Hardy turned a songwriting degree and a Mississippi small-town background into one of the more unusual careers in modern country music, first as a hit writer for other artists and then as a performer who pushed country music toward rock, hard rock, and heavier, guitar-driven sounds. Born Michael Wilson Hardy on September 13, 1990, in Philadelphia, Mississippi, he grew up listening to music with his father, an experience he later connected to some of his earliest memories. He attended Neshoba Central High School, wrote his first song during those years, and later studied songwriting through the Recording Industry Management program
International symphonic metal legends Kamelot — renowned for their infectious melodies, cinematic storytelling, and electrifying live performances — return with their haunting new album Dark Asylum, arriving August 28 via Napalm Records.
Now 14 albums deep into a genre-defining career — including Haven (#1 Billboard Hard Rock), The Shadow Theory (#2 Billboard Hard Rock, #1 Amazon Hard Rock & Metal), and most recently The Awakening (#2 Billboard Hard Rock and Top 10 on the German charts) — the band continues to stand as a commanding force in modern metal after more than three decades.
Set within a shadowed Neo Victorian-era world, Dark Asylum invites listeners beyond the gates of RavenHill Asylum: an imposing institution once built as a grand cathedral, now repurposed into a place where science, faith, and madness uneasily coexist.
Kamelot founder and guitarist Thomas Youngblood says about the record: “Dark Asylum follows a soul trapped inside a world of masks, fractured memories, and psychological torment, wandering the endless halls of RavenHill in search of truth, identity, and redemption. What begins as a descent into darkness gradually transforms into a journey of awakening, where beneath the fear, illusion, and chaos lies the possibility of healing, hope, and ultimately a path out of the shadows into Sanctuary. The album explores the duality between despair and salvation, blurring the lines between reality and madness through theatrical storytelling, haunting atmospheres, and deeply emotional themes.”
Frontman Tommy Karevik adds, “Dark Asylum invites listeners into the hidden chambers of the human mind. A journey where every door reveals a different story, yet all remain deeply connected. At its core, the album explores the duality of human nature: the constant tension between fear and hope, chaos and stillness, destruction and healing. Dark Asylum reflects the struggle to remain sane within a cold and barren world, while ultimately discovering that salvation is not something found externally, but something that already exists within us all. Through self-exploration, awareness, and inner peace, healing becomes possible. This concept opened the door to a more cinematic and haunting sonic landscape, allowing us to experiment with darker, more eerie musical themes.”
Longtime Kamelot producer Sascha Paeth returns to helm the album, alongside Jacob Hansen, who oversees mixing and mastering.
Karevik concludes: “The imagery was intentionally painted with delicate strokes, capturing the fine line between beauty and disorder, and the way chaos and tranquility coexist within the same space. The result is an immersive experience that feels both unsettling and deeply human. A descent into darkness that ultimately searches for light.”
Deepening the immersion of RavenHill, Dark Asylum will be released on a plethora of exciting platforms, including standard gold, solid silver, and classic black vinyl editions, certified vinyl with the white label, white splatter, and blood-filled variants, the latter of which are each paired with an official 24-page booklet! Multiple CD digipak available, with the 2-disc version including an instrumental version of the album, alongside cassette and digital options!
Kamelot pushes further into cinematic and atmospheric territory on Dark Asylum, diving deeper into theatrical darkness while preserving the signature hooks that define their sound. Candlelight trembles along towering arches and cold stone corridors as you are greeted by familiar spectres: Avantasia mastermind Tobias Sammet, Eluveitie‘s Lea-Sophie Fischer, Visions of Atlantis’s Clémentine Delauney, Decessus frontwoman and current reigning Miss World Chile champion Ignacia Fernández, RannveigSif Sigurðardóttir and Sólveig Sara Leupold, and Billy King!
Identity fractures, reality bends, and control slips into unseen hands, guiding its central figure through a descent into psychological darkness that ultimately leads toward transformation… and perhaps sanctuary. From the cinematic sweep of “Ashen World” to the introspective depth of “Sanctuary” and the layered mystique of “Ivy, My Dear,” Dark Asylum unfolds as a fully immersive journey, blending orchestral grandeur, haunting melodies, and theatrical storytelling into one cohesive vision.
Will you find sanctuary? Or will you wander its halls for eternity?
From the ranks of Pelagic Records, an ever dependable source of quality post-rock and metal, comes one of the newer and younger bands in their ranks; Hanry. Beginning life in 2022, the band have amassed a rather vast collection of EPs already, and their name is appearing on the likes of Trans Musicales and Pelagic festivals respectively. “What Came From Silence” will be Hanry’s full length debut, as well one of their more expansive and mature releases.
The overall feeling of the album is one of a band still finding their feet, showing glimmers of real promise whilst have some areas that you just feel there’s potential but could be so much more. We can start with the opening track ‘Noise Drowns Out’ to illustrate this. The build is slow, with tension and intrigue building gradually throughout the early stages. There’s no conventional nor canonical song structure. Just flowing elegantly like a river. Then, that river flows towards a waterfall, with the water bursting over the cliff tops in an awe-inspiring and brilliant site. What we hear in the crescendo of this song is the musical equivalent of a waterfall. It’s immersive, euphoric, hugely atmospheric. It’s brilliant. Peak post-rock! Though one high of sadly very few highs. Now, you have to let an album breath, and let the build to these crescendos feel like a reward for your patience and persistence. At the same time, we’re in an attention economy and people’s ability to concentrate is at an all-time low. It feels like some of the quieter more ambient parts don’t really do enough to sustain your attention and results in segments that lack the necessary stimulation, miles away from the dazzling peak from earlier in the album.
Though “What Came From Silence” finishes strong. Very strong. ‘Phantom Rush’ is a nine minute gem, built around the innate emotional strength of the piano as the melodic focal point of the song. The drums feel powerful, evocative, earth shattering. Along with the shimmering and glistening glass like guitar tones, this combination demonstrates Hanry’s true talent. Whether it’s the quieter more introspective ambient sections, or when the dynamics shift to larger and grandiose, there are many peaks and troughs in a journey that demands to be listened to again and again.
To reiterate, “What Came From Silence” demonstrates the early promise and exciting potential of one of post-rocks future breakout stars. Even if some creases are to be ironed out, they will be as time passes and experience grows.
UNTER STRØM plunge deep into cinematic electronic darkness on Orynth, a towering instrumental journey where industrial grit collides with melodic techno precision and widescreen atmosphere. Driven by pulsing rhythms, brooding synth layers, and slow-burning tension, the track constantly shifts between shadowy intensity and euphoric release without losing its hypnotic momentum. Alex Gonzales and John Kunkel craft a sound that feels equally suited for underground warehouses and futuristic sci-fi landscapes, balancing raw energy with meticulous production detail. Immersive, expansive, and emotionally charged beneath its mechanical surface, Orynth announces UNTER STRØM as a thrilling new force within dark electronic music.
Daytime TV have announced their first UK dates of 2026 alongside a single that’s sure to be an essential on every summer playlist.
Photo credit: Rory Barnes
The four-piece’s latest single is titled ‘Sun’, and it’s out now via Marshall Records.
Filled with hooks that’ll have your feet moving in no time and a groove so infectious it’ll be lodged in your brain for weeks, it’s going to spark absolute mayhem when it drops at these upcoming shows.
Speaking about the band’s latest single, vocalist Will Irvine has shared:
“As soon as the song ‘Sun’ came together, we knew it was a summer banger. It’s about going to your happy place in your head, blocking out the chaos and stripping things back to the primal basics of just being an animal on a planet.
“The song feels like summer and that’s exactly what we wanted it to be. It’s a happy place to go to in your mind. I wrote that big chorus years ago, and it got parked but just kept finding myself singing it. Then, when we got back together to write it just came together really quickly.”
Grab an ice cold drink and take a listen.
And without further ado, here are those live dates.
The intimate tour will take place throughout October, in association with Music Venue Trust and Marshall’s ‘Keep Live Music Alive’ campaign, helping to keep the grassroots music scene thriving.
Check out the list of dates below.
OCTOBER
14: HULL New Adelphi Club 15: COVENTRY Tin Music and Arts 16: NEWPORT Le Pub 17: MILTON KEYNES Crauford Arms 18: BOURNEMOUTH Bear Cave 28: LIVERPOOL The Quarry 29: SHEFFIELD Yellow Arch 30: EDINBURGH Cabaret Voltaire
Poland’s VARMIA have never approached black metal as simple songwriting. With their new album, the band push deeper into a world where ritual, ancestry, landscape and sound become inseparable. Recorded live inside abandoned castle ruins and shaped around themes of identity, belonging and cultural memory, the record embraces imperfection, physical space and primal atmosphere in open defiance of modern metal’s polished artificiality. We spoke with Lasota about chaos, ritual, tribal instinct, and why VARMIA feels less like a band and more like a living echo of something ancient.
Hi! You described lauks as existing on the verge of chaos. What kind of chaos were you chasing on this album: emotional, spiritual, or purely musical?
Lasota: A musical one. I’d say that Varmia is steady in a spiritual and emotional sense. Sounds, however, could be disturbing and in some ways chaotic. On the new album, they attack you as a swarm of notes. But these notes are in order.
Recording live inside abandoned castle ruins feels less like a studio decision and more like part of the composition itself. At what point did the place stop being a location and start becoming part of the sound?
Lasota: When I was writing the music, I didn’t know that we would end up in this particular castle. I knew what kind of location I was searching for, but at that time it was not yet revealed. Eventually, when I did the reconnaissance at the castle, everything fell into place. That was the first stage. The second stage was during the recording once we’d set up the microphones and heard how the band sounded in the castle halls. The third stage was during the mixing stage when I shaped how the ambience microphones were used in the songs. So yes, it was part of the composition from the very beginning, but it also evolved and unfolded during the production cycle.
The album title refers to old communal identity and territorial belonging. Do you see those instincts as something humanity has evolved beyond, or simply hidden beneath modern life?
Lasota: I think it’s well hidden. I also think that this is the most natural way of coexistence here on earth. To have the roots and protect them. But I also see that the modern lifestyle is becoming more and more bipolar in that sense. On one hand, you’ve got people who identify as world-citizens. On the other hand, there are people who cherish their small homelands and I think that group is getting bigger and stronger. But there’s less and less people who are between these two mindsets.
The use of traditional instruments never feels decorative in your music. How important is it that these sounds feel alive rather than archival?
Lasota: We always want these instruments to sound minimalistic and cold. To honour their original character. These are rather primitive tools and we sometimes exceed their original abilities, but only to the extent that molds with music and is not something that stands out. Originally, these were very functional instruments that served as an addition to the gatherings rather than being independent tools. That’s how I see their role in Varmia music.
Your work often feels deeply connected to land and ancestry without becoming nostalgic. Is avoiding romanticism important to the identity of VARMIA?
Lasota: I’d say that getting rid of some degree of nostalgia in Varmia music is almost impossible. These topics, stories and melodies are sometimes screaming in that vibe. But you’re right, I don’t approve of romanticism in this music. In the end, this is black metal that goes to the very roots of primitivism and brutality, so there’s no room for softness. We try to invoke the character of ritualistic and wild music from the times when it was carving its way to the Baltic civilization.
The concept of “us and them” runs through the album in a very instinctive way. Were you exploring tribal identity as something dangerous, necessary, or unavoidable?
Lasota: Unavoidable. And today it is even more confirmed in the world events that it was when we recorded the album. The Romans used to say “divide and conquer” and there’s hardly any better sentence that would describe human “genetics”. The desire to separate “us” from “them” is embedded in our nature.
The live recording approach leaves imperfections and physical space inside the music. Do you think modern metal has become too disconnected from physical presence and environment?
Lasota: Totally, yes. Modern metal, even if labeled “organic” or “natural” or “analogue” is so deeply fake. I don’t know any, literally any other musicians that would have the courage to leave the imperfections in the recordings. People are getting rid of their natural way of playing their instruments and music in general and trading this to the dull, predictable and repetitive time grids, click tracks and heavy editing in post production. We literally live in times where the recipe for the metal recording is well-known and accessible. And it seems that this very fact has killed the need for individualism and searching for “your” sound. Everything has to be comparable by the current standards and any abbreviation is a defect. I don’t want such music to even exist. To me, music is made when a group of people is actually playing it together. Everything else is just a form of pre-production. At least to my ears.
Whitevoice singing has a very different emotional effect from harsh vocals – it feels ancient, communal, almost unsettling. What does that vocal contrast allow you to express?
Lasota: It allows me to express the most primitive and accessible music that humans can make. Sometimes this type of voice is called shout. Allegedly, it was firstly used as a way to call someone from a distance. By using that, I feel that I’m calling the Ancestors.
When you perform this material live, do you see the songs as compositions, rituals, or something closer to collective memory?
Lasota: Rituals. I know that this word is overused, especially in black metal. But to me it really is a ritual. Playing live is the core reason why this music was even made, so that’s why we record albums that way. And that’s why shows are something far deeper than just the performance in front of the audience.
Does VARMIA feel more like a band, or like an evolving language for expressing something older than the music itself? Thank you!
Lasota: Good question. I’d opt for the latter and I like that definition. I often say that our music is an echo of the defeated’s culture scream. Such echo is very much present in our land and making music is my attempt to converse with it. Thanks!
Swedish melodic metal force Prime Creation presents a music video for their brand new single, ‘Ashes Of Trust‘. The track delivers another intense glimpse into the band’s forthcoming studio album ‘Souls Of The Fallen‘, set for release on June 26th, 2026 via ROAR – A Division Of Reigning Phoenix Music. Stream ‘Ashes Of Trust‘ – here […]
Tarja releases“The Trace Outlives,” the third single from her upcoming studio album“Frisson Noir,” which is set to arrive on the 12th of June – in less than three weeks. The track offers a glimpse into a more introspective and emotional side of“Frisson Noir,” while retaining the signature heaviness that defines Tarja’s sound.
Inspired by the Japanese phenomenon of “Johatsu” people who deliberately disappear from their lives “The Trace Outlives” tells a story of vanishing without a trace, exploring the emotional weight of leaving one’s identity behind to start anew in anonymity, while reflecting on regret, freedom, and the invisible marks that remain even in absence. Rooted in this concept, the song also incorporates the sound of the shamisen, a traditional Japanese instrument resembling a guitar but with a distinctly more percussive character, brought to life by the young talentSayo Komada.
Musically, “The Trace Outlives” blends crushing heaviness with sweeping symphonic arrangements and operatic elements, staying true to the signature sound we know and love from Tarja, while elevating it to an entirely new level, making it feel like a bold and refined next chapter of her artistry.
“I was looking for a sound that would take me to Japan and found a beautiful ancient instrument that resembles a guitar, but has a more percussive sound – the shamisen, traditionally used in puppet theaters. I invited the young talent Sayo Komada to blend her art with my song.” –Tarja
The official music video, released alongside the single today, brings the song’s atmosphere vividly to life through a cinematic visual language, unfolding like a uniquely crafted love story shaped by tension, longing, and emotional depth. With its carefully developed narrative and striking imagery, it translates the track’s intensity into a powerful on-screen experience, merging performance and storytelling into a compelling and immersive whole.
“Frisson Noir” reflects Tarja’songoing dialogue between cinematic orchestration, classical heritage, and the power and intensity of contemporary metal. The album moves between intimate piano passages, dramatic orchestral textures, and powerful guitar-driven moments.
At the center of the soundscape is Tarja’s distinctive voice, moving effortlessly betweenfragile emotional expression and operatic power. Around it, orchestral arrangements, choirs, and layered instrumentation create a cinematic world that constantly shifts between darkness and light, exploring deeply human themes such as fear, beauty, nostalgia, resilience, defiance, transformation, identity, disappearance, independence, trust, and perseverance.
Across 10 tracks, Tarja delivers intensity, emotion, and strength, joined by special guest Dani Filth (Cradle of Filth), Apocalyptica, Marko Hietala (ex-Nightwish), and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers). Mixed by GRAMMY-winning producer Neal Avron (Linkin Park, Skillet, Disturbed), the album blends a modern, hard-hitting sound with the dramatic and emotional elements that define Tarja’s unmistakable metal identity. The album will be available in retail as CD Digipak, Black 2LP Gatefold and Ltd. Purple 2LP Gatefold. The first pressing of all formats is finished with high-quality copper foil and logo embossing.
