Paul Harries
January 21, 2024| Dan Hillier |FEATURES
Enter Shikari, El Moono, Vennart, Mastiff and More: New Noizze – The 23 Must-Listen Tracks of the Week
From major collabs to crushing doom, here's the best singles of the week.
Enter Shikari – Losing My Grip (Feat. Jason Aalon Butler)
Ahead of their upcoming headline tour, Enter Shikari have returned with a ballistic new track in the form of ‘Losing My Grip’. From the lead synth melody that verges on near total discordance, to the abrasive choruses that punch out from the dark with huge, chunky guitar riffs, the whole affair is bristling with the kind of electrifying energy that only Shikari at their best can bring. On top of that, the track packs a beastly verse from Jason Aalon Butler of FEVER 333, who will be joining them on tour as support. Butler brings some slick rapped bars to the track with an almost menacing delivery, brilliantly contrasting Rou Reynolds with his chaotic and frenzied vocal performance. Pure genre-breaking goodness. – Ryan Ward
El Moono – The First Man on Mars
How do you follow up a rager of a debut EP in Temple Corrupted? The answer is to drop a preview what is shaping up to be an album of the year contender in newly announced debut album The Waking Sun. Lead single The First Man On Mars showcases the vibrant and diverse energy and ideas from these Brightonians. It opens with a fresh twinkle in their eyes with beautiful guitar and vocals before revealing one of the heaviest riffs in their arsenal. Lyrically this talks of the current dystopia and wealth gap we are experiencing on this wretched rock with billionaires choosing vanity over others, a message they will undoubtedly continue to deliver with their ever passionate live delivery at Noizzefest this year. – Adam Vallely
Chelsea Wolfe – Everything Turns Blue
With new album She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She on the near horizon we get another taste of Chelsea Wolfe’s new material with a twist. As with the previous singles, ‘Everything Turns Blue’ mixes in a heavier portion of electronic elements to her ever-brooding voice. A psalm about “finding yourself again after a long era of being part of something toxic” it oozes the wounds of time through musical and lyrical delivery. Swathes of textures in this song illustrate the mood of topics enclosed in a beautiful yet austere package. – Adam Vallely
Yours Truly – Call My Name
The first new music from Aussie alt rock outfit Yours Truly since 2022 EP is this what i look like?, ‘Call My Name’ shows another sonic leap forward for the band as they take the heavier guitar tones from the EP and evolve the pop shades further with the intro to ‘Call My Name’, that they teased prior to its release. With shades of post-hardcore and Mikaila Delgado’s powerful voice, it’s an earworm from start to finish. There’s a darkness at its core, though; as Mikaila says the song “is about the internal struggles of being addicted to a person that you know is bad for you… At the end of the day you realise some things aren’t meant to be and you need to make peace with that.” It’s an exciting time to be a fan of the band, as ‘Call My Name’ kicks off what sounds like an extremely promising new era for them. – Will Marshall
LLNN – The Horror
With vocalist Victor Kaas now well entrenched in the musical odyssey of Danish space-metallers LLNN’s ranks we get our first taste of recorded material featuring his simply disgusting vocals. ‘The Horror’, appearing on a new split single with label and soon to be tour mates Sugar Horse, is a reworked version of John Cxnnor track Stormgate, performed previously at Roadburn and ArcTanGent by the respective acts as an opener. A dark shroud of looming noise fills the air before Victor unleashes a vicious bark from the bleak setting. Joined by Heilung warrior Martin Skou on throat singing duties this is as weird as it is wonderful. Inspired by epics such as Dune, Hereditary and Event Horizon this could easily act as the Danes’ CV to soundtrack a film one day. – Adam Vallely
Sugar Horse – Sleep Paralysis Demon
The other half of a split single with LLNN‘s ‘The Horror’, there are few acts that could reach the level of galactic decibel levels of LLNN but these Bristolians ‘came to the realisation that it would have to be pure dissonance’ as lead ear drum abuser Ashley Tubb explains. Opening ominously with an anxiety riddled riff coupled with an echoing unnerving vocal line, it twists the strongest of stomachs before bursting. Punished later by the deepest cavernous riffs and brutal screams. Word of warning to those seeing LLNN and Sugar Horse on tour next month: bring cement for earplugs. – Adam Vallely
Vennart – Fractal
Mike Vennart has been a tiny bit busy enough putting together one of 2023’s most anticipated albums with Empire State Bastard and preparing for their next run of shows supporting the mysterious Sleep Token. But the ever-creative force that flows through his electrons has pulled together what will be his new album due next month, Forgiveness & The Grain. His tenth album he has made in 20 years, this is ‘a more reflective and sombre record’ he mentions. New single ‘Fractal’ is an ethereal and soothing piece forged together entirely with vocal and guitar loops and a tonne of fuzz pedals. Layers up layers of sound to wander through, explore and lose yourself in. An all-consuming wall of sound that warms the core. – Adam Vallely
Overpower – Terra Firma
The chainmail-clad South West gladiators return. Dropping like the executors axe is ‘Terra Firma’, a slice of gilded crossover thrash that carries the bludgeoning power of the pioneers of the genre and the lacerating edge of Overpower’s modern contemporaries worldwide. Those who have witnessed this act slaying crowds alongside acts such as Grove Street, No Relief, Drain and Knuckle Dust will no doubt be familiar with the relentless power of this single and band as whole, but with the band releasing their forthcoming EP Becoming The Tyrant February 2nd, it surely won’t be long prior to all becoming intimately acquainted with the musical blades of Overpower. – Dan Hillier
Big Hug – Cruellemonde De La Hi Fi
Come for the curious name, stay for the brilliant modern UK emo. The latest single from the London trio, ‘Cruellemonde De La Hi Fi’ is a zingy and most zesty lament of the perpetual grind that is work delivered with the kind of affectionate worth that can only come courtesy of a band with this namesake. The UK DIY emo scene is in brilliant form right now, and nothing highlights this more than this wonderful, uplifting and warming shot of effervescent joy. – Dan Hillier
Mastiff – Serrated (feat. Harry Nott and Dan James)
Miserable Hull based troupe Mastiff return announcing new album Deprecipice and new single Serrated. An album shaped around much of the band’s personal trauma and loss of loved ones. “The album’s called Deprecipice, and that pretty much sums up where me and James were when we wrote it,” says vocalist Jim Hodge. “We were both standing back on the edge of a depressive void. You have to keep that primal feeling,” Joined by Harry of Burner and Dan of XIII adding thick layers of disgusting throat shredding vocals over the deeply primal riffage, Mastiff and co will leave you broken. – Adam Vallely
IDLES – Gift Horse
The latest track off the new album ‘Tangk’ starts off with a brooding warbly bassline and a beat that causes involuntary spasms of the neck inducing a head bob that persists for (at least) the next four minutes. This is IDLES at their post punky weird best, as usual the guitar work is sparse, fx laden madness that dips in and out of traditional punk abrasiveness into spacey, slappy delay, evoking a range of locations from sweaty house music clubs to basement DIY dive bars. Talbot as usual smashes through the lyrical content like a man possessed, none of the singles of the coming album have let them down they have shown different sides of an ever evolving band, everyone should be hype to hear the full length when it emerges from its cocoon. – Rob Bown
The Body & Dis Fig – Dissent, Shame
As if The Body couldn’t make music any more disturbing Dis Fig comes along and adds harrowing vocals over the wall of maddening noise. There’s some great little nods to techno and the driving modulated bass drum through the song provides impetus where there might not be any. This all swirls together in a low tempo maelstrom of gradually increasing intensity. Dis Fig has stated in a press release that the song aims to capture, “the act of abandonment and the guilt and shame that comes with it,” they’ve definitely set the tone right. The new album is a full colab which isn’t too far away, it’ll be interesting to see how both acts come together to produce a piece of work that transcends anything they’ve done before. – Rob Bown
Greywind – Swing and Sway
Irish sibling duo Paul and Steph O’Sullivan, aka Greywind, have unveiled their latest single ‘Swing and Sway’, a deeply personal track that harkens back to 2000s pop-rock and emo. Its glossy sheen belies ‘Swing and Sway’s true depth, as it examines seeing a loved one in their darkest place. A more mid-paced affair than previous single ‘Antidote’, it’s no less powerful with driving drums and Steph’s emotionally-charged voice. Of the song, Paul explains “[It’s] about me watching Steph be suicidal and in a dark place, and how that affected me. Wondering how I can help her, while also acknowledging the toll it was taking on me to watch her go through that.” – Will Marshall
Midas Fall – Monsters
Whilst the new single from Scottish post / prog rock trio Midas Fall may sound utterly gorgeously tender with its ethereal melodies and syncopated instrumentals, ‘Monsters’ is anything but a relaxed listen. An ode to the monsters of the mind that reside within the most darkest crevices of our psyche, the second single to be taken from Midas Fall’s upcoming record Cold Waves Divide Us is a deeply contemplative listen that harkens towards the torment inherent with nothing but elegance and sophistication. “The monsters I sing about in this song are the intrusive, anxiety ridden thoughts that decide to rear their ugly heads from time to time, especially when you least expect it, just to remind you that you never truly have full control”, Says Elizabeth Heaton. “There is a feeling of defeat and submission in this song, juxtaposed with the idea that the act of writing the words and music itself can be the resolution.” – Dan Hillier
Shooting Daggers – Smug
Ripped from their upcoming full length debut Love and Rage – released February 16th via New Heavy Sounds – the new single from UKHC queercore stompers Shooting Daggers should leave the band every reason to be feeling content. Wonderfully and viscerally displaying all the qualities that has allowed Shooting Daggers to quickly become one the most exciting bands in the national hardcore scene, ‘Smug’ thematically sees the band praising the underground scene that birthed them whilst honouring the time tested hardcore that serves as the bedrock of their sound. This is a flamboyant, incendiary and ultimately provocative shot of energy, perfect of tiring times such as these. – Dan Hillier
Timelost – Diet Strangers
Drawing upon cornerstones previously visited by acts such as Drug Church, Dinosaur Jr, Wavves and halcyon-era Weezer, the new Timelost single ‘Diet Strangers’ is a blissed-out and fuzzed-out wave of comfort originating from a place of unease. The second track to be taken from the band’s forthcoming full length Drained – released February 24th via Church Road Records – the single further solidifies the album’s thematic focus on how the ceaseless beating of life erodes one down to our raw cores, especially with track focusing on those who responsible for the decline of our sociocultural landscape. Yet, it’s cathartic, and with its lyrical refrain of “The world is fucked with people like you around”, it’s hard not to envision a certain someone in our own personal lives. – Dan Hillier
Wishender – Dunavida
Ontario, Canada’s Wishender have returned with hard hitting new single “Dunavida”. This marks the first drop since the release of the group’s first EP Blood Sky back in November 2022. Dedicating the track to vocalist Omar Ludin’s grandfather, ‘Dunavida’ touches on heavier topics than previous releases. Not only is the meaning heavy, but it’s possibly musically the heaviest track the group has released to date. Moving away from their usual progressive deathcore style and opting for a more straightforward approach, Wishender slams through the track with a ton of hair raising blast beats, brutal guttural vocals, and pounding breakdowns to bring the most aggressive track of the group’s career. – Nathaniel Maure
Vltimas – Scorcher
When your lineup is this stacked it’s probably hard to write bad tunes. Once again Vltimas prove that they have what it takes to crank out blistering blackened death metal tracks with little or no let up. The up down drum beats bring Vader to mind, along with the other slew of death metal bands from that end of the planet, Vincent’s vocals still haven’t lost any of their demonic, dirty thump, Flo Mournier is simply Flo Mournier – that is, probably one of the best drummers on the planet, and the guitar work by Eriksen shows off his melodic black metal roots in a well rounded track that leaves a hankering for the rest of the album. – Rob Bown
Ov Sulfur – Hivemind (feat. Mental Cruelty)
The new Ov Sulfur single does a lot of things really well. It’s almost as though those these Las Vegas have been around for years and years, so polished is their work. Perfectly balanced symphonic choral elements duke it out with slammy, heavy as balls deathcore breakdowns to create a song akin to the devil itself crawling out of hell to have a go at organised religion (that some say) is long overdue. This is blackened deathcore at it’s best, get at it, it’s not going to disappoint when the full album lands soon. – Rob Bown
Slimelord – The Beckoning Bell
Who had weirdly mdoulated geese samples opening a death metal song on their 2024 bingo card? Whoever it is, get them to buy you a lottery ticket, because here come Slimelord with their latest groove laden, psychedelic sludgey death metal offering. The Beckoning Bell, takes a lot of cues from acts like Tomb Mold, and does so with a gusto that is rarely matched. It’s a lengthy one at 7 minutes, but don’t let that perturb (it probably doesn’t if this is already being read), there’s plenty to unpack in there, from thrashy grimey riffs, to extraterrestrial whammy plunges and masterful performances from every member involved. The ‘main’ riff is a punctuated with pinchharmonics that sound like screams for help after witnessing the unspeakable being on the artwork. hO yeah, the artwork is absolutely insane, that deserves to be looked at within it’s own sphere. – Rob Bown
Cower – Summoner
From the opening thump of the snare drum, to the Nine Inch Nails esque vocals and the sparse but haunting guitar and synth work Cower have released yet another banger. These folks are definitely one to keep an eye on this year as they pedal their unique brand of sludgey, gothic noise rock. Summoner retains a quinteesitnally english tone, almost teetering into IDLES tetitority with the vocal performance of Tom Lacey, as he pounds out the matter of fact lyrical weavings, over the twisting and turning guitar lines, punctuated by massive riffs, and an extremely dirty, yet highly pleasing bass sound that rumbles ya nether regions. The new album promises to be a more wholly diverse affair than their previous offering, highlighting a band only just breaking out from it’s chrysalis fully formed. – Rob Bown
Ingested – Paragon of Purity
Chug chug chug chug… That’s the sound of the riff train pulling into Slam Central Station. With the radioactive dust still settling from 2022’s Ashes Lie Still, Ingested waste no time in getting back to the UK death metal throne after an extensive touring cycle. ‘Paragon of Purity’ explodes the second the play button is touched, firing a barrage of heavy downtuned chugs and associated filth at the listener. The band have promised the next batch of stank will return to classic Ingested form, after the more slow, emotional approach on the last album. Until the record drops in all its brutal majesty, fans have this absolute rager of a song to enjoy in the meantime. – Jude Bennett
Invent Animate – Sleepless Deathbed
Crushingly heavy, ethereal and catchy – the latest song from metalcore quintet Invent Animate is a perfect representation of the band itself. Starting with a flurry of drum hits and technical guitar stabs, the band all rush in to provide a sense of urgency to this song – the drama being topped by heavy distorted screams and howls. It’s not long before the metalcore formula hatches a catchy chorus to bolt to the heavy, giving some structure to an otherwise chaotic sounding tune. An overall solid release from a band gaining a lot of hype recently in the scene – where it goes from here is yet to be seen, but it sounds promising. – Jude Bennett
