Three months in, and 2024 continues its inexorable march. Not that we mind, when there's new albums by both Bruce Dickinson and Judas Priest to sink our teeth into. That's not all, of course - as ever, we've hunted far and wide to find you some of the finest, freshest and most exciting new bands around to discover.
Whether you're in the mood for brutish caveman death metal with a twist from Danes Plaguemace, seething deathcore from Signs Of The Swarm, modern metal with eyes-on-the-prize from Lost Society or aspiring metalcore stars Caskets, we've got you covered this month with some excellent new music.
Our sprawling playlist below contains the latest albums from each of the bands featured, as well as everyone else we've put in the spotlight this year thus far. Not seeing your favourite genre or scene represented? Give us a shout on what's missing!
And as ever, happy listening - we hope you have a magnificent March!
Lost Society
Lost Society were scrappy speed metal teens – continuing the lineage of Exodus, Suicidal Tendencies and Municipal Waste – when they first signed to Nuclear Blast in 2012. When the Finnish four-piece returned to the label nine years later, they’d broadened their vision to include pop, rock and nu metal. It’s an evolution that’s spawned derision from pearl-clutching thrash fans, but this lot don’t give a shit.
“I love it!” singer/guitarist Samy Elbanna says of the haters. “When you make people feel so strongly, you know you’ve done something special. My biggest nightmare would be to have people go, ‘Eh, your shit’s OK.’ I want you to either hate it with all of your heart or love it – if you’re making someone feel, you’re doing something that matters.”
Lost Society’s most recent album, 2022’s If The Sky Came Down, hurls classic metal influences into the genre’s modern landscape. Awake undeniably carries a stomp reminiscent of Metallica’s Black Album, yet adds symphonic drama and some swaggering rock melodies on top. Opening track 112 explodes from a Bring Me The Horizon-worthy pop hook into snarling thrash, while (We Are The) Braindead has some serious Slipknot vibes.
The band know their music is fresh and catchy, and they want it to carry them all the way to heavy metal’s top rung. “I want to become a headliner,” Samy shrugs. “We are super-lucky in the sense that we have four people in this band who all share a vision; we want to build this until it becomes the biggest thing on Earth. We’re doing a 500-capacity venue in London tonight – the next time we come back, it’ll hopefully be 1,000. Then 2,000. If you believe in your shit enough, you can do anything.” Matt Mills
If The Sky Came Down is out now via Nuclear Blast
Sounds Like: 1991 Metallica jumped forward in time and got inspired by pop, electronica and BMTH
For Fans Of: Metallica, Bring Me The Horizon, Linkin Park
Listen To: Awake
Plaguemace
The hook of Rhythmic Demise, the single from Plaguemace’s debut album, Reptilian Warlords, invites you to ‘Get your fucking reptile on’. From a band with primitive sounding song-titles such as Cannibalicious and Cavedweller’s Soliloquy, such monstrous madness might seem at odds, but the Danish death metal newcomers have a unique way of straddling these themes.
“The concept of the album is about barbarians living in a mountain that get their strength from a water source in the centre of it, but they have been poisoned and dance uncontrollably due to the poisoning,” details vocalist Andreas Truelsen. “I heard about the Spanish dance plague and that’s the inspiration.”
Plaguemace’s death metal is fun and direct, all hulking, stinky grooves with catchy axe-swinging vocal parts placed firmly at the centre. It is an unapologetic party, as the band explain. “We are very inspired by bands like Motörhead and High On Fire,” Andreas says. “The old-school vibe allows you to be straightforward with minimal bullshit.”
But Reptilian Warlords gains its complexity through its surprisingly involved and really quite earnest storytelling that Andreas says will be tied together on further reptilian-themed records.
“Some songs are about real things that are going on in our lives, but I can’t really cope with writing about that straightforwardly,” he says. “If I break up with my girlfriend or whatever, I’d rather make up some barbarian war clan who are at war with another people for centuries, and mirror our own feelings throughout that.” Perran Helyes
Reptilian Warlords is out now via Napalm
Sounds Like: Girthy, head-clubbing death metal to reawaken your inner barbarian
For Fans Of: Gatecreeper, Dethklok, Baest
Listen To: Rhythmic Demise
Caskets
Every band professes a love for their fans, but for Yorkshire’s Caskets the connection runs deep – they go out of their way to make sure their music is a “democratic process”.
“Our fans know what they want, so it’s only fair,” explains frontman Matt Flood. “Whatever we write belongs to the world, so we need to make sure they’re happy with our direction.”
The affectionately dubbed ‘Lost Souls Club’ hear everything first, provide “God’s honest replies”, and helped buoy the band through turbulent times in 2021 when they had to change their name from Captives due to legal action from another band of the same name.
Caskets’ second album, Reflections, has been a nerve-wracking journey to balance their personal tastes with what they feel they owe their fans. “We chickened out a little,” chuckles Matt. He goes on to explain that despite its glossy production and brighter, poprockier stylings, new song Hate Me didn’t make it as a single despite being one of his personal favourites.
“We’ve got to make sure the OG fans still feel appreciated,” he says democratically. Following the path trodden by BMTH, Architects and other metalcore frontrunners into poppier territory, Caskets have seen their crowd sizes balloon, and on Spotify they’ve passed the one million monthly listeners mark. “We’re just five guys from Yorkshire trying to make it,” marvels Matt. “There are thousands of people who would chew their own arm off to get where we’ve got so quickly.” Ims Taylor
Reflections is out now via SharpTone.
Sounds Like: Melodic, emotionally powered anthems raring to fill arenas with singalongs
For Fans Of: Holding Absence, Dayseeker, Architects
Listen To: More Than Misery
Signs Of The Swarm
Like an omen of the end times, a cacophony of noise delivered by mass beating wings, the title track of Signs Of The Swarm’s latest album, Amongst The Low & Empty, pummels you with hypnotic riffs, eviscerating vocals and blastbeats. The deathcore brutality also delivers a sense of togetherness, though – belonging within the hive.
“We explore dark themes because we want to make music that people who have gone through difficult times can relate to,” bassist Michael Cassese explains. “You are not alone – there are people out there that understand.”
The band’s own turbulent past has seen them sever ties with members who were accused of abuse. With a new line-up and a new direction, they’ve created one of the most exciting deathcore albums of recent years. “DREAMKILLER is about not letting people tear you down,” says guitarist Carl Schulz. “We’re beginning to take influences from other types of metal too. We have some Meshuggah-like riffs, so there’s some prog elements there, and breakdowns that are slow and sludgy. We’ve got something for every metal fan.” Graham Ray
Amongst The Low & Empty is out now via Century Media. Signs Of The Swarm tour the UK with Cattle Decapitation this month.
Sounds Like: Classic deathcore fronted by a ferocious pitbull with bees in its mouth
For Fans Of: To the Grave, Crown Magnetar, Chelsea Grin
Listen To: Amongst The Low & Empty
