If you’ve been following GigRadar for a while, you’ll know we’ve been using music discovery platform Groover to find new rock and metal bands. But, when bands don’t respond to our interview requests, we like to compile a list of new bands for you to check out.
This month, we’ve got an intriguing mix of rock, metal, pop-punk and visionary psychedelic music by nine bands from France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.
Betrayed – Cocoon
Italian band Betrayed blend heavy riffs and dark atmospheres in an intense metal sound. The band sent us new single Cocoon, which jumps straight into lively guitars over a distant synth that continue under vicious vocals and powerful drums. The drums intensify even further, before the pace drops with clean vocals before a huge breakdown with crushing guitars and vicious vocals.
That flows into a big singalong chorus led by engaging clean vocals “I am inside my cocoon, I am in prison, I must escape, I must stay, I am inside my cocoon, I am in prison, Escape, Stay, Discover, Conceal.” The vicious vocals and huge rolling drums return in a bruising verse, and the pace drops to set up a huge chorus with screamed vocals supporting the clean leads to bring the track to a powerful conclusion. And, if you like that, check out their previous single Parasite, which is an absolute banger.
You can follow Betrayed on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Cevret – Signs
Swiss modern metal band summarise their sound as “a storm with a heartbeat” and have gained a reputation for “crushingly heavy yet atmospheric” live shows. The band started out as a solo project of Zurich guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Cevret, working with vocalists like Andy Cizek (Monuments) and Daniel de Jongh (Textures). But it evolved into a full band last year, as they onboarded vocalist Andy Hunziker, guitarist Nico Stettler and drummer Benji Zweifel.
The band sent us latest single Signs, which starts out with ominous high-pitched sounds that continue as whispery vocals and heavy drums and guitars kick in. A wild riff takes over and drops into a verse of screamed vocals answered by the whispers. That flows into a delicious chorus led by clean vocals and a darting riff, before chugging guitars support an intense second verse. The intensity builds before dropping into vicious guitars, then a piercing guitar before dropping into a calming chorus. And the track comes to a powerful conclusion with heavy guitars and vocals. For more of that, check out Cevret’s superb EP Sensus from last year, with a new concept EP coming soon.
You can follow Cevret on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
Duplexity – MERCY
Los Angeles duo Duplexity describe their music as coming-of-age indie music that will “speak to fellow Gen Z-ers.” But they deliver a slightly rockier edge than you might expect of such a statement, delivered by siblings Savannah and Luke Judy, who share lead vocals wih Luke on guitar and Savannah on bass.
The duo sent us new single MERCY, which starts out with lively guitar chords that drop into Savannah’s engaging vocals. It picks up pace as an edgy lick leads us into a big singalong chorus. Luke takes over on vocals before flowing into another catchy chorus, which ends with a cool guitar solo over cries of “Mercy.” MERCY follows on from the excellent, more rock’n’roll WAVELESS TIDE and the far more laid-back LOVE IN REVERSE, which highlights the diversity of Duplexity.
You can Duplexity on Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Hallucinophonics – Plague Doctor
Emerging psychedelic visionaries Hallucinophonics are in the midst of a bi-weekly single release cycle that’s building towards finalising a conceptual album. The British band sent us Plague Doctor, which they describe as “a haunting fusion of alternative metal and progressive rock that weaves cinematic storytelling with crushing guitar work and atmospheric piano passages.”
Plague Doctor opens up with an alluring little looping piano line that continues under delicious echoey vocals. The pace picks up as drums and light guitars join in, flowing into a powerfully haunting chorus supported by a big organ sound. It flows straight into a verse supported by drums and the occasional little guitar lick, developing into another huge chorus. That gives way to a delicious noodling guitar solo that screeches its way into another dramatic chorus. It slows down with a light piano under dark vocals in a more methodical section, before a drum roll ushers in a change of pace and more instrumentals build under the epic vocals. Big vocals continue alongside a cool guitar lick, which takes over to bring the track to a deliciously sombre conclusion.
If, like us, you’re intrigued by the sound of that, then there’s plenty more Hallucinophonics music to get stuck into. That includes the moody We Are The Animals, the more synthpop most recent release In The Mood For Love and a personal favourite We Are The Wolfs, They Are The Lambs.
You can follow Hallucinophonics on Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud and YouTube.
Heroes For Ghosts – Rot
Atlanta band Heroes For Ghosts, pictured above, fuse crushing metal breakdowns with mellow vocals and big catchy choruses. Our latest taste of this is the excellent Rot, which opens up with a delicious blend of abrasive guitars and big synths, before dropping into a surprisingly laid-back verse. Delicate vocals continue over stabbing synths, then drive into a big singalong chorus that ends with big bouncy guitar chords and vicious screamed vocals.
The pace suddenly drops in another chilled out verse, which explodes into vicious screams setting up a powerful chorus. That ends with a huge breakdown of crushing guitars under intense screams, which flow into a big final blast of the chorus. If you also like the sound of that, check out their debut EP The Shape of Decay, from which Rot is the opener alongside more great tracks like Old Wounds, In Retrospect and big final track Searching For Nowhere.
You can follow Heroes For Ghosts on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
The Journey Back – Excuses
German band The Journey Back offer up a delicious combination of heavy riffs and catchy 2000s-style pop-punk. The Stuttgart quintet recently had a change-up in their sound, as they brought in new vocalist Anna to become a female-fronted band.
They sent us the first single with Anna on board, Excuses, and the signs are strong. It opens up with building guitars that drop into stabbing guitars that tee up a lively verse led by Anna’s engaging vocals. The cool stabbing guitars return, and another verse flows into a big singalong chorus. An edgier verse ends with heavier guitars and doomy drums flowing into another chorus, which drops into vocals that intensify over chunky guitars. Male vocals take over alongside Anna’s, teeing up a final blast of the chorus.
You can follow The Journey Back on Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify and Apple Music.
Los Angers – WAR
Los Angeles band Los Angers have crafted up an engaging rock sound with a political edge. The band sent us their debut single WAR, which comes ahead of a concept album that, in their words, “tells the story of a fascist occupation of a previously free democratic society.”
WAR opens up with a cool guitar riff over a thick bassline and driving drums, which continues under engaging vocals that end “But if it’s a war you want, then I’ll bring you war.” A second verse and chorus drop into stabbing guitars and drums, which give way to a funky guitar lick that continues under a big screeching guitar solo. That drops into a final chorus to bring the track to a lively conclusion.
You can check out Los Angers’ music on Spotify.
Nothing But Real – Doom
French band combine progressive rock, metal, pop and electro in an intriguingly powerful fusion. The band sent us their latest single Doom, which draws inspiration from Hans Zimmer, Muse and Bring Me The Horizon and focuses on “the awakening of dormant powers in a torn world.”
Doom opens up with a cool stabbing guitar riff with a building siren sound that drops into chunky guitars over a pulsing synth. A verse led by echoey vocals intensifies with chants that feed into a big chorus, which drops into an intriguing verse with laid-back vocals that build towards a cool instrumental section and another big chorus. A funky little synth sound jumps in over driving guitars and develops into a funky lick before flowing into an atmospheric final blast of the chorus.
If you like the sound of that, check out a “Rebirth” version of the band’s 2022 album Lost in the World, which was released at the end of last month.
You can follow Nothing But Real on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Deezer, Soundcloud and YouTube.
Wave Station – GUILTY
American newcomers Wave Station offer up a feisty fusion of rap, rock, metal and nu-metal. The band sent us GUILTY, which opens up with cool stabbing guitar notes, before a shout of “You hypocrite, you make me sick.” That gives way to lively chorus vocals “You’re guilty,” that drop into a more mellow section of vocals and synths, before another big chorus. More intense screams of “You’re such a hypocrite” come in under cool drawn-out guitars before another chorus and concluding with a bit of cheeky record scratching.
If you like the sound of that, check out Wave Station’s debut album RUNNING OUT OF TIME, which was released last month. The album is packed with more nu-metal goodness, including the excellent OUT OF TOUCH, the feisty NOTHING WITHOUT ME, DEADLIER WEAPON and BETTER THIS TIME.
You can follow Wave Station on Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Looking for more new music? Check out all these bands and more on our Spotify playlists GigRadar Metal, GigRadar Core and GigRadar Rock
We discovered all of these bands on Groover – submit your music to GigRadar! And listen to all the bands we’ve found on the platform on our Spotify playlist GigRadar Groover
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