Several Important Announcements For The Rest Of 2026 | Upcoming Albums
Several of the announcements we’ve been publishing about new material and releases for this year have already come to fruition. Silence The Echo, Narnia, Fear Not, Michael Sweet, and several others already have their new works available, but several more are still pending release, and we’ll surely be hearing about them in the remainder of 2026.
To tell the truth, in some cases we already have confirmed names and dates. In other cases, there are only announcements with nothing officially confirmed, but with that in mind, we decided to take a quick look at what we can expect in the second half of 2026 based on what we do know—and we’d like to clarify that, for now, we’re talking about physical albums, since, as you know, we prefer and support the physical format over digital releases.
In fact, digital formats are taking over traditional physical formats and wreaking havoc. There are fewer and fewer releases available exclusively in physical format, and that’s hurting the number of titles available. It’s a reality. In many cases, bands prefer to release their music exclusively on digital platforms, though some are still holding out, continuing the tradition of releasing on CD or vinyl.
Perhaps the most important or high-profile announcement—partly because of what it means for the White Metal scene, and partly because so much is always expected of them—involves Stryper.
Michael Sweet, the band’s lead singer, had already released his new solo album, but it remained to be seen what Stryper was working on. “Throne Of Thorns” was finally announced for official release on September 25, on CD and vinyl, and is currently available for pre-order through the band’s official channels. Stryper has already released two singles as a preview. One is “I’m Alright (I’m Okay),” and the other is the title track of this new album, for which a music video has also been released. Incidentally, the album cover has also been unveiled and is already circulating on social media.
Another big-name band making a comeback is Galactic Cowboys. As far back as last year, Monty Colvin told us the band was working on something new, and finally, “What Planet Are You From?”—the name of the new album—will be released between late July and early August of this year. Monty Colvin (who, in addition to being the band’s bassist, is a talented visual artist) has already shared a video on social media in which he designs what is presumed to be the album cover, and the band has also released a brief preview of some of the songs that will be included on “What Planet Are You From?”.
Keep in mind that this new material from Galactic Cowboys is the follow-up to “Long Way Back To The Moon,” which was released in 2017. Nine years have passed, but finally, the guys have something new in the works.
Another band with everything confirmed for their new album is the Slovakian group Signum Regis, who announced “Beyond Spacetime” with an official release date of October 9, 2026. To mark the occasion, they released a lead single, “Throne of Gold,” featuring Matt Smith (Theocracy) on vocals and Victor Smolski (ex-Rage) on guitar—but they aren’t the only guests set to appear. Signum Regis also announced the participation of Ripper Owens (ex-Judas Priest and ex-Iced Earth), Ralf Scheepers (Primal Fear), Johnny Gioeli (Hardline and Axel Rudi Pell), Tasos Lazaris (Steel Arctus, White Wizzard), and David Åkesson (Symphonity and Quantice), as well as the return of Mayo Petranin to Signum Regis, who will share with the band’s current vocalist, Jota Fortinho.
The cover art for “Beyond Spacetime” has already been revealed, and the album will mark the band’s debut on the Fireflash Records label, so the stakes are high.
A surprising announcement came from the well-known label Nordic Mission regarding the legendary Norwegian band Vaakevandring, about whom little has been heard in recent years. They’ve only released one EP in 2004 (in addition to their demo), but that was enough to earn them near-legendary status. Well, it seems Vaakevandring has reunited and plans to release what will ultimately be their first full-length album. The album’s title will be “Amen,” and for now, not many details are known. All we know is that the album has been recorded and includes new versions of the tracks from their 1998–1999 demo. For now, those are the only details available, and we don’t even know if 2026 will be the release year or if it will be postponed to 2027. In any case, we’ll have to stay tuned.
Tourniquet is a special case. The band, which has reunited under the leadership of its longtime guitarist Gary Lenaire, has been teasing something new since last year, with the well-known Bill Metoyer handling the mixing (he was responsible for the sound on “Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance”). From what is known so far, in addition to Lenaire, Luke Easter is on vocals, Anna Sentina on bass, and David Schwarz (drummer for Extol) is also participating. The legendary Guy Ritter had been sharing vocal duties with Easter and Lenaire during the band’s most recent concerts, but according to the announcement, he will not be part of the upcoming project for unknown reasons. Therefore, vocal duties on the new material will be shared between Luke Easter and Gary Lenaire.
As of now, the title of the new album, the cover art, the track list, and the release date remain unknown. Gary Lenaire himself has even posted some illustrations on his social media under the name Tourniquet, without indicating whether any of them will be the album cover, but he has also mentioned special guest appearances on the new material. One of them is Bubby Lewis, bassist for Snoop Dogg and Suicidal Tendencies, who will appear as a guest on this new album, as well as Joao Miguel, guitarist for Flood (the project between Lenaire himself and Guy Ritter that, at this point, seems to be on hold). He also announced the participation of a famous drummer, sharing a mysterious photograph. Everything points to the drummer in question being none other than Hugo Ribeiro of the well-known band Moonspell. In any case, the only thing confirmed for Tourniquet is the band’s August tour through Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. Will the new album be out by then? We’ll see. In any case, we’ll have to stay tuned for updates.
But in addition to what we’ve been discussing, there will be many more new albums coming out. Among others, Mangled Carpenter’s new EP, “Between Blood And Silence,” as well as the highly anticipated second album by Tyraels Ascension titled “Grave Seeker,” which stays true to their style of fully conceptual albums and continues the story developed in their debut. Prevailer will also release their first album, “Convalescent,” this year, set for release in August.
We’re also looking forward to new music from Germán Pascual with his new material titled “Away From The Noise,” a unique acoustic album. No More Death, the thrash metal project by Tiago Torres (formerly of Mad Dragzter), is set to release its second album, titled “Last Caesar,” of which we currently know only the cover art and track listing.
And finally, we have the announcement of the new project Glory Of Kings, featuring Jonathan Johnson and Erik Schelling, both formerly of Sacred Warrior. Joining them on drums is Michael Feighan, known for his work with Whitecross, Bloodgood, Guardian, and others. Their debut album will be titled “Roots Of The Past,” though no cover art or release date has been announced yet. What has been released, however, is a single—complete with a lyric video—for the track “The Mystery,” which gives a taste of what Glory Of Kings is all about. It’s something interesting to keep in mind as we await their first official release.
Beyond that, there are several unanswered questions, at least as of this article’s publication. Extol is reportedly working on a new album, though few details are known. Benevolence announced a new album and, in fact, released a lead single titled “Face Of Liar” (with a cover that’s controversial, to say the least), but we don’t know the title of the new album, the cover art, or the release date, though it’s very possible it will be released before the end of the year. Meanwhile, Deliverance and Living Sacrifice have assured us they’re working on new material, but for now, we don’t have any further news.
Then, looking ahead to next year, we may have updates on InnerWish, Sacrificium, Crimson Moonlight, and several others, but what’s certain is what we’ve listed below—things to keep an eye on and keep in mind….
07/17 “Between Blood And Silence” – Mangled Carpenter
07/24 “Grave Seeker” – Tyraels Ascension
??/08 “What Planet Are You From?” – Galactic Cowboys
08/28 “Convalescent” – Prevailer
09/25 “Throne Of Thorns” – Stryper
10/09 “Beyond Spacetime” – Signum Regis
??/?? “Away From The Noise” – German Pascual
??/?? “Last Caesar” – No More Death
??/?? “Amen” – Vaakevandring
??/?? “Roots Of The Past” – Glory Of Kings
??/?? “???” – Tourniquet
??/?? “???” – Benevolence
