Metalcore act Arankai has announced their new album, “The Shape Of Blue”, set for release on 30 October via Hopeless Records. It follows “A Portrait Of Red”, which came out the previous year, and continues the band’s exploration of themes such as rebellion, pride and sacrifice, though this time drawn from stories beyond the artist’s…

Axl Rose has looked back with regret at “My World”, the strange, largely electronic closing track he wrote and recorded alone for Guns N’ Roses’ 1991 album Use Your Illusion II. The song marked a sharp departure from the band’s hard rock sound, and its inclusion has long puzzled fans and critics, cementing its reputation…

Manchester’s Beyond The Music conference has revealed the first speakers confirmed for its 2026 event, due to take place at the MediaCity UK complex in Salford from 7 to 9 October. The announcement matters because the conference, now in its fourth year, has become a significant fixture in the UK music industry calendar, drawing executives…

In 1966, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein publicly praised pop music’s growing sophistication, singling out the Beach Boys’ “Surf’s Up” as an example so intricate that listeners could not absorb it fully on a first hearing. Speaking on CBS’s “Inside Pop,” Bernstein argued that pop, despite being dismissed by traditionalists, had become a genuinely innovative…