Metal Contraband News For February 10th, 2026:
This week in Metal Contraband:
Megadeth’s self-titled final studio album has reached #1 on the Billboard 200 in the U.S., marking the band’s 9th Billboard Top 200 album. Megadeth also claims the top spot in Australia and Austria, along with being in the top five in Finland, Sweden, Belgium, the U.K., Germany, Netherlands, Italy and New Zealand (highest chart position ever). Dave Mustaine says, “After 40 years of delivering Megadeth music, playing shows around the world, I have nothing but gratitude at this moment. Finding out that our last Megadeth record is also our first #1 only further validates my will to go out on top. Thank you to my family, Teemu Mantasaari, James LoMenzo, and Dirk Verbueren, and Chris Rakestraw, all our fans for making this possible, without you Megadeth would not be as successful as we are. I’d also like to thank the people behind the scenes, our management, Danny Nozell, Justis Mustaine, and Steve Ross at CTK, and our label BLKIIBLK/Tradecraft”. Megadeth’s farewell tour kicks off in North America this week. Keep up with them via: https://www.megadeth.com/.
Smith/Kotzen has just released an expanded deluxe edition of their second album, Black Light / White Noise, globally releasing two new songs previously unheard outside of the Japanese CD edition of the album, and now the band is heading out on the road in the UK and Europe this month. Adrian Smith says, “We’ve been blown away by the reaction to Black Light / White Noise! We’re extremely proud of it, and to know that it’s been received so enthusiastically by fans old and new has been amazing. We can’t wait to hit the road with Julia and Bruno and start playing these songs live”. Richie Kotzen adds, “From the moment we finished the record, we knew we had something special on our hands. It’s been a joy for us both to play together in the studio and on stage, and to write some of the most exciting music we’ve ever done. Bringing it to bigger stages and even more people in the UK, Europe and South America is going to be great. We’ll see you all down the front!” Head to: https://www.smithkotzen.com/ for all the info.
Urne recently released their new album, Setting Fire To The Sky, via Spinefarm, and this week, you can check out the latest music video for “Breathe”: https://youtu.be/kU8TvGOImqc?si=lUQc5Zr0qBm34IFa. Frontman Joe Nally says, “After seven tracks of loud, crunching riffs, ‘Breathe’ feels like the perfect way to close the record, letting everything exhale. And we were extremely lucky and honoured to have the amazing Jo Quail guest on this song. I originally wrote the track around 14 years ago, but it took Angus tweaking a few elements to finally make it click, to make it feel complete. Lyrically, there is a link here to the final number on our previous album, ‘A Feast On Sorrow’, but with this new record we are very much looking forward. We wanted the clip to reflect the mood and space of the music, and as always, Loki absolutely delivered”. Follow the band via: https://urneofficial.com/.
Mayhem has unleashed Liturgy of Death, their seventh studio album. The band has also released a new single, with the track “Realm of Endless Misery” out now: https://mayhemband.lnk.to/RealmOfEndlessMisery-Single. Mayhem just headed out on the Death Over Europe headline tour with special guests Marduk and Immolition. Find all the dates and details at: https://www.thetruemayhem.com/live/.
Frontiers Rock Festival has revealed the full lineup for their upcoming event, running May 1st-3rd at Live Club in Trezzo sull’Adda, Milan, Italy. The full bill will be:
May 1st:
Starship, Giant, House of Lords, Robin Beck, Creye, Shiraz Lane, Streetlight
May 2nd:
Night Ranger, Heat, Heavens Edge, Degreed, Atlantic, Hell in the Club, Fighter V, with VIP Acoustic shows from Giant, Michael Sweet, and Degreed.
May 3rd:
Stryper, Nelson, John Corabi, Frontline, Confess, Transatlantic Radio, It’salie, and VIP Acoustic shows from Nelson, John Corabi, and Cassidy Paris.
For more info, visit: https://www.frontiersrockfestival.com/.
Chart Editor: Munsey Ricci from Skateboard Marketing Ltd.
Editorial By Chelsea Nelson-Fernandez & Munsey Ricci
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