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There's big surprise releases from Deafheaven and Power Trip, major Nightwish and Judas Priest line-up shifts, a tremendous festival announcement from Fortress, live shows from Joyce Manor, Blaze Bayley, and Khemmis, but no one wants to talk about any of it because the world's up in arms about James Hetfield. Releases: Caspian - Caspian The Number Twelve Looks Like You - Howls from the Holographic Heart Throes - The Colorless Light of Emptiness John Zorn - Flatlands Eivør - Tungl Insomnium - Netherworlds The Keening - Devotion Master - Among the Seeds of Death Mother of Graves - The Light That Keeps Us Algor Mortis - The Art of Suffering Shores of Null - Homesick Lugubrious Garment - In the Wide Vale of Uncreated Night

Nails tear through the UK, Trivium unveil their Eastern darkness-inspired new album, and Aerosmith plot their own Back to the Beginning style party. Releases: Slope - Same Kids. Just Louder. Greta van Fleet - Palace for the People unpeople - we are unpeople Wage War - Landfall Left to Suffer - Unwelcome Guest Twin Temple - Doomed Lovers Graveyard - Fever Meryl Streek - Stories They Don’t Teach You At School Wolfbrigade - Howl From Underground RAM - Against Smoulder - Witch Wife in an Alien World Avrak - Avrak Werewolves - You’re Weak and You Know You’re Weak Goblin C**k - Traumanaut Nowhere2Run - Bloodrave II

We've arrived at our annual Damnation Festival preview Album Club pack as we pull out Cult of Luna's 21st century post-metal benchmark Somewhere Along the Highway, Walls of Jericho's 00s metallic hardcore smackdown The American Dream, the 2010s sludgy powerviolence of Weekend Nachos' Worthless (featuring "Pat Patterson" and "Troe Johman"), and The Berzerker's Aussie gabber death metal Dissimulate.

It's real highs and lows in the news for rock music this week, with incredibly exciting reveals from Disfear and Repugnant, the 2027 line-up announcements from Slam Dunk and ArcTanGent, but also the news of Enter Shikari's incoming hiatus and the mountain-moving loss of Venom's Cronos, the forefather of extreme metal without whom our world is unthinkable. Releases: Amon Amarth - The Allfather Awakens Twin Atlantic - Separation from the Animals Imminence - Axis Mundi Escape the Fate - The Last Goodbye Miss May I - No Place for Me To the Grave - LIBERATION FRONT Haywire 617 - I Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye Cyadine - Violence In Measure Bobbie Dazzle - Star Power Haunt - Setting Course Asomvel - Set Your World On Fire Hippotraktor - Annihilist Dissimulator - Artifice Dissolves Deconsekrated - The Inexorable Transcendence of Death Spirit Possession - Cathedral Speech Xasthur - Open to Misinterpretation From First to Last - We Were Bleeding Anyway The Crawling - What We Leave Behind Swans - Newly Sentient Being

There are surprising pivots towards our world from the pop sphere this time from Miley Cyrus and Chvrches alongside new singles from Bullet for My Valentine & several others, live trips to see Electric Wizard & more, there's a mindblowing milestone for Judas Priest's Ian Hill, a bizarre multi-pronged bust-up with Frankie Palmeri at the centre, and sadly another passing of a punk and hardcore legend with the loss of New Found Glory's Chad Gilbert. Releases: Holding Absence - Modern Life is Lonely Emma Ruth Rundle - These Killing Times Boy Harsher - Get Mean The Eternal - Obscured Horizons Remote Viewing - State Violence Early Moods - Ready for the Grave Krallice - Scour Order Runemagick - After Chaos: Nocturnal Vigil CH’AHOM - Anthropic Rites of Sublimation Combust / Blow Your Brains Out / Imposter - United Nations Tom Morello - Everyone Gets Everything They Want Coldrain - OPTIMIZE = OPTDEMIZE Europe - Come This Madness Keo - Put a Smile On For Me Pain of Truth - Pain of Truth Split Dogs - Nice N’ Rough Burner - No One is Coming to Save Us Cloven Hoof - Never a Prophet in Your Own Land Bloodstain - Bloodstain God Mother - Köttvärld Crown of Magnetar - The Hollowing of Godflesh Godflesh - Decay Protomartyr - Hotel Usona Brat - Manslayer The Ocean - Solaris Ethereal Tomb - Living to Dream Again Noctule - Extinguish Thy Flame Iskald - Curse of the Mind Aborym - Metachaos Krolok - Hričov  – Súľov – Lietava Massteron - Second in the Spheres Profanation - Ultra-Noise Warfare Scorpion Milk - Flesh Mask for Skulls

September gets us all sludgy as reviews pore over new Mastodon, Green Lung, Anthrax, Chat Pile, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, Sleep, Devil Master, & Wrong Man, Evanescence playing the UK's biggest arena, and Tony Iommi being the boss yet again. Mastodon 38:10 Green Lung 1:22:40 Anthrax 1:48:34 Chat Pile 2:07:25 Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats 2:26:18 Sleep 2:42:26 Devil Master 2:52:30 Wrong Man 3:10:13

First and foremost, we try to speak to the awful loss of Every Time I Die legend Andy Williams. From there we tackle new singles from Slipknot and Spiritbox, the hallucinatory hellscape stories related to Muse's Meta troubles and Breaking Benjamin's modder feud tirades, and put our tin foil hats to theorise that SURELY the Gallows teasing can't just be for vinyl reissues... Releases: Green Lung - Necropolitan Brian Fallon - Not Bad for New Jersey The Meffs - Business Wrong Man - Here’s That Feeling Killing of a Sacred Deer - Encephalic Angels Harlott - Exsequiis Dreadnought - Wars of Spirit // Wards of Light Archgoat - Nightbringer, Lightbringer Fluisteraars - Jacht der Mysterien Epitaphe - III

This week we look back on a historic moment of live music for our podcast in our combined Big Goth Weekend with a run of shows from The Cure, Outbreak/All Points East with an epochal headlining set from Deftones, and our AFI watch finally being brought to an end with their first UK headline shows in 16 years. Releases: Mastodon - Marrow Deep Beartooth - Pure Ecstasy In This Moment - Witch Dinosaur Jr. - There Near Kamelot - Dark Asylum Flotsam and Jetsam - Rats in the Temple Exumer - Death Mask Messiah Ninth Realm - Damnation’s Veil Russian Circles - Nine Kulk - Choosing to Die Rat Cage - Not Asking for Much Static Abyss - The Dying Hunt Gorod - The Ember Gone Epicardiectomy - Dismal Landscapes of Voluptuous Pustular Cadaverosis Turn of Phrase - Out in the Water  President - Blood of Your Empire Showing Teeth - A Fate Worse Than Loneliness Gradience - Anomaly Airbourne - Airbourne Audrey Horne - Achilles 156/Silence - From a Distance Judiciary - Stalagmite Angels Movements - Happier Now Sleep - Hempispheres Chat Pile - Who Loves the Sun Arab Strap - Half-Told Tales Sigh - Goh-ka Devil Master - Bloody Dreams Green Carnation - A Dark Poem, Part III: The Messiah Complex Tales of Perdition - The Theatre of Existence Behemoth - I, Scvlptor

Rivers Cuomo's QR code woes, some goth-pop flourish and questioning what even is an album lead the way for TNM reviews this time with Weezer's Gold Album, Chelsea Wolfe, Electric Callboy, Living Weapon, The Night Eternal, and Zorn going under the magnifying glass. Weezer 30:05 Chelsea Wolfe 1:07:20 Electric Callboy 1:34:27 Living Weapon 1:58:41 The Night Eternal 2:14:36 Zorn 2:25:33

Chelsea Wolfe's new album release show and Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American set arrive for a lucky few in the UK, there's new music from Haywire, God's Hate, and Down, the sad news of the passing of legendary ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard, extreme legend Justin Broadrick's appearance on the new Phoebe Bridgers album, and the craziest stadium support act announcement of all time. Releases: Weezer - Weezer (The Gold Album) Chelsea Wolfe - The Dark The Night Eternal - Cold Velvet Fen - Elemental Part One: Mourning Earth Azatoth - Carnal Lust of Blasphemy God’s Hate - Won’t Be Disgraced Dark Funeral - A Beast to Praise

This week we discuss how Bloodstock's 2027 announcement doubles down on a new direction, and pull out some of the lesser discussed gems within the line-up. Releases: Various Artists - A Tribute to Smashing Pumpkins: Sending Hearts to All My Dearies Dead Tired - Hornets of Fall Living Weapon - Death in the Family Sweeping Promises - You Say I Romanticize Invocation Ritual - Altered Reality Holissstik - Chapter 1: This Endless Solitude

After a week of exasperating and confusing news we discuss the unconfirmed firing of Sid Wilson by Slipknot and Merauder's absolutely bizarre crashout, as well as big live announcements from Wacken, Megadeth, Mick Gordon, and the potential dungeon synth takeover of hardcore. Releases: Electric Callboy - Tanzneid John Carpenter - Cathedral Cancer Bats - Give Me Dirt Citizen - Halcyon Blues Jamie Lenman - Puke Ceremony - Tell Me Your Dream Public Opinion - The Curse of Public Opinion Negative Frame - Break the Ice Wealthy Women - Children Hulder - Verbolgen Dymna Lotva - Vyraj Horrifier - Revelations of Gore

This humid summer gets that bit muckier as we check out the UK's growing slam, brutal death metal, and goregrind event at Offal Fest, as well as check in on Avenged Sevenfold's latest piece of craziness, and sadly speak to the passing of all time pillar of hardcore Lou Koller of Sick of It All. Releases: Waterparks - Jinx No Pressure - NP Style The Hu - Hun Madball - Not Your Kingdom REZN - Cycles in the Infinite Dream Jordsjø - Pestkrønikene Sallow Moth - Hydrophilous Brood Linnéa RK Olsson - Perfect Wave Five Finger Death Punch - Legacy Disfiguring the Goddess - Bloom Nothingness - Godslaughter Altarage - Cogwheel Lipoma - Infernal Wounds of Ravenous Flesh Jig-Ai - Jigoku Taake - En skog av nidstang Long Goodbye - A Whispered Promise of Failure Shearling - Don’t Look at Me the Way a Dog Might Look at Your Leg

At least one of the most anticipated heavy albums this decade hits our radars this month as Loathe, Muse, The Menzingers, The Xcerts, Fuming Mouth, No Cure, and Arise From Worms are reviewed, along with speculation about the seemingly imminent return of Gallows. Loathe 37:32 Muse 1:09:13 The Menzingers 1:31:55 The Xcerts 1:49:20 Fuming Mouth 2:11:10 No Cure 2:24:04 Arise From Worms 2:33:29

It's the week where br00tal returned (and football season is over), as we make our way to Bring Me the Horizon's Count Your Blessings | Repented shows and into the re-recorded album for the biggest event in 2006 deathcore since... 2006. Releases: Final Resting Place - Third World Tribunal Loathe - A Stranger to You Motionless In White - Decades Boundaries - Yearning: The unbeautiful after Protest the Hero - Within As It Is - As It Is The Menzingers - Everything I Ever Saw Quicksand - Bring on the Psychics Fuming Mouth - The Ringing Bell Fed Ash + HIRS - I AM BODY HORROR Left to Die - Initium Mortis Psycroptic - The Pulse of Annihilation Imperium - Exodus Unknown Emptiness - Nowhere Speaks Haken - In a Fever Dream Red Method - As In Life