It’s been a little while since we last heard from .SYS Machine, when they slipped ‘Graceful Isolation’ out in the wake of the pandemic lockdowns. One reason for this is that Dave McAnally has been busy withindustrial side-project Derision Cult – but with ‘Doubtless’, .SYS Machine presage the arrival of a new album, Parts Unknown due out in April.
While the dark electronic pop of .SYS Machine is sonically more accessible than Derision Cult McAnally’s lyrics have a tendency to draw on the experience of living through our trying times, and ‘Doubtless’ is no exception, exploring as it does the challenge of ‘maintaining sanity in an increasingly turbulent and chaotic world’.
The vocal melody and McAnally’s drawling intonation bring something of a country feel, which is quite a contrast to the metronomic pulsating disco beat and the synths, which are airy and even hint at a sense of optimism. There are strong hints of Violator-era Depeche mode woven into the fabric of the song, particularly in the chorus, and it balances broodiness with a certain buoyancy. The way the elements interlace is intriguing, and far from obvious – meaning this is a grower rather than an instant grab.
Sky Valley Mistress continue the countdown to the release of their second album Luna Mausoleum, that is due to land on Friday 23rd January 2026 (New Heavy Sounds).
Intended to be the soundtrack of their Hearsecraft ride to the moon, Pilot Kayley “Hell Kitten” Davies and Commander Max “Leather Messiah” Newsome launch you into the Sonic Stratosphere with an audio journey fuelled by 70’s hard rock, driven off the road to a fresh new destination.
Today sees the release of the official video for previous single ’Too Many Ghosts’, a song which, according to the band, “is meant for the open highway. Somewhere you have the freedom to put your foot down and still feel like you’re cruising”.
Watch the video now, which stars the band and the hearse they drive around in on tour known as ’Thundertaker’:
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In a brief glimpse behind the curtain, the band have also shared the details and dangers behind the making of ’Too Many Ghosts’.
"The story behind making the music video for Too Many Ghosts is that it took five separate weekends to shoot with us only managing to actually record any footage during the last day. The reasons for the failed recording days were:
– A car full of drugs dealers moving us on from location and ‘politely’ requesting that we don’t return
– The power generator for the lights being faulty followed by torrential rain
– Our videographer realising he had forgot his memory card after driving 90 mins to location followed by the hearse breaking down due to a broken fan belt
– Kayley’s astrosuit zip breaking after shooting one take
The hearse battery also died moments after we finished filming, which meant I (Max) was left alone in the middle of Slaidburn Moors at the dead of night in a hearse with no power or heating (it was fucking COLD) for a few hours whilst I waited for a recovery vehicle and Kayley to return from driving our videographer home in the other car.
This video started the band’s catch phrase of ‘the curse of the hearse’ that we use any time something goes wrong, which it does. A lot."
New album Luna Mausoleum takes you through desert rock grooves and mountainous riffs, you are guided by Kayley’s soulfully smoked voice and her range of soaring, delicate, yearning and understated melodies as the band ride peaks and valleys of dynamics and pace with an eclectic selection of instrumentation of fuzz guitars, organs, real orchestras and a children’s choir.
Twisting influences of Queens of the Stone Age with Portishead and turning from Spiritualised-sized gospel choruses to the gallow heavy swing of Black Sabbath, with sound as fast as light they move between their influential orbit to create a modern classic that is entirely their own. There isn’t space in this genre the band haven’t explored. This is a demonstration of their refusal to wait for permission to create a record that stands in scale with some of the most monumental albums in rock.
The band’s statement on their intent behind creating Luna Mausoleum was that it should be “greater and beyond all reason”.
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Sky Valley Mistress live:
The band who has one member play every instrument so that they sound like a four piece in the studio, defy logic with aspiration with their iconic live show as a Duel-Drumming Duo. Vocalist Kayley “Hell Kitten” Davies takes the sticks and one half of a drum kit whilst original drummer Max “Leather Messiah” Newsome battles the electric guitar with the kick drum under his foot. No samples. No backing tracks. No click tracks. No one is playing rock and roll the ways these two do.
Sky Valley Mistress will be performing at a number of live in-store shows this month.
As their highly anticipated fifth album DAGGER rears into view, IST IST have shared its final pre-emptive single ‘Obligations’.
With its pulsating bassline, driving beats, and synth throbs, ‘Obligations’ is the enlivening new track from Manchester’s finest. Embodying the metamorphosis of IST IST as they gear-up for the next stage in their evolution, this latest cut is fittingly all about transformation and sacrifices that can come with it.
As vocalist Adam Houghton says:
“With ‘Obligations’, I wanted to capture the feeling of being bound to someone who represents both your salvation and your undoing. It’s about how love can feel like duty — something you can’t walk away from even when it hurts. I wanted to explore memory as something that both comforts and strangles, showing how the past can shape who we become. By the end, the narrator isn’t whole anymore, but they’ve accepted that pain and change are part of survival. It’s about transformation through loss — the quiet resilience of being altered by love.”
The new single arrives with a thought provoking official video featuring artist and longtime friend of the band Oliver Marson. Tuning into the track’s integral lyric “What is left is a different version of me”, we find Marson portraying an alternate version of the IST IST frontman.
Watch the video here:
Following a short stretch of European and UK shows this Autumn, IST IST will be hitting the road again in April this year, with upcoming shows in Norwich, Exeter, Oxford, Newcastle, Sheffield, Nottingham, Bristol, Brighton, PLUS recently added dates in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London. These shows will pave the way towards their biggest hometown show to date, at Manchester’s Albert Hall in May. All dates are listed below, with all tickets on sale now.
In addition, IST IST are delighted to confirm a short series of intimate in-store/out-store shows as they launch their new album DAGGER. Catch them at these dates and venues:
IST IST – 2026 UK & IRELAND TOUR DATES
UK IN-STORE ALBUM LAUNCH SHOWS
Leeds – Headroom House – 07.02.26
Bury – The Met – 08.02.26
Edinburgh – The Caves – 09.02.26
Nottingham – Rough Trade – 10.02.26
London – Rough Trade East – 11.02.26
EUROPEAN SHOWS
Antwerp – Kafka Oudaan – 11.03.26
Cologne – Luxor – 12.03.26
Amsterdam – Paradiso – 14.03.26
Frankfurt – Das Bett – 15.03.26
Zurich – Werk 21 – 16.03.26
Milan – Santeria Toscana 31 – 17.03.26
Budapest – Durer Kert – 19.03.26
Bratislava – Pink Whale – 20.03.26
Krakow – Klub Zascianek – 22.03.26
Warsaw – Hydrozadka – 23.03.26
Berlin – Hole 44 – 24.03.26
Esbjerg – Tobakken – 26.03.26
Oslo – Parkteatret – 27.03.26
Stockholm – Kollektivet – 29.03.26
Hamburg – Logo – 31.03.26
UK HEADLINE SHOWS
Norwich – Waterfront – 09.04.26
London – The Garage – 10.04.26
Exeter – Phoenix – 11.04.26
Oxford – O2 Academy 2 – 12.04.26
Newcastle – The Grove – 16.04.26
Glasgow – Oran Mor – 17.04.26
Sheffield – Network – 18.04.26
Nottingham – Rescue Rooms – 23.04.26
Bristol – Thekla – 24.04.26
Brighton – Quarters – 25.04.26
Dublin – The grand Social – 28.04.26
Belfast – Ulster Sports Club – 29.04.26
Manchester – Albert Hall – 01.05.26
(w/ Support from DESPERATE JOURNALIST + THE YOUTH PLAY)
The Twilight Sad seem to be one of those bands that remain niche and somewhat divisive. But those who are into them are really into them, and with good reason. They’ve been long championed by Robert Smith and have access to a huge, huge audience following epic tours supporting The Cure, but they obstinately refuse to tone down their overt Scottishness, and they stubbornly refuse to bend to any kind of commercial leanings, or to cheer the fuck up. They’re also one of the most emotionally intense bands around: their live shows are quite simply something else.
‘Designed to Lose’ is the second single from their next album, and simultaneously harks back to the blistering welter of noise that was their second album No One Can Ever Know, while pushing forward on the trajectory of their last album, It Won/t Be Like This All The Time, which was both glorious and harrowing as fuck.
It Won/t Be Like This All The Time was released in 2019, so it’s been a long wait for new material. Oh, but this is worth it. The Twilight Sad aren’t a band to rush-release something sub-par, and ‘Designed to Lose’ is classic Sad on first listen, and just gives more with each play.
French progressive rock collective HamaSaari today unveil a brand-new lyric video for ‘Lost in Nights,’ another evocative chapter taken from their forthcoming album Pictures, out January 23rd via Klonosphere.
Following the recent release of lead single ‘Frames’ (featuring guest vocals from Christelle Ratri), ‘Lost in Nights’ dives even deeper into the album’s introspective essence. The track unfolds slowly and deliberately, guided by HamaSaari’s signature balance of cinematic build-up, emotional restraint, and expansive release, a nocturnal journey through doubt, memory, and inner landscapes.
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Rooted in modern progressive rock and drawing inspiration from the likes of Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree, and Karnivool, HamaSaari craft music that is rich in atmosphere, emotional depth, and cinematic movement. Born from the ashes of their former project Shuffle, the band embraced a more serene and melancholic identity, allowing their sound to unfold like a stormy ritual, dark clouds, falling rain, and slowly emerging light.
Their 2023 debut album Ineffable introduced this balance with striking clarity: delicate yet powerful compositions flowing through shifting shades of darkness and color, built on organic interplay between polyrhythmic bass and drums, reverb-soaked guitars, and a clear, expressive vocal presence.
Now, nearly three years later, Pictures picks up where that journey left off and expands it into a fully realized conceptual statement. The album explores images, paintings, and dimensions, what we choose to frame, conceal, or confront. Inspired by myths, ancient civilizations, dreams, reality, and fiction, Pictures reflects on belief systems, fears, desires, and the fundamental questions that shape the human experience.
Following the release of Pictures, HamaSaari will take the album to the stage with an extensive European tour throughout spring and summer 2026. The tour will see the band bringing their captivating, emotionally charged live show to clubs and festivals across France, Germany, Spain, and the UK, culminating in major festival appearances later in the year.
HamaSaari – Pictures EU Tour 2026 (selected dates):
• March 12 – Le Mans (FR) – Le Bar’ouf • March 19 – Lyon (FR) – Rock ’n Eat • March 21 – Stuttgart (DE) – Club Zentral • March 22 – Munich (DE) – Substanz • March 24 – Kronach (DE) – Kulturclub Kronach • March 27 – Kleve (DE) – Radhaus • April 10 – Perpignan (FR) – L’Anthropo • April 11 – Zaragoza (ES) – Sala Creedence • April 12 – Badalona (ES) – Estraperlo – Club del Ritme • April 17 – Murcia (ES) – Sala Revólver • April 18 – Málaga (ES) – ZZ Pub • April 21 – Coslada (ES) – The RockLab • April 22 – Ponferrada (ES) – Sala La Vaca • April 24 – Tolosa (ES) – Bonberenea
Festival appearances:
• July 4 – Woodbunge Festival (DE) • July 18 – Prog For Peart – Abingdon (UK) • July 25 – Rhine Entertainment Festival – Xanten (DE)
The debut single from Nottingham band KEE. is a rare beast – it does something different. Sure, they’re an electro act who’ve been described as ‘Portishead on steroids’, but there’s a whole lot going on here. Yes, there’s a noirish aspect to the sound, and a haunting female vocal which has undeniable shades of Beth Gibbons about it. It’s also muted, low key, with something of a vintage analogue feel. But then there’s some twanging guitar soaked in reverb and it’s more desert rock than country, and suddenly, as if from nowhere, an urgent drum ‘n’ bass beat pumps in, jittery, frantic, like a fibrillating heart, an anxiety attack arising inexplicably in a moment of tranquillity.
The accompanying video – shot in part artful black and white, naturally, the rest blurry – captures and enhances the tense, dark atmosphere.
The groove builds as the track progresses, but so does the tension, and the abrupt finish seals it. It’s exciting, and promising, and I want more.
SLAUGHTERDAY drop the lovingly animated lyric video ‘Dethroned’ that features Pär Olofsson’s horror cover art. This heavy, groove-ladden track with a subtle punk attitude has been taken from their forthcoming new album Dread Emperor. The sixth full-length of the East Frisian death metal veterans has been chalked up for release on February, Friday the 13th, 2026.
SLAUGHTERDAY comment on ‘Dethroned’: “This track is Slaughterday at our most unusual and adventurous – an explosive collision of groove, punk energy, and death metal brutality”, axeslinger Jens Finger states. “We explore new musical territory while sticking to our roots by combining heavy grooves and infectious hooks with relentless aggression.”
Bernd Reiners continues: “Lyrically, ‘Dethroned’ is a manifesto of rebellion and resistance, a clarion call against tyranny where no gods and no masters hold sway”, the growler emphasises. “This song is catchy and ferocious as well as uncompromising, and we see it as a powerful statement of defiance and raw energy.”
Legendary Italian experimental trio Zu recently announced their return with Ferrum Sidereum (produced by Marc Urselli), a big and bold double album arriving on House of Mythology on the 9th January.
The music combines the complexity of progressive rock, the grit of industrial music, the precision of metal, the spirit and energy of punk, and the freedom of jazz. The result is a sonic journey that is as cerebral as it is visceral, defying easy categorisation while remaining unmistakably Zu.
Today they share the new single and video for ‘Kether’ – about which the band comments,
“Kether is the crown, the halo, the nimbus, the corona. Since it has been symbolically attacked, we symbolically take it back.The golden crown became the sign of kings, but it is a much older and deeper symbol, and it is at anyone’s reach to reactivate the crown.”
Swiss death & thrash metal fanatics TOTAL ANNIHILATION unveil the music video ‘Beneath the Cross’ as the final advance single taken from the forthcoming new album Mountains of Madness. Their fourth full-length is slated for release in the band’s 20th anniversary year, on January 16, 2026.
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TOTAL ANNIHILATION comment on ‘Beneath the Cross’: “When we wrote this song, the topic of the lyrics was very important to me”, guitarist Jürgen Schmid states. “I felt an urgent need to put this old story back on the table again. This song deals with religions selling hope to their clients in order to manipulating them and filling up their treasuries in the basements of their temples. This one goes out to all those holier-than-thou Christians. There is no paradise! In death there is only darkness – so better take care of your own life and stop telling others what is right or wrong! As a fun fact for all music nerds: The melody that stands out in the middle of ‘Beneath the Cross’ is actually quite old. I wrote this tune at the age of twelve or thirteen and ever since I have been searching for the perfect match to put it in. Here we are – and I am very happy with the result. Hopefully, you will like it too!”
Progressive rock quartet Dhärä return today with their expansive new single ‘A PLACE IN TIME, (the entities, divided)’, offering the next glimpse into their forthcoming full-length album Elemental Four, arriving January 11, 2026.
Known for their immersive instrumental storytelling and dynamic compositions, Dhärä continue to push beyond strict genre boundaries on ‘A PLACE IN TIME, (the entities, divided).’ The track unfolds with patience and atmosphere before erupting into driving rhythms, soaring guitar interplay, and a powerful sense of momentum—highlighting the band’s signature balance between precision, emotion, and scale.
The band shares: “This is the opening of our concept album Elemental Four. ‘A PLACE IN TIME, (the entities, divided)’ introduces many themes that are heard throughout the album. This album is also a concert movie that features five ballerinas who perform modern lyrical dance to the music. Elemental Four is a journey of four entities whose world is shaken by a meteor which threatens their existence. They are separated by a great earthquake, and the only path to saving the planet and themselves is to unify and summon The Conduit, whose power can hopefully vanquish the threat.”
Watch the video for ‘The conduit, A PLACE IN TIME’ here:
Aural Aggravation 