Single Slam: Rammstein, Cult Burial, Aviana, Box Clone, Future Palace, Gold Tongue, Sonic Addictive, Mulberry Sky, Dogma, Social Scream, Strangers With Guns and Alexisonfire!

This week’s single slam features Rammstein, Cult Burial, Aviana, Box Clone, Future Palace, Gold Tongue, Sonic Addictive, Mulberry Sky, Dogma, Social Scream, Strangers With Guns and Alexisonfire. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Rammstein – Zeit

Rammstein’s new album ‘Zeit’ will be released on the 29th of April 2022. Exactly three years after their untitled multi-platinum album, one of the most globally successful German bands of all time is releasing a follow-up! The first single from the album has now dropped and it’s the title track.

Who knows what to expect when it comes to Rammstein? Arguably on the form of their career, Zeit comes with some lofty expectations. Expectations that will be sated somewhat by the release of this first single. A ballad, at first, it’s all keyboards and vocals with subtle atmosphere, the arrival of guitars and soft drums adding more oomph leading to a heavier expulsion of epic proportions. It’s Rammstein doing what Rammstein do as expertly as always and this track bears all the hallmarks of being fan’s new favourite Rammstein ballad. Check it out here.

Cult Burial – Disorder

Cult Burial is a blackened death-doom studio project hailing from London. Following on from their 2021 3-track EP ‘Oblivion’, Cult Burial will release their brand-new single, Disorder on March 18th, 2022.

The band had this to say:

We are excited to release this track to the world. The aim was to create a nasty, aggressive, energetic piece of music that would leave the listener suffering under the weight of the song. The new album is close to be finished and we expect to release it later in 2022.

A ferocious clammer of blackened death and doom metal, the brief bit of atmosphere at the start can in no way prepare the mind for the cacophony of noise that follows. A blistering showcase of heavy instrumentation and hellacious vocals, it’s intense. However, what really stands out are the hooks and Disorder has some sharp ones. Pure head-banging gold. Check it out here upon release.

Aviana – Transcendent

Swedish alternative metal act Aviana have released a video for new single ‘Transcendent’ and announced the release of new album Corporation, out 3rd August via Arising Empire.

Frontman and bandleader Joel Holmqvist commented:

The new single ‘Transcendent’ is a little bit different compared to the other songs we’ve released so far. It has some extended clean vocals in it and was really fun to write. I hope people will enjoy it and the fact that we are trying out some different style of songs, while trying to stick to the AVIANA sound, which is something you can expect from the whole album.

A bouncy post-hardcore infusion that ticks all the ‘alt’ boxes but isn’t following any tried and tested formula. Aviana have returned with an anthemic hit that has the capabilities to deliver sing-alongs while also opening up some of the biggest and nastiest pits you’ve seen in a while. The cherry on top? That freaking breakdown. Absolutely nuts.

Box Clone – Lie to the People

Hot off the heels of their debut release, ‘Cyclical’, Box Clone have delivered their follow-up single ‘Lie to the People’. ‘Lie to the People’ explores political ideals and also the narrative of one’s reluctance to reveal the truth about themselves.

A very politically charged foot-tapper, Lie to the People is riff heaven. A energetic bounce along with some cutting lyrical content and a chorus that you just want to sing-along too. To call it catchy is to underplay just how stupidly infectious this effort is. You’ll be singing and dancing along for hours afterwards. Check it out here.

Future Palace – Flames

Berlin post-hardcore trio Future Palace have released a brand-new single called ‘Flames’.

Vocalist Maria says:

Flames is one of our most powerful and aggressive songs. Instrumentally as well as vocally, we have tried out a multitude of new stylistic means here. In terms of content, the song looks back on my unfortunately often painful past. Like its predecessors, however, it conveys the will to fight and hope.

Future Palace don’t hang around here, coming screaming out of the blocks with a blast of post-hardcore heaviness. Though, it’s the tone and tempo shifts that will certainly stop many listeners in their tracks. Aggressive and in-your face music leading to a chorus that can be summed up with the world ‘grand’. Although ‘catchy’ will certainly work too. Modern and fresh, Future Palace are one of a few bands making post-hardcore exciting again.

Gold Tongue – Who Do You Think You Are

High octane, rock n’ roll band, Gold Tongue have released their debut single ‘Who Do You Think You Are’. A song inspired by this era of misinformation, mistrust, and just general bullshit percolating in the air—during one of the most difficult times in human history.

Says Gold Tongue:

Our collective psyches have been beaten to a pulp, our emotions strapped to a rocket ship flown by billionaires into space at a million miles an hour.

A second short of 3-minutes, Gold Tongue’s debut single is all about delivering fast paced rock music with psychedelic undertones. Catchy, memorable and energetic but with a lyrical point. Slightly raw, slightly rough and very robust, it’s a track that sounds fresh and modern but also calls to fans of the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Royal Blood and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Rock music to groove too with a chorus that is super-catchy. Check it out here.

Sonic Addictive – My Winter Storm

About six months after releasing their debut single ‘What I’ve Done’, French hybrid cinematic rock/metal band Sonic Addictive have unveiled another song called ‘My Winter Storm’ available now.

A fusion of classic heavy metal and clean 80’s themed synth, My Winter Storm is a fun track. One that also features some kick-ass riffs and a chorus that just puts a smile on the face. The ‘throwback’ aspects of this track are used to transform the metal into something far more electrifying. It’s catchy and entertaining… what more could you want? Check it out here.

Mulberry Sky – Imperfections

Mulberry Sky hail from Bruckmühl in Upper Bavaria and after the success of the first EP ‘Knock, Knock!’ (2020) and the following single sensations, ‘Golden Suit Problems’, ‘Creature’ and ‘Lion Queen’, the band is now back with a new single called ‘Imperfections’. Denouncing the beauty ideals of social media, the new single is out on March 25th, 2022 and is from an upcoming album that will be released sometime in the summer.

A clattering of drums, groovy bass lines and an infectious riff… Imperfections nails its flag to radio-rock’s frame immediately. The arrival of a strong set of vocals adds even more gravitas to what you’re hearing as the chorus arrives and proves to be absurdly memorable. A track that delivers instant gratification but has enough depth to stay in the brain matter long after it has finished. Check it out here upon release.

Dogma – Father I Have Sinned

Mysterious melodic metal cult, Dogma, have joined the MNRK Heavy roster, and unveiled a blasphemously compelling new video for the track ‘Father I Have Sinned.’

Note the collective:

We are united but free. We want to detach people from dogmas and useless norms, which only anchor the life of each one instead of giving freedom. We do not preach anarchism, we preach true liberation. Nuns follow a god. They live without enjoyment and claim to abstain from sexual encounters. We subvert the iconography of nuns because they represent the exact opposite of what we preach. They are not free. Like many characters in the human race, they deprive themselves of the richness of a full life.

Who doesn’t love a bit of mystery in their metal? Four corpse-painted nuns is certainly up there as bloody mysterious. It’s an image that makes you think of black and dark metal so the anthemic classic and power-driven metal the band showcase here is going to surprise quite a few but in a very good way. It’s catchy and groovy melodic metal.

Social Scream – Luna Dark

Social Scream is a heavy metal band from Sparta/Greece formed in 2008. The band have announced that a new album is ready to hit the ground, called ‘Δεινόν Εστί’ and have released the single, Lunsa Dark.

Soft melody serves as the introduction this heavy metal epic, a track that takes its time building towards a thrashy expulsion. One with all the head-banging qualities of the metal of old but with a freshness that makes it feel new and interesting. That it has a thick vein of darkness running through it, is all the better. Get those neck muscles warmed up, they’re needed for this track. Check it out here.

Strangers With Guns – Dial It Back

Describing themselves as a band in the mold of Faith No More, Butthole Surfers, Melvins, Rollins Band etc. Strangers With Guns are a 4-piece Irish rock band who have made a name for themselves within the Irish scene. They have now released a brand new single called ‘Dial It Back’.

The band describe the song as:

Being about stress essentially, and not running yourself into the ground and burning yourself out, because we’re all gonna die anyway, not to be bleak, just emphasising things are somewhat less significant and not worth stressing over if you keep the endgame in mind. Take a sick day, be late, who are your trying to impress, people feeling work guilt, fuck it.

Groovy, fuzzy and heavy energy, Strangers With Guns bring something truly infectious but also eclectically weird with this new single. The riffs are fire, the drumming is like a war-beat and the vocals are delivered in the way that makes you really pay attention. The chorus is a chant-along and the final segment is head-banging gold. This is a banger.

Alexisonfire – Sweet Dreams of Otherness

Back with their first full-length album in 13 years, Alexisonfire have announced ‘Otherness’ will be released on June 24th, 2022 via Dine Alone Records. The album features 10 new tracks including the first single, ‘Sweet Dreams of Otherness’ which is out now.

13 years is a long time but Alexisonfire prove that time is just a number by slipping effortlessly back into their post-hardcore/alt-metal shoes with ease. No easy task as the genre has exploded over the past few years with a ton of excellent up and coming bands. Still, Alexisonfire are back and ready to reclaim their crown. Something they set out to do with a slow-moving, raw and intense offering that features distorted guitars, vocals that soar and growl in equal amounts and dirty percussion. It’s a strong return.