Dan Hillier
The title track of their forthcoming album due for release on March 31st via Submarine Cat Records, ‘Ride Or Die’ shows how Brighton’s ARXX have become the topic of such devotion in a short amount of time. Intense and absolute as the track’s namesake suggests, the single is a rush of swaggering energy that stands as a fierce summery of the band’s commitment to their craft and selves. “To us it’s about a lot of things, primarily it speaks about the kind of commitment and dedication to something you love, that means there is no possible or conceivable way that you would give up on it”, say Arxx on the track.”In one breath it is an unapologetic celebration of queer love, and in the next breath it expresses the unwavering determination that we both hold for our band.” – Dan Hillier
“When it’s eye for an eye, we’ll take two”, bellows forth Allfather on their righteously violent new single ‘Take Their Eyes’. Created from an encyclopedic knowledge of the heavy metal artform and written in response in the rise of contemporary fascism within our crumbling society, ‘Take Their Eyes’ is a flogging of urgent modern metal that bares all the hallmarks of their collective inspirations whilst sounding fresh and urgent. Allfather have long been something of a special secret within the UK’s metal community – with many acknowledging their namesake with knowing grins – but with this single and their forthcoming LP A Violent Truth due in march, it’s inevitable that all will be soon in commune with the Allfather. – Dan Hillier
Exeter’s indie punk darlings Shit Present have returned with their first new track in seven years and it’s been worth the wait. Making waves with their debut EP in 2015 and signing with tastemaker label Specialist Subject, Shit Present have become an integral part of the south-west’s vibrant independent music scene with their particular brand of sarcastic, melodic, emo inspired indie punk. New track ‘Fuck It’ reminds us why we fell in love with their earlier material, with an upbeat, overdriven riff, vocals that careen between tender and howling and multifaceted, tongue in cheek lyrics. We’ll be eagerly awaiting Shit Present’s next move. – Tom Bruce
Swedish melodeath mavericks Avatar have dished up the latest offering, ‘Violence No Matter What’, from their forthcoming album Dance Devil Dance. On first glance, the inclusion of Halestorm‘s Lzzy Hale might be a surprise, but just one listen will convince you just how raucously powerful the pairing is. It also makes no bones about its proudly antifascist stance, as the duo Johannes Eckerström declare “How hard can it be / After almost a century / For you bastards to agree / That no-one gets to be a fucking fascist?” Vocalist Johannes Eckerström explains, “it’s okay to debate and fight and think differently. but there is a limit, and the line must be drawn at authority held with violence, a world view that cannot survive without enemies, a promised return to a fabricated former glory”. You’ll get no disagreement from us, and for anyone that does? Just listen to Lzzy Hale screaming the song title with unbridled fury, then maybe rethink that stance. – Will Marshall
Fires In The Distance‘s debut album, Echoes From Deep November, was a scintillating mixture of autumnal sounds, ruminations on mental health and death/doom with a hefty dose of melody. ‘Harbingers’ is the first taste of its successor, second album Air Not Meant For Us, and it expands on their sonic palette stunningly. A near-11 minute opus, it once more explores mental health, perseverance as well as existentialism. Melodious guitar lines entwine around desolate roars, while quieter moments allow a piano to spin a yearning melody. All the while, there’s stirring strings to emphasise the vastness of the soundscapes they create and delve into. Incredibly powerful and moving, Fires In The Distance hit on a winning formula on their first go and by the sounds of ‘Harbingers’, they’re moving it in all the right directions to craft something ever vaster and more compelling. – Will Marshall
If industrial noise punks SHLUG haven’t been on your radar, now is the time to change that. Despite only releasing a handful of singles the Cardiff three piece have made a name for themselves as a live band worthy of attention, with the energy levels of a toddler on red bull SHLUG create walls of noise jumping genres between hardcore, industrial and experimental punk. Baby Teef is the closest the band have come to translating their immense live sound into a cohesive track, with layers of squealing feedback, skull rattling drums and machine gun vocals culminating in a circle pit worthy breakdown. – Tom Bruce
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This mantra has followed metallic hardcore veterans Unearth throughout their two and a half decades as a band. The first single of an as yet unannounced eighth studio album, “The Wretched; The Ruinous”, is precisely what you expect. Chugs, breakdowns and some of vocalist Trevor Phipps trademark barks. You’re not going to get anything remotely new or unique on an Unearth song, but you do get some headbanging riffs and a lovely face scrunching breakdown at the end. – Chris Earl
Always ones to take the path less trodden, Enslaved might’ve started out as a “typical” black metal band but the intervening years have seen them veer off in a myriad of different directions. “The song sort of showcases our representative samples of inspiration: Led Zep, Genesis, Destruction, Iron Maiden and David Bowie,” is how vocalist Grutle Kjellson describes latest single ‘Forest Dweller’, and it’s hard to say he’s wrong. Their upcoming album, Heimdal, deals with the Norse mythological figure and all the various, sometimes contradicting representations of him, and ‘Forest Dweller’ takes on some of that interplay between light and dark. Searing, blackened NWOBHM opens the song but its initial verse is sparse, with sung vocals and space-rock synth backing it. Oh, and then there’s a pure black metal eruption with a keyboard solo. Confused? That’s understandable, but it all hangs together thanks to the strength of their creative vision and the stories they tell. Heimdal is set to be one of the most fascinating Enslaved entries in some time – and that’s saying something. – Will Marshall
You don’t go to Newcastle’s finest doom metallers Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs for anything but the most crushing, chugging, melodramatic tracks around, and their latest song doesn’t try to fix what ain’t broken. Combining doom with noise rock and a hearty dose of psychedelia, ‘Ultimate Hammer’ represents the core of what makes Pigs x7 such a reliably great band, with a Sabbath style riff, thunderous rhythm section and reverb drenched vocals from charismatic leader Matt Baty. The outro guitar solo is a highlight of the track, descending into all out noise laden madness. – Tom Bruce
Losing your vocalist and lyricist not long after dropping a brilliant record is a blow that not many bands would be able to take. Fortunately, not only have Enterprise Earth rolled with that particular punch, they’ve ended up coming out of the whole situation for the better. ‘The World Without Us’ is the third new track featuring new vocalist Travis Worland. It opens with some clean vocals, and for a second you might be wondering if the band has changed too much…but then the riff and blistering drums kick in and everything is as it’s should be. From the new songs, Travis is definitely a more versatile vocalist than Dan Watson, albeit less unique with his growls. However, all signs point towards Enterprise Earth gaining some new fans with the new focus on melody and moving onto bigger things. – Chris Earl
Rock outfit Savage Hands, hailing from Maryland and Virginia, have returned with their brand new single ‘Angel Dust’. The single marks a new era for the band who have also announced their EP ‘Rock Bottom’. As usual the band strikes a brilliant combination of big riffs, hard drums and a soaring chorus to boot. The band have a confident swagger on ‘Angel Dust’ which, lyrically, talks about pushing through adversity to reach those moments in life that you strive to get to. Its slightly more of a straight up rock anthem than we are used to from Savage Hands but fear not there is still a sprinkling of heavier moments and the bridge is as unhinged and heavy as you’d hope. – Jac Holloway
Progressive metallers Luxrem are back with ‘Gateway’, the latest in a string of singles the band seem to be drip feeding fans. It’s a brilliantly aggressive high octane anthem full to the brim with bristling energy and an explosive chorus. The song talks about the perception of problems and how our feelings and views impact the problem itself, making it either greater or lesser. In addition it touches on toxic traits and an oft human condition to operate with a sense of delusion and grandeur that can lead to telling oneself lies. With crunching riffs, winding and serpentine like lead guitar and a tendency to mix up the verse structures it makes for an exciting and refreshing listen time and time again. Yet another fantastic addition to the bands back-catalogue and promising sign of what to expect next. – Jac Holloway
Alt Rockers The Liars Club have released their debut single ‘Redefine Me’, a rip-roaring all out banger with snarling drums, groove-laden bass lines, stomping riffs and high energy. The juxtaposition between the band’s bigger bouncier moments and their slower more melodic sections make for a raucous and rousing listen. It’s rock and roll done well with plenty of influences seeping through the music from classic and modern rock & metal artists yet it doesn’t feel like the band rely on gimmicks or the usual tropes to make their mark. As far as debuts go it doesn’t get much more exciting than this and. The Liars Club have made a commitment to release a further four songs this year amongst other plans so be sure to keep an ear out. – Jac Holloway