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Swedish hard rockers The Gems will play a series of shows in Germany around their appearance at Metal Hammer Paradise festival in late November.
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“Fuego Del Sol”, the newest preview tune from Tungsten‘s next long player Ashes, has surfaced online. The Swedish power metal outfit will put out the new music output on October 9th, 2026.
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It might of been a leak because it's not posted on their socials yet, but a very official looking Brutal Assault 2027 line-up poster is making the rounds on various social media platforms. The big names appear to be Mercyful Fate, Children of Bodom (Yes, you read that correctly), and The Sisters Of Mercy. The dates for 2027 are August 4-7 and will … Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com

Virginia-based doom/death metal unit Night Hag is all set to release their second full-length instalment, Great Dismal Darkness, on October 16th 2026 via via Rotted Life Records. Recorded and mixed by Yave Rust Recording And Mixing. Mastered by Bob Greenough at Not for the Weak Records.
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In early 90’s, the Finnish short-lived death metal act Cartilage released the song called “Why Do I Watch The Dawn?”. Now you can give a listen to the new, Avulsed version, via YouTube below.
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Swedish heavy metal collective Ram announced that bassist Tobias “Tobbe” Petterson has decided to leave the ranks after 17 years. He is going to be replaced by Simon Oscar Claezon aka Desekrator from Stormdeath and Voodus.
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Swedish groove thrashers Methane have shared a Hans Karlin-produced/edited video for “Demolate”, the latest single taken from their upcoming studio album Demolate.
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[Album artwork by Alexander Roivainen]

There are apparently a great many music playing scepters in this world but this The Scepter is from Canada and plays heavy metal in the traditional sense–not unlike fellow countrymen Traveler who, sadly, are no more but, as luck would have it, also featured one Jean-Pierre Abboud on vocals. Shadows in the Tower is the band’s first full length, courtesy of No Remorse Records.

Truth be told, it wasn’t love at first sight. Or sound. Its eight songs clocking in at just under thirty minutes, Shadows in the Tower make a good enough first impression. The opener is punchy. The cover art catches your eye. The twin guitar attack element is cool. The songs never overstay their welcome. And Abboud’s singing is, as always, pretty great. But it felt a little “in one ear and out the other.” I wasn’t sure there was much to it aside from a fun listen.

It wasn’t until the third or fourth spin that Shadows clicked. It’s a smooth record. And I often feel compelled to give smooth records a little extra time to work their charm. If it’s checking every other box, give it the benefit of the doubt–and benefit of time–to see where it lands.

Fortunately, the smoke cleared, the dust settled, and my appreciation for what Shadows in the Tower offers grew. I am still not hearing the power metal influence that I’ve read elsewhere. But I do think the band does an admirable job of maintaining a certain pace without dipping their feet fully into speed. They really do not let their feet off the gas. That, if nothing else, is The Scepter’s calling card. Well, that and the generally impressive riffs.

There isn’t a dud on Shadows but there are some notable highlights. Namely, Abboud absolutely owns “Where Art Thou.” And the generally impressive riffs are more specifically impressive on “Protector of the Skies,” “Burn Bundy Burn” (which sounds very much like Blazon Stone), and the closing title track. It is true that speedy The Scepter is best The Scepter. The twin guitar element can’t really hit peak form outside of that joint cause. Perhaps the band should have dipped their feet fully into speed, after all. Regardless, I appreciate that The Scepter varies the pace without ever truly slowing things down.

The post The Scepter – Shadows In The Tower Review appeared first on Last Rites.

This is the second album from UK post-rock band Din of Celestial Birds. The three-guitar, (and synths), post-rock approach of Din of Celestial Birds is back, with the 41-minute Takeoffs & Landings. 2023’s The Night Is for Dreamers made a decent splash in post-rock waters, so Takeoffs & Landings comes with a certain amount of … Continue reading “Din of Celestial Birds – Takeoffs & Landings (Review)”

During Wacken Open Air, we got the opportunity to interview the legendary Mick Arnold and Ronnie Simmons of Rose Tattoo about the festival, women in metal, and more.

Benedetta

I’m here with the legendary Rose Tattoo. How are you doing, guys?

Rose Tattoo

Good, thank you.

Benedetta

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me. So, how does it feel to play at the legendary Wacken Opera on its 35th anniversary?

Rose Tattoo

It feels good. It’s an honour.

Benedetta

And for a legendary band such as yourselves, I guess that it’s even more special to be here. Also because, I’m a new fan of yours, so I can’t wait to see you all on stage.

Rose Tattoo

It’s been great to be a part of the whole thing, you know. 50 years of Rose Tattoo as well. 1976 to 2026 and here we are.

Benedetta

Yeah, definitely. So, since you have such an incredible experience, both with live shows and music recordings, do you think that the life of an artist is lonely?

Rose Tattoo

In a good way. I’d say high highs and low lows. It’s all part of it.

Benedetta

Do you think that in 2026 will we ever get some sort of equality between men and women in metal?

Rose Tattoo

I think it’s easier for women to get a foot in. Yeah, look at bands like Thundermother. They were great. They’re really making waves. They’re a great band. They can rock just as hard as the boys. You know what I mean? Look at all the guitarists that are out there. What’s her name? Oh, Nita Strauss. Yeah, she’s a great guitarist. They can outplay most men. There’s no real issue there.

Benedetta

I know, but isn’t it a bit unfair that, for example, this year at Wacken it’s just all male male bands headlining, like Judas Priest, Def Leppard and so on?

Rose Tattoo

That’s a bit unfair, I think. It’ll come. It’ll turn, yeah. The way I see it is it doesn’t matter what you have between your legs. It’s if you rock or not. I don’t see it as gender. It’s just a matter of just being good, rock hard, play from the heart. Yeah, in the pop side of things, the women dominate. Look at Taylor Swift, Beyonce. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Benedetta

So, this AI thing that is going on at the moment, do you think that it will affect the music in such a way that we won’t recognise what is human and what is artificial?

Rose Tattoo

It’ll get lost. But there’s no true emotion. They can emulate it closely, but to nail it 100%, you know, at the moment, I don’t think so. But there’s issues there, you know. You can use it as a tool to help you, you know, say write a song or whatever, but, you know, to rely on it 100%, I don’t think that’s good.

Benedetta

Guys, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview with me. Do you have anything else to add to our readers?

Rose Tattoo

Long live rock’n’roll!

The post Interview with Rose Tattoo first appeared on FemMetal – Goddesses of Metal.