Beyond Extinction – A Dark Sickness (Three Swords)
Nastier than a case of pus-filled lymph nodes and acute organ failure, the new serrated single from Beyond Extinction is three minutes of bubonic slam. Ripped from their forthcoming EP Three Swords and releasing following the inaugural edition of band’s self-promoted all-dayer Essex Deathfest, ‘A Dark Sickness (Three Swords)’ documents how the Black Death cut through the band’s native Essex and reduced its 10th century population to half in just a few short years. As one can imagine, it’s utterly filthy. It’s a track that’s breakdown after breakdown, slam after slam, one that mirrors the horror of the disease that led to thousands upon thousands decomposing in Essex mud without fanfare. – Dan Hillier
Anxious – Secret Weapon
Dropping following their recent sold out tour with UK emo darlings Basement, the new single from Connecticut’s Anxious shows how you don’t have to pander to trends or gimmicks to make an impact in 2026. Once again bound by the anthemic emo-tinged alt-rock that made their 2025 record Bambi so immediate, ‘Secret Weapon’ is a track that alludes to how bands are being forced to weaponise social media trends in order gain traction, regardless if artists want to pick up such arms or not. The ‘Secret Weapon’ is the business of music, the weaponization of the stats and current fads to decide who you are as an artist, and who you should strive to be”, states Dante Melucci. “I’m seeing artists with this objectivity in their style, their songs, that to me just comes across as desperate; I don’t believe that something beautiful can be created in a lab.” – Dan Hiller
Trivium – Dead Inside of Me
Trivium have rarely struggled to sound heavy, but ‘Dead Inside of Me’ feels particularly vicious. Thick, thrash-driven riffs collide with a genuinely massive groove, while Matt Heafy slips between melody and aggression with the confidence of a band more than two decades into their career. New drummer Alex Rüdinger immediately makes his presence felt too, bringing a relentless precision that gives the track real momentum. There’s still plenty of classic Trivium guitar theatrics buried amongst the brutality, but importantly, this doesn’t feel nostalgic. Instead, it sounds like a band kicking open the door to their next chapter. – Vee Richardson
Jake Healy – Yearn 4 feat. Ellie Godwin
The second single to be taken from Jake Healy’s upcoming record Life Splice – released 30 October via Totality – ‘Yearn 4’ sees Healy collaborating with Ellie Godwin of PEACH, No Violet and Sans Froid to cook up something that’s somewhat out of each musician’s expected wheelhouse. A far cry from the doom associated with the Sugar Horse guitarist, the ambience of his solo material or the arty noise rock of Ellie’s projects, ‘Yearn 4’ sees Healy and Godwin lost in a ritualistic and minimalistic percussion beats engineered for subterranean dancing. It’s a wonderful, unconsciously catchy track, one that invokes the ancient innocence of dancing in a world severely lacking in such a thing. “Jake and I were discussing how a lot of us suffer in silence behind a screen, and that anyone switched on knows what’s happening when every 4th video is a funny video giving some sort of nostalgic boost. Coincidentally, I had been writing lyrics/poetry about these themes and so it was a no brainer to use them for this tune,” states Godwin on the track. “I was stuck in a doom scroll until I came across someone dancing whilst being surrounded by lots of smiling and grooving people. Dancing is such a simple, timeless and entertaining art that people are drawn in to. Dancing is as old as the world. We wanted to capture the unconscious musical vibe that comes as easy as getting lost in a dance.” – Dan Hillier
Throes – Joy
Ignore the title, there’s nothing of the song’s namesake to found here. The latest single to be taken from the band’s upcoming record The Colorless Light of Emptiness – released 16 October via Church Road Records – ‘Joy’ is a dark, nihilist and understandably miserable reaction to having to survive an era of humanity hallmarked by hatred and collapse. Bound by all the optimism of acts such as Great Falls and Cult Leader, this is a pummelling of noise and fatalist fretwork that essentially sounds more like a relatable reaction to the sorry state of humanity than anything else. – Dan Hillier
PeelingFlesh – Murderous Intent feat. Missing Link
PeelingFlesh are back doing what PeelingFlesh do best: making music that sounds like somebody is about to get folded. ‘Murderous Intent’ is the first cut from their newly announced self-titled sophomore album, arriving 27 November via Unique Leader Records, and this time they’ve dragged Missing Link vocalist Mike Ryan into the carnage. Barely scraping two minutes, the track opens with a ridiculous $500,000 or dinner-with Jay Z sample before dropping straight into filthy slam riffs, pig squeals, hip-hop samples and the sort of breakdown that makes standing still feel physically impossible. The Oklahoma and New York link-up is exactly as stupidly heavy as it should be, with Ryan and Damonteal Harris sounding increasingly unwell as the track goes on. – Esther Domnu
Ómoia – Bruised Egos
Battering down the door with their final preview of next month’s EP What Lies Beneath, Ómoia present ‘Bruised Egos’. Their most complete sounding track so far, with heaviness, an underlying catchiness and pure brutality. Ómoia are such a fresh prospect off the back of performing at the likes of No Play and our own Noizzefest, there is only one way for Leeds band, and that is up, somewhere their egos should not be bruised in the slightest, as they deserve it with delivery like this. – Adam Vallely
Vana – Bleeding Heart
Her second single of the year, ‘Bleeding Heart’ sees Vana continue to expand her foray into atmospheric metalcore. As she explains, “The song began with the flower itself, ‘Bleeding Heart‘ or *Lamprocapnos spectabilis*. This song showcases how feelings grow like flowers do; beautiful but destined to wither.” The flower metaphor continues in the lyrics, while instrumentally there’s a flicker of nu metal bounce to the verses, while its chorus soars powered by Vana‘s ever-more confident voice. Alongside earlier single ‘In Your Name’, the music video also offers visual repeats (such as white-clad dancers) and Easter eggs aplenty to keep fans guessing at a narrative throughline that informs this and, potentially, her as yet unannounced (but very much talked about) debut album. – Will Marshall
My Only Solution – Burn
Returning for their fourth single this year with ‘Burn’, My Only Solution put out what can only be described as their heaviest track yet. Full to the brim with immensely powerful vocals, a driving drum track, and hugely heavy guitars, ‘Burn’ is two minutes of brilliantly disgusting energy. Culminating in a marvelous mass of air raid sirens and pure headbanging energy, this latest track is sure to be a fan favourite in My Only Solution‘s live scenes. – Benjamin Hacking
Eivør – Spøkilsir / Remnants
If you caught the beauty and elegance of Eivør at ArcTanGent, you will already know the entrancing qualities of their music. This new piece is as enticing as ever, almost PJ Harvey-esque in some of the artistic delivery with soothing, silk-like vocals. Mysterious world-building music, like floating through a light fog. The ability to create pieces that feel like walking on air is an incredible ability by Eivør. – Adam Vallely
The Guru Guru – Is It Illegal?
After a stint supporting Pyschonaut earlier in the year and playing their only headline show of 2026 this past week, Belgian art-rockers The Guru Guru return with some of their only new music since 2023’s Make (Less) Babies. The track starts with a feel of walking into a lounge at a swanky nightclub in Soho, with people in suits and cocktail dresses sipping top-shelf liquor. A gentle but addictively finger-tapping rhythm, sitting the listener down at ease. The second half of the track pushes a gradual foot on the gas as intensity grows. A great and welcome return of new material from the quintet. – Adam Vallely
Waterlines – Giant Killers
Waterlines clearly didn’t get the memo that metalcore is supposed to be miserable. ‘Giant Killers’ is all huge riffs, electronic flourishes and hooks designed to stick around long after the track finishes, with just enough chaos thrown in to keep things interesting. It’s fun without feeling novelty, heavy without disappearing into the usual metalcore formula, and confident enough to know exactly when to lean into the excess. There’s heart behind it too, with the track nodding to the underground bands still putting in the hours in small rooms and support slots. Basically, it’s loud, catchy and very hard not to enjoy. Electric Callboy might want to check the rear-view mirror. – Vee Richardson