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new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Motionless in White, Niko Moon and More!

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Another packed out week of great new music across the rock, metal and country world. Let’s dive in!

Motionless in White: Decades

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our full review here.

Niko Moon: ROOTS

The first album from the country-pop singer to not feature his signature face logo on the cover, it somehow feels different to his previous albums while still having that signature Moon style and charm. We sadly missed his previous album last year, but LOVED BETTER DAYS before that. While this release doesn’t quite blow me away as much as that one did, it is still an excellent release! It does feel a little more country than his previous stuff, or at least leans more into his red clay roots and a healthy does of bro country. However, it also gives off big Buffett vibes still, as well as everything from AJR to even Bublé at times! Tracks like ‘RICH MAN’, ‘GET COUNTRY’, ‘COUNTRY SONG’, and ‘ONE WAY TO FIND OUT’ are all big highlights, as is the soulful ‘LAY IT ON ME’. However, I didn’t have nearly as much fun as I did with BETTER DAYS, and it if anything has just made me go back and listen to that release instead. It’s not a bad album, that’s for sure, but for how hyped I was to check it out, it did let me down a touch. It’s a lot of similar sounding stuff for 44 minutes, too. I’d not turn it off if it came back on, but I won’t be rushing to re-listen immediately, either. It may grow on me the more I sit with it, but for now it gets a 7/10

Protest the Hero: Within

The Canadian prog/tech metallers are back with their first album in over six years. To say that they haven’t lost a step in that time would honestly be an understatement! It’s 35 minutes of chaotic brilliance; insane riffing, fantastic drumming, catchy vocal melodies, and a healthy dose of screams, too. ‘Mouthpiece’ is a phenomenal opener, while every other track is just as excellent. The broadway-meets-Coheed ‘Fishhook’ is excellent, as is ‘Liberty Spike’, while ‘Grandfather’s Axe’ is one of my favourite tracks the band have ever done! The band are so insanely talented, and how they’ve had such a consistently excellent output over their 23 years of releasing music is beyond me. It’s not going to be for everyone, don’t get me wrong, but I’m a little bit obsessed with this release! It’s up there with Fortress for me, and is easily their best album since. I’m going to be spinning it a lot in the weeks and months to come, and would recommend anyone even slightly interested to check it out ASAP. I can’t give it any less than 10/10, GODDAMN.

Aaron Lewis: Give my Country Back

I actually remember liking ThatguyfromStaind’s last solo country album. Yeah, it was a little corny, but it at least fit well with his voice and his writing style. I’d heard the talk about the title track of this album when it dropped, so I was grimly curious to check it out…

It was just as bad as I expected. It’s a shame too, as I was lured into a false sense of security with opener ‘The Door’; it wasn’t half bad! However, then the heavy-handed patriotism started, and I very quickly tapped out. The title track is indeed that bad, but the rest of the album isn’t much better. Even the artwork is cringy, honestly. I don’t want to get bogged down by the obvious politics of it all, but safe to say from my perspective, it’s not a good look.

And, almost as egregious as all of that: it’s slow and a little boring. I know Aaron’s not exactly known for up-tempo stuff in general, but a lot of this blurred together for me. There’s some stuff on here that is honestly good, like the aforementioned opener and ‘A Showman’s Heart’, but they are bogged down by a lot of mid-or-worse stuff. If you are a big fan of Aaron’s previous releases, it may be worth giving a spin, but I wouldn’t recommend going in with particularly high expectations. Musically it’s at least inoffensive, but yeah, it’s hard to get into overall. 3/10

Tesla: Homage

The legendary hard rockers returned this weekend with their first new album since 2019. I’ve been a fan of them for well over a decade at this point, and rather enjoyed Shock upon its release, so I’m so glad they’re back with studio music again. What a return it is, too! Though we tend not to do covers albums on this series, this was done so well and is such a fun release it was impossible not to rave about! It’s almost an hour of blues/AOR-infused rock music like only Tesla can do. And, what’s more, the band make every track feel distinctly them, putting their own signature spin on things. To the point where if you weren’t already familiar with the songs, you may be fooled into thinking they were Tesla’s themselves!

The opening two tracks show their range enough as it is, and both are awesome songs in their own right. Then you have stuff like single ‘Spread Your Wings’, ‘Night Moves’, ‘Give a Little Bit’ and ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ that are also huge highlights. However, there isn’t a bad track on here, and it’s just a damn fun listen all round. Each track perfectly showcases Jeff Keith’s ever-impressive vocals, and the rest of the band play their asses off throughout, too. If you are at all a fan of old-school rock, blues or soul, or just Tesla in general, this is certainly worth a spin. It’s a goos stop-gap while I impatiently (hopefully) wait for new music, and is a solid 8/10 from us!

Mercers.: The Liminal Tapes

This debut EP from the hardcore/nu-metal-ish Brits is surely set to catapult them far right from the jump. This thing is pissed off and aggressive, but also plenty melodic too! Heck, ‘New Stockholm’ somewhat purposefully(?) has some Muse elements to it, which were awesome! It’s 17 minutes that fit together perfectly, and all four tracks are as good as the last. It’s honestly so hard to pick highlights. You really do have to check this thing out in full at least once, it’s that good! It’s quirky and unique, and written and performed by four people who are masters at their craft! The closest comparison my brain is making is Tealdear, and that is very exciting to me! Do yourselves a favour and give this a spin, you won’t be disappointed. I can’t give it any less than 9/10, the creativity is off the charts!

Nearly Skulls: These Shadows of Our Wilder Selves

The first new album in three years from the ‘grumpy dad rockers’, it does follow up their awesome EP from earlier this year, PAX AMERICANA. We loved that album, and this release builds on that perfectly. It’s another dose of 90s rock nostalgia in the form of REM or their more punk-infused counterparts, but this time it’s a full nearly hour instead of 20 minutes. Tracks like ‘Some Change’, the Pucifer-like ‘On the Network’, ‘Dinosaurs’ and ‘The Ocean’ are big personal highlights. However, there isn’t a bad track throughout, the album being a fantastic, chilled-out affair and an incredibly easy listen. If you’re into this sort of style, I cannot recommend it enough, and it’s a fitting follow-up to PAX. There is maybe one or two too many tracks on here, if I had to offer one criticism, but I wouldn’t know what songs to cut, and after three years it’s hard to fault them throwing it all out there! 8/10, great stuff!

Haken: in a fever dream

Returning to the studio following 2023’s excellent Fauna (it did in fact grow on me with more listens), the prog metallers once again knock it out of the park on this shorter release. The opener is the perfect prog track, building for much of its longer runtime into a huge, heavy crescendo. Meanwhile single ‘delerium’ is more like a 2000s alt metal track. ‘bleeding sky’ and ‘lotus’ are a mixture of the two and classic Haken awesomeness. Then you have the slower ‘eclipsed by you’ tucked perfectly in the middle of it all. It’s 26-minutes, long for an EP, but the perfect amount of music from the band. It’s arranged perfectly and is such an easy listen, going by in a flash. I’m so glad the band are back to releasing new music, and if you are at all a fan of the band or the wider genre, this is definitely worth checking out! Front to back it is excellent, and the opener and closer in particular are up there alongside some of the best tracks the band have ever produced. I can’t give it any less than 9/10!

Some Velvet Morning: TELL THE SUMMER HANG ON

The first new studio album in over five years from the rockers, and it’s a rather epic half-hour! The opener sets the tone for the soft-rock release perfectly, while songs like ‘Before I Met You’ and the grandiose, Western-style ‘The Architect’ are also big high points. The band are clearly all incredibly talented musicians and songwriters, and they get plenty of time to shine both individually and together throughout. However, it does get a little samey towards the end, I do have to say. Those of you more into this sort of old-school style than me will probably get a bit more milage out of it. It’s sadly not a whole album I’d eagerly revisit, but a few of the tracks I will definitely be spinning again! 6.5/10, it wasn’t as much for me as I’d hoped!

As It Is: Self-Titled

The follow-up to the pop-rockers huge 2022 release, I WENT TO HELL AND BACK, their brand new, self-titled album is another infectiously fun release. Right from opener ‘I’m So Alive!’ I was getting modern All Time Low vibes in the best way possible, and it set up the rest of the album fantastically. The singles, like ‘Do You Remember?’ and ‘Marilyn’, are great, even if they do front-load the album a little drastically. However, album tracks like ‘Lose Your Way & Find Yourself’ and ‘What if it All Works Out’ are just as fantastically. The band are really at the top of their game right now, and if you like this style even a little, you’ll surely love it as much as I do! Their last release grew on me with more listens but this one doesn’t have to, it hooked me right in from the opening moments! This will certainly be one I’ll be spinning plenty in the weeks and months to come! 8.5/10

Loathe: A Stranger to You

Five years after their last release, the ambient sister album to their breakout I Let it In and It Took Everything, the experimental metalcore rising stars finally return with a full new album. Firstly, at 14 tracks and 54-minutes, it’s a big ol’ release. And, surprisingly to me, it may take a few listens for me to truly get into. It’s especially surprising as I remember enjoying I Let it In… a lot, and still do. The band are well known to blend genres, which usually I’m down with. However, as someone who’s not really into the whole droning shoegaze thing, they maybe leant a little too hard into that side of their sound for me here.

The opener was interesting, but ‘Block of Flats’ went on far too long for what it was. That was especially sad as it features Static Dress, and I LOVED their last album. ‘Fortress Down’ pulls it back a little for me, but it’s nothing more than fine. Songs like ‘Gemini’ and ‘Gifted Every Strength’ are good, but they are spread fairly too few and far between. A lot of it is dull, or Deftones turned up by 1000%. None of it quite gives me the feeling that ‘Gored’ or ‘Two-Way Mirror’ did, or still do. As I said, it may grow on me with more listens, but it also feels a little bit like the last Zeal & Ardor album, and that sadly didn’t. If you liked this album then awesome, I’m honestly glad! I certainly want to like it, and feel like I should, but certainly found myself struggling. I’m curious to see what other people’s reactions to it are, as I can’t give it any more than a 5/10, sadly!

Imperium: Exodus Unknown

The highly anticipated debut album from the UK thrashers is just as good as I expected, if not better! From the first notes to the last, it’s a brutal assault of awesome riffing, drumming and some surprisingly catchy vocal melodies. The opener is a big highlight, as is the epic almost-ballad ‘The Gun’. The Demolition Man himself even provided an excellent feature on ‘Tread the Serpent’! But honestly, the whole album is excellent. There’s a surprising amount of dynamics to it, with some fun and interesting tempo changes to go alongside all the rest of the excellence. The band very much wear their inspirations on their sleeve, whether it’s legends like Slayer and Kreator to more homeward bands like Evile. If you are a fan of any of these bands, or the wider genre in general, give this a spin, I promise you won’t regret it! Another album I’ll be spinning a lot moving forward, and a very solid 9/10 from us!

Reviews

Decades: Is the New Motionless in White Album their Best Yet?

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The first new album from the metalcore titans since 2022’s massive Scoring the End of the World, the bands seventh album is dropping to a lot of hype on Friday. Being big fans for a while now, we were over the moon to get the chance to check this out a little early. They are on the cusp of becoming the next big thing it feels, so I’m super curious to see if they can ride that wave with this release. Without further ado, let’s dive right in!

The title track opens the album perfectly. A huge industrial/nu metal riff blasts in before Chris proclaims “I’m still fucking here” in an absolutely huge scream. The verse keeps up the pace and heavy vibes, the harsh vocals matched perfectly by Horror’s backing. It’s packed full of attitude, and is Motionless down to a tee. It all builds up to a surprisingly heavy-still chorus, the pair spitting venom throughout. However, it is still a surprisingly catchy moment, and we essentially get a breakdown coming out of it. The only clean vocals from the track slot rather perfectly over the top of the brutal riffing, too! And, of course, we get a proper breakdown for the bridge too, the callout of ‘fuck a tombstone’ being as hilarious as it is heavy. If you couldn’t tell already, I loved this. It was the best way they could open the album, setting the tone for the rest of it perfectly. My only slight concern/interest is that it followed a similar structure to one of the singles, but more on that later…

‘log_in//crash_out’ adds some synth to the proceedings, but still hits with just as hard a riff. It almost feels just a touch Electric Callboy, but I certainly mean that in a good way. And, plus, we get a fantastic bleh to really kick things into gear. The track drops back for the verse, it keeping its early 2000s metal roots but allows Chris’ great clean vocals to shine through instead of the screams. It all builds to a huge, arena-filling chorus, and one that’s bound to be stuck in my head for days to come! And, despite the predominately clean vocals, it still has plenty of attitude and anger behind it, Chris’ delivery being excellent. I was a little shocked by the choice of the kids choir in the bridge, it’s such a strangely popular trope that I think is incredibly hard to pull off, bands missing more than they hit with it. However, it thankfully kinda fits here, and leads to another headbanging breakdown that ups the ante and heaviness of the track excellently. Overall, it’s another excellent track, and showcase another side of the band perfectly!

Single ‘R.I.P.’ somehow shifts gears yet again, being the first ballad-like track of the album. Having it this early was a curious decision, but it kinda works! It also features the wonderful Skylar Grey on guest vocals, and she kills it. Opening on her and a piano was excellent, her vocals catchy and powerful and brimming with emotion. Chris soon takes over for a second verse, the pair working surprisingly well as a duet. The interplay and alternation between the pair throughout keeps things constantly interesting, though I was shocked we didn’t get at least one chorus where they sang together. It felt like a slightly missed opportunity for harmonies. It all builds to a huge chorus, the production working to make it all sound MASSIVE. It’s a dark, gothic masterpiece of a ballad, still sounding like Motionless and fitting the album well despite being more of a Linkin Park/modern BMTH song. It’s an excellent choice for a single that, while not a song I would probably revisit on its own often, is a really great track.

The pace picks back up for ‘Fight Like Hell’. I love that we get the Rhea Ripley line to open it up, as it does very much feel like a wrestling song in every possible way. I do have to say it’s not quite as good as ‘Demon in my Dreams’, but that may be just because I’ve heard the latter so much that it’s forever burned into my brain. This is an excellent track still that would still fit Rhea perfectly. The rapping in the second verse shocked me a little, to the point that I wasn’t convinced it wasn’t Daddy Durst at first, but Chris pulls it off well. It’s a catchy track that feels designed to be a huge radio hit, so I’m a little shocked it was a pre-release single. Still, there’s time for it to be one in the future. And having said all that, the breakdown, while a little basic, still hits hard. Shock, another fantastic song!

I’ve already gushed about Playing God plenty. This is a truly awesome song that really reminds me of Slaughterhouse off their previous record. It brings out an anger and aggression from Corey Taylor that has felt lacking in recent years, while Chris matches that aggression perfectly. The pair play off each other excellently here, almost seeming like they’re trying to one-up each other throughout. It very much feels like a clear homage to Slipknot, but done in a very Motionless way. It’s a song I’ve been hung on since its release, and am still rather obsessed now! It’s easily one of my favourite tracks from the album, and may be up there with some of my favourite from the bands whole discography. From the lyrics to the riffs, vocals to the breakdown, it’s all phenomenal. I know I mentioned earlier about a track with a similar structure, and it’s this one. However, each track between the two is so staunchly different that it isn’t at all an issue. This is an incredible song, and one I’d urge anyone to check out!

The electronic elements return for ‘All That I’ve Ever Known’. Tracks like it, ‘Blood Rave’ and ‘Count Back from Zero’ are all synth heavy, clean-vocal-focused tracks that are all great in their own right, but do blur together somewhat. There’s some more fun rapping in the former, and Dark Divine’s Anthony Martinez kills it with his feature on ‘Blood Rave’. They’re all great songs that feel like they borrow from the success of the likes of ‘Voices’ and ‘Werewolf’. While none are necessarily highlights, I’d happily listen to them all within the context of the album on subsequent listens.

Speaking of ‘Werwolf’, they continue on with their monster jams with ‘Love at First Bite’. It very much feels like a spiritual successor, carrying a similar vibe and structure. It’s light for Motionless, but is catchy as hell and the horror elements fit in excellently. It honestly wouldn’t feel out of place on a Dominum album, and I actually love it! The band all kill it, it’s once again a different feeling track to much of the rest of the album, and it’s another huge highlight. It easily makes it onto our playlist! Another that I can’t recommend checking out enough!

‘Blood Pact’ feels like a combination of a lot of what came before it. It’s a steady tempo, had some electro elements and plenty of clean vocals. However, the riff is HEAVY, and there are plenty of great screams throughout too. It’s industrial as hell, but also has a rather epic vibe to it, as well as having some catchy-ass hooks. I didn’t expect to enjoy a track like this from Motionless as much as I did, but it’s yet another banger on an album full of them!

Final single ‘Afraid of the Dark’ goes full old-school Parkway out of nowhere, and it’s fantastic! It’s that epic, European-inspired end of metalcore that I really love, and once again Motionless do it so well. It’s grandiose riffing and drumming, heavy, essentially post-hardcore verses and then absolutely massive choruses that are designed to be played to huge festival crowds around the world. Oh, and that breakdown… DAMN. It’s filthy, and I’m a little obsessed. It’s another excellent choice for a single, and yet again the band show yet another side to their sound; pretty damn varied these days. It was the one I hadn’t had the chance to check out before the album, but it’s a big high point of the album right from the first listen!

Kinda-closer ‘Sunglasses at Night’ is a synth-pop-metal banger. It’s so very Those Damn Vampires, big vicecore energy. It’s an odd way to be closing such a generally heavy album, but that doesn’t take away from the songs itself. It’s a Europop, club ready song, and goddamn, it’s another completely different sort of track again. If you don’t take anything else away from this review, you should at least know how damn creative and talented the band are throughout this whole album. Their ability to do all these different sounds but still sound like them is insanely impressive. It’s an excellent song, and one that I worry I’ll be spinning a lot in the next few weeks, probably until I make myself sick of it!

Closing off the release are two bonus tracks. ‘Hollywood’ and the other version of ‘Fight Like Hell’ are fun tracks, but I see why they are bonus tracks, they do feel a little different to their usual stuff. The former is straight-up Manson, while the latter features the mighty Outlier, adding even more ferocity to the sound. It’s arguably one of my favourite features on the album, and I do think I prefer this one to the actual album version! Both are worthy additions to the release, that’s for sure!

Overall: To the surprise of no-one, it’s awesome release from the quintet! There are so many fantastic tracks on it, while there really isn’t a bad song throughout. Honestly, I’m not sure what I prefer between this and Scoring the End of the World, but either way the band are on the best run of their careers right now! In an age where metalcore is coming back in a big way, Motionless prove that they are towards the front of the pack time and time again. I’ll be spinning this a lot in the coming weeks and months, and I’d expect anyone who listens to it would be doing the same. What an album!!

The Score: 9/10

Reviews

Strike and Kill: How do Devildriver do Following up Dealing with Demons?

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The first new music from the Californian groove metallers since 2023’s conclusion of their Dealing with Demons collection, Devildriver’s 11th album more than lives up to their previous music. I’ve been a fan for a good while now, and am always excited to hear new music from Dez Fafara and co., so when this came across our emails I knew I’d be diving into a full review. From epic riffs to crushing breakdowns to some aggressive but melodic vocals, the band typically do it all to perfection. Strap in, ladies and gents, let’s do this!

Things start off expectedly heavy with ‘Dig Your Own Grave’. Straddling that line between thrash, death and metalcore that the band do so well, the drums and riffing is fast paced right from the jump. Dez’s vocals soon come over the top, fitting the vibe perfectly with his grit and semi-scream. The whole thing feels like the perfect blend of Lamb of God and Machine Head, and I love every second! And the chorus, while still heavy, is pretty damn catchy in a way that only Devildriver seem to be able to pull off. And my god, all the guitar solos and lead lines throughout… *chefs kiss*. The bridge builds perfectly into a brutal breakdown, one that fits the track perfectly and showcases the bands groovy nature alongside their faster side. The whole track sets the tone for the rest of the album excellently, and is a huge early highlight!

‘Dead in the Water’ picks up right where the previous track left off; an epic intro falling away into a massive, Blastbeat-filled riff. The pace keeps up through the verse and bridge, once again leading to a heavy but surprisingly bouncy chorus. We also get a blistering guitar solo or three in the middle, packed full of technicality and harmonies. Some may say that it goes on a bit too long but not this writer, I think it fits excellently within the song and is a real showcase of the bands abilities as a whole. It’s another awesome song and one I’d recommend to anyone even vaguely a fan of the band!

A more nu/industrial metal vibe runs through ‘Sanctified in Scars’. The riffing is very much like a Drowning Pool, Static X or even Tetrarch, and the bounce to its rhythm harkens back to the early 2000s in a big way. Having said that, it still feels so very Devildriver in the best way. And Davier Pérez is going just as hard as ever behind that kit, too. Arguably it gets heavier and more chaotic in choruses, the opposite of the previous two songs. Having said that, the backing vocals make it still an incredibly catchy one, and one of my favourite on the album. The bridge doesn’t have much to it but still feels like it fills the gap rather perfectly in a song like this. It’s a breakdown and then some awesome lead lines, and truly adds to the song in a great way. This is another excellent song, and one that easily makes our playlist!

The albums namesake is a bit slower a pace, the heaviness still there but it having more of an epic, Rotting Christ air to it at times . The pace picks back up to Machine Head-esque levels near the minute mark, but the intro was a nice change of pace, and does give the track an overall grandiose nature, especially as it comes back for the choruses. It’s a heavy track that feels like it combines together everything we’ve heard from this album up to this point. It’s fucking awesome! And that half time bit at the end was AMAZING. The band are so far four for four with fantastic songs!

‘In the Moonlight’ starts lower, the distorted vocals over a clean guitar sound being a fun new twist to their sound here. It expected soon explodes into a huge, fast riff, instantly giving off more melodeath vibes than ever before. The grooviness comes back for the pre, the track opening out from its ferocious instrumentation while maintaining its heaviness. However, there are plenty of great melodic moments throughout that stand out against the more all-out-assault style we’ve heard so far. It definitely has a bit more of a European flavour to it. It’s a really interesting, awesome track that I’ve found myself revisiting more on subsequent listens. It’s another huge highlight of the album, that’s for sure, and one where everyone gets their chance to shine.

The following few tracks, ‘Ride or Die’, ‘Headed for the Fall’ and ‘Shut the Silence On’, are more balls to the wall tracks. All are fantastic tracks in their own right, with ‘Headed for the Fall’ being another big album highlight for me. But they all have a similar energy and, on a longer album, it’s hard not to group a few up a little bit! Honestly, it gives off vague vibes of early Parkway as well as the melodeath influences too. Either way, all three songs sound awesome. They are fast and heavy but each chorus is still an earworm! Dez’s vocals are fantastic on each, showing he hasn’t lost a step in the 30 years or so he’s been putting out music, but the rest of the band work their asses off and kill it too. Again, Pérez is an absolute beast behind that kit, and has been through the whole album. If you like the thrashier side of them, these tracks are for you!

The same could be said of music of the rest of the album, honestly. It’s interesting because all the tracks are amazing and I couldn’t cut any of them. However, 13 tracks these days is long, and when a lot of it is similar it does make me wonder if it would have been better served as another two-part album. Still, I am probably in the minority thinking in that way; after all complaining about too much good music is rather insane! Maybe it’s just the fast pace of the world these days, but it makes me slightly less likely to revisit the album in full as much if it’s long and similar. But as I said, ‘You’re Just a Ghost’, ‘Oath of Iron’ and ‘All Bets are Off’ are all fantastic tracks in their own right, and fit in with the rest of the album perfectly.

The exception to this ‘Summoning Shadows’. nestled away in the back third of the album, it’s very much the ballad, and changes the pace exceptionally well for its three minute runtime. Focusing around an acoustic guitar and Dez’s distorted vocals, it’s surprisingly beautiful, especially with the uplifting lyrics. Everything around these elements only add to the epic soundscape too; the depth on display on the track is superb. And it means that when the distorted guitars and drums come in in the latter half, it feels earned and hugely impactful. I always love it when Devildriver slow things down a bit, and this is another great example of that. Another huge highlight track on an album rather full of them!

Overall: This is another awesome release from one of the most underrated bands in metal. It’s packed full of amazing songs, with some up there among the very best the band have produced. The band all get a chance to shine plenty throughout, with both the playing and writing showcased being off the charts! I have already outlined my very minor gripes with the release, but in the grand scheme of things it barely makes a debt in the greatness that is Strike and Kill. If you are at all into the band or their general genres, this is well worth checking out! No one does it quite like Devildriver, and it’s a release that I will certainly be listening to most of a fair bit moving forward!

The Score: 8.5/10

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Deep Purple, The Shires and More!

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A little quieter than normal this week, but we still have some really awesome rock, metal and country releases to check out. Let’s dive in!

Deep Purple: SPLAT!

The bluesy rock legends are back with their first album in just two years. We were a little meh on =1, and it’s hard not to have a similar feeling with this one. The band are clearly talented, and the guitar and keys solos are certainly the high points of the record. However, it’s another 50 minutes of old school rock music from a band now 24 albums into their career, all of which are rather similar in style and execution. The two opening singles are pretty good, and set the album up right. Tracks like the celtic-esque ‘Sacred Land’ and ‘My New Movie’ are also alright! However, I found myself getting pretty bored through this album often, especially when there are another nine tracks I haven’t named here.

I do think it’s generally better than their previous release, or at least I had a slightly better time listening to it. However, that may be fully down to my mood currently than the quality of the album! If you are a big fan of any era of the band, you’ll find something to love here, and it’s worth checking out. However, it doesn’t have a patch on the bands multiple heydays, and will most likely drive listeners to just go back to Machine Head or Burn. It’s not something I’d revisit outside of a song or two, but probably wouldn’t turn it off if it came on. 5/10, completely average Deep Purple.

The Shires: Bonfire

The biggest new UK country artist dropped their highly anticipated seventh studio album this last Friday. Spoiler alert, it’s a bit good! The duo have been at the top of their games for a while now, but they honestly take another big step forward yet again here. Every song is beautiful and excellent in its own right, though the likes of ‘Getaway Car’, ‘Blink’ and ‘One for the Whiskey’ are personal highlights. Every song on here is excellent though and the album flows perfectly, 37 minutes going by in a chilled-out, emotion-filled flash. In a genre built full of beautiful harmonies, these two are certainly in the upper echelon of it all. They compliment each other perfectly, as does the instrumentation. It’s very easy to hear why they are such a big name these days, and they deserve every ounce of praise they get. While it does still have a British edge to it, it also reminds me a lot of everything from Lady A to even early Taylor Swift. If you are at all into the slower, sweeter edge of country/Americana, this album is an absolute must. 9/10

Dominum: Night is Calling

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read our full review here.

Harsh: Feels

The sophomore album from the Parisian sleaze/hard rockers is every bit as good as their first. It’s nearly 50 minutes of stomping grooves, great riffs and some catchy-as-anything, soaring vocals! It’s packed full of highlights too, from ‘All I Ever Wanted’ to ‘Fuel to the Fire’ to ‘Losing My Mind’. Their cover of Michael Sembello’s classic ‘Maniac’ is also stellar. There truly isn’t a bad song on here, with the ballads also measuring up alongside the rockier tracks and it all fitting together so well. There isn’t a dull moment (though for some reason I struggled with the opener slightly on my first listen. Love it now!) and the 12 tracks go by super quickly. If you like their general vibe and genre, this is well worth giving a spin! Hell, even if not, you’ll probably still have a blast listening, like I did! The band are all insanely talented musicians and songwriters and have a very bright future ahead of them, one they are already starting to realise. This album will certainly push them even higher and faster, and I can’t give it any less than 8.5/10!

Moonspell: Far From God

The Portuguese goth metal legends are back with their first new studio output in over half a decade. Spoiler alert, it’s a bit good! Long-time readers here will know by now how much I’ve gotten into the European gothic metal scene in recent years, so I can’t not love this! Even at 42 minutes long, eight tracks doesn’t feel nearly long enough, as this went by in a flash. Single ‘Far from God’ is a massive highlight, as is the Tool-esque ‘Biblical’, ‘Your Promise of Light’ and the closer. As you can probably tell though, the whole album is awesome! If you are at all into the darker, heavier side of metal, I truly cannot recommend this release enough. I’m so glad they’re back with new music after a bit of a break, and what a hell of a release to return with! I’ll be spinning this a lot in the coming weeks and months, and don’t be surprised when it ends up high on our albums of the year list come December. 9/10

Soothsayer: The Unbinding

Nestled somewhere between an EP and an album, I’d say the 45-minute runtime handily qualifies it as the latter. Well, it’s five proggy blackened death tracks that dark, heavy and technical in equal measure! While not usually my sort of thing, I actually found myself enjoying this a surprising amount! It’s hard to pick individual highlights as the whole album feels like one continuous piece, and is therefore perfect for a full listen or three. Having said that, if you are going to only check out the one track, ‘Sooner Acceptance’ is absolutely amazing, drawing together every sound the band has in a truly bleak, brutal package. It’s certainly not for everyone, but it is that good that it will surely win over some skeptics, like myself! I’m going to have to go back and revisit their previous work while also listening to this again, hopefully it’s as good as this! A very solid 8/10 from us!

Blake Whiten: Something to Say

The debut album from the seemingly overnight country sensation, and what a release it is! We reviewed an EP of his last year, and I said in that I don’t know how a 21 year old kid has seen enough shit in his life to have a voice like this. However, both are also pretty different releases. As well as being twice the length, the EP was much more of a solo venture, mainly just Blakes vocals and guitar, while this album feels like it focuses more on a full band sound. The opener is Southern rock-tinged awesomeness. Singles ‘Barely Gettin’ By’ and ‘Boots by the Wrong Bed’, as well as ‘Ghost House’, are also awesome rockier tracks. Then you have slower, more radio-country ballads like ‘Whiskey Wish’ and ‘Night N’ Day’ that are also excellent. And if you couldn’t tell, that’s half the album right there, so it’s pretty clear I love it!

It’s like the perfect mixture of Referrin’s radio-country style with a dash of Cody Jinks’ heavier side. My only slight complaint is that I wish we got another track or two like the EP. I completely understand doing a different thing with a new release, but the rawness and vulnerability of Six Mile was excellent, and gave big Evan Bartels vibes in the best way. Still, it is a minor gripe, and I wouldn’t change a track from the album. If you are at all into country give this a spin, you’re bound to love it as much as I do. I can’t give it any less than 8.5/10

The Tirith: Quetzalcoatl

The fourth studio album from the power prog Brits is another epic, technical masterclass of writing and playing. It’s not a short undertaking, being 69 minutes spread across 12 songs, but if you like this sort of style it is an absolute must-listen. While mileage for the release has varied over the few spins I’ve done in the last couple of weeks, there’s a lot that I find myself loving and revisiting more than others. ‘The Slide’, ‘Back to Space’ and ‘Save the Oak’ are all personal highlights. The band very much wear their inspirations on the sleeve, and I certainly mean that in a good way! It’s not a bad album by any stretch; it’s surprisingly chilled out yet catchy, and the playing throughout is awesome. From the arrangement to the solos, riffs to the drumming to the vocals, it’s all excellent. It’s not something I’d revisit often as it isn’t 100% my sort of thing, but the band certainly have a new fan in me and it’s a record I’d recommend to anyone even slightly interested! I can’t give it any less than 8/10, great stuff!

Eric Paslay: Summer

The follow-up to May’s Spring, this is an awesome release that perfectly encapsulates the vibe of the season. It’s upbeat, chilled-out and a lot of fun. It’s Buffett turned up to 11 and given a modern twist to it. It’s a far cry from his 2023 release, but both are excellent in their own ways. It’s pop/bro country adjacent, but also reminds me of everything from Niko Moon to Drew Holocomb to even Newton Faulkner. Honestly, I can’t gush about it enough. It’s the perfect 11 minutes of music, and is so damn easy to listen to. There truly isn’t a bad track throughout. I’m going to be spinning this for at least the next three months, if not plenty after that, too! Do yourselves a favour and check this out, you’ll love it as much as I do! 10/10, I can’t give it any less!

Charley Crockett: Clovis

Another week, another album from one of the hardest working bands in music. coming just three months after his last release, it’d take a lot to beat Age of the Ram for me. This doesn’t quite do that. However, it is still a damn good album! From ‘Down by Law’ to ‘Eagle and the Crow’, the epic instrumental title track to ‘Honky Tonk Philosophy’, there is plenty to love throughout! Don’t get me wrong, it’s a little long for my attention span, especially when a lot of it is slower, but by now if you’re a fan of Crockett you know exactly what to expect, and if you’re into his previous stuff you’ll live this. It’s chilled out and so well written.

It’s insane to me that he can put out another album of this high quality so soon after his last, and we’ll probably get a third by the end of the year. It’s a true testament to the generational talent he is. And, with everyone in the industry I talk to about him, he’s very much gained a ‘your favourite country artists favourite country artist’ status. Give this a try if you are at all into country! 8/10

Gods & Punks: A Shrine By the Sea

Following up 2024’s Death, the Brazilian space/stoner metallers certainly still do things their own way. Whether it’s stripped-back, ethereal folky stuff or the massive, heavy stoner doom riffs, it’s all done so well. From Red Fang and The Sword to stuff more akin to (honestly) Yes or even Fruit Bats, it makes for an incredibly interesting listen. And I honestly love that it’s two songs split into four parts each. They somehow feel individual and like you can listen to them separately while also fitting together like missing puzzle pieces. It all flows fantastically and begs a full listen at least once. The band are all so damn talented and it comes across excellently throughout. If you like any of the styles I’ve mentioned here, do yourselves a favour and give this a spin! They certainly have a new fan in me, and it gets a solid 7.5/10!

Margo Price: Days of Unrest

Another release straddling the line between an EP and an album, and another relaxed, chilled-out record. Oh, and another awesome release from Margo, to boot! It’s old-school country/Americana like only Price can do, yet feels like a different project yet again to her previous output. Having a Spanish, mariachi twist to it, it’s an incredibly fun half-hour of music. ‘De Colores’ is a huge highlight of not just this release, but her career as a whole, honestly. The Trump-calling-out ‘Oval Room’ is also fantastic, as is ‘Can’t Stand Still’ a track apparently floating around since her Buffalo Clover days. The whole release is great though and fit excellently together. Massive props to Margo for putting out a protest tape this weekend of all weekends, and she’s even donating some of the proceeds to the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project. I’m a huge fan of her both musically and as a person, and this is another great release in a long line of them from one of the most underrated artists in the genre. 9/10, even though most of this is covers and instrumentals, it’s absolutely deserving of a listen and some love!

Reviews

Night Is Calling: Dominum Return with their Massive Third Album!

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Here we go, guys. One of my favourite bands currently and one of my most anticipated albums of the year, there was no way I wasn’t diving head first into this when it came across my emails. For those of you who don’t know, we loved their last couple of albums. Like a lot! They are one of the most promising bands in the heavy/power metal scene today, and have worked their asses off to get every opportunity they’ve gotten. The singles so far have been awesome, and I can’t wait to see what Dr Dead and his zombies have in store for us this time!

Opening on the one-two punch of their first two singles from this cycle, the album goes hard right from the jump! Now, I’ve already gushed over both tracks plenty in our reaction video to them, but I’d happily do it again! ‘The Circus is in Town’ is chaotic, heavy brilliance, and exactly what you’d expect as a fan of the band. However, that breakdown did take me by surprise, and is EXCELLENT. Meanwhile ‘Doctor Doctor’, while a little lighter and more AOR-based, is an awesome track in its own right, and that chorus has been stick in my head since I first heard it! Both are fantastic tracks in their own right, and up there alongside the very best of the bands previous output.

The first album track of the release, ‘Children of the Night’ is another grandiose, heavy power metal track, full of awesome riffing and catchy vocal melodies. The dynamics of the track are fantastic, dropping down for the first part of the verse, building more and more into that expectedly awesome, massive chorus. Dr Dead once again proves that he is one of the most underrated vocalists and writers in the game today, him certainly being a highlight of the track. However, the rest of the band kill it too, working their asses off throughout. All the backing vocals and harmonies only add to the hugeness of the vocals, making so very catchy. And we get a fantastic guitar solo tucked away in the middle of this, technical but also packed full of emotion, fitting the track perfectly. It’s bound to be a big crowd favourite live, and is yet another huge early album highlight!

The theatrics return for ‘Nosferatu’, that riff and melody being incredibly circus/folky in the best way. It follows a similar structure and formula as the previous tracks, but is done in such a fantastic way that it’s impossible not to get hooked in. It’s heavier generally than the previous couple of tracks, very much reminding me of the likes of Hammerfall and Dream Evil. The chorus isn’t as massive, but the whole song, from verse to bridge, is full of hooks. The ‘lie lie’ bit in the middle is excellent, and I love the growl at the end of the first chorus. It’s folk metal in a really fantastic way, and yet still feels like a song only Dominum could really make.

The other two singles from the album, ‘Dark Melodies’ and the title track, were excellent choices for pre-release songs. The former slows things down, it still having the heaviness and distortion but is also piano-led. It’s a beautiful track that once again highlights Dead’s vocal range perfectly. The writing of the track is incredible too, the instrumentation fitting the tone and themes to a T. The piano and vocal parts are perfect, and it explodes into another infectiously catchy chorus. It’s a truly excellent song and one that easily makes our playlist. Then, the latest single, features the amazing Battle Beast, and is another fantastic track. It brings the heaviness back, it being a typical Dominum track in the best way. Marina’s vocals are phenomenal on the song too and fit perfectly alongside Dead’s. Their harmonies are amazing, and it only makes the chorus even more massive. It’s a typical radio formula, but a fantastic power/symphonic metal track, and another that is well worth checking out!

Back to the album tracks, songs like ‘Jack the Ripper’ , ‘Devil’s Son’ and ‘I Don’t Drink Wine’ are more typical Dominum tracks. That is no way a bad thing; simply that they are exactly what I’d expect from this album and the band. It’s all heavy instrumentation and massive, catchy choruses with so much amazing harmonising. The latter is a particular favourite of mine, even if all are a little more “album track”-like than the previous songs. All are great in their own right though, fitting in with the rest of the album perfectly!

The now obligatory cover song for a Dominum album this time went to the MJ classic ‘Thriller’. As usual, they put their own heavy metal spin on the track, it fitting the tone of the album perfectly. And, thematically, it fits the band and their story perfectly, too! It’s a fantastic song to begin with, and this is just as enjoyable a version of it, honestly! The mix in particular on this track is amazing, it sounding huge and everything getting it’s time to shine and being so clear. It’s a really great addition to the album, and putting it this late in the album breaks things up perfectly.

‘Endzeit’ closes the album rather fittingly. Not only is it thematically a great finale, but it also draws together elements of just about every other track that came before it. A low intro into a massive, stomping folk-metal riff. The huge, uplifting chorus designed to play to huge festival crowds around the world. An awesome (albeit shortish) guitar solo. An epic, grandiose feel throughout, especially by the end. It’s excellent, and draws the album to a conclusion in the best way possible. Oh, and it’s a great song in its own right! It’s another huge highlight on an album honestly full of them!

We also get a couple of cheeky bonus tracks tucked away at the end; an acoustic version of two of their hits off their last two albums. Both ‘Don’t Get Bitten by the Wrong Ones’ and ‘Hey Living People’ fit somehow just as bad in this arrangement as they do with a full electric band, and it adds another, more sombre feel to both songs. Once again, Dr Dead’s vocals are the focal point, and the range and emotion on display through the songs from him honestly blew me away. If you like the previous two albums, give these a listen, they really frame both songs in an excellent new light. And goddamn, the size of those vocals on ‘Hey Living People’… *chefs kiss*.

Overall: How is it possible that this band just keeps getting better? Y’all know I’m a huge fan of their last two albums, but this somehow feels like a leap forward yet again; taking the very best parts of those two releases and moulding them together perfectly. It’s a huge release from start to finish, there being so many phenomenal tracks on here that stand out among the very top of their repertoire. Hell, there truly isn’t a bad song throughout. And, just to gush over it again, the production throughout is absolutely stellar. It’s no surprise the band are becoming as massive as they are; their talent and hard work is more than paying off, and their music really does speak for itself. Check this out, no matter what you are into, I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do!

The Score: 9.5/10

Interviews & Features

Beyond Salvation: ‘It is kind of quite a team effort, but it’s also very DIY!’

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We chatted to the amazing Beyond Salvation the other week about their debut album, their live schedule and the state of the scene. Check it all out below!

Your album was released just over a week ago now [at the time of recording]. What’s it like to finally have your debut out?

Arun: Yeah, it’s pretty special. It’s kind of something we’ve been working towards for a long time. We do this in our spare time and we do it when we can, but it’s a labour of love. It is something we took a lot of care and a lot of attention over and we’re really, really proud of it. And so to finally have it out in the world is pretty special, actually. I stayed up until midnight and like went on Spotify and Amazon Music and waited for it to sort of come out. And it was like, oh, wow, it’s all there!

John: It’s quite surreal, actually. We’ve been working on this for a long time. And we always knew it would take… I don’t know… I felt like we felt that sort of like stereotypical, ‘we’re going to put an album out and it won’t take that long’. And then it took forever. But there’s been loads of good reasons why. And we’ve done releases in between. And I think then that sort of summed up this testament to how strong we feel about these songs; because we wrote these songs a long time ago. And I just love writing new stuff all the time. So for me, especially when I’m always writing stuff in the background, to still be so convinced of these songs that have lived with us for a bit, it makes me feel the flip side to what I’d usually be. Like, really convinced they are the songs they should be and sit together and just dead, dead, dead proud of it. And it’s like, I feel like it’s a bit like a tattoo, a real timestamp over the last five years of what we’ve been through.

It’s a passion project, isn’t it? And we’ve had line-up changes. If you take the very first song, ‘Incarcerate’, that’s with our old drummer, old bass player, which is mental. And then, yeah, that ended up being a single! So, yeah, a relief in a most positive way possible!

What went into the decision to do an album?

Arun: I actually think the reason we chose to do it as an album was actually artistic, so it was us, because if you look at our history kind of up to now, we’ve always released singles and EPs and, you know, we’ve done loads of those sorts of things. But we didn’t want to break this block of songs up. Like, there have been conversations between me and John about splitting the album into two and releasing it as two EPs or dropping a single here or there. But we feel really strongly about the album and it flows, particularly when I think the lyrics started being penned by John. The story it was telling… it’s not a concept album, but it is conceptual in its sort of flow. We didn’t really want to break that up. But I think it is just the strength of the songs. We just felt, no, these songs need to come out together as a block, as an album.

And although we’re told that the industry does push us towards singles and EPs and the frequency from the listener’s point of view, I think, from the other side, albums are still preferred. And again, maybe we’ve got a bit of an old school mindset in that. If I see a new song come out by a band, ‘I’m like, oh, that’s great. Right, when’s the album out?’ It’s still a bit of a stamp in time. Maybe that’s a little bit more of a metalhead way of thinking as well!

I’ve noticed it does feel like it’s a little easier to get a tour and do the festival circuit when you have an album as opposed to just the odd track.

John: Yeah, definitely. I think if I checked out a band that they hadn’t got an album that I could just invest in, I’d be a bit like, really? So, it still ticks that box for me. But, that’s me. It’s just constantly not trying to constantly say, oh, is it because I’m old? It’s just like, it’s a good body of work, you know, it’s a good way to get a good cross-section of a band. I’m not dissing singles or EPs at all. I think they’re great. They’re a great way to kind of dip your toe in. But I think particularly in metal, there is that thing of people like to invest and immerse themselves in the music. I would have a guess that probably doesn’t happen in R&B. I don’t know. Maybe it does. But, you know, particularly in metal, there is that sort of thing.

What’s the writing process like for you guys? Has it evolved as new members have joined?

Arun: There’s a general framework. Basically songs start either from John or from me. And they usually start with riffs. And often, like me and him, we’ll tend to sit back and forth between us. It’ll either be a verse idea or a chorus idea or something from me or from him. And then we’ll send it to the other person. That might spark some ideas. We’ll send it back, send it back. And we’ll sort of put a very rough but not final at all structure together just in a demo just so we can listen to it. And then we’ll send it on to the band. And then we’ll bring it into the room and the guys will have their ideas. Bringing Owen on board, he’s got some really good ideas for grooves and things that will lift certain parts in certain ways, which John and I don’t think of because we’re not drummers. So there’s definitely ideas from them. Sometimes we find the recording process can be a bit creative as well. We’ll sometimes, you know, we won’t change structures necessarily, but how something’s played or whether a fill goes in a certain place, for example, might change depending on when we record it. So, it is kind of quite a team effort, but it’s also very DIY.

Do you guys have a favourite track from the album?

John: Like you say, you’ve had them for a few years in the chamber now, so it might have changed since you first wrote them. I also had the reactions to the songs and people doing, like, little top threes really, really cool and really interesting. And it being really, like, quite broad, like, it seems to have been, like, a really different mix, which is really cool. So, that kind of spreads it across the album. And then, I think, I don’t know, emotionally attached, I’ve got a different, probably, stance because there’s lyrics in there, aren’t there? And they’ve changed and developed over time. And I think I’ve written some songs in the past where I’ve written them about someone else. And then you fast forward two years and suddenly realise I’m relating them to even more than when I wrote them about a friend or a loved one or something like that. And that’s happened on numerous occasions. The single we put out called Aftermath is a really good example of that, but that’s definitely happened on a few of these. So, yeah, I don’t know, but I think if I had to pick one for me, I think it’d just be the final nail. Like, it’s that kind of sad but true sort of groove, headbang, but it still goes fast and heavy.

Arun: for me, I think it really depends what day you ask me, because it’ll be almost a different song every day. But if I had to pick just one, it’d probably be Broken Reflections. But I’m also very, you know, I really like The Storm. The Storm means a lot. I think that’s quite a good indication of where we might be going. Yes, I think. And it was quite collaboratively written, which I quite like as well. that song is quite a few people picked up on that. And I feel like at the moment it’s not one of the singles, so it’s not been one that’s pushed in people’s faces. So the few of the people that have checked out the album for them to zone in on that song is quite cool.

Do you have a busy rest of the year show-wise in support of the album?

Arun: Yeah, we’ve got a few. So the main thing that we’re pushing quite a lot is on the 18th of July, we’re doing what’s essentially an album launch show. And it’s kind of the closest thing to an evening with Beyond Salvation. But what we’re doing is we’re playing the entire album in full from start to finish. And then some old songs at the end as well. So that’s the one we want to push the most. Yes. But aside from that, we are doing a few shows around the country. we had to take a conscious decision to go, right, we’ve got to fucking stop gigging. Yeah. We’re going to get this album finished. that’s been something that we’ve not done much of. So hopefully it’ll all work out like a perfectly oiled machine. We’ve got this album. We can push that. We’re going to be dotting around the country with some great bands.

John: What’s going to be really cool about the gigs this year. So until this point, we’ve constructed sets in a certain way with, as any band does, which is largely from your released music and particularly with what you’re promoting at the time. Live, we have played Incarcerate a few times, not since we released it as a single. We played it back in 2021, actually. But we haven’t really played any other song off the album live before. We didn’t want to fall into that trap of like just playing new stuff and getting excited about it and then no one can buy it. But actually, when we start writing sets for the gigs coming up, we’re going to be primarily, it’s going to be new for us, actually, because, you know, we’re going to have to write new sets that we’ve not done before.

What do you guys make of the music scene in the UK at the minute?

John: I think we’re spoiled in Manchester because it’s brilliant! I was talking COVID. It’s quite weird now because it’s half a decade ago. But like, the band started like four or five years before COVID. And it was interesting to come back after COVID and then suddenly you’ve got this like whole fresh generation younger bands suddenly coming out and feeling like they’re already like, Tortured Demon would be a really obvious example. But yeah, I think Manchester genuinely were like pretty spoiled because a lot of the gigs get a really, really good turnout for like an underground scene. So that’s really nice. And then broader… I don’t think we’ve had good gigs. We’ve had iffy gigs. So it’s just one of those where I’m really, really intrigued, excited, curious to see what this back half of the year holds. But I mean, particularly with stuff like Metal to the Masses that happens around the country for Bloodstock that gets such a good reaction. I mean the Manchester Metal to the Masses final was the weekend just gone and was rammed from the second the doors opened. I also know that other ones around the country get really, really busy as well. I think I saw like one or two of them were sold out a couple of weeks before the finals, a couple of weeks before the actual date. It’s almost like are there more bands than fans now?! That’s got to be a good thing, right? Because it means more people want to have a go. More people are feeling inspired.

Arun: Also, I think these days, some of my very, very favourite bands are British. Not even just like, oh, I like it because they’re from the UK. Like, they’re genuinely some of my favourite music that I’ve listened to lately. I remember being a teenager growing up. I don’t want to name anyone, but it was all America bands that were like, the ones. Do you know what I mean? It just meant nothing really from the UK seemed to click with me at all. I would say growing up, obviously you had your UK pioneers, like your Judas Priest and your Black Sabbaths and stuff, but we were a little young for when they first came on the scene! But growing up, all my favourite bands were American, and quite a lot of them still are, but there are lots of really, really cool British bands. Everyone seems to, you know, kind of go along to each other’s gigs and everyone’s pretty supportive. And it’s, yeah, it’s quite a nice vibe at the minute.

You guys are quite up on the whole social media thing, any advice you could give to bands just starting out?

John: You’ve just got to do it! Arun’s more the daddy on this and the guys we’ve been working with from DC Sound Attack have been a massive help and stuff. But try and make it as fun as you can. But you know what, I have really fucking funny, happy, fond memories of just me and the guys trying to pull things together to try and get content together. So you know what, just be genuine, I think. Be yourselves and have fun with it. But unfortunately, it’s like a necessary evil.

Arun: Planning ahead actually works really well. And you know, we’re doing this for the music, so the music’s still got to be really good. You don’t want to let the music suffer because of the content you’ve got to create.

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Muse, The Pretty Reckless and More!

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An absolutely massive week of new music for us to check out across the spectrum. Let’s dive in!

Muse: The Wow! Signal

It’s always interesting when we get new music from the Devonshire trio. One of the biggest artists of my childhood, they are still one of my favourite bands now. You never quite know what to expect from them, and even the singles have been pretty varied. However, all have been great, so to say I’m hyped for this release would be an understatement. Plus, it’s their first new music since 2022’s Will of the People, and damn did we love that album!

Well, it certainly doesn’t disappoint! This is a 45 minute journey through the very best of rock, pop and even metal. All four main singles have been fantastic, and fit even better within the context of the album. The rest of the tracks are just as awesome too, the whole release having a grandiose, epic feel to it like only Muse can do. ‘The Sickness in You & I’ is maybe my favourite track on the album, and up there in the upper echalone of their music for me already. Heck, the Gojira-like breakdown at the end is honestly phenomenal. Then you have the Ellie Goulding-featuring ‘Hush’, and the equally Bond-esque opener, and the beautiful, epic closer, and the album as a whole is so incredibly solid. It also feels like a culmination of their career so far, honestly. ‘Cryogen’ is a straight-up Origins of Symmetry track, ‘Be With You’ would comfortably fit on Resistance or 2nd Law, ‘The Dark Forest’ would fit perfectly on Black Holes and ‘Unravelling’ is very much a ‘Drones’ track. Then you have the out-there ‘Nightshift Superstar’ that is straight-up disco-rock in the best way.

I may be becoming across as a fangirl, which I certainly am, but I cannot adequately tell you how great this album is. It’s excellent from front to back, and after 45 full minutes (twice already this weekend, I may add) it has just left me wanting more. It’s my favourite release from them since at least Drones, but it is more varied and well-rounded than that album, so may grow on me even more than that with more listens. Surely it’s not their best release since Black Holes, right..? Almost all of this has ended up on my personal playlist, and it’ll likely end up very high on our top albums of the year list come December. I can’t give it anything less than 10/10. Wow indeed!

The Pretty Reckless: Dead God

Momsen and co. finally brought us a followup to 2021’s massive Death by Rock and Roll this last Friday. I’m going to say right from the jump that that album grew on me in a big way the more I listened for the months after. Hopefully this one does too…

While I wasn’t a fan of the cold open, single ‘For I Am Death’ is a great track. Stuff like ‘Dragonfire’ and the Audioslave-like ‘Dark Days’ are also pretty good. However, the rest kinda blends together; not much stood out and I found myself getting a little bored. The band are damn talented, but they haven’t really evolved much in their 16 years of releasing music, I’m kinda over it now. They’ve never been an ‘album band’ per say, yet the closest they came was their last release. This feels like a step back in that regard. A few good tracks and then stuff that will be breezed over and forgotten about by the next cycle. In the nicest way possible, like I said in my review of them from Download: if it wasn’t for Taylor Momsen being involved, I don’t think anyone would care. If you like this album that’s awesome, and as I said I do hope it grows on me like their last did. But for now after a spin or two, I can’t give it much more than 7/10. Not bad but my least favourite of their albums so far.

Cody Johnson: Banks of the Trinity

One of the biggest international country stars around currently, and well and truly cements himself as just that with this release! It’s the perfect combination of early 2000s radio country with a modern edge to it, and even at over 50 minutes it goes by quickly and easily. It’s packed full of highlights too, from the opener to the Brothers Osborne featuring ‘Fool Proof’, ‘I Have’ to ‘Kissing a Married Woman’ to ‘Thank Somebody Country’. There is certainly a bit of downtime throughout, but he’s so good that even the slower or not quite as good tracks are hugely entertaining. He even manages to get away with some of the typically country-cheese lyrics from being such a great vocalist and songwriter. And it helps that his band work their asses off throughout, too. While I do still prefer Ain’t Nothin’ To It as an album as a whole, this is up there with his last couple as a close second. If you are at all into country, give this album a spin, you certainly won’t regret it! 8/10

Butthole Surfers: After the Astronaut

The alt/noise rock legends are back with their first studio work in two and a half decades. Though the tracks were originally recorded back in ’98, it’s at least given a modern mix and production to set it apart from their previous stuff. Having said that, you can still tell at times that it was written at the turn of the century, certain elements like the scratching giving it away. However, it is interesting that some of the topics and issues they sing about are still relevant today, all these years later. It’s honestly kinda sad. While not quite my sort of thing typically, I have always found the bands work interesting, and this was another release I found myself enjoying. ‘Jet Fighters’, ‘Venus’ and ‘They came In’ are all tracks I found myself enjoying and will certainly listen to again, even if I won’t repeat the album as a whole all too much. If you like the quirky stuff, this is worth a listen, but it certainly won’t be for everyone (most people). Still, there is no denying their impact to music, and this release fits in perfectly with the rest of their discography. 6/10

American Aquarium: New Ways to Lose

Fuck, I forgot how much I love this band! They are like country’s answer to Social Distortion or The Pogues, and I can’t get enough. Southern punk, almost. Honestly, the whole thing from front to back is incredible, too. Much like Muse, most of this ended up on my personal playlist, and I’ve spun it multiple times over the weekend already! It’s impossible to not have a good time listening to this, even when your getting your heart broken by the bittersweet ‘Favourite Hello’, and 34 minutes goes by in a flash! And, as such, it is impossible to pick just one or two highlight songs, all of them are fantastic in their own right. It may be my favourite album from the band, which is honestly saying a lot! It’s chilled out, rocky and emotional all in the perfect measures. If you are a fan of any of the bands or genres I’ve mentioned already, do yourselves a favour and check this out ASAP, you’re sure to love it as much as I do! I cant give it any less than 9/10, and it may grow on me even more through the rest of the year!

Hawxx: The World Splits Open

We’ve already checked out this awesome album! Read the full review here.

Boneripper: Radiant In Ruin

The sophomore album from the Netherlands metallic hardcore outfit goes hard right from the offset! ‘Oracle of Lies’ sets the tone of the release immediately, as well as being a big early highlight. Then you have tracks like ‘Damnation’, ‘Borrowed Breath’ and ‘Refuse Persist’ that are also bangers in their own right. However, the whole album is fantastic, there not being a bad song throughout. And for a fairly long album (12 tracks) it goes by in a flash, not at all feeling its length. I like the couple of interlude tracks thrown in too, making the album feel more alive, and the closer in particular was excellent.

The band are all hugely talented and so damn good at what they do. Wearing their inspirations on their sleeve, they straddle the line between beatdown, metallic and metalcore amazingly, the closest comparisons for me being the likes of Hatebreed and even Pro-Pain. I was new to the band upon checking this out, and they have a big new fan in me! I am already desperate to see some of this live (a trip to Europe sounds perfect right now) and I can’t give it any less than 8.5/10. Amazing stuff!

Willow Avalon: Pink Pocket Pistol

This third album in three years from the neo-traditional country artist, and it has a tough job following up Southern Belle! Spoiler alert: it sadly doesn’t quite reach those heights. Don’t get me wrong, tracks like ‘Easy on the Eyes’, ‘Hell in a Handbag’ and all three with guest features are great. She is still a fantastic lyricist throughout, too. However, I found a lot of this was just a touch slow, and as such it all blended together a little for me. None of it is bad by any stretch, and if you like an old-school, chilled out sound you’ll probably love this. However, her last release felt like a bit of a breath of fresh air, an exciting blend of old and new, and this isn’t the follow-up I’d hoped for. As I said, there is definitely some fun, great stuff on here, but as an album as a whole I won’t be revisiting it all that often. She still has a hugely bright future ahead of her, but it doesn’t quite live up to my hype for it, given her previous output. Still, the tracks I named are awesome, and fitting additions to her discography! 7/10

CJ Wildheart: Devil

The punk legend followed up his 2025 release in quick fashion with another banger of a release! If you know CJ, you know exactly what to expect from the album, and I mean that in the best way! Between ‘The Art of Being Free’, ‘Diva’, ‘One of the Boys’ and ‘Twenty Two’, there are some tracks up here that I’d honestly put up alongside his best. It’s punk through and through, whether it’s his older brand of Wildheartsy stuff, or a more Celtic tinge to it. As much as I loved SLOTS, I may like this even more! If you are at all into punk, this is an absolute must-listen. It’s just a lot of fun, showcasing that CJ still very much has it decades into his music career! I’ll be spinning this a fair bit moving forward, and can’t give it any less than 8.5/10!

Georgia Webster: EVERYTHING MUST GO!

Album two from the country pop rising star is a chilled-out affair, and a very easy listen. At only eight tracks across 27 minutes, it goes by in a flash, and has some great stuff up there with some of her best. ‘2 YEARS’, ‘SYDNEY’ and the closer are all personal highlights, but there certainly isn’t a bad track on the release! She fits perfectly alongside other modern popish artists like Olivia Rodrigo, and is most certainly going to keep getting bigger and bigger the next few years. It’s certainly not going to be a release for everyone reading this article, but I had a good time listening to it, and will certainly be spinning it a fair bit over the coming summer. For now, it gets a solid 7.5/10 from us!

Druidess: Trip Meadow

The Newcastle-based doom/stoner metallers dropped their highly anticipated debut album this last Friday. Spoiler alert, it’s a bit good! It’s seven incredible tracks packed full of insane riffing, solid drumming and some catchy-as-fuck vocal melodies. It immediately reminds me of The Sword’s heyday (goddamn I miss when they were pumping out great music), but also has elements of everything from Clutch to Red Fang to Orange Goblin. And as I said before, every song is as good as the last, it being nearly impossible to pick highlights. Having said that, the proggy, epic title track is pretty rather excellent! Everyone involved in this is so talented; from the playing to the writing to the production, it’s all excellent. As far as debut albums go, this is fantastic, and the band are going to go incredibly far if they keep up this quality. It won’t be for everyone, but if you like your metal sludgy, epic and massive, give this a spin, you won’t regret it! 8/10

Amberian Dawn: Temptation’s Gates

The first album from the symphonic metallers with new singer Nicole Willerton at the helm, this feels like another big step forward in the bands already sprawling discography. The first studio work from the outfit since 2020 (aside their 2022 ABBA tribute album), it shows how far the band have come in that time, refining their sound into the genre’s purest form. Nicole is the perfect fit, her vocals being a huge high point of the release, while the other four compliment her perfectly and work their asses off throughout. From ‘The Vision of Dreaming’ to ‘Unchained’ (those screams were unexpected and awesome!), ‘Undying Colours’ to the epic closer, it’s all so good. My only complaint would be that it’s a little samey throughout, but when it’s this good it’s hard to be that mad about that! If you are into the genre, do yourselves a favour and give this a listen. Another very easy 8/10

James O’Hurley: A Beggars Belief

This four track EP follows his album from last year rather perfectly. Combining two live-recorded tracks from said album with two brand new ones, it’s a short yet great blues release! It’s rather stripped-back and chilled out, but offers a different perspective on the rising star. The new tracks fit perfectly alongside the other two, and it creates an awesome 15 minutes of music. ‘Roulette’ is a personal favourite, it almost having bond-song levels of grandiose to it. However, all of it is great. If you are a fan of James or blues rock as a whole, this is well worth giving a spin! I’ll certainly be listening again, that’s for sure! 7.5/10

Taxi Girls: Static

Some more punk for us this week, this time the debut album from the Montrèal four-piece. It’s a lot of fun, and gives off big Distillers vibes in the best ways. From the opener to ‘Auto Hysterics’, ‘Kill Your Darlings’ to ‘Don’t Leave me Hanging’, there is so much to love throughout. It’s somehow the perfect blend of old-school and modern punk, but also has a unique vibe to it as well that is very Taxi Girls. I’d never heard of them before I got emailed about this release, but they have a big new fan in me, and are set to be a big name in the scene sooner rather than later! They encapsulate that DIY punk energy that the likes of Amyl and Wet Leg have brought to the dance before them, with the added bonus of actually making good-sounding music on top of that. If you are all interested, give this a listen, you’ll love it as much as I do! A very easy 8.5/10

Stonecast: Expand Crimson Chaos

Firstly, what a badass artwork! And, while we’re at it, what a badass album! The bands first since 2019’s I Earther, while it still maintains it baseline of traditional heavy metal, they experiment a lot through their 46 minutes here. The opener is straight up Doom metal, and it’s awesome! ‘A Ce Lieu’ has more of a thrashy, groove metal edge to it. ‘King of Hell’ goes in more of a metalcore/melodeath direction. The title track has an air of power metal to it, even. Between these, ‘Against the Tide’ and the closer, there is so much awesomeness to love throughout. There isn’t a bad track across the entire release, and it goes by surprisingly quickly. The band are all insanely talented musicians and songwriters, and have crafted their most cohesive and best album to date with this! I’d recommend it to absolutely anyone into metal, and I can’t give it any less than 9/10!

Fox N’Vead: Playing the Game

Album three from the North Carolinian four-piece perfectly blends alt rock with their country/southern background, and continues to grow their discography amazingly. The title track was slightly rocky for me, though they are clearly all accomplished blues players. However, ‘Waiting’ is a phenomenal southern-tinged hard rock track that called back to the early 2000s rock scene when it was so prevalent perfectly. Tracks like ‘Waste Away’, ‘High Agenda’ and ‘Grounded’ are also fantastic. There are some tracks that I don’t enjoy as much as others; the slower, softer ones don’t quite hook me in as much. However, overall it’s a damn good album! It’s up there alongside their previous two, the group building up an incredibly strong back catalogue. They feel wholly unique, finding a fun niche for their sound that works for me more often than not, and I’ll certainly be listening again! If you like the rockier side of country, or the alt side of Southern rock, give this a try! 8/10

Reviews

The World Splits Open: The Sophomore Album from Punk-Metallers HAWXX!

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The punk-metal trio are back with their highly anticipated follow-up to their 2023 debut, Earth, Spit, Blood and Bones. While I’ve seen the name around, I don’t think I particularly know any of their music. However, having checked out a single in the lead up to this, it seems like it should be right up my street! Without further ado, let’s dive in!

The album starts out showing exactly what it’s about, and showcasing exactly what the band stand for. An audio clip of a woman talking about her brother jailed for protesting for Palestine gives way to a huge vocal wall from the trio, giving rise to the track name ‘Resistance is Justified’ perfectly. The heavy instrumentation behind it fits the vibe perfectly, the drumroll building excellently, while the Gojira-like guitars complement it excellently. As it explodes in we get chants of ‘Free Palestine’ and honestly, fuck yeah, this is punk metal awesomeness. The vocals remind me a little of a Dead Kennedy’s type, but also with plenty of anger and scream to them too. And of course the lyrics are phenomenal, matching the angst a lot of the world is feeling currently. It’s heavy and anti-establishment in all the very best ways. And, as I said, it’s the perfect way to set the tone for the release as a whole, and an excellent way to introduce the band to any new listeners. A MASSIVE early highlight!

‘Macho Bullshit’ continues the vibes from the pervious track perfectly. The opening riff is both heavy and groovy in equal measure, almost feeling like a modern/nu metal song at first. Otep was where my mind immediately went to, and that certainly isn’t a bad thing! The lower-level verse, builds perfectly through the pre into an almost hardcore-like part, and then gets even bigger with a melodic, doom-ish chorus. All of it is excellent and so very catchy! It’s a bit more radio friendly a track, a very good choice for a single. The outro is awesome too, proper metallic punk greatness. To I’m sure no surprise, this is another awesome song and one that makes our playlist!

The other single from the release (damn this album is front-loaded!) ‘Feral Mother’, opens on vocals and a simple guitar chug. It once again builds perfectly, exploding into a huge, heavy soundscape. It takes an almost prog vibe to it at this point, though the vocal melody instead is very Serj Tankian. It’s surprisingly catchy, and again works excellently as a single. It’s less angsty than the previous songs, but provides a really interesting change of pace, almost all the elements of punk stripped away, left with an epic metal vibe. The album has already kept me guessing in the best possible way, and this is another great example of that!

‘We Are Nature’ gives off a similar vibe to the previous track, though with a slight bit of that punk attitude injected back into it. The same could be said for ‘Bind’ and ‘Sacred Water’. Both have a Middle Eastern tinge to them, giving off vibes of Igorrr or Lowen on top of their own style. They are similar in their sound and execution, but are so very different from some other tracks on the album, making it constantly interesting and rather fascinating. The former is probably my favourite just for the HEAVY dum outro. However, all three are fantastic songs, packed with great melodies, instrumentation and lyrics.

Then you have the more frantic energy of songs like ‘Arm the Animals’ and ‘Shriek’ Both have more of that hardcore punk energy to it, with the former being another huge high point of the album for me, both lyrically and musically. The band are SO GOOD when they are angry, almost equalling Sam Carter levels of excellent in that regard. However, the latter at least has elements of that Middle Eastern melody to it too, yet still has the aggressive edge of stuff like the opener. It’s a fantastic combination of all their sounds!

‘Me Her and the Birds’ is the ballad of the album. It’s a dark, beautiful track mainly built around a simple, clean guitar chord progression and the ladies’ vocals. Having said that, it still builds gradually into a heavier, more distorted, huge crescendo. However, it stays at a slower pace, being truly epic and menacing in all the best ways. It’s another track that somehow feels completely different while also sounding distinctly like HAWXX What a track!

The closer, ‘Be That Whore’, is truly a culmination of everything that came before it. From the punky attitude to the prog-metal structures and riffs to some incredible screams, it all blends together masterfully. It’s the longest track on the record at comfortably over six minutes, but it means everything gets the perfect time to breathe. It’s ambitious and heavy and so very well written. A perfectly fitting way to close out the album, and in a way that only HAWXX can!

Overall: I absolutely loved this album! I didn’t really know what to expect heading in outside of what I got from their presser, but I emerge from this release as a massive new fan of the band! All three of the trio kill it from start to finish, and every song on it is great, with a good handful standing out as truly excellent. If you are at all a fan of your music a little heavier or punky, this is absolutely the release for you. And damn, if some of the lyrics and the messages aren’t fantastic. I’ll certainly be listening to this again, and don’t be surprised to see it high on our albums of the year list come December! I can see them being a big name, sooner rather than later!

The Score: 9/10

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: The War and Treaty, Hard-Fi and More!

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A slightly quieter week this time, but we still have some great releases to be checking out! Let’s dive in!

The War and Treaty: The Story of Michael and Tanya

The second album in two years from the Southern soul duo and honestly, it may take a little growing for me. Tracks like ‘You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore’, ‘Holy Ghost Fire’ and the closer are high points, but the album as a whole is a touch slow. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not known for high pace generally, but they at least have some smattered throughout their projects. This is just all ballads aside for closer ‘High Heels’. Said track is up there among their best, honestly, but it certainly took some getting to. While I did very much like Plus One, it was a slight step below Lover’s Game for me in hindsight, and this release once again takes another sad step down. I did enjoy the concept of the release, the pair highlighting the ups and downs of their marriage from each perspective. However, it felt like they didn’t lean into each other as much, more having each track be a solo one with the other as backup. The emotion is still there, but it can make for a damn depressing listen at times. When they do sing together though, it still very much works to perfection. They still have two of the best voices in music currently. They just felt less of a team sharing each song than usual.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly their target audience, and I’m sure plenty of their fans will love this. It’s still not a bad album by any stretch. However, it’s nothing we haven’t had from them before, except it leans hard on the stuff that I like a little more in moderation from the duo. As I said, hopefully it grows on me, as I’ll certainly be giving it more listens. For now, I can’t give it much more than 7.5/10.

Hard-Fi: Sweating Someone Else’s Fever

Having known the name for a while, I don’t think I’ve ever actually heard a track by the UK indie rockers outside of their big hit. However, the first album in a decade and a half and since their 2022 reunion, there was no way I wasn’t checking it out to see what all he hype was for.

It’s at very least interesting. The opener is terrible, but I did enjoy the Latin-infused single ‘Digo Nada’. Tracks like ‘Looking for Fun’ and ‘Now and Then’ are also pretty good! However, overall it isn’t really the sort of thing I’m into much. None of it is bad at all, and does have a bit of a nostalgic twinge for me from when this sort of style was big in the bands heyday. If you are big into this sort of music, you’ll almost certainly have a lot of love for this. The band are clearly talented! Krysten Cummings also does great on her two guest tracks, adding a lot to the sound. However, the whole album is a bit boring and samey, dragging across its 40 minutes. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done before, and feels kinda dated; a little expected given their time off. As I say, if you’re a fan of the band or 2000s/2010s indie music, this is worth a listen. Outside of that though, I don’t think it’s win many new fans over. If it was on I wouldn’t turn it off, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to listen to this again. 5/10

When Rivers Meet: Rhythm Rust & Static

Coming just one year after the awesome Addicted to You, the husband-and-wife blues duo are back with album number five. I feels like the pair have gone a bit heavier with this release too, which was awesome to hear! I was hooked right from the opener, and not let go for the full 41 minutes. ‘Caught in the Middle’, ‘I’m Ready for You’ and ‘My Time Is Done’ are big personal highlights, but honestly the whole album is fantastic and has a great flow to it. Heck, as a soon-to-be-parent, hearing the pair of new parents write and perform a track like ‘Bring Life’ was truly beautiful. They are such a phenomenal combined talent, and I honestly feel like they have the ingredient that I was missing from War and Treaty above; they play off each other and compliment each other perfectly throughout. The pair and their backing band are all insanely talented, and I think they’ve maybe crafted their most cohesively high-quality release yet! Another incredibly solid 9/10 from us!

Endseeker: Coffin Born

The farewell EP from the German death metallers is a fittingly brutal. It’s 22 minutes of fast paced, heavy music, and each track is as good as the last! ‘Enemies of Peace’ is an amazing opener packed with some truly great lyrics. ‘Coffin Born’ goes hard too, and the Lord of the Lost-featuring ‘True Survivor’ not only closes things out perfectly, but adds some great dynamics to the release with some clean vocals. As I said though, the whole thing is great from beginning to end. It’s a shame to see the band go, but what a note to end it on! If to are into the heavier end of stuff at all, this is definitely worth a spin! I can’t give it any less than 8/10

Warning: Rituals of Shame

The first album from the British doom band in a whopping two decades finally dropped this last Friday, to much hype from its cult following. It’s 45-minutes of darkness and despair, the band picking things up like they never left it off in the first place. It’s only five tracks long, but each is proggy, doom-filled epicness, and it all flows surprisingly well together. Don’t get me wrong, on the whole it’s maybe a little slow for me personally, but I still very much appreciate the talent and writing that went into creating this! Having said that, I really enjoyed ‘Stations’, and closer ‘Teacher’ is awesome too. It all just feels a bit similar to me, and the slower doom stuff doesn’t hit as hard when that’s all it is, if that makes sense? For fans of the band, I imagine this is like Christmas, and it is certainly a worthy successor to Watching from a Distance. And while it is damn good doom metal, I can’t give it any more than 7/10

Pond: Terrestrials

Following up 2024’s Stung!, the Australian psychedelic five-piece show off their incredible talent once again here! While not typically my sort of thing on paper, I had a blast listening to it in full! Nestled comfortably between Yes, Deep Purple and ELO, their sound is awesome, and each member plays their asses off throughout, all getting their own time to shine. Personal highlights include ‘Casuarina’, ‘Roebuck Plains’ and ‘Personal Hell’, but the whole album is pretty damn good! If you like the softer, proggier side of rock music, this is absolutely an album for you. It’s not something I’ll be spinning too often, but will most likely be checking it out again in the relatively near future. It’s a solid 7.5/10, and is another that may grow on me even more through the rest of the year!

Inherits the Void: The Silent Abscission

This atmospheric black metal album is honestly awesome! Y’all know by now that I have an up-and-down relationship with black metal, but this was interesting and entertaining as hell throughout. Having elements of almost tech death added to the rest was awesome, the sheer playing and writing ability on display being off the charts. From the opener to ‘In the Shadow of the Falling Star’ to ‘A World Unmade’, the album is packed full of great songs! It’s another release that flows fantastically too, not at all feeling nearly 50 minutes in length. It’s not a release for everyone, but I really enjoyed it, and will certainly be spinning it again plenty moving forward. Even if you aren’t typically into black metal, give this a try, it will almost certainly win you over like it did me! 8.5/10, great stuff!

Kashus Culpepper: Act I: Summer Nights

The new EP from the rising country star is a short but very sweet affair. Three new songs, backed up by a fantastic cover and an interlude, and it makes for incredibly easy listening! It’s 13 minutes of chilled-out, beautiful pop-country/Southern soul, and I can’t get enough! ‘Let me Show You Love’ is fantastic, as is ‘Til the Sun Goes Down’. However, there is no beating that fantastic Glen Campbell cover, it opens things up perfectly. I remember checking out his debut album back at the start of the year and not minding it, but honestly this was a step up in quality for me! I feel like the brief nature of this release (Act I is long) helped it a lot, it being all-killer, no-filler. I’ll definitely be listening to this again, probably a fair bit over the summer, and would urge anyone reading this to check this out! Another incredibly easy 8.5/10 from us!

Swim Deep: Hum

Album five from the indie collective is another chilled-out release for us this week. I can’t say I’d really heard of them before checking out this album, and while it’s not usually my sort of style, I definitely had fun with it! It’s simple and relaxed and gives off a real early-mid 2000s vibe that I can’t help but be a little nostalgic for. And, from ‘You, Me and Mary’ to ‘Such a Fool’ to ‘In Dreams Alive’, there is a lot to love. It’s maybe a little too similar for me in terms of pace and sound for an album as a whole, but I’ll definitely be coming back to the aforementioned tracks pretty regularly! For any indie fans reading this, this is certainly an album for you. I’m at least curious to go back and check out the rest of their back catalogue to see if it’s all this good. And, while I do so, this gets a solid 7/10

Shadowborne: Heaven’s Falling

Time for a debut album, us having surprisingly few this week. The power metal newcomers kill it with this release! From the excellent opener ‘High and Low’ to ‘Hold the Door’ to ‘The Wall’, there is so much to love throughout, though the whole album is pretty excellent! If you are even a passing fan of power or heavy metal, give this a spin ASAP! From the soaring vocals to the solid drumming to the excellent riffs and synth, it’s all so damn good. And the choruses, they are easily a high point of the release as a whole, they are all so infectiously catchy. The band are going to go very far in the scene if this release is anything to go by. I already can’t wait to hear where they go from here, but for now I’ll certainly be listening to this a lot moving forward. I can’t give it any less than 8/10!

Mork: Monolitt

The ninth album from Thomas Eriksen’s black metal project is another brutal addition to their growing discography. It’s a perfect encapsulation of the 2nd wave of the genre, though with some real top-notch production that honestly helps it a lot. There are some awesome riffs throughout, and some truly heavy drums and screams. It’s a little more straight forward than Inherits the Void above, so did struggle to hold my attention a little more. However, there was enough more death metal-like parts that I still found myself enjoying it! Single ‘Ødelagt’ is a big high point of the release, as is ‘Martyr’. And the rest all sounds fairly similar, so if you generally like your metal black, you’re bound to love this! Another solid 7/10

Tucker Zimmerman: Dream Me a Dream

The criminally underrated folk singer-songwriter put out his fifth album this decade so far this last Friday. It’s a stripped-back, relaxed affair and a 37 minutes I found myself enjoying far more than I expected to! The lyrics were amazing, and sometimes the swell of the strings and other instrumentation around Tucker bring out so much emotion. ‘Don’t Feel Like Doing Nothing Today’ is probably my favourite, but I also really like the Lou Reed-like ‘Rooftops of San Francisco’. He’s an old-school storyteller through and through, and it’s cool to still be getting this sort of music being released. It’s probably not something I’d revisit a huge amount, but I can appreciate the hell out of the musicianship that went into it, and certainly liked it. It was cool to just throw on and get lost in the lyricism and feel of it all. And, for that, it gets an easy 7.5/10

Features, Reviews

Download 2026: The Big Bad Review – Day 3

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The last day of the festival kicked into high gear immedialy with Kublai Khan TX. The new kings of hardcore brought the heavy and swagger right from the moment they stepped on stage, and had a surprisingly long set filled with bangers. Matt is such a good frontman, making everything from his growls to his interactions look so effortless and cool. The rest of the band very much give it their all though, putting on a show enough to match. The setlist was great too, a full 12 tracks of attitude and brutality. And the crowd were all for it, even at barely midday, throwing down and shouting back to the band at Matt’s every command. I am already desperate to see the band again, hopefully in a smaller, more intimate setting, but I’m shocked that even seeing a band like this on a stage as big as this was so good! What a way to shake off the cobwebs and start the day off with a bang!

Next up was the legend that is Mammoth. Another one that we’ve seen once or twice at Graspop, not only do Wolfgang and co. keep growing more each year, but they somehow keep getting even better, too! I was a big fan of their album last year, and to hear a good chunk of it live was awesome! Honestly, it was just a really great set to sit and chill out in the sun to after a busy weekend (and the madness of Khan). I don’t really have much else to say about it other than it was fantastically good hard rock music, and if you’re into that you should absolutely go and see them ASAP!

Over in the Avalanche tent we saw one of my new favourite bands next in The Pretty Wild. Sisters Jyl and Jules are absolute powerhouses not just on track but on stage too, and their band absolutely back that up in a massive way. The sheer talent of both of their vocals is off the charts, but the fact that they can sing and scream like that while also putting on the performance like that is honestly phenomenal. The setlist was perfect, giving us the very best of their album and single stuff, and actually felt like the best possible length (though I’d have happily taken another ten minutes, honestly). They already had one of my favourite albums of last year, and now on top of that they have one of my favourite sets of this year! I already can’t wait to see them again, we need a headline UK/EU tour next year please!

Bloodywood absolutely tore apart main stage next. I’d only seen them the once before, and I think the sound quality played a big part in me being ever so slightly let down by the set. This more than made up for that instance. For once they got the sound right on the main stage; this hit hard and loud in all the right places. And you could tell too, as the crowd popped OFF throughout. And while I do still think they talk a little too much between tracks, I know a lot of people are into that, and they were certainly saying some great stuff. On top of that, it was another perfect set, giving us the very best of their two albums. They are still such a unique and interesting sound, it makes it impossible not to get on board with it, and the fact that they very much bring it live too makes it even better. I was always a fan, but this definitely won me over to the band in an even more massive way. Another band I need to see again like yesterday.

After that were The Pretty Reckless. Another band that it’s been almost a decade since I’d last seen, and it’s kinda sad that in all that time, they haven’t gotten much better live. I’m sorry y’all, I just don’t get it. And still, I find it hard to put my finger on exactly why that is. The band are all talented, and Taylor has a great live voice. She’s not the best front-person in the world, but I’ve certainly seen worse, and from bigger artists. I think that might be it though; they throw their weight around like they are the biggest band in the world. They drag everything out so much, stretching their 10 track setlist by easily 10 minutes than the studio versions to make everything interractable. Don’t get me wrong, they have some damn good songs, but I hate to say that if it wasn’t for Momsen being the face of the band, I don’t think they’d be nearly as big as they are if they had the same tracks still. She’s a rockstar through and through, standing out among an industry now of more clean-cut, calmer musicians, but I’m not sure that’s necessarily a good thing. They’re certainly good, and I know that their fans there loved it, but I sadly kinda found myself thinking ‘just get on with it’.

Social Distortion didn’t have nearly a big enough crowd on the Opus stage. They definitely had some stiff competition from the other stages, but the punk legends don’t venture over here all too often, and just put out a banger of a new album, they deserved more love! They still sound great live too, even with Mike’s recent health issues. However, while I did dig the new album stuff, I have to say as my first time seeing them, I was a little let down they didn’t do literally anything off their massive, self-titled album. It’s what got me into the band all those years ago, and I was excited to finally hear some of it live. Clearly I just need to hear a longer set from them, as they sounded great and put on a good show, I just wanted more!

Possibly my favourite band at this point were up next, Ice Nine Kills. This was a weird one for me, honestly. We saw them back in December and they were incredible! However, something here felt slightly off at times, though I’m 90% convinced it was the sound. The vocal mix, for once, was actually impeccable. I’ve never heard Ricky and Joe so loudly, and they filled in around Spencer excellently. However, and it’s the same complaint as I had all weekend, the main stage was just too damn quiet. They’re a heavy-ass metalcore band with pretty brutal breakdowns and almost death metal parts, yet we were at the first crowd-breaker and none of it really hit.

However, the band and the stage show of course killed it, just as always. A set packed full of incredible songs, be it off Welcome to Horrorwood, their recent singles or even a cheeky NOFX cover. Each one was complete with costume changes, props, extras and pyro, proving that they are truly one of the best live bands around today. I didn’t even mind that it was essentially the same set that we’d seen from them in the winter, because it’s all so good live and on track that it’s impossible not to love! Plus, Hannah Greenwood coming out to do Grace’s parts on ‘Twisting the Knife’ was amazing, she absolutely KILLED it all weekend (pun intended). It’s another case of if I was down the front, I’d have had even more fun, and it is a shame that the sound was so quiet that being further back had a big impact. But, even still, this was one of the best sets of the weekend!

After INK, we finally chilled out a bit. It was tetting warm and we couldn’t decide on who to see, so we kinda milled around, catching bits of whatever we fancied. Ash didn’t stand out to me much beforehand, and were simply fine live. We watched a bit of a meat smoking show, that was good fun and took me back to years of Long Roads. We caught the last two tracks of Mastodon, curious how they would sound without Brent. Honestly, I wasn’t digging it too much until ‘Crack the Skye’, and then that and ‘Blood and Thunder’ were excellent and I was really into it. They’ve never been the biggest band for me, but I’d happily see them again at another festival. Oh, and we popped up to Dogtooth early and caught the last few from the criminally underrated Spineshank. They killed it, and were honestly my biggest surprise of the weekend!

Creeper set two, Dogtooth tent. Now, I will happily hold my hands up and say that their packed out set at Trees the other year is one of my favourite live music experiences of all time. And fuck, the boys (and Hannah) only went and did it again, didn’t they? There is something about Creeper in a slightly more intimate, darker venue that makes it somehow even better, and it helps that the crowd were all in right from the start. And, while we got a fair bit of the same stuff as Friday’s set, the extra 20 minutes certainly helped! ‘The Ballad of Spook & Mercy’ is one of my favourite tracks they’ve ever done, and hearing it live is always amazing. And to hear new tracks like ‘The Crimson Bride’ and ‘The Black House’ live was amazing, too. Heck, we even got the live debut of Sanguivore closing ballad ‘More Than Death’, which I never thought we’d ever get live. Will absolutely blew everyone away with it and, to absolutely no one’s shock, made the wife cry again.

Everything about the set was honestly perfect. The sound was great, the band performed masterfully, the crowd was packed in to the rafters with genuine fans and, outside of me maybe wanting an older track or two sneaking in again, the setlist was amazing. The band have very quickly made Download their home the last few years, and this capped off one hell of a weekend for them. Looking back, this may very well have been my favourite set of the weekend, maybe even of the year. Goddamn.

And with that, the final band of the weekend took to the stage. A lot has been made about Linkin Park finally being the first female fronted band to headline the festival, and honestly it’s about fucking time. However, and don’t kill me for saying this, I wasn’t really feeling the set. They played a massive set packed full of career spanning hits to a packed out crowd, a lot of whom seemed to be loving it. And the From Zero stuff, from ‘Two Faced’ to ‘IGYEIH’ and plenty in between, sounded awesome! However, as much as I wanted to enjoy the older stuff, Emily’s voice just isn’t cut out for it. She wasn’t awful at the Thousand Suns or ‘Burn it Down’, but anything from the early stuff didn’t hit at all for me. I felt nothing when she sung the Hybrid Theory or Meteora tracks; it was all very one-note with no real emotion there. It made it feel even more like a Mike cash grab than it did before. The stage show was interesting, though there was far too much down time between songs, and the chemistry between Mike and Emily on the rare times they did interact with the crowd felt forced. If you enjoyed it and it scratched that LP itch for you, that’s awesome, but it sadly did not do that for me. We left during ‘Numb’, it was just too sad.

<- Day 2