Posts By Asher
0 Protected: EPK – Baby On A Rampage – Forgive My Figure (2026)
0 NEKOMATA’s New Single “Functional Beauty” Ignites The Band’s “Third Impact” Coming in 2027
NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – August 28, 2026
NEKOMATA’s New Single “Functional Beauty” Ignites The Band’s “Third Impact” Coming in 2027
|
|
NEKOMATA enter a new era in their story with “Third Impact”, a new creative cycle that begins with “Functional Beauty”, the first single leading towards the band’s third chapter expected in 2027.
“Third Impact” builds on the musical identity NEKOMATA have developed across their previous releases while pushing its defining elements further. Modern metal, tightly controlled grooves and a strong melodic drive remain at the core of their sound, now opening towards a broader range of influences rooted in classic heavy metal.
The new chapter also continues the band’s distinctive “concept-non-concept” approach. Rather than following a strict narrative, its songs explore individual ideas and imagery that stand on their own while contributing to a broader thematic framework. Obsession, transformation, and the pursuit of ideals emerge among the themes explored through the cryptic perspective that characterizes NEKOMATA’s writing.
“Functional Beauty” provides the first expression of this direction, examining the obsessive pursuit of beauty, attraction and perfection. At the centre of the song is the image of a modern-day King Midas, consumed by the desire to make everything around him perfect. Instead of achieving the ideal he seeks, that pursuit gradually corrupts him, transforming him into a figure incapable of satisfaction and trapped by his own expectations.
Musically, “Functional Beauty” pushes several recognizable elements of the NEKOMATA sound further. Melody and tightly driven grooves meet heavy galloping passages, an immediate chorus, and a succession of solos and rhythmic breaks blending modern metal with classic heavy metal influences.
“Functional Beauty” is the first step into “Third Impact”, with more music and further details surrounding NEKOMATA’s third chapter to be revealed in the coming months.
Listen to “Functional Beauty”: https://lnk.to/neoB3U
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maSJXtKHJOw
Video Direction, Editing & Post-production: Gabriele Gafo Lei / Groundfloor Studio
For fans of: Monuments, Architects, Fear Factory, Periphery, Protest the Hero
|
|
NEKOMATA are:
Andrea Olivieri: Vocals
Andrea Cappellari: Guitars and programming
Filippo Zavattari: Bass and backing vocals
Mirko Fustinoni: Drums
For more info:
https://www.rockshots.eu
https://www.facebook.com/theprojectneko/
https://www.instagram.com/theprojectneko/
BIOGRAPHY:
Nekomata is an Italian metal band… Are you curious to know what they sound like? They call it Power Core – and yeah, it means exactly what it sounds like. Heavy riffs, soaring melodies, metalcore aggression, death metal growls, cinematic electronics, and a bittersweet glam edge that hits you when you least expect it. No genre boxes, no compromises. They released their debut album “…And Then, The Abusement Park Left Town” in October 2022. Their debut album crossed the ocean: in December 2023 it landed in Japan via WARD Records, peaking at #36 on Amazon JP’s bestseller chart. In July 2024, they signed with Rockshots Records for their second album. “Euphoria” hit Japan in November 2024 via Rubicon Records, backed by two live shows in Tokyo before its worldwide release in January 2025. Since then, the band has accumulated more than half a million YouTube views across their official music videos. Two albums in three years, two countries like two sides of the same coin, with a third record already on its way. Just four years into their career, Nekomata is establishing itself as one of the most prolific Italian bands in the heavy and melodic metal scene – and they’re just getting started. Now it’s time for a new chapter… are you ready???
– 30 –
—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
rockshots[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia
0 Blackened Thrashers ETERNAL DRAK Unleashes New Video “We Force It To Speak” + Quebec Tour Dates For Sixth Album “The Violence of Time” Out Now!
NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – August 28, 2026
Blackened Thrashers ETERNAL DRAK Unleashes New Video “We Force It To Speak”
+ Quebec Tour Dates For Sixth Album “The Violence of Time” Out Now!
|
|
Eternal Drak has released the official music video for “We Force It To Speak”, taken from the band’s newly issued sixth album, “The Violence of Time.” The track, a dense and atmospheric black‑metal assault that opens up the record and embodies the album’s central thesis: that the human attempt to explain reality doesn’t clarify it; it distorts it.
“Trying to understand time doesn’t reveal it. It distorts it… Truth isn’t discovered. It’s enforced,” says the band.
The new video amplifies that tension, merging bleak imagery with the song’s shifting textures, from acoustic passages to suffocating walls of distortion, creating a visual and sonic immersion into Eternal Drak’s conceptual universe.
The video can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKSsZR39cYU
“The Violence of Time’ is a ten‑track exploration of time as a hostile force, not a neutral medium, but an active pressure that erodes memory, identity, and causality. The band frames time as something that “does not flow; it imposes… it does not reveal meaning; it destroys it.”
Musically, the album is built for old‑school metal devotees: those who crave the rawness of thrash, the darkness of black metal, and the severity of death metal. Eternal Drak’s evolution is on full display, from analog aggression to modern digital density. Each track is a conceptual “violent thesis,” demolishing traditional ideas of past, present, and future. Rather than telling stories, the songs function as reflections of a larger narrative: a short story written by Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar), the band’s main songwriter, about an individual who realizes that time cannot be described, only confronted.
Over the years, Eternal Drak has evolved from raw thrash‑and‑black foundations into a dynamic force shaped by death metal, groove, and even Latin folk influences. Their sound has grown alongside the metal scene itself, adapting to new tools and technologies while preserving the intensity and character that define the band.
Recommended for fans of Dimmu Borgir, Watain, Kreator, Motörhead, and Desaster, experience “The Violence of Time” in its entirety at the following links
“The Violence of Time” (released July 17th, 2026) is available at the following links:
Band website – https://eternaldrak.com/the-violence-of-time
Bandcamp – https://eternaldrak.bandcamp.com/
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/album/5wq0pSkPFNlU7BtqE0R5J2
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS3ueL-cETg
|
|
Tour Dates – Eternal Drak
Sept 4 – Quebec City, QC – Sonum
Oct 17 – Saint-Marie, QC – Bar Café Notre-Dame
Oct 31 – Montreal, QC – Piranha Bar
|
|
Track Listing:
1. We Force It To Speak – 5:15
2. The Unborn Paths Rot – 3:51
3. Me Hice Simultaneo – 3:30
4. The Blasphemy of Time – 3:35
5. Chaos Is the Law – 3:34
6. Where Cause Is Buried – 3:55
7. Across the Watching Veils – 3:53
8. Breathing Once Again – 3:45
9. The Cosmos Rejects You – 4:09
10. No Direction Total War – 2:57
Album Length: 38:24
Album Band Line-up:
Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar) – Vocals, Lead Guitar, Bass
Michel Amyot – Rhythm Guitar
More info: https://www.eternaldrak.com | https://www.facebook.com/EternalDrak | https://www.instagram.com/eternaldrak
About:
Eternal Drak is an extreme metal band based in Quebec City, Canada, originally founded in Latin America in the late ’90s. Rooted in a fierce blend of thrash and black metal, the band has continually expanded its sound with elements of death metal, groove, and melodic experimentation. Lyrically, Eternal Drak explores human and cosmic darkness, a theme present across all seven of its official releases. The band is currently signed to the Canadian label FirstWave.
Formed in 1997 by brothers Drakar and Warhammer, later joined by guitarist Reijav, Eternal Drak quickly gained recognition, winning a City TV award for Best Metal Video in the early 2000s. After releasing early EPs and their first full-length, the band went on hiatus in 2007.
In 2020, the members reunited in Quebec to create The Past Is Gone, A New One Is Coming, honoring co‑founder and drummer Eduardo “Warhammer” Martínez. This revival led to a prolific new era, including the albums Drak Metal (2021), Shadow Storm (2022), Imprisoned Souls (2024), and multiple EPs. The lineup later expanded with guitarist Mike Amyot and drummer Patrick Auger.
Today, Eternal Drak (featuring Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar) – Vocals, Lead Guitar, Bass, and Michel Amyot – Rhythm Guitar) continues to evolve while staying true to its extreme metal roots, driven by intensity, melody, and a commitment to pushing its sound across continents.
-30-
“Ultimately, Eternal Drak have created something truly remarkable here. They have taken a genre that often gets stuck in its own formulaic mud and used it to deliver a profound, deeply atmospheric, and heavy-as-hell exploration of human mortality. It is a record that manages to be simultaneously intellectually stimulating and physically punishing. It is a pure example of modern, thoughtful extreme metal. If you are ready to let a Latin-infused hurricane tear through your speakers and remind you of the terrifying fragility of your own existence, do yourself a massive favor: turn this up as loud as it goes and let the violence wash over you.” – The Black Metal Archives
“ETERNAL DRAK delivers a thought-provoking and crushing sixth album ”The Violence Of Time” that balances old-school extremity with philosophical ambition. STANDOUT TRACKS: ”The Blasphemy of Time”, ”Chaos Is the Law”, ”The Cosmos Rejects You”. 9/10″ – Metal Rager 666
“With “The Violence Of Time,” Eternal Drak deliver a well-thought-out, superbly produced, and surprisingly catchy blackened thrash album.” – Metalunderground.at
“This is some pretty good Blackened Thrash that has sick riffs, icy tremolos and eerie harmonies with some solos added to keep it interesting, add it to your lists. Rating: 8.1/10 – Drako Metal Reviews (The Violence of Time – 2026)
“10 new songs that will simultaneously brighten and darken your world… Eternal Drak evolve while staying true to their roots… you need to make time in your life to experience and enjoy the deathly screams and raucous riffs of Eternal Drak.” – The Razor’s Edge
“a really entertaining album that’s relatively accessible for the genre.” – The Metal Crypt
““The Violence Of Time” is focused, severe, and written with an old school extreme metal instinct, offering a cohesive attack with enough variation to hold attention across the full album.” – Heavy Metal Darkness
“another great sounding recording from Eternal Drak and if you are a fan of blackened thrash
metal, you should check out this album. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE “We Force It To Speak” “The Blasphemy Of Time” “Where Cause Is Buried” and “The Cosmos Reject You”. 8 out of 10.” – Bringer of Death Webzine
—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia
0 Thank You Canadian MDs and DJs for the airplay love! \m/\m/ For the Week Ending: Tuesday, August 25, 2026 !earshot – The National Loud Chart, Famous Strangers, Iron Kingdom, Phaeton, Destroy My Brains, Volubilis, As Oceans Divide, Pythonic, Powerload, Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship
Thank You Canadian MDs and DJs for the airplay love! \m/\m/
For the Week Ending: Tuesday, August 25, 2026
!earshot – The National Loud Chart
#8 Famous Strangers
https://earshot-online.com/charts/index.cfm?intChartTypeID=106&dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
CFBX 92.5FM – Kamloops
Loud – #1 Iron Kingdom, #10 Phaeton
https://earshot-online.com/charts/cfbx.cfm?intChartTypeID=6&dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
CIVL 101.7 FM – Abbotsford
Loud – #8 Destroy My Brains
https://earshot-online.com/charts/civl.cfm?intChartTypeID=6&dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
CJAM 99.1 FM – Windsor
Loud – #4 Volubilis, #5 As Oceans Divide
https://earshot-online.com/charts/cjam.cfm?intChartTypeID=6&dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
CJLO 1690 kHz – Montreal
Loud – #4 Pythonic
https://earshot-online.com/charts/cjlo.cfm?intChartTypeID=6&dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
CJSR 88.5MHz – Edmonton
Loud – #1 Famous Strangers, #5 Powerlöad
https://earshot-online.com/charts/cjsr.cfm?intChartTypeID=6&dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
CFMH 107.3 MHz – Saint John
Top 30 – #5 Destroy My Brains
https://earshot-online.com/charts/cfmh.cfm?dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
CIVL 101.7 FM – Abbotsford
Top 30 – #30 Destroy My Brains
https://earshot-online.com/charts/civl.cfm?dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
CFBX 92.5FM – Kamloops
Top 30 – #9 Iron Kingdom
https://earshot-online.com/charts/cfbx.cfm?dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
CJSR 88.5MHz – Edmonton
Top 30 – #7 Famous Strangers
https://earshot-online.com/charts/cjsr.cfm?dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
CKUA 94.9 MHz – Edmonton
Top 30 – #20 Famous Strangers
https://earshot-online.com/charts/ckua.cfm?dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
CJSF 90.1 MHz – Burnaby
Top 30 – #21 Dehumanizing Itatrain Worship Gore House Productions Stillbirth Records
https://earshot-online.com/charts/cjsf.cfm?dWeekOfID=2026-08-25
=================
#metal #radio #charts #radiocharts #canada #canadianmetal #metalradio #earshot #famousstrangers #ironkingdom #phaeton #destroymybrains #volubilis #asoceansdivide #powerload #pythonic #dehumanizingitatrainworship #gorehouseproductions #stillbirthrecords
0 No List Records Announces Vinyl Release of Brutal Minimalist Noise Rock BAT LEATHER’s New Album “Dark Arts” + Alberta Tour Dates
NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – August 27, 2026
No List Records Announces Vinyl Release of Brutal Minimalist Noise Rock BAT LEATHER’s New Album “Dark Arts”
+ Alberta Tour Dates
|
|
No List Records is proud to announce the vinyl release of Bat Leather’s new album “Dark Arts,” arriving September 4, 2026. Pressed in 150 white vinyl copies and 50 rare black editions, this limited run captures the raw, confrontational energy that has made Bat Leather one of Canada’s most compelling underground acts.
Hailing from Calgary, AB, and Vancouver, BC, the duo known as Bat Leather has a sound that has always defied easy categorization, a collision of punk abrasion, noisy garage chaos, and sludgy heaviness that feels both unsettling and addictive. Their songs hit like short, volatile bursts: distorted guitars, overdriven vocals, feedback woven directly into the songwriting, and a heaviness that somehow keeps getting heavier.
Tracks like “Technical Aggression” twist noise into structure, while “Dance Craze” drags listeners through a slow‑burn haze of pounding drums and smoke‑thick atmosphere.
Listen to “Dance Craze” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXr23p8FBI8
Bat Leather will support “Dark Arts” with a run of Alberta shows this September, bringing their confrontational, genre‑breaking sound directly to Western Canada. Tour dates listed below.
Bat Leather makes music that resists being boxed in. It’s noisy, it’s heavy, it’s chaotic, and it’s compelling, the kind of record you drop the needle on and immediately wonder where it came from. Their songs crawl inside you, getting stranger and more addictive with every listen. If “heavy rotation” counts as a genre, Bat Leather owns it.
No List Records continues its tradition of championing uncompromising, boundary‑pushing artists. The “Dark Arts” vinyl release marks another entry in the label’s commitment to supporting music that challenges, confronts, and refuses to fit neatly into any category.
Vinyl Pre-Order – https://nolistrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dark-arts
|
|
Tour Dates:
Sept 21 – Drumheller, AB – Heller Good w/ The Polite Stripes
Sept 22 – Calgary, AB – Palomino Smokehouse w/ Unsane
Sept 23 – Lethbridge, AB – Theoretically Brewing AA
Sept 24 – Calgary, AB – Blox Arts Centre R4$ AA
|
|
Track Listing:
1. Dance Craze – 2:00
2. Thursday Inn Sylvan – 1:42
3. Misguided Projects – 1:51
4. Then He Was Pulled Into A Machine – 2:26
5. Technical Aggression – 2:39
Credits:
Cory – Guitar, Bass, Drums, Noise
Luke – Vocals, Noise
Recorded January 2026 at Red Volume Audio in the Badlands, ab by Cory. Vocals recorded in Vancouver, bc by Luke.
Mixed by Cory. No master, no god.
Cover photograph and layout by Cory.
More info: https://www.instagram.com/batleathernoise/
-30-
—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook – Asher Media Relations
Instagram – AsherMedia
Tweet – AsherMedia
0 JUPITER CYCLOPS Announces New Album “One Eye Opens” and Reveals Music Video “Who Are They Foolin’?”
NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – August 27, 2026
JUPITER CYCLOPS Announces New Album “One Eye Opens” and Reveals Music Video “Who Are They Foolin’?”
|
|
Phoenix, Arizona heavy metal band JUPITER CYCLOPS will release their sophomore album, “One Eye Opens”, on November 20th, 2026 via Rockshots Records. Building on the foundations of their 2024 debut, “Age of the UFOnaut”, the band pushes its sound further into classic heavy metal and ’80s territory while retaining the heavy ’70s rock influences at the core of its identity. The album’s first single and opening track, “Who Are They Foolin’?”, is out now.
With “One Eye Opens”, Jupiter Cyclops expand on the sound established with their debut, bringing more of their ’80s influences to the surface. Across eight tracks, the album moves through traditional heavy metal and NWOBHM foundations while exploring proto-thrash, slower melodic songwriting and more atmospheric arrangements.
The album was written against a backdrop of what Jupiter Cyclops sees as a society increasingly shaped by manipulation, control, and fear. Those ideas inform both the title “One Eye Opens” and several of the songs, creating a thematic thread around awareness and the moment when accepted realities begin to be questioned.
Rather than following a single musical formula, the record moves between direct heavy metal, classic hard rock influences, and longer, more developed compositions. It culminates in the 7:39 “The Initiates” before closing with its title track, “One Eye Opens”.
Jupiter Cyclops comments:
“We are ready to unleash the tunes that we’ve been working on over the last couple of years. It will be bigger, heavier, with our most diverse songs yet. The album was written while watching the world lose its humanity in real time. Manipulation, control, fear, and the realization that modern life is built around keeping us asleep. If you follow us, you know we are about big riffs and hooks, and this album is stacked. The album is finally coming, and we can’t wait to share it in full volume.”
Leading the album is its first single, “Who Are They Foolin’?”, a track that introduces the heavier side of the new material.
The song has roots that stretch considerably further back than the album itself. Its original idea was written by bassist Jake Melius when he was just 16 years old before eventually being developed into its present form with Jupiter Cyclops. Written by Melius and guitarist Dustin Lyon with lyrics by Aaron Peltz, the track draws from early thrash while incorporating elements associated with Iron Maiden and Deep Purple.
Musically, “Who Are They Foolin’?” combines heavy riffing with melodic guitar work and Peltz’s commanding vocal delivery. Lyrically, the song functions as Jupiter Cyclops’ protest song, addressing power and the ability of a relatively small group of people to exercise a disproportionate degree of control over others. In that respect, the track provides a direct entry point into the wider themes explored on “One Eye Opens”.
Listen: https://lnk.to/3dKd9J
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7laATZPSwak
|
|
“One Eye Opens” was recorded at The Ripper’s House, produced by Jupiter Cyclops and mixed by Dustin Lyon, with cover artwork by Mashai Fattahi.
“ONE EYE OPENS” | OUT NOVEMBER 20, 2026
PRE-ORDER “ONE EYE OPENS” | CD & VINYL – https://lnk.to/OneEyeOpens
For fans of: UFO, Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, classic heavy metal, hard rock, and NWOTHM.
|
|
More info:
https://www.facebook.com/JupiterCyclopsArizona
https://www.instagram.com/jupitercyclopsaz/
-30-
Past Reviews:
MUSOSCRIBE/BILL KOPP -It’s one thing to appreciate the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM). But it’s quite another to learn from the style, to take what’s most valuable about it and apply it to one’s own original music. Yet that’s what Phoenix-based Jupiter Cyclops has managed to do. On the group’s second long-player, Age of the UFOnaut, the four-piece outfit serves up its trademark uber-heavy rock (think Black Sabbath and Deep Purple) leavened with the more modern approach of later, more intense artists (Iron Maiden, for example). Intricate yet lockstep riffage is the order of the day. The band operates with thunderous power and unified purpose; the four musicians plays as if they’re all part of one seething, roaring musical organism. But what separates Age of the UFOnaut from standard-issue metal is the high quality of the vocals. No cookie-monster harsh vocals (if that’s your thing, well, sorry); instead, lead singer Aaron Peltz roars in a melodic manner that recalls – in manner if not texture – great hard rock vocalists like UFO’s Phill Mogg, Ian Gillan and, well, not-too-many others.
DOOMED AND STONED – “It’s getting hot all over the US right now, and no band knows it better than JUPITER CYCLOPS from Phoenix, Arizona, where it’s been inching closer and closer into 120 degree territory lately. Now there’s a band name for you to contemplate the next time you blaze up. Everything about it sounds larger than life, and their new album ‘Age of the UFOnaut’ (2024) definitely goes for it all: a heavy rock tincture of free-wheeling psychedelia with currents doom, groove metal, and NWOBHM.”
SENTINEL DAILY – Arizona’s Jupiter Cyclops have hit the ground running with debut album Age of The UFOnaut. Stoner/psych rock and metal bands are ten a penny these days, and not many of them have the wit or style to rise from the sludgy mire to exhibit revolutionary (or maybe evolutionary) traits like originality or flair. So it’s an absolute delight to stumble across these blokes, whose record is absolutely bulging at the seams with excitement and verve. Basically they’ve taken all the best bits of the seventies, heavy rock wise, and formed them in their own image. Aaron Peltz is a marvellous singer, taking a soupçon of Hagar, a dash of Meniketti, and a whole lot of his own talent to deliver a compelling performance, which is only boosted by a commanding lead guitar performance from Dustin Lyon, who has to be one of the most impressive axemen I’ve heard in a while. Built on the back of these two major operators, tracks like Between Worlds sound absolutely gargantuan, But on the album’s standout cut, Sinful Ways, they manage to elevate things to such a level as to appear almost Godlike.
UBER ROCK – “What this quartet employ is not a new combination of ingredients – two measures of traditional doom aesthetic, one of proto-NWoBHM enthusiasm, a dash of stoner intensity and a dash of that desert breeze, coupled with one each of cynicism and bravura – but how they combine them is the mark of masters of their craft. As is exemplified in every consistently precise and perfectly curated second of this declarative debut offering.”
ROUGH EDGE – “I have been reviewing music for over 25 years and the one thing I have figured out, the more I learn about bands, the more I realize I don’t know. My current project is a band called Jupiter Cyclops (what a great fricken name) and their recording “Age of the UFOnaut.” From start to finish each song is finely crafted and ready to be seen live. Everything about this band is simply killer. This is rock’n’roll that should be witnessed loud and often (which is just what I did). You can tell from the quality of this music that Jupiter Cyclops is a band to be reckoned with and listened to and I mean with vigor. I am at a loss for words as I listen to “Age of the UFOnaut” and, if you know me at all, you know that shit just doesn’t happen. Killer music, outstanding presentation and hard rock fucking music done the correct way. After numerous spins all I can say is that I give “Age of the UFOnaut” four full guitarsaws, and if I could say more I fucking would.
—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia
0 Protected: EPK- Traumatomy – Ascension Of The Ineffable (2026) (Gore House Productions)
0 LA Symphonic Metal LEVINIA Announces California Show Dates + New Music Video “The Blank Page” and more!
NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – Aug 26, 2026
LA Symphonic Metal LEVINIA Announces California Show Dates + New Music Video “The Blank Page” and more!
New Singles Produced by Brandon Friesen (Halestorm, Nickelback, The Hu, Papa Roach)
|
|
L-R – Dylan Suierveld – Drums, Kourt Henson – Vocals, Liam Alexander – Bass, Alon Mei-Tal – Guitar
Photo Credit – Dream of Mirrors Photography
Los Angeles-based symphonic metal outfit Levinia is set to hit the road in California this coming fall for a run of intimate, high‑impact shows celebrating their 2026 singles “Blank Page,” “Bite,” “Silver Tongues,” and “The Thorn.” The new material marks the band’s most refined and emotionally charged era yet, produced by acclaimed Brandon Friesen (Halestorm, Nickelback, The Hu, Papa Roach), a collaboration that has elevated Levinia’s sound into darker, sharper, and more immersive territory.
Formed in 2017 by drummer Dylan Suierveld and guitarist John Pinon Martinez after departing Aerius, Levinia began as a vision for something more cinematic, more emotionally expansive, and more theatrically driven than their previous work. That vision crystallized with the arrival of vocalist Kourt Henson, whose classically influenced approach and literary‑inspired lyricism became the band’s defining voice. With the addition of lead guitarist Alon Mei‑Tal in 2020 and bassist Liam Alexander in 2026, Levinia has evolved into a hybrid force, melding symphonic atmosphere, modern American metal aggression, and deeply personal storytelling.
Each of the band’s 2026 releases showcases a different facet of their identity. Friesen’s production helped refine the band’s strongest ideas into four distinct emotional experiences, each pushing Levinia further into their aggressive, melodic, and cinematic identity. The first single “The Thorn” unveiled Levinia’s evolving narrative and blend of cinematic tension and modern heaviness. “Silver Tongues”, a groove‑driven track, demonstrated the band’s unsettling exploration of celebrity worship and blind cultural obedience. “Bite” unleashed a dark, aggressive song inspired by Dracula and the resilience of Mina Murray, channeling themes of toxic influence and personal reclamation. “The Blank Page” revealed a haunting, emotionally raw portrayal of writer’s block, pressure, and creative paralysis erupting into one of the band’s most powerful choruses.
Recommended for fans of Within Temptation, Amaranthe, Nightwish, Lacuna Coil, and Delain, all singles can be heard along with music videos at the following links:
The Blank Page – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnWntWSKHR0
Bite – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55Uw9l0cmAA
Silver Tongues – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqhk6j6wzKs
The Thorn – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30EmGiQL7ug
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/1EwsNdgp51KoolPhaM3TYY
Levinia’s California dates promise a performance that is raw, immersive, and emotionally gripping. Rather than relying on theatrics, the band focuses on connection, intense eye contact, dynamic chemistry, and a sense of living inside each song. Their shows feel personal, powerful, and human, offering a unique contrast to the over‑produced spectacles often seen in modern metal.
Fans can expect a setlist built around the new singles, alongside select tracks from their earlier EPs “Alluring Fear” and “Liberation,” showcasing the band’s evolution from symphonic roots to their current hybrid cinematic‑metal identity. The shows will also feature exclusive early previews of upcoming material, as the band continues writing and recording beyond these four singles.
Show Dates:
Sept 26 – Corona, CA – Rockefellas Cavern w/ 5Aberwulf
Nov 8 – Santa Ana, CA – Stages w/ Ravenmocker, Love and Other Demons
Levinia:
Vocals – Kourt Henson
Guitar – Alon Mei-Tal
Bass – Liam Alexander
Drums- Dylan Suierveld
More info:
https://www.leviniaofficial.com/
https://instagram.com/leviniaofficial
https://www.facebook.com/LeviniaOfficial/
-30-
“The mixing was just absolutely incredible for the guitars. I really like that.” (referring to the complex rhythm). This was, I mean, I was super impressed. Really impressed. I love the chorus. That’s what we really love. (about catchy choruses). I love that. It was so good (about the operatic vocals), super super cool. What a good job. I’m happy that she’s back with her band. They all look like they were having a great time. That was super cool. (about the live setting) I love it. Yeah. Yeah. I love it.” (about headbanging). This was perfect. Right up my alley.” “It was very good. Very high rating. This was really cool, and I’m very happy we did this one.”- YouTube Reaction Video – The Rockin’ Roundtable (2026 – The Thorn (single)
“Overall, Liberation is a thoroughly impressive EP that should find appeal with both the modern metal and symphonic crowds, especially those craving a little extra heaviness in their material. Levinia are onto something great here, best to catch them here at the ground level and watch them explode to the next level in the near future.” – Dead Rhetoric (2018 – Liberation)
—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia
0 EPK – Bat Leather – Dark Arts (2026) (No List Records)
EPK – Bat Leather – Dark Arts (2026) (No List Records)
Publicist – Jon Asher – jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Nolistrecords.bandcamp.com/album/dark-arts
Facebook.com/nolistrecords | Instagram.com/nolistrecords
150 white vinyls
50 rare blacks
Band: Bat Leather
Album Title: Dark Arts
Label: No List Records (Vinyl), Super Crunch Records
Release Date: September 4, 2026
Genre: Brutal Minimalist Noise Rock
Location: Calgary, AB / Vancouver, BC, Canada
Track Listing:
1. Dance Craze – 2:00
2. Thursday Inn Sylvan – 1:42
3. Misguided Projects – 1:51
4. Then He Was Pulled Into A Machine – 2:26
5. Technical Aggression – 2:39
Credits:
Cory – Guitar, Bass, Drums, Noise
Luke – Vocals, Noise
Recorded January 2026 at Red Volume Audio in the Badlands, ab by Cory. Vocals recorded in Vancouver, bc by Luke.
Mixed by Cory. No master, no god.
Cover photograph and layout by Cory.
====================================================
Bat Leather 7” 2026
There are times when you drop a needle on a record, sit down to listen to it for the first time, and you’re immediately a bit puzzled. Where is this coming from? How do I place this? What genre am I going to put this in when I brag to my friends that I found it first?
Bat Leather makes that type of music. The kind that confronts you, maybe makes you a bit uneasy, on edge, but is immediately engaging. It’s punk, but not. It’s noisy garage rock, but not entirely that. Noisy and then, somehow, noisier. Then there is that nod to the plodding, sludgy sound more often associated with music to get stoned to. It’s a lot, packed into short blasts of sound and fury.
With the overdriven vocals and hyper-distorted guitars punctuated by waves of feedback, this band is heavy. Like, heavy. Puzzling over the sound isn’t the point. “Technical Aggression” captures how Bat Leather can expertly twist feedback into the core of the song, and while “restraint” is not necessarily an accurate word to describe this music, “Dance Craze” is a slow burn, with pounding drums and vocals dragging you through the smoke.
Usually, these write-ups of bands include comparisons or influences, with a tidy wind-up that puts the band into a box of a narrowly defined genre, simplifying things, or lumps them into a scene that makes things familiar. Bat Leather is not that band; their music is not that easy. In the end, you’re left with something complicated – something that rocks and is noisy. It’s heavy and then gets heavier. It’s describable; you can, but never capture everything going on. And it crawls inside you with listen after listen after listen. If “heavy rotation” counts as a genre, well, this is it.
0 Calgary’s VICTORIA LIES’ New Music Video Is “Weaving Webs” Into A Dark Metalcore Universe + Debut Album “Vendetta” Out Oct 2026
NEWS RELEASE
Montreal, QC – August 25, 2026
Calgary’s VICTORIA LIES’ New Music Video Is “Weaving Webs” Into A Dark Metalcore Universe
+ Debut Concept Album “Vendetta” Out Oct 2026 via Black Cat Records
|
|
L-R – Jay Powell (Bass), Chris Koehler (Guitars), Brett Hetherington (Vocals), James Cuncanon (Drums), Rory Fitzsimmons (Guitars)
Photo Credit – Heather Kim
Calgary’s cinematic metalcore force Victoria Lies unleash their second single and music video “Weaving Webs,” following the explosive impact of “Red” and further expanding the dark, narrative‑driven universe leading into their debut full‑length “Vendetta,” due out on October 30th, 2026 via Black Cat Records.
While the album “Vendetta” is built around the mysterious and evolving story of Victoria, “Weaving Webs” steps outside the central narrative to confront real‑world deception and the collapse of long‑standing falsehoods.
“Even though not directly part of the Victoria universe, this one lyrically talks about how we all can see and communicate across the world. We can all see the terrible things that are happening. The same lies that have been told for decades no longer hold any ground, and we can now see who the real villains are. We will not forget,” adds vocalist Brett Hetherington.
Musically, guitarist Rory Fitzsimmons notes that the track began as a stylistic experiment inspired by Attack Attack!, pushing the band’s genre‑bending approach even further:
“I like to utilize ideas from all different styles of music. The intro to the track was a really fun side quest to see if a crazy idea I had would work.”
The band’s first single “Red” introduced listeners to the pivotal moment in the Vendetta storyline, the instant Victoria becomes Victoria. A chaotic, urgent, and emotionally volatile track, “Red” set the tone for the album’s blend of narrative depth and heavy, groove‑driven metalcore.
With “Weaving Webs,” Victoria Lies reveal yet another facet of their sound, one that’s melodic, head‑banging, heavy, genre‑bending, and groovy in equal measure.
Watch and listen to the video for “Weaving Webs” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfgVSj0AxRc
Add to your Spotify playlist – https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/victorialies/weaving-webs-2
|
|
Releasing October 30th, 2026, “Vendetta” is a concept‑driven metalcore album built on theatrical storytelling, emotional depth, and genre experimentation. Across its ten tracks, the band explores themes of power, violence, deception, trauma, and transformation, all while pushing their sound into new territory with elements of pop, trap beats, saxophone, and more.
The album was produced by Scott Bennett, with the band’s signature blend of heavy grooves, dynamic melodies, and narrative‑driven lyrics brought to life through meticulous writing and collaborative effort.
Victoria Lies is a Canadian metalcore band known for blending heavy grooves, technical flair, and theatrical storytelling. Formed in 2023, the lineup features vocalist Brett Hetherington, drummer James Cuncanon, guitarists Chris Koehler and Rory Fitzsimmons, and bassist Jay Powell. Their live shows incorporate choreography and the character of Victoria, portrayed by dancer Sadie Rieb, creating an immersive narrative experience.
The band has performed across Alberta, Calgary, Drumheller, Lethbridge, and Edmonton, including at Gatorfest II and Decimate Metalfest.
Recommended for fans of Bad Omens, Atreyu, AFI, Killswitch Engage, and Dayseeker, “Vendetta” will be available on October 30th, 2026, from Black Cat Records on all digital platforms.
Album pre-save – https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/victorialies/vendetta
|
|
Track Listing:
1. Victoria – 1:40
2. We Ignite – 3:25
3. Terra Critical – 4:00
4. Laced With Hate – 6:30
5. Red – 2:44
6. Weaving Webs – 4:18
7. Trial by Fire – 3:33
8. Absurd – 4:21
9. Red Lips, Loaded Gun – 5:52
10. Ravens – 3:41
11. Truth and Sugar – 4:15
Album Length: 44:23
Album and Live Band Line-up:
Jay Powell (Bass)
Brett Hetherington (Vocals)
James Cuncanon (Drums)
Chris Koehler (Guitars)
Rory Fitzsimmons (Guitars)
More info: Victorialies.com | Facebook.com/victorialiesband | Instagram.com/victorialiesband | Tiktok.com/@victoria.lies
-30-
—
ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS
Jon Asher – Music Publicist
#.514.581.5780
jon[@]ashermediarelations[.]com
Facebook @AsherMediaRelations
Instagram @AsherMedia
Tweet @AsherMedia
ashermediarelations.com 