New Music: Metal Church, Life Of Agony, Don Broco & Brian Burkheiser (Ex-I Prevail)

Metal Church: Brainwash Game

“‘(The song) is really about the machinery behind the curtain,” notes founding guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof. “We’re living in a time where the modern media cycle and the Internet move so fast that truth often gets twisted, filtered, and repackaged to fit whatever narrative sells the most clicks. It’s not always about informing people anymore — it’s about steering them. The song dives into that idea of manipulation, how repetition and outrage can blur the lines between fact and fiction until people don’t even realize they’re being conditioned. It’s heavy, it’s aggressive and lyrically it’s meant to challenge listeners.”

The band’s 13th studio album, “Dead To Rights,” will drop on April 10th. “This new album is very special to me for one reason: the band was over, and I honestly didn’t see it being resurrected,” adds Vanderhoof. “But somehow, it brought itself back to life — again!”

Life Of Agony: Don’t You (Forget About Me)

It’s a cover of the Simple Minds’ anthem made famous by its appearance in the ’85 John Hughes film “The Breakfast Club.”

“Even though our studio version of ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ appears on ‘Ugly’, we had never performed the song live until the ’30 Years Of Ugly’ anniversary tour,” Life Of Agony bassist Alan Robert notes. “Bringing it to the stage after all these years — and experiencing the live energy of the crowd — made the song one of the highlights of the set every night.”

The video was filmed and directed by Leigh Brooks, a longtime visual collaborator who has worked on Life Of Agony videos.

Don Broco: Nightmare Tripping

The track has vocal trade-offs between Don Broco’s Rob Damiani and Matt Donnelly, with Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger.

“Nightmare tripping is the uncertainty between dreams and reality,” offers Don Broco. “When the paralysis demon holding you down forces you to confront what you’ve tried to escape by going to sleep, blurring the boundaries of consciousness. In total contrast to that terror, collaborating on the song with Nickelback was a dream come true.”

The track arrives alongside the announcement of Don Broco’s next full-length album, “Nightmare Tripping,” set for release on March 27th.

Brian Burkheiser

Brian Burkheiser (Scatterbrain): Phases

“I am dropping my first-ever original song,” states the ex-I Prevail vocalist. “I’m a little nervous, anxious, excited — a lot of emotions — but this music video … means everything to me. I put a lot of heart and soul into it and just tried to speak my truth and I tried to be vulnerable and authentic and as real with you guys as I possibly can be. I think you’re gonna see a side of me that (was), yeah, kind of hidden over the last year. But I think I’m gonna take you all the way back and kind of just really lay out who I am as a person in some of the phases.”

Burkheiser left I Prevail last year due to medical issues. That was followed by a legal dispute which initially kept Burkheiser from releasing new music until recently,