Melodic Rock Info

VIRGIN STEELE brought their grandiose blend of epic heavy metal, mythology and old-school steel to Hell’s Heroes VIII in Houston, delivering a compact but powerful festival set built around some of the band’s most dramatic material. David DeFeis still commands the stage like a high priest of metal theatre, while the songs hit with that unmistakable mix of triumph, darkness and ancient-war atmosphere.

UK death-doom veterans CONSECRATION sink even deeper into the grave with “Exanimis”, a crushing fourth album built from monolithic riffs, funeral-weight atmosphere and bursts of raw death-metal violence. Bleak, patient and mercilessly heavy, it feels like the walls are moving inward with every song.

QUIET RIOT open a new chapter with 23-year-old John Torra behind the microphone, and his first full show feels less like a cautious introduction than somebody being thrown straight into the furnace. Backed by Rudy Sarzo, Alex Grossi and Johnny Kelly, Torra attacks the classics with a young voice, plenty of nerve and zero interest in sounding intimidated by the history behind him.

GENESIS return to one of their most famous festival appearances with “Live At Knebworth”, a limited Record Store Day release capturing the band in full arena-rock flight at Knebworth in 1990. Short in running time but huge in atmosphere, this is Phil Collins-era Genesis with the crowd already in the palm of their hand.

LUNACHICKS finally get their first proper best-of with “We Can Be Worster”, a 13-track blast of punk, metal, trashy glamour and New York attitude. It is loud, funny, abrasive and gloriously wrong in all the right places.

Genre: Instrumental, Prog Rock
Country of manufacture (release): Germany
Year of release: 1980–1981
Country of origin (artist/band): Germany

German symphonic metallers EVERRIME return with “The Sea Is Calling Our Names”, a darker and more expansive second album built on soaring vocals, heavy guitars and a strong gothic undertow. It feels cinematic without becoming overblown, with enough doom-weight in the atmosphere to keep the melodies from floating away.

Ricardo Confessori steps out from behind the drum kit with “Realm Breaker”, a cinematic metal concept album built around humanity, technology and the fear of losing control of both. Heavy riffs, orchestral layers and a rotating cast of powerful Brazilian voices give the record the scale of a dystopian metal opera.

Genre: Prog Folk
Artist (band) Country: Finland
Year of Release: 2026

AMERICAN MAFIA open the vaults on “Partners In Crime”, a ten-track collection that traces their bloodline from early-’90s HOLY WATER demos to the tougher, bluesier sound of the present day. It is melodic hard rock with grease on the gears — big hooks, thick guitars and enough Bad Company swagger to keep everything loose.