, in Utrecht, Netherlands, and will continue through May 1 in Helsinki, Finland.
The “Goodbye Europe 2027” run includes 21 shows and will feature Die Krupps as special guests.
The scheduled dates are:
April 2 – Utrecht, Netherlands – Ronda April 3 – Saarbrücken, Germany – Garage April 4 – Brussels, Belgium – Ancienne Belgique April 6 – Manchester, UK – O2 Victoria Warehouse April 7 – Dublin, Ireland – 3Olympia April 9 – Nottingham, UK – Rock City April 10 – London, UK – Troxy April 12 – Paris, France – Bataclan April 14 – Madrid, Spain – La Riviera April 15 – Barcelona, Spain – Paral-lel April 17 – Lausanne, Switzerland – Docks April 18 – Munich, Germany – Tonhalle April 19 – Vienna, Austria – Gasometer April 21 – Prague, Czech Republic – Forum Karlín April 22 – Warsaw, Poland – Progresja April 24 – Berlin, Germany – Columbiahalle April 25 – Hamburg, Germany – Grosse Freiheit 36 April 26 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Amager Bio April 27 – Oslo, Norway – Rockefeller April 29 – Stockholm, Sweden – Fållan May 1 – Helsinki, Finland – House of Culture
Special meet-and-greet packages with Jourgensen will also be available for the tour, including a photo opportunity, souvenir laminate, silk-screen poster and commemorative tour coin.
Whether Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery) ultimately proves to be Ministry’s final album remains something only time will tell. Rock ‘n’ roll has never exactly been famous for keeping retirement plans simple.
But if this really is the end of Ministry’s studio journey, Jourgensen certainly seems intent on leaving the building the same way he spent the last 45 years: loud, abrasive, unapologetic and pissed off.
Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery) arrives October 30, 2026 via Cleopatra Records and will be released on vinyl, CD, cassette and digital formats.
Watch the video for “We Hate” below.
It probably won’t get any more subjective than this. As our favorite rock band of all time, picking our favorite song from each album was a grueling process that had us changing our minds often. If there’s one band whose albums have been worn out on our turntables over the past 50 years, it’s Led Zeppelin. Yes, we’ve bought the CDs, but they just don’t sound as good as the vinyl LPs. Jimmy Page’s remastered editions are the best yet, but there’s something about listening to Led Zeppelin on vinyl that just can’t be replicated on a CD. And please
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine takes a closer look at “The Last Note” from the band’s self-titled album.
Mustaine is also set to appear at Kaufman Music Center in New York City on September 8 for a special conversation marking the release of his new memoir, In My Darkest Hour.
The event will give fans a chance to hear Mustaine discuss the book and his career in person. Every ticket includes a signed copy of In My Darkest Hour.
