Metal Hammer's tracks of the week: September 6 2024
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Was everyone just asleep through the summer? September has officially arrived, and with it seemingly an unending procession of announcements; tours, albums, songs... take your pick! Of course, undoubtedly the biggest this week is the return of Linkin Park, the band not only returning to the stage in Los Angeles but announcing a new album and single.
But, we're getting ahead of ourselves. First, the results of last week's vote! Four bands emerged head and shoulders above the rest, but ultimately only three could take podium positions for the finish. Japanese newcomers Hanabie beat out Gojira to take an admirable third place, leaving dwarf metal heroes Windrose and Charlotte Wessels to duke it out for top. The symphonic siren ultimately emerged victorious however, her solo career continuing to thrive on latest single The Crying Room.
This week we've got a diverse spread of acts both enormous and underground for you to explore. Whether you want the new single from Linkin Park - and we bet you'll have an opinion, everybody does - to new music from Opeth, Spiritbox, Jerry Cantrell and Tribulation, or emergent acts like Hidden Mothers, Swamp Coffin, Ante-Inferno and beyond, these are our picks for the best new metal songs released this week. Don't forget to vote for your favourite in the poll below!
Linkin Park - The Emptiness Machine
Linkin Park are officially back! A special live stream event in Los Angeles on September 5 not only unveiled the group's new vocalist - Emily Armstrong of Dead Sara - but also revealed they had a brand new single and will be releasing new album From Zero on November 15. First new single The Emptiness Machine returns the group to the emotive, propulsive stylings of their breakthrough albums Hybrid Theory and Meteora, but also shows that they aren't just trying to replace Chester Bennington; Armstrong brings a new flavour to the group that both fits in with their legacy and feels like a bold stride forward.
Opeth - §3
If Opeth's first single from new album The Last Will And Testament was about showing that the death metal vocals are back, then latest release §3 is an assurance that they haven't lost the prog grandeur they've plied since 2011's Heritage. It's an impressively audatious showcase of the band's instrumental skills, symphonic elements - and even a bit of opera - underpinning riffs and rhythms that skitter, soar and swoop with gleeful abandon.
Spiritbox - Soft Spine
Will Spiritbox release a new album in 2025? They've not exactly been idle since the release of Eternal Blue in 2021, but with EPs Rotoscope and The Fear Of Fear now in the rearview and some of their biggest shows to date set for early next year, it feels like the time is right for new music. Album or no, we've got furious new single Soft Spine to tide us over in the meantime, the band continuing the progressively heavier direction they've taken since Fear..., swinging for the fences and showing why theyr'e one of metalcore's hottest new propositions.
Jerry Cantrell - Afterglow
As one of the vocalists behind Alice In Chains, it stands to reason that there'd be more than a passing resemblance to his other group in Jerry Cantrell's solo output. New single Afterglow taps into that same soulful, melancholic atmosphere, while the music video - directed by Matt Mahurin, who also did videos for No Excuses and Angry Chair - helps cement a sense that this is some classic Cantrell brilliance.
Delain - Dance With The Devil
Delain certainly aren't wasting any time in showing off their new line-ups skills. After releasing the full-length Dark Waters last year with new vocalist Diana Leah, the band have now announced that they'll have a new EP on November 8, just in time for their tour of the UK. Lead single - and title track - Dance With The Devil shows how the band are pushing beyond their symphonic metal roots; the grandeur is still there, but there's a propulsiveness and power that feels more akin to Within Temptation's evolution over the past decade, with its own massive chorus that feels ready-built for massive audiences.
Tribulation - Hungry Waters
We just want to put this out there, but Hungry Waters might well be the first time surf rock has gone goth (psychobilly notwithstanding). Alright, that's perhaps a bit too glib an assessment of Hungry Waters, the latest single from goth metal champions Tribulation, but there's definitely a "Dick Dale discovered The Cure" vibe to the song's guitars and Johannes Andersson's booming baritone suggests new album Sub Rosa in ?ternum may be breaking with their more extreme inclinations of the past. We'll know for sure November 1.
Neckbreakker - Horizon of Spikes
The Danish death metal brutes formerly known as Nakkeknaekker have steadily been making a name for themselves in recent years, popping up on festival bills and touring alongside the likes of Crypta. Now they've announced a namechange and that they're signed to Nuclear Blast for their upcoming debut album. While there's no details on that release yet, debut single Horizon Of Spikes shows off the OSDM stylings the band do so well, a pummelling malestrom that is infectiously addictive.
Lowen - Waging War Against God
Towering melodies with a distinct Middle Eastern influence are at the forefront of Waging War Against God, the latest single from London prog metallers Lowen. The track is a glorious showcase of the band's maximalist tendencies, feeling truly epic in both sound and execution as vocalist Nina Saeidi's voice towers over thundering low-end. It's gorgeous, and all the persuasion you should need to check out the band's new album Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran, due October 4.
Undeath - Disputatious Malignancy
No surprise that Undeath's latest single, Disputatious Malignancy, is yet more brilliant, slobbering death metal brutality. That's what the New Yorkers have traded in since their 2020 debut Lessons Of A Different Kind and the frenzied assault remains just as potent and delightfully nasty here as ever, all signs pointing to new album More Insane being another fine example of why they're so beloved in old school and contemporary death metal circles alike.
Hidden Mothers - Still Sickness
Contrasting emotional fragility and blast-beating force, Hidden Mothers latest single Still Sickness is a heartwrenching tumult of post-hardcore brilliance. Taken from their upcoming debut album Erosion / Avulsion, due November 29, the single's balance of gentle melody and blistering bluster makes for a fascinating exercise in extremes, bringing to mind some of the finest acts in modern British metal - Black Peaks, Svalbard - whilst carving out a sound that's unique to them.
Ante-Inferno - The Cavernous Blackness Of Night
Further within the murky depths of brilliant British music come extreme metallers Ante-Inferno and their epic new single The Cavernous Blackness Of Night. Hailing from Scarborough, the group's third album Death's Soliloquoy is due November 22 and if Cavernous... is anything to go by, may well be their most ambitious release to date. The band have been tinkering with epic-length extremity ever since their 2020 debut, but Cavernous seems to push the band away from their more obvious black metal inclinations of the past towards an occult, death metal flavoured route that nonetheless retains its frosty connections to their past.
Swamp Coffin - This Was Always Going To End In War
Proof that sludge metal needn't always come at glacial pace, Swamp Coffin's latest single This Was Always Going To End In War is a furious whirlwind of low-end riffs and snarls that reaches out of the murky depths to land on the more extreme ends of hardcore. New album Drowning Glory is out in just a few weeks - Sep 27 - and if the rest of it is even half as vicious as this, we should all be very, very excited.
Bunuel - Fixer (ft. Megan Osztrosits)
Treading a line between quirky weirdness and all-out ear-splitting ajbection, Bu?uel's latest single Fixer also sees the group draft in Megan Osztrosits for an extra dimension of howling force. But then, what else could you expect from the new band from former Oxbow man Eugene S. Robinson? His new group carry the torch for the maverick spirit that has been Robinson's calling card for over 30 years, somehow finding ways to slip insidious hooks in amidst the shrieks.
One Morning Left - Michael, The Knight
So, cards on the table: your enjoyment of Finland's One Morning Left will likely depend on just how much daftness you can take in your propulsive metalcore. There's a shade of Electric Callboy's crowd-inspiring hookiness to new single Michael, The Knight, but with added narrative quirkiness that's more in keeping with the likes of Evil Scarecrow, the Finns clearly having the time of their lives as they combine Europe-style choruses with vicious breakdowns. The video is also gloriously daft too.
