The first big week of New Music Mondays of the year, join us as we check out some of the awesomest album and EP releases in rock, metal and country!
Alter Bridge: Self-Titled
Following a return to form with 2022’s Pawns & Kings, the band very much continue in that same vein with album number eight. I’ve seen a lot of love from other outlets for this, and while it took a little getting going for me, after a couple of listens I can see why! The first couple of tracks, while perfectly good, didn’t hook me in much. However, the one-two punch of ‘Power Down’ and ‘Trust in Me’ were excellent, and harkened back to the bands early couple of albums in the best ways. From then on out, I was hooked! From Tremoni once again being a riff machine to Myles’ effortlessly incredible vocals to both rhythm guys working their asses off, it’s classic AB at its finest. Songs like the now-obligatory Tremonti one, ‘Tested and Able’, beautiful ballad ‘Hang By a Thread’ and single ‘Playing Aces’ are all massive other highlights. However, after a couple of listens there really isn’t a bad track on the album; it’s an hour of excellent hard rock music that only Alter Bridge can do!
While I don’t think it has the strongest individual tracks from their careers, as an album as a whole it’s incredibly solid, and one I will definitely be revisiting time and time again. Plus, I do think the singles will grow on me even more if/when I see them live. If you are a fan of the band or hard rock in general, this is an absolute must. 9/10
Zach Bryan: With Heaven on Top
Firstly, kudos to Bryan for still releasing ‘Bad News’ after the backlash from half of his fanbase and everything that’s gone on over the last week. The cajones it must have taken is commendable, and it’s stuff that definitely needs to be talked about still!
As for the album itself, I think it’s impossible for me not to love Zach’s music. This was on my most anticipated albums of the year list for a reason, and it certainly lives up to a lot of that hype. There are some absolutely fantastic songs on this release. ‘Appetite’, ‘Say Why’, ‘Dry Deserts’, and ‘Always Willin’’ are up there with any of his best tracks, in this writers humble opinion. They are by far the only good tracks here, too. His lyrics are incredible; he’s one of the best storytellers in the game today. The emotion he conveys in his work is truly incredible. And the addition of the strings and brass add so much to the sound, making everything so epic and impactful and somehow adding even more to the emotion.
However, this is a LONG album. The guy never leans and, though this isn’t still as egregious as American Heartbreak, being his second longest album at 78 minutes is still insane. And, there is definitely some slower stuff in here that sounds more like filler. The last four songs are average, and some of the stuff after ‘Bad News’ didn’t do much for me, either. There is an absolutely perfect Country-Americana album in here, just like his last three, but it is bloated and needs some of the fat trimming.
It is unmistakably a fantastic album, don’t get me wrong. While stick not quite as good as his self-titled effort, it’s every bit as great as Great American Bar Scene. There’s a reason he is one of the biggest artists in the world, and his work really does speak for itself over and over again. I just wish he’d let go of a couple of songs so we got a more concise release. So, though I do have critiques on this album, I will still be spinning a lot of it for the rest of the year, and would recommend it to anyone even slightly interested. I can’t give it any less than an incredibly solid 9.5/10
OCT: On Company Time
It’s finally here. I’ve been obsessed with this band for a solid year plus at this point. Every single has been excellent. So to finally have a full album release from this is so damn exciting.
What’s even more exciting is that it’s fucking awesome! And yes, we’ve heard a lot of the songs off it already across the last couple of years, but the new ones are just as good, honestly. ‘Pop! Pop!’ is glorious, pop nonsense, ‘Meat n’ Cheese’ has been teased so much I’m already obsessed, while both ‘Bathhouse Homies’ and ‘Tall Warm Glass of Milk’ are excellent, as expected. Every song is amazing, and this is such a fun 34-minute listen. While the comedy is flawless, they are absolutely phenomenal musicians, vocalists and songwriters on top of that, crafting something truly special with this album. It’s 80s cheese-pop but with some of the catchiest choruses and harmonies that I’m sure I’ll be hearing all year. I am already addicted to this album, and am sure I’ll be spinning it plenty for months to come. If you are in any way curious, I cannot recommend it enough! I’m both shocked and not at all shocked, but this solidly gets the first 10/10 from us of 2026!
UUHAI: Human Herds
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our full review here!
Beyond the Black: Break the Silence
The German symphonic metallers returned with their sixth studio album last Friday. If you know the band or the genre, you’ll know exactly what to expect here. I’ve been a fan of them since 2018’s Heart of a Hurricane, and I loved their self-titled release a couple of years back. While I don’t think this is quite as good as both of those releases, it is still a damn solid metal album. From the opener to the typically-incredible ballad ‘Ravens’ to the LOVEBITES-featuring ‘Can You Hear Me’, there are some amazing tracks on here. Heck, there isn’t a bad song throughout. However, for whatever reason, the album as a whole didn’t catch me the way I expected/hoped it would. Maybe it felt a touch safe? They are as big as they have ever been so are clearly doing something right, and it wasn’t like this wasn’t enjoyable. It’s a damn solid symphonic metal album, and I liked the more electronic elements added into their sound recently, but I wouldn’t quite put it up there with the two previously mentioned albums. For that, it gets a still-solid 8/10 from us!
Coleman Jennings: Ride On
An awesome sophomore EP from the old-school country artist. From the lyrics to the emotion-filled vocal delivery, it was very quick and easy for me to get hooked. The title track opens things up perfectly, while ‘Marinaville’ is another bop. At just 17-minutes long, it is short and sweet and none of it is bad. It’s not going to be for everyone, but I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone even slightly into an older-school country sound. I’d love to hear a longer form release from Coleman, but the fact that he’s getting this big already says it all! 7.5/10
Nanowar of Steel: The Genghis Khan EP to End All Genghis Khan EPs
We’ve also checked out this amazing EP! Review here.
Bullet: Kickstarter
The seventh album from the hard/sleaze rockers is a lot of fun, and a great thing to turn on and just rock out to. It’s very AC/DC and the genre of bands that spawned from being heavily inspired by them, so if you’re into that you’ll love this, too! From the title track to ‘Open Fire’, ‘Avenger’ to ‘Strike At Night’, it’s all damn good. It’s 40 minutes of balls-to-the-wall rock that knows exactly what it is. It certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but as far as bands like this go, these are up there with some of the front runners with albums like this. I wouldn’t revisit it a lot, but I certainly wouldn’t turn it off if it came on again; it’s an incredibly easy listen. I’m sure a lot will love this, and while I still had a good time, I feel like a 7/10 is pretty fitting!
Krushor: Taste of Hatred
The debut EP from the thrash-death metallers is 13-minutes of sheer aggression, and I fucking love it! Four amazing tracks packed full of amazing riffing, drumming and harsh vocals, what’s not to love? All four tracks are as good as each other, and for a debut release it shows that the sky is very much the limit for the Finnish quintet. The band are all incredibly talented, and all have a time to shine throughout. If you are at all into the heavier side of metal, I cannot recommend this release enough! It gets a very solid 8/10 from me!
Orchid Throne: Buried in Black
This is an absolutely awesome prog-metal release! It incorporates everything from doom to death to alt to folk, and does it all masterfully. It’s hard to even find a band to compare it to; maybe all the eras of Opeth rolled into one, but even tat doesn’t quite do it justice. It’s dark and epic and everyone works their asses off throughout, all being at the top of their craft. Heck, I’d have been happy to have just taken the epic opener ‘Dreamworld’, but we still got six excellent tracks after that too! My only slight issue would be the mix, it didn’t sound quite as big as it could have, but it’s a minor gripe and may be as much of an issue with my speakers than the album itself. It’s another release that won’t be for everyone, but it grew on me the more and more I listened, and for another debut album it’s really something special. A very easy 8.5/10, definitely a band to keep an eye on!