Tag Archives: nu metal

Reviews

One: Sevendust’s Best Album in Years!

Leave a comment

The incredible alt/nu metallers are set to release their whopping 15th studio album on Friday. You’d be hard pressed to find a more consistent band, be it in terms of output, quality or even band members. They haven’t had more than a three year gap between album releases, and have had next to no lineup change across the decades. And, on top of that, they still go hard! We enjoyed their last release back in ‘23, and the singles from this so far have been awesome! So, to say I’m excited for this may be an understatement! Let’s dive right in, shall we?

A massive, nu/industrial riff opens up the title track, immediately showing that after another three years since their last release, the band have not lost even a fraction of a step. Lajon’s powerful, melodic vocals soon come in over the top, and the occasional harmonies and doubled up vocals add so much depth and catchiness, and we’re only on the verse still! It all builds to a massive, arena-filling chorus, and one that’s going to be stuck in my head for days to come! I can see why they’ve played with Alter Bridge a lot recently, as it’s very much like their/Tremonti’s modern sound. We get an awesome guitar solo tucked away in the middle of this too, over the top of a pretty heavy breakdown riff or two. Both Clint Lowery and John Connolly are criminally underrated players, as are all of the band members in general, and they get to shine as bright as Lajon throughout. This is an excellent track and the perfect way to open the album. An easy early highlight!

Some pretty epic synth and keys opens ‘Unbreakable’, building fantastically. It actually reminded me of the theme of the movie of the same name, which I truly hope was intentional. The chorus soon explodes in; massive drums, a great guitar melody and some more effortlessly powerful vocals. The verses are pretty heavy, the riffing behind Lajon’s vocals being almost metalcore, and that snare hit being so good every time. I love it dropping out for the pre too before exploding in with that huge, effortlessly catchy chorus. It honestly gives off vibes of Smash Into Pieces and that more European pop melody, which is an awesome addition to their regular sound. My only slight thing is that there isn’t much going on in the bridge, just a quick, simple, repeating guitar lead and then straight back onto the chorus. Still, it’s a damn strong chorus, one that the song is built well around, and was a great choice for a single!

Speaking of singles, the albums lead, ‘Is This the Real You’, is up next! It’s excellent, from the incredible opening riffs to the groovy, catchy as anything verses and choruses to the heavy breakdown-bridge with the lead guitar ringing perfectly over the top. It’s classic Sevendust, and also reminds me a lot of Nonpoint in the best ways possible. It’s a lot of fun, equal parts heavy and melodic, and is a track that very easily makes it onto our playlist. It’s been stuck in my head periodically since it first dropped, and is easily up there alongside their other big hits.

Somewhat crazily, they get the singles out of the way fast, as ‘Threshold’ quickly follows suit. it’s a slower track but no less heavy. Starting off low was a great choice, the vocals ringing excellently over synth. It also makes it feel even bigger when the chunky guitars and drums come in. And those vocal harmonies/double-tracks… *chefs kiss*. The chorus is another massive one too, designed to be played to huge festival crowds around the world. The band have a fantastic ability at picking the very best singles they can from the album, as all three showcase a different end to their style. And, what do you know, this is another awesome song!

Tracks like ‘We Won’, ‘Construct’ and ‘Blood Prince’ channel more of that swaggering early 2000s energy the band came up in. It’s the perfect blend of nu metal and industrial, Drowning Pool and Static X, and is impossible not to love. The solo in the latter is a big high point of the album as a whole too, packed full of not just emotion but technicality. Meanwhile, that chorus and the dynamics in ‘Construct’ make it another huge highlight song, up there alongside ‘Is This the Real You’. And everything about the latter is amazing, from the chugging riffing to the screams perfectly breaking up the catchy cleans and that AMAZING breakdown. The band have very much perfected their sound over the years, and these tracks show that off perfectly!

Both ‘Bright Side’ and ‘The Drop’ are on the slower, plodding side of Sevendusts sound, almost sounding sinister when combined with their awesome heaviness. They still have their trademark big choruses too, alongside all the chuggy and melodic guitar and bass work. Both are excellent tracks in their own right too, packing out the album phenomenally and feeling every bit as good as anything else before or after it!

The closer, ‘Misdirection’, is the slower song on the album. It’s interesting that they’d choose to do the modern metal/metalcore approach of closing on a ballad. However, it’s an excellent song in its own right, and it’s hard to argue its spot here! It’s quirky; a simple beat with Lajon’s vocals soon coming in rather delicately over the top. It builds excellently with a high harmony soon coming fantastically over the top, alongside a light high-hat beat. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything to remind me of Slipknot’s ‘Spiders’, but here we are! The distortion does come in not long before the two-minute mark, a great riff exploding in with the big drums, but it still feels more like a ballad than anything else. It also gives Tool vibes for me, though I’m not sure why! Maybe it’s the chuggy bit in the middle, or the general melodies used. Either way, this fucking RIPS, closer or otherwise. Another amazing highlight of a track on an album packed full of them!

Overall: This is an amazing album! As much as I enjoyed Truth Killer, this is definitely a step up in terms of quality. Every song is as good as the last, and the album as a whole has a really fantastic flow to it! For a band as consistent with their output as this, some 30+ years at it and on album 15, there is no way they should still be this damn good. If you are at all a fan of the band or the rough genres as a whole, this is an absolute must-listen!

The Score: 9/10

Reviews

The Ugly Side of Me: Tetrarch’s Best Album Yet?

Leave a comment

Fun fact, Tetrarch’s last album was the very first review I did here at Overtone. Said album holds a special place in my heart, not just for that reason, but also because it’s one that I still revisit pretty regularly nearly four years later. So, when I got word of them finally working on a follow-up, I was already hyped. Then, we got their awesome lead single, and I got sent it through from the wonderful people at Napalm Records a little early, and there was no way I wasn’t immediately diving into this release and giving it a full review. Let’s check it out together, ladies and gents!

The album starts in typical Tetrarch fashion, with an awesome, heavy, nu-metal riff. The drums work so well alongside the guitars and bass, making it sound so massive and heavy. Josh Fore’s now-iconic vocals soon come in over the top, them only adding to the new-nu-metal feel in both the delivery and lyrics. I love the multi-layers for the second part of the verse too, with the main line being a slower, drawn-out few words and under it after is a faster line. It makes for some awesome dynamics and I’m very curious to hear how they do it live. It all builds to a huge, open chorus, something the band are known to do so well. I would say it’s catchy but honestly, with all of Josh’s delivery, it’s all catchy as anything! It gets heavier for the bridge, the vocals getting harsher and it almost feeling like a breakdown. And then a massive double chorus and outro take us home in style. It’s a simple-structured song that is the perfect way to open the album; showing off the bands sound perfectly!

Single ‘Never Again (Parasite)’ continues the same feel and vibe as the first track, but I do love the vocal intro a LOT. The riffing again is awesome, and the electronic melody behind it adds a lot of depth. I like it dropping back in the verses too, the majority of the guitaring falling away and leaving mainly just the vocals, simple drums and electro stuff. It’s yet another awesome great dynamic, and makes the chorus even bigger when everything explodes back in! Speaking of the chorus, it’s another huge, arena-filling one that gives big early Linkin Park vibes. To my shock, the second verse features lead guitarist Diamond on vocals. She sounds great, fitting in alongside the music and Josh perfectly! Hopefully this isn’t the last we hear of her voice! We also get another awesome little lead line in the bridge, it separating the choruses perfectly. It’s an awesome song, a deserving single and one that easily makes our playlist!

Lead single ‘Live Not Fantasize’ is a song I’ve been obsessed with since the moment it released. We did a reaction video to it and I think I gushed like a fangirl the whole way through it. So, I shan’t reiterate too much of it, you can just check out the video, but I of course love this song. It’s everything you want out of Tetrarch, and it’s a clear highlight of the album!

‘Erase’ again keeps the heavy assault going, reminding me a lot of the opening track. The lyrics, while a little juvenile, fit the tone and genre of the song perfectly, and are still horribly relatable. I feel like already I don’t need to say that it’s a great, catchy chorus that deserves to be played in front of huge festival crowds. It’s subtle but I like the drums following the guitars in the little bridge between the chorus and second verse too, it sound so good and heavy. It happens again after the second chorus and is just as awesome then, too. It really is little touches like that that can elevate a song to new levels. We get an awesome little solo from Diamond, showing off why she’s one of the most underrated guitarists on the scene currently. Then, once again, it’s another huge chorus and outro to cap off another incredible song!

‘The Only Rhing I’ve Got’ is another banger similar to the other tracks so far on the album. It’s insane to me that, even though it isn’t a single, the band have the innate ability to make every song a potential radio hit. It’s heavy and moody yet packed full of catchy vocal lines and melodies, and is just another absolutely fantastic song! Goddamn I love this band!

As we pass the midpoint of the album, tracks like ‘Best of Luck’, ‘Crawl’ and ‘Cold’ are all pretty similar to what has come before. It’s certainly not a bad thing, and they are certainly not bad songs by any stretch. Honestly, between the breakdown in the former and the solo in the latter, they are some of my favourite tracks on the album. However, they are similar enough that I found myself repeating a lot of my earlier points, and didn’t want to make this a boring read, or come across as too much of a fangirl for the band! And the album is short enough that the songs being a slight bit repetitive isn’t really an issue!

Another incredible riff opens ‘Headspace’, and I love all the production and editing choices that went into those first 10 seconds or so, excellent stuff! Heck, once again the writing/production throughout the whole song is amazing. The guitar tone for the breakdown build-up is phenomenal, and the breakdown as a whole… *chef’s kiss*. Then the title track of the album closes things out perfectly. And, while still heavy, it does have a bit more of a trudging pace to it, and the electronics give a great modern metal vibe to it. It’s almost epic, being the biggest, slowest song on the album, making it super fitting to be its end. And we get another cheeky bit of Diamond’s vocals, which again fit in perfectly. The pair harmonising with each other is incredible. It’s another fantastic song on an album packed full of them!

Overall: To answer the question posed in the title, yes, this is very much Tetrarch’s best album, in my opinion. While I wouldn’t say any song is quite as strong as the very best from Unstable, it’s a stronger album overall and there really isn’t a bad song on it! The band have one again shown that they are going to be an absolutely massive name in the industry, sooner rather than later. I’m gonna be spinning this a LOT in the coming weeks and months, and don’t be surprised if it ends up high on my of albums of the year come December!

The Score: 9/10

Reviews

Mid Death Crisis: Another Home Run for Wednesday 13?

Leave a comment

The horror metal legend himself is back with another album this week. We loved Horrifier and I’ve been a fan of the man and his band for years now, so there was no way I was missing checking this out as soon as I could. Two decades into his career as a solo artist, can he still produce the same quality of release that he has always been known for? Read on to find out!

Intro track ‘There’s No Such Thing as Monsters’ leads perfectly into ‘Decease and Desist’. Not only is it a fantastic pun of a name, but it gets the industrial horror metal vibes going from the very first note. The opening riff is incredible, and the drum work behind it adds so much. It feels like old Wednesday in the best way. His vocals of course fit perfectly over the top of it; waxing lyrical around his usual spooky topics. It all builds to a massive, catchy chorus that I immediately want to hear live. It reminds me a lot of ‘Keep Watching the Skies’ or even ‘Get Your Grave On’, which are two of my favourite songs by the band, so of course I love this! We also get an awesome, very fitting guitar solo tucked away in the middle, showing off just how criminally underrated Ashes is. It’s a fantastic song and the perfect one to open the album with!

We’re already very familiar with the album’s lead single, having done a reaction video to it when it dropped. If you want to hear me gushing over it, I’d highly recommend checking out the video as I don’t want to keep repeating the same stuff, I’ll sound like too much of a fangirl! However, I will say that I love it just as much now as I did when I first heard it, and it’s an easy huge highlight of the album. It’s been on our playlist since it released!

‘Rotting Away’ leans slightly more into Wednesday’s punk territory with the pace, but keeps the heaviness and awesomeness high. The guitars dropping out behind the vocals in the verse was a nice touch, and it once again all builds to a fantastic, huge chorus. It’s another one that’s gonna be stuck in my head for days to come, I’m sure. We once again get an awesome guitar lead line in the middle, the track following a standard formula but doing so spectacularly well. It’s another fun, excellent song that any fan of the band will certainly love!

‘No Apologies’ continues where the previous track leaves off pretty perfectly, having that quick pace and punk edge while still having the heaviness and darkness of the opening two songs. It’s an absolutely incredible chorus too, one that is made to be played to huge arena and festival crowds around the world. He has such a unique style; you can tell it’s Wednesday the moment you hear it, and he does it so well. This is another easy highlight of the album, and another to make the playlist!

Songs like ‘Decapitation’ and ‘Xanaxtasy’ are more Misfits-esque horror punk songs. The former’s lyrics are honestly hilarious, and another big high point of the album for me. They’re aggressive and violent in all the best ways. Both are more lighthearted, higher-energy songs that split the album up perfectly. Oh, and I love both of them, if that wasn’t obvious! And both are catchy as any, more songs I am desperate to hear in a live setting!

Single ‘In Misery’ brings the doom and gloom back, the haunting clean riff opening it up perfectly and building up into a huge, epic, dark soundscape. It’s another classically Wednesday track filled with dark lyrics, a heavy verse and massive, infectiously catchy chorus. And the solo is maybe my favourite of the album too, fitting the vibe of the song perfectly. It’s a dark love ballad like only Mr 13 can do, and is another easy big highlight of this album so far packed full of them!

‘Blood Storm’ brings back the punk energy, the ‘woh’s giving off more of a Pennywise or again Misfits vibes. It works really well alongside Wednesday’s harsher vocals, almost harkening back to his Muderdolls days. I also love it switching between the lightening quick pace and the half-time stuff, the dynamics making each part feel massive and unique. Shock horror, it’s another excellent song!

The final three tracks on the album are more of the glorious same. Sure, ‘I Hurt You’ is another slower, more ballad track compared to the others, and is lyrically fantastic. And yes, ‘My Funeral’ is another ‘Get your Grave On’-like banger and another huge album highlight. However, none especially brought much new to the table. All were fantastic songs, but I don’t find repeating myself over and over and gushing a bunch makes for a very good review to read, so I’ve grouped them together to basically say ‘more awesome songs you should definitely check out’! ‘Sick and Violent’ is the perfect, fast paced, epic closer to this album, too!

Overall: Wednesday seems incapable of making a bad album. And, while I love all of them, the run that he’s been on over the last decade or so is nothing short of spectacular. This adds to that run perfectly, with another incredible solid release packed full of amazing horror metal songs. There isn’t a bad song on it, and I’d put the singles up there alongside any of his other big hits. I can’t recommend this enough to any fans of Wednesday, or the genre of metal in general. It’s a lot of fun to listen to that, for the most part, doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’ll certainly be one I’ll be spinning again a lot in the coming weeks and months!

The Score: 8/10

Reviews

Te Rā: Alien Weaponry Knock it Out of the Park with their Third Album!

Leave a comment

Fun fact; Alien Weaponry were featured on the very first edition of our New Music Monday series. Looking back at that, nearly four years ago now, I’m so glad to see that my writing has improved at least a little! Still, I clearly enjoyed the album, and still listen to some of it today. I’m honestly shocked it’s taken the band this long to put out another studio release, but the hype around it is pretty mad. I’m yet to hear any of the singles too, I’m going in completely blind, so let’s check this out, shall we?

The album instantly goes hard with the thrashy ‘Crown’. The awesome, heavy riffs and Lewis’s powerful cleans and screams add so much over the top. For something so heavy, it still has a pretty catchy chorus too, which is always great! The Māori influence comes in in the second verse, reminding me why I love the band so much and just how unique they are to a European audience. And everything after the second chorus, the heavy, Gojira-like breakdown, is AMAZING. It’s a fantastic song and a really great choice to open the album on. It’s an immediate highlight and easily makes our playlist.

‘Mau Moko’ keeps the heaviness rolling but slows the pace down just a touch, it having an awesome stomp to it. Still, the double bass keeps it pretty frantic through the verses. The drumming is already a huge highlight of the album, and I can see it being the same through the whole thing. It’s another fantastic chorus, easy to sing along to even though I don’t speak the language. Add to that the chanting in various sections too and it’s a damn catchy song. The breakdown is another great one, breaking up the choruses perfectly. And that outro kinda gave me Trivium vibes with that scream, which was awesome! They’re two for two so far on this album of phenomenal songs!

Single ‘1000 Friends’ keeps the energy and heaviness turned up to 11. The band are so good at playing around with their riffs, again the drummer doing fantastically as he gets every last bit out of each with all of his beat changes. It’s has some more awesome metalcore riffs to it too, definitely continuing the Trivium feel over the thrash with this track. The powerful clean vocals are awesome throughout, and so very catchy. It was a fantastic choice for a single! And yet it still gets heavy as anything at times during the bridge. Yet again, it’s another excellent metal song! The band really are firing on all cylinders with this release.

‘Hanging By a Thread’, while still heavy, feels a little more subdued and a little darker. Still, it’s one of the best choruses on the album, and the lyrics throughout are amazing. It’s a good change of pace for the album at this point, still feeling like Alien Weaponry while being different enough to keep it fresh and interesting! And still, it goes hard in the bridge!

‘Tama-nui-te-rā’ picks up the heaviness again, and the Gojira-feel also returns with a vengeance. It’s also heavy with their heritage influence, which I love too. The same could be said for ‘Myself to Blame’, ‘Te Riri o Tāwhirimātea’ and ‘Ponaturi’. However, the former of those does have a bit more of a 2000s alt metal feel to it, which I found really cool and interesting! It certainly channels that proggy modern metal that they are becoming so known for in the bridge, though. It’s another huge highlight track, and yet another to make the playlist!

The Randy Blythe featuring ‘Taniwha’ is another awesome track and clear highlight. I found it interesting that Lewis’ vocals adopt more of Randy’s style of screams for the track, that was a nice touch. It made Blythe’s vocals fit even better when they come in for the bridge, doing his spoken word thing and building up to his iconic scream. Outside of his involvement and the slightly changed vocals, it’s a pretty standard Alien Weaponry song but still, it was awesome to hear him feature. Especially when it’s been a hot minute since we’ve had some new Lamb of God. It’s just another fun, great metal song!

‘Blackened Sky’ was another interesting one as it felt a lot more nu metal than anything else on here. It gives surprising Otep vibes with that huge, crunchy riff and fast vocals. Even the chorus melodies and riffing felt nu metal in the very best way possible. There were elements of Jinjer in it too, which was cool! As much as I love their Māori-inspired sound, this was awesome and I hope we get more of it moving forward! It’s another huge highlight of the album and maybe my favourite track on it!

The closing track is brief but a great way to cap off the album. It fits perfectly with the tone and style of the album, and feels epic enough to conclude it all in a fitting way. Honestly, it was longer it may be another top song for me, but I’ll settle for it being the final awesome send-off to a truly great album!

Overall: This was a really fantastic release! I’ve always been a fan of the band, but I feel like this is the first time I’ve sat and enjoyed a full album from them front to back. The band really feel like they’ve stepped up in the last year or two, and this album proves that they are ready to take things to the next level. A few of the songs here are up there with some of my favourites put out by the band, and as a whole it is solid throughout. They feel less like a cool concept now and more like a well oiled machine pumping out genuinely awesome albums. It’s well worth a listen if you’re a fan of the band or just metal in general, I’d certainly recommend!

The Score: 8.5/10

Features, Reviews

Soil, (Hed) PE, Nonpoint & The Union Underground Tear Down Rock City!

Leave a comment

We had the absolute privilege of heading down to the legendary Rock City last Sunday to check out four of the biggest names from the early 2000s alt-metal scene all on the same bill. As a fan of all the bands from my childhood, I’d been excited for this gig for a good while and, spoiler alert, it was fantastic. But we couldn’t not let you know just how amazing each band were! Read on to hear the thoughts of a gushing fangirl…

First up were maybe the band I was most pumped for; The Union Underground. As a Ruthless Agression wrestling fan, ‘Across the Nation’ was one of the soundtracks of my childhood, and said track didn’t disappoint live. Between those and other old-school hits like ‘South Texas Deathride’, ‘Killing the Fly’ and ‘Turn me On “Mr Deadman”‘, the setlist was awesome. Heck, we were even treated to a yet-unreleased track from a project the band are working on, and it was almost as big a highlight as the rest of the tracks! Honestly it’s just so good to have them back as a band. Bryan Scott still sounds as good as he ever did, and the rest of the band gelled so well and sounded so good, it’s hard to believe that they are essentially more hired guns at this point. The band certainly over-delievered for me, and were a fantastic way to kick off the night!

Next up were the most consistently successful band on the bill, the incredible Nonpoint. And it’s easy to see why the band are still arguably on the rise decades into their careers. The band are putting out some amazing studio work still (though it’s been too long!) and put on a live show like few others. The band are absolute firecrackers on stage, with some of the most energy and stage presence I’ve seen from any performance. And Elias is one hell of a frontman too, with truly magnetic energy. He held the crowd in the palm of his hand throughout, yet the rest of the band put on just as good and energetic a show, too! Plus, coming out swinging with tracks like ‘Chaos and Earthquakes’, ‘Dodge Your Destiny’ and ‘Bullet with a Name’, and it was one hell of a setlist. My only complaint is that it was pretty short; I need to see a full set from them and SOON.

P.S. Nonpoint helped me realise that while just one band member wearing their own merch on stage is cringy, every member wearing it is cool AF.

Next up were the band I knew the least of (Hed) PE. However, goddamn, I came away obsessed! All I’d heard from the band before was ‘Bartender’ (which was amazing live), but the band are far more than that track. Opening up heavy with the likes of ‘No Way Out’ and ‘Ratrace’, Jared got to flex his screaming chops early. And even through some technical issues, they sounded fantastic. However, they easily changed pace throughout, even giving us snippets of ‘Get Up, Stand Up’ and ‘Smoke Two Joints’ in the middle of songs. The reggae influence was strong, and blended seamlessly with their hard rock and metal sounds. Plus, every member of the band worked their asses off to put on one hell of a show! And what’s more, the crowd were big into them and ate up every single note! They got a solid 45-minute set that still went by in a flash and damn, they have a huge new fan in me, both live and on track!

Then we finally reached the headliner of the evening, the mighty Soil. Now, I’m going to be straight-up here. I’d seen Soil before in the same venue, back when they supported Static X on their comeback tour. That was another four-band lineup, and sadly I came away thinking Soil were the weakest band of the night. Even more sadly, I came away with the same feeling this time. However, that’s certainly not to say Soil were bad, just that the other three bands previously mentioned were incredible.

I LOVE Scars, so to hear the vast majority of it live was pretty awesome. The band performed it well too, even with Ryan’s self-admitted ‘shot’ voice. They sounded just as good as they do on that album, and it was great fun to see. However, that was about all they did, and that was my main issue with them. They played 11/13 Scars tracks, then came on and did their ‘Black Betty’ cover as an encore, alongside ‘Pride’, and it sounds like that’s a rare addition on the tour. I get the crowd are there to celebrate their breakout album, but when the headline band of the night are on stage for barely an hour and have plenty of other hits from other albums, it does feel just slightly cheep.

I don’t want to complain because as I said, they sounded awesome and put on a hell of a show. Maybe if they hadn’t had such a strong support lineup I’d have come away loving the set even more, but while I had a great time watching them, I did feel ever so slightly deflated at the end. Clearly I just love ‘Redifine’ too much to not hear it live!

And there we have it, an absolutely stellar night of alt-metal music! All four bands killed it, and won me over even more to them. In the last few days I’ve barely stopped listening to any of them, which is surely the sign of a good show! There’s still a couple of dates left on the tour and at least Nonpoint teased other UK shows in the near future, but I cannot recommend any of them enough live. If they are anywhere nearby any time soon, check them out, you won’t be disappointed!

Reviews

Cancel Estate: Seething Akira’s Best Release Yet!

Leave a comment

The fourth full-length release from the Portsmouth ‘nucore’ band dropped today, and was highly anticipated by not just me! I’ve been a fan of this band for a couple of years now since their momentum in the underground scene has been picking up, and just knew I had to do a full review of it. So, well, here it is!

‘Ixnay’ wastes no time at all, exploding in with the band’s high energy, modern metal sound with an infectiously catchy chorus vocal-hook. It’s a real curious way to open the album, a real punch to the face with no build-up prior, but the heavy guitars mixed with the clean vocals and synth all sound so good, it’s impossible not to love. It gives off big Enter Shikari vibes, of course, but also some Fever 333 in the more rapped verses. Each part feels massive because of the instrumentation and attention to detail, a real testament to their songwriting and the producers skill. It’s a really interesting track that grew on me more and more throughout, and is a great first track to really set the tone for what the band are like and their sound/style!

‘Decayed Remains of Today’ keeps up the same chaotic, heavy, synth-drenched metal sound that the opener set up. It’s like a darker, grittier Electric Callboy, which I really love. Both the synth and the heavy guitars work so well together on this track, and the vocal delivery throughout is phenomenal. The chorus is amazing and so very catchy, the verses are surprisingly too, and the bridge builds up to just more awesomeness. It’s an amazing song, and one that easily makes it onto our playlist!

The next three tracks are the run of singles from the album. The lead single, ‘Resilient’, is a bit more metal focused, reminding me more of Architects than anything else. It’s packed full of some incredible riffs and more typically-metal vocal delivery. The guitars continue throughout too, less dynamics on display and less emphasis on the synth. It’s a straight-forward heavy track and I love it! The same could be said for ‘Times Change’, especially with that chorus. However, said track has a touch of a punk edge to it at times I thought, or at least leans slightly harder into the more hardcore side of metalcore. Then you have the most recent single which shockingly leans more into a pop-punk/indie/post-hardcore style. All three tracks are more amazing songs, with the middle one being another huge highlight and easily playlisted track. I find them really curious single releases, as they all show a completely different side to the band, constantly keeping the audience guessing. It also made for an easier listen to the album, as it was consistently changing and interesting.

‘How are Things Up North’ has a bit of an Architects sound to it too, but also draws so many other influences. From Prodigy to industrial stuff, it’s certainly another incredibly interesting addition to their sound from the album so far. I honestly love this track too, the electronic sounds once again blend perfectly with the more post-hardcore heaviness. It’s another easy highlight of the album, for me!

‘You Don’t Want None’ has much more of a 2000s pop/club music feel to it, alongside the dirty-low guitars and aggressively rapped vocals, of course! It’s a catchy chorus and the structure of the track is great, reprising it plenty between the big riffs and rapping. It’s like metal Scooter, and I kinda love it! It gets really heavy towards the end that I love, too! It’s an odd, interesting track that fits perfectly in the context and style of the album, but probably wouldn’t have for anyone else!

The industrial-tinged-Architects vibes continue on through ‘Blame Pain’ and ‘D.R.I.L.L.E.R.’, albeit in their own more nu-metal-infused style. Both are fantastic tracks yet again. Then the more punky elements come back for the closing track, ‘Hyperbolic’, it giving a combination of Fever 333 and Wargasm. It’s a fantastic song and a really great way to close out the album, feeling like it draws together elements of everything that had come before it. It’s an excellent finish to an excellent album!

Overall: As I just said, this is a really good release. It’s certainly not going to be for everyone, but the genre-blending and unique style the band have crafted should be enough to at least get heaps of appreciation from those that aren’t too into it. Every track on the album is incredible and unique, and they combine together perfectly. It’s 34-minutes of interesting, awesome modern metal that doesn’t hold anything back and wears its inspirations on its sleeve proudly. I’mma be spinning this a lot in the coming weeks and months, and can’t wait to hear some of this live!

The Score: 8.5/10

Interviews & Features

Drip Fed Empire: ‘our album circles around the source of our problems in the storyline!’

The incredible Drip Fed Empire put out their much anticipated debut album a couple of weeks ago. We checked it out (find here) and loved it, so managed to sit down with a quick chat to the band about it! Check out the interview below!

How would you describe your sound? Any major influences you pull from? 

As a bunch of men pushing 30, we’ve been influenced by a lot. We all grew up listening to nu metal and industrial metal amongst many others. A lot of the bands that started what we’re doing now such as Linkin Park, Fear Factory, Static X and the Prodigy. We’re seeing a lot of these sounds return through the nu metal resurgence that’s happening at the moment and we made sure to accommodate these themes on the record. 

Tell me about the album, any specific themes or stories running through it? 

Funny that, throughout our previous records we’ve written about things like social and societal issues. While thinking about what I wanted to be a key focus of the album I sat down and figured out the common denominator. Greed. So our album circles around the source of our problems in the storyline. 

You guys have been around for a while now, what made now the time to finally release an album? Do you think the market still works for albums or is it more EP/singles now?

As far as I know the majority of interest is in singles, right? Honestly, I personally feel like it was a push to elevate our status more than anything else. And we felt like writing an album would be much more likely to bring us up to the next level and reach new audiences. It allowed us to release music that otherwise probably wouldn’t have otherwise been released. There’s more room for creativity in an album rather than just releasing a string of singles one after the other. 

What would you say the scene is like currently? 

We chat to a lot of rock bands, but the metal scene looks just as healthy in the UK! The metal scene is thriving here for sure. I think something we’ve always found fascinating is how we’ve been received depending on what part of the UK we’re in. As a metal band that has a hard focus on electronic music, we have not always fitted in, but when we do it’s fantastic. I can also say that there appears to be a positive shift in the attitudes towards the kind of music we write and release, so I look forward to seeing what the future brings. 

Have you got a busy year booked for gigs/festivals? Saw you’re in Notts soon! 

Yes, we’ve got several shows lined up already, we just played a co-headline in Nottingham the turn out was incredible. We’ll be back playing Mangata festival this year very excited to have been asked back be doing this one again this year. 

Do you have a dream tour lineup you’d love to be a part of, whether it’s supporting a big band or travelling around with your friends?

Hmmm, good question! I think in terms of big bands, we’d probably pick Enter Shikari, Bring me the horizon and Pendulum. We saw the last two at Download last year and they were all amazing. 

If you could have written one song from history, what would it have been and why? 

I think the music writing in Tenacious D is second to none. I would have loved to write either Tribute or Wonderboy haha!

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Staind, 3TEETH and More!

You know the drill by now. A collection of great new music for us all to check out. Let’s do this!

Staind: Confessions of the Fallen

Joe: Let’s get the obvious out the way, Aaron Lewis isn’t the best of guys. And yes, Staind feel like a meme band these days, like a lot of their counterparts from their era. However, having said that, their return album is pretty good. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still Staind, but at least you’re getting exactly what you’re expecting and wanting when you put it on. The band sound phenomenal, and if you were a fan of them back in the day, you’ll love this. And there’s even some surprisingly heavy riffs and even some screaming in tracks like the opener and title track. Honestly, I’d put ‘Cycle of Hurting’ or ‘Confessions of the Fallen’ up there with anything from their back catalogue.

Yes, it’s formulaic early 2000s radio hard rock/metal. However it never tried to sell itself as anything else. If you are a fan of the band like I am, you’ll love this. The two aforementioned tracks, alongside expected ballad ‘Here and Now’, are all major highlights. Staind are back, and sound just as good as they did in 2001. 8.5/10

3TEETH: EndEx

Joe: When this gets heavy, it goes hard and is awesome. That that riff in ‘Acme Death Machine’ is amazing, especially after the build of the verses. The breakdown also pops off in that track. And heck, unlike a fair bit of synth-heavy industrial music, I actually like the slower, more subdued synth bits too. This band have always been so good at perfectly balancing the dynamics of heavy and not so that when the guitars come in it all sounds MASSIVE and the heaviness is very earned.

Considering I’d always thought, although 3TEETH are good, they always seemed to be missing something to push them to the next level. I could never place what it was. However, damn did they find it. This album feels like a coming of age for the band. Every track seems to be a radio-metal banger; catchy electro-verses building to big heavy riffs and HUGE choruses. Everything about it works, and seems miles ahead of their last album. They feel like a modern day Rob Zombie these days, and that’s a very cool thing.

The ‘it’ that they were looking for might be Mick Gordon. The Doom guitar god gives the five tracks he’s on so much more umph and heaviness. And his low-tuned, heavy riffs fit so well with 3TEETH’s sound, it’s a match made in heaven. As much as I love ‘ALI3N’ or ‘Scorpion’, there’s no denying how much Gordon adds to the likes of ‘Slum Planet’ or ‘Merchant of the Void’. And holy crap, ‘Paralyse’ featuring Ho99o9 too is phenomenal.

Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand this band won’t be for everyone. Heck, if anything they’re going to be pretty niche. But if you are into synth-lead industrial stuff, big riffs or even darkwave stuff, you’ll love this. 9/10, this is fucking awesome!

Anastacia: Our Songs

– Future Joe here coming to you from after he’d written the review. It wasn’t until hearing the blatant cover ‘Forever Young’ that I did some digging and realised that this whole album is covers of German rock songs. We don’t normally cover cover albums here on New Music Mondays. However, not only are a fair few of the tracks different and translated to English, but the album is really fricking good. and I’d already written the whole review hear enough. So you can have it anyway! It pays to research early, kids! –

Joe: One of pop-rock’s biggest names from the early 2000s is back with her eighth studio album, and first since 2017. Surprisingly enough (for me at least, knowing only her hits), it’s pretty country. ‘Best Days’ is the perfect opening track, building the sound up more and more into its huge, infectiously catchy chorus. And Anastacia’s voice arguably fits even better over the country rock sound here than her more grungy early work. ‘Now or Never’ continues on from the opener perfectly, building on the vibe and sound even more. Tracks like ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Born to Live’ are incredible ballads, while ‘Still Loving You’ feels like old school Anastacia.

I do have to say, however, that the second half of the album isn’t quite as strong as the first half. Don’t get me wrong, the duet with Peter Maffey, ‘Just You’, is an incredible, epic ballad. And ‘Supergirl’ is a damn good, empowering single. All of it is still good. However, none of it quite lives up to the lofty heights of the first four tracks. Still, 8/10, this is a great album!

Brent Cobb: Southern Star

Owen:

Cannibal Corpse: Chaos Horrific

Joe: And now for something completely different. Jim Carey’s favourite death metal band are back with their 16th album. Now, while I haven’t had the chance to dive into much of their extensive back catalogue, I really found myself enjoying their last couple of albums, and I’m a big fan of Corpsegrinder. So, I was pretty excited to check this out!

The band didn’t disappoint. They are still just as in your face as they were with their debut, yet with better production and (controversially) better vocals. The playing, especially the balls-to-the-wall drumming, is hugely talented and admirable, and Fisher growls his lungs out from start to finish. And of course the guitar soloing is a massive highlight throughout too, falling somewhere between King and Hanneman in style. Highlight tracks include ‘Frenzied Feeding’, ‘Fracture and Refracture’ and single ‘Blood Blind’.

much like with 3TEETH, I get that this album definitely won’t be for everyone. However, if anyone reading this is into traditional death metal, or just the heavy stuff in general, check this out! 7.5/10

Death Dealer Union: Initiation

We’ve already reviewed this awesome album. Check it out here!

Pkew Pkew Pkew: Siiick Days

Joe: The Canadian punk rockers are back just a year after their last release with their fourth studio album. Honestly, growing up in the early 2000s and my right of passage as a child being Tony Hawk games, hearing a modern band still keeping that skater punk vibe alive so successfully is amazing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not quite Blink 182 or Goldfinger, there’s a mixture of indie and modern sounds in there too, but the skeleton of skater punk is definitely what it’s built on.

Tracks like the opener, ‘Read Receipts’ and ‘Learning to Share’ are all massive highlights of the album. Honestly, it’s just nice to hear more upbeat, less serious music these days. As much as I like an emotional ballad, a bouncy track about not wanting to read someone’s messages immediately is sometimes exactly what I need. It’s chilled, upbeat and a lot of fun, feeling like a mixture of Rancid, Lagwagon and NOFX.

Thy Art is Murder: Godlike

Max: Thy Art is back with another punchy and impressive album that allows them to continue to demonstrate how talented they are as a group. The guitars and drums are exactly what you’d expect, punch and intense, but they also show the development and progression of not only the musicians but also the overall genre of the band as well. This continuous development has meant that whilst the album is very clearly and comfortably Thy Art, there are points throughout where the changes make enough to push a song from being good to great. Now final thoughts before the score, the vocals on the album have been done by an unnamed individual, and they are incredibly impressive and I cannot stress that enough so they definitely deserve some credit for this. 8/10

KEN Mode: VOID

Joe: So I checked out the band’s previous album, ‘NULL’. You can check out my thoughts on it here. Considering this is the 2nd part to last years album, I can’t help but share fairly similar sentiments towards this one. Outside of a few heavy, chunky riffs, musically this isn’t for me. Noise rock has never really been my thing and, while I feel like I can appreciate it a little more a year on, between the hardcore vocals and the messy drums and guitars, I got bored easy.

However, at least after reading around about the album, I at least have a pretty great appreciation of it as an art piece, and get what they were doing. The band state ‘VOID articulates the despondency that followed the pain so vividly expressed through NULL’. Both albums are based around the same event and written and recorded in the same time frame. It’s the emotion felt after the sadness. And when listening to the albums together, the concept does shine through rather masterfully.

It just still doesn’t grip me, sadly… 4/10. In retrospective, this is the score for both parts as a whole, and a good 2.5 of it is down to the idea.

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Sevendust, Brad and More!

A quietish week for New Music Mondays this week, with only six albums for us to check out. Still though, they’re all awesome, so join us in taking a listen!

Sevendust: Truth Killer

It’s rare to hear an older band so heavily inspired by a newer one. However, right from the first few seconds of ‘I Let the Devil In’, I was getting heavy Sleep Token vibes. The slow build into heaviness was a great way to open the album, but it caught me off guard given the tracks I know from Sevendust until this point. The lead single and title track is a little more what I was expecting and hoping for, with some big, chunky riffs and a huge, nu metal style chorus.

There continues to be a modern influence throughout a lot of the album, working to various degrees. ‘Won’t Stop the Bleeding’ is a great example of it working exceptionally, and is a massive highlight of the album. The slower ‘Leave Hell Behind’ is another big highlight! It isn’t just Sleep Token either, tracks like ‘No Revolution’ have a slight Spiritbox air to it. It’s a fun direction for the band to go. I enjoyed it quite a bit and it still definitely sounds like Sevendust. However, I’d be curious to hear how some of the older, more diehard fans feel about it! It gets a 7.5/10 from me!

Brad: In the Moment that You’re Born

The Seattle alt rock collective return with their sixth album, and first in over a decade. It is the bands final album, featuring tracks that the band had been working on before the passing of their vocalist Shawn Smith in 2019. It admittedly makes it a creepy yet fascinating and sad/proud listen.

I have to admit, a lot of it isn’t my sort of thing. It’s a little too Porcupine Tree for me. However, I can definitely appreciate the hell out of what they are doing. They are clearly all talented and massively good songwriters. Plus, tracks like ‘Straight to the Hoop’, ‘Star n You’ and ‘Without Guns’ are big highlights for me personally. It’s a really cohesive album which surprisingly didn’t bore for a second. It’s such a shame this is the last we’ll hear of the band, but they certainly went out with a bang! 8/10

From Ashes to New: Blackout

More nu metal, except this time more like the later years of the first wave, like Papa Roach. Lots of big riffs, rapping vocals and huge choruses. It’s like how I’m sure a lot of people wished Hollywood Undead stayed like, and even has an air of early Linkin Park to it. I’m loving all this new music that is bringing a rapping element back to metal. From Falling in Reverse to bands like Stray from the Path, it’s some of the more exciting new music around these days, in my opinion.

It’s hard not to find the singles as the highlights of the album. Opening on three of them was a great choice while arguably the two best ones are saved for later. Until We Break featuring Matty Mullins is such an incredible track and maybe my favourite on the album.

Don’t get me wrong, that’s not saying the album tracks are bad. However, there is a distinct pop feel to a lot of the album tracks, the edge and heaviness isn’t as present through a lot of them. They’re good tracks, but I prefer the more heavier stuff. Plus, while they are slightly different, there is a lot of similar sounding stuff on this album. It’s a lot of the same. While it’s a lot of fun, I don’t think it’s an album I’d listen to in full all that much. Still though, if you like nu metal, check this out, you won’t be disappointed! 8.5/10

Susto: My Entire Life

This indie/folk/pop rock band put out their fifth album last week. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. I went into this thinking it’d be a big too indie and stripped-back for my tastes, especially after checking out a single or two. However, there’s a punk twang to it that reminds me ever so slightly of Velvet Revolver. Heck, some of the slower ones, like ‘Mt. Caroline’, felt like the perfect blend of Dire Straits and Matchbox Twenty.

There are so many different styles and sounds throughout that I didn’t get bored at all, the album going by in a flash on my first listen. It also made it near impossible to pick a highlight track or two. The whole album is great and deserves a listen in full. It’s the perfect album to chill out to, and the band have a new fan in me! 8.5/10

Girlschool: WTFortyfive?

The band famous for being Lemmy’s favourites, underrated NWOBHM powerhouses Girlschool are back with their first new album in eight years. Honestly, outside of seeing them at a HRH a few years ago, I haven’t paid much attention to the band aside for their few big songs. However, I really enjoyed this album. It was darker and heavier than their earlier stuff, which resonated a lot more with me. Tracks like the opener, ‘Cold Dark Heart’ and ‘Are You Ready?’ featuring the awesome Joe Stump are all personal highlights. Also, the closing cover of the iconic ‘Born to Raise Hell’ featuring Saxon’s Biff Byford, Duff McKagen and the man himself, Phil Campbell, was fucking awesome.

It wasn’t all positive. Tracks like ‘Invisible Killer’ and ‘Barmy Army’ were not only more of their older style, but were pretty cringy from a lyrical standpoint. Still, overall the album is a fun one that will hopefully please both older and new fans alike. It’s worth a listen if you’re into 70s metal at all! 7.5/10

Arch Blade: Kill the Witch

The debut album of the new heavy metal band is a 45+ minute arrival statement. For anyone who’s into traditional heavy metal or thrash, this one is most certainly for you. Big, quick riffs and drumming, high, powerful vocals and plenty of catchiness, this is definitely a 70s/80s metal album. It takes a lot of inspiration from Painkiller from the sounds of things, which is fine by me as it’s one of my favourite albums of all time. Tracks like ‘Nightbreed’, the slower ‘Queen of the Damned’ and both the albums opener and title tracks are all massive highlights.

My only slight issue with the album is really just some of the production. The vocal mixing is odd, and generally the album sounds compressed instead of the massive sound I was expecting/hoping for. Still though, as a collection of tracks it’s awesome and well worth checking out. It’s a fantastic debut album and the band are certainly ones to keep an eye on! 9/10

new music mondays

New Music Mondays: Godsmack, Steel Panther and More!

A big week of new music this week with a bit of everything! Let’s waste no time and jump right in!

Godsmack: Lighting up the Sky

The nu metal/radio rock band’s final full length album, according to frontman Sully Erna, dropped on Friday. I’ve been a pretty big fan of the band since first hearing their music in The Scorpion King as a child, despite the somewhat mixed reception they’ve had in recent years. I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed every album they’ve put out, though some more than others. Either way, I’ve been excited for this one for a while.

I mean, it was a’ight. Single ‘You and I’ is one of the worst album openers I’ve heard in a while. It’s not an inherently bad song, but a mid-tempo, blues stomper by a band typically heavier and more attitude-filled wasn’t the right call to open with. Following track ‘Red, White & Blue’ would have made a lot better an opener. The lyrics are a tad cringy for a non-American, but it’s a definite highlight of the album non the less. Lead single ‘Surrender’ is a pretty decent track too!

However, the later the album went on, the more tired it felt. ‘Truth’ was a beautiful, piano-led ballad that’s another highlight, but a lot of the rest felt like typical, formulaic Godsmack. Tracks like ‘Hell’s Not Dead’ and ‘Let’s Go’ are fun, but none of it felt fresh or new at all. I loved their last couple of albums but this is easily their weakest since The Oracle or even IV. There are some good tracks on this but it’s not as solid an album as I’m used to from the band. It’s all pretty slow and tired. Part of me hopes they do one more to go out with a bang, but then another part hopes they finish with just a little gas left in the tank. 6.5/10, though that may go up as it feels a little harsh.

Steel Panther: On the Prowl

Sorry fanthers, but this is probably going to be harsh too. It’s no secret that the joke wore out its welcome quite a while ago, and I even tried to cling on longer than most. All You Can Eat was pushing it but still had some great tracks, while everything after that has just made me cringe. It isn’t even the fact that it’s immature, but that the writing has gotten much more on-the-nose and far less clever. Compare the lyrics of ‘Friends with Benefits’ to something like ‘Community Property’ or ‘Turn Out the Lights’ and the writing really feels like it’s taken a hit. It’s the most basic toilet and sex humour now, there’s not even the slight nuance that the first couple of albums had.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all bad. ‘On Your Instagram’ is an entertaining ballad that felt surprisingly cleverly written. And I agree with the general consensus that ‘1987’ is the best thing the band have released in years. When they’re not trying to push crass innuendos into every line, their talent shines through a lot more. Everything else felt cheep and boring after almost a decade and a half of the same shit. And it’s a shame too, as Satchel and Styxx are both phenomenal players that feel a little wasted in the band.

I found myself getting bored quick after ‘1987’, and for that reason I can’t give it any more than 4/10

Lovebites: JUDGEMENT DAY

The Japanese metal women are ready to take the whole world by storm with their fourth album. Right out of the gate the band slaps you with some insane power/thrash in the form of ‘We Are the Resurrection’ and the band don’t let up once from that point. The band are all unbelievably talented at what they do, with all of them working their asses off in every track.

Don’t get me wrong, the vocals aren’t going to be to everyone’s tastes, but I enjoyed them enough that they didn’t ruin the songs. My only ever so slight gripe is that they really do go balls to the wall for close to an hour. It would have been nice to have had a slightly slower track in the middle somewhere to break up the pace and show some diversity. Still, it’s filled with awesome tracks and gets an easy 8/10 from us!

Dierks Bentley: Gravel & Gold

Country time again! I forgot quite how long Dierks had been going until typing up this article, his first release coming back in ’03 and this being his 10th. Almost all of his work is fantastic, too.

This was no exception. After the radio-country-rock hit the album opens on with ‘Same Ol’ Me’, ‘Sun Sets in Colorado’ is a fantastic traditional country track, complete with plenty of great fiddle. We get a few more slower moodier before ‘Beer at my Funeral’ picks up the tone and fun up a little. Then there’s the huge single ‘Gold’ which deserves all the listens and high praise that it has already and then some, it’s amazing. ‘All the Right Places’ and album closer ‘High Note’ are also massive highlights of the album. The latter in particular with it’s acoustic jam for an over two-minute outro was fucking awesome.

The album suffered a little from the country thing of too many songs/too long. It’s 14 tracks at 51-minutes. However, the quality was that high and there was enough variety in here that I didn’t really feel the length as much this time. 8.5/10, great stuff!

Dope: Blood Money Part Zer0

Industrial/nu metal early 2000s titans Dope return with their first new album since 2016. Someone needs to teach the band how to count, as part zero should definitely come before part 1 (yes, I know it’s a ‘subtle’ reference to Edzel’s tenure in Static X, let me be ‘funny’). I don’t think I’ve checked out Part 1, but up until that album I’ve enjoyed the band’s output. Hopefully this is the same!

Opener ‘No Respect’ is the most Dope thing I’ve ever heard, and it’s excellent. ‘Believe’ and ‘Best of Me’ didn’t do much for me but ‘Choke’ was awesome, as was ‘Dead World’, ‘Fuck it Up’ and ‘Parasite’. I also didn’t really like the two tracks with Drama Club, ‘Misery’ and ‘Lovesong’. Both felt a little reigned in and boring compared to what I enjoy from the band.

The main issue a lot will have with this album is how long it’s taken to arrive and how many tracks we’ve heard already. Out of the 12 tracks on the album, nine were released prior, leaving just three brand new, never before heard songs. I haven’t been keeping a massively close eye on the band in recent months so had only heard a few, but it must be annoying for hardcore fans of the band to get so much before its release.

Overall, the good tracks did outweigh the meh, but it wasn’t as good as it felt like it could have been. Somehow, even though it was only 43-minutes long, it felt bloated. Then again, that has been a bit of an issue with the band for a while now. 7/10, it was good, but still could have been better!

Hong Faux: Desolation Years

We’ve already covered this one. Find it here!

Lucero: Should’ve Learned By Now

Country-punk isn’t something I thought existed or that I thought I’d type today. However, I’m happy with both, as this is great. It takes my favourite parts of bands like Social Distortion and even Rancid and adds a country twang to it that I didn’t even know I needed in my life. I’m struggling to even pick out a highlight track or three. Yes, it’s all fairly similar, but it’s all so good. The opening couple of tracks are straight up slower punk, while ‘She Leads Me’ and ‘Raining for Weeks’ take more of a country turn.

Honestly, if you’re into the more relaxed side of punk, country or rock, this is for you. 38-minutes flew by and I wanted more by the time it was over. They have a new huge fan in me, and I’mma have to go back and check out their older stuff ASAP. 9/10

Ropemaker: Interwoven

It’s not often we get to check out instrumental music, which is a shame because it’s always technically flawless. This was no exception, the Irish lot’s debut album being a heavy, deathcore/djenty masterclass. Due to the instrumental nature of the music, it’s so hard to pick a highlight track. I do have to commend them too, as at only eight tracks and under 35-minutes in length, it just about managed to hold my attention throughout. Much longer and I’d have gotten a bit bored, but as it stands I loved this! 8/10

VOLORES: AGES

Described as dark Americana, I’ve found yet another new sub-genre I love this week! It definitely still has an indie and pop edge to it, but the simplicity and emotion throughout is fantastic. Plus, the bass really reminded me of Flea, which is always a huge plus. Tracks like ‘Carrion Cry’ and ‘A Proper Icarus’ are personal highlights, but the whole album is awesome. Music like this is huge right now and with the right push this album could put VOLORES at the top of the scene quickly. It’s chilled out yet emotional, simple yet massively talented. 8.5/10

King Abyss: Snake Oil

Time for some thrash to finish off the week. The debut album is a surprising masterclass in speed, aggression and awesome metal. Honestly I felt like I was transported back to my spotty teenage years listening to nothing but heavy thrash, and this is some of the best of the genre I have heard in so long. Some of the lead guitar is honestly mind-blowing, and everyone else did just as amazingly at their respective parts. And, just when I was going to complain about it be similar, we get the Metallica-esque masterpeice that is ‘Disdain’. It’s a ballsy move putting a more ballady track track just four songs into a debut thrash album, but it was a perfect placement and a perfect track. I cannot gush over it enough.

Tracks like the opener and ‘A Short Drop and a Sudden Stop’ also make out playlist but honestly this whole album is phenomenal. If you’re into thrash or death metal or even metalcore, check this shit out. 9/10