Nuclear Blast Records is proud to welcome HOKKA, a powerful new force in Finnish rock, to its global roster. The band unites three major names from Finland’s rock legacy: former  BLIND CHANNEL frontman Joel Hokka, THE RASMUS founding member and former guitarist-songwriter Pauli Rantasalmi, and phenomenal young drummer Jimi Aslak.

Better Lovers celebrate the one-year anniversary of their blistering debut album Highly Irresponsible with a deluxe edition featuring two new tracks: ‘The Impossible End’ and ‘Don’t Forget To Say Please’. The band will make their Australian debut in 2026, hitting Brisbane, Newcastle, Sydney, Melbourne, Belgrave and Adelaide with Split Chain and Blind Girls.

SLAYER’s iconic second studio album, Hell Awaits, is set to receive a 40th anniversary edition reissue via Metal Blade Records next year! “It’s the record where SLAYER became SLAYER.” That’s what Kerry King says about Hell Awaits.

The new album ‘Flowers’ has huge breakdowns, melodic guitars, and emotional lyricism about the disappointments in life, frustration, and the desire to feel alive. The commanding synths, soaring clean vocals, and dark heavy tones show The Devil Wears Prada as a band that continue to grow and evolve their sound.

With their mesmerizing sound echoing across the Mongolian steppe, breakthrough Mongolian rockers UUHAI have signed their first album deal with Napalm Records! Following viral success and millions of views on their very first songs, the seven-piece band is back.

San Francisco duo Chokecherry deliver lush, melodic indie-pop on their debut Ripe Fruit Rots and Falls. With dreamy harmonies, guitar-led melodies and ethereal vocals, the album drifts between sweetness and melancholy. It’s gorgeous, atmospheric and left of centre, sweet, with that heady, fermented sting in the tail.

There Is No Memory is an album steeped in life (and lives) lived, in recollections of the past, in the absence of what once was, in the lacuna brought on by the memories of what had been. Jorgensen knew he wanted to write an album about memories, and while demoing tracks, something happened that felt connected.

Shadow Work by Canadian deathcore legends Despised Icon is a scorched-earth assault of guttural roars, bone-crushing riffs, and machine-gun drumming. Featuring guests from Kublai Khan, Carnifex, Tom Barber of Chelsea Grin, and Misstiq, it’s pure chaos and adrenaline from start to finish, the perfect soundtrack to the zombie apocalypse.

“ALL THAT FOLLOWS marks the end of The Death We Seek and the start of a new chapter. These songs reflect our independence, experimentation and collaboration like never before. We explore disillusionment, inequality, betrayal and life’s ambiguity, pouring every experience into our music. It is rarely a happy story but always a cathartic one,” says Wille.

Speaking about the EP, Taylor said: “Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas started as just one song, but the moment we got into the studio, it took on a life of its own. There was so much emotion, nostalgia and chaos wrapped up in it that it didn’t feel right to leave it standing alone. To really honor it, I needed to build a whole world around it.”

Brisbane nu-metal provocateurs Headwreck have dropped their electrifying new EP 'Attitude Adjustment', and share the video for new single "Razor". Headwreck are poised to make a loud, unapologetic statement in the alternative metal scene.

From releasing three brand-new tracks to touring across their own country with the title in blind sight, Japanese band coldrain have kept anticipation high. Now, the quintet has finally unveiled their new EP “OPTIMIZE ”

The Light We Chase exposes darkness and finds clarity in pain. Bloom wrestles with loss, self-worth, and time itself, creating an album that burns with honesty and reflection.

This album is hauntingly beautiful but it still rocks hard with synths, guitar riffs and brutal breakdowns. Even in its hope that experimenting with raising “the dead with miracles” might be a thing, the album is about how the unstoppable road in life unfolds into the horror of time passing and leads inexorably to the grave.

“Same Old Song” starts with Wolfgang waking up from a dream and realizing things are back to normal as the band rehearses the new song. Directed by JT Ibanez, the video shows Mammoth depicting their trademark live-performance style that they have come to be known for. 

San Francisco punks Spiritual Cramp return with their sophomore album RUDE, expanding their kaleidoscopic punk sound. The band pairs the release with a video for ‘You’ve Got My Number’ featuring Sharon Van Etten. “A lot of these songs are about keeping your side of the street clean,” says vocalist Mike Bingham.

Five Finger Death Punch celebrate 20 years with Best Of – Volume 2, featuring 16 re-recorded hits, three live tracks, and their new single ‘The End’ featuring BABYMETAL—the first song with Japanese lyrics to break into U.S. Active Rock radio. Following Volume 1, both collections reimagine fan favourites and pay tribute to two decades of 5FDP’s legacy.

Soulfly’s Chama is their fiercest work yet — a 10-track storm of groove, tribal percussion and unflinching socio-political fire. Burning with ferocity and soul, it channels Indigenous struggles, favela life and Brazil’s resilience, standing as both a war cry for the dispossessed and a love letter to survival, with fury tempered by reflection.

‘Simulacra’ lands as Bad Juju’s darkest, most polished release yet — all bite and distortion with a pulse you can feel in your teeth. It’s big, cinematic, and uncomfortably human. It’s the sound of someone clawing through the static to find something real. The EP’s a mirror cracked wide open, and we’re all staring into the reflection.

VICTORIUS have signed with PERCEPTION and released their new single ‘Dino Race From Outer Space’. The track continues the band’s sci-fi metal theme, combining fast riffs, catchy melodies, and their signature larger-than-life storytelling.