“I shouldn’t have worn a tracksuit to a show!”, exclaims FALSE REALITY vocalist Rachel Rigby. Since the release of the London hardcore quartet’s latest record, Faded Intentions, the heat behind the band had been amplified tenfold, and the response sweltered - packing out the infamous Boom Leeds with a horde of sweaty moshers. With her head down and pacing the stage quickly, she has a moment to think before screaming that she’s lost a nail. Joking that “you can’t take the Essex out of the girl”, Rigby sends the room into a blur with hit Reality Slips. This is the true nature of FALSE REALITY, polished to perfection and not meaning to do anything by halves. Tonight, on their album release show, they represent a cohort of shining talent in UK hardcore, supported by SOVEREIGN and DIVINE HATRED. Whilst this show was played for the love of the game, the hardest moshers that night were those in sports jerseys, throwing limbs and crowdkilling with a crazed look in their eyes. Openers DIVINE HATRED were no exception, with the frontman causing a ruckus in his Celtic shirt, prowling around the front of the newly relocated Boom stage like a panther. In the sweat-soaked chaos of their newly released record, Infections of a Pathogenic Message, their sound flayed with lashings of gut-punching guitars and abysmal beatdowns. Sludgy, snarling and cleaved close to the bone, the Sheffield heavyweights started the night off with a very warm welcome to all who wanted to have a moment to dance with the devil. In the havoc of this brutal evening’s proceedings, MLVLTD’s SOVEREIGN arrived at Boom to cause disorder. Rocking up to Leeds with a show already played in Hull, the band’s high energy and brutish attitude stormed through the venue like a bull in a china shop. With the rampaging alumni of HIGH VIS, SPLITCASE and ROUGH JUSTICE, the band has big boots to fill. With a sound reminiscent of the golden age of beatdown, the band had one intention - and that was to cause violence. Within the spirit of making love, not war, the audience had mixed reactions to the carnage that was unfolding on and off stage. In the thick of it all, the prevailing sentiment of the evening was that hardcore is finally getting its moment. Whilst the chaos can be seen on a larger scale with bands like TURNSTILE, SPEED and KNOCKED LOOSE on the path to world domination, the underground has never had this much audacity as it does now. Whilst the path is unprecedented and unimaginable, there is a real fear from local spaces that the genre could lose its authenticity due to the genre’s seismic rise. However, London’s FALSE REALITY proves that the genre can have its punch without losing its polish. Harnessing this power with their latest album, Faded Intentions, has made the band one of its breakout stars. Released only last week, the record stuns with genre-infusing inflexions of thrash and the extreme. Whilst more can be said about this LP in our album review, their celebratory release shows last week lifted the lid on this damaging project to reveal the true humanity bleeding inside. David, Joseph, Louis and Rachel represent FALSE REALITY. Tight as a unit and potent on the packed Boom stage, they storm through Frozen, lacing the crowd with hard-hitting lines and even harder riffs. This is a track laden with cascading guitars, demonstrating Fading Intentions at its coldest. Whilst we didn’t have the brutal monstrosity of Taylor Holmes’ 1915 reading of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Boots’, featured in the introduction to the record, or the full whimsy of the Planet Caravan-esque vocals during the sung lines on tracks like Reality Slips, what we were given was the ferocity behind the band, gnarly and stripped down to its roots. The breakdowns swung intensely, and the crowd absolutely felt it, scathing in the way they cauterised the skin. By no means was this a fast pit, but it continuously moved with intent and thrived under pressure. By the time they threw in favourites from outside the album, tracks like Pay The Reaper and closer Opposites React, there is a real step up sonically. Complexity and nuance have their time to shine, especially in a live context. Here, the audience really threw themselves into the tracks. Boom has been infamous for being an epicentre of the extreme, and with it’s new location -less of a sweatbox and more of a rage room - it is a space to revolt. FALSE REALITY made no exception, standing up for queer and marginalised minorities.The band reach dizzy heights with the disorder of Snake Eyes and Mirror, an abbatoir of gory sounds There is nothing polite about the band, like the music the energy is close up and personal. Rallying on the UK and European circuit this summer, and adorning HERIOT and CKY with ample supporting artillery, FALSE REALITY have made a name for themselves cultivating the underground. 2025 will be the year of Faded Intentions. Words: Amber Brooks Photos: Kieran Atkinson

If Japan can do something spectacularly, it is with no doubt rock music. And who is a better representative of this ever-evolving genre than the infamous coldrain? Hailing from Nagoya, the band, currently featuring MASATO DAVID HAYAKAWA (vocals), RYO YOKOCHI (lead guitars, piano, keyboards), KAZUYA SUGIYAMA (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), RYO SHIMIZU (bass, backing vocals) and KATSUMA MINATANI (drums, percussion), was founded in 2007, and since then achieved many recognitions. With an ongoing European and UK tour, supporting the release of their latest EP, there is no doubt the band is still on the rise. The five-track EP OPTIMIZE is a perfect summary of the band's expanding style. Although it is short, it does not skimp on vocals, nor does it hold back with the precise sound of guitars and drums. The first song, which is also the title-track of the EP, starts off strong with all the features mentioned, while adding in a healthy amount of synthesis. However, it does not divide much from the sounds they are most known for, resulting into a banger of an opener that brings in the nostalgic feeling of the band’s previous works. Continuing with CHASING SHADOWS, the pace picks up a bit, diving more into heavier guitars and keeping HAYAKAWA’s clean vocals that are complimenting the overall melody. YOKOCHI’s and SUGIYAMA’s guitars are very prominent in the song, and together they create a signature sound that is sometimes followed by the synthesis. Offering a chorus that stays in the listener’s head even hours after listening to it and a bridge that is melodic, aggressive and builds quickly before going back to the chorus, the song is one of the best on OPTIMIZE. The third song of the EP, DIGITOLL, changes the band’s approach to the release, and focuses more on MINATANI’s drums. Coming once again back with swift guitars and synth, that are heard only a handful of times, the sound does not drift away from the similarities with the previous song, making it in contrast not as interesting. INCOMPLETE utilises the band’s signature sound once again, with the help of backing vocals. Apart from HAYAKAWA’s clean vocals, the listeners are also met with his screams that add another layer to the energetic song. Being close to the well-known sound of Japanese rock songs, it is not hard to picture this one as an opening or closing song for anime. The last song of the EP, FREE FALL, combines all instruments, including SHIMIZU’s bass, and creates an aggressively catchy melody, that is bound to bring some good moshpits on the tour. Not deriving from the sounds heard throughout the release, but instead adding even more ear-piercing screams throughout the song, the closing track is a pompous ending to the short journey through coldrain’s world of music. Being just a small drop in the vast sea of their work, OPTIMIZE is still vital, as it is a transition into coldrain’s upcoming new era. The band once again proved that they are still capable of staying relevant, and not only with their new release, but also with the demand for their tour. Although the songs sound majorly similar, there are still distinctive features in each of the melodies that set them apart, creating an enjoyable atmosphere while listening. Score: 7/10 OPTIMIZE was released on 24th October via Century Media Records. Words: Katerina Stepanikova Photos: Jesse Kojima

BAD SAM’s new album Trauma lands with the force of a derailed freight train, all jagged metal and unfiltered rage, but what sits underneath all that racket is a pair of artists who have spent decades turning chaos into craft. The Newport duo, consisting of DEAN BEDDIS and RICHARD GLOVER, have stripped back their operation down to its barest components: one voice carved out of social frustration and lived history, and one musician responsible for the dense, warped engine driving everything forward. The result? A record that’s punk in instinct but refuses to colour inside those old outlines, a collision of garage rock, industrial abrasion, and spoken-word tirades that teeter between gallows humour and genuine despair. The opener, Emotional Hostage, sets the tone for the rest of the album. We hear a twitching riff, drums that thud like heavy machinery, and BEDDIS pacing through thoughts about nostalgia, self-delusion, and the false comfort of “the way things used to be”. It’s not a song searching for solutions, it’s more of a warning flare that’s bright and bitterly aware that nobody’s bothering to put out the fire. Pedigree Poor narrows the scope, taking a stark look at financial instability with a sound that feels splintered at the edges. There’s an almost documentary bluntness to the way it sketches a life squeezed by systems that were never built for survival, let alone comfort or lavishness. GLOVER layers so many textures beneath the vocal that the track becomes a kind of sonic pressure cooker, as if the noise itself is trying to break free from the conditions it describes. From there, the album quickly loosens its grip on traditional punk forms and wanders into stranger territory. The Van channels the spirit of vintage protest hip-hop, filtering it through the grime of a damp Welsh rehearsal room, resulting in something equal parts tense and propulsive. Meanwhile, The Monsters Dance leans into the album’s wilder imagery with a swaggering, almost carnival-like vibe, conjuring up images of an unsettling parade you can’t look away from. It’s a grotesque hook, as well as a warning shallowly buried under satire. Silent Death cools the temperature a little, as it dissolves into cold synth shadows and a pulse that feels almost suited for a club dance floor. It’s far from providing respite though, instead unsettling listeners precisely because it suggests movement while singing about stasis and decay. Then, recently released single Popcorn and Blood plays like a dystopian sideshow, turning the idea of spectacle into a deformed entertainment economy, unnervingly tying right back into what the duo explored on The Monsters Dance. This sits perfectly before Perpetual Consumption, which circles the record back to unrelenting, direct critique: framing consumerism and overconsumption as structural violence, designed to make us destroy ourselves from the inside out. The final trio of tracks closing Trauma out are uncompromising, circling right back to a more traditional punk framing. Turn You Off distils the album’s frustrations into something lean and combative, almost like BEDDIS and GLOVER are pausing the wider social commentary to address a more personal kind of burnout - the mental drain of living in a constantly connected world. Salute the Media follows with even sharper teeth, openly antagonistic towards the way narratives are crafted and weaponised in the modern age. BEDDIS pushes his delivery into a taut chant, repeating “salute the media” in a harsh mockery of how compliant people are expected to be, and often are. The closing song, Tupperware Death Party, ties everything together with a kind of grim celebration. The mood feels strange, half mocking and half mournful, soundtracking a cathartic end without much thought for the aftermath. The track cuts out a little abruptly, with the last half-minute dissolving into a wash of ambient noise, something between wind, far-off detonation, and empty space. This feels very deliberate, leaving the listener suspended in that uneasy hush which suits the dystopian world it’s been describing all along. Trauma’s willingness to sit in discomfort is what makes it so gripping. BEDDIS and GLOVER aren’t polishing political frustration into marketable slogans; they’re tracing how it feels to live inside this pressure. The record’s raw production amplifies that mood, though it does come with drawbacks. A few tracks bury sharp lyrical ideas beneath so much grit that they sometimes lose a bit of that sting, and there are moments where the intentional roughness turns more murky than meaningful. However, even with those flaws, this record stands out because it refuses passivity. It’s confrontational, grimly satirical, and deeply aware of the structures grinding people down. In a landscape where political punk now often opts for smooth outrage, BAD SAM insist on abrasion. The scratches are the whole point, and the moments of unresolved quiet at the end make their argument louder than any final shout could. Score: 7/10 Trauma will be released on 28th November 2025, via Property Of The Lost Records. Words: Zuzanna Pazola Photos: Bad Sam, Clwb Ffoto

A sea of black band shirts waits outside The Underworld for Conjurer’s biggest ever sold-out headline show. The tension with fans is palpable as tonight the lineup is a trio of brilliant live bands: the brilliant Conjurer, Pijn and Death Goals. Opening tonight is queercore duo Death Goals, providing heavy riffs and a positive message. The duo take to the stage and the audience is hit with the bands pure energy. Encouraging the crowd to dance and have fun without hurting anyone, the crowd head bangs, spin kicks and moves along with every heavy riff. For a half-hour set, they give everything they can into a performance built on intensity and sincerity. Towards the end of the set Conjurer’s Dan Nightingale joins on vocals for one song showcasing the band’s love of the heavy music community. Next to take the stage is post-rockers Pijn. Their stage setup is unique, being built on just 3 lights surrounding the band. It’s not every day you see a metal adjacent band feature a cello , but Pijn makes their unique sound work. Their sound is about building on an initial atmosphere to a crescendo of power. The band works as one instrumental unit with every instrument responding to every other. The band keeps building throughout the set every song showcasing what the band can do. Pijn have a long legacy with Conjurer as they created the supergroup Curse These Metal Hands. Seeing both bands separately show’s what they both brought to the project. Pijn know their sound and have created their own place in music. Tonight’s headliners are Conjurer, playing their biggest ever headline set to a crowd of dedicated fans. As soon as they hit the stage the sensory overload begins. A dense mix of metal accompanied by some of the most intense lighting possible in a small venue. The band create their own world on the stage. The initial hit of music leaves the crowd standing in awe till the third song of the night leading the crowd into a frenzy. The crowd explodes intoa ball of energy. The band is heavy but it’s not just one dimensional, they explore almost every avenue possible within metal. It’s extreme and beautiful. The band forms a wall of sound that attacks the crowd with a nonstop onslaught of power. The band do not slow down for the entire hour and a half they are on stage. Every song is played with musical excellence, and the lighting makes everything retain that chaotic edge that creates a perfect metal set. The band sound like no one else and the crowd loves them even more for it. The band don’t do encores instead the final song of the night ‘Hadal’ is dedicated to someone in the crowd who promised to get a tattoo if they played it. The band is in sync with the audience for every second they are on stage. It’s Conjurer’s gig. They have made their place in metal. the set is a showcase of everything they have achieved so far and is likely the moment before they become massive. Conjurer are a must see band live for a dose of everything great in metal. Words: Will Freeman Photos: Amy Smyth

NOWHERE2RUN’s surprise release, BLOODRAVE, feels like an invitation down a staircase most people don’t notice until the bass leaking through the concrete gives it away. JAMI MORGAN and ERIC “SHADE” BALDEROSE have built something that sits several floors beneath the neon polish of mainstream techno music. The EP conjures the atmosphere of a sleazy, sweaty, underground industrial club, the kind where the air tastes metallic and the lights never settle long enough for you to get comfortable. It doesn’t just present that world though: it lives in it. Both musicians have long histories with density and distortion. Their work in CODE ORANGE pushed heavy music into hyper-modern shapes, and that same instinct for total sensory control carries over here, only rerouted through different wiring. NOWHERE2RUN pulls from industrial, techno, soundtrack design, and club culture, translating those influences with the precision of two artists who understand physicality in sound. Listening to this EP makes you acutely aware exactly how sonic pressure can affect the listener, and how noise can tell its own kind of story. Opening track Dance Till You Bleed, featuring rising UK electronic artist NIMDA, pulls you into that current with a pulse that feels ritualistic rather than decorative. Warning follows with a mantra that circles back on itself: “warning” / “it’s not just a signal, it’s a warning”. The phrasing is blunt, but the delivery lands like a distressed transmission. Paranoia twists that tension tighter, building into something perfectly fitting of its name, while the title track, Bloodrave, opens with a bright, hypnotic melody that slowly warps as its layers accumulate - a sound that starts almost innocent and ends unrecognisable, as if bent out of shape by the environment around it. Machine is the moment where the EP exposes its moving parts. Midway through, the track seems to seize with beats skipping, momentum sagging, everything juddering as though a system error has erupted inside the mix. It’s an interruption that feels fittingly mechanical rather than human, and when the track snaps back into motion it feels like something has been forced back online. That single fracture adds a sense of instability that lingers through the entire EP. Alt-pop star SIIICKBRAIN’s appearance on Floodlightz fits the record’s colder edge without softening it. Her voice arrives like a whisper caught between strobes: quiet, eerie, almost drifting out of phase with the instrumentation. She threads through the mix like someone leaning close in a room full of noise, as if she’s haunting the chaos around you. The Exit brings the experience to a close with a steadier rhythm that feels deliberate after the EP’s earlier volatility. The name is literal in a way that isn’t cliche. It’s the sound of stepping away from the sensory overload, weaving through the final corridor of a club where the walls are still vibrating from everything that came before. After all the rhythmic churn and distortion of the previous six tracks, there’s something fitting about ending on a piece that feels like you’ve finally located the door and are pushing it open into cooler air. By the end, BLOODRAVE feels less like a collection of songs and more like an engineered environment, a space with its own logic, atmosphere, and gravity. MORGAN and BALDEROSE are no strangers to folding cinematic ideas into their work, but here that influence feels particularly structural. The EP moves with the tension and release of a move score, though stripped of narrative hand-holding and pushed into something far more physical. BLOODRAVE is full of layering, but never comes across muddled. Synths snarl and scrape, fragments of sampled voices surface and dissolve, and strange technological shivers drift across the sonic field. There’s a lot happening at once, yet the mix has enough negative space for each texture to matter. Each element is masterfully calibrated to generate that mesmerising, continuous flow you fall into almost involuntarily. What’s most compelling about this EP is that, on paper, it should seem incredibly niche: an abrasive blend of industrial, noise, and techno from members of a boundary-pushing metal band. Yet the execution feels surprisingly accessible, not because the music is softened or tailored for a mainstream audience, but because its identity is so fully realised. It has the unpredictability of a Boiler Room set where the DJ tests the crowd’s tolerance, but with a darker backbone and a sharper sense of design. It’s distinctive enough to hook listeners who crave experimentation, and cohesive enough to pull in those who don’t usually venture this far into the underground. BLOODRAVE succeeds because it doesn’t mimic a scene, it builds its own. Score: 9/10 BLOODRAVE will be released on November 21st 2025. Words: Zuzanna Pazola Photos: NOWHERE2RUN

On his day off from The Confessions of a Sinner tour, NATIVE JAMES sat down to take stock of the rapid recognition of his sound, being a vehicle for making memories and using music as a mode of community. “We were able to do two stages in one day, got an encore the first time on the second stage”, he told OOR when the conversation turned to their double Glastonbury sets this year. “We weren't expecting the love we were gonna get.” Photo: Cameron Dickson He continues, “That was a highlight, actually. I’m a big Queen of the Damned fan, I put the sound in the set as an intro, and there was a kid and his dad had them on his shoulders in the middle of this circle pit as we’re playing this song! It was so wholesome…it’s nice to be part of a core memory of like a father and daughter like “remember when…” The Confessions of a Sinner tour is the second time NATIVE JAMES has hit the road, taking a supporting spot for HYPHEN earlier this year. He muses about watching him perform, “as well as seeing what he does on stage - you get inspired and take little bits from their own set and fuse it into your own.” “It’s a big move”, Native James reflects when asked about moving from support to headliners, especially at this early stage…being able to be on tour now is crazy.” When the comparison to playing local shows came up, he adds, “When I did grime, I did [play local shows]. I’m more like out, like - I’m playing like Exeter and Cornwall…you don’t want it to be too common to play in your hometown.” Thinking wider, he said, “I’m not doing this for my hometown to love me - I don’t expect anything, and we’ve been given love by other people…I love the shows because you get to see people how they really are: when you’re able to give people a room where they can take the barrier off and be themselves, and they don’t care” Native James supporting Pengshui in Exeter earlier this year - Photos: Ollie Hayman The namesake of the tour is fresh EP, Confessions of a Sinner, the exposure of which being another point of pride for Native James during the project’s genesis. “The hype’s been good! We’ve had people like ENTER SHIKARI like it, we’ve had messages from SOFT PLAY and stuff like that…it's crazy, even DON BROCO. It's been mad that people have just liked the way that we’ve done this, especially fly away. Alyx Holcombe (BBC introducing rock) shout out to her” “I think it’s one of those ones that are gonna take a while to sink in and then it will start to expand because I’m seeing it at the shows and it’s expanding now” he says, in conversation about the EP itself “it’s only been out a month and for the music we've dropped and what we’ve got for next year like..you’ll see. Big things coming. Thank you to everyone that's streamed” The favourite is DWYW: on its surface, a thrashy “fuck you” style track, but in its lyrics is where NATIVE JAMES finds joy from finding those who get it. “People are only now listening to what the lyrics are," He grins, "they're getting gas of the hype - the story is mad - obviously the quote is the famous quote off Alister Crowley, 'do what thou want, do what thou will.' He was an evil guy, an evil guy really, he was moving mad!” For the future, NATIVE JAMES is looking for collaboration “I’m open to collabs at the moment - I’ve been speaking to a couple people at the moment who do like certain types of music…in my brain I’m just like there’s like certain sounds that I can’t do but I know that that person can do it. If I can fuse certain bits here and there, I know that I can do it.” “I know that this next instalment will be…nuts, it’ll be rage, it’ll be emotional”, he finished, but had no clues as to what, when, and who, but he knows it will be chaos. Sitting down with OOR just before the final two stops of the Confessions of a Sinner Tour - before two sold-out shows in London and Bristol - he gives us the final words and sums up where he is, “I feel great! I didn’t really go into it with expectations, but as soon as we started, the people have really shown out for us and have really come and just wanted to just have fun and have a good time. We’ve done that for them. I wasn’t prepared for people to go this crazy, and they have” NATIVE JAMES comes across as humble, almost starstruck by the speed of his own rise in the alternative scene. His gratitude for the strength of feeling around this project emanates, and even more so on stage. From the outside looking in, it feels like the beginning of something great. In short, we’re seeing the future of Nu-Metal, and it is bright. Words: Julia Brunton Press Photo: Cameron Dickson Live Photos: Ollie Hayman

Emerging from the heart of Germany’s alternative scene, SEVEN BLOOD arrive with their debut album Life Is Just A Phase, which feels less like a first step and more like a cathartic eruption. Having already earned support slots alongside genre heavyweights like KITTIE and CONQUER DIVIDE, the band’s ascent is unmistakable and this record will surely propel them even further. Born from a shared moment of personal crisis, SEVEN BLOOD channel their pain into purpose, crafting a sonic refuge for listeners navigating their own emotional wreckage. Life Is Just A Phase is a deeply personal collection of tracks that trace the divergent life paths of the band with each song full of raw emotion and unflinching honesty. Their sound is a potent blend of metal and emo-core, both heavy-hitting and highly melodic. SEVEN BLOOD fuse driving basslines, gripping guitar riffs, and ethereal synth textures into anthems of vulnerability and resilience. Heavy hitting single House ≠ Home throws the listener straight into the vibe of the album, with truly emotional lyrics sung by vocalist AZARIA NASIRI, with a mix of heavy but harmonic instrumentals. Propelled by a chorus that erupts with “I wanna see this hollow life burn, This house is not my home anymore”, this is a cathartic introduction to what's to come. Cold Eyes confronts themes of mental and emotional clarity, backed by a strong back up of screamed vocals. It is a brutally honest track that captures the moment of clarity when it’s time to walk away, “Misery loves company, But I will depart”. No Breakout delivers a mix of heavy riffs and a harmony of vocals and guitar. The track leans heavier into screamed vocals, accompanied by a sharpened edge, with lyrics like “Emotions turning grey, I watch all the colours fade, I fear no one out there”. Another single from the album, Monsters provides the listener with a great harmony of bass, guitar and drums, where the vocals of AZARIA NASIRI and the screams come together with raw, unified intensity. Hourglass is a slightly more chilled track on the album, but the strong chorus remains powerful, landing impactfully with each line. This is a song with a clear SPIRIT BOX influence, with the electronic layer coming in rather unexpectedly. A more drum heavy track, debut single Killing From The Inside hits with power lines like “A parasite grew under my skin, Eating my character from within”, telling the story of being confronted by the sociopathy of others, leading the track inward in self-examination. Another song already revealed into the world, To The Unknown starts with a mysterious synth guitar beginning but erupts with heavy riffs and an even heavier drum beat. Driven by lyrics like “I surrender to the unknown, I’m not afraid to drown and die”, the track is SEVEN BLOOD at their most vulnerable, confronting moments of unease and uncertainty, channeling raw emotion into anthemic honesty. Not Your Misery returns to the electronic sound heard earlier in the album, and again flares into more heavy drum beats and bass notes, with a melodic vocal chorus from AZARIA NASIRI , “I am not your bloody misery, I am so sick of your games, Time for my glorious victory now”. As We Bleed is another great example from SEVEN BLOOD of how talented they are at creating harmony between the vocals and instruments, heading towards the end of the album with ferocity and passion, returning to some of the electronic sounds heard earlier. Strangers unexpectedly slows things down compared to the surrounding songs, but returns to earlier vibes with a heavy hitting chorus “Forget the memories, forget you and be strangers again”, and starts the descent to the end of the emotional ride of Life Is Just A Phase. The closing track, Fall From The Sky shows a clear focus on the vocals of AZARIA NASIRI backed up with heavy but complimentary instruments, and slows down the album to a stop. With a sound that is similar to LACUNA COIL and SPIRIT BOX, the debut record from SEVEN BLOOD is a bold statement. Heavy riffs and soaring melodies frame lyrics that rise defiantly from a backdrop of struggle, making this a release worth celebrating. With recent appearances on the German dates of the AS EVERYTHING UNFOLDS tour, SEVEN BLOOD are not just making noise, they’re taking space and making it their own. This is a band destined to rise; they’re ready to dominate the female-fronted alt-metal world, just you watch. Score: 8/10 Life Is Just A Phase will be self-released on 21st November 2025. Words: Lou Viner-Flood Photos: Seven Blood

The five-piece from Norway, SUNCRAFT, have delivered their second instalment, Welcome to the Coven. Following their exploration of conspiracy theories on their debut album Flat Earth Rider, they return with a genre-switching party that has your head both spinning and rocking. While their feet are firmly planted in stoner rock, they veer confidently into garage rock, and even stretch into pop-punk. It’s as if they surveyed every sub-genre and decided to kick the door down and leave their mark on all of them. This album is everything you don’t expect. Nothing on this eight-track journey is predictable - and we're more than okay with that. It kept interest, engagement, and curiosity as it rolled through so many different vibes and influences in one LP. It’s difficult to find a band to compare them to or pinpoint a direct influence, because SUNCRAFT are so diverse it feels like they refuse to stand still in any single genre. There is one standout: the guitar work. The riffs are undeniable - easily one of the band’s strongest assets. They know how to shred, and they adapt that skill to every style they touch. Rage Bait kicks the album off with full force. There’s no need to crank the volume - they come in hard and loud on their own. The title track, Welcome to the Coven, is definitely the highlight of the album. Everything about it works; it’s chaotically wonderful. It’s followed by Wizard of the Anger Magic, which carries a hint of BIFFY CLYRO energy, but with heavier vocals. The final three tracks bring this hectic album to a close: Charlatan Killer and High on Silence deliver blistering guitar solos, before everything culminates in Forgotten Goddess, which surprisingly felt like the perfect song to end on. Don’t go into this album expecting a single genre - but also don’t go in opposed to the idea, because we can guarantee there’s something here for everyone. It was a great listen, and we can easily see ourselves diving back into this rollercoaster of diverse sounds. SUNCRAFT may currently sit in the underground rock scene, but be prepared: they’re ready to break through the ground and then straight through the ceiling, bursting into the rock world on their own wacky, creative terms. Score: 8/10 Welcome to the Coven will be released on 21st November 2025 via All Good Clean Records. Words: David Waites Photos: Suncraft

An indie punk quintet based in the heart of California, SPANISH LOVE SONGS have slowly but surely been striking their roots into the genre since 2013. And not in vain, as is evident from the scale of artists they get to collaborate with and the wonderful community they continue to build. Their upcoming EP A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time is the first new music release since their 2023 album No Joy, achieving exactly what it is set to do - serve as a resting and reflecting point between the past and whatever the future awaits. Nonetheless, it is a beautiful standalone work where every song deserves its own moment of contemplation. Each track on the EP contains guest vocals from some of the greatest players in the game, and coincidentally close friends of the band - appearing on the opener, THE WONDER YEARS are no exception. Initially Lifers from their album No Joy, this song was later reimagined with completely new melody and lyrics, although the themes still mirrored the original line by line. Thereby emerged and released earlier in 2025 was Lifers Too, stripped back and toned down, making it feel even more devastating than usual. Now for the current variant, SPANISH LOVE SONGS settled for their usual happier tune, although the true emotions could still be felt through the occasional crack in the voice, almost ready to cry any moment. In all three versions, it is about not expecting to live long enough for you to start aging and growing old, and trying to make peace with it after the fact. The next guest on the bill is KEVIN DEVINE of BAD BROOKS, taking a verse on Cocaine & Lexapro. The song is an instant switch of energy, or rather a total switch off. It is one of the calmest and melancholic points on the EP, which opens it up in its own way, like a sigh under your breath because you do not have any more screams in you to let out. The narrator raises quite uncomfortable topics, being avoidant of their issues and almost egoistic: “I swear I have control of the universe expanding, I try not to think about landing”. Both the depth of the lyrical writing and their frankness certainly remain some of the strongest suits of SPANISH LOVE SONGS as musical artists. Heavenhead invites along SARAH TUDZIN of a comparatively newer group ILLUMINATI HOTTIES. Both bands have expressed being particularly passionate about this collaboration, saying that the song was begging for SARAH to be featured on it (a notion also shared throughout the whole EP and its guest artists). This track continues to explore the existential terror that inevitably arrives as life goes on, and with it grows the fear that you will soon run out of its blessings. The lyrical narrator also appears to be afraid of finally healing, and instead chooses to fall in love with pain and to keep being hurt over and over again. Sooner than we would like, the final track Berlin is set to close A Brief Intermission… It features another genre-pioneer band TIGERS JAW, this time not with one, but two vocalists lending their harmonies for the song, even though not originally planned so. Right away, the 80s synths in the signature German style transfer the listener into some other dimension, and also perhaps explain the name of the song. SPANISH LOVE SONGS strike with the most gut-wrenching and open-hearted lyrics once again: talking about fighting with severe issues, possibly related to addiction and recovery, and what is more, no one around you seeming to understand. “They call you brave, but they don’t know one thing about bravery / You spend too long feeling safe, and that’s when they get you”. A Brief Intermission… might not be as big-awaited a release as typically expected, since the songs have already been gradually coming out one by one. Still, it turned out to be no less important, with the tracks still making sense together in one unit, both musically and of course lyrically. It is a stunning work on both SPANISH LOVE SONGS’ and the featured artists’ parts, and we equally cannot wait to see what big things are to come after this brief intermission. Score: 8/10 A Brief Intermission in the Flattening of Time will be released on 21st November 2025 via Pure Noise Records. Words: Mariia Bulkina Photos: Hannah Gray Hall

It takes time for a band to be able to tour arenas. It takes skill to be able to pull it off. VOLBEAT delivered a truly professional arena performance on the last night of their world tour. Opening was Manchester’s WITCH FEVER. They brought a mixture of grunge-goth and metal to the stage, which is not very usual for an arena setting. Yet the band knew how to command such a large stage this early in their career. Having recently released their second album Fevereaten, they treated the audience to many tracks from the album. Their sound created a haunting mood with a dense atmosphere. They effortlessly blended all their influences into a singular sound only they could play. It felt as if the band is gaining big recognition with their music and will one day be headlining this very same arena. However, they felt like an unusual choice on the lineup as their sound does not necessarily align directly with VOLBEAT, although the headliner has always been about celebrating all things metal. Next on the lineup was BUSH, who brought their post-grunge sound for a fifty-minute set. Their sound had a brooding atmosphere that separates them from many others in the genre. The band works as a four-piece to bring their sound together, taking the crowd back to the 90s. BUSH were massive in the 90s and it is clear there was a large contingent of their fans in Wembley. The band played some classics, as well as newer tracks, balancing it well for an arena support set. The highlight of the set came during the final track, when the frontman GAVIN ROSSDALE left the stage and began singing in the crowd. He wanted to bring the crowd closer to the band and this was the easiest way to do it. People started moshing around him and the set rushed to a close. After the surprise, everyone was ready for VOLBEAT to take over the stage. VOLBEAT knows how to do arena rock right. The opening of the set was a peak arena cheese, a giant curtain with the shadows of the members on fell down during the first song to reveal the band. From that very moment, VOLBEAT had the crowd in the palm of their hand. The stage itself was perfect for an arena as it was complete with a long runway and multiple microphones, so frontman MICHAEL POULSEN could sing and perform close to every section of the crowd. His passion for his craft was evident, as he brought joy to every song. The band flawlessly played every track they touched and left just enough space for the audience to sing along to every fan favourite song. For a band that is often criticised for not being very metal, the show was a proof why they are true metal. Some of their riffs had that specific heaviness that makes one pull a face like they sniffed something nasty. The fans went as hard as possible in the pit and nothing could stop them even when they slipped over. The band is not one dimensional, the members can make the crowd laugh, cry and mosh all during the same night. When JOHAN OLSEN joined them on stage to play For Evigt, the crowd had a collective emotional moment. VOLBEAT does everything on stage for their fans and puts everything they can into their shows. There was no encore as Volbeat did not need gimmicks for their set, it was simply good rock and roll. The one thing the fans will always take with them from a VOLBEAT set is a giant smile and perhaps a few tears. Words: Will Freeman

Hot off the release of their latest album Dreams of Being Dust, THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE & I AM NO LONGER AFRAID TO DIE have embarked on a multi-date tour across both the US and Europe, hitting several festivals along the way. During their UK leg of the tour was a date at Nottingham’s Rough Trade, which, for those unfamiliar, is a venue that is the embodiment of intimate - so much so that you may be mistaken where the stage actually may be - tucked away at the back of a bustling bar area where the tables are not tables, but music gear flight cases. Rough Trade is not a venue that you may expect to find a band that the following day is headlining the Eyesore Merch stage at Manchester’s Damnation Festival, yet here they are. For those who attended, though, you can consider yourselves lucky. The walls in this venue are rich with history as they are emblazoned with scrawls of band names who had been there before, from EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING, MALLGRAB, PALE WAVES, SLEEP IN MOTION, and more. Joining TWIABP on their UK tour is the punk band CHURCH OF THE RAT, the only opener for this show, too, and what an opener they are. Exploding on the stage at a timely eight pm, you were immediately smacked by the band’s presence despite the venue still filling up - but that did not matter to the band as they certainly gave it their all. Mentioning the venue once again, the stage is tiny - so much so that you might wonder just how a band with six members may all fit. This was evident with CHURCH OF THE RAT, too, despite only having four members, it was a bit of a tight squeeze. So much so that SAM DAVIES, the band’s vocalist, took advantage of the space at the front of the crowd. This move was a good decision, too, as it really helped show the crowd that CHURCH OF THE RAT were not here to mess around, bringing that basement punk show vibe to Rough Trade and helping get the crowd moving - no easy feat for a support act. This was all assisted by SAM’s showmanship as a frontman, barking powerful vocals with a somewhat flamboyant delivery. He was truly absorbing the moment that evening and made for a compelling watch. CHURCH OF THE RAT were able to bring a vibe to the function that was equal parts aggressive but also emotionally charged. Between songs, SAM was not shy about pushing the meanings behind songs, with one being about the murder of the United Healthcare CEO, exclaiming the innocence of Luigi Mangione, while applauding “whoever did it”, then calling out capitalism and the freeing of Palestine - something the crowd absolutely lapped up. After around thirty minutes of recovering from the onslaught brought on by CHURCH OF THE RAT, our main act took the stage. Those at the show may have noticed a bit of a stunted start as there were murmurs of technical issues, but with only a few minutes delay, THE WORLD IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE & I AM NO LONGER AFRAID TO DIE exploded with Dimmed Sun, the opening track from their latest album. This is a pretty interesting track to open with, too, as those familiar with Dreams of Being Dust will know just how heavy this track begins. With heavy blastbeats from the off, Dimmed Sun almost demands an explosive crowd reaction; however, Rough Trade that evening did not quite move as you would expect from a song kicking off this heavy. Perhaps there is a lack of familiarity with this album, as it has only been out for two months, or maybe the intimate venue, with no barriers or security, made the crowd aware of the need to be sensible. Either way, the crowd reaction was a little reserved. If the new album is not quite in your repertoire of TWIABP songs you are familiar with, then you may have come away a little disappointed, as the majority of the set was made up of tracks from Dreams of Being Dust. The set list that evening had just two other songs, January 10th, 2014 and Heartbeat in the Brain, being from other albums in their catalogue. It was evident from the crowd reaction that these songs were true fan favourites, with January 10th, 2014, having the crowd singing along and moving, only for the usual head-nods coming back when they followed up with Oubliette. This was addressed by vocalist DAVID BELLO early on in the set with his soft-spoken, gentle demeanour, adding that most of the songs played that night were from the new album, but there are a few older songs in there too, “so there’s something for those who dislike the other”. It makes sense that their set list would be put together this way, as their latest album has heavier instrumentals than some of their previous albums. Those of you familiar with Illusionary Walls will be somewhat at home, but if you are a bigger fan of Whenever, If Ever for example, it might be a little heavier than you would expect. That being said, the band certainly performed, even if they were one member short as their guitarist, ANTHONY GESA, could not make the tour, so guitar tracks were played in his absence, which the crowd instantly memed, cheering every time his guitar tracks were played. The show overall was a treat for fans of their entire discography, even if you are more familiar with their early albums. TWIABP proved that they can pull off a heavier post-hardcore, metalcore-driven setlist with ease while also slipping back into familiar territory with their more melodic emo songs. The band were tight as hell, even with the odd technical issue the band faced, they were not deterred and continued to put on one hell of a show. Words: Aaron Richardson

Marking their biggest headline show at none other than the legendary O2 Academy Brixton. Malevolence bring their brand new album ‘Where Only The Truth Is Spoken’ accompanied by PSYCHO-FRAME, Dying Wish and Speed. Starting off the night with possibly the heaviest band on the line-up, PSYCHO-FRAME took to the stage to bring their Florida Deathcore to the audience at Brixton; they absolutely did not hold back, putting their guitars in Drop D and delivering some of the cleanest pig squeals ever heard by this venue. With two heavy vocalists, they wasted absolutely no time getting the audience pumped, pits opened up, to which arms and legs began flying to the heavy and dirty riffs of PSYCHO-FRAME. The music impressed, it hit hard and the band gave it their all; for an opening act it’s always really nice to see the audience reciprocating the energy they give out, which doesn’t happen too often for opening acts, but these guys pulled it off. Next up came a band who’s been on our radar for a while; hailing from Portland, Oregon, Dying Wish doesn’t mess around with how much energy and finesse she gave give an audience. With elements of Melodic Metalcore and hardcore, this band also drew a massive reaction from the crowd with a bigger pit, more people jumping and even a lot of people singing along. Boster had a serious stage presence during this set, projecting their angelic voice to the back of the venue and bringing it back down to dirty, unclean vocals. Soundtracked by Sam, Pedro, Jeff and Jon's chaotic riffs, the new album 'Flesh Stays Together' was cathartic and intense, proving that they are one of the most underrated bands on the circuit. Next up was Speed, who absolutely tore a Brixton a new one; the energy from the moment they stepped on stage was ramped up to eleven. Coming from Sydney, Australia, Speed brought a level of aggression and energy not often seen by a band, least of all by an opening act; starting with their insanely quick song, ‘DON’T NEED’, which turned the crowd upside down, the hardcore pitting came into full force here. People flew through the air for Speed as arms and legs flailed around in a frenzy. There’s not much that can be said about Speed that hasn't already been said, they are simply just incredible; their passion only rivals their pure aggression and relentlessness to delivering a kick ass show, if you have any kind of interest in heavy music or hardcore, this band has to make your bucket list; because how can you miss the chance to see some flute played in a breakdown? Finally, it was time for Malevolence; in an act we can only call legendary, before the band took to the stage, Alan Ford, known as Brick Top from Guy Ritchie’s film ‘Snatch’, graced Brixton with his presence as he riled up the crowd, ready for the headliner. Letting the audience know that he has seen some crazy stuff, but he’s never seen what the band were about to do; he introduced them and Malevolence took to the stage for their biggest ever sold out, headline crowd. And what an entrance, opening with ‘Blood To The Leech’ they spared no expense making sure they meant business; the set design of the stage erupted to show off their extravagant set up and was honestly worthy of an arena and that’s honestly where we see this band heading, with the resurgence of heavier music into the fray it’s easy to see why Malevolence would be at the forefront of that movement. A set combining the best of their new album 'Where Only The Truth Is Spoken', the intense 'Malicious Intent' with the ferocity of crowdpleasers 'Self Supremacy' and 'Keep Your Distance', the Brixton pit was spun into a frenzy. Guitarist Josh Baines led by example, infusing the set with delicious solos, backed up by the ferocity of Konan Hall's raspy vocals. In moments like their ethereal 'Higher Place', both shone with immense furiosity. Still, Wilkie Robinson's deep-hitting bass pushed their set to the extreme, tempoed by Charlie Thorpe's wicked percussion. From 'Salt The Wound' to 'Still Waters Run Deep', Brixton left no survivors. This was a homecoming of immense proportions. The set only escalated in energy from then, with Frontman Alex Taylor asking the crowd to erupt into as many circle pits as possible, and it is safe to say the crowd turned into a stormy sea filled with whirlpools that made any passive audience member be sucked into the chaos of the set. This show felt like a real stepping stone and just an inkling into what Malevolence have planned next. They’ll go bigger, they’ll go harder, and they’re going to rule heavy music for many years to come. Words and Photos: Ben Blisset