Sometimes, you just need to write a total rager. That’s the guiding principle behind Employed To Serve‘s latest single ‘Absolute Onslaught’ and it easily lives up to its name. Immediately bursting forth with frantic thrash riffs and battering drums, this is ETS with zero frills and zero patience for anyone that isn’t moshing. Released ahead of their coheadline run with Danish deathcore brutes Cabal, it features an impressive, guttural performance from the soon-to-be tour mates’ vocalist Andreas Bjulver that only enhances the pummelling on display. After forays into arenas and modern metal, ETS bring it all back around to their metallic hardcore roots in devastating fashion with ‘Absolute Onslaught’ and it’s sure to obliterate the pit sooner rather than later. – Will Marshall
Two of Ireland’s most exciting alternative acts ram into each other at terminal velocity on God Alone and Tayne’s new collaborative single ‘I End’. Leaning closer to Tayne’s punchy industrial sound with sprinklings of God Alone’s eccentric math rock grooves and intense black metal screeches, ‘I End’ manages to twist and mangle the two bands into one danceable, chaotic supergroup for a noisy, pulsing single that would feel right at home in the most dangerous and perverse corners of Berlin’s club scene. While both already accomplished bands in their own right, God Alone and Tayne’s powers combined lead to a hard-hitting and fascinating collaboration. – Rowan Bruce
The last two years have been extremely good for London alt-metal act Calva Louise. Between their fourth album Edge Of The Abyss drawing plenty of attention, tours supporting Stray From The Path, Chiodos, Bloodywood and Creeper and even a headline slot at Noizzefest, the stage has been set for their eclectic new single ‘La Promesa’. Taking as much inspiration from Johann Sebastian Bach as Alpha Wolf, frontwoman Jess Allanic erratically jumps from intricate baroque harpsichord lines to distorted guitar shredding while delivering powerful cleans and terrifying screams. As brilliantly unhinged as they are immensely talented, Calva Louise show off both their virtuosity and raw metal power on their new single ‘La Promesa’. – Rowan Bruce
A year on from the barnstormer which was their EP Terrestrials, Brighton’s Windowhead deliver a six minute slice of coastal catharsis. New single ‘You Will Never Be Erased’ sits with head in hands, a lot of its mind and embraced underneath an umbrella of post-rock. This whimsical exploration of indie rock and post-hardcore carefully climbs a peak of desperation, Joe Arnold-Zarb’s vocals are light and echo with a poignant sincerity and developments in the songwriting feel mature and intentional. Lush backing harmonies and guitars tremble around the well-paced alt-rock attitude. Windowhead haven’t forget their anguish as ‘Don’t Forget My Name’ rattles in repetition with the last act of the song dedicated to a scream straight from the heart of the European screamo scene. Whatever Windowhead conjure next from this stand alone single will evidently show tremendous leaps in songwriting and emotional purity. – Andy Calderbank
Switzerland’s premier noise rock export has just released a brand new song, ‘Platform Decay’, from their upcoming fifth album, Everything We Love, We Destroy, scheduled for release 6th November via Hummus Records. While the themes of the album are bleak and dystopian, this track remains optimistic and hopeful—like a message that we are just one revolution away from breaking free from misinformation and post-truth editorials online. It is gritty, it is gnarly, and it stays with you from the first listen. The band say of the song, “[It] is probably the clearest example of what Coilguns sounds like today. […] It somehow brings together everything we’ve learned over the years while opening another door stylistically.” With Ben Chisholm on the mix, anticipation is high for this new record, which is poised to make waves until their UK/European Tour in February 2027 and beyond. – Nessie Spencer
Perhaps their most surprising release yet, Cult Of Luna have just released the third single from their imminent new album. ‘The Rift’ shifts between their trademarks atmospherics and altogether more hardcore territory in ways we haven’t heard from the band before. On what is rumoured to be their darkest and most aggressive release to date, opting for a faster, more menacing groove seems perfectly suited to the supposed tone of the album, even if it is at odds with what we’ve come to expect from them. Despite its surprising twists and turns, the band don’t skimp on their usual foreboding atmosphere either, welding new ideas to the cold, steely foundations of the sound they have built over almost three decades. Their 10th album In The Shadow Of Your Shadow is sure to contain further surprises, if ‘The Rift’ is anything to go by. – Niall Creane
On the absolute run of their lives, modern metal stalwarts Trivium are aiming to make it four belter albums in a row having announced their eleventh record, Crown In The Grave. Their first full length with new drummer Alex Rudinger, the title track is the latest tease from the album and as things stand, the band seem on course to keep their stellar run going. The track itself is inspired by classic Japanese cinema and horror, and this is shown in the fantastically unique artwork of the album. Musically, it’s an absolute stormer with the band’s classic blend of chunky riffs, soaring vocals and a stomp that few can hope to match. Whether the rest of the record is as good remains to be seen, but with a November release, it won’t be long till we find out. – Chris Earl
Bruising, infernal deathcore doesn’t do Grief Ritual justice and yet it’s difficult to categorise them otherwise. Avoiding the typical genre tropes, they rise above the herd, steered by an unflinching commitment to blackened atmosphere. Seismic riffs and searing hot leads couple with a punishing rhythm section and a supreme vocal performance on their latest single, ‘Abyssal Condition’. Vocal duties are shared here with Austin Hayes of Heavy//Hitter and boy, do those vocals pack a punch. It would be so easy to write Grief Ritual off as just another deathcore outfit but there’s so much more to them than that, as this new single showcases. Everything is refined to a razor sharp point and realised perfectly. Musicianship? Passion? Inspiration? Grief Ritual have got it all in spades and few do it better. – Niall Creane
The heaviest thing to come out of Essex since Smithy in Gavin and Stacey, Beyond Extinction have been one of the best kept deathy secrets in the UK for the last few years. Gurgling, disgusting deathcore, their newest track is ‘The Estuary’ and it’s the latest chunk of filth from their upcoming EP Three Swords. A track about the dark, grisly secrets that the various waterways around Essex hold, it’s a downtuned pit of sludgy breakdowns and spine curdling vocals, which should delight everyone seeing them alongside fellow deathbringers Burner later this winter. – Chris Earl
If you’ve been at a UK festival over the last couple of years you’ve undoubtedly seen a strange new presence, a costumed Australian comedy thrash metal band shredding and shouting about murdering Satan or a cathedral on tank tracks. With appearances at 2000 Trees, Arctangent and Bloodstock this year alone Battlesnake are sure to have plenty of new fans ready for their latest single ‘Bog Bringer’, a melodramatic four minute ode to slime and mud full of harmonising dual guitars, keytar solos and ominous gang chants. While best known for their on-stage antics, Battlesnake’s latest single captures the ridiculous thrash metal energy of their live show with a spectacular bang. – Rowan Bruce
