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BERGFRIED – Debut Full-Length Album Romantik "III" via High Roller Records in October 2025 – First Single revealed
 Following the EPs "Romantik I" (2022) and "Romantik II" (2023), BERGFRIED's highly anticipated debut full-length "Romantik III" will be released on 24th October 2025 via High Roller Records on all formats.
The Austrian-Hungarian heavy metal duo consists of Erech von Lothringen, who is handling all the instruments, and vocalist Anna de Savoy.
Erech von Lothringen states: "'Romantik III' is the last part of this trilogy. Conceptually it is the continuation of 'Romantik II' but musically, the whole thing has become a bit more compact and also clearer. There are classic heavy metal songs on the album, but, as on 'Romantik II', there are also a few musical-like passages in between."
The album's opening track, "Dark Wings", can be checked out here: https://youtu.be/z5bIKUjkk94
"Romantik III" is featuring guest appearances by Maria Nesh of Red Eye Temple, Sarah Kitteringham of Smoulder and Davide Moras of Elvenking. Drums by Fabio Alessandrini (Annihilator, Enforcer, Bonfire). Mixed and Mastered by Olof Wikstrand at Hvergelmer Studio & Music Production. Artwork by Aaron Lawrance // paintedimagelimited.
Tracklist:
1. Dark Wings
2. Fallen From Grace
3. Queen of the Dead
4. For the Cursed
5. Gates of Fate
6. Serenades
7. Tears of a Thousand Years
8. Star-Crossed Love
9. Back for More
https://www.hrrecords.de/BERGFRIED +++ https://www.facebook.com/bergfriedofficial
SÖLICITÖR - Sophomore Full-Length "Enemy In Mirrors" via Gates Of Hell Records in September 2025 – Track Premiere
 Seattle speed metal masters SÖLICITÖR are back with their sophomore studio album, entitled "Enemy In Mirrors", set for release on September 19th 2025 via Gates Of Hell Records.
A first track, "Iron Wolves of War", can be checked out here: https://solicitor-speedmetal.bandcamp.com/track/iron-wolves-of-war
Five years have passed since "Spectral Devastation", SÖLICITÖR’s debut LP was unleashed. Now they are back with a bang. More leather-bound, more aggressive, more powerful and more metal than ever. From the powerful riffing and impressive drum work to the evocative vocals; it won’t take you long to fall in love with the classic and authentic sound of this new offering. Mixing heavy, speed and even some thrash metal elements to achieve a unique sound of powerful metallic excellence, none shall be spared on this ferocious new opus.
Fans will notice the more dynamic, emotive and varied approach on this album that still retains all of the power and fury of their previous efforts. The band took a more DIY approach to the actual recording while re-amping, mixing and mastering was done by Chris Mannino to truly bring the electrifying takes to life. Speaking of DIY, the band’s vocalist Amy handled the artwork for this release, ensuring the bands vision was appropriately represented.
The band put this into words best: This album was built on blood, sweat and struggle, personal catastrophes and triumphs, division and uncertainty - ultimately pulled together by dedication to a long term vision and determination above all odds to deliver performances that will surely outlast our previous offerings. We believe in the integrity of these songs, as a representation of our evolution and arrival to this point. This album is darker, more melodic, much more expressive, personal, and may take some by surprise for better or worse. Themes of the paranormal, revenge and retribution, betrayal, and a steadfast commitment to heavy metal and all that has come before us as we continue to pursue and mark our place in a drastically different and ever changing landscape.
Haunting, powerful and destructive metal mania!
Live in Europe:
13.09.25 - Pyrenean Warriors Open Air – France
20.09.25 - In the Best Tradition Festival - Italy
Tracklist:
01. The Descent
02. Paralysis
03. Iron Wolves of War
04. Spellbound Mist
05. We Who Remain
06. Fallen Angel
07. Crimson Battle Beast
08. Enemy In Mirrors
09. Black Magick (Part I)
10. The Devil’s Hand (Part II)
https://www.facebook.com/gatesofhellrecords +++https://www.facebook.com/solicitor.speedmetal
RITUAL MASS – New Song revealed – Debut Album "Cascading Misery" in September 2025 via 20 Buck Spin
 Pittsburgh based death metallers RITUAL MASS have revealed another song from their debut full-length "Cascading Misery", coming on September 5th 2025 via 20 Buck Spin on all formats.
You can listen to the title track here: https://youtu.be/aLotp-foV5c
"Cascading Misery" is more than a collection of songs, it’s a series of calculated assaults on the virtue of the holy. Evolving beyond earlier EP and demo releases, the album encapsulates the bludgeoning infliction of pain and the slow peel of skin by flame, rife with both sonic chaos and extinguished hope.
From the outset of album opener "Obsidian Mirror" the atmosphere is oppressive, thick with a suffocating malaise. There is a sense of something ceremonial at work but not in a way that seeks communion. Rather it’s ordeal as sacrament. Riffs strangle and churn into convulsive submission, oscillating from slow agony to psychotic break, over which a guttural lament so savage it freezes the blood is wrenched through dungeon stone. Each track unfolds like time spent in isolation, bound by chains, the mind slowly unraveling and surrounded by memories of torment both real and imagined.
By the time the epic 14-minute album closer "Disquiet" dissipates into a mass of formless static RITUAL MASS have dragged you into a world where suffering is not an end but a condition of existence. "Cascading Misery" is music for the dissolution of hope, the terror of being, and the long march toward death.
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Greg Wilkinson / Earhammer Studios (Ulthar, Autopsy, Undergang). Cover painting by P. Trona.
Tracklist:
1. Obsidian Mirror
2. Immeasurable Hell
3. Looming Shapeless Entity
4. Cascading Misery
5. Frozen Marrow
6. Disquiet
https://www.20buckspin.com +++ https://www.facebook.com/20buckspin
HERETOIR - New Album "Solastalgia" in September2025 via AOP Records - New Single Premeire
 HERETOIR have revealed another song from their upcoming new album "Solastalgia", set for release on September 19th 2025 via AOP Records.
Check out the video clip for "Season of Grief" here: https://youtu.be/BdDtowKmQk8
The band comments: "When we think about how modern humanity treats the natural world and also how humanity treats each other, the general feeling is one of sadness and anger - and grief. Grief for every living being suffering from our ways. In the name of technological progress humanity is consuming even the last remaining intact ecosystems. Many people, especially in the global North, believe that established economic systems, capitalism, and globalized industrial civilization represent humanity's greatest achievement. We actually find little to admire in this - huge numbers of people live in inhumane conditions, animals are degraded to commodities, primeval forests are clearcut for wood production and to make room for agriculture... the list is endless. We hope that this track resonates with many of you, especially in this challenging time, where everything feels more unstable than ever. Thank you for your never ending support and love - we don't take it for granted."
With "Solastalgia", the German purveyors of soaring post metal work their way to their innermost core and deliver what is easily their most vulnerable and accessible record to date. "Solastalgia describes the grief over the loss of the natural world," HERETOIR explains. The very existence of such a term brutally exposes our alienation from this planet – easy prey for these uncompromising analysts of human misery. While some songs deal with environmental issues, others focus on personal feelings and the challenges of human existence in a rapidly changing world. Heretoir has always been pure emotion. The pain of modern life set to music. And yet the desperate beauty of "Solastalgia" proves to be an unlikely source of comfort.
Just two years on from their stunning full-length "Nightsphere", which was followed by headlining tours through Europe and Latin America and appearances at festival A-listers such as Resurrection Fest, Party-San and Summer Breeze, HERETOIR are back with another crushing masterclass in melancholy and world-weariness. Having grown from a solo outlet for David Conrad's musical vision to a tight-knit trio over the years, the current incarnation of Heretoir has proven to be their strongest yet. Bonded by the firm belief that empathy is the only thing that can truly keep us safe, the three musicians have created an album so full of life that it can be overwhelming at first. It hurts. But sometimes it has to.
Blurred tremolo guitars burst into cascading mountains of sublime melody, harsh cries from the end of the world join mournful vocals, post-rock clouds evaporate against thunderous post (black) metal ferocity. The joint songwriting of David, Matthias and Nils creates the new sound of HERETOIR. After exploring their dark and grim side on "Nightsphere", Heretoir have gone in a different direction this time. The songs of "Solastalgia" cover a wide range of emotional and heavy music. From Modern Metal to Black Metal to Post Rock to maybe even Screamo. Whatever you want to call it: essentially, this is pure melancholy and a spark of hope in utter darkness.
"Solastalgia" was recorded and mixed by David Deutsch and Justin Felder at 1408 Productions. Mastered by Lasse Lammert at LSD Studio. Artwork by Rudolf Hima.
Tracklist:
01. The Ashen Falls
02. Season of Grief
03. You Are the Night
04. Inertia
05. Rain
06. Dreamgatherer
07. The Heart of December
08. Burial
09. Solastalgia
10. The Same Hell MMXXV
11. Metaphor (In Flames Cover)
https://shop.aoprecords.de +++ https://www.facebook.com/heretoir
THE LUNAR EFFECT - New Album Fortune’s Always Hiding out in October 2025 via Svart Records - Single / Video Clip Premiere
 THE LUNAR EFFECT were formed in London in 2017 by brothers Jon and Dan Jefford and later completed by vocalist Josh Neuwford, bassist Brett Halsey, and eventually second guitarist Mark Fuller. Since their arrival on the scene, they’ve carved out a reputation for crafting music that feels both familiar and original - a modern echo of grunge-soaked ’70s rock, fuzzed-out blues, and melancholic British soul.
Following the underground success of 2019’s "Calm Before the Calm", the band signed with Svart Records and released the critically praised sophomore album Sounds of Green & Blue in 2024. After touring the album across the UK and Europe, they set their sights on album three, their most ambitious work to date. "Fortune’s Always Hiding" lands in October 2025; a brooding journey through loss, memory, and the weight of time. It marks a new era for the band - deeper, stranger, and more soul-baring than ever.
The first taste from the upcoming album, "Feed the Hand", has been premiered here with a video clip: https://youtu.be/MdZGUEpFsFw
The band comments on the new single: "'Feed the Hand' sets the tone for what’s to come, uncomfortable, deliberate, and heavy with implication. It reaches back with one hand, grabbing a handful of early 90's alternative nostalgia to bring a high energy groove. With the other, it drags the listener through an unravelling; guidance twisted into obedience, time eroding memory from a feeling to a realisation. There’s weight here, but it’s not theatrical. It’s cathartic and satisfyingly powerful. A quiet reckoning fed by the band's influences, serving up a whole new dish to the table."
They don’t imitate the past, they channel its spirit through a warped, modern lens. From thunderous grooves and fuzz-soaked guitar riffs to intimate, fractured vocals, THE LUNAR EFFECT channel the unease of the modern world with a sound that refuses to sit still.
2026 promises more touring, more evolution, and no interest in standing still. For a band that’s never fit neatly into any box, THE LUNAR EFFECT continue building their own universe — one hypnotic, heavy track at a time.
"Fortune’s Always Hiding" is available on Svart exclusive Cream/Red/Orange marble vinyl, limited Transparent Green vinyl, Black vinyl, CD, and digital platforms on October 24th, 2025.
https://www.svartrecords.com +++ https://thelunareffect.bandcamp.com
SPECIES - Sophomore Album "Changelings" via 20 Buck Spin - Music Video Premiere
 20 Buck Spin proudly announces the second full-length of Polish power trio SPECIES, entitled "Changelings", set for release on September 19th 2025 on all formats.
Following the debut "To Find Deliverance" and a step up in every regard, "Changelings" is astonishing in its accomplished precision and how much it manages to achieve within the scope of individual tracks and as a cohesive whole. The album features an overload of angular guitar warfare, traditional Euro-thrash aggression with a modern resonance, rhythmic percussive seizures, and intricate basslines that make their intention deeply felt, not just following the guitar but dialoguing with it in a way that offers a second melodic brain to the album. In combination these elements thread seamlessly to give "Changelings" its colorful and uncanny vision, as if John Carpenter had co-produced "Rust In Peace" behind the iron curtain. It’s bristling with sci-fi paranoia, alien terror and a hint of Cold War menace. The early convergence of Thrash Metal with Death Metal is also unmistakably present in the shape-shifting sound of SPECIES.
While there’s more than enough primitive and traditional Thrash bands to go around, SPECIES embraces the genre’s lesser-travelled road of forward-thinking virtuosity and inventive experimentation, showing there’s still plenty of fertile ground to seed new musical territory. Nowhere is it more apparent than on 10-minute album closer "Biological Masterpiece", where SPECIES displays all its weapons; hyperspeed assaults, dystopian lulls and instrumental mastery, in a climatic saga beyond space and time. "Changelings" is that rare album nowadays that still has the ability to surprise in the most triumphant and euphoric way possible.
A music video for the first single "The Essence" is available here: https://youtu.be/djS0vmtLcRM
Cover artwork by Aleksandra Pawłowska.
Tracklist:
1. Inspirit Creation
2. The Essence
3. Waves of Time
4. Voyager
5. Born of Stitch and Flesh
6. Terror Unknown
7. Biological Masterpiece
https://www.20buckspin.com +++ https://www.facebook.com/MetalSpecies
BURNING SUN - New Album "Retribution" out soon via Metalized Records / Second Single available
 On August 22nd 2025, BURNING SUN will finally unleash their second full-length album via Metalizer Records! "Retribution" a full-story concept album set in BURNING SUN's dark fantasy world that tells a tale about fight, struggle, revenge and finally, salvation. For fans of Helloween, Grave Digger & 90s power metal in general.
The second single, "Fight In The Night", has been premiered here with a visualizer clip: https://youtu.be/9PtmRSgYbx8
Following their successful debut album spawning a cassette, a CD release via Stormspell Records and a CD re-release via Silverstream Records, Hungary's BURNING SUN is ready to unleash their second record, "Retribution"! It is a dark and cohesive fantasy power metal concept album that tells a story about fight, struggle, revenge and finally, salvation.
Although the main influences of "Retribution" are rooted in the German scene of the 1990s such as HELLOWEEN or GRAVE DIGGER, BURNING SUN delivers a power metal album with a unique touch. With a wide range of guitar harmonies, massive choruses, soaring vocals and tasteful guitar solos, "Retribution" is not just another memorable power metal release, but a musical journey that creates an immersive experience. Though the songwriting is polished, the mix has a sharp and raw edge that emphasizes the concept of the record.
Lyrically, the songs of the album are directly connected telling the story of Emaly, a young paladin, who remains the sole survivor of a clash between her group and the death cult of a necromancer. After her mentor and his companions fell, she swears to avenge their death then sets out find the necromancer and destroy his cult once and for all.
The album is based on Zoltán Papi’s (bass) story and lyrics while the music was composed by Pancho Ireland (vocals, guitars) also known from his own band, Merciless Law. "Retribution" offers some minor sound effects & acted narration that help to tell the story but don’t break the flow of a strong and powerful record.
Tracklist:
1. By the Light
2. Fight in the Night
3. Aftermath
4. Cold Winds
5. Heart of Darkness
6. Open Your Eyes
7. Shadows Undone
8. Redemption
https://www.metalizer-records.de +++ https://www.facebook.com/burningsunpower
WHITE MANTIS - Second Album "Arrows At The Sun" via High Roller Records - New Track Premiere
 Bavarian thrash metallers WHITE MANTIS have revealed another song from their upcoming sophomore full-length "Arrows At The Sun", set for release on August 22nd 2025 through High Roller Records.
A lyric video for the track "Roboticator" is available here: https://youtu.be/uly-SWim3Pk
Six years after "Sacrifice Your Future", the band’s second album continues on the path they have followed ever since drummer Thomas Taube and bass player Jan Strobl joined in 2016 and 2018 respectively. Explains the latter: “Based on a traditional thrash metal foundation, the new songs also display some weird, chaotic and progressive influences. Given the members’ different musical backgrounds, we are always open to diverse songwriting.”
As a consequence, WHITE MANTIS have refined their sophisticated style of lyric writing even further. The album deals with sociopolitical issues, technocriticism and scepticism towards progress but also spirituality and death as a mystery of life. It’s easy to hear influences from Voivod or early Megadeth on "Arrows at the Sun", yet for the most part, WHITE MANTIS are very much themselves, with songs such as "Reality Exists" or the title track encapsulating their own brand of thrash: crushing melodies, frantic rhythms and multiple turns, all without sacrificing their catchiness.
Cover art by Velio Josto.
Tracklist:
01. Nekrotornado
02. Arrows at the Sun
03. Pass the Torch
04. Divide and Kill
05. Atavistic Power
06. Over Your Pale Bones
07. Toxic Sniper
08. Roboticator
09. Reality Exists
10. Altar of Technology
https://www.hrrecords.de/WHITE-MANTIS +++ https://www.facebook.com/white.mantis
NEW WORLD DEPRESSION - New Lyric Video revealed - Seventh Album "Abysmal Void" coming in September 2025 via Testimony Records
 German death metallers NEW WORLD DEPRESSION have unleashed the second single from their new album "Abysmal Void", coming on September 19th 2025 via Testimony Records.
Check out the lyric video for "Carnage" here: https://youtu.be/xw_K3DSE0pI
Guitarist Julian Schulz comments: "We have picked 'Carnage' for the lyric video, because this song is particularly groovy, relentless, and crushing. This track paints a grim picture of a world consumed by chaos and brutality. With pounding riffs and furious vocals, it soon becomes clear that nothing will survive!"
NEW WORLD DEPRESSION raise the furious spirits of earth and sea on their seventh full-length "Abysmal Void". The album's ten songs each represent a chapter filled with one or more of humanity's failures such as delusion, greed, destruction, and war.
The German death metal veterans deliver an honest reckoning with the current state of the world – brutal, unfiltered, and unforgiving. "Abysmal Void" continues the dark thematic journey that began in 2020 with "Descent" and found its continuation throughout the band's latest album "Interment of Sins" (2023). Having landed in a mire of guilt and ruin of its own making, humanity now stares into the Abysmal Void, where nothing remains but darkness and decay.
Musically, NEW WORLD DEPRESSION stay on track and true to their old school death metal roots, yet "Abysmal Void" received a healthy dose of more groove, more atmosphere, and more depth. Sound-smith Jörg Uken has honed the album to perfection at his famous Soundlodge Studio in East Frisia, which enjoys an excellent reputation in death metal circles and beyond.
NEW WORLD DEPRESSION take humanity to the edge of the abyss with all the musical expertise gained from many years of experience both live and in studio. Just remember, if you listen hard to the brutal death metal inferno of "Abysmal Void", the abyss might also become aware of you!
Cover artwork by Juan Castellano.
Tracklist:
01. The Vault
02. Book of Trophies
03. Spoils of War
04. Blind Eyes
05. Marching on Our Graves
06. Burning Down
07. Grenadier
08. Expect No Mercy
09. Carnage
10. Moonbound Hunger
Live:
19.09.2025 - Saarbrücken (DE) Garage + Benediction
20.09.2025 - Villingen (DE) Klosterhof, Black Forest Fest VIII
http://lnk.spkr.media/newworlddepression-abysmal +++ https://www.facebook.com/newworlddepression
DRAGONSCLAW - New Lyric Video revealed - New Album "Moving Target" coming via High Roller Records
 DRAGONSCLAW have revealed the second single from their new album "Moving Target", coming on August 22nd 2025 via High Roller Records.
A lyric video for the track "Cry Wolf" is available here: https://youtu.be/9iBFwlGL2ZE
Giles Lavery is best known as the vocalist of Warlord, Alcatrazz and Jack Starr. On top of that, he is also a highly prolific band manager, record producer and label co-owner. DRAGONSCLAW is the name one of the first bands he formed in 2010, while still residing in Sydney, Australia. Their debut album "Prophecy" was quickly recorded in 2011, followed by "Judgement Day" (2013). And now, a record breaking twelve years later, it’s time for the follow-up.
Apart from Giles Lavery on vocals, "Moving Target" features Australian citizens Ben Thomas (guitars) and Aaron Thomas (bass) as well Warlord members Mark Zonder (drums) and Jimmy Waldo (keyboards).
"For me the direction on 'Moving Target' was intended to be if Judas Priest had made an album somewhere in 1985 between 'Defenders Of The Faith' and 'Turbo'," describes the vocalist the sound of the new DRAGONSCLAW album, "with some of the second Fifth Angel album in there too."
Keyboards are prominently featured on "Moving Target", which was actually the original plan of the band: "I think for this album the keyboards are very important, they create the needed atmosphere and drama. I would say that we used them in a similar way that Virgin Steele did on 'Age Of Consent', namely to build atmosphere. I really like that haunting effect keyboards can have when used right. Like Tony Banks from Genesis does, or Tony Carey on his Planet P Project albums ... Jimmy Waldo is one of those guys too."
With the band on fire and Giles Lavery coming across as a blend of Michael Kiske, Geoff Tate and Ronnie James Dio, "Moving Target" has every chance to become a modern-day heavy metal classic.
Artwork by All Things Rotten.
Tracklist:
1. The Road Beneath Your Wheels
2. Survival
3. Cry Wolf
4. Don't Break the Silence again
5. Back on the Streets
6. Ghost Soldiers
7. Shadowfire
8. (Tell me) All Your Lies
9. Raise Your Fist
https://www.hrrecords.de/DRAGONSCLAW +++ https://www.facebook.com/DragonsclawOfficial
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