Norway’s Tonic Breed, led by one man thrash machine Patrik K. Svendsen, has teamed up with Flotsam and Jetsam guitarist Michael Gilbert for a guest solo on the new single “The Die Is Cast”. This is the second collaboration of 2025 by Tonic Breed and follows the previously released track “The Charge” with Darkroot.

Straight to the point. No fluff, no filler, “The Die Is Cast” is pure, hard-hitting thrash from start to finish, with a touch of melody woven in. The song is about a powerful war machine that lies broken and abandoned, surrounded by the wreckage of others like it. Its silence feels heavy, as if it’s aware of the destruction it once brought and the emptiness that followed.

Svendsen adds about the track:

“I think the fans are gonna dig this one. Tonic Breed never releases a song that sounds too much like the previous one. Also, with guest appearances, the unique touch on each song is there all the time. I’m super excited about the response from the fans! I went for an ’80s thrash composition on this one! Having Michael on board is an absolute honor, as he was a part of that era and genre of music.”

Gilbert comments:

“It was an honor to be asked to do a guest solo appearance with Patrik and Tonic Breed. Some killer heavy music and a pleasure to be a part of. Cheers!”

Tonic Breed is a Norwegian thrash and heavy metal one-man music project by Patrik K. Svendsen. Until 2019, Tonic Breed was originally a four-piece band, established in Sarpsborg, Norway, in 2006. As of 2022, Tonic Breed has released three albums and one EP. Today, Tonic Breed is constantly reinventing itself in songwriting and guest collaborations.

UK death metal goliaths CELESTIAL SANCTUARY are pleased to present their video for “Choking On The Rotten Seed.” The track comes off the band‘s critically adored Visions Of Stagnant Blood EP, recently reissued by Metal Blade Records.

Comments vocalist/guitarist Thomas Cronin, “The idea behind the video was to introduce ourselves and what we’re about to people who haven’t heard our band yet, and there’s a lot of people out there who haven’t got a fucking clue who we are.

“Stylistically, we really just wanted to capture that essence and feeling of discovering your new favorite band on Headbangers Ball at 2:00am. We’re not trying to recreate any particular video or look like we’re of another era, but those videos that have stuck with us are mostly just the bands walking around the town they’re from, playing in some skanky little room or live footage of them doing their thing. Too many bands get caught in the trap of trying to create some fuckin’ viral moment or having something super polished and sleek. I have a career as a music video producer, so we could have easily gone and done something like that straight outta the gate. But we’re just not about that; our music is hard enough as it is, and we have the attitude to go with it. So why not let that shine for now?

“The history of the area we hail from was a big influence on the lyrical content on this release,” he continues, “so for the exterior shots, we didn’t just choose the coolest looking spots; each of them has a significant historical and gory importance… There‘s the ruins of the Abbey of St. Edmunds (now Abbey Gardens): During a big battle in East Anglia, King Edmund was pelted with loads of arrows and then beheaded and discarded in the woods like a rotten sack of meat. Legend has it that his body was found being guarded by a wolf. Then there was The Abbey Precinct/Graveyard, which is where a ton of executions took place throughout the years, where thousands of people would come to watch for entertainment, most notably the execution of William Corder who was guilty of the ‘Red Barn Murders.’  It’s also where the executions — or should I say murders — of the witches captured by Matthew Hopkins, ‘Witchfinder General’ took place. And then there‘s the last one, Skinner Street. Basically, this is the street where the butchers in the area were based. They’d dump all the ‘unused’ blood out onto the street, which has a bit of an incline, so the blood would flow down this cobbled street and pool at the bottom in the town’s jewelry quarter. So, there’s stories of people wading through stagnant blood and having to put up with the smell of rotten entrails. Half of us grew up in this town, and it’s always just seemed so normal to us – all this gory shit that’s happened over the years.”

Watch CELESTIAL SANCTUARY‘s “Choking On The Rotten Seed” video HERE

CELESTIAL SANCTUARY‘s Visions Of Stagnant Blood EP was initially released independently in 2024. Distorted Sound called it “powerful, imposing, gory,” Metal Forces lauded a full on “bludgeoning riddled with archaic and primitive slickness and sickness,” while Noobheavy hailed “big, filthy death metal with riffs for days.”

As we await the long-anticipated CD release of Near Death Experience’s critically acclaimed debut album, Brief Is The Light, on May 30th, 2025, the French gothic doom metal ensemble reignites the shadows with a haunting re-release of their lyric video for “A Voice in the Dark.” This mesmerizing music video is a journey through life, death, and the yearning to return.

“A Voice in the Dark” is a melancholic yet powerful exploration of the fragile line between existence and oblivion. With ethereal melodies, crushing riffs, and haunting vocals, Near Death Experience creates a captivating narrative of love, loss, and the desperate desire to escape the shadows: “The waves crash, the sand shifts beneath weary feet—will they find their way back, or remain lost in the dark forever?”

Watch “A Voice in the Dark” now:

Originally a solo instrumental project by Mathieu Bonfardin (drums) during the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, Near Death Experience (NDE) was fully formed as a band in Nantes, France, in May 2022. NDE blends gothic, melancholic doom metal with clean, lyrical female vocals. Influenced by bands like Paradise Lost, The Gathering, Draconian, Katatonia, Black Sabbath, Moonspell, and Metallica, NDE explores the dark and compelling theme of near-death experiences.

Their LP, Brief Is The Light, is a concept album telling the story of a woman, a victim of domestic violence, now in a coma and experiencing near-death visions. As she recalls her past life, she yearns to return to reality, despite the suffering and uncertainty.

Will you press ‘play’ and journey with her? Don’t worry—the light will shine at the end.

Rickert G. delivers a searing dose of melodic death metal with the lyric video for “Singularity”, taken from the album Endless Thoughts, out now via Wormholedeath.

A brutal odyssey through darkness, destruction, and defiance, “Singularity” is a relentless battle against oblivion. Torn apart, betrayed, and buried—yet rising stronger each time—this track channels raw intensity, catapulting listeners into the abyss where cosmic weight meets unbreakable will. Will you escape, or will you be consumed?

Watch the video:

Born from the depths of trauma, Endless Thoughts is more than an album—it’s catharsis. A harrowing yet empowering narrative of descent and resilience, its eight evocative scenes paint a visceral portrait of struggle and survival.

Musically, Rickert G. fuses the crushing intensity of melodic death metal with a profound artistic vision. Fans of Hypocrisy, Amon Amarth, Dark Tranquillity, Opeth, At the Gates, and In Flames will feel right at home in this sonic maelstrom.

A multi-instrumentalist and composer, Rickert G. blends the raw aggression of metal with the depth of academic composition. Armed with a background in piano, audio production, and composition, his music is a visceral expression of pain, power, and perseverance.