A Gram Trip is a four-piece stoner metal band from Zagreb, Croatia. Founded in 2019, they released their debut album titled “Long Overdue” in 2023, followed up by a three song EP titled “If We Leaf Tomorrow” in 2024.
This year, they are putting out their second album titled “Bud Ends And Glass Bottoms”, set to release on Vinyl on November 20th. The album was recorded in Studio Depth, Zagreb over a three-day weekend at the end of May 2025. Mixing and mastering was done by Filip Sertic.
“From the early days of the band there was always an idea to have Croatian Naive art to grace an album cover. Luckily, we stumbled upon Ivan Vecenaj and his work. We jumped in a car and went to his museum. Getting to talk to his son Mladen, and getting to know his life and work, we realised there is a lot we have in common! He was self-taught with a diy mindset. ”
Ivan Vecenaj (1920-2013) was a Croatian Naive painter, writer and poet born in Gola. His painting “Our Future”, which graces the cover of this album, was created in 1975 using oil paints to glass.
The first single from the album titled “Flesh and Wires” is available now via Youtube and on all major streaming platforms. You can pre order the full album on 12” black or turquoise vinyl via the artists Bandcamp!
The southern hemisphere’s kings of apocalyptic metal rise again with their sixth studio album, The Ship // The Sea (out 7th November 2025 via Destroy Records)
Like bearing witness to a world sliding headlong into the abyss, Beastwars are no strangers to soundtracking times of war, disaster, and collapse – when half-truths and hidden agendas lurk behind every act of the world’s eroding empires.
From the very beginning, their music has embodied the apocalyptic feeling of these end times: primal, hypnotic, and relentlessly heavy. Their 2011 self-titled debut declared as much, and tragically, feels more relevant today than ever. Fourteen years later, the world has only grown harsher and Beastwars’ sixth record, The Ship // The Sea, distils that darkness into one of the most intense and cathartic albums of their career.
In 2021 and 2023, the band toured their first two albums in full. Revisiting that early material reignited the raw energy at their core, inspiring them to strip back the progressive flourishes of recent years and reconnect with the heaviness of their origins. The Ship // The Sea channels that spirit into towering riffs and unflinching emotion, unfolding like a sequence of hellish headlines. Mute the endless stream of calamities on your screen. Beastwars’ heavy howls create an eerily apocalyptic soundtrack for the present day.
“Life has become a marathon for most people,” says Hyde. “How can we not see the injustice, the cruelty of the world? Our new album is like Picasso’s Guernica - a reflection of war and horror, of endings and upheavals. It's the sound of a ship adrift on a cruel sea.”
Water runs as the central motif throughout the record, the ship representing the body and the sea symbolising life. Lyrically, the songs traverse survival, purification, wisdom, and healing, always with an undercurrent of danger and the fight to endure.
To capture this vision, Beastwars decided that they needed to record by the ocean. They decamped to Studio 11b near the beach in Mount Maunganui then completed the album back in their hometown of Wellington, once again working alongside longtime collaborator James Goldsmith.
Having co-produced the band’s last three albums and engineered their live shows, Goldsmith was the ideal partner to harness their ferocity with heightened intensity.
As ever, the music is paired with artwork by Nick Keller (Weta Workshop: Narnia, Avatar, The Hobbit). His vast oil painting for The Ship // The Sea is both terrifying and transcendent, an otherworldly vision that mirrors the sound within.
The Ship // The Sea will be released Friday 7th November 2025 via Destroy Records on LP and digital formats, with pre-orders available now at www.beastwarsband.com. The band will also tour Australia and New Zealand this November in support of the release.
This album was created with the generous support of NZ On Air
Tour Dates:
Mo's Desert Clubhouse – Gold Coast, Aus – Wed 12th November The Brightside – Brisbane, Aus – Thu 13th November The Landsdowne – Sydney, Aus – Fri 14th November The Evelyn – Melbourne, Aus – Sat 15th November River Rocks Rehab – Geelong, Aus – Sun 16th November Last Place – Hamilton – Thu 20th November Double Whammy – Auckland – Fri 21st November Meow Nui – Wellington – Sat 22nd November Dropkicks – Dunedin – Fri 28th November Churchill's – Christchurch – Sat 29th November
Artist: Beastwars Album: The Ship // The Sea Record Label: Destroy Records Formats: LP/Digital Release Date: 7/11/25
GOATFATHER, the French Heavy Rock band, will release their new full-length, House of the Rising Smoke, on October 24th via Argonauta Records. Today, the band unveils the full album details and drops a new single along with the official music video for “Stoner Dream.”
"The goat is back!
We’re delighted to announce that GOATFATHER will continue to work with Argonauta Records for their next effort! We’re so excited to renew our criminal conspiracy with Gero and all the Argonauta family.
GOATFATHER’s third album “House of the Rising Smoke” is to be released very soon and will be available in LP, CD and digital. Be ready for a new blend of heavy guitars, catchy riffing and thunderous vocals!
We’re also very proud to introduce Violeine (ex-WITCHGROVE) as our new bass player! We wish you’ll give her the warmest welcome!" - says the band
Watch “Stoner Dream” here:
Album track listing:
1. Stoner Dream 2. Eye of the Electric Mountain 3. Night of the Blue Smoke 4. Son of a Witch 5. Rainbow Rider 6. Space Weeds and Heavy Trips
Come and have a taste of GOATFATHER’s unique mixture: a filthy blend of goat milk, engine oil and southern bourbon in a rusty shaker.
Spreading greasy music in their path, these four musicians from France play Heavy Stoner Rock, and they play it loud! The band quickly got attention from the audience and the press with their first two albums, “Hipster Fister” (Black Wave, 2016) and “Monster Truck” (Argonauta Records, 2021), playing many shows and supporting bands like STONED JESUS, PLANET OF ZEUS, MARS RED SKY, MONKEY3...
The goat is back! Their next effort House of the Rising Smoke will be released October 24th through Argonauta Records: 6 tracks of heavy music, catchy riffing and thunderous vocals, coming straight from the bayou!
In the wake of the latest two-track advance single, 'X' & 'MIDHEAVEN', American heavy duo FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS follow up with a new video clip for the second part 'MIDHEAVEN'. Both songs are taken from the band's forthcoming album "BEAR" that is scheduled for release on October 10, 2025.
On further exciting news, FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS have announced US live dates for Fall 2025! See below for all currently confirmed shows!
You can watch the video for MIDHEAVEN below in all it's blazing glory!!!
On the single, FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS write: "'MIDHEAVEN' gets into this idea of being born under a certain set of stars, and whether or not that has anything to do with who we are", Buick Audra explains. "As a person, who feels like a lifelong misfit with a nature, I can't seem to change, I'm curious about where that starts. Is it written from the start? I'm willing to believe anything at this point. Some days, it's tempting to blame it all on the sky. In the vocal sections of the video, I'm dressed as a quasi-fortune teller, because this song also addresses modern astrology and the weight some people place on it. It seems to almost exist as a get-out-of-jail-free card for human behavior, leaving us wholly unaccountable for our actions. I have questions about those who dole out answers, and why they do so. This is one of the most cinematic pieces of music we've ever recorded, so being in character for part of it seemed fitting."
Jerry Roe adds: "This song is in 6/8, which feels very circular and perpetual to me, so I loved the idea of the camera constantly rotating around us", the drummer and bass player points out. "Our chemistry as musicians is also very special to me and this is one of the rare times where Buick doesn't sing for a long portion of the song, while we get a chance to just play music together for an extended period of time. It made me want to capture that moment purely and with energy, but without making it hard to follow. The extended shot of us playing together in the middle is very moving to me. It took a few shots to nail, but we got a perfect run of it and I'm so proud of it. Buick came in last-minute with the idea of performing the singing shots as a sort of 'oracle' astrologist type with an orb. So we shot it at a high exposure to wash out the whites and skin-tone and it made her look like a sort of mythical goddess, and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!"
Credits
Video directed & edited by Jerry Roe Video shot by Craig Hill & Jerry Roe Gaffed by Jerry Roe PA work provided by Lily Sutton Shot at South x Sea Studios in Nashville, TN (US)
'MELT', 'X' & 'MIDHEAVEN' showcase juxtaposing ends of "BEAR"'s sonic spectrum: one being heavy, the other being lighter – while both are intimately connected through addressing questions about identity and influence.
Tracklist
1.KEEPING SCORE
2.DRAIN
3.DRIPPING SILVER
4.MELT
5.NEW
6.X
7.MIDHEAVEN
8.IMPERFECT
9.FOUND
10.DEAD & DISCARDED
FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS are not just any band within the wider musical cosmos of heavy rock and stoner metal. Artistic excellence, reflected in the two Grammy wins of singer, songwriter, and guitarist Buick Audra as well as the status of drummer and bass player Jerry Roe as one of the most sought after studio percussionists, paired with outstanding lyrical intelligence have once again flown together organically to shape their forthcoming album "BEAR".
"BEAR" was written around the realisation that Buick Audra had essentially been kicked out of womanhood. This album is a documentation of her awareness also while cataloguing other areas of human connection: art, outsider culture, and dark rock venues – all places where empathy and creativity grow wild. Audra and Jerry Roe arranged and performed the fourth full-length of FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS album to have two sides to it, musically: heavy and light, salt and sugar, fire and air, and lost and found.
Although hailing from Nashville, Tennessee these denizens of the 'Music City' kindly beg to differ. FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS' sound draws from sludge, doom, heavy metal, and grunge with roots in punk and hardcore, among other guitar driven styles.
FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS were originally conceived as a side project by the two industry veterans Buick Audra and Jerry Roe, whose accolades have already been mentioned above. When the duo found common ground, they were able to bring all their combined musical excellence, perspectives, precision, and power to their new band.
Their early works, the EPs "GARFIELD" (2015) and "JUNEBUG" (2017) as well as the debut full-length "AVE" (2016) were all self-recorded as well as self-produced in their own studio, Fort Knockout, and supported live with regional tours.
FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS' sophomore album 'BILL' (2018) was co-produced by the band with Steve Albini and engineered at his Chicago studio, Electrical Audio. Working with Albini proved a pivotal experience for the duo, both personally and professionally. "BILL" reached a notably larger audience and allowed national touring. Following Albini's passing in 2024, the band released his original analogue mixes of the project, "BILL- The Steve Albini Mixes".
Although the duo's members maintained other ventures, FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS had developed into a focal endeavour for them both. Their again self-produced 2020 EP, "HOLD ON TO YOURSELF", was the beginning of their by now years-long collaboration with Kurt Ballou, who mixed the record. He also mixed their self-produced pandemic-era singles "STONECHILD/ YOUR REIGN IS OVER" (2020), "ALTAR / LAND OF MEN" (2021), and "AND IF MY BODY" (2022). These were later compiled on a limited vinyl release entitled "RELEASE OF THE REST" (2022). The singles also marked a departure from the duo's previous punk and hardcore leanings while introducing a heavier, sludgier sensibility.
FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS recorded and co-produced their third album "MASS" again with Ballou at his GodCity Studio in Salem, MA. Audra recorded and produced her vocals at her Nashville studio, and Ballou then mixed the tracks. With "MASS" (2023), a concept album about memory, language, and the state of Massachusetts, the duo took the important next step of reaching a global audience.
"BEAR" was again co-produced by band members Buick Audra and Jerry Roe. The duo returned to Salem to work along once more with their longtime collaborator, Kurt Ballou, who also tracked the instrumental performances and mixed the record. As a result, the songs with a huge range of musical ideas and expressions are unified in sound as well as in theme, which runs throughout the record in various ways: the ever-elusive idea of belonging, where it occurs, and where it absolutely does not.
With "BEAR", FRIENDSHIP COMMANDERS present a rare sparkling gem of an album, heavy yet captivating, shiny yet dark, and songs that brim with important meaning. "BEAR" is easy to get into, but beware, this album will draw its listeners into fascinating and thought-provoking depths!
Release Details
Band: Friendship Commanders Album title: BEAR Style: Heavy Rock Release date: October 10, 2025 Label: Magnetic Eye Records Review impact date: September 8, 2025
Produced by Friendship Commanders & Kurt Ballou Recorded by Kurt Ballou at GodCity, Salem, MA (US) Vocal recording by Buick Audra at Fort Knockout, Nashville, TN (US) Additional engineering by Jerry Roe at Fort Knockout, Nashville, TN (US) Assistant engineering by Zach Weeks at GodCity, Salem, MA (US) Mixed by Kurt Ballou at GodCity, Salem, MA (US) Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, Portland, OR (US)
Cover artwork by Jerry Roe & Buick Audra Layout by Buick Audra & Keith Brogdon
Sentient Ruin is proud to announce that Seoul’s Gawthrop are about to return to reconsign the sub-genre of sludge metal to its most resplendent and burdensome form with their forthcoming debut album "Kuboa", a monumental death and doom-scarred feedback-worshiping monstrosity that will stomp, crush and flatten the listener to death.
"Kuboa" has been teased by the always poignant extreme metal blog Toilet ov Hell, who in premiering the band’s new single “Hogweed” have remarked how Gawthrop “take you back to those first and second waves of sludge, when it all felt impossible and titanic, a form of as-yet unknown enmity and antipathy that touches something substratal in your sense of self“ - you can check out the track below
The enigmatic South Korean amplifier-torture cult known as Gawthrop had already given the world a glimpse into their cryptic auditory horror through 2019’s self-titled and 2022’s "Jumbo" demo tapes (both remastered and re-released by Sentient Ruin as the "Deterioration" vinyl LP compilation in 2023), but what awaits the listener on the band's first official full-length offering titled is something so wretched and crushing that it will test the composure and impressionability of even the most unfazed skeptics.
Across its grueling thirty six minutes "Kuboa" unravels a suffocating burial of down-tuned auditory nihilism that will leave both die hard fans of sludge/doom and extreme metal enthusiasts in general alike in awe and overcome by the ghastly payload of absolute slow-crawling death they've just been crushed by. The legacy of pillars of the genre like Corrupted, Noothgrush, Coffins, and Meth Drinker lives on through seven epochal and genre-defining slabs of all-devouring subsonic auditory torment that restore sludge/doom to its most iconic and crowning glory.
Canadian stoner/doom/heavy psych outfit PALE HORSE RITUAL evoke the occult sound of the '70s in their new album, Diabolic Formation. The first single, "Wickedness" provides a taste of the fuzz-driven, analogue ambience that lies in wait. Diabolic Formation is set to arrive in our realm on November 28, 2025, via Black Throne Productions.
The haunting psychedelic splendor of "Wickedness" is highly immersive. Rhythmic instrumentation carries the momentum throughout the track while additional textures are delivered by organ arrangements, atmospheric fuzz and compelling vocals. Flooded in a haze of heavy, there's something eerie and disturbing beneath the surface.
About PALE HORSE RITUAL Steeped in mysticism, PALE HORSE RITUAL create an spellcasting blend of doom, occult rock and vintage metal. Based out of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the band formed in 2024 and their sound is driven by gritty vocals, sludgy riffs, and pounding rhythms that channel the spirit of 1970s heavy music with a modern, gothic edge. Following their alluring 2024 EP titled Enchantress, the quartet are preparing to unveil the full-length, Diabolic Formation on November 28, via Black Throne Productions.
Line Up:
Paco (Bass/Vocals) James Matheson (Lead Guitar) Will Adams (Rhythm Guitar/Backing Vocals) Jonah Santa-Barbara (Drums)
Album Credits: Producer: Will Adams Recording Studio: Green Mountain Ranch Engineer: Will Adams at Tell Me About It… Records Mastering: Zack Hollow at Z Hollow Studios Mixing: Will Adams
Guest Musicians: Dom Valela- Keys, Vocals Doom Valhalla- Italian Preacher
Desert rock legends YAWNING MAN announce the release of their new album "Pavement Ends" this November 14th on Heavy Psych Sounds. Founding members Gary Arce and Mario Lalli reunite with Bill Stinson for what promises to be some of their darkest and heaviest work, and premiere a first track via It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine today.
Stream new track "Bomba Negra" below
"From the dusty crucible where sun-bleached highways dissolve into sand and silence, Yawning Man returns with a resounding echo." - It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine
The foundational trio of guitarist Gary Arce and bassist Mario Lalli—original architects of the band's iconic sound—are reunited in the studio with drummer Bill Stinson for their highly anticipated new album "Pavement Ends". This new chapter sees Arce and Lalli revisiting the exploratory spirit of their most adventurous work, charting a course through some of the band's most profound and powerful compositions to date. The album is a masterclass in dynamics, weaving between moments of stark, haunting beauty and immense, weighty sonics, creating a captivating landscape of tension and release.
The first preview of this powerful new direction comes with the track “Bomba Negra", a piece that plunges into the deep emotional currents of Yawning Man's singular and influential approach to instrumental rock.
Completing the vision for the album is a striking cover painting, marking the band's first collaborative effort with renowned Joshua Tree artist Diane Bennett. The album was recorded and engineered at Gatos Trail Studio by Dan Joeright, and mixed and co-produced by Mike Shear.
YAWNING MAN "Pavement Ends" - Out November 14th on Heavy Psych Sounds - Pre-order
TRACKLIST:
1. Burrito Power 2. Gestapo Pop 3. Bomba Negra 4. Dust Suppression 5. Pavement Ends 6. Bad Time to be Alive
Formed in 1986 under the sun of the Coachella Valley by guitarist Gary Arce, drummer Alfredo Hernandez, bassist Mario Lalli and second guitarist Larry Lalli, YAWNING MAN are considered the very founders of the desert rock movement, which was made popular by bands such as Kyuss or Queens of The Stone Age in the early 90s.
While their contemporaries gravitated toward the heavy riffs of grunge, and post-punk, YAWNING MAN leaned in another direction with their unique and organic, cinematic compositions and psychedelic improvisations: the perfect soundtrack to encompass the spacious moonscape atmosphere of the well-documented "generator parties" of their area in the late 1980s. It was at these gatherings that they developed this distinctive style and sound by enchanting spectators with their seemingly endless free-form instrumental sessions, which echoed through the beautiful deserts, mesas, and landscapes of the Coachella Valley.
As time passed, their legend grew with notable names of the Palm Desert music scene paying homage to the group through mention and praise, notably with legendary desert band Kyuss doing their own rendition of the Yawning Man track "Catamaran" on the 1995 Elektra release "...And The Circus Leaves Town". Festival appearances include Hellfest (FR), Azkena Fest (ES), Reverence Fest (ES), Desertfest London and Berlin, Up in Smoke (CH), Psycho Las Vegas (US), Stoned & Dusted I & II (US), Monolith on the Mesa (US), and various others. The recent documentaries on the desert's unique music scene "Lo Sound Desert" and "Desert Age" give light on YAWNING MAN’s influential impact on underground rock music.
YAWNING MAN lineup:
Gary Arce – guitar Mario Lalli – bass Bill Stinson - drums
Knoxville, TN – The cosmic void is stirring once again. Following the crushing impact of their debut Order of the Red Horse (2024), Knoxville space doom titans NinjaWitch return with their new EP Frequency of Gods , set for release on September 12, 2025 . Pre-orders are now live on Bandcamp, with the track “Star Ghost” streaming today as a preview of the heaviness to come.
Forged from cosmic distortion, thundering doom, and hypnotic groove, Frequency of Gods expands NinjaWitch’s interstellar assault with five colossal tracks!
Recorded, engineered, mixed, and mastered by Danielle Fehr at The Wizard Productions , the EP captures NinjaWitch at their most otherworldly yet—an unholy alliance of psychedelic atmosphere and bone-crushing riffs. Fans of Monster Magnet, Hawkwind, and Black Sabbath will find themselves pulled into a black hole of sound where doom meets space rock mysticism.
NinjaWitch is no stranger to the underground spotlight—recently featured in Decibel Magazine (read here) and confirmed to perform at the Tennessee Met
al Devastation Music Fest on October 11th, 2025 , their momentum is undeniable.
With Nathan Wright’s commanding vocals, Herb Himes’ blazing leads, Haley Clark’s riff wizardry, John Springer’s earth-rumbling bass, and Brandon Clark’s devastating percussion, NinjaWitch continues their ascent as one of the most exciting new forces in doom.
Frequency of Gods is available now for pre-order via Bandcamp in digital high-quality formats, with “Star Ghost” streaming immediately for those who can’t wait to drift into the abyss.
EP Details:
Title: Frequency of Gods Release Date: September 12, 2025 Genre: Cosmic Space Doom
For Fans Of: Monster Magnet, Hawkwind, Black Sabbath
From the depths of Belo Horizonte’s underground, PESTA rises once again with their new single “The Inquisitor, Pt. I”, the first glimpse of the long-awaited album The Craft of Pain, arriving October 16th, 2025 on all digital platforms.
A deluxe vinyl edition will follow through Glory or Death Records, featuring ultra-limited handmade pressings by Wax Mage Records, scheduled for late October and November.
“The Inquisitor, Pt. I” opens the gates to an album that descends into the darkest horrors of human history. While the lyrics evoke the severity of the Inquisition, they also draw a parallel with current socio-political realities in Brazil, and beyond, where the intertwining of religion, politics, and economic power can awaken the worst in people, leading to the persecution of the different, the suppression of expression, and the imprisonment of minds.
Musically, the track unfolds with a powerful progression, channeling Doom Metal in its rawest, most classic form.
Heavy, deliberate riffs give way to moments flirting with proto-metal and heavy rock, creating a tension between crushing weight and ascending intensity, a sonic ritual that honors the genre’s roots while asserting PESTA’s unique voice.
The Craft of Pain is a plunge into the shadows of the human condition. Each track confronts episodes of violence, greed, and blind devotion that have shaped history, transforming tragedy into monumental sound. Musically, it reaffirms PESTA as a force carrying Doom’s tradition while daring to carve out their own voice, heavy, intense, and firmly rooted in their homeland.
Formed in Belo Horizonte, cradle of countless metal legacies, PESTA earned recognition with Faith Bathed in Blood (2019) and Bring Out Your Dead (2016),
both praised by specialized media in the Doom and Heavy Psych scenes. With these releases and standout singles, the band has surpassed 260,000 streams on Spotify and 30,000 plays on Bandcamp,
reaching listeners across more than 65 countries. Known for a commanding stage presence and ritualistic atmosphere, PESTA translates the weight and density of their albums into live performances at events such as Dopesmoker Fest in northeastern Brazil and BDCP, a festival that drew over 9,000 attendees in Belo Horizonte. A glimpse of this intensity can be seen in their live video for “Witches’ Sabbath”, an over 8-minute track played more than 14,000 times on YouTube, capturing what PESTA is truly about.
“The Inquisitor, Pt. I” is just the first blade of this sonic execution. The full album, The Craft of Pain, arrives this October to carve PESTA’s name even deeper into the global Doom Metal scene.
Finnish sludge/post-metal act Sunniva have unveiled their latest track, “Valovaltimo”, the latest track from their upcoming debut album Hypostasis, due out September 19 via Svart Records.
Watch the track for Valovaltimo below:
Sung in Finnish and Swedish, “Valovaltimo” (which translates to “Artery of light”) is a deep, hypnotic journey into the band’s signature blend of psychedelic repetition, crushing doom, and heavy atmospherics. The track builds slowly, creating a sense of mounting tension before culminating in a dramatic, almost spiritual conclusion.
The song’s lyrics are inspired by a vivid, unsettling dream experienced by the band’s lyricist: a vision of a massive black hole consuming everything—people, animals, buildings, trees, the very fabric of reality itself. “At first I felt dread as I floated toward it,” the lyricist recalls. “But then I saw animals heading toward it, accepting it without fear. There was a strange sense of calm, and that stayed with me.” The dream ultimately became a meditation on death, unity, and the idea that we are all interconnected, spiraling toward the same end.
The track also features guest vocals and lyrics by Lotta, the lead singer of SVARTA HAVET, who was inspired by the dream’s imagery to create her own contribution, adding a hauntingly ethereal layer to the song’s dramatic finale.
Sunniva was formed in 2016 out of a shared hunger for the raw sonic power of heavy music. The band's name, derived from the Old English Sunngifu, meaning "gift of the sun", hints at the layered darkness and light woven into their sound.
Blurring the lines between death doom, sludge, and post-metal, Sunniva summons the same seismic intensity as titans like Amenra, Neurosis and Dark Buddha Rising. Their past releases –The Holy Mountain (2017), self-titled EP (2020), and the sprawling singleThis Reality Only Speaks In Blood (2018) – have cemented their reputation for crafting immersive, soul-crushing soundscapes. The band is in its full elements in live shows which you can experience as follows
"Ratstar”, the second single from Fish Hook Smile’s upcoming self-titled album, out August 20th via Glory or Death Records
On August 20, Fish Hook Smile returns with their second single, “Ratstar” - a track that refuses to look away from one of the harshest realities of our time: the humanitarian crisis of homelessness.
The single is part of the band’s forthcoming self-titled album, due out on September 5.
“‘Ratstar’ dives into the merciless world of homelessness, told through the eyes of someone society chooses not to see. It's a visceral cry for recognition and connection — a reminder that all of us are only one or two strokes of bad luck away from living the same fate.” - Fish Hook Smile
Built on suffocating atmosphere and unflinching lyrics, “Ratstar” captures the weight of marginalization — the empty pockets, the systemic neglect, the fight to maintain dignity. Sonically, the track delivers sharp distortion, a throbbing low end, and vocals that shift between anguish and restrained fury.
The track paints a bleak, brutally honest portrait of homelessness, told from the eyes of someone long ignored by society. With gritty textures and lyrics that ache with lived experience, “Ratstar” demands empathy - and warns how fragile the line is between stability and collapse.
This is not just a political message. It’s a deeply human one - one that demands to be heard.
Fish Hook Smile emerged from the vibrant alternative scene of St. Louis in the 1990s, blending influences from grunge, punk, and alternative rock with raw, biting lyricism. Known locally for their intense live shows and visceral sound, the band gained underground momentum before dissolving, without ever releasing a full-length record.
Fish Hook Smile was a St. Louis band that was originally formed in 1991 by Jason Busiek, Dan Policarpo(guitar) and Ken McCray(drums). In the Summer of 1991, Misha Avrushenko, Matt Lake and Bryan Pollard joined the band. Although he wasn't originally in the band, Matt Pekny was at damn near every practice and show in the 90’s and was a natural fit for 2nd guitar. These songs were written by Jason Busiek, Matt Lake, Misha Avrushenko, Bryan Pollard and Dan Policarpo. Although Dan is not on the recording, he was a major player in the formation, writing and the overall honing of this sound and we are forever grateful for his contributions
Decades later, members of the original lineup reunited, unearthing unreleased material and channeling the same urgency that defined their early years. Now spread across different cities but still driven by a shared creative fire, Fish Hook Smile returns with renewed purpose and sharpened vision.
This year, 2025, they joined forces with Glory or Death Records to release their long-awaited self-titled debut album digitally. Slated for release on September 5, the record is preceded by two blistering singles: “Shiver” and “Ratstar” - with lyrical manifestos confronting authoritarianism and the brutal realities of social invisibility.
Fish Hook Smile is not just a comeback. It’s a scream that never died.
We're happy to premiere the new song/video THE LONG PIG from Heavy Blues Rockers Malkasian which is from their upcoming new album which you can listen to below:
The Lowdown
Heavy Blues Album Description
FFO - Queens of the Stone Age, Pride and Glory, Clutch “Heavy Blues” is the feeling.
The genre is a second order issue.
Heavy
1. of great weight; difficult to lift or move
2. of great density; thick or substantial Burdensome
“Heavy Blues” is more despondent and apathetic. Yearning to feel something when you haven’t been able to feel at all.
This record attempts to honor the essence of the blues while embracing grit, chaos, and indifference to conventions like the heavy alternative scene. It was made because it had to be, “just because....” Tropes about “being born under the blood red moon” and other cliches won’t cut it. The words and feelings are for here and now.
It's heavy influenced blues.
The thought with “Heavy Blues” is blues influenced by heavy alternative rock. Emo blues...even if only by intention, not aesthetic. This blues is more overtly dark, lamenting, melancholy, insouciant, frustrated and affected."
Daytripper conjures earth-crushing desert stoner doom from the sands of Phoenix, Arizona. Last year, the release of their debut LP, “Book I: The Trip”, beckoned to doom worshipers worldwide with infectious riffs and mystifying lore. Their upcoming project, “The Alchemist”, evolves and progresses the doom palette while further illuminating the backstory of a core character from Book I. The new EP steeps Daytripper’s doom core in a concoction of psychedelic locrian modes, enchanting synthesizers, and nod-inducing sludge.
Title track “The Alchemist” tantalizes listeners with the most iconic components of the new Daytripper sound. Accompanying the single is a narrative music video that transports onlookers into the smoke-filled study of the Alchemist, summoning all to bear witness to his forbidden experiments
2025 has been the most dynamic chapter for Daytripper. The year began with a welcoming of the band’s newest sages: The Seer and Warrior Sage. The Seer Sage’s ethereal vocals and hypnotic synthesizer tones with the Warrior Sage’s pummeling grooves behind the kit elevated this new era of Daytripper. This year also saw the sages bring their ritualistic live performance beyond the Sonoran Desert with two tours. In Spring, the Trippers joined Denver’s Green Druid on a tour of the Southwest. Then the sages embarked on a Summer Pilgrimage to rumble the foundations of Maryland Doom Fest’s final, triumphant year. New sages, new audiences, and an expansive new sound carve a path towards the beginning of a new era, The Alchemist.
WHAT'S NEXT:
Daytripper will be opening for Castle Rat on September 23rd, followed by ‘The Alchemist’ EP release show November 15th. The band will hit the road again in the Spring, this time running up the West coast.
Daytripper - The Alchemist
EP out October 24th, 2025 Self-released (Digital, CD) Phoenix, Arizona, US FFO: Windhand, Bell Witch, Slower, YOB
Tracklist:
1. The Alchemist (6:16) 2. A New Leaf (5:14) 3. Ruinous Opus (8:13) 4. Hubris (8:59)
Daytripper is:
The Scribe Sage - Vocals, Guitar, Violin The Pírate Sage - Guitar The Rogue Sage - Bass The Warrior Sage - Drums The Seer Sage - Vocals, Synth, Guitar
CTRL+Z is a Psychedelic Stoner Rock band rising not from the California sands, but from the cobblestones of Łódź—post-industrial grayness, chaos, and city dust instead of a desert horizon. Their roots lie in jam sessions—psychedelic, unbridled improvisations that give rise to the first sketches of songs. Compositions take shape intuitively before reaching the studio for mixing and mastering.
‘Warling’ is the second single from CTRL+Z. It's an expressive portrayal of an internal struggle with unhealthy idealism. It's a story about grappling with the quiet, merciless voice of the inner critic, who is never fully satisfied, no matter how much effort we put into our work, always picking out the cracks and imperfections.
Italian fuzz-heavy rockers DUNE AURORA have released their brand new single and official video, "Sunless Queen", offering the first taste of their highly anticipated debut full-length, due out this Fall via Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records.
The track and its haunting visual companion dive deep into the band’s sonic core: slow-paced heaviness, hypnotic atmospheres and monolithic riffing. Speaking about the new single, the band states:
"Sunless Queen is a slow, cadenced song with dark atmospheres that has a monolithic presence in our album, thanks to its rhythmic pattern and repetitive riffs. The song depicts a queen who reigns in her own golden age and relates to a being whose presence darkens the sun, a demon she must embrace in order to be reborn. We think this single captures the essence of the sound of our first upcoming album. We are thrilled to present it today with Octopus Rising/Argonauta Records and share it with you."
The release follows the band’s critically noted trajectory, which began with their debut EP Lonely Town in 2022 and continued through a trilogy of standalone singles (Solar Reward, Sail, and Fire) each supported by distinctive music videos that helped define DUNE AURORA’s strong visual and artistic identity.
A key element in the sonic impact of Sunless Queen, and the entire upcoming album, is the mastering by legendary engineer James Plotkin, known for his work with groundbreaking acts such as ISIS, Pelican and Earth. Plotkin’s signature mastering gives the song an immersive and massive depth, perfectly complementing the band’s fuzz-laden intensity.
Based in Turin, Italy, DUNE AURORA currently features Ginny Wagon (vocals, guitar), Serena Bodratto (drums) and Roberta Finiguerra (bass). Their sound merges raw power and emotional weight, blending fuzzy riffs with dark, introspective moods.
A year after joining the Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records roster, the band is now set to unveil the next chapter in their evolution.
Watch the official music video for "Sunless Queen" now:
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