Get ready to lose your mind, because the "Most Dangerous Tour of the Year" is back with a vengeance.

After years of anticipation, HATEBREED has officially been crowned the headliner for the 2026 Summer Slaughter Tour. This isn’t just a concert; it’s a full-throttle sonic assault marks a "new era" for the Connecticut hardcore legends.

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The Lineup: Pure Carnage

Hatebreed isn't coming alone. They’ve assembled a devastating roster of support to ensure the pit never stops:

• DEVOURMENT * SNUFFED ON SIGHT * BALMORA * FACE YOURSELF * INCANTATION (Joining the chaos for the final five dates!)

A New Era of Violence

This tour isn't just about the classics. Hatebreed is currently sitting on a powder keg of new music. According to drummer Matt Byrne, the upcoming material is the "fastest, most vicious, and most aggressive" they’ve ever created, leaning heavily into a "Slayer-esque" thrash metal vibe.

This run also marks a triumphant return for guitarist Wayne Lozinak, who is back on stage after heroically recovering from brain surgery last year. The band is revitalized, independent, and ready to "Make the Demons Obey."

Secure Your Spot in the Pit

Don’t get left in the dust. Blabbermouth.NET is hosting an exclusive presale so you can grab tickets before the general public.

• Presale Starts: Wednesday, March 25 @ 2:00 PM EST

• Presale Ends: Thursday, March 26 @ 10:00 PM local time

• The Magic Code: HBSLAUGHTER26

• General On-Sale: Friday, March 27 @ 10:00 AM local time

2026 Summer Slaughter Tour Dates:

• July 02 – Reading, PA @ Reverb

• July 03 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Elevation 27

• July 05 – Worcester, MA @ The Palladium

• July 07 – Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's

• July 08 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl

• July 09 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitina's

• July 10 – Houston, TX @ House of Blues

• July 11 – Austin, TX @ Emo's

• July 12 – Tulsa, OK @ Cain's Ballroom

• July 14 – Denver, CO @ Summit Music Hall

• July 15 – Omaha, NE @ The Admiral

• July 19 – Saginaw, MI @ The Vault*

• July 21 – St. Louis, MO @ Pop's Nightclub*

• July 22 – Fort Wayne, IN @ Piere's*

• July 23 – Toronto, ONT @ Phoenix Concert Theatre*

• July 24 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom*

*Dates featuring Incantation

Hatebreed is tighter, harder, and more vicious than ever. Are you ready to hear the new era of heavy? Use the code and we'll see you in the front.

The music industry is a machine designed to bury anything that doesn't fit a tidy quarterly report, and Volumes found that out the hard way with Mirror Touch. Chris Akin sits down with Myke Terry to peel back the plastic on why a December release is a death sentence for "Album of the Year" accolades, regardless of how much it rips. Is it a lack of faith from the suits, or just a broken system that values a spring tour cycle over the actual art? Find out why being "polite" in metal is a losing game and how the band survived the literal isolation of the COVID era to produce their most raw work yet.

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Watch Volume's Video for "S.O.A.P. Here: 

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– The December Release Death Trap
– Riffs vs. Vocals: The Volumes Writing Formula
– Studio Secrets: Why Being in the Same Room Changes Everything
– The "Myke Terry Era" and Band Longevity
– Touring in a Broken World: Guilt, Responsibility, and Riffs

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Saturday Night Live: THE CLASSIC METAL SHOW is Live Saturdays 9pm-3am EST on Rumble/Locals.

American heavy metal icons, ARMORED SAINT, are back with their anticipated new full-length, Emotion Factory Reset, set for release on May 22nd through Metal Blade Records.

PRE-ORDER ARMORED SAINT'S EMOTION FACTORY RESET ON VINYL HERE: https://amzn.to/4c23nBM

Emotion Factory Reset, the lineup’s ninth studio album since 1984’s March Of The Saint, is a resurrection of sorts, a tearing down and a rebuilding in eleven songs of diverse musicality and lyrical themes. Produced, as were the previous four albums, by bassist Joey Vera and mixed by Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Stone Sour), the record finds the quintet challenging themselves. Songs like “Close To The Bone,” “Hit A Moonshot,” and “Every Man-Any Man” have ARMORED SAINT honoring their past as one of the most respected and recognizable bands in heavy music while making forward-thinking music rooted in the present.

“Each ARMORED SAINT record, to me, is like a new skin for the band, a different chapter. I don't think we've ever repeated ourselves,” says Vera. “Every album has been pretty different from the previous one, a snapshot in time. In 2026, Emotion Factory Reset is where our heads are at.”

“When we start coming up with songs, I always say we can do whatever we want,” notes vocalist John Bush. “Use all our influences through the years, diverse music that we listen to and love, and let that seep in and bring something new out of us. It leads to something more adventurous.”

VIPs - Check out Chris' First Reaction Video to "CLOSE TO THE BONE" here: https://classicmetalshow.locals.com/post/7794496/vip-exclusive-armored-saint-announce-new-album

Bush, one of music’s most respected vocalists, operates from a place of passion and presence in the studio and on stage. In fact, about 85% of his vocals from the last three ARMORED SAINT records are taken from the demo sessions, capturing the raw power. While Vera is a granular and detailed writer, like Bush, the bassist says, “I try not to overthink and be right where I'm at that time. I really don't look over my shoulder much, like, ‘what did I do in the past? What's going on in the next lane?’ Once the ball starts rolling, I just sit back and let it happen.”

The collaborative nature of Emotion Factory Reset led to the album title, a phrase from guitarist Phil Sandoval. “To me, ‘Emotion Factory Reset’ means to reset yourself back to clarity. Take a pause and breathe before you respond or react. You can't control outside events, but you can control your mind,” the guitarist says. “How you interpret things is what hurts you, not the event itself.” 

His brother, drummer Gonzo notes, “the world is going through a technological upswing/awakening. I look at our planet as the factory and in the most positive way we need to realign, reimagine, reset for our better selves.”

In advance of the record’s release, today the band presents the first single and album opener, “Close To The Bone.” Comments Bush, “The first track on the record sounds like vintage ARMORED SAINT. Yet vintage that comes out in 2026! How did we do that? The title of the record, Emotion Factory Reset appears as the first line of the bridge. Killer riffs, awesome rhythms and attacking vocals gets this train rolling. The title implies the human response to withdraw and keep things to yourself instead of being confrontational; Something I believe we all struggle with as humans. Do you just say, ‘aww, whatever man,’ or do you say, ‘hey, fuck you!’ Depends on the moment, I guess.”

Adds Vera, “Musically, this song was inspired by my love and appreciation for metal that was coming out around the time of the NWOBHM, which is right when ARMORED SAINT was formed. As always, I try to reimagine my early influences by giving them a slight modern twist.”

Guitarist Jeff Duncan agrees, “I like to think that ARMORED SAINT doesn’t keep making the same album over and over. Emotion Factory Reset is another musical chapter for the band. When the five of us play together, we have a special chemistry and our first single ‘Close To The Bone’ demonstrates this perfectly; it’s musically sophisticated but still retains the ARMORED SAINT signature sound.”