Here at Revolver, we're always on the hunt for new songs to bang our heads to — indeed, it's a big part of our jobs. With that in mind, here are the tracks released this week in extreme-metal, metalcore, alt-metal and more that have been on heavy rotation at Revolver HQ. For your listening pleasure, we've also compiled the songs in an ever-evolving Spotify playlist.
Ithaca - "They Fear Us"
On their 2019 debut, The Language of Injury, Ithaca spin-kicked in the crosswalk of beefy melodic hardcore, mathcore, screamo and prog — and the fact that they never committed to a single side is what made it so interesting. "They Fear Us" is just as eclectic, but everything's bigger. The riffs and drums are thunderous, vocalist Djamila Boden Azzouz is really going for it with her rousing cleans, and her staccato hollering of, "Bow before your blood," is fucking *chef's kisses*.
Nova Twins - "K.M.B."
"K.M.B." — that's short for "Kill My Boyfriend" — takes the Nova Twins' stark dichotomies to their gleeful extremes. The U.K. duo's soft spot for early 2000s R&B and pop is more overt than ever here, from Georgia South's trunk-knocking basslines to the Gwen Stefani swagger of its sugary hook. However, it isn't until you're halfway through the plot of their violent revenge fantasy ("Get my fucking crowbar/Take you to the graveyard/Bitch you think you're so hard") that you realize what you're whistling along to.
Watain - "The Howling"
Watain are one of the most intense bands in the world, a group of practicing satanists who play shows drenched in animal blood while surrounded by pig's heads. Given their notorious stage antics, it's sometimes easy to forget that they're also superior black-metal songwriters, so let "The Howling" be your reminder. The riffs are searing, the drums pound and frontman Erik Danielsson's haggard voice sounds like it's rotting away in real-time — in the best way possible.
Pupil Slicer - "Thermal Runaway"
The Armed and Pupil Slicer are two bands hoisting chaotic metalcore in new and challenging directions, so it makes sense that the U.K. trio would draft one of the Detroit collective's primary members for a collab. Cara Drolshagen's perturbed shrieks somehow manage to rise above the ruckus on The Armed's Ultrapop and Only Love LP's, but on "Thermal Runaway," they're given a run for their money by Pupil Slicer vocalist-guitarist Katie Davies' sassy yelps and step-the-fuck-back growls.
Absent in Body - "The Acres/The Ache"
Neurosis frontman Scott Kelly. Founding Sepultura drummer Igor Cavalera. Amenra vocalist Colin H. Van Eeckhout and guitarist Mathieu J. Vandekerckhove. Collectively, these guys have laid down some of the greatest music in their respective corners of metal, and together as Absent in Body, they're an absolute powerhouse. "The Acres/The Ache" has the post-metal plod of Amenra, the beyond-our-earth expanse of Neurosis and restrained drumming that, while not reminiscent of Sepultura, hits like gunshots.
The Devil Wears Prada - "Watchtower"
The Devil Wears Prada have found a way to mature without abandoning what made their music special from the jump. The instrumentation on "Watchtower" is tighter than it's ever been (and the band have never been sloppy) and the songwriting is so much more focused, but it's still got that Prada groove. On the vocal front, Mike Hranica's screechy wails are still unmistakably him, but he's mastered the scream-sing technique he began toying with on Dead Throne, so lines like, "In spite of your love/I chose the distance/In spite of your warmth/I made it difficult," are delivered with the clarity they deserve.
