A.A.Williams captures gut-wrenching, unattainable yearning in forlorn new single ‘Wolves’. Perfectly suited for winter’s coldest days and darker nights, Williams‘ lamenting voice and brooding post-rock guitar arrangements act as the last remaining embers providing meager warmth in the midst of a barren snowy landscape, keeping the circling wolves at bay. But the fire is fading and the inability to let go bares its teeth and promises naught but cold, desperate isolation. A.A.Williams is currently on tour throughout the UK and Europe, warming or crushing hearts along the way with her sorrowful doom-tinged post-rock. – Avrian O’Brien
“When Oklahoma meets Sub Pop Rock City”, is the best way to describe the brand new singles from Chat Pile – the protest song ‘Masks’ and their rendition of ‘Sifting’, a criminally underrated Nirvana song off their debut album, Bleach. This double-whammy of a release couldn’t have come at a better time, especially if you have a soft spot for the golden age of grunge music. Chat Pile‘s version of ‘Sifting’ is simply exceptional, not only because they managed to capture the raw essence of the original, but also because they make it sound very much like Chat Pile. As for ‘Masks’, it has the urgency, the anger, and the sardonicism we all feel right now when we look at the news coming from the other side of the pond. Gritty riffs, cohesive rhythms and goofball attitude on stage, as anyone who’s ever seen them live or listened to God’s Country and Cool World can attest, these two singles are not only necessary but also galvanising. – Nessie Spencer
2026 feels like it could be a stand up and shout moment for Delilah Bon, an artist known for fighting for causes they believe in. In the wake of their cancelled US tour, the timely release of ‘Illegal Aliens’ takes the opportunity to protest against injustices and provide a voice for those struggling to find their own. It bristles with anger and passion throughout, the rapid pace and resonance of the song leaving little time to breathe, but plenty of time to stop and think. As a track it feels both empathic and anthemic, it presents a power in Bon‘s lyrics amplifying over a subdued instrumental that has her words ringing in your ears long after the song is over. For Bon fans, this is a song that marches to the beat of its own drum, for newcomers it provides an outlet for change. – Sean Jolly
There was some concern that after the release of last year’s the world is still here and so are we it would take another decade or two for us to hear another record from mclusky. Thankfully, this isn’t the case. Taken from the band’s freshly announced mini-album i sure am getting sick of this bowling alley – released May 1st via Ipecac Recordings – ‘i know computer’ feels like mclusky making up for lost time in the most mclusky way possible. Bound by the most punchy of basslines and the most sardonic of lyrics, ‘i know computer’ is once again two minutes of sarcastic noise rock that refuses to comply with popular music convention. It’s utterly brilliant, and the sound of a band releasing another music not just to appease fans worried about waiting years for new music, but purely for the love of the genre. – Dan Hillier
Back in July 2025, alt metal newcomers Mallavora announced the exciting news they’d signed to independent tastemaker label Church Road Records; a few months after, they announced their debut album What If Better Never Comes?, slated for release 27th March, and have just unveiled their third single taken from it in ‘Lilith & Esther’. As ever, it’s an excoriating slice of metalcore riffs, furious roars and a canny sense of melody that draws on their own various cultural heritages to accentuate the lyrical weight. Often dissecting their lived experiences with chronic illness and society’s treatment of chronically ill people, amongst other social ills, they’re a powerful voice within alternative music that all too often doesn’t have space to be heard. – Will Marshall
Many cling onto hope to a variety of bands returning, but when a band as sorely missed as Arcane Roots announces they are back, many more rejoice. A sombre but hopeful opening eases in their return with ‘A Wave, Across the Sea’, piano and the gentle hum of synths lay under Andrew’s beautiful voice backed by a chorus effect. Building alongside a plethora of sounds and textures put together by their new extended lineup recalls the Arcane Roots of old but setting the new chapter up well. A huge burst as the elements hit, dissipates teasing more to come before the last rush of heaviness, those waves and scream wash over wiping out all in their path. Having been announced for 2000 Trees and ArcTanGent there is very much a buzz around what their return and extended line up within the band will bring. Welcome back Arcane Roots. We missed you. – Adam Vallely
Leeds outfit Love Rarely had a whirlwind start, their debut EP Lonely People in 2024 capturing plenty of ears with its blend of mathy guitar licks, post hardcore and emo. Vocalist Courtney Levitt delivers heart-wrenching melodies alongside jangly math rock guitar, a sound immediately identifiable as their own shot through with vulnerability, pain and a desire for personal growth and healing. Taken from their upcoming debut album Pain Travels, which is entirely self-produced by guitarist Lew Taylor, ‘Will’ offers another snapshot into the inner worlds of Love Rarely and a tantalising glimpse of just how good they’re already becoming. – Will Marshall
The first single to be picked from Peach’s upcoming LP Only Love – released 13th March – ‘Unhappy People’ isn’t an easy listen, but oh is it brilliant. A band that have long been a product of unease, here, the Bristolian alt-rock quartet only tighten the coil of tension that served as the spine of their previous output in order to inject this single with a pressure that feels borderline tangible. The end result is a single that quivers with stress and nervous energy in a way that’s reminiscent of the likes of Unsane and others of their noisy ilk, albeit in a way that’s accessible in thanks to the fantastic vocals of Ellie Godwin. Fantastic, genuine stuff. – Dan Hillier
The shows were a lot of fun. They were well attended but it was exhausting, but then again that’s also kind of part of the deal. When we’re in the EU and the UK, that’s just kind of how it goes for us, mainly because we have to rent everything and try to maximise our margins. It makes it so that instead of having four shows in a row and then a day off like we might in the States, we might do seven shows in a row and then the day off is a travel day where we’re on a ferry or, in transit for like 13 or 14 hours. I think that we did a good job as a group. We have six of us all together and we stuck together and took care of each other.
As time has gone on, there have been things that we’ve had to spend more money on than we have in the past. But that’s been a very deliberate choice, knowing what the cost of it would be to our health if we didn’t do those things. Like sleeping arrangements. If we’re deep into a tour and someone’s willing to let us crash at their house but there aren’t enough beds/couches for everyone. In the States we can bring our sleeping mats and it’s no problem. But when we go over to the EU/UK all of our luggage is reserved for bringing over as many records as we can. Especially because we have a few records that are self-released, so we don’t have distribution for them but people would buy them if they didn’t have to pay for shipping across the Atlantic. So just kind of stuffing our luggage with as many of those as we can and then it doesn’t leave room for too many luxuries, because paying the airline for baggage allowance is a bit pricey.
It’s been great, we sort of knew that there were things that we could do as a band that generally people wanted to hear from us. So I think that maybe leaning into some of that while also incorporating stuff that we’ve been exploring over the past five years or so. It does feel like a bit of an amalgamation of all the things that we’ve done, but it does call back to some of the earlier stuff that we’ve done in terms of it being more guitar-based.
Most definitely. Knowing that some of the production choices were on the table because they were no longer unprecedented allowed for some of those choices to be made readily. However, because of how we circumstantially ended up tracking the record, there were less of those production choices than I had originally thought there would be, thus leading to a more guitar-centric record.
At this point, it’s kind of silly because it’s basically trying to play most of whatever record we’ve just released and just one song off of each of the other releases. We’re going to do a Northeast US trip in the spring in support of mclusky and still play some of the new record, but also bring in more of that old stuff. That’s when we can really have an equal parts mix of everything. This one was an easy one to look at and feel strongly about all the songs and they occupied a place in the set that felt like it lent itself to the dynamic of a beginning, middle and end. The quiet moments are really fun to see whether or not the audience is game. We come out of the gate and give a lot of energy but there are some moments when we try to bring it way down and if people are willing to go there with us I think it can lead to a pretty special shared moment.
Heading today’s announcement and joining an already stacked bill featuring some of the best names in the global experimental scene are none other than Arcane Roots, who will be retuning to ArcTanGent’s main-stage after an eight year hiatus and countless prayers of a reunion. They will also be joined by fellow newcomers such as Manchester’s Maruja, festival staples Nordic Giants, US shoegazers Nothing, Faroesean icon Eivør and everyone’s favourite gentlemen Jamie Lenman, who will also be returning to Fernhill Farm for an exclusive one-off set following his retirement several years back.
That’s still not all mind; also announced today are Master Boot Record, Pupil Slicer, Papanugu, Zu, Scorpion Milk, Mass of the Fermenting Dregs, SOM, Believe In Nothing, Bruise Blood, Floating, IAN, ISKANDR, L.O.E, Matador, Pil & Bue, Sleemo, Terminals, Witchsorrow, Civil Service, Moksha, Night Swimming, Ringlets, The Sad Season, Señor Pin, Wildernesses, Worn Out, You Win Again Gravity, ZAHN, Forlorn, Gösta Berling’s Saga, Hang Linton, itoldyouiwouldeatyou, Leeched, Lowheaven, NYOS, PLEB, PREYRS and Ronker.
On today’s announcement, festival head honcho James Scarlett says, “ArcTanGent 2026 is officially our best-selling edition of the festival by a country mile, and we are absolutely buzzing to be adding another huge wave of artists for the festival. In particular, bands like EIVØR, Nothing and Master Boot Record, who are joining us at the festival for the very first time. One of the best parts of booking a festival is also to be able to have some artists return significantly bigger than the last time they played. The likes of Maruja and Mass of the Fermenting Dregs have well and truly sped through the ranks and both are not to be missed this year after playing much lower down the bill only a few years ago. All this without mentioning the return of the mighty Arcane Roots – to have them returning after over 7 years, exclusively for our festivals, is a truly special moment.”
ArcTanGent Festival 2026 will take place at it’s usual home of Fernhill Farm, Bristol, between the dates of 19th – 22nd August. As one can imagine, tickets are already flying out. Find all those important tickets and information here, and peep the lineup thus far below.
Gormoth/ForevercolD/Haldokló Csillagok (HUN)
Release: Oh, My Bitter Addictions and Ez a szomorú Világ
Atmospheric Black Metal
Prolific doesn’t even begin to cut it when talking about these three projects spearheaded by one man known simply as Adam. 41 individual releases across the three projects, each showing a slightly different shade of atmospheric black metal, dealing with themes of grief, loss and death these are deeply affecting releases. Absolutely drenched in atmosphere and emotion, every note, and phrase is felt, sure to bring listeners back time after time.
Lungtoucher (U.K.)
Release: My Consort, Eternal
Post Black Metal
Coming in late in the year with a December release the one man act out of Swindon dropped one of the best EPs of the year. Blending furious black metal riffage with spooky, haunting almost cinematic passages listeners are dragged through a hellscape complete with demons and devils and all that is evil. What initially seems like some good old straight up black metal quickly evolves into something more expansive and otherworldly. By the time it reaches full stride, it feels less like an EP and more like a descent—each track peeling back another layer of its ritualistic atmosphere. The songwriting has a confidence that belies its modest runtime, twisting familiar black-metal tropes into something darker, stranger, and far more immersive than you expect going in.
Rancid Cadaver (U.K.)
Release: Mortality Denied
OSDM
The debut full length release from Glaswegian Old School Death Metallers pulls out every trick in the death metal playbook and then some. There are no frills or tricks to this it’s just proper Death Metal full of buzzsaw riffs and rhythmic pounding that can feel like being run over by a tank. The B Movie narration’s interspersed throughout the record just add to the grit and grime, and most importantly the horror of it all, in what ends up being a real stand out for Death Metal.
Read the full review: https://www.noizze.co.uk/rancid-cadaver-mortality-denied-album-review/
Noctambulist (NED)
Release: Noctambulist II: De Droom
Post Black/Blackgaze
Post black metal doesn’t get much better than this, with ethereal, soaring and for a large part uplifting riffs and melody. Blending that hopeful, albeit bittersweet sound with the bleak nature of black metal creates a genuine emotional response in listeners. Further exploration into post punk realms on this sophomore release have evolved their sound out of just being another post black/blackgaze band, they balance the hostility with beauty, the despair with hope and the shade with light.
Self Destruction in Your Dreams (JAP)
Release: 焦葬
DSBM/Blackgaze
There are four words to perfectly describe what the Japanese outfit have produced here “this is fucking bleak”. Sharp, relentless and repetitive riffs that swirl around your head, pounding drums bring forth a sense of impending doom. All of this underscored by the howling, wailing vocals sounding like a complete emotional breakdown. This isn’t a comfortable listen, the overall atmosphere is of dread and despair, and never looses that even when it goes into full shit kicking mode. Underneath it all there’s a glimmer of beauty, expressed through the keys, something light something hopeful, something pure.
Rhûn (U.S.A.)
Release: Burial Pact
Atmospheric Black Metal
Building off the debut album from 2024, Falls of Rauros side project, Rhûn, allow their more experimental side to flow further. Exploring atmospheric, post metal, dark ambient, blackened death and even some doom throughout the EP. If any of this sounds like it would be confused over the course of a 20-minute release, then fear not, the production on these blends and flows everything together excellently. The riffing is beefy and thick, the vocals harsh and heavy, strings and keys flowing underneath everything, building up that atmosphere. This is immediate, it feels like its own living entity, almost reacting to itself and pushing itself forward like a force of nature.
Bloodfang (GER)
Release: Bloodfang
Thrash/Heavy Metal
Possibly the most fun EP of the year, the Germans bring a mix of thrash and trad metal with a big old dollop of black metal thrown in for good measure. This is music for wearing chain mail and swinging a sword to. Its schlocky horror vibes blend perfectly with the speed and swagger the band are playing with, it’s seditious and slimy and smothered in sleaze. The charm is in how fully they commit to the bit—no irony, no restraint, just pedal-to-the-metal mayhem delivered with a crooked grin. Every riff feels like it’s been ripped from a midnight monster flick and fed through a rusty wood chipper. It’s gloriously ridiculous, and that’s exactly why it works
Everyone’s favourite mental moggies are back. The first taste of Haggard Cat’s upcoming LP The Pain That Orbits Life – released May 8th via Church Road Records – whilst ‘I Hate It Here’ may have took almost five years to grace our ears, this track appears to be a testament to the saying that good things come to those who wait. A brilliant return from the noisenik hellraisers, here, Haggard Cat interfuse their adrenaline-charged alt-rock with additional synths and newfound progressive dynamism to brilliant effect. And yes, whilst the notion of Haggard Cat toying with prog and synths may be an odd prospect on paper, there’s no denying that it feels utterly natural here. ‘I Hate It Here’ feels like witnessing evolution first hand and stands as a wonderful return from one of the UK’s best. – Dan Hillier
Sounding akin to a mechanical calculator trying to divide by 0 whilst some poor 20th century mathematician warbles in horror at the carnage they’ve wrought, as one can imagine, the new single from Lightning Bolt is mad. But what else would you expect from the noise rock veterans. Ripped from their upcoming split EP with Japanese experimentalists OOIOO, ‘Cloud Core’ is four-and-a-half-minutes of high-pressure percussion and distorted fretwork that sounds as industrialist as it does deeply human. It’s utter brain scrambling and ear destroying nonsense, but there’s not a chance machines or AI could make music this weird and wonderful. – Dan Hillier
Continuing to show that Wot Gorilla? have aged like only the finest of wines, ‘Clowns’ see’s the math-rock veterans sounding better than ever. The second single to be taken from their forthcoming LP Stay Home, ‘Clowns’ is a biting lambast of climate change denialism that’s delivered with a sense of technicality that perfectly sits between the realms of whimsy and urgency. Much like how their previous single ‘Young Man’s Game’ proved, it appears time has only tempered the band’s approach to math rock, with this single all containing pop sensibilities, post-hardcore leanings and prog inclinations in a way that’s simply concise and digestible. We may have been waiting a long 15 years for a new Wot Gorilla? record, but if this is anything to go by, it appears Stay Home may be well worth the wait. – Dan Hillier
If you were one of the Roadburners who discovered Doodseskader last year, you most likely left the festival as a fan. What sets this bilingual duo from Ghent apart from their peers is their effortless ability to blend multiple alternative genres without ever feeling convoluted or opportunistic. Based on their first two singles from the highly anticipated third album The Change Is Me, set for release 3rd April, there’s every reason to be excited. Their first track, ‘No Laughter Left In Me’, is a vibrant track infused with elements of hardcore, electronica, and experimental hip-hop. However, with their newest single “Weaponizing My Failures”, Doodseskader showcases a more introspective and emotional depth, drawing direct inspiration from shoegaze and post-metal. These lads aren’t here for the party; they give you the perfect soundtrack for your ride home. Forget about Amenra and Oathbreaker, because Doodseskader is where Belgian excellence is at right now. Until all is 45. – Nessie Spencer
