OCCULT MASTER RELEASE NEW SINGLE "ISLAND OF LEPER"

 

PRESS RELEASE:

The Finnish Heavy Doom band Occult master are set to release their self-titled debut album on August 14th 2026 via Inverse Records. The first single 'Island of Leper' is unleashed today and it's available on streaming services: 

https://push.fm/fl/occult-master-island 

The band comments:

"A contemplative, multi-part, poignantly beautiful and overwhelmingly heavy progressive metal epic takes listeners on a sombre, melancholic journey, centered around two former lovers who are struck by a devastating misfortune after contracting leprosy. The couple, beloved of youth, meet on the island of the lepers, where they reminisce about their wonderful youth. The island, their final resting place, ultimately embraces them in its leprous embrace, where they will find an ultimate fulfilment."

BIOGRAPHY:

"Occult Master was founded in 2012 in Oulu, Finland, first starting as a heavy rock/doom band. After a line‑up change in 2020, the musical style turned faster, more rhythmic and more complex. Occult Master’s music is heavy, versatile and full of nuances, ranging from full‑throttle metal blasting to quiet, subtle and beautifully eerie musical landscapes. The band’s roots lie strongly in the classic heavy metal of the 1970s and 1980s. The songs are delivered in a hardy, straightforward and no‑nonsense style. In the dark‑toned music, the lyrics deal with different matters of life and the world in general, and at times even horror stories told with a devilish grin.

Occult Master - Island of Leper (Single 2026)

Composed & lyrics by Ari Eskola

ISRC: FI3FC2552702

Cover art by Kimmo Lukkari

Occult Master - Occult Master (Album 2026)

 

Track list:

1.  Just Another Nail in the Failier's Coffin 

2.  Island of Leper

3.  Heavy Metal Madness

4.  Lucifer's Henchman

5.  Ground of the Damned

6.  Who Is Our Enemy

7.  Sorry Soul

8.  Soothing Swamp

9.  Gnarly Geezer

Recorded by Jussi Risto

Mixed & mastered by Kimmo Lukkari

Cover art by Jarno Vesa

CD PRE-ORDERS from HERE. 

­

Occult Master are:

Ari Eskola – guitars and vocals

Toni Mäki – bass and backing vocals

Jussi Risto – drums

Links: 

https://www.facebook.com/occultmasterband 

https://occultmaster.bandcamp.com

BURIAL CLOUDS RELEASE "BURN HOLY"

 

PRESS RELEASE:

Portland post-doom metal collective BURIAL CLOUDS will release their stunning new full-length, Burn Holy, on May 22nd.

BURIAL CLOUDS’ music lives in constant tension between beauty and rage, crushing riffs and intricate expanses walking the lines between inner and outer worlds, healing ritual and seditious fire. Every song is a meditation on what it means to live with a gentle, livid heart in an inhuman age.

The band’s debut album – 2023’s Last Days Of A Dying World released via Church Road Records – was met with praise from both fans and critics alike. Kerrang likened it to “walking into the ocean and being crushed by the waves,” while Outlaws Of The Sun lauded a record that’s as “…heavy, epic, and emotional as they come.”

Subsequently, they embarked on a successful run through their home turf of the Pacific Northwest, followed by a UK tour, culminating in an appearance at the renowned Arctangent Fest. The following year saw significant lineup changes. Founders Matt Mitchell and Flynn Hargreaves remain on guitar and bass respectively. Marina Lavelle, who was the central figure in the video for “Beirut Shores,” makes her debut with vocals that range from searing, unhinged hostility to delicate vulnerability and soaring expressiveness. Her introduction brings a new and enthralling dynamic to both the sound and perspective of BURIAL CLOUDS music. Bryce Ramsey, previously of Trials, a juggernaut of a player whose approach is as soulful as it is technical, has been recruited on guitar. The multi-talented Tim Iserman, of Salo and Beguile and formerly of Ritual Veil, brings their ferocious, feral energy to the drums. From the crucible of songwriting and DIY recording and production, a newly reformed BURIAL CLOUDS emerged with their best work to date: Burn Holy. 

Elaborates Mitchell on the creation of Burn Holy, "We set out to make this record more intense in every direction than Last Days... Prettier and heavier, more gentle, vicious, intense, technically challenging, you name it. Having Marina on vocals has allowed us to highlight aspects of the music that might have otherwise been missed. She's able to access dimensions of expression the rest of us just can't. The depth that Bryce's killer backups bring can't go unmentioned either; the combination of the two creates greater than the sum of its parts. Burn Holy took more or less a year for us to write, starting about three months after the first record came out. There was no regular process. Some songs had the instrumental written first, vocals later. Some were all at once, some were a back-and-forth iterative process of rearranging, rewriting, rinse and repeat. As they developed, each song developed its own voice. We tried above all else to listen to what they told us was needed, and far more often than not, we all heard the same thing. Some songs went through upwards of 10 or 12 versions. It was a very intense process, and I think we all feel, because of that, that this is literally the best record we were capable of making at that point.”

In advance of the release, today the band unveils first single, “Be Not Afraid.” Offers Mitchell, "‘Be Not Afraid’ is ultimately about fear and awe and the consequences of their manipulation. We wanted to express our resistance to that, in the dynamics of the music, with a feeling of relentlessness and spiritual inevitability. Like erosive crashing waves or the fury of a mother protecting her young... You use whatever tools you have to rebalance the scales."

Watch BURIAL CLOUDS’ “Be Not Afraid” video HERE. Stream the track HERE.

Burn Holy was written, engineered, recorded, and mixed by BURIAL CLOUDS, and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege. The record will be released on CD, LP, and digital formats.

Find preorders at the BURIAL CLOUDS Bandcamp HERE. 

Burn Holy Track Listing [Digital]:

1. Burning The Olive Tree

2. Windflower

3. Ashen Altar

4. Negations

5. Be Not Afraid

6. Screaming, Drowning Pacified

7. Forget Me Not

8. Eyes Without Light

Burn Holy Track Listing [Vinyl]:

A Side:

1. Burning the Olive Tree

2. Windflower

3. Be Not Afraid

4. Negations

B Side:

1. Ashen Altar

2. Screaming, Drowning Pacified

3. Forget Me Not

4. Eyes Without Light

BURIAL CLOUDS:

Matt Mitchell – guitar

Flynn Hargreaves – bass

Marina Lavelle – vocals

Bryce Ramsey – guitar

Tim Iserman – drums

https://www.instagram.com/burial_clouds

https://burialclouds.bandcamp.com

LUNGBURNER RELEASE "DOGMA"

 

PRESS RELEASE:

LungBurner

Dogma

Terminus Hate City

17 April 2026

Atlanta, Georgia heavy music collective LUNGBURNER will release their third full length album Dogma on April 17, 2026 through Terminus Hate City Records. Written throughout 2025 and recorded, produced, engineered, mixed, and mastered entirely by the band, Dogma captures LUNGBURNER expanding their sonic identity while deepening the conceptual and emotional scope of their music. Across seven tracks and just over forty minutes, the album blends southern sludge weight with progressive composition, atmospheric electronics, and evolving melodic structures.

Conceptually, Dogma explores the psychological and spiritual consequences of entrenched belief systems. Drawing from mythology, philosophy, and personal reflection, the album examines how inherited ideas about religion, culture, and identity shape human behavior and perception. Each composition approaches the subject from a different perspective, forming a continuous narrative that moves through awakening, rebellion, struggle, and eventual balance.

The album opens with "Adamu", which begins with tribal percussion samples and a call to the fallen angel Lucifer before unfolding into a driving riff anchored by deep bass and aggressive vocal delivery. The title references the Babylonian concept of the first man and frames the song’s exploration of humanity’s emergence into self awareness and the uneasy realization of one’s place within larger systems of belief and structure.

"Rapture" follows with rapid guitar work and heavy rhythmic intensity, incorporating elements of modern metal alongside the band’s established low tuned foundation. The song shifts between melodic passages and driving grooves while examining the moment of personal realization that accompanies a rejection of inherited truths.

"The Sin of Defiance" introduces a more melodic opening before transitioning between hypnotic bass movement and heavy guitar passages. The lyrics draw from experiences of discipline, hierarchy, and survival, reflecting on the tension between obedience and individuality within systems that demand absolute loyalty.

"(Bhajan) The Fall" marks a turning point in the album’s atmosphere. Beginning with the interlude "Bhajan", a piece originally conceived many years earlier, the track introduces synthesizers as a prominent element and slows the pace into a meditative and weighty progression. The composition explores the disorientation that can accompany self realization, where clarity and fear coexist.

"Apostasy" begins with a spoken sample from philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti addressing the dangers of institutionalized belief. The track channels tightly controlled aggression and rhythmic precision while expanding on the album’s central theme of breaking from inherited doctrine in pursuit of personal truth.

"Misery" continues the album’s exploration of inner conflict with one of its heaviest sonic moments. Featuring guitars tuned to an extremely low register and layered with samples and synthesizer textures, the song reflects on the necessity of confronting illusion and acknowledging reality without compromise.

The album closes with the nine minute composition "Pistus Sophia", which unfolds gradually through evolving melodic passages and ritualistic atmosphere. The title references Sophia from Gnostic tradition, a figure representing wisdom and the balance of spiritual forces. The introduction features a spoken prayer to Lilith performed in Polish by Aleksandra Anderberg, whose visual artwork also provides the cover for Dogma. The track concludes the album by reflecting on the dual nature of spiritual experience and the search for equilibrium between opposing forces.

With its combination of crushing downtuned guitars, atmospheric electronics, and layered thematic content, Dogma presents LUNGBURNER’s most focused and expansive work to date. The album stands as a meditation on belief, individuality, and the human struggle to define truth within systems that often demand unquestioning faith.

About LUNGBURNER:

LUNGBURNER is a heavy music collective based in Atlanta, Georgia, known for combining the weight of southern sludge with progressive composition, industrial atmosphere, and evolving melodic structures. Built around deeply downtuned guitars, layered samples and synthesizers, and rhythmically complex arrangements, the band’s sound draws from a wide spectrum of influences including YOB, HIGH ON FIRE, KILLING JOKE, NINE INCH NAILS, PRINCE, SLOMATICS, OPETH, LED ZEPPELIN, and MINISTRY.

Formed in Athens, Georgia in 2023, LUNGBURNER quickly established momentum within the southeastern underground through a steady stream of releases and a growing live presence. Their debut album Embers arrived in early 2024, followed later that year by the sophomore album Natura Duale. Both releases introduced the band’s fusion of crushing heaviness, atmospheric experimentation, and philosophical lyrical themes.

The band continued to expand its reach throughout 2024 and 2025 with appearances at festivals including Tampa Doom and Gloom Fest, Gravitoid Heavy Music Doomfest, Seismic Fest, ATL Doom Fest, and Stoned Riff Revival. LUNGBURNER also completed the Fall Into Darkness Tour alongside FALSE GODS and shared the stage with BARONESS in Atlanta on New Year’s Eve 2025. Recognition from the heavy music press followed, including Rob Hammer BOTY 2024, placement in the Weedian Top 100, inclusion in the Monster Riff Top 75, and a position at number 32 on the Doom Charts.

Beyond the band’s musical identity, the members of LUNGBURNER come from diverse backgrounds outside the traditional doom and sludge scenes. All members work professionally in engineering disciplines and none of them originally came from doom or stoner rock bands. Their approach to heavy music developed organically from a shared interest in tone, atmosphere, and structure, resulting in a sound that balances crushing heaviness with dynamic composition.

LUNGBURNER currently features Jens Anderberg on guitar and lead vocals, Joseph Mills on guitar and backing vocals, and Joshua Broughton on bass. The band continues to evolve its sound while expanding its presence across the underground heavy music landscape.

LUNGBURNER is:

Jens Anderberg — Guitar, Lead Vocals

Joseph Mills — Guitar, Backing Vocals

Joshua Broughton — Bass

Connect with LUNGBURNER:

Bandcamp: https://lungburner.bandcamp.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lungburneratl

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lungburneratl

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@lungburneratl

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0WRBgLDbYMfLSrbb3tjNzK

Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/lungburner/1724598173