New Release Friday: Dead Pioneers, Haggus, Junius, Pixies, Aaron MF Olson, Toilet Rats, Unlettered

Posted in New Releases on 06/26/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Atta Boy – Silt (Diamond City)
BCMC (Cooper Crain and Bill MacKay) – Stash (Drag City)
Jordan Burchel – With Everything Going On (self-release)
Chalk Teeth – s/t (DNLT)

Change Life – s/t (Meritorio)
Dead Pioneers – Wagon Burner (Hassle)
Forsmán – Brenndar Rústir & Fuðrandi Fjörur (Metal Blade)
Haggus – The Mincecore Manifesto EP (Tankcrimes)
• On Tyranny: Haggus Frontman Blasts Punk Bands’ Silence on Gaza, ICE
Into Eternity – Scattering of Ashes 20th anniversary vinyl edition (M-Theory)
Julez and the Rollerz – Dirty Little Rock ‘N’ Roller (Lolipop)
• Best New Music Videos (March 2026): Portrayal of Guilt, Robyn Hitchcock, Death Lens, Julez and the Rollerz, More
Junius – Sotera (Prosthetic)

Lowrev (feat. Joshua Fiedler of The Juliana Theory) – It’s Hard to Lie to Strangers (Equal Vision)
Aaron MF Olson – Songs Album II (Country Thyme)
• Best New Music Videos (May 2026): José González, Aaron MF Olson, Hayley and the Crushers, Downtown Boys
Outshine – Truthsayer (Eclipse)
Pixies – B-Sides 1988-1996 (vinyl only) (4AD)
Prime Creation – Souls of the Fallen (ROAR)
• 10 Best Swedish Heavy Bands Ever, According to Native Sons Prime Creation
Miracle – Living Likeness of My Electric Daemon (Relapse)

Nancy Sinatra – Movin’ With Nancy reissue (Light in the Attic)
Thætas – The Irredeemable Age (Profound Lore)
This Is Me Breathing – Serenity in Suffering (Arson Theory)
Toilet Rats – Black Cats (Steadfast/ Sweet Cheetah)
• Toilet Rats’ Boss Says Cats and Rats ‘Unite Against Common Foes’
Truck Violence – The weathervane is my body (The Flenser)

Unlettered – Devil’s Bowl (self-release)
• Post-Punk Band Unlettered Spell Joy for Foster Dogs

Go here for The Bad Penny‘s full new releases calendar.

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The Visionaries: Lux, a Collaborator and Friend of Sadness, Bonded Over Their Shared Love of Post-Black Metal

Posted in Features, Interviews, The Visionaries with tags , , , on 06/25/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

The greatest embarrassment a music journalist can experience isn’t accidentally misquoting what an artist said in an interview. It’s not asking a thoroughly banal question during an interview and not realizing how dumb it was until after the conversation concluded. It isn’t even rocking out at a concert, hard, for everyone to see, because the line between critic and fan can be so paper thin.

No, the real, deep-seated — even primal — despondency that courses through a music journalist’s body, shakes them to the core and compels them to reevaluate whether their opinion actually has any value whatsoever comes when the purportedly professional scribe “discovers” an exceptional musical talent, only to realize that thousands, or tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people caught onto the musician or band long before the supposedly intrepid journalist stumbled across them.

No one seemed to notice, but yours truly felt utterly ashamed in December after stumbling across blackgaze phenom Sadness and thinking the artist’s career was nascent. Turns out Damián Antón Ojeda (a.k.a. Elisa) launched the one-person project all the way back in 2013 and has released piles upon piles of records between then and now. Sadness also has a rabid fanbase, as evidenced by the 3,400 people who viewed our conversation on YouTube.

After sulking in self-pity for a spell, a new way of coping with the Sadness oversight arose. As Ojeda/Elisa frequently collaborates with other musicians who must be talented in their own right if Sadness chose to join forces with them, it made sense to start exploring some of those comrades. The experiment proved to be a success right away; after spinning a split EP called Dusk Garden that came out in October, we became introduced to the other participant, a musician from Edinburgh, Scotland, who goes by the name Lux and, like Sadness, has an affinity for post-black metal.

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On Tyranny: Low Co-Founder Foresaw Tyranny Taking Hold in the US a Decade Ago, Widower Alan Sparhawk Says

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , on 06/25/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Any fan of indie pop worth their salt is familiar with Low, the legendary band that almost single-handedly created the indie subgenre known as “slowcore.” And any music lover who is familiar with Low, which reached its conclusion in 2022 after the heart-wrenching death of co-founder Mimi Parker, knows that her widower husband, Alan Sparhawk, launched the singular project together in 1993.

More than three decades later, Americans are stuck with Donald Trump ambivalently tanking the United States in every conceivable way, as ambivalently as he did with the litany of business ventures he bankrupted and otherwise destroyed over the course of decades. As a result, the (admittedly justified) shouting and anger dominating the public discourse is increasing in volume exponentially.

So what better time to check in with the soft-spoken Sparhawk, arguably one of the greatest musicians of our time who knows the value of, and is an expert in, taking a calm and measured approach to his art and his life. Don’t confuse his demeanor with being content about the state of the country, which is declining so rapidly that comparisons to the fall of the Roman Empire must be taken seriously. In fact, Sparhawk – as we learned when we interviewed him this very morning – is as heartbroken, disappointed and shocked as the vast majority of Americans.

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Video Interview: Fireball Ministry Fought for Their (Album) Rights – and Scored a Big Victory

Posted in Interviews, News, Videos with tags , , on 06/24/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

The track record of musicians suing the record labels that employed them is pretty dismal. The reason is obvious: Artists generally aren’t very wealthy. Meanwhile, the companies that hire creators for their services – and not uncommonly have a sick fetish for screwing them over when the relationship sours – have more money than they know what to do with.

That’s why it’s such a cause for celebration when artists defeat their employers, which are typically corporate controlled, in David-beats-Goliath fashion. One of the most heartwarming examples of an underdog band scoring a major court victory over their former label recently transpired when pioneering stoner-rock squad Fireball Ministry won back the rights to what is largely considered their best record, 2003’s The Second Great Awakening.

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10 Ridonculously Absurd Album Covers

Posted in Comedy, Lists with tags on 06/24/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Just for the hell of it.

r/HistoricalCapsule - SterEO Fingering And Prayjng For the %ort Festminote Loretta Fudge
Manowar – Anthology – CD (Compilation), 1997 [r1238814] | Discogs
The Worst Album Covers of the '80s
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On Tyranny: Black-Metal Band Qasu Says Release of Anti-ICE Song the Day After Renée Good’s Murder Was ‘Chilling’

Posted in Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags , , , , , , on 06/23/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Is it redundant to say that black-metal bands don’t fuck around writ large? If that question is bouncing around in your brain, try to shake it out of your ear – or at least save yourself a punishing amount of embarrassment, and maybe even your life, by never posing that question to Qasu. Well, at least when they’re not draped in cloaks. The British/American trio refer to their harrowing sound as “ancient future black metal,” the most badass name for the subgenre of another subgenre.

If the above pic doesn’t make it abundantly clear, Qasu take their music very seriously. That fact is evident over the entire duration of A Bleak King Cometh, Qasu’s recently released debut LP created by Aldous Daniken (the trio’s so-called “instrumentation” pro), Rahsaan Sagan (voice and electronics) and Nikhil Talwalkar (drums). The tour-de-force is distributed in North America by Season of Mist, and released as a collaboration effort between Phantom Limb and Apocalyptic Witchcraft.

As with their music, Qasu appear to be equally serious about politics – that is, if the term still has any meaning given the existentially terrifying times in which we live. Mega props go to Qasu for speaking their mind about today’s unprecedented social ills, and refusing to self-censor or obey Trump America’s fascist authority figures in advance. And while we’re at it, shame on the artists, entertainers and Hollywood executives who aren’t addressing the most important debate of our lifetimes: what is right and what is wrong, not what is left or what is right. Their cowardly calculations to not stand up for their neighbors and defend civil rights are making it all the more difficult for those of us fighting the good fight.

When we came across Qasu earlier this year, we knew right away that the band gets its. And yet, for all the seriousness with which Qasu treat their music and beliefs, we discovered Daniken to be a ye olde merry jolly good fellow. (That’s how they talk in the United Kingdom, right?) Lucky for us, he carved out some time to speak with The Bad Penny for our ongoing series called On Tyranny. And now we bring you our conversation with Daniken (which we didn’t videotape this time around).

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Edge of Sanity Frontman Dan Swanö Reveals 10 Swedish Bands That Made Their Way Into His Musical DNA

Posted in Essays, Lists with tags , , , , , , , , , on 06/23/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

It’s a preeeeety safe bet to say that Dan Swanö belongs on the Mount Rushmore of Swedish melodic death-metal musicians. Not only did he help engender the extreme-metal genre with his bands Edge of Sanity, Nightingale, Unicorn, Pan-Thy-Monium and about two dozen more (see for yourself), his knowledge of the musical strain is unparalleled. To put it simply, without Dan Swanö, there probably wouldn’t be melodic death metal (and all its latter-year torchbearers, like At the Gates, In Flames, Dark Tranquillity and the like).

We connected with Dan “The Man” Swanö after publishing our 20 Best Scandinavian Melodic Death Metal Bands of All Time feature in mid-December. Little did we know that posting the piece would result in a reaping of dividends like communicating and collaborating with some of the most revered musicians in the metal underground, not to mention other enthusiasts concocting their own best-of lists and sending them to The Bad Penny so we could, in turn, share them with you. (After finishing this read, check out some of the other submissions from true, authentic metal musicians like Swanö. They’re listed at the end of the article.)

Swanö was so generous in providing us with loads of memories, thoughts and commentary about how he fell in love with music, his coming-of-rage years and how he became so well-versed in Sweden’s distinct brand of metal that we will likely run a sequel story in the not-too-distant-future. (So long as you engage in the conversation with us by submitting comments, sending in your own lists and the like, that is.)

And with that, let’s hear from the immortal Dan Swanö about the bands and songs that helped make him the metal god that he became and continues to be to this day.

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Welcome to The Bad Penny’s New and Improved Music Releases Calendar – Videos Included!

Posted in Latest New Releases Schedule, New Releases on 06/22/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

(Note: Bolded entries signify the albums we’re most interested in checking out.)

6.26.26

Atta Boy – Silt (Diamond City)
BCMC (Cooper Crain and Bill MacKay) – Stash (Drag City)
Jordan Burchel – With Everything Going On (self-release)
Chalk Teeth – s/t (DNLT)
Change Life – s/t (Meritorio)
Dead Pioneers – Wagon Burner (Hassle)

Forsmán – Brenndar Rústir & Fuðrandi Fjörur (Metal Blade)
Haggus – The Mincecore Manifesto EP (Tankcrimes)
• On Tyranny: Haggus Frontman Blasts Punk Bands’ Silence on Gaza, ICE
Into Eternity – Scattering of Ashes 20th anniversary vinyl edition (M-Theory)
Julez and the Rollerz – Dirty Little Rock ‘N’ Roller (Lolipop)
Junius – Sotera (Prosthetic)
Lowrev (feat. Joshua Fiedler of The Juliana Theory) – It’s Hard to Lie to Strangers (Equal Vision)
Aaron MF Olson – Songs Album II (Country Thyme)
Outshine – Truthsayer (Eclipse)
Pixies – B-Sides 1988-1996 (vinyl only) (4AD)
• From the Vault: Are the Pixies Milking It With Their Multitudinous Video Releases?
Prime Creation – Souls of the Fallen (ROAR)
• 10 Best Swedish Heavy Bands Ever, According to Native Sons Prime Creation
Miracle – Living Likeness of My Electric Daemon (Relapse)
Nancy Sinatra – Movin’ With Nancy reissue (Light in the Attic)
Thætas – The Irredeemable Age (Profound Lore)
Toilet Rats – Black Cats (Steadfast/ Sweet Cheetah)
• Toilet Rats’ Boss Says Cats and Rats ‘Unite Against Common Foes’
Truck Violence – The weathervane is my body (The Flenser)
Unlettered – Devil’s Bowl (self-release)
• Post-Punk Band Unlettered Spell Joy for Foster Dogs

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Exclusive Song and Video Premiere: Holy Pinto’s ‘One Tattoo’

Posted in Exclusives, Interviews, Videos with tags , , , on 06/22/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Photo by Bobby Knopp

Leave it to gleeful trickster and indie pop-punk artist Aymen Saleh to write a song about a tattoo, even though not a single one is etched on the British ex-pat’s body. Roughly a decade after embarking on his music career with the band Holy Pinto (which initially consisted of Saleh and his friend Ryan Hurley), the artist has now amassed an enviable, consummately enjoyable catalog that is vibrant both aesthetically and musically.

Pretty soon, Holy Pinto’s discography will get a bit bigger with the September 14 release of a new LP, Wedding Season. The fact that the artist meticulously crafted the record is immediately evident from what we’ve heard of it thus far. Saleh has stated publicly that Wedding Season took years of work, particularly with the arrangements, and it shows.

Much to our delight, Saleh – who now resides in Milwaukee and has refashioned his band into a solo affair – gifted The Bad Penny not only with an early look at the incoming album but the opportunity to exclusively debut one of the songs and its accompanying video.

In discussing said song, “One Tattoo,” we learned that Saleh’s thoughts on body art go far beyond skin deep …

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10 Best Free Bandcamp Downloads #14: Dumb Waiter, 7-11 Jesus, Maura Weaver, Graveface Records Sampler

Posted in MP3s with tags , , , , , , , , on 06/22/2026 by Kurt Orzeck

Welcome to the 14th and latest installment of The Bad Penny‘s Bandcamp Freebie series, in which we handpick our favorite free songs on the platform and dish them up for your consumption. This is one of our most diverse arrays yet, so let’s dig in.

(Note: If you’re financially capable of supporting any of these artists and/or labels, please consider doing so.)

1. Dumb Waiter – “Dumb”

Experimental noise-rockers Dumb Waiter are gearing up for the release of their new album, Change, on July 31 through Ossein Records. The band from Richmond, Virginia, has a lot of experience under its belt, but this time Dumb Waiter are deviating from their no-vocals policy for the first time. Hear what the previously instrumental-only gang sounds like with their new approach courtesy of this free tune. Commenting on the band’s decision to incorporate vocals, saxophonist/vocalist Tristan Brennis said, “What more is there to say without saying anything? We realized that we had a whole lot to say about the current state of the world and this hyper-acceleration of society that I think we’re all feeling day in day out.” Dumb Waiter sound like a good candidate for The Bad Penny‘s On Tyranny series …

2. Maura Weaver – Strange Devotion

Alt-country newcomer Maura Weaver, formerly of pop punk band Mixtapes, generously gifted us with her second solo album gratis in September. The indie-pop record was written and recorded two years ago “in a Northern Kentucky studio that may or may not be haunted,” according to her Bandcamp page. “Still present are the hooks, melodies, and thoughtful lyrics that have become Weaver’s staple,” the statement further said.

3. 7-11 Jesus – White Noise

Like Maura Weaver, Boston noise-rock band 7-11 Jesus are in a charitable mood these days, making the new full-length they just put out last month available for free on Bandcamp. Released through TRA$H $UN RECORD$, this is the trio’s third record and first in five years after a long break.

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