Happy Friday! Things are really heating up now as we approach summer, and while its a bit quiet on the big names that week we reckon that's the perfect opportunity to dig into metal's underground and find some of the best new sounds from around the world (and we've cast the net wide this week).
But first, the results of last week's vote! For all the shuffling away from the mainstream we talked about up top, it was the big names who ruled the roost last week. Korn's Reward The Scars took third place, while the Tarja Turunen/Dani Filth collab I Don't Care came second. Our overall winners for the week though were Black Veil Brides, whose Robb Flynn team-up Revenger absolutely soared above its competitors.
As always, we need you to tell us which songs excite you most, so don't forget to case your vote in the poll below. We've got death metal from Bahrain, proggy black metal from France, propulsive extreme metal from Poland and unique new sounds from Lithuania, as well as more recognisable faces like Loathe, Eivor and Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats. So stick em on loud, and have a great weekend!
Loathe - Revenant
Talk about eagerly anticipated. It's not quite Chinese Democracy, but given just how much momentum Loathe picked up after 2020's I Let It In And It Took Everything, the six-year wait for a new album has been excruciating. Revenant comes with the announcement that the band's new album A Stranger To You is coming on July 17, this new single returning to the furious techy hardcore of the band's early years with a guest appearance from former Code Orange - and current Nowhere2Run - members Jami Morgan and Eric Balderose.
Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats - Don’t Let It Control You
Summer might be upon us, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy some dark occult vibes. Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats have gone full 60s dark psych on Don't Let It Control You, a track that brings to mind knee-high boots, short skirts and more interdimensional travel than a Rick And Morty omnibus. No word on a new album yet, but the band are coming back to the UK in November for a headline tour.
Black Spikes - Revana
There aren't many - if any - Lithuanian bands who've crossed over into mainstream metal consciousness. Black Spikes might change that. New single Revana is a stuttering, juddering beast of a track, all skittering beats and syncopated rhythms, with big explosive moments. Think Igorrr meets Jinjer and you're on the right lines, new album Ydos due on August 28.
Zvindiyar - Anqa
Speaking of setting sights further afield, here's some death metal from Bahrain. Zvindiyar's new single Anqa is a glorious showcase of the occult-adjacent DM stylings that have added heft to the likes of Akercocke and Behemoth, big, dramatic riffs delivered with a furious, unrelenting force that has us wanting to stomp around like a stroppy titan. The band's debut album is expected later this year - keep your eyes out.
Deliverance - Chasing the Dragon
If you went purely on the first couple of minutes of Chasing The Dragon, you'd get the sense that the band delivers some straight-ahead blackened death metal. But at the two-and-a-half minute mark some ultra-proggy keys come in and the song starts to veer; its not as wild a swing as say a Mr. Bungle or Igorrr song (them again!) but it hints at a sense of adventurousness that we reckon will pop up more on new album The Voyager Golden Banquet when it arrives May 22.
Eivor - Healer
Blending the atmospherics of nordic folk with the post-genre sonics of Chelsea Wolfe or A.A. Williams, Eivor stands in a realm of her own. It's one she's clearly happy to explore on new single Healer, the disparate sonic elements of electronica, thrumming doomy bass and throaty folkish singing all coming together in a bewitching and potent mix.
Rising Insane - Deathrace
If you think German metalcore is all Electric Callboy raves and eurodance vibes, think again. Even if there weren't scene veterans like Caliban to point to, Rising Insane represent the more straight-laced approach to explosive, propulsive metalcore, new single Deathrace carrying a delicious echo of Refused's iconic New Noise in its explosive moments before chucking in a big, brutish breakdown in the song's closing moments that adds a dash of deathcore.
Serpent Lord - The Once Forgotten Ways Of Old
He might look a bit like Vessel in his promo pic, but that's about as close as Serpent Lord gets to mainstream-minded metal. Instead, this solo project deals in epic pagan black metal, new single The Once Forgotten Ways Of Old drawing out elements of folk and droning delivery that brings to mind the primordial second wave of BM with a few modern twists. This is proper hackle raising stuff, bringing to mind everyone from Helheim and Mayhem to Bathory, getting us plenty excited for debut album The Once Forgotten Ways Of Old on May 29.
Saidan - Kara No Bara
If we can have a Fulci-themed death metal band (named, erm, Fulci), why not a Japanese horror themed black metal group? Saidan fulfil that particular niche with panache, their new single Kara No Bara playing up to the more cinematic elements of BM and adding a fresh twist to the use of synth (no Worm-style gothic castles in sight here!). The band's fourth album Fangdriller: Scars Beneath Memory's Wrist is due June 19.
Blindead 23 - Immersion I
Poland's Blindead 23 are gearing up for their debut album Deuterium on May 22. Although they may be newcomers, their alumni includes former member sof Behemoth, Katatonia and Vader, making them something of a supergroup proposition. There's no shortage of ambition to their sound, as new single Immersion I shows with a wildly veering sound that feels like Meshuggah colliding with Fleshgod Apocalypse and Orbit Culture.
