Earlier today (July 17), Poppy’s backing band took the stage without her during the Upheaval Festival in Grand Rapids, MI. You can see fan-filmed footage of that below. The singer was unable take part in the set due to wildfire smoke and poor air quality. Notably, her bandmates also had to wear N95 masks. Poppy issued the following statement:
“Due to ‘hazardous’ AQI reaching 350+ around our set time I was unable to join my band on stage. I was unable to breathe in those conditions. You might’ve noticed our set was instrumental only. For those who braved the conditions – I applaud you.”
What a statement made by Poppy right now
Her entire band is on stage wearing N-95 masks and she’s nowhere to be found
Protecting her money maker that is her voice from the smoke
Theory Of A Deadman have premiered a new song titled “Funeral Song.” This track is from their new EP, “Part 1: Funeral Songs,” which will be released on September 4. Frontman Tyler Connolly commented:
“We’ve all had that person that we wish would go away or just crawl up and die. That’s the anthem here with ‘Funeral Song.’ But like a lot of things we do over here at the Theory headquarters, it’s to be taken in jest as we always promote taking the moral high ground. Ironically, after all these years, this is the first song we’ve written about a ‘deadman.’”
Squid Pisser have premiered a new song titled “Fart F***** F*** Face.” That track is from the band’s new EP, “Throat Slave,” which will be released on August 28. The group commented:
“Our new single is about what can happen when you spend your life pretending to be someone you’re not. Denying yourself doesn’t make those feelings disappear. It can turn them into anger, bitterness, and hatred toward people who have the courage to live honestly. The song is about trusting yourself and refusing to become another miserable hypocrite telling everyone else how to live.”
Saliva have premiered a new video for their new song “Longshot.” You can check that out below. The track, which features Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Johnny Van Zant, is from the band’s new album, “Breaking Through,” which will be released on August 14.
Ulver have premiered a new video for their song “Hollywood Babylon.” That track appears on the band’s 2024 album “Liminal Animals.”
The group commented:
“New video for ‘old’ song: “Hollywood Babylon”.
Our dearest @sara_khorami_official stars in this retro-futuristic gem, initiated, curated, and created by @johnsen_and_mona
2025 marked 20 years since ULVER made the animated music video ‘It is Not Sound‘ in cooperation with AKFF! A hypnotic journey through the Sea of Sorrows all the way to the Pinnacle of Truth. Thinking back on what an incredible experience it was to visualise and expand on Ulver’s universe, we started wondering why AKFF! hadn’t made more videos with them. As it turns out, Ulver had been thinking along the same lines. And so it began.
The video is set in a sleek, neon-drenched futuristic world that blends the gothic dread of Nosferatu (1922), the towering megalopolis of Metropolis (1927), and the glowing cyber-grid of Tron (1982).
The result? A dazzling, hyper-stylized satire of our own era: a shallow, selfie-obsessed society where image is everything, substance is optional, and your reflection might be plotting against you.
At the heart of the story is our heroine, desperately trying to cling to her fading beauty. She steps into a retro-futuristic arcade machine called the ‘Better Face Remodeller’ — an arcade machine that promises a convenient way to mould yourself a new face. What could possibly go wrong?
Spoiler: it goes spectacularly wrong. Instead of perfection, the machine spits out a grotesque yet strangely charismatic doppelgänger — a monstrous mirror of her own insecurities, now fully autonomous and very interested in taking over her life. Because nothing says ‘self-improvement’ like being replaced by your own upgraded nightmare.
After a year of ever-expanding ambitions, endless tweaks, and several ‘wait… what if we make it just a bit weirder?’ moments, Ulver’s ‘Hollywood Babylon‘ music video is finally R.E.A.D.Y!
Ulver adds: ‘Working with our wonderfully mad old friend Christian (Mona) from the Bogus Blimp days never disappoints. ‘Hollywood Babylon’ has never looked better! It’s a distorted mirror of our times. Please feel free to stare into it a little too long.’ x”
Drumeo recently tasked Spin Doctors drummer Aaron Comess with covering Avenged Sevenfold’s “Afterlife” after hearing it for the first time without percussion. You can see footage of him adding his own drum parts to the song below:
Evil Island (The Blood Brothers, etc.) have premiered a new video for their new song “King Death.” This track is from the band’s new album, “Terraform The Afterlife,” which will be released on August 14.
The group commented:
“The custom cardboard instruments come courtesy of Cardboard Sessions, a collaboration between SIGNAL EXP and Ernest Packaging, proving even the disposable can refuse to disappear quietly.
The video was filmed in the legendary Studio One at EastWest Studios in Los Angeles, where artists from Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson to The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, and Adele have recorded.
‘King Death’ is a really simple story about a woman who skips bail and is on the run. Someone who fights back with absolutely no leverage against the certainty of being turned into chum. It’s about nihilism—recognizing you have no chance at survival but choosing to fight anyway. It’s an ode to everyone living in their car, bleaching their roots in a truck stop bathroom, refusing to disappear quietly.”
Sebastian Bach (ex-Skid Row) will be appearing at “The Transformers: The Movie” 40th anniversary celebration of life concert. That show will take place at the House of Blues in San Diego, CA on July 23 and it will feature “Transformers” band Knights Of Unicron (Gruesome, Exhumed), “G.I Joe: A Real American Hero” band Cold Slither (Gruesome, Exhumed), and Jem And The Holograms.
