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Ahead of their North American headlining tour, with support coming from Carnifex, Extermination Dismemberment and Mauled, All Shall Perish have unleashed “Be As Kings, Be As Gods”, their first new song in 15 years. You can stream that track below.
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Colin Newman and Malka Spigel return as Immersion with What Is Lost Will Return, a bold, hypnotic and deeply melodic five-star album of electronic psychedelia and restless invention.

The post Immersion ‘What Is Lost Will Return’ – 5 stars for highly influential duo of Wire’s Colin Newman and Minimal Compact’s Malka Spigel appeared first on Louder Than War.

Australian metalcore outfit Polaris have released “Without You”, a brand-new single paying tribute to their late guitarist Ryan Siew. The single is the band’s first new material since Siew’s death in 2023. Watch the music video below.
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Wage War are kicking things up a notch with the announcement of their new full-length album ‘Landfall’.

The album is set for release on October 09 via Fearless Records, and picks up where their EP ‘IT CALLS ME BY NAME’ left off earlier in the year.

Guitarist/vocalist Cody Quistad had this to say about the purpose of the album:

One of our main goals was to put forth the most identifiable sonic footprint of who we are as a band,.This record had to stand on its own two legs. We didn’t tie it to anything popular or trendy; we strictly did what we do as Wage War and leaned into it. It’s like we cherry-picked the best parts of every iteration of Wage War and turned them up to 11.”

The artwork looks like this:

And the tracklisting looks like this:

1. Landfall
2. Sweet Dreams
3. Silk
4. Figure 8
5. God Complex
6. Stay With Me
7. Silence Has Spoken
8. Way Of Pain
9. Red Dot
10. Blindfold
11. Spellbound
12. Song Of The Swamp
13. Silhouette

‘Sweet Dreams’ and ‘Song Of The Swamp’ first appeared on ‘IT CALLS ME BY NAME’, so you will already be familiar, but the band have now added the title track to their teaser offerings.

A guttural, crushing, unrelenting example of what happens when the band let the heaviness loose, it stalks and strikes with intent and intensity.

The band had this to say about what the song means:


“‘Landfall’ is a song about imminent danger and the realisation that we aren’t in control. Referencing our Florida roots, the hurricane imagery became a way of talking about that feeling of being completely at the mercy of something bigger than yourself. Musically, we wanted the verses to feel heavy and threatening, with the chorus being somber and inevitable.”

The band will also be returning to the UK and Europe at the start of 2027 for a headline tour, with support coming from Invent Animate and Windwaker. Here are the dates:

JANUARY 2027

15 – CARDIFF Y Plas / Cardiff University Students’ Union
16 – LONDON O2 Forum Kentish Town
17 – MANCHESTER O2 Ritz Manchester
19 – GLASGOW SWG3 Galvanizers
20 – BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute Birmingham
22 – PARIS Le Trabendo
23 – ANTWERP Trix
24 – AMSTERDAM Melkweg
28 – COLOGNE Carlswerk Victoria
29 – MUNICH Technikum
30 – BERLIN Columbia Theater

The post Wage War Announce New Album ‘Landfall’ appeared first on Rock Sound.

Ahead of their North American tour supporting All Shall Perish and Carnifex, alongside Mauled, brutal death metal outfit Extermination Dismemberment have released a brand-new single called “Annihilation Order”. Check out the music video below.
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I’ve always been fascinated by Japanese culture, but more importantly, I admire its people. 

That fascination has persisted throughout my life, stemming from childhood when I was just captivated by the beauty and courage of one of the world’s most historic civilizations. Like so many of my fellow knuckleheads, I was obviously drawn to the samurai, both their history and their larger-than-life presence in pop culture. 

Cliché, I know. 

But, eventually, there was the music: the mighty Loudness, G.I.S.M., Intestine Baalism, and Wormrot. 

Needless to say…I was hooked. Like a winter’s flu, it was contagious. Intoxicating even. The Japanese peoples’ sincere approach to their creative output is unmatched. 

Simply put, the Land of the Rising Sun and the arts are synonymous with each other. And in my humble opinion, nothing quite captures that like its obscure interpretations of various mediums: anime, theater, cinema, architecture. But again, for the purpose of this review, I’ll focus on Japan’s gift of sonic ecstasy.

In terms of extreme metal, the now legendary avant-garde black metal project Sigh continues cementing itself as one of the most entertaining, thought-provoking, and creative bands in the genre. The band has come a long way since its debut full-length Scorn Defeat, famously released on Euronymous’ Deathlike Silence Productions back in ‘93. To this day, it’s the project’s most trve black metal release. Then, in ‘95, Infidel Art dropped, showcasing a more unique spin on its black metal foundation — more synthesizers, doomier passages, and just a holistic new venture from the Hellhammer and Venom roots. From there, it was off to the races.

Hail Horror Hell incorporated classical instrumentation — orchestral-like — and copious amounts of jazz influence. 

A few years later, the psychedelic tones on Imaginary Sonicscape. 

There’s the traditional singing on Gallows Gallery. 

The sitar and saxophone from Dr. Mikannibal on Scenes from Hell. 

So on and so forth. 

Across the spectrum, therein lies a consistent focus on Japanese horror, too. Movies like Jigoku and Kyofu Kikei Ningen dig their curved claws into Sigh’s sound. While that isn’t too far out of the ordinary in our lovely metal counterculture, there just seems to be something different here. If the large majority of bands are straight-to-Shudder horror directors, Sigh is Alfred Hitchcock. 

Their last original record Shiki — obviously not including I Saw the World’s End: Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV (Hangman’s Hymn re-recording, duh) — is simply beautiful. It’s at times atmospheric, folky, and exquisitely produced. Not to mention a self-admitted deeply personal album for the project’s mastermind, Mirai Kawashima. But the qualities of each aforementioned record were seemingly stepping stones to their most recent opus, Goh-Ka. 

The word “goh-ka” has a triple meaning: 業火 infernal fire scorching sinners, 劫火 a huge fire that burns down the world at the end of time, and 業果 karma. According to Kawashima, the album’s primary theme is Kuso-zu, a series of Buddhist paintings depicting the nine stages of human body decomposition after death. These artworks encourage meditation on life’s impermanence, death’s inevitability, and detachment from physical attractiveness and worldly attachments, all a reminder of the harsh reality that beauty is fleeting and death is inevitable.

Amen. 

If that doesn’t convince you to at least give this a try, joining Kawashima and Dr. Mikannibal is a murderer’s row of contributors, including Frédéric Leclercq of Kreator fame on bass, Mike Heller of Raven and Malignancy behind the kit, and a guest appearance from the legendary Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth.

All of that said, you probably — or at least shouldn’t — need convincing once you dive in. 

“Kuso-shi 1, 2, 3” is the lead-off batter with nine minutes of what makes Sigh so alluring — Lucio Fulci-reminiscent horror synths, traditional Japanese instrumentation, black metal necro vocals, and infectious riffing. Now, if you’re a noob, that probably sounds like an Adderall-fueled fever dream, but I assure you it’s compositionally sound…and then some. Oh, and the clean vocals add a pretty captivating layer, too. And while there are various roads to travel within the confines of this little-big tune, it never truly escapes into disorganization. Instead, it flows like the opening credits of a ‘70s film, even if the lead guitars are comparable to something straight from the ‘80s. 

“Jigoku-Zoshi 1 – Unkamusho” may exonerate a more traditional approach — at least for Sigh’s standards — to heavy music in its modest runtime with some quintessential chunky riffage and hammer-on-pull-off (hey, now) melodeath moments, but “Anzenshokon” blasts back off into the realm of weird with a folky/cosmic absolute banger in what’s a mashup of Enslaved’s Below the Lights and Monumension. The kit work here is top-notch, the clean leads are hypnotic — the songwriting is just perfect, waltzing like cherry blossom petals wrapped in spring winds. 

Cinematically, “Kuso-shi 4, 5, and 6” holds its place as the first act’s finale, drawing the pacing back, instead focusing on synths as the song’s main protagonist. Sure, there are some memorable moments from the stringed tools and stellar drumming, but this one really showcases the more atmospheric qualities the project has become tied to over the years. The final minute-and-a-half sounds like Rush’s 2112 fell into the gravitational pull of a black hole—heavvvvvvvyyyyyy. After the brief interlude “Shoso,” we’re met with the album’s single “Unputenpu,” otherwise known as the track featuring our pal from Opeth. Aside from the sweet solo from Mr. Åkerfeldt, “Unputenpu” is, without a shadow of a doubt, the catchiest song on Goh-Ka. The chorus is mesmerizing, and you’ll find yourself humming it for days on end, even if Japanese isn’t your mother tongue. 

If you’re searching for more of that ‘90s Sigh vibe, you’ll probably find yourself most in tune with either “Jinmenjushin” or “Jigoku-Zoshi 2.”  There’s some black and doom metal just begging for your attention in those back-to-back offerings. And circling back around to one of my previous points, that’s what this record does so well. Instead of throwing it all at the proverbial wall and hoping tracks just stick, the album is very pinpointed in its approach to an actual narrative. But if you’re not a nerd like me, just look at it as a way to stick to a certain rundown of Goh-Ka songs — in its intended sequential order — for whatever mood you’re in. If you’re looking to chill, the first few are great. If you’re wanting to bang your head (for metal-health-drive-you-mad purposes), those two are fair choices. For what it’s worth, the latter two aren’t by any means similar to Scorn Defeat if you’re not that into black metal. Instead, think of it more so as a nod to Imaginary Sonicscape or Dødheimsgard’s 666 International.

After two brief instrumentals, the album’s closer “Kuso-shi 8 and 9” sits as the most prog-rock-infused track, like an even darker interpretation of In the Court of the Crimson King with thicker riffs and shrieked vocals. For eleven-and-a-half minutes, there’s no shortage of Sigh’s DNA (hey, now). Jazzy parts? Check! Clean singing? Check! Classical instrumentation? Check! Synths? Double check!

Pound for pound…a phenomenal record. One that needs and deserves to be spun time and time again. 

Like a setting and rising sun. 

Quick lesson: Japan lies to the east of mainland Asia, meaning the sun appears to rise over it from the perspective of neighboring countries like China, hence the name “Land of the Rising Sun.” 

And perhaps this is the most fitting way to end a review of a record so obsessed with death.

Because Goh-Ka is, in many ways, an album about the inevitable setting of a sun. Flesh rots. Beauty fades. Empires collapse. Even the world itself, according to Buddhist tradition, eventually burns away. 

Yet somewhere beyond all that decay, another sun rises. 

Yeah, maybe not here. 

But somewhere. 

Overall, Goh-Ka is a reminder of the willingness to acknowledge that nothing here lasts, and perhaps more importantly, that nothing needs to. 

The cherry blossom is beautiful because it falls. 

The corpse is horrifying because it was once alive. 

The sun is meaningful because it sets.

As much as I cherish an album like this, as I’m sure many of you will, one day, it will be forgotten. As will you. As will I. As will it all. 

But that’s what makes moments like this so pure. Finding something like Goh-Ka keeps us in the here and now, while still allowing us to question, digest, and ultimately, understand that all is cyclical. From a record’s spin to life itself. 

‘Cause, in the end, even if we do end up as a mere pile of ash or dirt, somewhere out there, a new flower will bloom, new life will grow, and a new sun will rise. 

Not here—somewhere. 

That’s life.

That’s death. 

 

The post Sigh – Goh-Ka Review appeared first on Last Rites.

Luna Kills is one of the most interesting and talented bands out there, and we had the pleasure of interviewing them during Wacken Open Air.

Benedetta

I’m here with the fantastic Luna Kills. How are you doing guys?

Luna Kills

We’re doing fine, thank you. Amazing show. Super fun.

Benedetta

How does it feel to be performing in the 35th anniversary of Wacken Open Air?

Luna Kills

Amazing, because this is one of those bucket list kind of festivals. And I actually never thought that I would be playing here. Never in my wildest dreams. So it is like a little bit of a dream come true for me. That’s cool. Samuli knew when he was 15 that we would be playing. But yeah, it has been so fun. He has a crystal ball at home.

Benedetta

Awesome. So, of course you have a lot of experience in playing live shows, but you also have experience in the studio working on music. Do you think that the life of an artist is a lonely life?

Luna Kills

Well, kind of, yes. Obviously, we are stuck together, so we are not that lonely. But I would say it’s more hectic, fast-paced. And maybe some other relationships might get overshadowed by it, because it’s so fast. It is hard to manage your time every now and then. So it’s like, are you going to go see your friends, or are you going to write music at the weekends? It’s like choices, choices. And usually it’s writing music, performing. Yes and no.

Benedetta

Do you think that we will ever have some equality between men and women in the metal world?

Luna Kills

Well, I hope so from the bottom of my heart. And I’m an optimist, so I do believe that that is something that we are working actively towards as a community. We see a lot more metal bands with female musicians, and that is great. Also we are inspiring more younger girls and women to pick up the instruments or singing, and they can see that it’s possible to be in a metal band or in the scene. So I believe that that is going there. There is a lot to be done in it, but we have taken a lot of steps in the right direction also in recent years. Because there are people that have carved the path so we can do this as well.

Benedetta

Guys, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me. Is there anything else that you want to add to our viewers and readers?

Luna Kills

Well, I hope that everybody has a great summer and can manage the heat stroke. And, of course, go listen to Luna Kills and come to our shows. We’ll be waiting.

The post “I actually never thought that I would be playing Wacken” – interview with Luna Kills first appeared on FemMetal – Goddesses of Metal.

Arch Enemy have released the full, pro-shot video of their 85-minute headline set at German metal festival Summer Breeze last month.

The footage will be many fans’ first time seeing the international melodic death metal firebrands in action with their new singer Lauren Hart. Hart, formerly of US metal bands Once Human and Divine Heresy, joined in February, replacing longtime frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz.

During the Summer Breeze performance, Arch Enemy played their first single with Hart, February’s To The Last Breath, as well as material that originally featured their three former singers: White-Gluz, Angela Gossow and Johan Liiva. Watch and take a look at the setlist below.

Arch Enemy’s Summer Breeze set was part of a larger European tour where they played festivals and intimate headline shows. In the UK, the band played at the Underworld in London and Rebellion in Manchester, each of which has a capacity of around 500 people. They also played at the Motocultor, Wacken Open Air and Alcatraz festivals, among others.

Arch Enemy will return to the road next month, when they co-headline a run of North American dates with fellow melodic death metal act The Black Dahlia Murder. Septicflesh, Crypta and Thrown Into Exile will support. After that, the band will play on the 70,000 Tons Of Metal cruise from January 14 to 18. See details and get tickets via their website.

White-Gluz left Arch Enemy in November 2025, ending her near-12-year tenure in the lineup. Though she didn’t give a reason for her exit in her initial statement, talking to Metal Hammer Germany, she said, “I really love music and art, I can’t bear to treat it like just another day at the office.”

White-Gluz released her debut solo single, The Room Where She Died, the same day that she announced her Arch Enemy exit. She later formed the extreme metal band Blue Medusa with guitarists Alyssa Day and Dani Sophia and joined UK power metal veterans Dragonforce as their co-lead singer, alongside continuing vocalist Marc Hudson.

When Arch Enemy revealed Hart as their new frontwoman and released To The Last Breath, founding guitarist Michael Amott said, “Working with [Hart] was an exceptional experience – her remarkable voice, coupled with her dedication and professionalism, brings a rare level of excellence. I look forward to continuing the collaboration.”

To The Last Breath is currently the only Arch Enemy music featuring Hart. There’s been no update regarding a new studio album. Their latest, Blood Dynasty, came out last year.

Arch Enemy setlist: Summer Breeze, Dinkelsbühl, Germany – August 14, 2026

• Yesterday Is Dead And Gone
• The World Is Yours
• Ravenous
• War Eternal
• Blood Dynasty
• My Apocalypse
• To The Last Breath
• Under Black Flags We March
• The Eagle Flies Alone
• Bury Me An Angel
• No Gods, No Masters
• Dead Bury Their Dead
• Blood On Your Hands
• We Will Rise
• Snow Bound
• Nemesis
• Fields Of Desolation (outro)

For anyone who saw Tubeway Army play Are ‘Friends’ Electric? on Top Of The Pops in 1979, the image of the glacially cool and otherworldly android aesthetic of singer Gary Numan will forever be burnt into their brains.

It was a groundbreaking sound that captured the zeitgeist, blending the ultra-hip Krautrock of bands like Kraftwerk, the Sci-Fi edge that was riding a wave after the massive impact of Star Wars at the cinema and the fast-rising electronica that would come in with the New Romantics.

This blended all those elements into one disconcerting yet utterly addictive package. Front and centre, the vocalist dominated all attention, his voice and trace of an accent slamming the message home as the guitars and synthesisers raged behind him. A star was most definitely born.

The rest, as they say, is history, and Numan quickly went on to solo megastardom, huge chart success and selling out multiple nights at Wembley Arena.

Whilst the image of the singer was one of detachment, the man himself has always been less of a distant enigma, and the connection with his fans over the years has been one of warmth and mutual appreciation. This connection has been forged through blood, sweat and tears, lasting through the good times, through the fallow years and back to his resurrection, the fans never losing faith.

From the early, pioneering electronic years and through to his industrial goth rock identity, there has always been something to excite and stimulate the faithful and beyond, his own (Tubeway) army of Numanoids constantly growing.

With his new book Gary Numan: A People’s History, author Richard Bowes has brought together firsthand reports and memories from the artist’s friends, fans and co-workers in one glorious and glossy five hundred page love letter.

Illustrated throughout with over three hundred photographs, many unseen before from private collections, each page is filled with very personal reflections on the man and his music. Stretching back almost five decades to 1977, the book is in chronological order and covers every aspect of his rise.

However, instead of being an autobiography or biography, it often presents an outsider’s viewpoint of the journey, making it a fascinating ride through the lives of all those touched by the music.

Every tour is covered, with different reports shining their own light on those times. Each new release is discussed, and the depth of emotion and raw honesty from the fans is both inspiring and touching.

Stripped of any blinkered fanaticism, these are passionate responses that show an intelligence and critical appreciation of Numan’s work that elevate the multiple reminiscences, making them a window into the psyche of his followers.

Capturing the thrill of hearing those records for the first time or the visceral excitement of his shows, this book does what every good music book does. It makes the reader want to revisit or dig deeper into the artist’s work.

This extraordinary book tells the story of an outstanding musician and those who have followed him throughout his career. An engrossing and truthful read that, like the man himself, always does something different, Gary Numan – A People’s History is one of the best books on music you will ever read. 

Gary Numan: A People’s History will be released on 29 September 2026 via Spenwood Books. Fully authorised by Numan, with his own introduction, a foreword by OMD’s Andy McCluskey, more than 500 eyewitness accounts and over 250 photographs, A People’s History charts a remarkable 45-year career through those who experienced it at close quarters. For more details, visit Spenwood Books here.

The post Gary Numan – A People’s History: An Extraordinary Love Letter To An Electronic Pioneer first appeared on MetalTalk – Heavy Metal News, Reviews and Interviews.

The Molotovs are already setting out their plan to dominate 2027 with the announcement of their new album ‘Welcome To Urbia’.

The record will be released on April 09 2027, via Marshall Records, and will serve as the follow-up to their debut ‘Wasted on Youth’, which dropped earlier this year and hit No.03 in the UK Albums Chart.

The band have also shared a first taste of what to expect in the form of ‘Urbia’, a shimmering piece of timeless Brit rock brimming with energy and exuberance. The best song that The Jam never wrote, if you will. It’s an extension of the sound and atmosphere that the duo have cultivated so brilliantly, and feels like an incredible jumping off point for their sophomore.

Matt Cartlidge had this to say about the track, stating, “When I wrote it, it just immediately felt like something different and was steering in the direction that I wanted to go for this next album. I really wanted to shake it up. My influences have also broadened the more we played. When we went into the studio, I’d only recently written it, so it was all pretty fresh – it’s got a real energy.”

Whilst Issey Cartlidge added: “It really blossoms. It’s quite moody and driving, quite industrial, and then you get to the chorus that kind of opens up. It’s sweet.”

The duo have just hit the road for a headline tour around the UK and Ireland. Here are the dates you can catch them on:

04 – NOTTINGHAM Palais
05 – BRIGHTON Chalk
10 – GLASGOW TV Studio
11 – NEWCASTLE Digital
12 – SHEFFIELD Foundry
17 – LEEDS The Wardrobe
18 – LIVERPOOL Arts Club
19 – MANCHESTER Academy 2
24 – BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy 2
25 – LONDON O2 Kentish Town Forum
26 – LONDON O2 Kentish Town Forum

OCTOBER

02 – BELFAST Ulster Sports Club
03 – DUBLIN The Grand Social

The post The Molotovs Announce New Album ‘Welcome To Urbia’ appeared first on Rock Sound.