The most dangerous band in the west... That's how they were known.Witch, the inflammatory '80s metal band from Southern California, proudly announces "The Hex Is On... And Then Some", a definitive compilation album. This exhaustive collection captures every studio recording from their tumultuous 1984-1989 run, alongside forgotten 1996 studio sessions under the GOD BOX moniker, produced by Howard Leese (HEART).Formed in 1983, Witch emerged from the remnants of AMPAGE. Their sold-out debut unleashed a spectacle of blood, fire, and fishnets, with the self-inflicted wounds and pyro stunts conducted by drummer and mayhem overlord, Punky Peru. From Troubadour to Radio City, Witch's performances were a whirlwind of chaos. Despite sharing stages with SLAYER, LOUDNESS, KEEL, and YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, internal strife and an excess of rock 'n' roll lifestyle kept major label deals just out of reach.As Punky Peru states: - "We wanted something heavy yet theatrical... We were trying to take part of our influences from ALICE COPPER and SWEET and mix it together with MOTORHEAD and DIO. The outcome was Witch.""The Hex Is On... And Then Some" compiles the complete studio catalog from 1984 to 1989, including the iconic 1984 EP "The Hex Is On", the rare 1987 12" EP "Nobody Sleeps" and a collection of rare demos from 1988 and 1989. The GOD BOX era recordings, made in 1996, will also be included on a bonus CD (available on the 2CD edition only).This deluxe edition will include remastered audio for a better listening experience, an extensive biography filled with controversial stories, rare band photos and clippings, and song lyrics.
Tracklist:
Nervous Wreck
Damnation
Bewitched
Wet N' Wild
Cinderella (In Black Leather)
Can't Take Our Rock
Victory Without Pain
Blond Alert
Take Me Away
Hit the Road
1:45
Mad for Life
Games That People Play
Playing in the Rain
Black Magic
Pay the Due
Take Me Away
Nothing Lasts Forever
Crazy
Conviction
UPC: 5601218181137Label: Lost Realm RecordsRelease Date: 3.13.26Format: CD
On their third full-length, "Through the Hourglass", Witch Ripper unleash the full potential of their stunning ability to deliver captivating melodies, catchy riffs, and merciless hooks in sheer droves. The US metal band perfectly combines melodic heaviness with pinches of progressive, sludge, and other styles with seeming ease. Witch Ripper can be generally located within the wider sonic realm that is inhabited by MASTODON, BARONESS, and HIGH ON FIRE, yet they also continue to channel the rock bombast of QUEEN and DAVID BOWIE as well as the modern prog of COHEED AND CAMBRIA and MUSE. Witch Ripper are also determined to tour across the United States and hope for a first voyage to Europe in support of "Through the Hourglass". Metal is anything but dead, and this album is living proof of it's vibrant present.
Tracklist:
Odyssey in Retrograde
The Portal
Symmetry of the Hourglass
Echoes and Dust
The Clock Queen
Proxima Centuari
The Spiral Eye
UPC: 884388895775Label: Magnetic EyeRelease Date: 4.10.26Format: CD
The eagerly awaited return of WORM SHEPHERD, back after a two year hiatus and member shift. With new singer Ian and the addition of members of Ingested (Thomas O'Malley), Immortal Disfigurement (Harry Tadayon) and Psycho Frame (Leo McLain), DAWN OF THE ICONOCLAST is a masterclass in Blackened Deathcore. The band comment: "I’m very excited about the new lineup. I feel like we have the most talented members that we’ve had to date. Harry (Ex Immortal Disfigurement) brings so much to the table for writing and meshes with my style so well. Tom (Ingested) is an absolute workforce on the bass and really adds some flare to the rhythm guitars with his aggressive style and tones. I’m also very excited that Leo (McClain - Original drummer) is back in the band and having him back behind the kit for the Worm Shepherd sound gives some of that original tone from our first albums together. Us having this new sort of style that we’re doing, Ian (Archaic Epidemic) fits in perfectly with his aggressiveness and tonality of our new music and I can’t wait to see what people think. This is the beginning of a new era for Worm Shepherd." - Tre Perdue (Guitars)
Tracklist:
The Omen
Soulless Lament
Feast
Sanctified Rot
Whispers Of A Buried Land
UPC: 820200102416Label: Unique LeaderRelease Date: 6.5.26Format: CD
Xorsist prepare to unleash their third album called "Aberrations", slated for release in April 2026. While their earlier recordings honored the path that defined the classic Stockholm sound, "Aberrations" marks a decisive step forward, eclipsing everything that came before it and presenting a clearer, more defined expression of the band's musical vision. With this new chapter, Xorsist continue to carry the Swedish Death Metal torch into darker territory.
Tracklist:
Rest Impending
Souls to Mourn
Draped in Sorrow's Cloth...
An Elegy Unfolds
Of Where I Reside
Faceless
His Shrouded Gaze
...And Aged in Embers
Disbelief
Memorial Cries
UPC: 8715392262722Label: NapalmRelease Date: 7.3.26Format: CD
Bay Area thrash unit Xzanthus formed during the late-'80s in the San Jose, CA region- eventually settling on a lineup of Steev Esquivel (vocals), Henry Moreno (drums), Pat Nelson (bass), and guitarists Eric Beard and Michael Terry. Early talks with Roadrunner Records fell apart when Esquivel opted to relocate to Oakland and join fellow heavy-hitters DEFIANCE. His replacement, Dave Vest, was then eventually supplanted by David Sandoval, the group's third and final frontman.Right off the bat, the band developed a hard-charging, no nonsense brand of thrash metal that countered it's gnashing aggression with an undercurrent of traditional heavy metal structure and melodicism. The first two sessions with Esquivel tended toward a rawer, down-and-dirty attack; whereas later outings with Vest and Sandoval developed tighter musicianship and slightly more dramatic singing styles.Xzanthus tracked a whopping four demos between 1988 and 1991; performing countless shows alongside area friends Forbidden, Epidemic, Wrekking Machine, Fatality & Marquis de Sade; not to mention other established greats such as VIO-LENCE, SACRED REICH, D.R.I. & BODY COUNT. Despite this exposure as well as an obvious progression in the quality of their recorded output, the group ultimately fizzled away without securing the opportunity for a proper LP- their material largely lost to time as a somewhat mysterious unsung gem of the Bay Area thrash scene. Much of the information regarding Xzanthus online is incomplete or inaccurate, and even the band members have trouble piecing together the timeline almost 35 years later.That's why Divebomb Records is thrilled to present World of Misery: The Demo Anthology, a 15-song, 62-minute complete discography of Xzanthus. Sourced from the original analog multi-track reels as often as possible, the transfers have been mixed and mastered by Jamie King Audio in order to preserve these rather elusive examples of this corner of classic Bay Area thrash. The CD will be packaged alongside a 12-page booklet including original artwork, photos, lyrics, and an interview with guitarist Eric Beard. For the fans, by the fans!
Tracklist:
Mindwarp
Wastelands
World of Misery
Without the Darkness
Prelude to War
N.I.L
Images of Hatred
World of Misery
Promised Fate
1
World of Misery
1
Images of Hatred
1
the Unknown
1
Distant
1
Wastelands
1
Face the Fear
UPC: 711576025129Label: DivebombRelease Date: 5.8.26Format: CD
The daemonic avatar Yoth Iria was first explicitly summoned on Rotting Christ's legendary debut Thy Mighty Contract in 1993. Bassist/lyricist Jim Mutilator formed that band as Black Church in 1984, before also becoming a founder member of cult Athenian BM heroes Varathron for their first five years. Renewing the otherworldly atmospheres and occult ravishment for a new era, Yoth Iria functions almost as the third panel in an apocalyptic triptych of Hellenic black metal excellence.There's a thrilling balance of ancient and modern, good and evil, harmony and dissonance, advancing Yoth Iria as a hungry contender for extreme metal's big leagues - an ever-improving unit with a glorious future. Appropriately, however, Gone With The Devil is best summed up with a line already coined by the band to describe their ongoing body of work: "Every note tells a story of rebirth, tradition, and the relentless pursuit of musical transcendence."
Tracklist:
Dare to Rebel
Woven Spells of a Demon
The Blind Eye of Antichrist
I, Totem
3:00 AM
Give 'em My Beautiful Hell
Once in a Blue Moon
Blessed be He Who Enters
The End of the Known Civilization
Harut, Government, Fallen
UPC: 039841620429Label: Metal BladeRelease Date: 5.8.26Format: CD
2CD Digisleeve with red hoit foil print on the sleeve. ZAKK SABBATH are back with an even more massive dose of pure BLACK SABBATH worship! Celebrating more than 50 years of Birmingham's most famous four, the 'inventors' of heavy metal are being honoured by the preeminent tribute trio led by guitarist and singer Zakk Wylde with the double album "Doomed Forever Forever Doomed". This loving tribute contains the Americans' brilliant take on BLACK SABBATH's second and third full-lengths, the classic heavy metal masterpieces "Paranoid" (1970) and "Master of Reality" (1971). ZAKK SABBATH were founded by BLACK LABEL SOCIETY guitarist and singer Zakk Wylde, who is widely renowned for his many years as lead guitarist for OZZY OSBOURNE and now PANTERA. After initially only performing live with rotating members, ZAKK SABBATH solidified a stable cast with the addition of OZZY OSBOURNE and ROB ZOMBIE bass player Blasko and Joey Castillo on drums (also of DANZIG and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE). Inspired by the 50th anniversary of BLACK SABBATH's self-titled debut full-length, ZAKK SABBATH released a tribute to this monumental heavy metal milestone under the title "Vertigo" in 2020. The album was heaped with praise from critics and fans alike. The trio scored a massive global success as witnessed by impressive Billboard chart entries such as #5 on the US Hard Music chart, #7 on the Current Rock Albums chart and #27 on the Billboard Top Albums chart alongside #1 in Metal Albums in France and #3 on the German Album chart, as well as #9 on the UK Top 40 Rock/Metal chart among others. Pure passion for classic metal has driven ZAKK SABBATH to erect an even more monolithic monument to BLACK SABBATH than before with the double album "Doomed Forever Forever Doomed". Time to bang heads again to these beautifully revisited songs that easily rank among the most influential and consequential ever composed by humans!
Tracklist:
War Pigs
Paranoid
Planet Caravan
Iron Man
Electric Funeral
Hand of Doom
Rat Salad
Fairies Wear Boots
Sweet Leaf
After Forever
Embryo
Children of the Grave
Orchid
Lord of This World
Solitude
Into the Void
UPC: 884388879065Label: Magnetic EyeRelease Date: 3.1.24Format: CD
Zakk Sabbath, the preeminent BLACK SABBATH tribute band featuring guitarist and vocalist Zakk Wylde, bassist Blasko, and drummer Joey Castillo are back to sell their souls for rock 'n' roll! "Greatest Riffs" is a 10-track retrospective of pure BLACK SABBATH worship, with choice cuts pulled from across the massively received albums "Vertigo", "Doomed Forever Forever Doomed" and "Vol. 4 Redux". "Greatest Riffs" features blistering Zakk Sabbath renditions of songs originally appearing on the Birmingham four's undeniable classics "Master of Reality", "Paranoid", "Vol. 4", and the self-titled debut LP. Founded by BLACK LABEL SOCIETY frontman Zakk Wylde, renowned for his many years as lead guitarist for OZZY OSBOURNE and now PANTERA, alongside OZZY OSBOURNE and ROB ZOMBIE bassist Blasko, and drummer Joey Castillo (DANZIG, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE), Zakk Sabbath presented their first studio release in 2020 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of BLACK SABBATH's self-titled debut full-length, releasing their own tribute to the heavy metal milestone under the title "Vertigo". The album was heaped with praise from critics and fans alike, scoring massive global success as witnessed by impressive Billboard chart entries such as #5 on the US Hard Music chart, #7 on the Current Rock Albums chart and #27 on the Billboard Top Albums chart. Outside the US, the debut scored a #1 in Metal Albums in France and #3 on the German Album chart, as well as #9 on the UK Top 40 Rock/Metal chart among others. Pure passion for classic metal drove Zakk Sabbath to erect an even more monolithic monument to BLACK SABBATH with the double album "Doomed Forever Forever Doomed" in 2023. This towering double LP beautifully revisited the albums "Master of Reality" and "Paranoid" that both feature some of the most influential and consequential heavy anthems of all time!
Tracklist:
The Wizard
N.I.B.
Iron Man
Fairies Wear Boots
Sweet Leaf
War Pigs
Into the Void
Solitude
Evil Woman
Under the Sun
UPC: 884388890893Label: Magnetic EyeRelease Date: 10.17.25Format: CD
Zepter are a new, up-and-coming heavy metal band from Austria, formed in 2024. Shortly afterwards, their first EP, Inferno, was released on cassette in a limited edition of 100 copies via Ironbound (followed by a vinyl edition from Fucking Kill Records and a CD edition from Witches Brew). Zepter's debut album, released on High Roller Records, offers authentic old-school heavy metal with catchy hooks and tasteful twin harmony parts. The album sounds like an earthy cocktail of Thin Lizzy and UFO from the Schenker era with elements of early speed metal à la Acid and Slayer, if they had existed in 1978 - with influences from Saxon, Witchfinder General, Dark Star, Raven, Saracen, Angel Witch, and Satan.
Tracklist:
Slasher on the Highway
Everlasting
The Slayer
Hit the Streets
The Exterminator
Dark Angels
Lonely Night (Screem Cover)
The Lords
UPC: 4251267723423Label: High Roller RecordsRelease Date: 4.3.26Format: CD
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![the album cover for Zakk Sabbath - Doomed Forever Forever Doomed [Digipak]](http://tumbleweedsct.com/cdn/shop/files/4283561-3084681.jpg?crop=center&height=645&v=1774281139&width=465)
