Symphonic metal sensation BEYOND THE BLACK are excited to share the news that their brand new album Break The Silence is set to be released on January 9, 2026 via Nuclear Blast Records. Alongside the album announcement, the band has unveiled a stunning music video for the title track.
BEYOND THE BLACK’s sixth full length Break The Silence is a concept album rooted in melodic metal with ethno influences, it explores themes of communication, inner strength, resilience and the urgent need to reconnect in a divided world. Tracks like ‘Let There Be Rain‘, ‘(La Vie Est Un) Cinéma‘, ‘Ravens‘ and ‘The Flood‘ examine how words – and their absence – shape our reality. It’s an emotional, multi-layered experience that mirrors today’s complex world and invites fans to be part of this new chapter.
Guest musicians on Break The Silence include Chris Harms from LORD OF THE LOST as well as Asami from popular Japanese power metal band LOVEBITES.
Singer Jennifer Haben commented: “On Break The Silence, we opened the door to new influences and collaborations. From symphonic to ethnic elements and guest artists who brought their own style into the mix — this album reflects everything we love about making music without boundaries. It’s a powerful blend of who we are and who we’re becoming“
Los Angeles-based “fairy-doom” trio Faetooth are taking us to the forest with the latest elemental preview of their forthcoming Labyrinthine, a sludging epic titled ‘Hole.’
The group’s new single, which follows earlier album teases ‘Death of Day’ and ‘White Noise,’ undulates through varying slow-gloom tempos, with the band injecting it all with a mix of skies-clearing coos and earth-cracking cries.
The supremely cinematic music video first finds a woman survival-mode sprinting through a forest clearing, and then she collapses in agony when faced with a fiery scene within the brush. Gutting personal loss gives way to the figure dancing with a burnt talisman in the charred cedar scene, though it gets profoundly more spiritual and otherworldly as the song moves on. Faetooth also drop by for a quick cameo.
“‘Hole’ is a meditation on the choice of confronting the past, or burying it,” bassist-vocalist Jenna Garcia explains of the song in a statement. “Sobering, waking realizations of cycles find themselves bared, culminating in an invocation-like verse that declares severance to all ties to a creeping past.”
French progressive metalcore outfit Novelists have unveiled their latest music video for ‘Adam And Eve’, a track from their most recent album, CODA, which dropped in mid-May. The visual was directed by Pavel Trebukhin, known for his work with acts like Amon Amarth and ERRA, and brings the song’s concept to life with a striking cinematic flair.
The video arrives as part of Novelists’ continued push behind CODA, their first album released through ACKOR Music—their own independent label launched with members of Landmvrks. With full creative control, the band has leaned into more personal and ambitious visual storytelling, as seen in this latest release.
‘Adam And Eve’ explores the story of a character who descends into a cult, with the video mirroring the track’s dark emotional arc. It even features a clip from televangelist Kenneth Copeland, used to underscore the song’s themes. Musically, the track blends heavy progressive riffs, soaring melodies, and a raw emotional tone that’s become a hallmark of the band’s current era—especially with vocalist Camille Contreras now fronting the group.
Holy Wars have just unveiled a new single and video, ‘Crucify’. Following May track ‘I Feel Everything’ – plus appearances at the likes of Download Festival and supporting Kittie this summer – the band are keeping up momentum with a new metalcore banger that has a painfully dark backstory.
“’Crucify’ was written as a reckoning,” explains vocalist Kat Leon. “Years ago, I got out of a toxic relationship – the last words my ex said to me were, ‘I wish you nothing but the worst.’ Within six months, both of my parents had passed away.
“I’ve carried the weight of those words like a curse, buried in grief and silence until now. Writing Crucify became my way of purging that pain and finally reclaiming my power.”
CASTLE RAT have released a new song. The new single, titled ‘WOLF I’, is taken from the mystical heavy metal band’s upcoming album The Bestiary, which is scheduled to be released in September this year, via King Volume Records (US) and Blues Funeral Recordings (UK/Europe).
Speaking about the new single, guitarist and vocalist Riley Pinkerton (The Rat Queen) says, “’WOLF I’ marks the gateway into The Bestiary, setting the stage for the epic journey ahead. The Wolf—fierce, solitary, and primal—serves as both symbol and sentinel, embodying the shadow self and guiding listeners through peril with instinct and ferocity. The track is a tempest of layered riffs and surging energy, building toward a thunderous, headbanging climax. With its haunting vocal chants and immersive atmosphere, ‘WOLF I’ expands the CASTLE RAT sonic universe—introducing, for the first time, a blistering, razor-edged solo by Franco ‘The Count’ Vittore, delivered with surgical precision and flair.”
