Argonauta Records proudly announces the return of Italian stoner rockers Solar Mantra with their brand new single “A Brand New Grave,” available now on all digital platforms: https://song.link/solarmantra_bng
After the release of their acclaimed debut album “Away” in 2021, Solar Mantra step back into the spotlight with a track that marks a powerful new chapter in their sonic evolution. “A Brand New Grave” blends thick desert grooves, gritty grunge tension and hard rock drive into a darker, heavier and more focused creative milestone.
Known for merging evocative stoner atmospheres with muscular riffing and strong melodic sensibility, Solar Mantra draw influences from bands such as Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Clutch, The Sword, Greenleaf, Dozer and Danzig, shaping a sound that is both raw and cinematic. The new single pushes their identity further, delivering massive low end, hypnotic grooves and an aggressive edge that reflects the band’s growth since their debut.
Formed in Rome, Solar Mantra started as a desert psych instrumental project before evolving into a full band with a strong vocal driven approach. Their debut full length “Away,” released by Argonauta Records in 2021, introduced them to a wider international audience thanks to its balance of fuzz, atmosphere and songwriting depth.
In 2025 Solar Mantra returned to the studio to record their second full length album, “State of Joyful Lightness,” focusing on a heavier approach while keeping the melodic traits that defined their earlier work. The sessions saw the band collaborating with Danilo Silvestri as co producer and sound engineer, pushing their sound toward a more massive and modern dimension.
The band comment: “We’re thrilled to continue working with Argonauta Records. Gero helped us get our first album, ‘Away,’ out there beyond our expectations, and we hope to do even better with our new album’”
“A Brand New Grave” is the first glimpse into this new era.
More details about the upcoming album will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Blues Funeral Recordings are pleased to welcome London heavy rock quartet OKAY YOU WIN to their roster, with their debut album set for release later this year.
Four-piece heavy rock band Okay You Win came together in London in 2023. Over three years, the band has built a solid reputation on the UK underground heavy rock scene, bringing a double hit of heavy riffs and soaring vocals.
Rooted in influences from Seattle grunge, Californian desert rock, 90s alt-rock and classic British heavy metal, OKYW blends psychedelic stoner rock and doomy breakdowns with driving rock riffs. The band has just recorded its debut full-length album at The Nave in Leeds with producer Andy Hawkins (Psychlona, Grave Lines, The Damned) and mastered by Alain Johannes.
Okay You Win have had a stellar 2025, playing shows across the UK and a short run in Northern Spain, with a Desertfest London appearance confirmed for May 15th, 2026, and further UK and European dates to be announced shortly.
About signing to Blues Funeral Recordings, they state: "Our recent signing with Blues Funeral marks a major step forward for us, and in our journey together as a band. To be releasing our debut album on such a well-respected label, and alongside such an exceptional roster of heavy bands – bands we have literally ‘looked up to’ from the pit - is something we are extremely proud of. We hope that this album, and these songs, will help us to earn our own rightful place in the international heavy community."
Argonauta Records is proud to welcome UK experimental rock outfit Abrasive Trees to its roster. The band celebrate the signing with the release of their brand new single and video “Carved Skull”, the first official chapter from the upcoming debut album Light Remaining, out Spring 2026 via Argonauta Records.
Known for their darkly immersive blend of experimental rock, post rock and psychedelic tension, Abrasive Trees shape powerful sonic landscapes driven by reverb soaked guitars, hypnotic rhythms and emotionally charged dynamics. “Carved Skull” strikes with cinematic weight, shifting between restraint and explosion and sets the tone for what promises to be the band’s most focused and ambitious statement so far.
Says the band:
“Finding a label that truly shares your energy and belief in the work is rare, and Argonauta Records are passionate about everything they do. When they told us they wanted to work with us, we were genuinely thrilled. Releasing Light Remaining through them feels hugely exciting and completely right. This album has taken an enormous amount of time and creative energy to produce, so partnering with Argonauta is the perfect match.” Matthew Rochford, Abrasive Trees
Formed in 2018 and fronted by Matthew Rochford (Silver Moth, Rothko) with Jay Newton and Will Tyler, Abrasive Trees operate in the shadows between experimental rock and post rock, merging cryptic lyricism with towering crescendos and hypnotic atmospheres. Praised by BBC Introducing, Louder Than War, MusoMuso, The Big Takeover and Aural Aggravation, the band have steadily built a reputation for intensity, depth and fearless creativity.
With Argonauta Records behind them, Abrasive Trees are now ready to push their vision further than ever on Light Remaining, arriving in Spring 2026.For more info:
From the land of midnight sun comes a new force of nature: Masheena. Recorded amidst the sun-scorched landscapes of Austin's Hill Country with renowned producer Machine (Clutch, Lamb Of God, King Crimson), the follow-up to their 2023 debut "West Coast Hard Rock" is heavier, more versatile and packed with soulful, vocal-driven hooks. Marrying the melodic-centered vision of Scandinavian hard rock with a bluesy, southern-crisp flavor and a healthy slab of fuzz, "Let The Spiders In" is a distilled shot of pure stadium-tailored heavy rock. Ten tracks poised to break hearts and rattle cages that should win over fans of Spiritual Beggars, The Parlor Mob, Rival Sons, Orchid and Dozer.
It will be co-released on April 10th by Majestic Mountain Records (Europe) and Ripple Music (North America and world).
Thanks to the amazing folks over at Purple Sage PR, we're excited premiere the new song and video for GOING TO THE MOUNTAIN from the upcoming new album LET THE SPIDERS IN.
TRACKLIST:
1. Been Waiting 2. Going To The Mountain 3. One Eye 4. A Game You Don't Want To Lose 5. Life Is But A Sin 6. Sara Lost Her Way 7. In Her Eyes 8. Don't Tell Her 9. Riffy 10. You Owe Me
The Lowdown
Hailing from Bergen, Norway, the powerhouse quartet MASHEENA blends four decades of hard rock heritage into a fresh, electrifying sound. Their debut album "West Coast Hard Rock" was a game-changer: produced by Iver Sandøy and mixed/mastered by Machine, it hit #6 on the Doom Charts, earned global acclaim, and surpassed 100K streams in its first year.
With a revitalized lineup featuring multi-instrumentalists Martin Holmes (Popium, Sylvia Wane) and Heine A. Heggernes (Lost At Last) joining Luis Salomon and Tarjei A. Heggernes, MASHEENA is back stronger than ever with their sophomore album "Let The Spiders In", to be issued on Majestic Mountain Records and Ripple Music in the spring of 2026.
Masheena UK Tour Dates
10.04.26 - Bergen - Kulturhuset (NO)
11.04.26 - Oslo - Last Train (NO)
26.04.26 - London - Helgi's (UK)
27.04.26 - Glasgow - Audio (UK)
28.04.26 - Edinburgh - Bannermans (UK)
29.04.26 - Bristol - The Gryphon (UK)
30.04.26 - Oxford - The Wheatsheaf (UK)
01.05.26 - Nottingham - The Angel (UK)
02.05.26 - Bournemouth - Bear Cave (UK)
Masheena is
Luis-Alberto Salomon — Guitars & Vocals Tarjei A Heggernes — Bass Bård Heavy Nordvik — Drums and percussion
Release Date: February 13th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD
The Thrill - Tracklisting
Crimson Rain
Members
Jakob Særvoll – Keyboard and vocals
Vegard Bachmann Strand – Guitar and vocals
Samuel Robson Gardner – Bass
Sivert Kleiven Larsen - Drums and vocals
Review
Doom/Stoner Rockers Gjenferd return with another high octane slice of Rock and Roll that follows the same path as their previous single Crimson Rain with the band adding a Classic Rock touch. The previous single touched upon areas of Proto-Metal and Seventies Hard Rock, this time round there are progressive flourishes with the band sounding they take influence from the likes of Orchid, Black Sabbath and The Who.
The song has a very cool slow paced contemporary sound which allows the excellent vocals firmly leave a mark set against the gloomy Occult sounding synths. Gjenferd offer a more confident and aggressive song compared to Crimson Rain with the Doom/Stoner Rock elements fully taking control even when the band play a mammoth style of Classic Rock instrumental sounds especially with the groovy guitars.
The Thrill is a much more riff-centric offering which bodes well for the band’s upcoming new album Black Smoke Rising. If you want a Proto-Metal/Stoner Rock band that gets straight down to business and doesn’t waste any time in delivering the good stuff then GJENFERD are the band for you.
Excellent and Highly Recommended.
Words by Steve Howe
You can pre-order Black Smoke Rising now on CD/DD/Vinyl.
Release Date: February 20th 2026. Record Label: Subsound Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
The Praise Of Folly - Tracklisting
1.The Praise of Folly (Part 1)
2.The Praise of Folly (Part 2)
3.Stigma
4.Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead
Members
Alessandro Santori - Guitars, Loops, Synths
Roberto Maldera - Guitars, Fx, Slide Guit, Synths
Gabriele Montemara'- Bass
Gianluca Giannasso - Drums
Review
Instrumental Doomsters L’IRA DEL BACCANO return after a three year absence with The Praise Of Folly which is another huge sounding SONIC and SPACED OUT expedition into the vast COSMOS. The record is perhaps L’IRA DEL BACCANO’s (LDB) most grounded album to date with the band adding strands of Shoegaze and Post-Rock into the music. They still offer their trademark Space Rock and Doomed Out sound that’s been inspired by the likes of Black Sabbath, Hawkwind and Pink Floyd. L’IRA DEL BACCANO play with a real sense of urgency to this album which allows them to play some of the most direct and fast-paced sounds of their musical career.
The album opens up with the two part title track for The Praise Of Folly Part 1 / Part with doomedelic melodies developing into a great mix of synths, ambient sounds, post-rock dynamics and a haunting cinematic score that’s hidden behind a scorching Stoner Rock/Metal rhythm. Echoes of the band’s musical past and creative legacy feels like it’s being reevaluated and reinvented for a modern audience.
As I can hear brief moments from their previous records being given a more soulful and heavier purpose with L’IRA DEL BACCANO moving ever so closely to their Psych and Space Rock roots. The welcome use of Shoegaze and Post-Rock textures is another wonderful touch with the music having a real dramatic edge with L’IRA DEL BACCANO still delivering a thrilling aspect of Instrumental Rock/Metal.
L’IRA DEL BACCANO play a fantastic “QUIET vs HEAVY” and “LIGHT vs DARK” aspect into their music where you can hear influences as diverse as PELICAN and RUSSIAN CIRCLES within the quieter moments with some epic KRAUTROCK moments being delivered throughout the whole album.
The other two tracks of Stigma and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead allow L’IRA DEL BACCANO to add a cinematic and psychedelic Storytelling edge into their music whilst creating sublime instrumental soundscapes that are equally progressive and uplifting at the same time. The second half of the album has a more aggressive sludgier tone to add a level of grittiness whilst keeping in line with L’IRA DEL BACCANO’s highly creative and majestic vision. The backdrop is filled with hallucinogenic melodies and surreal soundscapes that will blow your entire mind.
The production values are brilliantly realised with the album having a slight “LIVE RECORDING” aspect which is quite ironic since their 2007 classic debut album Si Non Sedes Is - Live MMVII from 2007 was an actual live album which introduced me to this amazing band. You’ll be surprised by the musical journey that L’IRA DEL BACCANO will take you upon with The Praise Of Folly.
The Praise Of Folly is another masterful record from L’IRA DEL BACCANO and might be my favourite album of theirs yet. This album will no doubt firmly establish the guys as perhaps one of the finest Instrumental Doom/Stoner Metal bands from the underground scene of the modern day age.
Santa Ana, California sludge metal veterans -(16)- take over the finest classics from Sabbath, Bee Gees, Black Flag to Scorpions on their upcoming 11th album "Forgeries Vol 1, 1972-1984", to be released on May 1st via Heavy Psych Sounds.
Hear their crushing cover of the Bee Gees with new single Tragedy
There comes a point in every band’s life when originality stops being a virtue and honesty takes the wheel. On their 11th long-playing record: Forgeries 1972-1984, -(16)- return to the impulse that first dragged them into loud rooms and bad ideas: the urge to steal what we love and make it semi-unrecognizable through devotion. "We have partnered with Heavy Psych Sounds Records to release a collection of covers that function less as homage and more as a possession to be given away," says the band. The artwork, rendered by the ever-amazing Marald van Haasteren, completes the ritual, iconic, unsettling, and unafraid.
"We’ve always believed that a great cover is not mimicry but revelation. It’s finding a song that's already lived inside you since youth and letting it crawl out, bruised and changed." From the early ’90s onward, -(16)- have treated covers as translations rather than as replicas, acts of tribute and emulation, filtered through distortion, fatigue, and lived experience. "These are songs that taught us how to stand, how to fall, and how to keep going," they add. "In our collective head, this album exists because these songs demanded it. Because they screamed copy me, and we listened. In the end, Forgeries 1972-1984 stands as both a thank you note and a theft, a reminder that all music worth a damn is borrowed, broken, and passed on between friends."
The selections on Forgeries 1972-1984 span eras and attitudes, unified not by genre but by necessity. Each track is a document of obsession, of influence absorbed and re-expressed without permission. The first volume will be issued on LP, CD and digital on May 1st, with preorders available via Heavy Psych Sounds.
New album "Forgeries Vol 1, 1972 - 1984" Out May 1st on Heavy Psych Sounds - Pre-order
TRACKLIST:
1. Can't Get Enough – Scorpions 2. Nausea – X 3. Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll – Blue Öyster Cult 4. Rotten to the Core – Rudimentary Peni 5. Mother Mary – UFO 6. Tragedy – Bee Gees 7. Bloodstains – Agent Orange 8. Beat My Head Against the Wall – Black Flag 9. St. Vitus Dance – Black Sabbath 10. Foreign Policy – Fear
Formed in 1991 in Santa Ana, California, 16 stylized as -(16)- emerged from the Southern California skate scene. The original lineup featured Bobby Ferry (guitar), Cris Jerue (vocals), Ben Clark (bass), and Jason Corley (drums). Initially called *15*, the band quickly rebranded after discovering another group with the same name. Drawing influence from 7 Seconds, Bad Brains, Metallica, and the Amphetamine Reptile roster, -(16)- developed a sound that helped define both their early years and the sludge subgenre itself.
Their 1993 debut, Curves That Kick, arrived on Pushead’s Bacteria Sour and was followed by a Japanese tour and shows with Slayer. Drop Out (1996) and Blaze of Incompetence (1997) followed, with Phil Vera joining on guitar. After a 1998 U.S. tour with Grief and the 2002 release Zoloft Smile, the band toured the U.S., U.K., and Japan before entering a hiatus in 2004 amid personal struggles.
Reforming in 2007, -(16)- signed to Relapse Records for Bridges to Burn (2009), followed by Deep Cuts from Dark Clouds (2012). With Bobby Ferry now on vocals, the San Diego–based lineup of Alex Shuster (lead guitar), Barney Firks (bass), Dion Thurman (drums) released Lifespan of a Moth (2016), Dream Squasher (2020) and Into Dust (2022) to critical acclaim. Heavy touring across the U.S., Mexico, and Europe, plus major festival slots, cemented their reputation for intense, connecting live performances.
In 2025, -(16)- released Guides for the Misguided on Relapse Records, which was named one of Decibel Magazine’s Top 40 Albums of the Year. That same year, the band headlined a three-week European tour and later performed select shows in California with Acid Bath, High on Fire and Fu Manchu.
In 2026, the band partnered with Heavy Psych Sounds to release Forgeries 1972–1984, a covers album spanning influences from Black Flag to the Bee Gees. That May, they return to Europe for a tour that includes Desertfest Oslo and London, as well as the Italian and Swiss Heavy Psych Sounds Festivals. With a legacy built on resilience and constant reinvention, -(16)- continue to evolve and captivate audiences, affirming their lasting relevance in heavy music.
-(16)- is
Bobby Ferry - Guitars / Vocals Alex Shuster - Lead Guitar Barney Firks - Bass Dion Thurman - Drums / Percussion
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