Scottish rap metal quartet Neshiima have just released the first single Caving In, taken from their forthcoming EP Green – the final instalment of their three-part series of EP releases.
The band performed their anthemic, catchy cross-over rap metal at this year's Download and are keen to push the message of their latest single – the theme of suicide prevention.
“The main hook outlines negative emotions that can trigger the need to take life into our own hands. The verses reflect on those that we are willing to let go, to see if they return to us or not," explains vocalist Liam Hesslewood.
“It’s a plea to those in need to recognise that sometimes the dark clouds aren’t permanent. There is always a better way. It addresses the fact that numbing out the world through isolation only makes the situation worse.”
Check out the video below:
As Neshiima are a band that encompass rock, metal, rap and electronica, we caught up with them to find out their top 10 rap metal tunes, and they were more than happy to take us on a tour of what makes them who they are...
Slipknot – Liberate
"I [Liam] recall when the self-titled album was released. I could not get enough. Up 'til this point, I had literally never sat through a single metal song. I was one of those people who would profess that 'it’s just noise'... well, when this album dropped, I couldn’t stop listening.
"Whilst my peers all seemed to feel the angst of Wait and Bleed, I totally fell in love with Liberate and Inside Me.
"For a band who were spoken of as a gimmick that wouldn’t last – they have reinvented themselves over and over, and haven’t grown tiresome to their droves of fans.
"They absolutely deserve to be on this list."
DVSR – Shut Down
"Sometimes - just when you think a scene isn’t picking itself up again, an incredible thing happens. Now, this band is something a little different. They’ve managed to take a brand of technical metal and infuse some really tasteful bars. They’ve gone from strength to strength and they deserve the hype."
Run D.M.C. & Aerosmith – Walk This Way
"Bit of a curveball, and these guys are obviously not known for their influence in metal (strictly speaking). However, their crossover with Aerosmith was of absolute importance for hip hop and making it’s bond stronger with rock.
"The fact that these guys were through and through hip hop, but open minded enough to take an original track, and work with something that didn’t define their mission statement is testament to their musicianship."
Linkin Park – Papercut
"This one seems like a given, but let us explain.
"For a band to be part of a scene that seemingly died In the early 00s, this act have proven that genre means very little if you can write a solid song.
For us, the combination of Mike and Chester’s vocal is something that will forever be immortalised, but the rest of the band must be credited here. Mike Shinoda and Joe Hahn’s electronica skills really separated Linkin Park from the nu-metal field.
"Without the creativity of Joe and Mike with the digital production side of things, the musical accompaniment for songs like Breaking the Habit and Hands Held High - as well as Papercut - would not have captured imaginations in the same way."
Anthrax – I'm The Man
"Controversially, this song splits audiences right down the middle. In fact - I’m sure it splits our band opinion too, but Anthrax dared to do something different here and it has to both be respected and admired that they managed to pull it off."
Limp Bizkit – Just Like This
"If there was ever a band that could define the thick rap/rock sound of the late 90s it would definitely be this band.
"After being introduced to Limp Bizkit via their cover of George Michael’s Faith on their 3 Dollar Bill Y’all album, and then ravenously eating up all that Significant Other could give us, this band were seemingly unstoppable.
"Yet, despite their lack of memorable material in recent history - what is it that made them so great in the first place?
"It seems to be that the less you care about what people think and just record something that’s natural and fun, all kinds of wonderful drops out.
"The combination of Fred’s overly boisterous simplified rap style and Wes’ riffs were the perfect combination.
"This sound - glued together with some excessively dirty beats and bass lines defined an era of metal - wether you like it or not. "
Skindred – Rat Race
"Groove is EVERYTHING.
"Wales is in no short supply of this - and the evolution of this band has really been something to behold, however - the main reason this band is on our list has more to do with their ability to work a crowd.
"Benji Webb is outstanding at this, and it’s that charisma that I personally fell in love with - way back when they released Pressure, and I’m still never disappointed.
"Having a great live presence is something that all great bands have and Skindred have certainly earned their stripes to be playing huge festival and arena stages."
Fever 333 – One Of Us
"This band is most definitely carrying the flag for all sorts of wonderful.
"They’ve really been present in the rock and metal scene for a while now and there’s no sense of them letting up any time soon. Fever 333 are easily one of the highlights from Download Festival 2019."
P.O.D. – Alive
"This band hen gone through several evolutions, and as cliché as the message may be in this song – Satellite proved to be an iconic album from rap metal.
"The message of hope amid confusion and the difficulties of life is something that we can all relate to, and having something or someone to cling to that can make us feel Alive is part of the very essence of existence.
Rage Against The Machine – Sleep Now In The Fire
"You could pick any song from their back catalogue and see that the message was always so simple, and yet it resonated on a many levels. This band screamed that ‘the system is broken!’ for so long... did they ever write songs about deep, meaningful human relationships – nope! What this band did, was build upon the political stage for musicians.
"I’ve heard it and seen it said so many times that 'musicians should stay out of politics' but hey, we all have a voice – and these songs inspire thought on a moral level in a very rich manner.
"As a band, Neshiima has never been compared to RATM, and I doubt we ever would, but there’s definitely something about their pose that we can identify with."
