The Sun’s Journey Through The Night, Trophy Eyes, Graywave and More: New Noizze – The 15 Must-Listen Tracks Of The Week

Esoteric black metal and misery was certainly the flavour of last week. Here's the best 15 singles released last week.

The Sun’s Journey Through The Night – Void Walker

The first single to be taken from the bands forthcoming second record Wordless – released July 28th via Church Road Records – ‘Void Walker’ sees esoteric black metal band The Sun’s Journey Through The Night amplify every single spect of their work. A colossal step up in terms of production, songwriting and atmosphere, the seven minute track sees the band further pushing all a tributes of their sound into new and ashen territories whilst still retaining all the qualities that made their 2020 debut Crawling Nebula Of Dismal Light so enthralling. Should you not be antiquated with this band as of yet and find yourself with an interest in acts such as Underdark, Dawn Ray’d, Copse and Gaerea, this is will be crucial listening. – Dan Hillier

Graywave – Cycle

Following their run of shows with Belgian heavy shoegazers Slow Crush and coinciding with their set at London’s Desertfest this weekend, Graywave have released another brand new single in the form of ‘Cycle’. Picking up where ‘Blur Into One’ left off, it’s as atmospheric as we’ve come to expect from them but feels significantly moodier, and those gothic Cocteau Twins elements are dialled up even more than before. Opening serenely with a hint of electric drums, it’s a soft, moody beginning that gradually builds with washes of guitar and laconic, sometimes spoken vocals before the eventual eruption like a slow lava flow. With last year’s well-recevied Rebirth EP and now two singles in as many months, Graywave continue to make their mark on the UK alternative scene as ones to keep an eye on. – Will Marshall

Trophy Eyes – Kill

Emos rejoice, because not only are Australian rockers Trophy Eyes back, they’re in stellar form. The third single to be released from their upcoming album Suicide and Sunshine, ‘Kill’ is yet another piece of introspective, poignant music from the down under crew. A slow burner of a track, it opens with some luscious drums and bass, before those now iconic vocals from John Floreani come in and just sweep you away. When the chorus kicks in, complete with some glorious guitar in the background, you just know that this will be a lighters in the air moment live. The “sometimes we kill what we love” line is sung with such passion and catharsis, making the track an early standout on one of the summer’s most anticipated records. – Chris Earl

Calligram – Frantumi In itinere

Furious black metallers Calligram recently announced their new album Position | Momentum; ‘Frantumi In Itinere’ is the second single from the album and delivers exactly what they’re known for in its searing, D-beat meets black metal assault. The album looks back on a tough, soul-searching journey for vocalist Matteo Rizzardo, with ‘Frantumi In Itinere’ exploring themes of death and consciousness. The chaos of the song seems all-consuming; a blistering pace, scathing vocals delivered in Rizzardo’s native Italian in a desolate screech. Speaking on the song’s themes, Calligram remark “the limits of human consciousness is the “reach of thought”. As humans we naturally strive for reaching and overcoming the limits which means, in this case, taking consciousness beyond the field of human thought into something greater, vaster and incomprehensible by thought and unreachable by intellect. At the same time this is terrifying because that same limit is what defines us and keeps us alive: the idea of “life” lays within its limits.” – Will Marshall

Heavy Lungs – Dancing Man

You may not have heard Heavy Lungs’ music, but you will have definitely heard the name of their frontman. Fronted by Danny Nedelko – yes, the same Danny name-checked in that one IDLES song – Heavy Lungs specialise in the kind of noise punk that that’s energetic as it is inclusive, a fact highlighted with their latest track ‘Dancing Man’. The groups first single single since signing to Alcopop! Records, ‘Dancing Man’ sees the Bristol quartet in their most driven form yet, with all of their inspirations amalgamating and boiling down to form a shot of potent and genuine modern punk. Simply, it’s wild, strange and ceaselessly chaotic; all qualities that have bequeathed Heavy Lungs with the spoils of a blossoming and burgeoning early career. – Dan Hillier

Blood Command – Decades

The Scandinavian death pop crew Blood Command are clearly on a creative hot streak right now. This is their second original track of 2023 and hot on the heels of last year’s underrated album, Praise Armageddonism. ‘Decades’, much like ‘Losing Faith’ shows the band’s more experimental, softer side. Chill pop and RnB vibes are prevalent throughout, and it’s very welcome hearing Nikki Brumen bring her own style to the band. It’s very melancholic, almost somber at times. In interviews the band have hinted that their future records will explore the extremes of their sound. If that’s the case and this is an indication, then it bodes well for the band gaining a whole new audience at both ends of the sonic spectrum they’ve shown they can occupy. – Chris Earl

Burner – Pillar of Shame

If you’re not already counting down the days till the release of Burner‘s debut album, It All Returns to Nothing then this will change your mind. A brain melting, skin shredding blast of blackened death metal, ‘Pillar of Shame’ is the third single from the record, and somehow it’s even better than the first two. Vocalist Harry Nott is a man possessed as he shrieks and growls his way through the song, with the repeated mantra “suppress, silence, conceal, exalt” burning its way into your brain. If that wasn’t enough, the titanic production job from Lewis Johns makes every element punch you straight in the ear canal. With every single release, the band look more and more likely to become one of the best breakout acts from the British music scene in recent memory. The blend of new and old elements of extreme metal from across the spectrum is proving a mesmerising recipe, and the record should be on your radar in a big way. – Chris Earl

Bobby Wolfgang – Napalm Uber Alles (Reload)

Revisiting one of the tracks from his days in Strange Bones, Bobby Wolfgang injects an electrifying update to one of the biggest bangers in his musical catalogue, bringing the song more up to date with his more recent music output with small but effective stylistic changes, ensuring that this powerful dance-punk track doesn’t become lost to old projects. Look forward to this song re-entering the live set when Bobby inevitably makes his return to the stage in the near future, with its dangerous sounding mash up of blistering punk noise and shock-lightning electronics. Since putting Strange Bones on ice, Bobby has repeatedly proven that he’s still just as exciting and energetic in his musical output as ever, and ‘Napalm Uber Alles’, and this new reload version, remains one of the greatest tracks he’s ever put his name to. – Elliot Grimmie

Earthists – Hyperhell

Have you ever wanted to know what it might sound like if you blended modern metalcore and upbeat hyperpop with a Final Fantasy-esque piano score? Well now you’ve got the chance to find out, with the ever innovative Earthists. latest single release, ‘Hyperhell’. A frantic, emotive rollercoaster ride of a song, bands like this repeatedly showcase the ingenuity and unique blends of sounds coming out of the Japanese heavy music scene right now. Make no mistake, this isn’t the first time Earthists. have pushed the boundaries on modern heavy music, and it likely won’t be the last, so if you’re looking for an entry point into one of Japan’s most underrated and interesting artists, get this in your ears immediately. – Elliot Grimmie

The Dirty Nil – Celebration

The second track to be released from the groups wildly anticipated new record Free Rein To Passions – released May 26th on Dine Alone Records – ‘Celebration’ is exactly what its namesake implies: a jovial and bash full of love in its purest form. Driven by metallic riffing and the effervescent good natured rock and roll spirit that has come to characterise The Dirty Nil, the track is a violet, yet genuine love song inspired by Power Trip’s late Riley Gale. “This is our purest love song, unconditional and without mercy,” says frontman Luke Bentham on the track. ”Tell me what you want in the whole wide world. I’ll do it.” – Dan Hillier

Like Moths To Flames – I Found the Dark Side of Heaven

Two years after their incredibly well received EP Pure Like Porcelain, Ohio metalcore stalwarts Like Moths To Flames have begun releasing new music, and their newest track, ‘I Found The Dark Side Of Heaven’ is a continuation of their recent run of top form. On the heavier end of their work, this is a furious track with some of their heaviest guitar work in years and Chris Roetter’s vocals sounding frankly fierce. Lyrically, it’s as bleak as the song title suggests, dealing with the insignificance of humans in the grand scheme of things and how if there is a God, he doesn’t care about us. Like a lot of their previous work, it won’t reinvent the wheel but there’s no denying that when they’re on the top of their game, the band are one of metalcore’s unsung heroes. The lack of clean vocals and squealing riffs combined with the pummelling drums on this release suggests we’re in for one of the band’s heaviest records to date. And that’s definitely something to be excited about. – Chris Earl

alt. – APEP (ft. Jack Bergin)

Following on from ‘A.D.D’, Australia’s brightest new heavy outfit alt., have dropped their fourth single from their upcoming debut album, ‘Abeyance’, due out June 16. The latest track, ‘APEP’, sees the band further fine-tuning their electronic blend of metalcore and alternative, with heavy, chugging riffs in the verses, and catchy hooks accompanied by soaring melodies in the choruses. The highlight of it all, however, is the killer feature verse from Void Of Vision’s Jack Bergin; his trademark screams effortlessly incorporated into the track, Bergin sounds just as vicious as he does on any of his own band’s songs. alt. are four for four on singles so far, and it’s shaping up to be an extremely exciting record indeed. – Ryan Ward

Never Ending Game – Hate Today… Die Tomorrow

Never Ending Game live and breathe Detroit. Their hometown informs everything they do, especially their music, and that’s no different on latest single ‘Hate Today… Die Tomorrow’, taken from their upcoming album Outcry due out May 12. As with all the most vicious metallic hardcore, the riffs are harder than steel and hit twice as hard and unrelenting breakdowns. It’s almost long by hardcore standards, at three and a half minutes, but the band pack in plenty of aggression, with two-step stomps, barked vocals and pit-inciting moments aplenty. – Will Marshall

PhaseOne & RedHook – Gangrene

Completing a quadrilogy of collaborations with label UNFD, Australian EDM artist PhaseOne has released his latest, this time with rising alt/nu metallers RedHook who also just released their debut album Postcard From A Living Hell. Not content to rest on their laurels, they’d already sent him the demo for this and PhaseOne has reworked it into a rock and dance club floorfiller, packed with breakbeats, drum ‘n’ bass influence and sub drops. It leans a little more into pop punk than previous collaborations with the likes of Void of Vision or Polaris, but it’s no less heavy, with RedHook vocalist Emmy Mack bringing both acerbic screams as well as anthemic melodies. The cutting guitars and shimmering synths pair exactly as well as you’d hope, creating one hell of an anthem for rebellion. – Will Marshall

Bring Me The Horizon – LosT

Bring Me The Horizon have never been a band who stay in one lane for too long and that trend continues as they put their emo and pop-punk influences on display for the world to hear like never before with the release of the infectious ‘LosT’. Ready made for rock club nights up and down the country, this latest offering from the upcoming second instalment of their Post Human project packs a monster of a chorus that is bound to sound ginormous when the band take to the hallowed grounds of Donington Park to make their maiden appearance headlining the almighty Download Festival in June. Fear not, mosh gremlins, as in true Horizon fashion, things take a brutal turn with a glitchy, pounding breakdown that is sure to cause pandemonium when the band debut the song in the live setting. If that doesn’t sound appealing enough, make sure to check out the ludicrously silly video in all of its gory, B-movie glory. – Jordan Aldridge