Wren have been omnipresent within the UK’s underground for over a decade and forever revel in their construction of bleak desolation. Black Rain Falls sees them present a lean cut of Premier League post-metal fluent in noise rock dragged straight from the earths core.
At just 36 minutes, Black Rain Falls is considered svelte by post-metal definition and Wren use this smaller window to create razor sharp tension and execute payoffs of sheer dread. It’s an uncompromising and near faultless listen, as every second is tethered together in a haunting tandem to drag the listener through this sermon of grief. Beginning with ‘Flowers of Earth’ a leviathan is awakened after 5 years since last LP Groundswell as they shake off of the slumber and begin to motion again. It has weight and is finely tuned for all of its 8 minutes and the simplicity in the pacing to summon tension as it tip toes with the bass of Mark Lotz being a pillar of the album’s construction as it binds you with a satisfying crunch. The suspension is an art which few master, but you feel Wren are taking atmospheric influence from the likes Amenra in making every detail matter, every piece of gloom is carefully introduced and embalmed in darkness for the most effective result.
A dramatic change of pace comes with ‘Betrayal of Self’ which bolts from the opening as the rolling thunder of drummer Seb Tull sets a menacing stall out for vocalist Owen Jones to howl like peak Aaron Turner with real grit in the throat. Just as the heart rate of the album increases we hit our interlude in ‘Cerebral Drift’ which is a short and sweet dust settler on what feels like emphatic first act.
Where to even begin with Love Is Noise and their debut album to live in a different way? The range of influences present that absolutely should not work but boy do they ever? The expertly curated soundscape showcasing the very best that can come out of some guitars and drums? Or the outrageously catchy, soaring melodies and vocal hooks that will have you belting them out before the end of the first chorus?
Ultimately it doesn’t matter where we begin with this. to live in a different way demands your attention and you should listen up. To go from sounding like the bouncing rebirth of Brit rock’s most loud and obnoxious best, shoegazing melancholic beauty, pulling at the emotional strings with deep and contemplative riffs and melodies, right through to alt and nu metal grove and aggression, and back again is one hell of a journey to make. Love Is Noise wear their influences clearly on their sleeves and still carve out a sound that is entirely their own.
The most obvious talking point here is those vocals. From the very opening of ‘Devotion’, listeners will be hit with a powerhouse voice, mastered control over pitch and depth, power when power is needed, subtlety and introspection at the softer moments. Each and every single one of these songs is festival field ready; you can already hear thousands people singing along with every single hook, feeling the absolute euphoria that this brings. Still this wouldn’t be out of place in dark and dingy clubs, collecting everyone together to experience something so beautiful people will be talking about for years to come. Everything melds together perfectly, so much passion and emotion resonates all over this album, listeners are sure to feel an intense emotional connection to every phrase.
When you look back at Dream Theater’s back catalogue, it has to be conceded that as easy as it is to laugh at them, naming an album: Metropolis PT.2: Scenes From a Memory, is laying down the goddamn gauntlet. “PT.2!? I don’t even remember listening to PT.1, oh man, I’m way out of my depth here.” Well, this year’s offering from the Theater is Parasomnia, the first in many years to feature classic-era drummer, Mike Portnoy. This album’s first track, ‘In the Arms of Morpheus’, will make fans think: ‘Yep, that’s a Dream Theater song alright.’ And not much else, there’s not much here that distinguishes it from the rest of their back catalogue. This could just as easily be a track from Octavarium or The Astonishing. It starts with some perfectly acceptable groove, but not a groove like that contentious metal band offers. More like a hippy Uncle smoking a bone and jamming out to some Phish kind of groove. Next, the listener is met with some of the Final Fantasy XVII Soundtrack -or whatever it is they’re up to now-guitar soloing which is seemingly without end.
From the opening hits of ‘My People’, The None come in like the apocalypse. Syncopated muted guitar hits synchronised with the drums and bass, interrupted by vocalist Kai’s calls of “we’re going nowhere/and being speedy about it”. You can hear the echoes of the room, and the tightness of a band that hasn’t stopped since its inception.
The quartet went public around a year ago with a tour and no songs, and ended the year having played with reputable names like Canadian post-punkers Metz and released one of Noizze’s EPs of the year with their debut tracks on MATTER. Their second EP, CARE follows in the same trend – a live tracked band in a room with minimal overdubs and loud amps. Nothing else needed as this hits hard. The aforementioned intro to ‘My People’ or the breakdown of ‘Rusty Roads’ are testament to this, having already torn through crowds up and down the country.
While other bands may have overtaken Bleeding Through in the long run, their influence runs clearly through many bands to this day. Now it’s 2025, and it’s their second album back from their four-year split. Have they toned down? Have they become more melodic and nonchalant? Heavens no. In fact, if it’s even possible, they’ve become angrier. Nine is – surprise, surprise – the ninth album from Bleeding Through, and it doesn’t even give you a chance to take in the small intro at the beginning of opening track ‘Gallows’. Driven by furious dual guitars from John Arnold & Brandon Richter as drummer Derek Youngsma takes charge with his blistering double kick assault behind the fiery vocals of frontman Brandon Schieppati. As the introduction to the album, you’re shown their true colours, as they have nothing to hide from you.
One thing Bleeding Through have excelled at on Nine is the theatrical elements. Through the course of Nine not only are you taken on an endless barrage of unpurified adrenaline, you’re also transported to another plane of existence. Behind the metalcore madness is a beautifully composed elemental beauty that’s elevated on ‘Emery’. Being the slowest song on the album, it breaks through the barrier, but in no means is it any less of a Bleeding Through song.
Some albums take two, maybe three listens to fully get to grips with, such are their intricacies and layers. This isn’t one of them, from the very first notes to the last, everything is laid bare in front of you, no filler, very few frills, just loud, bouncing anthems. This showcases the Germans at their best, reminiscent of their early work, showing they can still rage with the best of them, but with a clear sense of experience.
After expanding their sound and production on 2022s Pain is Forever and This is the End into what was at times stadium ready rock anthems, the German duo have stripped it all back this time around. Who needs crisp production and vocal hooks when you can have dirty riffs and a German man barking at you? The grandiosity hasn’t all gone, there are some genuinely massive moments across this record, big sing along choruses in ‘Rex Perverso’ and ‘Dogma Down’, keep the party vibes rolling, albeit with a seedy underbelly of muck and danger throughout.
