Blog
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Amorphis Premiere New Music Video For “The Lantern”
A new music video for “The Lantern” by veteran Finnish progressive metal band Amorphis has been released online. The visuals were directed by Patrik Skoglöw. The track appears on the group’s 15th studio album “Borderland,” which was released last year. Reflecting on the song, lead guitarist Esa Holopainen shared his thoughts on the t… Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com -
Midwinter Premiere Two New Music Videos Alongside Release Of New Album “A Love I Hope Will Haunt Me Forever”
Atmospheric metalcore band Midwinter have released their new album “A Love I Hope Will Haunt Me Forever” via Papercut Recordings. The band’s sophomore effort arrives alongside a music video for “Eager Tides,” directed by Father Seabear. In addition, they have also shared a separate video for “Hourglass,” directed by Sam Grossman. Midwinter s… Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com -
Southpaw FLHC Premiere New Single & Music Video “Rolling Stone” From Upcoming New Album “The Standard”
Southpaw FLHC’s new album “The Standard” is set for release on July 31st via Spinefarm. The Florida hardcore band have also shared a new music video for their track “Rolling Stone” to coincide with the album announcement. Speaking about the single, the band stated: Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com -
Review: Crippled Black Phoenix – Sceaduhelm (Matt Bladen)
Crippled Black Phoenix – Sceaduhelm (Season Of Mist)
Another hour and a bit languishing in the “Macabre Rock” of Crippled Black Phoenix, a band who when we last met were reactivating old glories, offering not a celebration but a cementation that they are still here and still alive… just.It’s that lingering just that inspires their latest creation Sceaduhelm, here Justin Greaves and his cohorts don’t seek to bring grandeur and flash but rather look inward at the steady collapse of a human being as time progresses.It’s a theme of exhaustion, of unease, a collected set of works from a band who are not ok but can’t do much else about it rather than just survive and live one day at a time. Sceaduhelm is their most emotional record in a long time.While more recent works were filled with rage and outward hostility, here it’s introspection and personal doubt that drives the overall narrative of the record, which was recorded sporadically, deliberately so, to make sure that the songs Greaves has written could remain fluid and adaptable until the time they were recorded with whichever vocalist was the best fit.As with all CBP records, it’s a collaborative and while Greaves writes the music and plays a lot of the instruments, he is joined by co-conspirators and long time partners to flesh out his initial demos into the multi-faceted tracks you hear on the record, but there’s very little grandeur this time around, it’s an album of rawness and sparsity that makes for uneasy but compelling listening.With songs that address topics like burnout, grief, surveillance, institutional violence, and damaged intimacy, there’s lots to be scared of as time here is the enemy, and while they may have looked back momentarily on their last releases, they creep ever forward as individuals and as a unit, always looking to define CBP and their music as an exercise in persistence over anything else.In the liner notes there’s a thank you to Converge’s Kurt Ballou and with Sceaduhelm, CBP carry a flame for the US force of nature, particularly with that raw bite of the production.Beginning with One Man Wall Of Death (which is two men fewer than my last wall of death attempt), the record opens with a slow build, clean guitars set to samples for obscurity before the bass crashes in to make it a deafening start that fades off into some fret slides.Ravenettes locks into steady drumbeat from Greaves locked down by Wes Wasley’s bass, who is the only other person to appear on every track, the guitars shimmer and glimmer with some post punk influence, Belinda Kordic’s sneering vocals an ideal kick in the face to begin Sceaduhelm properly.The woozy Things Start To Fall Apart is the perfect debut for American artist/doom-punk Justin Storms to make his mark on the band, brings a psychedelic, blissed out quality to this post rock performance piece that thrives on conflicting atmospheres.For Ryan Patterson’s first mark on the album, No Epitaph, we have the biggest ‘band’ yet Rene Misje and Andy Taylor joining for guitar as Iver Sandøy gives extra percussion with melotron and synths brought in to join the dulcet baritone of Patterson for an apocalyptic Western soundtrack.It wouldn’t be a CBP album if there’s wasn’t a little borrowed from Pink Floyd and No Epitaph does so liberally in the middle, like the bastard son of Morricone and Waters as it segues into frantic The Precipice.Emotion is wrought here with shouts of “one step away from the void” as The Void brings more samples over instrumental dissonance, Lucy Marshall contributing the spectral synths, hanging around for off keel dirge of Hollows End, where you definitely understand that these songs were written by Greaves specifically to fit one of the trio of vocalists.So much that it would sound odd if one of the others had sung it. The grungy Hollows End is followed by the grumbling, deep space, trip hop of Dropout where a Kaosolator is employed to make it properly fuzzy.I talked about Sceaduhelm not being as incendiary or grandiose, but that for me makes it a more interesting album, you can feel the humanity, in it, the passing of every second filled with pain and humility. Even when they get rocking, with tracks such as the gothy post punk of Vampire Grave, it’s never over the top.Complexly arranged, Robin Tow adding percussion this time, but never too stately, rather grounded and fragile. Storms slithers back on Colder And Colder another slice of alt-Americana or maybe anti-Americana. Under The Eye, plays at being a ballad, although more of a Nick Cave murder ballad, instilling a sense of disquiet and distrust about our constant surveillance and how that can be exploited.The final two tracks on the record are two of the most potent. Tired To The Bone is one that resonates with me, right at the moment, it even moves at the same pace I currently do, as Belinda croons it’s a song that “weighs heavy”.A dreamy apparition of a spectral load that covers your whole body, leading it’s way into 8 and half minute closer Beautiful Destroyer which is the first proper duet. Though more of a confliction with Patterson and Kordic sharing the vocals on a brooding, bold, final moment, that paints a vivid picture of times ravages.In addition to the 12 originals there’s three covers on the special editions as they put their spin on A-Ha’s Manhatten Skyline, False Prophet’s Invisible People and That’s When I Reach For My Revolver from the film Mission Of Burma.
Maybe looking back to their first albums was a good thing as Sceaduhelm, feels like CBP pre Crafty Ape, an experimental collective of musicians creating personal, introspective music. Pink Floyd once mused “Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way” and while CBP have always been a multinational outfit, and this record is not always quiet.Sceaduhelm dwells in that same sense of suffering in silence, that things may not always get better and if they do it won’t be a change in itself just and acknowledgement of a change that is needed.I’m getting older, you are too, I’ve definitely been feeling it recently and god it’s depressing, let Crippled Black Phoenix’s Sceaduhelm be the soundtrack. 10/10 -
Review: Crippled Black Phoenix – Sceaduhelm (Matt Bladen)
Crippled Black Phoenix – Sceaduhelm (Season Of Mist)
Another hour and a bit languishing in the “Macabre Rock” of Crippled Black Phoenix, a band who when we last met were reactivating old glories, offering not a celebration but a cementation that they are still here and still alive… just.It’s that lingering just that inspires their latest creation Sceaduhelm, here Justin Greaves and his cohorts don’t seek to bring grandeur and flash but rather look inward at the steady collapse of a human being as time progresses.It’s a theme of exhaustion, of unease, a collected set of works from a band who are not ok but can’t do much else about it rather than just survive and live one day at a time. Sceaduhelm is their most emotional record in a long time.While more recent works were filled with rage and outward hostility, here it’s introspection and personal doubt that drives the overall narrative of the record, which was recorded sporadically, deliberately so, to make sure that the songs Greaves has written could remain fluid and adaptable until the time they were recorded with whichever vocalist was the best fit.As with all CBP records, it’s a collaborative and while Greaves writes the music and plays a lot of the instruments, he is joined by co-conspirators and long time partners to flesh out his initial demos into the multi-faceted tracks you hear on the record, but there’s very little grandeur this time around, it’s an album of rawness and sparsity that makes for uneasy but compelling listening.With songs that address topics like burnout, grief, surveillance, institutional violence, and damaged intimacy, there’s lots to be scared of as time here is the enemy, and while they may have looked back momentarily on their last releases, they creep ever forward as individuals and as a unit, always looking to define CBP and their music as an exercise in persistence over anything else.In the liner notes there’s a thank you to Converge’s Kurt Ballou and with Sceaduhelm, CBP carry a flame for the US force of nature, particularly with that raw bite of the production.Beginning with One Man Wall Of Death (which is two men fewer than my last wall of death attempt), the record opens with a slow build, clean guitars set to samples for obscurity before the bass crashes in to make it a deafening start that fades off into some fret slides.Ravenettes locks into steady drumbeat from Greaves locked down by Wes Wasley’s bass, who is the only other person to appear on every track, the guitars shimmer and glimmer with some post punk influence, Belinda Kordic’s sneering vocals an ideal kick in the face to begin Sceaduhelm properly.The woozy Things Start To Fall Apart is the perfect debut for American artist/doom-punk Justin Storms to make his mark on the band, brings a psychedelic, blissed out quality to this post rock performance piece that thrives on conflicting atmospheres.For Ryan Patterson’s first mark on the album, No Epitaph, we have the biggest ‘band’ yet Rene Misje and Andy Taylor joining for guitar as Iver Sandøy gives extra percussion with melotron and synths brought in to join the dulcet baritone of Patterson for an apocalyptic Western soundtrack.It wouldn’t be a CBP album if there’s wasn’t a little borrowed from Pink Floyd and No Epitaph does so liberally in the middle, like the bastard son of Morricone and Waters as it segues into frantic The Precipice.Emotion is wrought here with shouts of “one step away from the void” as The Void brings more samples over instrumental dissonance, Lucy Marshall contributing the spectral synths, hanging around for off keel dirge of Hollows End, where you definitely understand that these songs were written by Greaves specifically to fit one of the trio of vocalists.So much that it would sound odd if one of the others had sung it. The grungy Hollows End is followed by the grumbling, deep space, trip hop of Dropout where a Kaosolator is employed to make it properly fuzzy.I talked about Sceaduhelm not being as incendiary or grandiose, but that for me makes it a more interesting album, you can feel the humanity, in it, the passing of every second filled with pain and humility. Even when they get rocking, with tracks such as the gothy post punk of Vampire Grave, it’s never over the top.Complexly arranged, Robin Tow adding percussion this time, but never too stately, rather grounded and fragile. Storms slithers back on Colder And Colder another slice of alt-Americana or maybe anti-Americana. Under The Eye, plays at being a ballad, although more of a Nick Cave murder ballad, instilling a sense of disquiet and distrust about our constant surveillance and how that can be exploited.The final two tracks on the record are two of the most potent. Tired To The Bone is one that resonates with me, right at the moment, it even moves at the same pace I currently do, as Belinda croons it’s a song that “weighs heavy”.A dreamy apparition of a spectral load that covers your whole body, leading it’s way into 8 and half minute closer Beautiful Destroyer which is the first proper duet. Though more of a confliction with Patterson and Kordic sharing the vocals on a brooding, bold, final moment, that paints a vivid picture of times ravages.In addition to the 12 originals there’s three covers on the special editions as they put their spin on A-Ha’s Manhatten Skyline, False Prophet’s Invisible People and That’s When I Reach For My Revolver from the film Mission Of Burma.
Maybe looking back to their first albums was a good thing as Sceaduhelm, feels like CBP pre Crafty Ape, an experimental collective of musicians creating personal, introspective music. Pink Floyd once mused “Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way” and while CBP have always been a multinational outfit, and this record is not always quiet.Sceaduhelm dwells in that same sense of suffering in silence, that things may not always get better and if they do it won’t be a change in itself just and acknowledgement of a change that is needed.I’m getting older, you are too, I’ve definitely been feeling it recently and god it’s depressing, let Crippled Black Phoenix’s Sceaduhelm be the soundtrack. 10/10 -
From Ashes To New Premiere New Single & Music Video “Forever” From New Album “Reflections”
“Reflections,” the fifth studio album from gold-certified nü-metal band From Ashes To New, is now available worldwide. The release is accompanied by a new music video for “Forever,” directed by Orie McGinness (Bad Omens, Poppy). Co-vocalist Matt Brandyberry shared his thoughts on the track, stating: Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com -
Live Review: Sugar Horse – Manchester
Live Review: Sugar Horse – Star & Garter, Manchester
15th April 2026
Support: Boi ToiWords: Matthew Williams
Header Photo: Tim FinchWhat could be more enjoyable than a Wednesday night trip to my favourite Manchester venue to see one of Britain’s rising bands, Sugar Horse. Having seen them twice before, most recently supporting Earthtone9, I was intrigued to hear how their new music would stand up in a live setting, and they didn’t disappoint.
Warming up the crowd tonight were Manchester noise crew Boi Toi, a new name to me, but was told by a friend earlier in the day that they were always a lot of fun to watch live. The quintet takes to the stage with vocalist/synth player Blake Crompton having his right ankle in a protective boot, so this hampered his performance somewhat. Starting with “Germany” they’ve got a heavy sound and rhythm to their music as their tempos switch up on “Private Browsing” with some nice synth elements.
Their frenzied side emerges on the bonkers but excellent “Pina Colada” with crazy vocals from Crompton, assisted by guitarist Lewis Matthews. The bassline from Oli Wilkenson during “Biggus Dickus” is spot on, as the expressive frontman is locked in a dual vocal battle before they introduce a new song called “Pisshead”. I like the blend on this one, louder and faster on the chorus quieter on the verses, before they dedicate “Loved by None” to tonight’s headliners. The wired phone attached to the synthesizer is something I haven’t seen in years, and gives the vocal a different sound, which was good to watch, and they end with the energetic “VPN”.
There was a strange atmosphere as the Bristol based quartet head to the stage, probably due to the ridiculously low numbers in attendance. Having seen them before, I was surprised at the turnout, as Sugar Horse are very, very good, but it didn’t put them off their stride. Opening with “Fire Graphics”, the first of four songs off their recently released “Not A Sound in Heaven” album, there’s a haunting vocal from Ash Tubb alongside a prominent bass sound from Chris Howarth.
All in the venue are immediately transfixed, and when “Secret Speech” begins, heads are now rocking. The drums from Martin Savage cut right through with each thump of the snare and when Tubb’s guitar joins Jake Healy’s, it is intense as the soft to loud balance works seamlessly. Their music is hypnotic and powerful, akin to orchestrated chaos, and during “Office Job Simulator” there’s a poignant moment as Tubb strums away on his guitar alone whilst singing the emotional lyrics, as pockets of noise intercept the relative calm.
They mix their styles effortlessly on the impressive “Spit Beach” a song which reminds me of being passive aggressive in nature. With Healy playing an imperious rhythm, the others join him especially at the slow, crushing end to the song and it’s simply a pleasure to be here to witness this music. “Ex-Human Shield” comes next, the bruising bass and metronomic drumming taking things to another level, as their complex and melodic songs continue to impress.
However, nothing prepared me for the opening to “Would You Like Me To Be The Cat?”. The keyboards from Healy are atmospheric and dreamy, as the audience stand nodding their approval and it’s accompanied by a single strummed guitar before the controlling force of the drum and bass joins in. It’s a beautiful track, emotional, melancholy like a welcomed sunrise before the track erupts all over the place.
“Thank you for coming out Manchester, we’ve been Sugar Horse and we’ve got two more left, one long and one not so long” are the first communications from Tubb to the audience before they play “History’s Biggest T-shirts”. This one has so much going on across the 10 or so minutes, that it genuinely feels like 3 or 4 songs blended into one but I can’t deny how wonderful it is. They end with “Shouting Judas at Bob Dylan” as two people at the front start to move more vigorously to the heavier song like it’s a battering ram. They lull you in with quieter sections but it ends a majestic live performance from one of the best bands around at the moment.
The post Live Review: Sugar Horse – Manchester appeared first on The Razor's Edge.
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Wage War Premiere New Single & Music Video “BLINDFOLD” From New EP “IT CALLS ME BY NAME”
Melodic metalcore band Wage War have released their 5-track EP “IT CALLS ME BY NAME” alongside a new music video for “BLINDFOLD,” directed by Errick Easterday. Easterday previously worked with the band on “Song Of The Swamp” and has also directed videos for acts such as ERRA and Sanguisugabogg. In roughly two weeks, Wage War will lau… Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com -
BABYMETAL Premiere Major Lazer’s Remix Of “From Me To U” With Poppy
Japanese kawaii metal band BABYMETAL have released one of the bonus tracks from the upcoming deluxe edition of their current album, “METAL FORTH.” The newly available track is a remix of “from me to u” by diamond-certified EDM group Major Lazer, originally recorded as a collaboration with alternative metal artist Poppy. The deluxe ed… Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com -
Nekrogoblikon Premiere New Animated NSFW Music Video For “Dead-ish”
Nekrogoblikon have released a new NSFW music video for “Dead-ish.” The animated clip, directed by Kris Baldwin, appears on their recently issued collection “The Boiling Sea.” The goblin-fronted melodic death metal band packed the release with new material, including a collaboration with ska group Reel Big Fish, along with five live tracks. … Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com
