Melodic Metalcore has come on in leaps and bounds in the past half decade, with acts like Catch Your Breath earning their stripes with the high numbers of streams on TikTok as well as Bad Omens becoming a stand-out act in the genre with the help of a single album, the cleaner, more Pop and R&B-influenced side to the genre is making waves in the scene. Continue reading
Fresh onto the Hardcore/Metalcore scene in 2021 were Feed The Beast, with their debut single with “Flowtick.” Since then, the band have been grinding hard releasing a slew of singles, EPs, and an album already. Now, with their second full-length album in tow, Mercy (Futureless Records). The band are once again here to show what they’ve got to offer the world of metal and hardcore. Continue reading
For a band composed of members of other prog bands, creating something more melodic based in the post-hardcore-meets-hard-rock project, Black Map was something not entirely expected over a decade ago. Now three albums into the band’s career, and the band have made huge strides, having the technicality of their previous progressive bands and bringing it into a whole new scene, Black Map captured something new. For Hex (Spinefarm Records), the trio went in a more upfront approach to the creation process. While a complete U-turn from their previous album, how will this fare for the new release? Continue reading
Since their inception, Deafheaven have always been that band not to show where they’re going next. After releasing what some could consider their magnum opus in Sunbather (Deathwish Inc.), the band did not let that define the band they would become. Only two years later, they’d return with the far more moody New Bermuda (Anti Records/Epitaph Records). This would continue for the career they’d lead up to this point, especially in their previous efforts, Infinite Granite (Sargent House), taking the band from the Blackgaze sound they had cultivated and popularised, in search of a lighter, synthier approach. That brings us to the modern day, and it seems for all the teasing the band have done over the lead-up to their new project, Lonely People With Power, their debut release in their new deal with Roadrunner Records. This appears to be a culmination of what’s come before in one solid package, how these conflicting sounds will come together and meld is a completely different matter altogether.Continue reading
Since originally forming decades ago, the name of Killswitch Engage has become synonymous with the metal-core genre as a whole. It is impossible to have a discussion of what makes the best albums and artists in the subgenre, without the veteran band being mentioned at least once. Throughout their careers, the band have strived on to create some of the most iconic melodies and songs that could have only come from this band, amongst the thousands that make up metalcore. Now on their ninth studio album, This Consequence (Metal Blade Records), the band are taking it again up another level, according to their frontman Jesse Leach. Can the band fulfill these lofty highs now so far into their career?
Despite only releasing their first music at the turn of the decade, UK Rockers, Juliet’s Not Dead have been hard at work, grafting away, releasing numerous EPs and even their first debut album over the past 5 years. Now ready to demonstrate where the band plan to move onto, comes their sophomore release The World Is Ours (TMR Records). Just like the name implies, the band have lofty goals when it comes to their music. Hiring Grammy-nominated producer, Romesh Dodangoda, to bring that extra flair and sleek sound design to their music, the band have a lot of hopes and dreams riding on this album.Continue reading
For a microgenre that asserts itself to be progressive and quite serious, the result in regards to band members is quite the opposite. Djent, while having quite serious origins in the progressive metal-sphere, quickly turned quite tongue-in-cheek, with even big hitters Periphery using their tongue-in-cheek album title Djent is not a genre as a light-hearted jab at the genre. Vertex, on the other hand, seem like they’re bringing in a more serious tone to the scene, taking inspiration from huge acts in the acne with their debut EP in 2019, the band have been hard at work to follow this up with their debut album, The Purest Light (Le Cri Du Charbon). This may have taken over 5 years, but the band has grafted hard to create this 53-minute behemoth. Continue reading
Alabama is a state with a very well-known identity and stereotype, often ascribed as being synonymous with the uneducated, right-wing conservative types. It is aspirational that the hardcore troup, No Cure, want to change that for the better. All bands have gotta start somewhere, and with a list of features, your arm’s length, No Cure certainly are reaching high with their brand new EP I Hope I Die Here (SharpTone Records).
It seemed as if it was the end for the Guildford-based Metalcore stalwarts Polar after having lost a lot of members of the original band in 2023.
Not content with letting the band be put to rest, Adam Woodford decided to bring on a whole new team and carry on the passion project. Continue reading
The world of Post-Grunge and Octane-Hard Rock is often looked down upon in the alternative scene with phrases like “buttrock” and “divorced-dad rock” now part of the common lexicon when referring to such highly esteemed bands like Nickelback and Shinedown. Continue reading