The 22 news items published in the morning and evening of Thursday, October 1, 2026, with the day's 2 features.
Excerpt from a feature
The second Legends of AVALON, the third event in the Avalon label's 30th-anniversary series, comes to CLUB CITTA' in Kawasaki on March 22, 2027, headlined by FROZEN CROWN, HAGANE and The Lethal Weapons, with MOONLIGHT SORCERY on their first visit to Japan. FROZEN CROWN also play their own show in Osaka on March 20.
Excerpt from a feature
The timetable is out for FULL METAL JAPAN 2026 at Pia Arena MM in Yokohama on October 24 and 25: doors at 12:00 and five bands from 13:00 each day, with MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP closing the first day from 19:40 and POWERWOLF the second from 20:00, both with 90 minutes.
The BLACK SABBATH guitarist’s first solo album in twenty-one years arrives on October 23 through BMG, with the Japanese edition on November 6. "Stormwatcher" follows July’s "World Alone" as the second single and is presented as an animated music video.
Play MVThe guitarist was one of sixty-seven people honoured by the Princess Royal at a Windsor Castle investiture on September 30. Iommi wrote on social media, "At Windsor Castle today to receive my MBE!" The honour itself had been announced in June.
It is the ninth album by the Grammy-nominated Connecticut hardcore/metal veterans, and their first for their new label BLKIIBLK.
Play MVThe album is out on October 23, and the band’s own Nathan Weaver directed the video.
Play MVIt was the band’s September 29 support slot for IRON MAIDEN and MEGADETH at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas; no reason was given for Benante’s absence. Heller, who lives in San Antonio, took a 2:00pm call from MEGADETH drummer Dirk Verbeuren and was on stage at 6:30pm, having charted the songs in between. He wrote on social media that he "didn’t know any ANTHRAX songs on the drums", sat with the band for less than an hour, "and then went on stage in front of 56,000 people or whatever, and did my best".
The former MORBID ANGEL drummer announced his departure on social media on September 30 after four years with the band, and will not take part in the autumn European "Morbidfest" tour with ATHEIST and CANCER. He said he had been ill with flu on the last tour but that this was not the reason, adding that "for some time now, I haven’t been feeling the same connection with these songs anymore".
May appeared at Taylor’s September 28 solo concert at the Roundhouse in London. Taylor, 77, is promoting his solo album "Violence Insane In A Beautiful World"; he sang lead throughout the two-hour set and played drums on only one track. May came up for the final two songs, "We Will Rock You" and "Radio Ga Ga".
The residency runs to March 13, 2027 across twenty-four shows, with different setlists on the Thursday and Saturday performances.
The festival runs from June 3 to 5, 2027 at Park 360 in Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, with FAITH NO MORE and BLINK-182 as headliners. Architects, Billy Talent, Motionless In White, Static-X, Neck Deep and From Ashes To New are among the other acts announced, and further names are promised.
The festival takes place from August 18 to 21, 2027 at Todenham Manor Farm near Moreton-in-Marsh in the UK. The first wave also features Blood Incantation, SLIFT, The Ocean, Messa, Conjurer and Holy Fawn, with The Wildhearts playing a progressive set.
The new band pairs Falck with former members of the Texas group THE OUTLAW DEVILS — vocalist Jerry Woolverton, guitarist Gary Wofford and bassist Rob Tate. The single arrives through DSN Music. Besides OVERKILL, Falck is known for his work with Paul Di’Anno’s band.
Out through Nuclear Blast, the collection brings together audio and video from the 2022 Amsterdam arena show and the 2023 homecoming show in Kitee, plus live-in-the-studio audio captured during the band's virtual live events. "Tribal" comes from the Amsterdam show.
Play MVThe band announced the milestone, which puts the song in Spotify's Billions Club.
The band announced the box set, which includes the previously unreleased March 1981 demo "Nobody Knows What It's Like To Be Lonely". The original album came out on November 10, 1981.
The eight-track album is billed as the spiritual successor to 2016's "La Petite Mort Or A Conversation With God". The new song opens the record.
Play MVThe release date is also his birthday. It follows his solo debut "1980" (February 2025), made entirely with 1980s gear, and moves into more modern electronics. The new track "Find What You Love And Let It Kill You" is out now on streaming services.
It runs from the 1992 debut "Diabolical Fullmoon Mysticism" to 2023's "War Against All", plus the live album "The Seventh Date Of Blashyrkh", recorded at Wacken Open Air in 2007.
The video was released on Napalm Records' official channel.
Play MVYuki wrote every song herself. Alongside instrumentals the album includes two vocal tracks, and two songs feature bassist Chris (Murasaki) and drummer Leon (8BALL / ex-SEX MACHINEGUNS).
The programme airs on NHK General from 22:00 to 22:45, with a rerun on October 12. TMG perform three songs in the studio, and Tak Matsumoto talks about B'z's appearance at the Kohaku Uta Gassen and his years as TM NETWORK's support guitarist.
The feature also includes a collaboration with the magazine's "Metal Joshi" series.
The event mixes songs from the new album with talk. Doors 12:30, start 13:00. Advance tickets are 4,000 yen and door 4,500 yen (drink 700 yen extra each); a 6,000-yen perk ticket adds a signed memorial ticket, a two-shot photo and early entry. Tickets go on sale at LivePocket at 20:00 on October 5.