Linkin Park

In summer 2017 following Chris Cornell's death, we spoke to his friend Chester Bennington about the Soundgarden man's legacy. Sadly, it'd prove to be Chester's final interview

According to Billboard, METALLICA's quadruple-platinum seventh studio album, "ReLoad", has landed on several charts since being re-released on June 26 via the band's own Blackened Recordings. "ReLoad" Billboard album chart positions: * Top Hard Rock Albums, No. 1 (debut) * Top Rock Albums, No. 3 (de...

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Tribute sets to System Of A Down, Linkin Park, Disturbed, Chevelle and Sevendust will also be featured at select shows.

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Gaerea began in the realms of black metal, but now the mysterious Portuguese group are pushing boundaries

Boston post-metal quintet Junius have said that Sotera, their first album in nearly a decade, was inspired by the “divine feminine,” its songs informed by the power of Greek goddesses like Hecate, or mythological figures like Medea. On another level, it’s also the album where the long-running project learned to trust in the full-band process again. Vocalist-guitarist Joseph E. Martinez confesses that 2017’s Eternal Rituals was almost entirely produced by himself and co-founding drummer Dana Filoon. But the past handful of years have found the group, formed in 2003, rejuggling its lineup to now include bassist Orion Wainer and guitarists Eoghan McCarthy and Matthew Vincenty, top-tier collaborators brought on to co-author, per Martinez, the most collaborative Junius release since their 2009 debut album, The Martyrdom of a Catastrophist. “While the core songwriting is still mostly me, I had three new members in the band who are far more competent players than I, [who] could help bring ideas to life in ways I simply couldn t on my own,” Martinez tells Revolver. “For most of our existence, members lived in different states, so writing happened through emails,” he continues. “This was the first album in a long time where we could regularly get into a room together and work through ideas in real time. Hearing songs come alive every week changed the entire process.” “In my opinion, there s a new fire burning in this band,” adds drummer Filloon. “We have new blood that has sparked a tremendous amount of creativity and excitement. From the writing process to recording and finally releasing it, the entire experience has been incredibly rewarding and has given me a renewed desire to keep going.” Speaking with Revolver, Junius further weigh in on mythology, the band’s “spiritual shift,” recording gaps and more. You ve described Sotera as a rebirth for the band. Was there a specific moment during the writing or recording process when you realized this album was becoming something fundamentally different from what came before?Joseph E. Martinez I think the moment it really clicked for me was when I d send the guys demos I d written, we d get together at the practice space, and they d not only play the parts effortlessly, but start adding little nuances and ideas that I never would have thought of on my own. That s when I realized this version of Junius was different. For the first time, I could write beyond my own limitations as a player. Instead of worrying about whether I could physically perform every part while singing, I could focus on making the most impactful version of the song possible. On previous records, there were often layers upon layers of guitars, textures, and arrangements that helped create the atmosphere we were after. We always found ways to translate those songs to the stage, but with five members we have way more flexibility. As a result, the live show feels larger, fuller, and more dynamic than anything we ve done before. Orion Wainer Yeah, totally agree with Joe. It feels like we can translate the vision without compromise now. Less clutter, more impact. I’ve known Joe and Dana for 25 years, since before Junius was called Junius. All of their music has always resonated with me. I’m so stoked and grateful to be part of the new chapter, helping shape the new sound and sonic delivery alongside some of my most beloved friends. There’s a palpably rad energy in the group right now. The addition of Matt and Eoghan has been perfect. Love those dudes. Everyone shows up for the band and we work tremendously well together. The album draws heavily from figures like Hekate, Medea, the Oracle and the Initiatrix. What drew you toward the concept of the divine feminine as the central thread connecting these stories?Martinez I was watching an interview with philologist Dr. Ammon Hillman when he started discussing the possibility that the first Christ was a woman named Medea who may have existed nearly a thousand years before Jesus. I was hooked. I was immediately captivated by the image of a female healer standing at the foundation of ideas we often associate with later religious traditions. It completely reframed how I was thinking about mythology and history. The more I explored those ideas, the more I began to see Sotera taking shape. Hekate, Medea, the Oracle, Initiatrix, they all became different expressions of the same force. To me, one of the great imbalances of the modern world is that we ve spent thousands of years elevating masculine spiritual archetypes while largely forgetting or marginalizing their feminine counterparts. If Sotera has a central mission, it s to push back against that imbalance. The title itself means female savior. The album is an invocation. It s a call to bring her back. Previous Junius records often explored existential or cosmic themes. Sotera seems more spiritual and devotional in nature. Did that shift happen consciously, or did it emerge naturally from where you were personally during the band s hiatus?Martinez It emerged very naturally, but there was definitely a turning point. Our real hiatus was probably from 2017 to 2021. During that time, I wasn t really writing at all. COVID kind of took the wind out of my sails, creatively. I had friends who were incredibly productive during that period, but I wasn t one of them. Junius was largely dormant. Once things started opening up again, we began working with the new members and getting together regularly. We wrote some great music, but I still felt like something was missing. Most of it leaned more toward post-rock than metal, and I didn t really have a concept tying it all together. I was still searching. Then, about two years ago, I heard that interview with Dr. Hillman and then suddenly everything clicked. I scrapped most of the material we had been working on and started over. What s strange is that once I found the concept, the music seemed to arrive all at once. New songs came quickly, but so did old ideas that had been sitting dormant for years. So while Sotera is certainly more spiritual and devotional than our previous records, I don t think that shift was calculated. It came from finding an idea that genuinely inspired me. Initiatrix introduces the idea of someone beginning a rite or transformation. Do you see the album itself as a kind of initiation — for the listener, for the band or both?Martinez Both. The album is built around transformation, and transformation only works if there is participation. The listener is entering the rite alongside us. A lot of the record is centered on the idea of remembering something that has been forgotten. Through these songs we re trying to create a space where those ideas can live again. We re trying to bring her back into the world. What s really cool is that some of these ideas have been waiting for years to emerge. The chorus of Initiatrix was originally written nearly fifteen years ago, but it never fit anything I was working on. It just sat there, dormant — waiting for the right moment. As soon as Sotera began taking shape, I immediately remembered it. It feels like that song was waiting for this album long before I realized the album existed. The songs released so far suggest a balance between Junius trademark heaviness and a more expansive, almost meditative atmosphere. How did you approach that tension between aggression, ambience and melody on this record?Martinez That s always been the challenge with Junius. We never want heaviness for its own sake. The heavy moments only matter if they re contrasted by beauty. On Sotera, we pushed both ends further than we ever have before. Matthew Vincenty We love dynamics. When you have contrast it tends to make each of the elements more impactful. We all love records that are heavy the entire way through, or even ambient the entire way through, but if you’ve got a record that combines these sounds, each of them hits harder. The heavy parts feel heavier; the spacey parts are from a different galaxy. Everyone brings their own experiences into the creative process, I may interpret a part as a heavy headbanging riff, but Eoghan could hear it as a melodic passage. The best collaborations are when you can do both. A good example on the record is the very end of “Initiatrix” where the band was locked in with this heavy chug, but Eoghan adds that melodic lift and contrast. Many artists returning after a long absence feel pressure to reconnect with their past. Did you ever find yourselves resisting nostalgia while making Sotera, or were there aspects of the classic Junius sound you intentionally wanted to reclaim?Martinez Honestly, the only pressure I felt was making sure every song was fucking good. I figured if we disappeared for nearly a decade and came back with something mediocre, we d deserve whatever criticism came our way. Between family, life and COVID, we had already lost years of momentum. At that point, what was another year or two if it meant making the best record we could? So, I wasn t really interested in reclaiming a particular era of Junius, or recreating something we d done before. There was no checklist of classic Junius elements that needed to be included. The only thing I wanted to reclaim was the standard we set for ourselves. If Sotera connects to earlier records, I think it s because we re still the same people chasing the same feeling. But nostalgia wasn t the goal. Quality was. Eoghan McCarthy I’m in the unique position of having been a fan of the band before joining a few years ago, so that was an interesting experience. There’s definitely a “Junius” sound/style, but that’s a natural result of Joe and Dana’s writing style. My goal is always to make music that I enjoy with the highest quality I can. We were focused on making sick riffs and heavy music, and then refining that until we were happy. The Oracle is portrayed as a loving but ignored prophet. Were there historic or fictional parallels you had in mind when developing that character?Martinez Yes. The primary inspiration were the Oracles of ancient Greece. What fascinates me is that before many of the religious and political structures we recognize today, there were female prophets whose wisdom was sought by rulers. They occupied a unique place in society. Even the story of Socrates is inseparable from the Oracle at Delphi. It was the Pythia who famously declared that no one was wiser than Socrates, a proclamation that helped shape one of the most influential philosophical traditions in human history. They weren t simply priests or advisors, they were seen as intermediaries between this world and the next. Their words carried the weight of the Gods. In Sotera, the Oracle represents that forgotten wisdom. She s a loving prophet — not because she s soft, but because she s trying to guide us toward balance. The tragedy is that no one is listening. We live in a time of unprecedented information, yet we often seem disconnected from wisdom. We ve become obsessed with consumption and self-interest. To me, the Oracle is watching all of this unfold. She s still calling to us, still offering guidance, but her voice is ignored. She calls for us to cull the herd, to rid us of the greed that stains our civilization. More than any individual character on the album, the Oracle represents something I believe we ve lost: reverence for the feminine voices that once helped shape civilization. In many ways, she s the heart of Sotera. Junius has always excelled at creating a cinematic sense of scale. When you think about Sotera, do you picture it more as a collection of songs, a narrative, or almost a sensory experience meant to be absorbed as a whole?Martinez With the exception of our first EP, Junius have always written albums with the intention of creating a world you can live in. I ve never really been the type of songwriter who sits down and writes 10 unrelated songs and then figures out how they fit together later. Usually, I ll write a riff, a progression or a melody and almost immediately know whether it belongs in the record. If it does, I can often tell whether it s an opening track, a centerpiece, or something that belongs near the end of the album. The larger world of the album tends to reveal itself very early. What s interesting about Sotera is that it s the first time I ve intentionally resisted building a strict narrative. Previous records were much more linear in their construction. The songs existed to serve a larger story. With Sotera, I wanted something looser and more relaxed. The songs all inhabit the same world and explore the same themes, but they re not dependent on a specific sequence. Sotera is less of a narrative than previous albums. It s a collection of rituals, invocations, and perspectives that all orbit the same central idea. The songs speak to one another, but they aren t chapters in a book, it’s probably the most open-ended record we ve ever made. Looking back on the nine-year gap now that Sotera is complete, is there anything on this album that simply couldn t have existed had you released another record two or three years after the last one?Martinez Absolutely. The ideas that became Sotera simply weren t part of my life yet. I wasn t the same person I was in 2017, and neither was the band. Over those nine years we lived a lot of life. We got older, started families, endured a pandemic, welcomed new members into the band and experienced all the things that naturally change your perspective over time. I don t think you can go through all of that and come out writing the same record. Ironically, I think the absence helped. There was never a conscious decision to wait nine years between albums, but by the time we started working on Sotera, there was a lot built up inside of us. There were ideas that had been simmering for years, melodies that had been sitting dormant and a renewed appreciation for what it means to create music together. Had we released another album two or three years after Eternal Rituals, it probably would have been a continuation of that era. Dana Filloon There is no way this record could have happened without the lineup we have now. This is truly a collaborative record, and it feels great to be writing with my friends again, on our own terms. This is how it should be — the result of years of evolution, blending new influences with old ideas and creating something that feels both familiar and fresh. What does the future look like? Do you expect to make more new Junius music sooner than another 9 years from now?Martinez I certainly hope so! [Laughs] We still have those shelved songs we were working on before Sotera. One of them is honestly one of my favorite things we ve ever written, so at the very least I d love to see those songs released someday. If Sotera does well enough, I think Junius can exist for quite a while longer. The biggest difference now is that we re a band again. We re rehearsing regularly, we re excited, and there are five people actively contributing to the world of Junius, which wasn t the case for a long time. So no, I definitely don t see another nine-year gap happening. The creative momentum is there. Filloon I m looking into the future with a lot of optimism. I m ready to write. I am ready to play and bring this music to whoever chooses to experience it. I think the rest of Junius feels the same way, and we have a lot more music in us.

Though 2026 has provided plenty of headbanging hits from the biggest names in heavy music, fans are also excited over the fresh sounds that have been coming out of a new generation of noisemakers. After asking our readers to highlight their standout picks for the top albums and songs of the year thus far, we reached out last week to find out who’s truly on the come-up in 2026. From adventurous heavy hybridists to boldly polka-dotted duos, these were the names they shouted out the loudest vianova You can’t keep vianova down. While the band have been faced with some exhausting challenges throughout their current tour cycle behind breakthrough album HIT IT! — including two separate drummer hospitalizations in June alone — the Berlin-bred outfit continue to give it their all to the crowds with their fusion-freaked fervor. Whether sliding into cocoa-butter soul-jazz or djent-demonic metalcore, vianova are impressing the masses — and inspiring them to hit their local haberdasher to don something similar to Alexander Kerski’s now-iconic fur hat. Angine de Poitrine Few acts have captured the collective imagination in 2026 quite like papier-mâché-masked and prolifically polka-dotted microtonal funk-rockers, Angine de Poitrine — and this fascination with the anonymous Quebecois duo extends to Revolver readers, too. Though their first album came out in 2024, the group went absolutely supernova earlier in the year over their KEXP in-studio performance (clocking in at more than 20 million views and counting). They look as if Slipknot, a Mardi Gras float and Dusty Rhoads’ WWF singlet got sprayed out of a soda bottle. The skronked-and-swerved sonic aesthetic suggests flavors of King Gizzard, Seventies prog and perhaps even Primus at their soupiest. And all of it has made guitarist-bassist Khn de Poitrine and drummer Klek de Poitrine the talk of the town — selling out dates all over the world and even inspiring Russian knockoff bands to capitalize on their anonymity. 156/Silence Revolver readers were hardly holding their tongues when it came to telling us about how much they’re feeling the new 156/Silence songs. Though the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, natives have been going strong for a decade plus, the Steel City wrecking crew have been on a tear since delivering 2024’s People Watching, and countless eyes are on ‘em en route to this September’s eagerly anticipated follow-up, From a Distance. They impressed as part of the stacked lineup of Thornhill’s “Mercia Tour,” and fans have been plenty vocal in our comments over their love of the new record’s “Blind”-recalling grooves (“No Arms”) and storm-clouded metalcore (“Proxy Idols”). sace6 sace6 built up plenty of hype in the lead-up to this spring’s brutalist album, a record that hypnotized listeners though its complex layering of R B production swirls, jagged-edge metalcore riffage and guitar pedal-exploding sonic glitch-outs. On top of all that, you’ve got an alluring vocal dynamic being maintained between Swarovski-crystal crooner sace and gravel-spittin ragemaxxer Noah Thomas. The band hit the road to support Dayseeker earlier this spring. sace6 fans have been showing up en masse in the comments, suggesting it may not be long before the act position themselves at the top of the marquee. Vana Earlier this year, the fans voted New Zealand metalcore-expander Vana as the artist to watch in 2026. This week, they doubled-down on this assertion, crowning the “In Your Name” singer the No. 1 breakout star in the contemporary heavy-music scene so far this year. Her following is only growing. She recently took on massive crowds while opening for Linkin Park, and likewise mounted her successful first U.S. tour. Vana’s climb to the top has, in part, been steered by her goal to “bring back catchy choruses,” That she’s done so while incorporating elements of metal, industrial and R B — not to mention while adding the occasional dragonfire-furious scream — has only sealed the deal for her devoted fans.

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