Category: Press Release

TRIESTE, ITALY — Alternative prog metal outfit Red Code have released their powerful new single and official music video, “Toxic Karma,” the latest preview of their forthcoming EP, “Traces of Unease and Discomfort, Pt. 1”, set for release on September 25, 2026, via Epictronic.

“Toxic Karma” explores the destructive cycles we create for ourselves and the difficult process of breaking free from them. The song looks inward, confronting fear, frustration, and the struggle to overcome our own limitations. Driven by raw emotion, crushing riffs, and an intense dynamic, it captures the sound of fighting your own shadows.

The video is one of three chapters in An Archive of Us, a sci-fi/thriller short film that uses a dystopian setting to examine the need for control. The other two chapters are built around the tracks “Quarantine” and “Toxic Karma.” The project was produced by S@NGIORGIO 2020, with technical support from Infinity Digital.

Watch “Toxic Karma” (Official Music Video):

About Red Code

Red Code were formed in Trieste as a live act, founded by vocalist Lenina, drummer Ivo, and bassist Andrea Bossi, who later passed away. Lenina and the rest of the group decided to carry on. The sound is built around her vocals and the four instruments, with no backing tracks or studio sequencing live.

Over the years, the band have played small clubs, festivals, and motorcycle rallies, opening for Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), Exilia, Nicola Manzan (Bologna Violenta), Pierpaolo Capovilla (Il Teatro degli Orrori), Underwaves, Tystnaden, Logical Terror, and Break Me Down. They’ve also been featured on Radio Rai.

“Traces of Unease and Discomfort” is the band’s first studio release after years of live performance. The sound combines the aggression of alternative metal — with reference points like System of a Down and Godsmack — with the structural influence of prog acts like Dream Theater and Fates Warning.

Pre-save  “Traces of Unease and Discomfort, Pt. 1” here:

orcd.co/touad

Connect with Red Code
Website: redcode.taplink.ws
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RedCodeBandTrieste
Instagram: www.instagram.com/redcode_band
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@redcode8288

GanEden Reveal “Eva” Lyric Video, Challenging the Myth of Humanity’s Fall

Italian progressive metal act GanEden have released the lyric video for “Eva”, a track taken from their concept album Gan Eden.

Musically complex and emotionally charged, “Eva” gives voice to humanity’s first exile, shifting the perspective to the woman who has often been blamed for it. As she questions the authority of her creators and embraces her own freedom, the song challenges the idea that rebellion and knowledge are signs of corruption when they come from a woman. The contrast between being a ‘man’ for a man and being labelled a ‘poison’ or a ‘deception’ as a woman exposes the double standard surrounding Eve’s legacy, transforming her from a symbol of sin into a figure of awareness, strength, and self-determination.

Watch “Eva” (Lyric Video):

Gan Eden is a progressive metal concept album that reimagines the Genesis narrative, portraying Adam and Eve as genetic experiments created by a higher intelligence and cast out onto Earth. Across the record, both the exiled pair and their creators confront humanity’s darkest flaws, set against atmospheric, powerful soundscapes.

Stream “Gan Eden”:
orcd.co/ganedenalbum

Genre-defying ambient/folk discovery Happy Sad has released the video for “It’s Raining in Guangzhou,” a track from the album The World Is Grand When We See, out now on Epictronic.

Born from a raw demo captured during Kusano’s time spent living in China, “It’s Raining in Guangzhou” is an exquisite translation of environment into audio. Heavily inspired by the city’s intense subtropical climate, the track beautifully captures the juxtaposition of sudden, torrential downpours against a sprawling urban backdrop.

Musically, Happy Sad leans into an utterly intoxicating, comfortable groove. He effortlessly weaves the dusty, nostalgic textures of lo-fi hip-hop with the rich, fluid chord progressions of neo-soul. The result is a vivid, abstract landscape that places the listener right alongside Kusano as he wanders, isolated yet entirely present, through the neon-lit, rain-soaked streets.

Watch the video here:

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About the Artist: The Architect of Sound

Happy Sad is the solo project of Hiroaki, a Japanese artist and sound professional based in the game industry. He began making music during his student years, playing café bar gigs and recording demos. His influences take in soul, British rock, folk, trip hop, neoclassical, world music, and film scores, alongside a strong connection to literature. His recordings balance live instrumentation with programmed elements. To date, Happy Sad has released seven albums and 19 EPs.

Outside of music, Hiroaki has around 14 years of experience as a Sound Designer and Sound Director in the games industry, having contributed to over 60 projects at companies including NetEase Games, FunPlus, NHN PlayArt, and Noisycroak Inc. His work spans music composition, sound design, audio direction, and promotional video production. In 2013, his track “Everyday” won the domestic DJ category and reached the finals of MTV and Lenovo’s CO:LAB contest.

In recent years, Hiroaki has travelled across ten countries in search of sounds and traditional instruments. Encounters along the way with displaced communities have shaped his approach to music as a form of shared human expression.

The World Is Grand When We See is out now via Epictronic.

Stream the album here: orcd.co/twgwws

Connect with Happy Sad:

Official Website: happysadsong.com

Social Media: Instagram | Facebook | X (Twitter)

Streaming: Spotify

Epictronic is proud to announce the signing of Italian alternative prog metal band Red Code. Marking the beginning of this new partnership, the band has released their new single and official video, “Quarantine,” the first preview of their debut EP, Traces of unease and discomfort (Episode 1), due for release this September.

Watch the official video:

“Quarantine,” together with “Toxic Karma” and “Checkmate,” forms part of An Archive of Us, a sci-fi/thriller short film that explores a dystopian world as a metaphor for humanity’s need for control. Produced by S@NGIORGIO 2020 with technical support from Infinity Digital, the project expands Red Code’s music into a cinematic narrative where psychological tension and social commentary intertwine.

The single captures the band’s distinctive approach to alternative and progressive metal, pairing powerful riffs with emotionally charged songwriting and the commanding performance of vocalist Lenina.

The band’s statement about the signing:
“Signing with Epictronic is, for us, both a wonderful surprise and the culmination of years of work aimed at giving the metal scene in our region the recognition it deserves beyond our borders,” the band said in a statement. “It’s the icing on the cake after years of stages, festivals, and events shared with the bands that helped keep this scene alive. Our biggest thank you goes to our fans — those who’ve followed us for years, and those about to discover us.”

About Red Code

Red Code was formed in Trieste as a live act, founded by vocalist Lenina, drummer Ivo, and bassist Andrea Bossi, who later passed away. The band kept playing in his memory and has built a steady live history, opening for Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil), Exilia, Nicola Manzan (Bologna Violenta), Pierpaolo Capovilla (Il Teatro degli Orrori), Underwaves, Tystnaden, Logical Terror, and Break Me Down, and performing on Radio Rai and at venues, festivals, and motorcycle rallies across the region. The sound is built entirely on Lenina’s vocals and the band’s instruments, with no backing tracks, post-production, or sequencing — alternative metal aggression filtered through prog influences, with touchpoints ranging from System of a Down and Godsmack to Dream Theater and Fates Warning. Traces of Unease and Discomfort is the band’s first studio release of original material after years of live shows.

Traces of unease and discomfort (Episode 1)

“Traces of unease and discomfort” draws on the personal experiences of each band member, all of whom contributed to the music and lyrics. The songs move through claustrophobic relationships, toxic dynamics, personal responsibility for pain, and self-sabotage. Tracks were mixed and mastered partly by Jens Bogren and Ricardo Borges at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden — whose credits include Arch Enemy, Sepultura, Katatonia, Devin Townsend, Ihsahn, At the Gates, Dark Tranquillity, Paradise Lost, and Symphony X — and partly by Simone Mularoni at Domination Studio, who has worked with Deathless Legacy, Elvenking, Vision Divine, and Michael Romeo, and plays guitar in DGM.

About the photo shooting:

On May 12, 1986, shortly after the explosion of the Chernobyl reactor, the American networks ABC and NBC broadcast the first images of the disaster: a smoking chimney, square concrete silhouettes, typically Soviet in style. Except they were fake — forgeries. The images were actually of well-known architectural landmarks in Trieste. Cristian Deklic’s photo shoot follows Red Code through the locations behind one of the most colossal fake news stories in world journalism, set in what was at the time Italy’s eastern border.

Lineup
Lenina – Vocals
Daniel – Guitars
Gabriele – Bass, backing vocals
Marco – Drums