While You Were Away: New Music From Pale Waves And DOODSESKADER, The Black Dahlia Murder Returns, And More
In this week’s edition of While You Were Away, we’re rocking out to new music from Pale Waves, DOODSEKADER, and Meet Me @ the Altar, celebrating the return of The Black Dahlia Murder, and more.
Meet Me @ The Altar Cover Jonas Brothers’ ‘Sucker’
Meet Me @ The Altar have shared their pop-punk cover of the Jonas Brothers‘ “Sucker.”
Though it may be an unexpected choice for fans, the band admits the pop trio have been a big source of inspiration to them.
“On the list of artists who have inspired us to make music and be in a band, the Jonas Brothers sit right at the very top,” say Meet Me @ The Altar in a statement. “They embody everything that’s great about New Jersey, just like our drummer, Ada.
“We had such a blast putting our own spin on Sucker and hope the fans have as much fun with it as we did!”
Listen to the cover below.
The Black Dahlia Murder announce new album ‘Servitude’
The Black Dahlia Murder have announced their new album Servitude, marking their first record since the death of frontman Trevor Strnad in 2022.
The album, out September 27th via Metal Blade, will see founding guitarist Brian Eschbach taking over vocal duties. In a statement, Eschbach says the “global outcry following Trevor’s passing has shown us how important the band’s music has been to so many people, and how important it is that we continue in his honor”.
“We put in everything we had, and this is the album that felt right to make,” he continues. “I’m proud of it and proud of the five of us. You can never please everybody, but I know that this music will be a healing and positive force for those who embrace it!”
The band previewed the upcoming album with new single “Aftermath.”
Listen to it below. Pre-order the album here.
Pale Waves announce new album ‘Smitten’
Pale Waves are set to return this year with their new album Smitten, out September 20th via Dirty Hit.
The band also shared the record’s lead single “Perfume,” which vocalist Heather Baron-Gracie calls “the perfect introduction into the new world we’ve created. It’s queer, feminine and romantic and it encapsulates the essence of Smitten.”
“I found myself writing about not just a certain time period, but my whole life, from years ago,” Baron-Gracie says about the LP. “When I fall in love, I fall deep, and it’s interesting to me that you can feel so fascinated and smitten with someone and then they can become a total stranger. So I feel like Smitten really summarised perfectly what I felt for others at a certain point.”
Listen to “Perfume” below. Pre-order Smitten here.
DOODSESKADER unleash new song ‘Plastic Skin/Warm Flesh (from Tides of Tomorrow)’
Just months after the release of their second album Year Two, DOODSESKADER have teamed up with video game developer Digixart to release “Plastic Skin/Warm Flesh (from Tides of Tomorrow).” The new single will accompany Digixart’s 2025 video game release Tides of Tomorrow.
The song, recorded and mixed by the duo’s Tim De Gieter and mastered by Jack Shirley, is featured in the video game trailer.
“I wanted to encapsulate the feeling of what it is like to feel alone, while still holding out hope for something better,” says De Gieter.
When writing the song, De Gieter reflected on the joy and relief after moving in with his girlfriend at 15. “I wrote the ‘wrapped in metal sheets’ lyric as a sort of contrast to how I felt that day. With the gradual passing of time, I can’t help but feel like everything has become so heavy, cold, and convoluted. I often find myself craving the easiness I felt in that split second almost 20 years ago. That’s the feeling I set out to capture with ‘Plastic Skin’: uncertain, yet still hopeful.”
Listen to the song and check out the video game trailer below.
Tours on sale this week
The Used have announced a fall US tour with support from Plain White T’s and Maue. The trek starts on September 21st in Little Rock, Arkansas, and wraps up on October 7th in New Orleans. Tickets are on sale now.
Alkaline Trio will embark on a North American tour this September with Spanish Love Songs and Slomosa as support. The tour kicks off September 11th in San Antonio, Texas, and runs through September 29th in Newport, Kentucky. See all the details here.
Heavy metal titans Judas Priest have announced a North American headline tour with support from Sabaton. The tour starts in Montreal on September 13th and concludes in Irving, Texas on October 26th. See all the dates here.
Jinjer is heading out on tour this fall with support from HANABIE. and Born of Osiris. The tour kicks off on September 20th in Sayreville, New Jersey, and wraps up with Jiner’s appearance at Aftershock Festival on October 13th in Sacramento, California. Find all the dates here.
