“This angels song soothes me but not my thirst for blood.“
Summer went past in the blink of an eye. In August there were huge releases from Deftones and Ethel Cain, and a few duds from the upper echelons of the heavy scene. We hope our work covering some incredible releases from the likes of Justice For The Damned, Blackbraid, Mélancolia, King Yosef, DROWNED UNDER CONCRETE, Abrupt Decay and Compulsed mean they have more chances to get on people’s radars. Herein we examine nine more releases of high quality that should be on yours.
Caliph Conrad – A Prayer Not Forgotten (Snuffpuff Productions)
Within the past few years a new wave of metalcore has swept across the UK, each month bringing a slate of new releases, no doubt influenced by the back catalogue of The Coming Strife Records. Caliph Conrad break away from the norm by looking back to turn-of-the-century, emo-influenced Christian metalcore. Melodic riffs and singing parts give way to panic chord breakdowns accompanied by demonic vocals. For a debut release, Caliph Conrad’s sound is explosively realised, and with equally violent live shows I can see the band becoming a mainstay of the UK scene. – Sophie Robinson
FFO: 7 Angels 7, Plagues & A Long Winter
wordsofaffirmation – A Hundred Thousand Welcomes (Independent)
Sophomore album of South Wales emo duo wordsofaffirmation, A Hundred Thousand Welcomes ventures into heavier territory previously unexplored by the band, offering up riff after riff, each as huge as the last. Tracks like “Bottle Rocket City” and “I Teleported to 33,000ft and fell to my Death” are unrelenting barrages of blast beats and breakdowns which almost beg for windmills and spinkicks aplenty. Despite the band lacking a bassist, A Hundred Thousand Welcomes is a gut punch of force due to its stellar production (especially from a smaller emo artist) and clever use of guitar signal splitting to create crushingly heavy tones. This frantic energy is balanced out by the twinkle of emo riffs in the record’s cleaner sections, with the latter half featuring ambient interludes and acoustic ballad (and standout track) “Life can be Beautiful if you let it Happen“. – Sophie Robinson
FFO: The Chariot, On the Might of Princes & In Loving Memory
Portrait of the Sisters – Sisters Promo (Independent)
The genre crossovers we are seeing return to hardcore and metalcore are making it a much more interesting place to find and create music in than it was at the end of the last decade. Acts such as Crowquill and now Portrait of the Sisters are contemporary infusers, in this case mixing hardcore punk, screamo and metalcore to make for a listen that is vicious yet emotive. The harshness of it truly scratching it the suffered pain it narrates. Even with an initial offering of the dual singles “Temptation” and “When You Sleep” on their promo, the Las Vegas unit show plenty of guts and promise that will see them quickly become a gem. – Joe E
FFO: Serrate, Bloom Dream & For Your Health
The Burial Code – Beneath (Independent)
Among trends already mentioned above, the heavier and beefier side to hardcore is going nowhere, with the likes of Terminal Sleep, Xile and Irruption constantly impressing with their blunt force. While it is now quite drably boxed in as “heavy hardcore“, to give it some contrast to the more traditional hardcore punk, it is in this vein where plenty have now found their tastes in hardcore lie. The latest bold addition to that is Essex unit, The Burial Code, who dropped an absolute barnstormer with their debut Dead End Drop. With that Essex style to it that the likes of Splitknuckle embrace, this is one that those who cross it will be wanting to see Dead End Drop on line-ups alongside some of the aforementioned acts. – Joe E
FFO: Mugshot, Gorge & HAIL MARY
True Intent – What’s The Deal? (Independent)
Now heading down the road to BN1, True Intent released their debut What’s The Deal? in the sunshine of August. Barked vocals, a stomping snare and hardcore punk riffs, it’s all the stylings of a genre done with a snarl and rhythm that has made BN1 bands from No Relief and Plastics impress, with the famous Brighton scene back them. Given all that, and if it’s not happened already, it won’t be long for True Intent are hosted by the UK’s favourite hardcore venues and festivals. – Joe E
FFO: Tempers Fray, Impunity & Wise Up
The Losing Score – Spaces To Grow (Independent)
The Losing Score have been a bright opportunity for UK emo since their first release, Still Waiting for Things to Get Better. The revival scene latched onto that EP, especially sending “Alphabet Soup” stratospheric; seven years on, its sibling Space To Grow adds to their canon with another five uptempo tracks. It inherits their upbeat-yet-downbeat attitude, strong vocals from Brodie Normandin with newfound variety, and the slick song transitions seen on their LP Learn to Let This Go. Where some acts are overtly nostalgic, there’s plenty of crisp and timelessness to the way this band riffs. As well as honest lyrics, The Losing Score are also very honest about how corny this sound is, right down to the solo on “I Don’t Like My Life Much Right Now” which rips the chorus melody with aplomb. The focus of modern emo seems to shift unexpectedly – here’s hoping the limelight lands here for a while. – Dobbin T
FFO: PUP, Jetski, & Beauty School
nioh Futura – no FUTURE (O+HER)
Even a debut with bold production can seal the deal. On no FUTURE we see exactly this: a journey from the gutter to the stars that hybridises wonky electronics and hip hop with ambling rock sensibilities to make something unique and special. “BLEEDING, JUST TO SEE” is a bluesy opener that kicks us into halogen-lit streets. Our vision never adjusts, stuck in Nioh Futura’s wonky world that only gets dimmer over the album’s first half. And when Nioh Futura grooves, it’s absolutely lurid, with beats and dub bass that feel as sublimely produced as they feel unwell. “PROOF OF CONCEPT” and “CREATHORNE” turn the mood into something warmer, especially the latter, which shines like a shaft of light, so tangible you could hold it to pull yourself from the abyss. Just as it feels like a corner has been turned, “I FEEL EVERYTHING” curdles the weirdness once more, now the master of it through space rock and fuzz-drone, like some sort of hybrid of Hawkwind and Earth. – Dobbin T
FFO: Oneothrix Point Never, Harvestman & Shlohmo
Xoxo. / Kibosh – Split EP (Independent)
This EP is the meeting point of two chaotic bands, both of whom swing a bit differently in the wider metallic hardcore scene. Xoxo.’s side will hit you with pedal-infused barbs, shrill vocals, and nary a riff you can’t do some form of two-step to. Meanwhile, Kibosh compete to spit even harder in your face, reminding us why they were one of our favourite under-appreciated bands last autumn. The split is no afterthought, as they jump on one another’s tracks. They even tripped through the UK and EU together on a tour with the likes of Fox Womb, Chaos Reigns, and Excoriated – there’s no better way to collect some of the hardest and most forward-thinking bands of the underground hardcore scene. – Dobbin T
FFO: Abrupt Decay, Killing Me Softly & Pupil Slicer
Rotpile – 1.21 Gigawatts of SLAM (Shroom Tomb Studios)
When this baby hits eighty-eight decibels, you’re gonna hear some serious shit. 1.21 Gigawatts of SLAM is a fervently ludicrous debut from Rotpile that a methed-out tandem of Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown would happily blare on a joyride through time. Flux capacitor? Blackhole bass drops? Low-tuned slam chugs and riffs? Check, check, and fucking check. With an almost annoyingly overcrowded plethora of slam acts continuing to sprout up, true instances of nuanced delivery are key to standing out from others. Relentlessly brutal technicalities are all accounted for, on top of Rotpile‘s clear appreciation for genre staples. Basketball snare, anyone? – Shane C
FFO: Meat Mallet, xTHEYSHOTKENNEDYx & Pig Tusk