Posts

4 Bands Carrying the Torch of 80s Heavy Metal and Thrash in 2026

Image
There’s nothing quite like the sound of 80s heavy metal and thrash. Two distinctive approaches to the genre, but sharing a lot of DNA. Blending the abrasiveness of punk with the whiskey-fueled rock’n’roll of bands like AC/DC and Motörhead. As I’ll mention again later, even bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest—who have roots in the 70s—were transformed during the 80s, breaking ground on renovated sounds in the NWOBHM movement. All this leads us to thrash and death metal, making for one epic, albeit unholy, decade of metal. So, how about we take a look at some 2026 bands who are keeping the torch lit for thrash and 80s metal. Schizophrenia Starting with a heavier band, you definitely need to know about Schizophrenia . Hailing from Belgium, these death-thrashers are very take-no-prisoners about their music. Certainly, the deathy elements are most prominent. You’ll hear, well, Death (think Scream Bloody Gore ), as well as some ear...

3 Post-Punk 80s Tracks That Were Way Ahead of Their Time

Image
There have been so many experimental artists in existence that some of them are bound to feel like artists out of time. The rare few go their entire careers sounding a bit out of place, like time travelers making music when they’re not supposed to. David Bowie and Vashti Bunyan come to mind, pioneers in art-rock and folk. But there were also several artists and bands in the post-punk genre who seemed to be ahead of their time. They often surpassed their peers, transcending the limits of their genre. Here are three tracks that sound like they would fit right in if they came out today. “Never Known” by The Durutti Column The Durutti Column formed in 1978 as the project of musician Vini Reilly, with several different lineups. While they were considered post-punk as one of the first bands signed to Factory Records, Reilly’s fluid guitar work set the band apart from their peers. For example, on the 1981 track “Never Known”, the atmospher...

Good News! The Sun Might Not Eat Earth After All, According to New Simulations.

Good news, everyone! If, like me, you were worried that your plans to live forever were eventually going to be interrupted by Earth being swallowed by the Sun in about 5 billion years, as astronomers have long predicted, you may be able to cross that worry off your list. According to a new study published in Astronomy & Astrophysics , Earth might actually avoid being engulfed by our dying star after all. The old prediction was that when the Sun exhausts the hydrogen fueling its core, it will swell into a red giant large enough to consume Mercury, Venus, and eventually Earth. But new computer simulations suggest we might not get burned away like the dry leaf that lands in a hot grill. The outcome will come down to a kind of cosmic tug-of-war. As the sun grows, its increasing gravitational pull will gradually pull the Earth toward it. But, at the same time, this old star will be shedding huge amounts of mass through powerful stellar winds. Losing mass weakens the sun’s grav...

Jay White’s AEW Return Just Got a Massive Pop

Jay White made a surprise return at AEW’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view on Sunday. The ‘Switchblade’ has been out of action for over a year due to injury. White had to undergo several surgeries because of a broken hand and accompanying shoulder injury. His long absence had fans questioning his contract status. In January, Fightful Select noted that his long-term deal with the company was “nowhere” near up, instead, he’d likely have time added on by AEW because of the injuries. AEW World Tag Team Champions Cope and Christian defended their first tag titles in over 20 years against The Dogs , Clark Connors and David Finlay. At one point, the referee was knocked down, leading the challengers to use cheap tactics to try and win the belts. White wasn’t going to let that slide. The lights went out and appeared the Bang Bang Gang. Shortly after, White’s trademarked knife sound echoed, and he appeared in the ring behind Finlay. He hit the Blade Runner on the former leader of the Bullet Cl...

Dating Apps May Be Rewiring What You Find Attractive, Psychologists Say

At some point between your first smartphone and your fifth dating app , something changed about what you found attractive. The preferences got more specific. The list got longer. And somehow, the person sitting across from you at a perfectly decent first date started feeling like a disappointment before they’d even finished their drink. There’s a psychological explanation for how that happened, and it predates Instagram by about 50 years. In 1968, psychologist Robert Zajonc documented what’s now known as the mere exposure effect —the finding that repeated exposure to something makes it progressively more appealing. It’s why the coworker you barely noticed at the start of a job becomes someone you can’t stop noticing six months in. Familiarity, at a neurological level, reads as safety. Safety reads as attraction. The brain doesn’t reliably distinguish between the two. Social media didn’t invent this process. It just got there first. Acco...

Weekly Horoscope: June 28-July 4

Image
There’s a lot happening this week, stargazer, and the temptation is to try to move fast through all of it. Resist that. Mercury going retrograde Monday is the sky’s way of asking everyone to slow down and mean what they say — communications get tangled, plans shift, and anything you rush is liable to need redoing. Jupiter entering Leo on Tuesday brings a surge of boldness and desire for life that makes the slowdown feel almost cruel in its timing. The Full Moon Monday sets an emotionally charged tone right from the start, and Saturn squaring the Sun all week keeps the pressure structural — this isn’t a week for shortcuts or half-measures. By Saturday, Uranus, conjuncting Mars, brings everything to a head: electric, unpredictable, demanding that you show up for what you’ve been building toward. The fireworks aren’t just in the sky this weekend. They’re in the choices you make getting there. How will your sign fare this week? Aries: Mar...

Depressed Gen Z Are Chasing the ‘Perfect’ Bodies, But Most Are Still Miserable

With the rise of influencer culture and the popularity of highly sexualized, often shallow reality TV dating shows, it’s easy to see how younger generations might fall into body image issues. We as a society place so much importance on our appearance that certain body types are actually trending . Not to mention, about one in eight adults say that they are currently taking a GLP-1 drug, according to a KFF Health Tracking Poll . Of course, some people use the drug to manage diabetes, heart disease, or other conditions; but many use it strictly for non-health-related weight loss.  Naturally, this impacts how younger generations like Gen Z view themselves and their bodies. A recent survey from NeuroKaire and Prosper Insights & Analytics found that, despite doing everything “right” for their health, depressed Gen Zers still don’t believe it’s enough. In fact, 65% still aren’t happy with their health and are 114% more likely to identify as overweight. There seems to be a c...