Nicko McBrain says he would be “delighted” to record with Iron Maiden again if the band decides to make another studio album, despite retiring from touring in December 2024. The 74-year-old remains officially part of Iron Maiden, although Simon Dawson has taken over live drumming duties following McBrain’s 2023 transient ischaemic attack, which left him with continuing physical limitations. Speaking to Metal Hammer, McBrain said another recording would need to feature somewhat simpler drum parts than some of Maiden’s more demanding material, pointing specifically towards the feel of “Stranger In A Strange Land” and “Wasted Years” as examples of songs he would enjoy playing. Maiden’s most recent studio album remains 2021’s Senjutsu, and the band has not formally announced another record. McBrain’s comments are significant because they establish that his retirement from the road does not necessarily mean his 42-year recording career with Maiden is finished.

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Dave Mustaine has weighed in on which bands could form another version of thrash metal’s famous Big Four, and three of his choices are difficult to argue with. Asked by Czech outlet Óčko to nominate a younger-generation equivalent to Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, Mustaine rejected the “young” part of the premise and instead named Testament, Overkill and Exodus as obvious candidates. His fourth possibility was Trivium, although Mustaine immediately acknowledged that the Florida band does not fit neatly into thrash metal. Testament, Exodus and Overkill all emerged during thrash’s original 1980s explosion and have often been cited alongside Death Angel as bands that could easily have expanded the historic Big Four into a Big Five or Big Eight. Coming from one of the musicians who actually helped define the genre, Mustaine’s selections should generate a considerably better fan discussion than another arbitrary magazine ranking.

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W.A.S.P. are back on the road in North America with the 1984 To Headless Tour, which began in California on 10 September and runs through 31 October. Rather than repeating the previous Album ONE Alive concept, Blackie Lawless has built the new show around material from W.A.S.P.’s first four studio albums: the 1984 self-titled debut, The Last Command, Inside The Electric Circus and The Headless Children. KK’s Priest are supporting throughout the run, creating a particularly strong traditional-metal pairing for audiences interested in the 1980s British and American scenes. Lawless has said W.A.S.P. had never previously attempted a combined package focused specifically on those first four records. The tour continues through the US and Canada over the next seven weeks, with stops including Austin, Dallas, Houston, Boston, Toronto and Montreal before finishing in Minnesota

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Mastodon surprised fans in Atlanta on 11 September by playing an intimate show at the 300-capacity Earl under their occasional alias Big Hairy Elephant. The performance included live debuts for several songs from the newly released Marrow Deep, including “Barbarians Blood”, “In The Ruins” and “Poisonous Weapons”. The bigger surprise came when fellow Georgia musician John Baizley of Baroness joined Mastodon for six songs, including “Curl Of The Burl”, “Oblivion”, “The Czar”, “Sultan’s Curse”, “Colony Of Birchmen” and “Blood And Thunder”. Several of those songs had been absent from Mastodon sets for years, with “Curl Of The Burl” reportedly receiving its first performance since 2013. The show effectively served as a warm-up for The Poisonous Weapons Tour with Deafheaven and Alcest, which begins in Orlando on 16 September and runs through late October.

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Tony Iommi has revealed that producer Andrew Watt wanted to reunite the original Black Sabbath lineup for one final studio album, but Iommi ultimately rejected the proposal. Watt had produced Ozzy Osbourne’s final solo records and apparently raised the idea in the early 2020s, partly because Sabbath’s 2013 album 13 had been made without original drummer Bill Ward. Iommi says he wasn’t convinced another album was necessary after 13 and also felt Watt underestimated what recording the original four members together would involve. Sabbath eventually did achieve a complete original-lineup farewell of another kind, with Ward joining Iommi, Ozzy and Geezer Butler at Back To The Beginning in Birmingham in July 2025. With Osbourne’s death only weeks later, that concert became the final performance of the classic lineup, permanently closing the possibility of the studio reunion Watt had proposed.

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Slipknot have returned with “Arsenal”, their first proper new song since The End, So Far era and their first major studio statement with the current lineup. The track arrived without a lengthy buildup on 9 September, accompanied by a video directed by Shawn “Clown” Crahan and starring actor Jackson White. It is also the first new Slipknot music since the exits of Craig Jones, Jay Weinberg and Sid Wilson, with Eloy Casagrande now firmly established behind the kit. The band have not announced a new album, so “Arsenal” currently stands alone rather than serving as a confirmed first single from LP number eight. The release is significant because Slipknot’s previous album arrived in 2022 and their catalogue deal with HarbourView reportedly covered older publishing and master royalties rather than future recordings.

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King Diamond has confirmed that a feature-length documentary about his life has been in production for roughly three years, with backing from the Danish Film Institute. Director Frederik Brun Madsen and his team have gone far beyond the familiar Mercyful Fate and solo years, tracking down musicians from King’s first heavy-rock band Brainstorm and unearthing live footage of Black Rose dating back to the late 1970s. King describes the film as the story of a Danish kid with extremely unlikely ambitions who somehow built one of heavy metal’s most recognisable careers. The documentary is intended for the film-festival circuit rather than being produced as a quick promotional extra, although no public release date has been announced yet. It arrives while King is also working towards Saint Lucifer’s Hospital 1920, the first part of his long-planned new horror album trilogy.

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L7 have announced the return of former bassist Janis Tanaka following the death of longtime member Jennifer Finch. Tanaka previously played with L7 between 1999 and 2001 and will join Donita Sparks, Suzi Gardner and Dee Plakas for the band’s final tour, beginning in San Diego on 6 October and finishing in Los Angeles on 14 November. Finch died on 18 July aged 59 after an aggressive brain-cancer diagnosis, and the band says she had given her blessing for Tanaka to return before her death. L7 have described the past two months as extremely difficult but say they remain committed to completing what is billed as The Last Hurrah Tour 2026. Finch’s memoir, Shooting Up And Making Out: A Memoir Of My Life In LA And L7, is scheduled for publication in January 2027.

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Dave Mustaine says he has still received no response from Metallica regarding Megadeth’s version of “Ride The Lightning”, included on the final self-titled Megadeth album. Mustaine co-wrote the original song with James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Cliff Burton before leaving Metallica in 1983, and says revisiting it was intended to bring his career full circle rather than rekindle old disputes. Megadeth deliberately sped the song up and changed parts of the guitar solo and drum arrangement rather than making a note-for-note recreation. Mustaine says the recording was also intended as a gesture of respect towards Hetfield’s guitar playing and Ulrich’s songwriting, despite the four decades of tension surrounding his history with Metallica. He remains adamant that Metallica’s silence does not concern him, because the point of recording the track was personal closure as Megadeth approaches the end of its career.

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Twisted Sister have played their second full concert with former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach fronting the band, this time at the Alaska State Fair on 4 September. The current touring lineup features Bach alongside founding guitarist Jay Jay French, Eddie Ojeda, bassist Russell Pzütto and drummer Joey Cassata. Their first performance together took place on 28 August at the Starland Ballroom in New Jersey, initially promoted under Twisted Sister’s old Bent Brother alter ego before becoming the debut of the new touring lineup. The Alaska show confirms that Bach’s involvement is not simply a one-off guest appearance, with another ten concerts scheduled through the northern autumn. Dee Snider has not returned to the touring lineup, making this the most substantial reinvention of Twisted Sister’s live identity in decades.

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Slayer marked the 40th anniversary of Reign In Blood by performing the landmark album in full at their first concert of 2026. The show took place on 4 September at Mystic Lake Amphitheater in Shakopee, Minnesota, with Down, Suicidal Tendencies and Hatebreed supporting. Released in October 1986, the 28-minute Rick Rubin-produced record remains one of thrash metal’s defining albums, with “Angel Of Death”, “Postmortem” and “Raining Blood” still central to Slayer’s legacy four decades later. The performance was also Slayer’s first concert in roughly a year, making the anniversary treatment more significant than simply inserting several old songs into a normal touring set. Slayer remain selective about live appearances following their original 2019 retirement, so each show now attracts considerably more attention than a conventional tour stop.

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A genuinely historic piece of Van Halen history is finally receiving an official release. “Glitter”, a previously unreleased demo recorded in 1974, will accompany Alex Van Halen’s forthcoming signed limited-edition book Van Halen, with the song pressed onto an exclusive 7-inch picture disc. The recording features Alex and Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth and original bassist Mark Stone, predating Michael Anthony’s arrival and capturing the group near the very beginning of its development. According to publisher Genesis Publications, it will become the earliest Van Halen recording ever officially released, while the reverse side of the record features a spoken-word recording from Alex drawn from interviews conducted for the book. The signed book itself is restricted to 1,500 numbered copies worldwide, making this a legitimate archival release rather than another routine Van Halen catalogue repackaging.

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A dedicated Motörhead exhibition will open at The Punk Rock Museum on 2 October, focusing on Lemmy’s unusual position between heavy metal and punk. The exhibition includes personal material from Lemmy’s collection, including photographs and handwritten lyrics, but the most unusual attraction is considerably more hands-on. Visitors will reportedly be allowed to play Lemmy’s bass through the actual amplifier stack he used, giving fans direct access to equipment behind one of rock’s most recognisable bass sounds. The opening will also feature Metal Blade founder Brian Slagel DJing, while the museum’s Vinyl Threat record shop will carry Motörhead albums and exclusive merchandise will be sold through the museum. The exhibition is a good reminder that Motörhead’s importance extends well beyond metal: Lemmy played with The Damned and the band’s speed and attitude directly influenced generations of punk, hardcore and thrash musicians.

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Ghost mastermind Tobias Forge has confirmed that the band is heading into a period of inactivity after completing its latest major touring cycle. Speaking with Kerrang!, Forge said he is exhausted following the Skeletour, which included more than 70 concerts across Europe and North America, and admitted that he currently lacks a clear idea of where Ghost should go next. Rather than immediately commit to another album-tour cycle, Forge is spending time at home and working on other projects while deciding what the next version of Ghost should be. That is significant for a band whose rise over the past decade has depended on an almost constant sequence of records, elaborate tours and changes to its theatrical presentation. Forge has not described this as the end of Ghost, so reports presenting it as a breakup would be misleading, but fans should clearly expect a genuine pause before the next campaign begins.

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Van Halen’s final studio album A Different Kind Of Truth is officially coming back into print on 23 October through Rhino. The 2012 record will be available again on CD and 180-gram vinyl, while collectors can chase a limited crystal-clear vinyl pressing. A Different Kind Of Truth was the only full studio album Van Halen made after David Lee Roth returned to the group and the only Van Halen studio LP featuring Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang on bass. Its original vinyl edition has become increasingly difficult and expensive to obtain since the album disappeared from normal circulation, giving this reissue considerably more practical value than another colour change to an LP that has remained readily available. It also stands as Eddie Van Halen’s final full studio album before his death in 2020, giving the record a unique position in the catalogue despite the mixed arguments that have surrounded it since release.

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Saxon will release their 25th studio album, Gods Of Thunder, on 22 January 2027 through Silver Lining Music, with the title track arriving as the first single. Biff Byford produced the record, while longtime collaborator and Judas Priest touring guitarist Andy Sneap handled the mix. The ten-song album leans heavily into Byford’s fascination with history and mythology, with “The Bloody Tower (The Ballad Of Anne Boleyn)” dealing with Anne Boleyn’s execution, “Medusa” drawing on Greek mythology, “Remember The Alamo” returning to fast NWOBHM territory and closing track “MI5” exploring Cold War espionage. The current Saxon lineup features Byford, Nigel Glockler, Doug Scarratt, Tim “Nibbs” Carter and Diamond Head guitarist Brian Tatler, who has now become an established part of Saxon’s recording lineup as well as its touring unit. Silver Lining has confirmed multiple vinyl variants, CDs and exclusive bundles, while further dates on the Gods Of Thunder world tour are expected.

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Geoff Tate will return to Australia to perform Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime in full for the final time, with shows confirmed for Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. The tour will go even deeper into the catalogue by including the complete 1983 Queen Of The Reich EP, which Tate has never previously performed in full in Australia, plus a separate selection of career favourites. Released in 1988, Operation: Mindcrime remains Queensrÿche’s defining concept album, built around a political narrative that includes “Revolution Calling”, “Suite Sister Mary”, “The Needle Lies”, “I Don’t Believe In Love” and “Eyes Of A Stranger”. Pairing that record with the much more straightforward metal of the debut EP gives the shows material drawn from two very different points in the original band’s development. With Tate retiring Mindcrime from complete Australian performances after these dates, this should have considerably more pull than another conventional greatest-hits tour.

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Rush have added four more US arena concerts to their Fifty Something tour after Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson found themselves handling the physical demands of the road better than expected. The newly announced dates are Houston on 1 October, St Louis on 21 October, Cincinnati on 23 October and Pittsburgh on 15 November. Lee and Lifeson said they deliberately built large recovery gaps into the original itinerary because neither knew how their bodies would react to returning to a sustained touring schedule. With the shows going well, they have decided to use some of those gaps to reach additional cities rather than keep the itinerary artificially light. Tickets for the new dates go on sale 4 September, with presales beginning today, 1 September, extending a tour that has become one of the most closely watched classic-rock returns of 2026.

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Angry Anderson is recovering in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest, his family and Rose Tattoo have now confirmed. The 79-year-old singer’s condition explains the abrupt cancellation of the remaining dates on Rose Tattoo’s One Last Ride European tour earlier in August, when the band initially referred only to a medical issue. In a statement issued on 30 August, the group said Anderson remains in hospital receiving treatment and asked fans to respect the privacy of his family while he recovers. Rose Tattoo had performed in Pratteln, Switzerland on 6 August before the tour was halted, with the remaining European shows formally cancelled on 10 August. Anderson has fronted one of Australia’s most influential hard-rock bands since the 1970s, with Rose Tattoo, Assault & Battery and songs such as “Bad Boy For Love” and “Rock ’N’ Roll Outlaw” influencing generations of hard rock, punk and metal musicians.

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Fear Factory played new single “Roboticist” live for the first time as their Cybernetic Domination European tour opened in Poznań, Poland on 29 August. The song is the first Fear Factory studio recording to feature vocalist Milo Silvestro and drummer Pete Webber, making its live debut particularly significant for the current incarnation of the band. Dino Cazares and company also pulled out some genuine rarities, including “No One” for the first time since 2001 and “Arise Above Oppression” for the first time since 2005. “Roboticist” was released through Nuclear Blast on 29 August and is expected to appear on Fear Factory’s forthcoming eleventh studio album. After several years of Silvestro proving himself with the existing catalogue onstage, this tour is the first time audiences are beginning to hear what the new lineup actually sounds like on its own material.

Arizona thrash veterans Flotsam And Jetsam have released “The Edge Of Nowhere”, the third and final single from Rats In The Temple, which lands today through Napalm Records. Eric A.K. Knutson describes the song as being about knowing when to hold your position and speak your mind even when doing so appears unlikely to change anything. The album is the band’s first release for Napalm Records and follows the strong late-career run of The End Of Chaos, Blood In The Water and I Am The Weapon. Physical editions include CD and several double-vinyl variants, including black, solid red and splatter configurations. Australian fans also have a direct reason to pay attention, with the band’s Monsters Of Thrash tour reaching Brisbane on 30 September, Adelaide on 1 October, Melbourne on 2 October and Sydney on 3 October.

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Rita Flores, a former member of the punk rock performance art collective Pussy Riot whose real name is Margarita Konovalova, has claimed she was coerced into becoming an informant for Russia’s security service, the FSB.

In a video interview with Port Media, an independent media outlet established by exiled Russian journalists, Flores alleges that in February 2023, she had her Moscow apartment raided by FSB officers. They then threatened her not only with criminal action over a set of social media posts criticising alleged Russian war crimes, but with the murder of her family as well.

“They began recruiting me with all kinds of threats and abuse,” she said. Flores added, “Threats to murder my family and that I’d never be able to prove who killed my mother.”

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One of Australia’s most important remote heavy-music institutions, The Black Wreath in Alice Springs, is fighting to remain open after the building it has occupied for around 15 years was placed on the market. The community is attempting to raise approximately $1 million to purchase the property and preserve the venue, recording studio, rehearsal facility and creative hub, with more than $475,000 reportedly raised as the campaign gathers national attention. The Black Wreath has been especially important for Central Australian and Indigenous heavy music, helping launch Southeast Desert Metal and supporting bands that otherwise face enormous geographic barriers to touring, rehearsing and recording. Its team also runs Blacken Open Air, one of Australia’s most distinctive heavy festivals, and has brought international underground acts into Central Australia. A national Blacken Forever fundraising event on 12 September will now see more than 30 bands perform across Melbourne, Sydney, Alice Springs, Adelaide, the Gold Coast and Perth, including Psycroptic, Witchskull and Freedom Of Fear.

Ghost have announced 2 Big To Rig (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), the 19-track audio companion to their second feature film. Recorded across two sold-out 2025 concerts at Mexico City’s Palacio De Los Deportes before almost 40,000 fans, the soundtrack will be released digitally through Loma Vista Recordings on 27 August, one day after the film begins its limited worldwide cinema and IMAX run. The tracklist reaches across all six Ghost albums, including “Cirice”, “Year Zero”, “He Is”, “Rats”, “Dance Macabre”, “Square Hammer”, “Mary On A Cross”, “Satanized” and “Lachryma”, with the newly released live version of “Umbra” acting as the first preview. The film documents the Skeletour production after the band concluded the tour in February, giving fans in territories that could not accommodate the enormous staging a proper look at the show. Ghost’s previous concert-film project proved there is a substantial audience for this sort of release, so the big question for record collectors is whether Loma Vista follows the digital soundtrack with physical editions.

Blackie Lawless has provided a fresh update on his long-running autobiography, currently carrying the working title Tales From The Square Mile. The W.A.S.P. leader says he does not want to write another predictable collection of sex, drugs and rock-and-roll stories and instead intends to examine the people, places and circumstances that shaped his career. In a new IndiePower TV interview, Lawless recalled arriving in California and initially sleeping on people’s floors before spending around a year and a half living in a closet measuring roughly three feet by 12 feet, directly across from the Hollywood Palladium. He also discussed his childhood fascination with Zorro and Bela Lugosi, whose influence helped inspire the Blackie Lawless persona, and later discovered that Lugosi had lived only a short distance from that same tiny Hollywood room. The book does not yet have a confirmed publication date, but Lawless is clearly still actively developing it as W.A.S.P. prepare for their September North American tour with KK’s Priest.

Fear Factory will release “Roboticist” on Saturday, 29 August, marking the band’s first official studio recording with vocalist Milo Silvestro and drummer Pete Webber. Silvestro has been fronting Fear Factory live for roughly three and a half years, but until now fans have only heard him interpreting material originally recorded by Burton C. Bell. “Roboticist” began life as an instrumental Dino Cazares used to demonstrate the Toneforge Disruptor guitar software in 2023, but its structure has since been substantially rearranged for the forthcoming Fear Factory album. Cazares says the new record retains the brutal, melodic and mechanical elements associated with Demanufacture and Obsolete, while its concept extends the band’s longstanding man-versus-machine mythology into a world where humanity is fighting against extinction. The single arrives on the same day Fear Factory begin their Cybernetic Domination European tour with Crystal Lake, Hate and The Nocturnal Affair in Poznan, Poland.

Brisbane’s Necrosonic Festival took over Mansfield Tavern on Saturday, 22 August, with more than 30 bands spread across three stages and over 12 hours of heavy music. International headliners Rivers Of Nihil joined Australian technical death-metal heavyweights Psycroptic, who have been touring together around Australia before continuing into Japan. The bill also carried considerable historical value for Australian metal, including Segression’s 30-year reunion, the return of Five Star Prison Cell, a resurrected Minus Life, and one-off or farewell appearances from Lynchmada, Helm and other cult names. Pestilential Shadows, Witchskull, Gravemind, Destruktor, Gutless and Dreamkillers helped give the festival a genuinely broad Australian metal representation rather than padding the bill with interchangeable support acts. For local metal, Necrosonic has quickly developed into one of the more interesting heavy events on the Australian calendar because it actively digs older bands out of retirement while still booking current international acts.

Buckcherry’s tour bus was caught up in a fatal multi-vehicle accident on Interstate 26 in South Carolina, with the band confirming that every member and crew member is safe. The collision occurred in the early hours of Friday, 21 August, after an earlier crash caused a chain of events involving several vehicles. One person who had exited a vehicle was struck and killed, and authorities closed the eastbound lanes of the interstate for several hours. Buckcherry expressed condolences to the victim’s family while confirming that Josh Todd, Stevie D., Kelly LeMieux, Francis Ruiz, Billy Rowe and the touring crew were unharmed. The band’s Roar Like Thunder Tour is continuing, including its scheduled Florida dates, after officials determined there was no reason for Buckcherry to cancel the remainder of the run.

Rob Zombie has released the official video for “Black Rat Coffin”, taken from his current Nuclear Blast album The Great Satan. The song sits firmly in Zombie’s traditional territory, combining industrialised guitar grooves, horror imagery and the distorted carnival atmosphere that has run through his music since White Zombie. The Great Satan contains 15 tracks, including “Punks And Demons”, “Heathen Days”, “F.T.W. 84”, “The Black Scorpion” and “Tarantula”. Zombie’s current touring cycle also keeps him firmly in the public eye, particularly as his live production continues to draw heavily on both his solo catalogue and the White Zombie years. A new video this deep into an album campaign generally indicates the label is still actively pushing the record rather than letting it disappear after the initial release window.

Danzig’s 2010 album Deth Red Sabaoth has returned to shelves through Cleopatra Records in an unusually elaborate multi-format reissue campaign. The album was Glenn Danzig’s first full-length studio record in six years when originally released and became his highest-charting album since Danzig 4. Johnny Kelly of Type O Negative played drums, while Tommy Victor of Prong contributed guitar, helping produce one of the heavier and more organic records of Danzig’s later career. The new edition is available across seven physical configurations, including black vinyl, black/red haze vinyl, blood-splatter “horror swirl” vinyl, box sets, CD and cassette. For an album whose original vinyl editions have become increasingly expensive, the reissue puts a relatively scarce part of the Danzig catalogue back into circulation.

Paul Di’Anno’s Battlezone album Children Of Madness will return on 23 October through Deko Entertainment in a newly remastered and repackaged edition. Originally issued in 1987, the record followed Battlezone’s debut Fighting Back and represents an important part of Di’Anno’s career after his departure from Iron Maiden. The reissue will appear on 180-gram vinyl in Orange Swirl and Brown variants, alongside a CD edition containing bonus tracks “To The Limit” and “Drawn Under”. The announcement arrives as the 40th-anniversary edition of Fighting Back reaches shops, giving Di’Anno collectors two substantial Battlezone catalogue releases in quick succession. With interest in Di’Anno’s post-Maiden catalogue increasing since his death in 2024, these records have considerably more collector significance than they did when original Battlezone editions were often overlooked.

Ministry have released “We Hate”, the second single from what Al Jourgensen says will be the band’s final studio album, Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery), due 30 October through Cleopatra Records. The song continues the explicitly political direction of the current record and arrives with a video directed by former Revolting Cocks member Joshua Bradford. The album will contain ten tracks, with former Ministry bassist Paul Barker returning for closing song “We’re Still Here”, his only appearance on the record. Ministry have also confirmed several 2026 dates before their farewell touring cycle expands through Europe in 2027, and importantly for Australian fans, the band are scheduled to appear at Good Things Festival in December. Given Jourgensen’s insistence that this is the end of Ministry’s studio career, each new track now carries considerably more weight than a routine album single.

Ghost have released a complete live performance of “Umbra” from their forthcoming concert feature 2 Big To Rig. The film captures the band’s enormous Skeletour world tour and represents Ghost’s second major cinema collaboration with Trafalgar Releasing following the success of Rite Here Rite Now. Rather than simply documenting a single static concert, the project is built around the scale of Ghost’s current touring production and the increasingly theatrical presentation surrounding Tobias Forge’s latest incarnation of the band. “Umbra” provides the first substantial taste of how the performances have been captured for the screen. Ghost’s continuing move into theatrical concert films is significant for a metal-adjacent band that has become capable of treating cinema as a serious extension of its album and touring campaigns rather than a one-off promotional novelty.

Devin Townsend has revealed that his post-The Moth creative burst has already produced around 100 new songs. Speaking with Metal Insider, Townsend explained that the enormous writing spree does not necessarily mean another conventional album is imminent, particularly as he continues reassessing how he wants to work after completing the hugely ambitious The Moth. He says he has been writing constantly, but the material covers enough different territory that deciding what belongs together has become part of the process. That hardly comes as a surprise for an artist whose catalogue moves between extreme metal, progressive rock, ambient music, orchestration and material that refuses easy classification. The sheer volume of new work nevertheless confirms that Townsend’s decision to reduce conventional touring commitments has certainly not translated into creative inactivity.

Alice in Chains are marking the 30th anniversary of MTV Unplugged with a new vinyl edition of the landmark 1996 performance. Recorded at Brooklyn Academy of Music on 10 April 1996, the concert became one of Layne Staley’s final major filmed appearances with the band and remains one of the most celebrated instalments in MTV’s Unplugged series. The set stripped songs including “Rooster”, “Down In A Hole”, “Would?”, “Nutshell” and “No Excuses” back to their foundations, exposing how strong the songwriting was beneath Alice In Chains’ enormous guitar sound. The original album reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and has remained a steady catalogue seller for three decades. A fresh anniversary pressing gives collectors another reason to revisit a release whose reputation has continued to grow since Staley’s death in 2002.

Yesterday’s confirmation that Ozzfest will return in Birmingham has already received a significant update. Jack Osbourne revealed on 19 August that the revived festival at Villa Park will be a one-day event, rather than the possible two-day format Sharon Osbourne had previously discussed. More importantly, Jack says the main headliner should be announced within the next couple of weeks, meaning the comeback lineup is considerably further advanced than the initial announcement suggested. The 2027 event will take place at the same stadium where Ozzy Osbourne performed his final concert at Back To The Beginning in July 2025. Jack also says the family wants the new Ozzfest to maintain his father’s original philosophy of combining established names with bands that deserve a larger audience. – via Louder

Down have finally made it official: Volume V will arrive on 20 November through Nuclear Blast Records, giving the New Orleans heavyweights their first full-length studio album since Down III: Over The Under in 2007. The announcement comes with the first single, “Blood Oath”, written by Pepper Keenan and Kirk Windstein and carrying exactly the sort of thick, Southern sludge riffing fans have been waiting for. Philip Anselmo says the album was made with no outside pressure and describes the current chemistry between Keenan, Windstein, Jimmy Bower, Pat Bruders and himself as extremely strong. The record also contains “The End Is Coming”, which Anselmo says was inspired by Ozzy Osbourne and written before Ozzy’s death in July 2025. With nearly two decades separating Down albums, Volume Vimmediately becomes one of the biggest traditional heavy-music releases remaining on the 2026 calendar. – via Louder

Megadeth recorded at least two songs that were left off their final self-titled album, according to Dave Mustaine. In a new Metal Hammer interview, Mustaine names “Bloodlust” and “Farewell My Love” as unused tracks, while also mentioning a possible third song called “When Robots Rule”. He is far less certain about whether fans will ever hear them, explaining that if his health allowed him to keep playing, he would rather devote that ability to creating new music than revisiting unfinished material. Mustaine has Dupuytren’s contracture, a condition affecting the connective tissue in the hand, and has said Megadeth’s retirement is being undertaken on the band’s own terms. Given that the group’s self-titled record has been positioned as the final Megadeth studio album, the existence of completed or near-completed leftovers immediately raises the possibility of future deluxe editions or archival releases. – via Louder

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Ozzfest is officially returning in 2027, with Birmingham’s Villa Park confirmed as the venue. The festival’s official account announced the comeback on 17 August, although dates and the lineup have yet to be revealed. Villa Park carries enormous emotional significance because it hosted Back To The Beginning, which became Ozzy Osbourne’s final performance before his death on 22 July 2025. Sharon Osbourne had been discussing plans to revive Ozzfest for several months, so the announcement confirms that those plans have moved beyond the talking stage. The original Ozzfest played an enormous role in heavy music from the mid-1990s onwards, providing major exposure to bands including Slipknot, System Of A Down, Tool, Pantera, Slayer, Fear Factory and countless others

ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has died aged 77, ending one of rock’s longest-running musical partnerships. Billy Gibbons confirmed Beard’s death on 18 August, describing his distinctive backbeat as fundamental to ZZ Top’s sound and saying the band intends to continue as Beard had wished. Beard joined Gibbons in 1969, with Dusty Hill completing the classic trio soon afterwards, and remained behind the kit through everything from the blues-heavy early records to the enormous MTV-era success of Eliminator. He had recently missed performances because of health problems, with Michael Monahan filling in, while ZZ Top had also cancelled several dates. No official cause of death has been announced, although Beard is understood to have died in hospice care at his Texas home.

A festival appearance by Abbath at SaariHelvetti in Tampere, Finland ended after roughly two minutes when frontman Abbath Doom Occulta abruptly left the stage. Reports say Abbath appeared without his usual corpse paint and stage costume, performed “To War”, then departed, leaving drummer Ukri Suvilehto to apologise to the audience. Suvilehto referred to health problems affecting the singer but did not provide a specific diagnosis or explanation, so anything beyond that would be speculation. The incident inevitably recalls Abbath’s troubled 2019 South American tour, when a concert was cut short and the remaining dates were cancelled before the singer subsequently entered rehabilitation for addiction issues. There has been no detailed statement establishing what caused Friday’s incident, but an international festival set ending almost immediately makes this a significant current black-metal story.

Doro Pesch has reflected on her remarkable four-and-a-half-decade career in a new interview, crediting the relationship between musicians and fans for keeping her committed to metal. Doro recalled the earliest club days when there were effectively no barriers between performer and audience, with fans climbing directly onto the stage during shows. She also singled out Ronnie James Dio as a major inspiration, remembering watching him perform and thinking that she wanted to create the same emotional response in her own audience. At 62, Doro says she actually feels healthier than she did during the 1980s after giving up smoking and adopting a vegan diet. More importantly for metal fans, she remains one of the few artists from the early European ’80s scene who has maintained an almost uninterrupted recording and touring career. – via Blabbermouth

Rush frontman Geddy Lee has explained the extensive vocal work required to perform the band’s catalogue again on the Fifty Something tour. Lee began working with vocal coach Mitch Seekins around a year and a half before the tour, having gone approximately 11 years without regularly singing Rush material. His aim was to preserve as many songs as possible in their original keys, rather than lowering the entire catalogue to compensate for age. Lee says only “Anthem” and “2112” are currently performed a step down, while demanding material including “A Farewell To Kings” and “Freewill” remains in its original key. The tour is Rush’s first in more than a decade and the first without Neil Peart, with Lee and Alex Lifeson joined by drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold; the expanded run now totals 58 shows across 24 cities after enormous ticket demand. – via Blabbermouth

Mastodon have released “In The Ruins”, the final advance single from Marrow Deep, which arrives on 28 August. The melancholic progressive-metal track deals heavily with loss, with Troy Sanders’ experiences during Hurricane Helene feeding into the song after his home was severely flooded and his family displaced. Those events occurred during an already traumatic period that included the death of former guitarist Brent Hinds and the death of Brann Dailor’s mother, Michele Lawrence. An animated video created by Hey Beautiful Jerk follows a one-eyed character named Frank travelling through flooded and ruined landscapes, translating the song’s themes into a deliberately strange visual narrative. Marrow Deep also features guests including Josh Homme, Randy Blythe, Geezer Butler, Joe Duplantier and Neil Fallon, making it one of Mastodon’s most guest-heavy records to date – via Metal Injection

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Marilyn Manson released One Assassination Under God – Chapter 2 worldwide on 14 August through Nuclear Blast, continuing the project begun with 2024’s Chapter 1. The nine-track album was co-written and co-produced with Tyler Bates and includes “Exit Wound”, “Unalive”, “The Arsonist”, “Lucifer’s Teardrop” and the six-minute closing track “Enantiomorph”. Physical configurations are a major part of the campaign, including coloured vinyl and a limited box set restricted to 3,000 copies worldwide. That box contains five Ghostly Red 7-inch records, CD, lime-green cassette, poster, metal pin and five Manson art prints. With Manson’s late-summer touring activity following the release, Nuclear Blast has positioned the record as one of its major physical rock releases for the northern autumn. – via Blabbermouth

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Slipknot have officially confirmed the departure of longtime DJ and keyboardist Sid Wilson, ending his 28-year association with the band. Slipknot issued a brief statement on Friday, 14 August saying that, effective immediately, the group would no longer be associated with Wilson and wishing him well, although the post was subsequently deleted. Reports about Wilson’s exit had circulated since late July, but this is the first direct acknowledgement from Slipknot themselves, removing the speculation surrounding his position. Wilson joined in 1998 shortly before the band’s 1999 self-titled debut and became one of Slipknot’s most recognisable members as #0, contributing turntables, samples, sound effects and a particularly physical stage presence. After nearly three decades and every major era of Slipknot’s recording career, his departure represents another substantial change to the band’s classic lineup. – via Blabbermouth

Jeff Loomis has confirmed that work has begun on new Nevermore material, giving fans the clearest indication yet that the reunited band intends to move beyond touring the old catalogue. Loomis says around six ideas are currently in development, ranging from very early sketches to pieces that are much closer to complete songs. The current incarnation features Loomis and original drummer Van Williams alongside vocalist Berzan Önen, guitarist Jack Cattoi and bassist Semir Özerkan. Loomis plans to spend an extended writing period working directly with Önen once the singer is able to travel to the United States, rather than relying entirely on exchanging digital files. The guitarist says the group intends to use the coming months to try to create the best Nevermore album they possibly can, which makes this far more substantial than vague reunion speculation.

Melbourne thrashers Harlott have released the video for “The Joyful Stain”, the latest track from their forthcoming album Exsequiis. The record lands 11 September through Metal Blade Records, ending a six-year gap since 2020’s Detritus Of The Final Age. Vocalist and guitarist Andrew Hudson says the new album pushes further into the harsher ideas explored on its predecessor, while the band openly cites the attack of Slayer, Sepultura, Overkill and Testament as reference points. Lyrically, “The Joyful Stain” takes aim at contemporary Australian society, corruption and political indifference rather than retreating into fantasy subject matter. Exsequiis will be available on vinyl, CD and digital formats, with a European tour beginning on release day.

Ritchie Blackmore made a genuinely historic return to Deep Purple on Wednesday night, 12 August, joining his former bandmates at Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York. The 81-year-old guitarist walked on for “Smoke On The Water”, marking his first performance with Deep Purple since leaving the group in 1993. Ian Gillan introduced Blackmore warmly to the audience after the song, calling it a pleasure to have the founding guitarist back on stage. Blackmore had revealed shortly beforehand that he had approached Gillan about sitting in for one encore song, stressing that he did not want to interfere with the current band. Given the famously difficult history between Blackmore and Deep Purple, seeing him sharing a stage with the band again after more than three decades is one of the biggest classic hard-rock moments of 2026.

In a somewhat unexpected pairing, legendary heavy percussionist and Slayer co-founder Dave Lombardo has joined up with ambient electronic musician Lustmordfor a new project they’re aptly calling Lustmord Lombardo.

The duo plan on releasing their debut album The Pulse of Atoms on October 2 via Ipecac Recordings, also having debuted their first single “Paleomagnetic Resonance” with a visualizer video, that can be watched below.

“One thing about an album like this is that you can’t really point it out as being part of any specific genre or hopefully any specific period,” Lustmord said. “Is it from last year? Is it from 10 years ago, is it from 20 years ago, is it from 5 years in the future?”

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A disturbing criminal case in Bulgaria has generated a familiar and questionable media angle after four teenagers accused of murdering a 37-year-old man appeared in court wearing shirts featuring Mayhem, Pantera, Sepultura and Powerwolf. Sections of Bulgarian media have subsequently focused on the suspects’ musical tastes and used references to “Satanic black metal” while reporting the case. There is no credible basis for treating band merchandise as evidence that heavy metal caused or explains an alleged murder, making the coverage reminiscent of the moral panics surrounding Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne and heavy music during the 1980s and 1990s. The inclusion of groups as musically different as Pantera, Sepultura and Powerwolf under a loose Satanic label also demonstrates how little musical context informs some of the reporting. For metal fans, the story is an uncomfortable reminder that attempts to connect violent crime with heavy music have not entirely disappeared.

At the beginning of the year, Spotify announced that one of their main concerns for 2026 was to tackle the inevitable flood and seepage of AI-generated music. Saying they were committed to making “protecting artists’ identities is a top priority, and we’re building new solutions to prevent impersonation, scams, and mismatched content,” the digital streaming platform (DSP) have slowly rolled new features in the months since that address this concern.

However, it’s not just Spotify that are tackling the issue. Other major DSPs such as Tidal, Qobuz, or Apple Music have adopted the use of ‘AI’ tags, and while the music industry is buckling down and discussing how to protect real artists from the influx of AI-produced material. The RIAA, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), IFPI, Universal Music Group, HYBE, Warning Music Group (WMG) and more have been working out specific approaches to this newfound issue, specifically around guidelines for AI music charting and adding tags that saying ‘AI-generated’ or ‘AI-assisted’.

Mercyful Fate will headline Friday night at Bloodstock 2027, and the band’s own statement accompanying the announcement contains an especially tantalising detail: they expect to arrive with a brand-new album finally released. Electric Callboy will headline Saturday, while Motionless In White close Sunday in what will be their first European festival headline performance and their only UK appearance of 2027. Bloodstock has also confirmed Madball, Gaerea, Kanonenfieber and Dethklok as Sophie Lancaster Stage headliners, with Acid Bath, DevilDriver, Decapitated, Green Lung, HammerFall, Pig Destroyer and others appearing across the weekend. The first announcement was made during Bloodstock’s 25th anniversary edition, giving fans a reason to start planning the next pilgrimage before this year’s tents had even come down. For traditional metal followers, though, Mercyful Fate’s reference to the long-awaited new record is the most intriguing part of the announcement.

Anthrax fill-in drummer Darby Todd has released drum-cam footage of himself tearing through “Caught In A Mosh” at Spain’s Rock Imperium festival, offering fans a terrific behind-the-kit look at one of thrash metal’s enduring live staples. Todd stepped in while Charlie Benante rested a right-hand injury, covering nearly a dozen European shows during late June and early July. Rock Imperium on 4 July was Todd’s final show of that run, and he described the experience of playing with Anthrax as an incredible one. Todd had also filled in for Benante at Anthrax’s Athens support slot with Iron Maiden in May because Benante was committed to a Pantera performance in Germany. The timing is useful for Anthrax because their long-awaited twelfth album, Cursum Perficio, arrives 18 September through Megaforce in the US and Nuclear Blast in Europe, ending a ten-year gap since For All Kings.

Judas Priest brought the 25th anniversary edition of Bloodstock Open Air to its climax at Catton Park on Sunday night, 9 August. Priest topped a formidable final-day bill that also featured Black Label Society, Body Count, Testament, Orbit Culture and Carpenter Brut, giving the anniversary weekend a particularly traditional heavy-metal finish. The appearance comes during another busy year for Priest, who released the career-spanning The Best Of Judas Priest through Sony Music on 19 June and are continuing work on the follow-up to 2024’s Invincible Shield. The band remains on the road through Europe, with further dates running into September, including a London show at the Eventim Apollo on 21 September. Bloodstock itself used the anniversary weekend to look ahead to 2027, but closing its 25th year with one of Birmingham’s defining metal bands was a fitting way to sign off.

With this year’s festival still underway, Bloodstock Open Air has already revealed a substantial portion of its 2027 lineup, headed by Mercyful Fate, Electric Callboy and Motionless In White. The undercard is particularly strong, with Acid Bath, Dethklok, DevilDriver, Decapitated, Sylosis, Green Lung, HammerFall, Pig Destroyer, Gaerea, Conan and others among the first announcement. For traditional metal fans, the presence of King Diamond’s Mercyful Fate at the top of the bill is particularly significant, while Electric Callboy and Motionless In White indicate Bloodstock’s continued expansion into younger metal audiences. The announcement comes during Bloodstock’s 25th-anniversary weekend at Catton Park, where the 2026 festival runs through Sunday. More artists will be announced over the coming months, but the first reveal already gives the 2027 event considerable weight.

Former Iron Maiden singer Blaze Bayley has paid a heartfelt tribute to the late Paul Di’Anno, arguing that the original frontman’s place in Maiden history remains fundamental. Speaking in a new interview with Metal OBS, Bayley said that “the legend of Iron Maiden belongs to Paul Di’Anno”, reflecting on the enormous importance of the band’s first two albums and the singer who helped define them. Di’Anno fronted Maiden on 1980’s Iron Maiden and 1981’s Killers before Bruce Dickinson joined for The Number Of The Beast, while Bayley himself fronted the band during the 1990s on The X Factor and Virtual XI. His comments carry particular weight because they come from another vocalist who knows first-hand what it means to occupy one of metal’s most scrutinised frontman positions. It is also a timely reminder that Maiden’s history extends well beyond its most commercially successful Dickinson era.

Yngwie Malmsteen will release his new studio album, Hell Or High Water, on 13 November through Music Theories Recordings / Artone Label Group. The nine-track album follows 2021’s Parabellum and was created during an intensive period in which Malmsteen says he accumulated around 80 to 90 completed tracks before selecting the final material. First single “Now Or Never” mixes his trademark neoclassical lead work with palm-muted metal riffing and vocals, while several instrumental pieces also feature across the record. The closing track, “Father”, was written in memory of Malmsteen’s father, who died last year. Hell Or High Water has been confirmed for LP, CD and digital formats, while Malmsteen also has September dates scheduled in China and Japan.

Anthrax have released the official video for “Everybody’s Got A Plan”, the third single from their long-awaited new album Cursum Perficio, due 18 September via Megaforce Records. The video includes footage shot during the band’s recent Lisbon appearance opening for Iron Maiden. Charlie Benante revealed that the central riff dates back to the For All Kings period and said he had long referred to it as the band’s “Van Halen riff”. Cursum Perficio will be Anthrax’s first studio album in a full decade, following 2016’s For All Kings. The physical campaign is substantial, with numerous double-LP editions including standard black vinyl, indie-exclusive coloured vinyl, zoetrope editions and several retailer-exclusive pressings.

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A new feature-length documentary titled Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple will premiere on Canada’s CBC network on 23 September. The film traces Peart’s difficult early years, his rise with Rush and his lasting influence as a drummer, lyricist and writer. Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson both appear in the documentary, which also includes newly filmed performances of Rush material featuring Tool’s Danny Carey, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and The Police’s Stewart Copeland behind the kit. Peart died in January 2020, aged 67, following a private three-year battle with glioblastoma. The project arrives while Lee and Lifeson are touring again with drummer Anika Nilles and keyboardist Loren Gold, adding further weight to what should be a major release for Rush collectors and progressive-rock fans.

The next generation of the Kiss family continues making music, with Stanley Simmons, the project featuring Evan Stanley and Nick Simmons, releasing its sixth single, “Lilith”. Evan is the son of Paul Stanley while Nick is Gene Simmons’ son, making the collaboration an inevitable point of interest for KISS followers, although the pair are developing music under their own identity rather than simply recreating their fathers’ band. A new official video directed by Greg Furman accompanies the song. “Lilith” follows five previous singles from the collaboration and suggests the project is developing into something more substantial than a one-off curiosity. Given the enormous multigenerational KISS audience, every step the pair take will inevitably be watched closely.

UNSHATTER follows Linkin Park’s  journey through loss, resilience, and creative reinvention. From studio sessions in 2022 to a sold out FROM ZERO album release show in São Paulo, this is the story of how the band started over. Directed by Joe Hahn. Experience UNSHATTER in theaters worldwide for a limited run beginning September 30. Tickets on sale August 13. Sign up for early access to tickets at unshattermovie.com.

Rotting Christ have officially announced a new vinyl edition of Sanctus Diavolos, bringing one of the band’s most celebrated releases back into print. Originally released during a hugely creative period for the Greek black metal veterans, the album remains a favourite among collectors. Demand for earlier pressings has remained consistently high on the secondary market, making this reissue particularly welcome. Fans of classic European black metal are expected to move quickly once preorders open.

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Meshuggah’s landmark albums Destroy Erase Improve and Catch Thirtythree have returned in newly remastered anniversary editions. Both releases celebrate defining moments in the evolution of progressive extreme metal and showcase how influential the Swedish pioneers remain today. The improved audio and collector-friendly packaging have generated strong interest among long-time fans and newer listeners discovering the band. Anniversary editions continue proving highly successful within the metal vinyl market.

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Following the recent departure of Andy La Rocque, King Diamond’s camp continues moving forward with guitarist Gus G. joining the line-up. Fans are watching closely as the band prepares for its next chapter.

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Mastodon have continued promoting their forthcoming album Marrow Deep, speaking openly about the personal experiences that influenced its songwriting. Members described the record as one of their most emotionally charged releases, addressing grief, resilience and moving forward after difficult periods. Early reactions suggest fans are embracing the band’s willingness to tackle deeply personal themes while maintaining their trademark progressive heaviness. The interviews have generated considerable interest ahead of the album’s release.

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Following the recent departure of longtime guitarist Andy La Rocque, King Diamond continues preparing for the band’s next chapter. Gus G. has officially stepped into the lineup, bringing decades of experience from Firewind and Ozzy Osbourne’s band. Fans remain divided about the change, but expectations are high to see how the refreshed lineup performs live and contributes to future recordings. It represents one of the biggest lineup developments in traditional heavy metal this year.

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Interest remains high in Ministry’s final studio album, Hate To Go (Take Out Or Delivery), following the release of the lead single “Burned Out”. The farewell tour announcement continues to dominate industrial metal discussions.

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Interest continues to grow around Tony Iommi’s forthcoming solo album, his first in more than two decades. Fans have responded enthusiastically to news that the legendary Black Sabbath guitarist has collaborated with vocalist Jørn Lande, while guest appearances have only added to the anticipation. The record is shaping up as one of the year’s most significant hard rock releases, arriving as renewed interest in Black Sabbath remains exceptionally high. Collectors are already watching closely for deluxe vinyl editions and exclusive pressings.

Vinyl, CD and Seven Inch are now available via the link below…

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