Lord Of The Lost show their emotional side and present the final video of the OPVS Noir trilogy with the music video for their single “The Days Of Our Lives”. With the release of OPVS Noir Vol. 3 this Friday, April 10, the band concludes the album trilogy that began in the summer of 2025. “The Days Of Our Lives” is a soulful and seemingly hopeless ballad, situated somewhere between a soundtrack and cold electronica, and, as the closing track, serves as the curtain call for the entire work.

The most out-of-the-box of the full album trilogy, OPVS Noir Vol. 3, the third and final chapter of Lord Of The Lost‘s latest journey, sees the six-piece close this era on a fulminant high note, intertwining heavy guitars and dark electronica with compassionate messages and cinematic orchestrations. It continues to push the band’s unpredictable path without settling for the familiar. Rounding off this impressive work, the album takes listeners by the hand and guides them through their darkest paths.

Following the captivating Blood & Glitter, which brought them to the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 and a #1 chart entry in their native Germany to go along with it, Lord Of The Lost once again demonstrate their unmatched diversity on OPVS Noir Vol. 3. Initiated by beautiful cello melodies, “Kill The Lights” is an overture like no other, setting a dark mood, but also unafraid to switch it up to make room for catchy and reassuring “I’m A Diamond.” Stomping “I Hate People” invites horror punk icon Wednesday 13 to an industrial duet about equality, after which gentle “The Shadows Within” hits twice as hard with its symphonic arrangement.

Next, Chris Harms and parting Kissin’ Dynamite frontman Hannes Braun deliver “La Vie Est Hell,” before going back to “Square One.” “When Did The Love Break?” is a heartfelt song of lost love – the addition of whimsical vocals by Ambre Vourvahis of Xandria drives the emotions of this universal topic right home. After “Your Love Is Colder Than Death,” Lord Of The Lost team up with Damien Edwards of British glam rock band Cats In Space for the captivating duet “Take Me Far Away”, before the album closes with a ballad, “The Days Of Our Lives” – the sweeping track simultaneously being the closest Lord Of The Lost have ever been to a cinematic soundtrack. The happy ending is skipped, almost making it sound like a goodbye…

OPVS Noir Vol. 3 will be available in the following formats:

• 1-LP Liquid Vinyl PURPLE-BLACK with 12-page booklet – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive (strictly limited) – SOLD OUT!
• 1-LP Gatefold SPLATTERED SILVER/BLACK with 12-page booklet – Napalm Records Mailorder exclusive (strictly limited)
• 1-LP Gatefold Cristallo with 12-page booklet – LORDSHOP exclusive (strictly limited)
• 1-LP Gatefold Recycled Black
• 1-CD in paper sleeve for everyone that already own a OPVS NOIR Collectors Edition (= Earbook or Wooden Box Set)
• 1-CD 6-page Digisleeve with 16-page booklet
• Music Cassette Noir with silver print – Napalm Records Mailorder & LORDSHOP exclusive (strictly limited) – SOLD OUT!
• Digital Album
• DEEP DIVE Edition, containing OPVS Noir Vol. 3 Digisleeve with 16-page booklet, USB Stick incl. 8 so called “audio stems” per song, so you can deep dive into listening to the vocals only, the guitars only, the drums only, and so on. Also perfect for musicians to create your own playthrough versions or for audio engineers to create remixes. CD and USB stick bundled in a cloth bag – Napalm Records Mailorder Europe & LORDSHOP exclusive

Get OPVS Noir Vol. 3 here.

The post LORD OF THE LOST Releases New Single “The Days Of Our Lives” appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

Part of the tenth anniversary edition of “Stage Four”.

The post Touché Amoré Release Youth Code’s Remix Of “Palm Dreams” appeared first on Theprp.com.

Words written by Anselm Anderson

DA emerged from the NWOBHM band Desolation Angels, when former guitarist Robin Brancher formed the group in 2021 with vocalist Matt Oakman. They were soon joined by bassist Neil Craddock and drummer Dan Smith. 

Photo courtesy of San PR

A new official Pink Floyd compilation titled 8-Tracks is set for release on June 5 through Sony Music. The collection pulls together eight key songs from the band’s 1971–1979 period and will be available on vinyl, CD, and digital formats.

The tracklist brings together some of the band’s most recognizable material, including “Money,” “Wish You Were Here,” “Another Brick In The Wall, Part 2,” “Time” and “Comfortably Numb.” It also digs deeper with “One Of These Days” and “Wot’s… Uh The Deal,” along with a full version of “Pigs On The Wing” that was previously only issued on the 1977 Animals 8-track cartridge. The sequence has been reworked by Steven Wilson, who used sound effects from the original multitracks to create a seamless, continuous listening experience.

8-Tracks captures a defining stretch in Pink Floyd’s career, covering the years when the band moved into its most commercially and creatively dominant phase. The compilation draws from Meddle (1971), Obscured By Clouds (1972), The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), and The Wall (1979). These records mark the period where Pink Floyd moved beyond their early psychedelic beginnings and established themselves as a global force in rock.

This release works both as an entry point for new listeners and as a focused collection for longtime fans who want a concise look at that era.

The announcement follows a strong year for Pink Floyd. The 50th anniversary edition of Wish You Were Here reached the Top 10 worldwide and returned the band to the #1 spot in the UK, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland—five decades after its original release. Earlier in the year, the theatrical release of Pink Floyd at Pompeii – MCMLXXII performed strongly at the box office, while its soundtrack gave the band their first UK #1 album since The Endless River, their final studio release.

Pre-order 8-Tracks here.

The post PINK FLOYD Set To Release New “8-Tracks” Compilation Album appeared first on Sonic Perspectives.

History usually drains the danger from women, leaving behind only the harmless images of queens or consorts. Zenobia broke this pattern as a ruler who made the Roman Empire, one of the most feared forces in history, feel the weight of her presence. She entered the chaos of the 3rd Century and expanded her reach until Rome was forced to acknowledge her. In an era where authority was defined by command, her place at the center of the world was a deliberate choice.

Following the assassination of her husband in 267 AD, Zenobia stepped into the political vacuum to consolidate her hold on Palmyra. She used the instability of the Roman leadership to turn her city into the capital of a movement that would soon dominate the East. This was the start of a rapid expansion that moved far beyond the borders of a local city-state.

Her annexation of Egypt in 270 AD gave her control over the grain supply that kept Rome alive. She led her armies across Syria, Palestine, and Anatolia, absorbing territories until her borders reached the Black Sea. She systematically dismantled the Roman administration, replacing it with a government that answered only to her.

Within Palmyra, Zenobia built an intellectual environment that rivaled the centers of Athens and Alexandria. She surrounded herself with scholars like Cassius Longinus, creating a court where intellectual life was as sharp as the military. She was a scholar herself, fluent in Aramaic, Egyptian, and Greek, using this knowledge to govern a diverse population with a sophistication that few others could match.

By declaring herself Augusta and her son Augustus, Zenobia formally ended the illusion of Roman supremacy. She issued her own currency and established a bureaucracy that worked with an efficiency Rome could no longer reach. This total rejection of the existing order made her an existential threat. It eventually forced the Emperor Aurelian to lead a massive military campaign to reclaim what she had taken.

Zenobia represents a form of empowerment that existed long before the modern language used to describe it. She functioned entirely beyond the structures designed to exclude her. In a world that kept women away from the mechanics of rule, she became the rule itself. Her leadership suggests that influence is not always something to be negotiated or granted by others. She stands as a model of power that is claimed and enforced, moving far outside the narrow stories history usually allows women to occupy. Her life is a reminder that once power is taken, the impact remains long after the empire falls.

The post She’s In Charge: Zenobia and the Architecture of Defiance first appeared on FemMetal – Goddesses of Metal.

Black metal’s wide-ranging milieu encompasses many sub-genres—1st wave, 2nd wave, raw, symphonic, atmospheric, post—the list goes on. One niche of the black metalsphere, with neither a large sample size nor a large following, is black metal smashed hip-hop. Sure, some artists come to mind: Ghostemane, for one; then there’s what Zeal & Ardor is doing, as well as Déhà’s project NADDDIR, which melds flashes of black metal with trap beats and cloud rap.¹ Tossing his spliff in the ashtray as it were is the mysterious Berliner, Foghazer, with his Hypnotic Dirge debut, He Left the Temple, an album comprised of nine, singularly titled tracks that cumulatively read “‘He’ ‘Left’ ‘The’ ‘Temple’ ‘And’ ‘Fog’ ‘Followed’ ‘Him’ ‘Out,”‘ and described by the artist as “low-visibility sound: slow beats, distorted memory and fog as both space and emotion.” Will Foghazer open the floodgates to a new sub-sub-sub-genre, or be just another basement-dwelling one-man band exiting his parents’ lowest-level ‘temple’ in a haze of pot smoke and lo-fi tuneage in search of munchies.

If Moderator² and Portishead got down and “black metal” dirty with Burzum in some hole in the wall no-tell motel, the offspring of that union would sound like Foghazer. Eschewing nearly all vocals, He Left the Temple employs trip-hoppy drum beats with occasional blasts and jazz fills, moody-smooth bass lines, and eerily plucked or Filosofem-level reverb-drenched guitars to armor the majority of its aural palette.³ Toss in some scratchy, Portishead-style turntablism, operatic female soprano warblings, Master Boot Record-type bleepity-bloops (“He,” “Followed”) amidst other random sounds, and you’ve got the gist of what’s happening here. He Left the Temple strikes a decent cinematic chord, evoking a lo-res film noir experience that, at least in my mind’s movie, follows Foghazer and his gang of corpse-painted black metal beatniks as they roam the harsh streets of an “every-city” looking for trouble.

Laid-back and gloomy, Foghazer does a good job of setting a mood; He Left the Temple would serve equally well as a lounge-lizard soundtrack looping endlessly in an edgy, urban underground cigar-and-whiskey bar as it would a score for some Werner Herzog black metal remake of the movie Kids. “Left” has a slow, eerie build that transitions from creepy, singular guitar plucks to a double-bass rolling foundation that supports some nice, melodic riff patterns. “Fog” is another standout; its trippy bass line and trap beats trade punches with passages of doomy tremolos and double bass rolls, and had me thinking, ‘this is what Darkthrone might sound like if they took a stab at this kind of thing.’ There were many moments where I found myself slipping comfortably into the groove that Foghazer was laying down, my rollin’-through-Oslo-in-my-tricked-out-hearse head bob in full effect. Unfortunately, not all of the fog in the temple envelops completely.

There is a dark thread of similitude running through nearly all of He Left the Temple that impacted my overall experience. Foghazer rinses and repeats his compositional formula such that, if you were to cycle through the first five seconds of every track from “He” to “Fog,” each begins in much the same way, which cumulatively has a hypnotizing effect that takes you out of what’s happening more than it draws you in. I kept checking the track number every so often to see if I’d mistakenly played the same song over again. The other demerit I must levy against He Left the Temple occurs when Foghazer leans heaviest into his black metal. “Temple” is the most glaring example of this as it begins pensively, with some brooding bass tones and spindly guitar plucks before settling into its trip-hop beat section, which gets rudely interrupted at the 1:25 mark by an obnoxious blast beat that continuously pulses under those creepy guitars. This track also contains Foghazer’s only vocals, which, for us, is a blessing in disguise since I find his particular brand of shriek rather grating.

There’s some cool stuff going on in He Left the Temple, but this is nothing that’s going to put Foghazer on the map. I appreciate the groove and mood he’s able to create at times, but as a mostly instrumental album, the lack of any additional engaging dynamics left me wanting more from Foghazer. As it stands, He Left the Temple makes for some entertaining background music, but not much more.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 192kbps mp3
Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: March 27th, 2026

The post Foghazer – He Left the Temple Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

The Spikes – A Noir Vision Carved in Sound and Image

There’s something deeply magnetic about an artist who doesn’t chase trends but builds a world of his own. The Spikes steps into that space with elegance and intention.

Iago Haussman, known as The Spikes, delivers a work that feels timeless from the very first listen. His music immediately brings to mind the shadowy intensity of Nick Cave and the artistic fluidity of David Bowie, yet it never feels derivative. It carries a distinct identity rooted in a noir, refined, and deeply expressive approach.

Photography Credit: Costanza Lay

The opening track, Sapling Tree, sets the tone with confidence. The vocal timbre is low and evocative, drawing the listener into an intimate emotional space. The arrangement is minimal, led by a steady piano that anchors the composition. Then, as the chorus unfolds, strings emerge and expand the sonic landscape, giving the track a cinematic depth that resonates long after it ends.

Elegance in Motion

Garden Song follows with a subtle shift in rhythm. The bassline carries a clear nod to The Velvet Underground, adding a gentle groove while maintaining the album’s introspective mood. There’s a nostalgic refinement here, a sense of restraint that allows the emotional weight of the lyrics to breathe. The songwriting feels poetic, almost fragile, yet grounded in authenticity.

Another standout moment arrives with Dancing. The track opens with a cinematic atmosphere, where sound design elements resemble an orchestra tuning in a futuristic dimension. When the song fully unfolds, echoes of Lou Reed can be felt in the phrasing and attitude. The melody carries a gothic waltz quality, delicate yet powerful, capable of stirring deep emotional responses.

Photography Credit: Costanza Lay

Aesthetic and Vision

What sets The Spikes apart is not only the music but the clarity of his artistic vision. This becomes evident in the collaboration with L.G.R, which feels completely organic rather than commercial.

The video for The Garden, directed by Michael Haussman, elevates this vision even further. Shot in a striking black-and-white aesthetic, it unfolds like a short film. Set in a Roman social space, the artist enters and begins to perform, gradually creating a shared emotional experience among the people present.

There’s also a visual echo of Bob Dylan in the artist’s look, particularly through the iconic eyewear, adding another layer of timeless character to the project.

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Explore more:
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Cinematic!

If you love dark music like this:

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Find The Spikes here:

Spotify
Instagram

For fans of:

Nick Cave • David Bowie • Lou Reed • Velvet Underground

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The post The Spikes First Light Review appeared first on Edgar Allan Poets – Noir Rock Band.

The post EVEALE: Decibel Magazine Premieres “Enter The Woodland Realm” From Transcontinental Black Metal Outfit; Full-Length Of The Same Name To See Release May 1st Via Hypaethral Records And Fiadh Productions appeared first on INFRARED MAGAZINE.