Intensely heavy yet soulful, poetic and cinematic, up-tempo and both energising and evocative. Oathforged is a confronting and awakening listen, and offers a whole new highlight from the upcoming full-length album. Mythrend have made sincere promises to raise the bar, and so far, they’re outright refusing to back down on their word.
Hard Rock
Forged In Shadow (Bound by Fire) is the boldly cinematic heavy metal introduction, an electrified and poetic hard-rock arrangement and delivery, built around the iconic Lord of the Rings story, and showcasing both the intricate craftwork and essential contrast of composer and performer Mythrend through its cascading layers.
Fellow Mancunians The Alicias carve out a refreshingly organic and energised lane, as their brand new EP What In Me Is Dark? intertwines conceptual depth with nostalgic alt-rock passion and power.
Noting fragments of speech from the likes of Martin Luther King Jr. and JFK, Told You So is a bold and beautiful remedy for disconnection. It cries out with gritty realism and passion, on behalf of any and all who’ve felt disconnected or left behind during these trying modern times. It’s a song for the activists, the truth seekers, those who fight for justice, and it speaks volumes for those who are tired of being silenced.
No-one breaks down the limiting walls of genre and expectation with more ferocity and style than HOLYMAMI. This summer the eclectic and unpredictable artist launches a five-track EP of originals, and the intriguingly titled TRAP THERESA is every bit as artistically uninhibited and creatively free as fans have come to hope for.
Intense rock songwriting and production aims high and hits the mark once again. Jarad Hara blends the ferocity of metal, with melodic verses and a gripping sense of story. Off With Their Heads is the second track from his repertoire to impress, and it’s a fine example of the creative depth and juxtaposition of his … Continued
Introducing a huge rock arrangement and song, from a vocalist and songwriter with a clear twist of character and depth to his approach. US artist Jeremy Serwer puts in a sensational performance, throughout the creative highs and lows of his immense rock anthem Watch Your Myself.
Polish duo BORDER impress intensely with their recent single Fading. Something of a nostalgic pop-punk effort with more punk-rock and grit than anything purely pop-inspired, the track features an immense rock set-up of distorted guitars and explosive drums, but counters and contrasts this brilliantly from one moment to the next.
Eclectic hard rock with a clear alternative angle leaves familiarity and unpredictable freedom running wildly together. The Juan Solo 7 capture the essence of organic alt-rock songwriting, with the ethereal intensity of Persona.
Balik Alistane light up the space, their unity and skill matched faultlessly by their appreciation of the audience experience. This is not a self-indulgent instrumental, not guitar playing designed simply to impress in the short term. It’s a self-conscious composition, a live jam captured with an infectious groove at its core, and a sense of story and recognisable melodic inflection rooted throughout a post-four-minute production.
Introducing a cinematic, progressive metal and operatic chaos of emotional intensity. ununk blends the familiar and the unknown, throughout the changing pace and presence of a conceptually complex We Are Such Stuff As Dreams Are Made On.
Creatively capturing the essence of a stark new reality – Everlust ignite the darkness and depth of both haunting hard-rock and the conceptual truth of our current transition into living exclusively online.