Metal Contraband News For August 25th, 2026:
This week in Metal Contraband:
SoCal radio personality Mike Z is the newest addition to KNAC-FM, bringing his show “WIRED” to the station after nearly 22 years at 96.7 KCAL-FM. Mike Z says, “What an honor it is for me to add those legendary call letters to my resume under the guidance and tutelage of legendary KNAC personality & Program Director Gonzo Greg. I’ll never forget buying my first radio station T-shirt, my KNAC T-shirt, at La Casa De Candles inside the Puente Hills Mall. I never thought I would one day be on air there”. “WIRED” will air on KNAC-FM every Thursday from Noon–2 p.m., with a replay airing Saturdays from 8–10 p.m. KNAC personality and Program Director Gonzo Greg says, “We are so stoked to have Mike Z bring ‘WIRED’ to Pure Rock KNAC. As the premiere hard rock and heavy metal show in the Inland Empire, we’re excited to now share the noise with the High Desert neighbors, and worldwide at KNAC.fm“. Find all the info at: https://www.knac.fm/.
Signs of the Swarm is celebrating the one-year anniversary of their sixth full-length album, To Rid Myself of Truth, with a new standalone single via Century Media Records. The band’s cover of Rob Zombie’s “Dragula” features music video cameos from Bam Margera, Will Ramos (Lorna Shore), Tyler Beam (Last Ten Seconds of Life), Trey Williams (Dying Fetus), Matt Greiner (August Burns Red) and more. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPcOZ6C1Fro&feature=youtu.be. David Simonich says of the video, “This video kind of spiraled out of control in the best way possible. We originally wanted to do a one-to-one recreation of the original video, but we couldn’t find the right car. We were tossing ideas around looking at rentals, and a Polaris Slingshot came up as a polar opposite to what we were going for. Something clicked for us, and we thought that since we were trying to modernize the song, why not do the same for the video? We usually take our videos pretty seriously, so this gave us permission to let our freak flag fly. We started inviting any homies around the Eastern Pennsylvania area we’d be shooting, and it snowballed from there”. Keep up with the band at: https://signsoftheswarm.com/.
Butcher Babies has a new album on the way, with Nightbloom set for October 2nd via Judge & Jury Records. This week, you can check out “Blame It On The Wind”, with the new music video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE7yUM6F3Sk. Frontwoman Heidi Shepherd says of the album title, “”While reliving and experiencing some of my darkest moments, I started to finally bloom. These songs grew and took on life in the dark. In writing these songs, I was able to turn negative experiences in my life into something positive, which in turn gave these memories a new place to live. Moments that I can look at and think ‘Wow, I survived that. I bloomed in the darkest moments of my life.. My Nightbloom. This new album isn’t about the suffering, it’s about the survival. These songs were born from memories of heartbreak, uncertainty, betrayal, and pain. But they’re not just about those subjects, they’re more about what grew because of them. This album, Nightbloom, is a reminder that not everything beautiful needs perfect sunshine to flourish. Sometimes the most meaningful parts of life begin in the darkest seasons”. Keep an eye out for more via: https://butcherbabies.com/.
Shogun Mojo is a new collaboration between Kiss guitarist Tommy Thayer and singer/songwriter Dan Reed, with their self-titled debut set for November 6th via Frontiers Music Srl. The band dropped a music video this week with “Under The Gun”, which you can check out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEmzo6Xs3ls. Dan Reed says, “In the first single ‘Under the Gun’… Tommy kills it, and Bengt and Ikiz lay down a killer funk groove. As for the lyrics, they point at the current trends on earth of more division, more anger, and more fear. I’m simply saying we should be careful of the amount of negativity we populate our lives with, because we just might make it come true. If we bring on dystopia, then we better be prepared for the ride”. Check out: http://www.shogunmojo.com/ for more.
Death Dealer Union is just about to release Dark Sister, their new album set for September 18th. The band has dropped the title track with a music video directed by Edge of Paradise’s Margarita Monet, and you can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFLrzpUVEcg. Death Dealer Union is celebrating the release of Dark Sister on October 8th with an album release show at The Viper Room in West Hollywood, CA, with support from Sapient Scar and Wendy. Find all the info at: https://deathdealerunion.com/.
Chart Editor: Munsey Ricci from Skateboard Marketing Ltd.
Editorial By Chelsea Nelson-Fernandez & Munsey Ricci
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