All has been revealed! Alright, that's a bit of an overstatement, but barely a week after we got next Ghost news, we've been blessed with the confirmation that we're getting a new Sleep Token album before the band headline this summer's Download Festival. Exciting! That's not all that's exciting though, as we're back with another hefty stock of brilliant new metal tunes for you to peruse.
First, the results of last week's vote! Let's not beat around the bush: Ghost had this one beat, hands-down. But while they took top spot, returning Danes Volbeat put a powerful showing in for second place, leaving the remaining podium spot for Italian doom metallers Messa and their sax-infused epic The Dress.
But will the sax win out again this week? We've got all new singles from Sleep Token, Cradle Of Filth and Epica up top to tickle the diverse fancies of the modern metalhead, as well as a diverse showing from some of metal's best rising stars in the form of Face Yourself, Witch Fever, Slung and so much more all gathered for your listening pleasure this week. As ever, don't forget to vote for your favourite in the poll below - and have a fantastic weekend!
Sleep Token - Emergence
Speculation, hints, coded cyphers... Yep, Sleep Token are at it again. Cryptic teasers and their own billboard ads finally gave way to the official announcement that new album Even In Arcadia is coming on May 9. Although they hinted that conceptually they were moving on from their prior trilogy of releases, lead single Emergence still very much lives in the sumptously produced RNB/Tech metal mash-up that has become the band's staple, mixing powerful, pop-laced vocals with crunching tech breakdowns and even a gorgeous sax solo (provided by Bilmuri's Fabi Rose) that closes the song out with some smooth, elegant style.
Epica - T.I.M.E.
There's a sense of demonic whimsy to the opening riff of Epica's T.I.M.E. But then, that's what we've come to expect from the symphonic metal veterans. A balance of beautific melodies and ferocious heaviness, this latest offering from upcoming album Aspiral - due April 11 - shows they aren't losing touch with their most grandiose roots and if anything are only growing more theatrical.
Cradle Of Filth - White Hellebore
There are few things more joyously exciting as Cradle Of Filth at the peak of their pomp. That's very much where we find the black metal veterans on new single White Hellebore, a track that somehow navigates their many eras to bring together the furious explosiveness of their early albums with the gothic romanticism of 2000's Midian and Nymphetamine right to the spectacular symphonic edge they embraced on Existence Is Futile. All signs point to new album The Screaming Of The Valkyries being an absolute classic - and with only a week to go until release, we won't have to wait long to confirm.
Iress - What Was I Made For
Hands up - who ordered the doomgaze take on a pop anthem? Even if you didn't, you'd do well to hear Iress's take on Billie Eilish's What Was I Made For, a track that takes full advantage of the luscious, shimmering guitar tones of Iress to offer a weighty counterbalance to drifting vocal melodies and melancholic lyrics. Sublime.
![Iress - What Was I Made For (Billie Eilish doomgaze cover) [OFFICIAL STREAM] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tZDPMMFeSv0/maxresdefault.jpg)
Witch Fever - Dead To Me!
Doom menace and shrieking alt. punk collide on Witch Fever's latest single Dead To Me! Its a fusion the band have been plying to delightful effect since their 2022 debut Congregation, but with even more low-end than ever before you can really feel the menace and tooth-gnashing intensity of their sound.
Face Yourself - Predatory
Skittering techno beats meet shrieking deathcore for Face Yourself's Predatory. Taken from the band's freshly announced EP Martyr, which will be with us on April 18, the track takes a scatter-grab approach to style, combining some brutal, clanging riffs and growls with techno drumbeats that wouldn't sound out of place on Spiritbox's latest album. It's a fascinating mix, and has us eager to hear what else the band have in the vaults.
Our Mirage - Don’t Talk (ft. Christopher Kristensen)
Rising stars of Germany's metalcore scene, Our Mirage's latest single Don't Talk sees them team up with Dead By April vocalist Christopher Kristensen for a modern metalcore earworm. Built around a big hook with solid snarl-along opportunities ("Don't. Talk. To. MEEEE"), this one feels perfect for the fast approach of festival season.
Tiberius - Juggernaut
There's only a week to go until Tiberius release Singing For Company. To build anticipation, the Scottish band have released Juggernaut, an impressive blend of prog metal technicality and anthemic alt metal melodies, coming on like the spiritual successors to the likes of - the much missed - Black Peaks.
Not Enough Space - Devil Left Me On Read
Vitriolic and seething with malevolence, Devil Left Me On Read is the latest single from deathcore howlers Not Enough Space. It's a searing dose of brutality from the band, somehow bridging the pigsquealing intensity of early deathcore with the anthemic fare the genre has traded in more recently. With shows booked on the resurrected Warped Tour, as well as Louder Than Life later this year, this lot are definitely worth keeping eyes on.
Prompts - Stranger ft. Landon Towers
If you prefer the heavier ends of metalcore, Japan's Prompts have you covered. New single Stranger is an absolute rager, featuring The Plot In You's Landon Towers, the track covers the extensive gap between metalcore's most vicious elements and its inherent tendencies towards anthemic sing-alongs, striking a surprisingly confident balance that brings to mind the heaviest elements of a band like Architects.
Slung - Thinking About It
It's not just the Blind Dates style video that has an air of vintage throwback to Slung's new single Thinking About It. With airy, leaden-doom riffs and alluring vocal melodies, the track bridges Black Sabbath with the modern alt greats like Witch Fever, giving us plenty to be excited about when it comes totheir upcoming debut album In Ways, due May 2.
Raven Black - Fxck You
Sounding like a pissed off composition for some adult-oriented Tim Burton project, Raven Black's latest single Fxck You is all sneering hate and gothic fairytale like melodies. Taken from the band's upcoming album Black Sonata, a concept album about a girl who discovers she's half-doll, it's a brilliantly theatrical and snotty offering that has us eager to hear more of the story.
