News Posts

Vaim Hull

Alcatraz Festival drops over 60 new names for 2026 edition

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The 18th edition of Alcatraz is shaping up to be historic with headliners Arch Enemy and Alestorm, legends like Soulfly, Saxon, Body Count, Rose Tattoo, extreme assaults from Immolation, Internal Bleeding, 200 Stab Wounds, Sanguisugabogg, and modern favorites like Kittie, Northlane, Animals As Leaders, The Ghost Inside.

We’re especially thrilled to see the Belgian flag flying high again with Channel Zero, Amenra, Enthroned, Psychonaut and Mantah on the bill. And let’s not forget our longtime Finnish favorites Luna Kills, making a big step onto the Alcatraz stage!

On top of that, the Prison Stage opens already on the Thursday for the first time ever, and day ticket prices are lower than 2025 right now!

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Vaim Hull

Rising British heavy metal band Tailgunner sign with Napalm Records

Rising British heavy metal band Tailgunner signed with Napalm Records and are going to release their next album with their new label, produced by the legendary K.K. Downing!

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Vaim Hull

Full House Brew Crew announce new album and drop video single ‘No Gods, No Chains’

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Greek heavy groove juggernaut Full House Brew Crew announced the release of their new album ‘Glasgow Grin’ in February 2026 via ROAR and shared a first single with ‘No Gods, No Chains’! Catch them live right now in Europe on tour with Wolfheart, with this Tuesday a stop in Belgium hosted by our friends of DVG Club!

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Vaim Hull

Kadavar release new single ‘Total Annihilation’

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Kadavar release new single ‘Total Annihilation’, an uncompromising metal attack, part of their new album ‘K.A.D.A.V.A.R.’ to be released in November via Clouds Hill!

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Vaim Hull

Finnish speed/death cult DET share new track ‘Catacomb’

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Finnish speed/death cult outfit DET share the new track ‘Catacomb’, a third track revealed from their highly anticipated debut album ‘Destructive elite Terror’, set for release in October via Dying Victims Productions!

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Vaim Hull

Hooded Menace release crushing cover of Duran Duran’s ‘Save a Prayer’

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Finnish Hooded Menace released their crushing take on Duran Duran’s classic hit ‘Save a Prayer’, which is featured on their upcoming new album ‘Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration’, set for release in October via Season of Mist!

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Vaim Hull

Corrosion of Conformity drops special jam session rendition of Free’s ‘Fire And Water’

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American heavy metal icons Corrosion Of Conformity are bringing a special rendition of ‘Fire And Water’, a classic track originally released by English rock band Free and the first of the ‘Riffissippi Studio Jam Sessions’, out with Nuclear Blast!

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Tom Treuten

CLAWFINGER – New Video Single ‘Ball & Chain’ out now

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After an 18-year silence on the album front, CLAWFINGER are finally back – louder, sharper, and more defiant than ever! With ‘Ball & Chain’, they unleash another track from the upcoming album ‘Before We All Die’, out February 20, 2026 on PERCEPTION – A Division of Reigning Phoenix Music, fusing relentless riffs and raw energy with frontman Zak Tell’s unflinching honesty.

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Tom Treuten

DIRKSCHNEIDER AND THE OLD GANG release title track of upcoming album ‘BABYLON’

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DIRKSCHNEIDER & THE OLD GANG (DATOG) have unleashed ‘Babylon,’ the monumental title track from their upcoming album, set for release on October 3, 2025 via Reigning Phoenix Music (RPM).

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Vaim Hull

Alter Bridge release first track/video from upcoming self-titled album

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Alter Bridge shared first single/video ‘Silent Divide’ from their upcoming self-titled album, set for release in January 2026 via Napalm Records and announced the “What Lies Within U.S. tour” dates that will come right after their extensive Europe tour in early 2026!

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Photo Reports

Vaim Hull

Brutal Assault 2025 Day 1 – Obscure & Octagon Stage

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The Obscure and Octagon stages delivered some of the most intense sets of Day 1 at Brutal Assault 2025. From the triumphant return of 3 Inches of Blood to the symphonic fury of Fleshgod Apocalypse, the crushing weight of Inter Arma, the haunting doom of Frayle, the occult darkness of Ruïm, and the mind-bending chaos of Oranssi Pazuzu, it was truely a journey through the extremes of heavy music!

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GRIMM Editorial Team

Brutal Assault 2025 Day 1 – Marshall & Sea Shepherd Stage

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Day 1 of Brutal Assault 2025 set the tone right away with a good mix of legends and crushing heaviness. From the epic Viking soundscapes of Skálmöld to the industrial grooves of Static-X, the unrelenting brutality of Dying Fetus, the thrash assault of Kerry King, and the dark rituals of Rotting Christ, the Marshall and Sea Shepherd stages started off the festival properly.

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Tom Treuten

Stars In Town Festival 2025 – Super Wednesday (Schaffhausen, CH) – 30/07/2025

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Super Wednesday at STARS IN TOWN rocked Schaffhausen! From local heroes ELLIS MANO BAND to the legendary ALICE COOPER, the night was packed with unforgettable performances. UGLY KID JOE brought ’90s nostalgia with “Everything About You” & “Cat’s In The Cradle,” while ALICE COOPER’s shock rock spectacle—complete with guillotine and powerhouse guitarist Nita Strauss—blew the crowd away. Rain didn’t stop the energy, and the packed Herrenacker square proved once again: this festival is pure magic.

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Tom Treuten

TollRock Festival 2025 – Day 1 (Schmidt, Nideggen, DE) – 11/07/2025

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TollRock 2025 Day 1 was not only blessed with wonderful weather but with an impressive line-up on the first day. Starting with Lost Sanity (TollRockerz Band Contest Winner 2024), followed by April Art, Emil Bulls, Fiddlers Green, Skindred and Rock Rising gave an impressive list of artists. The audience was thrilled by the great live performances of all bands on stage. The expectations for day 2 have been raised to an almost unbeatable level.

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Anna Brödel

Tuhdimmat Tahdit 2025 – Day 2 (05/07/2025)

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Day two of Tuhdimmat Tahdit brought Michael Monroe, Moon Shot, Black Devils, Hardcore Superstar, Turmion Kätilöt, Battle Beast and the legendary Blind Guardian to Tampere’s Eteläpuisto on the second day and was great yet again! We surely will be back at this festival in the future.

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Anna Brödel

Tuhdimmat Tahdit 2025 – Day 1 (04/07/2025)

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We, yet again, had a blast enjoying this year’s edition of Tuhdimmat Tahdit, which brought Finntroll, Kilpi, Mustasch, Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus, Lordi, Amaranthe and HammerFall to Tampere’s Eteläpuisto on the first day!

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Vaim Hull

Rockfest 2025 – Main Stage – Day 1 (12/06/2025)

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Sun, sweat, and steel… Rockfest 2025 opened in style in Turku. H.E.A.T. brought the fire, Sepultura gave Finland their final bow, and Judas Priest proved once more why they’re the Metal Gods.

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Vaim Hull

Castle Rat “Old World Realms Tour” (On The Rocks, Helsinki) – 01/06/2025

Castle Rat brought their “Old World Realms Tour” to Helsinki’s On the Rocks, joined by local doom disciples Mansion. A night of theatrical heavy metal, ritualistic soundscapes, and raw energy opening a portal to an amazing fantasy world!

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Anna Brödel

Amoral (Tavara-asema, Tampere) – 16/05/2025

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Nahka Agency brought a great blend of Finnish metal to Tampere’s Tavara-Asema on Friday May 16th with Amoral, Shade Empire and Voidfallen. Unfortunately the turn up wasn’t anywhere near to as much as it should have been for such a night of quality metal music.

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Tom V.M.

Full Moon 13th edition (Metal & Rock Pop-up Bar, Torhout) – 09/05/2025

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Promise Down

The 13th (local) edition of Full Moon gave us 3 Belgian bands: party cover band Crazy Copy Cats, System Of A Down tribute band Toxicity and heavy rock and rollers Promise Down (who you also can catch at Alcatraz festival this summer)!

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Album Reviews

Maxen

NITE – Cult of the Serpent Sun

Third studio album “Cult of the Serpent Sun” from the Bar Area blackened heavy metallers NITE proves the dexterity of the band in fusing epic heaviness and dark atmosphere. Out via Season of Mist tomorrow, March 14th.

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Annet W.

Nanowar of Steel – XX Years of Steel

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Nanowar of Steel’s triple album release ‘XX Years of Steel’ really capture all that is this band. Both live CDs show the passion that was there during this concert. The devotion from the band to their music and the fans, but also from the fans to the band. They captured their live sound very nicely, which isn’t always the case with live CDs. And the third album with studio recorded songs adds some more great tracks to their catalogue! Released last year via Napalm Records.

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Annet W.

Avantasia – Here Be Dragons

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Avantasia gives us once again a pearl of an album full of magical stories and adventures. ‘Here Be Dragons’ is out now via Napalm Records! We can’t wait to experience the epicness on the upcoming tour!

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Anna Brödel

Marko Hietala – Roses From The Deep

Marko Hietala’s new album ‘Roses from the Deep’ released through Nuclear Blast showcases the amazing skill and the variety that these guys are capable of. From the lyrics and the instrumentation to the mix, everything on this album has been executed masterfully. Catch Marko on his small Finnish release tour starting next week, and this summer at festivals like Tuska!

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Maxen

Grand Magus – Sunraven

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Tenth studio album “Sunraven” from these Swedish heavy doomsters conveys the majesty of Grand Magus and evokes a relentless quality, in sounding all-powerful, and majestic. Out since yesterday, October 18th, via Nuclear Blast!

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Maxen

Unto Others – Never, Neverland

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The third full length album “Never, Neverland” from Portland, Oregon based gothic metal Unto Others packs sixteen powerful tracks, showing that they’re back at full force and ready to take on the world, out today via Century Media Records!

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Maxen

Portrait – The Host

The sixth studio album ‘Host’ by the Swedish heavy metal powerhouse Portrait, channels 80s speed metal and NWOBHM on its fourteen new tracks. Out on Metal Blade records.

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Samoht

Morgul Blade – Heavy Metal Wraiths

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In the fires of Mount Doom, deep in the lands of Mordor, Morgul Blade forged another album, their sophomore record ‘Heavy Metal Wraiths’. Out on No Remorse Records.

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Samoht

Sentry – Sentry

Born from the ashes of US heavy metal godfathers Manilla Road, Sentry brings an epic sounding worthy sendoff to their fallen comrade Mark Shelton. Out on High roller Records.

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Samoht

Stygian Crown – Funeral for a King

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Know, oh prince, that in the years following their self-titled debut, there was an age undreamed of for Stygian Crown. Hither came ‘Funeral for a King’, their sophomore record, heavy riffed, soaringly vocaled. Fists in the air, with gigantic melodies and gigantic doom, to tread the beer-drenched stages of your summer festivals under their sandaled feet. Taken from the Cruz del Sur Chronicles.

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Interviews

Vaim Hull

Interview Avatar – “I just kept the word DANCE in the back of my head for everything.”

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A chat with Johannes from Avatar on the new album ‘Dance Devil Dance’ on why this is the best album of them as of yet, how they did things somewhat different and tried to approach everything in such a way that they thought people could dance to even blast beats and why now was the time for them to self-release the album.

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Vaim Hull

Interview Shereign – “We hope our music can be empowering, uplifting, inspiring… for our listeners”

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A chat with Sara Strömmer of Shereign about the release of their debut album “Ghost Diaries”, the themes and artwork of the album, the planned release shows with Dark Sarah and how she would describe the band in images, with a very interesting result!

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Vaim Hull

Interview Beast In Black – “It deals with the emotions and connection between humans and robots”

Watch the chat we had with Anton Kabanen about the upcoming new album ‘Dark Connection’ and his cyberpunk inspirations!

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Vaim Hull

Interview Oceanhoarse – “We wanted our album to sound like a proper album, not a collection of singles”

Watch the interview with Joonas and Jyri from Oceanhoarse about their debut full-length studio album ‘Dead Reckoning’, out via Noble Demon Records!

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Vaim Hull

Interview Blame Me! – “There is a lot of blood, sweat and tears into making the debut album, especially tears”

Watch the chat we had with Vallu and Bini from the Finnish alternative rock outfit Blame Me! about their upcoming new album ‘The Invisible You’!

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Vaim Hull

Interview with Patrick Walch of Noble Demon Records

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We have a chat with Patrick Walch, the man behind the successful and interesting new label Noble Demon! Check out what he has to say!

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Vaim Hull

Interview Wake Up Frankie – “Green is the color of rebirth”

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A chat with the young misfits of Wake Up Frankie about their upcoming debut EP ‘Green Is The New Black’!

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Vaim Hull

Interview Mr. Lordi part 2 – “I will never ever want to go back to recording the way we used to do”

The second part of our conversation with Mr. Lordi in which he tells us the story behind ‘Like A Bee To The Honey’ and his future in recording music.

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Vaim Hull

Interview Mr. Lordi part 1 – “I was so tired of leaving gems of songs out of an album because they didn’t fit”

A video interview with Mr. Lordi about the reception and concept of their latest release “Killection”! Check it out!

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Inge Daems

Interview Oscar Dronjak (HammerFall) – “This is the next step on the ladder”

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HammerFall: the past, the new record and the future.

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