Enslaved – Solar Will
If you like your black metal progressive, steeped in history and complete with the sort of atmosphere that only comes from snowy forest photoshoots then Enslaved are the band for you. The veterans keep pushing the boundaries of what black metal can be, and new track ‘Solar Will’ is no different. There’s the typical tropes in there, but it’s all surrounded by a swirling atmosphere of heavy metal, there’s even some Ozzy esque vocals going on which adds to the NWOBHM feel to the whole thing. This is a rip roaring journey built from a 35 year career that clearly ages like fine wine. – Rob Bown
Judiciary – Death Knell
Hardcore wizards Judiciary’s latest single ‘ Death Knell’ is another mid tempo affair, replete with all the hallmarks that make a good track in this niche. It’s memorable, ferocious in its execution and tight as can be. The guitars sound like they’re being dragged up from the depths of the ocean, each drum strike evokes hidden subterranean depths, and the vocals cut through like a demonic commander leading its armies. This track will make you want to run through a wall, or maybe someone stood across from you at a hardcore gig. Either way it’s four minutes of all out war, and it’s coming for you ear canals. – Rob Bown
Burner – Accelerationist
Yummy yummy HM2 death metal, it never really gets old. Burner’s latest offering to the altar of midtempo hardcore inspired death metal is a headbanger, inducing psychosis of the best kind in all that lay ear upon it. It’s short as shit and gets right to the point of slamming your head into the pavement repeatedly. This one is for sure going to go hard live, quick, brutal, and beautiful in its simplicity. Burner just doesn’t seem to miss, and the new single is one to make sure you give a few spins. – Rob Bown
Cult Of Luna – A Way Back
Cult of Luna continue to defy expectations and push themselves far beyond what the boundaries of expectation are on ‘A Way Back’. More laid back than the previous single, and album title track, ‘In The Shadow Of Your Shadow’, ‘A Way Back’ leans in to a dark Americana that the Umeå natives are more than capable of mastering. Driven by the haunting vocal of Fredrik Kihlberg,’A Way Back’ feels like a love letter to the long departed, previous Cult of Luna collaborator Mark Lanegan. Not an obvious choice for a single but a welcome one, Cult of Luna continue to prove they are the premier post-metal band with every passing year. – Kevin Ashburn
The Callous Daoboys – Watching Us Kiss
Without too many shreds of hyperbole, The Callous Daoboys have never sounded quite so frantically unhinged as they do on new single ‘Watching Us Kiss’. Batshit was already the name of the game, but they’ve upended it and outdone themselves once again with a scathingly heavy slab of dissonance that still finds time to fold in as much weirdness and the occasional melody, including a brief pulse of electronics that you’d swear would lead into a dance break. Instead, the already-slow riff comes back – yeah, even slower. Also “cuckold” is a mosh call. Trust us, you need this song (and seemingly everything the Daoboys do) in your life. – Will Marshall
Throes – Pain
Big, angry, stampy hardcore coming straight outta Boise, Idaho, Throes are keeping it grimy and grief ridden with their latest single ‘Pain’. This is one of those tracks that leaves an impression like a boot print on your mind after its short but sweet run time. Throes are known for taking the same approach for both their live show and recording, so god knows what the studio looked like after they were finished with it, if this single is anything to go by then probably like a bomb hit it. The first two singles off the upcoming record The Colorless Light of Emptiness are like warning shots across the bough of your ship, so you know the next ones are coming to smash through the main deck and level at least a few of your crewmates. – Rob Bown
Moni Jitchell – Aware
Hypnotic, cyclical guitar overlaid with Talking Heads-esque vocals creates a weird yet ultimately satisfying start to the new single ‘Aware’ from Glagoweigians Moni Jitchell (no, that’s not a typo). This gives into a harsh punk inspired, early hardcore sound, the vocals echo out like a harsh percussive instrument of its own, juxtaposed against that shoegazey revolving backing track. This is a meditation on taking your own identity and expanding it further, something that the band say they’ve, “developed over the writing process the last few years.” This track opens the album, setting the tone for the rest of the record to come, and the quietly disquieting vibe it has to it is sure to make for some interesting live performances. – Rob Bown
Frontierer – Wool Glasses
Immediate aural assault. Isn’t it funny how you know what’s coming with Frontierer yet you still get floored every time one of their tracks kick in. Their dissonant psychotic madness continues from start to end, as it should do, whilst descending into absolute bit breaking madness hell before stopping as suddenly as it started. It leaves you feeling kind of bewildered as to what’s just happened for the last 3 or so minutes, but then again isn’t that every Frontierer track (and certainly not a bad thing at all). You know what would make a fully sick tour? Frontierer and Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, those are two bands that are cut from the same ear bleeding inducing cloth. – Rob Bown
Clutch – The Drifter Returns
There’s not a lot of things that feel more comforting than the warm husky tones of Clutch’s Neil Fallon. Alongside that, the southern tinged blues inspired hard rock riffing is like a warm blanket to go with the hot toddy vocals, and that ever present slap of big anthemic drumming. Clutch do what they do, and they do it damn well. New single ‘The Drifter Returns’ rolls through its three minute run time like a pair of well worn boots, and whilst it might not have some of the fire or intensity of previous releases, it’s ever prescient tropey style still feels really good to listen to, and you know full well it’ll be replicated at an extremely high level when played live. – Rob Bown
Lake Malice – rly ok
Brighton genre-shifting duo Lake Malice have dropped the final single ahead of their debut album I Wanna Know If It’s Real out 11 September, and even for a band that like to change things up, it finds a way to show a whole new side of them. Possessed of the earworm hooks they’ve more than proven themselves capable of, it also asks the question – are any of us truly okay, in a capital-obsessed world that demands we function beyond full capacity, all of the time? Vocalist Alice Guala says of the song’s themes, “I find it strange that we’ve accepted burnout as the norm in modern society. We’re told to work harder, dream bigger, stay connected, check in on everyone else… and if you’re falling apart, just don’t let it affect your productivity.” Packaged with thumping dance beats, ‘rly ok’ also folds in processed vocals echoing the roboticism of having to “perform” at our best, thundering riffs and – get this – a full-on Gunship moment as it culminates with a ripping saxophone solo which caps the song off beautifully. We can’t wait to hear this one decimate the pit/dancefloor. – Will Marshall
Polyphia – Power In the Blood
Completing their metamorphosis from progressive metal wunderkinds to instrumental icons and now apparently gospel inspired EDM metal trailblazers, Texan quartet Polyphia may have changed their sound over the years since their 2014 debut album but they never cease to amaze. New single ‘Power In the Blood’ follows the same track as their last one ‘Can You Feel It’, combining their usual instrumental acrobatics with deep bass, unpredictable glitches and samples of evangelical religious preaching. Whether you prefer Polyphia’s more straightforward and flashy early work or this new, more dancefloor ready sound, there’s no denying that they’re still one of the most interesting instrumental acts out there. – Rowan Bruce
Blank Atlas – No Good
Now a mainstay in the Bristol scene as well as the UK’s wider alternative world, three-piece band Blank Atlas throw together hefty riffs with angelic multi-part harmonies. Performing at 2000 Trees and alongside underground icons such as Orchards, False Advertising and The Last Vinci over the last few years, Blank Atlas are finally building up to their second full-length album with their latest single ‘No Good’, a three minute blast of stomping percussion and self-deprecating lyrics with one of the catchiest choruses of their decade as a band so far. If you’re only just learning about one of the British alt-rock scene’s best kept secrets then ‘No Good’ is the perfect introduction to Blank Atlas’s unique blend of boyband vocals and chunky, distorted riffs – Rowan Bruce
Bright Black – Who Am I
Bright Black have returned with their latest single ‘Who Am I’, a groove-laden riffy alt-metal track that draws on the band’s ability to carve out expansive soundscapes and combine them with soaring melody. It’s hard rock with all the right kind of snarl. Snaking, impactful vocals intertwine with chugging riff patterns and the meld makes for a hard-hitting and emotive listen that strikes in more ways than one. Authenticity is worn on the band’s collective sleeve. Unafraid to address difficult themes and heavier/darker lyrical content, ‘Who Am I’ explores identity, isolation and the need to be seen. Hailing from Northamptonshire and the Midlands, the band have jumped from strength to strength, touring relentlessly and finding recognition from their live performance. ‘Who Am I’ is the lead single from the band’s forthcoming four-track debut EP, Bright Black – Chapter I. – Jac Holloway
Haywire – Interstate Love Affair
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last two years, you’ve probably heard of Haywire. The hardest working, hardest touring band of the current decade, their nonstop touring combined with creating hardcore punk bangers and throwing in a plethora of covers into their live show has made them nothing short of a phenomenon. Fresh off the huge, surprising news of them signing for Roadrunner, they announced a new album in I Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye and ‘Interstate Love Affair’ is its first drop. A frantic, feel good oi influenced hardcore banger, it has the potential to make the listener levitate out of sheer joy. A track dedicated to loving your friends, it may be a slight sonic departure from the band’s EP work, but all it takes is a few more tracks like this and the band will be taking over the entire world. – Chris Earl
Walls Of Jericho – Agency
‘Agency’ is a wall of bludgeoning fury; if the wall were decorated with punching baseball bats and running at you at 200 bpm. After a ten-year musical drought, Walls of Jericho have returned with two singles – first ‘The Ascent’, and now this – ahead of their new album, the gloriously titled System Error: Humanity. It sounds like this album will be just as hard-hitting and deranged as anything the metalcore veterans have released over the past 27 years, and boy are we not prepared. As if cleaved violently in two, the track starts with an ear-splitting walloping of hardcore frenzy that only slows when vocalist Candace Kucsulain drawls out “I don’t want” before breaking down into a repeated mantra for freedom. If a battle for freedom must be fought every day, ‘Agency’ is the battle cry. – Lucy Dunnet
De Staat – The Underdog
For the better part of 15 years, Dutch pop rockers De Staat have pushed the envelope on what makes a great song and turned it into something unforgettable. After a two-year hiatus, De Staat are back with more things to say and very little to prove. Their newest single ‘The Underdog’, from their upcoming self-titled seventh album, is a heavy bass and organ-laden track which complements, almost to no fault, the vocal prowess of the one and only Torre Florim, falsetto extraordinaire and proven showman. The song addresses the pressures that arise from below, leading to feelings of frustration and resilience against oppressors. While the theme is highly relevant, it’s important to note that this is the same band behind the viral ‘Witch Doctor’ song/clip/dance from 2016, making ‘The Underdog’ an incredibly catchy tune as well. – Nessie Spencer
Brat – Trophy Wife
While some us got to enjoy the last hurrah of ArcTanGent at Fernhill Farm, others had the brilliant idea to remind us that they have a new album coming out in a few weeks and that they are awesome all the time, like the New Orleans-based Brat, who made “bimboviolence” a thing. Their single ‘Trophy Hunter’ is exactly what you would expect Liz Selfish to explain to you: “when a tradwife goes apeshit after being fed up with being a trophy wife for an older, somewhat mediocre husband.” The video clip is also fascinating because it shows the black-and-white domestic “bliss” and the full colour when the band shreds and hits it hard. The typical Brat humour makes this satire even more interesting given the current statistics on the matter. However, it also proves once again that Brat is more than a gimmick. Their newest album, Manslayer will be released 25 September and promises to kickstart a Bimboviolence Autumn. – Nessie Spencer