Genghis Tron - Signal Fire (Album Review)

 

Release Date: June 12th 2026. Record Label: Relapse Records. Formats: CD/DD/Tape/Vinyl

Signal Fire - Tracklisting

1.I Am All 05:53

2.Signal Fire 01:53

3.Future Worship 04:34

4.Like Fotochrom 02:18

5.Tomorrow Mirage 07:08

6.Nothing Blooms in the Hollow 04:31

7.Without Form 02:11

8.Born Prey 04:37

9.A Love So Pure 04:29

10.New Gods 05:42

Members

 

Hamilton Jordan

Michael Sochynsky

Nick Yacyshyn

Tony Wolski

Kenny Szymanski

Review

Grind/Electronic/Mathcore Riffsters Genghis Tron return with their fourth album Signal Fire which blends the brutal sounds of their 2008 landmark album Board Up The House with the Post-Doom/Psych Metal sounds of their 2021 album Dream Weapon. This is the best of both worlds with Genghis Tron creating a brutal onslaught of grindcore beats with mathcore methodology matched against the Post-Doom, Shoegaze and Ambient Metal awareness they crafted on their last album. Everything has a sense of reason and purpose with Genghis Tron not afraid to inject some Doom-Pop awareness into the mix.

There is a sense of Video Game and Movie soundtracks based mechanics being the main sandbox that Genghis Tron builds their music upon. This allows the music to be quite uplifting and brutally violent at the same time with the band exploring harsh themes and realities whilst wrapping this lovingly in a mixture of Industrial Metal, Cybergrind and Psychedelic sounds that has served the band well over the last twenty years. There are echoes of Dead Mountain Mouth appearing on the most striking Post-Metal sounding elements on the record but Genghis Tron are always thinking outside of the box by always creating music they haven’t really played before. 

Every track contained here all have their own unique identity where you don’t know what to expect with Genghis Tron combining gloomy pop hooks and destructive Cybergrind melodies with the vocals ranging from brutal takedowns, harsh deliveries to shamanic speeches with a shoegaze factor appearing from time to time. This is perfect nihilistic pop music for the Extreme Metal community with the classic dominant Electronic Metal, Trippy Soundbytes, Ambient Beats, Doom Metal and Sludge Metal that allows Genghis Tron to be masters of their own musical craft.

The extra NEW WAVE dimension is another highlight that allows the band to branch out into other areas of music they’ve never played before which adds a sense of brutal realism to dictate the whole creative direction of the album. The forty three minutes runtime just flies by where the record feels outrageously longer but I mean that as a real compliment. I never wanted this album to end as this is jaw-dropping stuff from start to finish.

I’m sorry I haven’t done a song-by-song review but I’ve tried to do that but I’m always judging this album as one epic musical piece broken down by individual chapters but if I most pick some of my standout tracks then I would say these are my favourites: I Am All, Future Worship, Tomorrow Mirage, Burn Prey and New Gods. As these tracks feel like Genghis Tron reinventing themselves but also paying homage to the classic sounds of their own great musical legacy. 

The production values are exquisite which allows the violent grooves to fully standout and cause actual damage to the listener’s hearing at times. Signal Fire proves why Genghis Tron are one of the most inventive bands fully working in the scene today. They’re masters of their own craft and Signal Fire only solidifies that reputation which allows this record to be considered one of the most brilliantly entertaining, sonically violent and standout albums you’ll hear this year.

 

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Boarzoy - The Great Fires (Album Review)

Release Date: June 12th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

The Great Fires - Tracklisting

1.Even in the Rain 05:44

2.A Hundred Pitchers of Honey 03:56

3.Wartime Softshoe 05:02

4.Agency (Is Necessary) 04:19

5.Bib and Bottle 02:45

6.Your New Hands 03:48

7.David 04:35

8.Something Beautiful 01:36

9.The Great Fires 06:12

Members

 

Riley Senne- Bass

Taylor Winterhalder- Drums

Rennie Boyd- Vocals

Jake Sklodowski- Guitars

Review

Groove/Sludge Metallers Boarzoy second album The Great Fire offers more complex and dazzling progressive melodies compared to their excellent debut album. There’s an intense eclectic creative energy to Boarzoy with the band employing different musical styles with influences such as Mastodon, The Mars Volta, The Melvins, Devin Townend, Lamb Of God and Machine Head which you can feel throughout the album.

There’s instances of Grunge, Doom and Stoner Metal based madness lurking in the background with Boarzoy aiming for bigger and better things with this album which they richly deserve.

The Great Fire sees Boarzoy power through a mix of progressive beat-downs and sludgy powerful beats that have a Punk Rock aesthetic with the scattered DIY approach the record ultimately thrives upon. There is a slight outlandish attitude appearing from the band on tracks such as Even In The Rain, A Hundred Pitchers Of Honey, Bib And Bottle, Your New Hands, David and The Great Fires being my favourite tracks on the album. Though, all the tracks have this intense and outrageous manic energy that leaves you fully satisfied. 

Boarzoy are sometimes very hard to describe with their music being quite schizophrenic in nature where they just sound like they have a “FUCK IT” kind of attitude where they play exactly what they want. However, there are massive amounts of great melodic sounds emerging when you least expect it. The jazzy grooves work best when the band play a standard style of Progressive Sludge Metal before Rennie Boyd’s superb vocals just thrust you back into their warped HEAVY METAL world.

The album fully relies on the outlandish sensibilities of Eighties and Nineties Heavy Metal where experimentation was perhaps that little bit different back during those days. However, here's a huge modern day sound that keeps everything grounded despite the crazed music being played throughout. You can even detect a sudden influence of the likes of QUEEN within some of the music and vocals used on the awesome third track Wartime Softshoe. 

The one thing you can call The Great Fires is ORIGINAL. You just don’t come across albums such as this as it feels like an all out assault on your senses. BOARZOY is the real deal if you like your music that is a little bit more AVANT-GARDE with the band always thinking outside the box. This record is an exhilarating mix of different Heavy Metal themes that will leave you completely speechless.

Mind-Blowing. End Of.

 

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

RUFF MAJIK DECLARES WAR ON A.I. WITH NEW ALBUM: “REEFER SADNESS (AND THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MODERN LIVING)”

Johannesburg, South Africa — In an era increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence, algorithmic playlists, and machine-generated slop, South African fuzz-punks Ruff Majik have announced their most ambitious and confrontational project to date.

Their next album will be titled:

REEFER SADNESS (AND THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MODERN LIVING)

And it will not be recorded in a studio.

It will be recorded live, in front of real people, with real mistakes.

Every cheer, every missed note, every burst of chaos and moment of unexpected magic will remain exactly where it belongs: in the music.

Most importantly, every person attending these performances will become part of the record itself. The band will also announce an international ‘support’ counterpart in the coming weeks.

The album will be captured across four performances during July 2026:

• 11 July — That Winter Fest, Sognage (Johannesburg)
• 12 July — Secret Location
• 17 July — That Winter Fest, District (Cape Town)
• 18 July — Aandklas (Stellenbosch)

Every moment exists once and can never be repeated.

Machines can imitate music, sure.

But they cannot create a room full of strangers singing together. They cannot create the feeling of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a fellow reveller while a song falls apart and somehow becomes better because of it. They cannot be punk.

The band has issued a simple challenge to proponents of AI-generated music (Suno specifically it would seem, if their social media is to be considered):

Can your machine do this?

Can it fill a room?

Can it make people sweat?

Can it make people cry?

Can it make a crowd of strangers feel like they belong to something bigger than themselves?

Ruff Majik is willing to bet it fucking can’t, and awaits Suno’s response on further parameters for the wager.

REEFER SADNESS (AND THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MODERN LIVING) begins recording this July.

Ruff Majik is:

Johni Holiday – Vocals, guitar
Brendon Bez – Guitar
Jimmy Glass – Bass
Steven “Boz” Bosman – Drums

Photo credit Ruben Grobler-Bothma

Links:

Linktree | Bandcamp | Instagram | YouTube | Apple Music | Spotify

Thanks to Good Boy PR for the details.

KALAMATA - ZENOSYNE (Album Review)

Release Date: June 26th 2026. Record Label: Copper Feast Recordings / Made Of Stone Recordings. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

ZENOSYNE  - Tracklisting

1.THERE

2.IS

3.NO

4.COMING 

5.BACK

Members

 

Guitars - Peter Jaun

Bass - Niki Hosseinian-Sereshki

Drums - Olly Opitz

Review

Psychedelic Stoner Rockers KALAMATA return from a lengthy nine year absence to release their long awaited third album ZENOSYNE. I’m a huge fan and admirer of their previous two albums so I was very excited when I received this album to listen to. KALAMATA have redefined their music since their 2017 album with further emphasis on progression which puts their music into the land of Post-Rock and Post-Metal though still keeping their classic Stoner Rock instincts intact.

The album is split into five tracks under the banner of “THERE IS NO COMING BACK” which allows KALAMATA to create a different musical persona for the record. The sound is dense, heavy, thick and superbly melodic which shows the band exploring different musical avenues with some epic SONIC melodies and sludgy distortions coming from the stunning guitar work of Peter Jaun. Sometimes the band feels inspired by the likes of Karma To Burn, Yawning Man, Monkey3 and Earthless whilst for the heavier parts you can hear echoes of Russian Circles and Pelican which adds a whole level of atmospheric dominance.

Everything is wonderfully melodic and gloriously cinematic which allows the music to be described as “FULL BLOWN TECHNICOLOUR” which is down to the great use of Desert Rock, Ambient Rock and Spaced Out environments where it can be grounded and totally outrageous at the same time.

This also feels like KALAMATA’s most personal record to date with an emotionally engaging core developing on the majority of the tracks. My favourite tracks are THERE, NO and BACK which sees KALAMATA in a more reflective mood which not only challenges the listener but also sees the band playing some of the heaviest and most daring music of their career. The band do seem to have taken influence from classic soundtracks and different cultures for the making of this album as it can be quite trippy, surreal and totally left-field for an Instrumental Rock album.

The stunning rhythm section of Niki Hosseinian-Sereshki (Bass) and Olly Opitz (Drums) provide a clinical backdrop of grounded grooves for Peter to work his psychedelic guitars upon. Niki, Olly and Peter are quite forward thinking with how to deliver their music when weaving Post-Rock themes into the wider picture that ZENOSYNE fully represents. 

ZENOSYNE is an instrumental album that has it all which makes this such a brilliantly engaging and warm-hearted record. The journey has the same importance as the destination the record fully takes the listener upon. With a free spirited direction, ZENOSYNE does have some great “JAM” based moments where KALAMATA plays fast and loose with the rules of Instrumental Rock/Metal. 

The album has superbly realised production values which gives this a highly atmospheric and subversive sound especially when the Ambient sound effects linger in the background which leaves you on the edge of your seat thinking where this great album will take you next. 

KALAMATA may have been gone a long time but on the evidence with ZENOSYNE they’ve been sorely missed and will surely be wanting to make up for valuable lost time. They have delivered an outstanding album that will no doubt be considered one of the year’s best instrumental rock albums before the year is out.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Creative Eclipse PR and KALAMATA for the promo.

ZENOSYNE is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Copper Feast Records and Made Of Stone Recordings.

Links 

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Norwegian Stoner Metallers KAL-EL announce fall US tour; new album "Astral Voyager Vol. 2" out now on Majestic Mountain/Blues Funeral Recordings!

Norway's premium cosmic heavy rockers KAL-EL are set to return to North America with an extensive fall tour alongside Goya and Volume, in support of their latest album release "Astral Voyager Vol.2" on Blues Funeral Recordings (North Am.) and Majestic Mountain Records (EU/UK).

“The album that all stoner and doom bands should aspire to.” Metal Epidemic

“It’s a celebration of heavy rock itself, of riffs, of volume, of the power of music to move you.” The Obelisk

“If you’re a fan of infectious hooks and riffs for days, then this should be right up your alley.” Metalsucks

“That motherfucker is packed to the gills with riffs and hooks.” Metal Injection

Fresh off their successful US debut alongside labelmates Insomniac in late 2025, KAL-EL are set to trample over North American grounds again this fall to deliver their giant-sized slab of rocket-fueled scandi-stoner power.

Their acclaimed full-length albums Astral Voyager Vol.1 (2025) and Astral Voyager Vol. 2 (2026) are an epic riff exploration to the farthest reaches of the galaxy — an infectious blast of sci-fi metal and soaring desert anthems. Check out their latest videos Juno and Juggernaut!

North American fall tour 2026

*9/18 - Fort Worth, TX - Haltom Theater
*^9/19 - Austin, TX - Ripplefest Texas
*9/20 - San Antonio, TX - Paper Tiger
*9/22 - Santa Fe, NM - Desert Dogs Brewery
9/23 - Phoenix, AZ - Last Exit Live
9/24 - Las Vegas, NV - Dive Bar
9/25 - Landers, CA - The Annex
9/26 - Palmdale, CA - Transplants Brewing
9/27 - Los Angeles, CA - Redwood Bar & Grill
9/29 - San Francisco, CA - DNA Lounge
9/30- Sacramento, CA - Cafe Colonial
10/1 - Eugene, OR - John Henry's
10/2 - Portland, OR - The High Water Mark
10/3 - Seattle, WA - The Funhouse
10/4 - Vancouver, BC - Astoria
10/6 - Spokane, WA - The Chameleon
10/7 - Boise, ID - The Olympic
10/8 - Salt Lake City, UT - Aces High Saloon
10/9 - Denver, CO - Black Sky Brewery
10/10 - Colorado Springs, CO - What's Left Records
*no Goya // ^no Volume

Formed in Stavanger, Norway in 2012, KAL-EL established as a unique force in the international stoner and doom metal community by blending hard rock, heavy metal, psychedelic, and doom elements with science fiction themes. Their journey began with the release of "Dark Moon Voyage" EP in 2013, quickly gaining recognition as the top new rock act on NRK Urørt, Norway's platform for emerging music. The band's evolution has seen them release multiple acclaimed albums through various labels, including their debut "Pakal" (2014, Wormhole Death Records), "Ecosphere" (2015, Setalight Records), "Astrodoomeda" (2017, Argonauta Records), and the breakthrough "Witches of Mars" (2019). 2021's "Dark Majesty" through Majestic Mountain Records marked a significant milestone in their cosmic journey, followed by 2023's "Moon People" EP.

KAL-EL's signature sound, characterized by bass-heavy grooves, downtuned guitars, and mind-expanding lyrics, is deeply rooted in the sci-fi narratives penned by vocalist "The Captain" himself. Having toured extensively across Europe and the United States, they continue to push genre boundaries while maintaining their commitment to vintage sci-fi aesthetics and thundering stoner metal.

KAL-EL links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Spotify

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

ZuLe - DoomsdayHighrise (Single Review)

Release Date: June 10th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats Digital Download.

Line-up

Cpt.Cisco — guitar & vocals

Niek — guitar

Tjalle — bass

Jonas — drums

Review

The debut single  DoomsdayHighrise from ZuLe is quite an atmospheric track with many of your favourite bands over the last thirty five years from the Grunge, Sludge and Stoner Metal world. There's a deep love and resonance with the legendary Nineties and Noughties Rock/Metal scene with touches of modern Sonic and Psychedelic aggression.]

There's a rough exterior and musical attitude which feels like Alice In Chains jamming with Deftones for the majority of the track which pushes the band further into areas of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal themes. The vocals from Cpt.Cisco have a certain Grunge exterior to them with shades of Alt-Metal giving them a gritty Post-Metal attitude when the harsh sounds appear.

The thuggish rhythm section has an epic industrial quality with ZuLe using the backdrop of Doomed Out grooves and subtle Prog Metal changes for a song that perhaps promises there is better music to come as the song suddenly ends when things were really getting interesting. 

For a debut single, ZuLe has a lot going for them. One of the main things is their broad appeal to the wider Heavy Metal community as they play a high amount of different sounds which they capture superbly well even within the six minutes runtime of this track.

I'm looking forward to hearing more tracks from the band which they've promised will be coming on a more regular basis. ZuLe has crafted a killer sound that delivers the heavy grooves where it matters most. Check them out when you can. 

Superb stuff!!!

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Bandcamp: https://zule-band.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zule_band
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579538023891
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@zule73184

The Lowdown

ZuLe is a grungy sludge metal band from West Flanders and Ghent, formed in late 2024 from the remains of Darqo. When that monster returned to the depths from which it came, a new entity crawled upward: dark, loud and melodic. The band brings together heavy riffs, sludge, grunge influences and clean vocals into a sound that hangs somewhere between underlying menace and melodic release. Musically, echoes of Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Eyehategod, Crowbar, Deftones and Godflesh can be heard, but the main breeding ground for the songs lies elsewhere: in film. Underground classics, filled with obscure atmospheres and slowly building tension.

The band consists of Cpt.Cisco on guitar and vocals, Niek De Vos on guitar, Tjalle Groen on bass and Jonas Delbecke on drums. Its members bring experience from previous bands such as Darqo and Mindstab, but ZuLe is mainly the start of a new chapter. The first songs have been recorded, the video is ready, and debut single DoomsdayHighrise marks the first step in a series of three releases. ZuLe creates dragging, abrasive songs that keep resonating long after the last note fades out.

The Soulbreaker Company - Sins (Album Review)

Release Date: May 29th 2026. Record Label: Discos Macarras. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Sins  - Tracklisting

1.Ant Row 03:19

2.In Rome 03:28

3.Abd Al Rahman 05:09

4.Jump The Fault Line 03:34

5.Beginning Of The End 03:00

6.Reaching The Dragon 03:35

7.On Jupiter 03:28

8.The Right To Hush My Sins 03:28

9.Ten Thousand Years 03:49

10.Road And Bread 03:58

11.Be On The Run 04:15

Members

 

Guille Colás (drums)  

Lasto (bass)  

Jony Moreno (vocals)  

Javi Free (Organ, Synths)  

Dani Triñanes (Guitar)  

Illan Arribas (Guitar)

Review

Sins is the latest album from Prog/Psych/Stoner Rockers The Soulbreaker Company who have been going since 2003 and are perhaps considered one of Spain’s finest Stoner Rock bands currently out there. The album is a stunning mix of different musical themes with the band applying a wonderful kaleidoscopic Prog Rock effect throughout the album. There’s also an epic cinematic feel to this record which has been a staple of The Soulbreaker Company’s music for a very long time.

The album moves effortlessly from Seventies Hard Rock fashion into other genres of music with the band applying a lush technical precision which can be quite Jazzy in places. This gives the record a soulful and surreal purpose with real emotional quality with everything fully centered around lead vocalist Jony Moreno’s excellent vocals. Everything does have a real warm-hearted nature with the band branching out into other areas such as Post-Rock, Grunge and Ambient Rock. The band have used these creative methods on previous albums but there’s a “DOOM & GLOOM” quality that is being applied here for the heaviest and aggressive sounds played on the record.

Sins is quite long but The Soulbreaker Company keep every moving along at a cracking pace with the different musical compositions and instrumental passages they’ve written for the album. Everyone within the band fully gets their chance to shine with the different musical themes that the band plays that you can’t believe what you’re hearing and experiencing at times. The record is very forward thinking from start to finish with different musical sounds evolving from simple structures into something more complex with other intricate creative ideas being added along the way.

Standout tracks include: Ant Row, Abd Al Rahman, Jump The Fault Line, On Jupiter, Ten Thousand Years and Be On The Run which all show the most interesting sounds that The Soulbreaker Company immerse the listeners with and even apply some epic Doomed Out soundscapes to give the album a heavier dimension to contend with.

I loved how The Soulbreaker Company experimented with electronic beats and trippy psychedelic loops which gives Sins an out of this world dimension which arrives in the most unexpected of places. Sins is quite different but it has a whole unique feel, quality and creative identity made by the band’s own making which could even gain a loyal “CULT” following within the underground Heavy Rock scene. 

Sins is a wonderful celebration of how lucky we are to have bands such as The Soulbreaker Company making great records such as this. I say give this record a chance as you’ll be surprised to hear what you expect and with excellent production values contained on this record which allows Sins to quite a highly rewarding journey when everything is said and done.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Sins is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Discos Macarras Records

Links 

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram