On The Radar: Carences, Godeater, InRetrospect, Killed By Sorrow, ODC, Pick Up Goliath & Profiler

Our latest edition of new music from bands we’ve previously interviewed brings you new rock, metal and punk tracks to get your weekend started. This month, we’ve got new music by seven bands from Canada, France, Spain and the UK.

You can listen to all of these bands and many, many more in our range of Spotify playlists, which you can find at the bottom of this page and via our Listen To GigRadar page. But for now, get your weekend started by checking out these new bands in alphabetical order.

Carences – Adieux

Montreal band Carences fuse elements of punk and post-hardcore in a thrilling sound that channels their collective frustration and disillusionment. We first featured the band’s debut single in our New Music Round-Up, and they just dropped their debut album Violences, from which they sent us the track Adieux.

Adieux opens up with a repeating guitar note that continues under engaging vocals then driving drums. It suddenly kicks into life with dual vocals and a lively riff and drums, before the pace slows slightly in a moody verse. A second chorus ends with a mass of noise, then the repeating guitar and driving drums continue under moody vocals and a stabbing guitar noise. It gradually builds in intensity before finishing with a heavy scream and guitar noise.

There’s plenty more where that came from on the album, including the excellent opening track Urbanisme, the wild Biodiversité, the intriguing Analogie sur Guillaume Tell and the feisty final track M.E.S.V.Q.

You can follow Carences on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.

Godeater – Alvorecer

Glasgow’s technical death metal hard-hitters Godeater have melody at their core and the biggest issues facing modern society at their soul. We first met the band way back in October 2019, around the release of their debut album All Flesh Is Grass. But they’ve recently added new vocalist Jamie Harrison and dropped new EP Alvorecer today.

The EP opens up with the stunning Leech, which starts out with intensity thanks to piercing guitars and ruthless drums. That continues into vicious dual vocals, before engaging clean vocals take over and the pace drops for a moment before pressing ahead with a fusion of heavy vocals, guitars, moody backing synths and crushing double bass drum flurries.

There’s plenty more of that as it flows into Encased in Wax and the powerful The Enveloping Grey, which features a really cool ominous synth section before a crushing conclusion. And the EP closes in style with the brutal Soil and Steel, which opens up with vicious vocals that give way to a delicious instrumental section before picking up the baton again alongside relentlessly heavy drums and soaring synths. The pace slows in a heavily atmospheric section with a distant noodling guitar solo, before heavy vocals and increasingly brutal drums lead us into a powerful ending.

You can follow Godeater on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp and YouTube.

InRetrospect – TOXIC

British band InRetrospect fuse metalcore and djent in an intoxicating, thought-provoking sound that they hope will satisfy metalheads and listeners of all musical genres alike. We first featured the northern quintet as our New Band of the Week back in June 2021 and they’ve been busy since, supporting the likes of Skindred and playing a huge slot at Download Festival while releasing a couple of EPs.

They’ve backed that up with new single TOXIC, which was released today. It opens up with a little synth sound that builds into crushing guitars over backing synths. Vocalist Nathan takes over in an engaging verse supported by stabbing guitars, flowing into clean vocals answered by screams in the chorus “Only you can make me feel so alive (I’m so alive), And take me up so high, Only you can make me think I could fly (Let me fly), So far away.” The heavier vocals take the lead, dropping into another verse and catchy chorus. Intense vocals give way to crushing guitars that continue under screamed vocals, before a huge rendition of the chorus brings the track to a powerful conclusion.

On the track, they said: “With TOXIC, we wanted to delve into a deeper topic, one with impact and relevance. Lyrically, Nathan explores the ‘relationship’ that can be birthed from substance abuse. Linking the topic to the similarities of an abusive relationship and how there becomes a level of acceptance and justification for the want and need to continue with the dark place a person can be in, to feel whatever level of love, joy or escape that comes with all types of addiction.”

You can follow InRetrospect on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.

Killed By Sorrow – Betrayal

Heading back to Quebec, Granby band Killed By Sorrow combine catchy, intense vocals with powerful guitars in a delicious hardcore meets metalcore sound. The band first formed in 2000, with inspiration from Raised Fist, but recently reformed and we discovered them with their EP Time Has Come in February.

They just released Betrayal, which they describe as “A marked evolution in our sound: a blend of powerful melodies, hard-hitting riffs, and an emotional intensity that captures the very essence of modern metal.”

Betrayal opens up with chunky guitar chords and big cymbals intersected with drum rolls, before flowing into a vicious opening verse led by feisty vocals. Thick slabs of guitar are answered by heavy screamed vocals, before cool stabbing guitars are joined by repeated cries of “I cannot take it anymore.” Rhythmic guitars and little bass flurries take over, then support intense vocals that end with some moody guitars as the pace slows down. That gives way to big drawn-out guitars under vicious screams and a cool meandering guitar lick bringing the track to a powerful conclusion.

You can follow Killed By Sorrow on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.

ODC – Twisted Love

A favourite of ours from recent new music round-ups, French band ODC recently dropped their debut album Twisted Love. We first discovered the Parisian quartet back in October 2020 and were instantly hooked on the delicious vocals of Celia Do and their rock meets nu-metal approach, following a string of singles that have led to the hotly anticipated album.

Twisted Love opens up with the alluring but hard-hitting My Only Fan, before the more melodic Love, I Tore It Apart, its title track and the far heavier Follower. The more anthemic The Beauty of the Beast is up next, and the album continues to deliver with the excellent nu-metal banger My Name is Gold and tracks like If I’d Tried, the crushing Raise Your Hands Up and superb final track Despecha.

You can follow ODC on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.

Pick Up Goliath – Final Requiem

Spain-based project Pick Up Goliath aims to push the boundaries of cinematic music with an engaging metal symphony sound. We first discovered the project, the brainchild of Sam George, a UK-born solo artist, composer, producer and audio engineer who now lives in the Spanish city of Cacéres, around the release of Rise of the Machine, the second single from their new EP Artificial Ascendency, alongside guitarist Josh Baines and drummer Mike Malyan.

The EP is now available in full, and they sent us its epic closing track Final Requiem. It opens up with rolling drums teeing up lively vocals and a wild high-pitched guitar lick. The vocals intensify with a mix of call-and-response elements, before a funky guitar solo and a drum roll leads into an engaging chorus. The pace slows into a more technical section that flows into another big chorus, which ends with heavier vocals and powerful instrumentals, which ends with a wild scream. The pace drops again with light vocals and a piano section, before ominous guitars and spoken vocals explode into screams and stabbing guitars. A sweeping guitar solo takes over with keyboard support, and drops into a crushing low guitar riff and intense screams. Spoken vocals come in over lingering guitars and rolling drums, teeing up a dramatic conclusion.

On the EP, Sam told us: “Artificial Ascendency is about humanity creating its own replacement and realising too late what’s been lost. But it’s also about resilience, rebellion, and the human spirit refusing to disappear quietly.”

You can follow Pick Up Goliath on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, Deezer and YouTube.

Profiler – Illusion

A regular feature of these round-ups, Bristol’s nu-metal reawakening force Profiler, who we first featured back in December 2018, are back with another new track Illusion. This is the latest in a series of singles that look like being part of a new EP or album, following on from Dope and Luciferian, which we’ve featured in previous articles.

Illusion opens up with a funky light lick, before a cry of “Wake up” ushers in a bouncy riff and driving drums. Funky harmonic guitar noises feature over a chunky riff as frontman Mike Evans leads a lively opening verse. That flows into a big atmospheric chorus, and the melodic feeling continues in a more laid-back verse that ends with chunky guitar chords and cool rolling drums. The pace slows as it flows into a big chorus with increasingly intense vocals, before ending with a final slab of delicious nu-metally guitars.

You can follow Profiler on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. You can also see Profiler play a headline show at London’s Black Heart on 10 December.