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The Metal Breakdown Daily is one page, every weekday: the episode on the player below and the three stories in print, so you can listen, read, or both. Today’s lead: Matt Heafy has told Metal Hammer he nearly quit Trivium in the middle of last year, walking out of a recording session, calling his wife to say he was done, and turning his phone off. Ashley Heafy sent him back. Drummer Alex Bent left that October; Crown In The Grave is out November 20.

Also today: Michael Amott says Arch Enemy are ‘slowly working on a new album,’ the first with Lauren Hart, and explains why ‘slowly’ is the point. And Dave Mustaine’s memoir In My Darkest Hour has debuted at number four on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction list, in the same year Megadeth’s final album gave the band its first number one.

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Scott Penfold opens today’s episode of The Metal Breakdown Daily with the night Matt Heafy walked out on Trivium and the phone call that brought him back, then asks why Michael Amott keeps saying ‘slowly,’ and finishes with Dave Mustaine having the best year of his career on the way out the door. Download the free Loaded Radio App on Apple iOS and Google Play and stream the show now.

Matt Heafy Nearly Quit Trivium. His Wife Sent Him Back.

Matt Heafy told Metal Hammer that midway through 2025, after the Ascendancy 20th-anniversary tour, he walked out of a Trivium recording session at the band’s Hangar studio, told his wife Ashley he was done with the band, and was talked back in by her; drummer Alex Bent left in October 2025 and the band’s new album, Crown In The Grave, is out November 20.

Heafy says the chemistry was ‘starting to fall apart,’ with no single cause: ‘it’s just the sum of its parts.’ He was tracking guitars when he stood up, left the building and called Ashley. His words, with one of them removed: ‘I’m done with this band, I can’t do this [expletive] anymore.’ He drove home, turned off his phone and decided he wasn’t going back.

Ashley let him cool off, then told him he wasn’t quitting, that he was part of that band, and that he needed to go back to the studio and sort it out. He did. The problems didn’t disappear; Bent left that October, and Heafy won’t discuss the specifics beyond saying it was best for the band in the long run. The band he describes now is ‘tighter live than we’ve ever been.’ Crown In The Grave follows November 20, with a North American tour alongside In Flames this winter and Europe with them in the spring.

Every band has this night. Almost none of them tell you about it, and the ones who do usually wait for the reunion tour. Heafy is telling it eighteen months on with a record coming, which means he isn’t selling a comeback; he’s being honest. The headline he didn’t say out loud is the one worth noticing: the chemistry problem left in October, and it wasn’t him.

Arch Enemy Are ‘Slowly’ Writing The First Album With Lauren Hart

Michael Amott told a Denver television station that Arch Enemy are ‘slowly working on a new album’ in the gaps between tours, their first with vocalist Lauren Hart, who replaced Alissa White-Gluz and played her first show with the band in Beijing on March 27, 2026; no title or date has been set.

Amott’s standard for the record is the reason for the pace: it ‘really has to be a great album,’ with ‘great songs, great music’ that ‘just feel right,’ and ‘that takes a bit of time.’ What the band did quickly was ‘To The Last Breath,’ the single written and released in February to introduce Hart, formerly of Once Human. The rest of 2026 is the road. Demand for shows has been strong, Amott says, worldwide dates are being booked now, and he wants this lineup to become ‘a really solid unit’ before it makes a record. His phrase: get to know each other ‘before we buy a house.’

He has done this twice before, and both times the first album with a new singer defined the era. Angela Gossow replaced Johan Liiva and the next record was Wages Of Sin; Alissa replaced Angela and the next was War Eternal, the two albums that made and then remade the band. Amott has also been through a guitarist change that nobody saw coming and come out the other side.

So ‘slowly’ isn’t a warning. It’s a man who has been right twice refusing to rush the third. In a genre that has produced some of its best records out of exactly this kind of reset, patience is the correct call.

Dave Mustaine’s Memoir Is A New York Times Bestseller

Dave Mustaine’s memoir In My Darkest Hour, written with Joe Layden and published September 8, 2026 by Da Capo, debuted at number four on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction list; it covers his 2019 throat cancer diagnosis and the making of The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! during treatment.

His first memoir, in 2010, reached number fifteen. This one is narrower and harder: the squamous cell carcinoma he announced in June 2019, fifty-one radiation treatments and nine rounds of chemotherapy, and the decision to keep recording through it. ‘I didn’t want to stop recording in case it was my last record, in case I died,’ he said in a June interview. He credits ‘great bandmates’ and a professional co-producer for keeping the album on the rails, and is blunt about chemo brain: ‘It was very terrifying.’ His line on the whole thing: ‘It’s not what I am; it’s what I do.’

The book lands in the final stretch of Megadeth. The self-titled final album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, the best first week in the band’s history, and the farewell tour runs into next year. The catalogue it closes and the man’s own history of settling scores in print make the sales figure more interesting than it looks.

Mustaine has spent forty years as the most defensive man in metal, and the first book he’s written that isn’t about who wronged him is the one people are buying. Given everything else in his story, there’s a lesson in that he probably won’t enjoy.

The Take: Telling The Truth While The Band Is Still Going

Three stories about metal’s least natural skill: honesty about yourself before the box set.

Heafy told you he walked out on Trivium. Amott told you the new Arch Enemy record isn’t close. Mustaine wrote a book about being too sick to remember the sessions for his own album. None of them had to say any of it, and twenty years ago none of them would have. The rule was that you projected strength until the band ended, and then you did the tell-all.

Here’s the counter-argument, and it’s fair. Honesty is a marketing strategy now. Heafy’s confession lands five weeks before an album. Amott’s ‘slowly’ keeps the band in the news between tours. Mustaine’s book is a product with a publisher and a release date. The vulnerability is real and so is the campaign, and you’re a fool if you can’t see both.

Both can be true and it still matters which came first. Heafy told the story and then refused to tell you why Bent left; that’s a man who knows where the line is. Amott could have promised an album for next year and sold tickets on it; he didn’t. Mustaine could have written another book about who wronged him; he wrote about radiation. The test of honesty isn’t whether it sells. It’s what you leave out when you could have cashed it in. All three passed. A band that tells you the truth early beats one that saves it for the documentary, every time.

TL;DR

• Matt Heafy told Metal Hammer he walked out of a Trivium session in mid-2025, told his wife he was done, and was talked back in by her; Alex Bent left that October, and Crown In The Grave is out November 20 with In Flames tours to follow.
• Michael Amott says Arch Enemy are ‘slowly working on a new album,’ their first with Lauren Hart, and wants the lineup to be ‘a really solid unit’ before recording; no title or date.
• Dave Mustaine’s memoir In My Darkest Hour debuted at number four on the New York Times hardcover nonfiction list, in the year Megadeth’s final album went to number one on the Billboard 200.
• The Take: honesty that costs something beats honesty saved for the documentary, and all three men passed the test of what they left out.

FAQ

The Metal Breakdown Daily is Loaded Radio’s weekday rock and metal news show, three stories and one opinion in under five minutes. New episode every weekday on the free Loaded Radio app for Apple iOS and Google Play. Follow Loaded Radio for the stories as they break.

The post Metal Breakdown Daily: Matt Heafy Walked Out On Trivium, Arch Enemy Take It Slow, And Dave Mustaine Hits The Bestseller List appeared first on Loaded Radio.

The post The Story Behind Every Song On @’s New Album <em>Autosmile</em> appeared first on Stereogum.

Here's your chance to enter to win an Epiphone guitar and a signed poster featuring artwork from Iommi's 'From the Dark' album. Continue reading…

Here's your chance to enter to win an Epiphone guitar and a signed poster featuring artwork from Iommi's 'From the Dark' album. Continue reading…

(Andy Synn recommends you all drive carefully, because there’s a Psychohazard ahead) It was about three-and-a-half years ago, by my count, that I first wrote about excellently-named Polish “Post-Black” quartet Cursebinder just prior to the release of their debut album, Drifting (read all about it here). Of course, a lot has changed in the world since […]

The post CURSEBINDER – PSYCHOHAZARD appeared first on NO CLEAN SINGING.

South Wales alternative rock quintet Strange Company have followed up their recent return track “Do You Feel Numb?” with an absorbing, moody new single, “Waves”, out now across all major streaming platforms alongside an official music video. Walking the tightrope between post-hardcore and post-rock, the track sees the five-piece venturing into darker, more immersive territory. … Continue reading South Wales alt-rockers Strange Company drop atmospheric new single and video “Waves”

Iapetus – The Mother Void (Willowtip Records) [Keith Boswell]

Iapetus release the third and final instalment of their conceptual trilogy with the album The Mother Void. It seeks to follow up on the 2017 Long Road Home and the 2019 The Body Cosmic albums, both of which have received rave reviews ensuring that this album is hotly anticipated from those in the melodic death metal world and beyond.

One thing I can say from the off is that the anticipation is not misplaced in the least as The Mother Void is a fantastic album and is easily in my top five for the year! One could describe this offering as atmospheric, melodic, intense and most importantly for me, it provides a considerable amount of variety throughout being it vocal, instrumental or atmospherical.

Iapetus, founded in 2010, originate from Long Island New York and comprise only two full-time permanent band members Matthew Cerami and Jordan Nevarro, who are supported by collaborators invited in to contribute to the project. This in my opinion sort of makes sense with the main direction provided by the permanent members and the variety of approach supplied and delivered assisted by the invitees.

The Mother Void starts its journey with an introductory melodic piece entitled Parturition, evident in this song are the angelic vocals of Fabienne Erni (Eluviation) which I positively love, such vocals are a continuing presence and intermingled throughout.

This brief opening offering is soon interrupted by an intense avalanche of very melodic but aggressive guitar riffs, guttural death metal vocals and softer supporting vocals setting the tone for more to come in the form of the track The Mother Void. This song catches hold of the listener and does not let go for the nearly 13 minutes duration. In the first two songs the scene for the record is set. With its quality apparent, its tempo changes, variety in heavy guitar riffs, melodic undertones, vocal variations and an atmosphere in which the band deliver a melodic masterpiece in Aniara.

Using similar ingredients only mixed and presented in another fantastic arrangement the album progresses on with the equally as powerful Red Giant. Once again, a tempo change is noted and enjoyed throughout the excellent song Emolument which, in my opinion, is almost operatic in nature and similarly leads into TON and the final tempo change of The World Be Undone.

Wow! I cannot praise this album enough, what a great piece of work, such a complete journey from start to finish. Make sure you give this a listen; you won’t be sorry! 10/10

Defects – Artificial Icons (Mascot Records) [Matt Bladen]

It’s probably not too much of a stretch to say that without Trivium a band such as Defects wouldn’t exist, so it’s only natural then that Matt Heafy completes another side quest by adding vocals to Signs, the precursor single to the new album from Defects.

A band who never shy away from having an opinion, unlike some other metal legends recently. Signs is about war, the current conflicts across the world that are leading to countless people dying for basically no reason. The collaboration between Heafy and Tony Maue, manages to balance the anger and search for hope this song conveys through both of them giving a great performance.

Not that Defects need guest singers, Maue has a brilliant vocal, anthemic cleans come through on massive electronically-tinged groove numbers such as Where Did I Go Wrong, while his snarl is right up there in the deathcore steaks on the crushing Critic.

Their previous album Modern Error was about Maue’s history in the care system, the trauma that caused still present in the lyrics of Artificial Icons but now the aggression is pushed outwards towards the world at large, it’s about “the balance of survival” with topics such as war, addiction and societal systems all put under a microscope and delivered with the bristling modern metal sound of Defects.

Production from Jim Pinder (Sleep Token, Bring Me The Horizon), allows the album to feel distinctly modern but never too clinical, the electronics bleep and oscillate, the riffs are filled with groove, the vocals passionate and there’s also some great lead/solos on State Of Mind and Hollow.

Maue and guitarist James Threadwell are the only two remaing from the line up that recorded Modern Error, as Rowan Jack (drums) and Orlando Morris-Winmill (guitar) join the ranks for this intense and emotional second record, that has profundity throughout.

Closing with its most heartfelt moment on Afterglow, Defects are more than just a modern metal/metalcore band, they take a lot inspiration from that early NWOAHM sound favoured by Trivium, Killswitch Engage (The Other Side) and other but make it their own and push their style forward with album number two. 8/10

Master – Among The Seeds Of Death (Hammerheart Records) [Mark Young]

There is a note at the bottom of the accompanying press sheet for Among The Seeds Of Death which makes sure you are aware that Master is one of the original Death Metal bands and that this is a release for fans of (Old) Death, Massacre, Venom, Autopsy amongst others. In a way, it is setting the scene for any new listener about to jump on. 

The Smashing Pumpkins have unveiled a music video for “Black Stars,” the newest song to surface from The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping (The Album). The track reunites the band with producer Butch Vig, their first studio pairing since the 1993 album Siamese Dream, which has sold seven million copies in the U.S. alone.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping (The Album) lands Nov. 13 via MCA. The film it accompanies, The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping, opens in theaters Nov. 20 through Lionsgate.

“Black Stars” is an original song written with the world of The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping in mind. It sits among a batch of unreleased material made exclusively for the soundtrack, with each contributing artist drawing on the story and characters of Panem.

The song started life while Billy Corgan was busy with a solo project, and the invitation to write for the film arrived in the middle of that. Corgan called in Vig to help choose the track that would fit the The Hunger Games universe best. The recording took place at Chaplin Studios in Los Angeles, with extra sessions in Chicago.

The Smashing Pumpkins is currently headlining arenas across North America on The Rats In A Cage tour, and “Black Stars” has a spot in the set.

The soundtrack was executive produced by Grammy-winning Dave Cobb, known for his work with Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson. It collects 29 artists from across genres.

Directed by Francis Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping centers on 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) of District 12. The story opens on reaping day for the 50th annual Hunger Games, also called the Second Quarter Quell, a edition with double the usual number of tributes.

The setting is Panem, 24 years before the events of the original The Hunger Games. Abernathy enters the arena, teams up with fellow tribute Maysilee Donner (Mckenna Grace) and joins a coalition aiming to loosen the Capitol’s grip under President Snow (Ralph Fiennes). As the Games play out, Abernathy stakes everything on dismantling them from the inside, which sets off the rebellion that will reshape Panem.

The film is adapted from the best-selling novel by Suzanne Collins and also features Jesse Plemons, Glenn Close, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, Maya Hawke, Whitney Peak and Kelvin Harrison Jr. Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson and Francis Lawrence produced it, and Billy Ray and Michael Lesslie wrote the screenplay.

Collins‘s books, published by Scholastic and brought to the screen by Lionsgate, have powered a film franchise that has pulled in more than $3.3 billion worldwide across five films. The brand keeps expanding into theme park attractions, experiences and live events. Those include The World of The Hunger Games at Motiongate Dubai and an upcoming London stage production from Olivier Award-winning playwright Conor McPherson (Girl From The North Country), directed by Matthew Dunster (2:22 – A Ghost Story, Hangmen, The Pillowman).

The post THE SMASHING PUMPKINS Get The Band Back Together With The “Siamese Dream” Producer For “Black Stars” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

ARCHERS have shared the details of ‘I Was Here, I Can Prove It.’, a debut album that has been a long time coming, to say the least.

The record is set for release on February 27 2027, via Fearless Records.

The band had this to say about it and the journey they have been on to get here:

“I Was Here, I Can Prove It is a culmination of all the thoughts and feelings we’ve experienced over the last decade of touring. This is everything we’ve been wanting to say for so long. The long days living on the road, being away from home and the constant self-doubt that make you question if it was all worth it. Ultimately realising that we wouldn’t trade this life for the world. This record serves to be our flag in the sand that announces to the world that we existed and that we were here and that we gave it our all in the time we have.”

The artwork looks like this:

And the tracklisting is like this:

1. Holding Pattern
2. The Dirt
3. Lying To Myself
4. Burning Low
5. All In My Head
6. Say So
7. Maneater
8. Get Paid
9. At The Bottom
10. I Want To Say I Lived
11. Is This The End

The record will feature the previously released ‘The Dirt’, as well as the freshly dropped ‘Burning Low’, a slick piece of modern crossover metal brimming with heart, soul and riffs.

ARCHERS had this to say about it:

“’Burning Low’ is about the struggle of burning the candle from both ends and asks the question what happens when the ends finally meet.”

The post ARCHERS Announce Debut Album ‘I Was Here, I Can Prove It.’ appeared first on Rock Sound.

2023’s Anno 1696 saw Finnish melancholic Death Metallers Insomnium draw inspiration from the Torsåker witch trials. It was another fine album in a discography that I really should visit more often, for every time I hear Insomnium, I remember why.

Insomnium – Netherworlds

Release Date: 23 October 2026

Words: Paul Hutchings

It is a landmark album that we are exploring here. The tenth release, Netherworlds combines all the elements that make this band such a joy. Heaviness, riffs, death growls contrasting with gloriously rich cleans, and a melody that allows you to hum along as the songs steamroller their way onwards.

As always, it is bassist and vocalist Niilo Sevänen’s creativity that takes centre stage. We have a new member of the band debuting as well as guitarist Tomy Laisto replaces Jani Liimatainen to add a new edge to the band’s triple lead attack alongside Markus Vanhala and Ville Friman. 

Insomnium have made a return to some of their earlier sounds. Unlike Anno 1696, this is anchored in their 2010-2020 period. “One of our goals was to take a couple of steps back towards the classic northern melancholy of albums like Shadows Of The Dying Sun and Heart Like A Grave”, says Vanhala.

“Reaching album number ten naturally made us look back as well”, Friman states. “You could say we adopted a bit of a Best Of philosophy. It may sound like a cliché, but the goal was simple. Write songs that capture everything people love about classic Insomnium while still pushing the sound forward with a few new twists.”

At 53 minutes, Netherworlds is a well-paced and balanced record. Towering riffs and those sweeping melodies that have formed the backbone of the band’s style for over three decades are still strong. It is an instantly recognisable sound, a hallmark stamped hard yet without repetition.

“The line between repeating yourself and embracing your own trademarks is a fine one”, Vanhala says. And he is right. Yes, this is definitively Insomnium, but there is still new music that reaches the ear. This is not a rehash.

After the intro, The Cold Life, it is first single, Shadowlife, that is instantly in your face. The Cold Song is a cover, as Vanhala explains. “Henry Purcell’s centuries-old The Cold Song felt like the perfect way to open the gates. It’s about freezing to death and, according to the story, Purcell himself supposedly met the same fate after his wife would not let him back into the house following a night at the pub. It doesn’t get much more Insomnium than that.”

Aggressive without being overplayed, Shadowlife is the gateway to the rest of the release. Bringing in peers Tomi Joutsen, Tomi Koivusaari and Santeri Kallio of Amorphis on the epic The Hour Grows Late adds heft and breadth. An eight-minute monster, it is a song demanding of attention. It is the central pillar of the album, for sure. 

Arch Of The Sky, inspired by the Sámi worldview and the eternal cycle of life, is evidence of a return to the classic Insomnium themes which explore mortality, memory and the fleeting nature of life through older eyes. It features some glorious guitar work, intricate without being at all flashy.

Pathways Of The Night carries a rich melody that the band wrap their work around, with drummer Markus Hirvonen once more showing his class with both brutality and more composed parts. And then Ethereal Sleep bewitches with Blackmore-esque fretwork and a slower, yet crushingly heavier pace that sweeps the legs from under you. 

Sevänen’s role as chief lyricist comes to the fore once more, immersed in classic literature for inspiration. “I read a great deal of poetry, both in Finnish and English, to find inspiration. Many of those poets carried a deep melancholy throughout their lives and far too many of them left this world much too soon.”

Netherworlds also benefits from a glorious production thanks to Producer and engineer Miiro Varjus, with Swedish heavyweights Jens Bogren and Tony Lindgren of Fascination Street Studios once again handling the album’s mix and mastering.

It is crystal clear yet still retains some dirt under the nails. “Working with Miiro on my other band Cemetery Skyline convinced me he was exactly the right person for the job”, Vanhala states. 

And to round things off, penultimate song The Banished shows Insomnium’s depth and strength. A classic rip-roarer of a track, this is as savage and explosive as they get, with an obvious nod to Iron Maiden mixed in.

That just leaves Journey’s End to close out the record, which the band do in style.

And then there’s the Travis Smith artwork, which is, as always, impressive and adds the final pieces to an album that only gets better the more you play it.

Insomnium release Netherworlds on 23 October 2026 via Century Media. Pre-orders are available from insomnium.lnk.to/Netherworlds.

The post Insomnium – Return To Their Roots In Glorious Style On Netherworlds first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.