Thrash Never Dies: Whiplash and Flotsam and Jetsam Prove the Old Guard Still Has Teeth
There's a particular kind of stubbornness required to keep a thrash metal band alive for four decades, and this week the global scene got a reminder that stubbornness pays off. New Jersey's own Whiplash, led by the endlessly committed Tony Portaro, have announced a new album called Roar after signing to Time To Kill Records — a deal that feels less like a comeback and more like a continuation of a mission that never actually stopped. Whiplash have spent more than forty years as one of the genre's true underground warriors, and the fact that a label is still eager to put their name on new product says everything about how the thrash underground refuses to fade quietly into nostalgia-tour territory.
They're not alone. Arizona thrash pioneers Flotsam and Jetsam dropped the lyric video for "The Edge Of Nowhere," the third and final single from their upcoming record Rats In The Temple, due August 28, 2026 via Napalm Records. The track reportedly opens with eastern scales before the riffing kicks the door down, which is about as classic a thrash move as exists — tension, release, repeat. Between Whiplash and Flotsam and Jetsam, we're looking at two bands whose formative years happened alongside the genre's original 80s metal bands boom, still writing new material rather than resting on box-set royalties.
It's worth zooming out here, because this is exactly the kind of story the global metal scene needs more of heading into 2026: proof that the veterans aren't just touring on old riffs, they're still generating new ones. The regional thrash underground carries that same DNA — bands like Symbolizer, Kaoz, Black Sun Omega, and Thrash Bombz are all working the same vein of aggressive, riff-first songwriting that made Whiplash a name in the first place. If you're chasing the best metal albums of all time from the thrash canon, chances are Flotsam and Jetsam's early catalog is on that list — which makes it all the more satisfying that they're still delivering new singles instead of just anniversary reissues.
Down and Corrosion of Conformity Keep the Southern Riff Alive
Speaking of bands that refuse to quit, Pepper Keenan sat down with Vanyaland to talk about Down's long-gestating Volume V, arriving November 20 via Nuclear Blast. Keenan's comments centered on songwriting and arrangement — a small detail, but a telling one for a band whose entire identity has always been built on serving the riff rather than chasing trends. Down has never been in a hurry, and that patience has become part of the mythology at this point.
That Southern-fried, sludge-adjacent lineage is getting even more real estate this fall. Corrosion of Conformity announced a co-headlining U.S. run with The Sword for November 2026, kicking off November 2 in Buffalo and wrapping November 19 in Pensacola, with Hippie Death Cult rounding out the bill. It's a heavyweight pairing of two bands who helped define what heavy Southern rock could sound like once you dragged Sabbath worship through a swamp, and it's exactly the kind of package that reminds younger fans why doom, sludge, and stoner metal still matter as a lineage rather than a retro gimmick. If you're building out your list of metal bands touring 2026, this one belongs near the top.
The doom and sludge underground carries that same weight globally. Acts like Slow Goat, Monasterium, Totem, and Suffering are all mining that same tectonic-riff territory that Down and Corrosion of Conformity helped popularize decades ago, proof that the sludge lineage keeps replicating itself in scenes far removed from where it started.
Iommi Goes Solo, Davey Goes Deep Space
Tony Iommi shared behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the "World Alone" music video, the first single off his upcoming solo album From The Dark, due October 23 via BMG. Watching the architect of doom-laden riffing at work on a solo project is its own kind of event — Iommi's influence on the entire heavy metal vocabulary is so foundational that it's easy to forget he's still actively creating rather than just curating his legacy. For anyone compiling best heavy metal songs lists, there's a strong argument that half the entries owe their existence to a riff Iommi wrote before 1975.
Elsewhere in the more cosmic corners of the scene, former Hawkwind bassist Alan Davey announced Astrolabes And Sunstones, his new solo album landing September 12 via Savant Guarde Records. Davey has spent over four decades as a pillar of progressive and space rock, and a new solo outing from him is a reminder that the psychedelic, riff-heavy wing of metal's family tree still has plenty of unexplored branches. Progressive-leaning bands chasing that same expansive songwriting approach, like Ghost of Echoes and Korhiem, are working in adjacent territory even if the sonics differ — proof that prog metal's appetite for ambition never really goes out of style.
Nightwish's Holopainen Is Already Six Songs Deep
Nightwish mastermind Tuomas Holopainen told Metal Hammer he's already written six songs for the band's eleventh studio album, saying he feels "more inspired than ever." That's a big statement from a songwriter whose catalog has already defined symphonic metal for over two decades, and it suggests Nightwish fans might not have to wait as long as usual for the follow-up to their last record. Finland's symphonic and melodic death metal scenes have long punched above their weight globally, and Nightwish's continued productivity keeps that reputation intact — the same country that gave the world melodic death metal titans Insomnium is clearly not running out of songwriting talent anytime soon.
On the more theatrical, genre-blurring side of things, In This Moment's new album Witch continues the band's habit of never playing it safe, building an entire aesthetic world around Maria Brink's vision rather than settling into one lane. It's a reminder that the line between metal, industrial, and theatrical spectacle keeps getting more porous — and that audiences are rewarding bands willing to commit fully to a concept rather than half-measure it.
The Skillet and Bad Wolves Fallout
Not every story this week is celebratory. Christian rock act Skillet reportedly dropped groove metal band Bad Wolves from their tour following online discourse targeting vocalist Sara "Killboy" Skinner. Skinner responded publicly, addressing accusations head-on and noting, pointedly, that only one part of the rumor mill was accurate. It's an ugly reminder that touring packages can collapse overnight not because of music but because of online noise — a dynamic that's become depressingly familiar across the metalcore and hardcore-adjacent touring circuits. Bands booking support slots in 2026, from established groove metal acts down to DIY hardcore units like Gideon, are operating in an environment where a tour can be reshuffled based on a social media pile-on rather than anything happening onstage. It's worth watching how Bad Wolves regroup from here, and whether promoters start building more insulation into touring contracts as a result.
Legacy Acts Still Drawing Crowds and Cameras
On the archival front, the Hollywood Vampires documentary Unleashed Spirits: The Rise Of The Hollywood Vampires will world-premiere at the Boston Film Festival next month, running September 17–21. Meanwhile Boston (the band, not the city) is marking the 50th anniversary of their self-titled debut with a reissue that includes rare original "lost" demos — a genuine treat for anyone who considers that record part of the best metal albums of all time conversation even if it sits closer to arena rock than metal proper. Between documentaries, anniversary reissues, and Ted Nugent's on-air tribute to Dolly Parton this week, the classic rock and metal worlds keep colliding in ways that remind younger fans just how tangled those roots really are.
What It Means for the Underground
Taken together, this week's headlines paint a scene that's simultaneously looking backward and forward — veterans like Whiplash, Down, and Iommi proving longevity is still possible, while Nightwish and In This Moment push their respective corners of metal into stranger, more ambitious territory. That tension between heritage and reinvention is exactly what keeps the global metal scene interesting, and it's playing out just as loudly in club basements as it is on festival main stages. If your band is part of that story, whether you're chasing thrash riffs in the Whiplash tradition, building doom atmospheres in the Down lineage, or doing something nobody's quite classified yet, get on our radar — submit your band and check upcoming shows near you to see who's bringing that energy to a stage close by.