Hump Day isn’t normally a big one for the metal. Not that I’m complaining. Nor will you — not after cranking up these certified (head)bangers from here, there and everywhere. Let’s get ’er done:
Never Elected | All My LIfe
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Never Elected, one of D.C.’s most captivating and electrifying acts, are set to rock the airwaves with their latest single All My Life, extracted from the re-released album Turbulent, arriving April 19. Known for their thought-provoking material centered around socio-political themes, Never Elected continue to leave an indelible mark on the music scene. All My Life follows the lived experiences of the protagonist, a flurry of emotions and rough times, set to catchy music that draws the listener in. The band shares a bit of the story: “All My Life begins with a rhyme that the artist’s grandma sang to him regularly, mocking his ugly looks as a toddler. It is an unfiltered outpouring of frustration directed at all those who have brought adversity into the artist’s life, spanning different periods and across various aspects. It is a brief rant on the hypocrisy and self-serving agendas exhibited by both, close and extended family.”
Napoleon | Heartless
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Toronto’s Napoleon have released a brand new single and video. Heartless sees Napoleon going stronger, sounding heavier, and playing faster than ever before. Over the last couple of years, the band has been making a forceful sonic transition from hard rock into a staunchly heavier sound. A shift that is apparent not only in sound but also in the vocals in the new single, where they lyrically spit in the face of a God they have come to know as false and share a sheer disgust for preachers and followers: “Am I not worthy? / They told me that you’d always be there for me / But I know now, they were just lying through their teeth.” Says Jon Elmaleh: “Heartless is a step forward for the band and just a taste of what’s to come.”
The Fall Of Creation | Philosophy Of Being
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “The Fall Of Creation are a dynamic force in the realm of melodic death and groove metal, and they are set to mesmerize fans with their latest single Philosophy of Being, presented with a video that was filmed in a destroyed church — very symbolic against the backdrop of the song’s negating lyrics. This release marks a pivotal moment in the band’s evolution, as they channel the essence of a dream from their youth into a dynamic and heavy musical expression. They comment: “Behold our sermon on the ruins of the old world. Our first single Philosophy Of Being after four years of silence. We left to find ourselves, our style, and our character. And we found it. Now we are returning with renewed vigor. Exactly how we would like to be seen. From faceless to conceptual.”
Omnivide | Cosmic Convergence
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Omnivide, a progressive metal band formed in 2020, are on the cusp of releasing their debut album A Tale of Fire. Comprising members with diverse musical influences, the band aim to create a unique blend of progressive, death, and symphonic metal. The album is a musical journey, alternating between intense heaviness and beautiful, emotional sections. Omnivide seek to offer listeners a complete experience, combining excitement, energy, and contrasting emotions throughout the album. The third single Cosmic Convergence takes the listener to the end of days, which the band explains in further detail: “Lyrically, this song is about the Big Crunch, the opposite of the Big Bang, when astrophysicists predict that the universe will stop expanding and instead collapse on itself back to a single, infinitely small and dense point of matter. The lyrics describe this process in a poetic way in the first section of the song, with the final chorus shifting perspectives from that of the universe itself to a single human witnessing this process, with the lines ‘One final cry / Begging not to die / As all we are is swallowed by stars’.”
Týr | Hammered
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Faroe Islands Viking metal icons Týr unleash their latest single and video for Hammered. The track comes by way of the group’s ninth album Battle Ballads, due April 12. When they teamed up with the symphony orchestra of the Faroe Islands in 2020 to record A Night At The Nordic House, founding frontman Heri Joensen was thrilled to bring together two of the music forms he loves most — folk and classical — into his band’s unorthodox music. But at the time, he couldn’t have imagined what a profound impact the collaboration would have on his musical vision, and how much it would influence and inform the album he would write a few years later. “There’s a reason classical music is called classical,” Joensen says. “It’s the classical way of doing it. And it creates these epic sounds that fit in perfectly with the kind of metal we do in Týr. So, there’s full orchestration on all of the new songs.”
The D.O.O.D. | Subterfuge
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sarasota’s Distinguished Order of Disobedience (aka The D.O.O.D.), are back with a vengeance, ready to shake the foundations of the metal scene with their latest single Subterfuge. The D.O.O.D. continue their musical onslaught while gearing up for the launch of their studio album in mid-2024. “Subterfuge is the second single to be released, and it is a banger,” they say. “It calls back to the days of thrash metal and has a defiant spirit in itself. This song takes a look at how we as a people in this country and others, regardless of political affiliation, are lied to on a regular basis for the gain of the greedy. It aims to speak to all of the common people and encourage everyone to speak up for what they believe in and not take everything that is fed to them by people in power at face value. We don’t believe in telling people where to hang their political hats, but rather to remind everyone to question authority, and that many speaking up as one is more powerful than the few.”
Lie Heavy | Lie Heavy
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Raleigh, N.C.’s rock and metal supergroup Lie Heavy present a groovy new video from their upcoming debut Burn To The Moon, available April 19. The well-pedigreed union of vocalist Karl Agell (Corrosion of Conformity), guitarist Graham Fry (Confessor), drummer Jeff “JD” Dennis (Hank Sinatra) and bassist TR Gwynne self-issued the album digitally in summer 2023 and will now see it issued in its first physical editions.”
North Sea Echoes | Throwing Stones
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “North Sea Echoes, the duo of Fates Warning members Ray Alder and Jim Matheos, have released another single from their new debut album Really Good Terrible Things. Fans can check out the record’s fourth single Throwing Stones, along with an animated video. Alder shares, “This is a strange one. Some people have a fear of happiness. They feel that something painful always follows pleasure. So they’re sort of locked into this world where they try to feel nothing. It’s called cherophobia.”
Foetal Juice | Gruesome
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “After unleashing their latest album Grotesque in November, U.K. death grinders Foetal Juice have a new playthrough from bassist Lewis Bridges for the closing track Gruesome. In this song, the bass plays almost a solo over the intro riff where Lewis gets to flex his bass playing guns to the world. Bridges adds: “This one is where we have really experimented with a clean intro. This is something we have never done before but really enjoyed it when bands like Entombed have done it on albums. The clean intro is influenced by the film Lobster Man From Mars and we just thought it would be good to try a build a song up like that for one. After the intro we wanted it to go straight in as abrupt as we could make it. So, 6/8 blast it was. We wanted the song to be a sort of one after the intro but also make it incredibly groovy with skipping triplets on the guitars and a wandering bass. We are really happy with how this song turned out.”
Sullivan King | Blame
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Sullivan King returns to his metal roots with a fiery new single meant to be listened to at full volume. The multi-talented singer-songwriter, DJ and performer is well-known for his ability to shapeshift between genres, and he takes the helm as a dynamic vocalist on his latest single — a testament to his ability to pen powerful metal tracks again and again. The song comes on the heels of King’s September collaboration with Atreyu and ahead of his 2024 tour dates with metal icons Avenged Sevenfold. “Blame feels like an amazing return to the more metal driven side of my sound,” he says. “I always love getting to challenge myself with new ways of combining rock and bass music and this track, to me, is a wicked evolution for me personally.”
Hashtronaut | Dweller
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Denver’s up-and-coming stoner doom foursome Hashtronaut present their weighty new single Dweller, taken from their debut album No Return, available March 22. Hot on the heels of their infectious singles Rip Wizard and Cough It Up, the Colorado drage the listener into an endless void of gloom, with frontman Daniel Smith compelling all mortal souls with his expert balance of clean melodic vocals and cathartic shrieks. Red-eyed at the crossroads of thunderous stoner sludge and towering doom, Hashtronaut are more than ready to daze and inebriate the riff-obsessed masses on this planet and beyond. No Return is a resiny slab in the grand tradition of weed-fiend odysseys from Sleep, Weedeater and Bongzilla, an intoxicating and pummeling trip with a lungful of potent hook-doom and strikingly anthemic vocals that will enthrall fans of Monolord, Windhand and Dopelord.”
