Mallavora – Lilith & Esther (Feat. Banshee)
Back in July 2025, alt metal newcomers Mallavora announced the exciting news they’d signed to independent tastemaker label Church Road Records; a few months after, they announced their debut album What If Better Never Comes?, slated for release 27th March, and have just unveiled their third single taken from it in ‘Lilith & Esther’. As ever, it’s an excoriating slice of metalcore riffs, furious roars and a canny sense of melody that draws on their own various cultural heritages to accentuate the lyrical weight. Often dissecting their lived experiences with chronic illness and society’s treatment of chronically ill people, amongst other social ills, they’re a powerful voice within alternative music that all too often doesn’t have space to be heard. – Will Marshall
Arcane Roots – A Wave, Across the Sea
Many cling onto hope to a variety of bands returning, but when a band as sorely missed as Arcane Roots announces they are back, many more rejoice. A sombre but hopeful opening eases in their return with ‘A Wave, Across the Sea’, piano and the gentle hum of synths lay under Andrew’s beautiful voice backed by a chorus effect. Building alongside a plethora of sounds and textures put together by their new extended lineup recalls the Arcane Roots of old but setting the new chapter up well. A huge burst as the elements hit, dissipates teasing more to come before the last rush of heaviness, those waves and scream wash over wiping out all in their path. Having been announced for 2000 Trees and ArcTanGent there is very much a buzz around what their return and extended line up within the band will bring. Welcome back Arcane Roots. We missed you. – Adam Vallely
Love Rarely – Will
Leeds outfit Love Rarely had a whirlwind start, their debut EP Lonely People in 2024 capturing plenty of ears with its blend of mathy guitar licks, post hardcore and emo. Vocalist Courtney Levitt delivers heart-wrenching melodies alongside jangly math rock guitar, a sound immediately identifiable as their own shot through with vulnerability, pain and a desire for personal growth and healing. Taken from their upcoming debut album Pain Travels, which is entirely self-produced by guitarist Lew Taylor, ‘Will’ offers another snapshot into the inner worlds of Love Rarely and a tantalising glimpse of just how good they’re already becoming. – Will Marshall
Peach – Unhappy People
The first single to be picked from Peach’s upcoming LP Only Love – released 13th March – ‘Unhappy People’ isn’t an easy listen, but oh is it brilliant. A band that have long been a product of unease, here, the Bristolian alt-rock quartet only tighten the coil of tension that served as the spine of their previous output in order to inject this single with a pressure that feels borderline tangible. The end result is a single that quivers with stress and nervous energy in a way that’s reminiscent of the likes of Unsane and others of their noisy ilk, albeit in a way that’s accessible in thanks to the fantastic vocals of Ellie Godwin. Fantastic, genuine stuff. – Dan Hillier
Dead Pony – Eat My Dust!
Two years since their breakout debut Ignore This, Scotland’s Dead Pony are offering up the first glimpse of new music in latest single ‘Eat My Dust!’. As could be expected, it’s got an earworm chorus, guitar work like they’ve chugged a litre of Irn Bru and a four-to-the-floor stomp that’ll get crowds moving. A boisterous, joyful ode to “moving on from negative things in your past, bettering yourself and letting the haters choke on your dust cloud as you pass them,” according to guitarist and producer Blair Crichton explains, it’s a fiery start to the year from the Scots. Their recent Kerrang! interview promises an EP this year, that’s sure to keep the energy levels up as they continue to work on album #2. – Will Marshall
Frauds – UFO
The duo formerly both of London now separated by a few hundred miles of sea and land reunite for their first piece of new music in 5 years, ‘UFO’ (time flies when you’re a UFO in the sky!). And even if they’ve been as distant as E.T’s pals they return with their classic tongue in cheek delivery, wandering riffs, which if you have seen the dastardly duo live, you can imagine guitarist/vocalist Mikey delivering live with his stomping movements and complimentary beats from Chris behind the kit. – Adam Vallely
The Xcerts – Do It To Myself
Surely everyone can agree that we all could do with some warmth right now. Thankfully The Xcerts are bringing the heat of summertime festival season with ‘Do It To Myself’. A return to form after their divisive 2023 record Learning How to Live and Let Go, this new single sees everyone’s festival favourites shedding the polished lacquer of their last record in favour for the gritty and sunny sound of the work that defined them originally. Simply, it’s an absolute bop; a single that harkens thoughts of necking warm cider in the arms of your mates in the middle of a festival field without a care in the world. – Dan Hillier
Chalk Hands – Pauvre de Moi
Chalk Hands unveil second single ‘Pauvre de Moi’, one of two French-spoken tracks taken from their upcoming sophomore album The Line That Shapes The Coast Of Us. A name most likely already familiar to those tapped into the UK’s bustling heavy underground scene but for newcomers, think along the lines of Touché Amoré, Birds In Row or Joliette. The Brighton-based screamo outfit ponder over feelings of loss of both identity and a general sense of direction, and how easy it is to become frozen in self-pity in such circumstances. Chalk Hands exorcise this inner turmoil with raw emotional abandon while the evocative, unmistakably post-hardcore instrumentation almost acts as a safety net in case all things were to fall apart in such a fragile moment of uncertainty. The Line That Shapes The Coast Of Us will be released on 27th March via Dog Knights Productions and is certain to strike a chord with fans of screamo and post-hardcore. – Avrian O’Brien
Godeth – Vestige
The best kept secret of the northern metal underground that just keeps on giving horrific groove/death metal. Leeds based groove metal act Godeth are back again with a new offering, ‘Vestige’. It brings melodic, dazzling guitars behind the death metal blast beats and feral witch vocals. Dishing out a plethora of songwriting from rumbling lows to fretboard tapping antics across a three minute jaunt, Godeth give you a reason to put your ear to the ground of the current UK underground metal scene. – Liam True
Uncultivates – Dread First
Sounding akin to Every Time I Die breaking a banjo over the head of Gama Bomb, the new single from Irish riff slingin’ cowboys Uncultivates is 92 seconds of delirious pandemonium. A song inspired by the festering dread that comes from illness-induced isolation, ‘Dread First’ sounds essentially like one of those manic panic attacks where the walls of the room feel as if they’re literally closing in on you whilst your lungs contract with every breath. Pretty nasty stuff, but given Uncultivates‘ penchant for western-influenced silliness, this is still fun as hell. An anxiety attack worth having. – Dan Hillier
Varials – The Hurt Chamber
Varials sample Nemertines on third slow-burning moody single ‘The Hurt Chamber’. The track builds around the eerie, dark atmosphere of its sample to create a suffocating experience that is torn between smoother, tortured melancholia and savage aggression, in a similar vein as In Darkness‘ ‘Romance’. This is the closest Varials come to offering a moment of respite in between beatings, with a production style that turns the sonic punches of each guitar and bass entrance into detonations way too close for comfort, adding to the overall claustrophobic feel of this darker cut. All three singles have hinted at Varials outdoing themselves when it comes to using excessive force with renewed energy on their upcoming album Where the Light Leaves, out 27th February via Fearless Records. – Avrian O’Brien