LODE STAR have released their fourth studio album, “Darkstar”, on 23 October 2026. The transatlantic alternative metal and hard rock duo is based in Ireland and Canada, with the record available on CD, vinyl and digital formats. The band has also published a full-album stream featuring all 10 tracks.
“Darkstar” brings together melodic vocals, atmospheric passages, heavier guitar work and extreme vocals, with influences from doom metal, modern metal, hard rock and early 2000s alternative metal. The album was mixed and mastered by Riccardo Pasini at Studio 73, while LODE STAR wrote and produced all of the songs.
Darkstar represents how much we’ve grown together, both as musicians and as a band. This time around, the entire creative process became a truly collaborative effort, with both of us shaping the songwriting, arrangements, and production. We brought our different musical influences together, experimenting with heavier guitars, extreme vocals, and new sounds while keeping the catchy melodies and emotion that have always been at the heart of LODE STAR. The album took longer than we originally planned because our vision kept evolving alongside our partnership, but we didn’t want to rush or settle. Darkstar is a reflection of who we are as artists today, and we’re sharing it with everyone
- LODE STAR
Kate Glock brings vocals and keys to the duo
Kate Glock is LODE STAR’s Ireland-based vocalist and keyboardist. She forms the duo alongside Canada-based guitarist and bassist Jensen Rodolfo, with the pair having started their remote collaboration during the pandemic. Their catalogue before “Darkstar” included three full-length albums and an EP, as well as a cover of Cryoshell’s “Creeping in My Soul” that brought the project wider attention.
The album opens with “Darkstar” and continues through “This Is Not The End”, “Dream Walker”, “The Great Beyond”, “Never Let You Fall”, “To The Last”, “Somewhere In Time”, “Dark Design”, “Dying Light” and “Fall From Grace”. The band said the extended development period allowed its songwriting and arrangements to change as the partnership evolved, rather than rushing the record to completion.
