Our prolonged Christmas break is over and, like our first featured artist of 2021, we are back with a bang. Midgar is an unusual band for us, given that they started out more than a decade ago but, after a long hiatus, they're returning with a sound that's hard-hitting and intense yet melodic and intricate.
Introducing: DDE’s
Manchester trio DDE's have stayed true to the city's indie roots in their creation of a catchy rock'n'roll sound that just sounds like Manchester.
Introducing: Limbo
We're kicking off the weekend with a brutal assault of intense progressive metal that fuses low-tuned guitars, funky melodies, powerful vocals and intriguing lyrics from Sweden's Limbo.
Introducing: Bitch Falcon
Irish trio Bitch Falcon not only have an eye-catching name but an intoxicating brand of diverse, unconventional post-punky rock that'll also stick with you. Indeed, it's a sound that they intriguingly describe to us as "heavy but melodic, aggressive, melancholic wave."
Introducing: Noctry
One-man band Noctry has honed an engaging but hard-hitting blend of alternative rock meets metal, which also incorporates elements of ambient, digital and electronic, and R&B.
Introducing: Milk White Throat
Fusing progressive rock elements coming from a death metal background is always going to conjure up something pretty exciting, and that's exactly what we get from Brighton band Milk White Throat. The band offer up thrilling riffs, cheeky guitar solos and pounding rhythms in a heavy, intense and encapsulating sound.
Introducing: Pteroglyph
Leeds melodic death metal trio Pteroglyph offer up a fascinating fusion of old school death metal and modern technical metal. It's an approach they delightfully describe to us as "feral and violently technical songs."
Introducing: Lonelyouth
Nashville newcomers Lonelyouth offer up an exciting, diverse sound that sits somewhere between nu-metal, metalcore and melodic rock. They've honed a sound that offers plenty of aggression and its fair share of groove, with booming guitar riffs fused with powerful vocals engaging melodies.
Introducing: Greybeard
Emerging from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Calgary band Greybeard offer up a delicious fusion of metal influences, from black metal and death metal to atmospheric and progressive elements.
Introducing: Flammable Animal
How would you feel about revisiting songs or even things you thought or ranted about 21 years ago? Personally, I think it's best not to even contemplate visit 15-year-old me's thoughts. However, that's exactly what brilliantly named Los Angeles rock band Flammable Animal (try saying that three times) are doing with their recently released debut EP that transports us back to our formative music days of the 1990s.