Little is known about the cryptic duo known as Zetra, they’re based in the UK, they’re one of the most exciting new names in the British underground right now and the two corpse-painted figureheads of the band refer to themselves only as The Wanderers. Quickly rising through the ranks of the UK’s thriving alternative scene supporting artists like Creeper, HEALTH and Ville Valo, Zetra’s creepy aesthetic does little to overshadow their unique mix of throwback synth based goth rock and modern metal.
From opening track ‘Suffer Eternally’ Zetra elicit the same feeling as hearing bands like The Cure for the first time, bringing a fresh lick of paint to a genre with a rich history. Blending modern programmed drums and chunky guitar riffs with the lo-fi synths and detached vocal style of those iconic early goth records, Zetra bring tried and tested gothic tropes up to date in a way that fans of bands like Sleep Token and HEALTH will be quick to pick up on. Unlike a lot of other modern goth bands Zetra wear their admiration of the genre’s giants on their sleeve without sounding like a cover band, keeping one foot in the past and the other in the future.
Boston Manor survived the dark, and now they present their dawn. Their fifth album, Sundiver, is the morning to 2022’s dark Datura. The Blackpool five-piece widen their sonic palette over eleven songs and a feature from Heriot’s Debbie Gough. From the first song, light floods in through the cracked window, and each song allows more in to bathe the album in warmth.
Track one on Sundiver is “Datura (Dawn)”, a hopeful callback to 2022’s dourer opener “Datura (Dusk)”. The band has seen positive changes in their lives since their last album, which is reflected in the music from the beginning. Every fresh start awakens worries, though, and the anxious drumbeat underneath the calm melody in “Datura (Dawn)” reminds the listener change isn’t always easy. Boston Manor, however, learn to embrace change with joy after the years that built Datura.
The first half of the album comes across as punkier and hits more notes of influence from Garbage and Deftones, while the second half rounds it out with Portishead and even, they admitted, some NSYNC. Each song is a distinct creature, not a cookie-cutter single. Boston Manor have always been this way, but that sonic diversity is more obvious throughout this new release. Songs feel thicker, more cohesive, and certainly more hopeful. No song breaks the four-minute mark, but each second is used wisely.
Alt rock, shoegaze, and punk dominate tracks up to “Morning Star”, their instrumental breakcore-adjacent sixth track. Some highlights from the first half: “Sliding Doors” vocals melting into electronic screeches over shoegaze-y guitars; “HEAT ME UP”’s impossibly catchy opening riff and melody (which feels like a callback to Datura, subtlety reminding the listener that change and hopefulness isn’t a linear path); and the dissonant chords that open “Horses in a Dream”.
God Is An Astronaut is one of the most prolific bands of their genre, they’ve been creating masterpieces of space rock since 2002 and each album has been a confirmation of their unique approach to music writing. Possibly many came to know the band by listening to their early albums The End of the Beginning (2002) and All Is Violent, All Is Bright (2005) so it’s very intriguing to find out what the band is up to in 2024. With no surprise, Embers immediately takes you aback to the same sensation you probably felt the first time you came across them: totally entranced.
GIAA‘s new full-length is due to debut on September 6th via Napalm Records and it’s their most extensive and grandiose production to date, mastered by Europe’s foremost mastering engineer Streaky. The band founded by brothers Torsten and Niels Kinsella created a collection of songs that invites the listeners to explore and interpret it in their own unique ways. Everything is driven by rhythms by drummer Lloyd Hanney and enriched by collaborations with artists such as Jo Quail on cello for all their tracks and Sean Coleman who incorporated various ethnic musical instruments such as the sitar, zither, shamanic drums, bowed psaltery, chimes and tanpura. All of these together gave the album that ultimate feel of “adventure” and “travel”. The theme of “journey“ is one recurrent in the band’s work, whether it’s cosmic, in your mind or on our planet as human existence.
Killing Of A Sacred Deer. Reading it or even saying it gives off a certain energy that needs to be backed by an even bigger force. Thankfully, the self-titled debut EP from the band not only lives up to it, but builds on it. Born from the mind of Serration drummer Colter James, Killing Of A Sacred Deer takes elements from deathcore and metallic hardcore, morphing them into 15 minutes of uncomfortable listening. That’s not a bad thing at all, as the EP is short yet punchy and nails its goal of being a refreshing take on the genres.
In the short time it has the EP covers plenty of metallic ground. Opener ‘Scarlett Halo’ is a chaotic blast beat-infused slice of industrial deathcore that demonstrates what the band is capable of, featuring a shotgun snare that knocks you out cold if you aren’t careful enough. The band as a whole creative force expand on what the current hardcore scene is doing today. The sharp piercing guitars across the EP provide a stomach churning outlook, backed by their malicious intent on proving how vicious they can be on the no holds barred ‘Heaven Progenitor’, which is the by far the most searing track on here. The machine gun kick drums backed by the guitars show the lack of remorse on your ear drums.
Speaking of the band we know that James is the lead vocalist, and does a grotesque job across the EP, so that leaves the instrumentation side. We don’t know who’s behind the kit or even on guitars, all we know is that Colter has recruited band mates from World Of Pleasure, Serration, & Mortality Rate, with a member from Secret & Whisper added to the fold for intensity.
For the past several years, the indiegaze outfit Soot Sprite and the emo trio Muttering have been busy toiling away, forging names for themselves in the UK scene. And whilst both acts are undoubtedly unique when it comes to their ruminations on emotion, it could be said that when it comes down to it both bands are truly birds of a feather. It’s a tired and cliched idiom sure, but those familiar with these fantastic acts will no doubt attest to the fact that Soot Sprite and Muttering take a similar approach when it comes to sentimentalism. Both bands, in their own individual way, wonderfully detail the bleak reality of navigating the quiet natures of loss, anxiety and bittersweet experiences in a country and world seemingly on the verge of screaming oblivion. It’s this that makes their collaborative EP For Joy so good.
