Our first round-up of new rock and metal of 2026 brings you a feast of new rock and metal with the occasional symphonic delight. This collection of new releases brings you nine new bands to explore from France, Ireland, Japan, Sweden, the UK and the USA.
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 seven new bands in chronological order.
Asylum Road – Cut To The Bone
Thrilling Irish quartet Asylum Road fuse the aggression of groove metal with intricate melodies and emotional core. We first discovered the Derry quartet last month, around the release of the excellent Mask of Oblivion, and they’ve just followed it up with Cut To The Bone.
It opens up with a chunky riff and bassline over rolling drums, which flow into a vicious opening verse. The intensity increases with powerful screamed vocals in a heavy chorus, and stabbing guitars lead us into another huge verse. An intense chorus ends with big drum rolls before a driving guitar riff over intense drums, which continue alongside big screamed vocals. The pace picks up with a wild riff and rolling drums, before the track comes to a dark conclusion with vicious screamed vocals.
You can follow Asylum Road on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Blackwater – Extinction
Scottish trio Blackwater are fast becoming one of our favourite new British metal bands. They offer up a thrilling metalcore sound that fuses crushing riffs, cinematic atmospheres and engaging vocals built around a love of video games. We first discovered the band with their debut single Nowhere, which was inspired by the Silent Hill games and was featured in our New Band of the Week article in November.
Blackwater just followed that debut up with the superb Extinction, which was inspired by the Dino Crisis games. It starts with a cool stabbing riff alongside a couple of vicious screams and rolling drums, before flying into a wild opening verse. It shifts gears completely in a superb chorus led by powerful clean vocals over dramatic string support. The pace picks up in a wild second verse with the heavy screamed vocals returning, flowing into another dramatic chorus. A huge breakdown follows with crushing guitars, driving guitars and screams, before the pace slows to tee up another massive chorus.
On the track, the band said: “It’s a perfect blend of early 2000s metalcore mixed with our signature modern deathcore sound with a super catchy chorus. Extinction keeps up the momentum of our first track Nowhere, keeping the pace and the theme of survival horror, this time Extinction transports the listeners to the Jurassic period, with the song’s theme and inspiration being the incredible Dino Crisis games.”
You can follow Blackwater on Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify and YouTube.
LAFAYETTE – Atomic Threat From The Heart
We first discovered the thrilling sound of French band LAFAYETTE in our August new music round-up, when we featured the superb The Fucked Up Song. The modern metal quartet blend a range of heaviness, from extreme metal to hardcore, in a vicious sound built around the concept of “no boundaries, let’s play what we love.”
They just released Atomic Threat From The Heart, which opens up with menacing guitars before a cry of “atomic threat from the heart” ushers in chunky guitar chords. Vicious vocals take over with vicious stabbing guitars before wild high-pitched stabs and big rolling drums build the intensity. That builds into a lively chorus led by clean vocals, which drops back into an intense verse. The pace suddenly drops with echoey synth sounds, joined by screamed vocals then powerful guttural screams and chugging guitar chords. Brutal guitars join in, gradually building towards another big chorus, which ends with heavy slabs of guitar setting up a powerful conclusion. We also recommend checking out last year’s debut album Deliver Us, which includes the huge track Forever Yours.
You can follow LAFAYETTE on Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Matted – Buried
British band Matted take their edgy rock and grunge sound to new heights with the powerful and atmospheric fourth single Buried. We first featured Matted in a New Band of the Week article back in March 2025, around the launch of their debut single Material, then in a couple of follow-up articles with later singles.
The band describe their first track of 2026, which was again produced by McFly’s Harry Judd, as: “A claustrophobic alt-metal catharsis. Crushing dynamics, suffocating vocals and a massive hook convey mental paralysis, panic and an endless descent whilst remaining catchy AF.”
Buried starts in moody fashion with stabs of guitar under frontman Max Walker’s engaging vocals. It explodes into life with a big chorus “Falling to the ground (I can’t sleep, I can not wake up), Silently scream out (meet the pavement, still can’t wake up), Shut my eyes now I’m trapped inside my mind, Falling so deep down, Bury me, bury me now.” The pace slows with a slightly unnerving verse, before heavier vocals lead us into another big chorus, which ends with repeats of “bury me now” over big atmospheric instrumentals. That ends with vicious screamed vocals giving way to heavy stabbing guitars and synth sounds, before building towards a big final blast of the chorus.
You can follow Matted on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
Odjur – Blood and Bones
Swedish melodic death metal band Odjur emerged from deep within the ancient Nordic forests with a thrilling sound they described to us as “untamed, epic and melodic.” We first discovered the band, currently Gustaf (guitar and bass) and Garm (Peter, vocals), last June around the release of their debut single Glory To The Fallen and followed it up by exploring their second single Evil Rising.
Their latest battle cry Blood and Bones, released yesterday, offers a warrior’s cry, opening up with a chunky guitar riff over rolling drums. A vicious growl comes in before descending into a lively verse led by gruff vocals supported by a stabbing guitar riff, which feeds into the feisty chorus “We will march forward over blood and bones.” It continues at a lively pace, quickly feeding into another brief chorus that gives way to a spinning guitar solo before chilling repeats of “blood and bone” tee up a bigger solo. A final verse of “Gear up for the battle, Leave all fears behind, This will be the final war” leads into another chorus before a winding little guitar lick tees up a final blast of the chorus.
On the track, the band said: “This powerful track captures the raw intensity of a warrior rallying his troops for the ultimate showdown. Driven by crushing riffs and relentless growls, it channels the anger and dedication of soldiers marching toward destiny.”
You can follow Odjur on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and Soundcloud.
Oïkoumen – Reign of Idiocy
French trio Oïkoumen (pictured above) combine metal with progressive, orchestral and symphonic elements, in a sound that they describe as “powerful, breathless and moving.” We first discovered the band in July, around the release of Enchanted Worlds, when they were preparing the orchestral elements for “a more majestic second album.”
Back then, vocalist Laura Mazard told us: “Oïkoumen’s music is quite immersive. A lot is happening, and there’s a raw emotional intensity to it. Enchanted Worlds tries to channel that emotion into something more positive. Describing joy is no easy task, but that’s the challenge we set for ourselves here. Especially since the songs that follow will be much less cheerful.”
They’ve just followed up that single with the dramatic Reign of Idiocy, which was released last week and very much delivers on the “majestic” front. It opens up with a brief blast of strings and brass that continue under Laura’s impressive opening vocals. There’s all sorts going on alongside her engaging vocals, including choral backing vocals, orchestral elements and busy guitars and drums, and the intensity builds with operatic vocals and dramatic horns. It eventually drops into a cool little guitar solo that’s joined by backing vocals and develops into a noodling solo. Laura’s engaging vocals return with dramatic strings, before dropping into slightly unsettling light vocals, before leading us into a powerful conclusion.
On the track, the band said: “Reign of Idiocy is a symphonic and orchestral metal track that deals with bullying, seen through the eyes of the victim, with a powerful and violent intensity that we sought to capture using grandiose orchestrations, energetic riffs, and vocals deployed like a tear-soaked cry. This is the first single from our upcoming album, releasing in April, Resilience, which is about childhood trauma and the scars it leaves behind.”
You can follow Oïkoumen on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music and YouTube.
Re:O – Reverie
Japanese/British quartet Re:O offer up a diverse fusion of sounds, from dark pop and J-Pop to EDM, rock and metal. We first discovered them back in November 2024 around the release of The Haunted, which portrayed a heavier edge to their sound. They’ve released a few singles since, culminating in new track Reverie.
On their sound, vocalist Rio Suyama previously told us: “It is very hard to categorise our music as one music genre. I am a Synth junkie, so I like listening to EDM, Drum and Bass, Industrial Techno and electronic music but at the same time I like heavy music like industrial rock and metal, metalcore, rock and alternative metal. I am influenced by various music, so the music naturally has all the elements I am influenced by.”
Reverie opens up with light twinkling sounds that continue under heavy guitars that drop into Rio Suyama’s engaging vocals. Guitar chords gradually creep in and flow into a delicious chorus, which drops back into a laid-back verse with stabs of guitar again building up to a big chorus. The pace slows, before whispered vocals usher in heavy guitar chords before the opening twinkling sounds tee up a final blast of the chorus.
You can follow Re:O on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and check out their music on Spotify, Bandcamp, Apple Music, Soundcloud and YouTube.
September Mourning – I Surrender
Hard rock and metal collective September Mourning portray themselves as not just a band, but a transmedia project that fuses music, comics and performance into a single immersive universe. The American group brings to life characters created in a comic book series of the same name, and we first discovered them back in October.
In the words of vocalist Emily Lazar: “At its heart, September Mourning is a story-driven project: a human–reaper hybrid who collects souls and gives them a second chance at life. That mythology powers the live shows, the comics, and the music itself, making the band stand apart from typical rock acts. September Mourning sounds like if a comic book came to life on stage and collided with hard rock and metal. It’s heavy riffs, soaring vocals, screams, and haunting melodies – all wrapped in a dark, cinematic universe where music, story, and character merge into one experience.”
Our latest taste of this is I Surrender, which was released a couple of weeks ago. It opens up with light synth sounds that float into Emily’s delicate vocals joined by grumbles of guitar. The atmosphere gradually builds, then chunky guitars support intense cries of “wake up” and gives way to more engaging vocals. Chunky guitar chords come in alongside more intense vocals, before light piano brings the song to a calming conclusion.
You can follow September Mourning on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
StopGap Solution – To The Moon
Tennessee’s StopGap Solution offer up an engaging, hooky and nostalgic alternative rock and classic rock sound that we first discovered last January. They released a series of singles last year, before dropping To The Moon at the start of this month.
It opens up with echoey vocals that drop into a fun little guitar lick and driving chords that give way to a laid-back verse. That builds into a big singalong chorus and the pace slows in another engaging verse that flows into a big chorus, which ends with big choral cries. And the track concludes with repeats of “I love you to the moon and back again.”
You can follow StopGap Solution on Facebook and Instagram, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
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