It’s been almost a decade since Californian four-piece AFI has graced the UK with their presence, and sixteen years since they last embarked on a headline tour here. In that time they have released four new albums – including 2025’s synthwave and post-punk tinged Silver Bleeds the Black Sun... – signed two separate record deals and constantly evolved their sound. Now, fans pack into Birmingham’s O2 Institute to see how those sixteen years have worn on them. But first, the stage fills with thick smoke and Canadian darkwave band TR/ST emerge. Backlit for the entire set by bright stage lights, it’s impossible to catch a good glimpse at either of the mysterious figures on stage – but this shroud only adds to the atmosphere that they are creating. Their synth beats flicker between dark and pulsing, and light and airy, whilst the vocals sound dream-like and echoey. It’s exactly how you might imagine the music of some exclusive gothic nightclub in Berlin to sound – cool, intense, and dark. In between sets is where the buzz starts to drum up in the crowd. The room is packed right up into the rafters, full of fans who have waited years for this. And when the lights go dark, they erupt. The band emerges one by one - drummer Adam Carson is first, followed by bassist Hunter Burgan, and guitarist Jade Puget. Finally, vocalist Davey Havok explodes onto the stage. Adorned in a full leather outfit and sporting a handlebar moustache and wild, curly hair, Havok looks like an entirely different person than when he last graced the stage here, but his stage presence and energy easily match up to the campy 80’s rock and roll aesthetic he has adopted. He leaps straight up onto a monitor, mic stand up in the air as he leads the audience into the first track, Strength Through Suffering. Like no time has passed since their last time here, the crowd chant the lyrics feverishly and obediently, right into Girl’s Not Grey from their 2003 album Sing the Sorrow. For a band that has been around for such a long time, it’s to be expected that their playing is tight – and it is. What’s perhaps less expected is the sheer amount of energy they all seem to have. Havok bounces around to cover every inch of the stage, leaping from the podium the drums are perched on and standing on blocks to better see the fans on the balconies. Burgan and Pudget dodge his swinging microphone as they run around with their guitars, leaning out into the crowd and playing with their backs together when the mood strikes them. No one on stage is still for a single second, and that energy is easily matched by the crowd. The setlist bounces between new songs and old, including deeper cuts like Endlessly, She Said from 2006’s Decemberunderground and newer tracks from their latest album. Despite the average age of the audience appearing to be nearing the forty mark, the ‘no crowd surfing’ signs appeared to have been thoroughly ignored. Everyone seems to be having such a good time that when Havok takes a break between songs half-way through the set to let everyone know that he’s not feeling well and his voice isn’t doing the best, it’s a genuine surprise to hear. It’s hard to imagine them performing any better than this. When they leave the stage, it isn’t long before the crowd chants the same line they had chanted for their opening track as a demand for their return - “through our bleeding, we are one”. Ending on a high, it was perhaps inevitable that they would end on Miss Murder, their most popular song by a good distance – but it’s a marvel at how elevated it sounds live. Or maybe it’s just because three thousand people are singing along too. When they leave the stage, the room is still buzzing. There aren’t many things that are worth waiting sixteen years for, but for British AFI fans, this show was undoubtedly one of them. Now, all we can do is hope that it won’t be so long before they’re back again. Words: Ellen Lovell Photos: Nicola Small

There is a moment when surviving is no longer enough. For years, BEARTOOTH has made a career out of turning pain into something loud enough to shake a room. But Pure Ecstasy feels different, built like a brutal yet beautiful reckoning. This isn't simply another album about making it through the darkness. It is about standing on the other side of it, looking back at everything that almost broke you and telling people who you really are now that the fight is finally over. That makes it perhaps the most revealing album from the band yet. It stands as their sixth album and first release with Fearless Records. Across 11 tracks, we see different sides of the same person come out: ferocity and vulnerability, swagger and self-reckoning, despair and exhilaration. It is an album where hope and wreckage are allowed to coexist. And perhaps the biggest turn is that Caleb Shomo no longer sounds like he's carrying all that weight alone. The title track, Pure Ecstasy, is more of a declaration of intent than an intro. It lets you know that this isn't going to be business as usual. It begins unsuspected, with Shomo's voice showing restraint while a deep guitar slowly approaches, growing heavier and louder until the song finally blows up. The chorus hits with the force of the emotional screams, combining the crushing weight of metalcore and deathcore with an unexpectedly lyrical quality. It feels like we were holding a breath and then finally were breathing again when someone opened a door. Shomo explains the song's origins as: "Pure Ecstasy was birthed in a studio with Misha Mansoor, ridiculous loudspeakers, and the dumbest heaviest chugs we could chug." After the track was developed and produced further with Jordan Fish, the decision to make it the opener became obvious. Eyes Closed follows by being as straightforward as can be. It is a hard-hitting anthem built around punchy rhythms, thick down-tuned guitars and a chorus designed to be screamed back from a festival crowd. Yet melodic guitar lines and surprising pop vibes keep the track from becoming expected. It carries a sense of release that can be felt through like a hand outreaching the listener. Written from the ground up with Fish, the song seems to allow the band to discover and test out just how much room there is to play outside its usual boundaries. Then comes Bullshit, which feels like a merger between the old and new BEARTOOTH. It is in your face, catchy and furious with a frustration we can all relate to. The layers of voices throughout the chorus feel like we already are part of the song, singing along to it. If it may feel more familiar to long time fans, Beautiful Again shows that we should be ready to be surprised still. There is a nostalgic, almost emo feel to the track, but its greatest strength is its restraint. The melody and singing feel more fragile, carrying an emotional weight that the band's heaviest moments sometimes doesn’t allow. "Beautiful Again was the first song written during the sessions with Jordan after we wrote Free a few months prior" Shomo explains. Fish pushed him to write directly about what he was experiencing rather than hiding behind a metaphor. The result, Shomo says "perfectly depicts the duality of his headspace while writing the album. Pure joy and pure despair, nothing in between." Stadiums takes that emotional openness and turns it into something theatrical. It begins with a distorted voice and booming piano before the guitars and bass crash in. The song feels simultaneously like a confession and a declaration of intent, moving between spoken passages, enormous buildups, breakdowns and aggressive screams. There is an almost cinematic sense of movement, as though Shomo is putting both his on and off stage personalities side by side to make them one again. But the emotional centre of the record may be Free. Cracking emotions open after Shomo's public coming out, it hits even harder and allows a community to also gather around to protect that newfound freedom. The song shifts between screams and melody without ever feeling like it is manufacturing vulnerability for effect. It feels exposed. "The song is the start of the next chapter of my music and my life" Shomo says. "Free is the most honest depiction of my soul I will most likely ever make." That laid open approach comes through most strongly in the final scream. It isn't polished, it sounds raw, like someone finally allowing everything they've been holding back to come out at once. Just when the record seems to have established its emotional language, Sorry throws another curveball. It opens almost like an R&B track, with electronic beats and textures underneath. Then one enormous scream brings the rest of the band crashing into the mix. It is sassy, unapologetic and funnily sharp. It shows a version of BEARTOOTH that has stopped worrying about whether every creative decision will make sense to everyone else. Lose You to Find Me pushes that even further and makes what is likely to be the most accessible song on the opus. It combines a lot of elements we would not necessarily expect, such as a pop rock groove built around a sugary and catchy melody. But also flashes of 80s hair metal influence, a flashy guitar solo, while also sometimes feeling like a TWENTY ONE PILOTS song. Puritans might clench their pearls as it is a lot to process, but it also is easy to love if you remain open to surprises. Then You arrives and reminds everyone that the band has not gone soft one bit. Its R&B inspired opening makes the song drop even more crushing. Shomo moves rapidly between rapping, singing and screaming, while blast beats and relentless vocals propel the track into the heaviest song on the album. It is even more effective because of its contrast. Some of its heaviest breakdowns sit against some of its softest passages, making both extremes hit harder. The R&B elements periodically returning, interrupting the aggression just enough to make the next wave feel even more violent. This is the kind of song that throws a bomb into any pit. For Me by Me is comparatively languid, allowing the guitars and bass to carry much of its power. It doesn't need to to crash out to make an impression, instead showing that heaviness and meaning can be found in slowing down. And then comes I Made It. The album closer begins with what sounds like a camcorder footage, immediately giving the song a very personal and almost documentary feel. It is looking backwards while trying to understand how to proudly stand in the present. Unlike Free, where vulnerability comes wrapped with some fear and uncertainty, I Made It comes from a place of relief. The music is lighter and more playful, with a relaxed rock and pop feel. It sounds like someone who has finally been able to put down some of the weight they've been carrying. But it still doesn't pretend that reaching the other side magically erases everything that came before. There is still doubt. There is still pain in those final moments, but it is carried with hope. Pure Ecstasy is different because it’s collaborative and open. Fish's involvement brings a new dimension to the band's songwriting and production, while drummer Connor Denis plays on every track. It marks the first BEARTOOTH album where Shomo didn't perform every instrument himself. The album feels less like documenting a struggle entirely on his own and more like other people helping him work through it. So while previous BEARTOOTH records often sounded like survival, this one is more interested in what happens afterwards. And even showing that there is an afterwards to look forward to will make the world of a difference for a lot of people out there that are still struggling or having to hide. It reminds us that we are not alone and that there are things worth celebrating. That evolving does not mean losing who we were but rather starting to put fractured parts back together. This new chapter of becoming is something to look forward to taking part in with the band going on tour to share it massively through the Pure Ecstasy World Tour that kicks off September 17th in Europe. Score: 8/10 Pure Ecstasy was released on 28th August 2026 via Fearless Records. Words: Lysandre Pons Photos: Ashley Osborn

In the two weeks past, the music world has given us the shoegazey indie-rock of BEABADOOBEE, the queer emo rage of ÓMOIA, the melancholic gothic metal of LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE, and so much more. Here's what we've been listening to lately: Track of the Week: Noahfinnce - Too Sensitive In Too Sensitive, political frustration and personal vulnerability come together into one of NOAHFINNCE’s most entertaining tracks yet. Packed with a punchy, energetic pop-punk rhythm, it is the best in-your-face sound to carry the message across. Built around the familiar story of The Three Little Pigs, it uses the Big Bad Wolf as a playful symbol of the singer’s anti-MAGA stance. While dealing with humour, the song also explores with sensitivity, the feelings of isolation and disgust that many feel growing up in a divided world. It is a confident, high-energy and punchy track that surely will appeal to modern pop-punk fans! Words: Lysandre Pons Alien Chicks - Madmen Despite having played the Brixton Windmill more than any other band in the Windmill Scene (at least according to stats.fm), ALIEN CHICKS remain under many peoples’ radars. Which is a shame too, because even when gearing up for their third EP, their music sounds as fresh as ever. Madmen is the third single for it - with an immediately striking cover that presents politicians in the House of Commons as animalistic, sheep-like creatures. The lyrics are also quite direct in a similar way, with the repeated motif of “madmen run the courts, democracy doesn’t exist anymore”. At the same time, it’s fairly non-specific, which leaves you wondering how seriously the band whose previous single was a cover of MISSY ELLIOTT’s Get Ur Freak On is taking the subject. The driving force of the song, though, is the frenetic way the song moves between stripped-back instrumentation, moving at whatever pace that the bass groove allows it to, and the choruses and bridges that go wildly out of control at points. It’s great fun, and we look forward to their upcoming EP. Words: Noise Leonard Beabadoobee - Memories With less than a month now till her new album Pylon is released BEABADOOBEE has released a brand new single Memories, the 8th track on the album. With her new shoegaze direction this track makes that transition feel a little more fluid, with the song having those light airy indie compartments pieced together with layered and distorted guitars. The track is emotionally vulnerable and about wanting to make new memories with someone you admire and the musicality reflects that magical feeling. Combined with the other prereleased tracks from this album it seems we have a new great album to fit into the indie/alt rock sphere on our hands! Words: Amy Smyth downcast - brainless Never ones to back down from a fight, DOWNCAST have come out swinging with new single brainless, a track specifically singling out virtue signalling men who are "defending" women and children with public violence whilst actually doing fuck-all to protect and better their lives. An immediate onslaught of deafening, gritty guitar riffs and a demolishing drumbeat, vocalist Liam Edwards has palpable anger in his barely restrained yells of "so wave your flags across the nation" and fully lets loose with guttural roars against Ben Lucas' intensifying riffs and Jeff Bowyer's whirlwind bass, the track feeling like DOWNCAST are yelling "come and have a fucking go, then" Words: Julia Stark EIVØR - Verjugarðar / Walls EIVØR’s Verjugarðar / Walls is a beautiful, haunting lament that brings together her traditional dark folk signature sound and distorted electronics. This epic ballad explores the story of two people who have lost what once connected them, separated by walls of silence. Its central paradox, walls built to protect ourselves becoming the very obstacles that keep us apart, gives the track a deeply emotional power. EIVØR pointed out that the song took years to write before finally falling into place and that patience is felt in its carefully layered atmosphere and powerful vocal delivery. The track serves as a preview to the upcoming album Tungl, due October 16th. EIVØR will be celebrating the release with some unique shows in her native Faroe Islands as well as in Iceland in October before embarking on an extensive international tour. Words: Lysandre Pons Floor Jansen - Bring Me Silence FLOOR JANSEN steps in with a new solo direction in Bring Me Silence. Moving away from the vast symphonic metal landscapes associated with NIGHTWISH, the track leans into hard rock and heavy metal. It is driven by down-tuned guitars, thick instrumentation, hook heavy riffs and relentless energy. Her unmistakable voice soars above it all, combining power with vulnerability. The track is also very modern in its topic, as it captures the overwhelming noise and constant demands of our lives. It expresses a desperate need for silence, clarity and space to breathe, which we can all relate to. This also announces the singer’s upcoming solo album Hytress, coming out on 15 January 2027 via REVAMP Music/Warner Music. It is also confirmed to be followed by a tour in 2027 across Europe and South America. Words: Lysandre Pons Gallus - MK Des (Miss Out) Radio-friendly riffage begins Glasgow indie-punks GALLUS’ latest track, disarming enough to give Barry Dolan a bold, attention-stealing entrance with his rabble-rousing vocals. He longs for a Glasgow that no longer exists, for streets long since changed, and declares, against echoing backing vocals from Eamon Ewins that he “won't miss out” - not this time. The guitars are what really make this one stand out, constantly feeding us electrifying riffs that compose the track's skeleton. GALLUS will release their second full-length on September 25th, and we can rest assured it'll be packed to the brim with just as many livewire tunes. Words: Naomi Colliar Duff Holding Absence - Modern Life Is Lonely An intro stop-start of synths and electro-beats give way to Lucas Woodland's despairing plea "hold me close, don't leave me in the catacombs", his voice echoing into the ether on the title track from HOLDING ABSENCE's upcoming album Modern Life Is Lonely, embodying its name with desperate tones and regretful lyrics. The melancholy stays prevalent throughout as instruments begin to add weight to Woodland's sorrow, building for the second chorus with crisp beats and riffs, falling away for a juddering bridge of echoey synths before HOLDING ABSENCE crash back in like a thunderclap with tearing fry screams and earsplitting instruments, the emotion overwhelming itself into a burst of sound. Words: Julia Stark Lacrimas Profundere - Nevermore Nevermore swoops in with the melancholic and poetic flair the band has built its reputation on over the last years. With this new dark wave of gothic metal is a haunting melody with a chorus that demands to be sung along to. Its TYPE O NEGATIVE atmosphere is what inspired members to add to it when guitarist Oliver Nikols Schmid first brought its music forward. That’s when the catchy vocals brought it one step further, making it something all will be excited to take part in live. This last song to be written then becomes the second release, after O Silent Fear, ahead of the band’s upcoming album Lay Me Down O Silent Fear, expected to drop on September 25th. Words: Lysandre Pons Movements - Live by the Sword MOVEMENTS hit their fans this week with the 5th single from their upcoming album Happier Now. Live by the Sword is easily the most upbeat single yet, calling back to the sound of RUCKUS!. The song starts softly and melodic, but explodes into the chorus at the 1 minute mark and keeps that energy for the remainder of the track. The lyrics feel personal and passionate, listening makes it impossible to ignore the political state of the world right now, MOVEMENTS are sharing their feelings, aligning and relating to everyone suffering at the hands of current affairs. Happier Now will be released on September 4th and we can only expect more of this energy from MOVEMENTS in the future. Words: Kei Wells Ómoia - System Of Rights ÓMOIA unleash pure, unrestrained rage in their new single System Of Rights, deafening metalcore riffs and squeals warring to be heard over a clash of beats and Cerys Simmons powerfully relentless screams of "where the fuck are their rights?". Renowned for their inclusive lyrics and self-labelled as "Queer Emo Music", ÓMOIA show their clear horror at the injustice facing LGBTQ+ people and predominantly our Trans family having their rights stripped away and instead being placed in more danger, the track pointing out the blatant ignorance and incompetence of society that seems to think other people's anatomy is their business. Spoiler: it fucking isn't. Words: Julia Stark The Butcher Sisters - Crazy Frog We’re back to the future as THE BUTCHER SISTERS makes 2005 feel brand new. Known for making grotesque ridiculously fun, they put their own spin on Crazy Frog. Yes, the infamous AXEL F. party hit that’s bound to give everyone flashbacks. The band reshapes it with heavy guitars, aggressive vocals and pounding drums while also keeping instantly recognizable. While everything can quickly feel dark, the tracks injects a shot of serotonin. It is impossible to take it too seriously, and that is exactly the point. It is catchy, chaotic and hilarious. Words: Lysandre Pons SerpentS - Midnight Murderess Stunning, spooky, and sickeningly catchy; meet SERPENTS, slithering out of Manchester's thriving music scene. Their second single, Midnight Murderess is a fiery cocktail of Y2K-era riffage, stirred in with punchy lyrics that leave one hell of an aftertaste, sure to linger all day. If you've been looking for that missing piece of your early Halloween playlist, you've found it. But this isn't all that comes with the single release - SERPENTS will not let us know peace, dooming us forever to a life of earworm tracks burrowing into our brains and refusing to leave; the alt-rock quartet release their debut EP Let Loose & Join A Cult later this year, and we're dead excited to hear what they have in store. Words: Naomi Colliar Duff THROWN - critic Swedish Metalcore collective THROWN have stacked up another banger single this year with critic. Opening with echoing synths before dropping into an archetypal THROWN destructive beat. The track is a narrative on manufactured attempts to stay relevant through hate and online commentary, ripping into those that make their living through hate. Lead vocalist Marcus Lundqvist is unapologetically loud and vulgar with his town while the music stamps out any doubt on the band. It's hard to see how this band can ever top their last single and yet they continue to do it, every. single. time. Words: Amy Smyth Twin Atlantic - Supersweetness Ahead of getting ready to roll out on their headline tour, TWIN ATLANTIC bound back in with uplifting bop Supersweetness that focuses not just on someone they'd drive all night "to be by your side", but the heart palpitating feeling of having a new lease for life told through the words "I wanna live, not just survive". With upbeat synths and major chords lifting up Sam McTrusty's vocals, Supersweetness is as feel-good as its title suggests, a bridge of echoing vocals and strummed notes ringing out over the catchy rhythms before McTrusty leaps back in again for a final harmonised call out and prolonged vocals. Teasing fans ahead of their tour, it's easy to visualise the elated crescendo this track will no doubt trigger. Words: Julia Stark Wage War - Sweet Dreams WAGE WAR have released another single; despite only just releasing an EP in April, the band seem hungry for more. Sweet Dreams sonically pulls inspiration from all their eras they've travelled through in the past 10 years and brings together all their best parts. The choruses are powerful and metalcore driven with Cody Quinstad giving those clean melodic vocals, and then lead vocalist Briton Bond smashing through the verses bringing the distorted visceral scream. With a brand new tour ahead of them in early 2027, they'll be visiting a few UK cities in January so keep an eye out for when you could possibly hear this obliterating track live. Words: Amy Smyth Editor: Naomi Colliar Duff Photos: Various Artists

When asked how their day is going, there’s a weary pause as OLIVE VOX relive their 3am accommodation cancellation on the same day they’re due to drive 8 hours to kick off grunge legends THE TOADIES' tour. “We’re tired, but determined,” bassist Ben Reid summarises with a resolute smile. 'Determined' is certainly one way to explain how the band have catapulted upward over the last year, travelling across the US on non-stop tour support slots and resorting to sleeping in their van in a huge show of commitment. Touring is notoriously heinous no matter if you’re just starting out or a seasoned band, yet the quartet take it in their stride managing to establish early on their tight-knit friendship (vocalist Parker James and guitarist Caden Shea are brothers, but they come across as best friends) that sees them embrace the challenges of being on the road and shrug them off. Their collective friendship originated from James and Shea’s siblinghood and the childhood friendship between Shea and drummer Dayton Phillips, with Reid completing the unit through a Facebook ad. A potentially daunting task to join a trio with an established past, Reid slotted into the band as if they’d known each other their whole lives. As Phillips was still performing as the rhythm guitarist at the time and with the pressure of having to find a drummer that “we needed to get into our groove”, the group tasked Phillips with taking on the role of drummer instead and stay a quartet, like a proverbial Goldilocks figuring out what felt right. Learning through rehearsals, recordings, and live shows, Phillips took the basic knowledge he already had and has grown exponentially in skill, in turn shaping the alt-rock-punk music of OLIVE VOX. There are still rare moments he slips up in rehearsals that result in frustrated but never defeated screeches, moments that amuse the others. “I love it when he messes up, cos then I can make fun of him for it,” James jokes fondly as he pokes his friend. Their camaraderie is delightful to see when they’re taking a breather between shows, but is also evident in how they perform seamlessly on stage and how they interact with their audiences, fellow bands and touring crews. They treat every single show as if it’s the biggest night of their career, regardless of who the crowd is there to see and how many have shown up. “Obviously, it’s noticeable if you’re playing to 3,000 people than a small crowd, but we want everyone to be treated the same and have a great time,” says James. “We try to go in with no expectations and see where it goes,” adds Reid, the band then appreciatively discussing how this has paid off with returning gig-goers and a dedicated fanbase. “It’s so cool to go back, or near to, a place we’ve played before and people come up to us that we begin to recognise. It stops being an “oh that’s one of our fans, cool!”, and becomes more like seeing your friends at your shows,” says Reid, the others nodding emphatically at the sentiment. Fans are in for a memorable experience as they head out on the road for THE TOADIES immense US tour, hearing the latest tracks from upcoming EP Trace It Back - a labour of love and emotional outpouring, James admits their process can be labelled “Frankenstein-esque” and is already being utilised for their next round of unending ideas. “We have this white board that we’ll all add to,” he gestures in midair, “we all do the songwriting so we’ll write lyrics and then make it all work together. [For Trace It Back] we recorded five tracks, took some time, and then came back to record another five, then we had to decide what ones were our favourites.” Will the songs that didn’t make the cut see the light of day in the future? “We put that on our whiteboard too, if we didn’t get to use something, a riff or whatever, then we note it down so we can come back to it. It might not be the exact same, but it’ll inspire us. So yeah, it’s like Frankenstein how we put our ideas together and then actually record it, but everyone gets to try their idea.” Channelling the alt-rock bands of Orange County and their now-fixed home of Texas, OLIVE VOX are revitalising the fervour and mindset of this genre, whilst also paying homage to the hardcore scene that subtly feeds into their sound too. Already in awe of playing for alt-rock legends and seeing their fanbase grow, their dream of playing with TURNSTILE and GREEN DAY doesn’t feel like so much of a dream but more an attainable goal with each supporter they gain through their dynamic shows. As they think about their band bucket list, you can almost see the mental switch flick that their goals are almost within reach so soon into their career. Where do they hope to end up in the next few years on this trajectory? “Playing Warped Tour would be absolutely sick, or any stage like that,” James gets in first. “Touring has been great for us, but to play all these festival circuits would be something else,” Reid adds. “I’ll go one further,” tops Shea, “getting to play all across Europe!” With a chorus of yesses and animated, overlapping chatter of their future plans, we leave OLIVE VOX to a brief rest before they head off across the states, a bright hope that one day we’ll see them this side of the ocean. OLIVE VOX will release their debut EP Trace It Back on 18th September 2026 via Big Machine Rock. Words: Julia Stark Photos: Kylie Green With thanks to: Cosa Nostra PR and Olive Vox

The advent of this band was nearly a miracle. Whilst the 2000s saw bands stumbling in the dark, tripping over the weights of their own legacies and the cultural pitfalls of the new millennium, they thrived, going from strength to strength and climbing to lofty heights. Marrying southern sludge with elements of country, jazz, and a wicked groove, the band thundered onto the scene in 2004 and made many question was sludge even was. That band was, of course, MASTODON. They were Troy Sanders, Brann Dailor, Bill Kelliher, and Brent Hinds. Whilst having an incredible career after their first smash hit, the 2004 Moby Dick concept album Leviathan, from then on as they grew their career would be marked with tragedies. Few bands have had their careers so marred with loss yet have been so defined by it, and none have manage to cultivate that loss into something so distinct and irrevocably honest. Each of their albums deals with some manner of grief; 2009’s Crack the Skye was partially inspired by the loss of drummer Brann Dailor’s sister to suicide, 2011’s The Hunter was named for the loss of guitarist Brent Hinds’ brother, Brad, who died of a heart attack on a hunting trip, 2015’s Once More Round The Sun came after several losses of friends and family members, 2017’s Emperor Of Sand dealt with the bouts of cancer that had struck some members of the band’s families. The most recent offering, 2021’s Hushed and Grim came after the loss of their manager, Nick John. And in August 2025, guitarist Brent Hinds himself passed away after a motorcycle accident. It was a shocking and heartbreaking event that shook the metal world. Not only had Brent quit the band months prior (according to the band, it was by walking out during an intervention and never returning), but the relationship with his former bandmates had also become increasingly strained in the public eye. Any hope of reconciliation seemed painfully distant. Yet whatever difficulties surrounded his final months with MASTODON, they should not overshadow the immense mark Brent Hinds left on the band and on metal itself. He was a wild, wonderfully unpredictable free spirit, defined by an almost neolithic instinct and pioneering musicality that was entirely his own. It was impossible not to feel that something irreplaceable had been lost forever: that beautifully melodic guitar tone, that singular voice, and the restless creative determination behind them were gifts that could never be repeated. It was as if a quarter of MASTODON died that day, and the world would never see his like again. But Mastodon is not one man. It feels as if this new MASTODON record, Marrow Deep, then, is the band’s encomium to his spirit. Five years have passed since Hushed and Grim, which reportedly featured only two major contributions from Brent. Marrow Deep is the first album they have done completely without him. In the face of adversity, they continue on ever forward. How does it fare with the rest of their discography, and does the band still have the lightning that elevated them into the canon of metal? The opening number; Barbarians Blood, at once begins as a marriage of Emperor Of Sand and Hushed and Grim’s sound. The guest on this song is Ben Koller of CONVERGE, bandmate of Troy in Killer Be Killed. And Troy really channels his Killer Be Killed vocals here too, utilising his rough croon over the dissonant riffage and wicked skank and d-beats. It’s a forceful track, with Troy screaming at the end “ALL INSIDE I FEEL THE VOID/STARE AND FACE THE OBSTACLE/ITS SO DISGUSTING!” Balanced by Brann’s trademark melodic vocal that doesn’t venture into as much interesting territory as Troy’s. The next song continues the unrelenting pace, opening with a sample from the classic film River’s Edge of the character John (spoilers) confessing to the murder of his girlfriend, roaring “-AND I FELT SO FUCKING ALIVE!!” before exploding into the fray. MASTODON using a movie sample to open a song? What is this, Remission-era? Are they calling back to the opening of songs like Shadows That Move? We’re fully in the uncharted waters of this new period now. The titular Poisonous Weapons of this song appear to be the ugly realities of a band breakup. After a minute of carnage the mood shifts to introspective, and Brann delivers an impressive vocal performance before the little ditty of a solo begins, it is nowhere near the lofty heights of the solos of yore, but it’s something. The lyrics match the tumultuous relationship the band shared with Brent towards the end of his tenure; “Straight from the heavens/Destined to shine your light/Or deep from the bowels of hell/Sent to agonize” and “Calling your name/Holding a space/In our hearts for you” isn’t particularly subtle, especially the idea of holding space in “our” hearts. It makes for a real gut-wrenching listen. Your Ghost Again has already been released as a single to an interesting reception. The first song released by the band since Brent’s passing, it’s a prevalent reminder of the ghosts that hang heavy over this release. It was certainly solid enough to warrant faith from Mastodon fans, but others clearly could not reconcile the lack of their beloved Brent-isms, to them it was like coming home and finding all the furniture in the house gone. But guitarists Nick Johnston (who is looking more and more like a permanent addition) and Bill Kelliher seem to carry on the groove appropriately over Brann’s haunting vocal delivery of “I saw your ghost again!” Although the keyboard break and almost Dream Theater-esque breakdown may be meandering a little too far from the band’s centre. With scarcely time to breathe, Snakes for Dinner, the second single, also opens with a rager of an intro. And for a while it seems the production has rendered the album a little too homogenous for its own good. Until the heavenly vocal line hits, “WHEN YOU LEFT YOU TOOK THE MOON AND STARS!” The chorus is perhaps unintentionally a callback to the chorus of Bedazzled Fingernails. Featuring an appearance by QOTSA’s Josh Homme in his first appearance in a MASTODON song since Colony Of Birchmen, it’s yet another romp with a pugnacious temperament, one of many the album has to offer. It is certain that the keyboard solos will delight some, yet they stand in the place gigantic solos once stood, and instead come across like the substitute teacher walking into a classroom. Out Like A Lamb takes things down a notch, but admittedly not by much. This is a Brann-heavy song, with his soft vocal riding atop a bouncy rhythm whilst Troy is relegated to vocal and bridge duties. This could be a sleeper favourite for some on this record; with a strong vocal hook in the verse and the chorus, it comes across as one of the most mournful songs yet – filled to the brim with emotion. And the guitar solo here is a welcome return to some of the more spacey tones of Once More Round The Sun. A real solid entry on the album, if only it was less busy and the congested production gave some of the performances breathing room. In The Ruins is the third single, and is, surprisingly, the eye of the album’s storm; mellow, subdued, and right in the centre. The irony is that the subject matter is a hurricane, and details the experience Troy had with Hurricane Helene in 2024, but once again, it is only used as a frame to address that great ghost; “The shelled house where you grew is now gone/What was here is filled with dread/Ever changing form”, haunting stuff. It is a decent song, but Troy’s vocals don’t seem to carry the song with grace, and with the unusual production it leaves it sounding more akin to a KILLER BE KILLED song than MASTODON in places. They’re Coming For You starts with a long instrumental that’s heavy on syncopation and tapping. And the remainder of the track continues the back-and-forth that Brann and Troy have been doing for the last half an hour. In some of their other albums we would have reached a Colony Of Birchmen or a Feast Your Eyes by now, but it’s nowhere to be found here, and it all starts to feel a bit bromidic. That’s not to say this is a bad song, it’s a serviceable one, but it doesn’t have the Masto-punch that so defined their other releases. We have traded “Run with death!” with Troy yelling “The jackal!” again and again. Yay. By Golden Spires there is the want - no - a need for this album to pick up again. There is a pretty crushing double bass break with this number, but once again it’s a quite pedestrian cut, barely saved by another brilliant guitar solo toward the end. An ongoing issue with this album is the vocal being buried, Troy’s “free yourself to live!” chant should be front and centre, but instead feels as if it’s drowning within the stormy sea of their own instrumental. Oddly Moth and Bone starts with something of a 70s prog keyboard jam, like something you’d hear on Yes’s 90125 or King Crimson’s Beat, before it breaks out into an... acoustic guitar? This is a welcome change. And Troy is singing in a different register this time? Even more brilliant! It is different one for Mastodon, sounding a lot like the multitude of new prog metal acts that have entered the fray with their shoegaze-y production. Despite all of this, it’s still not a particularly memorable track, and you only realise you’re listening to MASTODON again once those unmistakable crunchy guitars rear their heads. It seems things are getting back on track with A Vampire’s Demeanor, the highlights being the guest vocals from Converge’s NATE NEWTON and LAMB OF GOD’s Randy Blythe coming in to scream their hearts out at select intervals. The haunting groove around three and a half minutes in that leads into the solo is a real album highlight. The problem with this song, though, is that before you know it, it’s already over. It also features an extremely on-the-nose line; “Old guard is gone/A new day rising”. It certainly seems that way. With a crushing bass solo from none other than Geezer Butler of BLACK SABBATH, The Vanishing wears the influence on its sleeve. The vocals for this song are in an identical style to Planet Caravan, likely achieved through the same means, and are a wonderfully classy choice. Even the keyboard solo has taken a swig of whatever 70s prog concoction the other instruments are drinking from. It’s a real grab-bag, even Joe Duplantier of GOJIRA shows up at one point. It makes for an interesting listen, and is the most adventurous this band gets on this album by a wide margin. The final song is named The Three Fates and is nearly eight minutes long. The lyrics appear to be about cheating fate, and are punctuated by the presence of the schizophrenic Foghorn Leghorn himself, Mr Scorpio - Neil Fallon of CLUTCH, delivering a sermon raving about “death and doom”. It’s fantastic. It then goes into a dual keyboard/guitar solo that feels like what would play as you sit in a fancy ice bar before the song claws its way back up to MASTODON territory. Hearts Alive and The Last Baron this is not, but this is a new era now, and things ain’t quite what they used to be. And with a staccato heave, the entire affair is over. Marrow Deep makes for a confounding listen. There are moments of triumph here as well as moments of deep ennui. It is paradoxical to hear a band that should be at their most adventurous have entire tracks not presenting anything particularly interesting. We can accept that the Mastodon of yester-year is gone, but it feels like the ghosts still haunt them, a presence still looming large over their output. They have channelled their grief and sorrow well, but the roots remain. The album is still solid, something where you can sit back and contemplate the weight of your own existence, but it won’t beat out some of its older brethren. Even albums like The Hunter are a more comprehensive listening experience, with less homogeneity and surplus memorable moments. The long, epic compositions are intact, but the punchiness, groovy and memorable riffs, and big, bold attitude that defined them in their younger years only rear their head occasionally. They are grieving once more, and the music is cut through with a palpable pain. If they are to continue, they have to keep moving forward, experimenting but remaining true to their original vision. To quote Henry David-Thoreau; “I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.” Perhaps that is MASTODON’s path forward, to continue to find life within death, and from that darkness bring forth the light of their new era in all of its splendor. For now, they’re still getting their bearings. Score: 7/10 Marrow Deep will be released on 28th August 2026 via Loma Vista Recordings. Words: Kiarash Golshani Photos: William Lacalmontie

Back with their fifth studio album, THE WARNING are more ambitious than ever! Comprising of Daniela (lead vocals, guitar), Paulina (drums, vocals), and Alejandra (bass), the Villarreal Vélez sisters are becoming one of the most unstoppable bands of a generation. Following the success of Keep Me Fed (2024), and Error (2022), the trio's newest album Everything’s Falling is one of their greatest yet. Breaking onto the scene in 2013 on YouTube with a cover of METALLICA’s Enter Sandman, THE WARNING have not only earned praise from the rock legends themselves, but have since toured with the likes of EVANESCENCE and HALESTORM. Drawing power from their sisterly bond, Everything’s Falling began its journey with the release of three singles; Ritual, Ego, and Kerosene. Opening track Ritual is the perfect prologue; it teases what is to come. Very bass heavy, the stalking guitar is almost predatorial in nature. This coupled with a grungy sound and tasteful lyrics sets the scene for a transformative album. It imposes how there will be many challenges to overcome, so prepare to take off the rose-tinted glasses. This leads into the second track: Perfect Daughter. The beginning of the narrative, it is an anthem for defying authority. Rebellious, yet grounded, it contains a mix of ethereal vocal runs and quiet growls. It explores the balance of relationships, expectations, and self belief. This is definitely one to belt in the shower. Titular track Everything’s Falling is the ultimate power ballad. Exploring the topic of freedom and leaving the past behind, the harmonies help to represent trying to find synchronicity with the self. It focuses on the transition from one stage of life to the next, and figuring out where you belong. Guitar heavy Why Do You Like It When I Cry features a sludgy bass line and very catchy riffs. The primal screams add to the anger behind letting go, and realising it’s time to move on, which is only amplified by the following track. Bite My Tongue is very much about having to restrain true thoughts, feelings, and keeping up appearances. ‘Looking up and down my body for cracks to sink their teeth into my porcelain’ represents the underlying theme; the feeling that personally and professionally, the band members are being put on a pedestal and stuck in a cycle of perception. Led forward by the drums, one has to step carefully to regain power. What’s better than a short, sharp guitar? Adding a cow bell! The prominent instrument in Kill Or Be Killed represents time ticking towards sadistic regression. The catchy chorus ‘ I can be the worst kind of person, I kind of like that version’ channels the consequences of actions that can lead to the ultimate self-destruction. Single, Ego, is the only song on the album in Spanish. It embodies power and self-validation. The hard-hitting riffs and primal screams bring back the predatorial nature teased within Ritual. It is about taking charge and wearing pride on the sleeve to ensure success and make sure nothing will stand in the way; ‘No es mi culpa que siempre gano’ (It’s not my fault that I always win). Strategically placed in the middle of the album, it is the transformative pivot point; the chrysalis of hubris. Following track Bloodsport nurtures that approach. It is a warning of expectation, further fuelled by the lower vocal register. The spoken word chorus with gradual harmonious layers are reminiscent of a cheer chant, further enhancing the competitiveness portrayed. Back with another power ballad, Break, is, in fact, the breaking point. It encompasses the realisation that things are harder than they have appeared and the rose-tinted glasses are definitely off. Beginning with a more acoustic sound and a strong beat, the crushing song has an underlying wish for the heart to break in order to better understand feelings and situations; ‘I don’t know how much more I can take’. With the return of the tight guitar, Bruises portrays the battle of relationships. The menacing bass and soft anger in the vocals, highlight being at the end of a tether. The subsequent track Waste Your Time On Me uncovers how the sense of self is broken. With pop undertones, the track has stand out moments for all three band members, and is a fantastic display of talent. Finally, the single, Kerosene, pulls a 180. It is fierce, punchy, and full of assertiveness. The reclamation of control is evident. A hard-hitting rock anthem, the chants and key change create the self-assured ending this album needed - THE WARNING know who they are and won’t indulge in unwanted opinion. Everything’s Falling is a perfectly blended album. With hard-hitting vocals, controlling drums, and crisp guitar, each song is fresh, unique, and able to stand on its own. THE WARNING have created something masterful, and deserving to be endlessly on repeat. Score: 9/10 Everything’s Falling will be released on 28 August 2026 via Lava Records and Republic Records. Words: Beth Goulter Photos: Brian Ziff

On their previous album, In My Saddest Dreams, I Am Beside You, DREAMWELL offered up one of the best screamo releases of 2023. It was extremely versatile and genre-bending, with hints of metalcore and post-rock at points. Songs like I Dream’t Of A Room Of Clouds and Rue de Noms displayed the band at their most ambitious yet. The combination of the sheer catharsis of the song structures, breakdowns as well as the painfully introspective lyrics was all they needed to make their mark on the world of heavy music. Clearly, then, they aren’t quite done yet. Three years later, and they’re following it up with Hymns For The Denial Of God, their third full LP. It’s worth touching on the title for a moment too, as frontperson Keziah Staska (otherwise known as KZ) has mentioned several times that an underlying theme of the album is criticism of organised religion, stating that “The prevailing narrative in heavy music is often, ‘If you believe in God, you’re stupid.’ This isn’t our narrative.” This is immediately clear from the opening track Hypercrucifixion, beginning on a spoken word intro, slowly easing you in as light guitar arpeggios play over it, before KZ shrieks “What would you do if a voice spoke back?”, and as if in response, the instrumentation joins in, almost sounding unsure of itself as it stutters between leaving and joining with the vocals. This is all before everything comes together in a 2000s post-hardcore-esque chorus. It’s got more tricks up its sleeve yet though, because after an absolutely brutal breakdown the song slows down, with a bright guitar tone, as KZ presents the question “What would you do if Christ came back, as something that scares you, like an immigrant child or a homeless black man?” It’s a cutting and powerful verse, directly confronting the way Christianity as organised religion attempts to justify its ideology of mindless discrimination and white nationalism, laying it completely bare. “What would you do with the hammer and nails then?”, KZ says, as the music leaves their voice to linger in the air, but just for a moment, as the last 30 seconds burst into intense noise and screams. Hypercrucifixation is a great start, but it’s also the longest track on the album. We have to wonder if we’re going to see anywhere near the same level of ambition on the rest of the album. Sissy Hate Machine is a metalcore-tinged track reflecting on KZ’s non-binary identity. You feel the desperation in their voice, and the need to escape binary classifications is clear from the very first line. The idea of their very identity being weaponised in lines like “I am not the enemy, but the weapon you create”, the sheer anger at violence committed towards fellow queer people. It’s a reminder that our voices need to be heard no matter what, and we are allowed to be angry - and sometimes, perhaps, we have to. Plath Vs. Kafka Vs. Romance is the closest thing this album has to a centrepiece, and it might also be the most straight-forward. Don’t let that fool you though, this song is still packed full of the emotional gut-punches that DREAMWELL are known for. The Kafka-inspired lyrics like “All flowers turn to ash whenever I let my voice be heard”, the discordant chord progression, the breakdown in the middle. They hit all the marks here, describing it as a “mosh-y early-2000s style we’d been ignoring for a while”. It’s absolutely that, and maybe the only song on this record you could describe as “fun”. Finally, we have the closing track, Cherub Rock Of Gibraltar. If you’re expecting SMASHING PUMPKINS based on that title, you’re totally off the mark. This is the explosive finale to an explosive album. There are guitar passages that one could describe as “anthemic”, and it’s in clear opposition to KZ’s lyricism here, opening on the line “I want to watch everyone that I love die. Let there be no one left to bear the weight of my absence when I’m gone.” It’s the final song, and it feels the most strongly-aligned with the previous album. Where the rest of the album seems to look outwards, this song looks inward. “Just snuff me out” is the line they leave us on. Hymns For The Denial Of God is several things. It’s a fantastic screamo album, for one. The lyrical content, the visceral anger present in almost every line, and the nasty breakdowns are the spirit of emotional hardcore. It is also the follow-up to an album with more sonically tantalising instrumentation, and it makes it seem as though DREAMWELL don’t exactly have a clear signature sound. Whether or not they need to is up to them, though. This is a great effort regardless, the more simple arrangements let the lyrics shine even more, with some beautifully put-together criticisms of organised religion and reflections on the suffering of marginalised peoples. Score: 8/10 Hymns For The Denial Of God will be released on 28th August 2026 via Prosthetic Records. Words: Noise Leonard Photos: Nat Lacuna

Following an unstoppable summer that saw fans colliding full-pelt in mosh pits, CATCH YOUR BREATH is clearly not a suggestion for the unrelenting Texan band nor their frenzied crowds, but a name to remember and chant at the top of your breathless lungs. Having already gained momentum over the last few years, the four-piece are about to catapult themselves to stratospheric heights with the release of their stunning album Not Broken Enough, an 11-track record that sees the band approach with their familiar vivacity whilst bringing extra layers of emotion and ferocity that refine their sound. Undoubtedly an emotionally charged album, Not Broken Enough almost feels as if we’re intruding on the expressive feelings poured into the gut-wrenching lyrics that plead to unseen subjects and impressively explosive instrumentals. Instead, CATCH YOUR BREATH invites us in to feel this with them, to connect on a level of “brokenness” and ultimately pass the torch of this album onto us, letting it become our own emotional outlet. Opening with an ethereal intro of a tape played in reverse, Contaminated drops into vocalist Josh Mowery lamenting that things can’t be changed but begging the subject “don’t run away”, an electro-beat melding into a thunderous beat from Onell Hernandez as Mowery layers raw pitches with high notes, muffled vocal screams of “we’re contaminated” echoing in a progressive breakdown that feels akin to BAD OMENS more dramatic tracks. Red Alert leans more into the core instrumentals with crashing beats, gothic synths, and a bassline from Cianan Madigan hammering into the core of the rhythm, the entire pitch descending down as coarse screams flood through. Blood Money drops into pure metalcore with guitarist Teddy Herrera flexing the strings to piercing notes that SPIRITBOX fans will appreciate as Mowery attacks with guttural screams and acidic lyrics, before a breakdown that sounds like he’s channeling Joe Bad’s notorious growls. Carnivore has a sensual drumbeat and a deliciously wicked rhythm that juxtaposes the lyrics “So when you fall apart, don’t come to me / Don’t beg or plead, you asked for this”, the biting tone almost sneering at having been underestimated, a mistake that won’t be repeated. The first track to be teased before album release, Control still hits hard with barely restrained verses that unleash into searing breakdowns, Mowery’s voice becoming steadily more desperate as he gives more of himself to someone who won’t reciprocate the emotion. Rewind has a stripped back intro that ignites into a roar of instruments and subtle low harmonies, minor chords breaking through to give a devastating feel to the track as it swings from reminiscing of a relationship lost to wishing it had never happened, a piano medley adding to the sorrowful tune against a backdrop of fading calls. Lost is an almost instant change of heart and becomes both an attempt to be stoic and not reveal how much Mowery is wounded, and a yearning plea of “Can we go back when it was us two / Lay inside a bed and hold you close, before you let me go”, capturing the feeling of helplessness and identity loss against deafening, hardened instruments that feel like drowning. Dark begins to take on a self-aware tone amidst the heartbreak as the lyrics shifting to an understanding that this was needed even if unwanted, Herrera’s riffs punctuating through in a push pull motion as the tone shifts. Taking on a more cinematic tone that echoes ICE NINE KILLS sweeping rhythms, The Basement is a progression in this story of heartbreak as it reaches a new understanding of one-sided love and being taken for granted, culminating in a lone scream that raises goosebumps before the instruments thrash together once more. [Gen]inside fades in softly before a scream shatters the calm and leads us into a melody of soaring notes and pulverising beats, Mowery utilising his primal growls as Kemi Kehoe harmonises between clean and gritty vocals, the album title repeating in the guttural screams. Seeing us out with another reversed sound effect intro in a full circle moment to the album’s beginnings, Hollow Dreams is a full-body sigh of relief and closure to Not Broken Enough as it combines thumping metalcore beats with high vocal pitches and heavenly synths, a brief moment of Mowery alone descending into belting strings, not necessarily moved on from the emotional onslaught but leaving you with the sense that you can start to heal, and start to breathe again. Score: 8/10 Not Broken Enough will be released on 28th August 2026 via Thriller Records. Words: Julia Stark Photos: Catch Your Breath

Nearly two decades into a career built on transforming a spectacle out of darkness and pain into power, IN THIS MOMENT has little left to prove but plenty left to say. With this ninth studio album entitled Witch, out on August 28th and first release through Better Noise Music, the band goes from confession to reframing the shame. Since the early days of Beautiful Tragedy, we’ve seen them evolve from the melodic metalcore of the MySpace era into something far more theatrical, industrial and unmistakably their own. This new opus embraces that identity and takes it a step further. It builds on the figure of the witch, persecuted, feared, powerful and ultimately unbowed, and turns it into the perfect metaphor for everything IN THIS MOMENT has become. These intentions are set straight off the bat with Shame. Ethereal harmonies hover as the atmosphere thickens and Maria Brink's repeated declarations: “you should be ashamed” and “shame on you”, feel like a sentence being handed back to its rightful owner. The track grows into something heavy, dissonant and almost physically uncomfortable. Its marching rhythm resembles a protest gathering momentum, empowering and unafraid. Witch begins by refusing to carry somebody else's guilt. This reclaiming of power continues into I Want To Believe, featuring DAYSEEKER's Rory Rodriguez. The pairing of Rodriguez's affected, vulnerable clean vocals with Brink's theatrical menace makes the song a force to be reckoned with. They shock by contrast, hope and threat, yearning and resistance. The mix entangles them further, building hope and making the two singers build each other up, creating an answer to the anger and a held out hand for the hope. It serves as a reminder that survival is rarely a solitary act. Then comes Crawl, and the album sinks its teeth in. Built around an industrial leaning stomp, a huge low end and a hypnotic electronic darkness, the song shows the band operating at full strength. Brink moves from threat to a full on attack scream while the march keeps pushing forward. The result is both confrontational and empowering, throwing back the weight that’s been carried for too long. It stands tall facing those who dominate and abuse, turning the mirror back around and making them face the consequences of their actions. The built up created by those songs being back to back makes it clear that the album doesn’t aim to ease anyone in, it intends to grab them by the collar. Into The Dark switches to a softer, more electronic ballad. It recalls the atmospheric cover the band made of In the Air Tonight. After the confrontational opening stretch, this feels like a piece of evidence of the pain endured to get here. It is openly uneasy, like walking through mud, trying to free yourself from everything that has been expected of you while simultaneously trying to work out what it is you actually want. What could be a breathing space amongst the heaviness and punch is more of a bubble where the oxygen slowly runs low. It, however, makes Sleeping With The Enemy’s confrontation and explosion even more necessary. The track balances heart-bruised vulnerability with throat-shredding aggression, moving between sultry restraint and raw fury. Industrial textures sit alongside classic metal structures while the enormous hooks give the song an unmistakable live potential. Betrayal isn't some distant threat here, it is sitting in the same room. That proximity creates tension, building the cold realisation that sometimes the enemy isn’t outside at all. Wrapped Around Your Finger puts that psychological tension up against a fogged up mirror. It confuses and shows the tangled web that control is. It questions who controls who and how obsession, possession and desire interplay. The production makes that uncertainty tangible by being ominous, seeming to circle around the listener. We feel tangled in it, as if someone or something is stalking us, but we can't quite determine whether we're the prey or the predator. A wild card is then thrown onto the table with Heretic, featuring KIM DRACULA, in a way that is gloriously unhinged. If the previous songs are carefully constructed battles between darkness and empowerment, this one simply sets the battlefield on fire. It is a collision of influences, of industrial metal, scraped synths, vicious whispers and explosive screams. It is chaotic, unpredictable and perfectly excessive, exactly what you would expect from a collaboration between people who are not interested in apologising for who they are. Father ties in with the band’s roots, echoing the band’s song Mother. It brings back a conversation we never thought we would finish and reminds us that before anything else, Witch is the result of previous experiences. Without Me There's No You dances around the flame, between devotion and threat. Electronic undertones create suspense and forceful drums create a strange sense of ritual. Despite this instrumentation, Brink's vocals feel exposed, almost a cappella in their hypnotic delivery. It is cinematic without becoming overly grandiose. Even though the band is well known for its covers, they come in as a surprise to close this opus. The first being no other than Another Brick In The Wall from PINK FLOYD. While a daring choice to include such a popular song, its themes of control, conformity and rebellion make it a good fit for the album. It is delivered packed in the band’s industrial and dystopian flair, feeling mechanical and deliberately cold. It, however, takes a bit away from the personal and intimate feel we’ve had so far. The second cover, NINE INCH NAILS’ Something I Can Never Have brings back that intimacy and gives us a taste of how someone else’s song can still fit in. This vulnerable and emotionally raw track feels like it could be one of the band's own compositions and becomes a befitting end. At the end of it all, Witch is about transformation. It spans through a multitude of emotions and acts of resistance, reminding us that even if the wound is still visible, we do not need to carry the blame for it. IN THIS MOMENT does not shy away from a fight and steps up as the leader of an angry mob. They do not try to reinvent themselves, simply because they don't need to. They stand by the witch who is both victim and creator, persecuted and sovereign, wounded and dangerous. And on Witch, IN THIS MOMENT once again makes the flames look good. Score: 9/10 Witch will be released on 28th August 2026 via Better Noise Music. Words: Lysandre Pons Photos: Jeremy Saffer

Some bands spend years trying to find their sound. COLORBLIND seem more interested in finding out how many sounds they can seamlessly fit into one. On Who Sold You This Truth ++ Was It Yours To Hold, the Austin quartet leans fully into the push and pull of their self-described “dreamcore”, blending pop, electronic music, metalcore, hip-hop inspired rhythms, and atmospheric balladry into something that feels difficult to pin down (and all the more exciting because of it). Since forming in 2017, COLORBLIND has steadily carved out its own space in the modern heavy scene. But this record feels like another step forward, less concerned with defining exactly what the band is and more confident in letting them be whatever the song demands. The opening track, Pressure, makes that clear immediately. It bursts in with the energy of an anime intro, carrying a dynamic mix of pop, electro and metalcore. It is fresh, restless and instantly grabbing the listener’s attention, pulling them into the record before they have much time to figure out where it is going. Car Crash shifts into something dreamier, balancing pop hooks with deeper, heavier chords. The track also establishes Travis Moseley’s distinctive voice as a red thread, keeping us grounded through different territories. The dream goes deeper into exploring emotions with Needle Eye. Starting slowly and almost ballad like, it gradually moves into a much more vulnerable space. Moseley’s raw vocals carry a sense of fragility that gives a cinematic edge to the song, making it easy to imagine it as the soundtrack of a melancholic early 2000s film. It is the kind of song that creates its own little movie in your head as you listen and feels right away personal and intimate. Chemical Warfare disrupts that softness by injecting a dissonant and languid rhythm to it. Turning heavier with the vocals pushing further into screams, it creates a contrast between melody and aggression, which is becoming one of the album’s defining characteristics. On Letdown, pulsing synths sit alongside hard-hitting drums and lush harmonies, creating a layered backdrop that constantly moves the song forward. It feels like setting the scene to Misery Loves Company which takes things even further into the aggressive side. Electronic textures fuse with sharp instrumentation, creating a sound that feels noticeably different while also connecting. It builds momentum towards a memorable chorus carrying a sense of exhaustion and frustration. It is anthemic and catchy, in the way that has you singing along before it is even over. It instantly become something familiar that you carry around with you. Incomplete adds some groove to elements found it Needle Eye without it feeling like a copy. Right after, Royal Blood maintains the record’s catchy energy with a chorus than almost feel like scene related, reminding us to expect the unexpected and trust the experiment. That becomes ever so clear on Neversleep, which brings a laid back, hip hop inspired beat before a punchy and mesmerizing chorus. The whole pacing of the EP also feels right with slower songs, such as The Countdown, coming in to force us to catch a breath and ensure that the next hard parts hit the way they should. The track feels soft and dreamy, with harmonies enhancing that. We believe that it continues in God Complex before it turns into one of the record’s heavier tracks. The chorus feels deeper and more textured while abstract guitar melodies, emotionally charged vocals and driving drums collide into something haunting and powerful. Lost in Translation feels like a struggle to make something tangible out of confusion. It has a restless quality, as if the song is constantly searching for its footing while still pushing forward. Heavy Heart is perhaps more expected after this adventure but its catchy chorus. Meanwhile, Paradox lives up to its name, emphasizing highs and lows and giving the record another moment of depth and contrast. We close things off with Cynical which is surprisingly soft, dreamy, and almost suspended between wakefulness and sleep. It feels like slowly drifting away at night, surprising by how sharply it contrasts with the high energy opening of Pressure. In a way, the album comes full circle, from waking up with an explosion of energy to being gently lulled to sleep. That sense of cyclic movement is ultimately what makes Who Sold You This Truth ++ Was It Yours To Hold so compelling. COLORBLIND never seems interested in staying in one lane for too long. They float across heaviness and softness, electronic textures and detuned riffs, screams and vulnerable melodies, and all of that often within the same song. Rather than making the record feel scattered, those shifts reinforce the emotional honesty at its centre. The band has spoken about not always knowing exactly what they are writing about until later, describing the process as something that simply flows out before its meaning becomes clear. It is that vulnerability that is audible throughout the album, creating something both fragile and strong at the same time. Its unpredictability doesn’t delve into chaos, it is catchy without becoming shallow and heavy without sacrificing its atmospheric side. Most importantly, it sounds like a band becoming increasingly comfortable with the fact that they do not have to choose just one version of themselves. And that might be their greatest strength, changing the question before you have time to settle on an answer. Score: 7/10 Who Sold You This Truth ++ Was It Yours To Hold will be released on 28th August 2026 via Solid State Records. Words: Lysandre Pons Photos: Alexander Bemis

KULK are a band that can communicate a lot through meaningful lyricism without including very many vocals at all. Their second album, Choosing to Die, is no different. Encased in a shell of beautiful gloom packed in nine tracks, the album explores true lamentation. Through the art of thrashing guitars and resounding drums, the two-piece has firmly grasped how quickly idyllic realities can be shattered. They rely on music as their great communicator to present something bigger than every human being: the harsh reality of life and death. The tone is set with the album’s opening track, An Endless Knife, with high-pitched whining guitars. Then, as though intent on impact, the haunting lyrics “Time ends us all” are screamed by vocalist/guitarist Thom Longdin. Before you know it, you’re steeped in sludge, and you would be wise to wade through it. Making a short, fast-paced track is where KULK excel. Each track thunders in at three minutes forty, or often less. There is something rather punk about this, leaving you no choice but to devour each track quickly. We’re Worried About You is a prime example of this, coming in at precisely one minute thirty-seven. It crashes through like a whirlwind through the way it rips through riffs.Some tracks are deliberately sparser in their lyricism. Collapse begins with a haunting drone and contains a mere five words that are repeated (“Don’t take me / I am”). However, this does not detract from the energetic charge packed within the song. Once the tradition of lyrics in a song has passed, a grunge-y explosion occurs. It descends into guitars and drums that turn more frantic, like a drastic descent into madness. Comparably, For Blood is where composure is gained, if only for a short while. After a thumping drum intro, the first minute and fifty seconds are dedicated to instruments that gradually gain momentum and urgency. Each song implies the bitterness at existence and the totality of this life. One does not have to claw to decipher the agony that permeates these tunes, which is foremost in the genre of doom. The Saddest Holiday is where you feel the softness of love. A low-pitched guitar sound makes it akin to a waltz. Whether it is intentional or not is unknown. The rage of the first half simmers down to a quiet melancholy as words are softly sung. This feeling of sorrow continues into Ache as strings are introduced. To conclude, the album closes with ambient noise on the closing track Our Last Walk, giving the listener a chance to mull over what they have heard. What’s particularly impressive is how KULK have achieved this release as a two-person show. The duo are composed of guitarist/vocalist Thom Longdin and drummer Jade Ashleigh Squires. Together, they prove they are well-equipped to show the world what they are made of. They have chosen not to tread with caution, laying out the inner workings of their minds for everyone to see. KULK brush shoulders with great company on their label, Church Road Records, too. Sharing a label with the likes of HERIOT and EMPLOYED TO SERVE, it is doubtless they are exactly where they belong. Choosing to Die has earned its place amongst the gritty tunes their peers create. Although naysayers exist who say heavy music has no meaning, they should understand it takes courage to be as vulnerable as KULK have been. To make music out of one’s grief is one of the most powerful things a musician can do. To centre that grief around your debut album is even more daring. Nevertheless, they put on a show for those who have chosen to devote themselves to hearing beyond harsh vocals. On Choosing to Die, KULK have explored grief with blazing honesty. The album is designed to convey a poignant message about losing those you love, even if it means losing yourself in the process. If the album were a fruit, the flesh would be each song’s impenetrable toughness before it is pierced; the innards would be the tenderness towards loss. This deep intimacy should be cherished. It should be appreciated even more that KULK chose to spill the contents of their hearts for a wider audience. Score: 8/10 Choosing to Die will be released on 28th August 2026 via Church Road Records. Words: Shania Richards Photos: Kulk

Walking into HECK’s last ever (but one) show at Signature Brew Haggerston, the room is packed and full of energy from doors - friendly and familiar faces in all corners. There’s a feeling of enthusiastic anticipation - it’s clear from the vibe that it’s not this crowd's first rodeo with HECK and they know exactly what they have got themselves in for. The gig kicked off with RUENA who, fresh off of her first tour where she cycled cross country from gig to gig, you’d think she wouldn’t have much left to give - but you’d be wrong. Bouncing onto stage and launching into her anthemic track Kamikaze, she demands your attention with an unwavering vibrant and powerful energy. Her set ranges from trudging guitars fit for a good ol’ hair flinging head bang, to faster paced moments performed with an infectious energy the crowd can’t help but move to. With a set list full of words worthy of a chorus, a highlight track was Feel the Fear (and do it anyway), which RUENA introduced to the audience from the middle of the crowd, encouraging us all to just go and do the thing, and do it scared! Next up were CHAOS REIGNS, who immediately kicked it up a notch, living up to their self described ‘feral hardcore’ energy. With the front-man chucking the mic stand off stage and jumping off the drum kit within what feels like seconds, it’s hard to avoid getting swept up in their force. If the crowd wasn’t convinced by the first track, when they launched into Sins of Success, a scorcher of a track from their recent EP Sweet Violence, it’s hard to ignore the fury of the lyrics. Screams of “LIE. CHEAT. STEAL. KILL. Whatever it takes to pay the bills” detailing a deserved discontent with the state of the world. The band’s energy is unfaltering throughout the rest of their set. With many moments of catharsis reminiscent of our headliners to come, it’s no surprise when their front man shouts out the influence HECK have had in paving the way for them and many bands alike. And finally our headliners, the formidable HECK. Take a second to blink and a mic is already hanging off the lighting rig with the audience scrambling to get their moment to get stuck in, Matt’s on the floor and Johnny has already done a lap around the venue - everyone is everywhere. If you thought the crowd was lively before, when HECK arrived on stage it was immediately clear the whole room had been storing their energy for this moment. There is no doubt that HECK’s legacy will be true chaos, and we are shoved into it before you realise. The first half of the set is a whirlwind, stacked from top to bottom with hits from their 16 years of wrecking havoc, only offering a moment of calm when we reach the track Totem for a brief reprise. Matt checks in with the crowd, making sure everyone’s survived their wrath up until this point with a thumbs up, and states “When someone asks what your best gig of 2026 is we better be on the fucking list!” - a deadset for this crowd who commit with everything they have until the last note. The intensity returns, with their disorder only ceasing for fleeting moments of concentration to nail insane riffs, demonstrating that even though their live show has always been a pull, they have the musicianship to prove they were always everything but a gimmick. Powering their way through the setlist, handily written up Matt’s arm, they still find the time to perform from all corners of the venue; from multiple flight cases in the pit, up on the bar, storming the merch desk, and so far back from the stage they’ve basically left the venue. As a fan, the moment a band disbands is bittersweet, but there’s barely time to think about it as in classic hardcore fashion, Matt lines the crowd up for a wall of death telling the crowd that this moment is all about love, assuring us that “no love was ever lost in this band, it was just time”. Following a good ol’ singalong and a brief stage invasion for the classic track Powerboat Disaster, we arrive at the last song. The band convene around the bar - drums and all - to play us out, swapping instruments as they do, sustaining the chaos until the very last note. Blink again and they are back on the stage, thanking the crowd for the past 16 years, smiles on their faces. At one point in the beautifully manic set, HECK take a moment to try flog the CDs they have of their 2016 album Instructions, pleading “If you haven’t heard it, please take a fucking CD”, going on to say that any that are left are going in the canal. After their stellar last but one performance, there is no doubt the CDs would’ve flown off the merch desk, but if any did make it to the canal it’s a weird comfort that they will live on, in true chaotic HECK style, in a plastic wrapped CD at the bottom of an east London canal. HECK played their last ever show at ArcTanGent on Friday on the Yohkai Stage. Once that was over, the next best thing will be fishing for a copy of Instructions along the Union Canal. Words and photos: Georgia Grant