Teenage Bottlerocket
They’ve toured the world countless times. They kept the leather jacket-and-Converse look alive through an increasingly neon landscape. They’ve written songs about KISS, Top Gun and Minecraft. Hell, they’ve even been on CNN a few times! Please welcome back to the spotlight Wyoming’s own…Teenage Bottlerocket! With more than 100 original songs already in their catalog, how does the band stay motivated when they’re eight records deep? “We’re always in competition with ourselves,” Carlisle explains. “The real competition is between me and Kody. It’s like, ‘You wrote a song that destroys everything else on this record. Let me try to do that to you real quick. How’s that feel?” And then he comes back and one ups me.“It’s all about the songs,” he continues. “The songs carry this record all the way. That’s not to say there are bad songs on our other records—we have a hard time releasing a shitty song. But these songs are especially great. You know ALL’s best-of record where Allroy is dissecting a musical note? I felt we kind of tapped into that record in a great way, not in a ‘Oh no, they’re experimental now!’ way. This is a Teenage Bottlerocket record through and through, but there’s a lot of hidden elements.” Carlisle’s pride about their latest album, Sick Sesh!, is obvious, but he’s not the only one who loves the album. “Fat Mike called me and said, ‘Hey, this is your best record,” Carlisle recalls. “I said, ‘Cool,thanks for noticing.’” Given that the band is already two decades old, however, is there any chance of the band slowing down? Carlisle shoots that idea down right away.“I want to have the best next 10 years,” the singer says. “We’ve grinded the grind. Now we get to actually enjoy being a band, and not think too much about different ways to try and ‘make it.’ We’re riding this wave we built ourselves. I wanna surf it for another 10 years.”Well there you have it: The three things in life you can always count on are death, taxes and Teenage Bottlerocket.
Archspire
Ticketless upgrade available at https://www.archspire.net/ Since 2009, Archspire has aimed to be one thing above all else: extreme. With their upcoming release Too Fast to Die, they’ve once again raised the bar for what extreme music can be. “We’re like a bit of meth in your cigarette,” says vocalist Oliver Rae Aleron, describing the band’s unhinged live show. “I think people don’t quite know how to describe what they’re hearing.” Now five albums deep, the band continues to push the limits of speed and virtuosity while somehow keeping a sharp focus on hooks. Their music sits on a knife’s edge of “too much,” and just when you think you’ve hit overload, they drop in a soaring melody or a meticulously crafted clean section long enough for you to breathe; before throwing you back into a rap-flow vocal assault or some of the fastest drumming you’ll ever hear. In 2025, Archspire announced their new drummer, Spencer Moore, marking a shift in the band’s trajectory. New blood brings new influences, and with the first single Carrion Ladder, they intend to show exactly how quickly he proved himself. “I had to step my game up fast to pull off the new material,” Spencer explains. “But once we started tracking, everything felt comfortable and natural.” Recorded in 2025, the album reunites the band with world-renowned producer Dave Otero (Cattle Decapitation, Khemmis) for the third time. They locked themselves inside his Denver studio for several months, cutting out distractions and dedicating themselves entirely to the record. Too Fast to Die follows the critically acclaimed Juno Award winning Bleed the Future, and marks the band’s first fully independent release. Early in the writing process they chose to crowdfund the album, a strategy they’d used before; but nothing prepared them for the scale of what came next. They raised nearly $400,000 CAD in 30 days, blowing past their goal in under 24 hours and confirming that independence was the right move. “I was actually shaking when I pressed launch,” says guitarist Dean Lamb. “We’d never taken on something this big, and all I could think was, ‘man, I hope we don’t mess this up.’” Too Fast to Die is set for release on April 10, 2026, and represents a new chapter for Archspire. Now fully independent and armed with a revitalized lineup, they’re intent on expanding their already rabid fanbase, pushing the boundaries of extreme metal, and having a great time doing it.
Volumes
VentanA
Rivers of Nihil
Sixteen years and five albums after the Pennsylvania band’s formation, progressive death metal progenitors Rivers of Nihil are upping the ante with their 2025 self-titled album Rivers of Nihil. Traditionally, a self-titled record can signal a return to basics and/or a fresh beginning, and in 10 powerful songs, it’s clear that both those factors are in play. Founding bassist Adam Biggs became the band’s new lead vocalist/bassist in 2023; the same year marked the appearance of additional guitarist Andy Thomas (ex-Black Crown Initiate), whose vocals also play prominently on Rivers of Nihil. Producers Carson Slovak and Grant McFarland at Atrium Audio captured the new dynamics across more than 50 minutes of music. On June 15, 2023, the band released a new single, “The Sub-Orbital Blues,” the first track with Biggs handling lead vocals (following the 2022 departure of singer Jake Dieffenbach, and also their first featuring Thomas). A second single, “Hellbirds,” dropped on October 19 of that year. On April 29, 2024, the band released the cut “Criminals” and an accompanying music video. Both “Criminals” and “The Sub-Orbital Blues” appear on Rivers of Nihil. The new album’s first single of 2025, “House of Light,” is a track the band believes “encapsulates the nature of what it is that we do perfectly while offering a different perspective on the sound with the new lineup,” explains founding member/guitarist Brody Uttley, who also plays piano and does the programming in the band. “Everything that our fans have come to love about our sound is demonstrated in this song with the new addition of Andy singing and Biggs on main vocals. It has the riffs, it has the big chorus, it has the prog, it has the solos, it has the sax. Just a real classic example of what we will do as a band in 2025.” Rivers of Nihil also showcases additional musicians, including Patrick Corona on alto saxophone; Stephan Lopez on banjo; McFarland on cello; and a slate of other guest vocalists. Further singles include “American Death,” a true-to-form beater that’s sure to slay live, and “Water & Time,” which Uttley says is Rivers’ “stab at writing a big chorus style synth-laden song. The main melody on synth came out so cool the band filled out the song with “metal band stuff” for the potent final version heard on Rivers of Nihil. Despite the fresh approach on Rivers of Nihil, the album fits neatly into the band’s discography. With Where Owls Know My Name (2018), Rivers of Nihil transcended all labels applied to them, and with its 2021 follow-up, The Work, they forged further into new territory. Metal Injection calling the latter album “by far the group’s most cohesive, ambitious, meditative, and varied effort, with greater uses of philosophical significance and transcendental respites.” The quartet’s musicianship has been honed to a fine point thanks to an unrelenting touring schedule over the past few years, including headline tours of the U.S. and EU/UK, as well as support slots on the Chaos and Carnage Tour (Cattle Decapitation, Carnifex, etc.), Lorna Shore, Between the Buried and Me, and shows with Killswitch Engage.
PSYCHOSTICK & GALACTIC EMPIRE
Castrator
Three years after their crushing debut Defiled in Oblivion, CASTRATOR returns with Coronation of the Grotesque, an album that not only exceeds all expectations but leaves them shattered in its wake, firmly cementing the band among the North American death metal elite. Touring with the likes of Immolation, Exhumed, and Cattle Decapitation has cemented CASTRATOR’s reputation as a commanding live force, and concert announcements in support of Coronation of the Grotesque are imminent.
All We Got is Us Fest
Day 1 with performances from: Dose, Setback, Failure Drill, Before I Depart, By All Means, In My Way, Sacred, Xablazex, Volition Day 2 with performances from: Identity crisis, Lead spirit, Position of Power, Primitive Rage, Exogen, Totaled, Nullify, Bootcamp, Yliv
Graveripper
Graverippper – blackened thrash from Indianapolis, IN “Known for speed, aggression and catchy, moshable riffs, Graveripper blend elements of black metal and thrash.” https://graveripper.bandcamp.com/ Sadistic Force – Balls out blackened speed metal assault from Austin, TX https://sadisticforce.bandcamp.com/
SPACED
SPACED is hardcore from Buffalo, NY. THE SISSY BOYS are from Muskegon, MI. Swing Youth is a Straight Edge Hardcore band. Established in 2024 by Des Moines teens.