Despised Icon by Adrian Loðbrók
Despised Icon by Adrian Loðbrók
New Music

In Shorts: New Releases, August 1-8th

29 mins read
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FUGAZI have added another show to their ever-expanding live archive, this time from Lupo’s in Providence, Rhode Island, recorded September 19, 1993. Available now via Bandcamp, the 29-track set captures the band in the thick of their In on the Kill Taker era, moving between sharp cuts like “Smallpox Champion,” “Great Cop,” and “Cassavetes,” alongside longer burners such as “Suggestion” and “Shut the Door.”

The recording includes full interludes, encore, and instrumental passages, offering a complete snapshot of the night from intro to outro. Like the rest of the Fugazi Live Series, the release is available in high-quality digital formats, continuing the band’s methodical documentation of their touring years.


ASIDHARA have dropped On Death’s Pale Horse, the first of two new tracks from their upcoming self-titled release. The Welsh metallic hardcore group pairs the single with The Iron Gauntlet on Side A, while Side B compiles their earlier EP Echoes Of The Ancients.

The record will be available in two limited vinyl variants — 50 copies on yellow blob and 150 on red blob — and also includes the UKHC compilation track March of the Bastard Reich.


EVERGREEN TERRACE have shared their take on the Dead Kennedys’ 1981 anti-racist anthem “Nazi Punks Fuck Off,” set to appear on their upcoming 12″ split with WISDOM IN CHAINS. Out August 29 via Dead Serious Recordings, the release pairs two bands known for their intensity and distinct approaches, each contributing tracks that carry their own stamp.

The split follows a July European tour that saw both bands share stages, with the record positioned as a snapshot of that run’s energy. Pre-orders launched July 11 through the DS Family shop.


German hardcore unit PEACE OF MIND have dropped a video for “Burned Alive,” the latest track revealed from their upcoming LP Blood Is The Price, due out September 5, 2025. Recorded and mixed by Taylor Young at The Pit Recording Studio and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, the track comes paired with a video filmed and edited by Daniel Priess.

The lyrics read like a straight cut from a confrontation, spitting back at deceit and reclaiming ground: “I was burned alive / I’ve just survived / Now I’m revived.” Lines about tearing down walls built on lies and aiming for the face make it less about recovery as a quiet process and more like standing your ground with both fists up.


Norwegian punk rockers THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE ZUGLY have released “A Blazer in the Northern Sky,” the third and final single from their upcoming sixth album November Boys, set for release on September 5 via Indie Recordings. Written and produced by Eirik Melstrøm with additional production from Anders Nordengen, the track arrives with cover art by Flu Hartberg.

The single follows the band’s long-running tradition of pairing sharp-edged humor with a knack for deadpan cultural jabs, this time tying the early start of Christmas party season to digging out blazers, karaoke, and hard liquor. It marks the last preview before November Boys lands in stores and on streaming next month.


Canadian deathcore heavyweights DESPISED ICON have announced their seventh album Shadow Work, set for release October 31 via Nuclear Blast. It’s their first full-length in six years and arrives with the lead single “Over My Dead Body,” featuring guest vocals from Matt Honeycutt of Kublai Khan TX and a video directed by Didier Charette.

Vocalist Alex Erian says the band has stuck to a “if it’s not ready, it’s not ready” mindset since their early days, and describes Shadow Work as their “most fine-tuned and dynamic record to date” while staying grounded in the sound they helped define. The album will also include guest spots from Scott Ian Lewis of Carnifex and Tom Barber of Chelsea Grin and Darko, with a U.S. tour alongside Sanguisugabogg, Defeated Sanity, and Corpse Pile kicking off November 4 in Detroit.


REBA MEYERS (CODE ORANGE) has released her Clouded World EP, a six-track collection featuring new songs “Lust Forbidden” and “Sanctuary,” the latter recorded by Steve Albini. The drop coincides with the start of her first solo U.S. tour, kicking off August 12 in Philadelphia and running through August 25 in San Jose, with stops in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and her hometown of Pittsburgh.

Meyers says the EP and tour mark a period of personal progression, reconnecting her with individual musical performance while exploring re-interpretations of songs from Code Orange and Adventures. The release follows earlier singles including “Certain Uncertainty,” “Clouded World,” “Bring Us All Together,” and “Got Your Hold On Me,” with collaborators ranging from Gil Sharone to Steve Evetts. A debut full-length is planned for early 2026.


Alt-metal veterans DEFTONES have released “milk of the madonna,” the second single from their upcoming 10th album private music, out August 22 via Reprise/Warner Music. Recorded with producer Nick Raskulinecz, the track follows last month’s “my mind is a mountain” and carries imagery of apocalyptic weather and religious fervor, with Chino Moreno singing, “Holy ghost / I’m on fire.”

Both singles will feature on private music, the band’s first album since 2020’s Ohms. DEFTONES will launch the second leg of their 2025 North American tour on the album’s release day in Vancouver, with support from Phantogram, Idles, and Barbarians of California on select dates, plus appearances alongside System Of A Down in Toronto this September.


Hardcore crew TURN COLD have dropped “Dog Bite,” the first single from their upcoming album Violent Breed, due October 10 via Upstate Records. The track was recorded, mixed, and mastered by CJ Ridings, with cover art by Sten Viking.


OUSTED have dropped a new single, “Self hate for people who love self hate,” ahead of their upcoming EP How Do You Cope?, due September 19 via Ashtray Monument Records.

The Baltimore hardcore unit—featuring members of Pulling Teeth, Ruiner, Neolithic, and Dosser—pair burnout themes with driving, melodic aggression and gang-vocal catharsis. The song leans into punchy riffs and an urgent delivery, nodding to influences like Propagandhi and Disfear.

The full EP, recorded by Justin Day (End It, Glocca Morra) and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, explores the stages of grief with a restless pace. Guest appearances include Justin Smith of SWEAT on the opener “Sunkissed” and harsh noise from Pig Destroyer’s Alex Cha on “Heavy Breather.”


AFI has signed to Run For Cover and will release their twelfth album Silver Bleeds the Black Sun… on October 3. The lead single “Behind the Clock” is out now, accompanied by a video directed by Gilbert Trejo (Machete). The record aims for a singular mood—dreamy, ethereal, out of time—and marks another sharp left turn in a career defined by reinvention.

A fall U.S. tour kicks off September 14 at Four Chord Music Festival and runs through November 5 in San Diego, with a stop at Corona Capital in Mexico City on November 16. Run For Cover is handling music and merch; limited preorders are now up.


San Diego’s AREN’T WE AMPHIBIANS have announced their debut full-length Parade! Parade!, set for release on September 26 via PNWK Records. Alongside the announcement, they’ve shared a new single, “Dunce Hat,” with a video directed by Christian Aceves — sharp, yelpy, and tangled up in all the right Midwest corners.

After last year’s Emergency, Exit EP and a solid split earlier this year with awakebutstillinbed, Your Arms Are My Cocoon, and California Cousins, this LP marks a bigger swing. They’ll hit The Fest on October 24, playing The Wooly with The Casket Lottery and more.


Filmed August 5, 2025, this new session from Audiotree sees NORMA JEAN ripping through tracks from across their two-decade discography with the same chaotic force that’s kept them essential since Bless The Martyr And Kiss the Child.

Fronted by longtime vocalist Cory Brandan and featuring Grayson Stewart, Phillip Farris, Clay Crenshaw, Matthew Marquez, and the return of Jeff Hickey, the band looks and sounds more unified than ever. The performance touches on every chapter—from the jagged urgency of O’ God, the Aftermath and the depth of Meridional, to more recent material from Deathrattle Sing For Me—proving once again that their sonic evolution hasn’t dulled the edge, only sharpened it.


Hardcore/post-hardcore/skramz unit CRÓNICAS DE EXPLOSIONES have returned from a decade-long hiatus with a new single, “Podría Perderlo Todo.” Formed in 2009 by high school classmates in Santiago, Chile, the band now runs as a tight five-piece: Sebastián Lizama (vocals), Felipe Tapia (drums), Fernando Lizama (bass), Fabrizzio Muñoz (guitar), and Orlando Donoso (guitar).

Known for emotionally raw and politically charged material steeped in DIY ethics, the band previously released Emulando el Vuelo de las Aves (2013) and Sin Título (2015) before going silent. The new track marks a stark, urgent reentry, with more songs and a full album expected in 2025/2026.


Hardcore live-archive workhorse HATE5SIX has posted new Hellphyra 2025 sets, now streaming on the channel.

Fresh uploads include Balmora (July 5, 23:32), Recon (July 6, 28:08), Prayer For Cleansing (July 5, 41:36), It Dies Today (July 5, 35:43), and Haywire (July 5, 44:26).


Hardcore vets CATHARSIS follow last week’s release of Hope Against Hope with a European run set for October 16–25, 2025: Warsaw (Voodoo Club), Kraków (Alchemia), Budapest (Turbina), Zagreb (AKC Attack), Bologna (Freakout), Munich (Kafe Kult), Vienna (Tüwi), Brno (Kabinet MUZ), Schweinfurt (Stattbahnhof), and Berlin (Neue Zukunft). Select dates feature Point Of No Return, Ghostchant, Vlky, and Moira.

The band frames hardcore as a way of living, refusing cynicism, holding to urgency, and affirming solidarity with those fighting oppression.

 

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IODINE RECORDINGS have released The Dogs of Hope, a 14-track compilation assembled with Tom Bejgrowicz to raise funds for the Randolph County Animal Shelter in rural Alabama. The no-kill shelter operates without public funding, and 100% of net profits from sales go directly to its support.

The lineup features new or previously unreleased tracks from Killswitch Engage, Deadguy, Snapcase, Orange 9mm, Walter Schreifels, Jeromes Dream, and more—13 of the songs are exclusive to this release, with several created specifically for the project. Mastered by Jack Shirley and featuring cover art by Jeremy Dean, the compilation is available now in multiple limited vinyl variants and digital formats via Bandcamp.


Atlanta-by-way-of-Puerto-Rico punks LADRONES have dropped Combustión, their most intense release yet, out via Rad Girlfriend Records. Eleven of its twelve tracks are delivered in Spanish, pushing the band’s raw garage-punk and classic punk grit into faster, sharper, and more urgent territory, with Valeria’s vocals cutting through at full venom.

The album follows their 2019 debut and 2023’s Máquina Caótica EP, and features a single English-language cut, “Riding Dirty.” Recorded at Maze Studios by Kegan Krogh, mixed by Raul “Riff” Cuellar, and mastered by Zach Miller at Landmine Studios, Combustión also includes a cover of “Me Gusta Ser Una Zorra” by the Stooges and Vulpes.


Hardcore/thrash metalcore wrecking crew CAGE FIGHT—featuring TesseracT’s James Monteith and ex-Eths vocalist Rachel Aspe—just dropped a new single, IHYG (I Hate Your Guts), via Spinefarm Music Group.


Japanese band ASUNOJOKEI return with Think of You, their third full-length released on August 6, 2025. It follows 2022’s Island, a record that helped them break out globally with its mix of post-black metal intensity and intricate musicianship.

On Think of You, they push things further. The black metal roots are still there, but the album feels wider in scope—bringing in spoken-word passages, bursts of saxophone, and moments that veer into shimmering shoegaze.

Guitars alternate between sharp tremolo picking and melodic drift, while the drumming keeps everything constantly shifting. It’s chaotic, emotional, and oddly beautiful. It’s Asunojokei.


Kuala Lumpur crossover hardcore crew RUMPELSKIN have dropped their State Of Misery EP, out now via Bandcamp with cassette editions handled by Into The Fray Records. Recorded at Iseekmusic Studio and mixed/mastered by Mokhtarizal, the five-track release rips through titles like “Mud City Slasher,” “Ultra Instinct,” and “Crossroads.”


Vermont DIY hardcore punks THE PATH drop a split 5″ lathe with The Last Mile today (August 1, 2025), built around a 56-second blast, “Survival (Dropdead).”

Cut for a Dropdead tribute that “never saw the light of the day,” the pair flipped it into a two-band international salute — “Sounds crazy, right? But fuck it, who gives a shit!” Limited to 75 picture-disc copies via State Of Mind Recordings, and up as a free digital download.

Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Phil Henry at Henry House Studios in Rutland, Vermont in October 2021. Lineup: Ryan (bass), Matt (guitar), Kristen (guitar), Jimi (drums), Jon (vocals).


São Paulo hardcore/metal unit OBSOLETION independently released the new EP End Screen on July 24 — their first drop since 2024’s Obsoletion. The record arrives with a refreshed lineup led by vocalist Vinicius Bordoni and pivots from sci-fi dystopias to more personal angles filtered through tech’s mess: relationships, obsessions, and the fallout in between.

Three cuts, tight and sharp: opener “Nomophobia” samples Bernard Rose’s 1992 film Candyman; “R.V.O.S.” (“Red Velvet Of Sorrow”) tears through guilt and longing; “New Flesh” nods to David Cronenberg’s Videodrome, closing on “Long Live New Flesh” and a final gunshot.


St. Louis melodic punks WES HOFFMAN AND FRIENDS have released their new single “After Hours,” marking their debut on SBAM Records and the first taste of their upcoming album For the Better, due later this year. Produced and engineered by Gabe Usery at Encapsulated Studios, the track was mixed by Trevor Reilly of A Wilhelm Scream and mastered by Joe Reilly at Black and Blue Mastering.

Now featuring Wes Hoffman, Jacob Boyd, Luca Torretta, and Hes Retnu, the band leans into raw melody and urgency, building on the foundation of their 2024 debut How It Should Be. A video for “After Hours” is streaming now.


London “dreamo” outfit WILDERNESSES have released their second single, “English Darkness,” a track rooted in frontman Phillip Morris’ experiences as an NHS-approved mental health professional. The lyrics frame a psychiatric admission from both the patient’s and the narrator’s perspectives, contrasting a young woman’s crisis with the narrator’s own flawed coping mechanisms.

Blending post-rock’s brooding weight with a pop-leaning structure, the song evokes cold autumn nights, with Morris’ vocal delivery offering a distant warmth. “English Darkness” follows the band’s debut single and continues to shape their emerging sound.


Edmonton skatepunk crew BROKEN YOLKS have dropped their new full-length The View of the Bystander, a set that leans into themes of disconnection, frustration, and the pull between action and apathy. The record stays true to their fast, melodic roots, fusing tight riffs and driving rhythms with reflective, hook-ready lyrics.

The band will celebrate the release on August 22 at Edmonton’s 99Ten alongside Vargouille, Travølta, and Vector 23, with an orange creamsicle vinyl edition available through High End Denim Records.


GRIDIRON have premiered their full Audiotree Live session, performing tracks from both Poetry From Pain (2025) and No Good At Goodbyes (2022). The Philadelphia outfit—Matthew Karll, Will Kaelin, Xavier Wilson, Lennon Livesay, and Tyler Mullen—pulls metal, hardcore, and hip-hop into a hard-edged rap rock hybrid, moving from death metal-level heaviness to swagger-laced bars.

Between songs, the band spoke with host Justin about their career trajectory, football, and eating well in Chicago, underscoring the mix of grit and personality that fuels their live presence.


Featured on IDIOTEQ, KING YOSEF has released a “making of” mini-documentary for his upcoming album Spire of Fear, out August 15 on his Bleakhouse label. Filmed at GodCity Studio, the video features Yosef, drummer Kameron Tyler, and producer Kurt Ballou of Converge discussing the recording process, the blend of electronics and analog instrumentation, and the evolution of the record’s lyrical focus.

Ballou, who has worked on much of KING YOSEF’s catalog, calls the collaboration “pushing the envelope of what is possible in aggressive music and what defines what it can be.” Spire of Fear follows 2021’s An Underlying Hum and shifts from personal storytelling toward broader reflections on human experience. The release will be supported by the “Industrial Worship Tour” with Youth Code, Street Sects, and Insula Iscariot, running August 16 to September 7, before appearances at Bleakfest and select West Coast dates with Author & Punisher.


Seattle straight edge hardcore outfit ODD MAN OUT have dropped their new album Conviction, out now in digital, vinyl, and CD formats via Bandcamp. The 10-track release includes cuts like “Fraud,” “Seattle Straight Edge,” and “West Coast World Wide,” packing short, direct bursts alongside stomp-heavy moments.

Available in three limited vinyl colorways—Clear X, Ice Blue, and Stone Grey—the record continues the band’s socially conscious stance, tying their sound to a message of resistance against oppression and capitalism while embracing all spectrums of identity.


St. Louis heavies FORTUNATE SON have released a music video for their latest track “Charmer,” a bruising, sludge-tinged hardcore cut that digs into trust, direction, and the venom that hides in plain sight. Vocalist Tony Saputo describes the song as “a reminder of how careful I need to be when letting people in… Whether we’re talking people or snakes, there’s never an innocent exchange.”

Formed in late 2020, FORTUNATE SON features members of Slow Damage, Everything Went Black, Lye by Mistake, Ashes and Iron, and The Chandelier Swing. Their sound blends 90s noise rock and stoner sludge with early 2000s hardcore chaos—somewhere between BOTCH and CROWBAR, but filtered through the grain of Missouri basements. Their 2024 EP 7 Joints marked a raw start; “Charmer” hits with a more sharpened sense of purpose.

The band is currently embedded in the St. Louis scene and set to open for CROWBAR and EYEHATEGOD, which tracks.


SECRET WORLD have announced Tomorrow Is A Mystery To Me, their second EP, due out September 19 via Last Ride Records, Sunday Drive Records, and Ice Grills. The Sydney/Newcastle hardcore rock unit—featuring members of SPEED, Trophy Eyes, and Downside—return with a follow-up to 2024’s Guilt Is Good. The new release builds on their tough, heart-on-sleeve mix of alt-rock hooks and hardcore grit.

Produced by Fletcher Matthews and mastered by Mike Kalajian, the EP keeps its sound clean without sanding off the sweat. Vinyl and merch are up for pre-order, with US tour dates incoming—including a spot at Furnace Fest next to Jimmy Eat World, Knocked Loose, and more.


Chicago’s own NEW MORALITY ZINE just dropped the debut from xNULLIFYx, a ruthless slab of straight edge metallic hardcore built for those still holding the line in 2025. Titled xNULLIFYx, the EP hits like a cinder block—five tracks of punishing, no-bullshit Midwest HC in the spirit of INCLINATION, STRIFE, and FOUNDATION.

Tracked between Comatose Studio and 19 Stars Studio, the record leans heavy on sharp-edged riffing and defiant pacing, with credits to Chris Bayless, Rob Fowler, and Dennis Pleckham behind the boards.


Italian instrumental trio TALAQAT have released their self-titled debut album today, marking the occasion with a new video for the single “Iter circa solem.” Recorded at KONO Studio in Biella and mastered by Harris Newman at Greymarket Mastering in Montreal, the track channels hypnotic grooves, shifting dynamics, and atmospheric tension into a wordless narrative.

Formed in 2023 by drummer Matteo Borzini, guitarist Adriano Fontaneto, and bassist Massimo Splendore, the band draws from post-metal, progressive, post-rock, and new jazz, with songwriting shaped entirely through collaborative, in-the-room creation. The record’s seven tracks move without genre restraints, pulling from the members’ backgrounds in underground metal, jazz, progressive, and even Italian pop to craft a sound that resists easy categorization.


Post-hardcore veterans BY A THREAD have shared “Tempest,” the second single from their upcoming album Mirrored Life, due September 12 via Spartan Records. Filmed and edited by Ryan Dolejsi, the video pairs black-and-white visuals with performance shots, underscoring the track’s brooding, reverb-heavy atmosphere. Lyrically, it moves through grief and loss, building toward a heavy, cathartic outro.

Their first new album in 14 years, Mirrored Life was self-produced, recorded by Stuart McKillop at Raincity Recorders, and mixed by vocalist John Franco. Written during the pandemic by Franco and guitarist Sean Lande with drummer Gabe Mantle, and later joined by bassist Carl McBeath, the record leans into moody tempos and pedal-driven textures, with Franco calling it “essentially an anti-pop record” meant to feel heavy.


HOT MULLIGAN just dropped a new single called Island in the Sun, featuring CORY CASTRO from FREE THROW. It’s their second track off the upcoming album The Sound a Body Makes When It’s Still, out August 22 via Wax Bodega.

The track leans into their usual mess of Midwest emo, pop-punk, and late-night spirals—blunt lyrics, fuzzy guitars, and that desperate urge to feel nothing for a second. There’s a music video too, spliced together with tour footage, giving a look into their chaotic world—same energy that’s kept them running since the DIY house show days.


CHEEM is still pushing that weird corner of nu-pop where Y2K angst meets arena-size choruses. “Freeze Tag” is sugar-rushed and sad, the kind of song that could soundtrack a fight and a makeout in the same breath. The band’s blend of rap-adjacent delivery and pop-punk structure feels awkward on purpose.


LA hardcore punks BITCH JAGGER just dropped Looking OVER, a scorched demo EP channeling the more destructive side of mid-2000s hardcore, filled with harsh, ugly bursts that sound like they were made to rip through basements and leave ears ringing.

The band keeps it straight: loud, bitter, and rooted in tradition without sounding like cosplay


DIY emo acts THE MERRIER and SHORT FICTIONS have teamed up for a new joint single titled eclipse, out now via Lonely Ghost Records.


Austin punk rockers DIE SPITZ dropped a new single, “Pop Punk Anthem (Sorry for the Delay),” just weeks before the release of their debut album Something to Consume, due out September 12 via Third Man Records. It’s the second track from the record, following “Throw Yourself to the Sword,” which arrived alongside a music video directed by Emily M. Sanchez.

Formed in 2022 after a late-night viewing of The Dirt, the band is made up of longtime friends who shaped their sound around the idea of total freedom—genre-wise and otherwise. “We depend on our freedom—freedom to do what we want, present the ideas we want, make the music we want,” says Livingston.

DIE SPITZ are also set to join VIAGRA BOYS on tour this fall, playing select North American dates with THE BLACK LIPS, BODEGA, and SHIV AND THE CARVERS.


San Antonio’s fast and angry 5th wave emo crew SLEEP SCHEDULE have released Please Don’t Think About It, a new 11-track burner out now via Norway’s Slow Down Records.

Written by Ben Stifter, Justin Grammer, Robin Nguyen, and Caleb Nelson, the record leans all the way into the mess—equal parts pop-punk chaos and emo confessionals.


Progressive post-hardcore outfit MELLA have announced their new album Or So I’ve Been Told…, set for release October 10 via Kill Iconic Records and Equal Vision Records. Produced by Mike Watts, the 13-track record is introduced with the single “Proactively Disappointing a Parent (Hentai),” a piece that moves from eerie and playful to violent and unhinged, lyrically circling paranoia, manipulation, and outright disdain for those in one’s orbit.

The band—Danny Ray McCool Jr., James Lucas Artwohl, Donnie Maynard Clark, and Luke Martucci—pull from post-hardcore intensity, emo introspection, and progressive unpredictability. MELLA will tour the U.S. in October supporting A Lot Like Birds, with dates spanning the East Coast, Midwest, and West.


GREAT AMERICAN GHOST just dropped a video for their cover of DEFTONES’ “Hole in the Earth”, and it’s surprisingly on point. They took the haunting, emotional weight of the original and filtered it through their usual post-hardcore heaviness—more urgent, a little more raw, but still recognizably Deftones.

It’s the first and only cover they’ve released so far, and according to vocalist Ethan Harrison, it’s a track that hit close to home during recording. The timing and mood matched where the band was mentally, and you can feel that in how tense and emotionally cracked the performance is.

The original comes from DEFTONES’ 2006 album Saturday Night Wrist, a record that already carried a lot of internal conflict—and GAG’s version leans into that unease without turning it into parody. Just intensity, frustration, and a kind of worn-out beauty under the noise.

The single follows the release of Tragedy of the Commons, produced by Will Putney, and continues the band’s run of sharp, heavy material that’s more about impact than polish.


GLEN E. FRIEDMAN’s Burning Flags exhibit will open at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa on September 19, marking its first U.S. showing after stops in Barcelona and Paris. The exhibition runs through February 15, 2026, and showcases over 50 photographs from the golden eras of skateboarding, hardcore punk, and hip-hop, featuring icons like Ian MacKaye, Tony Alva, Jello Biafra, and Chuck D.

 

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Known for his incendiary rather than documentary style, FRIEDMAN captures the raw energy of cultural resistance through images that have become synonymous with their movements. “The communities of resistance and integrity these originators helped build are here to stay,” said Friedman. The show also includes audio essays narrated by the subjects themselves.

An opening event on September 19 will feature an on-stage conversation and book signing with Friedman. The exhibit aligns with the legacy of Woody Guthrie—art as activism, image as statement. More info and memberships at woodyguthriecenter.org.


THE BOUNCING SOULS stopped by KEXP for a live session recorded May 30, 2025, performing a career-spanning set including “Sing Along Forever,” “Lean On Sheena,” “United,” “Ship In A Bottle,” “Hopeless Romantic,” “Gone,” and “The Ballad Of Johnny X.”

The lineup featured George Rebelo (drums), Pete Steinkopf (guitar, vocals), Bryan Kienlen (bass, vocals), and Greg Attonito (vocals, guitar). The performance was hosted by Dr. West, engineered by Kevin Suggs, and mastered by Matt Ogaz, with a four-person camera crew and editing by Scott Holpainen.


MY TICKET HOME just dropped a new 3-track single titled Nothing Lost, out via Puke Rock Records. The Ohio outfit—long known for smashing metalcore into nu-metal and grunge sludge—files this one under their own heavy rock meets metal label.

The band looks firmly back in the game, judging by the dense, riff-heavy vibe.


Cleveland’s sludge-drenched hardcore outfit SLUG just dropped Live on WRUW on cassette via Delayed Gratification Records. Captured during a recent joint live set with SELF INTEREST, the tape compiles 13 tracks pulled from across SLUG’s entire discography—including a previously unreleased song from their upcoming 7″ due this fall, and a cover of SSD’s “Glue.”


WOLVES have premiered their new single “Leeches!” via Echoes and Dust, taken from their debut full-length Self Titled, due September 5 on Ripcord Records. The track delivers chaotic mathcore with discordant riffs, volatile breakdowns, and call-and-response vocals, drawing comparisons to Every Time I Die, The Chariot, and Better Lovers.

Lyricist Ryan Tyrrell says the song was inspired by stories of people being manipulated by those in power to do their dirty work — “the idea that someone finds a role model and follows them blindly… that scares the hell out of me.”

“Leeches!” follows their earlier single “Reformed (Try Love),” premiered by Heavy Blog Is Heavy, which addressed the rise of xenophobia in the UK. Formed in 2016 from members of Bludger, Finish Him!, EFK, and Ashes of Maybelle, with connections to Hundred Year Old Man, Conjurer, and The Grey, WOLVES built their name on chaotic live shows and a raw debut EP Gone Are The White Flags. Self Titled promises a mix of Every Time I Die swagger, post-metal atmosphere, and Dillinger Escape Plan-level chaos.


Marquette, MI’s Midwest emo outfit I THINK I NEED MORE SUN have released their new single “Distant,” a reflective track built around themes of death, change, and starting over. Guitarist and vocalist Elijah Claucherty calls it “an ode to a past version of myself… someone who had to die so I could start again,” framing the chorus as a chant for new beginnings.

Marked by lush guitar work and spacious production, “Distant” carries the band’s mix of intimacy and expansiveness while continuing their path of emotionally candid songwriting.


Buffalo, NY math-rock outfit GAS STATION. have released “Scattered Sand On Pavement,” the first single from their upcoming album A Collection Of Songs For Saying Goodbye, out August 29. The track blends jagged instrumentation with raw introspection, pairing swirling guitars and fractured rhythms with vocals buried deep in the mix.

Built on the technical framework of math rock but leaning hard into emotional storytelling, the song captures a tense, overheated disorientation—self-reflection in a world that feels slightly off, messy, and unsteady.


Melodic punk rockers LOSING STREAK is back with a new single, Back and Forth, taken from their upcoming album Last Place, out September 10 via People of Punk Rock. The band blends old-school skate punk energy with fresh blood — literally — as 15-year-old guitarist Brixton helps drive the sound forward alongside his dad, Rob.


Pop punk rockers HALF DIZZY have released the official video for their single “Fade Away,” produced by Pete Steinkopf of Bouncing Souls at Little Eden in Asbury Park. The track arrives as the band rides momentum from topping Alternative Press’ fan-voted Best Long Island Band poll, praised for channeling ’90s skate punk and ska while keeping the sound current.

Driven by Mason Cohen’s drumming and Mina Maziekis’ bass lines, “Fade Away” mixes upbeat punk rhythms with reflective lyrics about fleeting summer moments. The song previews the band’s upcoming LP Yard Sale, due later this year via Punkerton Records.


SCARLET STREET are back with “Victory Speech,” a jagged post-hardcore missile fired straight into the heart of corporate rot. Framed through the voice of the ultra-rich, the track tears into the spectacle of monetized dissent—“We sold the bricks that you have bought to throw” lands with zero subtlety, just cold precision.

Built on glitchy textures, serrated guitars, and a ghostly lift from Jimmy Carter’s 1979 “Crisis of Confidence” speech, the single feels like a boardroom full of billionaires throwing their own afterparty. If CORPORATE MEMPHIS was the manifesto, this is the smirking encore—less call to arms, more call to cash out.


SATURDAYS AT YOUR PLACE just dropped a new two-song single—“what am i supposed to do?” and “waste away”—and it’s as raw and honest as ever. Still holding onto that bittersweet Midwest emo feel, but with a little more weight behind it.

The band’s always had a knack for capturing what it feels like to grow up and feel everything too much, and both tracks lean into that without overdoing it. No forced sentiment, no gloss—just heart-on-sleeve songs that feel like they were written after a long night on the floor with your thoughts. Their new album “these things happen” is on the way, and if this single is anything to go by, it’s gonna be one of their most personal yet.

Catch them on tour this fall in the US, UK, and Europe with CARLY COSGROVE and RILEY.


Brighton’s HARKER return with I Ruin Everything, a fast and bitter punch of melodic punk that burns out in under three minutes. It’s chaotic and self-aware, equal parts confessional spiral and destructive tantrum. Lyrically, it sits somewhere between a breakdown and a smirk — “Because my meds told me to do so” lands like a half-joke, half-truth, while everything else just keeps falling apart.

There’s no attempt to clean it up. The track moves like a storm — guitars blazing, drums pushed to the edge, and vocals barely holding it together. Recorded by Tobias May at Metway Studios and mastered by Jason Livermore at The Blasting Room, it sounds exactly how it feels: loud, worn down, and not asking for forgiveness.


Salt Lake City’s NADEZHDA return with “Parasite,” a new single and video following last year’s debut EP Battery. The track merges heavy pop, grunge, and breakdown-scarred hardcore in a frustrated, urgent message to someone trapped in a toxic loop: “Find the will to survive.”

Vocalist Brighton Ballard calls the song “an intensely personal plea,” written after witnessing close friends cycle through abusive relationships. The video, edited by Ballard, pairs decades-old home footage with unsettling imagery of parasites and cancer cells, emphasizing the song’s central metaphor. Mixed and mastered by Wes Johnson at Archive Recordings, with visuals by Derek Ballard and animation by Cory Davis, “Parasite” lands everywhere August 5.


ALGERNON CADWALLADER will release their new album Trying Not to Have a Thought on September 12, 2025, via Saddle Creek Records. An exclusive bubble gum pink vinyl edition (limited to 300 copies) is available now through Lauren Records.

The album marks their first since 2011 and reunites the original Some Kind of Cadwallader lineup. Tracklist includes “Hawk,” “noitanitsarcorP,” “Revelation 420,” and the title track. Preorders are up now, and the full LP drops September 12.


DAGGER THREAT return with “404,” the next single in a three-part video series leading up to their third album, slated for January 2026. Known for welding early 2000s nu metal chaos with hardcore intensity, the Hamburg band now leans harder into digital collapse: glitchy textures, broken signal aesthetics, and emotional shutdown. It’s a short, sharp burst of burnout and system failure.

Active since 2016 and forged through over 200 shows across 12 countries, the band sharpened its edge on 2023’s Unchained EP and expanded its reach this year with EU/UK dates alongside Boundaries and Varials.


Portland trio SSOLD is dropping Sad Sight for Sore Eyes on August 30 — nine tracks, just over 19 minutes, recorded live with no edits, no polish, no bullshit. It’s lean, busted hardcore with flashes of thrash and noise rock, pulling more from frustration than finesse.

Max Avila (ANTIOCH ARROW), Corey Dieckman (BARR), and Josh Hughes (ANGEL HAIR) play like they’ve got nothing to prove and zero time to waste. Guitars buzz, drums punch, and vocals sound half-swallowed, half-spit out. Tracks like “Funeral Kazoo” and “Peter Pandemic” don’t so much build as detonate. Catch them at the PVVK art space in Portland on release night — tapes will be there, maybe some chaos too.


Irish experimental unit GOD ALONE. will release their third full-length The Beep Test on October 10 via Prosthetic Records. Co-produced with Joe Clayton of Pijn, the album blends math rock, metal, prog, dancefloor pulse, and sharp pop instincts — tracked mostly at home, except for drums. Lead single and title track “The Beep Test” is out now, with a video riffing on burnout and robotic motion.

The band says they’ve grown from chaotic genre collisions into something tighter and more deliberate. “It’s more cohesive now,” says guitarist/vocalist Jake O’Driscoll. “The goal is for it to be different and interesting.” Bassist/vocalist Cian Mullane adds: “We were heavily inspired by athleticism and the concept of running so fast it becomes robotic.” The full album is built around that momentum — breakneck, sweaty, and twitching with tension.


Malmö-based post-rock/metal trio BARRENS have shared their latest single “The Derelict,” ahead of their upcoming album Corpse Lights, out September 12 via Pelagic Records. It’s the fourth preview from a record five years in the making—shaped by tension, release, and the strange beauty in collapse.

The album title nods to the folk belief in “corpse lights”—faint, colored glows seen near the dying, said to guide souls from the body. That slow, luminous pull runs through the band’s sound: synths shimmer, guitars swell and retract, percussion cracks like floorboards. Recorded with Kristofer Jönson and mixed/mastered by Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna), Corpse Lights follows 2020’s Penumbra and pushes even deeper into weight and space. Tracklist includes “Sorrowed,” “Periastron,” and “A Nothing Expands.”


Following last year’s Sanguivore and a headline show at London’s OVO Wembley Arena, CREEPER return with a sequel of sorts—Sanguivore II: Mistress of Death. Rather than a direct continuation, the new record picks up the same themes and theatricality, this time set against the backdrop of 1980s America and its moral panic around rock music, satanism, and spectacle.

The album tells the story of a vampire band on tour across the US, leaving chaos behind, and a new character—the “Mistress of Death”—who appears to end their run. Vocalist William Von Ghould describes it as “part-slasher, part-Satanic Panic nightmare,” leaning into classic horror tropes with a tongue-in-cheek narrative.

New track “Blood Magick (It’s a Ritual)” brings in heavy-handed ‘80s metal riffing, big vocals, and plenty of theatrical layering. It follows previous single “Headstones” and continues the band’s ongoing mix of glam, goth, punk, and rock opera elements. The video, directed by Harry Steel, plays into the exaggerated horror aesthetic, with visuals influenced by House of 1000 Corpses and Natural Born Killers.


Two new tracks from UBOA — Petplay Polycule Open Fire and Wasted Potential — are now out ahead of her upcoming split with WHITEHORSE, The Dissolution Of Eternity, due August 29 via Tartarus and Sweatlung. Both songs move with brutal clarity: the first lashes out like a nervous system on fire, the second simmers in a much slower collapse, carried by layers of harsh ambient noise and some kind of exhausted transcendence.

It’s all pretty much in line with what we’ve come to expect from UBOA — emotionally overwhelming and extremely physical. But what stands out here is how closely she balances pure sonic violence with restraint. These aren’t just blowouts. They’re composed wreckage. The full split will follow Impossible Light (2024) and continues the shift into heavier industrial territory, while still carrying the psychological weight and texture that made The Origin of My Depression (2019) such a cult cornerstone.


WRETCHED is finally back. The Charlotte-based metal crew will release their long-awaited fifth album, Decay, on October 17th via Metal Blade Records. It’s their first full-length since 2014, and it’s meant as a prequel to 2010’s Beyond The Gate, digging into a mythological storyline that’s equal parts fantasy and deeply personal breakdown.

The new single, also titled Decay, introduces the album’s main character, Malus, and sets the tone: existential dread, body-horror metaphors, and slow-burning heaviness that doesn’t shy away from melody. Vocals are rough around the edges by design, and the band leans into live energy over polish—think precision without sterilization. According to vocalist Billy Powers, the album’s about “the decay of good intention,” loss, and the toll of time on people and power. There’s even a True Detective reference in the lyrics, just in case things weren’t bleak enough.

Guitarist Steven Funderburk and bassist Andrew Grevey bring serious technicality, but it never feels showy. Drummer Marshall Wieczorek handled engineering duties himself, while mixing and mastering came from Johann Meyer and Alan Douches. The album artwork was done by Travis Smith, whose past work includes OPETH and NEVERMORE.

They’re heading out on tour this fall with SIX FEET UNDER, EXHORDER, and INCITE, following a few warm-up dates with AETHER REALM and PALADIN.


Transcontinental deathcore unit FACE YOURSELF have dropped “Fractures,” the lead single from their upcoming EP Fury, out September 26 via Sumerian Records. Produced by Joey Sturgis, the track takes aim at the violence of beauty standards and the self-hatred they breed, with vocalist Yasmine Liverneaux describing it as “changing your appearance so much to fit a mold to the point that you don’t even recognize yourself.”

Fury marks the band’s second EP with Sumerian and continues their work with Sturgis, building on the foundation of April’s Martyr while pushing further into darker and more psychologically brutal territory. The five-track release will also feature “Wet Dreams,” “Carousel Of Violence,” “Catacombs,” and “Ov Agony.”


REVOCATION have released “Sarcophagi Of The Soul,” the latest single from their upcoming album New Gods, New Masters, out September 26 via Metal Blade Records. The track addresses technology addiction and the blurring of identity through curated digital personas. Its lyric video incorporates artwork from Tony Guarladi-Brown’s graphic novel that will accompany the album.

Produced by Dave Davidson and mixed/mastered by Jens Bogren, the record features guests Jonny Davy (Job For A Cowboy), Travis Ryan (Cattle Decapitation), Luc Lemay (Gorguts), and Gilad Hekselman, with cover art by Paolo Girardi. Following the release, the band will embark on a North American headlining tour from October 16 to November 15 with Judiciary, Inferi, and Vomit Forth on select dates.


TRIVIUM will release their new three-track EP Struck Dead on October 31 via Roadrunner Records, produced with Mark Lewis at the band’s Hangar Studios and mixed/mastered by Josh Wilbur. The lead single “Bury Me With My Screams” is out now with an accompanying video, premiered during Matt Heafy’s Chaos Hour on SiriusXM Liquid Metal.

Written during the build-out of their new studio and while rehearsing for the Poisoned Ascendancy 20th anniversary tour, the songs draw energy from revisiting their 2005 material while channeling Heafy’s personal struggles from the past year. The EP will be performed live during Bloodstock Open Air before the band embarks on their Ascend Above the Ashes North American headline tour (Oct 31–Dec 14) with JINJER and HERIOT on most dates.


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Karol Kamiński

DIY rock music enthusiast and web-zine publisher from Warsaw, Poland. Supporting DIY ethics, local artists and promoting hardcore punk, rock, post rock and alternative music of all kinds via IDIOTEQ online channels.
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