RELIQA Announce ‘High Risk Thoughts,’ Release ‘Serum’ Ahead of First North American Tour

Australian progressive-metalcore band RELIQA have announced their second album, High Risk Thoughts, arriving February 12, 2027 through Immortal Music Group and Nuclear Blast. The quartet introduced the record with its opening track, “Serum,” now available with an official music video.

“Serum” connects RELIQA’s established sound to the broader direction of the new record. The track pairs low, mechanical riffs with electronic tension, sharp rhythmic turns and vocalist Monique Pym’s melodic range. The band cited Danish progressive-metal group VOLA as an influence on the song’s darker edge.

High Risk Thoughts contains 10 tracks and follows the band’s 2024 debut, Secrets of the Future. That first album has surpassed four million streams while helping RELIQA build a profile through Australian tours and appearances alongside Northlane and Periphery, plus sets at Good Things and Life’s A Beach.

The new album expands the group’s mix of modern metalcore, progressive metal, electronics and atmospheric pop. Its lyrics center on personal growth, patience and giving yourself more grace—a thematic counterweight to the record’s heavier, more mechanical production.

The announcement also arrives ahead of RELIQA’s first North American tour. The band will support Northlane beginning on the album’s release date in Sacramento, with Gulf-region stops scheduled for Dallas on February 16, San Antonio on February 17 and Houston on February 18. The run continues through the United States and Canada into March.

For Sound 228 listeners, RELIQA are worth watching as an emerging act operating in the same forward-looking lane as Spiritbox, Northlane and Bring Me The Horizon without simply copying those bands. “Serum” shows a group pushing beyond genre formulas just as it prepares to reach North American audiences in person.

Watch and stream “Serum,” view the full track list and preorder High Risk Thoughts through Nuclear Blast’s official announcement. Additional band information is available at RELIQA’s official website.

Image credit: Official High Risk Thoughts album artwork courtesy of RELIQA / Immortal Music Group / Nuclear Blast Records.