Detroit horrorcore rappers Twiztid have unleashed a new official music video in anticipation of their upcoming album Unlikely Prescription. The song, “Neon Vamp” is a shocking collaboration with Dani Filth, lead vocalist of British black metal band, Cradle of Filth.  Twiztid members, Jamie Madrox and Monoxide, have both expressed their admiration of extreme metal musicians. Madrox was very excited to work with Dani Filth.

On Friday, August 20th, 2021, SPIRITBOX have unveiled a brand new track and music video for "Hurt You", from their highly anticipated debut album, Eternal Blue, set to release tomorrow, September 17th, 2021 on Rise Records with pre-orders available now by clicking here. The band sold out of all vinyl pre-orders within the first 24 hours of announcement and on-sale.

On Wednesday, August 18th, 2021, ROLO TOMASSI returned to reveal they have signed to eOne (High On Fire, Black Label Society, The Contortionist) and, in celebration, they released their massive, brand new single and video, "Cloaked".

On August 17th, 2021, Blossoms released a new single titled “Care For”. This song, accompanied by a music video, is the first release since Blossoms’ “Christmas Eve (Soul Purpose)/It’s Going To Be A Cold Winter” in 2020. The song and video are full of good vibes and classic influences, making for a tune that’s perfect for late summer evenings.

A bit over a year after releasing her studio album Chromatica, Lady Gaga has released the follow-up remix album titled Dawn Of Chromatica. With smash hits like “Rain On Me” and “Stupid Love”, Chromatica made its mark on pop music in 2020. Dawn Of Chromatica takes the songs in a new direction,  leaning away from the typical sounds of the Billboard charts and dives into the more experimental. With features from artists like Dorian Electra and Arca, this album bridges the gap between radio pop and hyper pop.

On Wednesday, August 18th, Nu-Core metal band Tallah dropped their brand new single “Vanilla Paste”. To go along for the ride of this explosive and sinister release, they are joined by some metal favorites with guest appearances including AJ Channer (Fire From The Gods), Tom Barber (Chelsea Grin), and Garett Hood (Guerrilla Warfare). Intricately, it fuses a gritty journey, while simultaneously paying homage to the band's nu-metal influences whilst further cementing the fact that there is not a band on the planet that sounds as fresh and uniquely unhinged as Tallah. 

Tucson singer-songwriter, Julius Redd, debuts his second single, “Hello, Hello” on August 26. Julius Redd is also known as the former lead guitarist of the rock group, Tiediedheart. Julius’ newest single hones a raw, transparent recording with sharp guitar riffs, confident vocals, and a fun backtrack that floats the song along. 

M3F Fest or Mcdowell Mountain Music Festival is a music festival that is held every spring in Phoenix, AZ where all of the proceeds go to charity. With a passion for the arts, music, and community M3F Fest is on a mission to give back. They are the only regional non-profit music festival and over the last 18 years, they have donated over 2.6 million dollars, $600,000 in 2020 alone. Though they had to cancel the 2021 festival dates due to the ongoing pandemic, they recently released the dates for 2022. Right now they are shooting for Friday, March 5th, and Saturday, March 6th, with the lineup being announced this October. In the past, the festival has been 3 days but because of Covid they want to play it safe and work out all of the kinks, it was also harder to get people to come out on Sundays when they were running for 3 days. Back in 2020, I had the opportunity to photograph the festival and I had a great time, check out the galleries below, and don’t forget to check out M3F Fest!

Friday the 13th got much spookier with hip hop-and-rock visionary POORSTACY who released his latest single, "Party At The Cemetery" (via 10K Projects). Speaking on themes of angst and coming of age, the track delivers emotional rawness by vacillating between punk-heavy guitar and crushing vocals peppered with moments of eerie staccato keys. "Party At The Cemetery" is the title track from his forthcoming album of the same name and is a further exploration of POORSTACY's roots in heavy music, featuring guests such as Oli Sykes (vocalist of Bring Me The Horizon) and Travis Barker (drummer of Blink-182, Transplants).

The virtuoso cellist Tina Guo continues to expand the traditional fanbase of classical music. Her most recent collaboration with System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian is a clear indication of her efforts to reach new audiences. Their song, “Moonhearts in Space,” appears in Guo’s latest album, Dies Irae. 

On Friday, August 13th, modern metal band Crown The Empire dropped their brand new single and music video for “In Another Life” featuring Spiritbox vocalist Courtney LaPlante. The mix of this collaboration perfectly meshes together with Courtney’s powerful and incredible vocals with the band’s signature sound of massive, angular riffs, heavy rhythm, sweeping electronic elements, and Andy Leo’s emotionally charged clean vocals alongside Hayden Tree’s visceral screams.

On August 26th, virtual band Gorillaz released their latest project Meanwhile EP. The group is fronted by Damon Albarn (of Blur), and artist Jamie Hewlett creates most of the illustrations/artwork. This EP is classic Gorillaz: frequent collaborations and combining various genres. The project consists of 3 tracks and features Jelani Blackman, Barrington Levy, AJ Tracey, and Alicai Harley.

Industrial metal band 3TEETH and hip-hop /punk rock band Ho99o9 are back and have teamed up to bring us all their insane and edgy new single “Paralyze”. They teamed up with DOOM composer Mick Gordon to co-produce this track to add to the techno-electric vibe heard throughout. Last year, they decided to escape Los Angeles to head to Joshua Tree Studio to make this track come alive. The new album is still being worked on with no current release date.

On August 12th, 2021, Eidola released two singles from their upcoming album The Architect. The new singles, “Perennial Philosophy” and “Hidden Worship”, are perfect to set the stage for the album releasing on September 17th. With lyrical inspiration coming from theology, human emotion, and everything connecting the two, these singles are a perfect way for Eidola to create more excitement around the new album The Architect. 

Friday, August 6, 2021 - Atlanta-based glam punk rockers Starbenders have released their latest offering "No One Listened"(out via Sumerian Records). Not only that, but fans can also catch the band on the road this fall with The Struts and The Sounds.

Turnstile Perform Sold-Out Show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, NY

The post-hardcore boom in the early 2000s showed that the intensity in hardcore punk could be complemented with greater artistic expression than previously allowed within the genre. Bands could now experiment by bringing in outside influences without losing the aggression inherent in hardcore. This development in the hardcore movement proved to be successful for many bands at the time. As innovative as this movement was, can it sustain itself into the 2020s and continue to be artistically viable? San Francisco band, Down Again shows that post-punk still has a lot more life into it with their newest single, “Predisposed.”

On Friday, August 6, 2021, the Los Angeles-based rock duo Dead Posey returned with a vengeance with their new track and music video "Russian Roulette" (out via Position Music). Not only that, but fans can also look forward to Dead Posey's debut album arriving in early 2022.

On Tuesday, August 24th, Crystal Joilena and BABYCHAOS joined together to bring us a brand new music video for their collaborated single “Not Saying That I’m Sorry” alongside Silverfade Media. The music video was shot in Salem, MA which couldn’t be more fitting for this insanely powerful single. Crystal Joilena is a solo artist who creates music with fantasy elements bound by no genres from NYC and BABYCHAOS (Lyzzie Larosa) is a 20-year-old Florida-based model and musician.