This week The Mic have a healthy selection of tracks for any taste. That being said, it appears to have been an important week for heavy music with many of the tracks being either rock or metal, as well as the Heavy Music Awards having taken place just yesterday. So if you need some headbangers in particular, you are in for a treat!
Wait Too Long – Turnover
A decade ago, Virginia band Turnover were a pop-punk band, but in more recent years they have opted for a more atmospheric sound. They have released a new single titled Wait Too Long, along with B-side Mountain Made of Clouds, their first new music since their last full-length album Altogether in 2019. The band’s frontman Austin Getz explained in a statement that Wait Too Long is a track about the expectations that come from both yourself and others about what life is supposed to be like and finding that balance of being motivated and inspired by what’s around you without it feeling like something pushing you down. With sections of the jazzy instrumental being reminiscent of a track like On Melancholy Hill by Gorillaz, Wait Too Long sees the band adopt a more upbeat version of the smooth, dreamy sound that they have been experimenting with since their 2015 album Peripheral Vision. Gemma Cockrell
Camera Eats First - Ithaca
Ithaca have become a veritable powerhouse since their 2015 EP, with their phenomenal 2019 debut full length The Language Of Injury being one of my favourite albums that entire year. This is the third single to be released in the run-up to their next album cycle, for their upcoming LP They Fear Us. The band are a metallic hardcore group with the scope of a band far beyond their years, and their songwriting is shown off brilliantly on this latest single. On the one hand, you get the beautifully haunting clean vocals that singer Djamila Azzouz has become increasingly known for, as well as her savage screams over buzzsaw riffs that bring to mind the best of 90’s death and doom. They mix elements of post-metal, noise rock, and metalcore into the song as well, creating an amalgamation of them all that is both beautiful and utterly ferocious. They’ve gotten better and better at what they do, with this being one of their strongest expressions of their artistic talent. With the British metallic hardcore scene becoming more and more renowned worldwide, this band has enormous potential to become Britain’s next big hardcore group. At the rate they are going, I am in no doubt that they will go far on the road to achieving that. Jake Longhurst
Feel So Free - Zero
With hits like Enter the Dragon, Boozy and Sorry 4 Skanking, Zero is already known for producing some of ravers' favourite songs. Listening to Feel So Free, it's clear that Zero's done it again. While the use of sirens and synths gives this track a similar sound to the style of dance music of the early 2010s, it still features a captivating build-up followed by the well-crafted drop that Zero is known for. To put it simply, this is a track that absolutely will be played across all UK festivals this summer, and festival goers will absolutely love to hear it. Cat Jordan
Party at No. 10 - Kid Kapichi
The always outstanding Kid Kapichi have been playing this on the live circuit for some time now, and finally, the time has come for its studio release. The song is a snide, sarcastic retrospective on the COVID-19 pandemic and the tendency of politicians to flout their own rules, specifically in the case of Boris Johnson holding parties at 10 Downing Street. The song itself is almost sung as a mournful ballad, which adds to the sarcastic message, as if they were almost trying to make you feel sad that you can’t go to the party. I’m a massive fan of the band, who traditionally do much more punk driven music, however, the political lyrics are very much the bread and butter the band lives off of. I’m a big fan of the small whistling solo midway through the song, as well as the backing singers towards the end, making this track feel very fleshed out for such a simple song, as there are no drums, and no bass or electric guitar, just an acoustic guitar and the excellent Jack Wilson crooning over the top. If you like your music political, sarcastic, or just enjoy a very good acoustic song, I heartily recommend the track. Jake Longhurst
break me! – Maggie Lindemann ft. Siiickbrain
Maggie Lindemann has been everywhere recently, for me at least. A particularly difficult artist to ignore due to her addictive badassery and overall activeness in music right now, Maggie is breaking the boundaries of even alternative rock music, let alone rock music. Having only released the screamo-pop fusion with Siiickbrain earlier in 2021, the new track break me! is completely different to GASLIGHT!, despite blending the two styles again only eighteen months later. Although Maggie’s vocals dominate the track, its style is a lot closer to Siiickbrain’s electronic and futuristic sound. It loses all of Maggie’s well-gripped pop-punk charm, and I’m not at all upset about losing that. Something about this duo hits the right spot for me: Maggie’s voice matched with Siiickbrain’s style of production is indeed, as the lyrics mention, “lust and some addiction”, and generally a sex-positive track for women. I’ll welcome more and more collaborations from these two, and the possibility that there may be more to come is not at all at zero. Pay attention to Maggie’s upcoming EP, especially since, if like me you are a little past your pop-punk phase, she already has two features, the other being Kellin Quinn from Sleeping With Sirens. I’m sure she will continue surprising us with her unpredictable turns. Roxann Yus
Stitches - Bullet For My Valentine
Continuing on from the heaviest album they’ve ever released, Bullet For My Valentine aren’t messing around. Another meaty, riff-heavy song in their arsenal is never a bad thing, and this is a particularly good one. Michael Paget’s discordant lead guitar with the harsh chainsaw tone so favoured by the current wave of British metalcore brings an anthemic quality to each and every chorus, whilst sounding like a prime 90’s black metal band at other times, and even sounding like a bruising djent band mid-breakdown. For a group who were known for emotionally driven metalcore, this is a far cry from their origins and the band sounds all the better for it. Matt Tuck’s voice sounds very strong too, with a brutish yell or two coming in each verse and an incessant vocal line with plenty of power and some excellent lyrics about finding yourself in the face of adversity. With all these elements coupled with the powerful drumming of Jason Bowld and the unwavering bass of Jamie Mathis, Stitches is yet another example in the band’s mighty discography as to why they are one of Great Britain’s best metal exports of the 21st century. Jake Longhurst
Modern Warfare – EDEN
Expectations are always high for EDEN: from the sheer depth of sound that the tracks exude as well as the likability of their style. Modern Warfare meets all of this, and most importantly reminds listeners that EDEN has sustained and even polished their unique sound after a two-year hiatus. Their last album in 2020, no future, advances bedroom pop into an undefinable category: elements of hip-hop, acoustic, and most importantly nature. The new track incorporates all of this and, most strikingly, pedestals distorted voiceovers, something I personally admire about EDEN’s approach to layering music. The use of it on this track, in particular, has a conversational charm about it, using questions like “Can you come through?” and “But don’t you hate those clichés now?” throughout as if to battle the voices in one’s head, or expel the memories of someone who lived in their mind before. This is what constitutes ‘modern warfare’ to Eden: the loneliness in a digital age. It is almost as if the song’s layering combats the singleness of emotion, truly showing us the power of music to express, intensify, and combat our feelings. But despite this, EDEN can contain this weight within what listens as a light track, just like their 2018 track float that is ultimately a clever irony about the triad of us, nature, and music. Roxann Yus
THE ENEMY IS THE INNER ME - While She Sleeps
While She Sleeps have already lit up the UK and US with a phenomenal set of live dates carrying on from their triumphant album SLEEPS SOCIETY, but with the release of the deluxe edition we have been granted a few extra songs, and this is one of them. The band is one of the best British music exports of late, with a run of wildly good albums. This latest song is a delightful addition to their roster, featuring their trademark cleanly distorted lead guitar over a sharp, gritty rhythm guitar, and Loz Taylor is front and centre with brilliant clean vocals and stunning growls. Coupled with Adam Savage’s relentless drumming (some absolutely spine-tingling use of china symbols in a breakdown, as if he knew that I’m a sucker for it) and Aaran McKenzie’s bass holding the mix down to let Sean Long and Mat Welsh run rampant on their previously mentioned guitars. Much as the song is only on a deluxe album, not the run-up to a new release entirely, it’s still more than worthy of giving it a listen, and getting excited for Sleeps to bring us yet more new music. Jake Longhurst
Get In The Ring - Amon Amarth
Another band gearing themselves up for a new album cycle, Amon Amarth are the biggest name in Viking metal, and one of metal’s most beloved bands. The Swedish group have announced their latest album The Great Heathen Army for an early August release, and this is the first single to be released ahead of the album. Starting the song slowly, with a solemn riff and ominous drum line, the band swiftly move into an intense track featuring some of my favourite Johan Hegg vocals. He sounds particularly powerful on this song compared to some of their recent albums, so I am hoping this is a sign that his vocals will be getting heavier for this album. This song, as may well be guessed by the name, is about boxing, which is actually not the first time the band have written a song in that vein, as their 2016 LP Jomsviking featured a song called The Way Of Vikings which treads a slightly similar route. This song definitely has a feel of their older music too, as it is markedly less melodic than most of their output since 2010, which may well divide the fanbase as to whether they prefer the more straightforward style the band have chosen or if they’d rather yet another melodic death metal album from the group. I’m excited to see what happens with this album, but if this song is anything to go by I’m sure the album will be a fine display of metal from the group. Jake Longhurst
Edited by: Roxann Yus
Featured image courtesy of While She Sleeps via Facebook.
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