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 grunge, deathcore, nu-gloom 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.
Jerry Cantrell – “Vilified”
Jerry Cantrell is on the attack. With “Vilified,” the first single from the grunge god’s forthcoming I Want Blood LP, he delivers a wah-crunched missive about humanity’s downward slide as our lives get data-mind by open AI. And the Alice in Chains founder is singing his disgust in an iconic, minor-harmonized way that the machines, chillingly, have probably already digested by now.
Nevertheless, it’s a sick and sludgy song Cantrell pulled out of his boggy depot, along with some guest bass thwacking from Metallica’s Robert Trujillo. Viciously viscous and all too human.
Fit for a King – “TECHNIUM”
Though fit with an elven fantasy-themed music video full of axe-swinging battle scenes, there’s a modernized “electric reckoning” going on in metalcore vets Fit for a King’s “TECHNIUM” single.
This one’s also about the mixed bag that is modern tech, and the anxieties of misinformation that come along with it. Add to that, vocalist Ryan Kirby is going toe-to-toe with not only an abrasively precision-djented arrangement, but also the guest howls of the Plot in You’s Landon Tewers.
“Was it worth the pain,” per the in-song questioning? Considering the heaviness here, that’s a resounding yes.
DoFlame – “Can’t Stand No One”
There’s quite a lot poppin’ through Canadian player DoFlame’s first single for Blue Grape Music: double-handed tap theatrics, Red Bull-hyped East Coast hardcore bouncing, shout-rapped verses about coming up in the “grime and gritty” Greater Toronto Area.
On a molecular level, though, the message is quite clear — DoFlame “can’t stand no one pullin’ bullshit” in his hometown of Brampton, Ontatio. So be warned, phony influencers and “hardcore wannabes”: You come runnin’ your mouth in the Flower City, DoFlame is bound to smack some sense into you.
Fit for an Autopsy – “Hostage”
Fit for an Autopsy absolutely held us captive with the boulder-slam intensity of their first The Nothing That Is single. The track itself rams hard across a series of simply stated but noise-drilled mosh sections, though there’s likewise an inferno of flashy guitars runs firing things up.
Vocalist Joe Bad works through “helpless” feelings with an anguished howl, as he reckons with both the ghosts of the past and the ongoing burden of living within the “wretched world we built.” The “stone of sorrow” is weighing him down, but we feel the pressure, too.
Allt – “Aquila”
You ever question your place in the world, and whether you’re but a pawn in some cruel overworld simulacrum? Well, Allt seem to be all about that at the moment, too, with the ebon incandescent metal groove of “Aquila” contemplating how to escape hive-mind society — possibly through detuned, dark-plated harmonies and a round of guttural growls.
Regardless, the Swedish outfit are suggesting we pull a big reset on society, and we may well agree. Just remember to wait 30 seconds before you push the On button again.
Heal the Hurt – “RUIN”
Honestly, part of the appeal to Heal the Hurt’s new “RUIN” single is how adorably low-key the video is. It’s mostly just a bunch of scenes where project founder and vocalist Trevor Tyson is screaming, two-stepping and genuinely having a ball all by himself beneath a viaduct. While many bands would load up their vid with the whole damn crew, there’s something endearing about him going it alone.
That said, the vid wouldn’t work had it not been scored by ground-fracking trap-metal beats, bone-sawing guitar tones and Tyson’s furiously from-the-gut vocal about persevering through a world of pain.