Breaking Benjam announced a big 2026 tour with special guests Chevelle, Starset, and Kami Kehoe.

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Less Than Three Kitties - song - 2025

Shinedown debuted a new song, announced a new album, 'EI8HT,' and detailed a massive 2026 world tour.

YouTube video by Knife in the Dark

We're excited to premiere the video for Sparkler's new single "Pet Hotel," off their upcoming 'Glidewinder'

YouTube video by Skep Wax

Death-thrashers Dissentience hit like a Kaiju on their new EP. The post Full EP Stream: Dissentience – “Kaiju” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

English is fairly adequate for basic communication, but it falls short for niche communities. In the same way that skiers repurpose “powder” or “carve” and gamers repurpose “own” or “sweaty,” metal fans break and contort language to suit our needs. We talk about “filthy” guitar tones and “razor sharp” riffs, discuss “cavernous” production and “suffocating” weight, and use violent imagery—bleeding ears, caved in skulls—to denote quality. So when I read phrases like “slow, painful march,” “soporific1 dirge,” and “empty decades between chords” on the promo sheet for debut Dark Thoughts with Lights Out, I thought Cattle Hammer was just employing a little dialectical variance, speaking the lingo. Joke’s on me, though. They weren’t. Based in Birmingham, UK, Cattle Hammer was formed by vocalist/guitarist Duncan Wilkins (Fukpig, Mistress) in 2023. He’s joined by I Cartwright on drums, J Wyles on guitar, and D Von Donovan on bass. Together, they mix a caustic brew of drone, doom, and sludge, but each track on Dark Thoughts with Lights Out has its own identity. “Gloomsower” leans stony, and Wilkins oscillates between deep roars and strangled croaks reminiscent of Weedeater. “Rotting” features short tremolos, although they don’t do much besides check the “blackened” box on the PR sheet. The ambient, noise-tinged intro to “Watchmen, Alone” caught my attention, but repetition of the vocal sample stunts its ability to build tension. Similarly, “Body Puzzle” ends on some interesting synths, but it’s a tough sell so late in the album. If you can’t tell, I’m really reaching for positives here, but there’s not a one that isn’t ultimately a disappointment. Dark Thoughts With Lights Out by Cattle Hammer Every time I thought Cattle Hammer might do something interesting or better texturize Dark Thoughts with Lights Out, they shrank from the occasion. The early lead guitar in “Gloomsower” is a bright change of pace amidst thick, doomy passages, but instead of playing a countermelody or variation on the theme or literally anything else, it just plays the same fucking riff in a higher register. This same-riff-different-instrument/key tactic is fairly common (“Rotting,” “Watchmen, Alone”). Organ (“Watchmen, Alone,” “Body Puzzle”) and piano (“Rotting”) make appearances, but fail to deliver anything justifying their inclusion. Static and feedback crop up frequently, but in Cattle Hammer’s hands, they are merely unpleasant and banal. While I was intrigued by the first sample2 and always appreciate Sheri Moon Zombie,3 Cattle Hammer’s sample usage is ham-fisted and melodramatic. Each of these ornaments gave me hope that I might soon feel something besides boredom and frustration, but invariably, Dark Thoughts with Lights Out dashed my hopes and shuffled on. What astounds me most on Dark Thoughts with Lights Out is how avoidable many of these blunders seem. Percussion is a little lackluster, and the instruments seem a bit compressed in the mix, leaving the vocals too far in front. These aren’t deal breakers, but playing fewer riffs—I’m being generous, calling them that—in 45 minutes than I have fingers is. Structuring the front half of a song to sound like a narrative climax with no build-up or release is (“Watchmen, Alone,” “Body Puzzle”). Rhythmic density rivaling the emptiness of space is. Ambient, feedback-laden outros enough to compile an EP is. This album is ostensibly meant to convey misery and suffering, but devoid of creativity or artistic abstraction, it misses the mark that acts like Primitive Man, The Body, or Sumac hit so well. It’s as if Cattle Hammer has crafted some misguided meta experience, in which the act of listening to the music imparts the misery normally communicated through the music itself. If there’s one thing Cattle Hammer truly excels at, it’s squandering potential. Every criticism in this review is a place where I saw an opportunity for Dark Thoughts with Lights Out to get better, only for it to stay the course. What’s even more frustrating is that, if any one of these problems weren’t a problem, it could have at least partially salvaged the album. Amidst deeply uninteresting riffs played slow enough for inter-note naps, song constructions that fail to launch, underutilized instrumentation, an impressive lack of variation, repetition ad nauseum, and a totally unjustified runtime, Dark Thoughts with Lights Out isn’t simply unremarkable or uninteresting; it’s a literal chore to listen through. Based on the promo sheet, maybe that’s the point, but whether Cattle Hammer achieved their goal is irrelevant.4 Dark Thoughts with Lights Out is a bad album. --- Rating: 1.0/5.0 DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3 Label: Road to Masochist Websites: Bandcamp | Ampwall | Facebook | Instagram Releases Worldwide: February 6th, 2026 The post Cattle Hammer – Dark Thoughts with Lights Out appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Sometimes an album comes around ye olde promo pit that looks and smells familiar, but plays like something else entirely. Today’s entry into the “what the heck am I actually listening to?” hall of infamy is Phasma’s Purgatory. The third record from the Greek/US duo, and the first carried by a label—our beloved Transcending Obscurity Records—Purgatory continually subverted every expectation I had. In doing so, it became one of my biggest pleasant surprises in recent memory. While early Phasma works boasted a songwriting style and sound that evoked a grotesque Whitechapel/Vampire Squid lovechild, Purgatory is a charred and venomous affair of only a tenuous relation to that concoction, and all the better for it. Conjuring a vision where Vimur, Harms Way, and Crypts of Despair’s first two albums merged into one mangled mass, Purgatory writhes and slithers through an unholy collection of brutal riffs, immolating tremolo flares, and swaggering grooves. While Phasma’s vocal approach largely carries over from early works, pairing a guttural roar with piercing screeches, but minimizing previously prevalent items like subterranean gurgles and glass-shattering squeals, it takes on an altogether more intimidating character here. Instead of showing off the full range of technical skills and range as this unit had to prove on their self-titled debut, Phasma took Purgatory as an opportunity to be as mean and concise as possible. Purgatory by PHASMA Simplifying their song structures, doubling down on memorable hooks, and restricting technical expositions to a minimum helped Phasma achieve their goal, resulting in a work that feels genuinely terrifying. Opening duo “I” and early highlight “II” prove this within thirty seconds of their introduction, but also create a delightful deviation from the usual songwriting tricks I expect from one phrase to another. For example, “I” makes me think a huge breakdown is about to drop right at the start, only to blast into the shadowed iciness of black metal, then dive seamlessly into a gym-ready hardcore groove. Subverting my expectations becomes a regular occurrence in Purgatory. “II,” “III,” and “VI” all venture deeper into doom-laden dungeons than I would’ve ever anticipated from a record as evil and high-energy as this. Harmonized melodies and layered guitar pyrotechnics only enhance this effect when things transition between paces and moods in a snap (“II”). By thusly offsetting their stripped-down writing with constant fiery twists and gnarly turns, Phasma crafted a remarkably exciting and rich experience that is an absolute joy to experience over and over again. Despite its truncated 27-minute runtime, Purgatory burgeons with invigorating ideas all meticulously arranged, but initial spins suffer at the hands of a production of unforgiving loudness. “IV” in particular challenged my ability to appreciate the fantastic lead-into-chug-triplets and Vampire Squid riffs that bulge out from densely packed bass rumbles and glassy cymbals, in no small part because everything is so in-your-face as to flatten entirely. “V” feels a similar impact, though an eerie, bass-driven atmospheric break and subsequent Atrae Bilis-esque bridge briefly alleviates that effect. Understanding that the intended purpose of Purgatory is to oppress and destroy, a little more headroom in the mix and master would’ve allowed Phasma to hit harder and better highlight the myriad clever details distributed throughout. Thankfully, the production isn’t so ruinous as to make my experience with Purgatory anything less than a delightful treat. As I spent more time with it, I loved it more, craved it regularly, and found additional moments to take home. Memorable beyond what I anticipated, and more engaging than I dared hope, Purgatory is a resounding success in all areas other than engineering. In some circles, that one weakness won’t matter much. In the end, it didn’t matter much to me either, such is the strength of Phasma’s songwriting.1 This is one trip to limbo you won’t want to miss!  --- Rating: Great! DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3 Label: Transcending Obscurity Records Websites: phasmaproject.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/PhasmaProject Releases Worldwide: February 20th, 2026 The post Phasma – Purgatory Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

You might know actor/musician Michael Des Barres through his time as Murdoc on MacGuyver , or from his rock and soul show on Little Steven's...

Alternative rock/metal/pop enigma Poppy will head out on a North American tour in the spring in support of her seventh album, 'Empty Hands.'

Norwegian alt-metal outfit Glasgow Kiss released their debut album 'Down In Flames' last Friday via Eclipse Records and are now sharing an official music video for the title track!

Podcast Episode · Rock 102 Morning Show Podcasts · 02/09/2026 · 54m