Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Dragon’s Kiss Shares Bruising Ripper “Road Warrior”

Portuguese sextet Dragon’s Kiss — Tiago “Bastard” Teixeira (vocals), Adam “Rock ‘n’ Roll Outlawa” Neal (vocals), Hugo “Rattlesnake” Conim (guitar), Dário “Tornado” Granadeiro (guitar), António “Thunder” Seixas (bass), Marco “Pain” Dores (drums) — exploded into the international metal scene with 2014’s Barbarians of the Wasteland.

The Portuguese’s long-anticipated, self-produced, sophomore album, The Return of the Wild Dogs is slated for a July 21, 2025 release through Firecum Records. The album will reportedly feature six, no-filler, all-killer, no-bullshit tracks that showcases what the band is about: blazingly fast riffs, razor-sharp solos, pummeling rhythms and a relentlessly raw energy. Unconcerned with trends and overproduction, the band has crafted pure, timeless heavy metal rooted in speed, attitude and grit.

The Return of the Wild Dogs‘ latest single “Road Warrior” is a bruising ripper that showcases the band’s dexterously played, blazing riffage, pummeling and propulsive rhythm section, and their knack for mosh pit friendly hooks and choruses. While bringing the RidingEasy Records roster to mind, the song’s lyrics focus on a post apocalyptic world seemingly inspired by our desperate and uneasy moment and Mad Max.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Silver Relics Share Hook-Driven “Same Old Tune”

Founded by singer/songwriter Alex Sepsis back in 2017, the New York-based indie outfit — Sepassi (vocals, guitar), Garrett De Temple (bass) and Hitomi Nakamura (drums) — quickly established a sound that saw them effortlessl blending classic and modern rock influences that included The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Nirvana on their full-length debut, 2019’s Generic. 

The trio’s latest single “Same Old Tune” was recently released through Brooklyn-based A Diamond Heart Production. The new single sees the band crating a sound that seemingly draws from and blends the Madchester scene, Nirvana and 90s shoegaze while continuing to showcase a band with an unerring knack for incredibly catchy hooks and rousingly anthemic choruses.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Anna of the North Shares a Breezy and Yearning Bop

Acclaimed Norwegian alt-pop star Anna of the North‘s latest single “Give Me Your Love Back” sees the Norwegian artist bridging the and future, while being a bit of a return to her signature, classic sound: While anchored her ethereal vocals and bittersweet lyrics, the song is a dreamy, melodic bop that showcases her unerring knack for writing a catchy hook.

The new single is part of a forthcoming batch of new music. So be on the lookout for lookout y’all.

The new single drops just as the Norwegian artist’s 2017 hit “Lovers” has been going viral, amassing over 225 million streams on Spotify. Along with that, she announced a Winter 2025 headlining, Stateside tour that includes a November 22, 2025 stop at Music Hall of Williamsburg, All tour dates are below, and you can purchase tickets here.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Still Blank Shares Breakneck and Sultry “Ain’t Quite Right”

Rising, transcontinental duo Still Blank — Kaua’i, HI-based Jordy and Manchester, UK — have quickly established themselves as one of more enigmatic and exciting voices in contemporary alternative music. Drawing from shoegaze, grunge and folk, they’ve developed and honed a sound that’s difficult to pigeonhole, often minimalist and emotionally rich.

Their unique sound comes from rather unlikely roots: Jordy grew up immersed in the natural rhythm of island life in Hawaii, gigging at weddings and fundraisers by the time she was in her early teens, while drawing inspiration from Hawaiian traditions and the solitude of Kaua’i. Ben, who was raised on Manchester’s rich and deep musical legacy, played some of his earliest gigs in pubs with his dad’s band. He developed a love of ambient textures, citing The Durutti Column and Vini Reilly as formative influences. The duo’s unlikely meeting in the UK sparked a lightning-in-a-bottle creative partnership that started as casual jam sessions in a Liverpool basement and quickly evolved to sessions ranging from stripped-back recordings on a broken, classical guitar to long studio sessions fueled by long walks through rural Wales and a shared commitment to imperfect perfection.

As a collaborative unit, their work draws from introspection and their surroundings, echoing the mood and vibe of acts like Yo La Tengo, Big Thief and Cat Power paired with lyrics informed by people-watching, dreams, nature and existential observation.

The duo’s sophomore single “Ain’t Quite Right,” comes on the heels of their critically applauded debut single “What About Jane,” which received praise from Under The Radar, Clash, Dork, DIY and a lengthy list of others. “Ain’t Quite Right” sees the pair swapping roles in the creative process while crafting a breakneck post punk tune that’s sultry and vulnerable yet simultaneously confrontational and accusatory in a way that subtly channels PJ Harvey.

“We wrote the song around Christmas in rainy Manchester while listening to a lot of Sonic Youth and PJ Harvey,” the transcontinental duo explain. “Usually, Ben leads the music and I work on lyrics and melody, but this one flipped. We wanted it to feel on edge—building tension. The lyrics explore a dysfunctional relationship where both sides are suffocating, and neither can let go. The guitar almost talks back to the vocal, responding with this jarring energy that adds to the unease.”

Video by William Ruben Helms

Throwback: Happy 68th Birthday, Peter Murphy!

JOVM’s William Ruben Helms celebrates Peter Murphy’s 69th birthday.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: grandson Shares a Politically Charged and Anthemic Ripper

Jordan Benjamin is the Los Angeles-based creative mastermind behind the rising indie rock project grandson. Benjamin’s highly-anticipated sophomore grandson album, the Mike Crossey-produced INERTIA is slated for a September 5, 2025 release through XX Records/Create Music. The album reportedly marks an urgent, unfiltered chapter for Benjamin as an artist and songwriter, who’s operating on his own terms and speaking truth to power.

INERTIA‘s second and latest single “SELF IMMOLATION” is a Rage Against the Machine-meets-Incubus-era nu metal bruiser that sees Benjamin pairing a punchy and impassioned delivery with pummeling boom bap-like percussion, bursts of DJ scratching and a rousingly anthemic and mosh pit friendly, Tom Morello-like crunchy power chord-driven hook and chorus. Thematically, the song sees the rising Los Angeles-based artist unpacking what it means to have a cause to fight for — and to potentially die for.

“’Self Immolation’ was inspired by the Palestinian liberation movement across college campuses, inspired by the late Aaron Bushnell who gave his life in protest of the actions of the very military he served, inspired by the dead students of Kent State 1970, and written about what it means to have a cause to live for, to die for,” Benjamin explains. “I wrote it with my friends, each of us playing an instrument live together, in a stoned, free, creative place in Andrew’s studio one afternoon, and it was a feeling we locked into across the whole album. It was a blast to create, and we all felt a great deal of purpose and meaning in the session that day.” 

The accompanying video for “SELF IMMOLATION” is split between Benjamin and his backing band performing the song as two funereally-dressed women headbang and mosh behind him, edited footage from Kent State, protests, uprisings and fires.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Austin’s Die Spitz Shares a Bruising, Mosh Pit Friendly Ripper

Rising Austin-based outfit Die Spitz — Ava Schrobilgen, Chloe De St. Aubin, Ellie Livingston and Kate Halter — can trace some of their origins back to when Schrobilgen and Livingston met in preschool. They befriended Halter in middle school. And they brought De St. Aubin into their friend group when they started the band back in 2022.

Initially, the quartet was looking to find reasons to hang out more often, and decided they should start a band after a late-night viewing of the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt. They settled on the name Die Spitz over a “brown bag of Fireball,” opting for the feminine German definite article in place of the English. “It reminds me of the Grim Reaper spitting,” Livingstone jokes.

Their first live shows saw them pairing originals with covers from some of their early inspirations including Black Sabbath, Pixies, Mudhoney, PJ Harvey and Nirvana. Unsurprisingly, they express their ideas and themselves through a shameless blend of classic punk, hardcore metal, alt rock and more. They’ve also become known for riotous live show, where dueling cartwheels, members climbing rafters and solos while crowdsurfing could happen at just about any moment.

The Texan quartet’s highly-anticipated full-length debut, the Will Yip-produced Something to Consume is slated for a September 12, 2025 release through Third Man Records. The album reportedly sees the members of Die Spitz combining their passion, friendship, identity and artistry to fight against the seemingly inescapable decay and chaos that surrounds modern life. “There’s a political side to it, but addiction and love can also be all-consuming,” the band’s Ellie Livingston says.

As the band trades off instruments, swapping songwriting and vocal duties, and generating powerful songwriting on concussive bursts, they have managed to create their own little pocket of the world, where we can all stand on the edge together.

Something to Consume‘s 11 tracks reportedly contains multitudes and yet feels like a singular epicene, an expansive and expressive collection, unified in its camaraderie and freedom. “We depend on our freedom — freedom to do what we want, present the ideas we want, make the music we want,” Livingston says. “Whether it’s based in metal or something soft, no matter which of us wrote the song, we all contribute and work together. As a person, I don’t have a strong ego or voice, but within this band each one of us is capable of so much more.”

“Something to Consume is an album experience for everyone. Whether you’re craving a smack of lively metal or a melancholy wave of grungey violin, there’s a piece of all of us injected. Something to Consume is a call to the multitudes of ways we as humans allow consumption to enrapture our culture as well as ourselves.”

Though they’ve only been playing together for a few years, the album also shows a maturity and technical prowess wielded and wed to the service of their deep and abiding friendship — and a hope to inspire change. “Some people aren’t interested in being political activists via music, but it weighs on me heavily and I feel misaligned with my calling if I don’t,” Chloe De St. Aubin says. “The four of us are free spirits with multiple interests, and there’s no limit or power dynamic that can derail us.”

Something to Consume‘s first single, “Throw Yourself to the Sword” is a bruising, most pit friendly synthesis of Slayer and long-haired Metallica era thrash metal, The Sword-like stoner rock and punk anchored around some of the hardest and grimiest riffs I’ve heard in some time paired with punchily delivered verses and feral howls for the song’s hooks and choruses. Play loud and open up that fucking pit — right now!

“‘Throw Yourself to the Sword’ is a high-energy ode to what we want young people to feel. There’s a lot of existentialism and despair in other songs on the album that still sheath the same theme, but ‘Throw Yourself to the Sword’ is the raise of optimism. Despite living in a state of mundanity or hopelessness, you can still rise up and fight the unknown, as long as you’re willing to throw yourself to it,” Ellie Livingston explains.

Fittingly, the accompanying video directed by Emily Sanchez is set in and around a local laundromat, supermarket and farm with young women playing “Throw Yourself to the Sword,” as the band’s frontperson appears and inspires them to be mischievous and joyful as a form of resistance and when necessary to pick up the sword and fight.