DEADROADS - Songs From The Cave (Album Review)

Release Date: August 29th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Songs From The Cave - Tracklist

1.Tomorrow Dies Today 06:45

2.Roadkill Babies 05:28

3.Hole In The Ground 06:41

4.Frozen In July 05:44

5.Son Of A Man 06:13

6.A Little Lie 07:57

Members

Danny Rutto: Bass

Kostia Newt: Guitar and vocals

Michael Johansson: Drums

Review

Songs From The Cave is the debut album by Doom/Grunge/Stoner Rockers DEADROADS who bring a wave of nineties based nostalgia into the forefront of their music. However, they always keep things thoroughly aggressive and highly modern. With influences ranging from Soundgarden, KYUSS, Lowrider and Dozer being heard from the very onset but DEADROADS allowing themselves to breathe their own creative identity into the mix.

Helping on their journey is my good pal Jan Oberg (EARTHSHIP, GRIN and SLOWSHINE) from his famed Hidden Planet Studio who engineered, mixed and mastered this record. The whole record sounds like it’s part of the vibrant underground scene with a seedy attitude that I know superbly well from the previous work that Jan has been involved with. 

However, this is DEADROADS debut album and they bring a wealth of different fuzzed out sounds. These sounds move into distorted environments with a thrilling backdrop of Grunge, Psych, Fuzz, Doom and Stoner Metal sounds developing with a healthy requirement of AMPLIFIER DISTORTION and MURKY HEAVINESS being felt from every corner.

The vocals from Kostia Newt (Bass) have a great classic Stoner Rock/Metal exterior that allows him to explore different musical timelines whilst adding a catchy modern day aspect on tracks such as Tomorrow Dies Today, Roadkill Babies and Frozen In July being some of Kostia’s standout moments.

The lyrics can be superbly bleak which allows this record to drift into unexpected areas of DOOM & GLOOM surroundings with a dash of Soundgarden cynicism being one of the main strengths of the album. DEADROADS appear to perform a stripped back style of Sludge Rock within the middle section of the record which gives everything a more urgent and stripped back feeling that allows everyone to play their instruments at a devastating level of FUZZED OUT based heaviness.

The instrumental passages are constantly possessed by a violent style of Grunge, Fuzz, Stoner and Sludge sounds that brings the seedy and production values the album contains right to the forefront of DEADROADS music. However, this is utilized by DEADROADS to its full potential with screeching guitars and spaced out rhythms forming for a highly atmospheric journey that remains constantly grounded from start to finish.

Songs From The Cave is a great record that’s packed full of great songs that allows DEADROADS to provide almost forty minutes of first rate distorted entertainment throughout. The album is quite refreshing with how DEADROADS employ bleak and highly volatile lyrics amongst the classic themes the underground Grunge/Stoner Metal scene wholly expects. 

Words by Steve Howe

Links

BandCamp | Instagram

Auralayer share "Tantalus" single from forthcoming sophomore album

Auralayer, the heavy melodic trio out of Greenville, SC, share their new single from their forthcoming sophomore album. The song "Tantalus" is now available to hear and share.

Far too many heavy rock and doom bands overlook that the classic progenitors of the genre were firmly rooted in strong melodic hooks, not just skull thwacking riffs. Greenville, SC trio Auralayer bring pop melodies to the forefront of their sound, ensuring that the heaviness hits with exceptional impact.

Into the Aura Lair, the anticipated follow-up to Auralayer’s 2023 debut full length, Thousand Petals (King Volume Records) is heavy, fun and unpredictable. Think YOB, Torche and The Sword blended with 90s alt rock akin to Hum: Huge riffs pummeling through huge amplifiers, precise cannon like drums, and melodies that stick with you.

Guitarist Thomas Powell zeroes in on slamming High on Fire riffs counterbalanced with Hendrix psychedelic flourish and open-tuned alt-rock shimmer. Bassist/vocalist Jake Williams lays down sludgy, growling lows while his soaring, clean vocals hit powerful highs. The album is the first to feature new drummer Harold Smith, who brings a harder hitting style to their sound than heard previously.

To help them harness their energetic musical vision, the band once again recruited Philip Cope, the founder of the experimental metal band Kylesa, who also engineered, mixed, and mastered their debut album at Jam Room Recording Studio in Columbia, SC. As with Kylesa, Cope helped to capture and channel the band’s diverse influences and experimentation into a cohesive sonic palette.

Into the Aura Lair will be available digitally on December 4th, 2026. Pre-orders are available HERE.

AURALAYER LIVE 2026:

10/09 Warner Robbins, GA - The Reverb Room
10/10 Athens, GA - Flicker Theatre
10/11 Chattanooga, TN - The Boneyard
10/30 Savannah, GA - The Wormhole

Artist: Auralayer
Album: Into The Aura Lair
Label: Auralayer
Release Date: December 4, 2026

Tracklist

01. Saldo
02. Tantalus
03. Wall to Wall
04. Survival
05. Down From Evil Eyes
06. Mythomania
07. Layers Beneath
08. Stuck on a Spike
09. Dead Arrival

On The Web:

linktr.ee/auralayer
kingvolume.com

Thanks to US/THEM PR Group for the details.

Desert/Doom/Stoner Rockers MOSS VALLEY Release New Song WISDOM From Upcoming Debut EP FARAWAY

Moss Valley are a desert rock band based in Manchester, UK consisting of Zara Huxley (singer/bassist), Jack Stanley (guitarist) and Jake Lafferty (drummer). The band have quickly established a reputation for their powerful live sound and energy. Moss Valley lean heavily into doom-inspired riffs, texturally rich vocal arrangements and driving, energetic rhythms. 

Their songwriting delves deeply into the intricacies of human connection, the power of nature and the mysteries of universal realms, giving the music an otherworldly edge beneath its heavy sound. They have been compared to bands such as Soundgarden, Kyuss and Slomosa.

Faraway is a collection of songs that moves between heaviness and vulnerability, tackling themes of compassion, freedom and identity. The EP also explores the mystical side of Moss Valley - folklore, nature and the unknown weave through the songs giving the music an otherworldly edge beneath its heavy sound.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Moss Valley - Wisdom (Single Review)

Release Date: October 09th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Wisdom - Tracklist

Wisdom

Members

Zara Huxley - Bass/Vocals/Composer

Jack Stanley - Guitar/Composer

Jake Lafferty - Drums/Composer

Review

Wisdom is the latest single from Desert Rockers Moss Valley and is from their forthcoming debut EP Faraway. The “Desert Rock” tag is slightly deceiving as Moss Valley blend Doom, Grunge, Psych, Alt-Rock and Stoner Rock themes into their music. They also add some fantastic Folk inspired lyrics into the mix that allows their music to be inspired by the likes of Slomosa, Soundgarden, Green Lung and Windhand.

The music is constantly heavy when Moss Valley aims for a great Post-Rock and Shoegaze dynamic before exploring their dominant Desert/Stoner Rock aspect. The whole EP has a captivating Nineties Alt-Rock attitude with flourishes of modern Doom/Stoner Rock grooves that gives a great insight of how their upcoming debut EP “Faraway” will fully play out.

The sound is quite atmospheric with a gritty Stoner Rock/Metal attitude that has a classic KYUSS creative drive and energy appearing on certain sections of the song. Lead vocalist Zara Huxley moves around different vocal styles that can be quite endearing at the start but Zara is full on Doom Metal mode before the song finishes.

I would have liked a few more minutes with this track as the most exciting moments are towards the end of the song before it suddenly ends. However, this is a great track for Moss Valley to entice listeners with and I will tell you the rest of the EP is outstanding as well.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Introduce Yourselves: Flying Dirty Clouds

What Is the Name of Your Band?

Flying Dirty Clouds.

What Is the genre of music you play?

Flying Dirty Clouds is an Istanbul-based death metal and grindcore project. The core sound is rooted in the aggression of those styles, while experimental, electronic and cinematic textures are used whenever the concept of a song calls for them.

Can you give a brief history of the band of how it came together and where it is today?

Flying Dirty Clouds was founded in Istanbul in 1993. It began within the city’s early extreme-metal underground and gradually evolved into a studio-centred project led by Kerem Şahinboy, the remaining original member. Today, Kerem handles the composition, guitars, vocals and production in his own studio, working with different session musicians when a recording requires them. That structure allows every release to develop around its own musical and visual idea while preserving the project’s death metal and grindcore identity.

What can people expect from your music?

Listeners can expect compact, confrontational extreme metal built around a strong concept rather than a fixed formula. Flying Dirty Clouds combines death metal and grindcore force with experimental sound, electronic elements and cinematic atmosphere. The writing often begins with rhythm and drum patterns; guitar improvisation then reveals the central riff, and the arrangement develops in stages as the lyrics and visual ideas feed back into the music. The project remains independent, restless and rooted in protest, with each song intended to occupy its own psychological world.

What is the best release that folks should check out from your band?

The current release to begin with is “Opathian,” issued in August 2026. It is a concept-driven extreme-metal single about unreachable desire, the alternative lives people imagine, existential isolation, psychological descent and the difficult act of mastering pain. Its cinematic video follows a solitary, weathered astronaut trapped in a hostile void, turning the song’s inner struggle into a visual narrative of oppressive isolation and endurance.

Official video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btf-yZhg2rY

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/08D5CdGhx5M1olsCvQoYcp

Where can people find you on Social Media?

Flying Dirty Clouds currently keeps its official presence focused on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/@flyingdirtyclouds

Stoner Rockers GEHENNA SOUR Release New Song SHINE A LIGHT From Upcoming New EP

Gehenna Sour, hailing from Tampere, Finland, will release their new single Shine a Light on October 7th 2026. This will also be the first single on their upcoming EP, Sour Taste of Heaven.

In a previous chapter Gehenna Sour were seen speeding full throttle across a dusty desert. Now the band, worse for wear and with parched throats, have clawed their way out of the desert and into a concrete jungle. Ruthless boogie and post-midnight groove are still present, and the choruses will park permanently in your brain. Here’s what vocalist Kyy has to say about the song:

“This is like a modern day Romeo and Juliet set in the seedier part of East Helsinki. Jarmo and Irma are trying to find the true meaning of love. Obviously it doesn’t work out that great.”

The song was recorded in June 2026 at Studio Watercastle, Punkalaidun. Recording, mixing and mastering by Arttu Sarvanne. On keyboards a long time collaborator Grande Voix, additional recordings by Henri Virsell.

Shine a Light available on:

Youtube: https://youtu.be/F_5yPg0z2yU

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/2N96Okt3B0jF7wJrl0lYU1?si=04362b5ad2664807

Social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gehennasour/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gehennasour/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GehennaSour
Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/artist/1z5ElQtg0p6XT5w9KPdJz2?si=rXRc1SOcSDqtOh-0M0UUmQ

Exclusive Album Premiere Of Psych/Fuzz/Stoner Metallers HUMULUS Stunning New Album - SMUGGLER'S CAVE

Smuggler’s Cave marks HUMULUS’ fifth LP and their second outing with vocalist/guitarist Thomas Mascheroni. Following 2023's Flowers Of Death, the band spent two years traversing Europe’s stages, and it was in the cracks between tours that the improvisations for this record took root. True to form, the band returned to the rehearsal room for marathon sessions, capturing hours of raw interplay, isolating the sparks and forging new songs from the embers.

The riffs might hit harder than ever before, yet HUMULUS’s sonic hallmark remains intact with a deft pivot from rhythmic, classic stoner crunch into more psychedelic and introspective depths. Leading the listener through mysterious settings, tales of wizards, cemetery dreams, damned souls and the shade of dark forests, this high-voltage new delivery fills the air with electricity and will compel anyone who worships at the altar of Dozer, Truckfighters, Lowrider and Greenleaf. 

Thanks to the amazing folks at Purple Sage PR and Ripple Music, we're excited to premiere the whole album in full below:

The Lowdown

Humulus is an Italian psych-stoner power trio formed in Brescia, Italy in 2009. Born from the heavy lineage of Kyuss, Karma to Burn and Orange Goblin, they quickly built a reputation across southern Europe with their crushing debut on Go Down Records.

A lineup shift in 2015 flipped the script. New frontman Andrea Bellicini pushed the band into trippier, more dynamic territory through longer songs, richer atmospheres and a sound that outgrew stoner orthodoxy. The years that followed saw Humulus touring non-stop with European festival runs (Freak Valley, Desertfest Belgium, Up In Smoke), and a string of acclaimed LPs that veered from doom-laced riffage to sprawling psychedelic meditation. Another mutation came in late 2022 with the arrival of Thomas Mascheroni, reigniting the band’s chemistry and leading to a fresh creative burst. They hit the road again, sharing stages with heavyweights like Colour Haze and Monkey3, while steadily forging new material.

When founder Giorgio Bonacorsi stepped back in 2026, the remaining core members enlisted Fabio Giacomini to complete the lineup and write their most ambitious work yet.

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

Smuggler’s Cove is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music.

Humulus links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Ripple Music links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram