When touring musicians have a brilliant idea after a few drinks at a karaoke bar, a supergroup is born. Cemetery Skyline is a gothic rock band featuring musicians well-known from Amorphis, Sentenced, Insomnium, Dark Tranquillity, and Dimmu Borgir. The band released their debut album, “Nordic Gothic,” last October, to great acclaim in both the metal and non-metal scenes. After a sold-out tour in Finland, the band is ready to hit the US and Latin America.
We had the opportunity to interview Cemetery Skyline’s Markus Vanhala and Santeri Kallio before their show at Tuska Festival in Helsinki and talk about the band’s origins, the album “Nordic Gothic,” live performances, and much more.
Brazilian extreme metal force Ophiolatry is proud to announce their new official endorsement with cutting-edge gear brand Valeton. Known for their unrelenting aggression and primal soundscapes, Ophiolatry has found a perfect tonal ally in Valeton—whose innovative, performance-ready products have become essential tools in the band’s auditory arsenal.
“Valeton not just amplifies our sound, but unleashes the beast within. Every riff hits harder, every solo screams louder. This is the tone of modern war!!!”
— OPHIOLATRY
Valeton is rapidly becoming a go-to name among discerning musicians who demand both quality and affordability. With a team boasting over a decade of experience in musical instrument design and manufacturing, Valeton combines sleek simplicity with sonic excellence. Their gear is built to last, delivering high-caliber sound while remaining accessible for artists across all genres and stages.
To mark the beginning of this powerful partnership, Ophiolatry’s guitarist Joubert Thaumiel received a specially selected Valeton GP-200—a unit chosen specifically to aid in spreading the serpent’s venom with razor-sharp clarity and crushing force.
This collaboration also aligns with a pivotal moment in the band’s journey. Ophiolatry’s latest release, Serpent Verdict, is a punishing and immersive dive into spiritual warfare and ancestral reckoning—a brutal fusion of death metal intensity and tribal rhythm that tears open the gates between past and future.
After conquering the Caribbean with cannon-fire and swagger, Italian pirate metal act Calico Jack set sail for colder seas with their brand new EP “Jack Speak Shanties”, a wild tribute to the sea shanties that shaped their pirate souls.
Marking the occasion is the new single and music video “Wellerman”, a dramatic reinterpretation of the legendary 19th-century whaling anthem. Fueled by Viking metal grit, Scandinavian flair, and original riffage, the band breathes new life into this maritime classic, now paired with a stunning video where Calico Jack sheds their Caribbean garb and embraces the rugged look of old-school whalers.
5 tracks. 5 tales of salt, rum, and myth.
From the fierce cries of “The 24th of February” to the Celtic melancholy of “Spanish Ladies”, the EP “Jack Speak Shanties” is not just a record. It’s a roaring, storm-soaked homage to nautical tradition.
“This is a love letter to the songs that made us,” says guitarist Toto. And it shows.
Hoist the sails. Crank the volume. The shanties have returned — pirate metal style.
Track Listing:
1. Wellerman – 4:12
2. Don’t Forget your Old Shipmate – 4:03
3. Off to Sea Once More – 3:50
4. The 24th of February – 4:43
5. Spanish Ladies – 5:19
Swedish metal circus Avatar released their new single In The Airwaves on July 18th. Known for their theatrical and distinctive production, the band also serves up a music video produced in their own stylish way alongside the new single.
The band, which has achieved widespread international success throughout its career, is known for its ambition and desire to push boundaries. The band explains the background to their latest release as follows:
“Avatar is defined by the challenges we set for ourselves. We are always looking for new perspectives and constantly striving to go further. In this endless journey towards the next great realization, we return to one of the most important elements of metal music, which is speed,” the band comments and continues:
“This is the fastest song we have made in living memory and it feels good to press the gas again. In a way, this feels like a return to something essential. Enjoy our rage!”
On the tour front, Avatar is as usual in full swing, and the band has just announced a new month-long headline tour in North America for this year. In the summer, the band will start a tour supporting Iron Maiden. In February, the band will embark on their own European tour. Next year, Avatar will also perform at four Metallica shows in Germany, Hungary, Ireland and the UK. See all the show dates here.
Wormholedeath Records proudly welcomes ABSCENCE—a symphonic black metal act emerging from the mist-veiled moors of Yorkshire, England—to its international roster. The signing marks a significant milestone for the band, as their debut concept album Enigma is set to be reissued globally through the label.
Enigma is a concept album that chronicles the tragic and immortal love of two vampire women—bound by blood, betrayal, and devotion. It is a gothic love story steeped in myth and moonlight, told across nine long-form tracks that unfold like chapters in a dark epic. The album draws deeply from 90s black metal and gothic metal, yet carves a new identity through elaborate compositions, symphonic elements, layered vocal arrangements, and emotional depth. It rejects modern trends of minimalism, opting instead for grandeur, atmosphere, and unflinching storytelling.
Formed four years ago, ABSCENCE channels the essence of 90s black metal and gothic metal into a modern yet uncompromising sound. Their music is an immersive experience—blending sorrow, fury, and romantic darkness into sprawling compositions that reject the confines of commercial expectation.
At its heart, ABSCENCE is a band devoted to emotional authenticity and artistic freedom. While the modern industry favors short, formulaic tracks, Abscence deliberately creates long-form songs with complex structures, weaving layered atmospheres and storytelling arcs that take listeners through entire emotional and conceptual landscapes.
With symphonic arrangements, melodic guitars, dual-vocal dynamics, and narrative-driven lyricism, the band creates a sonic world where brutality meets elegance.
Volcano Records & Promotion is thrilled to announce the release of ‘Faceless God’, the new single by AETHERNA available from July 18th on all digital platforms. The track marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Rome-based band and serves as the first preview of their upcoming full-length album, set for release on November 14 by the Italian label.
With a sound that blends the power of heavy metal with alternative and progressive nuances, ‘Faceless God’ explores the delicate relationship between faith, spirituality, and social manipulation. Humanity, always driven by the need to believe in something greater, has built around religion a rigid system of doctrines and rules, often at odds with the genuine and profound nature of spirituality. Within this system, the divine loses its original face and becomes a strict judge, functional to the power held by the castes that administer the cults. The song is a powerful reflection on this alienation and a clear statement: no one has the right to give a face to what we choose to believe in.
Faceless God is just the first of several releases planned over the coming months, which will lead the band toward the highly anticipated release of their new album.
Finnish Industrial Metal band Alfa Pentatonik (Formed in 2002 as Pentatonik) released their new Gamma II EP on July 18th 2025 via Inverse Records. The release is a sequel to Gamma I EP which was released in early 2025.
Alfa Pentatonik (formerly Pentatonik) plays heavy Finnish industrial metal. Formed in the early 2000s, the band has released two albums and numerous other releases. The band returned in 2022 with a new name and singles. They are now releasing a sequel to their latest “Gamma I” EP. The new release is called Gamma II.
The band’s mastermind is JP Immonen (Walhalla, Aria of Sorrow, Iron Frost), who plays all the instruments, writes the songs, and handles production. The second member of the band is Janne Partanen (Hautajaisyö, Verilehto, Marraskuun Lapset, Paavalin Harhat), who writes the lyrics and sings. ‘Gamma II’ continues in the same vein as its predecessor. Hard and heavy guitars are mixed with dark vocals and almost dance beats. Sami Lindqvist joins the release to play guitar solos and backing vocals. Harri Hytönen from ‘Gamma I’ also plays a few guitar solos. Dystopian samples from an interview with Yrjö Kallinen (1971) are the icing on the cake for this new Finnish industrial metal/industrial thrash metal release.
Royal Sorrow is a rising star in the progressive rock scene, releasing their debut album this fall and embarking on a European tour with Leprous.
Royal Sorrow signed an international recording contract with InsideOutMusic, part of Sony Music’s label family, last year, and the band is heading towards international stages together with the British gig sales company Atonal Music Agency.
At Tuska, the band performed on stage for the first time; we had the opportunity to meet them before the concert and learn more about the band and their music.
Blood Command is a Norwegian band known for their energetic and unconventional music, fusing elements of punk rock, hardcore, and pop into what they call deathpop. Their latest album, “World Domination,”was released in 2023 to widespread acclaim. In April, the band released a new single, “All I Ever Hate About You Is,” and is currently working on new music for future releases.
After an energetic show at the Tuska Festival in Helsinki, Finland, we had the opportunity to sit down with Nikki Brumen and Yngve Andersen to talk about their music, gigs, future plans, and much more.
Finnish heavy rock band I.F.A released the fourth and last single ‘Tiimalasi’ from their forthcoming eponymous second studio album which is set to be released on August 8th 2025 via Inverse Records.
The band comments: “The composition of the album’s title track has been a long-standing idea of a versatile slower piece, the different sections of which have found different chord progressions for the guitar strings while meditating. When the composition was completed, it began to sound suitable for lyrics like this.
People have often heard talk about the passing of the sands of life, and the theme of the song reflects this. It feels like in today’s world, perhaps even more people are trying to fight aging and gain more years of life at any cost, but the grim reaper will find even the best escapees.”
BIOGRAPHY:
I.F.A was founded in 1985 in Vihti. Aapo McMillan and Timo Supperi were the founding members, and Jouni Kaunisto was brought in as a singer. The band’s name was derived from the East German Industriverband Fahrzeugbau (IFA) car brand, whose cars were manufactured between 1948 and 1956.
The music of the early days of I.F.A was punk-influenced. Over the years, the sound took shape into the current heavier form without forgetting the band’s roots. The band’s activities took a break in 1989, until it was reactivated in 1999. The current line-up took shape when guitarist Tom Heskell joined in 2019 and drummer Herra Koivuniemi in 2023.
The band released their first album of their long career, which was named Ifandia, self-published for streaming in 2021. Albums 17 songs have been collected over the band’s long career.
Kumarra, Panssarimorsian, Pimeää and Taiteilija singles released in 2023 – 2024 gathered promising streaming numbers as a self-published artist and received airtime on Radio Rock, among others. In 2024, the band signed a recording contract with Inverse Records. The new album is scheduled to be released in 2025.
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