In this week’s New Records Round Up, we bring you teasers for 10 recently announced albums and EPs.
DeadWax – NU-K
DeadWax release new EP NU-K on May 15.
Vocalist Jake Milburn said: “Our goal as a band and for our upcoming EP has been to combine the more traditional guitar based music like rock and metal with the dance genres pioneered in the UK like dubstep, jungle and drum and bass. Our love for these genres came from our teens going to raves around Huddersfield and Leeds.
We wanted to take the energy of jump up DnB and deliver it as a full live band, and this track has been a firm fan favourite in our live shows for the last six months. I’ve found in dance music that simplicity is king, and we leant into that for this track and focused more on tone and sound design than technicality of parts, which gives the track its undeniable energy.”
Quiet Fear – La Tierra Arriba/El Abismo Abajo
Quiet Fear will release new record La Tierra Arriba/El Abismo Abajo on June 19 through Iodine Recordings.
Tracklist:
Tiniebla
Retén
Sophistry
Soledad
Metathesiophobia
Baile Nocturno
Cero Oscura
Insurgentes
Silueta
Sombras
Pseudo Cristo
Sangre Ajena
Delirio
Quiet fear – la Tierra arriba/el abismo abajo
Laptop – On this Planet
Credit: Michael Jurick and Nathanial Johnston
Laptop will release new record On this Planet on June 26 through Hurricane Cove Records.
It’s the first new record in 20 years.
Jesse Hartman said: “Maybe I was having a mid-life crisis. Or early dementia. Or maybe it was bumping into Brian Eno’s old drummer in a bar, but I just felt compelled to make a new album after a 20-year break. These were ideas I’d been humming into voice memos since ’06 never really thinking they’d turn into songs. But suddenly they did.
“I used to write about relationship weirdness, but on this album, I turned to world weirdness. Humans staring at metal rectangles, the environment wobbling, politics feeling like theatre. I tried to write about it without sounding like I was giving a lecture. You gotta laugh about such things.
“Laptop started as a laptop project—literally—making songs on my IBM thinkpad in 1997. Now it’s become a real band with guitars, saxophones, and humans in the room. That evolution is part of what makes the record feel alive.”
Tracklist:
Always Something
Xanadu
Thirst
Squirrel-A-Bug
The Piano
Amberian Dawn – Temptation’s Gates
Credit: Kanerva Mantila
Amberian Dawn will release new album Temptation’s Gates on June 26 through Napalm Records.
Tuomas Seppälä said of Temptation’s Gates:
“When I started working with our new singer, I felt the same kind of excitement I had years ago when I began creating our debut album back in 2007 and 2008. At that time, AMBERIAN DAWN were still newcomers to the band world, even though we were already experienced musicians.
“With Temptation’s Gates, I felt that same spark of creating something new for the first time in a long while. I hadn’t composed many songs yet when I began collaborating with our new vocalist. Most of the material came together surprisingly fast once I realized how easy and natural it was to work with her.
“I was deeply inspired by Nicole’s enthusiasm, dedication, and efficiency. I truly feel that the band has been reborn with her joining us.
“Musically, our style has evolved once again, perhaps moving slightly back toward a heavier, more metal-driven direction. At the same time, elements of our classic sound and identity are naturally still present. In many ways, creating this album felt like going back to my roots. For the first time in a long while, I also took on a bigger role as a guitarist. I focused more on crafting guitar riffs, played roughly half of the guitar leads on the album, and even performed one full guitar solo myself.”
Nicole Willerton said: “Temptation’s Gates is the first album I’ve sung on and recorded with AMBERIAN DAWN, and it has been a beautiful experience.
“While writing the lyrics, each song was inspired by feelings, memories, and moments that were especially prominent during the creation of the album. Writing the lyrics felt like diving into the subconscious, bringing these emotions to the surface. It was wonderful to explore the creative process of arranging the backing vocals. I especially love how AMBERIAN DAWN’s music makes strong use of backing vocals, helping to create a fuller, richer sound around the lead vocals. It’s definitely a fiery album that combines a broad spectrum of emotional depths, ranging from love and melancholy to darker elements such as fear and inner struggles. A recurring message throughout the album is to embrace one’s true desires and to accept and acknowledge one’s honest feelings.”
Tracklist:
Temptation’s Gates
The Vision of Dreaming
Moon
Unchained
Eternal Flame
Life is Art
This Night is Waiting for Me
Undying Colours
The Garden
Phantasmagoria
Dead Pioneers – Wagon Burner
Credit: Derek Bremner
Dead Pioneers will release new album Wagon Burner on June 26 through Hassle Records.
Tracklist:
Dead Presidents
Nazi Teeth (feat. Stephanie Byrne / Cheap Perfume)
A Message From Mr. Bell
No Kings
Animals That Roam The Earth
Never Alone (feat. The Interrupters)
The Worst Among Us (feat. Jason Williamson / Sleaford Mods)
Seeing Red
Circle Jerk The Wagons
Zealots
Nobody
LFG
Exploring Birdsong – Every House We Built
Credit: Luke Tatlock
Exploring Birdsong will release debut album Every House We Built on June 26 through Long Branch Records.
Tracklist:
Archipelago
42
Romanticise
Footprints
Arrhythmia
Spy In The House Of Love
I_You
The Warning
You Like It Best When It Hurts
Cartography
Every House We Built
Meadowlands
SIIICKBRAIN – Houndstooth
Credit: Bianca Gerasia (@theglasscamera)
SIIICKBRAIN will release new album Houndstooth on June 3 through NOWHERE Recordings in partnership with Pale Chord/Rise Records BMG.
SIIICKBRAIN said: “HOUNDSTOOTH finally feels like I have found the sound I’ve been searching for since I started making music. The honest and personal lyrics on certain tracks along with the through line of who I am and where I come from truly just feels like the album is the best representation of myself that I could’ve made.
“The high energy on the production side really shows that through the challenges that everyone faces in life, I’ve found the best coping mechanism to simply be finding the fun again. There’s a way to be honest and process thoughts and emotions while still living a high vibrational lifestyle and I think I finally figured it out.”
Tracklist:
INTRO
CONTROL
FLESH
FILTHY featuring Fetish
DELICATE
I LIKE
I WOKE UP ALIVE
HER
LOSER
DIRTY LAUNDRY
FAWN
Black Spikes – Ydos
Credit: Lunaria (Augustina Miknevičiūtė)
Black Spikes will release new album Ydos on August 28 through Napalm Records.
The band said: “Ydos is a conceptual album — a dark fairytale about human vices. The idea was there from the very beginning and guided the entire songwriting process. Each vice has its own name and story, and many songs will be brought to life through music videos where these vices take shape. It was our first time creating a conceptual album, and we really enjoyed starting with an idea and expressing it through music.”
It is their first album on Napalm Records. Speaking of the signing, Black Spikes said: “The funny thing is that while celebrating the release of our single ‘Imperatore,’ we were actually discussing and even researching what it takes for a band to be signed by Napalm Records. Coming from a small country with a tiny metal scene and performing in our native language, we concluded we didn’t stand a chance and decided not to bother reaching out. A week later we were contacted by Napalm Records ourselves — and at first, we honestly thought it was a scam. But here we are, incredibly excited and looking forward to where this beautiful cooperation will take us.”
Christian Hollick, Napalm Records’ junior A&R, said: “When I first heard BLACK SPIKES, I was overwhelmed by their sound. For me, it’s a unique songwriting style that combines progressive influences with electronic beats. Agni’s vocals, delivered in their native language, make it something truly special. The upcoming album marks a new era of uniqueness. This band has a great future ahead, and we are excited to embark on this journey together.”
Tracklist:
PASAKA
MOTINA
MELAS
MARA
ZELVAR
REVANA
APATIJA
AUREA
SENAS DEMONAS
DULKĖS
Bolan – Gargoyle of the Garden State
Bolan – the solo project of Skid Row bassist Rachel Bolan – will release debut album Gargoyle of the Garden State on June 12.
Bolan said: “Gargoyle of the Garden State is not a project, it is every bit of my soul.
“Like me, it knows when to be serious and also knows where the party is.”
The album has a number of special guests including Corey Taylor, Danko Jones, Nuno Bettencourt, Damon Johnson, Steve Conte, and Skid Row members Scotti Hill, Dave ‘Snake’ Sabo, and Rob Hammersmith.
Bolan said: “It was incredible to work with so many of my talented friends an experience I wish everyone could have at least once.”
Moonspell – Far From God
Credit: Chantik Photography by Sonja Schuringa
Moonspell will release new album Far From God on July 3 through Napalm Records.
Fernando Ribiero said: “To create Far From God, we had to wait for the muse.
“Again, she didn’t fail us and revealed herself in the most mysterious and beautiful ways to us. It took us five long years of hit and miss, of despairing to the point of thinking we didn’t have it anymore, and why should we at all create new music? But I’m glad we persisted. Far From God is a true crusade against the decline of the style in the past few years, a darkly crafted statement that Moonspell is here to stay and to claim our throne. No politics, no socials, no intervention, just sickly romantic love, vampires, werewolves so we can all die of beauty, in peace and elegance. Goth bless you.”
Tracklist:
Cross Your Heart
Far From God
Biblical
The Great Wolf in the Sky (Feat. Alicia Nuhr/Strings)
Your Promise of Light
For the Love of Mortals
Our Freedom to Fall
Reconquista
