Metal Contraband News For February 17th, 2026:
This week in Metal Contraband:
Nuclear Messiah is the latest project from Chris Poland, with the new album Black Flame set for April 24th via Cleopatra Records. In the meantime, you can check out the single “Electric Burn”, featuring the lineup of Chris Poland, Marty Friedman, Joe Bouchard, Marc Lopes, and Chris Adler, here: https://youtu.be/eJwglt1Z7FE?si=BGkvBoohgVJ1bbmx. Cleopatra Founder Brian Perera says, “Chris isn’t just a guitarist — he’s a spirit of sound. Nuclear Messiah was built around his brilliance and brought to life by an army of legends who share his passion and precision”. For more, head to: https://cleorecs.com/.
Life of Agony has revealed a live music video for “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”, the classic Simple Minds hit reimagined in true LoA style. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/Sl5V39XsJek?si=FsjOo0HXglEo28R1. The video was filmed during the band’s 30 Years of Ugly Anniversary tour by Leigh Brooks of Firebelly Films. Bassist Alan Robert says, “Even though our studio version of ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ appears on Ugly, we had never performed the song live until the 30 Years of Ugly anniversary tour. Bringing it to the stage after all these years — and experiencing the live energy of the crowd — made the song one of the highlights of the set every night”. Keep up with the band via: https://www.lifeofagony.com/.
Lion’s Share has just dropped a new single, with “Pentagram” off their upcoming album Inferno available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih8E9bEfCGE. Guitarist Lars Chriss says, “‘Pentagram’ was a given choice as the opening track on Inferno. It immediately defines the atmosphere of the album — dark, heavy, and straight to the point. It sets the listener’s mindset from the very first second”. Inferno will be out on March 27th via Metalville. Keep an eye out for updates via: https://www.lionsshare.org/
Showing Teeth is following up on her one-woman metalcore debut “Labyrinth” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWQRBp9HwXM), with the new single “Rip”. Stream the new single here: https://push.fm/fl/rip-showingteeth. Showing Teeth says, “‘Rip’ is a song about proving a point as violently as possible. Raised in a very strict, Christian-conservative environment in Kentucky, I did not take mental health issues very seriously. This is a very angry song that takes them very seriously”. More tracks from Showing Teeth are on the way, and you can follow: https://linktr.ee/showingteeth for more.
Gunshine is heading to the release of Grand Rising, their new album set for July 24th via vnclm_ / Create Music Group. For now, you can check out the two singles they’ve revealed so far, with “Goth Girl”: https://youtu.be/G11YReSu-MI?si=K_hAKJxR-_GmYtGy and the Valentine’s Day-released power ballad, “Valentine”: https://youtu.be/vQbhb3vK33w?si=IKi71m7TzVK1gsxY. Keep up with the band via: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/3792339-gunshine?came_from=267.
Chart Editor: Munsey Ricci from Skateboard Marketing Ltd.
Editorial By Chelsea Nelson-Fernandez & Munsey Ricci
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