Alcest – L’Envol
The musical embodiment of mysticism that is Alcest are back and what goods they bring. The first track to be taken from the band’s wildly anticipated new record Les Chants de l’Aurore – released June 21st via Nuclear Blast Records – ‘L’Envol’ is a blissful, euphoric and damn near ecstasy-invoking slab of progressive atmospheric shoegaze that collates the textures of Alcest’s early material, the warmth of outlier 2014 record Shelter and the sense of majesty found within 2019’s Spiritual Instinct. If anything, the track flawlessly encapsulates how this band exist as a vessel for ruminations upon spirituality and the realm that lies beyond the veil, something that Neige elaborates upon. “‘L’Envol’ is a musical return to the atmosphere of Alcest’s first albums”, states the Alcest frontman. “I wrote this song after an inspiring trip to Corsica, where I met amazing people and was surrounded by some of the most unique landscapes I have ever seen. It is about escaping from earthly reality to join a flock of mythical birds flying through the known boundaries of our world. All the tracks on Les Chants de l’Aurore are very different from one another, but we thought this one would be a great introduction to the overall atmosphere and themes of the album.” – Dan Hillier
Microwave – Bored of Being Sad
Atlanta’s Microwave are a band whose sound is hard to pin down. They broadly live in the worlds of indie rock and emo but their releases up until this point have touched on post-hardcore, psychedelia and even R&B. This week sees them announce their upcoming fourth studio album Let’s Start Degeneracy and with it comes the excellent single ‘Bored of Being Sad’. Being a song that explores ideas of surviving as an artist in an unforgiving music industry, the band muse over the romanticisation of sadness, with vocalist/guitarist Nathan Hardy stating “It’s about learning to be happy and take care of yourself.” Clocking in around the three and a half minute mark, the song contains the dreamy guitar work the band have become known for, as well as a hugely infectious, Weezer-tinged chorus that will pop into your head at random for days after listening. – Jordan Aldridge
Gatecreeper – Caught in the Treads
Some bands just riff harder than others. It’s a fact and there’s no shame in being out-riffed by the best of them. Gatecreeper are one of, if not the best of the new generation of bands who delight in creating massive, brutal riffs. ‘Caught In The Treads’ is a song that the band have been teasing live recently, which has now got an official release and it’s a gargantuan, stomping slab of modern death metal. Channelling their inner Bolt Thrower, the song is about “a supernaturally charged fleet of tanks that have been possessed by the souls of fallen soldiers. It’s about revenge and crushing your enemies” which is as amazing as it is ridiculous. Mixing old school death metal with a hefty modern production yet still sounding like a band indebted to their forefathers, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more straight ahead, fun death metal track this year. – Chris Earl
Mastiff – Void
No bullshit, sludgy metallic hardcore is the order of the day when Mastiff come into town. New single ‘Void’ further cements their reputation as one of the UK heavyweights of the scene with a heady combo of d-beat, double kick and bullet storm guitar work. The soundscape is thick with sludge, and HM2 worship here, before a squealing static track backed only by the tar-thick bass guitar leads into a breakdown that could shatter tectonic plates. Mastiff just hit the mark, and they hit like a fifty kilogram sledgehammer landing on your big toe. – Rob Bown
The Wonder Years – Year of the Vulture
Are you ready? Then you better get ready to bow to Philly masters The Wonder Years as they break it down with their outstanding new single ‘Year of the Vulture’, the official theme to WWE NXT’s grandest show of the year: Stand & Deliver. It’s been a hot minute since the release of their excellent album The Hum Goes On Forever and the pop-punk-turned-alt-rock maestros return with a song that impressively treads uncharacteristically heavy ground. The verses see frontman Dan ‘Soupy’ Campbell deliver arguably the most aggressive vocals of his career before the choruses explode with all of the gang vocals and festival ready singalongs fans have come to expect over the years. There’s even a breakdown thrown in to close the song out and if you ain’t down with that, The Wonder Years have got two words for ya. – Jordan Aldridge
Couch Slut – Ode to Jimbo
For the uninitiated, Couch Slut peddle a type of angry, abrasive, drug addled noise rock. They weave wavy basslines with a unique take on dissonant and unpredictable guitar work, all fronted by Megan Osztrosits’ energetic and in your face lyrical content and performances. The latest offering ‘Ode to Jimbo’ is no different, starting out with a wishy-washy riff that is the stuff of cyclical nightmares, the atmosphere only gets more tense as the vocals get delivered in a manner that could be described as scorched earth in action. Finally, the song succumbs to the simmering madness as the noise overtakes everything else until it’s conclusion. The new album promises to be one of the wierdo jams of the year, and the already impressive lineup has just been bolstered by skronk salesman Dylan DiLela of Pyrrhon. – Rob Bown
Author & Punisher – Motomami
2022 saw the release of Kruller and the catapulting of Author & Punisher onto everyone’s radar. The one man mechanically engineered siege machine returns with his latest single ‘Motomami’, and frankly any track that rhymes ‘motomami’ with ‘origami’ and ‘sashimi’ is worth the listen. It’s a short one by the usual standards of Author & Punisher, but nonetheless they manage to ram in all the industrial goodness that’s come to be expected of them, whilst also furnishing the track with little flourishes of glitchy video game noises and soaring ethereal synths. The new release might prove to be their most experimental yet, and if you haven’t seen them whilst touring, grab a ticket it’s one of the most unique live shows going. – Rob Bown
Zetra – Burn (The Cure Cover)
We all knew this was just a matter of time. If anything, it’s surprising how long it took for this to come to fruition. Releasing just prior to two massive tours with Creeper and Ville Valo, Zetra’s take on of the 1994 hit from The Cure feels like the most natural cover in the world. Here, Zetra utilise their fatalistic and seductive modern goth sensibilities to bring the late 20th century classic into the modern day. It’s a cindering and alluring slab of pure goth aesthethics, one that brilliantly and darkly bridges the gap between gothic from last century and its modern stylings. Basically, it’s the pinnacle of hot goth shit. – Dan Hillier
Take Offense – Greetings From Below
Take the riffing of thrash and attitude of hardcore. Put them in a blender with a healthy dollop of skateboarding culture and what do you get? You get Take Offense, and their brand new single ‘Greetings From Below’. The first new music from the Californians in about four years, it definitely feels like there’s been a shift in the band’s mentality. Less ramshackle punk with riffs and more Bay Area crossover with some modern ‘core leanings, there’s so much attitude on this track that you can practically see the band raising their middle finger at you with their tongue sticking out. An album that’s sadly been the victim of delays and schedule clashes, it finally releases on the 10th of May and should be the perfect soundtrack of frustration and rebellion to listen to on a gorgeous sunny day surrounded by your mates. – Chris Earl
Sans Froid – The Still
Some might say we’ve fawned over this single enough following our premiere of the track earlier this week. We say we haven’t fawned over it anywhere near enough. Driven by off-kilter keys, animated by the effortlessly skilful vocals of Aisling Whiting and birthed from the fertile ley line of creativity inhabited by acts such as Sugar Horse, Peach and Chiyoda Ku, ‘The Still’ is a musical embodiment of creativity that fully circumvents the redundant notion of genre. Some could call it art-pop or prog-pop, but truly, to apply such rudimentary and convoluted tags would be doing the chemistry that binds the track a great injustice. Here, Sans Froid (FKA Sang Froid, Pave) take silken strands of contemporary pop, jazz, prog and art rock and weave them to make a musical tapestry that’s new, fresh, original and deeply inspired. – Dan Hillier
Hippotraktor – Silver Tongue
After a mammoth year conquering ArcTanGent, Graspop, Metaldays and pretty much every other progressive metal festival in the continent, the Belgian post-metal collective are back with new material in the return of ‘Silver Tongue’. Taken from their forthcoming second LP Stasis – released June 7th via Pelagic Records, ‘Silver Tongue’ is a colossal obsidian monolith of progressive post-metal that has been passionately engraved with nuance and detail. Whilst it would be easy to compare this to the work of acts such as Gojira, Uneven Structure, Dvne and others of that particular ilk, to make such basic comparisons would do the detail within this song injustice. Prog metal has long been a genre revered for its subtleness within the maximums of the format, but here Hippotraktor truly outshine some of their peers within their circle. – Dan Hillier
Judas Priest – The Serpent and the King
A band formed the same year as the moon landing, it’s incredible that Judas Priest still sound as absolutely rollicking as they do today. Yet, on ‘The Serpent and The King’ they deliver a slab of classic metal that belies their years. You know the drill with Judas Priest by now; the iconic vocals of Rob Halford combined with the galloping, driving guitar of Glen Tipton and the result being heavy metal in its purest form. Fantastical, allegory filled lyrics shrieked at you and a chorus that you’ll find yourself humming for days. Ahead of the bands nineteenth studio album Invincible Shield, they seem to be in as rude health as ever. promising a collection of songs that, while not hitting as hard as they did in their prime, sound a lot better than other bands of their vintage. – Chris Earl
Worlds Grasp – Go Away
Ontario’s own Tommy Wood is back with their spectacular solo project Worlds Grasp. Delivering a new single titled “Go Away”; it’s a perfect combination of hardcore and thrash with just the right amount of groove to spare. “Go Away” manages to be one of the better crossover tracks of the year so far without even trying. Amazing production coupled with a stellar sound; Tommy Wood manages to push the Worlds Grasp envelope more and more with every track they release and this one’s no different. Impressing listeners, it’s fair to say a new record would absolutely smash if it’s up to par with this new single. – Nathaniel Maure
Pathfinder – Unbarred
Canadian deathcore is on the rise; Ontario deathcore outfit Pathfinder is back with their newest single “Unbarred”, giving listeners an example on exactly why Canadian deathcore hits just right. Only the group’s second single and it’s a doozy. Filled with blast beats, non-stop shredding and slamming guitars, and some top notch vocal talents from vocalist Josh Willms to tie it all together; this 4-piece doesn’t seem to be playing around. Taking a nostalgic sound and making it new again, it brings hope to the future of Canadian deathcore moving further into 2024. – Nathaniel Maure
Erra – Blue Reverie
One of the most unique, boundary pushing bands in all of metalcore, Erra have made a career out of embracing ludicrous technicality mixed with soaring melodies. ‘Blue Reverie’, the latest single off their upcoming album CURE, slows things down a bit but still retains the excellent riffing the band is known for, particularly near the halfway mark when it goes from a sombre, longing slow burner to a djenty, downtuned battering. The beautiful, almost whistful vocals of Jesse Cash are the star of the show here, creating a modern metalcore lighters in the air track with almost effortless ease. Never afraid to challenge fans and newcomers alike, this won’t be the last time we get sucked into the band’s atmospheric, brutal world. – Chris Earl