Browsing Tag

Melodic Metal

Mondegreen Melodised Nu Metal in Their Annhilative Revival, Are You Sure

Posted on 9 April 2024

With their debut single, Are You Sure, Oxford’s Mondegreen did more than just throw their hat in the Nu Metal revival ring; the expansive annihilative aural aesthetic in the cataclysmic hit allowed the five-piece to stand at the vanguard of the movement and tear down the constructs that constrain the genre.

By feeding the juggernautical grows of the basslines, the cacophonous percussion and the sirening guitars in an ethereally intense atmosphere injected with Metalcore increments of electronica, nostalgia for Mushroomhead, and melodic vocal hooks, Mondegreen scribed a thunderously distinctive sonic signature that has the capacity to write the future of the genre.

After forming in 2023, the outfit is on a mission to deliver heartfelt lyricism through hard-hitting riffs and shake up the status quo, after Are You Sure obliterated my speakers, I can safely say they’re on the right trajectory and they’re one of the most promising new names on the UK metal scene.

Are You Sure is now available to stream on all major platforms including Spotify and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ramener took over the NY metal scene with their explosively experimental single, In Her Hand

Posted on 19 September 2023

The melodic metal monoliths, Ramener, started to take the NY Metal scene by the force of their heavy riffs and thrashing solos with the release of their debut single Dogs, in 2022. In 2023, they’re reigning rancorously supreme, especially after the release of their seminal single, In Her Hand.

With the melodic lines which bear reminiscences to Brian Molko’s twisting into classic metal volition on a whim and the instrumentals which veer from melodic hooks to thunderous power metal breakdowns sharing the same explosive propensities, In Her Hand is a lesson in high-octane authentic experimentalism.

Any fans of the 00s metal sound will want to kneel at the altar of this adrenalized masterpiece, which encompasses the visceral agony of empathy when it comes to the inner turmoil of the person whose soul most feels at home, regardless of how their afflictions afflict us.

In Her Hand was officially released on September 8^th; stream it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Falling Below tore through the façade of fallacy-weavers in their alt-metal debut, Liar

Posted on 18 August 2023

The Nottingham alt-metal emissaries in the freshly constructed powerhouse Falling Below are set to storm the local scene and beyond with their ground-breaking debut single, Liar.

Following a dissonant prelude, the tight and technical instrumentals start to breed an electrifying disquiet atmosphere for the evocative alt-metal vocal lines to charge into. Building on the iconic 00s metal sound, the amalgam of melodicism and furore that lies within Liar will leave you eating out of the palm of the five-piece’s hand.

There hasn’t been this much contempt thrown at living and breathing fallacies since Godsmack tore them to shreds with their single, I Fucking Hate You. With the guitars sharing as much vitriol as the lyrics and the sweet release of catharsis in the anthemic chorus, Liar is one of the strongest (in every conceivable way) debuts we’ve heard this year.

We can’t wait for the forthcoming eponymous debut EP, which promises to indomitably find the perfect balance between despair and hope to provide a soundtrack of resilience.

The debut single will be available to stream everywhere from August 18^th; check out Falling Below on their website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Cork’s prodigal sons of hard rock Outsound obliterated the boundaries between metal and grunge in ‘Adeline’

Posted on 3 July 2023

The debut LP, Megatherium, from the Irish hard rock raconteurs, Outsound, is finally upon us. After outgrowing their roots as a Chris Cornell tribute act and forming Outsound in 2018, the powerhouse has moved from strength to strength in their illustrious career following a string of successful independently released singles.

Blurring the lines between grunge, heavy metal, blues and hard rock, the standout single from the LP, Adeline, is a rhythmically fierce firestorm, which twists a FNM-style bass-driven intro into a syncopated stream of prog rock before the blazing guitars start cutting the record with virtuosic chops and the bouncing breakdowns bring the energy.

At the eye of the sonic storm lies the harmonised vocal lines that wrap themselves around lyrics that are enough to give Keats a run for his money. Songs named after women don’t always hit the universally resonant mark, but rather than lusting or lamenting over a protagonist, Outsound used Adeline as an opportunity to verse nihilistically romantic poetry which beds down into the beauty of the macabre.

Stream Adeline on Spotify now.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Alt Metal instrumentalist Jorge Gomez has made his debut with the ‘Beyond Blackened’ EP

Posted on 27 December 2020

Madrid-residing Spanish musician, Jorge Gomez, has made their solo debut with the EP ‘Beyond Blackened’ which serves thrashy furore while fervently stamping down his signature sound on the Metal scene. There’s very little chance his imprint will go unnoticed for much longer.

The 4-track release, which was recorded at the legendary Alex Cappa’s Metal Factory, shows just how much nuance can be packed into a fast-paced offering of blackened instrumental Metal. In the absence of vocals, there’s definitely no absence of feeling as you wrap yourself up in the progressively transfixing soundscapes which are consistently leading you into another facet of Jorge Gomez’s dynamic elemental style.

The build-ups from the melodically tender Rock intro’s, especially with track 3, Hollow, is a journey you’re going to want to take time and time again.

There really is no overstating the level of skill exhibited in Beyond Blackened. It’s so much more than just technical ability. The artist’s talent when it comes to hooking you in from the intro and toying with your emotions and rhythmic pulses and psyche in equal measure right until the outro makes Beyond Blackened one of the most promising debuts we’ve heard in 2020.

You can check out Jorge Gomez’s EP for yourselves via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

INSiGHT deliver a damning depiction of the socio-political climate with ‘THiS is AMERiCA’

Posted on 21 December 2020

Opening up with the powerful statement that ‘last year, 39,603 people died from gun violence in the USA’, ‘THiS is AMERiCA’ is a powerful indictment of gun culture and bloodshed from the California-based metallers INSiGHT. Once a six-piece, and now effectively the solo-project of multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Dave, INSiGHT drive hard-hitting, hard-riffing metal in the style of Machine Head, Pantera, Metallica, or the late, great Randy Rhoads.

Grinding and thundering like another sadly-lost guitar hero, Dimebag Darrell, Dave’s guitar tone is all heavily-scooped gain-cascaded chug and grind, the vocals alternately nonchalant and angry, mumbled or growled over rumbling bass and heavy blast-beat drums. It’s a potent mix, the angry, disbelieving message of the track made all the stronger by the stomping grind of the riff, like Pantera’s ‘Walk’ or Machine Head’s stunning ‘Davidian’. Boosted by the potent animated lyric video, ‘THiS is AMERiCA’ is a strong introduction to INSiGHT’s forthcoming album ‘GEMiNi: The Light And The Dark’.

Check out ‘THiS is AMERiCA’ on YouTube, and follow INSiGHT on Facebook and Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes

UK Alt Rock Trailblazers Settlem3nt are Set to Unleash Their Colossal New Hit “CHAMPAGNE”

Posted on 5 August 2020

Anyone with a penchant for scuzzy biting Alt-Rock won’t want to hang around on jumping on the latest release “CHAMPAGNE” from UK powerhouse Settlem3nt.

After a promising debut, the band had plenty of hype to live up to with CHAMPAGNE. They definitely succeeded with their viscerally charged infusion of Punk, Post-Rock and Metal. With the colossal sound, alchemic riffs and transfixing instrumental breakdowns, Settlem3nt easily set themselves apart from any other emerging artist.

Their high-octane sound would have reminiscences to Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes if Frank Carter went heavier with their sound, and dare I say threw in the same level of ingenuity?

You can check out Settlem3nt’s single CHAMPAGNE for yourselves from August 31^st by heading over to Spotify. In the meantime, you can check out their equally as masterfully volatile debut single Visions.

Review by Amelia Vandergast