One of the most renowned progressive rock instrumentalists, PLINI rose up high from Down Under, taking his third studio album An Unnameable Desire on tour right after its recent release last month. An almost entirely silent show, it still possesses the force to leave the visitors speechless, crushing them with the immense sound of electric guitars and layered melodies that create a mesmerising effect. Even when there is little movement across the room, this night is turned into much more of an internal experience for everyone involved. The jazz fusion SUNGAZER are the absolute perfect fit as a support for the tour, starting to create the exact atmosphere that will linger in the room for the whole evening. That is, magnetic riffs that cast a spell on the audience and let them disappear and lose themselves in the melody. At the same time, it is also full of velocity, where drumbeats rise in tempo, the bass begins to jump and pulsate, and there comes the star of the set – the saxophone. The instrument definitely becomes the pride and joy of the band, as the brass player stays dead centre to divert all the focus on his solos. “We’re a band with odd time signatures” - SUNGAZER finally introduce themselves, as they round off the fantastic Against the Fall of Night. Indeed, throughout their set and within each song, the melodic flow and mood fluctuates so much that the audience never knows where one ends and the other begins, and what awaits them around the corner. As they move onto Sequence Start and Cool 7, the band invites everyone to get involved in a two-step - but not the kind we always see. It is two to the left, and two to the right, which is perhaps the most moving around some of us are willing to do; still, SUNGAZER manages to engage the crowd so much with their infectious laughs that all of us cannot help but put on a little smile too. PLINI might come off slightly more serious and reserved in comparison, starting the set on a mellow note that soon crescendoes into something grandiose that is An Unnameable Desire. The band continues with Cascade and the wonderful Ciel, taking over fifteen minutes in total before they finally break the fourth wall and utter a word. PLINI turns out to be a delight, dropping the facade and immediately getting to the jokes “Can you please scream for me? I actually don’t do it for the music, I do it for the large audience and the screaming” - the crowd obeys. Tonight feels almost like a celebration of progressive rock and metal in its essence and its glory. PLINI does not forget his older material, performing Impulse Voices and I’ll Tell You Someday to the crowd’s delight. The strobe lights beam into our eyes with force, and the bright melodies traverse us into a sort of paradise land. However, in a split second, PLINI puts a stop to the frolicking and turns the room upside down with the devilish Manala. The band truly are all kings of their craft, as the extreme fast drums and distorted pull of the strings rush in, overriding any other thoughts or emotions instantly. Going strong, PLINI also revisits some of his earliest work in the shape of Selenium Forest, a slow jam followed by an immense, monstrous drum solo. The Friday night wraps up with The Time Will Pass Anyway, and of course, Electric Sunrise for dessert. Undoubtedly, London’s Electric Ballroom lives up to its name once again, as PLINI finish the performance on a high, the crowd still buzzing as they did throughout the whole set. This spell and enchantment might soon wear off, but all the excitement and thrill that this night has brought is certainly there to remain. Words and photos: Mariia Bulkina

What better way to start a warm bank holiday weekend than with the first of several Slam Dunk side shows, headlined by the wonderful DRIVEWAYS, with support from Brighton-based alt rock duo HELL HOTEL. Manchester welcomed the Boston-based 2000s-inspired pop-punk band to the Rebellion stage with open arms for their first time performing in the city, ahead of their weekend performance at Slam Dunk Festival. HELL HOTEL were up first, with the dynamic duo Demi Jay Broadhead and Tom Maxfield taking to the stage, backed by their touring bassist and drummer. The stage was appropriately decorated with a carpet and various lamps illuminating the backdrop, already having created their own distinguishable, hotel-inspired, staging set-up combined with their signature red lighting. The band is still in its early days, but has already released several emo hits and continues to outdo itself with each release. The duo’s vocals perfectly complement each other, creating a sound that is fresh yet, at its core, all-out alt-rock/emo. The addition of a touring bassist and drummer rounded off the group sonically, with a clear energy between the members creating a tight unit. The band definitely left a lasting impression on the audience, making just enough interaction with the crowd to let them know what each song was about, but letting the music do all the heavy lifting to draw everyone in. Songs like Am I Nothing Now., Promises. And Mirrors. gave the audience an insightful look into what they had to offer and what could be on the horizon for the band. Guitarist Tom Maxfield ended their set by playing in the middle of the pit, which got many cheers and applause from the audience. Needing little introduction before starting their set, DRIVEWAYS bounded onto the stage and opened with Motions and Skulls and Flowers, bringing high energy to get everyone going. The audience had definitely been preserving their energy for this set, forming a pit from the get-go and the occasional stage diver throughout the entire set. The setlist consisted of a mix of songs from across their discography, including throwbacks to There For a Reason, the opening track of the 2018 release Night Terrors, alongside some newer tracks like Tempest and Ghost of a Smile. Frontman Pat Finnegan made sure to interact with the audience between each song, ranging from heartfelt gratitude to the crowd for coming to their warm-up show, to joking that he isn’t sure whether the audience likes Manchester City or Manchester United, declaring, ‘we like both’ to dispel any arguments between the crowd, along with asking, ‘Can I call you Manny?. There was a clear chemistry among all the members, with Derek Serino on bass and Ryan Passariello on drums providing backup vocals/screams, and this energy translated into the crowd too. It felt like being transported back to the 2000s and listening to a small basement show with all of your friends, the entire set was pure anthemic pop-punk sing-alongs, the audience yelling back every lyric to the band. DRIVEWAYS made the most of the time they had on stage, wasting no time on an encore, ensuring the set was packed full of all of the songs everyone was looking forward to hearing. To round off the set, we were treated to the definite fan favourite of the night, October Forever, which got every last person shouting the lyrics nearly as loud as the frontman himself, alongside a final round of crowdsurfers. The band received a warm welcome from Manchester ahead of their performance at Slam Dunk, and they even stayed around after their set to talk to fans and take photos with them. Words and photos: Libby Percival

For their 15-year anniversary, Outbreak Festival isn’t pulling any punches. Started in 2011 by 14-year-olds Jordan Coupland and Lee Fellows, Outbreak has blossomed into one of the biggest hardcore festivals in the UK, bringing fans from all over the world to the North of England for a weekend of barrier-free chaos. Since 2022, the festival has taken place in Manchester, and this year will see hardcore’s biggest and brightest talents return to Manchester’s Bowlers Exhibition Centre once again. Alongside the main festival, Outbreak will team up with All Points East for the second annual London edition. But the real chaos happens up north. With almost fifty bands already announced, ranging from hardcore legends to up-and-coming bands on the fringes of the genre, the heartbreak of a lineup clash is almost inevitable – but some acts are simply unmissable. Our list of ten bands not to skip is guaranteed to make your weekend explosive. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. ALEXISONFIRE There are very few bands that have been as influential on the Canadian post-hardcore and screamo scenes as ALEXISONFIRE over the past twenty-five years, and even fewer that could claim to have released an album as genre and career-defining as their seminal 2006 album Crisis. Now, twenty years on, the band are preparing to headline the festival by playing the album in full. In the time since the album’s release, the band have broken up, reunited and released two more critically acclaimed records, the most recent being 2022’s Otherness. Known for their explosive live shows, this is a set that would be criminal to miss. PUP PUP are masters of not taking themselves seriously, but that doesn’t mean that you should underestimate them. With a discography that bounces between songs about robot love affairs (Robot Writes a Love Song) and gut-wrenching breakup songs (Hallways, Shut Up), there’s something for everyone during a PUP set. Having spent the last year touring in support of their fifth studio album Who Will Look After The Dogs?, June will see them bring their sarcasm-tinged punk rock stylings to Outbreak Festival for the first time in their 16-year career, in one of their only three festival performances in the UK this year. TIGERS JAW Having been a staple in every emo and pop-punk fan’s playlists since 2005, TIGERS JAW will grace the Outbreak stage for the second year in a row, this time hot off the release of their indie-tinged seventh studio album Lost On You. With soaring, atmospheric guitars and dreamy dual vocals, the emo-indie darlings will offer festival goers an opportunity to slow down and feel something, ahead of the chaos of the rest of the weekend. Whether you have a lover to sway with, or are in need of the catharsis that only comes from scream-singing along to a sad song, TIGERS JAW have got you covered. LA DISPUTE A first-time addition to the Outbreak line-up, LA DISPUTE are Michigan’s biggest and brightest post-hardcore export. Since their inception in 2004, they have championed poetry and storytelling in their music, with a spoken-word vocal delivery often set against thrashing guitars and thundering beats. In 2025, they released their fifth studio album No One Was Driving the Car - their most ambitious and narrative-driven album to date, that doesn’t skimp on the heaviness. In a live setting, LA DISPUTE leave it all out on the stage every time. Even those unfamiliar with the band’s most famous track King Park – a dark, emotional song about a drive-by shooting – will find it impossible not to get swept up in the frantic enthusiasm of the crowd screaming along. STILL IN LOVE If you need confirmation that the UK hardcore scene is alive and well, look no further. Arguably one of the most exciting supergroups in the genre right now, STILL IN LOVE is a Frankenstein’s-monster of the best and brightest the UK has to offer, featuring members from DEAD SWANS, BRUTALITY WILL PREVAIL and BRING ME THE HORIZON. Their first full length album, Recovery Language, was released in September 2025 with little fanfare, but they are steadily building a cult following online. If you enjoy being ahead of the curve, you have to check out their set. STILL IN LOVE are going to be huge. THE FRONT BOTTOMS Whilst Outbreak was created to champion hardcore music, following the success of indie-folk artist ALEX G as a headliner in 2025, it’s not too hard to see why a band like THE FRONT BOTTOMS may be chosen to headline too. Whilst their sound leans in a more folk-punk direction, they have been included alongside emo and mid-west emo artists since their inception in 2006. For their inaugural Outbreak performance, they will be performing their seminal 2013 album Talon of the Hawk in full for the first time since 2023, and for the first time ever in the UK. If you like your emo angst with a side of unbridled fun, don’t skip this set. TRAPPED UNDER ICE Formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2007, TRAPPED UNDER ICE have earned their place as legends in the hardcore world, with their second studio album Big Kiss Goodnight being credited with reviving the beatdown hardcore genre. Whilst they haven’t released new music since 2017’s Heatwave, their somewhat elusive status and rare performances make them unmissable when the opportunity arises. With drummer Brendan Yates being kept busy fronting one of the world’s biggest current bands in TURNSTILE, live shows have dwindled to only a couple of performances a year at most, with Outbreak being TRAPPED UNDER ICE’s only scheduled show for 2026 at the time of writing. BODYWEB It’s impossible to talk about UK hardcore right now without talking about BODYWEB. Describing their music as “the sound of someone’s nervous system on the verge of breakdown”, they blend traditional hardcore breakdowns with nu-metal tones and elements of electronic music. With two EPs already released, the buzz surrounding them is palpable – which is probably helped by the fact that they feature members from iconic hardcore bands like HIGHER POWER and PEST CONTROL. Championing rawness and authenticity, their music is recorded using all of the same equipment as is used during a live show. There are no backing tracks, and there’s no holding back. You’ll be glad there’s no barrier for this set. BASEMENT Outbreak veterans BASEMENT are back for the fourth time – and for their first time headlining the festival. Their anthemic emo and melodic post-hardcore sound has captured attention since the band was created in Suffolk in 2009, and an explosion in popularity following their song Covet going viral on Tiktok in 2023 breathed new life into the band. With their first new album since 2018 Wired slated for release in May, their return to the festival they first played back in 2015 is set to be monumental. Whether you want to dance or cry, or do both at once, this set will be unmissable. GLIXEN Formed in 2020, shoegaze up-and-comers GLIXEN will perform at Outbreak for the first time this June. With a wispy, ethereal sound – even for the genre – the Arizona natives still manage to find their own unique edge, balancing dream-like vocals with dark and gritty guitars. With their most recent EP Quiet Pleasures being released in 2025, the band drew comparisons to DEFTONES, NARROWHEAD and MY BLOODY VALENTINE, but on stage is where they come alive. Whilst not slated to be the most energetic set of the weekend, GLIXEN makes music to wrap yourself up in. Atmospheric and enveloping, it’s music to be felt as much as it is heard. Catch them before they blow up into the stratosphere. Words: Ellen Lovell

If you’ve been mourning the absence of 90s grunge like we have, mourn no longer - VIOLET GROHL is hauling the fuzzed movement into the modern era, with bold, hefty riffs, cutting vocals, and a flair inspired by visual cinema and 40 years worth of music, packaged beautifully into her debut album Be Sweet To Me. Sweet the title, gritty and bitter the sound, Grohl captures the essence of 90s grunge rock and peppers through modern elements that shape her album into something that bridges time. Produced by Justin Raisen (CHARLI XCX) and collaborated on with a slew of talented musicians spanning the 60s and 70s fluctuating movements, Be Sweet To Me’s sound is influenced by a roster of groundbreaking bands who brought authenticity to their respective genres (SOUNDGARDEN, L7, ALICE IN CHAINS), and driven by the cinematic, eccentric style of David Lynch films, partially inspired by Grohl’s personal life experience with the strange and paranormal. It shifts from an edgy onslaught to absolute revelry and demands energetic movement throughout, as the instruments hammer in the background and give the centre stage for Grohl’s biting vocals and lyrical brilliance. Crashing in with riffs that evoke the shift between 90s and 00s rock, opener track THUM was the first track written by Grohl and her crack team of collaborators and starts as the album means to go on, the rhythms racing along as she subtly shifts from a slightly dreamy pace to a forced pitch, her backing vocals echoing distorted in the distance, and giving classic QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE vibes. 595 starts with a shoegaze quality before thundering drums breaks the calm and descends into fuzzed grunge depths as Grohl sings “you won’t last” over a faint low-pitched “dead or alive”, the breakdown transporting you mentally to a frantic mosh pit. Bug in the Cake has no time to hang about, flying through at break-neck speed with rising guitars and drums, the lyrics low and keeping time with the frantic beat, Grohl suddenly bursting out in volume as she sings about her real experience of moving into her late grandma’s house and feeling her presence reaching out to her, asking her “come on grandma, play me your favourite song”. Slowing down into sludge grunge, Last Day I Loved You takes us on a trip of 60s power guitar and floaty vocals mixed with roaring drums and riffs as Grohl’s voice rises to a lilt over the chorus ends in juxtaposition with the scuzz melody. Big Memory has a brief drum intro that is almost reminiscent of BLUR’s Song 2, but quickly pulls back for a pleasant melody to sway to on the verses whilst stepping up in power and volume for the chorus, the lyrics seeming to swerve between wanting to leave the memory of a loved one behind and not being able to give up those memories they can never return to. Mobile Star starts with space-like sound effects like the twinkling of stars, Grohl’s voice fading in from the abyss to gently sing “stay as you are” and obscure laughter and chatter fades in and out. Instruments gather in the middle to add weight, but the song doesn’t become heavy or loud, it merely tempts you with the idea it could launch at any moment. Jumping back in full throttle, Often Others attacks with dangerous 00s grunge rock and an undertow of metal in the booming drums and scrappy guitars, Grohl’s vocals weaving and languid before punching through with obscured screams over the final breakdown. Applefish begins with lush and poignant vocals over a stripped back guitar riff, the deceptively calm rhythm ripped asunder by a brooding crescendo of heavy instruments, falling away to fading guitar and Grohl’s final emotive words “no past to escape to, greetings from the other side”. Changing paces throughout the track and giving each instrument its spotlight, Cool Buzz rattles in with prog-rock riffs and drums, pausing for Grohl to lead in with her sultry vocals over a rumbling, dominating bass line, the instruments banding together cohesively under her shouts as she delivers cutting words at posers. Pool of My Dreams has an ethereal, cinematic melody that feels like watching a sunset on the hood of a car and just letting the world pass you by as you sink into the moment, the low vocals and reverbed guitar enveloping you. Shoegaze/grunge Plastic Couch closes out Be Sweet To Me with a stirring and lilting rhythm to lose yourself in as the instruments harmonise with Grohl’s lamenting howls, the track plummeting to a thunderous cacophony for a final taste of grunge. VIOLET GROHL has created an album that feels entirely fresh and modern, with bouncy beats and raw, unsubtle lyrics, but more than that she’s reviving the grunge era and welcoming us back home. Score: 9/10 Be Sweet To Me was released on 29th May 2026 via Auroura Records / Republic Records. Words: Julia Stark Photos: Bella Newman

Silence is never really silent. It hangs in the corners of rooms after arguments have finished, the hollow quiet after they’ve left and the air still feels shaped like their bodies. It settles into empty train stations at midnight and breathes out a heavy sigh under a starless night sky. It creaks, not in the claustrophobic loneliness of crowded rooms or on the floorboards of dead-end conversations, but in the gravity of the world suddenly opening itself too wide and swallowing you whole. HANRY understand that silence intimately on What Came From Silence, a debut full length that treats atmosphere less like decoration and more like emotional terrain. This is not simply an instrumental post-rock album built from crescendos and cinematic textures: listening to the album is like standing in the middle of a vast, unfamiliar landscape and realising how frighteningly small your body actually is. You’re overcome with such a terrifying calm. Opener Noise Drowns Out emerges slowly, almost nervously, as though the song itself is learning how to breathe in real time. Soft guitar tones flicker like distant lights through fog whilst ambient textures gather around them in slow, tidal movements – there is no obvious structure to cling to here. The track simply drifts forward instinctively, flowing with the uneasy logic of memory itself, and then suddenly you have the drums crashing downward with frightening physicality. It does not feel triumphant so much as devastatingly beautiful, like standing too close to a cliff edge and briefly entertaining the idea of letting gravity decide everything for you. HANRY capture that distinctly post-rock contradiction perfectly throughout the album: the simultaneous comfort and terror of surrendering yourself to something larger than your own body. Without lyrics to guide interpretation, every lingering synth note or stretch of negative space becomes loaded with meaning. Silence itself becomes narrative. Aurora drags the album into darker territory immediately afterwards, its thick basslines carrying the slow dread, like headlights cutting through rain on empty roads. The track feels nocturnal in the purest sense of the word; that particular emotional rawness that only arrives after midnight, when thoughts become louder than the room around them. Dustwake begins with an almost buoyant rhythmic pulse, guitars bouncing weightlessly for a few fleeting moments before tension slowly begins poisoning the edges of the track. Layers build. Cymbals hiss. The atmosphere thickens until the entire song feels as though it is straining against its own skin, yet that restraint becomes one of the album’s defining strengths. Her Crown, Her Empire barely raises its voice at all, instead unfolding through spacious keyboard passages and ghostly textures that feel almost unreal in their beauty. Listening to it feels like wandering accidentally into some forgotten place untouched by time – an abandoned chapel overtaken by moss, perhaps, or a forest clearing where the air itself feels wrong somehow. What Came From Silence understands movement and pacing emotionally. The songs breathe; they swell and collapse naturally, carrying the listener through shifting emotional landscapes without ever fully explaining themselves. The result is immersive to the point of physicality because certain moments feel less like listening to music and more like being submerged inside somebody else’s nervous system. Remains leans heavily into electronics, its pulsing textures giving the track a suffocating density. The track constantly threatens eruption but never fully allows it, holding itself in a state of unresolved tension that becomes almost painful by its closing moments. It mirrors the emotional logic of grief perfectly: the expectation that release should eventually come, only to realise some feelings simply linger without resolution. That existential weight hangs heavily over Time’s Collapsing, one of the album’s most quietly overwhelming pieces. Moving with hypnotic momentum, by the time the heavier guitars arrive, they land less like impact and more like inevitability. HANRY once again reveal their remarkable understanding of atmosphere as something tangible on Dead Waves. Electronics pouring through the arrangement like floodwater through cracked walls, guitars rise higher and higher in pitch and abundance until they feel almost celestial, stretching beyond the limits of the song itself. Phantom Rush feels like standing in the aftermath of something life-changing and not yet possessing the language to explain what exactly has changed. Across its sprawling runtime, HANRY gather every emotional thread running through the record – the vastness, the loneliness, the unbearable beauty of connection – and pull them painfully tight. The first half of the track glows with restrained euphoria, guitars and drums building toward something almost transcendent, but it is the second movement that truly devastates. When the piano enters, everything suddenly becomes painfully intimate again, and after so much enormity those soft notes feel human in a way that almost hurts. They sound like memory, like the tiny details that survive long after bigger moments decay: warm kitchen lights at midnight, voices through thin apartment walls, somebody laughing softly beside you while the rest of the world sleeps. It is there that What Came From Silence reveals its true emotional core. For all its cinematic scale and towering crescendos, this is ultimately an album about fragility; trying to locate meaning inside silence and searching for connection beneath skies vast enough to make your entire existence feel microscopic. There are still moments where the band feel like they are testing the limits of their own identity, where certain ambient passages drift slightly too long without enough movement to sustain their emotional weight fully, yet even those imperfections feel strangely human within the context of the record itself. Some albums soundtrack life. What Came From Silence feels more like staring directly into it. Score: 9/10 What Came From Silence was released on 29th May 2026 via Pelagic Records. Words: Talia Robinson Photos: Gregory Perrochon

When covering a remaster of an album that’s already so utterly brilliant as Rheia, what can be said? OATHBREAKER have long been known to be a stunningly good band, even if they did decide to leave us without new shows or music for a decade. Ten years on from the release of the original version of Rheia and it is as highly appreciated as an album in that scene can get, quite frankly bordering on legendary status - if not already firmly in that top echelon of the blackgaze and post-metal pantheons. Whilst this version does have a different cover (albeit one that continues the artistic direction of the first), it’s the exact same tracklist, those same ten songs starting with the restrained 10.56 and finishing on Begeerte as the album dissolves to nothing. The vocals are as pained as ever, with Caro Tanghe’s haunting delivery front and centre to ring through your ears and stick so very firmly into your brain as if never intending to let you go. The line-up continues onwards too, with Lennart Bossu and Gilles Demolder’s guitars still here, and still bringing you to tears, as the latter’s bass rumbles beneath, although whilst the drum parts that Ivo Debrabandere wrote can be found here, Wim Coppers can now be found atop the percussive throne. Ultimately though, the biggest change isn’t found in the music as much as within our increased love and connection with this groundbreaking album. Coming after the band reunited to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this album, and played it in full at Roadburn Festival, this remaster feels almost like it was done in honour of the importance of the album rather than out of necessity - but that doesn’t stop it being an incredibly welcome addition to the 2026 release roster. Any excuse to put this one on is a very welcome excuse indeed. Having grown accustomed to seeing this group of musicians over the last decade doing all sorts of fantastic things with other acts - namely AMENRA, WIEGEDOOD and PREDATORY VOID - it’s not a surprise that they’re still as heavily involved in music as they are, but to see them all back together really is a special moment for extreme metal. There honestly isn’t much that needs saying about the album’s sound. It’s gorgeous. It builds on the original, with small but necessary tweaks made here and there for increased clarity on the drums or vocals, toning down guitar lines to let other parts breathe, maybe a touch more distortion or less compression here and there, but it’s still the beautiful album we all fell in love with one decade ago, and it’s back in a very slightly tweaked form that’s no less fantastic than before. To try and suggest a highlight here is worse than being asked to choose a favourite child, but Second Son of R. and Immortals could just take that race to a photo finish for first. All in, this remaster is absolutely worth listening to - because it’s a remaster of a stunning album, because it’s a slightly different way to hear this release, because it’s there. Far more importantly than those who have heard this album before though, are those who haven’t. For anyone who may be reading this and has not listened to Rheia by OATHBREAKER - stop reading now and go and listen to it. Put it on another one or two times, and after the first read the lyrics along with it if you need to. Just take it in. You won’t regret it. Score: 10/10 Rheia (Redux) will be released on 29th May 2026 via Deathwish Inc. Words: Jasmine Longhurst Photos: Anneke D'Hollander

Alt-rock newcomers THISTLE. are releasing their new EP backflip on 29th May. Right from the start, the song pieces creates a complex, genre-bending mix that immediately defines the sound of the record. From synths to heavy drums and almost shoegazy vocals, the track is able to capture the energy of the EP really well. The song feels dark and introspective, underlined by mythical sounding synths and layered instrumentals that slowly build into something chaotic yet emotional. It’s an opening track that already shows how many influences the band is willing to blend together without losing focus. Compared to pieces, the second track pylon gives us a more melodic approach. The synths mostly disappear and it now reminds more of classic alternative rock or grunge tracks. While the first song feels atmospheric and experimental, pylon feels more direct and grounded. The guitars are rougher and the vocals sit more naturally inside the instrumental, creating a track that feels emotional without becoming overly dramatic. Even with the more traditional sound, THISTLE. still keeps their own identity intact. backflip in slow motion is a short interlude, definitely uncommon for an EP, but it feels perfectly placed here as a short break to breathe before the next track already starts more energetic than the last two. The interlude almost acts like a transition between the more dreamy beginning of the project and the louder, more emotional second half. It’s subtle, but important for the pacing of the EP. A faster-paced track is tied. With its melodic and emotional sound it catches you perfectly again after the small interlude. It’s one of the fastest tracks on the project, definitely feeling grunge and at times even showing post-punk influences. The drums feel more aggressive and the guitars become noisier, while still keeping a strong melodic core underneath the chaos. It’s one of the songs that best balances energy and emotion. With mean eye, the band delves even deeper into post-punk influences. What can be found here is an almost repetitive track structure. Simple, repeated vocals are used in the verses, only to explode into a messy but melodic chorus afterwards. The repetition works surprisingly well and creates an almost hypnotic feeling that slowly grows stronger as the song progresses. The end of the EP makes the song city,name. Its soft and melancholic touches make it one of the highlights of the EP. Keeping the grunge messiness intact, the song dives deeper into sadder and more emotional tones, both in the vocals and in the twinkly guitar parts that carry the song forward. It closes the project in a reflective and almost haunting way. All in all THISTLE. is able to create a small but genre-bending record that at times reminds you of older grunge bands like Nirvana, while still sounding modern and unique. It’s an interesting statement from the band and definitely makes you curious to see what happens next. Score: 7/10 backflip will be released on May 29th 2026 via REX RECS. Words: Hannah Martin Photos: Gabbi Goldman

Finding the words to describe Glasgow duo DOSS is a difficult job; their genre-blending style combines distorted rhythms, ambient electronics, and a dash of social commentary into something fresh and unexpected. They’ve played shows alongside the likes of DEADLETTER and FAT DOG, and soon, they’ll be putting out their self-titled EP DOSS. It’s fittingly titled: when you think ‘DOSS’, you should think this EP. Starting off the record in an incredibly ominous fashion is PREFACE, featuring a low, spoken-word intro against a fuzzy drone backdrop that sends unease running down our spines. It’s two parts horror-movie score, one part ETHEL CAIN. The spoken-word elements continue into YOUGOTSTYLE, establishing what we expect to be a recurring thread here. Low, almost melancholic guitar strums start as an anticipatory ripple that rolls into a steadily-ramping drumbeat, before a barrage of electric shredding leads us into the maelstrom of this groove-laden instrumental storm. Sorley Mackay’s vocals are downright deranged, a violent catharsis in the way he yells “You got, you got, you got style!” This is a track that doesn’t let up easy. Even in the small moments of respite, those slower seconds where Mackay turns from a shout to a whisper, we can tell it won’t last; Chilton Fawcett’s drumbeat is roaring thunder on the horizon. BIGFELLAFUNK follows, living up to its name already with a smooth, jazzy introduction. Mackay paints a strong portrait of our protagonist: a laid-back, easygoing man. He’s the man in charge, top of the totem pole, making all the calls. Confident and assured. The musical narrative is impressive; we almost buy this image, until that image shatters for just a few seconds. The one-two drums and the rhythmic vocals give into a rapid, chaotic melding of noise like a snarling frenzied dog, and quickly revert back to the status quo, as if nothing had ever happened. It’s a persistent trend, each break increasing in intensity as the track goes on. It’s very American Psycho, putting on a facade of nonchalance to hide the ticking of a mental timebomb. This criticism of those in positions of power continues into SUPERSECRETAGENT, though in a slightly different manner. Here, DOSS kick off with egg-punk riffs and quickfire vocals, bringing a lighter, earwormy edge to a subject more serious than its musical stylings. Mackay sings about surveillance and conspiracies. Paranoia that isn’t entirely unfounded, as evidenced by one of their inspirations for the track: the case of Willie McRae, a politician and activist whose alleged suicide they make reference to. They bring humour to their social commentary in true Glaswegian style, with biting satire and energetic instrumentals. HOWDYPARTNER brings something deeper to the table: a weariness about this never-ending rat-race the world has become. "It goes round and round and up and down and you don’t speed up and you can’t slow down,” Mackay sings. It’s somewhat depressing, these ruminations on a slow, meaningless death in a world driven by consumption and the endless climb on the ladder of success. Your possessions mean nothing; you can have everything you’ve ever wanted, but you’re still leaving this life alone. Bit of a downer ending, but it does leave us thinking. That’s what the Glasgow outfit do well: serve up platters of commentary and social theories and leave them at the table for us to pick apart and dissect. DOSS’ talent runs deep and between the lines. On the surface, we’re beholden to distorted rhythms, high-octane drum-pounding, and smooth, jazzy melodies that make this record one worth spinning. Lurking below are the satirical ruminations on society and its residents that earn it a spot in permanent rotation. Score: 8/10 Doss will be released on May 29th 2026 via Alcopop! Records. Words: Naomi Colliar Duff Photos: Mark Anthony Gilles

There’s always been something untouchable about STATIC DRESS. Not in a distant, polished way, but in the sense that they’ve never quite played by the same rules as everyone else. Since their inception, the UK quartet have built more than a band. They’ve built a universe: stitched together through graphic novels, glitching visuals, cinematic storytelling, and a noir-soaked lore that runs through everything they touch. It’s music as mythology, but also music as escape — until now. With injury episode, that illusion starts to crack. Nearly four years after Rouge Carpet Disaster, STATIC DRESS return sounding less like architects of a fictional world and more like people standing inside it, realising it’s started to collapse around them. This isn’t the same band hiding behind layers of distortion and stylised chaos. This is them pulling the seams apart. The record feels stripped of distance — minimal studio trickery, raw takes, emotion left unedited. It’s messy in a way that feels intentional, like the imperfections are the point. Because they are. And that’s what makes injury episode hit differently: it doesn’t feel constructed to impress you. It feels like it’s happening to you. It opens with lose the rain, and immediately there’s no safety net. It’s claustrophobic, frantic, and emotionally overloaded from the first second. Nothing is eased in. You’re thrown straight into it — distorted guitars collapsing into each other, vocals that sound like they’re already at breaking point. From there, questioning keeps that pressure alive, but starts introducing something more fragile underneath the chaos. It’s not just aggression anymore — it’s doubt, exhaustion, and emotional spill over. What injury episode does so well is refuse to settle into comfort. Even when it leans melodic, it never relaxes. Pharmacy Film and Adapter feel like they’re constantly shifting shape — half-memory, half-breakdown — with glitching textures and unstable pacing that never quite lets you breathe properly. The band are still cinematic, still conceptual, but it’s no longer polished storytelling. It feels like fragments instead of scenes. That sense of fracture becomes the album’s identity. Then comes Nostalgia Kills. Featuring UNDEROATH, it doesn’t just land as a collaboration — it lands like a collision. There’s history in it, influence in it, and something almost confrontational about how it plays out. It leans into that early-2000s post-hardcore energy without becoming trapped in it, instead twisting it into something sharper, more immediate. It’s one of those rare tracks that feels like it’s both paying respect and tearing things open at the same time. From there, the record sinks deeper. this farewell is a…bleeding into …hospice is one of the most suffocating stretches on the album. It doesn’t resolve itself properly — it just drifts, decays, collapses. There’s grief in it, but also disorientation, like the emotions are too tangled to name properly. It feels less like songs and more like moments you’re overhearing. And then the energy snaps back in different forms. lip critic. and Male-bomb hit with harsher edges, more abrasive textures, almost industrial in their aggression. But even at their loudest, there’s control underneath it — STATIC DRESS never lose their sense of structure, even when everything else feels like it’s falling apart. By the time dull blade disguise. and Classic.Death.Pose arrive, the album feels like it’s running on emotional exhaustion. Not burnout in a negative sense — more like release. Like everything has already been felt too strongly to be expressed cleanly anymore. And that’s where injury episode really lands emotionally. Adult Diamond. human props, and not a lesson to be endured, but one to grow from… don’t try to fix anything. They sit in the aftermath of it. There’s a heaviness in how unresolved it all feels, but also a strange honesty — like the band are refusing to tidy up what actually doesn’t get tidy in real life. Final track Treading doesn’t close the album with resolution. It just fades out like someone still trying to move forward after everything has already broken. What makes injury episode so powerful is how it aligns its concept with its execution. This isn’t just a continuation of STATIC DRESS’ lore-heavy world — it’s a deconstruction of it. The band have spent years building something fictional, only to now pull it apart and let real emotion bleed through the cracks. It’s still cinematic, still layered, still unmistakably them — but now it’s also exposed. This is STATIC DRESS without the mask fully on. And that’s what makes it hit harder than anything they’ve done before. Score: 10/10 injury episode will be released on 29th May 2026 via Sumerian Records. Words: Mia Gailey Photos: Static Dress

When SHOOTING DAGGERS headlined charity fundraiser, Punks For Palestine, less than a month ago, it was clear that shouting about the issues that matter to them was their oxygen. The release of their new seven-song, twenty-minute ‘mini-album’ The Real Life Thing is no exception to this rule. The abrasive London trio live and breathe supporting their community, uplifting queer voices and taking the fight to the underground. In their most genre-diverse and experimental release yet, this isn’t a record, but a statement - not just within the talented hardcore community around them, but words of wisdom to take into the wider world too. Their 2024 debut Love & Rage was a wakeup call, a loud, feisty record that centred itself on an Americanised sound, similar to SCOWL, JIVEBOMB and SPACED. It had seemed the band's sound had settled, at times melting into shoegazey tones that gave those moments of frantic frustration meaning. The Real Life Thing, however, sharpens its established edges for the love of the game to sink its blade into a septet of songs that each ooze with emotion, but in the context of an album, there’s real distance between them. It feels like this is a moment of re-invention, and there is a lot to love here. Adrenaline is true to form with a fast and anthemic hardcore sonata, dancing through pop-punk gang chants and high-intensity roller shred. Particularly potent in a hardcore setting, it pushes the same kind of optimism as an early TURNSTILE record. As it moves into the looser scathing single My Oh My, there’s a real U-turn of emotional direction. Conscious, debilitating, with a real understanding of the world around them, we’ve peeled the skin off the skull of the record to reveal the real anxiety inside. Amongst the post-hardcore slowness of the lingering guitars, at the end of this track, there’s a real message of hope that things are “going to get better”, as the track slowly fades out. T.R.L.T. is SHOOTING DAGGERS at their best, complete with dog growls and real moments of suspense that spin this record even faster. It bottles a very pure hardcore sound with a real groove-laden edge. Prefaced by the 28-second playground chant-style introduction We Just Wanna Play, the album dismantles the patriarchy with Loud Mouths, featuring fellow loudmouths THE MENSTRUAL CRAMPS. Taking down systematic oppression and TFL in one go, it works fantastically as a collaboration. Le Soleil is this track’s antidote, arriving just in time for summer. Its indie leanings are warm and glowy, a real moment of solar-powered self-reflection. The record finishes on Glow, a REFUSED-inspired single, featuring the band’s frontman Dennis Lyxzen. After joining the band on tour in the UK for their final shows, it felt only right to pass on the torch to the next generation. In parts, this feels more like a REFUSED track than a SHOOTING DAGGERS one. Doesn’t mean this isn’t fantastic, we would have just liked more of SHOOTING DAGGERS to shine from this big swing statement piece. Do not get us wrong - Out Of Rage will support this talented trio till the end. They stand for what we stand for, they change the game with their presence and push for a better future. The next generation is well and truly here, and it comes with a almighty one-two punch. The cohesion of the tracks together makes for an album brimming with emotional ooze, but gains numbness in feeling in how different the tracks were in tone. The record feels transitional, moving into a space that feels more conscious and brimming with identity. One where Queercore is not just a genre, but a feeling of solidarity. Solidarity not just for queer people, but for those who want a future that thrives on the principles of individuality, acceptance and a need to belong. And SHOOTING DAGGERS are quite right when they say, “We rule it. We own it. We prove it.” Score: 7/10 The Real Life Thing will be released on 5th June 2026 via New Heavy Sounds. Words: Amber Brooks Photos: Shooting Daggers

Emerging from the influential depths of horror films, dark industrial synthwave, and a mix of 80s dance tracks, San Diego’s new answer to haunting darkwave I WILL DESTROY YOU are set to release their debut EP Dead Before Dawn. But for those with a familiar ear or anyone who’s been on the scene for a while, you’ll know this isn’t the musicians’ first forays into the music world, the band formed from the likes of AMENITY, ILYA, and CRUSHED ON YOU to name a few. These seasoned artists have come together to announce a new dawn rising for darkwave. Channelling their love for the disturbing horror films that linger and the jarring rush of 80s electronic synth music, they’ve combined these elements with heavy industrial beats into an EP of cinematic and emphatic tracks, each song feeling like it was composed for a specific dramatic film or game score and standing almost independently of each other, but unmistakably the sound I WILL DESTROY YOU will become synonymous with. Composed to adapt to its surroundings and feelings, be that appreciating it in dim, lonely rooms or late night drives, the EP itself doesn’t tell a complete story but each track has been curated to stand out in its own element. At less than a minute, we’re introduced to Dead Before Dawn by the utterly chilling From Beyond, eerie synths wavering between two notes as a synth drum beat pounds steadily in the background, before it slows to a heartbeat pace and a siren builds in volume - it’s entirely reminiscent of 80s horror films like John Carpenter’s The Thing and Halloween, designed to build your anticipation for what’s to come and leave you uncertain of what comes next. WitchHammer steps away from the frightening horror aspect and goes into racing music with synths and fired up guitar riffs, the exact score you would hear when a protagonist is in the final fight for salvation and the tide could turn either way. It’s 80s electronic soundtrack fused with industrial beats and classic metal guitar riffs, the likes of which HeMan would wield the power of Grayskull to. Nekromantik walks a different path to its predecessor in its sound but no less carries that compelling cinematic quality to it, like something out of Mad Max. High-pitched haunting synths drive through the track as it slowly begins to build, the announcement of the first breakdown in the form of a disembodied voice admitting “I killed a man. A man who looked like me.” before descending into classic metal riffs that spit back. There’s no definite theme to this track, it’s open to interpretation of how you feel in the moment and how you want the melody to shape your next choices. Terror Vision starts with a disturbing dialogue about the “Messiah question” as instrumentals rise in volume and strength, giving way to a rushing techno drum beat that feels both modern and of another time long ago. Written to have a paranoia-like feel to it and an underlying of political unrest, this track spends the first half in a claustrophobic state before a guitar solo rings out and shatters the walls down. Lighthouse Keepers returns us to the battlefield with explosive synths overlaid on drums, before everything crashes together in a melody that doesn’t follow one thread but multiple, including a slightly funk-infused riff that hits out of nowhere. It doesn’t quite feel like the song has a set destination in mind, playing more on the feeling of isolation as the world collapses around you. Closing out their striking and immersive debut to the world, Deathstalker has no time to waste, barrelling forward with a crispy drum beat and rising synths at war against fuzzed guitar riffs. It gives you no space to breathe or process from the first listen, it’s a track (in fact, an entire album) that demands you listen over and over until you understand what I WILL DESTROY YOU are creating in the long run. What they’ve created in Dead Before Dawn is an eclectic movie score that can be utilised in every-day life, almost begging the listener to decide whether they will be the protagonist or antagonist to their own story. Score: 7/10 Dead Before Dawn will be released on 29th May 2025 via Futureless. Words: Julia Stark Photos: I WILL DESTROY YOU

“Committed”, “connective”, “control freaks” - all words used to describe London based SAINT AGNES, and aptly so given their self-made upward momentum over the last 8 years, carving out their space to create a sound that sets them entirely apart from anyone else. While they’ve successfully instilled their mark with their distinctive sound of raw industrial rhythms and arcane elegance, their purely raw energy and infectious body-moving beats, and their impassioned lyrics so many fans feel a deep affinity to, it feels like SAINT AGNES have merely been testing the waters in order to build up to their most honest and audacious work yet. That moment has finally arrived with the unveiling of their album Your God Fearing Days Are About To Begin. Steadily releasing singles since the end of 2025 and performing unreleased tracks to those fortunate to see them supporting the likes of VUKOVI and ALT BLK ERA, SAINT AGNES have cultivated an album that fuses the best parts of their intense sound with their absolute grit and emotional breadth. Despite being self-confessed “control freaks”, the band handed the reins to renowned Jim Pinder (SLEEP TOKEN, BRING ME THE HORIZON), harnessing his mixing skills with their off-the-wall sounds. Their trust in Pinder and themselves has paid off in abundance, creating an album that tells a story per track as well as an undercurrent that speaks to the internal void inside the listener whilst also making you feel heard. From the rising synths and plucked guitar strings on opening track Good Boy, a distorted crunchy bass rattling through, lead singer Kitty Austen’s rich and commanding voice breaks through speaking of the illusion of following the rules and being just another faceless sheep in a line. Drums and synths, courtesy of guitarist and programmer Jon James Tufnell, akin to composer Daniel Pemberton (Into/Across the Spiderverse, Project Hail Mary) propel The Ghost forward as it gradually builds to an industrial-metal melody, Kitty moving between guttural screams and cries of “I feel myself fading away” in a moment of raw vulnerability. The Father, The Son and The Holy Beast begins with a whisper of “I’m right here, don’t be scared”, but in such a hair-raising tone you feel nothing but fear as the rhythm shapeshifts between instruments and the drums change pace unexpectedly, climbing to distorted, visceral screams creating a sinister sound. The Beast is one of the most vulnerable tracks on the album, delving into Kitty’s internal demons and how she gave herself entirely to ‘The Beast’, the track switching from pounding rhythms to stark, stripped-back piano, before plunging back into a gut-punching beat as the instruments ring around her emotionally charged, repeated words. Completely changing tack, Song For Mia has a gritty drum and synth track intro, building up to a dark and dirty beat that guarantees bodily movement of swaying and staccato motions. Everything You Denied keeps the pace with a constant frantic synth over Andrew Head’s rampant drumbeat and Tuffnell’s heavy guitar riffs, combining together into something gothic and refined as Kitty yells she “never needed you”. Taking a more alt-rock approach to The Blood Beat (Angel in the Marble), the track is entirely relentless in its racing drums and searing guitar riffs, the lyrics possessive and deceiving, leaving you wondering if this is the Beast singing to the void or SAINT AGNES singing to you the listener as it proclaims “you belong to me”, the ending falling into melancholy piano and strings, “I am a god” echoing maniacally in the background. Gods of War hauls in instrument and vocals one at a time, for a moment threatening an overwhelming cacophony before it fades back into bass and snare and Kitty singing gently how we don’t need the Gods of war - it’s not SAINT AGNES without a sudden musical punch, the breakdown delivering a sound that feels like a mouthful of loosened teeth. With a frantically rapid punk-like opener, Get Them Out is a hopeful, uplifting message about seeing yourself the way others do wrapped in a ferocious sound that feels like a pep talk being screamed in your face. Where Do I Begin? closes the album out with a plinky music-box tune, a menacing synth raging behind it, everything suddenly falling away to pure piano and Kitty’s heart-wrenching lyrics of “without you, I am nothing” - the track builds and falls, the only constant the exposed lyrics and sombre tone, fading to the nothing Kitty worries she’ll become. When you’re not feeling the weight of the lyrics you’re throwing yourself round unrestrained to the charged beats akin to POPPY and NINE INCH NAILS. Your God Fearing Days Are About To Begin is a sound that conforms to a multitude of fans and fits any stage, whether it’s in a club, venue, or your own mind. Score: 9/10 Your God Fearing Days Are About To Begin will be released on 29th May 2026 via Spinefarm. Words: Julia Stark Photos: Jesse Rose