THE ANNOUNCEMENT
The Barbarians of California — the project fronted by AWOLNATION’s Aaron Bruno — just dropped “The Gnarlycore Class” and confirmed their second album MEGATONS lands August 21, 2026 *. The video features Bruno teaching an elementary lesson while Shaq, Eraserhead’s Jack Nance, and world leaders headbang in the background, which is exactly the kind of absurdist visual this band traffics in *. Worth noting: the Keith Buckley collab from last year got left on the cutting room floor *.
THE DETAILS
- MEGATONS arrives August 21, 2026, following their 2024 debut And Now I’m Just Gnashing My Teeth *
- Twelve tracks including “BACK TO THE VALLEY,” “VANILLA LATTE,” “SHARK OUT OF WATER,” and previously released “MODERN FASHION” *
- Producer Eric Stenman says “The Gnarlycore Class” was second-to-last written for the album, filling a tempo gap they needed *
- Two Guns N’ Roses support slots: August 19 in Kansas City and September 12 in Ridgedale, Missouri *
- Headline dates in September plus festival stops at Rocklahoma (September 6) and Louder Than Life (September 19) *
- The Keith Buckley track “PSEUDO INTELLECTUALS ARE HATING ON MY BAND!!! (pure power)” will not appear on MEGATONS *
WHY IT MATTERS
SKIP IT if you’re expecting AWOLNATION 2.0 — this is a different beast entirely, and the year-plus wait for album two suggests they’re still figuring out exactly what that beast is. Leaving a Keith Buckley collaboration off the record while keeping “MODERN FASHION” from a year ago signals some serious second-guessing in the studio.