For their next trick, the prolific Australian punk act Alien Nosejob are taking on hardcore. How A Mosquito Operates, dropping about a month from now, finds Jake Robertson (formerly of the Ausmuteants, School Damage, etc.) trying his hand at hardcore punk, forgoing his usual conceptual trappings in favor of a looser genre tribute. He says…
The post Alien Nosejob Announce New Album <em>How A Mosquito Operates</em>: Hear “Live Like The Crowd” appeared first on Stereogum.
The post LEFT TO DIE Signs To Relapse Records; Debut Album, Initium Mortis, Out July 17th + New Track Streaming appeared first on INFRARED MAGAZINE.
Gaming Headset
Corsair has been in the PC peripherals game since 1994, originally making memory modules before expanding into one of the most recognizable names in gaming hardware. Today, they cover everything from mechanical keyboards and gaming mice to full PC builds, capture cards, and of course—gaming headsets. Their VOID lineup has been a staple mid-range gaming headset series for nearly a decade, earning a solid reputation for comfort and reliable wireless connectivity. The VOID v2 MAX Wireless is the latest evolution of that line, released in late 2025 as a step-up version of the well-received VOID Wireless v2.
The VOID v2 MAX Wireless is Corsair's new mid-range flagship in the VOID lineup, priced at $149.99. Think of it as the VOID Wireless v2 — which already had a strong reception—but with two meaningful upgrades bolted on: simultaneous dual 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connectivity, and Sonarworks SoundID support through the iCUE software suite. Everything else, the drivers, ear cups, microphone, and physical design, is essentially the same headset.
That's an important thing to understand going into this review. If you're on the fence about upgrading from the standard VOID v2, the answer is: only if those two features are things you actively want. If you're buying fresh, it's a different conversation.
The headset comes in Carbon Black and White variants, with an Xbox-specific SKU sold separately that adds Xbox Wireless protocol support.
Out of the box, you get the headset itself, a USB 3.0 Type-A wireless dongle, a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, and a QR code linking to the manual (yes, a QR code instead of a paper manual—this is 2026 after all).
The build is almost entirely plastic. At roughly 10 oz, it's on the lighter side for an over-ear gaming headset, which contributes to that comfort we'll talk about more in a second. Nothing here feels particularly premium—this isn't a metal-reinforced headband situation—but it also doesn't feel cheap. It feels durable enough for daily use without any creak or flex concerns.
Design-wise, the VOID line has always had that distinctive angular trapezoid ear cup silhouette that is very recognizable. Two slim RGB light strips run down the sides of each cup—it's subtle and honestly looks pretty clean compared to some of the RGB chaos that many gaming sets have. The downside: you can't turn the RGB off without going into iCUE on a PC first. If you're on console or Bluetooth away from your rig, those little glowing sails stay on at whatever profile was last saved. Minor in the grand scheme, but worth knowing.
Controls are found on the left ear cup—a power button (also used to switch connections), a customizable multi-function button below it, and a scroll wheel for volume. The scroll wheel is where things get a little wobbly. It has an unexpected plastic springiness to it, and while I don't mind it, it's cheap relative to the rest of the build, and the overall on-ear control layout can feel unintuitive until you've used it enough to build muscle memory. The microphone arm flips up to mute, which is well implemented, but it is not detachable, which is important to know.
The VOID v2 MAX Wireless sounds good for gaming, movies, and music. The default tuning leans toward a bass-heavy, V-shaped sound profile that prioritizes the fun factor over accuracy. It sounds good for most games, but it can struggle a bit when precision matters. As far as gaming headsets go, the audio is good but I would not say that these are audiophile quality; with a focus on convenience and features.
The Void V2 MAX has plenty of bass, letting you hear explosions, footsteps, and cinematic moments with a sense of impact. During music listening, this makes for a booming, fun listen, though at times the bass can slightly overshadow the mids during busier songs.
Vocals come through naturally, and dialogue in games is easy to understand, though the low and high frequencies are more emphasised on the V2 MAX. The midrange frequencies come across a little repressed compared to bass and treble. This isn't very noticeable during gaming or cinema, but becomes more noticeable when listening to music closely.
Through Corsair's iCUE software for the headset, you can use Sonarworks SoundID on PC, which helps significantly here if you take the time to run the calibration process—it pulls the mids forward and tightens the overall presentation noticeably.
Highs are present and crisp—there's enough air and detail up top that the headset doesn't sound dull. In FPS titles like Valorant, gunshots crack, ambient environmental sounds have definition, and higher-frequency effects land clearly.
This is where the VOID v2 MAX really excels. The memory foam ear cushions wrapped in breathable microfiber fabric are plush, and the lightweight frame means you will be comfortable, even during multi-hour sessions. The clamping force is low-to-moderate—enough that it stays put on your head, but not so much that it's squeezing you uncomfortably. Glasses wearers will appreciate this— there's very little pressure on the sides of the frame, making this one of the better options out there for four-eyed gamers.
For a headband, the padding is thick and well-distributed. Honestly, the Void V2 MAX is just a very comfortable, enjoyable headphone to wear.
As far as isolation goes, the V2 MAX is on the lower end. The seal isn't tight enough to block out significant ambient noise, and if you're gaming in a noisy environment, you will hear some bleed-in.
This is another highlight. The VOID v2 MAX Wireless runs on simultaneous 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth, meaning you can have your PC connected via the USB dongle and your phone connected via Bluetooth at the same time—switching between or blending both. The one-dongle setup covers PC, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch 1 & 2, and mobile without any re-pairing wizardry. You plug the dongle in, and it connects. That's it.
Wireless range hits up to 50 feet on 2.4GHz with a clear line of sight. Through walls, you're looking at 20-30 feet realistically, which is plenty for a typical setup.
Battery life is outstanding: up to 70 hours on 2.4GHz wireless and up to 130 hours on Bluetooth. Fast charging gives you about 6 hours of use from a 15-minute charge—great for when you forget to charge your headset.
The microphone performs well for its intended purpose—online voice chat and casual calls. It adds a little body to vocals, which keeps it sounding reasonably natural. There is a noise gate that occasionally clips your voice mid-sentence if you pause naturally, which is worth knowing. NVIDIA Broadcast compatibility (requires RTX GPU) can clean things up further if your setup supports it.
The Corsair VOID v2 MAX Wireless is a headset that's excellent at a few specific things —battery life, comfort, and multi-platform wireless flexibility—and solid at everything else. At $150, it sits in a bracket where the competition is stiff, and the stock tuning with lightly recessed mids and bass bleed can take away from pure music listening.
That said, the features available through iCUE allow you to custom EQ and even have it auto EQ for you according to your hearing, which can help counterbalance some of the tuning. If you're someone who games across multiple platforms, values marathon comfort, and will actually run Sonarworks SoundID on PC to address the tuning, this headset is pretty compelling. The bones are good. The execution just needed a little more refinement in the audio department to truly justify the price.
If you can catch it on sale around $120, which it is actually on sale for at the time of this article, the Corsair v2 MAX Wireless is a pretty great option.
newshapes have released their new EP ‘somehow i still believe’, and given its third and final track the video treatment.
That song is ‘rescue light’, a vibrant, vicious, vital piece of boundary-crossing brilliance. From soaring metalcore atmospheres to crushing hardcore beatdowns, all encased in an effortlessly catchy British rock shell, it’s the sort of concoction that makes it impossible to stay still whilst listening to it.
Every strand of the band’s passion and power shines through, setting up the future and their next big step perfectly.
The band had this to say about the tune, stating, “‘rescue light’ is how we’ve opened our shows this year, and it opens the EP for a reason. It’s probably the most relentlessly aggressive we’ve been in a song, and it’s one that fires us up and gets us in the headspace we need to be in to go out and show people what we can do, whether they’re in the room with us or listening elsewhere.”
And to get you all caught up, here are the other songs that make up the new EP.
Here is the fantastic ‘falling away’:
And the sensational ‘baptise’:
The post newshapes Share Irresistible New Track ‘rescue light’ appeared first on Rock Sound.
– May 20th, 2026 –
Band release new song and visualizer “Drottinn Fyrirgefur Allt”
Pre-order of debut album now live!
Album Cover by Paolo Girardi
FORSMÁN, one of the most promising new names to emerge from Iceland’s black metal underground, release their new song “Drottinn Fyrirgefur Allt” today, the opening track of the band’s debut album Brenndar Rústir & Fuðrandi Fjörur, which will be released on June 26, 2026, via Vesperian through Metal Blade Records worldwide.
Stream “Drottinn Fyrirgefur Allt” HERE & watch the visualizer video HERE.
Pre-orders are now live HERE.
“Drottinn Fyrirgefur Allt” opens the album with severity and intent. Vicious, cold, and extreme, the song still reveals a strong sense of detail: intricate riffing, shifting dynamics, and a dense atmosphere give FORSMÁN‘s black metal a demanding, fully formed character. Rooted in Iceland’s contemporary tradition, the band already appear less like followers than a new voice within it.
The album’s cover artwork was created by Paolo Girardi, known for his work with POWER TRIP, REVOCATION, SULPHUR AEON, and many others.
Tracklist:
01. Drottinn Fyrirgefur Allt (5:19)
02. Svartir Svanir (6:53)
03. Andvana (6:02)
04. Valdníðsla (4:23)
05. Kynjamyndir (3:30)
06. Lof Mér Líf Þitt Að Taka (3:52)
07. Hræ Hins Almáttuga (6:44)
08. Barmafylltar Fjöldagrafir (7:34)
Metal Blade Records is distributing the album worldwide with the album available for pre-order in N. America as a Ltd. CD Digipak with 16-page booklet with extensive artwork and Gatefold LP with LP-booklet feat. extensive artwork and OBI strip on Clear/black splatter vinyl.
FORSMÁN are a black metal band from Kópavogur, Iceland. After their debut EP “Dönsum í logans ljóma“, the members – all only in their early twenties – have been working intensively on new material. FORSMÁN (pronounced “fors-mown”) stand in the line of modern Icelandic black metal associated with SVARTIDAUÐI, SINMARA, and MISÞYRMING, combining a dense atmosphere with focused, forward-driving songwriting.
FORSMÁN Line-Up:
V. Bass, Vocals
H. Guitar
O. Guitar, Vocals
M. Drums
FORSMÁN Online:
https://www.facebook.com/forsmanband
https://www.instagram.com/forsmaniceland
YES, who is Steve Howe, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, Billy Sherwood & Jay Schellen, are proud to announce their 24th studio album ‘Aurora’ will be released on June 12th, 2026 via InsideOutMusic/Sony Music. Now the band are extremely pleased to launch the new single ‘Turnaround Situation’, accompanied by a visualizer created by Matt Hutchings (who also made the video for ‘Aurora’). Watch it now here:
Jon Davison comments of the track: “‘Turnaround Situation’ came from realizing that every time I ignored my conscience, life seemed to fall apart in one way or another. I’ve taken the wrong road before. Most people have. There’s always a temporary thrill in it, but eventually it catches up with you.
Writing this song was part confession, part redemption. Ultimately, the song is meant to capture that feeling of finally being at peace with yourself — when, by choosing the high road, you stop fighting what you know deep down is right.
The strange thing is, the right road is usually the harder one. It demands more from you. But in the end, it gives something back too: clarity, self-respect, and a kind of inner freedom. I think that’s what everyone’s really chasing underneath it all.”
‘Aurora’ will be available as a Limited Deluxe 180g Light Green 2LP+2CD+Blu-ray Artbook & Poster, as well as a Ltd Deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook, both featuring the stunning artwork of Roger Dean and Freya Dean, as well as a bonus disc of instrumentals, and a blu-ray featuring Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound & 24bit stereo mixes (by Curtis Schwartz). The album is also available as a Gatefold 180g 2LP + LP-booklet, Special Edition CD Digipak & as Digital Album. Pre-order now here: https://yes-band.lnk.to/Aurora
The tracklisting is as follows:
1. Aurora 07:27
2. Turnaround Situation 05:50
3. Love Lies Dreaming 06:24
4. Countermovement 13:48
5. Ariadne 06:18
6. All Hands on Deck 03:04
7. Outside the Box 04:20
8. Emotional Intelligence 03:30
9. Jambustin’ (Bonus Track) 04:24
10. Watching the River Roll (Bonus Track) 04:42
When Yes first began sketching out ideas for what would become ‘Aurora’, the process was loose and exploratory. There was no preconceived concept at the start, just a collection of musical fragments that gradually began to find one another and take form. Among these early sketches was a piece titled “Aurora,” and it quickly became clear that the name carried certain gravity. It suggested light, emergence, and a sense of vastness, qualities that resonated deeply with the band. Jon Davison remembers how “the title immediately resonated with Steve Howe and sparked visual inspiration for artist Roger Dean, setting a conceptual tone that would guide the project.”
Work on ‘Aurora’ began almost as soon as the ‘Classic Tales of Yes’ tour ended in 2024. The idea of a new album surfaced quickly and with the label’s encouragement, the band had the time to develop material organically. Rather than gathering in a single studio for months, they embraced a modern workflow; ideas were born in home studios, shaped independently, and then woven together through constant collaboration. Downes and Howe often acted as the central creative axis, with Howe, as producer, serving as the point through which all ideas eventually flowed.
Across ‘Aurora’, each track carries its own character. Some echo the classic Yes approach, others push into new territory, but together they form a cohesive whole that honours the band’s heritage while embracing forward motion. With their 24th studio album, Yes demonstrate not just longevity, but a sustained curiosity, a desire to keep exploring, keep refining and keep discovering their capacity to create.
The post YES launch new single “Turnaround Situation” from 24th studio album ‘Aurora’ appeared first on The Prog Report.
John Carpenter, the legendary visionary behind Halloween, The Thing, and Escape From New York, is stepping away from the synthesizer and into the mosh pit. In a career-defining move at age 78, the “Master of Horror” has officially announced Cathedral, an immersive cross-medium project that marks both his first-ever graphic novel and what he describes as his “first heavy metal album.” Dropping this August, the project signals a massive shift toward an aggressive, riff-heavy palette that takes Carpenter’s trademark tension to a visceral new level.
The inspiration for Cathedral didn’t come from a script or a film set, but from a “vividly cinematic dream” Carpenter experienced in 2024. The story centers on an abandoned, long-ignored church in downtown Los Angeles that becomes the focal point of a waking nightmare after the killing of a police officer.
“It was so cinematic and vivid,” Carpenter explained. “I thought, ‘I have to score this.’ It’s kind of our first heavy metal album.” To achieve this sonic evolution, Carpenter reunited with his “Lost Themes” bandmates: his son Cody Carpenter and frequent collaborator Daniel Davies (formerly of CKY and Karma To Burn). Davies, known for his pedigree in stoner rock and metal, noted that while they didn’t explicitly set out to make a metal record, Carpenter would describe scenes from his dream and demand, “We need a heavy riff here.”
Unlike his previous Lost Themes releases, which were dubbed “movies for the mind,” Cathedral functions as a direct narrative engine for its accompanying 120-page graphic novel. Each track on the 14-song album aligns with a specific chapter in the book, guiding readers through the catacombs of the church and toward a centuries-old evil.
The graphic novel features a powerhouse creative team, co-written by Carpenter’s wife and long-time partner Sandy King alongside Sean Sobczak. Illustrators Federico De Luca and Luis Guaragna provide the visual grime, while the music is designed to stand on its own as a crushing metal experience. Fans got their first taste today with the lead single, “Lord of the Underground,” a track that leans into heavy distortion while retaining the atmospheric dread that has defined Carpenter’s career for five decades.
Fans won’t have to wait long to enter the cathedral. The project is being released across two platforms this August:
Is John Carpenter’s ‘Cathedral’ a movie? No. It is a mixed-media project consisting of a graphic novel and a heavy metal soundtrack album. Carpenter has described it as the “closest approximation to a new movie” he has produced since 2010.
Who plays on the ‘Cathedral’ album? The album features the core trio of John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter (synths), and Daniel Davies (guitars). Davies’ background in CKY and Karma To Burn heavily influenced the record’s move toward metal.
Where can I hear the new John Carpenter metal song? The first single, “Lord of the Underground,” was released on May 19, 2026, and is available on all major streaming platforms alongside an animated visualizer.
John Carpenter is an American filmmaker and composer often referred to as the “Master of Horror.” Best known for directing and scoring genre-defining classics like Halloween and The Fog, his minimalist synth scores have influenced generations of electronic and industrial musicians. In the 21st century, he transitioned into a successful touring musician, with Cathedral representing his boldest venture into heavy metal and long-form graphic storytelling.
STAY LOUD: Catch the full breakdown of John Carpenter’s metal debut on the Loaded Radio Daily Podcast with Scott Penfold, or crank the hard rock and metal 24/7 on our live digital stream at LoadedRadio.com.
Horror icon John Carpenter has announced his first heavy metal album and graphic novel project, ‘Cathedral,’ arriving August 2026. The project was inspired by a nightmare and features the single ‘Lord of the Underground.’
Is John Carpenter the greatest ‘late-career’ metal convert we’ve ever seen, or will the synth-heads miss his classic electronic sound? Let us know in the comments.
The post The Master of Horror Turns Up the Gain: John Carpenter Announces ‘Cathedral’ Metal Album and Graphic Novel appeared first on Loaded Radio.