Rage Reviews: Recent Releases, February 25th 2026
- Out of Rage Team
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
As we near the end of the second month of the year, we're realising it's already been quite a busy one - we've had expansive tours, much-anticipated album releases, and of course, countless singles. Here's what we've been listening to:
Chalk - Tongue
Belfast-based trio CHALK pull the listener into a rage-filled, eerily intimate emotional freefall with their new single Tongue, released ahead of their debut album Crystalpunk. The opening whispers (a remnant from the song’s demo, born from creative necessity) paired with a thin, unnerving thread of a note that slowly gives way to distortion, immediately set a tense, claustrophobic scene before the track explodes into frenetic energy. Tongue is abrasive and confrontational, sounding like a barely controlled detonation; it is visceral, raw, volatile, and unrestrained. CHALK blend rough guitars, and harrowing electronic textures into a sound that feels like it’s vibrating at the edge of collapse, culminating in a cathartic and compelling ride.
Words: Cara Hyndman
Death Lens - Drown
DEATH LENS dive straight into their new single Drown and leave no rest for the wicked, with a steady drumbeat and fast-paced guitar and bass riffs for an indie-punk beat you can rush around to. In the lead up to the April release of their new album What’s Left?, they’re slamming out a track that doesn’t hang about and demands a frenetic energy, with a bridge that builds for the wild finale. With a sound reminiscent of classic FOO FIGHTERS and an energy to rival THE HIVES, this will have crowds thumping and shouting for more in less than three minutes.
Words: Julia Stark
Gaerea - Nomad
GAEREA are ready to brand their intricate mark on the world with new, blood-pumping, headbanging single Nomad, ahead of the lead up to the March release of their latest album Loss, their EU tour and recently announced UK exclusive tour. From the immediate frantic double pedal overlaid with a cutting riff and harmonised, mournful vocals, this sinks its teeth in and doesn’t let go, the heavy vocals shifting from lyrics of isolation to self-infliction, dropping into a deceptive breakdown that subtly slows before roaring into your ears. Whether belting out or crashing around to the beat, there’ll be no nomadic feelings with everyone screaming this on their tour.
Words: Julia Stark
Ice Nine Kills ft. Mckenna Grace - Twisting The Knife
ICE NINE KILLS continue expanding the cinematic horrorcore universe surrounding THE SILVER SCREAM 3, and Twisting The Knife stands as one of its most theatrically brutal entries. Featuring MCKENNA GRACE, the track balances eerie melodic passages with serrated riffing and thunderous percussion that erupts into a suffocating breakdown. Grace’s haunting delivery contrasts with SPENCER CHARNAS' snarling theatrics, amplifying the narrative tension hinted at in lines like “feel the blade beneath your skin.” The single’s artwork and title reinforce the band’s obsession with psychological torment, while recent tour momentum has only sharpened anticipation for the album’s full release.
Words: Kelly Gowe
Hot Mulligan - I Don't Think It’s The Right Time For Emojis
In the midst of their electrifyingly energetic EU/UK tour, pop-punk legends HOT MULLIGAN release their first single of the year with I Don't Think It’s The Right Time For Emojis. The track is very much on-brand for the band's current discography, having emo-flavoured, wryly cynical lyricism about TADES' own feelings about faith and critiquing modern zealotry. Grit-driven vocals float over punchy guitars in a newly refined production sound, making this single release feel both refreshingly vibrant yet nostalgic. Its earnest, mid-tempo melodies and catchy hooks provide a compelling contrast for the track's weighty themes, a familiar juxtaposition for any long-time listeners. As always, HOT MULLIGAN has provided the ideal backing track to simultaneously two-step and undergo an existential crisis.
Words: Adrian Chapman
Opal Mag - World End
Brighton’s little star OPAL MAG keeps on shining, releasing another song from her upcoming EP Goodbye Lavender. In her signature style, the dreamy and whimsical tune clashes with the dreary central theme of the song. World End describes a relationship where one keeps emotionally draining another, wound up in a cycle of traumatic events: "kick me when I’m down". With soft but slightly piercing vocals resembling MAZZY STAR, the singer gets a more serious and almost angry tone towards the end, like a kaleidoscope of feelings ready to shatter into pieces.
Words: Mariia Bulkina
Shinedown - Safe and Sound
Back with their classic sound, SHINEDOWN have crashed in with their single Safe and Sound, from upcoming May album Ei8ht. Diving in with a striking guitar riff and a drum beat that cracks sharper than a ginger snap, singer Brent Smith’s lyrics warn you not to “fuck around and find out”, a message to anyone doubting their momentum. With the pulsing bass working in tandem with the pounding drum beat, the guitar solo is a simple riff but has a powerful build up for the final chorus, overlaid with a subtle synth-like sound in the final bars. Fans better “Look alive” on their upcoming worldwide tour.
Words: Julia Stark
SISTER MADDS - Table Manners
Get ready to eat your heart out for Glasgow's very own five-piece SISTER MADDS and their sarcastic ode to the perils of the modern dating scene. Table Manners takes that all too familiar feeling of being chewed up and spat back out again emotionally - and still expected to smile politely through it - and turns it into a wickedly tongue-in-cheek anthem.
Guitars snarl, swaggering brightly, while MADDIE CASSIDY’s vocals lilt playfully, carrying a mockingly confrontational edge. With a knowing smirk, the single skewers the kind of emotional opportunists who treat people like a buffet, gorging on their time and energy and leaving nothing behind but a few meagre crumbs.
A wonderfully dancey track, Table Manners is the perfect appetiser for their upcoming EP, Are You Hungry?, and our stomachs are already rumbling for what’s to come!
Words: Cara Hyndman
Twenty One Pilots - Drag Path
Kings of leaving everyone on a cliffhanger, TWENTY ONE PILOTS have been promising the final episode of their storyline for almost two years, only for it to not quite be the end each time. Drag Path is a bonus track of their September release Breach, previously available only with purchasing a digital version of the album. Outside of the lore, the 'drag path' can also be interpreted as a tangible or abstract item that serves as a reminder of the past, this nostalgic effect making the unreleased track already go viral. The band then decided to make it available for everyone, but in an alternative version: this way, they kept it fair for the fans who bought in the first place, but also kept its essence and soul intact.
Words: Mariia Bulkina
Editor: Naomi Colliar Duff
Photos: Various Artists
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