Death Metal Tours, Doom Metal Dreams, and Anthrax's Sci-Fi Comeback: What This Week's Headlines Mean for Ohio

Some weeks the national metal news cycle feels like it's speaking directly to Ohio, and this is one of them. Between a stacked death metal tour announcement, Anthrax teasing their long-awaited return, Candlemass hinting at new doom, and the hardcore community rallying around its own, there's a lot happening right now that lines up with what's already cooking in basements, VFW halls, and DIY venues across the Buckeye State. Let's dig in.

The Death Metal Underground Keeps Building Momentum

PeelingFlesh's newly announced fall tour, rounding up Gridiron, Fatal Realm, Snuffed On Sight, Outta Pocket, and Mongrel across a run of dates, is exactly the kind of package that reminds you death metal touring in 2026 isn't slowing down — it's expanding. Multi-band bills like this are the lifeblood of the genre right now, and Ohio has plenty of skin in that game. This state has quietly built one of the more interesting death metal ecosystems in the Midwest, from the technical brutality of Ohio technical death metal band Ebullism to the melodic riffing of Ohio melodic death metal band Siegelord and the crushing groove of Ohio progressive death metal band Swallowed by Apathy. Add in the old-school worship of Ohio death metal band Drawn and Quartered, the hardcore-inflected chaos of Ohio death metal and hardcore band Southern Tongues, and the sheer heaviness of Ohio slam and brutal death metal band Methamphetamines, and you've got a scene that could easily host — or feed bands onto — a tour like this. If you're wondering where to catch some of these acts, the upcoming shows page is the best way to keep tabs on what's coming through the region.

Anthrax's 'Cursum Perficio' Rollout Has Thrash Heads Paying Attention

Anthrax dropping weekly animated clips breaking down the artwork for Cursum Perficio, their twelfth studio album due September 18 via Megaforce and Nuclear Blast, is a smart bit of long-game promotion for a record that's been a long time coming. It's also a good excuse to talk about the health of thrash metal in Ohio, a genre that never really left this state — it just went underground and got meaner. Ohio thrash metal band SSA has been carrying that torch locally, and they're joined by a small army of riff-worshippers including Ohio thrash metal band Ground Zero, the blackened attack of Ohio black and thrash metal band Eisen Geist, and Ohio heavy and thrash metal band Trenchgoat. Even the hardcore-thrash crossover crowd gets a seat at the table with Ohio hardcore punk and thrash band Architects of Doom. When one of the genre's flagship bands is still finding new ways to market a full-length twelve albums deep, it's a reminder that thrash's DIY spirit — the same spirit keeping Ohio's local scene alive — is still the engine driving everything downstream.

Candlemass Teases New Doom — Ohio's Doom Scene Doesn't Need Convincing

Doom metal legends Candlemass are apparently deep into writing their follow-up to 2022's Sweet Evil Sun. Vocalist Johan Längqvist recently told Rock Daydream Nation:

"I've done a couple of demos... We've got maybe half of an album so far."

That's welcome news for anyone who considers doom one of the foundational pillars among the best metal albums of all time, and it's especially welcome in Ohio, where the doom underground is arguably as deep as anywhere in the Midwest. Between the crushing sludge of Ohio doom, sludge, and stoner metal band Traitors Return to Earth, the fuzzed-out riffing of Ohio doom and stoner metal band Junior Crime Fighters, the bleak weight of Ohio doom metal band Hope Hole, and the sprawling heaviness of Ohio doom and sludge metal band Sludgethrone and Ohio black, doom, and drone metal band Drowner, this state has more than earned a spot on any conversation about where doom is headed next. If Candlemass needs a reminder of why the genre still matters in 2026, they could do worse than a weekend crawl through Ohio's DIY venues.

Filling the Gap: Ohio's Heavy Metal and NWOTHM Renaissance

Tony Iommi's recent comments about the final text he received from Ozzy Osbourne, and why vocalist Jørn reminds him of Ronnie James Dio, are the kind of quotes that send longtime fans down a rabbit hole revisiting the best heavy metal songs and 80s metal bands that built the genre's foundation. It's a good moment to point out that Ohio's own heavy metal and New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal contingent has been criminally underdiscussed. Ohio heavy and power metal band Character is flying that flag locally, alongside the soaring power metal of Ohio power metal band Andromeda, the riff-driven muscle of Ohio heavy and stoner metal band Casino Warrior, the progressive edge of Ohio heavy and progressive metal band Strychnine, and the genre-blurring weirdness of Ohio avant-garde and heavy metal band UvU. These are exactly the kind of new metal bands 2026 needs more people talking about — bands drawing on the same DNA that made Sabbath, Maiden, and Priest untouchable, but filtered through a modern Midwest lens. If you're compiling a list of best metal bands to watch this year, don't sleep on this corner of the scene.

Hardcore Mourns Two of Its Own

It's been a heavy week for the hardcore community. Harm's Way, Twitching Tongues, Linda Claire, Weekend Nachos, and the Killer have announced a memorial show for Bo Lueders, and separately, former Ruiner drummer Anthony "TJ" Catalfo passed away following a battle with cancer. Losses like these hit hardcore scenes especially hard because of how tight-knit and community-driven they are — something Ohio's own hardcore-adjacent bands understand well. Ohio hardcore and death metal band Southern Tongues and Ohio hardcore punk band Architects of Doom both operate in that same spirit of mutual support that defines hardcore everywhere, from DC to Cleveland to Columbus. On a lighter note, The Bled teasing plans for the 25th anniversary of His First Crush is a nice reminder that this era of post-hardcore and screamo never really faded — it just aged into legacy status. Ohio has its own claim to that lineage too, with Dayton's own Ohio emo, pop punk, and post-hardcore band Hawthorne Heights having helped define that same mid-2000s sound that bands like The Bled are now celebrating.

Quick Hits From the Wider Metal World

A few other stories worth flagging for anyone tracking metal bands touring 2026 and beyond: Five Finger Death Punch guitarist Zoltan Bathory shut down retirement rumors ahead of the band's tenth album, Legacy, telling Rock Antenne the band is "not even close" to hanging it up. Metallica partnered with the upcoming video game Gears of War: E-Day for skins and music, proof that metal's crossover into gaming culture shows no signs of slowing. Alice in Chains is celebrating the 30th anniversary of their MTV Unplugged album with three new vinyl variants and a fresh CD run — a record that regularly lands on lists of the best metal albums of all time and remains a masterclass in stripped-down heaviness. Chiodos announced an Australian 20th anniversary tour for All's Well That Ends Well with Rain City Drive and The Beautiful Monument, and DC hardcore act NØ MAN (featuring three-fourths of Majority Rule) revealed a new album, Between the Sword and the Neck, due October 30. Bruce Dickinson also had fans laughing this week, joking about a hazy impromptu jam with Billie Joe Armstrong:

"It's all preserved on YouTube in all its awful, awful splendor."

None of it is Ohio news directly, but it's the backdrop against which our regional scene keeps operating — and honestly, if you're looking for metal concerts near me this fall, between touring national acts and the sheer volume of local bills happening weekly, Ohio isn't a bad place to be a metal fan right now. Venues around the state, including bigger rooms near mgm northfield park concerts, keep pulling in national package tours that complement the underground grind happening in DIY spaces every weekend.

Keep Supporting the Scene

Between death metal tour packages, doom metal legends teasing new material, thrash icons still finding new ways to engage fans, and a heavy metal underground that deserves way more attention than it's getting, Ohio's scene has plenty to be proud of heading into the back half of the year. If you're in a band that belongs in this conversation, don't wait to be discovered — submit your band and get on our radar.