The Conflux Collective: “In the Wake of Saturn” (New Album Announcement).
Canadian Progressive Death THE CONFLUX COLLECTIVE Announces Its “Reincarnation” w/ New Album “In the Wake of Saturn” Out June 2026.
L-R – Max Lussier, Jesse Brint, Mallika Sundaramurthy, Tommy McKinnon, Eric Burnet, Jeffrey Mott
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDITS: Joe Diaz, Derek Carr of Visionsinpixels, Mat Barbeau, Tania Hébert
After years of dormancy, reinvention, and sheer force of will, The Conflux Collective erupts back into the extreme‑metal landscape with the announcement of their long‑awaited debut LP, “In the Wake of Saturn,” arriving June 19th, 2026. Alongside the album announcement, the band has released the first single and lyric video, “Reincarnation,” a ferocious statement of rebirth that sets the tone for the album’s uncompromising vision.
Born from a chance reunion between guitarist Chase Fraser (Continuum, ex‑Decrepit Birth, ex‑Animosity) and drummer Tommy McKinnon (Derelict, Akurion, ex‑Neuraxis, ex‑Augury), The Conflux Collective began as a spontaneous spark, one that quickly ignited into a creative explosion. Within their first hour of jamming, a full song had formed; within six weeks, their debut EP, “The Inception,” was complete. But the band’s evolution was far from linear.
After life circumstances forced the project into years of silence, McKinnon resurrected The Conflux Collective with a renewed sense of purpose. Armed with unreleased material from Fraser and a determination to finish what they started, he rebuilt the album from the ground up, writing new songs, reconstructing arrangements, recording all bass tracks by ear, and crafting lyrics drawn from deeply personal turmoil, transformation, and catharsis.
To bring the record fully to life, McKinnon assembled a powerhouse roster of extreme‑metal vocalists whose performances became the album’s emotional core: Jesse Brint (Gross Misconduct), Mallika Sundaramurthy (Emasculator, ex‑Abnormality), Jeffrey Mott (The Monster Factory, Growlers Choir, Hollow), Eric Burnet (Derelict, Samskaras), and Max Lusier (Derelict), who also contributes a blistering guitar solo.
The result is “In the Wake of Saturn,” a progressive, brutal, melodic, and deeply human exploration of loss, survival, and rebirth. Across eight tracks, the album bridges the raw ferocity of ’90s death metal with the precision and ambition of modern tech‑death, unfolding like a narrative guided by shifting voices and emotional intensity.
“In the Wake of Saturn is a journey through pain, fear, defeat, survival, and finally rebirth. It’s a transformative experience that was created out of the necessity for change… a true underground monster made for those who seek the unusual,” says Tommy McKinnon.
The album’s first single, “Reincarnation,” was originally written by Fraser during the project’s early years. The track embodies the album’s themes of resilience and renewal.
“The Conflux Collective lives again, and this song tells the story of rebirth and resilience… It gives an impression of how the album sounds as a whole, with all the elements explored in depth in the other songs,” adds McKinnon
Featuring a commanding vocal performance by Jeffrey Mott, “Reincarnation” delivers intricate drum work, uncompromising guitar lines, and the unmistakable intensity that defines The Conflux Collective’s sound.
Watch and listen to the lyric video for “Reincarnation,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Though the project has no plans for live performances, The Conflux Collective stands as a testament to collaboration without boundaries, a convergence of some of extreme music’s most creative voices.
Recommended for fans of Cryptopsy, Necrophagist, Decrepit Birth, Augury, and Beyond Creation, “In the Wake of Saturn” will be available on all digital platforms as of June 19th, 2026.
Album pre-save – http://confluxcollective.
Vinyl and CD pre-order – https://elasticstage.com/
Track Listing:
1. The Antidote – 3:02
2. Devoid of True Form – 2:39
3. Ethereal Executioner – 4:45
4. Devouring Light – 4:59
5. Blood from a Rock 4:18
6. Reincarnation – 3:20
7. In the Wake of Saturn – 2:29
8. Desperate Post-Humanist – 5:18
Album Length: 30:53
Album Band Line Up:
Guitar: Chase Fraser (Continuum)
Vocals: Eric Burnet (Derelict), Max Lussier (Derelict), Jesse Brint (Gross Misconduct), Mallika Sundaramurthy (Emasculator), Jeff Mott (Hollow, Monster Factory)
Additional guitar, bass, and drums: Tommy McKinnon
Track 1,2, 3, 6. Music: Chase Fraser. Lyrics: Tommy McKinnon
Track 4. Music: Chase Fraser. Lyrics: Jesse Brint
Track 5, 7. Music & Lyrics: Tommy McKinnon
Track 8. Music: Tommy McKinnon. Lyrics: Eric Burnet
More info:
https://www.facebook.com/
https://www.instagram.com/
About: Formed in Montreal after a chance post‑show encounter, The Conflux Collective is a progressive technical death‑metal project built on collaboration, experimentation, and emotional depth. Featuring contributions from some of the genre’s most distinctive vocalists, the band blends the ferocity of old‑school death metal with the precision and ambition of modern tech‑death. In the Wake of Saturn marks their first full‑length album.
Album Recording Credits:
• All songs performed by: Conflux Collective
• All songs written by: Conflux Collective
• Produced by: Tommy McKinnon
• Mixed by: Jeanne Comateuse at Magma Art & Sound
• Mastered by: Jeanne Comateuse at Magma Art & Sound
• Album Artwork by: Filip Ivanovic
• Member of SOCAN
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“this maddening musical force comprised of many of today’s best death metal musicians. – Austin Weber, No Clean Singing (EP The Inception, 2016)
“The Conflux Collective deliver their first song unto us, a brain scrambling ditty called “Lucid Hallucinations”. This new multi-national death metal group is definitely a band you’ll want to keep an eye on!” – Metal Injection (EP The Inception, 2016)
“Each song features a rotating cast of different vocalists and bassist on each song, with the only members on all three being guitarist/composer Chase Frasier (Continuum, ex-Decrepit Birth, ex-Son Of Aurelius, ex- Animosity, etc) and highly skilled drummer Tommy McKinnon (Akurion/Neuraxis as the only constants in this maddening musical force comprised of many of today’s best death metal musicians. The three vocalists on The Inception are: Mike Disalvo (Akurion/Coma Cluster Void/ex-Cryptopsy) on track one, Matt McGachy (Cryptopsy) on track two, and Beneath The Massacre vocalist Elliot Desgagnes on track three. All three songs on The Inception sound and unfold differently than each other, which bodes well for the groups future moving forwards! Jam below for some high-octane shred heavy tech-death that’ll bore a hole through your head. But do so in a finessed way of course!” – Metal Injection (EP The Inception, 2016)
“At just about 10-minutes in length, The Inception feels more like a teaser than anything else. But that’s just a consequence of how strong it sounds. If they continue to enlist the best of the best as they move forward with more material, Conflux could really be something special. A must-hear if you prefer your death metal on the tech-ier side of things (or you dig any of the members involved).” – Dead Rhetoric (EP The Inception, 2016)
“Helmed by guitarist/songwriter Chase Fraser (Continuum, ex Animosity, Decrepit Birth) and drummer Tommy Mckinnon (Akurion/Neuraxis), Conflux Collective is a new collaborative death metal project bent on both pushing the bounds of creativity within the genre and the culminating of ideas with other artists in the community.” – New Noise Magazine (EP The Inception, 2016)
Eternal Drak: “We Force It To Speak” (New Single & Album Announcement).
Blackened Thrash ETERNAL DRAK Unleashed “We Force It To Speak” From Sixth Album “The Violence of Time” Out July 2026.
L-R – Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar) – Voices, Lead Guitar, Bass – Michel Amyot – Rhythm Guitar
Photo Credit – Patrick Auger
Eternal Drak, the long‑running extreme metal force originally from Latin America and now based in Quebec City, Canada, known for its evolving blend of black, thrash, and death metal, announces the arrival of its sixth full‑length album, “The Violence of Time,” a work that reframes time itself as the enemy of human meaning and will be released on out July 17th, 2026, on Canadian label FirstWave. Alongside the announcement, the band unveils the album’s first single, “We Force It To Speak.”
Born, as the band puts it, “in the middle of a drunk among friends,” Eternal Drak has spent years forging a sound defined by varied rhythm and catchy aggression, shaped by decades within the metal underground. With this new album, the band reaches its most cohesive and intense expression to date.
“The Violence of Time” is not a concept album in the traditional sense; it is a philosophical assault. Lyrically and musically, the record presents time as a hostile, eroding force that distorts memory, identity, and causality. The songs function as “violent theses,” each dismantling a human assumption about how time works.
The band explains:
“Time does not accompany human beings; it subdues them. It does not flow; it imposes. It does not advance; it erodes.”
Every track reflects fragments of a larger narrative inspired by a short story written for the album, an exploration of how attempts to understand time only warp it further.
Serving as the album’s opening strike, “We Force It To Speak” captures the essence of Eternal Drak’s new era. Rooted in black metal yet enriched with acoustic textures and dense atmospheric layering, the track establishes the album’s emotional and conceptual tone. Lyrically, it confronts the human obsession with explanation, how the act of observing or defining reality alters it beyond recognition. The band describes it as a reflection on “how the more we search for answers, the more certainty slips away.”
Eternal Drak’s evolution has been shaped by decades of experimentation, from analog distortion and classic pedals to modern digital textures. With “The Violence of Time,” the band believes it has finally crystallized its definitive sound: aggressive, cohesive, and uncompromising.
Influences such as Dimmu Borgir, Watain, Kreator, Motörhead, and Desaster echo throughout the record, yet the album stands firmly in its own identity, extreme metal sharpened by introspection and conceptual depth.
Listen to “We Force It To Speak” at the following links:
Spotify – https://hypeddit.com/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Album pre-order (out July 17th, 2026) – https://eternaldrak.bandcamp.
Track Listing:
1. We Force It To Speak – 5:15
2. The Unborn Paths Rot – 3:51
3. Me Hice Simultaneo – 3:30
4. The Blasphemy of Time – 3:35
5. Chaos Is the Law – 3:34
6. Where Cause Is Buried – 3:55
7. Across the Watching Veils – 3:53
8. Breathing Once Again – 3:45
9. The Cosmos Rejects You – 4:09
10. No Direction Total War – 2:57
Album Length: 38:24
Album Band Line Up:
Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar) – Voices, Lead Guitar, Bass
Michel Amyot – Rhythm Guitar
More info: http://www.eternaldrak.com | https://www.facebook.com/
About:
Eternal Drak is an extreme metal band based in Quebec City, Canada, originally founded in Latin America in the late ’90s. Rooted in a fierce blend of thrash and black metal, the band has continually expanded its sound with elements of death metal, groove, and melodic experimentation. Lyrically, Eternal Drak explores human and cosmic darkness, a theme present across all seven of its official releases. The band is currently signed to the Canadian label FirstWave.
Formed in 1997 by brothers Drakar and Warhammer, later joined by guitarist Reijav, Eternal Drak quickly gained recognition, winning a City TV award for Best Metal Video in the early 2000s. After releasing early EPs and their first full-length, the band went on hiatus in 2007.
In 2020, the members reunited in Quebec to create The Past Is Gone, A New One Is Coming, honoring co‑founder and drummer Eduardo “Warhammer” Martínez. This revival led to a prolific new era, including the albums Drak Metal (2021), Shadow Storm (2022), Imprisoned Souls (2024), and multiple EPs. The lineup later expanded with guitarist Mike Amyot and drummer Patrick Auger.
Today, Eternal Drak (featuring Andres Martinez Torres (Drakar) – Voices, Lead Guitar, Bass, and Michel Amyot – Rhythm Guitar) continues to evolve while staying true to its extreme metal roots, driven by intensity, melody, and a commitment to pushing its sound across continents.
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“A fine collection from the masters of ancient evil” – Metal Noise (The Warrior Order – 2025)
“There’s evil intent at the start of next song “Eternal Drak” something I’d expect as it’s named after the band. Again, the trio are delving into themes of dark forces and mythical battles, but they have upped the intensity on this one as it sounds more powerful. It’s hard not to imagine a town or castle besieged by dragon’s fire and the hellish earth that awaits any survivors.” – The Razor’s Edge (The Warrior Order – 2025)
“another great sounding recording from Eternal Drak and if you are a fan of blackened thrash metal, you should check out this ep. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE “Oda A La Luna” and “La Nueva Orden”. 8 out of 10.” – Bringer of Death Zine (The Warrior Order – 2025)
“„Eternal Drak“ is a small grab bag. Here they use different tempos that fit into the fast, rhythmic sound. With an extremely thrashy and vocally aggressive sound, you always have to be prepared for changing rhythms and moods. An extremely brutal melody blows with us „La nueva Order“ counter. At the end of the „EP“ they take a Metallica song from the album „Master of Puppets“ before. „Leper Messiah“ rewound in a radical version. Just as the album title says: they implement the warrior code musically.” – Hellfire Magazin (The Warrior Order – 2025)
“The Warrior Order is a real surprise and shows a completely new face of ETERNAL DRAK,” – PowerMetal.de (The Warrior Order – 2025)
““Oda A La Luna” sees a powerful drum at the beginning, before the rhythm settles in this dark ode. The lyrical theme is one of rebellion and ritual, and you can feel the intensity with each slap on the snare. The middle section has a sudden tempo change, with a riff that will get your head moving and the intensity follows through.” – The Razor’s Edge (The Warrior Order – 2025)
“This is a pretty good EP that’s got plenty of thrashy riffs, grooves and black metal harmonies and tremolos, give this a spin. ” – Drako’s Metal Reviews (The Warrior Order – 2025)
Levinia: “Silver Tongues” (New Single Release)
LA Symphonic Metal LEVINIA Unleashes “Silver Tongues” Exploring Dark Grooves Against Modern Idols
Produced by Brandon Friesen (Halestorm, Nickelback, The Hu, Papa Roach)
L-R – Dylan Suierveld – Drums, Alon Mei-Tal – Guitar, Kourt Henson – Vocals, Liam Alexander – Bass
Photo Credit – Dream of Mirrors Photography
Los Angeles symphonic‑metal hybrid Levinia has announced the release of their second single and music video of 2026, “Silver Tongues,” the next chapter in a four‑single rollout that marks the band’s most ambitious era yet. The track follows the success of their first 2026 release, “The Thorn.” It continues their collaboration with acclaimed producer Brandon Friesen, known for his work with Halestorm, Nickelback, The Hu, and Papa Roach.
“Silver Tongues” showcases a new facet of Levinia’s evolving identity, groovier, more rhythm‑driven, and deceptively restrained on the surface, while lyrically cutting deep. The band describes the track as a warning against the seductive pull of modern celebrity culture, where public figures are elevated to near‑religious status.
“We think fans are going to have a strong reaction to these upcoming releases because each song reveals a very different side of Levinia. “Silver Tongues” will likely catch listeners by surprise with its groovier, more rhythm-driven feel. It is a bit more restrained melodically on the surface, but the lyrical message is sharp and unsettling, which we think fans will connect with once they sit with the song. It’s about the danger of surrendering your identity to someone else’s narrative. It’s a rebellion against polished voices that promise certainty while quietly demanding conformity. Overall, we believe fans will appreciate not only the heaviness but the versatility. This is Levinia pushing into new territory while still maintaining the cinematic drama and emotional weight that listeners know us for,” says vocalist Kourt Henson.
The single’s artwork reflects this theme with a commanding, mysterious figure pressing a finger to her lips, an homage to a striking behind‑the‑scenes photograph of Henson that inspired the visual direction.
Levenia was formed in 2017 by drummer Dylan Suierveld and guitarist John Pinon Martinez, and has steadily transformed from a symphonic‑leaning project into a dark, modern, hybrid metal force. With the addition of lead guitarist Alon Mei‑Tal in 2020 and new bassist Liam Buckley in 2026, the band has sharpened its sound into something heavier, more deliberate, and more emotionally immersive.
Their 2026 singles represent the most refined version of Levinia that is aggressive, thought‑provoking, cinematic, melodic, and emotionally charged. Teaming up with producer Brandon Friesen has played a pivotal role in shaping the band’s new chapter, helping them refine a pool of developing tracks into the four‑song arc planned for release throughout the year.
“Silver Tongues” is only the second step in a four‑part journey. Each planned single to be released will reveal a different side of Levinia’s identity, pushing them into new creative territory while preserving the cinematic drama and emotional weight fans have come to expect.
Levinia’s writing process has grown increasingly collaborative, with Alon and Kourt shaping the melodic and lyrical core before the rest of the band builds the dynamic foundation around it. This approach has led to music that feels more cohesive, more vocal‑driven, and more emotionally impactful.
Kourt’s lyrics draw heavily from personal experience, classical literature, and folklore, blending confession with gothic storytelling. The new singles embrace darker romanticism, haunting imagery, and a more mature narrative voice, marking a significant evolution from their earlier work.
Recommended for fans of Within Temptation, Amaranthe, Nightwish, Lacuna Coil, and Delain, listen to “Silver Tongues” at the following links:
Music Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Spotify – https://hypeddit.com/levinia/
First Single – Music Video – The Thorn – https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Levinia:
Vocals – Kourt Henson
Guitar – Alon Mei-Tal
Bass – Liam Buckley
Drums- Dylan Suierveld
More info:
https://www.leviniaofficial.
https://instagram.com/
https://www.facebook.com/
About: Levinia blends symphonic atmosphere, modern metal aggression, and cinematic storytelling into a sound influenced by Epica, Lacuna Coil, Sabaton, Disturbed, and Evanescence. Formed from the ashes of Los Angeles power‑metal band Aerius, the group has spent nearly a decade refining its identity into something bold, emotional, and unmistakably its own.
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“The mixing was just absolutely incredible for the guitars. I really like that.” (referring to the complex rhythm). This was, I mean, I was super impressed. Really impressed. I love the chorus. That’s what we really love. (about catchy choruses). I love that. It was so good (about the operatic vocals), super super cool. What a good job. I’m happy that she’s back with her band. They all look like they were having a great time. That was super cool. (about the live setting) I love it. Yeah. Yeah. I love it.” (about headbanging). This was perfect. Right up my alley.” “It was very good. Very high rating. This was really cool, and I’m very happy we did this one.”- YouTube Reaction Video – The Rockin’ Roundtable (2026 – The Thorn (single)
“Overall, Liberation is a thoroughly impressive EP that should find appeal with both the modern metal and symphonic crowds, especially those craving a little extra heaviness in their material. Levinia are onto something great here, best to catch them here at the ground level and watch them explode to the next level in the near future.” – Dead Rhetoric (2018 – Liberation)
