Damien Sayell
February 17, 2025| Dan Hillier |FEATURES
mclusky, The Callous Daoboys, Knives and More: New Noizze – The 21 Must-Listen Tracks of the Week
Better late then never; here's the best singles of last week.
mclusky – Way of the Exploding Dickhead
After a taster of new music with a quiet (not sonically, obviously) EP release in 2023, the new era of shouty post punks mclusky is here, announcing their first album in 20 years. Minus any asterisks or anything like that with The St. Pierre Snake Invasion frontman, Damien Sayell, officially on bass, in case you hadn’t heard. This lead single is inspired ‘by the huge excitement caused by the surge pricing on tickets to see a band play well in the distance.’ Something we may all have been guilty of complaining about just this past week. Liked mclusky back in the day, or maybe you only heard them when they returned a few years ago? Either way, you’ll like this new track, definitely maybe. – Adam Vallely
The Callous Daoboys – Two-Headed Trout / The Demon of Unreality Limping Like A Dog
“Mad” doesn’t properly sum up The Callous Daoboys. Their fizzing, multi-faceted take on mathcore that draws as much on pop as it does metal has beguiled fans for years, and the wider scene since the breakout album Celebrity Therapist and subsequent EP God Smiles Upon The Callous Daoboys. This double drop is the first taste of a brand new album, I Don’t Want To See You In Heaven, a concept album based around the Museum of Failure, and asks the question if something is immortalised in a museum, was it truly a failure? Sonically, the two songs are polar opposites. ‘Two-Headed Trout’ is channels early 2000s emo in the vein of Panic! At The Disco‘s debut album, with an obnoxiously catchy hook showing Carson Pace’s development as a singer. On the other hand, ‘The Demon of Unreality…’ (we do love their song names) is chaotic metalcore replete with dog barks and Pace demanding that we “bark like a dog” towards its close. Delirious, adventurous and utterly fascinating – and they tell us it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Roll on the album. – Will Marshall
Knives – THE DAGGER
Loudly launching their debut album campaign for GLITTER, Bristolians Knives release ‘THE DAGGER’ into the world. A band on the rise, they are not setting down a known path musically and taking it easy. This next step takes what we learned on their two EPs and adds some extra spice of what is to come. Hard ass drums and a deep bass line drive throughout, cut with a squee-tastic Saxaphone sound. Vocalist Jay Schottlander leads the line with veracity and ferocity through his lyrics and some nods to his love of hip-hop with his delivery, which is becoming a further driver behind his writing. This all emanating in a gargantuan ending section, leaving the world wanting more. – Adam Vallely
Regal Cheer – Crumbs
Taken from the duo’s upcoming record Quite Good – self-released May 2nd – ‘Crumbs’ a short, snappy and quick blast of earnest indie punk courtesy of Brighton two piece. Those familiar with Regal Cheer will know what to expect here; scrappy, but brilliantly released punk with both heart and hooks for days that’s optimised for all those with short attention spans. To call this quite good would be bit of an understatement really – make sure catch these with Toodles & The Hectic Pity this week. – Dan Hillier
Slung – Collider
Like stoner-esque grooves, maybe a touch of Soundgarden or Stone Temple Pilots? Slung are here to satisfy that hunger. Booming drums, a loose and luscious bass underpins the sultry, caramel vocals from front person Katie Oldham. Originally worked on by El Moono’s Zac Jackson with bassist Vlad Matveikov, Katie kept most of the melodies and “For the lyrics, I came up with a new narrative for this one based on the psych-infused nature of the tune. They tell the story of a cult who are ruled by a deity they refer to as the ‘ritual prophet’ and whom they converse with through the use of psychedelics.” This creates a hypnotic world you are submerged into by the quartet. A great preview of their incoming album In Ways. – Adam Vallely
Divide and Dissolve – Provenance
Brace yourselves, Divide and Dissolve is back with their fifth album Insatiable, which will be released on 18th April 2025 via the legendary Brighton-based record label, Bella Union. This project, led by the excellent Black Indigenous multi-instrumentalist and composer Takiaya Reed, took the doom scene by storm a few years ago with their previous releases, Gas Lit (2021) and Systemic (2023). The themes of this new album might revolve around love, optimism and the power of togetherness, which is something we all seem to need these days, and the best example we might get for now is the single ‘Provenance’, but rest assured, the heavy drums and doomy riffs are still there to take us to new heights. – Nessie Spencer
Cassels – Formaldehyde Time
There couldn’t be a more opt time for ‘Formaldehyde Time’ to release. Dropping amidst a perpetual storm of indecipherable newspeak and warnings of both doom and progress from Western leaders who have physically altered themselves with implants, chemicals and other such unnatural impurities, ‘Formaldehyde Time’ is an inherently horrible song for an equally horrifying time. An unpredictable and discordant slew of noise that just parallels that of navigating today’s political climate, the new single from Cassels raises the mirror to the so-called perfectionism championed by our leaders; the chemically whitened teeth, the flesh contorted by chemicals, the faces filled with plastics – all of that translated into an unsettling facade of noise rock. – Dan Hillier
Underoath – All the Love Is Gone
In true dramatic metalcore fashion, announced their brand new album The Place After This One on Valentine’s Day with a brand new track, ‘All The Love Is Gone’. The new single is the fourth track to be released before the album lands in March. Fitting in perfectly with their modern sound, it’s a hook laden banger with electronic elements and a soaring chorus and Spencer Chamberlain and Alex Gillespie’s back and forth dynamic is on good form. Ending with a chunky, riff driven hefty breakdown, it’s an incredibly satisfying piece of modern metal that may not be the heaviest on the record, but it should do the difficult job of pleasing both older and newer fans alike. – Chris Earl
Ingested – Altar of Flesh
One of the hardest things that can happen to a band is losing their vocalist, especially one who’s been with the band for near two decades. Having suffered that fate in late 2024, not long after the release of their last full length, Ingested recruited Josh Davies, vocalist of Malice and formerly of Monasteries. Wasting no time, Josh has performed with the band live and ‘Altar Of Flesh’ is the first taste of the band’s new era. A stomping , grunting piece of old school-sounding deathcore, it shows off Josh’s vocal capabilities well as he squeals and growls over a chugging backdrop. Featuring a satisfying solo in the mix too, it’s well worth your time. With bassist Thomas O’Malley and guitarist Andrew Virrueta joining the band recently too, the world of Ingested may have got turned upside down but if this track is anything to go by, they’ve hit the ground running. – Chris Earl
Michael Cera Palin – A Broken Face
This week Michael Cera Palin, perhaps the brightest rising stars of the emo world, offered another look into what their debut record will have to offer, with the short-but-sweet punk number, ‘A Broken Face’. Clocking in at only one and a half minutes, this is a feisty, riff-driven number that is brimming with scrappy, mosh-able energy, demanding that you get up and move before it’s all over. The searing, ceaseless nature of the guitar work almost feels a little surf rock in nature, with it being layered over thunderous rhythms and snappy, catchy catchy vocals. It makes for a delightfully playful affair that balances rawness with polish. – Ryan Ward
Pneumonia Breath – Thrown Away (Feat. Mike Parsram)
Looks like the boys are back in town and with some big help. Toronto based metalcore act Pneumonia Breath have released a much anticipated new single ‘Thrown Away’ and they didn’t come alone. Joining them is Rust and xStreet Justicex frontman Mike Parsram. Fans are guaranteed to be pleased with this one. The first single off the group’s much anticipated third release, they continue to surprise left and right. ‘Thrown Away’ is an absolute smash with blasting drums and ripping guitars from start to finish. Complimenting it with pounding drops as well monstrous vocal talents, this single might be one of the group’s best to date. – Nathaniel Maure
Scowl – B.A.B.E.
The third single from their hotly-anticipated second album We Are All Angels, ‘B.A.B.E.’ is a shot in the arm of infectious melody and scrappy hardcore. It also comes with news of a UK tour in May, which will no doubt see Scowl bring their fury and a party atmosphere to go with the new tracks. ‘B.A.B.E.’ opens with a flurry of punk energy, Kat Moss swapping between snarling melody and hardcore barks, before barreling through 2 and a half minutes of energy and bouncing punk. The band explain, “Burned At Both Ends is another explosion of emotions stemming from both overwhelm and excitement. We felt that the song’s punchy nature and quick switches from melody to scrapping angst resembles a mature version of “Shot Down” from our “Psychic Dance Routine” EP. Lyrically B.A.B.E dives into our vitriol for the extreme circumstances we as a band subject ourselves to in order to live our dreams.” – Will Marshall
Flesh Prison – Deathbed Messiah
Flesh Prison, Ontario’s hottest new act, are back with a second single in the form of ‘Deathbed Messiah’. Picking up the pace yet again with some serious drum work and absolutely disgusting vocals, fans are really getting to know what Flesh Prison are about early on. Vocalist Paul Padgett delivers on all fronts with some gnarly gutturals and blood curdling fry screams sure to pull in the most snobby of deathcore fans. Produced yet again by the talented Matt Andrews, the mix is stunning. Flesh Prison is swiftly becoming the area’s top dogs in deathcore. – Nathaniel Maure
PUP – Hallways
Following on from their last single ‘Paranoid’, Toronto’s most beloved strays PUP are back with ‘Hallways’. Taken from their freshly announced new record Who Will Look After The Dogs – released May 2nd via Little Dipper and Rise Records – ‘Hallways’ once again see’s PUP straying from the more maximalist and ever-so slight left-field experimentalism of their last record to return to their expected sound. However, in true PUP fashion, the self-loathing and misery is rife, albeit in that’s more composed. Whereas, the previous outings from this band where self-depreciating documentations of a life of a self-confessed fuck-up, this record see’s the band growing up and making peace with themselves, something that ‘Hallways’ alludes to. For all of us being dragged slowly away from their twenties and into the darkness of being 30-plus, this is bound to resonate. – Dan Hillier
Arcadia Ego – Moonlight
Post-hardcore four-piece Arcadia Ego have been tearing up stages across the north west for a little while now, and finally look to gift fans with a debut EP at the end of February. Ahead of this, the band have dropped yet another brilliant single in the form of ‘Moonlight’. Steering their raw sound into the territories of emo and pop-punk, this is a bristling, energetic single that is characterised by punchy riffs and ceaseless, driving rhythms, above which vocals vault between understated yet catchy melodies and ferocious shouts. The breakdown in the bridge segment perfectly capitalises on the emotive weight of the track, practically pummelling the listener with chugging riffs. – Ryan Ward
Queen Cult – Figure It Out
Macclesfield trio Queen Cult are back with a bang, once again evolving their alternative rock sound into something new, fresh, and exciting for the band. ‘Figure It Out’ brings the swaggering grooves and gritty guitar work that the band is known for, and laces it with a distinctly dreamy 90’s flair, with hints of reverb and sunny guitar melodies rising and falling from the jagged and punchy alternative foundations. Vocalist Maisie Johnson makes for a brilliantly fun presence, as they describe the frustrations of dealing with a friend who simply won’t listen to advice; a coy, acerbic wit permeates their performance, with plenty of devilishly catchy melodies to snag the listener’s attention. – Ryan Ward
Head Automatica – Annulment
Released deliberately on a romantic day like Valentine’s Day, this is an overtly sultry second single since Head Automcatica’s return. Taking a slightly new angle and sound in this new iteration of Daryl Palumbo and Co’s pop-rock outfit, this is not as immediate as say the dance floor classics ‘Beating Heart Baby’ or ‘The Razor’. It eases you in with its beats and electronics, but it still makes you want to move your hips and sing along. Taking you up through the gears and easing you out the otherside. Dim the lights, crack the M&S Prosecco open and feed strawberries to your lover (or yourself), the sexiest band of the last two decades is back in your DMs. – Adam Vallely
To The Grave – Forced Diet Reassignment
Ahead of taking their place on one of the most ridiculous deathcore lineups of the year down under, supporting Lorna Shore and Bodysnatcher, vegan Aussie outfit To The Grave have dropped a new track guaranteed to win them over some new fans. ‘Forced Diet Reassignment’ is one minute and 39 seconds of grinding, downtuned heaviness, bringing chaos in a whirlwind of pick squeals and bellowing death growls. Guaranteed to get people moving, pitting, throwing hands and even more, it’s the perfect way to introduce people to the Australian deathcore upstarts and lay waste to venues in the process. It’s perfect for listening to a few times in a row too, just to really get the blood pumping. – Chris Earl
Aversion – Throwaway Kids
Canada is simply on a roll this week with the release of some crushing new singles. Hardcore act Aversion is among the group with their newest release ‘Throwaway Kids’. Boasting some classic riffs throughout the track, it’s sure to get your feet moving live. With some consistent drum work and an old school sounding vocal style, these four don’t seem to be playing around one bit. Production is raw and untamed in the best kind of way, giving the track an even more old school, unrefined sound throughout. Canada’s hardcore scene is sure to thrive with more bands like this. – Nathaniel Maure
Iron Form – Become the Blade
A brand new signing for the reliably excellent Church Road Records, Iron Form peddle metalcore in the vein of Misery Signals and Poison the Well, with latest single ‘Become the Blade’ taken from their upcoming EP Cut From Cold Blood out March 21st. As a debut single, it makes for an extremely strong start for the band, whose members have played in the likes of Svalbard, Handcuff and more. That experience shows, with a yearning, melodic edge to ‘Become the Blade’ that particularly echoes Svalbard and a Counterparts influence too. The track is an emotional tale of losing rationality to extreme grief, forming part of an overarching narrative for the EP of fighting through harsh circumstances. – Will Marshall
Resthaven – SUSOV (Feat. Bloodwraith)
Ontario’s Resthaven sure know how to deliver, releasing a brand new single in ‘SUSOV’. Featuring Camilo Jaramillo of Bloodwraith, this track proves to be for the moshers and spin kickers. Wreaking havoc the entire time, SUSOV’ is a mosh delight. The final single off the group’s upcoming release and it simply does not disappoint. From catchy guitars and smashing percussion to blistering vocals. Heavy, catchy tunes is what the Canadian hardcore scene is all about and Resthaven seems to have that down to a tee. Here’s to hoping the rest of the release is this good. – Nathaniel Maure
