The incredible indie-rock country star has been going from strength to strength since his breakout release a decade ago. Since then he’s garnered two gold-selling albums, and massive radio play globally. I’ve been along for most of the journey and, though I do tend to be drawn back to his rockier early days more, there is certainly a lot to love about his recent stuff, too. So, when this was announced we here at Overtone were pretty hyped, and there was no way I wasn’t give this my full attention. Let’s dive in!
‘Sinner’ opens things on a pretty chilled vibe, a souly, rootsy blues vibe with the guitars. Koe’s vocals come perfectly in over the top, sounding somehow even better than ever. The instrumentation builds, the drums adding another level before it opens up fantastically with the pre, the distorted guitar making it sound massive. The chorus soon takes over, being catchy and rocky and all-round awesome! We also get a maybe-too-short guitar solo tucked away in the middle, only adding to the southern rock awesomeness. Honestly, the whole song has a great vibe to it, and one I wasn’t expecting at all. He’s always has more of a rock edge to his sound, but this felt fresh, a renewed energy that harkened back to his breakout days. It’s a great track, and an awesome way to open the album!
The pace and vibe returns to more of what I expected from Koe with ‘Circus’. However, it still has that old-school (for him) rock edge to him, and is another excellent song! The lyrics are fun and so well written, while the chorus is made to be played to huge festival crowds around the world. And once again, we get a great guitar lead in the bridge, breaking things up excellently. It could easily fit up there alongside the very best from Noise Complaint, and is quickly becoming one of my favourite Wetzel tracks just from these couple of listens. Great stuff!
The first single of the album, ‘Hurts Like You’, is another slow start and excellent build-up of a track. The opening verse straddles the line perfectly between country and soft rock, not unlike a Kip Moore vibe, before the song explodes into another catchy-as-hell stadium country chorus. It’s a beautiful, emotion-filled love song, and was an excellent choice for a single. It’s also incredibly Koe; sounding like only he can. If you can’t tell already, I love this song too! I can’t get over his vocals, they sound somehow both smooth and gravelly at the same time, conveying each emotional beat perfectly. He very well may be at the top of his game currently! We’re three for three so far on incredible songs!
When I’m gone is the first fully ballad of the album, a beautiful acoustic -based track. Don’t get me wrong, it still has some distortion through the choruses, but doesn’t hit quite the same size and the energy stays lower along with the tempo. Still, it’s a catchy track, and fits the tone of the rest of the release so far perfectly. It’s a heartbreak song for sure, but delivered with an almost bittersweet feel to it from Koe, the track having an uplifting vibe as well as a sad one. It’s an interesting contrast that works far better than it has any right to. And yeah, that chord is awesome, as expected at this point from the man! Another fantastic track on an album so far packed full of them!
Single ‘Time Goes On’ is another dark, country rock song, a very Koe song that also reminds me of artists he’s since inspired like Treaty Oak Revival. The chorus is massive, a catchy, arena-filling romp that is definitely what the track is built around. It’s bound to be stuck in my head for days to come! It was definitely another great choice for a single, as it’s exactly what I expected from the guy. And, while it’s a standard formula and structure, it is done so well it’s hard not to love it. It’s easy to hear why he’s become a massive name in recent years when he’s putting out banger after banger like this!
‘Dollar and a Bottle’ is another ballad, emotion spilling out of it throughout as Koe details his heartbreak. It’s a simple, stripped-back song that really benefits from focusing mainly on the vocals. And those harmonies through the choruses are excellent, only adding to the depth and weight to the words. The same could be said about ‘I’ll Lock Up’ and the closing track. Both are stripped-back, acoustic-lead tracks that are filled with heartbreak and beauty in equal measure. The latter in particular is phenomenal, especially the female vocal coming in for a duet from the second verse. Try as I might, though, I really can’t find out whose voice it is! Regardless, they work perfectly together, and it somehow makes the track even more beautiful. It’s another big highlight track, and one that easily makes our playlist!
‘The Man’, while maintaining a slower pace still, definitely adds some rock back into it. The opening riffing almost reminded me of Radiohead, Koe keeping things constantly interesting. It all builds perfectly through the simple verses into a huge, almost grungy chorus, one that’s another big earworm. The solo in this fits perfectly too, honestly being one of my favourite parts of the whole album, it adding some epicness to it, making the whole final chorus feel HUGE. Shock horror, it’s another excellent song, and big high point for me!
The last two tracks on the album, ‘Nowhere Fast’ and single ‘Surrounded’, are more classic Koe tracks. The harmonica in the former, combined with the slightly higher pace, give off big Zach Bryan vibes in the very best ways. The chorus doesn’t quite hit the highs I expected/hoped it would, but it’s still catchy and a great song overall. Is slightly slower, and more of a 2000s country track, almost in a Darius Rucker sense with that chorus. However, it still has Koe’s signature indie-rock darker edge to it, it all combining together to make another awesome track! And it’s another excellent chorus to boot, a great single choice as it’ll be stuck in my head for days to come. Yet another truly amazing song!
Overall: This is somehow even better than I expected it to be! As I said before, I’ve been a fan of Koe’s work for a good few years now, but his last couple of albums have been slightly up and down for me. This, however, was excellent from start to finish! It felt like it somehow both returned to his roots, while also incorporating the very best bits of his modern sound. It’s packed full of amazing tracks from start to finish, and is honestly up there alongside Noise Complaint for me in terms of his top albums. If you are at all a fan of Koe, country or indie rock, this album is an absolute must-listen!
Another huge week of new releases for us to check out, from metal to rock to country! Let’s dive in!
Evanescence: Sanctuary
Finally following up 2021’s masssive The Bitter Truth, the symphonic metal powerhouses have come out swinging with album number six. Fun fact, their last album was one of the first reviews we did here at Overtone. We loved it, and I still spin at least a few of the tracks first regularly to this day. So, it’s slightly sad for me to say that this release, half a decade later, is just fine. Don’t get me wrong, singles ‘Who Will You Follow’ and Devil May Cry’s ‘Afterlife’ are great. ‘Sanctuary’ is also a bit of a banger. However, the band have been at this for over two decades now, and have stayed relatively the same throughout that entire time. And this album simply doesn’t have as many big hooks and moments as other releases have had. Everything else just blurs together into a similar, done-better-before sound. The industrial elements they’ve brought in recently are cool, but I do think were done better on their previous album.
Maybe I’m being too harsh on it. Amy Lee’s vocals are just as phenomenal as ever, and there are some okay riffs throughout. There are some great lyrics, and the two emotional ballad tracks of the album are amazing. If you are a big fan of the band, this will most likely be right up your street. It’s definitely an okay entry into their catalogue; I maybe just came in with slightly too high expectations. I’ll be spinning it again in the future, that’s for sure, and maybe it’ll grow on me more then. However, for now I can’t give it any more than a 7/10. Not bad by any stretch, but a touch forgettable.
Red Clay Strays: Grateful
The highly anticipated third album from the fast-rising country megastars finally dropped this last Friday. To say that we have been excited for this one might be an understatement. We loved their last album, and even got to see them live with it, so we have been eagerly anticipating this release since it was announced. Plus, the singles they’ve put out so far are excellent.
Well, safe to say it lives up to the hype! This is a full 46 minutes of soul-infused, old-school country rock, and I’m immediately obsessed! The opener is a gospel masterpiece that highlights Brandon’s phenomenal vocals perfectly. Then you have rocky numbers like ‘Don’t Wanna Know’, ‘People Hatin’ and ‘Fool’s Gold’ that are all awesome. However, slower, ballad tracks like ‘If I Didn’t Know You’ and the closer/title track, are just as incredible! As you can surely tell by now, there isn’t a bad song throughout! I love that generally they alternate between a boot-stomper and a slower song, keeping the pace interesting throughout. Heck, for a release on the longer side, it’s an incredibly easy listen! The band are such incredible songwriters and players, and all get a chance to shine throughout. As much as I loved Made By These Moments, this is at least up there alongside it, if not maybe even surpassing it. If you’re at all into country, this is absolutely an album for you! I’ll be spinning it plenty in the weeks and months to come, that’s for sure! 8.5/10
August Burns Red: Season of Surrender
Returning to the studio after three years, following their critically acclaimedDeath Below, the modern metalcore titans once again knock it out of the park here! It’s 44 minutes of brutality, and their proggy, technical excellence is present right from the jump ‘Legions’ is a fantastic opener, while tracks like ‘Behemoth’ and ‘Whispers Like Splinters’ are also massive highlights. The guest features are once again awesome too, all three killing it, with Make Them Suffer’s track being another huge high point. As I’m sure you can tell by this point, there really isn’t a bad song throughout! It goes by in a flash, and is the perfect mix of aggression, melody and breakdowns. I’ve seen a lot of love for this online already, and for very good reason, it really is a phenomenal release. What is interesting is I’ve seen the sentiment of ‘ABR are back’, like they ever really dropped off. They have been consistently one of the most overlooked names in metal, and this is another stellar addition to their spectacular back catalogue. I can’t give it any less than 9/10, check this out if you are at all interested!
Death Cab for Cutie: I Built You a Tower
The first album from the US alt/indie rockers in nearly four years is a damn fun, interesting release! Despite their relative success in the UK and Europe since their 2005 breakout hit, I wasn’t too familiar with them until the last couple of years or so. So, to sit down with a brand new release from them was cool. And what a release I chose! It’s a rather chilled-out release, but packed full of catchy melodies and a surprising amount of technicality. Tracks like ‘Punching the Flowers’, the beautifully melancholic ‘Stone Over Water’ and ‘Riptides’ are personal highlights, but the whole album is solid and goes by in a flash. It’s a welcome return by the band, and will surely be well received by their fans; a fitting continuation of their discography! A release that I’d highly recommend checking out if you are into things softer and more indie, and a solid 7.5/10 from us!
Jared James Nicoles: Louder Than Fate
Album four from the modern blues mastermind is another awesome release dripping in swagger and attitude. At 35 minutes, it’s pretty short, and packed full of amazing riffs, some massive melodies and choruses, and a fitting amount of heaviness. It gives off Mammoth vibes in the best possible ways. Tracks like ‘Ghost’, the beautiful, dark ballad ‘Killing Time’ and the high-powered closer are all personal highlights, but the album as a whole is awesome, not a bad song throughout! The sheer talented on display, not just from a playing and vocal standpoint but a writing one, is all off the charts, and how he isn’t one of the biggest solo names in the rock world currently is beyond me! If you are into blues or hard rock in any form, this is an absolute must-listen. I’ll be spinning it plenty in the weeks and months to come, and don’t be surprised to see it high on our albums of the yearlist come December. Another incredibly solid 9/10
Daughtry: SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM (DELUXE)
Amalgamating their previous two EPs, from 2024 and 2025, into one big release, this is an amazing collection of heavy radio rock! We’ve obviously all had chance to sit with the tracks for a while now, but they fit together perfectly into one release, and the addition of some live versions was an awesome touch! From ‘THE RECKONING’ to the title track, ‘DIVIDED’ to the massive ‘ANTIDOTE’, there is so much to love, and shows that after two decades the band are very much still operating at the top of their games. Chris is a criminally underrated vocalist, and how they aren’t worldwide massive will always confuse me. If you haven’t already checked out either EP release, this is absolutely worth giving a spin, and both fit together so well and the whole thing goes by in a flash. Hopefully this is a stopgap before another new release, but either way I’ll be spinning this just as much as I have been the EPs. And it has made me even more hyped to see them at Download this weekend! 8.5/10
A.A. Williams: Solstace
We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our full review here.
Colby Acuff: HANDMADE HORSEPOWER
Album seven from Colby, and he just keeps killing it with his traditional country sound! It’s been less than a year since his last release, Enjoy the Ride (we missed it but LOVED IT), and yet here we are with another great 25-minutes of music from the guy. The opener sets things up perfectly, while songs like ‘DEEDS I DONE’, the old-school rock’n’roll ‘LIPSTICK ON A PIG’ and ‘WHITE FLAG’ are all incredible. it’s a short release though, and is all very much all-killer, no-filler. I love how much this traditional country revival sound is taking off over the last few years, and I’d put Colby up there alongside the very best of the pack, honestly! He’s a fantastic lyricist, and is one of the most underrated vocalists in the game currently. Some of his delivery is packed with so much emotion it honestly gave me goosebumps. And, the more I listen to this album, the more I fall in love. It has elements of Southern Rock and Outlaw country alongside the traditional sound, and feels pretty unique to Colby. If you are at all into country or rock overall, give this a spin, you certainly won’t be disappointed! I feel like I’m gonna be obsessed with it for a while to come, and I can’t give it any less than 9/10!
Evergrey: Architects of a New Weave
The prog metal powerhouses returned with their 15th studio album this last Friday. Less than two years after their spectacular Theories of Emptiness, it’s insane to me that they are back with another incredible nearly hour of prog metal. It’s everything I wanted and expected out of another release from the band; awesome technicality, a gothic vibe, some incredible heavy riffs and plenty of catchiness. From ‘The Shadow Self’ to ‘Heaven’ to the Mikael Stanne-featuring ‘A Burning Flame’, there is plenty to love throughout. However, if you are into the band or the style, there isn’t a bad song throughout, and it goes by surprisingly quickly! I do have to say it hasn’t quite hooked me as hard as their last release, for whatever reason, but I do almost see it as much of an extension of that album than its own thing. Both are similar, and both are awesome! 8/10
Dea Matrona: Hate That I Care
The sophomore album from the Irish folk/indie-rock duo is every bit as good as their debut! It’s 36 minutes of dark, moody, catchy music wearing it’s Cranberries/Fleetwood Mac inspiration perfectly on its sleeve. From the opener to ‘A Rebel Song’, ‘Wait’ to ‘Siren Song’, there’s a lot of great stuff here! And, while it won’t be everyone’s bag, everything between those songs is also damn good! The pair are so incredibly talented and it’s no wonder they have gotten to the size that they are at already. It’s an easy listen but still has plenty of depth to it, with the vocal harmonies of course being another huge selling point yet again. There isn’t much more else I can say about it aside for if you are into anything vaguely folk, check this out! I’ll certainly be listening again, that’s for sure! Another solid 8/10.
Converge: Hum of Hurt
Another release barely three months after their last epic album, my gosh aren’t the metalcore quartet spoiling us this year?! If someone told me we were going to get a second album from them in 2026, I’d have fully expected Bloodmoon II. However, another half-hour of straight up hardcore-heavy metal from some of the best to do the style is equally fine by me! I have no qualms in revealing that Love is Not Enough is in my top 10 albums of the year so far. I also have no qualms in revealing that this is up there right alongside it! It’s another half an hour of anger and rage presented in the best way possible. It’s once again impossible to pick a highlight track or two too, as it’s all so good and worth listening to in full. Hell, I spun both their 2026 albums back to back over the weekend and it was EXCELLENT. It won’t be for everyone, but if you into the heavier, hardcore-infused stuff, this is very much an album for you, much like the previous one! Maybe I just need an angry outlet in my life, but this is a second incredible 9.5/10 for the band within months!
Wes Parker: Super Rare
This was a really interesting release! I’d never heard of the guy before spinning this album, and struggled to classify him in a specific genre, or even two! Nestled somewhere between indie, folk, country and rock, it definitely takes the listener on a journey. And, for a debut album, it’s rather ambitious! Whether it’s the rockier Zach Bryan-ish intro ‘Tattoo’, the quirky single ‘Bad Doggie’, the Jessica Lea Mayfield-featuring ‘Cut the Grass’ or the epic, rock ballad-like closer, there is plenty of variety and awesomeness throughout. I also love that the album is a Kyle Gordon Style radio show in its presentation; extra care and detail put into stuff like that always makes release feel more special. And, while I don’t think everything necessarily worked for me, I had a good time listening, and there are surely going to be a lot of fans of this release! I’m curious to see where Wes goes from here, but in the meantime I’ll certainly be giving some of this some more listens! 7/10
Shroud: Pax Nocturna
The debut album from the thrash/death newcomers goes hard from start to finish! Right from the opener ‘The Eternal Void’ this thing is heavy, urgent and awesome, and it keeps its momentum for its full 45-minute runtime. The fact that it’s only nine songs in that time as well means that everything gets time to breathe, and everyone in the band gets time to shine. Highlights include ‘Merciless Tyrants’, ‘Diablivion’ and the epic closer, but the whole album is great from start to finish! It certainly won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are into the heavier end of metal, this is absolutely worth a spin. The band have a bright future ahead of them, and in years to come people will look at this release as their big launching pad. 8.5/10
The 69 Eyes: I Survive
This four-track collection is an absolute powerhouse of gothic rock. The title track has gained a lot of traction and for very good reason, it’s honestly one of the best tracks the band have put to record. However, that shouldn’t take away from the other tracks. ‘Cold Sweat’ is a sleazy, boot stompin’ banger, an arena-filling chorus is the focal point of ‘In the Misery’, and the Danzig-like ‘Devil’s Rose’ is just as awesome, with Ed Mundell adding so much with his guest slot shredding. I remember liking their last album a few years back, but this feels so very concentrated and focused, the best of the best! I’d recommend this to absolutely anyone, whether you’re typically a fan of gothic or sleaze rock or not. It’s short and sweet and fucking excellent! It’s an EP I’ll be spinning a lot moving forward, and will most likely make it high up in our rankings by the end of the year! 9.5/10
Big Special: O’JOY!
Apparently an EP, even though it’s 30 minutes and 10 tracks, the follow-up to the duo’s 2025 sophomore album is an amalgamation of leftovers from that and their massive debut. Whatever it is, it’s quirky and a lot of fun. Continuing to carve their own path away from traditional genre norms, vaguely skirting near everything from punk to hip-hop, hardcore to soul to melancholic rock. The lyrics are fantastic throughout, and the instrumentation is so damn interesting it’s hard not to love it. Highlight tracks for me are the soulful ‘LAZARUS’ and ‘HOTEL’, but the whole release is an interesting listen from start to finish, and worth doing at least once! If you are at all interested, it’s well worth a listen. The band definitely have a new fan in me, and I’m already curious where they end up going in the future, aside for up! I can’t give it any less than 8/10, just from a purely artwork perspective, though the quality is also high!
Iron Kingdom: Shadows and Dust
Now six albums into their career, the NWOTHM Canadians show that they are very much still firing on all cylinders! The band are all insanely talented players, for one, and it translates perfectly into some awesome songwriting throughout this nearly-50-minute release. Opener ‘Defenders’ is an absolute banger perfectly reminiscent of that 80s sound. Then you have the likes of ‘Dreamless Sea’, ‘Blood and Steel’ and ‘Dark Demands’ that are also big highlight. If you’re into all things Maiden, Priest or Hammerfall, this is absolutely the release for you. It’s a sound that has remained hugely popular across the decades since its inception, and honestly these guys do it just as good as anyone. How they aren’t a massive name by now I don’t know. Hopefully this is finally the album to push them to that level, as it’s a really great release! A very easy 8/10 from us!
Dutch Elm: Self-Titled
The debut album from the post/math-rock (almost fully) instrumental quartet is a fantastic half-hour showcase of pure talent. Non-vocal music certainly isn’t for everyone, don’t get me wrong, but I’d recommend everyone reading this to at least give this a try, you may end up falling in love with it, like I did! Songs like ‘Transmitter’ and ‘You’re Not Invited to That Riff’ are personal highlights. And then to get some vocals in the closer honestly felt like a treat, adding an unexpected and awesome layer to the bands sound. Even though it isn’t typically my sort of style, I got lost in the grandiose nature of it all and spun it twice from front to back over the weekend, loving it both times. As I said, the talent throughout is off the charts, and a lot of what drew me in as a musician. I’m curious to see where they go from here, but for now this gets a very sold 7.5/10
Shooting Daggers: The Real Life Thing
The follow-up to the bands 2024 debut album, this EP is heavy punk at its very best. Self-describing themselves as Queercore, the UK trio immediately have a big new fan in me. I was hooked from the opener, while tracks like the hardcore ‘T.R.L.T.’ and the Dennis Lyxzén-featuring ‘GLOW’ are also big high points of the release. The whole EP is great though and has an excellent flow to it, especially with the couple of shorter tracks breaking things up. It’s a lot of fun, as well as dripping with attitude in the best way! If you are at all into punk, do yourselves a favour and checked this out. But then again, they also feel like they extend out from the punk genre, very much doing their own thing. The trio are going to be massive, sooner rather than later, and they have a big new fan in me! An easy 8.5/10 from me!
The London-based gothic singer-songwriter returns this coming Friday with her fourth album. I have to admit that, outside of maybe a track or two, I’m not hugely familiar with A.A. Williams’ work. I know her general sound, but have never had the chance to check out a full album by her until now. So, to say I’m curiously excited would be an understatement! She’s become a big name in the scene in recent years, and I’m very ready to see why that is. Let’s dive right in!
‘Poison’ opens the album perfectly, setting a dark, alt tone right off the bat. From the piano notes to the jarring distorted guitar coming over the top, but the melodic vocals and simple drums bridging the gap excellently, I was curiously hooked. It builds to a big, steady chorus. It somehow has a similar vibe as the verse will still feeling grander, everything flowing through the track excellently. It reminds me a lot of Chelsea Wolfe immediately, and that’s hardly a bad thing! It’s like pop-infused gothic, and it’s really interesting. The bridge, while not much different, keeps a similar level and adds even more epicness to the final chorus. And that outro with the lead guitar line over… DAMN. It’s not the sort of thing I tend to go for often, but I really enjoyed the song!
The pace slows for ‘Wolves’, an almost menacing clean guitar chord progression starting things off before Williams’ powerful, low vocals come in over the top. The rest of the instrumentation and distortion explodes in for the chorus, before immediately dropping back out again after. The dynamics of the track are really awesome, a masterclass in writing and production. The atmosphere created throughout the track is truly fantastic, somehow having elements of black metal almost alongside the alt, pop and emo. It makes for really fascinating listening! The arrangement of the song is pretty simple, but it’s so grandiose and epic by the end that you just get swept up and lost in it. An easy early highlight!
Tracks like ‘Little by Little’ and ‘Hold It Together’ are both slower, goth-pop based tracks that absolutely explode into the massive, epic metal around the midway mark. Once again, there’s some elements of black metal in the guitaring. Between that and the synth/orchestral elements behind it, they add a level of massive to each track that is almost unrivalled. Each track takes the listener on a journey, which I imagine was the exact intent. The latter is my favourite of the two, but they are both good songs in their own right!
‘Outlines’ adds not only a proggy element to the sound, but also leans into the folk side of it. A lot of it is just Williams, a fantastically toned guitar and some other subtle instrumentation. Some of the heavier instrumentation builds in around the midway mark, but it feels more than earned at that point. It almost has a film score vibe to it, that’s how epic it’s gets. And Williams’ vocals over the top of the heavy stuff was honestly perfection, SO GOOD. And it all dropping back out again… *chefs kiss*. This is my favourite track on the album and easily makes it onto our playlist. Amazing stuff!
‘I’ve Seen Enough’ is the beautiful ballad of the album. The main focus is on just the simple piano chords and the effortless vocals. There are other instruments that build in throughout, but stuff like the strings and drums only add to the other two elements. The lyrics are utterly fantastic too, packed with emotion and fitting the tone of the song perfectly. The moodiness and almost ethereal captured here is truly special, and I’ve already given it multiple listens just to fully capture the bittersweet beauty. The whole last almost couple of minutes just being instrumentation building and swelling is honestly perfection. It’s another track I cannot get enough of, and I’d recommend it to absolutely anyone reading this. Fantastic stuff, and another massive high point of the release!
A similar vibe continues through ‘The Veil’ and ‘Breathe’ (though the latter is a guitar inside of piano), though neither hit quite as hard as ‘I’ve Seen Enough’. However, ‘Just a Shadow’ was another big highlight track for me! The almost poem-like opening is amazing, and the moody, almost grunge-like chorus is fitting and phenomenal. It’s maybe my favourite chorus on the album too, the melody soaring and rather catchy! It follows a pretty standard formula for the album, but all the elements just add up amazingly here!
‘It Won’t Rain Forever’ returns to a similar formula as the opening tracks, while closer ‘The Gentle Harm’ is another epic, slow build song that really feels like an amalgamation of everything before it. It has a bit of everything, the beautiful piano intro, the soaring, melodic vocals and dark lyricism, and the massive distorted guitars and drums later on. It’s epic, and the best way to close out an album like this! Another highlight on an album packed full of them!
Overall: I wasn’t too sure on this album heading in, but it won me over more and more throughout. Sure, it won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but I thought it wouldn’t be for me and was more than pleasantly surprised, so it’s well worth a try if you’re on the fence. There is a lot that’s similar, but it all fits together like the perfect atmospheric puzzle, and goes by surprisingly quickly. There are two or three tracks in particular that honestly blew me away! Williams has a big new fan in me, and I’ll certainly be spinning this again plenty in the weeks and months to come!
We headed down to one of our favourite venues last weekend to see one of our favourite country artists, like a match made in heaven! We’ve been hoping to see him for a few years now too, with him dropping out of The Long Roada few years back and us missing him on the subsequent rearranged tour. Joining him were two of the fastest rising stars in the genre, one from Nashville and one from Manchester, so it was set to be a fantastic night all-round!
Firstly, a quick shoutout to Randall King. He was supposed to be main support on the tour, but has taken a step back from live shows the last couple of months to work on his mental health and personal life. From what I know of him (even having the pleasure of meeting him a couple of years ago), he seemed like a great guy, and hopefully he manages to work through whatever he’s going through. Mental health is so very important, and it sucks for anyone to be going through struggles. You got this, brother!
Another thing before we talk about the artists; this show made me remember why I don’t go to many big country shows on their own. Goddamn, the crowd was terrible! Talking through not only both supports, but a good chunk of Pardi’s set too, just until his big hits came up towards the end. It really ruins the experience somewhat for those who actually went there to watch the show. I honestly don’t understand the thought process behind paying £40+ to go to a gig and not watch most of it, I canny afford that! It’s surprisingly a younger, more me/gen Z crowd that are doing it too, the TikTok crowd. Shame on y’all.
Anyway, enough negativity, let’s get on with the artists!
Seeming newcomer to the scene Bec O’Malley came off a massive day before, playing Royal Albert Hall for Highways and putting out his first single, and showed up big on Saturday too! He and his two backing players owned the large stage for the entire time they were up there, playing (and singing) their asses off. And, honestly, their set was arguably too short. I get why it was, with only one song released it may have been harder to hold the crowds attention, but he did it masterfully. His unique blend of UK folk, Americana and modern country came across excellently live, and he was a pretty decent frontman, too. Closing on the excellent debut single ‘Let it Go’ was awesome, and a highlight of the night in general. However, his other originals were just as good, honestly! And he even snuck a cheeky cover of Ella Langley’s massive ‘Choosin’ Texas’, to the delight of the crowd! Bec is gonna be a big name in the UK and global scene sooner rather than later, and it felt awesome seeing him get this sort of shot right out of the gate. Hopefully he sticks with his guitarist and fiddle player too, as both fit him excellently!
Next up was Alyssa Flaherty. For just a woman and her guitar, she sure packed out the sound in the theatre! It’s probably because her vocals were powerful and absolutely incredible! I wasn’t too familiar with her heading into the set, but left being a big new fan. Her original music is great, and was performed excellently by just her and her guitar. Honestly, I’d love to see her again with a full band backing her, but this was a great set in its own right! For an acoustic set it was definitely one of my favourites in recent memory!
After a rather short changeover, Mr Saturday Night himself took to the stage! Opening on the tours namesake, it was awesome right from the get-go. Honestly, it was a bit of a shame that we didn’t get more off said album, with just ‘Boots Off’ and ‘Friday Night Heartbreaker’ making the cut. The latter was a massive highlight of the whole night, though! The highlights packed out the whole set, though! Whether it was ‘Tequila Little Time’, ‘Mr. Saturday Night’, ‘Last Night Lonely’ or his collaboration with Thomas Rhett ‘Beer Can’t Fix’, there was awesomeness sprinkled throughout. Then, there was the absolutely incredible run to close out the set; from ‘Dirt on my Boots’ to closer ‘Head Over Boots’, it was banger after banger! There was maybe a slight lull in the middle, but that was more from the crowd not paying attention than any of the songs being bad!
In terms of the performance too, it was amazing! Pardi is a born front-man, and put on an excellent show from start to finish. His vocals are just as good live as they are on track, and when not holding one of his many guitars, he was bouncing around the stage, holding the crowd in the palm of his hand and having plenty of energy! The rest of his band added so much to the show, too! Everyone up on that stage is some of the best musicians at their craft, and worked their asses off from start to finish. They performed like one of the very best of a big-country-bands around, which they very much are! From all of the different instruments being played to the incredible soloing to the energy throughout, it was all a top-class performance. There whole set went by in a flash, and I’d have happily taken another full hour of it!
And there you have it, folks. Three incredible acts putting on an amazing show for a packed out crowd. I had a blast throughout, and the two opening acts definitely won me over in a big way. I’d recommend checking out all three of them both live and on track, and I’ll certainly be seeing them all the next time they’re nearby! It was a fantastic night of live music, and one I’ll not soon be forgetting!
We chatted to the horns section of Suburban Legends, Brian, Chris and Aaron, at their show in Nottingham last week. Check it all out below as we talk about their UK tour, back home and the state of the industry!
How’s the tour been so far? It’s four or five days in now, right?
Yeah, four, five dates. This is day six. So we’re halfway through.
Chris: We’ve hit it, it’s the midpoint! You’ve seen us hit the crest, it’s all downhill from here!
Aaron: want to say the first show out the gate was awesome! We haven’t played… Brian lives in Japan, so the last time we played with him was 24? 23?
Brian: We played together last year, the acoustic gigs.
Aaron: yeah but the last show that we did together, I think it was the 25th anniversary two years ago!
So when you’re saying, how the tour is, we kind of put a lot of pieces together that were kind of array, and we fit it all in last second. We did one rehearsal in a backyard pub and we just did it. And it felt fun! It felt exciting. It felt like a reunion of friends. So every single show, varying degrees of people coming, but it’s all been great audiences, great guests, and great fun with our friends. So, to answer your question, it’s awesome!
Chris: To speak more to that, it’s just like, yeah, we can all spend so much time apart from each other. But also, we get together so well that the shows just kind of come together.
What brought you guys back over? I know you mentioned you did the acoustic tour last year!
Chris: We were contractually obliged.
Brian: Promises made and promises kept.
Aaron: Out of all the places we tour, the UK is by far the best. By far the friendliest. And I think when I wasn’t at the acoustic tour last year, but it was a tester to see if people still remember. And people still wanted to come out! So the test worked and we made it happen with a full band.
Because it’s been… it was a while before that, right?
Chris: Seven years!
Aaron: 2018 was the time prior.
There’s a couple of shows announced for back home too this year too, right?
Brian: Yeah, we’ve got the Supernova ska festival coming up! That’s in September.
Aaron: Other than that, there’s nothing else scheduled at the moment. I know that people are always hitting us up for stuff, but it’s about… everyone has a job, everyone has a feeling, everyone has a thing. So it’s about getting everybody together. Besides this tour, we’ve only played three times this year so far. Like one in February and then we did two Disneyland dates. Cause we perform at Disneyland.
How would you compare the scene over here compared to back home?
Chris: Man, it’s like, out here, it’s very DIY, it’s very energetic, it’s very fun. It’s very community driven, which is really fun to witness and also kind of be a part of at the same time. Because we get to come over here, we get to play with all these wonderful bands that are also a part of the scene. You get to meet people, like, wonderful people that are very committed to the culture. And you get to see the little local pockets of it, like, all up and down the island. So it’s really wonderful, comparatively. Like, it’s harder, I think, for us to have that in the States because everything is so just like spread out. There’s a level of density that happens out here where you have, like these nice little pockets of things that are happening.
Brian: Plus, we’re just not as active as we used to be. We’re not out there, like, hustling like we used to, where it’s like everything that was offered, we’ll take it. You know what I mean? When we were really in the scene, like in the States and in California, we were playing a bunch and playing with all the other bands. But now it’s like we play occasionally and it’s like sort of like…
Aaron: Most of the time it’s at Disneyland, and that in itself is a different culture, a different scene. So we have like a foot in two different scenes, you know what I mean? And locally we can only play maybe one or two times a year so that people get excited about it. You don’t want to oversaturate it. Especially when we play Disneyland.
I assume you change the setlist up for the Disneyland shows?
Aaron: Yeah, more covers, and lyric changes too!
Chris: It’s a different kinda show.
Brian: And sometimes we forget that when we, like, from place to place, we’re like, oh, we gotta like shift gears, that’s right, it’s this type of show now!
Aaron: Sometimes we’re opening for a band, we only have like a 25 minute, 30 minute set. And the things that we do at Disneyland we cannot do in that 25 minutes because we gotta play as much music as possible.
I’ve seen there’s been a couple of singles out over the last few years or so, is there any sort of writing going ahead, any urge to release stuff?
Aaron: Being creative is about flowing the flow. I think there’s things and there’s things that are around, but are they recorded? No. Is it gonna happen? Maybe. Literally, if Vince was here, who, like, leads all that, he would just say, ‘well, I don’t know’, but. But the answer is, yeah, there’s always work. There’s always creativity going on.
Chris: There are so many projects and there’s stuff going on, but yeah, you know, it’s all just kind of in the vault.
Brian: There’s probably at least five or six projects that we started and never completed. There’s lots of starts and stops. But all that stuff still exists. It’s just whether or not we want to like, okay, let’s start that again!
How did the whole Disney thing come about? Did you start playing there before doing the covers?
Aaron: We started playing at the park. We had one Disney cover that. It was Gummy Bears. And I don’t know why we did it. I don’t know how we decided to do it. It wasn’t great, but people loved it! When we started playing at Disneyland a long, long time ago, we just assumed we were playing all original songs. Yes, maybe we did a ska cover of ‘I Will Survive’. It was wild! We realized people are coming to see us, but there’s a lot of people there that have never seen us before. And if you’re gonna come in and you’re gonna watch a band, hook them with a cover and then play a couple originals. So eventually we started just going, okay, we’ll do another Disney song. Another Disney song. Another Disney song. Just because we’re also Disneyland and we also love Disneyland.
Is it hard getting a ska arrangement of something like a Disney song together?
Aaron: I don’t know. We’re the horn players, so, I mean…!
Chris: It’s not terribly complicated. A lot of these arrangements really lend themselves to it. Ska isn’t particularly hard to, like, write into the existing arrangements. For example, we did ‘Whole New World’, and I think that was kind of the greatest departure, but also stays really true to the arrangement. But we wrote an entirely new tone around the intro. that’s kind of the furthest we’ll go because we still want it to be familiar. We still want it to be fun. Thankfully, working into, like, the genre of ska, it kind of lends itself to the energy and the upbeat arrangements that we choose.
You guys are pretty up on social media when on tour. Do you have any advice for bands breaking into the scene in that regard?
Chris: You want to have one person who is just constantly aware of the moments that can take place while you’re on the road that are both organic and fun.
Aaron: It’s a full-time job. I mean that’s why social media managers are full time jobs. You get a degree in and all that stuff. It takes a lot of time. So advice: get somebody to come with you. Maybe a merch that can film while you were actually doing your art and stuff. A social media manager who also is cool with selling T shirts. You know, so maybe an 18, 19, 20 year old that knows what people like. Because we also don’t know what people like!
Honestly, I think the thing to talk about is Spotify. How you release music, that’s more important than social media. Punk Rock Factory I think is a great example of social media. They’re not touring as a lot but they have their, their studio set up where it looks rad behind them. They got the actual lights and they film their song. They cut it up into five different reels and then they release it and they schedule it out and that’s how they’re getting listens on Spotify and views on YouTube and that’s how they’re getting people coming to their shows.
It’s the niche, Right. You can’t just plop whatever you want on the Internet. You have to just kind of pick a lane. I think with us, the route that we’re going with this tour is just the storytelling of touring. We don’t play a lot, so we don’t make social media content a lot. So if we’re out here doing stuff, we want to just make sure people can see the story of, like, oh, yeah, this is what it’s like to be in the UK with this American band.
But Spotify, that’s the thing to talk about, because growth. Spotify has an algorithm. How do you release music these days? And it’s not albums. It’s singles, and it’s consistent singles that you do at a consistent basis.
Chris: And it’s an entirely different game to play than what we had been used to doing, which was like, you know, you write an album or you write an EP, you record the album or EP, tour on the album or the EP. There’s a cadence to that that’s much longer than, like, record singles, release singles. And it also, in tandem with that, took selling CDs out of our hands while we were on tour, which was, quite frankly, a large portion of our merch sales. For example, for this tour we didn’t roll with CDs. It’s too heavy, it’s too hard to ship. Why print? Why bring them over? You know, because people aren’t gonna buy them because they have digital distribution now.
Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? Anyone you haven’t played with yet or friends you want to bring on the road with you?
Chris: That’s a really good question!
Brian: Yeah, it’s not really in our mind any more! We don’t tour much so we don’t think about it much!
Chris: Like, at this point, I feel like the people that we want to tour with are the people that we’ve already toured with that we know that we enjoy touring with. We enjoy touring with real big Fish. We enjoy touring with Less Than Jake. Like, people that are our friends that we know. When you show up to tour, it’s like you’re showing up to the same summer camp. Everyone is just already cool with each other.
Aaron: That’s the answer!
Chris: Exactly. We want to tour with our friends and have a good time.
I’ll answer the question as it’s intended… I would love to be able to go to Japan and tour with Tokyo Ska Paradise.
Aaron: Oh my god that would be amazing!
Chris: It would be so much fun. But Scott doesn’t know about us. But that would be a really fun tour to do!
We had the pleasure of chatting to the amazing alt-metallers Idolvein about their recent single output and their tour! Check it all out below!
How would you describe your sound?
Pretty eclectic really. Whilst we always aim for something catchy that’s going to separate us from the next band, we’ve written various tracks across the rock and metal spectrum. We’ve ranged from some frenetic tech metal, synth-led style material to some more post-hardcore/hard rock style tracks too. Our latest single even takes a lot of influence from blues guitarists and some soundtrack style stuff, so we never feel particularly compelled to limit ourselves to a specific sound.
You dropped “Where We Became Spirits” nearly a year ago, how has it been since then?
It’s been good! The tracks on that EP were really just a way of us establishing our sound and the overall aesthetic we’ve wanted to use to present this project. Since then, we’ve tried to build upon what we started with those songs, creating a diverse group of singles that are releasing throughout 2026.
You also just dropped a new single the last couple of weeks, right? “Enrapture Me” seems to be doing really well!
Thank you very much! The response has been great so far and people seem to be enjoying the change-up in vibe. Whereas our first single this year “Today’s the Day I Die” somewhat bridged the gap between last year’s EP and the sound we’re starting to develop now, this latest track feels like a bit of a standout because it’s a lot different to what we’ve previously released. Whenever we’ve played it at a show, it’s tended to grab attention as it usually tends to be the most atmospheric song on the night and feels pretty unexpected at a metal show.
Is more writing still going ahead now?
With the recording of all this year’s planned releases now complete, it is something we’re beginning to start actively looking at again. We have a pretty ridiculous bank of demo tracks that’ll likely be worked on further, plus we often have new riffs and ideas circulating between us all the time. It probably won’t be too long until we’re starting to consider the next step with recording more material.
What is the writing process like for the band?
Historically, it’s started with either Jack or Caelan bringing some form of instrumental track to the table in the form of a demo. This then gets shaped and potentially restructured by whatever vocal parts come next, then it’s a collaborative effort between everyone to finalise their parts before the song’s recorded in the studio. There are obviously exceptions to the rule where someone may take the lead on putting pretty much everything together, but usually it’s a little more collaborative.
Had quite the run of shows already, right? I saw some photos from both Derby and Notts, looked like great gigs!
They were good fun! Those were our first two shows of the year. In Nottingham we opened for WREX alongside Ruena, who both put on an amazing show. In Derby we celebrated the release of our first single of the year, so that was cool as well. We brought along an Idolvein branded Costco cake for everyone to chomp on too, so that definitely helped bring the vibes.
Busy rest of the year planned in terms of shows? Saw the co-headline with Endscape, how was it?
That was a great tour! We had a lot of fun playing alongside those guys and we hope to see them on another show soon. Later this month we’ve got shows in Cheltenham with Black Orchid Empire and Mansfield with Syncolima, both of which we’re very excited for, plus a tour in July with our friends in Infirm of Purpose. There’s some more stuff planned for later in the year too which hasn’t been announced just yet. It’ll be an exciting rest of the year!
What do you think of the state of the scene currently?
It’s a tough one because there’s so many great bands out there, plenty of which we ourselves have been fortunate to play with at this point, but the nurturing of both live and original music has dwindled so much over time that a lot of bands are struggling to justify the time, effort and resources required. We’ve thankfully managed to land on a pretty cohesive group where we’re all looking to move in the same direction, but even a strong collective can struggle when the current landscape so heavily favours the soulless pursuit of social media acknowledgement in place of artistic integrity. That also doesn’t begin to factor in the growing number of AI tracks finding their way onto platforms and generating horrifically large numbers of streams from unknowing listeners.
With that said though, there’s enough talent in the scene, plus support from publications like yourselves to help overcome the growing challenges and turn the tide!
Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d want to be a part of? Anyone you’d want to support or friends you’d want to bring along?
The obvious heavy hitters right now would be touring with bands like Bring Me the Horizon and Bad Omens, but it’d be cool to have some sort of all over the place all day event. Us and Endscape can open up the day, then Giant Walker, Lowlives and The Five Hundred, probably Philip Sayce to bring some blues licks, after that Novelists, Bilmuri, Meshuggah, Bring Me the Horizon and John Mayer, then Tate McRae to end the night with some pop vibes. Stylistically very cohesive, of course…
If you could have written one song from history, what would it be and why?
Probably whatever’s got the highest streaming numbers right now. We could use the royalties to fund some more stuff for the band and record more of our music! Otherwise though, something like ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’’s always a good shout. Generational tune.
Thanks very much for taking the time to interview us! We always appreciate anyone who takes an interest in our band. If you’d ever like to hear some previews of our upcoming tracks or projects we have coming up, please email us at deceivedaudio@gmail.com. We’d be more than happy to share new stuff for any early access reviews, interviews, etc. Thanks again!
Here we are, that time of the year again! The month where I go insane and try to rank 100 out of the over 500 albums I’ve listened to this year into the order in which I enjoyed them the most. It’s equal parts subjective and objective, and I’m convinced I’ve left off so many excellent albums, so if your favourites aren’t here, I’m sorry and they are most likely awesome! Without further ado, let’s dive into the chaos, shall we?
100 – Eli Young Band: Strange Hours
Yep, that’s how strong we’re starting. I told you it’s been a tough year! The Texan country band put out their seventh studio album back at the start of August, and it’s been a mainstay in my rotation since then. It was the perfect summer album, combining catchy vocals and harmonies with their brand of country which perfectly combines pop, rock and Americana. I’ve been a fan of the band a few years now, and this is easily my favourite release from them in that timeframe. It’s a strong album from start to finish, being an incredibly easy 43-minutes of chilled-out, catchy country to listen to! It’s so well written and put together, the perfect inoffensive release into the genre that covers pretty much all bases. So, if you even have a passing interest in the genre, I’d definitely recommend checking it out! We gave it a solid 9/10 upon release, and I very much stand by that now!
Listen to: Nothing on the Wild, All Good with Me, and Everybody Else
99 – Circus 66: Elements
Album #2 from the UK hard rockers blew me away back in March, and upon revisiting it for this list, I was blown away once again! It’s nearly 50 minutes of awesome, foot-stompin’, sleazy guitar riffing and soaring vocals, and I love it! The band are all insanely talented, everyone getting their time to shine plenty throughout, and have crafted an excellent collection of NWOCR tracks here. It’s impossible not to have a good time listening to this, and I cannot recommend it enough to any rock fans out there. It’s insane to me that they aren’t a massive band already, but they have killed it with this release and are very much looking like 2026 will be a breakout year for them! It’s very easy to hear why we gave it 9/10, and why it makes it onto our list!
Listen to: Replace the Pain, We All Need Saving, and Love on the Other Side
98 – An Evening With Knives: End of Time
This proggy alt metal release from towards the start of the year came five years after their previous studio album, and showed just how much the band had grown and matured. It’s heavy, groovy and melodic in all the best ways, and somehow combines together elements of everything from stoner and desert rock to prog to heavy metal to plenty in between! The trio are insanely talented, all playing their asses off from front to back, and have produced something truly special with this release, managing to sound pretty unique at a time when that is almost impossible! If you are into anything from QOTSA to Tool to even Machine Head and Devildriver, do yourselves a favour and check this out ASAP! It got a very easy 9/10 from us when it dropped, and I fully stand by that rating now, showing just why it made the cut for this list!
Listen to: Pride of Lions, Death and The Mistake
97 – Trick or Treat: Ghosted
This epic slab of old-school heavy metal mixed with more old-school power metal is just as fantastic now as it was in April when it first dropped. Combining sounds like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Hammerfall and their spooky, horror theming works perfectly, and makes for a solid album as it is. Then you take into account just how phenomenally talented every band member is, from the vocals to the drumming to the soloing and riffing, it’s all so good, and it’s so very easy to fall in love with this release. It’s stacked to the brim with awesome tracks, and even some awesome guest appearances from Adrienne Cowen and Christopher Bowes. 45-minutes still now goes by in a flash even after a few listens. If you’re into power metal you’re probably already checking it out from reading this, but if not I’d definitely recommend it to just about any music fan. It’s got someone of the biggest choruses of the year. Yet another very solid 9/10from us, and incredibly deserving of its spot on our list!
Listen to: Craven Road, Bloodmoon, and Evil Dead Never Sleeps
96 – The Rasmus: Weirdo
The 11th studio album from the pop/alt metal band goes far harder than I feel almost anyone expected before it released! From genuinely heaving riffing to being packed full of their typically arena-filling choruses, it very much felt like a return to the top after a few years of honestly a little middling releases. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a touch cringy at times lyrically, but that is almost part of the charm with this sort of music! It’s barely half an hour and an incredibly easy listen, and a release I’d recommend to anyone into more of a poppy hook! It’s a sound I feel nostalgic for despite never really getting into it much in my teen years, so for anyone who was more into the band or stuff like Him, it would probably get even higher. It got another incredibly solid 9/10 from us and is more than deserving it’s spot on this list!
Listen to: Creatures of Chaos, Dead Ringer, and You Want it All
95 – Lacuna Coil: Sleepless Empire
The symphonic/industrial metal powerhouses very much returned to form in 2025, and this album is a huge indicator of that! This thing is catchy, heavy and packed with banger after banger. From the soaring operatic vocals to the harsh screams, both fit so well over the awesome, almost nu-metal infused instrumentation. It’s another album that goes hard from start to finish too, every song being as good as the last. They were a band I somehow didn’t get into much in my youth, so as a first full album by them I’ve check out, I’m a little obsessed! The only reason it is this low down is because it is so an insanely high quality year for new music! It still got another incredibly solid 9/10from us, and if you’re even passingly into metal, I’d highly recommend giving this one a try!
Listen to: Oxygen, Scarecrow, and Hosting the Shadow
94 – Sleep Theory: Afterglow
Very much the breakout stars of 2025, the debut album from the metalcore upstarts has already set them up to be a huge name sooner rather than later. They channel massive early ADTR vibes in the best ways, especially since said band have taken a nosedive in recent years. It’s full of ch0nky riffs, huge choruses and some great screams, and is a fantastic 40-minute listen. I actually hadn’t revisited it too much since it’s May release, but having checked it out again while writing this list, I fell in love with it all over again. It’s incredibly radio/mainstream friendly, but that isn’t at all a bad thing. The band have worked their asses off on socials the last couple of years to make this a big release, and it has paid off in spades. However, the quality of the music is also high, certainly contributing to their fast success. If it was slightly more adventurous and innovative, it would have ended up even higher on the list but still, making it on here shows how high quality it is! I gave it8.5/10 when it dropped, and I still agree with that now, but it may even sneak up to more like a 9 on some listens!
Listen to: Hourglass, Fallout, and Just a Mistake
93 – Cardinal Black: Midnight at the Valencia
This is a modern soft rock masterpiece. End of discussion. It gives off massive Genesis or Seal vibes, but definitely with a current day edge to it. Over half a year later and Tom’s vocals still give me goosebumps at times throughout. However, the arrangement of every song compliments his voice perfectly, everyone being incredible musicians and songwriters. While the band have certainly been on a lot of tongues the last couple of years, this truly felt like the year that Cardinal Black really broke out. And, this album is definitely a big reason for that! It’s fucking beautiful, and it’s an album that still makes me feel the same as I did the first time every time I spin it. The only reason it’s a little lower than maybe expected is because it does get a little samey after a while. However, when that similar stuff is all banging, it’s impossible not to love it, still! This got a whopping 9.5/10 from us and it’s hard not to still agree with that sentiment now!
Listen to: Ride Home, Breathe, and Morning Light
92 – Tanner Usrey: These Days
The first of a healthy handful of bands in this vaguely indie country-Americana sound that has gotten so big the last couple of years on this list. The fact that it is at this point in it certainly doesn’t diminish its quality either, as this is a fanatic release! It’s incredibly varied too, from blusy Southern rock to more of an indie flavour to even a more traditional country style. And, no matter the sound, it’s performed brilliantly and packed full of emotion from start to finish. My only slight complaint is that the pacing and arraignment of it is a little slow at times. However, every song is excellent, and it honestly has some of my favourite tracks of the year on it, the exceptional very much outweighing anything slightly less-so. I’d easily put this up there with his debut album, even if it hasn’t had quite as much love! We gave ita solid 9/10, and it more than earned its spot here!
Listen to: If you Call me Again, Bad Love, and With You
91 – Zach Top: Ain’t in it for my Health
Yes, I know, people are going to be BIG MAD for this being so low down on this list. He’s an absolutely massive artist for sure, and this is one hell of an album. My main bug to bare is that, as much as I love a classical country vibe typically, a lot of this is a touch on the slower side. That’s inherently not an issue at all, but it does get a touch old through the 50-minute length. However, there is no denying the HUGE talent on display throughout, from a songwriting, vocal and playing standpoint, and it’s easy to hear why he’s one of the biggest names in the genre currently. If you are at all a fan of traditional country music, this is well worth checking out. If it wasn’t for the genre having such a strong year again, this would certainly be higher up. We gave ita very solid 8.5/10, and it may have crept even higher than that since its release!
Listen to: Guitar, Splitsville, and Flip—Flop
90 – Pridian: Venetian Dark
The first debut album to make it onto our list this year, and it’s an awesome slab of modern metal from the Estonian four-piece. It’s the perfect blend of heavy, chuggy riffing, crushing drums and some awesome screams. Yet, it also still has moments of levity and cleanness throughout, the band clearly hugely talented to be able to put it all together! This thing came out all the way back in May and has spent the rest of the year pretty firmly in my rotation, blowing me away each time. It’s heavy, melodic and also rather menacing and gothic throughout, being an awesome combo! This is somehow one of the albums that we missed the week of its release, but it gets an incredibly deserving 9/10 now, and easily earned its spot on this list! Check it out if you are at all into melodic metal.
Listen to: Cyanide Dreams, Ruin, and Void Resonance
89 – Slaughter to Prevail: GRIZZLY
One of the most hyped albums of the year, at least in the deathcore scene, and to my shock it was a bit more of a grower on me than an immediate hit. Don’t get me wrong, it hits hard right from the first listen, but something about it didn’t hook me in immediately. Maybe it was because, much like my issues with Falling in Reverseor Electric Callboy in recent years, we’d heard a good chunk of the album before its release, and had sat with it for a while. So, while none of it is at all bad, it did feel ever so slightly underwhelming.
However, coming back to this album a couple of times since, I’ve definitely grown to appreciate it more! Alex is one of the best vocalists and frontmen in the game today, and the band behind him have crafted nearly an hour of crushingly heavy (but still fun) deathcore. If you are a fan of the heavier side of metal, I cannot recommend this enough. They deserve all the praise they get and the size they have climbed to, and this album very much cements them at the top of their style. As you could probably guess by this point, it got a 9/10 from us when it released, but it may be even slightly higher than that now!
Listen to: Russian Grizzly in America, Viking, and Lift That Shit
88 – Julia DiGrazia: All In
Another massive debut album, this time from a woman who’s already becoming a powerhouse in country. Having gotten her first big break on her and Evan Honer’s (more on him later) cover of Tyler Childers’ ‘Jersey Giant’ back in 2022, her rise has already been meteoric, and capped off perfectly by this collection. Whether it’s blues/southern tinged country rock, classic country or more of an Americana sound, it has a bit of everything across it’s just 30-minute runtime. Every track is as good as the last, and makes for such an incredibly easy listen. She’s already becoming a massive name in the scene, and it’s incredibly easy to hear why. If you haven’t already, give this a spin, you’ll surely love it as much as I do! It got a massive, and rightly deserved, 9.5/10 in our review, and if it wasn’t such a strong year, it would have gotten even higher on our list!
Listen to: Rollercoaster, Two Truths and a Liar, and Life’s Been Good Lately
87 – Kyle Gordon: Kyle Gordon is Wonderful
This was maybe the hardest album to place on this list. It nearly didn’t make it at all, as comedy music seems to be such a controversial topic these days. However, Kyle has crafted something truly special here, and it’s an enjoyable release with or without the fantastic comedy wit, so there was no way it wasn’t sneaking on here. I was already a fan of his, but the concept and creativity of this release really blew me away. 10 different genres from 10 different ‘artists’, detailing the most “Wonderfully Ridiculous Songs of All Time”. Whether it’s Europop, nu metal, indie or traditional country/bluegrass, Kyle is an INCREDIBLE songwriter, and does each style so well. I challenge you to check this out and try to tell me you don’t love it, I honestly think it’s impossible! It was another one I missed out on reviewing when it dropped, but I can’t give it any less than 9/10! I’ve spun it a lot in the last eight months since its release, and I don’t think I’ll be stopping any time soon!
Listen to: We Will Never Die, Crawl to Me, and My Husband’s Ghost
86 – Lorna Shore: I Feel the Everblack Festering Within Me
The other kings of modern deathcore very much do their own thing, and sound fantastic doing so! This thing is over an hour spread across just 10 songs, and is much symphonic/power metal as it is anything else. It’s epic, grandiose and wildly ambitious, and the band pull it off like only Lorna could. From the crazy heaviness of the blastbeats and breakdowns to Wills now iconic vocals, the band followed up on Pain Remains pretty perfectly! If you are into the band or genre at all and somehow haven’t checked this out already, do so as soon as you can! It won’t be for everyone, but I loved this, and the genre has very much grown on me over the last year or two thanks to bands like Lorna and Slaughter. It got a very easy 9/10 back in September, and it’s hard to argue against that after another few listens! It more than earns its spot on this list, and could have been higher if there weren’t so many excellent heavier albums alongside it!
Listen to: Prison of Flesh, In Darkness and Forevermore
85 – Dillon Carmichael: Keepin’ Country Alive
Four years after Dillon’s breakout success with Son of a, he returned in a major way with this album back in June. It’s Southern rock tinged modern country music, and a lot of fun across its 14 songs! It feels like it would have fit perfectly into the mainstream scene a decade ago, somehow combining the bro-country style of FGL with more of a Blackberry Smoke or TC3 flavour. Then again, he has plenty of Jon Pardi vibes to him too, it making sense that he supported him the other year. Yes, it’s a touch cringy and stereotypical when it comes to lyrics and theming at times, but that almost adds to the charm when it’s this good. From the powerful vocals to the catchy melodies and choruses to some awesome riffing and instrumentation throughout, it’s impossible not to fall in love with this! There really isn’t a bad track on the album, and three-quarters-of-an-hour really goes by in a flash. If you have even a passing interest in country music, this is a must to be checking out! It got a massive 9.5/10 from us, and you only have to listen to see why! It more than deserves this slot on our list!
Listen to: Raised Up Wrong, When She’s Drinkin’, and No Matter How Hard I Try
84 – Ghost Hounds: Almost Home
Perfectly combining old-school rock’n’roll, soul and country music, the fifth album from the Pennsylvanian natives has honestly been a little underrated this year. I’m not sure if it’s due to it being the first release since their change in vocalist, with Tre Nation personally scouting out SAVNT to replace him, but this is an incredible release that just hasn’t got the love I feel it should have. There are some genuinely excellent blues rock tracks, be it boot-stompin’ or more slower, emotional ballads. However, to address the elephant in the room, it’s not quite as high as I expected it to be because it does drop off a fair bit by the end. The first half of it is excellent, but the second half is maybe one too many slower tracks in a row. Still, just think how good those opening six songs are that it makes it this high on our list! And still, the latter tracks aren’t bad, I just wish the album was a little better arranged! If you are into blues or southern rock, or more of a slower country style, this is well worth checking out. It was another easy 9/10 from us, and well worth its spot here!
Listen to: She Runs Hot, Past the Point of Rescue, and You’ll Never Find Me
83 – Phear: Save Our Souls
This powerful explosion of melodic metal is somehow the third album from the Canadian band, and they have a big new fan in me this year because of it! It’s the perfect mix of heavy riffing and drumming and catchy, melodic leads and vocals. It vaguely reminds me of Fozzy back when they were good, around Sin and Bones. I was a little late to this, not checking it out until the start of summer, but it blew me away and I have since gone back to check out both their other releases. That’s how good this is, and it’s honestly their best release to date. The band are so talented, both as songwriters and players, and they have crafted something brilliant here. We don’t get enough of this sort of sound any more, though it is making a comeback in the last couple of years, and these guys are continuing it on perfectly! If you are at all into a more melodic side of metal, think Metallica meets Alter Bridge, I cannot recommend this enough. It’s another easy 9/10 from us, and I already can’t wait to hear where they go from here. Hopefully it’s not another five years, next time!
Listen to: Aftershock, Narcosynthesis, and Bleed
82 – Jonah Kagen: Sunflowers and Leather
Another entry into the ‘emotional indie-Americana’ category for this list already! This whole thing is bittersweetly beautiful from start to finish, the perfect blend of Zach Bryan and Evan Honer. And somehow and nearly an hour and 16-tracks long, it still goes by in a flash and is an incredibly easy listen! The lyrics throughout are a massive highlight, but the instrumentation fits them all so very perfectly. I’d somehow never heard of him before this release, but he’s another that’s won me over massively and has a big new fan in me because of his 2025 release! And, anyone who is into any of the sounds that I’ve mentioned previously, check this release out ASAP. There are still a couple better releases in this style, in my opinion, but it still more than deserves this spot on the list, and got an easy 9/10 back in September!
Listen to: Sunflowers and Leather, Black Lung, and The Reaper
81 – Mark Morton: Without the Pain
This was not the album I expected from the Lamb of God guitarist this year. His last solo album back in 2019 was a groove metal romp featuring some of the biggest names in hard rock and metal. Switching gears, his second solo release does the same but with country, and honestly it’s just as good! From Jaren Johnston to Matt James, Cody Jinks to Charlie Starr, there are some massif names attached to this, and all do a great job of bringing Mark’s tracks to life, vocally. It’s an incredibly fun album that is definitely heavy on the rock and southern elements, but still is distinctively country. Mark could certainly have a career in the genre if he ever chose to leave LoG, not that I ever hope he does! I’m pretty sure it appeals to both country fans and those into a more heavier sound, so just about everyone reading this should check it out! Despite talking to Matt James about it when I played with him, I still missed this release when it dropped. However, it’s one of the easiest 9/10’a I’ve ever given, and a fitting end to part one of our list!
Listen to: Hell & Back, Without the Pain, and Dust
WOW. What a fucking show! My first time at the venue and also my first time seeing either band. I was at least pretty familiarwith the headliners, but didn’t know Paledusk that well. I went into the evening expecting to enjoy it, but I wasn’t quite expecting the level of performance throughout!
Firstly, the Apollo was packed. The gig got downgraded from Manchester arena to this venue, and the result meant that it was sold out and packed full of die-hard fans who showed up early to get down close. We queued well over half an hour, and we arrived 20 minutes after doors. Everyone was ready, that’s for sure!
I wasn’t too familiar with the openers heading into the show. I knew the name and had checked out a couple of tracks before the show, but that was about it. However, they have a HUGE new fan in me from this set! Firstly, the sheer energy and showmanship on display throughout their 40-minutes was insane. I’ve seen fewer spin-kicks in a Bruce Lee movie than I saw guitarist Daidai; the guy was all over the stage with them! Then you had frontman Kaito’s infectious energy too, throwing himself around with almost as little regard. He also held the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout. I thought they may have struggled given the heaviness compared to the headliner, but the crowd were more than down to bounce around and even got a pretty decent circle pit going when instructed. I’ve also never heard a crowd cheer a breakdown before, but it was pretty fun to see every time!
And we haven’t even spoken about their music yet! Their quirky, whacky, heavy, melodic music. It was all over the place in the best way possible! They are all insanely talented players, performers and vocalists, and I immediately want to be seeing them back over here again ASAP.
Then, after a brief changeover, the headliners took to the stage. It at first seemed a little odd when it was barely 8:05, but they tore the roof off the place for a solid two hours! After a fantastic little video package set the tone for their latest release, they exploded on with recent hit ‘Puppets Can’t Control You’. Now, y’all know I loved DETOX, so the fact that they played almost all of it was incredible. From personal favourites like ‘N.A.S.T.Y’, ‘Tropical Therapy’ and ‘Delusion:All’ to more unexpected cuts in ‘Party’s Over’ and ‘The Pilot </3’, it was all incredible live and sounded so very close to the track. But don’t fear, because old-school fans still had plenty to sink their teeth into. From ‘The Beginning’ to the beautiful, empowering ‘Stand Out Fit In’ and perennial set closer ‘We Are’, the setlist was honestly damn near perfect!
And the performance… GODDAMN. Honestly, I was looking forward to seeing them at the UKs biggest arena, but seeing essentially a stadium-level band back home putting on that caliber of show to a 4k cap venue was truly something special. The band played, sung and headbanged their hearts out from the very first note to the very last. And, because of that, the crowd fed them that very same energy back. I can’t recall a time when I had been part of a crowd so loud and passionate, except for maybe Drake Milligan, and even then it wasn’t for the full show. The crowd felt like just as much a part of the show as anything else; singing every word back to the band and jumping around and clapping constantly. I can honestly say it was one of the best sets I’ve seen from an all-round perspective, and not one I’ll ever forget!
And there you have it, folks. Two of Japan’s biggest and best rock bands playing a more intimate show in one of the UKs honestly best venues (aside for the tiny amount of toilets, wtf?). The sound for both was great, even when under the balcony, so massive props to the sound guys too! I honestly cannot recommend seeing either band enough, they both blew me away for somehow both different and similar reasons. Honestly, if I wasn’t working tomorrow I’d be on the first train down to see them in London, they were THAT good. Hopefully both manage to make it back over here soon, be it together again or separate, as I’d be right there buying tickets the moment they went on sale! If you get the chance to see them live, take it, but even if not, you have got to listen to them on track too!
We had the chance to sit down with James of the amazing She Burns Red after their set at Winter Rocks Festival a couple of weeks ago (read our review of the festival here). Check it out as we talk about the set and what they have planned for the next year!
So, how was the gig?
Really good, I really enjoyed it! Really fun! Always love playing Sheffield, we’ve done it a few times now. We did HRH Sleaze and then we played here last year on the Saturday. It was just good fun, I just love playing music!
And how would you describe your sound?
So we’re a wee bit punky and a wee bit grungy and a wee bit heavy… I don’t know man! A bit Wildhearts and Therapy and a bit all over the place, in a good way!
What’s it like being a part of this scene at the minute? It seems like the NWOCR genre is encapsulating a bit of everything nowadays!
Yeah, I mean because the New Wave of Classic Rock is a fanpage on Facebook, if they like a band then you’ll be included in it, it doesn’t matter what you sound like. ‘Oh, you should check out this band, they’re great’ and suddenly you’re part of that scene. Whether you like it or not, and I don’t mean that in a bad way! It’s almost like this creation of this scene out of nowhere. It’s really good though because people are coming to gigs, and after Covid especially which we were all a bit worried about. But no, it’s been an amazing thing to be part of.
I mean you think about the grunge scene; there were load of bands that sounded fuck all like each other. Like The Gets and Pearl Jam and all these bands, nothing like each other. But they all kinda worked together. And it’s the same here. It means that we can play with bands like South of Salem or Twister or Ward XVI or Massive Wagons, all these that sound different but all fit together.
You’ve released a couple of singles this year, right?
Yes, our next single is also due I think the start of next year. We’re actually in the studio from Monday to record the next part of the album. Finishing that around January/February time. Releasing it hopefully May or June.
So I assume it’ll be touring for the rest of the year after that?
I really fuckin’ hope so! The stage we’re at at the minute is we’re doing a lot of support tours, because there’s less financial risk involved. However, if things start to spike by the summer, fingers crossed.
Any surprises from the new music? Anything a departure from what you’ve put out so far?
Not really. As we said earlier, there’s a few songs that are a bit punky, a few that are more grungy, some melodic stuff in there too. So nothing out of the ordinary. If you’re familiar with our stuff you’ll know what to expect.
We’ve kinda got our sound harnessed. And that’s what’s really good, is that we did our EP and that kinda took us one direction, but then we managed to harness our sound and go in a different one. We’ve got everything going at the minute and it’s working really well.
And do you have a dream tour line-up you’d love to be a part of?
Fuck man, I’d love to support Danko Jones, they’re one of my favourite bands. That’d be amazing! They just get on with it on stage, play three songs and then ‘hey, we’re Danko Jones’ and then bam, loads more music. I love them. To the extent that this year on Spotify, 4/5 top tracks were Danko Jones.
We also love the South of Salem guys, it’s so great to be playing with them. I’m sure some people would say like Aerosmith or Metallica or something, but for me it’s Danko Jones and South of Salem, that’s who I’d want!
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