BLACK LUNG drop the opening track ‘Traveler’ as the first single taken from the American heavy psych rockers’ forthcoming new full-length Forever Beyond. The fifth album from the Baltimore, Maryland outfit is scheduled for release on March 6, 2026.
BLACK LUNG comment on ‘Traveler’: “This song is about relying on one’s anxiety and depression – almost like a super power”, vocalist and guitarist David Cavalier writes. “You think, it’s the things that are going to keep you safe and sharp. In reality, it’s the complete opposite. The song also touches on the idea of living in a blameless world. Radical acceptance of people and who they are. Musically, this is one of my favorite tracks. We made it as dynamic as possible and each section feels like its own moment.”
The forthcoming full-length from Los Angeles–based band Agriculture, The Spiritual Sound, traces a narrative arc through extremes. The album is largely a fusing of the visions of its two principal songwriters: Dan Meyer and Leah Levinson. Though distinct, their voices converge in a singular spiritual grammar—one that defines the totality of The Spiritual Sound, not as separate parts, but as one unified expression.
Dan writes like someone clawing toward the divine through noise, channeling Zen Buddhism, historical collapse, ecstatic grief. Leah’s songs move differently: grounded in queer history and AIDS-era literature, amid the suffocating fog of the present, they carry the weight of survival as daily ritual. Dan takes the lead on their next release, a quieter moment amongst the chaos. About the track, he says;
“This is a love song to a future child. It is so moving to me that even though this child does not exist in the form of a child yet, all of the matter that will one day make up their being is already in the world. And of course this is true of all things that have ever existed. So even though I’m talking about a kid that I want to have one day, I’m really talking about the principle that everything is totally connected.”
AA
Agriculture’s formation mirrors their duality. What began as a loose collaboration between Kern Haug and Dan Meyer in the Los Angeles noise scene evolved into a shared pursuit of the sublime through heavy music. With the additions of Richard Chowenhill and Leah Levinson, the project solidified into the band’s current form. The ecstatic black metal foundation that was laid on 2022’s The Circle Chant expanded into something more precise and far-reaching on their 2023 self-titled full-length, and deepened further with 2024’s Living Is Easy: a record that embraced devotional intensity and radiant heaviness in equal measure.
Agriculture’s writing process is built on dismantling and revision of self. Dan and Leah bring songs to the band and then allow them to be pulled apart and rebuilt communally: reshaped through conflict, repetition, and deep trust. Richard adds guitar melodies and solos, and Kern constructs rhythms which are sometimes familiar but often unconventional. Finally, with Richard producing, the final form of each song is realised through intense collaborative work in the studio. Although a time consuming and ego-frustrating process, this allows the band to find the spirit of the songs not through inspiration, but through persistence.
Yet, even in its most ambitious moments, The Spiritual Sound remains rooted in the ordinary and in the day-to-day relationships between the people who made it. Gas station snacks. Inside jokes. Sleeping on floors. Playing shows in rooms that smell like mildew. The spirit here isn’t abstract, it’s live. This is spiritual music that starts with imperfect gear and a long-in-the-tooth tour van.
Agriculture doesn’t offer salvation. The Spiritual Sound isn’t a map out of the fire. What it offers instead is presence: a confrontation with the moment, however unbearable, however divine. It insists that meaning is still possible, even in a world hell-bent on reducing everything to content, and where suffering itself can be conducive to recovery. As the Buddhist saying goes: “the only way out is in.”
AA
Photo credit: Milan Aguire
AGRICULTURE LIVE DATES 2025:
Sep 17 Kortrijk, BE — Wilde Westen Sep 18 Haarlem, NL — Patronaat
Oct 8 Brooklyn, NY — Union Pool (Record Release Show)
Oct 27 San Antonio, TX — Paper Tiger $ Oct 28 Austin, TX — Mohawk $ Oct 30 Atlanta, GA — Masquerade $ Oct 31 Saxapahaw, NC — Haw River Ballroom $ Nov 01 Silver Spring, MD — The Fillmore $ Nov 02 Philadelphia, PA — Union Transfer $
Nov 04 Louisville, KY — Zanzabar Nov 06 Oklahoma City, OK — 89th Street Nov 08 Albuquerque, NM — Launchpad Nov 09 Phoenix, AZ — Valley Bar Nov 11 Denver, CO — Hi-Dive Nov 13 Salt Lake City, UT — The State Room Nov 14 Boise, ID — Neurolux Nov 16 Seattle, WA — Madame Lou’s Nov 18 Vancouver, BC — Fox Cabaret Nov 19 Portland, OR — Mississippi Studios Nov 21 Sacramento, CA — Cafe Colonial Nov 22 San Francisco, CA — The Chapel Dec 04 San Diego, CA — Soda Bar Dec 05 Los Angeles, CA — Lodge Room
Industrial metal legends DIE KRUPPS have announced an exclusive tour EP. This hand-numbered collectors’ item, which is entitled Will nicht – MUSS! / On Collision Course, will be sold by the multiple genre-defining band on their upcoming 45th anniversary tour, which will kick off at the DVG Club in the famous Belgian medieval battle-town of Kortrijk tonight, on August 27.
The Will nicht – MUSS! / On Collision Course EP contains guest contributions and remixes from prominent musicians of renowned acts such as MINISTRY with whom DIE KRUPPS have just successfully toured in the US. As a first taste of the EP as well as of the upcoming new album, the Germans have released the advance single ‘On Collision Course’.
AA
DIE KRUPPS comment: “You may be forgiven to think that ‘On Collision Course’ and ‘Will nicht – Muss!’, which translates into ‘don’t want to – have to’, could have been the working titles for our upcoming European tour”, Ralf Dörper quips. “In truth, the 45 years of influential sounds from Düsseldorf has been our guiding theme. In celebration of this anniversary, we have created this exclusive EP as a treat for all the dedicated fans coming to our concerts. It will give you an impression about what sound is currently happening in our steelworks as the above mentioned singles of the double-title will also provide a first and second taste of our upcoming album. The EP also includes some sonic glimpses of the experiences and friendships made on our recent US-tour with Ministry. Watch out for those remixes!”
For the first single from Marc Urselli’s Best of Ramones Redux that will be released parallel to the forthcoming MER Redux Series instalment Marc Urselli’s Ramones Redux, Canadian space metal legends VOÏVOD have teamed up with no less legendary Australian post-punk vocalist JG THIRLWELL (FOETUS) to pay a mind-blowing tribute to the most fitting RAMONES’ classic ‘Zero Zero UFO’. The original of the song was released on the US punk rockers’ eleventh full-length Brain Drain (1989).
VOÏVOD comment: “One of the proudest moments of my life was when Joey Ramone gave a shout-out to Voïvod on stage in Montreal in 1994”, drummer Michel “Away” Langevin reminisces. "I’ve been a fan of the Ramones since their first LP, so you can imagine my excitement when Marc Urselli approached us to cover a song for this album. When he mentioned that collaborations were part of the concept, I immediately thought of JG Thirlwell who has been a good friend since the ’80s. While we could have recorded any of their songs, I’ve always dreamed of playing ‘Zero Zero UFO’. I was so excited about the opportunity that I might have played it a bit fast, making it challenging for Snake and Jim to fit every word in. Fortunately, Marc’s production really makes the track shine, and we’re thrilled with the final result. Enjoy!”
VOÏVOD have written metal history since their founding in Jonquière, Quebec in 1982. The Canadians starting out as a thrash band with strong hardcore punk leanings that was considered “experimental” or “progressive” right from the start. Their highly unique sound somehow survived multiple changes and shifts in style as well as changes in the line-up that have left drummer Michael “Away” Langevin as the remaining original member. There could hardly be a better choice for a homage to the RAMONES and the track ‘Zero Zero UFO’ than VOÏVOD. The Canadians were early adopters of a bizarre futuristic space style in artwork and lyrics, and they have already stunned the world with their daring and successful cover of PINK FLOYD’s ‘Astronomy Domine’.
Australian vocalist James George “JG” Thirlwell has become a most influential artist after moving to London, UK in 1978, where he founded FOETUS as the first of many musical projects with a broad stylistic range that includes post-punk, industrial, and trip hop. Under a variety of pseudonyms such as Clint Ruin and Frank Want, he collaborated with artists such as Marc Almond, THE THE, and Nick Cave among many others.
Aural Aggravation 