Legendary USA southern rock ‘n’ rollers Preacher Stone are excited to release the strutting, telling new single and video ‘Old Joe’, lifted off the highly acclaimed new album ‘By The Horns’ (review here) out now on CD/digital download/vinyl direct from the band – here. Ronnie Riddle, the engaging and charismatic frontman, tells the tale of […]
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With just weeks to go until the release of their ferocious new album House Of Cards, Australian heavy icons The Amity Affliction share a fresh teaser of what is to come with the powerful single “Heaven Sent”.
The release of this new track sees The Amity Affliction step further into blistering new territory as songwriters and a creative unit — the single standing as a prime example of the unwavering intensity marking the House Of Cards era.
Following on from singles “Bleed” and “House Of Cards,” the latest from The Amity Affliction take the listener back into a personal memory Joel Birch found himself revisiting during the songwriting process. The impact of trauma experienced as a young person, the way it can shape us in good ways and bad; ultimately, the choices people make in navigating their way through such times in pursuit of peace.
Birch’s songwriting, evidenced right throughout House Of Cards, draws heavily on different moments of struggle and overcoming; “Heaven Sent” focuses on the relationship between himself and his stepfather.
As he explains: “This is one of the darker songs on the album, the first line references one of a handful of memories I have from when I was really young and my stepfather still smoked. He put his cigarette out on my arm at a party and then played it off as an accident. My mother was busy getting drunk and brushed it off and told me to keep it moving, basically. The rest of the song is a snapshot of my home life in some ways and the way the abuse was cyclical in nature and always prefaced by or followed by ‘I love you,’ which obviously creates some strange and unhealthy ways for a young person to understand their relationship to a parent.”
2026 has already proved to be a busy and fruitful one for The Amity Affliction; the preparation of this new album coinciding with an extensive tour of regional Australia, and the development of an international touring schedule that will see the band return to stages across North America, Europe and the UK.
Pre-order House Of Cards here.
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They have been quiet for a while, but South Wales Four-piece King Kraken are roaring back with their anthemic new single Call To War. Influenced by War Of The Worlds, it is typically bombastic, as we have come to expect from the band since their 2025 sophomore album, March Of The Gods.
“Call To War is the first single King Kraken have released since our second album last April,” the band said. “We’ve picked up where we left off with March Of The Gods, the same Kraken sound but with more focus, grit and determination.
Driven by a powerhouse riff and a huge production which enhances the drum sound in particular, Call To War is defined by the band as the soundtrack to their Spring UK tour. “This is your call to make it the sound of your spring as well,” they said.
As always, there is plenty of bluesy lead work whilst singer Mark Donaghue is in fine form. Punchy, aggressive but with ample melody to smooth out the edges, my only complaint is the rather weak ending, which sees the song drift to a close rather than finish with a boom.
Regardless, Call To War sees King Kraken segueing into 2026 with the same dynamism as they had in 2025.
They may have been a bit sluggish out of the traps, but now they are up and running. This is merely the first of three singles that will be flowing from the camp in the next few months.
King Kraken release new single Call To War on 17 April 2026. Pre-orders are available from here. The band embark on a short tour with Fury in a couple of weeks time. Tickets are available from kingkraken.co.uk.
Imagine an artist. A painter. Their work, their art, isn’t just about ideas. It’s about expression, the form, the way they paint the picture. Maybe they choose water colours, they might choose to work with oils or acrylic. They might use a brush to apply paint to a canvas or a different implement entirely. How you work a canvas is as important as what you are working on. This is interesting when a band calls themselves Palette Knife, an implement used to mix and apply paint. They are best described as ‘emo’ but on ‘Keyframe’ they spread and smear that sound, making for a record that is as distinctive as it is striking.
The album is a follow up to 2023’s ‘New Game +’ and you can immediately hear a change. Where that album had a soft, electronic opening this one opens with the distorted roar of a dropped guitar. It’s a sound that neatly illustrates the difference. This is a more straightforward record, the sound is dirtier, more direct but that doesn’t mean it’s simple. For the unfamiliar Palette Knife’s work is a mixed medium, a combination of technical wizardry and an emo vocal style. If you imagine an instrumental band like TTNG or Delta Sleep who make good use of melodic note runs and then add Pup style vocals over the top you won’t be too far away. It’s an interesting combination, presented in an unusual way and the reason is this; they’re careful not to over-stuff the sound. They’re either singing or playing fiddly guitar parts. The most obvious example is ‘Phoenix Down’ which begins with those melodic scales, but takes a full two minutes before the vocals enter. However, despite using this idea throughout the album they’re keen to play with it in interesting ways, making the record quite a tricky beast.
A keyframe is a drawing that defines the start or end of a transition. That’s a great way to think about the record as it feels like a clear division, a beginning or an end of the music they’ve been making for the last seven or so years. You could call it a reimagining or a peak, and the reason is they make strong choices. Indeed, one of the strongest is the very bright, twangy guitar sound that gives the album a light airiness. Even the palm muted sections of songs like ‘Leviathan’ have a single-coil, Telecaster-esque brightness which makes the guitars stand out but also makes them quite harsh, like audio cheesewire. Once you get past this though, and it might take a few listens, the record’s strengths become more apparent. Beneath the jagged jangling, the band are engaged in a tug-of-war. This gives the songs an unusual energy; the winner of course, is the listener.
The album’s standouts include last year’s single ‘Prototype V.2’, which uses a massive drum sound to give it a stompy persistence while the other instruments fight to make their mark, while ‘Ratking Regicide’ feels like the ultimate expression of the band’s sound. Between bouts of chaos and noisy breakdown its makes great use of every noodling lick. It’s a stunning song but that doesn’t take away from the other, more restrained, cuts.
The album is at its most interesting when it makes strong choices. This includes the slower tempo of ‘Limit Break’, which is more of singer-led song or ‘Faultsiphon’ which cleverly folds the vocal around the guitar riffs. Similarly, the delicate singing at the opening of ‘Honors English’ is really effective at changing up the style.
Returning to the idea of an artist, the way to test an impressionist is to get them to paint something you recognise. Thus you can hear the change from the band’s biggest single 2023’s ‘Jelly Boi’ with its straightforward, insular lyrics. It’s not that they have abandoned this approach, more that it has been squeezed in a different direction. You can hear it on songs like ‘Limit Break’ but there’s a sense of growth and maturity or at least, they’re expressing it differently.
On this album the band draws from numerous sources but their main feature is what you could call ‘passive modernity’. This comes from the idea that geeks have inherited the earth, which is an allusion to traditionally geeky pastimes entering the mainstream. Video game references and niche allusions are more widely applicable than they first appear, for example. Combining this with sweeping statements like “Giving up feels way too good” means there is a fair chance the band might be on your wavelength.
The major drawback here is that although the songs are doing different things the guitar parts unintentionally makes them feel a little samey. This is not because they are identical but because they all use same style of lick. To work around this the band structure each song differently , at times making them sound like a less wild Fall Of Troy, but it can be a little wearing and you find yourself anticipating the fiddly guitar parts. This isn’t a bad thing, it’s more a feature of their sound, but it is slightly unforgiving.
Despite this, each song has its own defining feature. ‘Mimic’ has a great opening riff and a real swagger to the way it moves while ‘Leviathan’ plays out over a buzzing, burning amp sound which gives it a strange atmosphere. The upbeat ‘Sleep Paralysis’ leans more into a punky vibe, making it the ideal choice for a single and one for the curious to check out.
Palette Knife’s new record avoids broad strokes. ‘Keyframe’ is a piece of technical emo expressionism.
IAN KENWORTHY
Denver’s colossal heavy metal band, Khemmis, is back with their massively anticipated fifth album, due out June 12th via Nuclear Blast Records. The self-titled record — the follow-up to 2021’s heralded Deceiver — represents Khemmis in their truest form: disciples of the riff. Adorned with artwork from Christopher Remmers and featuring eight tracks of unadulterated, monolithic metal, Khemmis is a celebration of heavy music, bound by the camaraderie and shared passion that was reignited during its recording.
Commenting on the impending album, guitarist/vocalist Ben Hutcherson states: “We decided early in the songwriting process that we wanted to write a tight, high-energy album that retained the essential ‘Khemmis sound’ while also embodying the joy of creating, experiencing, and loving heavy metal. Ours have always been deeply personal songs born from tragedy and sorrow; while the songs on Khemmis are still undeniably dark—I don’t think we’re capable of writing ‘happy’ music nor can we disentangle our music from our own personal experiences—they are not mined from our suffering. Instead, this record is a celebration of the music world that has sustained us, both individually and collectively, and has also gifted us with community and a sense of meaning. In many ways, we have reconnected with the energy and excitement from our earliest days as a band, an unabashed desire to play loud, heavy music. That exuberance is infused with a profound sense of gratitude to be able to create art with each other and to share it with the world.”
To celebrate the album, Khemmis has revealed the album’s lead track and first single, “Invocation of the Dreamer,” which is accompanied by a music video directed by Frank Guerra.
Adding about the new song, Hutcherson says: “We knew that this song had to be the first single in much the same way we knew it had to be the album opener—it is an undeniable ripper. “Invocation of the Dreamer” kicks the front door in, flips over your coffee table, and sets your living room on fire. It has everything you’d expect from a Khemmis song—big riffs, harmonized guitars, infectious vocal melodies—along with a slew of surprises, including blastbeats and a scorching bass break.”
Khemmis is available for pre-order now, including a ‘Deluxe Edition’ of the record offered by the band, which features exclusive extras—a behind-the-scenes photobook, an autographed promo photo, and more—directly from their website.
Khemmis will perform a special one-off show with Acid Bath in May before embarking on a headlining tour in early summer with support from Necrofier and Wretched, followed by an excursion with Monolord soon after. Tickets are available here.
After eleven years of albums and global touring, Colorado’s Khemmis have cemented themselves as pillars of modern heavy metal. Yet as they approach their fifth full-length, the band found something newly vital: the simple joy of creating heavy music together. Formed with no expectations, the group’s longevity has become its foundation, with guitarist/vocalist Ben Hutcherson describing the band as a rare source of stability and camaraderie. Since their 2015 debut Absolution, followed by the acclaimed Hunted, Desolation, Doomed Heavy Metal MLP, and Deceiver, Khemmis have built a legacy of towering, spiritual doom that continues to resonate with fans worldwide.
Despite changes—including members relocating and bassist David Small joining in 2022—the band emerged more focused than ever. Recording again at Flatline Audio in Colorado, the lineup of Hutcherson, Phil Pendergast, Zach Coleman, and Small leaned into renewed trust and chemistry, with distance paradoxically strengthening their bond. The addition of Small invigorated the rhythm section and encouraged experimentation, while the band rediscovered the excitement that defined their early days. That renewed energy fueled a collaborative atmosphere rooted in confidence, inspiration, and the shared thrill of simply playing heavy metal.
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The melodic hard rock band Hardline have released the video for the title track “Shout” from their new album out April 17.
Singer Johnny Gioeli says: “‘Shout” as the title of this album is EXACTLY what it is…. The idea that created the title comes from the millions of ideas in my head that simply don’t stop. At times, I want to release them all in one massive scream. Here comes…. ‘SHOUT!’”
Shout will be released on April 17 through Steamhammer worldwide in the following configurations:
Shout ca be pre-order here.
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At a glance, Nixil’s “I Am Not Here” resembles a ballad. The first minute is dreary, the vocals are more lamenting than singing, and the title is a tad dramatic. That only lasts so long, as “I Am Not Here” unwinds into a slurry of gothic rock and black metal. That balance eventually shifts entirely to the latter’s favor as pleasantries and basic communication decay. While each of Nixil’s tracks on Toward Dead Temples, the Baltimore black metal band’s upcoming split alongside Drouth, aim to purge oppression from all contexts, “I Am Not Here” does so on a personal level as praxis. The track meditates on anhedonia and what one gains after pleasure sources become dull and grey. The mounting tension pantomimes that, and the climax plays as a cathartic embrace of that loss of self, of the cocoon shedding, and a new self forming without an internalized oppressor. It makes sense why “I Am Not Here” is so mangled and gnarly–evolution is rarely pretty. You can stream the whole track below before Toward Dead Temples releases later this month.
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Nixil comments:
This song describes the experience of feelings of loss of self and personal insight gained through a long period of anhedonia. There is clarity and direction to be found in the process of breaking attachments, including the understanding that the process itself is an attachment and will inevitably arise again. Living through the experience of deep disassociation helped to inspire the realization that we must become as spirits unburdened in order to be freed from this prison.
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Toward Dead Temples releases April 24.