Let’s get ready to rumble! Wacken Metal Battle Canada is proud to announce this year’s 2026 battle grounds across the country, where one independent metal band will gain the opportunity to play at Wacken Open Air, one of the world’s most prestigious and largest metal festivals.  

ARMSTRONG METALFEST 2026 – Tickets On Sale Now! The Okanagan’s Ultimate Mountain Mosh Pit Returns“It’s one of the premier festivals of its kind in Canada, showcasing the biggest names in local, national, and international heavy metal music.” – Vancouver Sun  

Constanța, Romania based Death Metal veterans CADAVRUL are proud to announce the release of their second full-length album, “Necrotic Savagery“, slated for January 23, 2026 in partnership with Loud Rage Music and Axa Valaha Productions.  

Brutal Planet Records drags Six Feet Under Unburied and Bringer of Blood from obscurity with their first fully distributed vinyl editions. Unburied is pressed on Opaque Turquoise Vinyl and on CD. These nine unreleased tracks—grim outtakes from the Undead, Unborn, and Torment sessions—capture Six Feet Under in their most visceral and unrefined state. As Chris Barnes noted: “I always felt like these tracks were excellent Six Feet Under material. Real raw and in their earliest form.”  

Italy-based computer metal project MASTER BOOT RECORD (MBR) will return to US and Canadian shores this coming Spring for an extensive North American headlining tour after completing their very successful European tour with labelmates IGORRR plus openers IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT! The group’s North American journey begins on April 24th in Cambridge, Massachusetts and runs through May 30th in Brooklyn, New York.  

SISTER KILL CYCLE is back—and this time, they’re staring straight into the storm as they take the iconic Creedence Clearwater Revival classic song and is reborn as a crushing anthem for uncertain times.  

Following the announcement of their signing with Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records and the release of the crushing first single “Conqueror”, Icelandic heavy psychonauts SLEEPING GIANT now unveil full details of their long awaited debut album “The Beauty of Obliteration”, set for release on February 6th 2026 in CD and Digital formats.  

US rockers Hellgrimm announce their highly anticipated sixth full-length album, Resurrection, set to be released in early 2026.  

As anticipation continues to build for MEGADETH’s final studio album—out January 23, 2026 via DAVE MUSTAINE’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label)—the metal titans have today (December 19) released the latest single and video for “Let There Be Shred!”  

Milwaukee Metal Festival 2026 has announced day splits for its highly anticipated return to The Rave/Eagles Club, taking place June 5–7, 2026. In addition to previously announced headliners Acid Bath (Friday), Killswitch Engage (Saturday), and Ministry (Sunday), the festival has added Suicidal Tendencies and a wave of additional artists spanning the full spectrum of heavy music. The current day splits can be found below with more bands still TBA!  

Tampa-based hardcore thrashers COLD STEEL are proud to announce their east coast headline tour in support of their upcoming debut album, ‘Discipline & Punish,’ kicking off on November 8th. Produced by Arthur Rizk (Power Trip, Blood Incantation), the new full-length will be out on November 7th via Spinefarm.  

True Norwegian black metal horde 1349 is now unleashing a new performance video for the song “Striding the Chasm,” which is taken from the band’s upcoming live album, ‘Winter Mass,’ via Black Metal Promotion.