Happy Halloween (weekend)! We're officially at the last hurdle of October, Spooky Season chucking up its final wails before we officially drop into "End of year" mode. Yep, already. There's no time to mourn 2024 just yet, though. Especially when we've got a host of brilliant new songs from across the metal spectrum for your listening pleasure.
That in mind, here are the results of last week's vote! We'd got a bounty of delights on offer last week with 15 tracks to choose from, but there were some clear-cut champions among the pack. In a very respectable third place were rising stars Dream State, while Arch Enemy reaffirmed their status as melodeath conquerors on Liars & Thieves. The overall winner though were returning Indian metallers Bloodywood, the announcement of new album Nu Delhi with the title track and a tour giving us plenty to get excited about for 2025. Bliss!
We've hunted high and low to find you some of the freshest new sounds around this week, not least looking beyond the realms of pure metal with another excellent Megan Thee Stallion/Spiritbox collab [album when?]. There's also new music from Cradle Of Filth, Devin Townsend and Jinjer, plus (relatively) new names in the likes of Confess, Gore. and more - so don't forget to tell us which tracks excite you most by placing your vote below - have a happy (and especially spooky) weekend!
Megan Thee Stallion - TYG (ft. Spiritbox)
Almost 12 months on from Megan Thee Stallion's surprise collab remix with Spiritbox on Cobra, the hip hop star has unveiled another collab to coincide with the deluxe edition of her new album, Megan. TYG isn't nearly as aggro as its predecessor, but in some ways that makes it a much more interesting team-up, Spiritbox's contributions used more subtly with snarls and chugging guitars representing a metal crossover into mainstream music that might just hook a few (thousand) new listeners. You love to see it.
Linkin Park - Over Each Other
After the surprise return of Linkin Park and the debut of new vocalist Emily Armstrong, we're now starting to get a sense of what Armstrong can bring to this new version of the band. There's still a sense of old school LP to the sound of new single Over Each Other, but Armstrong is an undeniable MVP of this new track, much of the instrumentation used sparingly and with a sense of industrialised minimalism to let her voice - and some killer vocal melodies - shine in the spotlight.
Witch Club Satan - Fresh Blood, Fresh Pussy
Fancy something altogether nastier and more feral? Witch Club Satan certainly have black metal fans on latest single Fresh Blood, Fresh Pussy, a straight-up jagged blade of shredding, blackened nastiness that wields its titular refrain like a scythe. More akin to their black'n'roll Norwegian peers like Satyricon than the more grandiose machinations of an Emperor or Dimmu Borgir, this is a perfect rager for those long, dark nights. Shriek it with us now - "fresh blood..."
Cradle Of Filth - Malignant Perfection
Cradle Of Filth and Halloween - has ever a more perfect bond been made? Ahead of their UK tour next week - that includes a stop at Damnation Festival - Cradle have unveiled a taste of new music in Malignant Perfection. Interestingly, there's a decided return to gothic realms on this new track, a shift of the dials back towards the ethereal realms of Midian and Nymphetamine after the more blusterous inclinations of 2021's Existence Is Futile. Whether that remains true for the band's next studio album - or if this is just a standalone experiment, it's an absolute delight to still see CoF absolutely swinging for the fences.
Jinjer - Kafka
Jinjer have been teasing us with new music for a few months now, but new single Kafka comes with the news that we're getting their fifth album, Duél on February 7. Landing amidst the Ukrainian band's tour with Sepultura, Kafka brings back some of the winding melodies the band used so brilliantly on 2019's Macro, connecting the disparate threads of their sound around a sense of ethereal progginess and impressive technical prowess that explodes out into pure extreme fury in the closing minute or so for a delightful thump to the face.
Imha Tarikat - Murderflesh
On the cusp of a European tour, Germany's Imha Tarikat have unveiled a fierce and fiery new single in the form of Murderflesh. As its title suggests, this is pure brute force, a straight-ahead blast of blackened viciousnes that bursts and snarls with violent intensity. If you've been sleeping on this band as a black metal fan, consider this your wake up call.
Bambie Thug - Fangtasy
Having won over new fans as the metal-friendly representative of Ireland at Eurovision 2024, Bambie Thug now turns their appropriately gothic stylings towards a celebration of all things Spooky on new single Fangtasy. Built around queasy, squelching bass lines and anchored with a huge hook, the track is a perfect example of how the nu gen are pushing stylistic boundaries whilst attracting whole new audiences to the heavy world, the sheer anthemic potential of this song leaving no question as to how Bambie will go down playing with Babymetal at their biggest UK headline show to date in 2025.
Epica - The Ghost In Me (Danse Macabre)
It's been a little over a month since Epica played some well, epic, hometown gigs in Amsterdam with a full symphonic orchestra, and clearly the symphonic metal titans aren't looking to slow down in its wake. New single The Ghost In Me (Danse Macabre) is in actuality an adaptation of a 19th Century symphony, recorded by the band to promote a new ride at De Efteling, a fantasy-themed theme park in their native Netherlands. Needless to say, the tragic is grandiose and delights in a sense of whimsy that feels like a dark twist on a Disney fairytale. Here's hoping for a lot more of that with their next record.
Confess - Slaughterhouse (ft. George Kollias)
Founded in Iran and now based in Norway, Confess's 2022 record Revenge At All Costs was an undeniable triumph in the indefatiguable spirit of extreme metal. As it turns out, it barely scratched the surface on what was to come. New single Slaughterhouse doubles down on some of the extreme metal heft that has long been a bedrock of their sound, adding a claustrophobic tightness that at times feels like a more extreme version of the sludgecore nastiness of early Raging Speedhorn. New album Destination Addiction is set for a January 31 release and if it's half as heavy as this, we reckon we're looking at a serious breakout year for the group.
Gore. - Heaven Is Above Me
Fresh Spinefarm signees Gore. have been showing off some seriously diverse songwriting with the singles from the A Bud That Never Blooms EP. Sure enough, latest single Heaven Is Above Me embraces the more melodic and serene elements of their sound, Haley Roughton proving an exceptional new vocal talent on the metal scene while the all-out crescendo at the two-and-a-half minute park shows just how this band can wield heft against the listener. Devastating, wonderful, brilliant.
State Of You - Under The Wire
Bursting with piss and vinegar, State Of You's latest single Under The Wire pushes their punk-inclined sound towards the more chunky, thundering realms of Cancer Bats and The Bronx. Taken from their upcoming EP On A Knife's Edge, due January 25, the band are clearly aiming to go into 2025 with teeth bared and fists raised, coming out swinging with an intimate gig at Camden's Black Heart planned to coincide with the EP's release. Sweaty 'core to beat the winter blues? Sounds the dream to us.
Hollywood Undead - Hollywood Forever
20 years of Hollywood Undead - how did that happen? In truth, the brash rap metal group that broke out in 2008 have gone through a massive transformation over the years, honing their craft and finding ways to connect with massive audiences around the world. New single Hollywood Forever is not only a reflection on that legacy but an aiffirmation of who the band are, reintroducing the masks they sported way back when whilst showing off a classic sounding hip hop track that feels like a nu metal take on Eminem.
The Fear - White Noise (ft. Kellin Quinn)
Set to open for Alien Ant Farm and CKY in the UK next month, you'd be forgiven for thinking The Fear might be the latest in a long line of nu metal revivalists harkening back to the early 2000s metal sound. In truth though, the UK band have more in common with the metalcore scene of the latter part of the decade with driving rhythms, massive choruses and a sense of anthemic potential that should surely serve them well when they play to sold out crowds in November, a guest appearance from Sleeping With Sirens' Kellin Quinn adding to the 'late 2000s metalcore love-in' vibes.
