Spring is here! Kind of! We’re not sure how the weather is where you are, but right now the UK seems to oscillate between glorious, bright sunshine and torrential downpours, meaning it officially feels like we’re just that much closer to festival season – and a whole heap of new albums to be announced.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First, the results of last week’s vote! There were some real veterans in the running last week with new singles from Machine Head and Black Label Society, but surprisingly it was newcomers Rootbrain who took third spot with their Alice-In-Chains-gone-thrash track Unawares. Above them was horrorpunk icon Wednesday 13, but far and away the winners of last week’s poll – and no strangers to horror themselves – were The Yagas, the post-punk/goth/alt-metal hybrid group fronted by Vera Farmiga.
As ever, this week we’ve got a diverse spread for your listening pleasure, covering everything from scabrous hardcore and chest-beating metalcore anthems (Employed To Serve, Dying Wish, Get The Shot… take your pick) to ascendant black metal from Siberia’s Grima, sci-fi noir from Japan’s Esprit D’Air and even witchy folk horror tinged alt-metal from the UK’s Forlorn, as well as new singles from the likes of The Wildhearts, Deafheaven and even a cheeky Kansas cover from Bad Omens. Don’t forget to cast your vote in the poll below – and have a fantastic weekend!
Bad Omens ft. Corey Taylor – Dust In The Wind
Kansas’ Dust In The Wind might be a classic, but it also became something of a punchline after 2003’s Old School. Props then to Bad Omens and Corey Taylor for offering a powerful and emotionally driven new rendition of the track, the artists teaming up to cover the song for the soundtrack of upcoming movie Queen Of The Ring. Extra props for transforming it Johnny Cash/Hurt style into something wrought with pathos and soul.
Employed To Serve – Fallen Star
Hear that rumble! Employed To Serve might be channelling early 2000s Arch Enemy with the intro to Fallen Star, but its not long before they’re stamping their own inimitable style, pounding metallic hardcore giving way to surprisingly melodic and gentle melodies. The title-track of the band’s new album – due April 25 – it’s a good indicator that ETS are really pushing the boat out stylistically on their latest effort.
Deafheaven – Heathen
Deafheaven might not’ve been the first band to mix shoegaze and black metal, but they’re certainly the band that helped it broach the mainstream. 12 years on from Sunbather, they’re back exploring the extreme polarities of their sound on Heathen, the latest single taken from their upcoming album Lonely People With Power, which is set for release next month (March 28, to be exact). Shifting from shimmering indie to visceral blackened fury, the track’s all the persuasion you should need to check Deafheaven out when they come over for Outbreak in June or Damnation Festival in November.
The Wildhearts – I’ll Be Your Monster
They say only two things in life are certain – death and taxes. Even the former seems too predictable for The Wildhearts, the British band bouncing back from the brink of oblivion with a new line-up, frontman Ginger Wildheart the only remaining longterm member (though bassist ‘Random’ Jon Poole has certainly put his time in on live tours). While the faces have changed, there’s an umistakable rock’n’roll quality to latest single I’ll Be Your Monster, a stompy tune that could happily sit alongside material from Renaissance Men. Keep your eyes out for new record The Satanic Rites Of The Wildhearts next week (March 7).
Djerv – Rebel Heart
“I’ll bring a bomb to a fist-fight!” Bounding along on punk energy with thumping drums and sweeping riffs, Djerv’s Rebel Heart is like a shot of adrenaline straight to the spine. Featured on Netflix series Arcane, the track bounds along on a heady mix of old school Distillers and Bronx style electrified zeal, pure fucking ecstasy.
![Djerv - “Rebel Heart” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Music Video] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/M41aWQvKSRg/maxresdefault.jpg)
Esprit D’Air – Lost Horizon
With screaming synths and thumping low-end, Japan’s Esprit D’air are at their cinematic best on new single Lost Horizon, striking a balance between noir grit and electro-enhanced sci-fi elements (think the sonic equivalent of Blade Runner). It’s a wonderfully massive mix that captures some of the band’s unique sonic appeal, an amalgam of styles and influences fusing together to create something greater. With a European tour kicking off in a few weeks – in Bristol on March 22 – this is a great primer to exploring the band.
Bleed From Within – God Complex
20 years in, Bleed From Within are hitting their stride. 2022’s Shrine was a massive step up for the Scottish metalcore heroes and with a little over a month to go until new album Zenith arrives we’re getting hints they’re carrying the momentum to write even bigger fist-pumping anthems. God Complex is exactly that; a full-throated rager with riffs swung like wrecking balls.
Forlorn – Keeper Of The Well
Like stepping into an ethereal realm and stumbling face-first into a snarling demon, Forlorn’s latest single Keeper Of The Well treads a line between mystique and murderousness. Taken from their upcoming debut album Aether, due March 28 via Church Road. It’s a perfect showcase of their folk horror sensibilities, balancing the otherwordly qualities of a Chelsea Wolfe or Myrkur with the explosive power of a Spiritbox or, erm, Myrkur.
![Forlorn - Keeper Of The Well [Official Video] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8PDxbdewyDk/maxresdefault.jpg)
Grima – Beyond The Dark Horizon
If Forlorn is a journey into some eldritch realm, Grima is a headlong dive into hell. But then, that’s black metal for ya. The Siberian group’s sixth album Nightside is out today and Beyond The Dark Horizon captures their imperious majesty perfectly, a frost-tipped blast of blackened nastiness with some surprisingly whimsical folkish elements popping up amidst the blast-beats and shrieks.
Dying Wish – I Brought You My Soul (Your World Brought Me Despair)
If you find yourself sad at metalcore’s shift away from brutal breakdowns in more recent years as the genre embraces more radio-friendliness, you need to stick Dying Wish’s I Brought You My Soul (Your World Brought Me Despair) in your ears. And likely have your eardrums booted in. Produced by WIll Putney, the track is a perfect showcase for Dying Wish’s old school metalcore sensibilities, Emma Boster employing venomous rasps and silken cleans to great effect over the stompy, spiky banger.
Get The Shot – Pit Of Misery
Dying Wish got you excited for brutish, slobbering metallic hardcore? Chase the fix with the feral new single from Get The Shot, Pit Of Misery. Titanic stomps and vocals that sound like a pissed off Chihuahua on steroids beefed up to the size of a tiger, Pit… is an absolute rager, somehow getting even more frenzied and heavy as the track goes on.
Katla – Dead Lover
Right out the other end of heaviness and pacing comes Katla’s viscerally gloopy Dead Lover. Sludge metal with a massive chorus, the song’s stomach-churning bass and shredded-throat intonations are meaner than a bear with a sore arse and twice as menacing. New album Scandinavian Pain arrives March 21 and if the rest of it is like this, we’ll be delighted.
