Metal Mix Tape 17

Let there be metal! Have a look to see who made final Metal Mix Tape for 2025:

Icons of goth and doom, PARADISE LOST have revealed a new music video for the song Salvation from the band’s widely acclaimed new album, Ascension. Directed by longtime collaborator Ash Pears, the stunning, cinematic portrayal of one of 2025’s most haunting tracks provides further evidence of their unyielding creative vision decades into the band’s legendary career.

Commenting on the song and video, vocalist Nick Holmes states:
“Salvation embraces the belief in a higher power and seeking forgiveness for a lifetime of transgression, typically prompted by the approach of death or a significant crisis. However, the video, and given that it is Christmas, takes perhaps a more optimistic view. It portrays the connection between two individuals committed to upholding a beacon, a symbol they will protect until their last breath and pass on for others to embrace. Whether this force is ultimately good or bad will always remain a mystery.”

Symphonic metal titans EPICA proudly release their explosive new single Avatar – The Final Incarnation, a track that deals with the final incarnation (Avatar) to rid the world of unrighteousness and restore truth and purity. The single is accompanied by a stunning visualizer featuring artwork taken directly from the band’s forthcoming EPICA Oracle Card Set, launching worldwide on January 7th.

Mark Jansen shares insight into the inspiration behind the track:
“In Hindu philosophy, Kalki represents the final avatar who restores balance at the end of the age. That idea of breaking free from cycles—through self-realization, detachment from desires, and inner transformation—resonates deeply with me. ‘Avatar’ channels that journey toward liberation, something both powerful and universal.”

Simone Simons adds:
“We absolutely can’t wait to kick off the European tour. Sharing the stage with our incredible fans night after night is the heartbeat of what we do, and this new song will definitely warm you up for the journey we’re about to take together.”

As anticipation continues to build for MEGADETH’s final studio album—out January 23, 2026 via DAVE MUSTAINE’s Tradecraft imprint in partnership with Frontiers Label Group’s new BLKIIBLK label)—the metal titans have released the latest single and video for Let There Be Shred! The track is a rapid-fire manifesto with jaw-dropping riffs and “a tsunami of sound,” to quote a lyric from the song. Directed by Keith Leman, the video features DAVE participating in a mixed martial arts battle alongside live performance footage that highlights the track’s fretboard ferocity.

“When Megadeth started we said we would be fast and furious…we said so on the flyers we handed out,” DAVE MUSTAINE says. “This song is fast and furious. Know it! It has a very hooky chorus that draws you in and you can’t help but play air guitar and headbang to this one.

“It’s the second video from the new record that we made with Keith [Leman], who also directed ‘I Don’t Care.’ It was a blast to make and it’s a tribute to my first Sensei, Benny ‘The Jet’ Urquidez and my Professor, Reggie Almieda. Everyone on the set was really stoked to see each of us do our stunts. In the end, we got the balance of shredding and ass kicking just right!”

Powerhouse and subversive performance artist Poppy gives listeners a larger glimpse into her upcoming album with a new single, Guardian. Poppy’s highly-awaited upcoming record, Empty Hands, is out on January 23 via Sumerian Records.

Guardian is the latest in a series of singles that establish Poppy as an absolute force in the metal space and beyond. On the track, urgent guitar riffs marry with thunderous percussion against euphonious, infectious vocals from Poppy. She continues to evade the boundaries of genre to create her own vision of what metal can and should be.

Perth hardcore outfit Pincer+ share scorching new single Yours To Erase off their upcoming debut album, Who Are You When No One’s Around, out Friday 12 December via Greyscale Records and 1126 Records.

Digging into themes of isolation, guilt, anger and that space between feeling everything and feeling nothing, Pincer+’s upcoming album is about what’s left when the noise stops and you’re stuck with yourself. “It’s about losing control, pulling yourself apart, and trying to figure out who you are,” says the band. “We found the title felt like a way to tie it all together – it’s a question for us as much as anyone else, about facing the parts of yourself that only show up when no one’s watching.”

SYLOSIS have revealed the first details of their seventh studio album, titled The New Flesh, slated to drop on February 20th 2026 via Nuclear Blast Records.

The collosal tetrad featuring Josh Middleton (guitar/lead vocals), Ali Richardson (drums), Conor Marshall (guitar) and Ben Thomas (bass), have also unleashed a god-tier single, the album title track The New Flesh.

SYLOSIS stated,
“Introducing The New Flesh. This is us solidifying the line up of the band and moving forward with a new sense of purpose and aggression. After having spent so much of the last 2 years on the road, The New Flesh, and the songs that will follow from the album, have been written with the live environment in mind. There is an energy running through these songs that we’ve never felt on a Sylosis album, until now. We’ll see you all in 2026 – Josh, Ali, Ben, Conor”

HIDDEN INTENT return with their third music video from their latest album Terrorform, unleashing a sadistic, horror-fuelled Aussie thrash nightmare with their new clip, Killfatuation.

This twisted visual rampage drags viewers straight into the warped mind of a killer, charting the slide from cheeky infatuation to full-blown, spine-clawing obsession. It’s raw, uncomfortable, and hits harder than a ute doing burnouts in a Bunnings car park – a grim tale told through the predator’s eyes as they lock onto their next victim.

Killfatuation was directed and produced by Max Mawby and Paul Lewis, delivering a gritty cinematic punch and pushing Hidden Intent’s visual storytelling into their darkest territory yet.

Newcastle progressive rockers KōDEM have released their new EP, Tattooed Sin along with new single, Sorrow Of Down.

With its moody, brooding intro, Sorrow Of A Down is cinematic in scope and delivery with lyrical themes about the self righteousness of humanity, as the band explain.

“It is really about the madness of belief. How people will fight, kill, and die thinking they’re righteous. It’s not just about Vikings, history and heritage, it’s about us now. That blind devotion, what we do to maintain that, be it physically or mentally to hold that devotion. Is it our beliefs in a force, a higher form or a god, or deep beliefs in our families? We want the people who listen to make it about whatever it feels to them. The song’s built to feel relentless, like rowing into a storm, or a life you can’t escape.”

Brisbane’s long running, uncompromising metal-punk juggernaut Dreamkillers have dropped a new track called Mulberry Sky ahead of their new album, Proiphys Cunninghamii, out on January 23, 2026

Just what is Mulberry Sky? the band explain..

“It’s hidden in literature, it’s the base note of poetry, it’s caused folk law and urban myth. The ideology of a well made plan when it goes astray, like lost Sundays and lofty dreams of unrequited love. Like bees dancing around the hive, busy as the other, only to die in six days time. Unrealistic hopes and dreams fly off and have other families, only to leave a dark stain of broken promises – this is well made plans that never come home, rather going astray and never fruiting. This is throwing wishes to the Mulberry Sky.”

Welsh ragga metal legends Skindred have released their brand-new single You Got This, accompanied by a brilliantly entertaining video.

The title track of their forthcoming ninth album, which has just been announced with a release date of April 17th via the legendary Earache Records, You Got This is an instant Skindred classic, with Mikey Demus’s wrecking ball riffs bouncing through your head, as drummer Arya Goggin detonates a characteristically full-throttle rhythm. Meanwhile inimitable frontman Benji Webbe lurches between uncompromising toasting and delivering hooks like a heavyweight champion.

The inspiration for the track came when gym-devotee Benji saw a man struggling to complete his exercises as he started his rehabilitation after a stroke. The personal trainer told him, “You got this,” and the mood completely lifted.

“I was watching from a distance, and I could see the struggle and the pain, but in that moment, I knew he had got this,” recalls Benji. “It’s such an empowering statement and it applies to so many battles that everybody faces: it could be a recovery from a stroke, or it could be studying for your exams at school. For me, having songs that lift people who are going through tough times is the most important thing. I feel like that’s what I’m put on this planet to do.”

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