FAVOURITES: HELD.

INFLUENCES: Roman Candle

INFLUENCES: Civil Villains

Gaerea – ‘Loss’

Black metal is a genre that has an awful lot of stigma attached to it. Murder, arson, cults, more murder – it’s a pretty dark and dingy corner of the music world that seems perpetually incapable of detaching itself from those traits. Well, until you discover Gaerea, that is.

Poison The Well – ‘Peace In Place’

Poison The Well had a hand in establishing metalcore and its surge of popularity back in the early noughties. Though they never truly got their flowers or reached the same heights as some of their genre peers, their influence on its growth and the bands that it produced is

Varials – ‘Where The Light Leaves’

Armed with a back catalogue of pit starters, blending hardcore energy with nu-metal groove and metalcore ferocity, Philadelphia’s Varials have been consistently, albeit tumultuously, churning out violent gems for the last decade. Even amidst changes in their personnel, their core sound has remained largely the same; spirited, venomous and

Vower – ‘A Storm Lined With Silver’

Vower really put themselves on the map in 2024 by bursting into the scene with a double whammy. Not only did they prove that they pack a punch live, debuting at 2000 Trees and blowing attendees minds with their blend of prog, metal and post-hardcore, but their debut EP

The Dirty Nil – ‘The Lash’

The Dirty Nil’s last album – the delightful, light-hearted and colourful ‘Free Rein To Passions’ – is the audio equivalent of a pick-me-up. Striking a divine balance between fun and fragile, the record served as a double-edged sword; a reminder to take care of yourself

Scowl – ‘Are We All Angels’

Unless you’ve been chronically offline or living under a rock, the name Scowl is likely very familiar to you if you’re a hardcore fan. Over the last few years, the California quintet have shot through the ranks at lightning speed, carving out a space for

Church Tongue – ‘You’ll Know It Was Me’ EP

Metalcore is an incredibly exciting genre to be a fan of, especially in recent years. Bands like Chamber, Boundaries and God Complex are just some of the names that come to mind, all lending a hand to reignite the fire the genre had in its golden years and carving