TOP 5 Holiday Music by Cammie Gilbert, Sylvaine, Vermilia, Mizuho Lin, Danielle Evans
Music is a special thing, as it most often relaxes and helps you cope with everyday life. A certain song makes the memories come back and you remember the moment you heard it for the first time. It makes you travel far away, live in the moment, think about the future, It gives energy, this year more with jogging than with gigs.
This year has been particularly exceptional in many ways, but the holidays remain and people spend them differently. Often certain songs belong to certain moments and different styles of music make people relax in different ways.
We contacted five artists to ask about their top 5 recommendations for holiday music. What kind of music is included in their holidays or what they have liked to listen to lately.
It’s also great to always find new music. That moment, that feeling when you find something new where you get shivers.
If you haven’t heard our featured artists yet, I recommend you to check out their versatile taste of music, but also the art they create, because you might find something new for your holidays.
Interview by Carina Lawrence / Dark Art Conspiracy
Polish black metal project Batushka was founded and created by guitarist and songwriter Krzysztof Drabikowski back in 2015. They caught the attention of metalheads and press alike with their successful debut release ‘Litourgiya’ and even went on to sign with popular label Metal Blade Records. The project also featured vocalist Bartłomiej “Bart” Krysiuk and drummer Marcin Bielemuk, to accompany Krzysztof however that is no longer the case as in December 2018 a shocking video was released from Krzysztof Drabikowski informing everyone that former vocalist Krysiuk had gone behind the creators back and essentially stolen his own band from him as Krzysztof had parted ways with the vocalist but Krysiuk turned the story around on Krzysztof instead. Currently, there are two sides claiming to be Batushka but there is only one true Batushka and we were lucky enough to speak to the real founder Krzysztof Drabikowski to get the full details of this unbelievable and shocking deceptive story and get the truth out there…
Hard-hitting rock outfit CHEMICAL EMPIRE returns with a thunderous new single.
“This Isn’t Gonna End This War,” is fast, heavy, and unrelenting, built on chaotic energy that mirrors the volatility of a toxic relationship. The momentum never fully lets up, creating a constant sense of pressure and escalation as the conflict intensifies.
The bridge and solo serve as a decisive breaking point, delivering a moment of total impact that feels irreversible. Afterward, the song briefly pulls back into a controlled, crushing outro, where the chaos settles into acceptance rather than resolution. The conflict may never truly end, but the decision to stop fighting becomes final.
Lyrically, the track captures the realization that moving on is not about winning or closure, but survival. It reflects the moment when walking away becomes the only way forward.
“I was working on music when my girlfriend came into the room and completely set me off. As soon as she walked out, the song basically wrote itself. All that tension and frustration went straight into the track.” – Matt Smith
Known for blending modern hard rock aggression with emotionally charged songwriting, CHEMICAL EMPIRE continues to sharpen it’s sound while refusing to dilute the message. “This Isn’t Gonna End This War” delivers a relentless sonic punch, pairing stadium-sized hooks with an underground edge that speaks directly to fans who crave authenticity and intensity.
BAND BIO:
CHEMICAL EMPIRE is an alternative metal project created by Matt Smith, built around fast, heavy music and emotionally driven songwriting. The project explores the darker realities of life, drawing from real experiences with conflict, isolation, and personal collapse.
Blending relentless aggression with controlled dynamics, CHEMICAL EMPIRE’S sound is intense and purposeful, balancing chaos with clarity. Lyrically, the music confronts toxic cycles, fractured relationships, and the realization that survival sometimes means moving forward rather than fighting back.
Rooted in honesty and emotional weight, CHEMICAL EMPIRE delivers heavy music that resonates with listeners who have lived through their own battles.
The release marks another bold step forward for the band, reinforcing their reputation as a rising force in the rock scene—unapologetic, unfiltered, and unwilling to back down.
“This Isn’t Gonna End This War” is available now on all major streaming platforms.
In many ways, Opeth’s Blackwater Park can be considered as their answer to The Beatles’ Revolver, both uncompromising and experimental, but equally commercially viable and unfuckwithable masterpieces. Twenty-five years on, Blackwater Park remains a breath-taking piece of work, dense with extraordinary melodic moments, spine-tingling atmospherics and agile but crushing heaviness. It is also arguably still the most cherished album in the Swedish metallers illustrious catalogue as a rising progressive influence kicked open prog’s ornate doors, fed death metal through the cosmic kaleidoscope and introduced a generation of music nerds to a world of limitless musical possibilities.
Napalm Records is proud to announce the signing of the UK’s black metal legends, WINTERFYLLETH. To celebrate this new partnership, the band unveils a new album, The Unyielding Season, set for release on March 27, 2026. Making a stand, WINTERFYLLETH’s ninth album is a social commentary wrapped in meticulously crafted poetry and prose. Where the preceding album, The Imperious Horizon (2024), described an ominous, malevolent force, lurking in the distance, The Unyielding Season now explores said threat becoming a reality. The raging wildfire to its predecessor’s calculating, icy cold, WINTERFYLLETH’s first offering for their new record label is a reflection and a rebellion against the turmoils tearing individuals apart. It is a cry against the unsustainable weight of fear and pressure being pushed into the world, by the agents of an unresting, and unyielding force for evil.
Papa Roach release a powerful new single “Wake Up Calling,” out today via New Noize Records / ADA – Listen HERE. The track, following in the footsteps of “Scars” and “Leave A Light On (Talk Away The Dark)” shows the more melodic, emotionally vulnerable side of their songwriting, but still retains the intensity and honesty that have defined their career for over two decades.
HEXVESSEL, the renowned Finnish psych-folk and occult doom band, announce a European tour to present their new album “Nocturne“, a work steeped in pagan and animist spirit, where nature and the unseen converge. For this series of concerts, HEXVESSEL join forces with French pioneers of occult rock, ALUK TODOLO, who have recently released “Lux”, an album on which light and telluric energy intertwine.
HEXVESSEL comment: “I am proud to finally announce a tour to celebrate the release of ‘Nocturne’ and in such a perfect company”, singer and songwriter Mat “Kvohst” McNerney writes. “We are ready to illuminate your night!”
POWERWOLF light a literal pyre with the fourth single off their monumental upcoming live album, Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle), out February 13, 2026 via Napalm Records. “1589”, originally released on their #1 album Wake Up The Wicked (2024), is one of many highlights of the live album’s captured performance, brought to life by a blazing stage production and spectacular pyrotechnics. The accompanying live video of the characteristically catchy hymn has us all witness the spectacle that transcends beyond a concert. Filmed in Munich during their impressive sold-out show at Olympiahalle as part of the stunning Wolfsnächte Tour in 2024, POWERWOLF prove once more that they are an unmatched force!
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