Single Slam: Goat Monsoon, Dødheimsgard, Atlas for Home, Existentialist, Altari, Poison Ruïn, Gama Bomb, Sylosis, Mesmur, Rumours, fakeyourdeath, Truth Decayed, Bury Tomorrow, and Pupil Slicer!

This week’s single slam features Goat Monsoon, Dødheimsgard, Atlas for Home, Existentialist, Altari, Poison Ruïn, Gama Bomb, Sylosis, Mesmur, Rumours, fakeyourdeath, Truth Decayed, Bury Tomorrow, and Pupil Slicer. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Goat Monsoon – Living Hell

Hail the Goat. Worship the Riff. Essex, UK-based stoner, groove, doom and sludge metal band Goat Monsoon have released a brand-new single/video entitled ‘Living Hell’.

Any time there is new Goat Monsoon music is a reason to be happy and Living Hell is going to make a lot of people happy. It’s a fuzzy, furious-sounding, and freaky blast of Goat Monsoon gold. You know what means… thick riffs, huge bass lines, punchy drums, and growling vocals. All wrapped up with a heavy groove bow. It’s a head-banger of a track.

Dødheimsgard – Abyss Perihelion Transit

Norwegian avant-garde pioneers Dødheimsgard recently announced details on their new album ‘Black Medium Current’, set for release on April 14th via Peaceville Records. Now they have shared the first taster in the form of the 10 minute+ track ‘Abyss Perihelion Transit’.

A cosmic slice of avant-garde brilliance, Abyss Perihelion Transit requires patience and an open mind. Give it that, and you’ll be rewarded with an eleven-minute trip that is as beautiful as it is ballsy. The former because of how deep and moving the atmosphere is, and the latter because of how black and brash it gets. Across the epic runtime, Dødheimsgard change the tone in ways that simply can be called transcendent. Check it out here.

Atlas for Home – Stay the Same (feat. Dory-Loup of mirabelle)

French pop-punk band, Atlas for Home are back with the soft & angry emo-ballad ‘Stay the Same’. A 3-minute ride about the daily quest for reality, honesty, pureness, in a world where everything is more fake, digital, disconnected.

Describing the track, the band says:

Stay the Same is a soft/down tempo song we created and recorded a while ago. It is about being spontaneous and real in a disconnected world. We never knew when was the perfect moment to release it so we decided a few weeks ago that now is the perfect moment as we feel like we need to do what is being told in this song. It’s kind of a fragile song, more shoegaze/post hardcore, types of music we also like.

The emo-ballad description is certainly an apt one as this is an extremely chilled, melodic, and emotive track. It’s very dramatic, it’s very sweet, and it’s very touching. What it lacks in energy, it makes up for in melody. It will make you smile wistfully.

Existentialist – The Zealot’s Demise

UK-based extreme metal juggernauts, Existentialist, return with ‘The Zealot’s Demise’, the second single / video from their upcoming album, The Heretic, out 28th April via Seek and Strike.

Existentialist comment:

Technically, ‘The Zealot’s Demise,’ is one of our most complex. There are some weird off-beat patterns at times between the kick and hand work, guitars and orchestration. Combined with tempo and time signature changes, it made the track a real challenge, but was an enjoyable writing experience. It’s collectively one of our favorite tracks to play live because it smacks hard and has some savage breakdowns.

Opening with a seriously cinematic soundscape, it doesn’t take to long for Existentialist to unleash hell and it’s blazing hot. This latest single is fast, furious, and feral. Yet, it features grand symphonic touches that make it so much more than just a shotgun blast to the face. Good stuff from this rising UK band. Check it out here.

Altari – Leðurblökufjandinn

Fire and brimstone from Icelandic Black Metal band Altari, as their volcanic new album Kröflueldar erupts via Svart Records on 14.04.23. The band have shared the Virus inspired new single ‘Leðurblökufjandinn’ with Óskar Þór commenting:

It’s the oldest song on the record and by far the strangest one considering the overall time pattern. I thank Virus for the inspiration, since it’s from the time I spent most of my listening time on Virus and Ved Buens Ende. There’s not much to say really, other than the lyrics from that point on became more romanticized throughout the record. It deals with an entity bent on stealing your beauty, be it inner or outer whichever is preferred. I can safely say that it deals with my past addictions, which prompted me to steal myself away from those closest to me.

Kröflueldar is shaping up to be one hell of an album and this latest single is another slice of brilliance from the blackened minds of Altari. One with a disconcerting sound, blending melodic eccentricities with the harsh, cold world of black metal. It’s a fascinating listen. Check it out here.

Poison Ruïn – Resurrection II

Philadelphia post-punk / hardcore quartet Poison Ruïn have released their new single / video ‘Resurrection II’, taken from their new album Härvest, out 14th April via Relapse.

Hyperactive and punky as hell, Resurrection II is a raw and rough track with an anarchic mindset. Notable for the main riff’s pure kickass-ness, the bad-mannered vibes are strong and it results in a really listenable slice of heavy groove.

Gama Bomb – If I Should Fall from Grace with God (The Pogues Cover)

Irish thrash metal legends Gama Bomb have released a cover of The Pogues’ classic ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’, featuring The Pogues’ own Spider Stacy on guest vocals.

Gama Bomb’s vocalist Philly Byrne comments:

The Pogues were my musical awakening. When I was a wee boy, I shared a bedroom with four of my brothers. I’d sit on the floor between the beds, staring at the sleeves for If I Should Fall From Grace With God and Rum, Sodomy And The Lash while my brother played them on vinyl.

We don’t really ‘do’ covers, but we always discussed ‘If I Should Fall’… as one to keep in the back pocket. When we finally made a demo, I took a punt and sent it to Spider, literally just slid into his DMs on Instagram. I said ‘Hey, we’re this metal band from Ireland, we love The Pogues, we hate fascists, we did this – do you wanna get involved?’ To his eternal credit, he listened to it right away and replied ‘Absofuckinlutely!’. It’s been a huge privilege to work and hang out with him. The lesson here is, don’t be afraid to DM your heroes – just be nice.

Spider Stacy comments:

So there I was, just scrolling the insta, as you do, when I see this DM ‘what’s this’ I ask myself, ‘why, it’s Gama Bomb from Newry, a city famed in song and story as the birthplace of the great Pat Jennings, with a thrash metal version of ‘If I Should Fall From Grace With God’. Do they want me to appear on it. They do? Praise Jesus! Maybe I’ll finally make it on to the pages of Kerrang! And just look at me now – made it, Ma. Top of the world!’ And that’s a true story, I swear down.

Not the sort of track you would expect Gama Cover but their nothing if not full of surprises. Of course, like all covers, you have to like the original track to some degree and with The Pogues, it’s even more necessary. That being said, Gama Bomb certainly give it a heavier kick and work well with Spider Stacy. Check it out here.

Sylosis – Deadwood

Modern metal pioneers Sylosis have revealed the video for their vicious new single ‘Deadwood’. The band’s first new music of 2023.

Sylosis mastermind Josh Middleton comments:

We’ve never pushed so hard to create something as special as this new music! Deadwood is the first taste of what is to be a very busy year of new Sylosis music…more news to come.

Our focus is to write the best modern metal and it’s very exciting to see a new scene of metal fans and bands emerging for us all to keep developing and growing!

When was the last time Sylosis released something that wasn’t an absolute banger? This band are on the form of their absolute lives and this new track is pure gold. Nothing to ‘out there’ but still massively attention grabbing. Big riffs and roaring leads, ferocious percussion, and vocals that are scathing, it’s a Sylosis head-banger in the best way possible.

Mesmur – Petroglyph

International death/funeral doom metal act Mesmur will be releasing their new album “Chthonic” on April 14th, 2023, via Solitude Prod. (RUS) and Aesthetic Death (UK). Now, the band premieres a brand-new single called Petroglyph.

An dark and depressing epic, Petroglyph is over 11-minutes long and Mesmur make every single second count. Taking the listener on a haunting journey of pain and suffering. Horror-laden and harsh to the mind, it’s exceptionally captivating, even if you’re left feeling pretty horrible afterwards. Check it out here.

Rumours – Transparency In Mourning

Melbourne alternative rock band Rumours spread their wings as a freshly announce duo on eclectic new single, Transparency In Mourning.

Says vocalist Jackson Bentley:

The writing process of this track was very natural. This is my favourite song we have written in years, I think its the most unique track musically and lyrically we have on our discography – it has all the elements of what makes us Rumours, but it brings this haunting, dark feeling with the guitars while the vocal melodies take on an almost lullaby type sound in the chorus.

An interesting piece of music, in that it’s not for everyone and for everyone in equal measures. The alt-rock and electronica sound is polarising but it’s so effectively done and easy to enjoy, that a wide array of tastes will find themselves connecting to it. What everyone can agree on though, is that it’s attention-grabbing and unique.

fakeyourdeath – consume

Brighton based Electronic Post-Hardcore duo fakeyourdeath have dropped their sophomore single ‘consume’. Exploring a more visually darker side to the band, this defying track is meant to be uncomfortable both musically and lyrically. It’s set to challenge the listener’s opinion of themselves and the society around them.

Says vocalist, Candi Underwood:

consume explores the idea of materialistic greed and how, as a society, we are fed this idea that without things we cannot be happy. but ultimately that’s a lie. it’s a narrative spun by the powers that be and consume was written to see the truth and challenge that way of thinking. consume depicts our disgust at a materialistic culture we all hate and yet want to be a part of.

Bristling with intensity, fakeyourdeath are doing something extremely fresh when it comes to combining post-hardcore and electronica. Delivering something that is weird and wonderfully eccentric, it’s a mesmerising listen. A track that leaves you feeling beat up but inspired by the chaos they have created here. Check it out here.

Truth Decayed – Death By Design

Truth Decayed are gearing up for the release their anticipated second chapter of ‘Faded Visions’ and have unleashed the first single from ‘Faded Visions II’ called ‘Death By Design’ (produced by Kris Xenopoulos from Vulvodynia).

A head-banger that features some kick-ass drumming, fierce vocals, and brutalising riffs. Truth Decayed blend thrashy heaviness with death and deliver an extremely uncouth but addictive slice of viciousness here. Exciting and memorable, making the new album all the more anticipated.

Bury Tomorrow – Begin Again

British metal sextet, Bury Tomorrow, have released, ‘Begin Again’, another taste of their forthcoming seventh album, the aptly titled, ‘The Seventh Sun’, released March 31st 2023 on Music For Nations.

Speaking on Begin Again, guitarist Kristan Dawson says the track is:

Representative of the change we have all faced in the past few years. It represents an element of renewal and appreciation of where we have been as a band and where we are yet to go. Musically, it serves as a contrast to the heaviness we have presented in the first three singles, but packs a punch in a more positive way.

The rebirth of Bury Tomorrow continues with this latest heavyweight release. Albeit one with some different touches when compared to the previous singles. As here we have a fair bit more melody and with layers of heavy. Yet, it is still unmistakably Bury Tomorrow and has their inimitable anthemic style. Check it out here.

Pupil Slicer – Blossom

Pupil Slicer have today announced their upcoming sophomore album, titled Blossom, due to be released via Prosthetic Records on June 2nd. Alongside the album announcement, the London, UK band have shared the title track with an accompanying music video directed by David Gregory. The futuristic visual serves as an introduction to Blossom’s conceptual world of sci-fi and cosmic horror, with central themes of abject despair, reincarnation and a fascination of hell.

Speaking on the album announcement and single release, Kate Davies (vocals/guitar) comments:

‘Blossom’ is the culmination of 2 years spent with razor focus on crafting a journey like no other. We are incredibly proud of the feats we have achieved on our sophomore album, building upon the experience and feedback from our debut to further break down the walls between metal, hardcore, shoegaze, electronic music and pop.

We have delivered the most concentrated Pupil Slicer experience yet. A hard sci-fi/cosmic horror concept album, the story told across ‘Blossom’ draws on some of my favourite media to craft these 10 tracks where instrumental, lyrical and visual elements have been cohesively refined to serve the world I have created.

We are introducing the world of ‘Blossom’ via the title track, the final point beyond time and space, a nexus of everything that could have been and a vantage point into everything that came before.

Well, who saw this coming from Pupil Slicer? Few could have predicated the path this band was going to go on, but even then, it’s a surprise listen. A track that needs time to bed in and even then, it’s going to polarise the fanbase. Defying genres, it’s a bold move from the band and certainly creates intrigue for the full album. The jury is out on this one. Exciting to see Pupil Slicer experiment but not quite hitting the mark just yet.