It's Friday, you know what that means. Time for a big, fat round-up of the very best new songs the metal world has thrown at us this week. Last time out, in a week featuring some big names with new releases, Babymetal's ever-reliable army of fanatics hit the polls hard, making METAL!! a runaway winner in last week's poll. Fair play.
Enough of the past, though. Let's get stuck into the here and now: we have a dizzying array of fresh metal bangers from right across the spectrum to show off, from new releases by rising heavyweights-in-waiting like Spiritbox and Beartooth to underground icons like Mykur, all the way to Taiwanese black metallers Laang 冷. Get stuck into this week's best new releases below, and come back to the top of the page to vote for your very favourite. What a blinding time to be a metalhead, eh?
Spiritbox - Jaded
Spiritbox have been flinging out top-tier, expansive metalcore anthems at an alarming rate in recent years, following up 2021's stunning debut album Eternal Blue with last year's very decent Rotoscope EP. New single Jaded follows the propulsive, electronica-tinged The Void from earlier this year, and is a richly atmospheric slab of Architects-inspired noise. Want even more? We have good news: the Canadians are releasing another brand new EP, titled The Fear Of Fear, in November. Hooray!
In This Moment - Godmode
The title-track from their upcoming eighth studio album, Godmode finds Maria Brink in particularly ferocious mood as she screams her way through this groovy, industrialised modern metal stomper. "It’s been a long time since I screamed on an entire verse for a song," says the frontwoman. "I wanted to release a bunch of stuff and it felt visceral.” If you're gasping for more, you won't have to wait too long: In This Moment's album of the same name lands on October 27.
Beartooth - Doubt Me
Do you like a) big, chunky metal riffs, b) open-hearted, emotionally-charged lyrics and c) a gigantic, fuck-off chorus or two? Say hello to your new favourite song. Doubt Me sees Beartooth at their defiant, anthemic best, with Caleb drawing on all his resolve to write a song that'll grab you by both hands and pull you through the dark times. "We all have our own struggles that we deal with quietly," says the frontman of his inspiration behind writing this rager. "Know that when you're in those moments, sometimes you need to just put your head down and fight with all you have, regardless of whatever people say you're capable of at the moment."
Myrkur - Like Humans
It's been a busy year for black metal graduate Myrkur: as well as composing and releasing a soundtrack for a Royal Denmark Theater play based on the Norse legend of Ragnarok, she's also produced a brand new studio album, her first since her wistful, folky 2020 opus, Folkesange. If first single Like Humans is anything to go by, Spine will flirt a little closer to the heavier sounds that made her name in the underground. Doomy, richly atmospheric and layered with mournful riffs and haunting keys, the track teases a sprinkle of blastbeats, but feels like another bold step forwards from one of extreme metal's most unpredictable artists.
The Callous Daoboys - Waco Jesus
One of modern metal's most musically unhinged new bands, The Callous Daoboys have cooked up another deliciously bonkers new offering courtesy of this first preview of their upcoming new EP, God Smiles Upon The Callous Daoboys, out October 20. Bursts of frenetic math-metal collide with big, meaty riffs and heavy metal histrionics. And a dash of violin. Cause violins are cool.
Laang 冷 - Baoyu 暴雨
Though relatively new to the extreme metal world, Taiwanese black metallers Laang 冷 have made hella impressive strides since their debut album dropped in 2019. That LP won a prestigious Kaohsiung City National Culture Award, the band's music has been featured on numerous video games and they've already conquered the US with a 2022 headline tour. New single Baoyu 暴雨 is a stirringly epic slice of wailing tremolos, full-throttle blastbeats and deceptively big hooks, sprinkled with some subtle touches of traditional Taiwanese instrumentation.
Of Mice & Men - Castaway
The latest cut from upcoming new album Tether, Castaway does plenty to suggest that Of Mice & Men's bold decision to self-produce their eighth studio record was a good move. The track flies along on a bouncy riff that's intercut with shimmering moments of atmospheric electronica and full-throttle metalcore anthemia. "Castaway is about longing for connection with the people in our lives who tend to distance themselves when dealing with hardships, and how our inability to help them often feels like we're frozen in time," explain the band. So now you know!
Sugar Horse - II Or
Snipped from the UK doomgaze four-piece's new EP, Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico - a mountainous, single-track piece of music that pushes their sound forwards and outwards - II Or continues the quartet's very good habit of not quite sounding like anything else in the British metal scene right now. Towering doom metal riffs, throat-scraping screams and haunting croons make this about as impactful a two-minute slice of music as you're likely to hear this week.
Bokassa - Garden Of Heathen
RIIIIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFFS! You'd have to go some way to bring Sick Of It All's Lou Koller in for a guest spot and produce something crappy, but luckily, Bokassa are more than up to making the most of it. Garden Of Heathen is a lovely slab of stoner metal fury that'll have you banging your head clean off in excitement, boding well for the Norwegian trio's upcoming new studio album, of which more news should arrive soon. We dare you to hear this once and not immediately want to be speeding down a highway in California with the hood down.
Alienblaze - Enemies With Benefits
One of nu gen's freshest faces, Alienblaze is already making serious waves in the UK scene, her genre-hopping alt rock striking a chord with fans of everyone from Bring Me The Horizon to Alice In Chains. It's the latter who come most to mind with her latest single Enemies With Benefits, Alienblaze's seamless blending of heavy guitars and EDM ambience sounding peak 2023 and packing a chorus that'll get stuck in your head for ages.
