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If you like your metal served with a side of heavy bass and a massive dose of UK attitude, then you need to get DeadWax on your radar. The Milton Keynes outfit have just unleashed their latest single, “Bang On”, and it’s a proper high-octane collision of nu-metal grit and drum & bass energy. It’s … Continue reading DeadWax drop rave-ready single/video “Bang On” and announce new EP

Bestselling horror creator Alan Robert (The Beauty of Horror, Life of Agony) unleashes The Official Conjuring Universe Coloring Book, arriving everywhere books

Mortiis — the man who clearly refuses to stick to any one genre — is back with a new record, Ghosts of Europa, due out on June 26.

The post MORTIIS Announces New Record Ghosts Of Europa, Streams Trippy Title Track appeared first on Metal Injection.

QUIET FEAR, the Los Angeles-based post-hardcore band rooted in Chicanx DIY ethos, are thrilled to announce its sophomore album La Tierra

In a little more than a month, ’90s legend Tori Amos will release her new album In Times Of Dragons, and we’ve already heard first single “Stronger Together,” a duet with her daughter Tash. Now, Amos is doing the next obvious thing: She’s sharing a song about the alternate-reality version of herself who married an…

The post Tori Amos – “Shush” appeared first on Stereogum.

Rising forces of the British alternative scene, Profiler, are back with their latest single Late Again. Arriving at the dawn

Names are important. You can tell a lot from a name. Butch conjures a very different mental picture to Clive. You’d imagine a band called Cannibal Corpse sounding very different to one called Floral Tattoo. Could you imagine REM making it big if they’d stuck with one original suggestion; Can Of Piss? Fresh out of the Midlands is a new band who are calling themselves Blush Puppy. Obviously, it’s a pun, but the almost apologetic name implies music that is soft, friendly and slightly indistinct. It implies a sort of indie, or dream pop sound. Their debut EP is called ‘Here You Dream’ and challenges these assumptions, but in really interesting ways.

Blush Puppy are hot property. With only a couple of stand-alone singles under their belt, they’ve been snapped up by Venn Records (the label founded by former members of Gallows). It’s not hard to see why. The five tracks here are designed to establish them as a creative force. Two have been previously released, three are new, and they’re all really strong.

Describing their sound is rather tricky. It sits in a place between emo and post-hardcore without really being either. Importantly, it has a lush, welcoming shoegaze element that draws from dream-pop. Clearly it has an approach, but it’s loose enough to extend in different directions. So the one way to define it is; Blush Puppy.

Each song features soft layers and thick guitar riffs but their calling card is shared vocals. Luke Osmond, Ciaran O’Sullivan and Isabelle Smith all contribute and each is tonally different. They use this to create contrast, lavish harmonies and, combined with the chorus-soaked guitars on songs like ‘Under The Water’, create a sense of depth. Indeed, that song’s title tells you a lot about how the song feels. Because the atmospheric elements can be layered onto different structures, the songs maintain a coherent picture despite ‘Polish The Chrome’ or ‘Tears In Rain’ being built around explosive guitar parts. Indeed, the loose and fuzzy shoegaze sounds are always anchored with great thundering basslines or those dirty riffs. This is most clearly heard on ‘Stay Awake’, which is like luxuriating in a warm bath until the plug comes out and its energy drains into a huge screamo whirlpool. It’s masterful.

The EP’s name ‘Here You Dream’ fits neatly with the sound, implying a vague, slightly indefinable beauty, blurred at the edge of memory. Undoubtably this sound is shaped by Grammy winner Adrian Bushby’s production, a stunning blend that makes each song feel distinctive. This proves to be a slight curse as the two outliers – ‘Stay Awake‘ and the grungy ‘Still Asleep’ – sit at odds with the lush textures elsewhere, implying they weren’t quite sure what level to pitch it at. It’s all good though.

Blushing is associated with shyness and hesitancy, but is also a sign of being in love. ‘Here You Dream’ is a messy but undeniably brilliant EP. Like a stone dropped into a pool, the splash is impressive but it’s the ripples you need to watch.

IAN KENWORTHY

Decibel Books proudly presents Sodom: The Official Authorized Biography, the fully authorized biography of the German thrash legends Sodom, finally translated into English. Sodom: The Official Authorized Biography features interviews with nearly every past and present member of the band along with a supporting cast of the German thrash metal scene. Packed with over 200 rare and previously unreleased photos, this hardcover cover history is over 300 beautifully-designed pages, fully-translated to English. Fans can pre-order their copy now with books having an expected ship date of late May/early June.

For an exclusive preview of Sodom: The Official Authorized Biography, fans can read the first excerpt online, which turns the clock back to 1984 and the recording of the band’s landmark In the Sign of Evil EP.

——————–

There was something completely new emerging in the form and shape of Ruhrpott thrash. Manfred Schütz, a native Bavarian who, for several years, had run, among other things, the Musicland music store in Hanover, founded the independent label SPV (Schallplatten, Produktion und Vertrieb, which translates to “Records, production and distribution”) in 1984 and released metal albums under the genre-specific sub-label Steamhammer. However, since Sodom insisted that the lyrics be included on the record, Schütz found the whole thing too hot to handle (and, according to legend, the quality of the English lyrics did not sweeten the deal either). This led to the creation of yet another subsidiary label, Devil’s Game, specifically for this release. Within just a few years, SPV became a major player in the independent music scene. For a quarter of a century, it was the leading European distributor for heavy metal—fans would not only look out for certain label names, but in this case, the SPV Distribution sticker served as a sign of importance as well.

Schütz wanted to achieve much with SPV—and quickly. None other than Horst Müller from Casablanca Studio in West Berlin, who had overseen the first Running Wild and Celtic Frost productions, was put in charge of recording and producing In the Sign of Evil. Officially, the album was produced by S.A.D.O. guitarist Wolfgang Eichholz. According to Angelripper’s recollection, he was hardly ever present in the studio: “He came in, quickly checked what we were doing, said, ‘Carry on!’ and took off.”

Strictly speaking, Sodom had ideal conditions to create a sonically groundbreaking album with a true professional at the helm. But things turned out differently. It did become groundbreaking in terms of sound, but not for thrash metal—instead for the Norwegian black metal scene and, to a lesser extent, death metal. At the time, however, the record company cut production short.

“Oh yeah, I would have done the same if I had been in their shoes,” Angelripper comments today with his typical gravelly laugh. “When we went into the studio back then, we didn’t have a clue whatsoever. We didn’t know anything about the process, about what was expected of us: First to record the drums, then add guitars and so forth. And on top of that, we were not tight enough as a band at the time, which you can clearly hear on the recordings. It was the first time in our lives we’d ever been to Berlin. Instead of focusing on the tasks at hand during the day in the studio, we rather enjoyed Berlin at night and what it had to offer. None of us back then thought we’d ever be allowed to record a full-length album afterwards anyway. On the other hand, it was not unusual for a label to do an EP first to see how things would develop.”

While the national fanzines reacted to their first two demos mostly with anything from incomprehension to irritation, the international reactions were, in some cases, euphoric. “Yeah,” Angelripper confirms, “in Germany we couldn’t achieve much in the press with the demos, but the Americans loved them.” In issue #26 (July 1984) of Kick*Ass magazine, for example, editor Bob Muldowney wrote: “Who are the heaviest of them all? The West German Thrashers Sodom seem to be taking their Death Metal to a nearly unsurpassable new level. I never thought it could be heavier and rawer than Welcome to Hell, but Sodom have done exactly that.”

Kreator’s Mille Petrozza puts it just as appreciatively: “The sound is great. They’re a bit out of sync with each other, but that’s what gives the record life. In hindsight, you can say it was like a snapshot photograph. Not perfect, but awesome.”

Angelripper describes their first stay in Berlin: “We grabbed a few cases of beer each night (one German case of beer holds 24 cans each; each can holds 17 oz.) and roamed around town. For lodging, we were put up at the guest house ‘Pension des Westens’ (Boarding House of the West), which must have been the shabbiest dive in all of Berlin. The only people present were truck drivers and shady characters at the tables in general, and we were right amidst them. In the morning, some fat northerly lady would come in and make us all breakfast. Witchhunter, who had a short fuse to begin with, was very upset: ‘We’re making a record here, and we have to live in this hole-in-the-wall basement!’”

The label was apparently trying to cut costs and gave the impression that it still did not genuinely believe in this band of cheap beer-drinking maniacs—a band that would ultimately have a distinguished future. In 1984, however, no one could have foreseen that.

Grave Violator strikes a similar note regarding the support during the recordings: “We wanted to drink and party, and at the same time, we were supposed to record an album seriously. It worked out pretty well for us in the end, but we were amateurs along the way. I can remember one hilarious scene in particular: Tom asked how the vocals were coming along. I was standing behind the glass of the monitor room with Horst Müller next to me, and Horst just burst out laughing: ‘What vocals?’ He probably did the whole thing just for the fun of it. He didn’t offer us any support at all. For example, the drums would speed up during a take, and no one noticed or stepped in to help us. That was a bit of a shame in hindsight.” (Note: This may also have had something to do with the producer being constantly high on drugs, if you can trust the band’s memories.)

Peppi himself went straight home after finishing the recording of the guitars. To save costs, the label arranged a ride home with the guys from Helloween, who had just played a show in Berlin. The Sodom guitarist, who, at that time, “was into the really hard stuff,” wanted nothing to do with these “posers.” “Those were two completely different worlds,” he says, “and it was a very, very frosty atmosphere on that bus on the ride home.”

An SPV employee who arrived at the studio threw up his hands in despair and immediately halted any further recordings. As a result, only the EP was recorded and mixed, rather than a full-length album. Tom’s bass solo is listed in the booklet, but it was not included on the record: “I can’t even remember how I recorded it. Either Horst Müller didn’t use it because it was terrible, or the label didn’t want it, or it was simply forgotten. It’s a bizarre story.”

His bass playing is unique regardless, as future Sodom guitarist Andy Brings explains: “What matters is whether the bass playing has character or not. Tom doesn’t strum the strings from above; he digs right into them. I don’t know anyone who plays like that. Completely unorthodox.” His successor, Bernemann, confirms this: “That’s the typical Angelripper technique. Nobody plays as he does. Actually, it’s just as wrong as what Witchhunter did. But it has something to it, a unique tone and character.”

However, that was little consolation for SPV.

“The label was very unsure whether they could make any money at all with this kind of music,” said Witchhunter. “Music that wasn’t that popular back then. But thank God they gave us the chance.”

Why the label was bewildered by the music and the lyrics remains a mystery to this day. After all, Manfred Schütz himself had seen and dis- covered his protégés at the Frankfurt show. Eventually, Sodom’s first chart success in 1989 solidified them to as the label’s future cash cows. Still, it was not until 2007 that Sodom carried out their plan to record and release the previously abandoned seven tracks under the title The Final Sign of Evil—again on SPV/Steamhammer. They even managed to reunite the original EP’s recoding lineup just for the occasion.

Even if the musical quality can certainly be classified as borderline—depending on your perspective—Sodom were pioneers at the time, as many fans and musicians confirm. Most of the songs on In the Sign of Evil come across as occult. But themes of war also play a role, offering a glimpse of the band’s future lyrical direction, which was perfected on Agent Orange. The idea for “Burst Command ’Til War” was brought in from the Bundeswehr (German armed forces) by the singer and bassist, who was stationed with the Luftwaffe (Air Force) in Delmenhorst near Bremen: he was assigned to bunkers, which housed cold war missile strike systems, and that is where the “burst command”—essentially the launch command unit—was located. “I always associated the launch of a missile with war,” says Tom. “Keep in mind that this was during the time of the Cold War.” The disturbing yet cult lyrics “masturbate to kill myself” from “Blasphemer” also go back to that period (“We were in the military back then, after all”).

The artwork was created by Joachim Pieczulski, but not to the band’s complete satisfaction because the band logo was not placed dead center. “In hindsight, it’s a pretty cool cover, even if it’s nothing outrageous graphically,” Tom explains. “It was already completed, and they had it ready to go. The back of the inner sleeve was left almost blank, even though a band photo was supposed to go there. That’s really annoying.”

The reactions within the German scene were, at times, devastating—such as Holger Stratmann’s in the German magazine Rock Hard. Tom, whilst laughing: “Of course. Back then, they tore us to pieces in the reviews all the time. But we thought that was awesome. Nothing better can happen to you than getting one point in Rock Hard (Arschbombe, aka Butt Bomb, the magazine’s reward for being the worst release of the month, was perceived by some as a must buy; Beherit and Blasphemy were both bestowed the honor years later). It wasn’t about being good musically; we just plain wanted to be the hardest band in Germany, and we pulled it off. That didn’t change in the first few years after that either, we just didn’t give a damn.”

Grave Violator remembers the media reactions a bit differently. For him, it was split. “Some reviews were really devastating, others thought we were harder than Venom. It was a mixed bag, but for the most part, the EP went down really well. Of course, there are mistakes on the EP, but it captures the band’s spirit at the time. Back then, I would never have expected Sodom to choose me as their guitarist, given my limited abilities. But I guess the job profile didn’t mention being a guitar virtuoso. It said, “be able to drink heavily and have fun.”

Regardless of whose memory is accurate, within a few months, over 50,000 units were sold. A tremendous sales success that made Sodom a force to be taken seriously and confirmed Manfred Schütz initial instinct. “It was a strange feeling to see your own band’s release in the record store,” Violator recalls.

“We were very receptive to noise and racket. If someone hadn’t tuned their guitar right, we thought that was awesome and were into it. Nobody knew what was right or wrong; there was no right or wrong. The scene was in the middle of being created,” is how Lacky describes the attitude to life of his metal generation.

Mille Petrozza offers: “I don’t think Tom even remembers that. He inspired me back then; we had just put out the Tormentor demo, End of the World. After Sodom had recorded the EP, they came to Peppi’s place, and everyone was totally drunk and celebrating. Tom, Peppi and Witchhunter were headbanging to their own songs. We were sitting on the couch, and Tom said to me, ‘You guys need to record an album now, too.’ And I replied, ‘But we’re not even that good yet.’” After that night, Kreator’s then- manager Andreas “Stoney” Stein sent a demo to Noise Records founder Karl-Ulrich Walterbach. “That was a real stroke of luck. We would prob- ably have waited another two years; that jump into cold water was exactly the right thing to do.”

How times have changed: when the EP came out, Rock Hard magazine was on the verge of awarding negative points, but in 2009 the magazine included In the Sign of Evil on its list of the 250 most important thrash metal albums. An eventual validation for Chris, Peppi and Tom. The guitarist from back then proudly claims: “If the first records hadn’t been that successful, probably no one would have paid any attention to Andy Brings later.” Even so, it’s fair to say, as Brings himself, one of Peppi’s successors, put it, that the EP is “the biggest crap ever pressed onto vinyl.” Music is, and remains, a matter of taste. But, of course, he acknowledges its cult status. “I’m aware of that, and I don’t want to drag it through the mud.” Musically, it just isn’t his thing.

For many metal fans, however, In the Sign of Evil has “developed and marinated” over the years, as Ronny Bittner from Rock Hard magazine explains: “If you’d asked me about it back then, I’d have said: crude. For us as teenagers, it was total noise, even if it had a certain charm. When I first started listening to metal, Metallica’s Black Album had just been released, and it was produced fantastically. I think everyone who first got to know heavy metal in the ’90s got spoiled by these big productions. With today’s knowledge of how the album influenced people in Scandinavia, and with that really fitting intro, it has atmosphere, even a cult factor to it. Something else I find amusing: I saw a teenage girl a while ago wearing an In the Sign of Evil T-shirt. Tom is now over 60, and in the ’90s, metal represented a young musical movement. It’s fascinating that someone young nowadays is wearing this very shirt from an album with that kind of sound. Maybe that’s precisely the counterproposal to the sterile sound that mainstream metal has become.”

Pre-order Sodom: The Official Authorized Biography exclusively from Decibel Books here.

 

The post Pre-order SODOM: THE OFFICIAL AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY, from Decibel Books; Read an Exclusive Excerpt Now appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Blues rock trio Handsome Jack has released a new music video for their take on “Polk Salad Annie,” offering a fresh spin on the swampy classic made famous by Tony Joe White. The video arrives in support of the band’s latest studio album, Barnburners!, which is out now via Alive Naturalsound Records.

The Lockport, New York-based band leans into the gritty, backwoods spirit of the song while adding its own personality to the performance. Known for blending rock ‘n’ roll, blues, R&B, and boogie into a raw and energetic sound, Handsome Jack brings a lively, tongue-in-cheek approach to the track in the new visual.

Frontman Jamison Passuite shared insight into the concept behind the video:

“By interpreting the song through the voice of the granny-chomping alligator, we’ve added a highly sophisticated layer of complexity nobody knew the song needed—until now! All jokes aside, we had a blast making this at our recording studio. Huge thanks to our friend and director Nate Chateaux, and of course to the swamp fox himself, Tony Joe White.”

Blues Rock Review’s Lee Clark praised the band’s latest effort in his review of Barnburners!, writing, “Handsome Jack is fully at its peak with Barnburners, the album delivers exactly what the title promises: hit after hit. The blending of roots, folk, swamp blues, and ‘70s-style classic rock blend excellently here. Barnburners is a damn good way for blues rockers to kick off 2026.”

Handsome Jack has built a reputation for delivering music rooted in classic American traditions while maintaining a modern edge. Their sound draws heavily from the foundations of blues and rock, capturing the feel of vintage records without sounding dated. That same approach carries into their version of “Polk Salad Annie,” which balances reverence for the original with the band’s own swagger.

The trio, featuring Passuite alongside Joey Verdonselli and Bennie Hayes, is known for high-energy live performances driven by tight musicianship and soulful delivery. Their ability to channel the spirit of classic rock and blues has earned praise from notable musicians including Chris Robinson, the late Neal Casal, Zachary Gabbard, and Ben McLeod.

Watch the music video for “Polk Salad Annie” below.

The post Video Premiere: Handsome Jack – “Polk Salad Annie” appeared first on Blues Rock Review.

Naria have shared their new song, Lyra‑La the intimate acoustic centerpiece of the band’s concept album of the same name out April 3. It’s a warm, emotional cut that sits comfortably alongside Bon Iver, Steven Wilson, and the softer edges of The Mars Volta—a strong fit for alt/prog and left‑of‑center radio. The concept album explores […]