In this week’s new records round up, we bring you teasers for seven of the recently announced albums and EPs.
As It Is – A Decade Uneventful: B-sides & Rarities (2012-2022)
As It Is will release their compilation album A Decade Uneventful: B-sides & Rarities (2012-2022) on November 20.
The album is 25 songs comprising B-sides, unreleased demos and acoustic versions.
Guitarist and vocalist Ben Biss said: “We started this band over a decade ago with little more than the hope of playing some shows with our friends.
“It is in this spirit that we are reunited, so the only place that made sense to kick it all off was Slam Dunk. A festival the band has played five times over the past ten years and that has always supported, not only our band but the scene as a whole. The platform it’s given us to connect with people is far beyond what any of us envisioned when starting this band.”
”We’re also excited that our relationship with Slam Dunk is evolving, the collection of b-sides and rarities is something we’ve been wanting to make happen for many years, and Slam Dunk Records are finally making our dream rarities project a reality!”
Tracklist:
Sinking Down (2017)
Balloons (2017)
Los Niños no Lloran (The Stigma demo) (2017)
Bleed (live demo) (2018)
Bully (The Hurt, The Hope demo) (2018)
No Way Out (acoustic) (2018)
Patchwork Love (acoustic) (2018)
Babylon Ben (2016)
May We Go Down As Lovers (2016)
Just Another Family (2016)
okay. (demo) (2016)
Still Remembering (demo) (2016)
Every Year Gets Better (2013)
John Hughes (2013)
Upswing (2013)
January (2013)
Often (2013)
Every Year Gets Better (acoustic) (2013)
John Hughes (acoustic) (2013)
Upswing (acoustic) (2013)
January (acoustic) (2013)
Often (acoustic) (2013)
Map & Compass (2012)
Pilgrims (2012)
We Fight Back (2012)
10 Years – Inner Darkness
10 Years will release their new EP Inner Darkness on October 11 through Mascot Records.
Guitarist Brian Vodinh said: “There was such a massive catalog of built-up material we went through – great demos that have everything on them except the vocals — that it was really hard to come up with the right songs that flowed together in the right way.
“There are a dozen other songs that are really strong and just need to be finished up, and we kept going back and forth, bouncing from one song to another for all eternity to try to figure out what to use. In the end, we used the ones Jesse felt the best about vocally, but there’s plenty of great stuff left to work with.”
Tracklist:
The Optimist
I Remember
Rise
The Optimist (feat. Conquer Divide)
Gravity
Speechless
The Trench
Grand Magus – Sunraven
Credit: Johan Baath
Grand Magus will release new record Sunraven on October 18 through Nuclear Blast Records.
The album deals with the concept of Beowulf. Vocalist and guitarist JB said: “The album is about Beowulf and Grendel. In essence, Sunraven is Beowulf, and that’s my own invention. But some of the songs are written about and from the perspective of Beowulf, and some of the songs are written about and from the perspective of Grendel, the monster he faces in Denmark. That kind of steered me and carried me through the lyrical process this time. I’ve never done anything like this before.
“I’ve always been fascinated by that tale. These myths and legends are about all the basic things that we sing about – life, death, glory, dishonour, love, hate, overcoming difficulties, facing impossible opposition and so on.”
Tracklist:
Skybound
The Wheel of Pain
Sunraven
Winter Storms
The Black Lake
Hour of the Wolf
Grendel
To Heorot
The End Belongs to You
Slowly Slowly – Forgiving Spree
Slowly Slowly will release new album Forgiving Spree on January 25, 2025 through Nettwerk Music Group.
Tracklist:
How Are You Mine?
Hurricane
All Time
Love Letters
That’s That
Meltdown Masquerade
Born Free
The Darkness – Dreams on Toast
Credit: Simon Emmett
The Darkness will release their new album Dreams on Toast through Cooking Vinyl Records in March 2025.
Frontman Justin Hawkins said:“You know that thing when God’s breath tickles your soul and tells you to create? Yeah, makes me giggle too. But you can’t resist.
“God might not be the power she once was, but say what you like about her, she knows damn well that what the world needs now, is rock sweet rock. And who are we, mere mortals of extraordinary ability, to argue with the divine?
“So we knuckled down and thought really hard about the best of the best, the elite songs, the life-changing music of the ages. Then we popped out a dozen bangers before lunch. And these bangers we present to you here, wallowing in an aromatic aural ragu, served atop the charred remains of our envious contemporaries… ladies and gentlemen, I give you Dreams On Toast!”
Saltwound – The Temptation of Pain
Saltwound will release their debut LP The Temptation of Pain on November 1 through SharpTone Records.
Tracklist:
We All Burn
Blight
Empty From The Start
Circle The Drain
The Temptation Of Pain
Hollow
Walking The Blade
The Righteous Hand
Ensnared
Severance (Feat. Nick Chance)
Veiled – SE/CT
Veiled will release their debut album SE/CT on October 18 through Seek and Strike.
The band said: “We always try to channel a specific emotion or feeling with each release and this album invokes a feeling of sheer terror. We wanted an air of unease around the songs, playing with tension and really appreciating the power that silence can have. The format of an album gives us the time to build more of a story and experiment dynamically compared to a shorter release. The album allowed us to delve deeper into our more atmospheric and dynamic side.
“Our second single, ‘The Sentence,’ is a song about a meeting with our leader after performing a ritual to summon him and how he can only help once they have given their life to The Sect. This track was chosen as a single because we wanted to showcase something faster and something without clean vocals. ‘Omen of Torture’ has a huge chorus, but we wanted to showcase all aspects of what VEILED can be. The video shows Kyle’s introduction to The Sect, everyone’s ritual is unique, and we felt it the right song to showcase his initiation due to the lyrical content.
“As a collective, we’re proud of how massive the album sounds. The pacing and track placements makes the album ebb and flow, helping to tell a story sonically, even instrumentally, without hearing the vocals you can feel the emotions that each track conveys. The stories we tell in our songs and videos have always been a large part of our songwriting and conceptual process. Even if a song doesn’t have a video, we always tend to write as though it will, having vivid visual imagery that goes along with the music. The album is an extension of this and a huge step up from our previous offerings. We try to keep the listener guessing as to exactly where a song or a story is going to take them.
“If you’re a fan of heavy music, then we know that we will have at least one song that connects with you. From our terrifyingly heavy songs to slower more anthemic-based songs. If you like extremely heavy music, but also like huge sing-along choruses, the two don’t always have to be mutually exclusive. Join The Sect, you might just be surprised what you find.”
Tracklist:
SECT
Forgive Me
The Sentence
Lament
Hellbound
Deathchoke
Testament
The Root Of Mans Impurity
Tides
Asphyxiate
The Awakening
Hear Me, Pain
Omen Of Torture
Reverie
