Billy Strings is a virtuoso bluegrass musician and a giant star in the jammy Americana world. He’s also a big fucking metalhead. Last year, Strings shredded a solo on a medley of re-recorded 1994 songs from tech-death legends Cryptopsy. Now, Strings is preparing for his own Ionia Freak Fair festival in his hometown of Ionia, Michigan, and he’s booked himself an entire metal stage.
The post Billy Strings Announces Metal Lineup For His Ionia Freak Fair appeared first on Stereogum.
“I’m not saying that in a cocky way. I’m saying that, like, we can’t believe it. It’s just been — we’re so lucky.”
The post Wes Borland Says New Limp Bizkit Songs Are In The Works And That The Band Are “The Biggest We’ve Ever Been Right Now” appeared first on Theprp.com.
Noah Kahan’s been having strange problems lately. Recently the folk-pop sensation was a bit weirded out by Kidz Bop’s cop-friendly cover of his song “The Great Divide.” Now, he’s asking his fans to stop stealing his hometown’s road sign.
The post Noah Kahan Has One Request For Fans Visiting His Hometown appeared first on Stereogum.
Solystalgia is a brand new project hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah that formed only last year, but has risen to make a hell of a statement with their new self-titled album, Solystalgia. The trio is comprised of Austin Wheeler on drums, Paul Black on vocals, and Wilco on guitars and bass. Although Wheeler is the drummer for the fantastic Savage Oath, Solystalgia’s members don’t have much in the way of a resume outside of some guest features on a handful of Sindar, Judicator, and Visigoth tracks. That being said, their scant CV indicates their involvement with a swath of talented musicians in the Salt Lake City metal scene and that they know how to contribute with taste and tact, which is the first of many things that make Solystalgia well worth your time and attention.
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This debut release brings forth eight tracks of atmospheric and funereal death/doom adorned with a touch of black metal, standing as a towering monolith that sonically and emotionally crushes you across its 37-minute runtime. Solystalgia lifts the veil of the purported “American dream” and reveals the grotesque reality of the atrocities world leaders commit on a borderline routine basis, which they call nothing more than “unrest,” while juxtaposing the anger and frustration towards these large-scale acts of attrition with one’s own singular reconciliation with grief, all to depict the complexities of parsing and simultaneously living with these two different forms of mourning.
Solystalgia contains three interludes woven between the five full songs, “(Procession),” “(Wake),” and “(Reflection).” Each one is a string of ambient and oceanic chords and melodies awash in reverb, and they tremendously carry the album’s weighty atmosphere from one track to the next. These interludes also pull a slight post-rock influence into the fold, and it pays dividends to the record’s pacing. In some ways, it feels disrespectful to skip them, especially given Solystalgia’s heavy emphasis on dealing with the internal vulnerabilities of mourning; even the song titles themselves reinforce this.
The interludes also elevate the metal tracks on Solystalgia, which fire off with all guns blazing from the first note. “Funeral” gets to the point, immediately invoking the same sense of melodic and atmospheric gloom that would feel right at home on a Hooded Menace record. Lyrically, the track delineates the struggles of making sense of the unknown that resides before life and beyond death, searching for those we’ve lost and accepting the new task of carrying their memory with us. “Funeral” is grandiose and forged from sheer tungsten, and stands as a fitting introduction to a band that has so much to say right out of the gate.
“Conflagration” changes things slightly with a more abrasive mix, the addition of clean vocals, and far fewer lyrics than “Funeral” that nonetheless paint a vivid image lamenting the constant conflicts and wars that plague our species. Fittingly, this is the most outwardly incensed track on the record. With that said, one of the few criticisms I have is that the song’s mixing can be a physically tough and fatiguing listen, but that also feels like the point of the song in the first place, so I can’t really dock points for it.
“Collapse” kicks off the second half of the record, and this is where things kick into high gear– the songs, the emotion, the energy, and everything in between. Solystalgia radiates with a Warning influence throughout its runtime, but this song in particular evokes that feeling convincingly. The song also displays a black metal influence for a few moments after a spoken word buildup that makes for a surprising curveball. “Collapse” is Solystalgia’s finest showcase of Austin Wheeler’s drumming ability, too, weaving thunderous fills and blast beats with pinpoint grooves and tasteful accenting. His performance across the entire album is a highlight, but this song is the best distillation of his abilities.
While Solystalgia is consistently strong, “Entropic” is the real star of the show. Clocking in at just over 10 minutes, this track is the most devastating piece on the record, partially because it’s the most lyrically direct. While it’s a sweeping criticism of the countless atrocities and genocidal acts committed by abhorrent, power-hungry scumbags in suits and ties, it also mourns the dwindling hope that each passing day of continued attrition brings. The final verse is performed halfway through the track by the inimitable Tanner Anderson (Obsequiae, Majesties), and is delivered with such ferocity and passion that you have no choice but to believe every word being said. From there, “Entropic” allows you to sit with those words and lets the riffs take center stage while also utilizing several powerful samples, including Rashida Tlaib testifying before Congress, calling out the genocides of Lebanon and Palestine. The last few minutes of the song contain the most moving harmonic structures across the record, as if to say with music what mere written word is unable to.
To cap things off, Solystalgia closes with “Acceptance.” Though a stylistic outlier, it still feels perfectly curated as the closing piece. As the most lyrically dense track, “Acceptance” is rife with emotional rawness from both a vocal and instrumental standpoint, which come together into an ineffably crushing closing chapter. “Acceptance” is most effective in the way it ties together the themes and feelings of the rest of the record. Wheeler’s somber vocals seamlessly weave mourning those lost to genocide with the loss of a loved one, and learning to make peace with those two different shades of grief. One of the main takeaways from “Acceptance” and Solystalgia as a whole is that you shouldn’t feel ashamed of what you’re grieving and how you grieve it, because you are not at fault for the pain that loss has caused. That pain affects everyone differently, and learning to live with it rather than moving past it is the only way forward.
Solystalgia is nothing short of a triumph from all involved. This record evokes the same feeling of tremendous impact and importance as records like Ethereal Shroud’s Trisagion and Agalloch’s The Mantle. Although that is very high praise, Solystalgia has earned every bit of it. The band has come together to create something that is equal parts radiantly beautiful and cataclysmically devastating, all while not overstaying their welcome; an incredible opening statement from an incredibly promising trio. This is how you introduce your music to the world.
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Solystalgia is available now via Nameless Grave Records.
Was there a sale on turtlenecks or do they all have an in with a tattoo artist?
The post Glasswaves’ “Doomed:2:DIE” Music Video Launched appeared first on Theprp.com.
Savatage are opening the vault to revisit one of the strongest periods of their career with the release of Madness Reigns From The Gutter (1990), an official live recording captured during the band’s celebrated Rulin’ Gutter tour. The previously unreleased performance arrives through earMUSIC on June 26, 2026.
To preview the release, Savatage have shared the official video for “Gutter Ballet (Live 1990).” Rather than presenting a straightforward concert clip, the video combines archival footage from the band’s 1990 performances, rare memorabilia and scenes from the original “Gutter Ballet” music video, creating a look back at one of the group’s defining eras.
Originally touring behind Gutter Ballet in 1990, Savatage were expanding their sound while building a reputation for intense live performances. The upcoming live release captures that period through 19 tracks restored from the original master tapes before being newly mixed and mastered.
Many longtime fans regard the 1990 lineup as one of the band’s strongest, featuring guitarist Chris Caffery, bassist Johnny Lee Middleton, drummer Steve “Doc” Wacholz, guitarist Criss Oliva, and vocalist and keyboardist Jon Oliva.
Looking back on those shows, Jon Oliva said: “The ‘Gutter’ tour was Savatage at its live show peak. It was six months where madness definitely reigned in the gutter. Enjoy it friends!”
While much of Florida’s metal scene was becoming increasingly extreme at the time, Savatage carved out its own path with Gutter Ballet, combining heavy riffs, melodic songwriting and piano-driven arrangements. Those elements became even more powerful on stage during the 1990 tour, and Madness Reigns From The Gutter (1990) captures that chemistry.
The album will be available in Europe on June 26 as a CD digipak and heavyweight black triple-LP gatefold edition, while digital formats will launch worldwide the same day. Fans in the United States can pick up physical copies beginning September 18.
The live release also arrives alongside Savatage‘s 2026 Prelude To Madness European tour, giving fans another chance to celebrate one of the most influential bands in American heavy metal while revisiting a landmark chapter in its history.
Madness Reigns From The Gutter (1990) is available here.
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