Emma Ruth Rundle’s These Killing Times is electrifying, emotional and charged with anti-patriarchal feminist rage. The forthcoming studio album from the multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and multi-disciplinary artist is a reactive anthology, bristling, full of life and full of resistance.
These Killing Times, her sixth full-length, will be released via her own imprint Errant Child on September 18 and preceded by the lead single and album opener ‘Powerless.’
Although this new album possesses a spirit of defiance, it retains the tenderness, rawness and vulnerability that saw her previous globally acclaimed full-length, Engine of Hell (2021), resonate with so many listeners.
These Killing Times returns to a full-band set up for a fuller sound, a more sonically powerful accompaniment to her now more direct vocal style. The album features drummer Jess Gowrie (Chelsea Wolfe, Mrs. Piss), long-time friend and collaborator Troy Zeigler, Patrick Shiroishi, Nick Reinhart (Tera Melos), Gina Gleason (Baroness), Marissa Nadler, Lukas Frank (Storefront Church) and Amelia Baker (Cinder Well). The instrumentation is brighter and more urgent than ever before, lending a fascinating magnetism to Emma’s music which feels fresh and new.
MISSOULA return with their latest single, ‘Ted Dollop’. The track is the third preview of the band’s upcoming debut album, Death Doula, due June 26 via Org Music.
Featuring drummer Brooks Wackerman (Avenged Sevenfold, Bad Religion), guitarist John Konesky (Tenacious D), and bassist/keyboardist John Spiker (Tenacious D, Beck), MISSOULA have quickly established themselves as a unique instrumental force, blending cinematic composition, heavy grooves, and adventurous musicianship into something that feels both technical and wildly imaginative.
If previous singles ‘Love Bombs’ and ‘Crimson’ introduced listeners to the band’s dynamic range, ‘Ted Dollop’ showcases another side of the project—playful, unpredictable, and driven by an irresistible rhythmic pulse.
Konesky explains:
“Much that was known of the legend of Ted Dollop is lost to the annals of history, but those that still speak to his glory will often hear his name in the rustling leaves and fields of wheat as the wind calmly blows rhythms of 7/8 o’er this great land. On June 3rd Missoula releases Ted Dollop in honor of the best to ever do it.”
Like much of Death Doula, the track balances virtuosic musicianship with a sense of fun and exploration. Rather than treating instrumental music as an exercise in technical excess, MISSOULA focus on memorable compositions, unexpected turns, and the chemistry between three accomplished players who know exactly when to push forward and when to leave space.
The forthcoming Death Doula expands on that approach across eleven instrumental tracks that move between crushing riffs, melodic passages, and cinematic arrangements. Built around Wackerman’s powerful and precise drumming, Konesky’s expressive guitar work, and Spiker’s inventive low-end foundation, the album feels less like a side project and more like a fully realized artistic statement.
As Konesky previously described the band: “Missoula is what happens when you take the reins off and let yourself run free, naked and fearless, thru an infinite universe.”
Swedish forest rockers BESVÄRJELSEN drop the first advance single from their third album Till Glömskan Ad Oblivionem (Swedish and Latin for: "Into Oblivion"), accompanied by a slightly disturbing music video ‘Didn’t Come to Party’ about that guy, the one nobody ever wants at their social gathering.
BESVÄRJELSEN comment: “There’s a scene in the Titanic movie that has always stayed with me, when the musicians keep playing as everything falls apart around them”, vocalist Lea Amling Alazam muses. “This is one of my all-time favorite moments in cinema, because it captures something important about music: the devotion, the need to create, and to hold onto something beautiful, even in the face of disaster. Like, we’re literally going under, but hey, let’s play. Dance to the sirens. In this day and age, it’s hard not to be affected by the chaos of the world. ‘Didn’t Come to Party’ is not a political statement but rather a cry of frustration. We’re living on this incredible planet, so why are we destroying it? Why war, why poverty, why harm the most vulnerable, when we have the resources to make life better for everyone? This quite reminds me of people who show up to parties just to ruin it for everyone else. Why is there such a drive to hurt, to dominate, to tear things apart in the pursuit of power? It’s senseless.”
Till Glömskan Ad Oblivionem is scheduled for release on August 28, 2026.
Neo Dimes, the musical identity of Denver-based musician Stephen Edmunds, has released the debut album Alone, available on vinyl, cassette, and digital platforms as of 19 May 2026. The music video for ‘Trigger,’ directed by Ty Borkowski, is also now streaming, bringing the song’s themes of isolation, shame, and emotional fracture into stark visual form.
Media outlets like Discipline Mag and Post-Punk.com consider Neo Dimes an artist unafraid to tackle the social ills of the digital age with both sonic innovation and lyrical directness. Reflecting that, his debut full length Alone stands as much a critique of music consumption as it is a sonic statement. Physical copies (vinyl and cassette) of Alone was made available ahead of its digital release, pushing back against the industry’s usual consumption model.
“A song chronicling my lifelong fear of being alone,” says Stephen of the song ‘Trigger.’ “Alcohol is the trigger that brings on all kinds of other issues (addiction, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation) but all of that pales in comparison to how terrifying loneliness and both physical and emotional isolation is to me.”
Speaking about the album as a whole, he shares: “The album concept and the release itself is a fuck you to the tech overlords and the world they have foisted on all of us.”
Mirror of My Soul, the solo project of Patrik Andersson Winberg (Dun Ringill, ex-The Order of Israfel, Doomdogs), has just shared a new video for ‘The One Who Sings The Songs’, the latest single taken from the forthcoming debut album October is Rising, due out June 12 via Majestic Mountain Records.
Describing the track, Winberg states: “A song for the unseen. A voice for the unheard. What if music could carry more than melody? What if a song could feel your sorrow, walk beside your struggle, and remind you that love still speaks louder than fear? ‘The One Who Sings The Songs’ is more than a track, it’s a moving anthem of compassion, resilience, and shared humanity. Inspired by those fighting invisible battles, it speaks for the voiceless, stands with the fallen, and offers hope to every soul still searching. With raw, heartfelt lyrics on empathy, strength, and the courage to keep going, this is music that lingers long after the last note. For the dreamers. For the survivors. For anyone learning how to love again. Join the song. Feel the story. Become part of something bigger.”
With deeply emotional lyrics and a powerful sense of empathy, the track stands as an anthem for anyone navigating loss, struggle, or personal transformation. It is a reminder that even in our darkest moments, connection remains possible and love can still be found amid uncertainty.
Rome’s post-rockers KLIMT 1918 reveal their ethereal and minimalist aspects with the sky-gazing advance track ‘Petricore’ as the final single taken from their forthcoming new full-length Àmor. The Italians’ fifth album has been chalked up for release on June 12, 2026.
KLIMT 1918 comment: “’Petricore’ is the story of a realisation: the sense of inadequacy that has been with me since I was born and that will never leave me”, frontman Marco Soellner reveals. “It will always be the ghost that is lurking behind the words, the shadow on sunny summer days, and the loneliness creeping into my body even when I’m surrounded by people. Like petricore after a storm, it seeps into the air, haunts memories, disarms and numbs. It turns me once again into the person that I used to be, and the very one that I never wanted to be again.”
Be the aftermath. Be everything you feared you’d become. Be the wound that never healed. Be the ghost you thought you’d buried.
What happens when the release of a band’s debut exceeds their wildest dreams of what’s possible? 12 months ago, Cwfen (pronounced ‘Coven’) released their first album, Sorrows, which emerged from attempts to demo some material at a friend’s studio in a remote Scottish farmhouse. The results received unexpected and widespread acclaim, enjoying glowing reviews in the heavy music press (Metal Hammer, Kerrang!) and featuring in album of the year lists at the close of 2025.
Fast forward 12 months and the band have toured extensively with Paradise Lost and Faetooth, and played countless festival stages, crushing audiences and gaining new fans with consistently powerful performances of the Sorrows material.
This journey is captured beautifully in the form of a new video for the song ‘Whispers’, perhaps the most gut-wrenching and dynamic track from the band’s debut. Juxtaposing the stunning landscapes of northern Europe in winter shot from Cwfen’s tour van, with footage of the band’s dynamic live performances across Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland, the Whispers video shows the band doing exactly what they love – presenting their songs to wrapt audiences while they reach new musical and emotional heights. Shot and edited by Amy Greenbank, the video shows the band at their very best.
The release of the ‘Whispers’ video is accompanied by specially designed ‘Whispers’ merchandise, which comes with previously unheard live and studio recordings of the song.
‘Hell, they were great before. Now they’re on another level.’ Out of Rage, review of Cwfen at Desertfest 2026.
Lead vocalist and guitarist Agnes Alder said:
"It’s taken a while to feel comfortable releasing Whispers as its own thing. The song itself, lyrically, came from a very personal place, in contrast to the broader themes elsewhere on the record. This, for me, is a song that cuts right to the bone; it might not be too obvious in the lyrics themselves, but it’s taken a year of seeing the fans respond to it, watching it become one of their favourites, to really have the courage and the confidence to give it some of the love it deserves.
The screams weren’t planned. They weren’t on the first version, but when we went back into the studio after a few weeks, that’s what had to come out, so what you hear in this song is the depth of that feeling. It’s one of the most cathartic, tender, and ultimately visceral songs on the album, and deciding to release it now feels like the acceptance of a direction in my songwriting that I feel ready to explore on the next record.
We were so lucky that our Creative Scotland funding allowed us to take this tour and to bring Amy Greenbank with us. We got to work with an incredibly talented videographer, and we made a friend for life. She’s someone who will always be part of the Cwfen family. We made incredible memories on this tour and it’s so lovely to see some of them here.’"
Guitarist Guy DeNuit had this to say:
"Following an unexpectedly busy and wonderful 12 months since the release of Sorrows, we’re proud to share our new video for ‘Whispers’. This song has become a live favourite with the band and audiences, and we are so fortunate to have had this documented and beautifully presented by our videographer and dear friend, Amy Greenbank.”
Watch the video now:
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Forthcoming shows:
Wed 10th June – Download Festival, Donington, UK
Sat 6th July – Resurrection Fest, Galacia, Spain
Sun 16th Aug – Dynamo Metalfest, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Within the broad church of metal and its many offshoots – rock, doom, stoner and all the rest – it remains a minor thrill to stumble across a group who seem to exist at a slight tangent to everything else. Crumbling Ghost is one such anomaly and an irresistible one at that: a group who feel less like a discovery than a secret belatedly shared. Hopefully, a secret no longer as New Heavy Sounds is proud to present to you their latest album ‘Four’.
Crumbling Ghost are not newcomers. They’ve been operating for some time, releasing records sporadically, Four is in fact their fourth release. Along the way they’ve accumulated a fervent coterie of followers, not to mention the occasional nod of approval from tastemakers such as Stuart Maconie, Stewart Lee and Tom Ravenscroft. And though they’ve appeared at Roadburn, shared stages with Hawkwind and even Damo Suzuki, they remain (possibly by design) curiously under‑the‑radar. That might change with the quite wonderful Four.
The group’s core idea is deceptively simple: traditional folk material rearranged and refracted through the haze and heft of heavy, fuzzy stoner rock with a chunk of psyche and a smattering of doom. But crucially, this is done without the costumery and theatrical tics that often accompany such collisions. No mock‑pagan pageantry, no graveyard cosplay, no cartoon Satanism.
What Crumbling Ghost latch onto is not folk as a museum piece, but as a lived experience, the dramas rooted in the culture, stories, and daily lives of ordinary people, the folklore, the tales of love and death, murder and adultery, freedom and oppression.
On Four those narratives are dragged into the present via churning distortion, hypnotic repetition and a sense of looming atmosphere. Fairport Convention with fuzz. Trees with heft. A pastoral Sonic Youth.
Singer Katie Harnett says, “Doting mothers, possessive, violent partners, vulnerable women, seasonal workers and Royal scandals this album is our representation of the trials and tribulations of human existence and universal experiences that still feel relevant today, an interpretation of traditional tales along with original compositions presented in our own Crumbling Ghost style”.
Guitarist John adds, “Themes of murder, betrayal, loss, jealousy, and love are found across the record. In particular, the songs of Martin Carthy have been a particular source of inspiration”.
The result is a set of murder ballads, supernatural reckonings and cautionary tales, all wrapped in slabs of heavy, thumping fuzz and atmospheric sonics. Harnett’s voice sits at the centre: unmistakably folk‑rooted, but shorn of prettification, melodic yet capable of real bite. There’s no “hey nonny nonny” here.
Musically, it’s a combination that really does work, and it’s delivered in some style too. And to fully appreciate the world of Crumbling Ghost, listening closely pays dividends, and those stories come to life.
First single, ‘Bill Norrie’ follows, a hooky melody propelled by an insistent bassline and a haunting psych tinged haze punctured with sheets of noise… The story of young Bill Norrie who sends a token to a married woman, whose jealous husband beheads him, without knowing he was his wife’s son from an earlier affair. Vocalist Katie Harnett commets,
“Bill Norrie is about a young woman, who has been taken advantage of, who has hidden a pregnancy, probably because having a child out of wedlock would have brought shame on the family. Her illegitimate son Bill has remained in her heart all this time and even when he is cast down by her jealous husband she defiantly kisses his severed head ‘cheek and chin’ and vows to never kiss man again, which to be honest I don’t blame her, given the circumstances. The vocals start by setting the scene and gradually builds to its dramatic conclusion. I attempted to capture her sadness, devotion, resilience and ultimate defiance in the face of adversity.”
Guitarist Donny Hopkins adds,
“John (guitarist) saw Martin Carthy play his version of Bill Norrie live at the Cumberland Arms in Byker, Newcastle and fell in love with it. So he adapted a version from Martin Carthy’s 1988 Right of Passage album. As is often the case, I’d not heard it (still haven’t actually) and worked out some heavy delay parts over the verse around Johns more classic folk style. I added in the heavy ‘Drop A’ breaks between the verses as a nod to Miami band Torche and their ‘bomb string’.”
Sometimes London based three-piece Best Band’s band name genuinely angers people and they think that the band are being cocky and are exclaiming that they are the ‘best band’ ever created. However, the name came about after drummer Simon and guitarist Richard were inspired both personally and creatively with the goal to make the ‘best band’ that they possibly could.
The pair first met as members of improvised band ‘Improvisi’ and then they formed ‘Baffy’, a surreal band with a dada approach and a failed musical. Then came punk / free jazz band ‘Madchen 84’ and instrumental / experimental project ‘Stan Dingwater’. ‘Best Band’, however is the evolution of these previous incarnations, with the name being a triumphant marker of Simon and Richard’s journey to date.
“It was always a dream to do this- the ‘best band’ that we could make”, explains Simon. “After failing many times to try and find singers and band members for all the cool instrumentals Richard makes, eventually after some debating and persuasion, I just said, “Fuck it, I’ll sing and put poems to it”, which makes things easier for everyone. We are finally living our dream, with also Cai, who was the ONLY person to answer our advert for bassist”, he further adds.
With their drummer also being their singer, Best Band have an unconventional and chaotic presence, both live and in the studio. The three members also span three different generations: one being from Gen Z, one being a millennial and one being from Gen X. It’s an unlikely combination that somehow works awesomely and has given birth to two albums Life as a Baby (2024) and Go In Rooms (2025), with the third, The People’s Cub, now ready to be unveiled.
Musically, Best Band are influenced by post punk, disco and drone rock methods and emerge as an intoxicating blend of outsider pop / avant punk, groove rock, pub rock and weird pop which they themselves describe as ‘Zolo dada no-wave avant bogrock’. The tracks on the ‘The People’s Cub’ all have a looping bassline to make a sort of hypnotizing repetition, instead of conventional verse-chorus-verse changes, which the band find more interesting and fun to play. The People’s Cub himself is a quasi-political figure, with many of the tracks on the album involving creature characters. There’s a flea, a hedgehog, voles, owls, vultures and beasts.
Album opening track and first single, ‘Broken Coast’ is a scrappy blast of energy that is both strangely catchy and weirdly poetic in its own eccentric way. The track is about personal legacies, ideals, beliefs and opinions and humans wanting to be perceived / remembered in certain ways, then that being juxtaposed with not being able to get out of bed in the morning due to depression. The band use a flea as a metaphor for believing in an idea of who you are and how you’re perceived/remembered, and your integrity, beliefs and ideals. In the song, the flea is eventually killed as the band break free from living up to any imagined idea of themselves and the created self.
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Elsewhere on the album, ‘Boghouse’ is an ode to the lower ‘toilet venue’ end of the London music scene, describing all the little events, actions and intentions of any small rock band playing in Boghouses. It features wailing guitar solos all over the track, as a tongue-in-cheek homage to many of the bands Best Band have played with over the years on the circuit. The title track ‘The People’s Cub’ is an off kilter discordant yet cuddly political satire featuring the main character and mascot of the album. ‘The People’s Cub’ is an MP / Mayor but is also a little cub so he needs to stand on a tub to make speeches and he cuts the ribbon on new a village pub/cultural hub with his little furry stub.
Overall, the record is a bizarre and surreal journey through Best Band’s own disturbed inner psyche, set within erratic fuzzy rock styles that veer between 70s / 80s punk and 90s lo-fi indie worlds. With its offbeat themes of psychosis, unironic irony, modernity, depression, pathetic love, street nomadism, smelting, the afterlife, bus journeys, dread and defiance, ‘The People’s Cub’ is an excellently odd and candidly potent soundtrack to the times in which we all now live.
Catch Best Band playing the following shows in London:
27th May Dublin Castle, Camden
30th May Dash The Henge, Camberwell (early 3pm show)
British artist, producer and composer Tom Furse, celebrated for his work with The Horrors and MIEN (alongside The Black Angels’ Alex Maas and Elephant Stone’s Rishi Dhir), shares a transformative remix of’ ‘Monopolar’ for dreamgaze outfit Strange Fruit. Featured on their Drips EP, newly released via Gentle Tuesday Recordings, Furse’s re-envisioning strips back the original’s sensory explosion to reveal a deeper, darker core—infusing the track with slow-burning breakbeat grooves, abrasive ambient textures, and a distinct acid house pulse. Furse lends his signature atmospheric lens to this centerpiece, immersing Strange Fruit in UK electronic innovation.
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Furse has also built a solo and scoring practice, developing immersive, cinematic compositions rooted in texture and atmosphere. As a producer and remixer, he’s worked with Depeche Mode, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Franz Ferdinand, Tame Impala, Temples and The Twilight Sad. A resident on NTS Radio and active visual artist, with commissioned work including projects involving Fatboy Slim and The Rolling Stones, his practice bridges audio and visual worlds, exploring narrative, abstraction, and sensory experience through a distinctly atmospheric lens. Based in Jakarta, Strange Fruit is Baldi Calvianca (vocals & synth), Irza Aryadiaz (synth), John Tampubolon (guitar), Nabil Favian (bass) and Dino Kristianto (drums). Since their 2015 debut EP Dolphin Leap, they’ve moved fluidly between noise pop, krautrock, shoegaze and electronica. Now converging into a more focused, hybrid sound with deeper integration of electronic elements, this EP is driven by machine-led rhythms and analog textures, fusing emotional depth with rhythmic precision.
A lucid trip to the edge of sonic consciousness, the Drips EP is a defining moment in the band’s evolution, unifying fragments of their kosmische experimentation to achieve a more cohesive sonic identity. Apart from joining an exclusive lineage of artists who have received the Furse treatment, this EP also involves renowned UK producer Sean Johnstone a.k.a. Hardway Bros (co-founder of A Love From Outer Space with Andrew Weatherall) with his downtempo club atmosphere and Jonathan Kusuma of Jakarta’s Dekadenz collective with his leftfield disco echo-rich bass drum tempos.
Produced by Strange Fruit and electronic producer Bernardus Fritz, the EP is driven by machine-led rhythms and analog textures, fusing emotional depth with rhythmic precision. The title track ‘Drips’ blends shoegaze textures and electronic elements in a dense, immersive soundscape, while ‘Pouvoir Moteur’ brings steady motorik rhythms that flow seamlessly down an endless highway. ‘Iridescent’ channels dancefloor euphoria through minimalist beats and atmospheric layering, balancing introspection with forward momentum while finding luminosity within adversity.
The album’s lead track ‘Monopolar’ is a sensory explosion suspended between dream and awareness, and between the surreal and radiant. Gradually fading and blurred in technicolor, the video was directed by Mellow Splice, who also created the EP cover artwork, reflecting the track’s fluid and surreal qualities through abstract, water-like imagery.
Aural Aggravation 