Dan Hillier
London riffmongers Urne have been a little quieter recently following their touring in support of excellent second album A Feast On Sorrow, but that silence might be about to bear fruit. The trio have just unveiled brand-new song ‘Harken the Waves’, a 9-plus minute epic that journeys through towering progressive thrash and lumbering grooves. Naturally the guitar work is truly stellar, Angus Neyra cementing himself as one of metal’s best unsung guitarists. Not only that, but they’ve enlisted the help of Troy Sanders of the titanic Mastodon for guest vocals, in a pairing that simply makes sense given the similarities between the two bands. It’s hinting towards a perhaps even-better third album, if one is indeed in the works. – Will Marshall
From the sunbleached lands of Arizona comes something most gloomy indeed. The band’s first single since 2023, ‘Beneath A Lightless Star’ see’s Holy Fawn doing what they do best; making sounds that are simultaneously gorgeous and devastating. A continuation of the starry-eyed fatalism that characterised their wonderful 2022 record Dimensional Bleed, ‘Beneath A Lightless Star’ is a wonderful balancing act between intricate shoegaze grounded in the misery of men and a kind of celestial that harkens the esoteric nature of the veil beyond. – Dan Hillier
Making a transformation over the last decade from twinkly emo darlings to a melodramatic, progressive post-hardcore powerhouse, Connecticut based six-piece The World Is A Beautiful Place And I Am No Longer Afraid To Die (or TWIABP) have taken another hard left turn into all-out experimental hardcore on their latest single ‘Beware The Centrist’. While fans of their earlier work may be confused by the screamed vocals from dual singers David Bello and Katie Dvorak or the discordant guitar riffs backed by punishing percussion, fans of acts like The Armed or Chat Pile will feel right at home among the noise. While plenty of bands steadily shift from one style to another TWIABP keep listeners on their toes, veering wildly into a new genre and cementing themselves as expertwithout missing a beat. – Tom Bruce
The final single from impending album This Bitter Garden, ‘Gaia Wept’ sees For Your Health in as chaotic form as ever. It’s barely even two minutes long (1:40, but who’s counting?) and in that time they pack in twists, turns and a Full Of Hell level of intensity, along with a demented, chugging breakdown. Calling it “one of our most intense songs,” guitarist Nick Marzluf almost undersells it. Although they’re typically closer to post-hardcore, ‘Gaia Wept’ revels in grindcore and skramz as it barrels through. It’s certainly more intense than the preceding single ‘Flowers For the Worst of Them’ and hints at a very violent album indeed. – Will Marshall
No, you haven’t magically time travelled to an 80s rock show, it’s just Margarita Witch Cult. ‘Scream Bloody Murder’ is an unashamedly old school tune, with more than a hint of fellow Brummie band Black Sabbath. This occult stoner rock track tells the story of some poor soul being driven mad – but is it the work of something supernatural, or all in their head? ‘Scream Bloody Murder’ is missing some of the sludgy heaviness of the band’s first record though, opting instead for a more shock rock feel, driven by singer Scott Abbott’s Alice-Cooper-esque vocals. Margarita Witch Cult’s sophomore album Strung Out In Hell is out July 18th with (the aptly named) Heavy Psych Sounds. – Eleanor Taylor
One for the tradies, the grafters, the sparkies and all members of geezer-kind, the new single from Pintglass is as potent as 12 cans of Belgium’s finest and harder than a pair of steelies. Another stone cold tinny of a tune from everyones favourite PPE-donned beatdown crew, ‘Pintglass By Pintglass Off the Album Pintglass’ is two and a half minutes of utter obnoxiousness that fully leans into just how absolutely daft this style of hardcore can be. If Stella Artois is your drink of choice and should you prefer your tea with one sugar at the very most, then this is probably for you. – Dan Hillier
‘Impeccable’ is the latest chapter from Calva Louise’s upcoming sci-fi concept album Edge of the Abyss. This international trio hail from France, Venezuela and New Zealand – and their musical style is just as eclectic as their origins. ‘Impeccable’ is a cyberpunk fusion of high-energy electronica and guitar riffs that would fit right in on the Doom soundtrack. It also features lyrics in both English and Spanish, like many of Calva Louise’s songs, which adds another layer of complexity to their genre-defying sound. ‘Impeccable’ is a fun song on its own, but check out the music video to get into the high-concept narrative and meet the album’s key characters. Get ready for mysterious doppelgangers, wriggly alien spiders, and even a few time travellers. It is a little on the cheesy, campy side, but when’s that ever hurt anyone? – Eleanor Taylor
Celebrating the milestone of a decade as a band, Japanese “harajukucore” outfit Hanabie. have unveiled their latest single ‘Spicy Queen’. As expected from the metalcore quartet, there’s a strong Maximum The Hormone influence running throughout. It acts as a companion song to ‘WE LOVE SWEETS’, adding what they describe as a “spicy version” of the song that brought them so many new listeners. ‘Spicy Queen’ itself opens with rapid fire vocals before that MtH groove kicks in, slap bass and all, alongside serrated guitars and vicious screams. There’s an undercurrent of nu metal bounce as well, again likely due to their influences, while its latter moments kick into electro-metalcore for the last few seconds of chaos. It’s certainly not for everyone, but it’s still a blast. – Will Marshall
Taken from their upcoming record Trapped, ‘Basilisk’ see’s Scottish heavy hitters Hammer addressing the dangers of AI with all the subtleness of their namesake. An addressing of the Roko’s Basilisk thought experiment which is based on a hypothetical future AI that will reward those who helped in it’s creation whilst punishing those who did not, ‘Basilisk’ is a right total death metal bludgeoning that will no doubt be well received by fans of Swamp Coffin, Beyond Grace or the musical equivalent of being on the receiving end of a truncheon on the downswing. – Dan Hillier
After parting ways a few months ago with vocalist and bassist Ahren Stringer, The Amity Affliction is back with a new track: ‘All That I Remember’. With Jonathan Reeves (ex-Kingdom of Giants) now filling in live, the Australians are providing a song that would remind fans of the very early days of Amity. The rawness and brutality in Joel Birch’s vocals catches up instantly, slowly contrasted by the new clean vocals. The theme of the track is as intense as is the song, talking about the toxic relationship of Birch’s mother and how it has affected him as a person. The darkness of that subject is transcribed into the music and one can feel the weight it conveys. – Emma Forni