Mad About Rock

  Continuing a banner year, the Swedish masters of heavy metal SABATON re-up their 2025 hit 'Templars' with a brand-new version featuring Leigh Kakaty of Platinum-certified, chart-topping rock powerhouse Pop Evil. The song is now available on all DSPs and digital download providers via Better Noise Music. It's a collision of two different genres of hard rock that feels completely seamless. Yesterday, SABATON welcomed Pop Evil frontman Leigh Kakaty to the stage during their set at Louder Than Life in Louisville, KY. Surprising tens of thousands of fans, they debuted this version together, leading to one of the standout moments of the massive fest. Kakaty infuses the track with a rush of fresh energy and fire. Between blasts of distortion and thunderous drums, his soaring vocals take flight. All of this momentum culminates on the chantable chorus: “Templars on the march, charge from the temple.” Regarding the new version, SABATON vocalist Joakim Brodén says: “'Templars...

  Brighton three-piece MONOVOID bring a fresh approach to heavy music with a debut built on riffs, experimentation and years of shared musical experience. MONOVOID release their debut album, Dissolving the Brain, on Friday 27th November, with a new video for Ruinous Belief arriving on Friday 20th November. For now, check out their last video for 'Conspirator', here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRNAxMEnnuw Formed in Brighton in 2024, Tom Humphrey, Brian Thomas and Guillaume Croizon came together with a simple aim: to get back to playing the heavy music they had once fallen in love with, while using everything they had learned through years of playing, writing and recording. Their music pulls from Mastodon's progressive heaviness, Meshuggah's rhythmic complexity, Converge's aggression and Gojira's weight, while drawing on a much wider range of heavy music. The point has never been to fit neatly into one genre, but to combine the elements they enjoy into som...

  Athens thrash metal band Eternal have premiered the new music video for “Man Down (In the Front Row)”, the latest track taken from their forthcoming debut album, Conspiracy of Warheads, due for release through Floga Records on 2 October 2026. Watch the new video here: https://youtu.be/v7b7tYMsnOU A fast, direct account of the chaos surrounding live music and touring, “Man Down (In the Front Row)” captures crowded venues, loud amplifiers, late nights and the consequences that can follow. The track offers another side of a debut album otherwise driven by themes of war, government manipulation, conformity, violence and psychological pressure. Across ten tracks, Conspiracy of Warheads channels the speed, precision and political distrust of ’80s thrash into a record shaped by Eternal’s own experiences as a young band developing through writing, recording and extensive live performance. Since forming in Athens in 2022, Eternal have shared stages with Suicidal Angels, Amken, Karma Vi...

  You aren’t ready for this! Aussie extreme metal cohort King Parrot, will be returning to European and UK shores, bringing their no holds barred, off kilter live experience in September, supporting their new album “A Young Person’s Guide To King Parrot”. The last time we welcomed the quietus quartet, they were decimating stadiums nationwide and all over Europe opening for Pantera and Power Trip in 2025. In the summer of 2026, the boys from down under are excited to announce their return with a late summer run of headline shows all over Europe and the UK. The new album has received a rousing reception by the metal community with tracks like “Fuck You and the Horse You Rode In On” and “It’s A Rort” and their accompanying videos being lapped up by old and new fans alike. King Parrot recently completed a monstrous 39 date US tour alongside Gwar and Soulfly and are firing on all cylinders leading up to their return to the UK and Europe. Most recently the band have enlisted the services...

  Welsh bilingual nu-metal duo C E L A V I release their fierce new single and video, AR DY LINIAU (ON YOUR KNEES), ahead of their forthcoming EP, PRAELIA. Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqnfUU_RGHo Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4OEzNJIkgsH8PTw0y86ATx . AR DY LINIAU (ON YOUR KNEES) combines pummelling riffs, engulfing hooks and intense emotion, blending the duo's early-2000s nu-metal influences with a sinister industrial approach. Formed by married duo Gwion Griffiths and Sarah Wynn Griffiths, C E L A V I have earned support from Metal Hammer, BBC Radio 1, Kerrang! Radio and BBC 6 Music, alongside a Match of the Day sync. BBC Radio 1 declared: “CELAVI — remember that name.” The single follows a landmark appearance at Download Festival, where C E L A V I became the first band ever to perform in Welsh at the festival. Their journey to Download is documented in Sgrechian (Screaming), produced for Welsh-language broadcaster S4C's digital pl...

  BLOODSTOCK festival HQ have revealed the first bands for 2027, unveiling them at the Ronnie James Dio stage right after Municipal Waste’s face-melting set on Friday the 7th August at the 2026 event. Mark your calendar now and start planning for August 5th - 8th, 2027. On Friday night, your Ronnie James Dio main stage headliners are MERCYFUL FATE - the Danish legends who helped invent heavy metal theatrics, King Diamond's falsetto still as unholy as ever. Corpse paint, inverted crosses, and a stage show soaked in occult drama…pay your respects, this is where a lot of extreme metal's DNA actually comes from. King Diamond has a little update for you, declaring, “Mercyful Fate is honored and looking extremely forward to playing BLOODSTOCK again, last time was awesome, and this time with a brand new album out, FINALLY!!!” Saturday night parties hard in a totally different fashion, though with no less chaos, as ELECTRIC CALLBOY headline BLOODSTOCK for the very first time. German ...

  BLOODSTOCKers! The big 25th Anniversary celebrations are here, and there's no shortage of ways to get involved - whether you're pedaling, gaming, or just feeling lucky. You can even join in if you’re not at BLOODSTOCK! Heavy Metal Truants: The "Ed To Ed" Challenge While the HMT crew makes their epic ride to Catton Park starting today (follow them here ), you can get in on the action without breaking a sweat on the road. If you’re at BLOODSTOCK, head to the HMT tent in the main arena and hop on a static bike to see how fast you can generate enough real electricity to boil water - kids are racing to 5ml, adults to 10ml (a hand crank is available for differently-abled participants). It's a £5 donation to the charity to take part, and every participant walks away with a cool HMT sticker. The fastest of each pair of challengers snags an HMT pin badge, hourly leaderboard champs earn 5 raffle entries (worth £20), and whoever posts the fastest time of the entire weeken...

  70000TONS OF METAL, The Original, The World’s Biggest Heavy Metal Cruise, is thrilled to announce the first bands that will be part of this year’s lineup: ÆTHER REALM ARCH ENEMY BRAINSTORM ENFORCER EVERGREY EQUILIBRIUM MORS PRINCIPIUM EST OBSCURA THULCANDRA WARBRINGER Also joining the lineup is musical visionary and innovator ULI JON ROTH, whose career spans five decades and includes his pioneering work with Germany’s legendary metal band SCORPIONS. Andy Piller, CEO, Founder and “Skipper” of the fan-favorite metal cruise states: “As part of his two sets on 70000TONS OF METAL, Uli will be paying tribute to two iconic SCORPIONS albums, both celebrating their 50th anniversary. In his first set, Uli will perform ‘VIRGIN KILLER’ in its entirety. In his second performance, he’ll heavily focus on ‘IN TRANCE’. We’re delighted he’s joining the party this year!” Roth is widely recognized as a key founder of the neoclassical metal genre, having revolutionized guitar technique by fusing b...

  Brit post-hardcore unit MERCERS will unveil their debut EP, 'The Liminal Tapes', on Friday, 17th July. The band have also just released their new single and video, 'New Stockholm'. Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwoUNQCAMM8 Listen to MERCERS on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0hUc6FIsCsAGv1muQXWDHZ . Formed in 2025, MERCERS bring together vocalist Olly James and guitarist/programmer Phil Bashford, both previously known for their work in nu-metallers, FONY. However, this is not a reunion, but a continuation of a long-standing songwriting partnership behind much of FONY’s material, including Routine Irregular and Circles. What began as an idea to revisit and reshape older material into the form it was always intended to take quickly developed into something far bigger. With the addition of drummer Richard Titheradge and guitarist Simon Glover, the project evolved beyond its original concept and found its own identity. The Liminal Tapes...

  UK metallers FAIL THE ENEMY return with new music and a heavier, synth-driven sound. The band will release a new EP, Sandcastles, out Friday 9th October, alongside their current single, Borrowed Hope, which is out now. Listen to Borrowed Hope, here - https://open.spotify.com/track/5JaYkmazk4o1RHA6wNr5UC , and watch the video, here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPQAbqWqbe8 Since reforming in 2023, the three-piece have been rebuilding their sound from the ground up, bringing together modern metalcore, anthemic rock, and 80s-inspired synth textures. The result is a sound that’s heavy, melodic, and built on contrast and atmosphere. Their new material draws on themes of mental health, love, loss, and the aftermath of difficult years, shaped by what the band have been navigating since getting back together. The upcoming EP has been in the works for around three years, and the band say it’s the closest they’ve come to capturing exactly what they set out to do when they returned. Th...

  XENITH continue their rapid rise with new single and video Killer Instinct, out now. The track is the first to be lifted from their debut album 'To No Avail', due Friday 28th August, and showcases the band’s fierce energy and intent. Watch the video for 'Killer Instinct' here: Check out the band on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6JlB8LJTRgdQTgOtO8XVb8 Hailing from Manchester, UK, and comprised of vocalist and guitarist Billy Hourigan, drummer Karim Treifi, bassist Jamo Morris, and guitarist Casey Dennis, XENITH emerged in 2024 with their fiery self-titled debut EP, which blended razor-sharp thrash with bludgeoning melodic death metal. The release introduced a band defined by relentless musicianship and a clear sense of identity. They followed swiftly with the faster and more aggressive single, Swim, before closing the year by sharing the stage with thrash legends, Evile, proving themselves to be a formidable live act. Their debut album, To No Avail, conti...

  Having wrapped up their vast Arcane Dimensions Tour earlier this year, symphonic metal powerhouse EPICA have now unveiled a soul-stirring live version of their track 'Sirens - Of Blood And Water', featuring the formidable Alissa White-Gluz, Elize Ryd and Charlotte Wessels. This spine-tingling version which was also captured on video, was recorded early this year at EPICA's biggest headline show to date - a sold-out night at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome in front of 10,000 fans. Watch the video for 'Sirens - Of Blood And Water (Live At Ziggo Dome Amsterdam)' here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrHXFY3Gzs8 Listen to 'Sirens - Of Blood And Water (Live At Ziggo Dome Amsterdam)' here: https://epica.bfan.link/sirens-of-blood-and-water EPICA - TOUR DATES 29.06.26 | Middenvijver Park | Antwerp, BE w/ Iron Maiden 17.07.26 | John Smith Rock Festival | Laukaa, FI 23.07.26 | Hills of Rock | Plovdiv, BG w/ Sabaton & Savatage 25.07.26 | Release Athens | Athens, GR w/ S...

  THE LARCHES continue their climb with the release of their biting new single and video, 'Raxidermy', out now. Watch the video here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELxzR2DSSoM The band will also unveil their much-anticipated new EP, Nihilistic Majesties, on Friday 24th July. Hailing from Teesside, THE LARCHES deliver an intense fusion of raw heavy alternative rock and sludge metal. The band are carving out a sound that will resonate with fans of Acid Bath, Eyehategod, and Crowbar, combining punishing low-end weight with earnest emotional intensity. Known for their uncompromising approach, they are rapidly establishing themselves within the modern sludge underground. Their upcoming EP, Nihilistic Majesties, comprises five blistering and brutal tracks that drag listeners through murky soundscapes of despair, defiance, and decay. The record stands as their most unfiltered statement to date, channelling the suffocating atmosphere of early sludge pioneers while pushing further...