The video for "Zero Day" was shot at two surprise shows in Texas in August 2026, one in an abandoned tunnel network in Austin and one in an underground warehouse in Houston. They were Ghostemane's first headline shows in five years, and the single, out August 14, was his first proper new music in that span, with a more organic, metallic take on his trap-metal sound and a strong Korn streak. The album AM:FM followed on October 23 on Blackmage, a day after a sold-out show at Market Hotel in New York. Sonic Temple's billing still calls his Sunday set his return to the stage.
The man behind it is Eric Whitney, who grew up in Lake Worth, Florida. Before rap, he played in the hardcore band Nemesis and the sludge outfit Seven Serpents, on guitar and drums, and his father died when he was 17. He moved to Los Angeles in 2015. He grew up on Korn and Nine Inch Nails and has worked with producer Ross Robinson.
ANTI-ICON, in 2020, was his eighth album in six years, released on his own Blackmage label. Kerrang! heard Nine Inch Nails at their most obtuse in it, alongside Code Orange's glitches and Ministry's nihilism, with vocals that jump from a high quickfire rap to a low croak to barely audible whispers. Then he went quiet for half a decade.