New LP The Bridges That We Burn Arrives May 1, 2026 via DC-Jam Records / Virgin Music Group

Band Consists of Greg Norton (Hüsker Dü)Derek O’Brien (Social DistortionAgent OrangeAdolescents) and Ryan Smith (Soul Asylum)

Ultrabomb have unveiled the music video for their latest single “no cap,” a melodic, driving anthem that balances urgency with hook-heavy punch. The track is the latest preview from their forthcoming full-length album The Bridges That We Burn, due May 1, 2026 via DC-Jam Records / Virgin Music Group.

Built on soaring guitar lines, driving rhythms, and a chorus that hits with clarity and conviction, “no cap” showcases Ultrabomb’s ability to fuse melody with muscle. The song channels frustration with the modern noise cycle into something focused and forward-looking — less about shouting over the chaos and more about cutting through it.

“There is a lot of noise to keep us distracted. Everyone has an opinion, informed, and not informed. I’m at capacity with all the bs, let’s start real conversations.” — Greg Norton

Ultrabomb brings together underground legends and alternative stalwarts:

  • Greg Norton (Hüsker Dü) — bass, backing vocals
  • Derek O’Brien (Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Adolescents) — drums, backing vocals
  • Ryan Smith (Soul Asylum) — lead vocals, guitar

Together, the trio channel decades of punk and alternative rock history into music that feels immediate and relevant rather than retrospective. Melody and momentum move in lockstep — sharp, anthemic, and emotionally direct.

As Magnet observed, Ultrabomb delivers “a swift blow to the sternum that harnesses both the speedy energy of Norton’s early Minneapolis days and the ragged hard-rock sensibility of Twin Tone-era Soul Asylum.”

The Bridges That We Burn was recorded at Creation Audio in Minneapolis and produced, engineered, and mixed by John Fields, with mastering by Justin Perkins (Mystery Room Mastering). The album broadens the band’s dynamic range while maintaining the tight, high-impact songwriting that defines Ultrabomb.

With “no cap,” Ultrabomb prove that conviction doesn’t require chaos — just clarity, melody, and the willingness to say what matters.

Follow ULTRABOMB
https://linktr.ee/ultrabomb

Label
DC-Jam Records / Virgin Music Group
www.dcjamrecords.com

Plastic Tears brand new video for their single ‘Bad Ballerina’ is out.

The song Bad Ballerina, originally released in late 2024, now receives a visual continuation. The new music video expands the story and adds a fresh dimension to the track.

Plastic Tears comment:

“We wanted to continue our music video tradition that has been part of the band throughout its entire existence. Over the years we’ve built a strong visual expression alongside the music, and the videos are very important to us in that sense.”

“She’s no angel, she’s tough,” the recurring mantra of the chorus, captures the essence of the song.

The video lifts Bad Ballerina to a new level and offers the audience a chance to experience the song’s story in a more immersive way.

Alongside the band, the video features Stella in the role of a prison guard and Mandy Mars, known from the band Daze Dolls. The video is directed by Eco Inkinen.

Plastic Tears | Instagram, Facebook | Linktree

Swedish fuzz merchants Truckfighters are back with a new collection of tunes, collectively called ‘Masterflow’. If you know anything about the band, you’ll know that Josh Homme is a fan. Praise indeed!

The band formed back in 2001 and released the stoner anthem – ‘Desert Cruiser’, which propelled them into the hearts and minds of fans of all things fuzzy.

Masterflow is the band’s first release in ten years, and it’s been worth the wait. You know what to expect: Kyuss and Fu Manchu flavoured riffs, pounding drums, and drifting vocals. I can also pick up a Royal Blood tinged aftertaste.

Opening track – ‘Old Big Eye’ gives my headphones a hammering, it sounds huge! Some tasty cowbell action, too.

The album just gets better as it goes on, tracks like ‘The Bliss’, ‘Carver’, and the lead single – ‘Truce’, are sublime slabs of prehistoric rock. I can imagine this stuff being played in dirty, smelly clubs with sweaty bodies writhing to the rhythms. Brilliant.

The title track starts with a melodic intro and bongos, very ‘Planet Caravan’, before we get some spoken word, which adds to the trippy effect. ‘The Gorgon’ is my favourite track on the album. You can feel the bass in Australia… thunderous! ‘Gath’ is housed in another gargantuan riff. The production is perfect, I played the album through a decent pair of headphones. Sonically, it harks back to the good old days of analogue recording. The drums sound like drums, which I feel is being lost in these days of triggering and sampling.

‘Bad Horse’ and ‘Goin’ Home’ end the album in style. If you’re a fan of any of the bands I’ve mentioned here, you will love the new effort from Truckfighters. It’s a masterclass in fuzz. 

The band graces the UK on the bill of Desertfest in April alongside such heavyweights as Green Lung and Clutch. Get along and see ‘em if you can.

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Author: Kenny Kendrick

New rarities album, ‘Rare And Deadly’, out April 3rd via Dedstrange

New York based band A Place To Bury Strangers release “Where Are We Now,” the third single/video from their new rarities album, Rare And Deadlyout April 3rd via Dedstrange. Following the “full-on sonic attack” (Consequence) of “Acid Rain,” on which “frontman Oliver Ackermann delivers deadpan, near-chanted lyrics about systemic cruelty,” (Consequence)  “Where Are We Now” finds A Place To Bury Strangers reflecting on the past: “Where are we now // Is it too late // Should I reach out // Where we are now // caught in our lives //did our dreams fade.” Ackermann says the song is about “looking back at friends you lost touch with. Wondering where they ended up. Remembering when everything felt possible.” The accompanying video was put together by Ackermann with footage from the Library of Congress National Archives. Ackermann says he made the video because “I think we need to look at people more and see the value and wonder of life so we can be compassionate towards others.”

Rare and Deadly cracks open a decade-long vault of raw nerve and sonic chaos from A Place To Bury Strangers. Spanning 2015–2025, this collection of demos, B-sides, abandoned experiments, and forgotten fragments reveals the band at their most unfiltered—caught between breakthrough ideas and beautiful mistakes. Pulled from Ackermann’s personal archive of late-night recordings, blown-out tapes, and half-finished sessions, here the interference is closer, the electricity more dangerous, the edges left jagged on purpose.

What makes Rare and Deadly truly unprecedented is that every format tells a different story. The CD, cassette, vinyl, and digital editions each feature their own unique tracklisting, a fractured release strategy that is almost unheard of. No single version contains the “complete” album. Instead, each format becomes its own window into the archive, revealing alternate paths, missing links, and parallel versions of the band’s inner life. It’s a deliberately unstable document: the album shifts depending on how you choose to hear it, mirroring the chaos of its creation.

Across these recordings, you can hear the evolution of Ackermann’s restless mind. Some pieces feel like prototypes for future chaos, seeds that later bloomed on studio albums. Others are dead ends—ideas too volatile, too strange, or too personal to ever fit the frame of a proper release. But together they form a secret history of the band, a parallel world of possibilities that existed just outside the spotlight. The tracks contain riffs mutated by malfunctioning pedals, songs born from gear pushed past its limits, or delicate melodies overwhelmed by walls of feedback until only their ghosts remain.

Rare and Deadly is less a compilation and more a documentary—an aural snapshot of how sound takes shape before it hardens into something finished. You hear the room, the accidents, the restless experimentation, the immediacy of a moment being captured before it disappears. It’s a reminder that A Place To Bury Strangers has always thrived in this in-between space: the tension between control and collapse, melody and noise, beauty and distortion.

Pre-order Rare And Deadly

A Place To Bury Strangers Tour Dates:
Tue. April 7 – Hamburg, DE @ MS Stubnitz
Wed. April 8 – Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz
Thu. April 9 – Praha, CZ @ Futurum Music Bar
Fri. April 10 – Brno-město, CZ @ Kabinet múz
Sat. April 11 – Bratislava, SK @ PINK WHALE BAR
Sun. April 12 – Budapest, HU @ A38
Mon. April 13 – Belgrade, RS @ Karmakoma
Tue. April 14 – Sofia, BG @ Mixtape 5
Wed. April 15 – București, RO @ Control Club
Fri. April 17 – Thessaloniki, GR @ Eightball Club
Sat. April 18 – Athina, GR @ Gazarte
Mon. April 20 – Rome, IT @ Monk Club
Tue. April 21 – Florence, IT @ Ex Fila
Wed. April 22 – Bologna, IT @ Social Center TPO
Thu. April 23 – Milan, IT @ Santeria
Fri. April 24 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
Sun. April 26 – Brussels, BE @ Magasin 4
Mon. April 27 – Cologne, DE @ Gebäude 9
Wed. April 29 – Utrecht, NL @ De Helling
Thu. April 30 – Deventer, NL @ Burgerweeshuis
Fri. May 1 – Eindhoven, NL @ Fuzz Club Festival 2026

A Place To Bury Strangers Online:
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Bandcamp

With unprecedented access to official band archives, IRON MAIDEN: BURNING AMBITION charts five decades of one of the most iconic journeys in music history. Directed by Malcolm Venville and featuring interviews with the band and contributors such as Javier Bardem, Lars Ulrich, and Chuck D, this electrifying film offers an intimate look at their uncompromising vision and unwavering connection with their global army of fans.

Over the years, this has been released in several formats on CD, with different artwork, running list,s one version had this song but not that one, etc., etc. Now Cadiz has pretty much pulled it together and released the definitive version on a very nicely packaged gatefold record with sleeve notes and bonus tracks. The usual suspects are present and accounted for, as well as some not-so-predictable artists. Its been decades since we lost Johnny in very dubious circumstances and we’ve all seen the movies and heard th ebootlegs but all his failings and vulnerable life choices the one thing that is often overlooked is the fact that Thunders had an amazing resume as a songwriter and from the Dolls through the Heartbreakers to the oddballs he also surrounded himself with some incredable bands who all managed to draw out of him an amazing repertoir of songs from sleazy rock n rollers to amazing emotional ballads to more traditional blues rock n roll songs to beautifully crafter covers and pop melodies that should have seen him rise from the underground and the figure of cult legend to a superstar Thunders had it all but like most people regarded as genius he had his flaws. The one thing this tribute album does is give him the respect he richly deserved as well as the credit he’s always been due for writing these songs.

Curated by his former bandmate Chris Musto, who managed to put this together, this new definitive version is head and shoulders the go-to version and one fans old and new should be clamouring to get their hands on. The one thing that struck me as I dropped the needle on side one disc one was how many of these rock n rollas are also no longer with us from his former bandmates in the Dolls, who offer stunning renditions of tracks like ‘Some Hearts’ from David Johansen. Gang War bandmate Brother Wayne Kramer takes the Thunders demo ‘Children Are People Too’, which was one of the latter tracks that escaped the Thunders demos after his passing, but the record opens with the ragged anthem ‘Leave Me Alone’ from Patti Palladin. The Johansen take on ‘Some Hearts’ is epic, it’s done with respect, and the song shines like a diamond, showing just how good these guys were and so underappreciated. Arthur Killer Kane and Sylvain follow sadly, all gone. It’s The Waterboys and Mike Scott who always spoke fondly of Thunders, but not someone many would associate with the pirate rocker.

Of course, it’s a no-brainer that Michael Monroe offers two killer takes on Thunder’s classics. The strength is in the varied interpretations of the track and how awesome they sound, regardless. The lounge Killer Kane takes on ‘In Cold Blood’ through the Los Lobos ‘Alone In A Crowd’, the screwballs featuring Jayne County and Glen Matlock ‘Help The Homeless’, another of those demos he did when an Oddball. The dreamy saxophone on Sylvains ‘Society Makes Me Sad’. A lot of people who worked with Thunders gathered to play these tunes from Neil X and his Montecristos, dropping ‘Pirate Love’ and Sigue Sigue Sputnik, knocking out a futuristic ‘Personality Crisis’ and just rockin’ it up and tipping the hat. But the new discoveries belong to Bones In The City, and a riot on wax takes on ‘MIA’, you could go through the entire record and name-drop the likes of Cook and Jones, or an MC5 and a bunch of Dolls, as well as Da Bruthers doing their best Ramones on ‘I Love You’. It’s a whos who’s who all-star cast who lived fast and many died young but they all knew how to pay their respects in the best possible way, and the one brightest light from this whole project is just how bloody talented Mr Thunders was and as time moves on we look for the next generation of legends and sadly they are few and far between and the likes of Johnny become more and more distant fading lights but when a record like this comes out I know I had the best of times seeing and hearing these played by the man himself and I’m always delighted to chapmion his work especially when its as good as this.

Go on, treat yourself, you won’t regret it. Go get goosebumps and a lump in your throat just listening to Monroe performing ‘So Alone’ or the finale of ‘Hurt ME’ crooned by Marc Almond, it’s the definition of all killer no filler.

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Where exactly do I start to review an album where I’m hearing something new whenever I play it, something that spikes my interest repeatedly, yet it’s difficult (yet hopefully not impossible) to put my finger on exactly what that something is with each new play.

So, what about I start with a quick back story whilst I try to collect my thoughts?

Evil Blizzard are a six piece from Preston, who not only have multiple bass players within their ranks but also wear masks in all their publicity shots and when they play live. Their fourth studio record ‘Death Songs & Lullabies’ is being released via Crackedankles Records on March 27th 2026 and it’s this record that has me (almost) lost for words.

Why? Well where better to start than with album opener ‘Off With Their Heads’, it’s a track that opens (and closes) with a simple beat box rhythm that wouldn’t be out of place on a Sleaford Mods record that segues into a mystical PIL meets Hawkwind riff before finally erupting into a furious onslaught that is equal parts Rammstein and Killing Joke, and that’s all within the first four minutes and thirty six seconds of the LP.

Citing influences as diverse as Krautrock and Discharge listening to ‘Death Songs & Lullabies’ reminds me of the first time I heard legendary UK band Cardiacs or US art rockers Jane’s Addiction. It’s a demanding listen because it’s not a typical rock record, but in an age where rock is overrun with generic shite tailor made to fit into a particular audience demographic, this can only be a good thing, right?  

The punk rock influence is more than obvious during the just past one minute almost metal gallop that is ‘Four Letter Words’ and the head fuck that goes by the title of ‘Wake The Dead In Bedlam’ where Discharge’s current singer Jeff (JJ) Janiak pops up to hammer home the song’s hypnotic chorus. Meanwhile for those who maybe like things a little mellower, I’m sure the trance-like eight minute plus ‘Black Square’ would have most fans of progressive music stroking their goatees in appreciation.

As ‘Death Songs & Lullabies’ passes it’s midpoint ‘Questions//Answers’ rears its many heads like some majestic hydra, and whilst the teenage Sham 69 fan in me so wanted this to be more than just some grammatical reworking of their classic late ‘70s terrace anthem it is instead a track that wouldn’t be out of place on side two of ‘Ritual De Lo Habitual’ and my mind is once again well and truly blown when the songs hit’s it’s volatile mid-section. Boomshanka!!!!!

There’s not going to be many records like ‘Death Songs & Lullabies’ released in 2026 that’s for sure. It’s epic, it’s ferocious, it’s exhilarating, and above all, it’s fantastic.

Get your mind blown by ordering your copy HERE.

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Author: Johnny Hayward

This month sees the return of melodic rockers Tyketto with their 6th studio album, Closer to the Sun, their first in a decade. The Danny Vaughn-fronted band soar higher than they have gone before.

With 11 rip-roaring tracks, the album highlights everything fans have loved about the band ever since we first heard them back in 1991 with their classic debut ‘Don’t Come Easy’. Bearing in mind that a mind-blowing 35 years have passed since then. The fact that Danny and his merry band are still rockin’ and rollin’ is something that can not be taken away. 

First up is the single ‘Higher Than High’, which, please forgive me, left this reviewer a little cold when it was released last November. Having said that, I can thankfully say that, over time, it has grown on me, and I bet it is a crowd pleaser when played live. 

Then we get ‘Starts with a Feeling’, which, to these ears, reminds me more of Danny Vaughn’s solo output, but come the chorus, it instantly becomes a future Tyketto classic. One thing that is ever-present in anything featuring the dulcet tones of Mr Vaughn is the storytelling that takes you out of the misery of everyday life and transports you to a better place.

Up next is ‘Bad For Good’, which sees the new guitarist, Harry Scott Elliott, with a riff worthy of anything the band did in the ‘90s. The groove is still unmistakably Tyketto. That is one thing this album showcases: which is clearly a band honouring their past while looking to the future. 

The acoustic opening ‘We Rise’ again takes me on a whirlwind journey, which is always a trademark of the band, and when Danny Vaughn starts singing, the chest-thumping chorus is sublime. This is what the fans want from the band, and they deliver in bucketloads. Another hero of this song is Ged Rylands with his exquisite keyboard work.

The honkytonk swagger of ‘Donnowhuddidis’ is for me the only down note on the album, nothing to take away from the musicality on it. But it just doesn’t do anything for me. Compared that to the next track, the amazing title track ‘Closer to the Sun’, and it’s almost like a different band, but that is what I really love about this band, is that even though they might not hit the mark every time, it’s close enough. 

‘Harleys & Indians (Riders in the Sky)’ is up next, but be aware that this song is not on the vinyl version, which is a shame. This song is another example of a mid-paced rocker that rolls along nicely and with some great shoutouts to the greats.

The upbeat rocker that is ‘Hit Me Where It Hurts’ highlights the grooviness that this new line-up of the band are masters of. Harking back to some ‘Strength In Numbers’ era songs. One thing I’ve got to mention is the rhythm section of Chris Childs on Bass and Johnny Dee on Drums, which is tight and perfect. While also letting the songs breathe.

Now the next song up is for me one of the best that this band has ever released, and that is a high claim, considering the impressive back catalogue that Tyketto has released. ‘The Picture’ is just incendiary. Danny Vaughn has rarely sounded this good. You can tell that the band are firing on all cylinders, no more than on this beautiful song.

‘Far and Away’ is another classic example of the acoustic/ based jam before the band kicks in, which is their bread and butter, reminiscent of ‘Sail Away’ from the classic debut. But, hey, if it works, why mess with it? I do like the strings section, which adds some depth to the song.

The final track is rabblerousing ‘The Brave’, which is a fantastic way to end a great album and the musical equivalent of a cliffhanger, to the next album of the great line-up of the band. The decision to record the album at Flip Flop Studios and the legendary Rockfield Studios in Wales proves that the band are thinking ahead and, as always, thinking of the fans who deserve nothing short of perfection. 

Tyketto, with the release of ‘Closer to the Sun’, have achieved what many of their peers strive to: an album that boldly goes above and beyond in the name of musical evolution, all the while remembering where they came from. 

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Author: Dave Prince

AT LONDON’S ISLINGTON 02 ACADEMY ON SATURDAY MAY 30TH

FEATURING THE SKIDS, CHRON GEN, THE MEFFS, DEAF DEVILS AND MORE!

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE:

VIve Le Rock magazine, the world’s punk and rock n’ roll bible announces its 16th birthday celebrations! 

After the runaway success of the sold-out Cock Sparrer/Ruts DC Birthday party last year, Vive Le Rock is pleased to present the gig of 2026 on Saturday May 30th in London.

THE SKIDS will top the bill at Vive Le Rock’s 16th Birthday bash! One of the best live bands of the original punk and post-punk era, the Scottish legends will join UK82 punk’s CHRON GEN, especially reformed for the night and playing their last ever London show. Fast rising UK duo THE MEFFS join them, along with New Zealand/London punk n’ rollers DESPERATE MEASURES, Oi! street punk upstarts TEAR UP, Spain’s incendiary live act DEAF DEVILS and folk punk sensations HEADSTICKS. Everyone through the door gets a free CD featuring all the bands. It kicks off at 5pm till late at the O2 Academy Islington and tickets are available at here:

“We launched Vive Le Rock in 2010 and have had many memorable shows and VLR Awards nights before, but I am really proud to have persuaded Richard Jobson and the Skids to headline our 16th Birthday party,” says Vive Le Rock editor and founder Eugene Butcher. “And to manage to get Chron Gen to reform a long with the packed lineup of new acts really is going to make for a killer night!”

After sixteen years, Vive Le Rock continues to be a lifeline for true fans of street rock n ’roll and punk, in all the varying guises and glory! It’s more than a magazine, it’s a way of life.

Find Vive Le Rock online at: Vive Le Rock Magazine | Rock n Roll, Punk, New Wave, Beyond

Fresh off the GRAMMY-nominated success of ‘Happiness Bastards’ in 2024, The Brothers Grim Chris and Rich Robinson wasted no time getting back to work and mining this seam of Rock n roll they happened upon. Returning to Nashville to reunite with producer Jay Joyce and recapture the spark that powered their last record, they just got on with business in a much happier place these days and left all their bullshit and background noise in the rear view mirror. The result is another glittering prize that to their credit, is banger after banger. Gone are the long beards and dope fueled jams, and a leaner more back to their roots, rock n roll homage to the Keif and Ronnie and Faces days rock n roll are front and centre.

The Black Crowes have created a rock record that’s loose and loud, and from the off, ‘Profane Prophecy’ is as good a rocker as they’ve delivered in decades, and time will testify that it’s right up there with the really early rockers, all be it with a modern production. The record stays true to the rockier edges of the band’s sound with only a couple of fleeting forays into the acoustic world, but like the early days’ big ballads, they really don’t touch the style. Rich brings the Telecaster riffs on the opening songs, absolutely killing it, on the Keith Richards inspired ‘Cruel Streak’, leaving enough room for his Brother to wail and deliver a stonking vocal as good as anything he’s delivered for decades. It gets funky, dark and heavy with the girls helping out on the chorus and leaving enough room for some honking keys. The breakdown is huge and had me nodding with approval as the fuzzed-up licks keep coming.

We get the first acoustic haze much more in keeping with ‘Exile’ era Stones than any Deadhead workout. ‘Pharmacy Chronicles’ is another excellent performance from Chris as he seems focused and emotional in the best possible way. The arrangement with the keys is impeccable. The rock is then turned up with some fantastic riffage from Rich Robinson on ‘Do The Parasite’. We then have a couple of more laid-back moments for the listener to take stock and catch their breath, ending with the epic of the mellower moments being ‘Queen Of The B Side’, but another thing is that the songs are kept lean and to the point, and none overstay their welcome.

‘It’s Like That’ gets its groove on for a very loud and chaotic workout where the music bounces off the vocals and sparks fly as they jostle for the limelight with some awesome BVs just to make the song kick you even harder in the nuts. Jagged, rock n roll at its finest. The tempo is raised again as we head into the homestright ‘Blood Red Regrets’ makes way for classic riff n roll Crowes style ‘You Call This A Good Time’ before ‘Eros Blues’ picks its way through the intro before shaking any cobwebs away and being the only hippy tinged tune but in the best possible way as it twists and turns before signing the record off with ‘Doomsday Doggerel’ and a levvy breaking drum beat twists your mellon with some fucked up vocal melodies before clearing ones head and stamping a full stop on what is a mightily impressive record and a step up in quality forom their last mightily impressive offering of ‘Happiness Bastards’ and offers a record of variety and impeckable quality ‘A pound of feathers’ is heavy and light and shows that form is temporary but class is permanent and this is class – Buy it!

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Author: Dom Daley