Helsinki-based rock band East Electric is getting closer to releasing their debut album. From the album, which will be released in the fall, has so far been release the singles Mothership, Remedy, Killer On The Run and We Made It. The songs have also attracted attention in foreign music circles, and the songs have already racked up tens of thousands of plays on Spotify alone.
East Electric, who conjure up style-conscious rock, relies on an organic sound and rough riffs painted with a broad brush in their music. Today, the single Road, which perfectly showcases this line, sees the light of day.
“With this song, we drew the atmosphere from broad southern rock. Road spits a message at the listener like the angry older brother of Rival Sons. The song balances minimalism and spontaneity, and relies on the power of strong expressive power,” the band comments.
The band has forged its unique sound with a familiar formula – The recordings were made at Sonic Pump studio, a rehearsal room and a home studio, as with previous releases. The production is the work of the band itself and the mixer has been done by, among others, Robert Palomäki, the man responsible for the soundscapes of Kingston Wall and Olavi Uusivirta.
Known as a great live band, East Eletric has performed at, among others, last summer’s Louhela Jamei, Konepaja Festival and Kvak-Fest. The band’s show can be seen in the near future as follows:
17.5.2025 Ogelin Kyläjuhla, Helsinki
14.6.2025 East Fest – Töölönlahdenpuisto, Helsinki
Helsinki-based rock band Bad Valentines raises a toast to the glam rock legends who filled arenas in the 70s, the pioneers of punk rock and the giants of 60s pop. Bad Valentines is a unique band whose music, sound and lyrics are a mixture of life, love and raw truth.
Today the band released their debut EP Memory Tattoos, from which the pacifist first single Mariia has been heard in advance and the music video for Last Days In The Sunhas been released. The band recorded the EP under the leadership of Petri Majuri (Hanoi Rocks, Michael Monroe, Franz Ferdinand, Havana Black) and Sammy Aaltonen (Private Line, Andy McCoy).
The members of Bad Valentines are long-standing musicians from the Helsinki rock scene, and include players from bands such as Plastic Tears and Daggerplay. The newest addition to the band is energetic frontman Hon, whose distinctive and emotional vocal sound has taken the songs to a new level. The singer also has a hand in the lead single from the Memory Tattoos EP, Carry Me Home.
“Carry Me Home is about that feeling when you’ve broken up, but you still sometimes miss that safe ‘home’ and the feeling you had with that person. I wrote this song eight years ago and have tried playing it in other short band projects, but it never sounded the way I had composed it. It wasn’t until I worked with the talented bandmates of Bad Valentines that the pieces fell into place, and the song sounded exactly like I had dreamed of,” recalls Hon.
To celebrate the release of the EP, Bad Valentines is hosting the Spring Rumble event at the Playhouse Bar venue in Helsinki. Other performers on the night include London’s Desperate Measures and Porvoo’s Strum101. More information about the event can be found here.
In addition to releasing their debut EP Memory Tattoos, Bad Valentines have been writing new music, which the band will begin recording this summer.
Atlanta’s The Funeral Portrait continues today with the release of the deluxe edition of their successful album Greetings From Suffocate City. The album will be released on June 13th via Better Noise Music. Today, a brand new song, Skinny Lies, was released from the upcoming album, which is accompanied by a lyric video.
“Skinny Lies is about the cracks in a fractious relationship that eventually break – those little white lies we tell each other that pile up so big that they can no longer be hidden. The song is about that moment when the truth is revealed and you find yourself wishing you could go back to the comfort of ignorance. Skinny Lies captures the tension, regret and raw emotions that come when the truth comes out,” says the band’s singer Lee Jennings.
The Funeral Portrait, who are busy touring, don’t have much time to take a vacation this year – they are currently touring the United States with The Rasmus. In November, the bands will also arrive in Europe for a month. In between these tours, The Funeral Portrait will be touring North America with Ice Nine Kills. See all the show dates here.
Greetings From Suffocate City Deluxe track listing:
1. Suffocate City (feat. Spencer Charnas of Ice Nine Kills)
2. Holy Water (feat. Ivan Moody of Five Finger Death Punch)
3. Blood Mother
4. Doom and Gloom
5. Dark Thoughts
6. You’re So Ugly When You Cry (feat. Bert McCracken of The Used)
7. Chernobyl
8. Dopamine
9. Voodoo Doll
10. Happier Than You
11. Alien
12. Generation Psycho
13. Stay Weird
14. Hearse for Two (feat. Lilith Czar)
15. Evergreen
16. Skinny Lies
17. Lost Boy
18. Stay Weird (Beyond The Abyss)
19. Suffocate City (LIVE)
20. Alien (demo)
21. Holy Water
22. Dark Thoughts (feat. Danny Worsnop)
23. Voodoo Doll (feat. Eva Under Fire)
24. Hearse For Two
The Funeral Portrait is:
Lee Jennings – vocals
Caleb Freihaut – guitar/keyboards
Cody Weissinger – guitar
Robert Weston – bass
Brandon “Homer” Umbanhowar – drums
Better Noise Music reported earlier this week that Sabaton has joined the BNM family. The band’s first new single, Templars, was released today, and the band’s tour calendar will be expanded with a tour in Europe later this year.
Templars is also a preview of the band’s upcoming 11th studio album. The song will also be released on June 27th as a 12-inch collector’s edition vinyl, with only 1,000 copies being pressed worldwide.
“Templars is the first song we wrote for the upcoming album, and it brings out Sabaton’s theatrical side. From the very first steps of the single, we were flooded with ideas about how it should look live on stage. We don’t just want to play it, we want to perform it,” says bassist Pär Sundström.
The single’s cinematic video was shot in two historical fortresses in Serbia, the Belgrade Fortress and the Smederevo Fortress, and in it the band members take on the role of the last Knights Templar, protecting a secret, not shying away from great sacrifices. The video project also involved a number of experienced filmmakers with experience in battle scenes. Two hot days of filming in the heat added their own spice to the battle scenes.
At the same time, the band wanted to create a unique return to Sabaton for Thobbe Englund, who returned to the band after eight years, by giving him the role of the last standing Knight Templar, who will fight one more epic battle.
“The original plan was for him to wear a helmet so that a stunt actor could fill in for him during a demanding scene if necessary. However, the stunt coordinator had another idea: he decided to fight alongside Thobbe himself. Although the scene was meticulously choreographed, the improvised moments added to the intensity. Both were clad in 40-pound suits of armor, and their confrontation was like an earthquake. The scorching summer heat and the fact that Thobbe had a fever during the scene added to the challenge. Nevertheless, he delivered a performance that was nothing short of legendary – the perfect way to celebrate his triumphant return to Sabaton,” the band says.
Sabaton is also excited about their new chapter under Better Noise Music, having first explored several options for a future label partner.
“Better Noise seemed like the perfect fit. Better Noise, which defines itself as an independent label, has not traditionally focused on the heavy metal genre like ours, which makes the collaboration particularly exciting. We look forward to seeing how this partnership develops and are confident that they are ready to take on the challenge of a band that brings a new sound to their artist portfolio,” Per continues.
Lexie Viklund, A&R Director at Better Noise Music, is also very happy about the new signing.
“Their strong music and storytelling have resonated with fans around the world, and we are excited to build their career both in the US and continue the band’s international success story.”
Sabaton will be spending some time on the road this year. First up is a tour of South America, and after the summer festivals, it’s time to turn our attention to Europe. The tour dates now announced are:
May:
3 São Paulo, BR – Bangers Open Air (Memorial da América Latina)
6 Buenos Aires, AR – El Teatro Flores (Wars and Wolves Metal Fest)
9 Bogota, CO – Royal Center
11 Santiago, CL – The Metal Fest (Movistar Arena)
13 San Jose, CR – Pepper Club
15 San Salvador, SV – Museo Marte
17 Guadalajara, MX – The MXMF Metal Fest
June:
7 Sölvesborg, SE – Sweden Rock Festival
European Tour:
November:
14 Cologne, DE – Lanxess Arena
15 Berlin, DE – Mercedes Benz Arena
16 Ostrava, CZ – Ostravar Arena
18 Zurich, CH – Hallenstadion
20 Munich, DE – Olympiahalle
21 Vienna, AT – Stadthalle
22 Krakow, PL – Tauron Arena
24 Stuttgart, DE – Schleyerhalle
25 Frankfurt, DE – Festhalle
26 Esch Sur Alzette, LU – Rockhal
28 Paris, FR – Accor Arena
29 Lyon, FR – LDLC Arena
December:
1 Amsterdam, NL – Ziggo Dome
2 Antwerp, BE – Sportpaleis
4 London, UK – The O2 Arena
5 Manchester, UK – Co-op Live
6 Nottingham, UK – Motorpoint Arena
8 Hannover, DE – ZAG Arena
9 Copenhagen, DK – Royal Arena
11 Oslo, NO – Unity Arena
12 Gothenburg, SE – Scandinavium
13 Stockholm, SE – 3Arena
Swedish Hard Rock / Heavy Metal band Blister Brigade released the fourth studio album ‘A Rioting New Breed’ on April 25th 2025 via Inverse Records. To celebrate the release, also a new music video is done for the Smokescreen track and it’s available here:
This eleven-track album is dominated by the bands significant sound of mixing classic hardrock with heavy metal. This time, the mellow tunes are few, while uptempo beats and heaviness are dominating the album. A Rioting New Breed keeps the focus on powerful, edgy songs along with mighty guitar-riffs, pounding bass and relentless drumming.In other words, Blister Brigade keeps on holding the Street Metal
flag high
The “Ember Remains” EP continues the natural progression and presents a darker and heavier landscape that Northvoid paints with their music. After the debut EP released in 2022 and the three independent single releases that followed, the band takes another step towards the musical style that it has strived for throughout its existence.
The core of the EP is formed around a foundation created by heavy guitars and bass and
drums. The whole is united by a vocals that moves more and more towards a traditional death metal style. The album’s entirety is supported by a soundscape playing in the background, created with keyboards, depicting northern melancholy. Overall, the EP gives a picture of the band’s development and presents the band’s current style and gives guidelines for the future.
BIOGRAPHY:
Forged in North Karelia in January 2020, Northvoid delivers a musical assault rooted in the melodic death metal of the 90’s. With a bond forged in childhood, our members now channel the raw, untamed energy of the past & present into every note.
Our music is a fusion of melodic heaviness and groove, inspired by the harsh environment and wilderness of the north. Experience the power and versatility of our music, which broadly covers different elements of metal music, guided by the attitude of the frost-bitten north. Northvoid isn’t just music – it’s a journey into the heart of coldness and wilderness.
Join us and feel the fury!
Line-up:
Markus Heikkinen: guitars
Timo Korkalainen: drums
Kimmo Timonen: vocals
Risto Aittola: bass
Alt-prog band THE VALLEY, a young and talented group from Liguria, Italy, release today their brand-new single ‘Hypnagogia’, now available on all major digital platforms via Volcano Records & Promotion.
With a sound that merges modern progressive influences with intense and evocative atmospheres, Hypnagogia is a deep and poetic reflection on that suspended moment between sleep and wakefulness, where dreams and reality blend. The track highlights the band’s ability to alternate engaging melodic passages with heavier, more unsettling sections, always maintaining a strong emotional and creative tension at the core.
“Hypnagogia is the isthmus in the mind that separates sleep from wakefulness, where everything is so vivid it might be real—or you might wake up and find yourself back in reality. Some believe that this very moment is the birthplace of creation, the true face of inspiration,” explain The Valley. Taking inspiration from bands like Tool, Porcupine Tree, and Katatonia, The Valley offer a personal vision of alternative progressive rock, avoiding clichés and impressing with intensity and originality.
Listen to Hypnagogia now and let yourself be carried away into the blurred boundary between dream and reality.
Today, THE SPEAKER WARS, led by ex-Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers drummer Stan Lynch and guitarist/vocalist Jon Christopher Davis, premiere the third video from their debut self titled album scheduled for release May 30th. As with the previous videos for the songs “You Make Every Lie Come True” and “It Ain’t Easy”, the video was directed by Brad Osborne and filmed in Denton, TX.
Stan Lynch comments:
“This one had legs from the start –– it’s written from the heart. It’s a roadmap to healing. It’s the truth.”
Jon Christopher Davis adds:
“It was a simple chorus I had laying around. I sat at Stan’s piano and played it. He immediately knew where I was trying to go. Two hours later, the song was finished. The end result is a soul scratcher.”
‘The Speaker Wars’ album is available for preorder HERE. Stan Lynch will also be appearing on Talk Shop Live on May 28th to discuss the new album.
‘The Speaker Wars’ Track List:
1. You Make Every Lie Come True
2. It Ain’t Easy
3. Taste Of Heaven
4. Never Ready To Go
5. The Forgiveness Tree
6. When The Moon Cries Wolf
7. Trader’s South
8. Leave Him
9. Sit With My Soul
10. I Wish You Peace
STAN LYNCH, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, long-time drummer and founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, announces today the formation of THE SPEAKER WARS. After two decades of recording and touring multiple albums with The Heartbreakers, STAN moved to the other side of the recording console and shifted his focus to production and songwriting. Over the years, STAN has written and produced hits for artists in multiple genres, including the Eagles, Don Henley, Tim McGraw, The Mavericks, Ringo Starr, The Byrds, Toto, and The Fabulous Thunderbirds.
While writing in Nashville, a publisher introduced STAN to Texas singer-songwriter, Jon Christopher Davis, who was gathering material for a solo record on a major label. After accumulating an album’s worth of songs, Jon abandoned working on a solo record and the two decided to start a band to perform the newly created material. Adding Jay Michael Smith on guitar, Brian Patterson on bass, Steve Ritter on percussion, and Jay Brown on keyboards, THE SPEAKER WARS was born.
The band then headed into 5M Studios in Denton, TX, with co-producer Mike Pisterzi, and produced a full-length album. Upon hearing the material, Frontiers Recordsimmediately signed the band, and their debut album is scheduled for release on May 30th.
STAN LYNCH says:
“After my 20-year tenure with the Heartbreakers, I got a second act writing and producing. It was educational beyond measure to learn how to create music from the other side of the glass. Around this time, I met Jon Christopher Davis in Nashville, who casually mentioned that we should start a band – so here I am – in THE SPEAKER WARS,and it’s good to have my old job back. The guys in our new band know how to make great music, and I’m looking forward to another round.”
THE SPEAKER WARS are:
Stan Lynch – Drums
Jon Christopher Davis – Vocals
Jay Michael Smith – Guitar
Brian Patterson – Bass
Steve Ritter – Percussion
Jay Brown – Keyboard
Norway’s Tonic Breed, led by one man thrash machine Patrik K. Svendsen, has teamed up with Flotsam and Jetsam guitarist Michael Gilbert for a guest solo on the new single “The Die Is Cast”. This is the second collaboration of 2025 by Tonic Breed and follows the previously released track “The Charge” with Darkroot.
Straight to the point. No fluff, no filler, “The Die Is Cast” is pure, hard-hitting thrash from start to finish, with a touch of melody woven in. The song is about a powerful war machine that lies broken and abandoned, surrounded by the wreckage of others like it. Its silence feels heavy, as if it’s aware of the destruction it once brought and the emptiness that followed.
Svendsen adds about the track:
“I think the fans are gonna dig this one. Tonic Breed never releases a song that sounds too much like the previous one. Also, with guest appearances, the unique touch on each song is there all the time. I’m super excited about the response from the fans! I went for an ’80s thrash composition on this one! Having Michael on board is an absolute honor, as he was a part of that era and genre of music.”
Gilbert comments:
“It was an honor to be asked to do a guest solo appearance with Patrik and Tonic Breed. Some killer heavy music and a pleasure to be a part of. Cheers!”
Photo Credit – Evelina Szczesik
“The Die Is Cast” was performed, written, and produced by Patrik K. Svendsen with mixing by Adrian Bjerketvedt in Sarpsborg, Norway, and mastered by Steve Kitch.
Recommended for fans of Flotsam and Jetsam, Slayer, and Metallica, listen to “The Die Is Cast” at the following links:
About: Tonic Breed is a Norwegian thrash and heavy metal one-man music project by Patrik K. Svendsen. Until 2019, Tonic Breed was originally a four-piece band, established in Sarpsborg, Norway, in 2006. As of 2022, Tonic Breed has released three albums and one EP. Today, Tonic Breed is constantly reinventing itself in songwriting and guest collaborations.
Discography:
– 2025 – The Die Is Cast (single)
(ft. guest guitar solo Michael Gilbert (Flotsam and Jetsam)
– 2025 – The Charge (single w/ Darkroot)
– 2024 – Outsold – LP – 10th Anniversary Edition
– 2022 – Fuel the Fire – EP
(ft. guests Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth), Bernt Jansen (Artch/Wig Wam),
Björn Strid (Soilwork), Martin Skriubakken (Endezzma), Oliver Palotai (Kamelot)
– 2018 – Install Memory – LP
– 2014 – Outsold – LP
– 2010 – On the Brink of Destruction
The band commented on the new track by saying: “Denied brings a rare combination of a melodic “prog” tune with direct regional music influences to us here in the Northeast, more specifically the Maracatu. The song is a social examination of the inequality of opportunities that plagues our country; the abysmal difference between those who come from different realities”.
Jack The Joker is a modern progressive metal band with a twist, hailing from the Northeast of Brazil. The band consists of Raphael Joer (vocals) Felipe Faco and Lucas Colares (guitars), Gustavo Pinheiro (bass), and Vicente Ferreira (drums).
The band is notorious for incorporating traditional influences from their local culture, including musical styles such as maracatu, forró, baião and frevo.
Their sound draws inspiration from the eponymous renowned Brazilian novel and explores the metaphysical backlands, where human will prevail against the hostility of nature.
The instrumental arrangements delineate the environment by fusing regional genres with rock and metal to create a landscape that mirrors the themes in the lyrics.
This captivating musical odyssey has already garnered a significant amount of buzz in the prog scene through the first two singles released in 2024.
The musicality of “Denied” is structured in the rhythmic cells of maracatu, an Afro-Brazilian tradition that carries the marks of struggle and celebration. The pulsating beats breathe life into the song, creating an intense and emotive atmosphere.
Line Up: Vocals – Raphael Joer
Electric/Acoustic Guitars – Felipe Facó e Lucas Colares
Bass Guitars – Gustavo Pinheiro
Drums and Percussions – Vicente Ferreira
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