Posted in Whathaveyou on September 16th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
If you find yourself scratching your head and thinking, gee, didn’t Dozer put out a rarities collection last year, the answer is yes. That was Rewind to Return: Rarities, Singles and B-Sides (review here). This is Reflect to Rewind: A Rarities Collection, and it seems to me that the similarity of titles is on purpose — they’re meant as complements for each other. The fact of the matter is Dozer have done a lot of work apart from their mainline full-lengths, so that they have enough material to populate two double-LP collections isn’t necessarily a surprise, and as somebody who spent years begging/campaigning for an ‘Early Works’-type outing from the Swedish heavy rock magnates, Reflect to Rewind feels something like an embarrassment of riches. You won’t hear me complain about it.
This 15-song offering will be out Nov. 13 through Blues Funeral Recordings, and while I don’t yet have a full this-was-on-this-and-that-was-on-that as regards the sources of this material, that’s something the nerd in me very much looks forward to tracking down one way or the other:
Stoner rock giants DOZER to issue “Reflect to Rewind: A Rarities Collection” 2xLP on November 13th via Blues Funeral Recordings; preorder available!
Swedish heavy rock titans DOZER announce the release of a new collection entitled “Reflect to Rewind: A Rarities Collection”, to be issued on 2xLP, CD and digital this November 13th via Blues Funeral Recordings.
Having celebrated their 30th year in 2025 and undertaken back-to-back North American tours, DOZER return with a scorching new collection encompassing even more of their astonishing and prolific history as they enter their fourth decade as Scandinavia’s preeminent desert rock band.
Their newest Blues Funeral Recordings release Reflect to Rewind is a double album array of rare tracks, b-sides and singles unearthed from the archives and spanning the band’s extensive fuzz-fueled career. Once more, they tapped longtime collaborator Karl Daniel Lidén to painstakingly remaster this volume track by track, enlivening and energizing each gem and showing that they not only deserved but demanded to be brought forth as reflections of DOZER’s timeless and unassailable heavy rocking righteousness.
DOZER “Reflect to Rewind: A Rarities Collection”
Out November 13th on Blues Funeral Recordings (2xLP/CD/digital)
TRACKLIST: 1. Exoskeleton (Part I) 2. Day Of The Rope 3. Down 4. Dumper Dumper 5. Twilight Sleep 6. The Phantom 7. Infinity x 10 8. Sonic Reducer 9. Typhoon 10. Sub Ethna 11. Mongoloid 12. The Wreck 13. The Cruise Might Have Been Too Much 14. Lazering The Vault 15. Bitchin’
DOZER is: Tommi Holappa – Guitar Fredrik Nordin – Guitar/Vox Johan Rockner – Bass Sebastian Olsson – Drums
The Machine have eight albums, and for those who’ve never gotten on board, the best place to start is the latest of them, Another Sun. Sure, there’s a broader in-catalog context to the self-recorded five-track/43-minute offering — they’ve been a band for nearly 20 years; that’s bound to happen — and even the title is a partial reference to 2009’s Solar Corona (discussed here), their second record that was something of a figure-it-out moment. But if the sense one might get from that bit of trivia is that the Rotterdam three-piece led by founding guitarist/vocalist David Eering have stepped backward, that’s simply not the case.
Another Sun ties together the thread of The Machine‘s progression over the better part of the last two decades and distills their approach to craft some of the most memorable songs they’ve ever written. From the sitar-inclusive opening of “Drop/See,” which I’m just going to assume is tuned to drop C, to the drums holding on into the crickets at the end of “Echo Through,” Eering, bassist Chris Both and drummer Klaas Dijkstra hone a sound that is expansive in its psychedelia, hypnotic in its jams and, especially across the three-song side A, still able to nail a hook like that of “In Search of Yellow” or the speedier “Evolver” just before. Even the central riff of “Drop/See,” never mind the mellow/watery-vocal chorus, is catchy.
At the same time, they showcase a propensity for jamming that feels intentional on multiple fronts — like the songs were both constructed out of the jams and written to give space for exploration in the performance — somewhat echoing earlier heavy psych, but with a warm, modern sound and style. They’re not reinventing the heavy-psychedelic Riff, but if you pay attention they just might remind you what you loved about it in the first place.
This comes through even in the way Another Sunis ordered, so that side A moves toward its most straightforward inclusion in the album centerpiece “In Search of Yellow,” which is something of a progressive fuzz rocker’s daydream, as deeply weighted in the bass as it is floating in the guitar, broad in sound and grounded in structure, only after setting up an expectation of interplay between hooks and jams on “Drop/See” and “Evolver.” In that pair, the jammy propensity is hinted at in Eering‘s extended solos, which evolve and take shape over instrumental processions that, in the opener’s case, builds to a crescendo that answers back to the song’s earlier verse/chorus movement while at the same time having shaped something different from it. “Evolver,” which takes a minute to catch its breath before launching into its careening riff, and to his credit, Dijkstra keeps the energy level high as before even the halfway point the guitar takes off on a willful wander, like a more lysergic Earthless with all the expanse and shred, but still turning back to finish with that earlier riff, giving a sense of songwriting and completion to underscore the band’s maturity and clearly conveyed awareness of their purpose. They know what they’re doing.
“In Search of Yellow” is a nexus for Another Sun, both a landing and a launchpoint, and at five and a half minutes, there’s still enough of it to feel consistent in atmosphere with “Drop/See” and “Evolver,” ending instrumental and topped with a solo as it does. But it’s tighter in its adherance to structure and, again, aware of its function in terms of the whole-album listening experience in ways that I can only call emblematic of mastery. And what it ‘launches’ into is the side B pairing of “Swallow the Sun” (video premiering below) and “Echo Through,” which together comprise more than half the album’s runtime and expand on the structured/jammed dichotomy that side A lays out.
Not only is this shift in intent conveyed through the fact that both “Swallow the Sun” and “Echo Through” are over 11 minutes long, but between them as well, there’s a sense of going far and then further out. Eering‘s vocals become more of a part of the ambience in the way-chill early going of the finale, definitely there but vague enough to almost feel imaginary amid the tonal presence of the guitar and bass. “Swallow the Sun,” then, is something of a transition point between “In Search of Yellow” and that goes-and-doesn’t-look-back capper, and among its fellow tracks, it’s the point at which Another Sun most reveals the core of what makes it such an engrossing listen. It’s an old formula, admittedly — songs that jam, jams that song — but The Machine feel not only like they’re tapping into the roots of what the likes of Colour Haze innovated in terms of shaping heavy psychedelia, but that they’re doing so with a much fresher point of view than phrases like “it’s their eighth album” and “been a band for 19 years” could ever hope to convey.
That is to say, this material across the span of Another Sun is vibrant, and energetic even unto its laid-backest reaches. Out of everything a new The Machine record could be, it chooses to be definitive. Its priorities are in engaging its audience, in conveying a sense of journey but also staying grounded to the task before it. It’s not about summarizing everything the band has done before, but in the notion that everything Eering and the company he’s kept over the years have learned has led to The Machine becoming this; to being so assured in their delivery and confident in their aesthetic stance, acknowledging expectation on the part of audience and genre and wilfully surpassing it every step of the way. I don’t want to give over to the impulse toward hyperbole, but Another Sunis a special moment for The Machine and throughout it they sound ready to take their place among the foremost of Europe’s heavy psychedelic underground. For that alone — even before you get to the guitar tone or the flash on the cymbals — it is gorgeous in how it greets the sunrise of its own making.
Or if you want the short version: Recommended.
“Swallow the Sun” premieres on the player below, followed by more from the PR wire and more A/V and links down toward the bottom of the post.
Please enjoy:
The Machine, “Swallow the Sun” video premiere
David Eering on “Swallow the Sun”:
“‘Swallow the Sun’ indeed. It comes at you right out of the gate and it’s both the heaviest and most spaced out we’ve been in a while. The shoegaze influences that started to shine through on our previous record return with the MBV-inspired guitar parts in the verses, only to be put aside for the demolition team to come in and tear the place down during the chorus and the main riff. The instrumental section is typical oldschool The Machine-play-with-dynamics I’d say, based around Klaas’ great drum groove. Let the hypnotic video be your trip guide!”
“Another Sun is an important milestone to me personally, after a couple of years with (apparent) reduced activity of the band – it‘s the first record with this great lineup and the first one that I recorded at my own place Evolver Studio,“ David Eering comments. “Without the intention to do so, I think we managed to honor a more old school The Machine vibe while also stepping into the future. Can’t wait for this one to be released and to play shows in support of it.”
Recorded in the fall of 2025 at Evolver Studio, Eering’s newly built recording facility in Dordrecht, Another Sun captures what is arguably the strongest incarnation of THE MACHINE to date. Intricate in groove and rich in dynamic songwriting, the album digs deeper into classic heavy-toned songcraft while leaving ample room for the free-flowing jams that have always been central to the band’s identity. Rather than reinventing themselves, THE MACHINE sharpen their unmistakable sonic fingerprint, reconnecting with the freeform spirit of their early work through a modern lens. They took their time to mature, only to return stronger, heavier and more inspired than ever.
Another Sun is out October 02, 2026: In Europe via Awe Records w/ Stickman Records In North America & UK via Blues Funeral Recordings
Album recorded at Evolver Studio Album art by @_davidlebowski
Another Sun Tracklist: 1. Drop/See (8;14) 2. Evolver (7:20) 3. In Search of Yellow (5:33) 4. Swallow the Sun (11:08) 5. Echo Through (11:05)
THE MACHINE is: David Eering: Guitars, vocals, sitar, synthesizers, theremin, percussion Chris Both: Bass guitar Klaas Dijkstra: Drums, Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 5th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
I caught the post below in the Obelisk group on Facebook, which was cool to see. Swedish weirdo classic heavy rockers Mammoth Volume are in-progress on their next full-length, which will be the follow-up to 2024’s Raised Up by Witches (review here), and though they don’t give a timeline on the record being done and it’s true they said they were working on the record in 2025 as well, progress being made is still good news as far as I’m concerned.
2026 also marks 25 years since the band released the cult classic A Single Book of Songs, and when they posted about that on socials they also said their next album would be out in 2027, so while it’s not a definite release, like here’s-your-first-single-and-the-cover-art-and-preorder-link-etc., neither is it nothing.
If you’d like a refresher on Raised Up by Witches, it’s streaming in full at the bottom of this post and down there as well is the band’s video for “A Lullaby of Doom,” in all its grainy sci-fi glory. Hopefully the follow-up comes around sooner rather than later, but I’ll take ‘next year’ over ‘eventually.’ Here’s what they had to say:
It’s been a while. We hope everyone is doing well. Just a little update on what’s going on. We’re in the process of recording a new album, which will hopefully be fully mixed later this year. The album release will probably take a bit longer, though. But have faith, we’ll be back again soon.
This post isn’t the first and, unless I get hit by a bus or something, it won’t be the last you hear from me on The Machine‘s Another Sun. The upcoming eighth full-length from the Rotterdam trio led by guitarist/vocalist David Eering is out Oct. 2 through Blues Funeral (US), Stickman (EU) and their own Awe Records (NL), so there’s plenty of time to throw hyperbole at the record and I plan on doing exactly that. Review and video premiere currently slated for Aug. 28, so yeah, check back.
But “Drop/See” is the first single and the opening track from Another Sun, and from its sitar intro through the riff-riding jam on which they embark in the song’s second half, it embodies a lot of what the record is about. Void of pretense, it speaks to the history of heavy psychedelia and the band’s own place in it — they’ve been around for 20 years — and is active in its groove even as the tonal warmth offers comfort and the vocals keep a low-key feel. Band chemistry is on lock, and the song feels purposeful in what it’s doing in a way that very much extends to the four cuts that follow it.
I’ve heard a lot of very-hyped records this year, and I know there are more coming. I’m not trying to inundate you, and I have no motive to sell you The Machine albums. Understand? My only intention here is to, hopefully, help you find music that speaks to you, and if I’m super-excited about Another Sun — which, if it’s not clear, I am — it’s because it speaks to me more than any of those ‘bigger’ releases that have come down the line thus far in 2026. This is the sound of a band stepping up to get their due, and I very much hope they get it.
Preorders for Another Sun are up now (link below), and the video for the song — which one assumes is named after its tuning — follows here. I genuinely encourage you to give it a shot whether or not you’re familiar with the band’s past work. I know you might read “eighth album” and think you’re late to the party. Hit play on the video and you’ll see the party is just getting started.
Please enjoy:
The Machine, “Drop/See” official video
Our new album Another Sun is on presale now! We’re also excited to share the first single Drop/See with you, the music video is up on YouTube and your favorite platform has it ready for streaming too.
This first song is a supple introduction to the album and gives a good impression of what Another Sun has to offer: psych jams, thick riffs and melodic vocals. Loud quiet loud.
Check this linkhttps://linktr.ee/themachinenlfor all relevant places to preorder and listen to Drop/See. Please enjoy and thanks for sticking around.
Share and spread the word! We will have more details to give to you during the upcoming weeks.
Another Sun is out October 02, 2026: In Europe via Awe Records w/ Stickman Records In North America & UK via Blues Funeral Recordings
Album recorded at Evolver Studio Album art by @_davidlebowski
Another Sun Tracklist: 1. Drop/See 2. Evolver 3. In Search of Yellow 4. Swallow the Sun 5. Echo Through
THE MACHINE is: David Eering: Guitars, vocals, sitar, synthesizers, theremin, percussion Chris Both: Bass guitar Klaas Dijkstra: Drums, Percussion
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 10th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
Like it says in the headline, Atlanta’s Insomniac begin their summer tour tonight, heading to (and through) Asheville Doomed and Stoned in North Carolina. The band were previously announced as appearing at …In the Key of Doom in Brooklyn this October, so it’s not a huge surprise that they’re taking to the road again in the Fall on an East Coast tour around that and apparances at Joint Jam in Saratoga Springs, NY, and Wisconsin Doomed and Stoned in Green Bay, but certainly having the routing helps.
The Fall tour sees them link up with Howling Giant and High Desert Queen for a few shows, as well as crossing paths with Heavy Temple, Crystal Spiders and, for one night in New Hope, Pennsylvania, avant metal masters Today is the Day, which is a thing to look forward to if you happen to be in that part of the world, or, you know, are in the band, probably. A slew of killer gigs, is what I’m saying. It looks like the kind of touring that makes you want to do more touring.
From the PR wire:
Heavy rockers INSOMNIAC announce US fall shows; summer tour starts this week!
Atlanta, Georgia’s ritualistic heavy rock unit INSOMNIAC has announced a full East Coast tour with festival appearances for the fall, as they prepare to kick off their US summer run alongside Texan doom outfit Slumbering Sun.
With their 2025 debut album “Om Moksha Ritam” on Blues Funeral Recordings, Atlanta’s Insomniac have coalesced onto our plane like a third eye opening into the beyond, delivering a brooding, heavy, and psychedelic journey filled with riffs and beats written in the Earth’s frequency. The music Insomniac creates drifts between this world and the next, hovering at the periphery of consciousness. REZN, King Buffalo and Dead Meadow naturally arise as points of reference, although it’s clear that fitting within confines isn’t really what the Atlanta band does.
About their upcoming tours, Insomniac says: “It’s been an incredible ride over the last 8 months since Om Moksha Ritam released, and we’ve been working hard both on and off stage while racking up a ton of tour dates and road miles in the process. We’re overjoyed to see firsthand how much our music has resonated with people far and wide, and the response continues to grow from the stage to the community daily.”
Summer shows: 7/10 – Shreveport, LA – Bear’s * 7/11 – Tulsa, OK – Whittier Bar * 7/12 – Lawrence, KS – Bottleneck * 7/13 – Omaha, NE – Reverb Lounge * 7/14 – Davenport, IA – Raccoon Motel * 7/15 – Indianapolis, IN – State Street Pub * 7/16 – Nashville, TN – The End * 7/17 – Asheville, NC – Asheville Doomed & Stoned 7/18 – Atlanta, GA – Boggs Social * * with Slumbering Sun
Fall shows: 9/30 – Chapel Hill, NC – Local 506 10/1 – Washington, D.C. – Pie Shop 10/2 – Brooklyn, NY – In The Key of Doom Fest 10/3 – Cheshire, CT – Counterweight Brewing ^ 10/4 – Cambridge, MA – Middle East ^+ 10/6 – Bangor, ME – Old Town Theater 10/7 – Portland, ME – Live At Madrid’s 10/8 – Providence, RI – Alchemy 10/9 – New Hope, PA – John and Peter’s # 10/10 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Joint Jam Festival ~ 10/11 – Cleveland, OH – No Class 10/13 – Grand Rapids, MI – Mulligan’s Pub 10/15 – Chicago, IL – Reggies 10/16 – Minneapolis, MN – Zhora Darling ~ 10/17 – Green Bay, WI – Wisconsin Doomed & Stoned ~ ^ with Heavy Temple + with Crystal Spiders # with Today Is The Day ~ with Howling Giant & High Desert Queen
INSOMNIAC is Alex Avedissian – Guitar Van Bassman – Vocals Juan Garcia – Bass Amos Rifkin – Percussion, Vocals
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 9th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
You knew Elder were going to keep busy supporting their new album, Through Zero (review here), and that will continue into next year as the progressive heavy rock forerunners will return to Australia for the first time in an apparent decade. The newly-announced Down Under stint — in the company of Khan, no less — is the latest in a slew of runs to be undertaken. Note they’re at Red Smoke Festival in Poland this weekend. I wish I could say the same for myself. They were at Bear Stone last weekend. The video of course looked amazing. So it goes.
While they do this festival run, they’ve got another Euro/UK tour lined up for next Feb, and they’ll be in the US this Fall too, and you probably don’t need me to tell you to see them. All their current tour dates follow below, as hoisted from the PR wire:
ELDER Announce 2027 Australian Headline Tour With Special Guests KHAN
After more than a decade, progressive psychedelic rock heavyweights ELDER are finally heading back Down Under. The band has announced a string of Australian headline dates for May 2027, joined by special guests KHAN. Tickets are now on sale viawww.beholdtheelder.com
The announcement arrives as ELDER continue their busy 2026 schedule, currently performing at major European summer festivals before embarking on an extensive North American headline tour this September, with BASK and BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT joining the band on selected dates. Following a run of European shows with TEMPLE FANG and REZN in early 2027, ELDER will finally make their long-awaited return to Australia, bringing material from their acclaimed new album Through Zero alongside fan favourites from across their ever-evolving catalogue.
Regarding their long-awaited return, the band comments:
“For over a decade we’ve been waiting for things to line up for us to finally get back to Australia, and we’re extremely stoked this finally came together! We had so many great times and met so many lovely people on our first trip in 2015 and are more than looking forward to returning with the 10+ years of new music we’ve made since then. Of course we’ll bring a generous helping of our new record Through Zero alongside our older repertoire. Get those tickets and we’ll see you down under!”
ELDER Australia 2027: May 14 — Sydney — Manning Bar May 15 — Melbourne — Max Watts May 16 — Brisbane — The Triffid May 18 — Adelaide — The Gov May 20 — Perth — Rosemount Hotel Special Guests: Khan
Previously announced tours:
Upcoming ELDER Live Dates Europe 2026: 10.07. Pleszew, PL – Red Smoke Festival 11.07. Alperstedter See Erfurt, DE – Stoned From The Underground 23.07. Reutlingen, DE – Hafensounds Festival w/ Kadavar 24.07. Budapest, HU – Monolit Festival 25.07. Tolmin, SI – Tolminator Festival 26.07. Milan, IT – Circolo Magnolia Summer 28.07. Rockstadt, RO – Rockstadt Extreme Fest 30.07. Breitenbach am Herzberg, DE – Burg Herzberg Festival 31.07. Michelau, DE – Rock Im Wald 04.08. Rostock, DE – MAU Club 05.08. Josefov-Jaromer, CZ – Brutal Assault Festial 08.08. Âncora, PT – Sonic Blast Festival 14.08. Valais, CH – PALP Festival
ELDER North America 2026: September 09 – Richmond, VA – The Broadberry* September 10 – Asheville, NC – The Orange Peel* September 11 – Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade* September 13 – Levitation Festival September 16 – Mesa, AZ – Nile Theater‡ September 17 – San Diego, CA – Music Box‡ September 18 – Los Angeles, CA – Regent Theater‡ September 19 – San Jose, CA – The Ritz ‡ September 21 – Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre‡ September 22 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theater‡ September 23 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre‡ September 25 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge‡ September 26 – Denver, CO – Federal Theater‡ September 28 – Chicago, IL – Avondale Music Hall‡ September 30 – Toronto, ON – Opera House‡ October 01 – Montreal, QC – Theatre Fairmount‡ October 02 – New York, NY – Webster Hall‡ October 03 – Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club‡ with Bask ‡ with Blackwater Holylight
ELDER Europe / UK 2027 with TEMPLE FANG and REZN: 3rd Feb – Oberhausen – Kulttempel 4th Feb – Brussels – Botanique 5th Feb – Amsterdam – Melkweg 6th Feb – Hamburg – Gruenspan 8th Feb – Gothenburg – Monument 9th Feb – Oslo – Rockefeller Music Hall 11th Feb – Stockholm – Kollektivet Livet 12th Feb – Copenhagen – Pumpehuset 13th Feb – Berlin – Festsaal Kreuzberg 14th Feb – Leipzig – UT Connewitz 16th Feb – Prague – Futurum Music Bar 17th Feb – Vienna – Flex 18th Feb – Munich – Technikum 19th Feb – Zurich – Plaza 20th Feb – Saarbrucken – Garage 21st Feb – Paris – Trabendo 23rd Feb – Bristol – Trinity Centre 24th Feb – Leeds – Brudenell Social Club – Main Room 25th Feb – Glasgow – The Garage 26th Feb – Manchester – Academy 2 27th Feb – London – Electric Brixton
Elder is: Nick DiSalvo – Guitars, Vocals Mike Risberg – Guitars, Keys Jack Donovan – Bass Georg Edert – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 8th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
Just telling you now so you’re not surprised when this shows up in my top 10 for 2026 come December. Every album has its storylines, but rarely does a band reckon with the totality of their sound, with everything they’ve done, while still moving forward, in the way The Machine accomplish across Another Sun. The Netherlands-based trio led by founding guitarist/vocalist David Eering offer a collection of songs that are both memorable in their structure and willing to leave it all behind in fluid and expansive jams, resulting in material is immediately familiar without giving up its progressive bent. They’re a band heavy psychedelia has been lucky to have since 2007, and perhaps never more so than now.
The title Another Sun references their 2009 sophomore album, Solar Corona (discussed here), which was a landmark for them, and it’s not the first time they’ve called back to prior work — their last album, 2023’s Wave Cannon (review here), started them on this path — but the way they manifest rote concepts like hooks and jams gives fresh perspective to familiar ideology. The songs are killer. The performances are organic. The mind is expanded. I’m telling you now so you know, don’t miss this record. It is the sound of a band stepping up to get their well-deserved due respect.
Lo, cometh the PR wire with the release date and more info:
THE MACHINE Announce New Studio Album Another Sun, Out October 2 via Blues Funeral Recordings and Awe Records
Dutch heavy psych and stoner rock trailblazers THE MACHINE have announced the release of their long-awaited eighth studio album, Another Sun, arriving October 2, 2026. The album will be released through Blues Funeral Recordings and the band’s own label imprint Awe Records, with Blues Funeral handling North American and UK territories, while Awe Records will oversee the European release in partnership with Stickman Records. A first single from the album is expected to arrive in late July, offering a first taste of the band’s next chapter.
For the better part of two decades, THE MACHINE have carved out a reputation as one of the most genre-defying acts to emerge from the European underground. Doused in space and soaked in riffs, the power trio of David Eering (guitar/vocals), Chris Both (bass) and Klaas Dijkstra (drums) has continually redefined its sound, balancing a deep-rooted love for stoner rock with excursions into heavy psych, progressive rock, doom, ’90s alternative and expansive space rock. As one of the frontrunners of Europe’s second wave of stoner and heavy psych, the band established an early landmark with the now cult-classic Solar Corona before continuing to evolve with every release that followed.
“Another Sun is an important milestone to me personally, after a couple of years with (apparent) reduced activity of the band – it‘s the first record with this great lineup and the first one that I recorded at my own place Evolver Studio,“ David Eering comments. “Without the intention to do so, I think we managed to honor a more old school The Machine vibe while also stepping into the future. Can’t wait for this one to be released and to play shows in support of it.”
Recorded in the fall of 2025 at Evolver Studio, Eering’s newly built recording facility in Dordrecht, Another Sun captures what is arguably the strongest incarnation of THE MACHINE to date. Intricate in groove and rich in dynamic songwriting, the album digs deeper into classic heavy-toned songcraft while leaving ample room for the free-flowing jams that have always been central to the band’s identity. Rather than reinventing themselves, THE MACHINE sharpen their unmistakable sonic fingerprint, reconnecting with the freeform spirit of their early work through a modern lens. They took their time to mature, only to return stronger, heavier and more inspired than ever.
Already announced with a surprise full-album performance at this year’s Roadburn Festival, Another Sun signals the beginning of a new chapter for THE MACHINE. After nearly two decades as one of Europe’s most consistently adventurous heavy rock bands, the trio now steps onto a broader international stage, reaffirming their place alongside legendary Dutch acts like 35007, Beaver and 7Zuma7, while finally bringing their expansive blend of stoner rock, heavy psych and space-driven grooves to a much wider audience.
Another Sun Tracklist: 1. Drop/See 2. Evolver 3. In Search of Yellow 4. Swallow the Sun 5. Echo Through
THE MACHINE is: David Eering: Guitars, vocals, sitar, synthesizers, theremin, percussion Chris Both: Bass guitar Klaas Dijkstra: Drums, Percussion
London heavy rockers Okay You Win release their debut album, End of Days, this Friday, June 26, through Blues Funeral Recordings. At eight songs and 52 minutes, it is an album of big spaces and modern, niche ideologies, seeming to have learned from from the melodic desert-style crunch of Steak to the plus-sized-riff plunge of Kal-El, a touch of Green Lungy drama (but just a touch) in “The Greatest Lie” and the propensity for vocal soar of Sergeant Thunderhoof. There are moments that touch on metal, but catchy opener “Smoke” sets a broad swath with its fist-pump of a riff and shift into a semi-psychedelic passage before they turn it back around to the hook to finish, while the subsequent “Beat Me Down” follows the pattern of its drum swing into a London-stomper (you know the stage move I’m talking about; big bent-knee stomp in time to the riff) of a nod over the course of its eight minutes, offering some twist of riff that reminds of Solace before diving headfirst into the slowdown.
The meld of spaciousness and scope of sound in “The Greatest Lie” — the ability of Okay You Win to create and fill a space in their material — epitomizes one of the band’s greater strengths at this point, and while finding an unoccupied stylistic corner in arguably the most packed heavy underground scene in the world is inherently a challenge, as End of Days plays through, the material feels both like it’s willing to dwell and that it carries some measure of immediacy. It’s like “hurry up and chill the fuck out.” Which, I mean, yeah. Especially on side A’s longer, seven/eight-minute slabs, with “This Damn Place” following “The Greatest Lie” to put the first half of the record to bed, the four-piece of vocalist David Kirk, guitarist Ryan O’Hare, bassist Rodrigo Barradas and drummer Antonio Peci, the ambition of End of Days as regards craft seems straightforward enough, but repeat listens reveal greater depth and complexity. There’s plenty of heft being thrown around, but that doesn’t come at the cost of atmosphere, and as “This Damn Place” slows its main riff at the crescendo and rounds out with feedback over the bassline, the affect is duly classic stoner rock.
“End of Days” and “Red Flag” are shorter and more direct, but consistent in production and overall scope, and “Ten Year Trip” brings the largesse to the fore in a way that feels current without indulging in basic tone-worship, resolving in lead lines that remind of Earthless but resist the urge to jam. Closing out, “Own It” makes a play toward the fuzzy anthemic, with quiet lines opening to full-roll and a return of the looser divergence into effects and such in the bridge, tying together the end of End of Days with the beginning in a manner that feels purposeful on a songwriting level. They have further they can push, both in and around psychedelia and in the urgency they convey elsewhere throughout, but frankly, that’s what the next album is for. Over time, they’ll either draw together the various sides of their sound as laid out here, or make the lines between them more vivid and explore around the contrasts — or both or neither, I guess; universe of infinite possibility and all that — but if End of Days feels like a heads up for the converted to the potential of what they might bring to fruition, it’s serving that notice loudly, recognizably, and engagingly in the here and now.
It’s my pleasure to host the full-album premiere of End of Days below. You’ll find it followed by more from the PR wire, including upcoming shows this week for the release and at other spots throughout the rest of this year, including Stoomfest at The Garage in London, where surely much stomping will be had.
Enjoy:
Okay You Win, End of Days album premiere
Deploying a double hit of heavy riffs and soaring vocals, OKAY YOU WIN have quickly built a solid reputation in the UK underground, bringing their blend of driving rock with stoned psychedelics and doomy breakdowns to a string of shows and festivals across England and further afield.
Drawing heavily on Seattle Grunge, California Desert Rock, 90s alt-rock and classic British metal, the four-piece caught the attention of fellow UK rockers Psychlona, who offered enthusiastic support and guided their new friends toward producer Andy Hawkins and The Nave studio in Leeds for their debut album.
Following a year that saw performances in London, Edinburgh, Norwich, Birmingham, and a short tour around Spain, Okay You Win are ready to unleash End of Days in June 2026 on the heels of a DesertFest London slot, with lots more live appearances to follow this year.
Tracklisting: 1. Smoke 2. Beat Me Down 3. The Greatest Lie 4. This Damned Place 5. End of Days 6. Red Flag 7. Ten Year Trip 8. Own It
Okay You Win Live: June 25 – The Imperial Palace of Big Red, London (Album Launch) June 26 – The Metal Monocle, Leicester July 27 – The Cart & Horses, London August 1 – Bay Days Festival, Chelmsford September 26 – Stoomfest, The Garage, London October 25 – The Lady Luck, Canterbury
Okay You Win is: Rodrigo Barradas – Bass David Kirk – Vocals Ryan O’Hare – Guitar Antonio Peci – Drums
