Be honest: who else is sick of summer? Don’t get us wrong, long sunny days can be lovely, but after a few months we’ll admit we’re getting itchy for those cool nights and the things that go bump in them.
Speaking of which, here are the results of our last poll! Clearly we’re not alone, as there’s a definite spooky vibe going on in the winner’s from our end of July round-up (we missed last week because we were being roasted alive at Bloodstock). In third place was the debut single from Sheri Moon Zombie, while all-round metal legend Tony Iommi took second. But our winners for the week – by some distance – were Silvertomb, the doom metal project featuring former Type O Negative alumni Kenny Hickey and Johnny Kelly, two musicians who clearly know their way around the Autumnal season.
We’ve got a diverse mix this week as we bring you new tunes from the likes of Green Lung, Mastodon and Godflesh, plus (potentially) newer bands to check out like Gradience, Netherwilds and Noctule. Don’t forget to tell us which song excites you most by casting a vote in the poll below – and stay hydrated and cool out there. Halloween beckons.
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Mastodon – In The Ruins
There’s only a couple of weeks left to go before we get Mastodon‘s new album Marrow Deep (Aug 28, to be exact). It might be their first album without Brent Hinds, but the sound that’s turned them into one of the 21st Century’s most critically hailed metal bands is still very much present and correct in new single In The Ruins, a track that makes great use of tonal shifts to explore the space between heft and gentle melody.
Noctule – Goddess Of Rot
Next week Svalbard will play their final show at ArcTanGent festival. But while there’s definitely sadness at losing one of the UK’s most talented blackened post-hardcore bands, we aren’t losing them entirely. Vocalist Serena Cherry unveiled her video game themed solo black metal project Noctule back in 2020 and second album Extinguish Thy Flame is due September 25. Latest single Goddess Of Rot definitely taps into a familiar sound that fans of Svalbard will recognise – furious, majestic and impossibly emotional.
Green Lung – Black Magick Radio
Green Lung know their way around a catchy tune. Spooky season might still be a few weeks off, but Black Magick Radio is practically dripping in ectoplasm, the Londoners clearly having a lot of fun with old school keyboard sounds as they evoke the dark magical appeal of the late 60s and early 70s. New album Necropolitan is due September 11. “In praise to the Sabbath” indeed.
The Cartographer – Griefworn
Newcomers out of Derby, there’s something oppressive and hackle-raising about The Cartographer’s Griefworn. Sure, it’s got the kind of pummelling, relentless aggression we’ve come to expect of modern metal, but there’s also a sense that pressure is mounting and it’ll properly explode at any moment. Keep your eyes out for their debut The Collapse Of A Bitter End on September 18.
Godflesh – Living/Ending
For almost 40 years Godflesh have been the epitome of crushing, claustrophobic industrial metal. Justin Broadrick might be retiring the project in the near-future – a hernia surgery has left him unable to perform the band’s characteristic bulldog snarls for long periods – but before they bow out we’ve been promised two more albums. Living/Ending comes from Decay, due September 25 and perhaps unsurprisingly, given everything Broadrick’s been through, it’s a nihilstic vision of a future you hoped would never come to pass. Naturally, we love it.
Zilqy – World’s End
A new group emerging out of Japan, Zilqy features former members of Aldious and Lovebites, though feels decidedly more contemporary than either of those groups. There’s something almost industrial about the clattering low-end, balanced with clear radio sensibilities. World’s End comes from the band’s debut album Birth Of Riot, due October 7.
Battlesnake – Mud Apocalypse
They were the vomit, and they killed satan, now Battlesnake are harbingers of the Mud Apocalypse. The colourful Aussies have become first festival mainstays here in the UK over the past couple of years, and debuted this latest single at Bloodstock last weekend, delivering it with the typical po-faced, trad metal glory that all of their songs have championed thus far.
Gradience – Undone
Nobody is blending genres quite like Denmark’s Gradience. Undone starts out like a post-black metal rager complete with blast-beats, only to give way to modern hip hop flows and melodies. It’s a stark contrast of styles, but works incredibly well, the snarling blasts of heaviness only highlighting how well the band can fuse two disparate elements together. The group’s debut album Anomaly is out September 4.
Netherwilds – Helm Yeah
Who says its only folk and black metal bands who can enjoy a bit of renaissance fair dress-up? Netherwilds sound like they come from New York in the early 90s and look like they’re fighting their way out of the 16th Century, Helm Yeah a very tongue-in-cheek tune all about cutting loose and aspiring for more. We’ll be honest, we’re looking forward to debut Peasant Rising on October 9.
Hippotraktor – Oblivion Walker
Sounding like a fender bender in an asteroid belt, Hippotraktor have the remarkable ability to bridge the djenty technicality of Tesseract with the gorgeous, cosmic melodies of Mastodon. At least, that’s what we’ve got with Oblivion Walker, a brilliant cut taken from new album Annihilist, due October 2.
