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 hardcore, deathcore, nu-rock 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.
Don’t Try – “Cries of Domination”
Pro tip for the week: Do not mess with Don’t Try’s bag.
Just in case you haven’t brushed up on your French lately, we’ll just get straight to the point: The Quebec City hardcore crew’s new single lays it out that they will full-on fuck you up in a murderous rage should you get between them and their greenbacks (“Dare to run with my money/J’vas t’tuer”).
Doubling down on that homicidal intent, the title track to the group’s upcoming EP — which was produced by Alexisonfire’s Wade MacNeil — kills it through a series of beef-knuckled hardcore riffs, lean-and-mean melodies, red-eyed blasts and firm-footed tough guy-isms.
Face Yourself – “Primal”
Some songs just have to be heard to be believed. Take Face Yourself’s “Primal,” a brief but perma-punishing, bat-shit-bizarre bit of deathcore intensity that makes for one of the most quizzically awesome listens of the year thus far.
Pinch-squealed and primitive blast sections? Check. Disgustingly, dangerously string-unfurling breakdowns? You got it. A goofily cinephilic “Wilhelm’s Scream” used as a mosh call? You betcha. Perhaps the Zeitgeist’s second most iconic hawk tuah moment in recent memory? That’s in here, too.
It’s a ludicrously enjoyable listen, and for that we ask all of Face Yourself to take a good look at themselves in the mirror and then promptly take a bow.
Heaven’s Gate – “Walls”
Metal supergroup Heaven’s Gate have a rather wild pedigree — fronted by Municipal Waste/Iron Reagan vocalist Tony Foresta, sporting riffs from Warthog’s Mike Goo and Reversal of Man’s Jeff Howe, and anchored into the gnarliest of rhythms by godhead Cannibal Corpse drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz. Worship-worthy on several fronts really.
The act’s new Tales from a Blistering Paradise album pivots between moments of extreme death, creepy-crawl hardcore, snot-rocketing D-beat, crossover fury and more. But it might be second track “Walls” that decimates us the most — with Mazurkiewicz’s monstrous blasts, in particular, coming at us like a fast-snapping Everglades gator ruthlessly ripping into a load-bearing structure.
Royale Lynn – “GREED”
Royale Lynn has experimented with a plethora of sonic aesthetics, from electro-spiked country to black velvet trap-pop to ebon-hearted nu-rock. The latest preview of the genre-morpher’s upcoming album, Black Magic, definitely caters to the latter side of her sound while kabooming through the speakers with an Evanescence-esque elegance.
That said, it also pivots through motor-mouthed and pitch-shifted vocal musings, in-miniature acoustic rustic-ness, and more.
All told, Royale Lynn’s “GREED” continues to reflect an ambitious, anthemic spirit. And while it sounds harsh and gluttonous to paraphrase the song this way, we’ll take everything we can take until there’s nothing left.
We Came as Romans – “BAD LUCK”
Much to fans’ good fortune, We Came as Romans returned this week with their first piece of new music in three years.
Frontman Dave Stephens explained that “BAD LUCK” was somewhat inspired by the “setbacks and problems” his band have faced behind the scenes over the years. Thankfully, they persevered to deliver a pop-metalcore juggernaut full of oddly jubilant vocals, teeth-gnashing chorus hooks and an electronics-fractured breakdown.
Early on, the song threatens to start “spinning out of control,” but just like We Came as Romans, we’re finding “peace in the chaos” each time we hear this thing.
Youth Code – “In Search of Tomorrow”
“When will the hands of fate release me from this choke.”
“In Search of Tomorrow” is a gripping second taste of Youth Code’s forthcoming EP, Yours, With Malice, that reestablishes why they’re major players of the modern EBM scene.
While the mechanized beats crunch through the speakers like a Beamer splaying itself into a brick wall, and Sara Taylor shouts through a fever dream of anxious lyrical allusions, the track is likewise glazed with ultra-dreamy digi-tones. The juxtaposition makes for a wild and disorienting ride, but we’re buckled in for the long haul.