earthtone9 – Oceanic Drift
A band so legendary in some circles that an entire festival was named after their most seminal album, earthtone9 are a group who, by rights, should be more revered in modern times than they are. Instead, their technical brand of heavy post hardcore remains a curio to most. This brand new track, ‘Oceanic Drift’ will hopefully be the spark that ignites the flame of interest in them, because it’s an absolute banger. Driving downtuned riffs mixed with soaring vocals, it’s the band’s essence and style brought into the modern day, thanks to some Lewis Johns production. The first taste of the band’s new album, their first in 11 years is a teasing one, no doubt. When In Resonance Nexus drops in June, it’ll be very interesting to see if one of British metal’s most influential bands can still keep up with the pack. – Chris Earl
Hot Mulligan – Stickers of Brian
One of the bands who simply refuse to let unique and overly long song titles die, emo scamps Hot Mulligan are back with a brand new slab of bouncy introspection. As usual, the song, titled ‘Stickers of Brian’ is driven by Nathan Sandville’s almost smoky yelps and powerful guitar chords. Lyrically, it’s a bit of a bleak affair dealing with the pain of trying to balance a job you hate and want to leave with needing the money to continue to exist. The juxtaposition between the music and lyrics is something the band have nailed so well over the years, and even though it’s a standalone single, you can bet it’ll still hit hard and fill venues with catharsis across the world, including Outbreak Festival later this summer. – Chris Earl
The Dirty Nil – Am I the Menace?
This week sees Ontario’s favourite sons The Dirty Nil announce a deluxe version of last year’s outstanding Free Reign to Passions album (slated for release on April 4) and that news brings with it the ludicrously catchy single ‘Am I The Menace?’. Described by frontman (and possibly coolest man in modern rock music) Luke Bentham as a ‘semi-sincere, self-examination’, ‘Am I The Menace?’ packs in all of the swaggering attitude, enormous vocals hooks and biting humour that The Dirty Nil have come to hone better than anyone else over the last decade and promises plenty of welcome additions to an already fantastic album. – Jordan Aldridge
APES – Coffin (Feat. Madi Watkins)
Quebec’s blackened grindcore crew APES are back, teaming up with the one and only Madi Watkins of Year of the Knife to deliver ‘Coffin’. An absolute monster of a track, APES also worked with Will Putney and Andy Nelson for mix and master duties. To say this song hits is an understatement. Instrumentals wreak havoc upon listeners, achieving an entire new tier of heavy compared to previous releases. The added vocals of Madi Watkins was something nobody expected and surely completed the track. If APES as anything else like this up their sleeves for the future, fans would be fools to not pay attention. – Nathaniel Maure
Fresh – Merch Girl
The title-track of their upcoming EP – released April 19th via Specialist Subject Records – ‘Merch Girl’ is a shot of zingy and carbonated indie-punk courtesy of London’s finest Fresh. Dropping just prior to their tour alongside NJ power punks Teenage Halloween, in thanks to it’s headstrong spirit, playful instrumentation and empowering energy the track ultimately manifests as the peak Fresh experience; something that’s impossible not to feel renewed by. Much like their moniker, Fresh continue to be one the most organicity exciting bands in the national indie-punk circuit. – Dan Hillier
Metz – Light Your Way Home
Following the previously released tracks ’99’ and ‘Entwined (Street Light Buzz)’ comes Canadians Metz‘s gorgeous album closer ‘Light Your Way Home’, which features vocal contributions from Amber Webber of Black Mountain. This is a beautiful caramel wall of sound, from the hum of the bass, the soaring guitar lines all the way through to the drums which feel like they are emanating from a dream. Lyrically it touches losing loved ones and your grip on reality and the ethereal delivery from frontman Alex and guest Amber adds so much more to that message. – Adam Vallely
ARXX – Crying In The Carwash
A pounding synth-driven power pop belter about having a good old weep in the liminal space that is a car wash, the new single from ARXX is pretty much about what it says on the tin. But this ain’t no tear jerker though. Documenting the exact moment where the Brighton duo received confirmation that they where to support one of their favourite bands and inspirations MUNA, ‘Crying In The Carwash’ is a joyous celebration that just radiates elation in thanks to it’s contemporary pop production. The video – filmed by Rosie Powell – further makes this joy palpable, and yes, it does feature a wacky wavy inflatable tube person action. – Dan Hillier
Knives – Headcase
Quickly becoming one of the most exciting bands to come out of Bristol, if not the wider UK scene, Knives kick down doors with new single ‘Headcase’. A track about the meaning of being punk and musically, it does exactly that with rumbling bass and pounding drums, barked vocals and alarm-like guitars. Knives demand your attention, grabbing you by the scruff of the neck. But punk is not all about being an ‘arrogant fuck’ as vocalist Jay spits towards even those who don’t want to listen, the operatic like outro is just as much of a statement as the gruff demeanour of the previous three minutes. – Adam Vallely
The Shania Twainsaw Massacre – Roadkill/Road
Named after the iconic meme, The Shania Twainsaw Massacre emerge from Bristol’s dynamic music scene releasing their debut single, ‘Roadkill’ along with a full band version of earlier demo, ‘Road’. Self-describing as “horrible music for horrible people”, their name and logo font wouldn’t feel out of place in the slam metal sphere. However, their sound is far from this, shifting between soft Nothing-esque shoegaze to captivating riffs and gritty guitar sections. Deeply emotive lyrics and underpinning themes along with the thickness of their sound work to add depth and gloominess. Echoing the personal battles of vocalist Connie, the tracks perfectly reflect the harrowing grasp of burnout, depression and finding solace in solitude. Both tracks mark an exciting milestone from the upcoming post-hardcore ensemble, leaving you eagerly waiting for new material as they lay the foundations for a promising future. – Amy Bowles
Kublai Khan TX – Low Tech
The kings of low IQ, ignorant metalcore are back, baby. Kublai Khan TX have teased a new album for a while now and despite not being announced, you get the feeling that new single ‘Low Tech’ is the first trickle on what will be an avalanche of riffs. More of an immediate track as opposed to the lumbering menace of ‘Theory Of Mind’, it’s more of Matt Honeycutt’s barks and grinding riffs that we know so well. There was little chance of the band doing anything dramatically different and you wouldn’t want them to. So many try to match them, but few even come close. As the band continue to lay waste to America, the demand for them to come back to the UK grows and hopefully with a new full length in tow. – Chris Earl
Nocturnus AD – CephaloGod
Well, well, well, if it isn’t seminal early 90s death metal band Nocturnus AD back with a new single ‘CephaloGod’. The inventively named track encompasses everything that is loved about the progressive death metal behemoths; it’s got those twinkly keyboard overtones, the classic off kilter riffing, and reverb heavy vocals. There are solos aplenty whilst the drums pound away beneath, and although new tracks from DM royalty should never be shunned this isn’t much new from Nocturnus AD, despite this the track is a tasty little banger, it’s nice to see these guys still hammering away with their unique brand of sci-fi metal. The ending of the track in particular is a great microcosm of everything that is good about them. – Rob Bown
The Pleasure Dome – The Duke Part II (Friends and Enemies)
Taken from their forthcoming new EP Liminal Space – released May 10th Hound Gawd! Records – ‘The Duke Part II (Friends and Enemies)’ see’s Bristolian grungy alt-rockers The Pleasure Dome dialling back the unhinged intensity associated with with their live presence for something a bit more introspective. Written following a lineup reshuffle, a romantic breakup and a full home eviction that all took place pretty much concurrently, this single document’s guitarist and vocalist Bobby Spender’s relationship with The Duke, a legendary live music venue for some but the mundane workplace for Spender. Here, through pensive lyricism and raw post-punk filth, the band perfectly encapsulate that feeling of lethargy and languish that many come to experience with ill-fated monotony. – Dan Hillier
The Home Team – Hell
Having just announced their first ever UK headline tour, there’s never been a better time to get into Seattle’s finest ‘heavy pop’ outfit, The Home Team. With their brand new single ‘Hell’, that job is made easier than ever before. The Home Team refine their formula of huge riffs, huge choruses, and huge amounts of fun on this funky, swaggering cut. Buoyed by a chunky bass line and bouncing percussion, vocalist Brian Butcher’s trademark vocals sound electrifying, especially with the track’s brilliant choruses and central vocal hook. There’s something delightfully retro about the whole affair, yet none of the band’s modern flair and relevancy is lost. The Home Team just keeps winning. – Ryan Ward
Ufomammut – Leeched
Psych doom wizards Ufomammut have graced the populace with a new fuzzed out heap of metal this week and it doesn’t disappoint. From the Ozzy-esque vocals to the big muff laden guitar work and thick as permafrost bass sound ‘Leeched’ delivers on every front, not that it isn’t expected from these veterans. Ufomammut ask you join them on their fuzzy riffscape of varied time signatures and synth laden leads, flying through what can only be described as a psychedelic melting pot of drippy vocals and huge staccato guitar work. The song doesn’t disappoint, and it’s highly likely the album won’t either, if doom is your bag then Ufomammut should be in there if they aren’t already. – Rob Bown
Coilguns – Venetian Blinds
After their collaborative EP with Birds In Row earlier this year, Swiss post hardcore cohort Coilguns release a stand alone single ‘Venetian Blinds’. Marking a slight departure from their usual chaotic noisier nature with a lighter touch. As guitarist Jonathan Nido explains, ‘Apart from the catchy chorus, what truly sets the song apart is the unconventional yet creative drumming by Luc Hess. His use of cymbals is so sparing that each strike feels like a significant event throughout the track, adding to its unique noise-pop vibe.’ – Adam Vallely
Scarcity – The Basin of Alkaline Grief
Take Doug Moore’s (Pyrrhon, Weeping Sores) crazed screamed vocal delivery and combine it with the maddening dissonance of Brendon Randall-Myers (conductor of the Glen Barca Ensemble) and you get Scarcity – a towering black metal mass of swirling eldritch energies, weirdo time signatures and melody where melody hardly exists. New single ‘The Basin of Alkaline Grief’ continues in the structureless, amelodic vein with six minutes of challenging, blast beat ridden cacophony. If this single is anything to go by then the new album is going to be even more avant-garde than the last, as this intrepid duo continue to push the boundaries of progressive black metal to further heights. – Rob Bown
Couch Slut – The Donkey
Couch Slut have dropped another drug addled banger in the form of ‘The Donkey’. The pseudo-beat poetry delivery of the vocals carries this song until the end, detailing a macabre situation involving a stop motion animation, and as usual some gritty circumstances. The swirling instrumentation adds further edge to the whole scene, the guitars and bass trading off big chords and scratchy feedback whilst the drums plod in the background driving the whole song forward. – Rob Bown
Urzah – I, Empyrean
Amalgamating motifs of modern post-metal and hues of classic turn-of-the-century metalcore in the vein of Martyr A.D, the new single from Bristol’s Urzah is the sound of bruising dynamism both fresh and familiar. Released in conjunction with their signing to APF Records and the announcement of their LP debut The Scorching Gaze – released May 3rd – ‘I, Empyrean’ is the sound of a band who know how to make typically bludgeoning and inflexible music sound dexterous and fluid. Whilst some may scoff at the idea of post-metal being approached with a metalcore minded mindset, this track brilliantly attests to Urzah’s ambitious nature and their ability to successfully pull of such a manoeuvre. – Dan Hillier
Unleash the Archers – Ghosts In the Mist
Canadian power metallers Unleash the Archers have treated fans to the latest single from upcoming album Phantoma in the form of the synth-heavy ‘Ghosts In the Mist’. Folding in 80s arena rock, a towering chorus and a heaving breakdown along with some hefty growls from guitarist Grant Truesdell, it shows the band at their most expansive without losing their knack for hooks that sear themselves into your brain. – Will Marshall
Pallbearer – Where the Light Fades
Doom stalwarts Pallbearer have unveiled the first glimpse of 2020’s Forgotten Days, which was a masterclass in emotionally devastating doom. ‘Where the Light Fades’ is every bit is gutwrenching as we’ve come to expect from them; though the opening is sparse with soft guitars, the vocals are yearning and plaintive, fraught with sadness. Vocalist/guitarist Bruce Campbell explains of the song, plus its companions on upcoming album Mind Burns Alive, “[they’re] vignettes that tell the stories of people who deal with myriad sicknesses of the spirit… illnesses communicated by the world we live in, and the subjects are the symptoms of the disease.” Heavy stuff, that only underscores their belief that true heaviness comes from emotional weight, which Mind Burns Alive is sure to deliver in spades. – Will Marshall
Thousand Below – Shake
San Diego post-hardcore rising stars Thousand Below return once more, with a brand new spin on their anthemic and pop-tinged sound. ‘Shake’ continues with their core ideas of mammoth catchy choruses melded with a vicious modern edge, yet pushes these ideas even further than before. Drum and bass percussion rhythms blast by as the track pushes and pulls between sparse electronic ambience and blistering, driving riffs. Vocalist James Deberg sounds more in control than ever before, his signature vocal style now sounded richer and more well-rounded than on previous releases. If this is the direction of the band’s latest era, then it certainly looks to be promising. – Ryan Ward