Mastodon – Your Ghost Again

Last year, former Mastodon member Brent Hinds sadly passed away. Even though he’d been out of the Georgian sludge/stoner-prog outfit for a few months in less than desirable circumstances by that point, his loss was felt so deep and wild across the world, you just knew it would impact the band’s future material. ‘Your Ghost Again’ is the result of those feelings and in typical Mastodon style, its emotionally heavy message is buried within swirling riffs and baffling drums. A track about seeing someone everywhere despite them being gone and the turmoil that it can bring, it’s a heart wrenching track that celebrates Brent as much as mourns him and should pave the way for one of Mastodon‘s most devastating albums yet. – Chris Earl

Employed To Serve – Dead Reckoning

Just over a year removed from their latest album Fallen Star, British metallers Employed To Serve clearly have an itch to scratch because they’ve just dropped a ludicrously heavy new track. ‘Dead Reckoning’ sees the band return to the style and sound of the critically acclaimed Eternal Forward Motion, that being a stomping metallic hardcore crunch. Justine Jones sounds more pissed off than she has in a long while and the guitar work is nothing short of phenomenal. Possessing an epic edge akin to their more recent work, this seems to be the band’s statement that they intent to blend their crushing past and melodic present together for what should be an interesting future. Oh, and the final breakdown is stupid fun too. – Chris Earl

The Ocean – Light Pollution

At first listen, you’d be forgiven for thinking The Ocean persuaded Loïc Rosetti not to step down from the band, but as comeback single ‘Light Pollution’ goes on to show, this is a whole new lineup indeed. New singer Enrico Tiberi often has a more dramatic timbre to his voice, and Lane Shi joins him to offer melodic counterpoints. ‘Light Pollution’ otherwise feels like a natural progression from the more electronic-driven Holocene, pulsing synths ebbing and flowing as the track builds and crescendos in a way that’s still unmistakeably The Ocean. With new album Solaris incoming on 25 September, it’ll be an interesting build as we begin to see the new lineup in action. – Will Marshall

Protest The Hero – Mouthpiece

It’s been six long years since Palimpsest reintroduced the legends Protest The Hero but we’re finally seeing a follow-up; Within releases 17 July independently, and its first taster ‘Mouthpiece’ is, as ever, a stone cold stunner. Intricate, technical melodic riffs? Check. Frantic, whiplash timing changes? Check. Killer vocal hooks? Check, check and check again. Never afraid to speak out, ‘Mouthpiece’ takes aim at those utilised by the powerful to spread their messages, from hack podcasters to newsrooms that parrot talking points without question, once again reinforcing why Protest The Hero remain so loved and respected for their refusal to be cowed. And, again, it’s a fucking tune. – Will Marshall

Burner – Sunrise, Parabellum feat. Matthew K. Heafy

Now that the sun has finally arrived in earnest to scorch us all beyond our feeble levels of tolerance, the time has come for Burner to turn up the heat. We’re just a few sweaty months away from the release of the band’s ominously-titled new record No One Is Coming To Save Us, and if this lead single is anything to go by, then we’re in for a hell of a reckoning. 2023’s It All Returns to Nothing was a savage slab of blackened metal, and yet ‘Sunset, Parabellum’ is arguably the heaviest thing the band have released to date. The track wrestles with the state of a world laid to waste by greed and corruption and it bristles with righteous rage and punishing rhythms, bolstered by the presence of Trivium‘s Matthew K. Heafy. Vocalist Harry Nott has further expanded his range and impact, with makes it impossible to resist the unholy breakdown in the wake of the lines, “Their Armageddon, our lives forevermore, we charge into the sunset, sunrise, prepare for fucking war”. We have been warned. – Pete Wall

Din Of Celestial Birds – Takeoffs & Landings

When perennially self-effacing guitarist Andie Gill set himself the task of writing, recording, mastering, and releasing what became EP 1 in the span of just four days, he perhaps didn’t expect the project to go anywhere beyond a small circle of enthusiasts. Fast-forward through the seven years since and the now five-piece band have not only established themselves in the upper echelons of European post-rock, they’ve also dazzled at the likes of Damnation, ATG, and Dunk! as well as playing to thousands at Can Festival in China. With all of this experience already in the rearview, ‘Takeoffs & Landings’, the title track from their upcoming second full-length album, sees the collective spreading their wings in glorious fashion, with a heavier edge adding a further dimension to their instantly-recognisable sound. This is as life-affirming, adrenalised and potent as Din of Celestial Birds have ever sounded. – Pete Wall

Panic Shack – Grin & Bear It

Sometimes it takes a while to get a song right. ‘Grin & Bear It’ is great proof of this. Originally written for Panic Shack’s 2025 debut LP before being tinkered with and toyed with for months, the track sees the Cardiff punks honing the sound that quickly made them such a beloved presence in the national scene. Still, despite the length of time this took to create, this isn’t rigid. Instead, ‘Grin & Bear It’ feels instantaneous and improvisational in the way it explodes like a glitter-packed pipe bomb that’s been shoved through the letter box of those who make the UK such a miserable place to live in. – Dan Hillier

Xiu Xiu – In Heaven

Only a few bands are able to recreate the artistic unease of David Lynch’s Eraserhead. Xiu Xiu is one of them. Lifted from their upcoming record ERASERHEAD XIU XIU – released 10th July via Polyvinyl – ‘In Heaven’ serves as an introduction to the experimentalists’ latest project, one that sees Xiu Xiu exploring and expanding the universe of the Lynch classic in question. It’s as haunting, creeping and surreal as you can imagine, but a track that carries the artful authenticity that’s synonymous with this band and film in question. The thought of a band expanding the world of a film as legendary as Eraserhead may seem ridiculous, but ‘In Heaven’ proves that Xiu Xiu are more than capable of furthering the world Lynch originally envisioned. – Dan Hillier

Million Moons – Last Days Together

A beautiful and emotionally hefty instrumental soundscape that reminisces thoughts of Pg.Lost, Tides from Nebula and Overhead, The Albatross in thanks to its cinematic aspect, the new single from London post rockers Million Moons is a wonderful tribute to a very good boy indeed. Lifted from their upcoming record You Be Good, I Love You – released 26th June via Ripcord Records here in the UK – ‘Last Days Together’ serves as an honouring to guitarist and composer Edward Thompson’s late Labrador Ralphy, whose life, along with the rest of the animal kingdom we share Earth with, helped inspire this new conversation themed record. “I wrote this track during a very difficult time in my life in Orkney”, states Thompson. “The original working title was ‘It Rained A Lot’, which I think sums up the kind of mindset I was in at the time. My Labrador, Ralphy, had recently passed away and this writing track definitely played a role in helping me to process those emotions. We adopted Ralphy in 2020 via The Arc Animal Sanctuary. We don’t know exactly how old he was when we got him, but his previous owner had kept him chained to their front porch for years, so he’d missed out on a lot in life. It was a real privilege to know him and give him the retirement he truly deserved.” – Dan Hillier

Balmora – Moon Light Hysteria

One of, if not the most exciting bands in the crop of revivalcore, Balmora are in the final stretches of the run up to their massively anticipated debut LP, These Graven Halls and ‘Moon Light Hysteria’ is the third eyeliner tinged single to emerge. Almost gothic at times, it blends the ferocious metalcore the band are known for with a foreboding atmosphere akin to a haunted cathedral and along with the band’s other singles, it paints a picture of a record that will be as demonic and alluring as it will be crushingly heavy and made for kids killing each other during the hefty breakdowns. – Chris Earl

Green Lung – Evil In This House

Years of hard graft and creating some frankly hypnotic, stadium sized bangers for occult heavy metallers Green Lung are paying off. By this point the band have headlined the Saturday Desertfest and announced their fourth full length, Necropolitan, set to release on 11th September. With their last effort, This Heathen Land, the band had cemented their anthemic, moss tinged sound and judging from ‘Evil In This House’, they’ve taken it to even higher levels. A winding, stomping track lead by powerful, mystical riffs and the haunting vocals of Tom Templar, it brings the occult sound of 50 years ago to the fore but with the modern heft that production can bring, it makes the track a stunning example of what the band can do and lays the course for even more success for the band. – Chris Earl

Converge – Doom In Bloom

No less than thirty six years into their monumental career, Converge somehow manage to maintain the hunger and vitality that made them such a force back in the day. Having released their most straightforward and, arguably, best record in some time in the form of February’s Love Is Not Enough, they decided one record was also not enough, promptly unveiling lead single ‘Hum of Hurt’ and now ‘Doom In Bloom’ to ramp up anticipation for the second new full-length, which will be out in early June. ‘Doom in Bloom’ is built on a swaggering lead riff intro and pounding staccato drums that set the table for Jacob Bannon to wrestle with personal harms. As Bannon snarls, “No one has the right to judge me, as I pick at open wounds”. This kind of raw expression is nothing new to fans of Converge, but it’s nevertheless a resounding reminder of the universality of inner turmoil and pain. The track hints at the upcoming Hum Of Hurt being something of a soul-searching, inward-facing companion to the righteous anger directed towards the outside world on Love Is Not Enough. Thematic through lines to one side, Converge‘s sound continues to evolve while delivering exhilarating intensity in a way that few bands can match. – Pete Wall

Sixth Wonder – Is That What You Want From Me?

Scotland’s Sixth Wonder have unveiled their second single of the year, ‘Is That What You Want From Me?’, and the second taste of the band’s evolution from their debut EP Prologue. ‘ITWYWFM?’ melds the elements they’ve become known for, djenty metalcore riffs, snarling roars interspersed with soaring melodic hooks and this time introduces some proggier moments. It’s also their most personal release yet, dealing with vocalist Rebekah Kirk losing her voice to COVID and the toll it took both mentally and physically to battle through that loss and recover. It also, as the band state, “speaks on the fears associated with loss, the replacement of anger and overcoming a struggle against all odds,” giving it a relatability outside of its immediate context. With this and Prologue under their belts, and an upcoming appearance at Radar Festival, Sixth Wonder are really staking their claim in the UK’s burgeoning underground. – Will Marshall

Still Remains – Erase You

Yes, that Still Remains. Having recently completed a 20th anniversary tour for Of Love & Lunacy, the band also confirmed new music was in the works, of which ‘Erase You’ is the second single. Taken from their upcoming EP Spirit Breaker, out 12 June, ‘Erase You’ dials the clock back to 2006 and their earliest albums with its swelling synths and combination of guttural roars and melodic passages. It’s glorious to see the band not only back, but clearly firing on all cylinders and recapturing their classic sound without sounding dated. The most exciting moments are the more expansive flourishes that hint at an even broader sound that The Serpent flirted with, and that this is very much the Still Remains those of us with bad backs know and love. – Will Marshall

The Iron Roses – Dead Eyes

Natasha Gray’s post Boysetsfire project The Iron Roses are back with a vengeance on ‘Dead Eyes’, the lead single from their second album Molotov Nights. A masterclass of modern melodic punk, the band balances catchiness and raw aggression in good measure paired with the soaring vocal harmonies of Natasha Gray and Becky Fontaine. The song also doesn’t pull back any punches lyrically, actively calling out the state of the world we’re living in and how the over saturation of atrocities somewhat numbs us to them. With so many bands who claim to be punk not even addressing the several genocides going on throughout the globe, it’s refreshing that we still have bands like The Iron Roses screaming out and empowering audiences to fight for a better world. – Rob Horrocks

Cancer Bats – Stay Stuck

Hail destroyer, for the bats are back. Ripped from their freshly announced new record Give Me Dirt – released 7th August via Marshall Records – new single ‘Stay Stuck’ sees Cancer Bats doing what they do best; dropping bouncy, rowdy hardcore punk that’s fun as all hell. A song of optimism delivered via a haymaker to the bridge of the nose, here, the Canadian legends praise the importance of making changes to your life for the better via their signature scrappy sound. Some may be questioning if the band will have the energy for what is arguably becoming a younger and younger person’s game after over 20 years of activity, but once listen to this will show how Cancer Bats are still one of the best names in all things punk related. – Dan Hillier