2025 just got a whole lot heavier, because Machine Head have announced the release of their 11th studio album, and the follow-up to 2022's monumental Of Kingdom & Crown.  The new album is titled Unatoned, and will be released on April 25th via Nuclear Blast Records, which is smack in the middle of their upcoming North American tour.  It also seems that they are continuing with the use of "Ø" on the "O" in each word, which I feel is the band's new schtick.  Plus, it looks like they're continuing the use of words beginning with "UN".  Like "Unbound", "Unatoned", "Unhallowed", hello?!

This marks the band's first album with new guitarist Reece Scruggs, formerly of Havok, who has been touring with the band since 2022 as a fill-in for Vogg until his departure.  It was quite obvious that Reece was going to become the band's official new lead guitarist, and here we are.  Plus, it's the first album that Matt Alston performs on.  He didn't perform on Kingdom, although he was already in the band at that time.

Unatoned track listing:

01.  Landscape Of Thorns
02.  Atomic Revelations
03.  Unbound
04.  Outsider
05.  Not Long For This World
06.  These Scars Won't Define Us
07.  Dustmaker
08.  Bonescraper
09.  Addicted To Pain
10.  Bleeding Me Dry
11.  Shards Of Shattered Dreams
12.  Scorn

Last week, Warbringer have announced their full-fledged return to action this year with the news of their long-awaited seventh studio album Wrath & Ruin, coming out March 14 on Napalm Records, and with the release of a new record, comes......that's right: tour dates!

The band's first run of dates in support of the new record will be a North American co-headline tour with Allegaeon, dubbed The Vortex Of Violence, that is set to begin on March 18 in San Diego, and run through April 12 in Los Angeles.  Support on the tour will come from Skeletal Remans and Summoning The Lich, making for an immense night of brutality.

Frontman John Kevill comments on the tour:  “We are announcing our first run of 2025, where we will be raining down Wrath and Ruin across the USA and Canada!  We will be joined by a full arsenal of vicious brutality with Allegaeon, Skeletal Remains, and Summoning The Lich providing fire support.  We will be playing new songs as well as old live favorites, and we will be going all gas no brakes every night, as you’ve come to expect.  Get down to the show, mosh like there’s no tomorrow, and enter the Vortex of Violence!”

Tickets go on sale this Friday, January 17 at 12 PM EST.  You can see the full tour routing down below, and watch the video for the first single off of Wrath & Ruin titled "A Better World".

THE VORTEX OF VIOLENCE TOUR 2025
Warbringer / Allegaeon / Skeletal Remains / Summoning The Lich

Mar 18 - San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick
Mar 19 - Phoenix, AZ @ Last Exit Live
Mar 20 - Albuquerque, NM @ Launchpad
Mar 21 - Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street Collective
Mar 22 - Haltom City, TX @ Haltom Theatre
Mar 23 - Austin, TX @ Come & Take It Live
Mar 24 - Corpus Christi, TX @ House Of Rock
Mar 26 - Orlando, FL @ Conduit
Mar 27 - Jacksonville, NC @ Hooligan's
Mar 28 - Bensalem, PA @ Broken Goblet
Mar 29 - Brooklyn, NY @ Woodshop
Mar 30 - Montreal, QC @ Foufounes Electriques
Mar 31 - Toronto, ON @ Garrison
Apr 01 - Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary
Apr 02 - Chicago, IL @ Reggies
Apr 03 - Lawrence, KS @ Bottleneck
Apr 04 - Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre
Apr 05 - Denver, CO @ HQ
Apr 06 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
Apr 08 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Apr 09 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
Apr 10 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
Apr 11 - San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge
​Apr 12 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom

Well, this came right out of nowhere, and what a surprising announcement for the start of 2025.  After a full decade, Exodus have once again parted ways with Steve "Zetro" Souza.  The reasoning for doing so remains unknown, but I guess we will find out soon enough, right?

That being said, the band have welcomed back Rob Dukes to the fold, and he will record vocals on the upcoming record.  At this point, if there was anyone more fitting to take Zetro's place, Dukes is the only logical choice because of the familiarity aspect.

The new year is off to a thrashing start, and that's just continuing.  Speaking of thrash, Warbringer have announced the details of their long-awaited seventh studio album.  It is titled Wrath & Ruin (continuing with the tradition of titles beginning with 'W'), and it is due to be released on March 14 via Napalm Records.

The album follows up Weapons Of Tomorrow, released during the Covid times in 2020, and was produced by Mark Lewis (Cannibal Corpse, Trivium and Black Dahlia Murder), and mastered by Justin Shturtz.

​The album contains eight tracks, much like Woe To The Vanquished, so it won't be a surprise if there are tracks on here in the vein of "Glorious End" and "When The Guns Fell Silent".  The awesome artwork, done by Andreas Marschall, and full track listing can be seen below.

Wrath & Ruin track listing:

01.  The Sword & The Cross
02.  A Better World
03.  Neuromancer
04.  The Jackhammer
05.  Through A Glass, Darkly
06.  Strike From The Sky
07.  Cage Of Air
08.  The Last Of My Kind

You can stream the video for the first official single "A Better World" down below, and be sure to catch Warbringer on tour in Europe this spring and summer with Decapitated, and look for more touring to come later in the year.

Some rather bittersweet news from the Iron Maiden camp to wake up to.  After 42 years of manning the drum throne, Nicko McBrain has announced his retirement from recording and touring with Maiden.  It's definitely sad to see him go, but at the same time, it's the right thing to do.  The man is 72, Maiden music is demanding to play, and especially since he went through his stroke in Jan 2023.  He says he will still be involved behind the scenes with Maiden on ths business side, and will remain active in other business projects he has.

After 12 long years, the wait is finally over!  Shadows Fall have released their first new song since 2012, and it's crushing!  The official video for the new single "In The Grey" can be streamed down below.  I have to say that this also features the best production quality they've ever had.

Since reuniting in 2021, the band have played a bunch of festivals and are playing shows this year celebrating the 20th anniversary of The War Within.  The new single is the first taste of the new record that is scheduled to come out in 2025.  I speak for everyone when I say that we are thrilled to have Shadows Fall back after all these years!

2025 seems to be shaping up another big year for Machine Head, because in addition to the European festivals they'll be playing next summer, including a headlining slot at next year's Wacken Open Air, they just announced another massive North American tour for April and May after a really successful one earlier this year.  To make it even more special and gargantuan, they got an eclectic lineup of special guests with In Flames, Lacuna Coil and Unearth.  That's four very different bands, making for one smoking night out.

On top of that, the band have announced that a new studio album is slated for release around the same time that the tour kicks off (April 2025), and one song, titled "These Scars Won't Define Us" is a collaboration with members of all four bands on the tour lineup, and the other bands will add vocals to the track, making for what they call a "Wu Tang Clan-level thrash collaboration", and is slated to be released this Friday, November 15 at midnight.  This ought to be dynamite!  You can see the complete list of dates below.

Apr 05 - Oakland, CA @ Fox Theatre
Apr 07 - Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren
Apr 09 - San Diego, CA @ Observatory
Apr 10 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theatre
Apr 12 - Las Vegas, NV @ Sick New World *
Apr 13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Union Event Centre
Apr 15 - Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
Apr 17 - San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre
Apr 18 - Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
Apr 19 - Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
Apr 21 - Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
Apr 22 - Silver Spring, MD @ Fillmore
Apr 23 - Brooklyn, NY @ Paramount Theatre
Apr 25 - Reading, PA @ Santander Arena
Apr 26 - Boston, MA @ House Of Blues
Apr 27 - Montreal, QC @ MTELUS
Apr 28 - Toronto, ON @ History
Apr 30 - Cincinnati, OH @ Andrew J Brady Music Centre
May 02 - Detroit, MI @ Fillmore
May 03 - Chicago, IL @ Radius
May 04 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fillmore
May 05 - Winnipeg, MB @ Burton Cummings Theatre
May 07 - Calgary, AB @ Grey Eagle Event Centre
May 08 - Edmonton, AB @ Midway Music Hall
May 10 - Kelowna, BC @ Prospera Place