It’s a balmy day in London, a welcome change from the sudden downpours recently experienced. Obviously, this is due to weather doing its normal thing - to the more delusional and whimsical of us though, we’d like to think the sun showed up to welcome KAREN DIÓ fans as they crowded early outside The 100 Club. If you were to question who beamed the brightest that night, Dió wins out over the sun without question, though her fans came a close second as they rushed toward the barely-opened venue doors. Inside The 100 Club, it quickly warms up with the gathering crowds and the rapid-fire chatter from excitable gig-goers, cheers ringing through prematurely as the interim music fades and the techs test the lighting. But soon those cheers ring loud and true as Welsh singer-songwriter HANA LILI takes to the stage alongside her fellow bandmates, a small smile on her face that grows with each minute the fans sing her words back to her during Iconic. It’s not long before Lili has found her groove with Bleeding Me Dry, swapping from wielding a guitar to sole mic work and enthusiastically twirling and two-stepping across the stage. Pausing to thank everyone for coming out early and hyping up the crowd for headliner KAREN DIÓ, Lili seems to catch a second wind and goes even harder for Girlfriend and Little By Little, the energy of the room becoming tangible as she comes to the end of her set. With one last song to leave her mark, she calls out for a “girls only pit” - with the proclamation that everyone can join the pit regardless of gender for the first half - and closes out with Sick Of Myself as women joyfully mosh around and other attendees create a human shield to give them their time with a delighted Lili. It feels like no time has passed before the lights flare up and applause fills the space as guitarist Julian Gonzalez Kitzing and drummer Jamie Lee Oliver (no, not the chef) bound onto the stage with a fervent energy that already feels infectious but goes full epidemic when singer and guitarist Karen Dió cooly skips onto the stage in sunglasses and the vivid red jacket she sports on the cover of her latest EP Fugaze. Launching straight into the celebration of the new EP, Dió churns out Euphoria and Free Yourself to appreciative cheers, before leading a singalong to her classic punk rock track My World. Kitzing jumps as high as his guitar cable will allow him while Oliver attacks the drumkit with a focus that only breaks between songs to yell with the increasing crowd. Dió stops to look across the rammed venue and profusely thank everyone for coming out tonight, her gratitude genuine and heartfelt - it wasn’t so long ago that Dió took a leap of faith and left Brazil for the UK to follow the rising punk and riot grrrl movements. Nights like these have cemented her decision to build her dreams as a new-wave punk singer seeing so many fans yell back the lyrics to fast-paced Cut Your Hair and Casual, the EP and tour title track Fugaze receiving a deafening roar of approval and a widening mosh pit. The jacket has been ditched by this point and it’s no surprise given the speed at which Dió whirls across the stage, opting for high kicks, 360 spins, intense full-body headbangs, a full impressive cartwheel, and two-stepping to crowd-favourites I Hope You Know and Rat Race, briefly crawling on the stage for the aptly named Crawling before she’s back on her feet for more jumping about. A short interlude of radio feedback, Brazilian newsreaders and catchy punk-rock tracks like BLUR’s Song 2 give the trio a chance to hydrate and catch their breath, before they go all in again on their performance, Dió’s voice still holding steady in spite of the gymnastics as she delivers the incredibly entertaining Buy My Merch whilst gesturing pointedly at the merch table, the less than 15-seconds song getting the whole crowd bouncing to the ruthlessly hard and fast tune. With a final chance to speak to the crowd and thank them again, KAREN DIÓ gets a whirlwind circle pit running for Choke and 3AM, but it’s final closer Sick Ride that gets the entire room moving in a frenzy, fans screaming back “sick ride” so loudly it almost drowns Dió’s voice out, but certainly doesn’t dampen her vivacious spirit. Words and photos: Julia Stark

Their fourth album, Modern Life Is Lonely, marks a turning point for HOLDING ABSENCE. It abandons introspection and instead confronts the world as it is in 2026: restless, hyperconnected and yet deeply isolating. Lucas Woodland frames the record as a study of modern dissonance, where technology reshapes identity, culture and emotional survival, yet loneliness remains a constant hum beneath the noise. It’s the band’s most outward‑facing statement, dissecting overstimulation, digital claustrophobia and the quiet ache of existing in a world that never switches off. After closing their previous trilogy with The Noble Art of Self‑Destruction, the band stepped back, reassessed and evolved. For Woodland, this album is the first time he chose to write about the world around him, not just the one inside his head. Opening track Reanimate is possibly one of the album’s most unsettling moments, a song that mirrors the recurring themes heard across the tracklist; overstimulation, emotional erosion, and the fight to stay present in a world that keeps pulling you out of yourself. Reflection stands as an emotional anchor of Modern Life Is Lonely, built around the album’s clearest thesis: you cannot change until you finally look yourself in the eye. The track opens in a fragile space, its clean guitar lines circling like a pulse while Lucas Woodland delivers the quiet admission of “The devil made me deaf, Now every angel's wing is clipped and bent ,” a line that sets the tone for the reckoning ahead. As the song unfolds, layers of reverb‑soaked guitars and a rising drum pattern mirror the shift from numbness to confrontation, each section tightening like a breath held too long. When the full band finally surges, the arrangement feels like a deliberate climb toward self‑acceptance. Heaven is an example of the album’s emotional high points and a clear examples of HOLDING ABSENCE’s expanded sonic palette, which is threaded throughout the entire album. The wide‑open guitars, a slow‑burn build, and Lucas Woodland’s voice pushed into its most vulnerable register showcases the spacious, cinematic arrangements on this record. The title track delivers the album’s defining statement. Modern Life Is Lonely is the moment HOLDING ABSENCE stop looking inward and confront the world directly. The lyrics shift from self‑interrogation to cultural observation, “Modern life is lonely. How do I get off? Overstimulated by everything I thought would be enough” framing 2026 as a paradox where hyper‑connection and deep isolation coexist. Musically, the song leans into lo‑fi textures and soft, grainy edges, but it also erupts into perhaps the heaviest passages in the band’s catalogue, a deliberate collision of fragility and force. The contrast is a jolt, a way of snapping listeners into the album’s worldview from the very first moment. When played live, this will no doubt be a shockwave moment, and join previous favourites Wilt and Afterlife as show closers, bringing with it a guaranteed spark for chaos within the crowd. Take Me With You is another track that captures the album's themes of longing, disconnection and the desire to be truly seen. Its soaring chorus and spacious production amplify the ache for closeness in a world that keeps pushing people apart, with Lucas Woodland’s vocal performance carrying both fragility and urgency. shells_like_us.int, whilst the most atmospheric and unsettling pieces found on the album, doesn’t quite feel like it belongs; the distorted vocals don’t deliver the same emotionally intuitive of the surrounding tracks. Interval-esque at its core, and under two minutes long, the contrast is stark and unsettling, though perhaps this was the intention of HOLDING ABSENCE all along? Whisper of a Dream is the moment Modern Life Is Lonely stops being just an album and becomes a fully realised world. It’s where HOLDING ABSENCE introduce Y4‑BB0, the robot whose presence threads through the record, marking the band’s most explicit dive into cyberpunk narrative. The track becomes an emotional pressure point, as a meditation on longing, memory and the fragile boundary between human feeling and artificial existence. Its narrator reaches for something distant and half‑imagined, a connection that feels impossible. Lucid Love is perhaps the most disorienting moment on the album. It's a track where the band deliberately blurs the line between genuine affection and the digitised imitation of love that modern life keeps selling, “So could you tell me when the hologram ever ends? Tomorrow, we'll begin again”. It’s tender, yet faintly synthetic. At its core, the song explores clarity inside confusion. It’s about recognising a feeling as real even when the world around you feels unreal. Scorched Earth pushes HOLDING ABSENCE into harsher territory while keeping their emotional core intact. Serrated guitars and a relentless rhythm mirror the song’s themes of collapse and renewal, creating a cinematic sense of devastation. lullaby.int follows, acting as a moment of suspended calm within the album’s wider emotional turbulence. Built from soft synth pulses and drifting melodic fragments, it feels like a dream half‑remembered. As a second interlude, it deepens the record’s cyber‑emotional world, bringing a quiet, uncanny pause shaped by circuitry rather than voice, resetting the atmosphere before the next emotional shift. Closing track Kyoto Snow is the album’s most delicate and transportive tracks. Shimmering guitars and spacious production create a sense of stillness that feels heavy with memory. The song moves like the falling snow the track name conjures up, a meditation on impermanence that lingers long after the final note fades. Modern Life Is Lonely is HOLDING ABSENCE’s most surprising and complex record yet - heavier when it needs to be, quieter when it matters, and far more atmospheric overall. It marks a major step forward, capturing the band at their most focused, ambitious and emotionally articulate. With this release, HOLDING ABSENCE has crossed a threshold; this will be the moment the band steps into another league, expanding their world while solidifying exactly who they are. Score: 9/10 Modern Life Is Lonely will be released on 18th September 2026 via Sumerian Records. Words: Lou Viner-Flood Photos: Bethan Miller

THE MEFFS have undoubtedly delivered a riotous party and protest on their second full-length album Business - that may sound a little cliche, but damned if it’s not true. Business goes hard from the get-go and refuses to let up as the duo take aim at everyone and everything that’s wrong in society, their refusal to become disillusioned evident as they instead channel their bewilderment and dismay at the world into heavily distorted riffs, an onslaught of drums, and gritty dual vocals. Recorded in-between back-to-back festival slots and one-off shows throughout 2025, THE MEFFS have continued to steam ahead with a whirlwind EU tour, a jampacked 2026 festival season ahead of the album release, and an eased comedown of select UK dates to celebrate their monumental year. Having shared the stage with legendary punk and rock bands, THE MEFFS are proudly accepting the torch of politically-charged, feisty punk and waving it high with Business. Racing drumbeats from Lewis Copsey kick off opener Dreamin’ before vocalist and guitarist Lily Hopkins sings in staccato fashion “feed the formula, feed the beast”, her harsh, prolonged screams of “dreamin’” ringing out with Copsey adding in gruff shouts of his own that add to the acerbic tones prevalent throughout Business. What A Nightmare drops in pitch and kicks in with distortion so heavy and grainy the chords are almost impossible to discern, but Hopkins ensures her disdain for the “brainwashed” public choosing the same backwards mindsets and leaders in an exhausting cycle, bellowing “so open your eyes” before giving a hearty scream over the biting drumbeat. The pace picks up for Where Did It All Go Wrong? in a wonderfully punk-rock rhythm that demands to be moshed to regardless of where you are, repetitions of “where did it all go wrong” rising to a throaty scream and emotional release. Title track Business smashes in like a freight train with Hopkins delivering acidic lyrics as she sneers at THE MEFFS real-life experience with the music industry telling them they’re “not hard enough, not soft enough, not queer enough…we don’t fit their mould, we’re ok with that”, venomous riffs and beats giving weight to their refusal to change themselves just to fit in with what the industry expects. Law still carries an undercurrent of punk sounds and attitude, but there are hints of modern rock in the catchy guitar rhythms and exuberant drums, a tinge of hardcore injected into the chorus growls. Fight is as chaotic as you would expect, with only 30 seconds to make its stand on the album as one of the most volatile tracks, frenetic instruments warring with Hopkins’ and Copsey’s dual vocals for a song that is guaranteed to incite a mass of whirling fists and limbs. Disorder (Wake Up) blends more hardcore elements with grunge-punk for a menacing track with tasty guitar flairs and pulverising beats as Hopkins screams “wake up wake up, who’s the enemy? Wake up wake up, it’s not you. It’s not me.” and demands that people start using their free will to think for themselves and see what’s literally happening in front of them. Love To Lose ramps up the speed again whilst maintaining the pitched down and punchy beats that show the duo aren’t to be fucked around with, the words a scathing attack on someone constantly making themselves the victim in everyone’s story. So Modern (Keep Up) features a borderline punk-rock riff that runs alongside a crushing bass line and Hopkins’ increasingly frustrated screams of keeping up with changing times, Copsey echoing the sentiments in the background with a sardonic “she’s so modern” on the bridge. God Complex has a cowbell. Enough said. By far one of the biggest earworms on the record, this track continues the same vein as its counterparts as it takes aim at people getting too big for their boots and needing a swift kick to bring them back down to earth, harmonised cries of “who are you? Nobody cares” rising throughout. Closing out with Like Gravity and its annihilating drums that crash into a gloriously relentless wall of sound, Hopkins doesn’t let up to the end of Business as she continues to roar primally over her searing riffs, making it clear to the final notes that this is not an album for the thin-skinned, but certainly for the determined ones. Score: 8/10 Business was released on 11th September 2026 via FLG. Words: Julia Stark Photos: Jean Jeanie

If you were looking for a quiet peaceful night out in Glasgow, The Hug and Pint was the wrong place to be. Packed with the unmistakable charge of heavy riffs, the evening was an absolute force of hardcore energy. Featuring a relentless triple-threat lineup of DRY SOCKET, SPACED and SPY, the gig turned the intimate Scottish venue into raw noise and pit chaos. First up was DRY SOCKET opening up the night. Hot off their newest EP release, Self Defence Techniques, DRY SOCKET got the crowd charged up with energy and the vocalist Dani set the tone for the night in the best way possible by unleashing a screeching growl that immediately grabbed everyone's attention! Their focus was first and foremost on the music and keeping the crowd excited with back to back rapid-fire tracks and a stage presence like few others can achieve. Overall a gripping and kinetic performance that was amazing to see. Jumping on stage from the previous band with an immediate connection to the crowd, SPACED got across a wide breadth of emotions through both their short heart-to-hearts with the crowd about topics close to their hearts (such as the recent and tragic death of Andy Williams) as well as through their vigorously exciting music - including some of their more recent releases which were loved by the audience. Throughout the performance the vocalist Lexi was encouraging the crowd to let loose and enjoy themselves! If that wasn’t enough, not wanting to let the energy fade, SPY immediately took hold of the hyped up crowd and masterfully capitalised on it by bringing it to a frenetic crescendo, crafting an intensity at the venue that made even the most tired members of the crowd jump back up into the sound of their songs. You would only need to look at the amazing chaos of the mosh pit to see the talent they have in inspiring their audience to feel the same spirited drive that they do. All in all, the three acts that appeared were an amazing experience to witness. Words and Photos: Noah Collins

Brighton based band WINTER GARDENS have been captivating listeners through their distinctive ‘dreampunk’ soundscapes for over half a decade, earning them commendation from numerous press and radio organisations such as the BBC, as well as opportunities opening for the likes of MODERN ENGLISH, PIROSHKA and PALE BLUE EYES. The four-piece pioneered this feat through EPs Tapestry (2020) and Uncomfortable/Unlovable (2025), which drew attention from infectious, promising early songs such as Anthropocene, and are now ready to further push themselves into the scene with their third project, Macabre Divine. This EP picks apart the greatest elements of their previous work to guide the listener through a highly immersive, emotionally gripping musical journey, one that combines crushing atmospheres from the likes of ETHEL CAIN with the grandiosity of acts like MARUJA. This five-track record is brimming with angst, exploring themes of belonging and despair, challenging the listener while blessing them with stellar instrumentals and perfectly ethereal vocals from frontwoman Ananda Howard. Immediately a nostalgic tinge of 80s rock invades you as the bittersweet sounding lead single Adored opens the EP. This powerful initiation gives a clear sense of what to expect from this project, eccentric drums, soaring guitars, lush, soft vocals and an almost foreboding production, particularly glowing within the harmonic chorus. Adored delves into the burden of corporate masculinity, with the band stating, “it reflects the frustration of trying to be heard in environments where volume and ego tend to outweigh substance”, a matter directly addressed through the poignant lyricism. Transitioning from frustration to grief, second single Fragile Boy depicts the speaker mourning a person’s past life, coming to terms with how this individual has changed over time, as if their old self has died. This theme is accompanied by an intensely painful tone, with the track being a slower, sorrowful melody in nature, as Ananda cries out soulfully for this person. The track starts out a little awkwardly, featuring a unique time signature in the form of clapping that creates a sense of unbalance, as if battling with one’s emotions, and it’s tricky to get a feel for the tone of the song until a minute in, where the chorus plays a huge role in progressing the song into a beautifully delicate vibe, and from then on you can truly get lost in the sombre atmosphere. Violet Corridors may be regarded as an instrumental interlude in the heart of the EP, but it’s a satisfying, calming couple of minutes that features a really pleasant collection of orchestral elements and synthy goodness before moving on to the most adventurous tracks, The Yearning and Macabre Divine. The former of the two is an enchanting piece, channelling overwhelming human desires and desperate loneliness in a beautifully poetic display of lyricism, and an excellent composition sonically, likely the clearest example of the collective strengths between the minds behind the record. The splashy drums and noisy production that builds throughout the track lead to an impactful release in the climax of the song, though one aspect that feels underutilised is Ananda’s vocal power, which sees little change in delivery in a position where elevated emotion in the vocals seems paramount in completing the release of built-up pain within our speaker. Lastly, the lengthy title track Macabre Divine bursts into life with further hints of inspiration from 80s post-punk and synthpop, expressing a more politically driven theme with lines such as “their pockets lined, from the massacre inside”, while embracing the inevitability of death. The heartfelt, eloquent atmosphere created here builds in a grandiose manner, erupting with blazing cymbals and deep, irresistible guitars, complimented by luscious soaring vocals, in a somewhat hopeful sound, contrasting the previous tones of the EP, wrapping up the project in a heavenly ensemble. Macabre Divine is the release of the tension built up throughout the record and feels like a natural and satisfying conclusion. Despite being a fairly short project, Macabre Divine translates as a cohesive, complete narrative, even if these songs aren’t intended to work as a collective, which demonstrates how WINTER GARDENS have practically perfected their ethereal style, and the criticisms that can be found within the writing and performances are minor. With a little bit more flavour sonically and time to complete a full-length narrative, there is a very good chance this band can truly blow our minds in the near future. Score: 8/10 Macabre Divine will be released on 16th September 2026. Words: Paul Cutts Photos: Suki Park

The weather's getting colder, the sun setting earlier; we're coming into Autumn now. Summer's officially over, and now the goths can come out of hiding - and anyone else who wears black, really. Probably most of us. But more importantly, we've had swathes of new music coming out too. Here's what we've been listening to lately: Track of the Week: unpeople - blueprints UNPEOPLE have released the third single off their upcoming album, we are unpeople, and it’s more delicate than we’ve ever heard from them before. blueprints is easily the softest song they’ve released to date, proving to listeners they can do it all. blueprints carries the same melodic soft energy throughout, a huge transition from previous singles, clouds and friends, two very upbeat tracks. The chorus picks up, but soon returns to the peaceful sound of the verses, a welcomed change for UNPEOPLE, catch them on their supporting run with ROYAL BLOOD in November, or on their debut UK headline tour in January 2027. Words: Kei Wells Amon Amarth - Eight Legs of Thunder AMON AMARTH once again summons the epicness and battle-ready power they’re known for in Eight Legs of Thunder. Inspired by Sleipnir, Odin’s legendary eight-legged steed, the track feels like a wild gallop with soaring riffs, melodies and roars. The accompanying video will however take a lot of people by surprise with its playful crossover. It relocates the tale to a gritty modern American Western of cowboys, pickup trucks and open roads, before Sleipnir himself appears in a surreal dream sequence. This serves as a great reminder to expect the unexpected still for the band’s upcoming album, The Allfather Awakens, arriving October 2nd via Metal Blade Records. AMON AMARTH is also announced to hit the European and UK roads with a brand new stage production inspired by Odin’s Golden Hall! Words: Lysandre Pons Blind Channel - Stars We See Stars We See has BLIND CHANNEL diving deeper into metalcore while retaining an incredibly catchy melodic nu-metal edge. Niko Moilanen's impressive vocal versatility pushes the tack’s emotions up a notch, moving effortlessly from slower, lyrical parts to raw, raspy screams. Those contrasts show more hopeful topics and a nuance alongside new soundscape which are bound to bring more diversity to their upcoming opus Painstream, due October 30th via Century Media. A new era for the band has definitely be launched and they will be taking it to the stage with a tour kicking off in November. Words: Lysandre Pons Blue Medusa - Crocodile Opening with a cyber, horror-like atmosphere, Crocodile immediately establishes a dark, tense, and viciously unsettling mood. There’s a creeping sense of danger lurking just beyond sight, and the track thrives on that feeling of being watched without ever knowing exactly what is watching you. As Alissa White-Gluz explains, the song carries an instinctive dread when you know something dangerous is nearby, even though you can’t see it. Musically, that dread erupts into pure annihilating force, with lightning fast, melodeath riffs charging forward beneath her corrosive death vocals. Yet the brutality is balanced by surprisingly melodic, clean-sung choruses and dissonant electronic touches. Words: Lysandre Pons GHØSTKID - I Destroyed You GHØSTKID returns with I Destroyed You, a dark and melancholic metalcore track that immediately pulls you into an eerie, ethereal electronic soundscape. Sebastian “Sushi” Biesler’s vocals initially echo through the void before guitars and drums crash in for a powerful chorus. The drums then take control, driving the track forward while each instrument gradually comes back, building anticipation towards another chorus and a crushing breakdown packed with fry screams. Balancing atmosphere, melody and aggression, the song showcases GHØSTKID’s ability to carve out their own space within the modern metalcore scene. As the second single from Follow The White Rabbit, due October 2nd via Century Media Records, the track offers another intriguing glimpse into the band’s evolving sound. Words: Lysandre Pons K. Flay - Ants Ominous bass deep enough to rattle bone gives way to K. FLAY's deliciously unsettling new track Ants, a twist on the 'dog-eat-dog' mentality that is instead told from the perspective of the rich elites who live high enough "up in the sky you can't see homicide" and the common people being ants to crush under their "big boots". K. FLAY is ruthless in her creative lyrics and rolling vocals, switching from low-pitched, borderline spoken word to acidic yells, punctuated by animalistic roars and crispy drums, the instruments stepping back momentarily as she charges up like Godzilla to deliver a cutting final yell over cacophonous drums and distorted guitar. Released ahead of her knockout support slot for EVANESCENCE, K. FLAY is out for blood. Words: Julia Stark Nails - Fear Based Life Grindcore legends NAILS have returned fairly quickly following their last album cycle, this time with a short two-song EP. Dollar Bin Generation starts us off with some absolutely savage riffs, cutting out at the 40-second mark for a brutal breakdown, effortlessly switching between the fast-paced grindy style they’re known for and raw, mid-tempo headbanging material. Fear Based Life scraps the grindcore entirely for a heavily distorted metalcore cut, and it’s an absolutely pummelling cut regardless. Todd Jones’ guttural vocals are as piercing as ever on both tracks, making for an intense experience. It’s good to hear them back, if only for two songs. Words: Noise Leonard PISS - time loop at hot slit PISS have made something of a name for themselves in the past two years, having released a couple of fantastic demos and putting on some fantastic shows. With an honestly tough list of songs to choose from as their lead single, they’ve gone for time loop at hot slit, a staple of their live sets - it even appeared on both demos. A song about a society-wide normalisation of sexual violence against women, it’s appropriately confrontational, every single line here holds a ton of weight behind it. You can hear the anger from Taylor Zantingh on every word uttered here, over these nightmarish noise rock riffs. The album, You Made Me / Skin On Linen is out in two months, and it’s absolutely one to look out for. Words: Noise Leonard Polaris - Without You After almost three years of silence, POLARIS returns with Without You, their first new track since the devastating loss of guitarist Ryan Siew in June 2023. From the first hint of its opening distortion, the track hits with a haunting, weighted atmosphere before erupting into hectic guitars, crushing beats and caustic vocals. It is fast, raw and deeply painful, carrying an unmistakable sense of grief, desperation and anguish. “This is the sound of crushing loss, shock, grief and heartache, and the beginning of us learning how to share that with the world” the band confesses. Sharp riffs, powerful melodic choruses and a heart wrenching guitar solo give way to a devastating breakdown that ranks among POLARIS’ heaviest moments. Vulnerable and powerful, Without You doesn’t hide from grief but confronts it. The band will take this to the UK and Europe stages this autumn alongside I PREVAIL. Words: Lysandre Pons Polyphia - POWER IN THE BLOOD POLYPHIA are synonymous with melding together fascinating genres already complex on their own into sounds that defy expectations, and new single POWER IN THE BLOOD proves they're undefeated as masters of genre-blending. From a House electronic start akin to AVICII that swiftly merges into rapid-fire guitar hooks that DRAGONFORCE would appreciate and synths that soar and dive like a murmuration, there are elements of upbeat video game synths laid over powerfully stirring monologues and EDM drum beats and thumping bass. From one listen the title takes on a physiological meaning as your blood pumps in time to the surging instrumentals. Words: Julia Stark Slipknot - Arsenal Four years on from their last project The End, So Far and amidst cryptic drama that's had fans questioning whether it's the end for good, SLIPKNOT have detonated with fresh bomb Arsenal and blown apart the uncertainty. Turn tables and quick-fire guitar solos and squeals call back to classic SLIPKNOT but with a refined seamlessness to its sound as opposed to the old grittiness, drums thrashed violently in the background and interspersed with ringing keg drum beats. Corey Taylor brings his trademark gruffness and screams, though there are parts he sounds as if he's restraining himself and not blindly attacking the lyrics as he once did. Arsenal has the feel of classic SLIPKNOT with a developed maturity and refinery to its edges. Words: Julia Stark Spiritbox - Mourning Releasing their first musical piece after the success of Tsunami Sea, SPIRITBOX had surprise dropped the single Mourning. An emotional melodic track that explores themes of emotional acceptance and grief. Listeners are mesmerised by Courtney LaPlante's ethereal vocals that flickers of hope throughout a damped single. The chorus reaches new heights as Josh Gilbert’s vocals intertwine seamlessly with Courtney’s lead. Elements of shoe gaze and metalcore are adopted as SPIRITBOX embraces the atmospheric layering through melodic guitars and rhythmic drums. With shifts to a vibrant music video, fans are eagerly waiting to explore and enjoy upcoming projects. Words: Theviya R Karunaharan The Callous Daoboys - Watching Us Kiss Watching Us Kiss isn't gentle or sweet, it's all teeth and hair-pulling as THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS unleash pure havoc and unmitigated rage on their latest track. It's a whiplash moment to hear a guttural growl of "cuckold" be followed by choral notes, but THE CALLOUS DAOBOYS have never played it safe or conventional (case in point: the Watching Us Kiss music video where Carson Pace was told "dress 'swag'" and rocked up in a yellow tracksuit a la Jonathan Davis) with their innovative lyrics, tearing riffs and relentless drum beats, blending electronic notes and off-kilter beats for jarring, distinctive rhythms, with vocalist Carson Pace bringing an onslaught of non-stop vicious screams to pierce your eardrums over wickedly abrasive guitar squeals. Words: Julia Stark Editor: Naomi Colliar Duff Photos: Various Artists

LAKE MALICE are rapidly anchoring themselves as an alternative rock duo from Brighton blending various genres. Capitulating themselves through metalcore, hyper pop and electronic sounds; LAKE MALICE are proving that their artistic creativity can transcend singular labels. After releasing their EP, Post Genesis, Alice Guala and Blake Cornwall are excited to release their debut album I Wanna Know If It’s Real. Diving into themes of mental health, social media addictions and physical presentations; LAKE MALICE have created an album that is heavily relatable within today’s climate. Opening with the single loved by many, Scatterbrain encapsulates the feeling of overwhelm faced within modern day society. Utilising the glitchy repetition “Spin, wash, repeat, mind, soul, body, neat” through the track, there is an exhausting need to keep up with appearance: in person and online. Whilst this is a heavily danceable track characteristic by its hyper pop influences, rage echoes through the lyrics and intricate guitar riffs. Nostalgic 2000s atmospheres are evident within the making of this album. Ghost In A Hell launches into explosive and rapid drums. With the rise in AI usage and social media consumption, LAKE MALICE question “What does it mean to be alive?”. Channelling the 90s anime vibes, Alice Guala showcases her vocal range through soft, glistening vocals and piercing screams. A stand out feature within this album lies with the saxophone in rly ok. The hyper pop track takes a Y2K approach that compels the body to move. The lyrics carefully balance the stress of moving through life whilst enjoying yourself. The bridge features a spoken Italian dialogue, something that feels deeply comforting and personal. Nostalgia is heavily played on through the track 90's btch. With a steady drum beat and clashing cymbals, it is evident that inspiration is taken from classic girl groups with less electronic tracks. Nobody Wants To Be You tears into the world of nepo babies and industry posers who had opportunities handed on a silver platter. Opening with an electronic bassy beat, LAKE MALICE had ensured that listeners are dancing by the end of the pop-metal track. Anger is evident within M.C.E (Main Character Energy) as the track is laced with the statement “shut the fuck up”. Whilst this title sounds positive, LAKE MALICE had spoken with Out of Rage and stated that M.C.E spotlights how fake people can present themselves. These people genuinely believe they are going in with the best intentions yet their actions feel rehearsed. Closing with a breakdown and a deep breath is a statement as every listener relates and identifies an individual to these actions. There’s a breaking point when your friendship feels one sided and you receive nothing in return. In Chrome Red, repeated refrain “just a beggar” demonstrates the copious amounts of energy is poured maintaining the relationship and the simmering of built resentment. The bridge severs the bond between the one sided friendship and highlights the benefits of pouring into a new landscape. Characterised by intense hooks and animated breakdowns, LAKE MALICE are proving themselves to be relatable. Real Life opens with the repetitive lines “listen, shut up and listen” and progresses into glitchy vocals that focus on the title of the track. The imagery of an apple pie to signify the perception of a good life is repeated throughout. The howlingly deep vocals used in the pre-chorus alerts listeners to the key messages embedded within the album. There are two transitional tracks featured within the album: EtheReal and Crystallised. EtheReal opens with harmonic vocals that help listeners path their way through LAKE MALICE’s sound. The shimmering and glitching effects featured with Crystallised reinforces the band’s diverse musical abilities. The glistening vocals belong within a sci-fi anime and guides the transition into M.C.E. Whilst these weren’t included in creative vision from the beginning, LAKE MALICE have mentioned that these tracks grew along with the rest of the album. 3D Robocop leans heavily into the vocal autotunes features within hyper pop tracks. Yet this track is complimented with heavy drums and breakdowns featured within metal tracks. Icarus closes the album with a layered electronically pop track featuring glistening backings. The calming close is a great way to close an album filled with intense creativity and rage. LAKE MALICE ensured that a studio album would express their full creativity and passion for their art. I Wanna Know If It's Real contains the ability to captivate broad audiences while introducing them to new sounds. Weaving between genres and merging these tracks on a concise debut album is made to look effortless. Guala and Cornwall’s passion is evident; there is no stopping LAKE MALICE any time soon. Score: 8/10 I Wanna Know If It's Real will be released on 11th September 2026 via Blood Blast Distribution. Words: Theviya R Karunaharan Photos: Derek Bremner

Having explored Greek mythology through experimental instrumental post-rock melodies, Swiss quartet HUBRIS. have turned their attention to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s unrivalled, visionary series The Lord of the Rings, a legendary story that has been the benchmark for creators and dreamers for over 70 years and has been a deep-rooted inspiration for HUBRIS.’ composer and founder Jonathan Hohl. Inspired by the epic series and the real life loss of his grandfather, Hohl translates his grief and the deeper understanding of death into new album White Shores, the stirring emotion evident without a word spoken. Whilst paying homage to the immense world of Middle-Earth and the quest of the Fellowship that shows even the smallest and unassuming of us can change the course of history, HUBRIS. narrow in on the underlying themes of morality and immortality that runs throughout the series and drives the narrative to its conclusion. The album and track titles are direct quotes from the eccentric yet wise Gandalf as he is in the thick of war and facing the end of everything at the siege of Minas Tirith, but rather than lament on the end of times he treats death as something to be accepted, an inevitability that shouldn’t be feared but instead embraced as the journey to the afterlife takes you to “white shores, a far green country under a swift sunrise”. HUBRIS. take inspiration from this gentle approach and from the immortal elves who covet death and paradoxically call it “the Gift of Men”, blending soaring instrumentals with post-rock riffs and spectacular beats that sonically elevate each track into a cinematic masterpiece that makes you reflect whilst also feeling like you’re the main character on your own quest, almost contradictory in how it makes you feel alive while its themes are centred around death. White Shores doesn’t act as a play-by-play soundtrack to the LotR, but there are certain elements that can be matched to the films’ scores and immerse you back into Tolkien’s world, from the opening of death and its dreamlike guitar that reverbs into shimmering cymbals, the melody building piece by piece, note by note, into a sound bordering triumph or acceptance and feeling like the beginning of something new, blasting drums and chords suddenly exploding back in to accompany a dramatic solo before it all fades into muffled synths and plinky notes. death has already taken us on that final journey with its ending representing the approaching shorelines and a final peace. Immediately fading into is, the rhythm continues its ethereal quality as if we were travelling through a modern Rivendell or to the final resting place of Valinor (the Undying Lands), rising and falling in pitch to a subtle beat that flows alongside the hopeful synths, heavy riffs and beats crashing in under wavering notes that layer together until it begins to sound like a heavenly choir. just’s intro of juddering drums and melancholy guitar initially sounds as if the track will take a more menacing approach, but as it climbs in power and range it treads the line between feeling like the pivotal moment in a quest where you have to make a difficult choice and leave the past behind, and sonically coming close to John Murphy’s In The House In A Heartbeat (from horror film 28 Days Later) in its theatrically astonishing combination of classic composition and modern rock, the final notes feeling like a nod to the beginning notes of Howard Shore’s The Breaking Of The Fellowship from The Fellowship of the Ring. another takes on a different look as it continues the journey through the ether, a repeated riff echoing throughout the track as it shifts into more industrial elements of sound and beats, stripping away the peaceful acceptance of death and becoming more of an internal outlet for the person grieving, its lonely strings open to interpretation of everything continuing as normal while the instruments build into an emotional crescendo that demands to be heard and felt, or the aching feeling of grief when it’s so overwhelming you can’t stay hopeful and have to go through this bout of sadness. path I begins with a downplayed snare beat and guitar that gradually rises into powerfully driving bass until it reaches a peak of layered post-rock and cinematic sounds, the beginning of a new day and the understanding that this too shall pass, that grief is love and memory enduring and to celebrate that we should even have those memories to cherish. Similar in style yet differing in sentiment, path II brings our journey to its end on the promised White Shores with a composition that reaches new heights with sweeping riffs and scales, a rising guitar in the background, bass rumbling through at the bedrock of the track, and a beat that progressively climbs to an abrupt drop, fading out to a simplified version of the riff as we embrace the closure that death is just a part of life but it doesn’t mean the end for us still living. “The journey doesn’t end here; death is just another path, one that we all must take.” Score: 8/10 White Stores will be released on 10th September 2026. Words: Julia Stark Photos: hubris.

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. If the whole point of SCENE QUEEN’s self-proclaimed “bimbocore” has been proving that femininity, humour and unapologetically ridiculous fun have every right to exist alongside crushing guitars, METALICIOUS feels like the idea fully unshackled. Described by SCENE QUEEN as “chaotic recession pop, Y2K coded, metal madness”, the seven track EP is deliberately excessive, gleefully messy and completely unwilling to pick a single lane. Opening with Pink Flip Phone, METALICIOUS immediately establishes that this isn’t simply a continuation of Hot Singles In Your Area. There’s an increased sense of urgency running through the production, with the glossy, hyperactive pop elements smashing headfirst into heavier guitars and SCENE QUEEN’s increasingly ferocious vocal delivery. It’s nostalgic without becoming a costume piece, taking the trashy glamour of the early 2000s and dragging it directly into the pit. Then comes Manicure, where the contrast becomes even more delicious. The song is pure SCENE QUEEN: catchy enough to lodge itself in your brain, ridiculous enough to make you grin, but underpinned by a genuine sense of frustration. The joke is always part of the weaponry. SCENE QUEEN understands that you can say something angry without sounding miserable; sometimes the best revenge is dancing while you do it. Shopaholic and Drop Dead Gorgeous continue that balancing act, leaning into the hyper-feminine aesthetic while refusing to let it become superficial. There’s a knowing quality to everything SCENE QUEEN does. The pink, the makeup, the shopping references and the deliberately outrageous presentation aren’t disguising the heavier themes; they’re part of the point. Because beneath the glitter, METALICIOUS is still angry. There’s a reason the music feels so satisfying when the breakdowns hit. This isn’t simply pop music with metal riffs bolted onto it for novelty value. It’s a deliberate rejection of the idea that there’s a correct way to exist within alternative music. Tracksuit might be the clearest example. It takes something as gloriously mundane as Y2K sportswear and turns it into another vehicle for SCENE QUEEN’s particular brand of chaos. The song is enormous, aggressive and knowingly stupid in precisely the right way. Yet underneath the humour is an artist becoming increasingly comfortable with just how heavy she can make this project. And then METALICIOUS delivers its knockout punch. The title track, featuring LEFT TO SUFFER, is exactly what happens when SCENE QUEEN’s world collides with deathcore. SCENE QUEEN describes it as a “tumblr indie sleaze club song” written “in metal font”, and honestly, that might be the most accurate description possible. There’s something wonderfully absurd about the entire concept: a girls’ night at a metal show, drinks flowing, purses flying through the mosh pit and deathcore vocals lurking around the corner. But musically, it works far better than it has any right to. The contrast between SCENE QUEEN’s sugary delivery and LEFT TO SUFFER’s brutality creates exactly the kind of collision that has made SCENE QUEEN so compelling in the first place. It’s also significant because METALICIOUS doesn’t simply use heaviness as a gimmick. SCENE QUEEN has spoken about recording some of her lowest screams yet, alongside the deathcore features, while wanting the project to recapture the sense of freedom she felt when she first started making the Bimbocore releases. You can hear that freedom throughout the EP. There’s even room for the “trauma dumping” SCENE QUEEN jokingly warns about in the EP promo. And that matters. Behind the jokes and the neon-coloured aesthetic, there’s something considerably more vulnerable happening. SCENE QUEEN’s music has always been about reclaiming space - taking things that have been dismissed as too feminine, too silly or too poppy and putting them directly in front of the people who insist that heavy music needs to look a certain way. METALICIOUS doesn’t ask permission. It kicks the door open, throws a handbag into the pit and starts the breakdown. What makes the EP particularly successful is that SCENE QUEEN hasn’t sacrificed the immediacy that made her music so accessible in pursuit of being heavier. The hooks are still huge. The concepts are still ridiculous. The humour is still firmly intact. But the guitars hit harder, the screams are nastier and the whole thing feels less like an artist experimenting with metal and more like someone realising she can absolutely own this space. SCENE QUEEN has never been about restraint. Asking her to tone it down would be like asking a mosh pit to sit quietly. Ultimately, METALICIOUS is SCENE QUEEN at her most confident, chaotic and completely herself. It’s bubblegum pop smashed against deathcore, Y2K nostalgia drenched in distortion and a middle finger raised firmly at anyone still convinced that there’s only one way to be “heavy”. The scene has changed considerably since SCENE QUEEN first started calling her sound bimbocore. METALICIOUS feels like proof that she helped change it. Pink is the new black. And apparently, it also comes with breakdowns. Score: 9/10 METALICIOUS will be released on 11th September 2026 via Hopeless Records. Words: Angel Turley Photos: Maggie London

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 inevitable moments of wondering whether a song actually works. Now they are on Spotify. People are listening and they become part of our lives as well. “It’s definitely a very, very special feeling for each member of the band when you work for so long on an album and you get a feeling that this is it, this is a really good album, we’re onto something here.” he elaborates. “And when you finally release it and you see the songs on Spotify popping up, the playlists it got featured on, that's a very, very special day and we are still hyped from the release day last week. There's this energy going on and we're all very happy about it.” There is a moment in almost every band's career when progression stops meaning “more” and starts meaning “back.” For RISING INSANE, that moment happened somewhere between the road and the rehearsal room. After Wildfires, the German metalcore band had begun moving towards something more modern, “there were more synths, clean hooks, maybe a bridge or a breakdown with screams. We were on this path to make this kind of modern metal music stuff. And then we realised when we were touring that we were missing this old metalcore riffing. Just sit down with your guitar and write some riffs. I think that’s what got us hooked the most.” Sven explains. So they did something that is arguably harder than reinventing yourself: they stopped. “We decided to abandon all the old demos, all this modern stuff and go back to the roots like with Nation or Afterglow.” he confides. That guitar and drum focused approach, ultimately became the foundation of Deathrace, and the album hits with that intent and impact from the moment it starts. When listening to the record pre-release, it felt like an album designed for live shows - however the band mentions that it isn't something they set out to create. “It was not on purpose” they say. “It’s just something that came through the writing process itself.” And maybe that’s why it feels so unifying, because it is raw and genuine. RISING INSANE's creative process usually starts with a riff. The music comes first, with instrumental ideas passed between the members before Aaron begins working on vocals and lyrics. “Normally we are going to start with the music,” Sven explains. “It’s just picking up the guitar, trying to write some riffs and record them. It's kind of a back-and-forth process. ” It is a process of trial and error. Some ideas become songs, others don't. The band isn’t interested in forcing every demo into a finished track; they follow the material that gives them a genuine creative flow and that feels right to them. For vocalist Aaron Steineker, these notes can become a way to process pain. Following the loss of his sister in 2018, its weight has continued to echo through his songwriting, finding a place across their records: “It had a huge impact on me, my family and my whole life, you struggled for years with that. And I can put this struggle and pain into the songs since Porcelain, then Afterglow, Wildfires and now Deathrace.” On Deathrace, that process becomes particularly direct in TRAUMATIZED, a song about the lasting impact of that loss. “I write, sing, scream about this trauma that this loss has left me with.” he explains. But while going through this, he also still thinks of others who may struggle: “I try to give our fan base, the listener, a point they might refer to and take some strength out of the songs that we write.” RISING INSANE builds spaces where listeners can bring their own experiences, one song at a time. There is, however, a cost to that openness. “When you put out songs where you really open up to the audience, you kind of feel naked." Aaron admits. “You share some really intimate feelings with the whole world.” The band still wears it with bravery, showing that the response from their audience has made that vulnerability worth it. Aaron recounts how fans have approached them at shows and at the merch table to say that the songs helped them through difficult times. And that there are the moments when the band can see that connection happening in real time: "Even on stage when I sing specific parts, I can see the faces of the people screaming them back to us, and I know that they are feeling it.” He remembers especially playing Something Inside of Me a lot on the last tour and witnessing peoples’ struggles through the performance and its reception. “Then seeing these people at the merch table, giving them a hug. That’s pretty huge for me," he explains. It is not just singing along, it becomes a collective experience. A lyric that began with one person's grief can become a sentence that somebody else desperately needed to hear. A scream written in isolation can be returned by hundreds of voices. That is where the aggression of Deathrace takes on another meaning. It becomes a catharsis, a way of letting something out. They show us that vulnerability and aggression can co-exist because, sometimes, that is what pain feels like but that community can make it more bearable. That honesty also extends to the band's creative process. When asked whether there was a particularly difficult song to write, Aaron immediately has an example: DARK. Sven sent him the instrumental, and he remembers thinking “this is gonna be a banger.” Then he wrote his first version of the vocals and thought he had gone too far in the experimentation. So they took time to put it aside and rethink it. Eventually, they returned to it and rebuilt it almost completely, with Sven helping develop the ideas that became the final version. It is a revealing story because it shows that sometimes to make something great you need to overcome the fear of stopping and starting again. They also push limits on Deathrace with new collabs: “With each person it was kind of a no-brainer, like with Matt from CASKETS or Tino from ACCVSED.” Sven illustrates. They approach each collab as an additional force for impact, going through their songs with the lens of what could go harder with someone else joining in. When asked who they would like to collab with in the future both members agreed that “the flow of LANDMVRKS would be a really nice fit. These aggressive vocals would be a very fun feature!”. Their approach to vocals and music also comes from their influences, which they name as, for example: ARCHITECTS, LANDMVRKS, FIT FOR A KING or POLARIS. But while writing the album, they deliberately tried to listen to less metal. Sven explains that he wanted to avoid becoming too influenced by it, sometimes just listening to the radio during the writing process. Aaron, meanwhile, was thinking about voices that felt raw rather than perfectly polished. Kurt Cobain was one of those influences. “He had such a raspy voice and it was so raw, not overproduced” he says. “And also the way of switching from fry screams into false cores and into clean, singing shouts that Jamie Hails of POLARIS does really hooked me up for last years and I definitely wanted to give it a try. I think you might hear that in TRAUMATIZED”. When asked which track they would in turn suggest to someone discovering RISING INSANE for the first time, they reflect on a few for the different aspects they bring to the table. They mention that Narcissus would be an unexpectedly favourite for their bassist, Ulf Hedenkamp. That the song can give the feeling of what it’s like when they’re slower, add weighted textures and take their time. DIRT can give an almost waltz-like feeling, and Aaron also points towards GREY, particularly because of its post-chorus guitar riff and closing solo. They however agree that TRAUMATIZED naturally carries particular musical weight and emotional significance and they would gravitate towards recommending it because of what it represents. What's next for RISING INSANE? For now, the band are enjoying the direction they've found: “We will stay with the riffs.” They already have ideas for the future and some material in their pockets, but are firstly excited to take their new album to the stage. However, preparing to tour also means choosing the setlist. There is a lot more to it than simply picking the songs everyone likes. They want to showcase Deathrace without alienating people who have been following them for years but also consider listeners who discovered them specifically because of the new album. They need to build tension, decide when the crowd should jump, when a circle pit makes sense, when a wall of death might happen and somehow make the whole thing feel emotionally coherent. “It’s not as easy, you can’t be like, okay, this song didn’t work last night, so we take another one,” they explain. The solution is rehearsal, lots of it. “Sometimes you got songs that sound really, really great on a record and then you’re playing it and then think, oh, maybe we have to take another approach to it.” Some songs, they explain, have a kind of “symbiosis” with the tracks around them. Remove one and suddenly the next doesn't hit in quite the same way. They’re deep in the process of constructing this emotional rollercoaster and will be kicking off with a befitting start: Rocken Hilft Festival For Mental Health on October 24th. It will then be followed by a German tour starting in Munich on November 5th. While it is currently the main focus, the band expressed that they would love to play abroad. Sharing their music with people everywhere is after all what they look forward to beyond everything. The feeling of standing in a room and knowing that something you once wrote alone now belongs to everyone in it. Deathrace may have been born from a decision to go back to the roots, but RISING INSANE keeps growing and surprising. RISING INSANE released their latest album Deathrace on 21st August 2026 via Long Branch Records and are currently gearing up for their Deathrace Tour across Germany later this year. Words: Lysandre Pons Photos: Katharina Sterl With thanks to: Hold Tight and Rising Insane

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 and oppressive, while the drums frequently provide the momentum that keeps the record from becoming static. The title track, Demolarium, is a suitably crushing introduction. It is deep and heavy from the very beginning, pairing guttural vocals with murky guitars and a doom-laden pace that feels almost physically difficult to move through. The contrast comes from the drums, which seem to pull everything forward and give the song a sense of acceleration despite its otherwise sluggish character. A heavy guitar solo arrives almost unexpectedly, breaking through the density and pushing the track into a faster second half before dissonant guitars bring it to a suitably uncomfortable close. Estigma takes a more atmospheric approach. Its intro is built around a gritty, dissonant and echoing guitar which remains the red string through the song. The drums and vocals gradually add weight, but taking a surprisingly supportive role rather than dominating. The vocals truly only really arrive around the two minute mark, allowing the instruments to establish the mood first. As with the opening track, BOCC eventually shifts gears, with the final stretch becoming noticeably faster. Bass takes centre stage on Escorxador, where its prominent solo and constant low-end presence give the track an impressive sense of depth. The drums also become one of the song's defining elements, maintaining their force right through the ending. It is a good example of how BOCC can make relatively straightforward ingredients feel imposing simply through the way they are layered and performed. With 4227, the band becomes considerably more progressive and experimental. The drums have a distinctly studio-like feel, while the guitar feels like it’s being tuned or assembled in real time. An inserted piece of audio resembling a news broadcast adds another layer of unease, reinforcing the feeling that Demolarium is interested in more than simply delivering riffs. Calvari (Dels Condemnats) is perhaps the album's most immediate assault. Loud, saturated and brutally direct, it lands like a sucker punch. There is little need for embellishment, the band simply turns up the pressure and lets the sheer density of the sound do the work. Closing track Ànima D’Acer brings back the strong bass and drums that have characterised much of the record. It is a good song, but it feels a bit too familiar by this stage. It is a good song that however feels more like something that might have appeared in the middle of the album than at the end. BOCC has created a record that feels deliberately unpolished and physical, where the grime, distortion and heaviness are part of its identity rather than imperfections to be cleaned up. The band's Catalan lyrics and connection to Catalan history and folklore further strengthen a sense of unique identity, while the combination of death metal brutality, doom's oppressive weight and crust's confrontational energy gives the album a character of its own. Demolarium is not an album concerned with comfort or easy listening. It is dense, filthy and frequently claustrophobic, but also brings enough movement within that heaviness, to keep it engaging. BOCC's strength lies in knowing when to crawl and when to charge, and in making both approaches feel equally threatening. Score: 7/10 Demolarium will be released on 11th September 2026 via Night Terrors Records. Words: Lysandre Pons Photos: BOCC

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 struggles faced by anyone who has never felt good enough or believed they fit into any kind of social circle. The opening and self-titled track, Losers begins with cheerleading chants spelling out the letters of the band’s name and the song title, giving it a real American Pie feel. It immediately evokes the era in which pop-punk exploded into mainstream popularity. The track then introduces scratches from DJ Box, while Dory-Loup Venta’s vocals resonate throughout the song. His production gives the track a deliberately raw and gritty feeling. There is also an element of modern metal and funk, with several breakdowns and an interesting, gnarly bass solo. The heavier elements eventually combine to give the track a unique twist on the pop-punk formula. Back On Your Feet is the next track, with NEW FOUND GLORY immediately evident throughout the opening sequence. It soon hits the breakdowns that MIRABELLE. are incorporating into their own sound. It has a heavier touch than the previous track, while still retaining its pop-punk identity. Gianni Messia’s drumming flourishes here. The rapid changes in rhythm and tempo are as erratic as they come, yet remain controlled through excellent switch-ups and precise drum work. It is a particularly gritty and darkly produced track, especially during the distorted, alien-esque audio that brings the song to a close. Fuck No showcases the band’s screamo influences and their angsty attitude. It begins with a distinctly early-2000s introduction, immediately giving off LIMP BIZKIT vibes before moving into the band’s combined screams. The song continually shifts between its heavier sections and a surprisingly jolly atmosphere. On paper, the two elements almost feel misplaced, but MIRABELLE. incorporate them so effectively that they work as a break between the screams - almost like a smile before an outburst when someone finally loses control. Mathieu Rouland and Pierre Flew’s guitars have a much greater presence on this track, and it is very much appreciated. Both deliver solid riffs, often playing in unison and giving the song an additional layer of heaviness. The final track, and arguably the highlight of the EP, is Daydreamer where MIRABELLE. combine almost every aspect and influence heard throughout Losers. Dory-Loup Venta has done a brilliant job producing these tracks, particularly through the use of a style that can often be hit or miss: chaotic cohesion. The entire band thrashes through a pandemonium of noise before suddenly falling silent, with one instrument carrying the track into its next explosion of metal. In many cases, this approach can fall flat. Here, however, it works. The track never becomes overkill, with each instrument remaining distinguishable, while it is also long enough to avoid feeling as though it is merely teasing those ready to mosh. The band eventually join together in a harmonious chorus of sound, creating an unexpected sense of dystopia and peace. The track perhaps did not need this moment, but it provides a welcome space of calm within the chaos. Losers is a very solid brick in the foundation that is MIRABELLE. It demonstrates how the band are building on their existing success while continuing to develop towards the future they aim to achieve. Following a Japanese and South Korean tour, as well as two weeks of charity shows in their home country, Losers continues to demonstrate why MIRABELLE. are a band worth watching. Score: 7/10 Losers will be released on 11th September 2026 via Banshies Records. Words: David Waites Photos: Tiny Gigie