SCENE QUEEN has never been particularly interested in playing by the rules. In a scene where heaviness can sometimes come wrapped in an unnecessarily serious package, Hannah Collins has spent the last few years kicking down the door in pink platforms, armed with pop hooks, Y2K nostalgia and enough attitude to make even the most committed gatekeeper uncomfortable. Now, with METALICIOUS, she’s turning the volume up - and, perhaps most importantly, making the heavy bits heavier.

With Deathrace, RISING INSANE returned to their metalcore roots while opening up about grief, trauma and the power of community. When we speak, the album has been out for just a few days. The band still feels the excitement from it, and maybe some relief, “it’s finally released and we got it done!” says the band’s guitarist Sven Polizuk. For a long time, these songs have belonged to them. They have lived with the demos, the rewrites, the discussions over direction and the ine

Barcelona-based death/doom trio BOCC returns with Demolarium, releasing on September 11th via Night Terrors Records. The record wastes no time establishing its intentions: Heavy, murky and deeply rooted in the uglier corners of extreme metal, it drags death metal, doom, sludge and crust through the mud and comes out sounding appropriately filthy. Rather than relying solely on speed, BOCC understands the power of weight with riffs lumbering forward, guitars remaining saturated

The French four-piece pop-punk group MIRABELLE. are back with their latest EP, Losers. This follows their debut album, Welcome To My Funeral, released in 2024, which earned the band a place on Amazon’s “Ones to Watch 2025” list. MIRABELLE. fuse their fun attitude and uplifting melodies while completely flipping the script, addressing life’s grittier and darker aspects. While their debut explored themes such as death in all its forms, Losers focuses on anxiety and the struggle

With festival season and summer drawing to a close, many music lovers are currently left waiting for their next music fix. Thankfully, fans were saved from their post-festival blues by recent All Points East performers HEADSEND, as they took to the stage in Camden for a night of raw, unfiltered talent. Australian-based alt-rock grunge trio HEADSEND started out in 2024, and have supported the likes of WUNDERHORSE, TOOL and AC/DC. With fans queuing en masse in hopes of gettin

Crawling out from beneath the crypts of London, GREEN LUNG return with their fourth studio album, Necropolitan. After the enormous reception they received when they were announced for Bloodstock 2027, it’s clear there’s still a serious appetite for the band’s particular brand of occult-flavoured heavy metal. And if Necropolitan is anything to go by, both the old guard and any newcomers are in for one hell of a ride. GREEN LUNG have never been shy about wearing their influence

RØRY has built a career on saying the things many people struggle to admit. Across her music, she has turned trauma, recovery, anger and the messiness of simply trying to survive into songs that feel painfully honest. That honesty has earned her a fiercely loyal audience, and with BLOODLETTING, set for release on 11th September, she appears ready to take that relationship with her listeners somewhere darker. The hype surrounding the album has already been building at a seriou

Manchester has long been one of Britain’s most prolific breeding grounds for elite music. OASIS and THE STONE ROSES may be two of the city’s most influential exports, but Manchester’s musical identity stretches far beyond them. Within its metalcore and alternative scene, MIDNIGHT SWIM are beginning to make their presence known, and their self-titled debut is an impressive introduction. Formed in 2023 after lead vocalist Jack Valentine and guitarist Danny Heaton’s previous pro

SHOWING TEETH have already taken the hardcore scene by storm, bringing a breath of fresh and vicious air from singer Addison that's received admiration all the way across the pond, with a coveted support slot for BRING ME THE HORIZON’s Count Your Blessings show at Outbreak Fest and a headline show in the heart of Camden. Garnering a rapidly growing fanbase and critical acclaim on just two released tracks, SHOWING TEETH unleash their full assault with ear-shredding EP A Fate W

AS IT IS is a band that never fails to make you feel something. They have the ability to snap you straight back to the first time Dial Tones made your chest tighten, or when Okay. felt like a mirror held up to every messy, unspoken feeling you’d been carrying around. They were the band you found through Tumblr posts, YouTube rabbit holes, or in the sweat‑heavy crush of a tiny venue where every lyric felt like it was being shouted directly at your ribs. Brighton might be wher

ALL POINTS EAST has teamed up with OUTBREAK to bring one of the heaviest lineups the London-based festival has seen. With DEFTONES set as their headliner and a stacked roster full of punk and metal bands coming from all over the planet. We were invited by OUTBREAK to come along and review the madness, so here’s how our day went. SHOW ME THE BODY Opening up the day at the North Arena were SHOW ME THE BODY, and there is no way you would've guessed they were first on by the crow

Following the breakthrough success of 2024’s People Watching, 156/SILENCE return with From A Distance, a record that finds the Pittsburgh quintet further refining the dark, cinematic identity that has become central to their sound. While their previous releases have often thrived on unpredictability by jumping between metallic hardcore, mathcore chaos, and experimental detours, their sixth album feels like a band narrowing their focus. Rather than throwing every idea at the w

The Japanese black metal icons are back and ready for business. SIGH have been masters of the genre for three and a half decades now, and have never failed to leave an indelible mark on anyone who’s spent time listening to their unique brand of heaviness. Alongside the trio of Mirai Kawashima, Dr Mikannibal and Nozomu Wakai this album sees them joined by Frédéric Leclercq of KREATOR on bass and drummer Mike Heller of FEAR FACTORY and MALIGNANCY. The album title Goh-ka has thr

Bristol hardcore upstarts CIRCUMVENT are on the cusp of releasing their debut EP, Feel The Cold, and it’s a great start to recorded life for the dancey punks. Releasing on the fantastic Betrayed By Life Records, the five-track release is short, to the point, and plenty of fun. Opening with a self-titled sub-two minute rager, it’ll be side to side on this call to arms from beginning to end. The customary location namedrop of “Bristol hardcore!” is prominently featured within t

To most, it’d seem like CHAT PILE have risen to relative ubiquity extremely quickly. You’d be strapped to find a modern noise rock or sludge metal band that haven’t been compared to them at some point. As quick as their rise might feel, frontman Raygun Busch, for example, has been in various bands over the past 20 years, only finally seeing some success with CHAT PILE. This is also in spite of the odds being against the group from the start, with them struggling to book any g

ArcTanGent is a festival built for its community. For 3 days or 4 (if you’re really up for it) you will be surrounded by likeminded music fans who enjoy a good mix of everything heavy, experimental and well written. It’s a music festival where the music shines louder than anything else possibly could. Platforming many artists who wouldn’t typically get a place at a festival in the UK, the biggest strength of the festival is curation. You can enter the festival knowing no one

Nothing says a gig is a hardcore gig more than a performance in an unexpected place. Tucked away in Southampton is the Edmund Kell Unitarian Church. An unassuming building from the outside, but a transformative space that is perfect for a hardcore show. The show was everything that a UK hardcore fan could dream of. It gave the reminiscing feel of a basement gig whilst showcasing talents of the present and future. With no barrier, a homemade set up of amps and cabs, and the h

Japanese alt-metal quartet SIM are finally releasing their 7th full length studio album HOOMAN AFTER ALL. Having already released three singles and receiving a great amount of love the album has been long awaited by many fans. The album has a variety of huge collaborations as well as being labelled the band's most comprehensive and energetic record to date. SIM dabble in a range of genres all centering around metalcore and ska punk but their production style from debut has b

MOVEMENTS have always been a band of contrasting ideas. Their music can sound magnificently giant while dealing with emotions that make the world feel incredibly small. For their fourth album, Happier Now, the Californian post hardcore quartet lean further into that emotion, leaning more into the confidence and melancholy of 2023’s RUCKUS!. Opening with Pulse, the scene is set for what is to come for the rest of the album. With angular riffs and layered harmonies that feel re

EAST EXCHANGE haven’t just exploded onto the airwaves this year, they’ve conquered their first festival season that saw them claim slots at 2000 Trees, The Great Escape, and Outbreak to name a few, gaining these laurels and further traction with less than a handful of singles drip-fed to fans over the last year. Fans need wait no longer to drink their musical fill as EAST EXCHANGE launch their debut EP torn between ties, an eagerly anticipated record of powerhouse vocals and

There are few bands in extreme metal with the ability to make the past feel as immediate as BEHEMOTH. With I, Scvlptor, the Polish legends revisit their roots, reshape familiar material and push into new territory, creating a release that feels less like a conventional stopgap and more like a statement of becoming. Due for release on September 4th, the opus contains eight previously unreleased tracks: seven studio recordings and one live performance. Rather than releasing a t

As lightning lit up the sky over the iconic Digbeth area of Birmingham, five bands descended upon the Subside bar, intent on rivalling the roar of the thunder with their own might, led by UK based pop-punk four-piece DOWNCAST on their UK summer tour. This free gig was a must-see endeavour for pop-punk enthusiasts, which is why it was a shame to see the floor of the dim, warmly lit pub somewhat quiet for the first act, alt artist LENNOX, who were certainly a promising sound to

Collaborating with other artists has long been a way for respected bands to reach different audiences while fusing their respective styles to create something new, particularly through a single release. MOTIONLESS IN WHITE featuring Corey Taylor is one recent example, but it is far rarer to see two bands come together to create an album release where both bring their own identity to the table. Rarer still is a project that feels like a genuine contest between the two, with ea

It’s been almost a decade since Californian four-piece AFI has graced the UK with their presence, and sixteen years since they last embarked on a headline tour here. In that time they have released four new albums – including 2025’s synthwave and post-punk tinged Silver Bleeds the Black Sun... – signed two separate record deals and constantly evolved their sound. Now, fans pack into Birmingham’s O2 Institute to see how those sixteen years have worn on them. But first, the sta