Summer might be just around the corner, but its the release calendar that is truly heating up right now as we're just a week away from Life Is But A Dream, the new album from this month's Metal Hammer cover stars Avenged Sevenfold, as well as But Here We Are, the new Foo Fighters record.
It's a massive double-dose, but not the only new music we're excited about. First, the results of last week's vote! For the second week running, the top position received more votes than any other act this year, Germany's Lord Of The Lost taking the crown by a considerable margin. That said, Indonesian newcomers Voice Of Baceprot also got more votes than any other artist so far this year to take a very admirable second place, with Ghost's faithful Iron Maiden cover taking a respectible third.
This week it's all to play for as we bring you new singles from Halestorm, Sophie Lloyd and Vexed, as well as release-day singles from Immortal and Sirenia, and new album announcements from Hexvessel, Creeper and Polaris. It's a diverse mix, but we can think of no better way to head into a bank holiday weekend.
As ever, don't forget to cast your vote below, and because we're at the end of the month, at the bottom of the page you'll find the ever-expanding selection of some of the best metal songs you've voted for so far this year. Happy listening!
Halestorm - Terrible Things (feat. Ashley McBryde)
Country has always been a part of Halestorm’s DNA, albeit often overpowered by the sheer bombast of 80s-style hard rock and heavy metal howling out the speakers. Even so, the new version of Terrible Things - taken from the band’s last record Back From The Dead sees them embrace those country influences in the fullest sense, even drafting in Grammy-winning country star Ashley McBryde for a stirring, beautiful ballad.
Polaris - INHUMANE
With the announcement of their new album Fatalism for September, Aussies Polaris are sizing themselves up to be metalcore heavyweights. New single INHUMANE is a careening, bouncy blast of metalcore some hefty nu metal overtones, taking the bouncy gait of the nu mob and giving it the anthemic howls of mid-00s metalcore to create a solid club metal banger.
Sophie Lloyd - Lost (feat. Cole Rolland)
New school guitar hero Sophie Lloyd hasn’t been shying drafting in guests for her upcoming solo album, but new single Lost marks a shift as she goes from guest vocalists to bringing in a fellow shredder for double the riff magic. Guitarist Cole Rolland joins Lloyd in contributing to the decidedly 80s guitar god flavour of newest single Lost, the pair coaxing a symphony of wailed notes from their instruments.
Creeper - Cry To Heaven
A new Creeper album inevitably brings with it a stylistic shift to mark the new epoch. While 80s goth vibes permeated Creeper’s first two albums, Cry To Heaven is a straight-up love letter to Lost Boys style 80s vampirism, thrumming synths and gloriously broadway-ready choruses capturing the magic of the decade while showing the band are still rubber-stamping each song with their own inimitable sense of style and identity. In truth, we can’t wait to see where they’ll go next.
Elegant Weapons - Horns For A Halo
The title-track of this Judas Priest/Pantera/Rainbow supergroup’s debut album, Horns For A Halo waves the flag high and proud for traditional heavy metal. Snaking, blues-style grooves give way to chest-beating riffs, vocalist Ronnie Romero living up to Faulkner’s proclamation that he is the “greatest vocalist of the classic rock revival”. If you’ve grown tired of waiting for the new Judas Priest to come in, give this one a spin.
Immortal - Return To Cold
Immortal have stayed the course on newest album War Against All, new single Return To Cold powered by a NWOBHM style gallop tinged with their unmistakably frost-tipped brand of black metal that reminds us why Immortal are such an irreplaceable force in the genre.
Punk Rock Factory - Part Of Your World (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)
For all that metal likes to pretend it’s a genre of darkness and grim imagery, sometimes metal fans want nothing more than a bearded bloke twatting a blow-up snake with a hammer, or bouncy covers of Disney songs. Pulling massive crowds at festivals like Bloodstock, Punk Rock Factory have mastered the latter art, their latest single drafting in Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz for a fun, surprisingly straight-laced cover of Part Of Your World from The Little Mermaid. As you do.
Sirenia - Wintry Heart
In embracing symphonic metal’s most virtuosic elements on their new single Wintry Heart, Sirenia capture a sense of majesty at the heart of all truly brilliant symphonic releases. Taken from the band’s new album 1977, out today, Wintry Heart also draws on the irrepressible enthusiasm and infectious energy of power metal, the resultant combination offering a delightfully joyous mix.
Hexvessel - Older Than The Gods
Summer sun be damned so far as Hexvessel is concerned, the Finnish artist revisiting his black metal roots on Older Than The Gods. Taken from the new album Polar Veil, due September 22, the single combines the brittle spikiness of Scandinavian black metal with the mournfulness of 30 Watt Sun, resulting in a heartbreaking cacophony that we’re embracing like a blanket of distilled winter’s chill.
Vexed - X My Heart (Hope To Die)
After the all-out apoplectic frenzy of Anti-Fetish, Vexed are lashing out with the equally ferocious X My Heart (Hope To Die). Howled lines like ‘It’s too late/I can’t be saved’ contribute to a pervasive sense of apocalyptic foreboding that looms over the song like a headsman’s axe, new album Negative Energy living up to its name.
