We’ve been using music discovery platform Groover to find new rock and metal bands from all around the world for several months now. In order to carry out interviews for our articles, we have to send an email to the bands and, sometimes, they don’t respond to our requests. So we routinely put together a review of those that go unanswered.
Our July new music roundup features seven bands from France, the UK and the US, ranging from punk rock and post-hardcore to prog metal and metalcore. So read on, and you can listen to all of these bands on our GigRadar Groover Spotify playlist.
New Music Releases Received in July
Below, we’ll run through a list of new music we’ve received over the last couple of months.
BeastKiller – It Cycles
Ohio duo BeastKiller toe the line between punk rock, noise rock and post-hardcore with a thrilling riff-led sound. The duo of Chris Wright (vocals and guitar) and Kris Monroe (drums) had played in various Cleveland bands together before starting up as a two-piece in 2021, releasing their self-titled debut album the following year, follow-up Dystopian Now Dystopian Me last year and EP Exploder earlier this year.
They’ve just followed that up with new single It Cycles, which was released last month. It opens up with a fun driving riff that continues under Chris’ intense vocals that flow into a big shouty chorus. The spinning riff loops back into another verse and chorus, before the pace finally drops with laid-back drums and echoey vocals. Lighter guitar chords creep in and build up to a powerful conclusion.
You can follow BeastKiller on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp and YouTube.
Don’t Tell John – Hard Luck
San Francisco Bay collective Don’t Tell John brings together an intriguing mix of people, with five seasoned musicians from the 90s teaming up with 20-something vocalist Veronica Larkin. Together, they deliver a delicious concoction of blues-fuelled soulful rock. Staring out back in 2023, they released a steady stream of singles building up to debut EP Hard Luck, which was released last month.
From the EP, they sent us opening track Hard Luck. It opens up with drawn-out guitar chords over cool little flurries of notes, before a big chunky riff takes over. Big rolling drums and stabbing guitars lead us into an opening verse led by Veronica’s engaging vocals, which end with an intense cry of “the monster knows how to get her way.” The chunky guitars return and drop into a cool laid-back guitar solo, before Veronica’s vocals take over again.
You can follow Don’t Tell John on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
Faeser – No Such Thing
Faeser’s main mission is to provide a love letter to the 90s with their energetic “freak-show glam getup.” The British collective is led by the powerful vocals of Jessica (Fucking) James along with lead guitarist Willow Simpson, rhythm guitarist Emia Demnir, bassist Matthew Sherren and Nathan Hayward.
They sent us their debut single No Such Thing, which was released last month. It opens up with a lively riff and driving drums that drop into Jessica’s engaging vocals in a verse that gradually builds in intensity and explodes into a raucous chorus. Chunky guitars take over and drop into another delicate verse that builds pace towards the chorus, which ends with heavy guitars dropping into a light guitar lick. The pace drops completely, but a little “hey” ushers in a brief guitar lick teeing up a final blast of the chorus.
You can follow Faeser on Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify and YouTube.
Giant’s Knife – Godfall
American progressive metal act Giant’s Knife blend intensity and atmosphere to craft a thrilling metal listening experience. The Twin Cities quintet of Austin (guitar and keys), Tony (drums and visuals), Rylan (bass and vocals), Kyle (guitar and vocals) and Will (guitar and ambience) started out in 2021 with debut album Oracle before releasing second album At The End Of All Things last year.
From it, they sent us the eight-minute epic Godfall, which they describe as being “all about the training, planning and prep our protagonist goes through to attempt to best a God in combat.” It opens up with building electronic sounds, then drum hits usher in cool guitars that support vicious screamed vocals in an intense opening 90 seconds. Little stabs of guitar bridge into a crushing low-tuned riff with driving drums through an atmospheric section that ends with a vicious cry of “step in the flames with me” and a series of huge screamed vocals.
The pace slows as clean high-pitched vocals take over alongside a sweeping guitar solo. But the intensity builds and it drops into stabbing guitars before feeding back into the intense screamed vocals. They continue alongside an intriguing mix of melodic instrumentals, intense stabbing guitar chords and heavy drums, before the pace drops again. Stabbing guitars creep in as the clean vocals return to set up a vicious conclusion to the track.
You can follow Giant’s Knife on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
Horizons Demise – Fortitude
British metalcore act Horizons Demise aim to explore humanity’s collapse while offering uplifting modern themes and surprisingly catchy choruses. The band, who hail from the southwest of the UK, launched earlier this year with a series of singles that set up their debut EP The Last Light, which was released in March.
From the EP, they sent us one of its hardest hitting nuggets, Fortitude, which they describe as “ready to slam… as it opens with high octane fry scream and fast heavy riffage – coupled with a catchy chorus to get listeners hooked. The song itself is about knowing your strength and finding the light in life.”
The track, as promised, opens up with a big scream and a darting riff over drawn-out guitars and driving drums. A moody little riff and another throaty scream usher in a vicious opening verse, which flows into a big sinaglong chorus. That ends with a chunky riff that leads into an intense verse led by guttural screamed vocals and flows into another catchy chorus. The pace drops with light flickering guitars and distant high-pitched vocals, before a drum roll and crushing cymbals support a darting guitar lick as the intensity builds to a dramatic conclusion.
You can follow Horizons Demise on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
HRFTR – Where I Must Leave It All Behind
French band HRFTR, who describe themselves as “the band with no vowels,” offer up a crushing sound led by vicious vocals and big groovy guitar riffs. Originally formed as a digital project between Jules and Flock, the band achieved sold success with their debut EP Neurasthania before releasing debut album Spectre in 2022 and second EP Brumes a year later. They returned in January with Sulfur, before releasing their latest effort Where I Must Leave It All Behind in May.
The track opens up with menacing light guitars, before heavy guitar stabs and distant vocals explode into a mass of intense vocals, huge stabbing riffs and a piercing synth noise. Wild screams are supported by rolling drums and rhythmic riffs in an unnerving section that ends with stabbing synths and creepy whispered vocals. It suddenly blasts into heavier guitars and vicious vocals that end with a particularly violent scream as the track comes to a powerful conclusion.
You can follow HRFTR on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
ONE FALL – Harder Days
American band ONE FALL offer up an intriguing fusion of skate punk, melodic punk and melodic hardcore that sounds like it stepped fresh off the playlist of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater. The Salem, Massachussetts collective, formed of Helen McWilliams (vocals and rhythm guitar), Phil Hunt (lead guitar), Darren Lourie (bass) and Caleb Wheeler (drums), delight with anthemic vocals over big riffs and energetic rhythms. They formed back in 2022 and released their self-titled EP, which was followed by second EP Spine First! in 2023 and new EP Cut & Run, which was released in June.
From the latest EP, they sent us final track Harder Days. On the track, the band said: “It’s a melodic hardcore ripper for the first half, and a sort of layered pop punk heartbreaker for the second half. It means a lot to us and we’re proud of it, but it’s also breaking the mold a bit, so it might not be everybody’s bag and that’s fine.”
It opens up with big drawn-out guitar notes and a little riff teeing up a lively opening verse of Helen’s engaging fast-paced notes supported by driving drums and guitars. The pace slows slightly as it flows into a big singalong chorus “We are not young or unafraid, Heart against harder days, Search through the wreckage of age, We take things from this.” A cool little riff bridges into lively guitars and delicious vocals quickly flow into a big second chorus.
Suddenly, the vibe changes with a cool little riff, the pace slows with repeats of “It’s all okay, it’s all all right Take my hand, we’ll cut and run tonight.” That continues over backing vocals and dual vocals going off on various routes to bring the track to an intriguing atmospheric conclusion.
You can follow ONE FALL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
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