Belgian noise-niks RONKER crash back in with “Limelighter,” a maximalist blast from their album ‘Respect The Hustle, I Won’t Be Your Dog Forever,’ out now via LABELMAN. The track barrels forward with circus-metal chaos, stacking a massive chorus, emocore breakdown, choir arrangement and a chromatic death metal riff into one volatile finale. It is theatrical, abrasive and impossible to ignore.
“Limelighter shows RONKER at our most maximalist, pulling out most of the bells and whistles the band have in their arsenal. We thought big: big chorus, big emocore breakdown, big choir arrangement, big chromatic death metal riff at the finish. The end (of the album) is near, anything goes,” the band say. The ambition is audible from the first hit to the final crash.
Written on the road, the song digs into the strain and absurdity of a nomadic entertainer’s life. “It’s one of those kind of songs you start writing and immediately think of as a set-closer, because of its epic nature. A song about singing songs in front of people to close the show: talk about going full-circle.” It feels built for sweat-drenched rooms and roaring pits.
Following the punch of “No Sweat,” which hit both the Kerrang! Chart and Metal Hammer’s Best New Metal Songs of The Week, RONKER double down on layered aggression. Drawing lines between At The Drive In, Helmet and The Armed, while nodding to David Bowie and Refused, they forge something feral and hook-heavy. A headline show at The Lexington in London marks the next eruption.
SEE RONKER LIVE:
27/02/2026 – Altstadt, Eindhoven (NL)
07/03/2026 – Paradiso, Amsterdam (NL)
14/03/2026 – L’Entrepot, Arlon (BE)
28/03/2026 – Terneuzen On Fire, Terneuzen (NL)
25/04/2026 – The Lexington, London (UK)
16/05/2026 – Sonic Whip, Nijmegen (NL)
08/08/2026 – Alcatraz Festival, Kortrijk (BE)
16/08/2026 – Dynamo Metalfest, Eindhoven (NL)