“We are proud to be releasing ‘Martyr’ alongside the music video for our new single ‘Primal’. ‘Primal’ is about the shift that happens in someone, when they realize they’ve been wronged for so long, and decide to finally stand up for themselves. ‘Martyr’ explores different mental health battles through the struggles, and the strength it takes to heal. This is our first EP with Sumerian Records, and we are excited to be partnering with them for those new songs. We would like to thank Joey Sturgis for also believing in this project and being a part of it.”

Nashville based artist Royale Lynn announces her debut album BLACK MAGIC due for release on June 27 via Epitaph Records. Produced by Jonathan Roach, the record is a raw exploration of Royale’s personal struggles with mental health, woven through a narrative inspired by mythology and fantasy. Drawing from the legend of Pandora’s Box, each song represents an “evil” that escaped Pandora’s box into humanity.

Taking cues from 2000’s hard-rock icons like Evanescence and Flyleaf, Royale shares the lead single ‘GREED’ with bright, piercing vocals that rise over the urgent, thundering instrumentation of the track. Directed by Scott Hansen (A Day To Remember, Sevendust) with dazzling visual effects, the accompanying music video is set in a dark futuristic fantasy world, featuring a leather-clad Royale performing alongside her band with an army of creepy masked figures that represent “greed”.

There is always a deeper meaning to Calva Louise’s output, and ‘Lo Que Vale,’ their new single is no different. Translated into English as ‘What is Worth,’ it delves into the human psyche and our personal perception. The song is taken from their Mascot Records debut, Edge of the Abyss, which is co-produced by Pendulum’s Gareth McGrillen and will be released on 11 July.

Following their European tour with Bloodywood, ‘Lo Que Vale’ drops as a reminder of their sheer scope of ideas that they are able to pack into a single song. A frenetic combination of raging riffs and vocals meet with elegantly dancing keyboard melodies, before being thrown around the room with a formidable force. Like their 2024 single, ‘La Corriente’, it pays homage to singer-guitarist Jess Allinac’s Venezuelan roots, sung in Spanish and is an important part of their identity.

“’Lo Que Vale’ deals with the honest confusion and contradiction of our personal perception: when we think we understand something, we might actually be getting it wrong, and when everything seems upside down, maybe that’s when it is not,” the band explains.

“These honest exchanges in life act as triggers for letting go of the attachments that keep us chained to our mundane delusions. And while looking to break free of the irrelevant and continuous patterns that keep us stuck in one place, confusion builds up to the point of asking oneself if we’re really appreciating what is worth living for.”

Halestorm have unleashed a new song titled ‘Darkness Always Wins.’ The single offers the first taste of the band’s as-yet-untitled new album, set for release later this year.

‘Darkness Always Wins’ features Lzzy Hale’s powerhouse vocals on full display, with the song reminiscent of an ’80s power ballad. In fact, there are lyrical nods to the era (intentional or not), with such lines as “running with the shadows” (Pat Benatar) and “fading into black” (Metallica).

Around the 2:30 mark, things get heavier, as Joe Hottinger’s guitar kicks in, followed by a primal scream from Lzzy shortly thereafter.

“‘Darkness Always Wins’ is not a song of hope, nor is it a song of despair,” stated Lzzy of the single. “It is reality. History repeating. Evil prevails and the good depart first. But we are not doomed as long as we persist and keep our fires burning. The war may not be won in this lifetime. But our mission is to pass the torch so that those who follow have a light to fight with.” [via Consequence]

Dutch symphonic metal band, Blackbriar, announce their brand new album, A Thousand Little Deaths, which will be released on August 22 via Nuclear Blast Records.

Together with this exciting news the band shares their new single, ‘The Fossilized Widow’. The single channels the eerie spirit of the Victorian era, blending the mysticism of Ouija boards with the brooding passion of Wuthering Heights. A journey through dark love, spectral forces, and gothic intrigue.

Zora Cock comments: “‘The Fossilized Widow’ tells the story of a girl frozen in time, desperately holding on to someone she can never let go. She’s slowly descending into madness by all those words left unsaid, all those questions left to be asked. As the years pass, her home has turned into ruins, yet the legend says she still remains, trapped in her sorrow, waiting and watching. They call her The Fossilized Widow.”

Gothenburg’s purveyors of all things catchy (and heavy) Aligned is back with yet another kickass single, this time in the form of ‘Fortress’. The song comes alongside a video directed by Lucas Englund (Parkway Drive, etc.).

“This track is born from the ashes of deep loss and emotional ruin,” wrote Aligned of the single. “It captures the raw experience of wandering through life weighed down by trauma, and the haunting remnants of something once whole. It echoes the inner turmoil of grief, while its soaring melodies fight to rise from the rubble. It’s also about the strength it takes to face brokenness, build again, and finding power in vulnerability.”

Swiss folk metal giants Eluveitie release their triumphant new album Ànv via Nuclear Blast. In celebration of the day, the band have also unveiled the new video for their single ‘Taranoias‘.

Eluveitie commented: “And along comes – on this special day – our brand new single and video clip off ANV: TARANOÍAS! It’s the opening track of the album and pretty much wrapping up the entire essence on which the album is based in one single song! It’s quite a hard and dark track and surely one of these roller-coaster-feeling songs, like “Rebirth” or “Aidus”, for instance. What we’ve tried when writing this track is to create a song that in itself becomes some kind of a dark entity that comes upon you with the first note of it! Enjoy the ride!”

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Izzy Reign charges ‘Into Oblivion’ in her latest alternative pop metal single from her upcoming debut album – out early 2025 from FiXT. “This is your time to sacrifice.” Intense is only the starting baseline as Izzy Reign dives deep into the the psyche’s darkest corners. This latest offering blends elements of metalcore, alternative pop, and alternative metal, creating a unique soundscape that is both haunting and electrifying. The song captures the haunting experience of living in constant anticipation of one’s fate, a theme that resonates with Izzy’s personal struggle with religious-induced OCD and intrusive thoughts. Izzy Reign showcases her ability to blend brutal vocals with the ethereal, a diverse array of instruments, including synth, drums, guitar, and bass, seamlessly weaving together different musical styles to reflect a range of emotions, as she draws out an emotionally stirring and intricate soundtrack of her personal struggles. “This song is about the Egyptian goddess of death, Ammit and the constant feeling of waiting to know your fate,” explains Izzy Reign. “I wanted to pull influences from a few different like My chemical romance, or Kim Dracula for their theatrical vocal styles but also draw interesting harmonies from artist like Imogen Heap. I wrote this song because one of the dark parts of myself stemmed from going to church and constantly being surrounded by religion and one of the major downfalls that lingered with me was the ultimate judgment. I thought about it so consistently that I became obsessive with everything I said or did, leading to severe OCD and horrifying intrusive thoughts.”

Nashville based rocker Royale Lynn has been busy breaking boundaries with an ambitious crossover sound, blending her love of hard rock and metalcore while proudly displaying her country roots. Currently on a nationwide tour with legends Seether and Skillet, which also brings her to festivals Aftershock and Louder Than Life, she shares her latest single ‘SACRIFICE’ via Epitaph Records. Featuring ominous figures draped in hooded capes, macabre imagery and shadowy nods to the occult, the powerful music video for ‘SACRIFICE’ paints a visual picture of the darkness that can accompany mental illness. Through thundering drums and a cascade of heavy riffage, Royale’s bright vocals are razor sharp as she carries a message close to her heart. “‘SACRIFICE’ shows a vulnerable side of me, it portrays my journey of dealing with my mental health while navigating the music industry,” she explains. “I want to show people that it’s okay to have struggles and talk about them openly because you should never let it stop you from doing what you love.”

Ex-Delain singer Charlotte Wessels has teamed with Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz for new solo single ‘Ode To The West Wind’. The track was released with an accompanying music video and can be heard on Wessels’ new solo album The Obsession, out now. It’s the fifth time Wessels and White-Gluz have made a song together and sees White-Gluz turn in one of her most melodic performances to date. In a press statement, Wessels explains that ‘Ode To The West Wind’ pulls its title and themes from a Percy Shelley poem, while the video laments how humanity has treated the natural world. She comments: “I’m thrilled to present the fifth single from The Obsession – and my fifth collaboration with the incomparable Alissa White-Gluz. Many of our songs together are inspired by or based on classic poetry, and Ode To The West Wind, drawn from Percy Shelley’s poem of the same name, is the latest addition to this thematic journey. Shelley’s poem reflects his admiration for the untameable force of nature and his thoughts on his own legacy.” She continues: “For the music video, we explored humanity’s impact on the natural world (spoiler: it’s not pretty) by reimagining iconic artworks like Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above The Sea Of Fog and Raphael’s cherubs from the Sistine Madonna, only this time suffused with pollution, wings made of trash, and covered in toxic waste.” [via Louder]

RedHook and Holding Absence have unleashed a brand-new single together, ‘Dr. Frankenstein’. Taken from the Aussie band’s upcoming second album Mutation, the track “tells the story of a fairytale romance that rapidly devolves into a nightmare as one partner displays increasingly more possessive and controlling behaviour,” according to RedHook singer Emmy Mack. “But the bridge then hits us with a plot twist by suggesting that this emotional abuse may have spawned from the other partner being dishonest and unfaithful, thus posing several questions for us to consider: who is the real monster in this situation? Does making mistakes and hurting each other (emotionally) make us monsters? Or does it make us human? Ultimately, this song is about me owning my shit and taking accountability for my role in a past relationship that became toxic as all hell. During the break-up, I was guilty of privately indulging that kind of ‘victim’ mentality, but now that I’m a bit older and wiser, I feel like it’s important to take responsibility for the mistakes that I made too.” Emmy adds of Lucas Woodland’s unsurprisingly awesome guest appearance: “Holding Absence are one of our favourite bands in the world right now, and Lucas’ vocal talents are unparalleled. I wrote this song with a male feature in mind, and Lucas was number one on the list! We cheered so hard when he said he loved the song and was keen to jump on board!” [via Kerrang!]

Never Obey Again has released a video for ‘G.O.D. (Given Or Denied)’, second single taken from the new album Trust to be released on October 18 by Scarlet Records. ‘G.O.D.’ is a ‘straight fire’ modern metal song with female scream vocals and heavy riffs. ‘G.O.D.’ means: we’re all human beings, we are all blank canvas at birth. The place and the moment in history we were born turn ourselves into the people we will become tomorrow. Some of us are given, some of us are denied. [via Italia de metallo]

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Ignescent are thrilled to share their new single ‘Goodbye’, coinciding with the announcement of the deluxe edition of their debut album, Fight In Me, available digitally on July 26 via Frontiers Music Srl. About the track, Jennifer Benson says: “Stoked to release our new song. It was awesome working with Jasen Moreno formerly of Drowning Pool, Lethal City, and Billy Grey of Fozzy. Paul Lapinski at My Platinum Sound, who has worked with Columbia Records, Warner Brothers, and bands like The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, produced ‘Goodbye’. So grateful they were all a part of this.”

Finnish rock sensations Ginger Evil are thrilled to share their new single, ‘Shame Old’, via Frontiers Music Srl. Speaking about the track, vocalist Ella Tepponen says: “’Shame Old’ is a song about mental health; it’s about coping with the cycle of shame, that can be a destructive and paralysing pattern to a persons life. How to break free of the fear of abandonment that is after all, so deeply woven into our DNA.” Tomi Julkunen and Veli Palevaara add: “This song presents the heavier side of album, as the guitar and bass are both tuned to drop D. It has rhythmically interesting arrangement that gives another kind of twist. This song was a load of fun to play in the studio. Will be even more fun to play it in front of huge festival audience!”

BABYMETAL and Electric Callboy have joined forces for the new collaborative song ‘RATATATA.’ The collab pairs two of the most prominent practitioners of “dance metal” and lives up to its billing. Tech-y metal riffs are infused into a pulsing EDM beat, over which BABYMETAL and Electric Callboy share vocal duties — the former handling the higher melodies and the latter providing the gutturals and metalcore vox. “Unbeatable!” exclaimed BABYMETAL in the press announcement for the song. “Let’s ‘Fu Fu’ together with RATATATA.” Enthused Electric Callboy: “Working with BABYMETAL was so much fun. We joined our creative forces and, in the end, we brought together the best of both worlds. We love ‘RATATATA’!” [via Consequence]

Japanese metal band BRIDEAR have announced their new album Born Again out June 28 via Psychomanteum Records. Marking the announcement the band have released a video for the powerful lead track ‘Still Burning’. With pounding drums, incendiary guitars and ferocious growls, all alongside an infectious anthemic chorus, BRIDEAR deliver a scorching first taste of the upcoming record. The quintet from Fukuoka, Japan jetted out to Gothenburg, Sweden to record their sixth studio album with the legendary metal producer Fredrik Nordström (In Flames, At the Gates, HammerFall, Bring me the Horizon) at Studio Fredman. The video for ‘Still Burning’ was also filmed in Gothenburg and gives a taste of their epic live performances, captured by Patric Ullaeus (Amaranthe, Dimmu Borgir, Arch Enemy). [via Metal Planet]

DEFENCES have released a new music video. The new music video, for the track ‘Gold In The Dark’, is the brand new single from the Hertfordshire-based alternative metal band and follows on from their previous single, ‘The Curse’, which was released last month. Speaking about the new song, vocalist Cherry Duesbury says, “I started reading, researching and practising the concept of shadow work during the lockdown years. I realised there were parts of myself I was actively ignoring and pushing down, and it was contributing to why I was feeling so stunted, unhappy in myself and who I was in various ways. Coming across this concept and reading about the psychology behind it – which I’ve always been fascinated by and studied in school for a while – was really eye-opening and inspiring for me. These are some of my favourite lyrics I’ve ever written! And the ideas in this song sparked so much inspiration for this era of our band and the themes we explored, lyrically, musically and visually.” [via Distorted Sound]

We’ve finally got the first taste of Nightwish‘s upcoming record Yesterwynde, and the track – titled ‘Perfume Of The Timeless’ and clocking at 8:27 minutes – sounds like classic Nightwish through and through. Speaking to Kerrang! magazine about the song, keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen revealed: “When we had the first meeting with Nuclear Blast, talking about the new album and singles, I told them the first single will be a song called ‘Perfume Of The Timeless’ and it’s eight and a half minutes long and the chorus comes in at 3:30. And they were, like, ‘Perfect!’ I think that has to do with the fact that we have a long legacy. You know, we can do whatever we want, and I do, but it says something that we can do that when I heard that for Spotify it’s good to have the vocals start after 15 seconds, or people skip it; they don’t have the attention span anymore.” “You are the result of an unbroken chain of millions of ancestors and their loves. ‘Perfume Of The Timeless’ reminds us all of this amazing fact. And if you’re not amazed, listen to it again, because it’s important.” said the band about the single. [via Metal Injection]

Nashville’s Royale Lynn has just released her new single and music video, ‘Death Wish,’ via Epitaph Records. Leaning into her heavy side, the track features a guest appearance from Danny Worsnop of Asking Alexandria, and is an ode to first responders around the world. Warch the new video, directed by Dylan Hryciuk (Spiritbox, Brand Of Sacrifice) and created with the help of a firefighting academy in Canada. Royale set out to visually depict the emotional and physical perils of real-life firefighters and their loved ones. She explains, “After writing the song I had a very specific vision for the video and knew it had to be perfect. Working with Dylan really helped bring everything together and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! This one goes out to all the first responders out there! “’Death Wish’ means a lot to me; it represents the next chapter of my life and my sound moving forward,” Royale continues. “I’m also very excited to have my buddy Danny Worsnop on the track. He brings the whole vision to life with his amazing vocals.” [via Ghost Cult Mag]

Dark alternative metal outfit Crimson Veil has emerged from the shadows with their debut single, ‘Flinch.’ The track serves as a nice little preview of what’s to come on their upcoming album, Hex, set to be unleashed on September 20 via Reigning Phoenix Music. Vocalist aesthete Mishkin Fitzgerald comments about the track saying: “‘Flinch’ is about the end of the world. As humanity, we are careening into a mass extinction due to our own choices and a lot of the time it feels like there is nothing that will stop it.” [via Folk N Rock]

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