Whitechapel are taking Hymns In Dissonance back on the road. The Knoxville death-core powerhouse has announced the Rituals of Hate U.S. headlining tour this fall, a 26-date run that will see the band perform the new album in its entirety each night, then puncture the set with selected career highlights. The trek kicks off November 12 in Norfolk, Virginia and closes December 14 with Whitechapel’s annual hometown Christmas benefit at Mill & Mine in Knoxville.

From July 29 to August 1, 2026, Bergen, Norway, will once again become the epicenter of extreme music as Beyond the Gates announces the first wave of its fourteenth edition. The festival has built a reputation as more than just a showcase of bands. It is a ritual gathering where black metal’s history converges with its underground present, and the first names unveiled already mark it as one of the defining events of the coming year.

The countdown is on for one of the most anticipated extreme metal gatherings in Southern Europe. On September 13, the small town of Almunia de San Juan (Huesca, Spain) will once again become the epicenter of chaos and darkness as the Black Templar Extreme Metal Fest III – Open Air unfolds.

Fit For An Autopsy have unleashed a crushing new single, “It Comes For You”, accompanied by a music video directed by Eric Richter of Channel 13 Productions. The track was produced and mixed by guitarist Will Putney, who continues to shape the band’s aggressive and modern deathcore sound.

The video captures the song’s dark, apocalyptic atmosphere, blending the band’s signature intensity with a strong visual narrative.

The Norwegian black metal masters 1349 are bringing their unrelenting firestorm to Latin America this September with the announcement of their Latin America Hellfire 2025 Tour. Known for their ferocious live rituals and uncompromising devotion to black metal’s most destructive traditions, the band will scorch stages across South America, Central America, and Mexico.

On Saturday, September 6, 2025, the city of Burgos, Spain, will host the highly anticipated V Burgore Death Fest at Sala Andén 56. This festival stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of underground extreme metal, bringing together a formidable lineup of international and national acts. Organized by Rigor Mortis and Nasty Surgeons, the event promises an unparalleled experience for aficionados of death metal, grindcore, and goregrind.

Death Metal, Crime, and Controversy: The Release of Royce Casey and Jacob Delashmutt

This week, one of the darkest chapters in the history of metal returned to the spotlight. Two former teenage bandmates, Royce Casey and Jacob Delashmutt, convicted in the 1995 murder of 15-year-old Elyse Pahler in California, have been released on parole after serving nearly three decades behind bars. The case had long been framed in the media as a “satanic ritual killing” linked to death metal culture, sparking a moral panic that stigmatized extreme music through the late 90s and beyond.

The global farewell of Sepultura, titled Celebrating Life Through Death, has become more than a final run of shows. It is slowly transforming into a high-stakes negotiation about legacy, memory, and the long shadow of the Cavalera brothers.

Few extreme metal bands have carried their name through as many storms as Cradle of Filth. But the latest turbulence is proving harder to contain, as the band faces a wave of public controversy sparked by the sudden exit of two members and the release of explosive claims about contracts, pay, and management.

The drama erupted in August during the group’s ongoing South American tour, when keyboardist Zoë Marie Federoff abruptly quit mid-run. Her initial post was restrained, asking for privacy and encouraging fans to be kind to whoever would step into her role. Behind the scenes, however, the story was far more volatile. In the days that followed, Federoff published parts of her contract, revealing shockingly low earnings and detailing what she described as an unsustainable arrangement.

The extreme metal community bids farewell to Jürgen Bartsch, bassist, principal composer, and sole constant member of Bethlehem since 1991. The news was confirmed by the band’s current vocalist, Yvonne “Onielar” Wilczynska, who announced that Bartsch passed away on August 27, 2025, following an illness. Her statement appeared on Instagram and was later picked up by the international metal press.

Few names in the underground black metal world carry as much mystique and weight as Satanic Warmaster, the Finnish project created and led by Werwolf. After years of selective appearances, the band has now confirmed a series of monumental live dates that will define its resurgence: Metal Threat Fest 2025 in the United States, the Black Metal Armageddon Latin America Tour 2026, and Steelfest 2026 in Finland. These announcements represent not only rare live manifestations but also an affirmation of the project’s status as one of the most uncompromising forces in black metal.

The global metal community is mourning the loss of Nisse Karlén, founding member and enduring voice of Sacramentum, who passed away on August 25, 2025. The band confirmed the news in an official statement, clarifying that Karlén’s death was the result of suicide after a long and private struggle with mental health. The message asked for respect for his family and close circle, while underlining a vital reminder: “Suicide should never be glorified.”

The metal world has been dealt a devastating blow. Brent Hinds, co-founder, guitarist, vocalist, and creative spark of Mastodon, died on August 20, 2025, in Atlanta following a motorcycle accident. He was 51.

The rising force of blackened death metal, Visitant, have unveiled the mesmerizing video for their new single “Briars”, the third and final preview from their long-awaited debut album Rubidium, set for release on August 22, 2025. With this track, the band continue to cement their reputation as one of the most intriguing new entities in the extreme metal underground.

Lorna Shore, the American titans of symphonic deathcore, continue to raise the stakes in 2025. After months of anticipation surrounding their upcoming fifth studio album, the band has now dropped their third single, “Prison of Flesh”, released yesterday, August 14, via Century Media Records. It marks one of the most emotionally raw and musically devastating works in their catalog, adding further momentum to what is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated extreme metal records of the year.

Saxon frontman Biff Byford has revealed that he is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, a diagnosis that has forced the legendary British heavy metal band to cancel and postpone several shows scheduled for 2025. The announcement, delivered directly to fans, carried both difficult news and a message of resilience: “We never like cancelling shows or postponing shows, it’s absolutely rubbish. But we’ll see you all in November. Keep the faith.”

Bogotá is about to become the epicenter of unrelenting darkness once again. On August 29 and 30, 2025, the Ace of Spades Club will host the second edition of Bogotá Subterránea Fest, a two-day gathering devoted entirely to the raw, uncompromising spirit of extreme underground metal. After its triumphant 2024 debut, the festival returns with a lineup that reads like a hymn to chaos, obscurity, and sonic violence.