Bardcore musician Algal The Bard leans fully into medieval menace with a foreboding, minor-key cover of Don’t Fear The Reaper, reimagined using instruments straight out of the Dark Ages. Built from lute-guitar, bouzouki, viola da gamba, and low whistles in D and G, the performance turns a classic rock staple into something that sounds fit for a candlelit stone hall right before the plague hits.
David Gilmour Studio And Stage Captured In Polly Samson’s ‘Luck And Strange – Studio Live’
On January 6, Thames & Hudson publish ‘Luck And Strange – Studio Live,’ an intimate photographic chronicle by Polly Samson documenting the creation and performance life of David Gilmour’s fifth solo album ‘Luck And Strange.’ With complete access granted throughout recording sessions, rehearsals, backstage moments, and live shows, Samson captures the full arc of the album’s journey, from quiet studio concentration to the scale and electricity of a sold-out international tour. Shot using her preferred Leica cameras, the images move between candle-lit black-and-white studio scenes and vivid color photographs from the stage, offering a textured and deeply personal visual record of the process behind a No. 1 album.
The book also features distinctive hand lettering by Anton Corbijn across the cover and interior, alongside a new interview conducted by renowned rock photographer Jill Furmanovsky, which explores Samson’s approach, instincts, and long creative partnership with Gilmour. A foreword by the late Alan Yentob adds further context to the project. Together, the photographs and accompanying text form a candid visual diary that balances humor, intimacy, and spectacle, offering fans a rare look at both the human and musical moments surrounding ‘Luck And Strange.’
Industrial Rock Artist Staytus Fuses Grunge Fury And Cinematic Tension On “Kiss N Tell”
Electro industrial and alternative rock artist Staytus returns with “Kiss N Tell,” a brooding and confrontational single that blends grunge-era aggression with cinematic weight. Produced by Grammy-winning producer Mikal Blue and recorded at Revolver Recording Studio in California, the track explores obsession, secrecy, and emotional collision through distorted guitars, layered vocals, and a sense of mounting tension. The song arrives as a sharp continuation of Staytus’s industrial-grunge hybrid, leaning into atmosphere while keeping its punch direct and physical.
Powering the track is a commanding drum performance from Jeff Friedl, whose work with A Perfect Circle and Puscifer informs the song’s heavy pulse, while Anthony Laurie of Thredge adds serrated guitar lines that cut through the mix. Visually, “Kiss N Tell” draws inspiration from The Silence Of The Lambs, featuring gothic imagery centered on secrecy and transformation. Following the earlier single “68 Kill,” produced by Matt McJunkins, this release further establishes Staytus as an artist unafraid to lean into darker themes, sharper sounds, and a fully charged industrial edge.
Indigenous Punk Band Dead Pioneers Return With Fierce New Single “Freedom Means Something”
Denver-based Indigenous punk band Dead Pioneers continue sharpening their voice with the release of “Freedom Means Something,” a standalone single recorded during the sessions for ‘PO$T AMERICAN’ but held back until now. Built on their signature fusion of spoken word intensity, hypnotic post-rock tension, and punk urgency, the track captures a level of rage and clarity that feels immediate and unfiltered. Though written over a year ago, the song lands squarely in the present, reflecting the fear, anger, and fallout surrounding political decisions in the United States. Frontman Gregg Deal explains the song was left off the album for sequencing reasons rather than strength, making its release now a deliberate and timely choice.
“Freedom Means Something” stands as one of the band’s most direct and confrontational statements, closing with lyrics that refuse comfort or neutrality. The accompanying video underscores that intensity, pairing stark visuals with the song’s uncompromising message. Dead Pioneers emerged as a musical extension of Deal’s performance art practice, translating his work around Indigenous identity, resistance, and historical reckoning into sound. Completed by Josh Rivera and Abe Brennan on guitars, Lee Tesche of Algiers on bass, and Shane Zweygardt on drums, the band channel punk’s raw force into music that speaks plainly, hits hard, and insists on being heard.
Sick New World Festival Expands In 2026 With Las Vegas Return And Texas Debut
Live Nation has announced the full lineup for the 2026 edition of Sick New World while also confirming the launch of an inaugural Texas event. The Las Vegas edition returns April 25 at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds, once again led by System Of A Down and Korn. The stacked bill brings together a wide spectrum of heavy music with performances from Bring Me The Horizon, Evanescence, Marilyn Manson, Danny Elfman, Knocked Loose, Ministry, AFI, Cypress Hill, Acid Bath, and many more.
The festival’s Texas debut arrives October 24 at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, headlined by System Of A Down and Deftones. That lineup raises the stakes with Slayer performing ‘Reign In Blood’ in full, alongside The Prodigy, Mastodon, Power Trip, Evanescence, Marilyn Manson, AFI, Ministry, and Knocked Loose. Together, the two editions position Sick New World as one of the most concentrated heavy lineups of the year, spanning metal, hardcore, industrial, and alternative scenes across generations.
Ticket options include GA, GA+, VIP, and VIP Cabana packages, with tiered amenities ranging from shaded lounges and air-conditioned restrooms to preferred viewing areas and private cabana experiences. With two large-scale events now on the calendar, Sick New World continues to scale up as a destination festival for fans of heavy music in all its forms.
UK Rock Band Atlas&i Roar Back With ‘Between Collapse & The Quiet Beyond’
UK rock band Atlas&i return with force and clarity on ‘Between Collapse & The Quiet Beyond,’ a sweeping 10-track album that expands the epic sound they first carved out on ‘In Desolate Times.’ Powered by soaring vocals, melodic twin guitars, driving bass, and hard-hitting drums, the record feels confident and fully charged, capturing a band reconnecting with each other and the rush of making loud, emotionally grounded rock again. There is a renewed intensity here that feels earned rather than nostalgic, with songs shaped by time, experience, and persistence. After more than a decade away, Atlas&i are locked in and alive, delivering a record that stands tall, embraces scale and feeling, and reasserts their place within the modern UK rock landscape.
Folk Rock Artist Kentucky Sounds Alarm With “Born American” Single
Folk rock artist Kentucky, the project of songwriter Jordan Holman, returns with “Born American,” a stark and deliberate new single that turns its gaze outward. Where his debut album ‘Second Chance Music’ focused on survival and personal reckoning, this release addresses the fragile reality of birthright citizenship in the United States. The song pairs an almost buoyant melodic drive with a message that stays plainspoken and unresolved, letting the tension between sound and subject carry the weight rather than leaning on slogans or dramatics.
The track’s final moments strip back completely, closing with an unadorned a cappella fragment of the American national anthem that fades without comfort or conclusion. Its companion video reinforces that unease through restrained imagery, showing Kentucky lying beneath dripping red, white, and blue candle wax that scars the surface below. Together, the song and visuals frame “Born American” as an observation rather than a solution, placing the listener face to face with the question it raises and leaving space for reflection to linger.
Brad Paisley Extends “Truck Still Works” World Tour Into Europe 2026
Global country superstar Brad Paisley has announced that his “Truck Still Works” World Tour will roll into Europe in summer 2026, following a run that began in May and continues with Canadian dates next month. The European leg brings Paisley’s live show to Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Switzerland, with special guests to be revealed later. The extension underscores the tour’s momentum, carrying Paisley’s guitar-driven hits and sharp songwriting to longtime fans across the continent.
The tour news arrives alongside a busy release schedule, including Paisley’s upcoming Christmas album ‘Snow Globe Town,’ out November 7, featuring eight newly written songs alongside seasonal standards. New tracks “Leave The Christmas Lights On” and “Counting Down The Days,” the latter co-written with Chris Dubois and serving as the anthem for Hallmark Channel’s Countdown To Christmas, are available now. A Grand Ole Opry member since 2001, Paisley has also contributed music and will appear in Hallmark’s A Grand Ole Opry Christmas film, premiering Thanksgiving weekend. Together, the tour and new releases reflect an artist staying active across stages, screens, and seasons.
Brad Paisley 2026 Truck Still Works World Tour Dates:
June 9 – Helsinki, Finland – House of Culture
June 11 – Ålesund, Norway – SBM Arena
June 13 – Hamar, Norway – Vikingskipet Open Air
June 16 – Stockholm, Sweden – Gröna Lund
June 17 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Liseberg
June 23 – Munich, Germany – Tollwood
June 24 – Zurich, Switzerland – The Hall
Alt Rock Artist Mel Denisse Blurs Grit And Pop On “Going Nowhere” Single
Genre-bending artist and producer Mel Denisse moves between jagged guitar weight and left-field pop instinct on “Going Nowhere,” out now. Raised between Florida and Turkey and shaped by years split between Nashville and Los Angeles, Denisse folds warped alt rock textures, shoegaze haze, and classically influenced vocals into songs that sit with tension rather than resolve it. Influenced by artists like Failure, Deftones, and Tori Amos, her approach leans into contrast, pairing heavy riffs with delicate melodic turns. “Going Nowhere” draws thematic inspiration from The Serpent And The Wings Of Night by Carissa Broadbent, reflecting ideas of survival, restraint, and loyalty under pressure through a nostalgic and restrained sonic palette.
Denisse’s recent work has earned support from BBC Radio 1’s Alternative Show and placement on Spotify’s All New Rock, while critics have highlighted her ambition and emotional pull. In the studio, she has collaborated with Carlos De La Garza, Ken Andrews, Micah Tawlks, and longtime collaborator Stephen Laurenson, sharpening a sound that feels controlled but restless. With new music tied closely to fantasy storytelling and an EP set for early 2026, Mel Denisse continues shaping songs that linger in mood and image, inviting listeners to sit with their weight rather than rush past it.
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Return With ‘X’s For Eyes’ Era
5X Platinum-certified alternative rock band The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus released their sixth studio album ‘X’s For Eyes’ on October 3 via Better Noise Music, alongside the new single “Perfection.” The track features a driving rhythm and wide melodic arc, with vocalist and guitarist Ronnie Winter delivering the line “Whatever won’t break can make us.”
The video was directed by Shane Drake, marking a reunion with the filmmaker who directed the band’s earlier videos for “False Pretense” and “Your Guardian Angel” from their 2006 debut ‘Don’t You Fake It.’ ‘X’s For Eyes’ includes 11 tracks and follows previously released singles “Home Improvement,” “Slipping Through (No Kings),” and “X’s For Eyes,” with guest appearances from Kellin Quinn on “Always The King” and Craig Mabbitt on “Worth It.” Formed in 2004 in Jacksonville, Florida, the band have earned multiple Gold and multi-Platinum certifications, including 5X Platinum “Face Down” and 2X Platinum “Your Guardian Angel,” and have surpassed 1.5 billion career streams.