Nu Metal News 2 October 2026, welcome to Friday, and it is a good one. Wounded Touch have finished their two part They Promised Eden story on a revived Ferret Music, Imminence have released Axis Mundi, and Alienist have introduced a new voice with “Phantom”. Starset have a new single out as they hit the road with Breaking Benjamin, Kim Dracula’s Las Vegas show has moved to 2027, and Finland’s ATLAS are our featured band with a song that deserves a much bigger audience.
Wounded Touch Finish The Story With Scarlet Psalm
Michigan metalcore band Wounded Touch released They Promised Eden, Vol. 2 today through Ferret Music, with a video for “Scarlet Psalm” directed by Indy Nyles. The EP also carries “Amber Waves Of Arson” and a new recording of “Sleep A Cicada Would Envy”, a song the band first put out in 2023.
Vocalist Nick Holland calls “Scarlet Psalm” “the bridge between the band’s sound we started with and where we’ve arrived today,” and that is a smart way to frame a lead song. It speaks to the fans who have been there since the start and to anyone discovering them now. The lyrics are about the righteousness of martyrdom, which is heavy subject matter, and the video gives it the weight it needs.
Holland also describes the two volumes as one release, “like looking at a photo of a living thing mid metamorphosis.” Vol. 1 came out in May, and its track “A Weapon In God’s Country” featured Jack Murray of 156/Silence, who we featured on Monday. Played back to back, the two halves make a strong case for this band.
The label part of this story matters too. Ferret was home to Every Time I Die and a lot of the early 2000s metalcore that still sounds great today, and we covered its return with the BORE reissue last month. Wounded Touch are exactly the kind of band a revived Ferret should be backing.
Alienist Welcome Jacob Churchward With Phantom
Wollongong metalcore five piece Alienist have released “Phantom” through UNFD, and it is the first music to feature their new clean vocalist and guitarist, Jacob Churchward. It is also their first release since the Love/Hate EP in 2024, so it has been a while.
A lineup change at the melodic end of a metalcore band is a big moment, and putting the new member front and centre on the first single is the right call. Introducing Churchward with a full video rather than a statement lets the music do the talking, and it gives anyone who has followed Alienist since Love/Hate a clear picture of where the band goes next.
Lambgoat posted the song on Thursday night US time and Theprp ran it today, so depending on where you are it is either a Thursday or a Friday release. Either way, it is a big moment for one of the most promising metalcore bands in Australia.
Starset Release t r a n s f u s 1 0 n On Day One Of Tour
Starset released “t r a n s f u s 1 0 n” today with an official lyric video, keeping up the run of spaced out, leet speak titles their fans have come to love. The platinum certified band have always treated rock as a cinematic project, with a story and a visual world running underneath the songs, and the new single fits right into that.
The timing is good too. Starset open as direct support for Breaking Benjamin from today until 24 October, with Kami Kehoe also on the bill. The run covers arenas and amphitheatres including the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas and the Honda Center in Anaheim, then heads through the South and Southeast.
If you have only ever caught Starset on radio, a show is where the whole idea comes together, with the staging and visuals carrying as much of the story as the music. Releasing a new song on the first day of a big tour gives those crowds something fresh to hear every night.
Imminence Open Up Axis Mundi
Swedish metalcore band Imminence have released Axis Mundi, their sixth album, through Sumerian Records. The band co-produced the eleven tracks with Drew Fulk, whose credits include Knocked Loose. “False Light”, “Crestfallen” and “The Sword That Never Bends” have already given fans a good idea of its range.
Guitarist Harald Barrett says the album is built around duality: “darkness and light, violence and beauty, despair and hope.” That has always been the Imminence formula, with Eddie Berg’s violin and clean vocals set against some of the heaviest breakdowns in the genre, and a full album gives that contrast room to breathe. We flagged it on Tuesday as the big release of the week, and now it is here.
North America gets it live from Friday 13 November to Sunday 13 December, with Dying Wish and Gaerea in support. The tour starts in Worcester, Massachusetts and finishes in Montreal, with New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago and Toronto along the way.
Kim Dracula And Criss Angel Give Haunted More Time
Kim Dracula and illusionist Criss Angel have moved Haunted, their joint live production, from its planned 24 October premiere at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas into 2027. The organisers say the scale and complexity of the show needs more time “to fully realize the show as envisioned,” and tickets are being refunded while a new date is set.
That is good news, even if the wait is longer. Kim Dracula is one of the most theatrical performers in heavy music right now, and putting that next to a magician of Angel’s scale only works if the production is right. Kim signed to Rise Records in July, the same home as Niis, yesterday’s featured band, and “Molecular Conversion” is still the place to start while you wait.
Featured Band: ATLAS Sink Into Bittersleep
ATLAS are a five piece from Helsinki, and they have a name for what they do: Northcore. It is modern metal, metalcore and deathcore run through a very Finnish kind of melancholy, and the band list Deftones, HIM, Orbit Culture, Sleep Token and Humanity’s Last Breath among their touchstones. If that line runs from the Deftones end of this column to the heaviest records you own, that is exactly the point.
“Bittersleep” is out today, their first new music since the album Sunder in February. Where Sunder worked through death, healing, rebirth and faith on a big canvas, the new song zooms right in on a single moment caught between dreaming and waking, between closeness and loss. It is about longing, pain and the point where you stop fighting either.
That shift from the epic to the intimate is what makes it worth your time. ATLAS write songs where the atmosphere and the weight arrive together, and the band call it the start of a new era. Sunder earned reviews across the UK and European metal press, and this is a strong next step.
Next up, ATLAS are on the road supporting The Rasmus from January to March 2027. If the Northcore idea clicks for you, go back and play Sunder in full, then follow them now so you catch the next chapter as it lands.
Looking Ahead: Autumn Tomb And A Cold Night In Baltimore
Steve Moore of Zombi has teamed up with Bryan Richie and Santiago “Jimmy” Vela III of The Sword in a new doom project, Autumn Tomb. The self titled debut is out on Friday 6 November through Spaceflight Records, and “Crumbling Thrones” is streaming now. Moore says he has been a metal fan since the late eighties and wanted a band like this for a long time.
Hardcore fans can plan for Saturday 30 January 2027, when Disturbin’ The Peace returns to Baltimore Soundstage with Cold World, Madball, Integrity playing Humanity Is The Devil, Combust, Division Of Mind, Iron Mind and more. Tickets are on sale now. If a winter show is on your calendar, our guide to nu metal fashion has the layers covered.
Get Your Band In This Column
This column covers small and unsigned bands on purpose, every single day, next to the names everyone already knows. If you are in a band, or you work with one, send it over through the get featured form. It takes a couple of minutes and it goes straight to a human.
The bands that turn up there get the same space and the same care as anyone else on the page. Links, a photo or your artwork, and one line about what the song is actually about will get you a long way.
Nu Metal News 2 October 2026, Your Questions
What is on Wounded Touch’s They Promised Eden, Vol. 2?
They Promised Eden, Vol. 2 came out on 2 October 2026 through Ferret Music. It includes “Scarlet Psalm”, “Amber Waves Of Arson” and a new recording of “Sleep A Cicada Would Envy”. The band describe the two volumes as one connected release.
Who is the new member of Alienist?
Jacob Churchward is Alienist’s new clean vocalist and guitarist. “Phantom”, released through UNFD, is the first song to feature him and the band’s first new music since the Love/Hate EP in 2024.
When is Imminence touring Axis Mundi in North America?
Imminence tour North America from 13 November to 13 December 2026 with Dying Wish and Gaerea, starting in Worcester, Massachusetts and ending in Montreal.
Is the Kim Dracula and Criss Angel Haunted show cancelled?
No, it has been postponed. Haunted was due to premiere at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas on 24 October 2026 and has moved to 2027. Tickets are being refunded and a new date will be announced.
Who are ATLAS?
ATLAS are a five piece band from Helsinki, Finland, who call their sound Northcore, a mix of modern metal, metalcore and deathcore with Finnish melancholy. They released Sunder in February 2026 and the single “Bittersleep” on 2 October 2026.
- Theprp: Wounded Touch launch “Scarlet Psalm” with They Promised Eden, Vol. 2
- Metal Anarchy: Wounded Touch premiere “Scarlet Psalm”
- UV Music Mag: Wounded Touch EP with 156/Silence feature
- Lambgoat: Alienist premiere “Phantom”
- Theprp: Alienist welcome Jacob Churchward
- Theprp: Starset premiere new single
- The Mosh: Starset release new single with lyric video
- Knotfest: Imminence unveil Axis Mundi
- Rock Sound: Imminence announce Axis Mundi
- Theprp: Haunted postponed to 2027
- Chaoszine: ATLAS announce a new era with “Bittersleep”
- Rock N Load: ATLAS return with “Bittersleep”
- Theprp: Autumn Tomb
- Theprp: Disturbin’ The Peace 2027
- Metal Anarchy: Disturbin’ The Peace 2027 lineup