Mark your calendar for April 17th, because it’s going to be an epic day!
From Ashes To New is set to release their powerful album Reflections under Better Noise Music, while Nekrogoblikon brings their quirky flair with the The Boiling Sea EP, an independent gem you won’t want to miss. And let’s not forget about Wage War with their gripping new EP It Calls Me By Name from Fearless Records. Each of these releases promises to deliver something special to your playlists!
From Ashes To New: Reflections
Better Noise Music
April 17th, 2026
By late 2023, From Ashes to New was at a creative crossroads. The group wrapped up demos for 16 songs that were to be part of its fifth studio album. However, instead of sprinting towards the finish line and completing the record, the band decided to scrap those demo sessions.
“For a year, it was just like, ‘This is terrible,’” From Ashes to New frontman Matt Brandyberry says. “And then we threw it all in the trash.”
The process went against everything From Ashes to New did before. Usually, they’d have a set number of songs they’d go into the studio with, record those songs, and maybe have one or two leftover. Scrapping a session and mainly starting anew (they kept two songs) was liberating.
For years, From Ashes to New has captured the hearts and minds of music fans worldwide. The band’s streaming figures are in the hundreds of millions, they successfully sell out tours, and have performed alongside some of the biggest names in rock. Yet even so, something wasn’t working, and it forced them to dig deep creatively. Rather than being compared to others, From Ashes to New collectively wanted to forge its path, creating a sound that was distinctly its own.
As Brandyberry says, it was time for the Pennsylvania natives to make music that would stretch beyond their comfortable radio rock appeal. The band’s previous album, 2023’s Blackout, was a step in the right direction and one that the band is proud of. However, this time around, From Ashes to New has loftier expectations and goals.
“I wanted to take what we are good at and push it even further,” Brandyberry says. “That was the process for this whole record.”
When From Ashes to New scrapped those sessions, the band collectively knew they had to make something that remained true to their traditional sound, yet broadened the tent to capture the ears and focus of a fresh audience. In this case, it means furthering the sound into alt-metal.
“If we can sit back and we can go, ‘That’s pretty fucking cool,’ or if we can sit back and go ‘Oh I don’t know about that,’ it would be successful,” Brandyberry says of the band’s process.
Once From Ashes to New had its Eureka moment, the group sat down and had the most successful sessions of its career. Tearing through a three-week recording process, the newly armed confidence is clear throughout the songs that will encompass its next album.
Thematically, the album explores two distinct themes: heaven and hell. It revolves around the idea of falling from grace and trying to reach a place in life that feels like you’ve made it, only to be dragged right back down to a purgatory where that is the present state of being.
This is reflected in “Drag Me,” a rollicking track that features a chorus unlike anything the band has done before. The lyrics focus on what happens when you give in to all your negative thoughts. The pulsating, industrial-driven beat of “New Disease” sees the band at its most urgent, with every word and note keeping listeners on edge.
On its upcoming album, From Ashes to New made a conscious effort to craft songs with cool topics, catchy titles, and lyrics that hold meaning for them. They wanted their audience to understand what they were doing.
“One of the things that we learned in the past is that if we had an idea that was on the nose, we would try to color it differently to make it seem a little bit more heady,” Brandyberry says. “We did that and failed. I think that it’s better to have people know that we’re right there with you, man, and feeling the same way. Just because we have a cool job doesn’t mean that life isn’t hard.”
From Ashes to New have an album that will be released next year, and they’re all in on it. For now, the focus is on touring, but when that yet-to-be-titled album is out, it will see From Ashes to New introduce not only a new body of work, but a new sense of being.
Nekrogoblikon: The Boiling Sea EP
Independent Release
April 17th, 2026
The world’s premiere goblin metal masters, Nekrogoblikon, are set to unleash their latest sonic assault in the form of The Boiling Sea EP. Formed in 2006, the band catapulted from obscurity to global cult stardom with their 2012 viral anthem “No One Survives,” cementing a legacy of chaotic melodic death metal and zany, goblin-themed lore.
After years of relentless touring and five studio albums, the band has entered a bold new era. The Boiling Sea marks a historic milestone as the first official studio release to feature the band’s new vocal powerhouse duo: John Goblikon and Dickie Allen.
Once the band’s longtime mascot, insurance salesman, and podcast host, John Goblikon has finally been promoted to permanent lead vocalist, handling the melodic and clean singing duties.
Dickie Allen, renowned for his “throat-shredding” prowess in Infant Annihilator, the “goblin-in-human-form” now spearheads the band’s signature harsh vocals, bringing a new level of “carnage” to their recorded sound.
Produced and mixed by veteran “part-goblin” Jason Suecof (Job for a Cowboy, The Black Dahlia Murder), this new EP serves as a high-octane testing ground for the duo’s dynamic chemistry — first teased by the 2025 singles “Show Me Your Goblin” and “Fiend.”
Wage War: It Calls Me By Name
Fearless Records
April 17th, 2026
It Calls Me By Name is about being drawn to your roots. This isn’t a concept EP, but is meant to live in its own world. Five tracks shaped by Florida, the swamp, and the relentless aggression of nature. Built heavy, but still driven by the hooks that have defined Wage War. It’s their signature sound amplified and pushed further into metal than they’ve ever taken.
