Monolord are a Swedish doom/stoner power-trio known for their massive, earth-shaking riffs, hypnotic grooves, and emotionally heavy atmospheres. Formed in Gothenburg in 2013, the band—guitarist/vocalist Thomas Jäger, drummer Esben Willems, and bassist Mika Häkki—quickly rose to the forefront of modern doom with a run of globally praised albums and relentless touring across Europe, North America, South America, and major festivals like Hellfest, Desertfest, Psycho Las Vegas, and Roadburn. Their records, including Empress Rising, Vænir, Rust, and No Comfort, cemented their reputation for blending crushing fuzz with melodic undercurrents and immersive repetition. Now one of heavy music’s most consistent and beloved bands, Monolord are gearing up for their next chapter with a new album arriving in 2026—produced by legendary engineer Sylvia Massy and released via Relapse Records.

Khemmis

After eleven years of releasing albums and touring the world, Colorado’s Khemmis have become a pillar of the modern metal scene. 

“When we started this band, we had no expectations, no assumptions—we just wanted to play heavy metal,” says guitarist/vocalist Ben Hutcherson. “The older I get, the more I appreciate how rare it is in life to have relationships that last this long and offer a sense of stability and reassurance in a world that increasingly is horrifying and unsuitable for human life. And so, in many ways, this band is a home.”

Some artists strive for a legacy; Khemmis felt born with one. Upon releasing their 2015 debut Absolution, the Denver-based four-piece felt like old souls whose towering, spiritual doom metal connected with metalheads the world over. This was further cemented by 2016’s Hunted, which won the band international acclaim and was declared Album Of The Year by Decibel. 2018’s rollicking Desolation, 2020’s devotional Doomed Heavy Metal MLP (featuring a fan-favorite cover of Dio’s “Rainbow In the Dark”) and 2021’s searing Deceiver only reinforced the band’s monolithic sound and diehard following.

It makes sense, then, that the Khemmis behind Khemmis–—Hutcherson, fellow vocalist/guitarist Phil Pendergast, drummer Zach Coleman, and newly-appointed bassist David Small—is different in many ways. While the band has often felt synonymous with the Denver metal scene, Pendergast and Coleman have since moved away to Washington and North Carolina respectively. 

And yet, Khemmis today feel more like the band they’ve always wanted to be than ever before. They believe not only in the power of the music they’re making, but their bandmates’ ability to make it with them.

“We have so much trust in each other,” says Pendergast. “Me and Zach moving away, in some ways, actually strengthened that, cause it's kind of proven to ourselves that when we get back together, we can trust each other to do what we need to do. We've been able to reconnect to that sense of just how badass it is that we get to even do this.”