Some people are really going to love this week’s New Music Mondays. There is a lot of softer rock making it up, with just a couple of HEAVY bands thrown in towards the end. Honestly, it’s quite refreshing. I love metal, but having a more chilled out week this week is nice. Come relax with me as we check it out!

Deaf Havana: The Present is a Foreign Land

I was under the impression these were more rock than this. I knew the name from friends in childhood and thought they were either indie-pop-rock or more of a hardcore pop-punk band, but a lot of this was just Ed Sheeran with slightly more instruments. Or at a push slow British country anthems. It’s not bad, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not exactly alt rock like their Wiki suggests. Tracks like ’19dreams’ and ‘Going Clear’ were definite highlights and good ballads, but I feel like I already know what this band is about and don’t have much desire to check out much more. 6/10

Senses Fail: Hell is in Your Head

Like a modern adaptation of My Chemical Romance. The bands eighth release is a similar blend of heavy pop-punk and post-hardcore styles like their previous ones, but still feels at least interesting. It’s okay, but none of it quite stood out to me enough for me to latch onto and enjoy. It all sounded pretty similar too so I couldn’t even come up with some recommendations for highlight tracks. Check out the opener and if you like it, you’ll probably enjoy the whole album. However, for me, this gets a 5/10

Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp: 18

Yes, Captain Jack Sparrow, conquerer of the mighty Amber Herd, made an album with rock music legend Jeff Beck. And I’ll tell you what, it’s fuckin’ weird. At least for the first half. Opening on an instrumental folk-rock track, it is then followed by a slightly-vocal-led industrial rock/metal track, which is then followed by a piano ballad and then a country/blues track. See, it’s wonderfully all over the place. Unfortunately it falls into soft rock pretty heavily after that and by 2/3s of the way through the album I’d kinda lost interest, but man if that first third wasn’t one hell of a fun roller coaster. Depp is clearly a big fan of Beck and wanted to incorporate More rock bands need to catch me off guard and keep me guessing, please! 7.5/10

Yours Truly: is this what i look like?

I’m struggling to work out whether to compare this more to old-school Paramore or modern pop acts like Olivia Rodrigo and GAYLE. It definitely has some old-school pop punk elements in there and feels a little heavier than the pop names I have mentioned, but also feels closest to Machine Gun Kelly’s recent bastardisation of the genre than anything else. I’m glad it’s a short album as I found myself getting bored of this after only the first three tracks, unfortunately. Not even You Me At Six could save my interest. It was good but incredibly samey after just a track or two. 4.5/10

Black Midi: Hellfire

This is weird. I don’t think I get it. The chaotic math/jazz/indie rock was at least one of the most interesting listens for me on this list so far, but that doesn’t quite equate to high quality. I preferred the faster, slightly heavier stuff like ‘Welcome to Hell’ and ‘The Race is About to Begin’ over the slower tracks. However, it is more in a Primus, Mr Bungle type of morbid curiosity. I appreciate what goes into writing them but I wouldn’t exactly listen to it on the regular. 6.5/10 just because it was one of the most interesting albums I’ve listened to in quite some time!

Interpol: The Other Side of Make-Believe

Another slow rock band releasing a slow album. I nearly didn’t even include it in this list as it was pretty boring for me to listen through. However, I have covered similar bands before so felt like I had to at latest mention it. If you like music like Joy Division and Editors, I’m sure you’d also enjoy this. But it isn’t for me at all. I need my music with a little more umph and intrigue. It might be an okay background album but after a generally slow week this week, this didn’t help! 3.5/10

…And You Will Know us From the Trail of Dead: Bleed Here Now

The Texan alt-rock band put out their 11th studio album last week. It’s more R.E.M. inspired soft rock music, but at least feels like some of the more enjoyable in this style I have heard recently. The emotion felt from the vocals in the chorus of ‘Penny Candle’ won me over, and then came that riffing and soloing in ‘No Confidence’. FINALLY, SOME RIFFS THIS WEEK. Both tracks are definite highlights for me, as is the punk AF ‘Kill Everyone’. A good but far too long album (22 tracks across 75 minutes) that has some definitely high points. Heck, the prog masterpiece ‘Taken by the Hand’ is another HUGE highlight. 7/10

Hissing: Hypervirulence Architecture

The blackened death metal band suffer the same fate as a lot of its counterparts: terrible vocal production. Why do black metal bands believe it sounds good to record through a potato? There were some good riffs scattered through here and some dynamic songwriting, but not nailing the vocals always puts me off somewhat. An album for the heavy fans for sure, but it’s not really my sort of thing. 3.5/10

Deathbringer: IT

Death metal with some of the best riffs I’ve heard this year, Deathbringer bring it (yes, pun intended) on their long awaited sophomore album. The drummer deserves heaps of praise too for his insane work throughout the album and while I struggled to understand the vocals for the most part, they were fitting and pretty fun. ‘Per Aspera’ and the insane ‘A Place to Exist’ were personal highlights for me! 7/10

Rain City Drive: Self-Titled

Formerly Slaves, the band’s fifth album and first after the rebrand is fantastic. the experimental pop-rock sound is still relatively under-explored, especially in the mainstream, but these guys fly that flag very well. Tracks like the opener, pop-centric ‘Cutting it Close’ and the heavier ‘Ophelia’ but show off the band’s range on this album and provide some fantastic highlights. However, if you like the poppier, hook-oriented side of rock, you’ll LOVE this whole album, like I did. The most enjoyable album for me this week by quite a margin. 8/10

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Another week chocked full of amazing new music, from classic rock to metalcore and some heavy stuff too! Check it out down below!

Journey: Freedom

The Kings of AOR themselves return with their 16th studio album, after having the longest gap between releases in the band’s nearly half-centry career. It’s epic, fun and showcases major talent. So the usual really for Journey! Yes, it’s slow, and after a full nearly 75 minutes that can get a little much. But tracks like ‘Let it Rain’, ‘United We Stand’ and the opener definitely make it a good listen. For a band that have written one of my favourite tracks of all time (Separate Ways, what a bop) this is definitely something I love and will listen to a fair bit over the coming months. 7.5/10

Coldrain: Nonegative

The Japanese metalcore band put out their seventh studio album last week. They are a name I have been familiar with for a while but for some reason I have never really checked them out. That was a massive mistake. This was fucking awesome. From start to finish, this was a really solid metalcore album. It had plenty of heaviness and harsh vocals while also having a catchy, radio hook in almost every track. The first three tracks are metalcore brilliance while tracks like ‘Before I Go’ almost give off Linkin Park vibes with their slower, cleaner sound. There really isn’t a bad song on the album, and even the slightly cringy intro to ‘2020’ was made better once the track kicked in. Awesome stuff and I REALLY want to check out theband’s back catologue after this! 8.5/10

Blind Channel: Lifestyles of the Sick & Dangerous

The Finish Eurovision alumni put out their fourth studio album on Friday. When I first heard them on the show, I definitely enjoyed them. They were a breath of fresh air for the pop-heavy brand and I honestly thought they were better than the eventual winners. Unfortunately it’s the best track on the album by quite a margin. I completely understand that English won’t be their native langauge, but the lyrics are cringe. ‘Opinions’ is one of the worst rock tracks of the year and tracks like ‘Bad Idea’ and ‘Balboa’ giving it a run for its money. Whoever said on the band’s Wiki that the band are post-hardcore is having a great laugh, this is just various eras of Linkin Park rolled into one. Plus, it’s never good to hear how much fame gets to someone’s head. It’s definitely not for me, so I have to unfortunately give it a 3/10

Beth Blade and the Beautiful Disasters: Mythos, Confession, Tragedies and Love

The third album from the blues/hard rock frontwoman is maybe her best yet. From the very opening track you get a great example of her sound and talent, and it continues throughout. ‘Tonight I’m With You’ gives off awesome, early Halestorm vibes while ‘Undo Me’ is a fantastic stadium rock song. Another album that is straight through good songs, too, though I do have to say I think she does a better job with the heavier stuff over the ballads. 8/10

Viagra Boys: Cave World

Channelling their inner early punk vibe, Viagra Boys infuse it perfectly with new wave and indie with this album. While it’s not exactly my sort of thing, I can definitely hear the quality and appeal. The lyrics are the definite highlight, especially given that there isn’t a massive deal ‘to’ the instrumentation. ‘Troglodyte’ is the definite highlight for me, but ‘Punk Rock Loser’ and ‘ADD’ are also fun. 6.5/10

Vomit Forth: Seething Malevolence

Annnnd we’re onto the heavy stuff. A mixture of death metal and grindcore/beatdown but sadly with the production of a black metal album. Do I really need to say more? Y’all know I’m not going to like it, there isn’t enough melody or enough breakdowns. I struggled to get more than 4 tracks in, sorry guys. If you like it then awesome, but in my personal opinion it’s a 3/10

Amongst Liars: Self-Titled

I had no idea what to expect heading into this. Fuck was I impressed. It’s heavy indie/QOTSA sort of vibes, combining heavy, fuzzy riffs with infectiously catchy radio-rock. From opening track ‘Cut It’ the band had me hooked and I listened to the full album in one sitting. It’s not often I do that on this series, especially with a smaller band. The band even channel some Placebo influence in there at times, another band I’m a huge fan of! For a debut album this is off the charts impressive, and I cannot wait to hear what the band do from here! 8/10

Telekinetic Yeti: Primordial

Another album that isn’t produced very well, the vocals being hard rto make out. It’s a shame too as I was enjoying the riffs and this particular brand of desert rock quite a lot! Instrumentally it’s like The Sword meets Masters of Reality and I am all for it, I just wish the vocals were turned up a tad or were a bit clearer. However, the vocals seem like a much lower priority than the riffs and drums, so I can hardly blame them. It almost feels like they want to be an instrumental band but know that comes with a ceiling when it comes to the mainstream, so have put whatever vocals they can to it. I still thoroughly enjoyed this and would definitely recommend checking it out for the insane songwriting alone. I just wish it had a big chorus or two. 6.5/10

Lord Elephant: Cosmic Awakening

Not too dissimilar to the previous band but this one is actually instrumental. I feel like a hypocrite as I actually felt myself wanting and missing vocals. It was okay but not quite as enjoyable as Yeti were with the sound. Still, there was some fun, dynamic songwriting in here and it is worth a listen if you like the more prog, psychedelic side of rock music. 5.5/10

The Machinist: All is Not Well

We finish off this week on more heavy. The industrial death metal band put out another angry, hate-filled album that grew on me a lot as it went through. Filled with crushing riffs and impressively brutal screams no matter the gender of the vocalist doing them, the albums is definitely for the fans of heavy. I struggled to pick a highlight because it’s not quite my sort of thing, but as with others on this list damn was it impressive. I feel like they’re a band I need to see live to really appreciate them properly. For now, I’ll give it a 6.5/10

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Not a massive week for new music this week but a handful of great bands none the less. From avant-garde to funk to new-wave, there is something for everyone, so join us in checking it all out!

Dan Reed Network: Let’s Hear it For the Kings

The funk rock band return with their third album since their 2013 reunion. Honestly, it’s my favourite they’ve done since their first stint. Opening on the fantastic ‘Pretty Karma’ and featuring such incredible tracks like ‘Starlight’ and the wonderfully Backstreet Boys-esque ‘Stumble’, the album is strong throughout. Dan gets better with age when it comes to a vocalist, songwriter and performer, and the rest of the band hold up their own perfectly, providing a funky, heavier Genesis of instrumentation that is infectiously enjoyable. I have to see this stuff live, I guess I’m seeing them with Reckless Love after all! 8/10

DIR EN GREY: PHALARIS

The Japanese heavy metal icons returned last week with their 11th studio album. Opening with the slow build and avant-garde-ness of ‘Schadenfreude’, the band continue along that trend by showcasing all walks of metal across their 11 tracks. Whether it’s the power ballad of the second track or the all-out assault of ‘Eddie’, there is something for everyone here. And I loved all of it. The band are fantastically talented at playing and songwriting, and definitely have a new fan in me! How have I never given them more of a chance before? 8.5/10

Hank Williams Jr: Rich White Honkey Blues

56 studio albums. Let that just sink in. That’s INSANE. And 18 of those are certified gold or higher in the US. I know he’s been going since the mid-60s, but that’s still fucking incredible. Still pumping music out at the ripe young age of 73, Jr still sounds fantastic. ‘Georgia Women’ is one hell of a great single and the title track and ‘I Like it When It’s Stormy’ are fantastic blues-drenched country-rock tracks. I cannot believe he is still releasing music of such high quality. 8/10

Tungsten: Bliss

Time for some epic power metal. Another genre I have gotten into a lot more thanks to this company, this had me headbanging throughout. It’s heavier than most power metal too, with the screams and blast beats being a fun inclusion. However, it still has some catchy, huge choruses and, I’m sure you’ve guessed it, an operatic female vocal for harmony purposes. Heck, single ‘March Along’ even has some industrial influences, which was surprising and awesome. And the epic conclusion, ‘Northern Lights’, is something that must be heard… so I left it below! Everyone likes power metal, if you don’t you’re lying, so check this album out! 7.5/10

Nova Twins: Supernova

I never got the Nova Twins. That doesn’t change with this release. It’s basically girl group pop with basic rock music and riffs behind it. If that’s your thing go right ahead. However, I’d prefer to listen to Girls Aloud or Spice Girls, at least the songs written for them to sing were good. Packed full of cringy lyrics and not fun rock music, it felt like a chore to listen to at times. I wanted to like it because it’s punk as fuck and II generally like rap and hip-hop and rock music inspired by it. However, it’s a no from me, sadly. 3.5/10

Consecration: Cinis

The blackened-death-doom metal band put out their forth album over the weekend. It’s dark, menacing and brutal, as well as growing on me more and more throughout. The prog elements they bring to it all are a lot of fun and really add an interesting and pretty original edge to their sound. They remind me of early Opeth. Good stuff, and well worth a listen if you like the heavy stuff. 7/10

Baby Strange: World Below

The first article on this site almost a year ago was our interview with this band. Therefore, it feels only fitting that we review this album. Honestly, I really like it. There’s a real revival of the classic, Pulp/Human League sound going on right now with the likes of these and Dead Writers, and I’m all for it. It’s hard to even pick a highlight track or two, as the whole album is a masterclass in this kind of genre brought into the modern day. The band deserve every amount of hype they are gaining these days and no matter what type of music you are into, check this out, you will find something to enjoy. 8.5/10

Check out our interview with the band here.

Wicked Stone: Synergy

Straddling the line between hard rock and metalcore, Wicked Stone put out their difficult second album last week. I’ve seen them a couple of times now over the last half a decade since their debut, and to be brutally honest, I find myself getting it less and less. The band are a collection of clearly good musicians who like what they write (since this sounds very close to their last album) but it simply isn’t translating to me. Nothing on this album stands out to me or earworms me in the slightest, it sounds somehow generic but also not definitive enough in what genre it wants to be. The riffs are good, don’t get me wrong, I’m probably just being bitchy because there isn’t a big catchy chorus. Hopefully it grows on me because it’s everything I should like, but I just can’t seem to. 4/10

Another week down and at nearly halfway through the year there have been some incredible albums so far. Join us next week from our Instagram here for more!

A Huge week for new music this week. 12 new albums for us to check out, and a bunch of it is what I grew up on, metalcore! Don’t worry though, there’s some punk and southern and heavier stuff, too. Let’s dive in, shall we?

Bleed From Within: Shrine

Bleed From Within are Scottish. I hope I’m not the only one who’s mind has not been blown by that fact. As you can tell I’m not too familiar with this band aside knowing their general metalcore sound after checking them out when they were announced as BFMV’s support a couple of years ago. The great god Wikipedia tells me this is their sixth album, so I’m going to feel even more stupid if I love it and have waited this long to check them out…

I love it. Damn. Opening heavy with ‘I Am Damnation’ and ‘Sovereign’, the band pack in huge riffs and amazing growls but combat them well with catchy, cleaner choruses. It’s a lot like early Parkway Drive or Architects, it’s great. ‘Levitate’ opens with slow build and a similar violin line to Machine Head’s ‘Now We Die’ before launching into disgusting post-nu-metal heaviness. The chorus is HUGE though and SO catchy. Oh, and the guitar solo is sick. I’ve not gushed over one track on NMM for a while so expect it to be track of the week this week on our Instagram! However, having said that, both ‘Flesh and Stone’ and ‘Stand Down’ are strong contenders, too. All the singles, and every track on this album really, is phenomenal. 9/10

GWAR: The New Dark Ages

Okay, confession time. I never quite got into Gwar. But, having said that, I never saw them live. I’ve heard how good of a show they put on and it would probably win me over, but on track they never did much for me.

So, imagine my surprise when I found myself really enjoying them on this album. I definitely don’t want to speak ill of anyone no longer with us, but clearly my issue lay with Dave Brockie’s vocals. Sawborg Destructo and Blothar do a better job with the vocals and make it all feel much more polished. Don’t worry, it still has the silliness of Green Jelly, filled with plenty of immature lyrics, but it’s a little groovier and less thrash-punk, which also helped my enjoyment. Tracks like the opener and ‘Berserker Mode’ are great both musically and lyrically, and they’ve made me want to check out more of the bands back catalogue now to see if I’ve been wrong all along! 7/10

Crobot: Feel This

Everyones (at least in terms of bands wanting to tour with them) favourite upcoming hard/groove rock band, Crobot put out album number four last week. I got into them hard when their last album, 2019’s Motherbrain, was released, so have been excited for this for a while.

Bursting right in with ‘Electrified’, the band hit hard with energy and purpose, and keep that feeling going through much of the album. The infectious grooves and vocals in this track, ‘Better Times’ and ‘Livin’ On the Streets’ are awesome. However, it’s the slower tracks that are the real highlight here. ‘Set you Free’ is a powerful, beautiful ballad while the wonderfully (early) Shinedown-esque ‘Golden’ is another massive highlight of the album. They build on the foundations of Motherbrain amazingly and somehow top it. It’s a shame they aren’t over here more often because the NWOCR scene would snap them up in a heartbeat! 9/10

Drive-By Truckers: Welcome 2 Club XIII

My ocd hates that title. However, I like the album! It’s like darker, heavier Lou Reed, but also adds some country, southern and blues to the punk. Tracks like the title one and ‘Every Single Storied Flameout’ were fun, uptempo tracks while the opener and ‘Shake and Pine’ were more atmospheric, slower ones. Both sides had a lot of upside to them and make for a damn well-rounded album. It’s chilled out and another one I’d happily put on on a long drive or in the background to relax to. 6.5/10

Memphis May Fire: Remade In Misery

The Texan metalcore band go hard on their seventh album. Tracks like the opener, ‘Somebody’ and ‘Death Inside’ are all great. But, they picked a bad week to finally release the album. Yes, I know between the nine (too many) singles that the fans have heard almost the entire album already, but Bleed From Within showed them up a fair bit this week, in my opinion. Having said that, though, the two previously unheard tracks are okay too. Shame the slow one closes the album. I can’t wait for that trend to end. 7/10

Thornhill: Heroine

More metalcore (I told you it was a big week for it), this time from Australia. These guys take a different approach to the sub-genre, immediately catching my interest more than MMF. It feels more atmospheric, more like Monuments or Grey Haven than BFMV. ‘The Hellfire Club’ is a great opener and really sets the tone for the rest of the album. Tracks like ‘Leather Wings’ and ‘Casanova’ were also highlights of a good album. With their sound and their talent, I assumed the band had been together a fair bit longer than 2016. They have a big future if they keep putting stuff out of this quality. 7/10

Artificial Brain: Self-Titled

A heavy death metal band with such low growls that I could barely even tell if they were there half the time. Either the mix is terrible or the vocals are pointless. Either way in all fairness, the mix is bad. It sounds like the whole band have used the Spinal Tap/Death Magnetic technique of just turn everything up to 11, making it an incomprehensible wall of sound. The band have three albums out and all sound like this. I think it’s time to get a new mixer, boys. Especially since the actual musicianship is fine. 3/10

Sergeant Thunderhoof: This Sceptred Veil

The darkest thing to ever come out of Somerset, the groove/doom rock band put out their third (or fifth (can two songs count as an album if long enough? Spotify says yes…) album last week. The band sound like a mixture of The Sword, Queens of the Stone Age, Tool and Red Fang. It’s pretty awesome. Also the proggier element to it is great, a few of the tracks going 8+ minutes and really drawing you into the band’s world. I can’t even pick a highlight as this definitely seems like the sort of album you listen to all the way through. 7/10

Out of Service: The Ground Beneath Me

More dark, moody music, this time from the US. A heavier indie/alt-rock band, the album sets a perfect tone and, much like the previous one on this list, prompts a full listen to truly experience it. It’s again hard to pick singular highlights due to this, but the lead single ‘A Moment Trapped in Time’ featuring the awesome Emery is great, as is the more pop-punk ‘The Fall’. The album channels so many different styles and influences, it’s a pleasure to listen through just to hear them all. The band have a new fan in me and I shall definitely be checking out their previous two albums! 7/10

Somnus Throne: Nemesis Lately

An album that I cannot help but compare to the Thunderwolf one due to their similar styles, Somnus feel like they are having slightly more fun with it. Plus the band seem to lean even heavier into the prog side of the sub-genre, the album only being six tracks but clocking in at a whopping 42-minutes. The band are even more like The Sword, awesome, ch0nky riffs included, and I love it. ‘Lacque Bones’ and ‘Rubber Tramp’ are particular highlights, even if they are very similar tracks. 7.5/10

Defiatory: Apokalyps

We don’t get nearly enough thrash through this site, so I’m so pumped whenever I get to cover some. My inner thrash-head comes out, like the kid from Metal Lords. This album was good. It’s actually pretty hard to do thrash wrong if you’re good musicians, which these guys definitely are. Tracks like ‘Only War’ and ‘Belligerent and Hostile’ are some of the best new thrash tracks I’ve heard in a while. It’s a good album from start to finish, and another band that have a new fan in me! 7.5/10

Pardon my French, but quelle putain de semaine fantastique pour la musique rock. Metalcore owned the week with three awesome releases, but country hard rock and stoner rock was represented really well too. There are a couple of albums that will be up there for album of the year come December, I’m sure!

Check back here again next week for another packed week!

After Shinedown also delayed their album thanks to vinyl printing issues, I officially give up saying what is coming out the week later. However, even with that loss, we still have nine great bands who have released new music last week. Check them out below!

Bowling for Soup: Pop Drunk Snot Bread

Everyone’s favourite pop-punk band are back with their follow-up to their 2016 album, Drunk Dynasty. In that time they have suffered their only major line-up change, with long-time friend and tech of the band Rob Felicetti now on full time bas duties. It hasn’t effected the band’s sound or song-writing too much though, as this new music proves!

A lot of people seem to drop off around the time of Great Burrito Extortion Case which is a real shame as the subsequent two albums are up there with their early ones for me. Their last couple weren’t quite as strong, but Pop Drunk feels like the band have gained back some of their confidence and energy again. Whether it’s the fantastic singles ‘I Wanna Be Brad Pitt’ and ‘Getting Old Sucks’ or hilarious, catchy album tracks like ‘The Letter 3’, there’s a lot to love about this album. Even the slower, more emotional ballad ‘The Best we Can’ is great. The only real dud is ‘Alexa Bliss’. I get what they were going for, the attitude and heaviness of a wrestling entrance song for the riff, but it didn’t fit with the rest of the track, or with Jaret’s voice. Still, the strongest album the band have done in a decade and one that should keep them right at the top of the pop-punk world. 8/10

Dorothy: Gifts From the Holy Ghost

The queen of US pop-rock returns with her first album in over four years. As usual her blend of blues-rock swagger and huge, stadium-filling choruses is fantastic. More than ever with this album her and the band remind me of a modern day G’n’R, just with a folky twang. ‘Rest in Peace’ is one of the best tracks I’ve heard so far this year, while tracks like the opener and ‘Made to Die’ are also awesome. But, then again, the whole album is great, there isn’t a noticeable bad track. So, fingers crossed this album finally catapults her at the top of the game, where the she belongs! 8.5/10

Northlane: Obsidian

This has always been the darker, more industrial side of metalcore that I just don’t get. It reminds me a lot of Silent Planet or Bad Omens, dark and gritty but not really what I would associate with metalcore, it lacked the riffs and angst that the likes of Killswitch and BFMV have/had. Tracks like ‘Echo Chamber’ and ‘Plenty’, the lighter ones, are okay. However when they go heavy it just sounds like a sluddgy mess of down-tuned guitars and meh vocvals, losing all personality and feeling. Also, you can hear that Spiritbox is already having on the scene, given that ‘Carbonized”s intro reminds me a lot of ‘Holy Roller’. Nothing on this album stood out to me at all and there is much better metalcore out there. 3/10

Jason Aldean: GEORGIA

A lot of this is slow emo-country. I know a lot of people like this sort of style, heck, the lead single from the album already has 12M+ on Spotify alone. However, I find it hard to get into a while album like this. It simply sounds dull, like he didn’t have fun recording it. For all the crap bands like Florida Georgia Line get for their bro-country tracks, I’d take them having a laugh and joking about tractors over this any day. Not a bad album at all, but a slow, sad, slog to listen to in one sitting. 4/10

Psychedelic Porn Crumpets: Night Gnomes

Firstly, what a name. Secondly, of course they are psych-rock. But, coming from someone who isn’t particularly a fan of the genre, they are good psych-rock. Heavier tracks like ‘Lava Lamp Pisco’ and ‘Acid Dent’ contrast well against the almost post-brit-pop sounds of ‘Dread & Butter’ and the title track. It has a heavy Kasabian vibe to it and, much like them, manages to keep you on your toes throughout the album. Not something I will listen to a lot, but I can definitely appreciate quality when I hear it! 7/10

Ocean Grove: Up in the Air Forever

I don’t know why I had in my head that these guys were pop-punk. I was wrong. This is the most 90s thing I have ever heard come out of a band started this millennium. Wiki defining them as nu-metal doesn’t give them enough credit. There are definite elements of Korn and Limp Bizkit but also some tracks reminded me of Soundgarden, Cane Hill and even Kaiser Chiefs. There is a lot to love about this album, and the blend of all the different styles is really interesting. I struggled to even pick highlights, as it was all pretty good. Check this out! 7.5/10

Stone Broken: REVELATION

The Walsall band have been around for a while now (I should know, I played with them back in the day) but really broke big a few years ago when they hit the states. People have finally started to realise the band sound a fair bit like Nickelback but for the most part the band have gotten ahead of the curve as most of this album doesn’t have that same sound. I have to admit, I think I prefer their older sound. I can’t believe I’m complaining about a band getting heavier, but this reminds me more of Skillet than anything else, and there is enough ‘butt-rock’ in the world still right now (as much as I also love that genre and band).

‘Stronger’ is the best track on the album and it’s more Nicklelback than Nickelback these days. ‘Me Without You’ is also a great ballad. But the opening few tracks, while good in their own right, just don’t do much for me. I’m struggling a lot on what to score this as I know it’ll grow on me more and more throughout the year… 6.5/10… 7/10? You pick!

Bob Vylan: Bob Vylan Presents the Price of Life

I’m going to struggle with this one. Do I ‘get’ it? I have no idea, honestly. It’s drum and bass/house music with some guitars included. Primordial have gone nuts over it so I guess it’s rock music? The music itself is fine, tolerable albeit basic. I’m on the fence with the lyrics. Some of it is very well founded, anti-establishment and some good feeling behind it. But then there’s Spongebob references and some pretty bad rhymes. Tracks like ‘Pretty Songs’ and ‘He Sold Guns’ are the best of a confusing album. I just don’t think I like the modern style of ‘rapping’, it doesn’t have the same effect on me that Eminem or NWA had. I really hope it grows on me, much like The Skints did, but right now this isn’t good to me. 3.5/10

Extinction In Progress: Shades of Pale

You know the drill. I reviewed the album just before its release. Check it out from our social media, the review tab or the link here.

And that’s all folks! Check out more of these from our site here. And tune in next week for more awesome music!

So, after the delay of the new Fozzy album to May 6th, there isn’t a massive amount of new music for us to cover this week. However, there is still enough good stuff released that we are excited about, so join us in checking it all out below!

Monuments: In Stasis

The British prog metal band returned with their fourth album this week, continuing their impressive, underrated discography. From the opening note to the closing one this is a perfect example of how to do modern prog metal right. It obviously gives off heavy Periphery vibes, but I actually found myself enjoying this more than any of their stuff, I have to admit. Also four of the tracks feature awesome guest appearances, with the best being from Doom-master Mick Gordon himself. It’s a heavy, catchy album full of crazy riffs, heavy screams and catchy choruses, and I loved every minute. 8.5/10

Cancer Bats: Psychic Jailbreak

A band who seemed to be poised to be the next big things when I was first getting into the scene properly, Cancer Bats have sadly dropped off a fair amount in recent years, with me not even knowing this was being released until the time of writing! However, I’m still a big fan of Hail Destroyer and Bears, Mayors…, so I’m excited to check this out!

The first thing I noticed is that Liam sounds a fair bit different to what he used to. I had to Google to make sure it was still him. It sounds more like Rob Zombie. Doing his scream for nearly 20 years would be almost impossible, though, so I get why he changed it. It honestly makes them sound like a completely different band, and I was struggling to get into it because of it. Tracks like the title one and ‘Crocodiles’ were good, but it’s not like they have anything on ‘Hail Destroyer’ or ‘Sleep This Away’. Not bad overall, but completely different to what I was expecting. 6/10

Kurt Vile: (Watch My Moves)

The former War on Drugs guitarist released his whopping 9th studio album in only 14 years on Friday. I have to admit, a lot of it is a little too slow and Lou Reed for me. Don’t get me wrong, some of the tracks aren’t bad and I don’t mind the soft rock/indie/country style of it. But it’s an hour and a quarter of the same thing over and over. It’s good background music for sure, but I got five tracks in before I started getting pretty bored. 3/10

Alunah: Strange Machine

Brummy stoner rockers released their new album last Friday. I have to say, it’s an awful lot of fun. Reminding me of a female-fronted The Sword, of course with a healthy dose of Sabbath mixed in for good measure, it’s a sound there isn’t enough of these days. Tracks like the title one, ‘The Earth Spins’ and ‘Fade Into Fantasy’ are all excellent and show off the bands range well. I can’t complain at all about this album, 42-minutes of awesome rock music. Check it out! 8/10

Greyhaven: This Bright and Beautiful World

A band that I have heard the name of but unfortunately not had the chance to check out until this point. I definitely regret that after hearing this album. From the heavy opening track through slower tracks like ‘All Candy’ through to the epic conclusion with ‘Ornaments From the Well’, it’s a journey through and through. And I always find myself admiring bands that can do the whole prog thing while keeping the tracks under 5-minutes. This won’t be for everyone as it is definitely heavy, but it reminds me a bit of the Zeal & Ardor album in its experimentation and blend of styles. These guys should be massive if their other stuff is this good, and they have a new fan in me! 8/10

Nazareth: Surviving The Law

The 24th (wow!) studio album from the Scottish rock band is pretty damn good. Over half a century after their debut album the band return with a surprising amount of energy and motivation. ‘Strange Days’ sounds like a NWOCR anthem that easily could have come from the likes of Dead Daisies or Inglorious. ‘Runaway’ is also a massive highlight of the album for me. For a band that I really only knew the slower, ballady stuff of their early days from, they really impressed me here. A fun album that I’d love to hear live! 8/10

Darkher: The Buried Storm

I didn’t quite get this. It was an entire album of build-up, but the crescendo never came. The folk-doom sound overall was awesome, but it never dropping into anything really hurt it. It felt like that point in a movie when you have just reached the end of the second act and it feels all is lost before the big character evolution happens. Like it is definitely a good thing to be compared to cinematic soundtracks, but if it doesn’t go anywhere it’s not going to work. It’s 40+ minutes of piano, (admittedly beautiful) operatic vocals and slow guitars and drums if they ever come in at all. 2/10

Analepsy: Quiescence

Great instrumentation, terrible vocals. I never understood the appeal off a voice that sounded like it had been recorded through a muddy puddle, and it unfortunately didn’t change with this album. I’m becoming quite the fan of death metal through this company, but I just couldn’t get past the voice. Controversial opinion I imagine, but it reminds me of Cannibal Corpse pre-Corpsegrinder, just a little meh. 3/10

A Wilhelm Scream: Lose Your Delusion

I’m not sure how to feel about this. It’s pop-punk (maybe?), a genre I usually love. And it sounded like a mixture of two of the favourite bands of my early childhood, Blink 182 and Busted, but with a hardcore edge to it. However, something about this just didn’t quite click with me. None of it is bad by any stretch, but none of it is really that standout or great. It’s a combination of a lot of different styles that I love, but it seems a tad unsure about its actual identity. For a band seven albums into their career, it seems odd to have an album so messy. 4/10

Another week down! Tune in to our Facebook here next week for more content, including radio-rock titans Shinedown!