Single Slam: Calligram, Graywave, Tabahi, Trophy Eyes, Psython, Zac and the New Men, The Devil’s Trade, Bloodhounds, Callous Hands, The Sun’s Journey Through The Night, Artifact, Master Charger, and Scar Symmetry!

This week’s single slam features Calligram, Graywave, Tabahi, Trophy Eyes, Psython, Zac and the New Men, The Devil’s Trade, Bloodhounds, Callous Hands, The Sun’s Journey Through The Night, Artifact, Master Charger, and Scar Symmetry. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Calligram – Frantumi In Itinere

Calligram have shared a new single and music video, Frantumi In Itinere, from their forthcoming album, Position | Momentum, which is set for release via Prosthetic Records on July 14th. It is the second track to be taken from the London, UK based multinational black metal group’s sophomore full-length, with an intense thematic focus on human consciousness and death.

Calligram comments:

This song is about death and consciousness. The limits of human consciousness is the “reach of thought”. As humans we naturally strive for reaching and overcoming the limits which means, in this case, taking consciousness beyond the field of human thought into something greater, vaster and incomprehensible by thought and unreachable by intellect. At the same time this is terrifying because that same limit is what defines us and keeps us alive: the idea of “life” lays within its limits.

This band. They seem to get better and better with each release and Frantumi In Itinere is a bloody good release. It finds Calligram in a bristling and brutalising mood, as if they have any other kind, but this is on another level. A cacophony of blackened heaviness that crashes down on the head with all the force of a mountain. The unmitigated furious speed should turn any nuances into mush, but Calligram are so talented, every detail can be picked out. Then, it shifts and suddenly it’s a different beast altogether. Listen to this track and hear a band at their apex.

Graywave – Cycle

Off the back of a successful tour with Slow Crush around the UK, shoegaze and dreampop act Graywave have released a brand-new single called ‘Cycle’.

Graywave continue to impress, delivering a dreamy and weird slice of shoegaze here. Where the poppy melody has a haunting flavour to it, and the rockier elements have a constant sense of threat. Dramatic and dark, it seeps into the mind bit by bit until you’re fully immersed within. Check it out here.

Tabahi – Lal Shahbaz Qalandar

Pakistan’s only thrash metal band, Tabahi, has released ‘Lal Shahbaz Qalandar,’ a powerful tribute to Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar and his message of peace and harmony.

Blending thrash with cultural elements makes this one hell of a notable track and it is so heartening to hear metal coming countries that aren’t well known for it. Especially when the band, and the track in question, is a bit of a head-banger. Props to Tabahi, this track will make you want to keep an ear on what they doing going forward.

Trophy Eyes – Kill

Australian punk rockers Trophy Eyes have released their new single, ‘Kill’, ahead of their Slam Dunk festival appearances. Their album, ‘Suicide and Sunshine’, is released June 23rd on Hopeless Records.

An extremely passionate, powerful, and heart-felt punk rock tune with a chorus that is deliciously infectious. Trophy Eyes deliver something with a certain amount of sentimental value here that will, no doubt, hit different people in different ways depending upon their life experiences. Regardless of that, everyone can appreciate the general catchiness of it. Check it out here.

Psython – Crapitalist

Sheffield metalheads, Psython are back (well sort of). They are releasing new music. Written in 2019 but never recorded, as the world emerged from lockdown hilarity, Psython decided to record and release their fourth album. 10 new songs will be released online over the next year, a track at a time. Psython want to give this offering a good send off. This is Crapitalist.

The band have said:

We have a simple statement of instinctive defiance, about how everything is crap and why one should not play a game whose rules make you and everything crap.

Everything might be crap but that doesn’t apply to this latest Psython single, where the headbangers bring us something that grooves with thrashy intensity. Something that gets the blood-pumping, gets wild in parts, and has a chorus that soars in a cool classic metal way. It’s good stuff. Check it out here.

Zac and the New Men – That’s Ok

South Wales, alternative pop rock band Zac and the New Men have unveiled the official music video for their new single ‘That’s Ok’. Taken from their debut album ‘Reinvent Me’, out on May 19th. The track is a heartfelt tribute to the power of love and acceptance, exploring themes of pain, hope, and resilience.

Says vocalist Zac:

‘That’s Ok’ is a love letter to someone who is struggling, a reminder that they are not alone. It’s a song about being there for each other, no matter what. We wrote this song to show people that even when things get tough, they don’t have to go through it alone. Love is a powerful force, and we hope this song will bring comfort to anyone who is struggling.

Extremely melodic, wonderfully dramatic sounding, but also quite powerful. This is an extremely pretty track with a wonderful message. Something that shines brightly through thanks to the dreamy vocals and touching guitar melodies. Zac and the New Men don’t disappoint here.

The Devil’s Trade – Flashing Through the Lack of Light

Dark singer-songwriter act The Devil’s Trade’s new album ‘Vidékek vannak idebenn,’ will be released on 14th July 2023 via Season of Mist. In celebration, The Devil’s Trade have also released the first new single ‘Flashing Through the Lack of Light’, along with a stunning music video.

The Devil’s Trade commented on the album and track:

Vidékek vannak idebenn (There’s Landscapes Within) arrived in my life at a time and space where the more than decade-long period leading up to this phase in life ended, but the following one, the homecoming was albeit visible, but hasn’t yet started. This paralyzed state of floating wasn’t enough for me to make a record, I had to switch from the well-functioning, unconscious creation to a different way and to different depths.

‘Flashing Through The Lack Of Light’ is one of the most peaceful songs I have ever written. In this period of my life, I finally see a way out from the city far from people back to the mountains and the river where I spent the most beautiful and influential times of my childhood. This exodus is the manifestation of what I have been focusing on mentally and psychically for the last few years. This song is about finding my inner peace.

An extremely moody offering from The Devil’s Trade, but one that has a strong sense of peace and serenity to it. The gloomy feel balanced by vocals that are liable to send a shiver down spines. It’s beautiful music that has deep emotion running through it like a vein. Check it out here.

Bloodhounds – Relics

Delivering a brand-new genre that they call ‘Hyper Grunge’, and inspired by the likes of Bring Me The Horizon, Royal Blood and the iconic Enter Shikari, UK band Bloodhounds will release their new single, ‘Relics’ on May 10th, 2023.

What the bloody hell is hyper grunge? Well, it’s the eccentric and electric sound of Bloodhounds. Hyperactive and honest sounding rock music given a grungy twist, and staying distinctively catchy. It’s a song that could easily have wide-spread appeal as it genre defies to such a huge extent. Upon release, check it out here.

Callous Hands – Trapped

‘Trapped’ is the first single from Coventry metal band Callous Hands incoming new EP ‘Trapped In Animated Flesh’. The single is out now.

Any time you see that Callous Hands have new music, you can be confident that they’re going to go hard and be extremely heavy. Guess what? Trapped goes extremely hard and is savagely heavy. A pit-starting blast of carnage with some brilliant head-banger riffs. They always deliver.

The Sun’s Journey Through the Night – Void Walker

Raw, chaotic and cathartic black metal, The Sun’s Journey Through The Night has released the new single, ‘Void Walker’, taken from the forthcoming album, ‘Worldless’. Out on the 28th of June 2023 via Church Road Records.

No One, the band’s anonymous and foreboding leader had this to say about the track:

It all begins, it all ends. Void Walker sets the tone for the forthcoming album by striking a visceral death knell.

The blackened fury that erupts from this new track is simply startling, but once the initial shock is over, the true power takes over. Blackened power that hits like boiling waves of wrath over and over again, but with ringing post-like noise and depth-filled atmosphere. It’s a blistering listen, but it is super addictive too. Check it out here.

Artifact – Collapse

Wagga Wagga-based melodic metalcore band, Artifact have dropped their highly-anticipated single ‘Collapse’. A song that challenges listeners to question the status quo.

A bit filthy, extremely aggressive, stompy, and groovy, Artifact want a pit open, and this is the track to ensure that will happen. It will make you gurn, thanks to the meaty instrumentation and the sound of the deep, guttural vocals. It’s a stupidly great example of why head-banging is so damn infectious.

Master Charger – Social Witch Hunt

Social Witch Hunt is the brand-new single from Nottingham based stoner/doom trio, Master Charger. This is the first single from the band since their 2020 album ‘Origins Of The Lugubrious’. It will be released on May 15th. 2023.

The band have said that Social Witch Hunt lyrically is about:

How disgusting humanity can be towards one another in essence. It was initially spawned from the tiresome damaging comments made towards individuals and various subject matters that will remain anonymous that I was sick of reading about through social media.

It’s a f**king great track. Master Charger gold. Where the abrasive sound of doom-tinged stoner metal makes you want to move every single part of your body. No other band could do that and still sound so… nasty. This is going to put a lot of silly smiles on a lot of hungry faces. Expect the best from Master Charger and get the best. Upon release, check it out here.

Scar Symmetry – Chrononautilus

Swedish prog metal masters Scar Symmetry have released the video for ‘Chrononautilus,’ the second single from their first studio album in nine years The Singularity (Phase II – Xenotaph).

Mastermind Per Nilsson comments:

Phase II and its opening track ‘Chrononautilus’ picks up where Phase I and its final track ‘Technocalyptic Cybergeddon’ left off with a barrage of blastbeats and tremolo-picked riffs, setting the tone for what is arguably our most unrelenting album to date. The dystopian storyline that we created for Phase II dictated the musical direction and ‘Chrononautilus’ represents one of our furthest explorations into these pitch black realms.

An absurd showcase of progressive and melodic metal that stays insanely fast and aggressive throughout, for the most part. Scar Symmetry are on fire at the moment and this new single is further proof that the clambering for this album was for a good reason. People shouldn’t be able to perform at such a high and fast level, and still sound so catchy. That’s Scar Symmetry for you, and even a melodic tempo shift just allows for a pretty amazing guitar solo.