ALBUM REVIEWS

There's a chill in the air as we enter this time of year so favoured by goths and emos. The moon hangs high in the sky, and the spirits of Samhain prowl through the dark of the night. Halloween is looming ever closer, and we're hoping for more treats than tricks - like these latest singles. Here's what we've been listening to lately: Track of the Week: As December Falls - Nervous (ft. Solence) Trust AS DECEMBER FALLS to come out with the dancey song of the summer just as we

Somewhere between indie-rock, alt-pop, and a film soundtrack not yet made, you’ll find AFTERDRIVE. The Ipswich-raised four-piece has been steadily making a name for themselves, from festival stages to hometown shows, while opening for major artists such as MAGGIE LINDEMANN, and MCFLY. With BBC Radio 1 already taking notice of the band’s growing momentum, Dress to Drive offers a clear insight into why. Dress to Drive captures the moment of remembering the kind of relationship

After the release of the EP IT CALLS ME BY NAME in April of this year, WAGE WAR fans were more than satisfied, but clearly the band weren’t and carried their creative streak onwards. The band's 6th full length album Landfall was announced almost exactly a month before its release, crashing into the scene and causing a stir with such an unexpected release. The album is a 13 track onslaught of the best WAGE WAR have released yet. Having produced the album themselves for the fir

Already labelled as one of the UK’s most exciting heavy bands, LOVE IS NOISE are far from happy to stand still and bask in the success of their debut album, To Live In A Different Way. Instead, they’ve self-produced their latest four-track EP; The space between happiness and heartache. The trio from Nottingham consists of Cam Humphrey on drums, Alex Ioannou on bass and lead guitar, alternating with fellow guitarist Sam Clark. Alex takes on a much more prominent and busier rol

Something unseen is creeping, tip-toeing on the worn floorboards of Glasgow’s alternative music scene. Enigmatic, esoteric, they’re the kind of coven you might encounter while wandering alone in the woods upon the witching hour. The fairytale melodies you hear in your peripheral. The haunting harmonies that seem to lurk in your footsteps, hiding in the gaps in the treelines. Listen to them, those beings of the night. What music they make. TANZANA live in the shadowed spaces b

Download, 2025. The festival debut of a new, fairly unknown band that had only formed two years prior. Download, 2026? After an insane year, UNPEOPLE had graduated to the Apex mainstage, and opened the day for headliner, LINKIN PARK. It was one of the most electric performances across the weekend - who else can get moshpits going at 11am on a Sunday? Now they are finally here to launch their first album, we are unpeople. After releasing their introductory single, smother, bac

Bristol stands as one of the most beloved cities in the UK for punks and alt kids, housing a plethora of iconic venues, a rich history within the punk movement and birthing plenty of big names and local legends. Such artists would inspire M/X, a trio created within the south-western city, who are one of those unassuming acts that leave a lasting impression on any soul to witness them at a gig. The band, consisting of all queer members fronted by Max Pickering, emerged in 2023

Some albums spend their opening minutes trying desperately to convince you they're important. Death Of The Altar doesn't bother. OF VIRTUE come out swinging with the sort of confidence that suggests they've already decided what this album is going to be — and they're not particularly interested in asking whether we're ready for it. Following 2023's Omen and its considerable 65-million-plus streams, the easy move would have been to stick a few more massive choruses over the sa

ELECTRON are based in London but come all the way from Portugal to bring shiny new modern metal to the ever-evolving music scene. The band has a rare duo combination, Jason Payne (vocals, guitar) and Joanna Hyde (vocals, bass). They have brought their talents together to release their second full length album Is This Worth Living For? - 13 tracks of modern metal. The first track up is Trap. It opens with spatial electronic synths and distant guitars, Jason coming in with his

If you have been paying attention to the British alternative music scene over the last few years, you will have heard about the Windmill in Brixton. You may have seen stills of your favourite up-and-coming weirdos playing in front of a gold tinsel backdrop, or you may have caught the shimmer of it in the background of a video where someone is shirtless and crowd-surfing over a handful of impassioned gig-goers. You may have even been lucky to attend a show there yourself, and

HRLTSS have done an impressive amount of growing up in the last year, evident in the captivating, emotional new EP The Devil On My Shoulder. The Cambridge four-piece have fine tuned their ambitious sound in the space of seven singles, marrying together metalcore, R&B and electronic elements and culminating in these four tracks that truly embrace what makes them special. Story led from the opening riff, The Devil On My Shoulder feels like an EP that could comfortably sit on t

Consistently working outside of the status quo to fuse raw emotions with enthralling melodies, DEAD POET SOCIETY have established themselves as artists who test the boundaries between genres for distinctive, sonically intricate projects, using their personal experiences as the foundation to their musical story-telling that resonates on a deeper level with their listeners. They’ve once again adopted this method to create their third album Monarch, an intense project that borde

With almost twenty years on the metalcore scene behind them, there is no doubt MISS MAY I is one of the key bands of the genre up to date. Upholding a very distinctive sound in most of their work, there is hardly a dull moment - and their upcoming album No Place For Me is a spectacular testament of this. Boasting ten new songs, the eight album (and a debut one since they got signed with Solid State Records) will take the listeners through the insides of the band members’ mind

IMMINENCE have never been a band to stick to a single genre. Throughout their career, they’ve continually switched things up with each release, always experimenting, exploring new ideas, and refining their craft. Although the band are no strangers to taking a cinematic approach to their work, this time they’ve taken it to another level. Since the release of the first single for their upcoming album Axis Mundi, the cinematic quality has been striking, with vivid imagery helpin

For the past 13 years, Scottish band TWIN ATLANTIC have created a legacy of 70s inspired hooks, explosive breakdowns, and sentiments that range from the deepest inner turmoils to having a night out with your mates. They’re an established act within the alt-rock scene that’s seen them take on countless headline tours, support slots and festival appearances, amassing a following with each show they do. Yet, for all their work, their latest album Separation From The Animals is u

With mythologic content comes a new legend. AMON AMARTH has mastered storytelling and has been building vivid universes over the span of three decades. They return with The Allfather Awakens on October 2nd, making everyone curious about what’s next. This new chapter is, for the Swedish melodic death metal veterans, another saga shaped by Norse mythology, historical conflict, sacrifice, and the pursuit of something greater than oneself. Across ten tracks, the band delivers a f

Would it be fair to say that GILLA BAND are quite unappreciated? At least in relation to their influence over modern noise rock and industrial. They’ve been around for fifteen years now, but curiously, when discussing modern noise rock, names like CHAT PILE, BLACK MIDI (at least on their first album) and MODEL/ACTRIZ are brought up more than anything else - the latter of which has released both their debut and sophomore albums since the last GILLA BAND record, and are now wor

Emerging from the depths of South London, BURNER return with No One Is Coming To Save Us, an 11-track assault that sees the band push their sound well beyond straightforward extremity. While the foundations remain firmly rooted in the darker corners of modern metalcore and hardcore, BURNER are clearly unwilling to remain confined by convention. This is a record that embraces atmosphere and experimentation without ever losing sight of what makes their music hit so hard. Adding

Four years in the making and the five piece from Nagoya, Japan are back with their eighth album, OPTIMIZE = OPTDEMISE. COLDRAIN have made their mark globally with their own multi genre metal centric sound. Their lineup has remained unchanged since they started the band in 2007, made up of Masato (vocals), Y.K.C (guitars), Sugi (guitars), RxYxO (bass) and Katsuma (drums). Just under a year ago, COLDRAIN released their EP OPTIMIZE which was a five track taster of their latest u

SPLIT DOGS are running wild and loose across the scene with the sort of classic British rock’n’roll punk that our parents warned us about. Drawing on years of experience and their varied love of all things rock, the quartet are showing their bark and bite with their third album Nice N’ Rough, a celebration of their coming together and a boisterous and bold sound that brings the vitality of rock’n’roll punk into the modern world. SPLIT DOGS might have one of the most rock ‘n’