Epica: Music Connects Us As Humans

Photo Credit: Tim Tronckoe


Forging their own path through the ranks of symphonic metal, the mighty EPICA bring us album number nine Aspiral and once again demonstrate their mastery of this style of music. Now at over twenty years since the band came to be lead vocalist Simone Simons reminisces over the leap of faith she took when beginning her long journey with EPICA.
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“Everything went really fast when I decided to quit high school and pursue a career in music. My parents were not thrilled with that decision, but I was very headstrong. I just needed to know where that would take me but I had no idea it would become what it is now. We got on that high speed train as EPICA and we never really stopped. Recently a fan tagged me on a post on Instagram of me doing some vocals for the very first album. It asked ‘did Simone back then realise what she would become twenty two years later’ and the truth is I had no idea I was just guided by intuition and a passion for music.”



Despite achieving every young person’s dream of leaving school to become a successful musician, Simone does have words of caution for those who may consider following her example.

“It’s quite rare for that to happen, dropping everything to join a band and it paying off so well. I wouldn’t recommend it to everybody but I do always like to encourage people to follow their dream and not think you are stuck living your life the same way as everyone else. But of course it is hard work and comes with a lot of sacrifice. We had connections to get on tour early on but those first few years we didn’t make money. I had to use allowance money from my parents to buy batteries for my in ear monitors or we slept on couches with our friends and families. If you want to drop out of high school and dream of being a famous musician overnight, that’s not how it works. You have to put in more hard work, perseverance and persistence than you think.”

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Nine albums later and becoming one of the leading bands of symphonic metal, Aspiral once again showcases EPICA as one of the most grandiose and epic bands in the scene. When considering how Aspiral came to be, Simone says, “after our last album, Omega, we released an EP called The Alchemy Project where we worked with other talented musicians and we experimented there a little bit by trying new things. We wanted to see how the metal community would react to something like that and the response was very positive so we felt like we had more freedom for whatever came next. It was a chance to rediscover EPICA and that’s really what kickstarted Aspiral. Each song individually has a different source of inspiration. The lyrics on the title track for example were inspired by an art piece from a Polish sculpture. That’s just one of many of course, every song has its own meaning so you could say our biggest inspiration is just a love of music and art.”

A number of tracks on the album are part of EPICA’s long developed epic masterpiece, A New Age Dawns. With parts appearing across various EPICA releases, Aspiral brings three more parts bringing the total up to nine parts. After years of adding to this sprawling musical narrative, Simone reveals that the song finally feels complete. “Mark intended this song to end with this, our ninth album. This is the conclusion of A New Age Dawns intentionally on album nine and with nine total parts. The number nine stands for completion and wholeness. I couldn’t tell you if that was his plan all the way back when the prologue was written way back when, but certainly when writing for this album the conclusion felt right.”



Despite this chapter of EPICA closing, the band are always looking ahead to whatever story is coming next. “There will definitely be another epic journey to come. We’re very philosophical in this band, very spiritual and incredibly passionate. I’ve mentioned this a lot already but the passion for music is what has driven us and still does to this day as well as seeing the response to what we do. Music is one of the most beautiful things in life and it’s what connects us humans all around the world. We’ve been a hard working touring band but we have a big team of people that make it all happen. It’s not one person, it is a whole team of people that are equally important and vital in their own way and together we are EPICA.”

Aspiral is out now via Nuclear Blast Records. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS121 here:

The Callous Daoboys: Welcome To the Museum of Failure

“Luckily, we’re a pretty polarising band!” Carson Pace, vocalist with Atlantan mathcore mavericks THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS is sat on the other end of a Zoom call, a few weeks ahead of the release of their hotly-anticipated – and utterly phenomenal – third album, I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven. Asked about the pressure of expectations following the smash Celebrity Therapist, he’s animated and passionate about discussing it and how they approached creating it entirely on their own terms. “People are already expecting the unexpected,” he smiles of their ability to upend expectations at a moment’s notice.



One of the big reasons for I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven’s success is that the band refused to replicate previous successes. “Pleasing people wasn’t a part of it,” Pace explains. “The pressure was to make sure that we made something good, the focus was on the song, and instead of being ‘let’s write a song with a big breakdown’, let’s make sure it’s an actually good song. That also happens to have a big breakdown,” he grins. The seeds started to be sown for this new era far earlier than people might realise, too.



“We finished recording Celebrity Therapist in September 2020. People don’t realise we sat on that for two years,” he begins, explaining that the writing process began before the actual release of Celebrity Therapist in September 2022. “I would say about 50% of this record was written last year, but the other 50% is from 2021 to now.” As we talk, it becomes clear that Pace and his bandmates have taken as much time as they could to learn as much and write the best songs they could. “So many people get caught up in trying to redo older songs, or fix their errors,” he starts, “but my philosophy has always been, you can always write something better.”

If it sounds simple on the surface, it was harder to put into practice, with the band bouncing demos back and forth, asking each other whether they felt songs were too indulgent or if they were on the right track. The ultimate goal was to create the best possible album they could. When asked if he feels this is a more mature record, he agrees to an extent. “It’s mature in that we are older now and have different tastes. When I was writing Die On Mars the only thing I wanted to do was be an insane mathcore band. We’ve done that, and I’m glad we kind of still are an insane mathcore band. But the philosophy of this album is that you only have one chance to immortalise yourself through art.”


A lofty goal, to be sure, but one that Pace is committed to pursuing. “We were like, how do we quit our jobs forever,” he admits simply, “This is the only thing I’m good at. I’m incompetent in most other areas of life. This is the only thing I like doing, I don’t like working a customer service job, I don’t even really like money. I like having enough to live, so I was asking, how do I keep this going and make something timeless?” If you’ve heard I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven, you know for certain that they achieved that goal.

Although, it perhaps isn’t a more mature record in some ways, Pace grinning, “I yell ugga ugga boo ugga boo boo ugga, so is it really more mature?” (referring to the wonderfully-named Douchebag Safari that also opens with a Wii Sports-esque jingle). Their ability to poke fun and have entertaining song titles is extremely intact – see also Idiot Temptation Force, for instance – but the music itself takes itself as seriously as Pace takes his desire to be in a band full-time, making art that he loves. “The goal was to make something so undeniable that it becomes our everything.”
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The idea of immortalising themselves through art also became a way to frame the record; with two tracks, the intro Collection Of Forgotten Dreams and penultimate Opt Out, creating a museum setting that posits the existence of a Museum of Failure 300 years in the future, in which the album is displayed as an exhibit. The album then, naturally, asks the question of whether it was a failure at all, given the album has lasted 300 years and is now in a display. But just don’t call it a concept album, as Pace isn’t the biggest fan of the title.

“When bands of our ilk do concept records, I truly hate it. I think it’s so stupid. There’s something inherently fedora trenchcoat about concept albums,” he opines. “But then, [our album] also is, in the sense that it’s being presented conceptually.” The idea itself is one that Pace is very fond of, enjoying not only the concept of a Museum of Failure but the way in which a world can be established that the album exists in. “I’ve never really heard a band do that, and it was such a cool idea. Plus there’s all the packaging of the album like a museum brochure.”

There are still tie-ins; as the album’s press notes explain, the album does examine failure in a sense, but it also chronicles Pace’s own feelings and mental state over the course of its creation. There’s lines singling out working at Guitar Center (“I don’t care if my former coworkers see this, that was the worst job I ever worked in my life. I hate Guitar Center!”) but there’s also an entire song dedicated to the love and gratitude he has for this iteration of the band, as the mid-career FALL OUT BOY echoing Distracted By The Mona Lisa shows.

Throughout its many twists and turns, from the JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE-referencing Lemon to the mathcore freakouts of Schizophrenia Legacy and flirtations with beatdown hardcore on Tears On Lambo Leather, despite the disparate threads that make up the album and its frequent, baffling turns across a myriad of genres, it’s a remarkably cohesive piece, not only because of its conceptual framing device.

There’s clearly been a huge amount of dedication and work gone into the album, with Pace’s declaration that they didn’t want to repeat themselves ringing particularly true. There’s no Star Baby to close, sure, but Country Song In Reverse is without a doubt one of their finest-ever moments, as its twelve minutes ricochet from mathcore to lounge samples to ambient and brass-infused post metal.



One recurring theme across I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven is sacrifice, and how much Pace and his bandmates are willing to give up to make THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS work without the need for a day job. Distracted… is the clearest summation, in some ways, of this. “That’s me saying you people [his bandmates] make all of the sacrifices worth it. I’m so grateful for the people I’m in a band with, I don’t think every band gets this lucky. We are, truthfully, just six people that love hanging out with each other so much. They get on my fucking nerves all the time, but they’re my family and we truly love what we do together. I’m proud to say I’m in my favourite band.”

I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven is out now via MNRK Heavy. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS121 here:

HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Astro-Creep: 2000 – Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head – White Zombie

“Perhaps you’d better start from the beginning.” These seven words, sampled from the 1957 Hammer Horror classic The Curse of Frankenstein, kick off Astro Creep: 2000 – Songs of Love, Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head (or simply Astro-Creep: 2000), the fourth and final studio album from New York’sWHITE ZOMBIE. And to truly grasp the significance of both the band and this record, you have to go back to where it all began.
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Formed in 1985 on the gritty streets of New York City, back when the city still had a dangerous underbelly, WHITE ZOMBIE took their name from the 1932 Béla Lugosi horror film. They carved out a niche in the underground with a unique brand of grimy noise rock, sharing sonic territory with contemporaries like PRONG and COP SHOOT COP, but with an added obsession for horror, sci-fi, and B-movie sleaze that set them apart.



Their early albums, 1987’s Soul-Crusher and 1989’s Make Them Die Slowly, made waves in the underground scene, but it was 1992’s La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1 that changed everything. The band shifted towards a groove-driven, sample-heavy sound that amplified their love of the bizarre. It was weird, wild, and it worked.

Their visibility skyrocketed thanks to appearances in the Brendan Fraser/Steve Buscemi/Adam Sandler rock comedy Airheads, and breakout tracks like Thunder Kiss ’65 and Black Sunshine dominated MTV. Perhaps most notably, Beavis and Butt-Head gave them the kind of approval that, at the time, could launch a band into the stratosphere. Suddenly, WHITE ZOMBIE were one of the biggest metal acts on the planet, emerging just as grunge was starting to lose its hold on the mainstream.



Recorded in late 1994 with legendary producer Terry Date, Astro-Creep: 2000 would turn out to be WHITE ZOMBIE’s final studio album, though they didn’t know it at that time. In hindsight, what a way to bow out.

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Now featuring drummer John Tempesta (ex-EXODUS and TESTAMENT), the lineup – Rob Zombie (vocals), Sean Yseult (bass), Jay Yuenger (guitar), and Charlie Clouser (keys/programming) – took everything that worked on La Sexorcisto and pushed it to the extreme. The result? A sleazy, industrial-tinged metal odyssey that was as outrageous as it was infectious.

Blending metal, funk, punk, and industrial with perfectly placed samples (from cult classics like The Omega Man, The Haunting, and To the Devil a Daughter, to an eerie interview with Manson family member Patricia Krenwinkel) Astro-Creep: 2000 is a fever dream of horror, paranoia, and raw energy. The lyrics, heavily inspired by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and other genre fare, only add to the nightmarish vibe.



Opening with Electric Head, Pt. 1 (The Agony), the album pulls listeners headfirst into WHITE ZOMBIE’s twisted world. It’s a relentless ride through tracks like Super-Charger Heaven, Real Solution #9, I, Zombie, and the iconic More Human than Human, songs that became bona fide anthems. Elsewhere, trippy cuts like El Phantasmo and the Chicken-Run Blast-O-Rama and Blood, Milk and Sky reveal the band’s more psychedelic, unhinged side. Together, it’s the definitive WHITE ZOMBIE experience.

With the album out, the band hit the road hard, playing with the likes of KYUSS, THE MELVINS, and the Ramones. Their UK return came at Donington 1995, personally invited by METALLICA to join a stacked lineup that included MACHINE HEAD, SLAYER, and CORROSION OF CONFORMITY. As the eerie opening of Electric Head, Pt. 1 played out over the PA, anticipation gave way to chaos. WHITE ZOMBIE delivered a scene-stealing set, repeating the feat at Reading the very next day and firmly establishing themselves as the hottest band in US metal.

Their headline UK tour followed soon after, with Astro-Creep: 2000 at the heart of the setlist. The tour was met with critical acclaim and brought in waves of new fans, many of whom had only just caught up with the band’s wild ride.



Sadly, it didn’t last. WHITE ZOMBIE split just a year later, following the release of Supersexy Swingin’ Sounds, a remix album of Astro-Creep: 2000 cuts. A massive co-headline US arena tour with PANTERA came and went, but the band never returned from its hiatus. Instead, the members moved on to other projects, with ROB ZOMBIE launching a hugely successful solo and film career.
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While Zombie’s solo work may have sold more records and filled bigger venues, he’s never topped Astro-Creep: 2000. It remains not only WHITE ZOMBIE’s finest moment, but one of the most essential and enduring metal albums of the 1990s. A record that, even in 2025, still sounds just as thrilling, chaotic and vital as the day it was released.



Astro-Creep: 2000 – Songs of Love Destruction and Other Synthetic Delusions of the Electric Head was originally released on April 11th, 1995 via Geffen Records.

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LIVE REVIEW: Download Festival 2025 – Saturday

Photo Credit: Matt Higgs


With one scorcher of a day down and minimal rain in sight, Download Festival enters its second day of celebrations, with a slew of bands taking to the stages before another brand new headliner, this time from a band who’ve been around less than a decade, but have made their presence felt not only across the scene but the entire festival, weaving flower garlands into the sound tower and a pop-up merch shop. But before that, there’s another barrage of quality bands to get through.







STATIC DRESS – Apex StageStatic Dress live @ Download Festival 2025. Photo Credit: James Bridle

Rumours have been swirling of an 11am secret set by TRIVIUM on the Opus Stage – not helped by Matt Heafy goading and trolling on Instagram – but that doesn’t stop a dedicated core turning out for STATIC DRESS‘ slot opening the Apex stage. They’re a little late starting but once they get into the swing of it, their blistering post-hardcore certainly chases away any lethargy from the pits, and the occasional blast of pyro sears the air. It’s a stellar showing from the Northern rabble rousers.

Rating: 9/10

LOATHE – Apex StageLoathe live @ Download Festival 2025. Photo Credit: Danny North

LOATHE have a tall order to follow STATIC DRESS, and coming onstage nearly 15 minutes late doesn’t help them. They quickly win the crowd over though, their blend of crushing riffs and ambient passages getting pits moving and arms waving. Kadeem France is on remarkable form too, commanding the crowd with ease as they make the most of their early slot and the crowd kick up huge dust clouds in response.

Rating: 8/10

SPLIT CHAIN – Avalanche Stage

With some clear sound issues in the beginning, this did not stop SPLIT CHAIN from delivering a set that no band of just two years should be able to pull off. Playing all their biggest tracks for the loyal fans in the tent; the pits immediately erupted as the two steppers took to moshing as the band gave it their absolute all. Possibly the only thing that could make it better would maybe be the possibility of stage diving to really bring in the bands true post-hardcore elements, which naturally isn’t possible on such a big tent. Regardless, SPLIT CHAIN made for a set that should cement them as a frequent Download Festival band.

Rating: 9/10

POPPY – Apex StagePoppy live @ Download Festival 2025. Photo Credit: Danny North

Forever enigmatic, forever entertaining. POPPY gives an incredibly entertaining set that relied heavily on her latest album Negative Spaces to give the crowd one of the stand out performances on an already stacked line up on the Apex Stage today. From pop-rock to metalcore, the short set had pretty much everything that kept the intrigued crowd on their toes. A robot voice drove the narrative of the show before POPPY began talking to the crowd as she demanded enormous mosh pits to the likes of Concrete, V.A.N and They’re All Around Us, skipping around the stage without breaking a sweat, all the while screaming the lyrics towards the audience in the intense afternoon heat.
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Rating: 8/10

PALAYE ROYALE – Apex StagePalaye Royale live @ Download Festival 2025. Photo Credit: Todd Owyoung

It has taken PALAYE ROYALE eight long years to reach the Apex Stage of Download Festival, so the Vegas brothers are out to make the most of their biggest UK crowd to date. Opening with Showbiz from their most recent album Death Or Glory, leading man Remmington Leith is clearly in his element, his natural showmanship shines on stage as he commands the audience from the get go, at one point crawling across the stage toward the crowd in a move reminiscent of Gerard Way‘s iconic 2011 Reading performance (if you know, you know). The band are undeniably electric on stage, and despite the heavy focus on their more recent material, they still find time for fan favourites Mr Doctor Man (including a breakdown into THE DOORS‘ People Are Strange), You’ll Be Fine and No Love In LA. While on stage, the band also confirmed an upcoming UK tour in November, to the feverish excitement of the crowd. Closing out with For You and ending their time on stage with a heartfelt thanks to the fans and a reminder for those who can to call their moms, it was an emotional rollercoaster outing for all.
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Rating: 9/10

MOTHICA – Avalance Stage

Over on the Avalanche Stage and making her Download Festival debut, rising alt-pop star MOTHICA is greeted by a very busy tent and raucous cheers even when she’s line checking. After an early rendition of her remix of BMTH‘s Can You Feel My Heart, she quips about “new hair-a, new era… They definitely all say that” before introducing an unreleased song off her as yet unannounced next album. It leans more into rock than before, its melodies as melancholic as ever. She admits it’s her first show after going to rehab last year to get sober, and it’s a particularly poignant affair and there’s minimal signs of stage rust. Instead, it reintroduces MOTHICA to the world, ready to take it on once more, and ends on a surprise note as she plays an exuberant cover of SMASH MOUTH‘s All Star bidding somewhat tongue in cheek to be on the Shrek 5 soundtrack.

Rating: 9/10

ANAAL NATHRAKH – Dogtooth Stage
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Anaal Nathrakh live @ Download Festival 2025. Photo Credit: Gobinder Jhitta

At odds with the glorious sunshine, ANAAL NATHRAKH‘s furious, grinding extremity casts an evil pall over the Dogtooth Stage. Forward! lives up to its name, industrial samples backdropping driving riffs and sledgehammer drumming. The crowd lap it up, chaos engulfing the front sections as limbs fly and a dust cloud is kicked up by the pit. There’s a smattering of rarities that have seen either minimal or no plays on UK tours before as well as the crowd favourites, and it marks why the band became such a vital force in UK extreme music. Here’s hoping we see more from them sooner rather than later.
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Rating: 8/10

THE DARKNESS – Opus StageThe Darkness live @ Download Festival 2025. Photo Credit: Todd Owyoung

If you wanted some flamboyant cheesiness and even a christmas song, a set by THE DARKNESS over on the Opus Stage was the one for you. As always, this was a show that was just fun. A short but sweet set that contained songs old and new. Unfortunately the show itself is plagued by sound issues as it fell foul to the wind where the sound at times struggled to make its way across the crowd who at times could frustratingly hear SHINEDOWN‘s performance over THE DARKNESS. Nevertheless, Justin Hawkins and co kept their cool to keep the audience entertained, particularly with the ever enjoyable and legendary track I Believe In A Thing Called Love which saw the crowd in absolutely fine voice, fruitfully and humorously attempting to match Hawkins’ falsetto but to no avail.

Rating: 7/10

SYLOSIS – Dogtooth StageSylosis live @ Download Festival 2025. Photo Credit: Carolina Faruolo

It barely needs saying, but SYLOSIS are great. An undersung titan of UK heavy music, they’ve grown into riff-slinging masters of their craft and today’s set on the Dogtooth only reaffirms that. Opening with the scorching Pariah into Empty Prophets, it begs the question how it’s been allowed that they haven’t graced Donington for ten years. The start of a rainy spell drives more and more people into the tent, filling out an already busy space. Josh Middleton sounds imperious, possessed of a commanding bark as well as his prodigious riffcraft, culminating in a set that batters, bludgeons and is an anthemic love letter to heavy fucking metal.
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Rating: 9/10

SEX PISTOLS – Opus StageSex Pistols live @ Download Festival 2025. Photo Credit: Andrew Whitton

Despite the pouring rain, the Opus Stage area overflows with fans eager to catch the group current frontman Frank Carter describes as “the greatest punk band of all time”. There’s no denying their lasting legacy, and with Carter at the helm, they have a new lease on life it seems. It was a somewhat slippery start, with Pretty Vacant having to be restarted multiple times as Carter attempted to perform from the middle of a giant circle pit. This is a move he quickly admits was likely not the wisest given the relentless rain and sloped field, but the crowd sing along just as eagerly every single time. The legends of punk power through their 17 song set covering off Holidays In The Sun, E.M.I and their infamous cover of My Way to name but a few. As a rainbow crosses the sky, Carter takes a moment to appreciate the beauty of it and, when challenged on this, we’re treated to a brief but characteristic rant about rainbow flags and Palestinian flags being the most punk things possible in 2025. The punk icons close out with a lyrically updated Anarchy In The UK before the crowd make their way in droves towards the Apex stage for SLEEP TOKEN. The fiery set and enduring onstage chemistry of the legendary Cook, Jones and Matlock mean this felt like a truly authentic and blistering SEX PISTOLS performance, and one we’re sincerely glad we got to witness.

Rating: 8/10

SLEEP TOKEN – Apex StageSleep Token live @ Download Festival 2025. Photo Credit: Sarah Louise Bennett

As soon as the gates opened for the festival, it was quite obvious that this was going to be SLEEP TOKEN‘s weekend. An astronomical rise over the last couple of years has seen the anonymous quartet have an astronomical rise from playing small stages at Download Festival to headlining it. You can feel the anticipation, the hype and the excitement filtering through the crowd the entire weekend as the band delivered a headline that is sure to go down in history on the hallowed turf. As soon as the curtain drops and the incredible staging revealed, the crowd are instantly transported to the world of Arcadia, with staging so immersive you genuinely believe you are there yourself. Opening on Look To Windward, Donington are treated to career-spanning hits both old and new. The Offering, The Summoning and Alkaline were all met with the same joy, but it was all the new songs that stood out.

Emergence pummels, Caramel helps the crowd share in the frustrations of the band while Damocles tugs on the heart strings. For a band that says absolutely nothing to the crowd throughout a show, by the sheer presence they command on stage is captivating. That’s particularly true of mastermind and frontman Vessel, whose form hulked around the stage as he gives the performance of his life and displays his humorous dancing style to boot. He commands such a presence, you almost feel like he is not of this earth as you become more and more immersed in the world of SLEEP TOKEN. If they pull out all the stops like this for a festival headline set, then whatever comes next is going to be truly special. Forget arenas, stadiums beckon to play host to future sacred moments in time, and we cannot wait.

Rating: 9/10

Words: Will Marshall, Alex Morgan, Ed Walton, Ben Blissett

And that wraps up our coverage of the Saturday of this year’s Download Festival! Keep posted to Distorted Sound as we bring you our coverage of Sunday’s action!

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ALBUM REVIEW: Imperium Delirium – Shadow of Intent

Connecticut-based SHADOW OF INTENT picked their name from a ship within the lore-heavy Halo universe, which initially made it hard not to draw connections between the two. However, after their first two albums, they started exploring more existential themes. Both existing fans and newcomers will be intrigued by the themes presented within the lyrics of their new album, Imperium Delirium, confusion, betrayal, and suffering, the darker realities that we all can face.



With the opener Prepare To Die, the listener is pulled into an eternal wasteland with no escape. Drums echo the sound of war, and vocals sound like they’re coming straight out a blender.



In Flying The Black Flag, the guitars and strings at the beginning are reminiscent of the calm before a great battle is about to take place, setting the stage for a beast to be unleashed. Double kickers and echoing layers launch you into madness, which accelerates the pure speed and force of the vocals. Infinity of Horrors begins with a kick before a whirlwind of sound drags you along. The vocals halfway through reveal a clear Norwegian symphonic black metal influence. It evokes a volcanic landscape or a towering dark castle, bleak, majestic and dramatic.
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Mechanical Chaos chugs along with machine-like consistency which brings out the feeling of being spun through two cogs in an engine. The drums here are insane, and the bell grooves cut through with precision. They Murdered Sleep and The Facets of Propaganda bring more orchestral elements, while aggressive blast beats and shrieks from Ben Duerr will wrap themselves round your spinal column and rip it out with no mercy.

Feeding the Meatgrinder, featuring the mighty Corpsegrinder is so choppy there isn’t a chance to catch a breath because you’re being diced up by Chris Wiseman’s guitar work, assaulted with Ben’s vocals, and shot with spiraling blasts provided by Bryce Butler on drums.


Vehement Draconian Vengeance scratches the melodic death metal itch with some serious arm-swinging spirit. All elements come together to knock you down, only to open into a piano piece that closes the track. Meanwhile, Beholding the Sickness of Civilization is heavy and complex, maintaining its energy from start to finish.

Apocalypse Canvas stands as an instrumental and puts the focus on the guitars, they deliver sharp, precise riffs which keeps the momentum going. Impeccable grooves from bassist Andrew Monias weave through the track, adding warm tones.



No Matter the Cost begins with an industrial vibe and opens into theatrical piano and deep roars. Imperium Delirium, the closing track, delivers, its a symphonic standout that brings together all the essential elements, orchestration, brutality and atmosphere.

SHADOW OF INTENT continue their trajectory of growth, pushing toward a more aggressive and polished sound. Some of the melodic elements present in earlier records feel a bit more subdued here but the sheer unstoppable force from SHADOW OF INTENT is loud and clear. They prove once again why they remain at the forefront of modern deathcore.

Rating: 9/10



Imperium Delirium is out now via Blood Blast Distribution.

INTRODUCING: Sometime In February

Guitar-driven progressive instrumental music has come a long way since the heyday of shredders like JOE SATRIANI and STEVE VAI. Whilst the technical virtuosity continues to escalate, modern bands in the scene place ever more importance on the quality of songwriting and the shape of the sound beyond the guitar. Bringing their take to the scene are North Carolina outfit SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY, fronted by Tristan Auman, who moonlights as a touring guitarist for progressive metal legends BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME. The band shall release their major label debut, Where Mountains Hide, this year – an exciting blast of guitar wizardry, riffs and breakdowns living comfortably alongside earworm melodies.
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Auman kicked off SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY in 2020 with some solo demos before recruiting Scott Barber to record a first EP in 2021. The addition of Morgan Johnson on bass solidified the band as a trio, playing local shows in and around North Carolina and recording their self-released debut album in 2023. However, the prog sound wasn’t always Auman‘s intention. “At the time, I wasn’t even listening to much heavy music or progressive, technical stuff,” he shares, rattling off shoegaze, emo and post-rock as his main genre listening habits at the band’s inception. “But I always would go back to the more technical stuff. I kind of figured out that was my roots. I felt my baseline was progressive rock, progressive metal at its core.”

The primary influence on Auman was DREAM THEATER, serving as a branching-off point for djent bands like PERIPHERY, modern prog bands HAKEN, and instrumental acts like INTERVALS. But it’s clear that PLINI is a key influence, as well. “He’s a great songwriter and not just a wonderful guitar player,” eulogises Auman. “It’s very singable, discernible melodies in his songs. Of course, he shreds, but it’s all in service to the song itself.” That philosophy, of the central importance of songwriting, permeates Auman‘s approach. “I definitely would prefer to be known as a songwriter than a guitarist, because that’s my voice, essentially. Playing really fast on a guitar is the tool that I use to do that. I would much rather be a unique writer than the best guitarist on the planet.”
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The new album Where Mountains Hide shows that focus on strong songwriting. It packs in tons of fiddly riffs and memorable hooks in a blazing, frenetic package. The writing process is, in Auman‘s words, “vibes-based” – sometimes drawing on personal meanings, but focused more on evocation of feelings than any direct storytelling. More than anything else, the album is infused with a sense of fun and light-heartedness, even in its heaviest moments. This stemmed from the first writing session for the lead single, Palantir. The band embraced its upbeat melodies, carrying that vibe throughout the writing process. “Overall, it’s more light-hearted than I was expecting,” says Auman. “I love writing angry stuff. I love writing sad stuff as well. [But] It’s kind of refreshing to have written a positive album. I’m not mad about it!”

Auman‘s time touring with BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME has also had an impact. Despite their legendary status in the North Carolina heavy music scene, he was a late convert. The relationship with the band began when Auman worked with BTBAM lead guitarist Paul Waggoner in a coffee shop. Joining them on tour has encouraged Auman to up his game with SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY. “I don’t want to come home from tour with BTBAM and then play music that I don’t feel would be up to a certain standard, like theirs.” As well as encouraging higher standards, some more direct influences are evident – in particular, some rapid, attention-deficit switch-ups in style and mood. “There’s definitely some moments on this album where you can tell – it’s a bit more riffy, a bit chunkier, a bit heavier, and that’s where you can kind of see that influence,” says Auman.
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The focus on songwriting & sound craft and a growing professional ethos led to SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY calling on several collaborators. As well as a featured solo from Waggoner, BTBAM bassist Dan Briggs made several musical contributions. “There’s a lot of subtle things that Dan did. It’s not limited to one particular instrument. If you hear something in the background but can’t quite decipher what it is, it’s probably Dan getting up to something. Which was perfect!” The band also recruited Eric Guenther from THE CONTORTIONIST to support on sound design. “He really did level up this record, and we were very happy with the results.” Both contributions show an intent from the band to elevate their work beyond the guitar hero realm into something greater.
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With the new album ready to go, the band are eager to push forward, particularly with live shows and touring. Auman is particularly keen to get out on the road supporting bands that SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY look up to, to continue learning and absorbing. A first-ever international appearance is scheduled in the UK this August as the band play ArcTanGent Festival. “We’re stoked!” Grins Auman. Though his touring commitments with BTBAM means it’ll be a busy weekend, playing three sets in two days. Given the talent and quality on show, this will hopefully be the first of many opportunities to experience this exciting young band play here. SOMETIME IN FEBRUARY bring both virtuosity and fun back into instrumental progressive music; expect to see much more from them in the future.

Where Mountains Hide is out now via InsideOut Music. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS119 here:


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METALLICA – Official Recording Of M72 Syracuse, NY Show

Metallica have checked in with the following update:

“From full concert audio and select live video clips to dozens of photos and the setlist, we’ve got everything you need to relive the April 19th stop in Syracuse, NY. Enjoy the gig from Syracuse mixed by The Metallica Audio Team, now available to stream through nugs.net, download at LiveMetallica.com, or go old-school and pick up the CDs at Metallica.com.”



Metallica performed at JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York, on April 19. The band has shared official videos of “One” and “Creeping Death” from the show.