Anyone else getting tired of summer? Okay, put the flaming pitchforks and sharpened torches away, we're sure that when winter hits later this year we'll be ruing our complaints about the sun, but... bit bloody hot, isn't it? Even so, that's not stopping new releases and tours aplenty from coming through, nor is it dampening our spirits (though we can't say the same for our shirts) when it comes to new discoveries in festival season.
But first, the results of last week's vote! It's not often we see the almighty Babymetal knocked off top spot, but there was some seriously impressive rallying to do just that last week. Deftones took a very admirable third place with their excellent new song My Mind Is A Mountain, but goth metal legends Paradise Lost ended up stealing the crown from the Babymetal x Bloodywood coalition with their magnificent Serpent On The Cross.
It's all to play for again this week as we've got a diverse (and frankly absurdly stacked) week of new music. There's tracks by Nine Inch Nails, Amon Amarth, In This Moment, Wargasm and so much more to discover - so don't forget to cast your vote in the poll below, and have an excellent weekend, come rain or shine.
Nine Inch Nails - As Alive As You Need Me To Be
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's pivot into soundtrack work over the past 15 years or so has yielded some spectactular compositions, albeit at the cost to some Nine Inch Nails' productivity. As Alive As You Need Me To Be is the first new single from them in five years, but catches the band on thumping form, leaning hard on their electro inclinations to make a track that already feels like it'd be a highlight of a live set. Recorded for the soundtrack of Tron: Area, due September 19, it's yet more proof that the brilliance of NIN has only grown over the years.
In This Moment - Heretic (ft. Kim Dracula)
In This Moment hardly need a hand when it comes to theatricality, but for new single Heretic they've gone wild drafting in the OTT brilliance of rising star Kim Dracula. The result is a track that skitters between looming, stalking basslines and maniacal shrieks, kicking out one of the heaviest songs ITM have made in years.
Amon Amarth - We Rule The Waves
Amon Amarth go pirate metal? Pull the other one. There might be a nautical theme to the Swedes' latest single, but the resounding roars of "We are, we are Vikings" puts paid to any yo-ho-ho nonsense. It's another resounding melodeath victory for Johan Hegg and the boys, another anthem for their not-inconsiderable arsenal that's already seen them headline Wacken and share stages with the likes of Slayer and Machine Head in recent years.
Avatar - In The Airwaves
You never know what you're going to get from one Avatar single to the next. There's always a sense of homicidal whimsy, of course, but the line between songs like The Eagle Has Landed and The Dirt I'm Buried In and Violence No Matter What is more like a chasm at times. In The Airwaves certainly falls closer to that heavier end, an all-out assault with pummelling drums and snarls that doesn't let any melody peep through until after the two-minute mark, only to then go off the deep-end with glorious guitar solos aplenty. Batshit, bonkers, brilliant.
Hanabie - Karu Garu Everyday!!
Speaking of gloriously OTT and batshit-brilliant, Hanabie's latest single Karu Garu Everyday!! puts even the notoriously unpredictable Japanese band through their paces. There's rampaging, metallic heft, hyperactive electro-enhanced rock, bubblegum melodies and a prevailing sense of excitement that makes the track totally unique. Created for anime series Araiguma Calcal-dan, its yet more proof the Japanese band are pushing outside their usual boundaries to make their own crossover success.
Scars On Broadway - Destroy The Power
Blending the surreal with the all-too-depressingly real, Daron Malakian is on fine form in the latest Scars On Broadway single Destroy The Power. The mix of Armenian folk and stomping metal feels more potent than ever, and while it's not as pacy as past Malakian cuts like They Say, there's something ominous to the militaristic stomp of this song that shows Malakian still has his finger on the pulse for Scars' new album Addicted To The Violence.
Band-Maid - What Is Justice?
They might explore a much more traditional vein of heavy metal, but Band-Maid are no less vibrant or unqiue than their Japanese contemporaries for the fact. New single What Is Justice is all duelling guitars and slick, bouncy bass. It's also another anime theme - in this case the ending music for Tougen Anki, playing up the cinematic quality of the track.
Der Weg Einer Freheit - Eos
If hyperactive Japanese metal is decidedly not your bag, perhaps you'd rather sample some sumptuous, gorgeously elegant post-black metal. Eos is the lead single from the Germans' forthcoming sixth record Innern - due September 12 - and soon bursts forth into spiritually blistering maelstroms of blackened fury. The symphonic touches add an air of grandeur, but the whole of Eos is built to a scale that is truly staggering, hinting at something seriously powerful from the Germans in September.
Esprit D’Air - Silver Leaf
Esprit D'Air have a clear love for experimentation, which goes a long to explaining why no two singles from their upcoming album Aeons sound the same. There's some connective tissue - sweeping guitars, gorgeous melodies and a liberal dose of keys, but with Silver Leaf they also charge off into the realms of melodeath to create something buzzy and furious. On tour in the UK from November 11, they're a fascinating group with a truly diverse and unique sound, sounding as indebted to Children Of Bodom as to Iron Maiden.
President - Rage
The enormous turnout for the "inaugural address" of mysterious masked metallers President turned out to be one of the bigger stories to emerge from Download Festival 2025. While there's still decidedly more questions than answers, they've announced their debut EP King Of Terrors for a September 26 release, newest single Rage arguably pushing the band firmly out of the alt. metal bracket they'd explored on their first two singles in favour of something more electro/pop based... at least until the crunching tech breakdown comes in, anyway.
Siglos - Piel Fria
Sin Quirin's years in Ministry have clearly served him well, the guitarist bringing the same kind of apocalyptic dread to Siglos' latest single Piel Fria. Set to play Bloodstock Festival in the UK in a couple of weeks, there's an air of familiarity to their thundering industrial-adjacent force, but that's hardly a cause for concern when it sounds so damn good.
Wargasm - Small World Syndrome
Whether you consider them part of the nu metal renaissance, or pioneers in nu gen, one thing's for sure: Wargasm are rising stars of the new generation. New single Small World Syndrome goes from Nicki Minaj like pop to thumping, chomping riffy rap metal, Sam Matlock snarling like he's trying out for Stray From The Path in some frenzied breakouts. No word on when we're getting a second album yet, but this definitely seems a step in the right direction.
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