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Black Metal Artist Këkht Aräkh Announces New Album ‘Morning Star’ via Sacred Bones with Lead Single “Three Winters Away”

Eric Alper
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Black Metal Artist Këkht Aräkh Announces New Album ‘Morning Star’ via Sacred Bones with Lead Single “Three Winters Away”

Këkht Aräkh has announced ‘Morning Star,’ due March 27th via Sacred Bones, and the lead single “Three winters away” signals exactly where this record lives. Recorded between Berlin and Stockholm, the album blends aggressive black metal passages with immersive, melancholic soundscapes shaped by analog tape warmth and lo-fi immediacy. This is a deeply personal record from an artist arriving at a truer version of himself, and it sounds like it.

Dmitry recorded nearly all instruments himself, with drums contributed by Jonathan (Spira Me, Vanskapth, Olycka). Sound design and mastering on tape Portastudio were handled by VS-55 and Varg2™, with final mastering by James Ginzburg of Emptyset and Osmium. The result has a distinctive grain and analog character that gives every track its own tangible weight. On the album’s creation, Dmitry is direct: “This album was created at a point where I’m more skillful as an artist, with a much clearer sense of my own sound than in my earlier work. On this record, I feel more like myself than ever before.”

The most unexpected collaboration on ‘Morning Star’ is also one of its most compelling. Bladee appears on “Eternal martyr,” co-writing lyrics and contributing vocals. The pairing may seem unlikely on paper, but both artists share a commitment to world-building, emotional directness, and carving a singular path outside their respective genres. It works precisely because neither artist forced it.

“Three winters away” sets the emotional tone for everything that follows, reflecting on three years of change since his previous album ‘Pale Swordsman’ with a lyric that deliberately withholds judgment. “Three winters away from my old life, I look back, and I smile,” Dmitry explains, “it doesn’t reveal whether those changes were for better or for worse.” That kind of open emotional honesty, filtered through black metal tradition and lo-fi warmth, is what makes ‘Morning Star’ worth every bit of anticipation.

‘Morning Star’ Track Listing:

  1. Wänderer
  2. Castle
  3. Lament
  4. Genom sorgen (ft. VS-55)
  5. Angest
  6. Mörker över mörker
  7. Three winters away
  8. Drömsång
  9. Raven king
  10. Vigil
  11. Eternal martyr (ft. Bladee)
  12. Trollsång (ft. Spöke)
  13. Land av evig natt l
  14. Land av evig natt ll
  15. Gates
  16. Morning star
  17. Outro (ft. Varg2™)

Indie Rockers Linkwells Deliver Emotionally Charged New Single “Pushing Me Away”

Eric Alper
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Indie Rockers Linkwells Deliver Emotionally Charged New Single “Pushing Me Away”

Linkwells have been building something real, and “Pushing Me Away” is the clearest proof yet. The Malvern four-piece released the new single via Nick Brine’s Flip Flop Records, adding another strong entry to a catalog that has already reached listeners across Britain, Europe, Australia, Indonesia, Canada, and the US. Five singles and an EP deep, this is a band finding its stride with real confidence.

The track is melodic, anthemic, and emotionally grounded. Linkwells describe it as an exploration of emotional distance and the vulnerability required to break through it, “the transformative power of vulnerability in building trust and healing relationships.” That kind of lyrical weight, delivered through a sound that draws comparisons to The Stone Roses and Oasis, lands with the warmth and directness that defines their best work. “Pushing Me Away” earns every one of those comparisons without leaning on them.

BBC Introducing called them “an incredible band,” and CatorWeb Radio noted that “Linkwells masterfully create songs that capture the essence of the human condition.” The praise is warranted. Keith Forde, Mike Bannister, Andy D, and James Elliot-Williams write with the kind of Britpop-rooted melodic instinct that feels both timeless and urgently contemporary.

Recently signed to Flip Flop Records, Linkwells are ramping up their recorded output over the coming months. A band this focused on melody and emotional honesty, with a live reputation to match, is one worth following closely right now.

Swedish Fuzz Rock Legends Truckfighters End a Decade of Silence with New Single “The Bliss” and Album ‘MASTERFLOW’

Eric Alper
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Swedish Fuzz Rock Legends Truckfighters End a Decade of Silence with New Single “The Bliss” and Album ‘MASTERFLOW’

Ten years is a long time to wait. Truckfighters have broken that silence with “The Bliss,” the first single from their forthcoming album ‘MASTERFLOW,’ due April 10th via Fuzzorama Records. The Swedish fuzz rock duo of Niklas ‘Dango’ Källgren and Oskar ‘Ozo’ Cedermalm built their reputation as desert rock essentials over two decades, and this return lands with exactly the raw, groove-locked energy their global fanbase has been holding out for.

The band put it plainly: “The Bliss symbolizes everything the new album Masterflow is about, fuzz groove and melody. We can’t believe it’s the first track we release in 10 years.” That enthusiasm translates directly into the music. “The Bliss” hits with the warm, pummeling weight of a band that never lost the thread, just took the time to make something worth returning for.

‘MASTERFLOW’ is built around balance, discipline and freedom, heaviness and melody, crushing riffs and expansive psychedelic passages. The album moves between earth-shaking low-end and soaring melodic builds, a sonic monolith designed for packed clubs and speakers pushed past their limits. Josh Homme called them “the best band that ever existed” back in 2011, and ‘MASTERFLOW’ sounds like a direct answer to that kind of legacy, earned, confident, and fully alive.

A major European tour kicks off April 11th in Cologne and runs deep into the festival summer, including stops at Desertfest Berlin, Desertfest London at The Roundhouse, Hellfest in France, and Mystic Festival in Gdansk. ‘MASTERFLOW’ is available for preorder now at Fuzzorama Records’ Bandcamp.

2026 Tour Dates:

Apr 11 — Sol Sonic Ride, Cologne, DE

Apr 15 — Parkteatret, Oslo, NO

Apr 16 — Hulen, Bergen, NO

Apr 17 — Folken, Stavanger, NO

Apr 18 — R.I.P., Porsgrunn, NO

Apr 28 — Grünspan, Hamburg, DE

Apr 29 — Vera, Groningen, NL

Apr 30 — Melkweg, Amsterdam, NL

May 1 — Bibelot, Dordrecht, NL

May 2 — Headbanger’s Ball Fest, Izegem, BE

May 8 — A Colossal Weekend, Copenhagen, DK

May 11 — Arena, Vienna, AT

May 14 — Desertfest, Berlin, DE

May 17 — Desertfest, The Roundhouse, London, UK

May 25 — Stummsche Reithalle, Neunkirchen, DE

May 26 — Im Wizesmann, Stuttgart, DE

May 27 — Gaswerk, Winterthur, CH

May 28 — Sedel, Luzern, CH

May 29 — Backstage Halle, München, DE

May 30 — Beatpol, Dresden, DE

Jun 4 — Mystic Festival, Gdansk, PO

Jun 18 — Hellfest, Clisson, FR

Jun 27 — Sonic Ride IV, Wiesbaden, DE

Jul 26 — Magnolia Stone Fest, Milan, IT

Aug 14 — Angeliter Open Air, Taarstedt, DE

Toad the Wet Sprocket Reimagine Nearly Four Decades of Songs on ‘Rings: The Acoustic Sessions’

Eric Alper
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Toad the Wet Sprocket Reimagine Nearly Four Decades of Songs on ‘Rings: The Acoustic Sessions’

Toad the Wet Sprocket have never been a band content to simply look back, and ‘Rings: The Acoustic Sessions’ makes that unmistakably clear. Out now on double vinyl, CD, and digital via TP, the fourteen-track collection takes their most powerful and enduring songs and rebuilds them from the ground up, produced by the band alongside Sean McCue. This is not a nostalgia record. It’s a living document of a band still deeply invested in their own catalog.

Bassist Dean Dinning framed the approach with a question worth sitting with: “People always think of an acoustic record as stripped down, but what if it wasn’t?” The answer runs through every track. Guitarist Todd Nichols reworked electric parts for acoustic without losing their original force, and Glen Phillips delivers vocals that carry the same longing and hope they always have, only deeper, more settled, and more earned. Hits like “All I Want,” “Walk On the Ocean,” and “Something’s Always Wrong” sit alongside deep cuts like “Inside” and “Little Heaven,” and the newer material holds its own without leaning on the advantage of familiarity. Phillips captured the intent plainly: “I love that we were able to take songs from every album and find a way to bring them together to work as a unified piece.”

The summer tour launches July 12th in Bethlehem, PA, with most dates featuring Men at Work and Shonen Knife opening. ‘Rings: The Acoustic Sessions’ is out now, and this is exactly the kind of record that rewards repeated listening.

2026 Tour Dates:

Jul 12 — MusikFest Cafe, Bethlehem, PA

Jul 14 — Charleston Music Hall, Charleston, SC

Jul 16 — Pompano Beach Amphitheater, Pompano Beach, FL*

Jul 17 — The St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine, FL*

Jul 18 — The BayCare Sound, Clearwater, FL*

Jul 21 — Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta, GA*

Jul 22 — BankPlus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove, Southaven, MS*

Jul 23 — The Pinnacle, Nashville, TN*

Jul 24 — Masonic Temple, Detroit, MI*

Jul 26 — The Music Circus, Cohasset, MA*

Jul 28 — The Whittemore Center, Durham, NH*

Jul 29 — Maine Savings Amphitheater, Bangor, ME*

Jul 31 — Borgata Hotel Casino Event Center, Atlantic City, NJ^

Aug 1 — Delaware State Fair, Harrington, DE*

Aug 6 — Grossinger Motors Arena, Bloomington, IL*

Aug 7 — Performing Arts Pavilion at The Commons, New Lenox, IL*

Aug 8 — Stir Cove At Harrah’s Casino, Council Bluffs, IA*

Aug 10 — Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts, Salina, KS*

Aug 14 — Remlinger Farms, Carnation, WA*

Aug 18 — Silver Legacy Resort Casino, Reno, NV*

Aug 20 — The United Theater on Broadway, Los Angeles, CA*

*with Men at Work, Shonen Knife opening

^with Men at Work

Magnolia Park Expand Their Dystopian Universe with Deluxe Album ‘Nights After Vamp’

Eric Alper
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Magnolia Park Expand Their Dystopian Universe with Deluxe Album ‘Nights After Vamp’

Magnolia Park are back inside the world of Nocturne Nexus, and they’ve brought six more tracks with them. ‘Nights After Vamp,’ the deluxe expansion of their concept album ‘VAMP,’ arrives March 13th via Epitaph, picking up the dystopian narrative with the same explosive energy that made the original such a singular listen. Seventeen tracks total, one relentless sonic universe, and a band that refuses to think small.

The preview comes in the form of “HIGH,” a smoldering new single featuring alt-rockers Arrows in Action. Vocalist Joshua Roberts leads with soulful R&B instincts over alt-metal muscle, bouncy rhythms, and pummeling drums. The band described the track’s drive directly: “We wanted to explore the initial rush of finding new love and the innate desire of lust that comes with it.” It hits exactly as hard as that sounds.

The production muscle behind ‘Nights After Vamp’ is formidable. Andrew Wade (A Day To Remember, Wage War), Hiram Hernandez (blessthefall), and Andy Karpovck (408, Taylor Acorn) handled production alongside the band’s in-house team, with Zakk Cervini (Bad Omens, Bring Me The Horizon) on mixing duties. The result is a record that stacks whirring electronics and industrial undertones against sledgehammer breakdowns and walls of detuned guitars, all of it filtered through a narrative inspired by Vampire Hunter D, Star Wars, Dracula, and Joseph Campbell’s monomyth.

Hard rock, punk, nu-metal, hip-hop, and metalcore, Magnolia Park pulls from all of it without losing the thread. ‘Nights After Vamp’ is a multisensory experience built by a band that knows exactly what kind of world they’re creating.

Genre-Defying Rockers Enter Shikari Announce Their Biggest Ever UK and European Arena Tour

Eric Alper
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Genre-Defying Rockers Enter Shikari Announce Their Biggest Ever UK and European Arena Tour

Enter Shikari are thinking bigger than ever, and the numbers back it up. The genre-defying rockers have announced their largest headline tour to date, a full UK and European arena run this November, capped by two consecutive nights at London’s Alexandra Palace. This is a band that debuted at Wembley Arena on their last UK run and has kept raising the ceiling ever since.

The European leg opens November 3rd at Sporthalle in Hamburg, including the band’s largest-ever German headline show at Düsseldorf’s Mitsubishi Halle, capacity 7,500. The UK leg launches November 13th in Nottingham and moves through Cardiff, Hull, Glasgow, and Manchester before landing at Alexandra Palace for the closing two-night stand. Support across both legs comes from Holding Absence and The Callous Daoboys. Frontman Rou Reynolds didn’t undersell it: “November will bring our biggest arena tour ever. With a completely new show. To get to play Ally Pally two nights in a row is going to be something of a fantasy.”

Enter Shikari were the first artists to implement a £1 per ticket donation to the Music Venue Trust on a large-scale arena tour, a grassroots support initiative later adopted by Sam Fender and Coldplay. Every UK ticket sold for this run continues that commitment. A band operating at arena scale that still puts grassroots venues first, that’s worth paying attention to.

Ahead of November, Enter Shikari tour Australia with grandson supporting most dates, hitting Newcastle, Frankston, Fremantle, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. Tickets for the UK and EU dates are on sale now.

Enter Shikari 2026 UK Tour Dates:

Nov 13 — Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham

Nov 14 — Utilita Arena, Cardiff

Nov 15 — Connexin Live, Hull

Nov 18 — OVO Hydro, Glasgow

Nov 19 — Co-Op Live, Manchester

Nov 20 — Alexandra Palace, London

Nov 21 — Alexandra Palace, London

The Cranberries Reissue the Rare and Remastered Pre-Fame EP ‘Uncertain’

Eric Alper
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The Cranberries Reissue the Rare and Remastered Pre-Fame EP ‘Uncertain’

Before “Dreams.” Before “Linger.” Before “Zombie” racked up 1.7 billion views and cemented them as one of the defining alt-rock bands of their generation, The Cranberries were four young people from Ireland recording their first EP. ‘Uncertain,’ originally released in October 1991 in a run of roughly 5,000 copies, is out now via Island/Ume as a limited edition, numbered, lightly remastered reissue pressed on cranberry-colored vinyl.

The four-song EP captures Dolores O’Riordan at 19 years old, her voice already unmistakable, already carrying something rare. Drummer Fergal Lawler puts it plainly: “You can really hear it in Dolores’s voice. She was just 19 years old then.” The reissue is a 45-RPM 12″ that preserves the youthful energy of a band on the edge of everything, two years before their debut album ‘Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?’ would introduce them to the world.

The tracks hold up with real strength. The title track ebbs and flows around Dolores’ ethereal vocals, “Nothing Left At All” pairs heartbreak with a driving, hopeful beat, and “Pathetic Senses” foreshadows the post-punk edge that would later define “Zombie” and “Promises.” Noel Hogan reflects with genuine surprise: “I’m surprised by how well it’s held up. You can hear small hints of how the band would eventually sound.” The closing track “Them,” a live favorite in the band’s early days, remains the most powerful of the four.

This is a document of a band before the world caught up to them. Essential listening for longtime fans, and a remarkable entry point for anyone still discovering what made The Cranberries so singular.

Dance Music Powerhouse Gryffin Returns for His Sixth Consecutive Wynn Las Vegas Residency

Eric Alper
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Dance Music Powerhouse Gryffin Returns for His Sixth Consecutive Wynn Las Vegas Residency

Six consecutive years. That’s the statement Gryffin makes simply by returning to Wynn Las Vegas for another dozen dates across Encore Beach Club and XS Nightclub. Since launching the residency in 2020, he has become one of the defining presences in Wynn Nightlife’s programming, and the 2026 run builds on that foundation with the confidence of an artist fully at home on one of the world’s most influential stages.

Gryffin’s ability to fuse uplifting melodic moments with festival-scale energy is exactly what makes these club sets work. The performances consistently draw sold-out crowds, and his 2025 run reinforced why, with genre-defying collaborations alongside Kaskade, Excision, Griz, and Lavern, plus headline appearances at Ultra Music Festival and Lollapalooza. The momentum he carries into 2026 is real and earned.

The residency runs from April through August, splitting time between the nightlife environment of XS Nightclub and the daylife energy of Encore Beach Club. Twelve dates, two iconic venues, one artist who has spent six years making this city his second home. Gryffin doesn’t just perform in Las Vegas, he belongs there.

Tickets are on sale now.

2026 Wynn Las Vegas Dates:

Apr 3 — XS Nightclub

May 15 — Encore Beach Club

June 19 — XS Nightclub

July 3 — Encore Beach Club

July 11 — Encore Beach Club

July 17 — XS Nightclub

July 31 — XS Nightclub

Aug 7 — Encore Beach Club

Aug 14 — Encore Beach Club

My Morning Jacket’s Acoustic Album ‘Peacelands’ Channels Hope, History, and Humanity for a Vital Cause

Eric Alper
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My Morning Jacket’s Acoustic Album ‘Peacelands’ Channels Hope, History, and Humanity for a Vital Cause

My Morning Jacket have released ‘Peacelands,’ a 14-track acoustic album available now on Bandcamp, with all proceeds benefiting the ACLU, Doctors Without Borders, and the International Rescue Committee. This is a band putting their music directly in service of something larger than itself, and the result is one of the most quietly powerful releases in their catalog.

Recorded by six-time Grammy Award-winner Shawn Everett at EastWest Studios’ famed Studio Three in Hollywood, the album strips everything back to its core. Stripped-down versions of My Morning Jacket and Jim James solo favorites sit alongside covers of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind,” Brian Wilson’s “Love and Mercy,” The Velvet Underground’s “I Found A Reason,” and Woody Guthrie and Jim James’ “Changing World.” The selections feel deliberate and deeply felt, each one earning its place.

Jim James drew the album’s title from Louisville artist Mark Anthony Mulligan’s concept of an imaginary land built on peace, friendship, and equality. “I think about this word Peacelands in our world all of the time, especially in troubled times,” James says. “We believe that it’s still possible for us to achieve Mark’s vision, a world of love and friendship, if only we can learn to listen, love, and forgive.” The statement lands with real weight, and the music delivers on every word of it.

‘Peacelands’ is acoustic music with genuine emotional stakes, warm, unhurried, and rooted in a tradition of songs that have always meant something. Fourteen tracks that ask the right questions at exactly the right moment.

‘Peacelands’ Track Listing:

  1. Why Can’t We Live Together (Timmy Thomas)
  2. New World Coming (Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil)
  3. Love and Mercy (Brian Wilson)
  4. Here In Spirit (Jim James)
  5. Rainbow Power (Timmy Thomas)
  6. I’m Amazed (Jim James)
  7. Don’t Lose Your Eye (Sonny Boy Williamson)
  8. Changing World (Woody Guthrie and Jim James)
  9. State Of The Art (Jim James)
  10. Blowin’ In The Wind (Bob Dylan)
  11. Everything Must Change (Bernard Ighner)
  12. In The Moment (Jim James)
  13. Together Again (Buck Owens)
  14. I Found A Reason (Lou Reed)

The ‘Bridgerton Season 4’ Soundtrack Arrives with Orchestral Covers of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and Paramore

Eric Alper
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The ‘Bridgerton Season 4’ Soundtrack Arrives with Orchestral Covers of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and Paramore

Capitol Records has released the ‘Bridgerton Season 4’ soundtrack, and it delivers exactly the kind of lush, inventive orchestral reimagining the series has made its signature. Streaming now via Capitol Records, the Part 1 soundtrack features modern pop classics transformed into sweeping period-appropriate arrangements, anchored by an original score from Oscar-winning composer Kris Bowers.

The tracklist moves with real momentum. Episodes 401 and 402 open with previously announced covers from Coldplay, Usher featuring Pitbull, and Third Eye Blind, before Joseph William Morgan delivers a jaw-dropping rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Enchanted.” Episode 403 brings the Vitamin String Quartet’s rock-classical take on Paramore’s “All I Wanted,” and Episode 404 closes Part 1 with Caleb Chan’s playful interpretation of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Bad Idea Right?” Cover to cover, it’s a playlist that earns its runtime.

The Bridgerton musical universe has reshaped how audiences engage with classical arrangements. The Vitamin String Quartet saw a 350 percent streaming increase when the show first aired, and previous season tracks produced staggering spikes, with “Happier Than Ever” climbing 11,000 percent on Spotify alone. This is a franchise that has genuinely moved the cultural needle on string quartet music, and Season 4 keeps that tradition fully intact.

The vinyl release is a two-disc set pressed on exclusive white silk vinyl, available via Capitol Records. Season 4 follows Benedict Bridgerton, played by Luke Thompson, as the bohemian second son unexpectedly meets a captivating Lady in Silver at his mother’s masquerade ball. Great television, great music, and a physical release worth owning.

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That Eric Alper

Eric Alper is a 6-time nominee for Publicist of the Year during Canadian Music Week and has overseen the publicity campaigns for over 183 JUNO Award-nominated albums (and 16 in 2025), 45 Grammy-nominated albums, including 47 JUNO Award, 58 Canadian Folk Music Award, 126 Maple Blues Award-winning albums and is also truly honoured to work with some of the biggest and most important artists of our time.

Contact me: eric@thatericalper.com

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