INDIANA STONER ROCKERS FAERIE RING DELIVER SONIC REBIRTH THROUGH KING VOLUME RECORDS IN SELF-TITLED ALBUM

INDIANA STONER ROCKERS FAERIE RING DELIVER SONIC REBIRTH THROUGH KING VOLUME RECORDS IN SELF-TITLED ALBUM MASTERED BY TORCHE’S JONATHAN NUÑEZ, OUT AUGUST 21, 2026

“Faerie Ring” Unlocks New Emotional Depth With Tighter Songwriting Inspired By Personal & Global Conflict And Powered By Revised Band Lineup; FFO Queens of the Stone Age, Mondo Generator, Monolord, Torche

EVANSVILLE, IN - Faerie Ring, the hard-rocking, retro-tinged stoner rock band out of Evansville, IN, has announced their third album: a self-titled effort through King Volume Records that marks the band’s sonic rebirth—one that emphasizes tighter songwriting, blistering hooks, and a new emotional depth that was assisted through the mastering process by Torche guitarist Jonathan Nuñez.

“Our last album, Weary Traveler, was happy-go-lucky,” says band guitarist, vocalist, and primary songwriter James Wallwork. “But so much has happened since that came out in 2023, both in our personal lives and in the rest of the world. Songs like “Lost Boy” reflect the furious, “I don’t even care” attitude I felt after my divorce, while “Gargoyle” is a doomed-out perspective of realizing you’ll grow old alone. “No Surrender,” meanwhile, was inspired by the latest Israel-Palestine conflict, and it’s written from the perspective of someone living in Gaza during the war. Ultimately, Faerie Ring is a cathartic album that acknowledges that death is real, but so is love. This is an album about love and triumph in a time of existential dread.”

One of the biggest influences behind the band’s revitalized sound was the addition of multi-instrumentalist songwriter and new Faerie Ring drummer Matt McGuyer. “With Matt on drums, it’s almost like a completely new band,” says guitarist Kyle Hulgus. “Matt cracked our sound wide open. He’s such a talented musician. He’s a guitarist, he’s a vocalist, and, obviously, he’s an incredible drummer. His input was so valuable, and he helped us spread our wings.”

Once again, the band returned to Postal Recording in Indianapolis to record and engineer their third album in full analog. As essential as owners Alex Kercheval and Tyler Watkins were to capturing the band’s evolving sound, they were also critical to shaping it. “Alex played an underlying synth on many of the songs to help beef up the tracks,” says Wallwork, “but he also cooked up the sounds on ‘Fattest Witch.’”

Adding Torche guitarist Jonathan Nuñez to the mastering process proved equally impactful. “I’ve been a lifelong fan of Torche,” says Wallwork, “so having him involved is insane to me. He drastically changed this record. It’s much more akin to how we present ourselves live.” Huglus agrees: “Listening to his mastering was like hearing the album for the first time. We loved the original version of the record, but he completely changed it for the better.”

Like much of Faerie Ring’s work, their self-titled album is difficult to pigeonhole, with equal influences from stoner rock, doom, punk, blues, and other genres. “We didn’t want to limit ourselves to a single sound,” Hulgus says. “We let go of all creative limitations for this one, and this new record is a sound only Faerie Ring can create. You’ll hear influences from bands like Boris, The Scorpions, Torche, Thin Lizzy, and Crowbar, but this is a Faerie Ring album at the end of the day.”

That renewed creative freedom is reflected in the tongue-in-cheek album artwork by Ricardo Diseño, an artist hand-picked by Hulgus. “Yes,” Wallwork says, “it looks like a classic underground metal album cover at first glance, with themes of sex and drug use, but it’s a metaphor for the toxic love in our lives. The guy in the picture loves being boiled alive, but once his head goes under the water, that’s it.” Hulgus adds: “We’re all the guy in the cauldron. We torture ourselves all week at our blue-collar jobs so we can play music. This self-titled album is another labor of love.”

To learn more, follow Faerie Ring on social media (Facebook, Instagram) or check out King Volume Records (website, Instagram).

Album Details

Album Release Date: August 21, 2026

Album Personnel

Band:

James Wallwork - Guitars, Vocals
Kyle Hulgus - Guitars
Alex Wallwork - Bass, Vocals
Matt McGuyer - Drums

Guests:

Alex Kercheval - Keyboards, Synth
Vincent Yetsko - Harmonica

Mastering: 

Jonathan Nuñez

Recording: 

Alex Kercheval
Tyler Watkins

Engineering:

Morgan Satterfield

Label:

King Volume Records

Thanks to Pat at Poetica Marketing for the details.