Updates, releases and shake-ups from the local scene for August 2026.
I Built the Sky, the progressive instrumental act headed by guitarist Rohan Stevenson, will be returning home to Melbourne in October for one very special performance. Featuring David Parkes on drums, Toby Peterson-Stewart on bass and Rohan Sharma on keys, the current line-up of IBTS will be playing new release Promise Me You’ll Thrive and The Zenith Rise in full, back to back. Tickets for this special night are on sale now for the show on October 31 at Howler.
Genre-fluid metalcore luminaries Windwaker release their third album on October 23. smile, you’re on camera will be immediately followed up by a national tour kicking off in Perth, with The Pretty Wild from the US plus Rin Rin and DREGG. The album is available for pre-order now. Ahead of that, the band has released the latest single, “Closer”.
Last Rites is a new band bringing together members of Adelaide acts Hidden Intent, Tzun Tzu, Abyzmal and Devonera. Blending classic melodic metal with a modern metal style, the band’s first single “Dark Clouds” is now available to download.
Melbourne rockers Riff Raiders are celebrating the CD release of their album Welcome to Mars with a new single. Guitarist Marty Powell has created a Peaky Blinders-style clip to accompany the track “Sound Mirrors”. CDs can be ordered from the Riff Raiders BandCamp.
Brisbane deathcore unit A Night in Texas return with album number five in September. Produced by guitarist Cory Judd and featuring a guest appearance by former singer Rheese Peters, The Darkest Side of Humanity will be released by Unique Leader on September 7. The album is available for pre-order from this link.The Darkest Side of Humanity is the first album featuring the band’s latest drummer Chris Whitbread and the follow-up to 2024’s Digital Apocalypse.
Sydney metalcore unit Harroway have unleashed a new single. “Second Best” comes as the guys prepare for shows with Diamond Construct and Inertia this month.
Of it, the band says: “‘Second Best’ is about the feeling of dedicating everything you have to a person, relationship, or cause, only to discover you were always disposable”. The track is streaming now on all platforms.
Grungy Melbourne rockers Cicadastone issue another 90s-flavoured heavy tune in the shape of “Falling in a Coma”. Singer Mat Robins declares the song, “explores the slow loss of control, where avoidance replaces awareness and reality begins to blur. It is a state of detachment, a gradual disconnect from consequence and responsibility.”
The song is a precursor to their second album, Edge of Life, which is due in January through X Music.
Eloquently named Adelaide punk reprobates Stabbitha and the Knifey Wifeys release a new album on August 31. Described as “unexpectedly uplifting, fast and universally capable of making people drive over the speed limit” and as “a deeply personal exploration of womanhood, queerness, survival and loss” Disgust will be followed by tourinf in September and a date on The Mark of Cain’s jaunt in November.
Southern NSW blackened death monsters Complexant released their debut album Apex on July 31. Following a run of local shows from Brisbane to Hobart this month, the lads will be appearing at Asia Metal Festival in Seoul and Taiwan in November.