UK upcoming hard-hitters Borders have just released a phenomenal 10-track album titled Purify and it goes hard. If you are expecting a moment to simmer down, then you're in the wrong place - This is all kinds of brutal breakdowns, pacey riffs, and gut wrenching vocals with little time to breathe.
For the last few years, in the tech-metal scene, there have been two titans on either side of The Pond: Tesseract and Periphery. Now when your transatlantic cousins take the ‘Black Album’ school of thought and trim everything down, tighten it all up and produce the shortened album of less expansive works that was Sonder, what do you do? Well, apparently, you mark your first release away from Sumerian records by throwing seemingly everything you can think of, and the kitchen sink, at your new record. And for Periphery, it is a resounding success.
Birmingham noise makers CREATURE have recently released their new EP titled HEX, stating the raw authenticity of playing music without the clicks, without the triggers, just human-art in the heavy metal world.
With Mysterium Tremendum, Oregon metal band Lord Dying produce songs that would wet the taste buds of any Mastodon, High On Fire or other stoner/sludge metal fan. The album comes out the blocks roaring (literally) and for six songs is nothing short of excellent.
Kurokuma's new EP 'Sheffield's Best Metal Bands Vol. 1' sounds, from the title, like a compilation of local acts. It is, in fact, a 4 track EP of psychedelic, doom sludge. Whatever that means, I'm just quoting the press packet if I'm being honest.
Hollywood Undead at the Leeds o2 Academy is, thus far, the biggest gig I've reviewed. They're also, as the saying goes, not my cup of tea. However, Avatar aren't my cup of tea. Royal Republic aren't (really) my cup of tea. Five Finger Death Punch definitely aren't my cup of tea. And I enjoyed all of those bands live.
According to other people, Death Blooms are a big thing for the UK hardcore scene, so the release of their new EP 'You Are Filth' is an important point for the band. Having only 4 songs, however, means they have to deliver the goods. And they do, but theres a few bads in there too.
New New Years Day record 'Unbreakable' comes after a dissatisfied band scrapped a tonne of songs and set out to write a new batch, all ready to explode and show both the band's anger and pride. Costello wanted to go somewhere different, and she has.
It's not really a debate that last Christmas I has some amazing presents. I got some coloured Judas Priest vinyl, some Rise Against, Nikki Sixx's photography book and lots of chocolate. But one thing I hadn't realised was that this year I would have a late present. Wake Up Hate officially became a band and released their debut single 'The Cycle' on Christmas Eve, but I'd been too caught up in the festivities to hear it. When I did hear it, it changed a lot of things, namely my perception of debut singles. These guys hadn't just hashed out a first song to get there name out there. They were shooting for the stars from the get go.
American extreme metal outfit Enterprise Earth are back with their third LP, Luciferous. The band, formed in 2014 by two ex members of Infant Annihilator and Takeover, started out with their debut EP XXIII and debut LP Patient Ø with their latest full length coming last year in the form of Embodiment. Luciferous is described by vocalist, Dan Watson, as the band's "strongest, most mature release to date" which sets expectations high to say the least.
Norwegian metallers TEMPEL have released their debut self titled album.
Lotus Eater's new EP 'Social Hazard' is a 7 track fast paced angry extravaganza of biblical proportion. The song lengths are consistently short, which works far better for this metalcore outfit, especially from the point of view of someone who doesn't listen to the genre. And that's not because it's over fast. It's because it actually makes it feel accessible rather than overpowering. After reviewing I expected to find myself in a cold sweat, but in actual fact, I was only slightly too warm.
The Raven Age are a band who have had a lot of high praise laid upon them in recent years, including being hailed as one of next big hopes in British metal. They certainly have ambitious credentials, creating and releasing their new album Conspiracy almost entirely DIY and through their own label Corvid Records. Conspiracy also promises the continuation of an epic storyline centred around the ravens in the Tower of London. Is the hype surrounding The Raven Age something they can live up to?
While She Sleeps have certainly had a bumper couple of years. Following the massive (and somewhat unexpected!) success of 2017’s entirely self and fan-funded “You Are We”, released on their own Sleeps Brothers Records, which netted them a best album win at the Heavy Music Awards and a top ten album in the UK charts, you’d think it might be pretty hard for Sheffield’s masters of metallic hardcore to keep the momentum going.
