We are so back. It's a few weeks into the New Year and already the calender is filling in with new tours and releases, which naturally means an immense increase in the number of new singles being put out. But that's not a problem: that's what we're here for! Cutting through the chatter, we'll continue to bring you a round-up of some of the finest new metal singles around each week, asking you to crown the very best in a fan vote.
Speaking of which, here are the results of last week's vote! Our first round-up of the year brought forth a diverse spread of acts, (relative) newcomers Conquer Divide knocking metalcore heavyweights Architects off the podium when they took third place with Bad Dreams. In second place were returning Maori metallers Alien Weaponry with Mau Moko, but top spot was undisputed, the gruesome snarls of Whitechapel's Hymns In Dissonance earning them the crown by a good way.
This week is an impressively stacked roster of new releases with everyone from Killswitch Engage and Papa Roach to Dream Theater, Employed To Serve and Cradle Of Filth weighing in. As ever, we want you to tell us which songs excite you most, so don't forget to cast your vote below!
Papa Roach - Even If It Kills Me
If anyone can tell you a thing or two about survival, it's Papa Roach. Breakthrough stars at the height of nu metal, Papa Roach have stuck around - and thrived - long enough to see both the subgenre's demise and its return almost 20 years later, refining their anthemic alt. metal offering to still pull massive crowds around the world. Ahead of their appearance at Wembley Arena in a couple of weeks - and a Wacken Festival headline slot this summer - the band have put out new single Even If It Kills Me, a stomping sing-along that perfectly captures their thundering dancefloor-filling sensibilities.
Employed To Serve - Atonement (ft. Will Ramos)
"If I can't have you, no one can." It's with that chilling sentiment Employed To Serve go for the throat on new single Atonement, capturing the toxic, possessive sentiments all too many will recognise. More than that though, it's a glimpse at the anger and power ETS are bringing forth on upcoming fifth album Fallen Star, clearly drawing on their time in arenas and at massive festivals like Download and Bloodstock to create one of their hookiest singles to date (which is saying something). Add to that guest vocals from deathcore star Will Ramos, and it's a clear recipe for success.
Killswitch Engage - I Believe
Trust Killswitch Engage to return with a ray of hope in dark times. The band with perhaps the biggest claim to helping establish metalcore's mainstream crossover potential, it's hardly surprising that nine albums and 25 years in they're still producing some of the genre's most chest-beating, audience-uniting sing-alongs. I Believe is very much exemplar of that, Jesse Leach's powerful vocal soaring over choppy guitars and chug-along drum beats that put truth to the idiom "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". With new album The Consequence coming in just a few weeks - on Feb 21 to be exact - we expect there'll plenty more of this in the tank for Killswitch this year.
Nova Twins - Monsters
With their first two albums, Nova Twins established themselves as a fast-rising, genre-blurring sensation. If new single Monsters is anything to go by, they're going for broke on album three. Built around a gargantuan hook and thrumming with subtle electro-rock energy, the track feels like the kind of song written to completely dominate both radio and venues around the world. Considering how effective Nova Twins rise has been so far, we'd say this marks another big step forward for the London duo.
Dream Theater - Midnight Messiah
Is it just us that gets a massive Metallica One vibe at the start of Dream Theater's new Midnight Messiah? We're not saying the prog metal masters are aping thrash's biggest success story, of course, but the twinkling high notes and spoken word intro (all about being trapped, no less!) certainly puts it in the same spiritual realms. And that's by no means a bad thing - if anything it's a reflection of DT's colossal ambitions, the prog metal masters' own flirtations with thrash shining through on a track that bursts with vigour and brilliance, giving us plenty to be excited about with Parasomnia's arrival on Feb 7.
Cradle Of Filth - To Live Deliciously
Infernal and majestic as ever, Cradle Of Filth announced the impending release of their new album The Screaming Of The Valkyries on March 21. By this point, every metal fan should know what to expect from the British extreme metallers; goth-tinged extreme metal brilliance, driven on thumping riffs that could fall anywhere between Venom and Iron Maiden and delivered with blackened, evil tones that betray the band's black metal roots. It's superb, and upholds the brilliant standards set by recent stand-out singles like Crawling King Chaos and Malignant Perfection.
Electric Callboy - Elevator Operator
Let's face it, Electric Callboy are a law unto themselves. Viral hits like Hypa Hypa and Pump It turned them into a long overdue sensation in the run-up to 2022's Tekkno and the Germans have only gotten bigger since. With appearances at Slam Dunk Festival set for May and an Alexandra Palace headline performance set for November 1, it makes sense they're ramping up activity in 2025 with a brand new single in Elevator Operator, a typically addictive electro-enhanced blast of metalcore that'll rattle around your brain endlessly.
Confess - After Goliath
After the trials and tribulations that inspired their third record, its gratifying to hear Norwegian-Iranian extreme metallers Confess firing on all cylinders again as they release follow-up Destination Addiction this week. After Goliath shows the propulsive blackened death metal crossover the band have as a foundation remains powerful as ever, a prowling riff providing the perfect launch point for a thumping, headbanging track.
![Confess - After Goliath (feat. George Kollias & Marzi Montazeri) [Official Lyric Video] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-R6Cyok9AYQ/maxresdefault.jpg)
Bleed From Within - A Hope In Hell
The metalcore boom that started in the late 2000s shows no signs of slowing in 2025. But, when you've got talent like Spiritbox, Architects, Bleed From Within and Bury Tomorrow all releasing exceptional new material, we're hardly complaining. Bleed From Within's latest single A Hope In Hell is another sign that the Scottish band are pushing into bold new territories with new album Zenith, picking up on the exceptional production and songwriting craft they honed on 2022's Shrine and somehow making them even more anthemic. Even if they hadn't just played as support to Slipknot on their UK tour, this song feels cater-made to arenas.
Eluveitie - The Prodigal Ones
It's been a long wait for a new album from Eluveitie, but the Swiss folk metal veterans are officially back, new album Ànv due on April 25. Clearly there's been some soul searching in the six years since their last release though; The Prodigal Ones isn't a total departure from their folk metal roots, but the jauntiness has been toned right the way down to make way for a more explosive melodeath style rager, with some gorgeous melodic breakout moments that suggest the band are taking a very different approach for this new album.
Conan - Frozen Edges Of The Wound
It's been a sad week for British stoner/doom, with longterm champions Orange Goblin announcing their impending split at the end of 2025. The return of Liverpool crushers Conan is a reminder that OG helped pave the way for subsequent generation of low-end beasties however, and sure enough Frozen Edges Of The Wound is exactly the kind of lumbering, sludge-tipped burst of filth that has helped foster a new school of heft in British doom. With new album Violence Dimension set for an April 25 release, we'd say your fix for utterly abyssal metal is covered for the coming months.
Destruction - A.N.G.S.T.
Destruction might be slowing down the pace on new single A.N.G.S.T. but the Teutonic thrashers aren't mellowing out. Instead, the track is a stomping, prowling beast given an extra malevolent edge by Schmier's yelping, curled lip snarl. New album Birth Of Malice is out March 7 and if you thought America had the market cornered on thrash, you need to educate yourself on the German masters.
