Crippled Black Phoenix, Vukovi, Ithaca, Polyphia and More: New Noizze – The 14 Must-Listen Tracks of the Week

From trap based prog rock to spacey and frantic mathcore, here's the best singles from the past week.

Crippled Black Phoenix – Everything Is Beautiful But Us

The second single to be taken from the band’s forthcoming new record Banefyre – released September 9th via Season Of Mist – ‘Everything Is Beautiful But Us’ is the full spellbinding encapsulation of what makes Crippled Black Phoenix take on post-rock so allusive and alluring. Ethereal and vaporous, the track is wistful calling from the wilds we have long abandoned in our quest for total industrial dominance, tying into the record’s overarching theme of not slotting into society’s perception of normality. The inspiration for the song hit me during the first wave of Covid”, states vocalist and percussionist Belinda Kordic. “We were spending a lot of time outside in the countryside and i was amazed at the quick turn nature took for the better, as soon as humans were removed out of the equation. The increased symphony of birdsong, bumble bees the size of my fist turning up in the garden, animals coming out of hiding and popping up here, there and everywhere. Nature and its inhabitants were thriving to the very fullest. As they should. It was beautiful, but also sad at the same time. knowing that when we get back to ‘normal, ‘the destruction continue.” – Dan Hillier

Vukovi – I Exist

Scottish rockers Vukovi have released their new single ‘I Exist’ this week, taken from their upcoming album NULA, an ambitious concept record from the duo. The song is one of the more riff-driven and anthemic tracks released to date and swaps out the experimentation on previously released songs for a guitar led rhythm section that has the odd synth that compliments the song. As it moves towards its epic climax ‘I Exist’ phases into a bridge section that gets real heavy real quick and on the drop of “I am Nula and I am free” launches into a tirade of hard-hitting drumming and down-tuned guitars. It’s yet another brilliant addition to a band that have clearly found their stride. – Jac Holloway

Ithaca – The Future Says Thank You

The final single from second album They Fear Us, ‘The Future Says Thank You’ shows an even more technical side to their abrasive metalcore. Shifting and turning on a dime, it’s an oppressive listen that refuses to let up its grip through the chops and changes and keeps you on your toes throughout. With instantly memorable lines like “I put poison in your birthday cake,” Ithaca show their knack for earworm lyrics as well as hooks. The band’s comment that “this song is about putting yourself first and moving on from a deeply toxic environment” is borne out in its finale; respite only comes from its strangehold at the very end in a breakout melodic guitar line. – Will Marshall

156/Silence – To Take Your Place

“Dependencies come in many forms. People and poison can be a deadly mixture. It’s often hard to address the fact that habitual behavior can be the hardest thing to replace. Old habits die hard.” So says vocalist Jack Murray of 156/Silence’s latest single from the upcoming album Narrative. As much as it features their heavy, emotional metalcore there’s also synths present for some more melodicism. The band freely admit to loving the sound of analogue synths, so they opted to incorporate them into their music and ‘To Take Your Place’ is the most synth-heavy song they’ve ever written. Brief moments of them are soon subsumed back into the sonic maelstrom and it never sounds forced; instead they lend a new sonic dimension to an already bruising song. – Will Marshall

Polyphia – Neurotica

Given that ‘Neurotica’ is the latest single to be taken from the band’s latest record entitled Remember That You Will Die, those unacquainted with Polyphia would be forgiven in believing that this is something out of the realms of all things horrid and putrid. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The latest single from the instrumental prog-rock quartet, ‘Neautroica’ is a sleek, sensual and downright seductive slab of prog rock that takes more cues from acts such as Playboi Carti and Kid Cudi then it does from anything from the realm of metal. Based around rage beat commonly utilised in contemporary trap, the track once again see’s the Polyphia stray from the genres associated with them to take cues from sounds far flung their typical associates. The end result is something fresh and wholly engaging. The video for the track fully visualises this, with the music video seeing Polyphia teaming up with the multidisciplinary artist Nusi Quero – known for their work with Grimes and Beyonce – to create something that can only be in the vein of this unique band. – Dan Hillier

Silent Planet – :Signal:

Californian metallers Silent Planet have released their brand new single ‘:Signal:’ this week, the first taste of new music since last year’s album Iridescent. The band have become known for their unique ability to fuse together modern metal with large cinematic, complex soundscapes and ‘:Signal:’ is no different fitting between brutally heavy riffage/drumming and ambient moments in its introduction. A brilliant mix of glitchy technical metal and deathcore style savagery ensues before bowing out after a ridiculously heavy breakdown to reach it’s rapid yet almighty crescendo. The band released the single with a cryptic statement saying “Whether we interpret these matters as fact or fiction is irrelevant, because we have become many things, but we’ve yet to be alone. ‘Many become one.” and whilst there haven’t been further announcements to date of more new music, one could be hopeful for a new EP or album. – Jac Holloway

Lacuna Coil – Tight Rope XX

After nearly three decades of dominating European heavy music circles, Lacuna Coil’s extended retention of relevance and prominence within Gothic Metal is an astoundingly rare feat, which with every new creation continually demonstrates their limitless prowess; which is why their latest move to release a remixed adaptation of their now twenty year old critically acclaimed third studio album Comalies, is a choice that has long-standing fans rejoicing due to its promise of a truly transcendent listening experience. The first single from the auspicious revision named Comalies XX is ‘Tight Rope XX’, which stands as the perfect demonstration of the bands symphonic evolution; sonically speaking the track is considerably heavier in its overall delivery, almost to the point of it feeling like a totally different song due to its enhanced arrangements integrated into a higher production value, while also adds in a fully developed atmospheric “beauty and the beast” vocal sparring between lead vocalist Andrea Ferro and Christina Scabbia. Such a transformative endeavour is interesting enough on its own without inspiring a sense of detached intrigue, which Lacuna Coil have seemingly succeeded in serving to the masses. It is this essence of impressiveness that will propel this cool way of approaching the throwback appreciation, to a whole other dimension of enjoyment and mounting anticipation for the full depth and breadth of the present exploration into a not empty spiral. – Bennie Osborne

Implore – Sun Deprived

A somewhat ironic title, given the week of its release saw historic high temperatures and hellish heat in the UK, ‘Sun Deprived’ is the latest single off Implore’s forthcoming album The Burden of Existence. Broadening its sonic horizons beyond the death metal and grindcore hybrid that characterised their work before, ‘Sun Deprived’ throws in blackened fury,  the seething rage and a beatdown straight out the pits of hardcore as well as keeping those original strains alive. Stamping their own take on extreme metal,  that, as the band state, “is a dark winter day, when your thoughts become a monologue you can’t silence”. – Will Marshall

Thoughtcrimes – Keyhole Romance

Coinciding with the confirmation of their debut full length Altered Pasts – due August 26th on Pure Noise Records – the latest single from Thoughtcrimes is frantic hardcore that contains the perfect amount of groove, space, melody and progression in order for it to be more than just a total bludgeoning. Focused in it’s aggression but spacious and wide-angled in it’s execution, the song will no doubt be adored by both fans of drummer and guitarist Billy Rymer’s previous band The Dillinger Escape Plan as well as those wanting technical and detailed mathcore in it’s most configurational form. his is possibly the most ambitious track we’ve ever made,” Billy Rymer.“We wanted to see how far we could push ourselves utilizing dynamics and pure chaos to cohesively create something disgusting yet beautiful. A concept that lead to the treatment of the music video with the high energy performance segments contrasting with the bright colours and gracefulness of the actress.” – Dan Hillier

Starcrawler – Stranded

The Los Angeles Rock and Roll agitators Starcrawler, effortlessly ease our unsteady minds with the release of their summer nights of dreamy detachment soundtrack ‘Stranded’, as the third single off of their upcoming major label debut studio album She Said. This latest concoction feels like an interesting blend of The Animals-esque psychedelic folk track with reminiscent strumming’s of Madonna’s ‘03 fame-stroking single ‘Hollywood’, all the while being fused with some infectious 90’s West Coast Alternative Rock sensibilities. It’s easygoing persona with a dark-ish essence riding through its lyrical content, is evocative of previous singles from the 70’s Rock devotees, including such tracks off of their 2019 sophomore LP Devour You, like ‘Hollywood Ending’ and ‘No More Pennies’; it suggests a certain affinity for such creations that still pack a tremendous punch, whether listening to its enchanting soundwaves through an Airpod or being lucky enough to experience their raucous Live shows. In gearing up for the eventual release of their upcoming LP, the band have offered up a scattering of tour dates across the US over the latter half of the summer, including a support date for Jack White’s The Supply Chain Issues Tour before a triumphant headline spot at the legendary Troubadour in West Hollywood on the day of She Said’s release; for all of those lucky enough to see them live this summer, you’re being intensely envied by those across the pond. – Bennie Osborne

Floods In Japan – ECTOPIC

Violent, gritty hardcore punk noise from the deepest depths of Kent, Floods In Japan‘s new single ‘Ectopic’ hits with all the velocity of old-school Gallows being yelled at you from atop a speeding freight train. Taking inspiration from bands like Cancer Bats, Architects and Knocked Loose, the band have injected a hefty dose of aggression and disdain into the core of the song, reflecting on the throes and woes of feeling disconnected from others in an increasingly online world; “I’ve been shut away, disconnected from the world, the ties that bind us turn to wires, the cables are all gnarled”. These feelings of displacement and societal pressure channel into an unruly torrent of thrashing guitars and barked vocals, a concoction of bewildering chaos that still hits you right where you live. – Elliot Grimmie

The Subways – Love Waiting On You

Speaking on the new track; “‘Love Waiting On You’ is about the tension between desperately wanting to be with the one you desire and yet also relishing the suspense in being kept from them.” guitar and vocalist Billy Lun writes on the bands social media pages. The second single from upcoming album Uncertain Joys, ‘Love Waiting On You’ continues The Subways signature skillset for writing upbeat, indie-punk bangers layered with vocals from both Billy, and bassist Charlotte Cooper, bringing forth harmonic appeal and a comforting resonance that settles nicely within the soul of the listener, this is exactly the kind of sound you want to be bouncing around to at a summer festival, ice cold beverage in hand, soaking it all in. – Elliot Grimmie

Graphic Nature – Into The Dark / Bad Blood

Fast rising fresh blood Graphic Nature have dropped a gnarly double single release; ‘Into The Dark’ and ‘Bad Blood’ are another two slices of blistering nu-hardcore from the heart of Kent. The band further explore the realms of what if might sound like if the atmospheric scoring of Deftones were set to triple tempo and ridden with frantic, dangerous outbursts of shrieking guitar twangs, backed by a steady supply of reverberating doomscapes. Graphic Nature are one of the most exciting, promising new bands in the hardcore scene, with an explosive live presence and an unrelenting heavy sound, we can only hope the band are gearing up for a full length debut in the near future. – Elliot Grimmie

Billie Eilish – TV & The 30th

Surprising the masses with an EP release which has stunned fans and casual listeners alike; the L.A. electropop reinvigorating titans Billie Eilish & Finneas, invite all to share in their expression of hopelessness and despair with the shockingly down toned exposé’s of the humbly named Guitar Songs with ‘TV’ & ‘The 30th’.

‘TV’ and ‘The 30th’ stand as two stripped back rumination based illuminatory contemplations, which seem to aim it’s arrows straight at the core of contemporary acceptability. With Billie & Finneas’ previous points of convergence stemming from horror honed tinges to alt-pop euphoria all being replaced by substantially more vulnerable uttering’s, which paste the minds eye onto an observation deck overseeing bountiful strands of trauma. Whether it’s questioning the value of being enraptured by Hollywood mudslinging, the withdrawal of legal precedents that threaten the health and well-being of the most marginalised in society, as well as facing valid experiences with the emotionally crippling nature of Thanatophobia. B&F provide a listening experience laden with hard-hitting truths diving head-first into our collective brokenness, while showing us that survival of the spirit is always promised as long as you’re willing to face the agony with a view to settle that burden in the healthiest way possible.

Considering the precariousness of our modern social and political climates, Guitar Songs’ desire to act as an indie/alternative reflection in the midst of our societies most volatile positioning, is a more than justified reason for releasing these inclusions to their discography so quickly; besides it’s incredibly attainable reach and holding the ability to connect those in the depths of disheartenment, this latest creation is truly one of the most aesthetically pleasing releases to ever be produced by the siblings, yet will also forever stand out for its eagerness to explore the true extent of humanity’s continued endurance of psychological brutality. – Bennie Osborne

All tracks can be found in our essential playlist.
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