To paraphrase much-perforated horror icon pinhead, "what delights we have to show you" this week... The Grammy's might have taken the headlines with Gojira nabbing a win for their epic performance at the Olympics last year and we might be selling off our belongings for a certain gig this summer, but we've got an absolute bounty of bizarre tunes for you to explore in our weekly best new metal songs round-up.
First, the results of last week's vote! We'd set our sights on global exploration last week with new songs from Japan, India, Ukraine and beyond. Japan's Hanabie narrowly beat out Ukrainian metal sensation Jinjer for the third spot on the podium, but were themselves left behind by fellow Japanese group Deviloof. The overall winner however - and longstanding kings of trad metal - were Saxon, whose latest single 1066 rallied the troops to victory (which is more than can be said for the Anglo Saxons themselves that year).
We're still bringing those international flavours this week with new songs from India's Godless and Japan's Jiluka, but there's also new samples from Spiritbox, Stray From The Path, Divide And Dissolve and more to explore. As we mentioned up top, it's a diverse sonic offering, so don't forget to cast your vote below and tell us which song excites you most - and have a great weekend!
Spiritbox - No Loss, No Love
In just under a week's time Spiritbox will play their biggest UK headline show to date when they stop at London's Alexandra Palace. The timing's right then for another taste of new album Tsunami Sea, latest single No Loss, No Love blending the more visceral, snarling elements of the band's sound with thrumming electronic breaks and poetic passages. It feels like an evolution of the sound the band had introduced on Holy Roller, a potent reminder that even though this is their second album, they've come a long way.
Rivers Of Nihil - House Of Light
Rivers Of Nihil's 2021 album The Work didn't completely do away with their progressive death metal stylings, but the heavier focus on melody and ambience helped cement just how far the band had come. After the departure of vocalist Jake Dieffenbach in 2022, stand-alone singles Criminals and Hellbirds tided fans over with a glimpse at the proggier direction the band seemed to be going in future. But if you've been bemoaning the lack of sax, House Of Light arrives like an oasis in the desert, crooning notes mixed in with explosive, technical songcraft that shows they've not lost anything that made them so unique. With a self-titled album due for release on May 30, it feels good to see Rivers Of Nihil still swinging for the fences.
Arch Enemy - Paper Tiger
Arch Enemy might be melodeath veterans, but there's a decided whiff of 80s trad to newest single Paper Tiger. From its galloping guitars and squealing leads to the high pitched wail unleashed at the start of the song, we're half expecting Michael Amott to pop up in neon lyra and a headband, but with each pulsing riff and snarl from Alissa White-Gluz we're reminded there's no mistaking the ferocity that still burns at the heart of their sound. Keep your eyes out for new album Blood Dynasty on March 28.
Dirkschneider - Winter Dreams (ft. Doro)
Speaking of 80s, let's turn to two icons of the decade. Former Accept man Udo Durkschneider has recruited metal queen Doro for a classic-style power ballad in Winter Dreams, the Teutonic pair trading verses over toe-tapping riffs and even classical style guitars. They don't make 'em like this anymore.
Abduction - Blau ist die Farbe der Ewigkeit
If you prefer things on the more extreme end of the scale, you'd do well to listen to Blau ist die Farbe der Ewigkeit, the latest single from UK blackened death metallers Abduction taken from new album Existentialismus, due February 21. Translating from German, that title becomes "Blue Is The Colour of Eternity" and it's a fittingly imperious and slightly occult message for the band's swirling, mystical blend of extreme styles.
Jiluka - KVLT
You might be tempted to dismiss Japan's visual kei scene as an aesthetically driven attempt to stand out from the pack, but as Jiluka prove, they also have a sound that defies description. Mixing nu metal, industrial and a dozen other subgenres besides, latest single KVLT melds discordant notes and stuttering beats with ostentatious strings, while the song's more breakout moments and drums feel like something you might hear if you stuck Lorna Shore, Slipknot and Roots era Sepultura in a blender. That's exactly as mad as it sounds.
Venamoris - Truth
It's been a long time since you could just dismiss Dave Lombardo as "the bloke from Slayer", but even with a CV that includes Testament, Empire State Bastard and Mr. Bungle, Venamoris is a taste of something very different. Helmed by wife Paula Lombardo, Venamoris's trade is in dark, sultry tones that bring to mind the likes of A.A. Williams or GGGOLDDD, Truth proving as bewitching as anything those artists have put out and the perfect primer for new album To Cross Or To Burn, due February 28.
Divide And Dissolve - Provenance
Divide And Dissolve are to doom what Black Sabbath were to the blues. Which is to say, while they might have come from the same primordial ooze, their ability to push the music into bold new realms trascends all that came before it. Mixing elements of classical with drone and doom, Divide And Dissolve's latest single Provenance heralds the arrival of new album Insatiable on April 18, mixing meditative melodies with a crashing tidal wave of fuzzy noise.
Godless - Echoes Of Collapse
Indian death metallers Godless are going for the throat on new single Echoes Of Collapse. Taken from their upcoming EP Genesis Of Decay, due April 14, the track is an all-out assault on the senses, all hyperactive beats and riffs with an unyielding sense of vicious vitality. If you're looking for something fast and nasty this week, you'll struggle to find finer.
Stray From The Path - Kubrick Stare
While Spiritbox might be the headliner at Ally Pally next Thursday, they're not the only band to be excited about on the bill. Periphery will be bringing their hyper technical prog metal, but openers Stray From The Path are sure to kick things off with a straight-up boot to the face. Don't believe us? Check out new single Kubrick Stare, the track's whining guitars and snarled vocals a straight-up excercise in abjection that'll have you wanting to throw fists in no time.
Calva Louise - WTF
Freshly announced as the support for Bloodywood's UK and European tour next month, Calva Louise's latest single WTF is a slice of genre-blurring madness. Melodic verses give way to ultra-frantic shrieks and breakouts, the track swinging from steady, all-swallowing melodies to frenzied energy like suddenly gripping onto a live wire. It's a delightful swing of extremes.
Benthos - As A Cordyceps
There's been no shortage of sonic weirdness this week, so why not end on possibly the weirdest track of the bunch? The latest single from Italy's Benthos, As A Cordyceps brings to mind the more frantic moments of The Dillinger Escape Plan or even Mr. Bungle, clattering, colliding walls of noise jerking the band around in unexpected directions. If it doesn't give you a migraine, they might become your new favourite band.
