Single Slam: Slipknot, Venom Prison, Wicked Garden, Back on Earth, Unanimated, Puzzle Tree, Solitary, Acchy, Party Cannon, Holy Tokes, Downfall of Mankind, Radicals, Fallen Stars and Scorpions!

This week’s single slam features Slipknot, Venom Prison, Wicked Garden, Back on Earth, Unanimated, Puzzle Tree, Solitary, Acchy, Party Cannon, Holy Tokes, Downfall of Mankind, Radicals, Fallen Stars and Scorpions. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Slipknot – The Chapeltown Rag

Slipknot have returned with ‘The Chapeltown Rag’ – their first new music in two years. Recorded during recent sessions for a yet-to-be-announced new album.

Vocalist Corey Taylor commented on ‘The Chapeltown Rag,’ remarking:

It’s a punisher man. It’s classic Slipknot. And it’s frenetic. But lyrically, it’s coming from a point of talking about the various manipulations that can happen when social media meets media itself. And the different ways that these manipulations can try to pull us in different directions, in the fact that we’re all becoming addicts to it, which is very, very dangerous.

This is Slipknot. Proving that age and experience just means they can craft a more layered song while retaining the savagery we love about them. This is a raging beast with girthy riffs and a killer Corey vocal performance. The latter is spitting furious barbs here and even his clean singing has a passion behind it.

What’s quite interesting about this track is how old-school Slipknot it sounds. A combination of the self-titled album and Iowa, but with their modern aptitude for song-writing. Fans are going to absolutely love it.

Venom Prison – Judges of the Underworld

Uncompromising five-piece Venom Prison have unleashed ‘Judges Of The Underworld’, the first song and video taken from their upcoming album ‘Erebos’, set for release worldwide on February 4th, 2022.

The band comment:

Judges of The Underworld’ deals with the crippling reality of people who face incarceration, who oftentimes are followed by violence over a lifetime. This violence can present itself as a dominating factor in a context of structural poverty and racial inequality, creating roles in an individual’s life where they are not only the victim, but also witness and offender at different times in different situations. But the violence we address in our courts and prisons is judged out of social context and can therefore not lead to a fair and personalised resolution for people who are stuck in a cycle of violence and systematic oppression.

It was important for us to visualise this feeling of isolation, anxiety, and repeated violence in the music video for ’Judges Of The Underworld’ and the idea was to show an individual that is stripped down to their basic needs and instincts. Consumed by their helplessness to navigate in an everyday situation, feeling isolated within themselves whilst going under in a sea of people that face similar conditions. This is where Thomas Coe Brooker comes in as a director and cinematographer, with his unique eye for detail he was able to bring out this combative helplessness and aggressiveness of said individual. He was able to convey the feeling of being alone in a crowd, suffering the same fate as many others, where isolation becomes your existence and a vicious cycle of your life at the hands of systematic violence.

Venom Prison are back and it’s time to get very excited about where this band are going. The evolution of their sound continues while they continue to stick to the extreme playbook satisfyingly. It’s death metal but with years’ worth of experience behind it, savage and harsh but with more melody than many may be used too.

Fear not, if you want a reason to gurn and go nuts in a pit, this track has it. The latter portion throws out breakdowns likely to cause to a few injuries. Based off this track, things bode very well for Venom Prison’s new album. Check it out here.

Wicked Garden – Bipolarcoaster

Las Vegas rock 4-piece Wicked Garden are back with their new single ‘Bipolarcoaster’, the title track from their new mini album. Blending sounds of 90’s grunge with a classic hard rock foundation, the band have established themselves with a series of releases which have seen them gain over 750,000 streams worldwide and chart in multiple countries.

Speaking about Bipolarcoaster, lead vocalist Dominick Muzio said:

Everyone deals with issues differently, and sometimes we don’t realize how this affects the people around us. ‘Bipolarcoaster’ is about someone being so wrapped up in their own head with their issues that they can end up destroying the people who care the most about them.

Moody as hell, the grungy sound that make up such an important part of Wicked Garden’s sound is very present here. From the opening guitar feedback and slow drum beat to the rockier punch and drawling vocals that follows, it’s sullen but surprisingly catchy. A well-done combination of grungy and rock, the latter ensuring it doesn’t sound or feel like a rethread of yester-year’s grungy heyday. Check it out here.

Back on Earth – Runaway

Bringing back the fierce pop-punk vibes reminiscent of their early days, Back On Earth are taking us directly into a pit with Runaway. Inspired by the latest tracks from Neck Deep, Machine Gun Kelly and A Day to Remember, the current revival of pop-punk is the perfect timing for the Parisian trio to deliver what they do best : a smashing tune with hopeful lyrics.

A time-capsule of pop-punk, Back to Earth are taking it back to basics with a short, infectious, and very feel-good tune. With just the right amount of energy, a ton of melodies and a sing-along chorus, it’s one for the pop-punk fan in all of us.

Unanimated – As the Night Takes Us

Swedish metal legends Unanimated have released another single from their upcoming album, ‘Victory in Blood’. The new track, “As the Night Takes Us”, comes off the band’s first studio effort in more than a decade, which will be released on December 3rd, 2021 via Century Media Records.

Old school metal masters return to show the kids how it’s done. Unanimated bring powerful and extreme blackened death metal with this new track. Alongside a surprising but of flair that suggest they’ve learned a few new tricks in the last decade. Watch out for the bluesy bit that comes near the end to be really surprised by what Unanimated have delivered here. Check it out here.

Puzzle Tree – Fearless

Fearless is the debut single from Puzzle Tree, taken from their upcoming debut album, Every Broken Floor.

The ominous horror vibes are strong in this one. The choppy, chunky and sharpened guitar rhythm buzzes through the skull like flies over a rotting corpse. The drums add the meat and the vocals are reminiscent of Lucifer’s sermon-like quality. Powerful and commanding, it’s a nice and dark offering from Puzzle Tree that creates much anticipation for the full album. Check it out here.

Solitary – The Dark…The Resilient

Back from a successful run of dates in Scotland, thrash masters Solitary are now ready to unveil their latest video. The Dark…The Resilient is the fifth video from The Truth Behind the Lies, Solitary’s thrash masterpiece which was released last year by Metalville Records.

The single might not be new, but the video is, so it’s a chance to relive the thumping and chuggy head-banger that is The Dark…The Resilient. A Solitary banger, the thrash heaviness is strong in this one and it calls to the basic instincts of humanity – tear shit up.

Though the song’s message that deals with the life changing consequences of driving whilst under the influence is one that makes the tone all the more serious. Check it out here.

Acchy – My Cyanide

Melbourne-based artist Acchy (Lachlan Sallabank) has spent the past couple of years releasing punchy singles in an instantly identifiable sound. The string of releases over this past year proves the undeniable fountain of creativity, dedication and hard work that is this fledgling alternative artist. Now Acchy is ready to unleash his new larger-than-life track ‘My Cyanide’.

Acchy has this to say regarding the story behind the track:

My Cyanide is a story of a teen who feels so strongly for a girl that he would do anything just to make it work. However, he admits this isn’t healthy for him with the title ‘My Cyanide’ being an analogy for the girl. I found inspiration from my own similar experiences in love.

My Cyanide is slated for release on November 11th, 2021.

A lovely pop-punk song, Acchy is having a bit of fun with this one. His alternative and modern style meshes well with the classic pop-punk formula. Delivering a catchy, thoughtful, and honest listen that has a stellar sing-along chorus. It will put a pensive (because of its theme) smile on the face. You will be able to check it out here.

Party Cannon – Nauseating and Unpalatable

Slam death masters Party Cannon have released a brand-new single called ‘Nauseating and Unpalatable’ which features Exhumed bassist and vocalist, Ross Sewage. It is taken from their upcoming new album, Volumes of Vomit which is out on January 14th, 2022.

Few bands make your stomach acids churn, your head ache, your sphincter tighten and your legs quiver in quite the way Party Cannon do. The noise-mongers are beloved up and down the country for their tongue-in-cheek approach to slamming death metal and this sort of track isn’t going to change that.

The thing is, for all their silliness, they’re damn good at what they do. Nauseating and Unpalatable is an apt title but you wouldn’t have it any other way.

Holy Tokes – Ghosts

Lace-up your stomping boots, as Canadian rock sentries Holy Tokes are back with their dank and dance-y DNA, with newest single “Ghosts.”

Says vocalist Mark Lingelbach:

Music that is talking about true experiences and intrigues in our own way. It’s different sounding music coming from the most honest, and loud parts of our beings, so we hope you can have fun and get down with that feeling while not resisting the urge to move.

Oh yes, this track will want you to get up and move. A danceable, punkish blast of weird energy. It has a hypnotic quality to it that keeps you moving even as it falls down the rabbit hole in regard to rhythm. You may not love it first time round, but it will get stuck in your head, then through multiple listens you’ll quickly release that your addicted to the chaos they create. Check it out here.

Downfall of Mankind – Bow to the Crown

Downfall of Mankind is a symphonic deathcore band who have released their music video ‘Bow to the Crown’. This video was recorded live at DeathFest Germany and is dedicated to their producer Dominik “Pumpa” König (DPK Studios, Bass Player of Stillbirth) that passed away recently.

Deathcore with all the slams, beatdowns, breakdowns and chaotic noise you would expect. Downfall of Mankind are savagely heavy and that’s before you even consider the thing that makes them stand out. The infusion of symphonic elements. Something that isn’t that much of a surprise when it comes to extreme music but something that is rarely used in deathcore. Should it work? Probably not but Downfall of Mankind prove they can make it so. Check it out here.

Radicals – Untitled

Sydney’s Radicals’ brand-new single, out Friday November 5th, is titled ‘Untitled.’

Guitarist/Vocalist for the band, Brandon Wade, says that:

Untitled was the first track we wrote after our first singles back in late 2021 and was the first song we decided to write with no direction or planned meaning. We had come up with the vocal melody for the track in the space of 10 minutes and then just sat down spitting random lyrics off the top of our head that fit. Basically, as long as the syllables matched it got added to the song.

We didn’t want to put a title on the track, we didn’t want any 2 lines to even seem like they could make sense next to each other, we just wanted this to be a track that sounded okay and nothing else. Like the first line in the chorus is literally “Kaleidoscopes and unborn bread”. What the fuck even is that?! It makes absolutely no sense and we couldn’t be prouder. As the song says “untitled lives”.

An animated blast of grungy rock with pop-punk touches, there’s a nonsensical approach to Radicals new song. One that makes it much more appealing while still be ordered enough to get the foot-tapping and head-nodding along. A strong chorus is the major selling point but the eclectic build of the track is what sticks in the mind afterwards. Check it out here.

Fallen Stars – November

Fallen Stars fuse hard rock and pop-metal, generating a completely refreshing sound. They released their single ‘November’ on November 1st, 2021.

Fallen Stars says:

November is a song written for anyone who’s ever lost somebody to drugs or suicide. It’s about the emotions and thoughts one goes through when they see someone they love struggling or refusing to get help.

A potent blend of rock, pop and metal; Fallen Star’s November stays with you long after the final note has played out. The cold and morose melody gives way to something with a bit more power and pep to it. All while never drifting away from the overall emotive theme, which is such a major part of the darkness that surrounds it. Check it out here.

Powerful? That’s an understatement.

Scorpions – Peacemaker

German rock icons Scorpions have released their brand-new single “Peacemaker”, to whet their fans’ appetite for their upcoming album Rock Believer, scheduled to be released on February 25, 2022.

The icons are back and firing on all cylinders with this brand-new single, a track that has all the catchy hard rock groove that turned this band into superstars. If you love this band, Peacemaker isn’t going to change that. However, it’s not just a re-thread of what Scorpions have been doing for decades before. It’s got the classic stylings, but the modern build and infectious chorus make it far more memorable.