Another stacked week of new music for us to check out, from rock to metal to country! Let’s dive in!
Megadeth: Self-Titled
The 17th and final album from the thrash legends dropped to huge anticipation and hype on Friday. And honestly, as a long time fan of the band, it lives up to all of it! I feel I’ve been a bit hit or miss with their last few releases, but right from opening single ‘Tipping Point’ I was hooked, and not let go until the end of the release. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all perfect, but there is a lot of this that I love, and I very much prefer it to their last album. It very much feels like a combination of everything that’s come before; a perfect culmination of their sound. There’s old-school, punk-infused stuff, straight up thrash, and some of the 90s and 2000s slightly lighter, more melodic stuff. And of course, everyone is working their asses off throughout, showing they are still at the top of their respective games however long into their careers the semi-session-players are. Even Dave does great; his vocals holding up far better than they have at times in previous years, and there is never any denying his guitar ability! My only slight issue is some of his ever-juvinile lyric writing, but it only pulled me out of it on a couple of tracks.
Speaking of tracks, as I said, there’s a lot to love. From the opener to single ‘Let There Be Shred’ to album tracks like ‘Puppet Parade’ and the bittersweet, slightly on-the-nose ‘The Last Note’, there is plenty to love. Heck, there really isn’t a bad song on it. We even got a cheeky Dave’s version of ‘Ride the Lightning’, it being awesome that he was finally able to release it, and is almost as good as the original!
After listening to the album a couple of times over the weekend, I really did love it. While not quite up there with their absolute classics, it’s certainly on the next level down for me, alongside the likes of Th1rt3en and Youthanasia. A fitting send-off to one of the biggest and best in 80s metal, and if you are at all a fan of the band, I can’t recommend checking this out enough! I can’t give it anything less than 8.5/10!
Poppy: Empty Hands
Almost six years on to the day that the enigmatic powerhouse dipped her toe into metal with I Disagree, she has turned into one of the biggest and most consistent names in the modern genre. Now another four albums into that, she has proved that not only is she one of the most consistent and hard working people in the scene, but that she also just keeps getting better and better. Her unique blend of modern metal with an industrial tinge makes for plenty of memorable, awesome moments throughout. Singles ‘Bruised Sky’ and ‘Guardian’ have been stuck in my regular rotation since their release, while the hardcore ‘Dying to Forget’, ‘If We’re Following the Light’ and ‘Ribs’ are great album additions. As much as I enjoyed Negative Spaces, I think this may be my favourite release from her! It has a bit of everything and flows very well and goes by in a flash. She’s heavier than ever, and the little vocal interludes lead into their counterpart tracks perfectly. For anyone into modern metal, this is an absolute must. I’ll certainly be listening to it more, and it gets a very solid 8/10 from us!
Julian Taylor: Anthology Vol. 2
We’ve already checked out this awesome collection of tracks! Read the full review here.
The Damned: Not Like Everybody Else
Three years after their apparently forgettable last album, the UK punk legends returned with album 13. Given that I couldn’t remember checking out Darkadelic aside for the artwork, this one at least stuck in my brain a little more! From Ramones to Misfits, they channel plenty of great vibes from the old-school punk scene they came from. Growing up on this sort of stuff from skating games (THUG2 for the win) it’s a sound I love and am surprisingly nostalgic towards, so it’s hard not to have a good time listening. Tracks like the opener, ‘Gimme Danger’ and ‘When I Was Young’ are all personal highlights and up there with any of the bands back catalogue, honestly. Really the only weak link here is ‘See Emily Play’; it feels out of place as the light hearted, Madness-like track on the album. But still, it doesn’t let it down too much, it’s still a fun 34-minutes of dark, classic punk music. If you’re into the genre, this is definitely a release to check out, and their best in a good long while. 7.5/10
Crystal Lake: The Weight of Sound
This thing goes HARD to open, dude! ‘Everblack’ is an INCREDIBLE modern metalcore track filled with brutal screams and some chunky, chuggy riffs. It sets the tone for the album perfectly, and blew me away! Being their first new studio release in eight years, the Japanese band make an impact immediately, and show that they are just as good as ever.
It’s hardly the only good track on the album, either. ‘BlüdGod’ follows it up perfectly. ‘Neversleep’, ‘King Down’, ‘Crossing Nails’ and the Jesse Leach-featuring ‘Dystopia’ are all also banging tracks. However, as I’m sure you can tell by now, there isn’t a bad song throughout! I even enjoyed the now-typcial closing ballad!
It’s 40-minutes of beautiful heaviness that barely let’s up throughout. It’s the perfect blend of old-school Parkway and a modern edge and production, even with a sprinkling of Through the Ashes of Empires for good measure. I’ve had a friend of mine rave about them to me a lot, but because they haven’t released much in a while I haven’t had much time to check them out aside the odd song. This has definitely turned me into an absolutely massive fan of them! They are a criminally underrated band who deserve to be so much bigger in the West, and may have just put out one of the best straight metalcore albums of the decade. 9.5/10, check this out immediately!
Kezia Gill: All on Red
Album number three from one of the leading lights of the UK country scene is every bit as good as her previous two. Her awesome vein of rock-infused country is a lot of fun, and leads to an incredibly easy listen from start to finish. From ‘Dublin’s Outta Whiskey’ to ‘Whiskey in a Wine Glass’, ‘Ride or Die’ to ‘If Heaven Has a Honkytonk’, there is so much awesomeness to go around. And that’s not even mentioning the incredible ballads like ‘Love You Next’ or ‘Barbed Wire’. There really isn’t a bad song on the release, and it’s put together exceptionally well that it never once gets boring; everything feels deliberate. At a time where country is bigger than ever, Kezia proves that the UK can bring it anywhere as much as its North American counterparts. If you are a fan of the genre, check this out immediately, you won’t be disappointed! 8.5/10
The Hara: The Fallout
The sophomore studio album from the UK alt metallers dropped on Friday to plenty of anticipation and hype. Honestly, I’m in two minds with it. I very much like the heavy side, it giving off modern metal/metalcore vibes like Spiritbox and Bad Omens. Or, at least, the good bits of them. Sadly, it also carries a fair bit of the pop elements of both of those bands, that I’m not hugely a fan of. Tracks like ‘Easier to Die’, ‘Stay’, Kings’ and ‘Violence (feat. As December Falls)’ are good and definite highlights. The rest of it, while certainly not bad, I could sadly take or leave, for the most part. There will be a massive audience for this album, and if you are into any of the bands or styles I’ve mentioned already, I’d definitely recommend you checking this out. I feel like it’s the sort of thing that would do more for me live. And while this isn’t an album I’d revisit often, I certainly wouldn’t turn it off if it was on again, as well as most likely having the tracks I mentioned in my rotation for weeks to come. Who knows, maybe it’ll grow on me with more listens. However, for now it gets a still-solid 7/10
HamaSaari: Pictures
Another album we’ve checked out in full! Read the review here.
Virtue in Vain: Nothing is All I Am
The Welsh metalcore trio go hard with this 15-minute release. ‘Split’ is short, heavy goodness to start, while ‘Blood Eyes’ continues the vibes perfectly. And, honestly, the other three tracks on this are just as good. The heaviness is incredible, while there is enough melodic stuff to keep anyone hooked throughout. It’s honestly as much melodeath as it is metalcore, and has just a dash of prog to it too, being a really amazing mix. If I haven’t sold you already I don’t know what to tell you; check this out! This band deserve to be so much bigger than they are, and hopefully this EP is the start of pushing them to grand things. If you are at all into the heavier side of metal, check this out immediately! An incredibly solid 9.5/10 from us, and I need another full album ASAP!
Jamie O’Neil: Gypsum
Album seven from the Australian country singer-songwriter is a fun slower release into the genre. It definitely has that early 2000s feel to it that she was a part of when she broke through, though has enough of an old-school feel too to make it stand out. Her vocals are still as amazing as ever, and some of her lyrics here are fantastic. ‘Ole Heartache’, ‘John Deere Letter’ and ‘My Midnights’ are all personal highlights, and amazing country songs in their own right. And, while the album as a whole is a touch slow overall that I prefer, it’s still a damn good release! It definitely feels like Jamie still has it, and I’d put this up there near Shiver, easily. I’d definitely say to give it a listen if you’re a country fan, and I’m sure I’ll be listening to this again soon! An easy 7.5/10 from us!
Glamour of the Kill: Vengeance
The return album from the UK metalcorers, their first album in 13 years, and pardon my French but it’s fucking AWESOME. Having grown up in the era of peak BFMV and Killswitch, this channels that vibe perfectly, sadly a lost sound in 2026 for the most part. This quartet are working to bring it back in a big way here, and very much deserve to be massive because of it. It goes hard from start to finish, a melodic, heavy, thrashy nearly-hour. And honestly, every track in that time is phenomenal. From faster stuff to more ballad-paced songs, it’s all amazing. It’s impossible to pick out highlights as every song is as good as the last. I sat and listened to this through in one sitting, a rarity for me these days, and it went by in a flash. The band are insanely talented musicians and songwriters, and have crafted something honestly special with this release. I cannot recommend this enough to anyone, even if you aren’t necessarily into the style; if anyone’s gonna win you over it’s these guys! I’ll be listening to it a lot moving forward, and I can’t give it any less than 9.5/10. Wow!
Paper Kites: If You Go There, I Hope You Find It
The follow-up to 2023’s great At the Roadhouse, the Aussie indie-folk band put out another good, chilled-out release with If You Go There. It’s 40-minutes of beautiful, relaxed music, and is incredibly easy to listen to. ‘Change of the Wind’ and ‘Shake Off the Rain’ were personal favourites, but there certainly isn’t a bad song among the 10. Sure, it does get a little old by the end as every track has a similar pace and vibe, but the band know what they do well and do it to perfection. If you want something to throw on and relax to or have on in the background, this is that perfect something. It will most likely be an album I revisit more over the summer months, but I had far more of a blast listening to this than I expected to. It’s another very easy 7.5/10!