Who Loves the Sun, the new album by Chat Pile may have been my most anticipated album of 2026. The band's three previous albums, including last year's collaborative album with Hayden Pedigo, all earned the number one slots on my personal best of the year lists. So obviously, my expectations were high, and I am thrilled that I've had the opportunity to listen to an early review copy. Does it live up to expectations? Read on to find out. 

After a couple weeks without any truly huge album releases, we've got a couple of big ones this week: Mastodon and Russian Circles. There are also a few big-name albums out this week that I'm entirely disinterested in, so we're skipping those! As always, I've got a selection of stuff I'm pretty excited about waiting for you after the break.

Today, I was excited to see a review copy of the new Chat Pile album Who Loves the Sun land in my inbox. I'll be posting a review of it next week after the embargo lifts, but to prepare for that review, I decided to revisit all of Chat Pile's releases so far. And hey, while I'm at it, why not write about it?

So far, all of the entries in my (newly retitled) The Catalog feature have focused on bands that I wanted to learn more about. This entry is a little different, as Chat Pile is a band that I know quite well. All three of their studio albums so far (including their collaborative release with Hayden Pedigo) landed at the top of my personal best of the year lists. They also have various odds and ends in their discography which I've spent less time with, so it seemed like a good opportunity to review their work in total, prepare for the new album, and try a slightly different spin on this column's format. 

One final note: After my Who Loves the Sun review runs, I'll update this post to incorporate some thoughts on that album. Onwards!

With my Listening to the Catalog column, I hope to fix some gaps in my musical knowledge. It took me until this week there was a pretty big gap I needed to address, especially considering that my favorite band is Neurosis. That gap is Isis, the beloved post-metal band fronted by Neurosis' newest member, Aaron Turner. 

After many years without plastic instrument gaming, the spiritual successor to video game hits Rock Band and Guitar Hero arrives this December. Stage Tour is being released by RedOctane Games, the company that published the original Guitar Hero game (the brand was later purchased by Activision) and developed by veterans of that series. The launch trailer for the new game is above, and promises gameplay that looks very similar to both Guitar Hero and Rock Band. What seems to set Stage Tour apart is that it looks to feature licensed instruments and venues, and perhaps some real-life rock stars will make appearances as well. But, as with all games of this style, the real draw is the song lineup. Stage Tour will launch with over 90 tracks, including songs from Metallica, The Rolling Stones, Mastodon, Castle Rat, Ghost, Babymetal & Electric Callboy, Rage Against the Machine, and many more. There's also plenty of stuff for the young'uns, like Olivia Rodrigo. I was just thinking the other day about how much fun Faith No More's "Epic" was to play in Rock Band...

Welcome to the first official album review on Both Kind of Heavy! I'm pleased to kick things off with an album from a band I've been following for many years, Russian Circles. There aren't many bands that have claimed a singular position in the way that Russian Circles have - they're the biggest name in instrumental metal, hands down. I've written before about what I call the "Russian Circles test," which is the question I ask whenever I listen to a new heavy instrumental album: Why would I listen to this, when Russian Circles exists? Of course, there are plenty of bands in the subgenre that have found their own unique paths and create their own worthy music, but Russian Circles remain the undisputed heavyweights.

Russian Circles' official bio states "This is a band with no hit songs. No fan consensus on their best album. Just a reputation for consistency and quality." I find this understated approach to the band's career somewhat overly modest, but it's nevertheless accurate. Russian Circles is an extraordinarily consistent band, and that consistency definitely continues on their new album, Nine.

It's a bit of a slower week for albums, which isn't surprising because there are some big releases coming in the very near future. That said, it's an absolutely great week for singles. I've compiled several exciting tracks below and, of course, I've got a few albums I'm pumped about as well. They're all waiting for you below in the deep, deep dark. Or after the Read More link, whatever. 

A buddy of mine, Chris Ward, is a really funny guy. He's also a big fan of music and pinball, and those passions come together in the first video on his new YouTube channel. I don't personally know a lot about pinball, but Chris definitely does. If you're like me and don't play a lot of pinball it's still worth your time because, like I said, Chris is a really funny guy. He's got a great story here about bombing an interview with Rob Zombie. Enjoy!

I'm very excited to announce that album reviews will soon be joining the content mix here at BKOH! The first review will drop at some point next week, and I'm actually listening to an advance copy of the album in question as I type this. I could have just dropped the review as a surprise next week, but I actually wanted to take a few minutes to explain my album review process and philosophy in advance before the first review arrived. 

Fire in the Mountains released a video recap of the 2026 festival today, which does a great job capturing the vibe of the event. Watch the video above, and if you haven't already, I would love it if you'd read why I found the event to be legitimately life-changing. 

Early bird tickets for the 2027 edition go on sale this Friday over at the festival's official site.