Mass Minor is an Austin, Texas-based darkwave and electronic rock project led by Andrew J. Martin, Jr.. Blending atmospheric synths and driving guitars into cinematic songwriting, Martin also draws from post-punk, synth-pop and alternative rock influences to create a sound that feels both nostalgic and thoroughly modern.#
Mass Minor recently signed to Metropolis Records and have released a new single entitled ‘Get Up’. “This song is a conversation with God at 169 BPM about sin, money, mortality and the things we sacrifice our lives to,” explains Martin. "It comes from this idea of asking God to save us from problems we created ourselves. Maybe it’s not God’s job to save us. Maybe we need to fix our own shit. You’re the one holding the light. Get up.”
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‘Get Up’ is the follow-up to the pulsating ‘Nowhere Now’, which was issued as a single in late July, with both songs included on a long-awaited new Mass Minor album, Beyond The Edge Of Reason, out in late February 2027.
Martin self-released the 2020 debut Mass Minor album, Become Each Other, as well as several singles subsequently collected together on EPs, and has maintained a consistent presence in the dark alternative scene via radio support, multiple SXSW appearances and performances alongside groups such as Twin Tribes, Ultra Sunn, TRAITRS, Vision Video, Urban Heat and Sacred Skin.
Every day is Halloween in the world of Margot Day. So the fact that she’s dropped ‘Witchfire’ mid-September is simply her doing her thing. The New Yorker’s been doing shimmery gothy stuff since the 80s with The Plague, and as Metamorph, she’s been prolific in conjuring witchy-themed electropop for a whole decade now, and ‘Witchfire’ is all treat, no trick.
It’s a succinct sliver of a song, which balances equally elements of quintessential post-punk and contemporary pop stylings. How this translates is a song driven by an uptempo, propulsive synth bass and pumping drum machine paired with a song-song vocal melody treated, in places, with some heavy autotune. The autotune thing has become a massive trend in recent years – not in using it to tidy things up, but that wildly overprocessed ‘feature’ that we first heard on Cher’s ‘Life After Love’. Why is it all the rage now? I don’t know, and I can’t say I’m a fan, but its application here shows how Margot Day continues to move with the times, and that she’s unashamedly a pop artist as much as she is as a purveyor of sultry, seductive, supernatural gothiness. And it would be difficult to deny that ‘Witchfire’ is catchy.
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The dance mix which provides the b-side emphasises the bangin’ beats and adds a minute and a half, some of which is given to a flute solo, which works considerably better on the ears than it does on paper.
French electro-rock outfit THIS IS SHIT (or TH/S /S SH/T as they are also known) have released their hypnotic new single ‘Blue Nine’ and its definitely not shit!
‘Blue Nine’ is more than a song, it’s a signal picked up from our own future, something that survived and caught its breath again. The track steps away from expected formats: it builds in stages, letting electro and rock search for a common frequency before fully locking into sync in the song’s final stretch.
The phantasmagoric video, directed by INFRAROUGE, ventures into a territory no camera could have reached. Red neons, liquid chrome, architectures that exist nowhere: INFRAROUGE builds a world of its own, coherent down to its smallest details, where photorealism keeps slipping into hallucination. These aren’t effects layered onto real footage, it’s an entire geography, born elsewhere, that never had a filmed version.
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THIS IS SHIT are set to return for 2026 with their second album ΛV coming on 30th October and like the slanted signs of ΛV (pronounced “lambda V”) that invert and mirror each other, this new record interlocks two aesthetics that were never meant to coexist: rock and electronic music. A formula unique to THIS IS SHIT.
Behind this graphic project with its sharply crafted artistic direction stands composer Loïc Louraco. Driven by the need not to choose between two radically different ways of creating : rock, which he has practiced his entire life, and electronic music, which he explores in parallel, he formed a hybrid creation in 2017: a trio in which he is both producer and principal instrumentalist. And thus sparked the collision between the two worlds.
A signature sound first discovered by audiences through the EPs / (“Slash”) and // (“Double Slash”) in 2018, followed by the album /// (“Triple Slash”), which concluded a first creative cycle in 2020.
After a challenging start to the decade, the artist entered a new writing phase that stretched over several months. Born from improvisations or long nights of production on Ableton, the tracks were pushed to their limits. The sound is more controlled, the album more impactful. For this new project, THIS IS SHIT chose to take production even further by collaborating with Swedish producer Hans Olsson (Division of Laura Lee).
An initial studio session in Paris allowed the three musicians to record, in a traditional rock band setting, guitars, bass, and drums. The tracks were then sent to Gothenburg, where they were reworked by the producer and director as a temporary electronic duo. The collaboration felt natural, and the results fruitful, bringing a unique coherence to this new release. Like a film soundtrack, ΛV carries the listener from scene to scene, from emotions to sensations, from celebrations to contemplation, in a continuous, unbroken flow between tracks.
Los Angeles metallic hardcore outfit LOCKSLIP today release the video for ‘Vengeance (You’ll Be Seen By Your God),’ the second single from their forthcoming debut album The Conversation, out November 6 via Bleakhouse, the label founded by King Yosef.
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A volatile collision of metallic hardcore, mathcore and metalcore, “Vengeance” barrels forward with breakneck drumming, violent rhythmic shifts, world-ending breakdowns and flashes of melody, channeling the emotional urgency of Converge and the technical chaos of The Dillinger Escape Plan.
Lyrically, the track confronts abuse and the systems that allow those in positions of trust and authority to escape accountability.
Vocalist Sara G explains: “A recurring theme throughout this album is one of consequences. This song was inspired by someone close to me who survived abuse while in the Boy Scouts. This led me to learn of the close connection between the Boy Scouts and the Catholic Church in their efforts to protect themselves against accountability. People in power, so-called righteous people, perpetrating heinous acts against those meant to trust them. Surely if their afterlife is real, they can’t escape judgement.”
Shot and edited by Harper King, the accompanying video captures footage from Lockslip’s August 2026 tour of the Pacific Northwest and Canada, mixing moments from life on the road with the sheer physical intensity of the band’s live performances.
‘Vengeance’ follows first single ‘Gray World,’ featuring guest vocals from King Yosef, and offers another glimpse into the unrelenting sound of The Conversation.
Something brutal and pernicious is dragged kicking and squealing from the unfathomable depths of ancient Lisbon: CRUCIVORE unveil the filmed music video ‘Devourer of Existence’. The track is also the next advance single taken from the Portuguese band’s forthcoming debut full-length Desecration. The album has been slated for release on November 13, 2026.
CRUCIVORE comment: “The track ‘Devourer of Existence’ is pure brutality from start to finish”, guitarist Ricardo Jorge states on behalf of the band. “This song is packed with crushing riffs, slam, massive breakdowns, and relentless blast beats that don’t leave much room to breathe. Without a doubt, this is one of the most diverse and punishing tracks we’ve made so far and it will definitely shake your soul.”
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Crucivore were conceived on December 14, 2024. Precisely on that day, former ANALEPSY vocalist Ricardo Proença and guitarist Sérgio Páscoa (DOWNFALL OF MANKIND et al.) decided to join forces and form a new band. After recruiting more experienced musicians from Portugal, this new musical entity drew from decades of honing their craft to amalgamate crushing riffs, relentless drum pounding, devastating breakdowns, cavernous vocals, and carefully crafted dynamics into a contemporary sound that merges death metal intensity with the crushing weight of brutal death and slam.
Crucivore opted for the classic lyrical themes of their genre, and their songs generally revolve around corruption, decay, blasphemy, mortality, and apocalyptic scenes, while also exploring the grotesque nature of existence through a lens of darkness and desecration.
Rather than relying on nostalgia or trends, Crucivore seek to contribute to the ongoing evolution of death metal through conviction, experience, and an unwavering dedication to the underground. Instead of just delivering more of the same, the Portuguese seek for ways forward and they have found it in musical storytelling.
With Desecration, Crucivore deliver an outstanding debut full-length album and a musical vision that is bound to respectfully and diligently broaden the horizon of death metal.
HEAVY TEMPLE reveal a heavy-tripping music video featuring the track ‘A Desert Through the Trees (Live)’. The song is lifted from the psychedelic heavy rockers’ digital live album Live from the Inner Sanctum, which is scheduled for release on October 9, 2026.
HEAVY TEMPLE comment: “Our song ‘Desert Through the Trees’ was directly inspired by the Kyuss track ‘Asteroid’ with a dash of Soundgarden and, believe it or not, a pinch of Pantera”, frontwoman High Priestess Nighthawk reveals. “It’s also the first track on Lupi Amoris. With this album, I feel that Heavy Temple really started hit its stride.”
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HEAVY TEMPLE are built to perform. The natural habitat of these American heavy rockers is the stage. They live and breathe playing live. They eat and drink the sweet nectar of stage sweat and backstage grub.
With their digital album Live from the Inner Sanctum, HEAVY TEMPLE deliver an authentic, honest, and raw statement about that irresistible impulse that drives them onto the roads of America and Europe to work extra hard every night to delight their audiences.
Live from the Inner Sanctum is not faking it at all. Honest mistakes are not electronically polished away, AI holds no sway over humanity here. This album is deliberately truthful and pointedly neither glossy nor sugar-coated. Take HEAVY TEMPLE as they are or leave it.
US-based rising instrumental progressive metallers, Sometime In February, are excited to release a brand new track titled ‘Nightlight’. Coming off the back of a string of Summer US live dates, the track is an exciting taste of what is to come. Check it here:
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Tristan Auman comments: “’Nightlight’ was written in a headspace similar to our 2024 single ‘Hiding Place.’ While in the trenches of writing our next record, we wanted to stretch our legs and write something free from the bounds of a bigger picture, and lean into styles that we may only dip our toes into. For this single, it was early-2010s era progressive metal/djent, something we appreciate but usually avoid when writing. In true SIF fashion, it also includes fun and upbeat highs, melodramatic lows, and singable hooks that might make you forget we’re an instrumental band.”
In 2023, the band introduced themselves with their first single under InsideOut, titled ‘Hiding Place’, which showcased their melodic approach. Now, with a full album of new material, Sometime in February presents 11 captivating tracks, from the fusion-metal opener ‘Palantir’ to the progressive complexity of ‘Outside In’ to the blues-infused, prog-metal closer ‘Funeral House.’
The trio’s connections extend into the progressive music world, featuring collaborations with Between the Buried and Me members Paul Waggoner and Dan Briggs. Tristan had been working for Waggoner in a local coffee shop. After getting to know Tristan, he went to see the band and was impressed by their live performance. He later invited Auman to fill in alongside Paul on BTBAM gigs. In return, Waggoner contributed to the track ‘The Bad Fight’ and appeared in the music video. “I had a part open for him on the song,” Auman recalls. "He sent over some ideas, and they were perfect, as expected."
Briggs added a unique touch, playing textural elements and additional instruments like mandolin, rather than bass. The BTBAM connection also extended to the album’s mixing, handled by engineer Jamie King, who previously worked with Scott’s former band, Trees on Mars. “Tristan knew right away he wanted to work with Jamie, and I was all for it,” Scott says. “Jamie was great in the studio with a positive vibe the whole time.”
To enhance the album’s sound design, the band brought in Eric Guenther, keyboardist for The Contortionist. “We discussed sound design, and The Contortionist was at the top of our list,” Morgan explains. “Eric was our first choice, and he was on board right away. He had seen Tristan on the BTBAM tour, and he elevated the entire project with his contributions.”
For Tristan, Where Mountains Hide represents a step forward, with an uplifting and optimistic feel. “For this album, I wanted the songs to stand alone more, instead of making everything flow together like typical prog albums. But in the end, it naturally felt cohesive. The album has a grand and fantastical vibe, and with instrumental music, it can be challenging to create a specific atmosphere, but that’s what I aimed for.”
Across nine songs, the Kill Devil Hills quartet balances post-hardcore urgency, shoegaze bliss, and guitar-driven catharsis. Recorded and produced by J. Robbins (War on Women, Mary Timony), Year of the Horse preserves the raw chemistry that defines the band while pushing their songwriting into sharper, more immediate territory.
‘Blind Smile’, the track described by Loud Women as “bright, melodic and eccentric” now has a music video. About the video, Dawn says, “The video is about someone stuck in a world of complacency. It’s her journey to break free and show color to the world around her. Much like the meaning of the song it’s about being your true self.”
“The blind man smile, the deaf laugh for all to hear, to be so brave, you can’t hear anyone.”
With their album debut Nüwa Mends the Sky, UREDDA reveal themselves as musical alchemists who create pieces of utter beauty and a fascinating otherness, that appear to the listener as magic due to being at least one step ahead of their time. Their perfect amalgamation of elements from contemporary electronics, new wave, post-punk, krautrock, and drone among many other influences creates something excitingly new from some things old and beloved. Their sounds are born from experience as well as a deep understanding and mastery of their art.
The masterminds behind UREDDA have already left deep marks in circles of avant-garde music. Thighpaulsandra, previously a member of Coil and Spiritualized, has worked with Julian Cope among other influential acts – these include URUK, in which he was joined by Massimo Pupillo. Pupillo and Paolo Mongardi are probably best known as members of label mates Zu.
UREDDA sprang into being out of pure synchronicity – while those who believe in predetermination are welcome to view the meeting as glorious providence. Thighpaulsandra had travelled to Italy for a solo performance at a contemporary art museum while, at the same time, Massimo and Paolo were working at the studio of UREDDA guitarist Bruno to try out some new raw sketches. On a fateful whim, they invited Thighpaulsandra to join them. There was no prior blueprint, no rehearsal, and no intention of starting a band. Yet the sparks of creativity and inspiration were flying while music began to flow spontaneously.
The band name stems from the famous Italian ‘Caso Amicizia’ (‘Friendship Case’). This refers to alleged mass contacts between humans and extraterrestrial beings called W56 in the central Italian region of the Abruzzi between 1956 and the late 1970s. These aliens supposedly taught harmony and friendship. In this context, ‘Uredda’ was defined as the vital energy of love, friendship and wonder. This energy was not an abstract concept, but the literal fuel driving their advanced technology and the very core of their mission on Earth. “All I know is that a world on the precipice has a desperate need for beauty”, Massimo Pupillo states, discussing today’s single release. “Not a shallow and only cosmetic glamour, but real beauty – one that incorporates and transforms our deepest anxieties and fears. The diamond is born in the lotus, but the lotus is born from the mud.”
This philosophical approach ties UREDDA directly to an esoteric legend of early Krautrock, by mirroring the belief that musicians could collectively tap into a cosmic current and were able to communicate directly with their mixing desks, instruments and gear as living entities.
Ahead of the album, they’ve unveiled a video for ‘All He Knows’, which you can see here:
‘God’s Picture’ is the latest track to be taken from Emma Ruth Rundle’s These Killing Times, and described by Emma as the centrepiece and thesis statement of this record. The album will be released via her own imprint Errant Child on 18th September.
“’God’s Picture’ is a meditation on the state of the world, particularly climate disaster, global conflict and class. Musically this song feels like a segue from Engine of Hell, with its gentle piano and guitar, to These Killing Times, with its more lush arrangements and message. This song is also a plea for the demolition of Western hegemony. Accompanied by a music video collaboration with many friends and for which I painstakingly constructed the sets for in the winter of 2025/26, ‘God’s Picture’ is the thesis statement at the core of my new album These Killing Times.”
Watch the video for ‘God’s Picture’ here:
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EMMA RUTH RUNDLE LIVE IN EU/UK IN 2027:
22/03/2027 DE Berlin Festsaal 23/03/2027 DE Hamburg Bahnhof Pauli 24/03/2027 DE Leipzig UT Connewitz 25/03/2027 DE Cologne Gebäude 9 27/03/2027 CZ Prague Palác Akropolis 28/03/2027 AT Wien Arena Wien 30/03/2027 DE Munich Backstage 31/03/2027 CH Zurich Rote Fabrik 01/04/2027 FR Lyon L’Epicerie Moderne 02/04/2027 FR Lille L’aeronef 03/04/2027 FR Nantes Ferrailleur 05/04/2027 UK Bristol Fleece 06/04/2027 UK Manchester Gorilla 08/04/2027 UK Glasgow St. Luke’s 09/04/2027 UK Leeds Brudenell Social Club 10/04/2027 UK London Islington Assembly Hall 11/04/2027 UK Brighton Chalk 13/04/2027 FR Paris Elysee Montmartre 14/04/2027 BE Antwerp Trix 15/04/2027 NL Tilburg Roadburn
