Single Slam: Machine Head, Nordjevel, The Heretic Order, Bleed from Within, Words That Burn, Matricide, The Amsterdam Red Light District, Motionless in White, Jungle Rot, Exocrine and While She Sleeps!

This week’s single slam features Machine Head, Nordjevel, The Heretic Order, Bleed from Within, Words That Burn, Matricide, The Amsterdam Red Light District, Motionless in White, Jungle Rot, Exocrine and While She Sleeps. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Machine Head – Chøke Øn The Ashes Øf Yøur Hate

Machine Head have announced the details of their forthcoming 10th studio album, the immense and unapologetic, ‘Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn,’ set for release on August 26th, 2022. They have also released the first single from the new album, called Chøke Øn The Ashes Øf Yøur Hate.

There’s a sense that Machine Head are out to prove something on this new album and the first step of that is this blistering single. A track that sees the band going hell for leather with thrashy energy, snarling death-infused fury and a massive chorus. Hellacious riffs and commanding vocals, this is a track that goes so very hard and rightfully builds anticaption for Øf Kingdøm and Crøwn.

Nordjevel – Gnavhòl

Nordjevel unleash the title track of their upcoming album ‘Gnavhòl’, and give us a detrimental taste of what lies ahead.

In their own words:

From the stench of rotting flesh and the howling of twisted minds, we give you Gnavhòl.

The cacophony of noise that erupts from the start of this near 8-minute track, the pained growls and howls in particular, is startling stuff. After about a minute of this, Nordjevel kick into a more settled but still intense black metal rhythm. A raw and nasty sound with a thick vein of crunchy heaviness running through it. Even further along, it starts to get more and more chaotic resulting in an extremely dark extremely and extremely memorable blast of blackness. Check it out here.

The Heretic Order – King of the Damned

Occult metal band The Heretic Order have released their new single ‘King of The Damned’ taken from their upcoming new album ‘III’. Out on the 27th of May, 2022 via Massacre Records.

King of The Damned is an easy track to describe. Simply put, it’s a freaking head-banger. A slab of heavy metal that features ripping riffs, tearing hooks and some electrifying soloing. From beginning to end, it compels the head to bang but also features plenty of the dark touches that make The Heretic Order such a unique listen. The brief drop into occultist melody near the end is particularly unusual but interesting. Check it out here.

Bleed from Within – Stand Down

Bleed From Within have officially launched the most extraordinary chapter of their career, revealing that new studio album ‘Shrine’ will be released on June 3rd. The Scottish 5-piece have now released the third single, ‘Stand Down’ from it.

Ali Richardson stated:

Stand Down addresses the conflict that we’ve seen so much of over the last 18 months. Being locked in the house and having to watch these tragedies unfold on the screen in front of me, I couldn’t help but feel hopeless and sickened by the actions of those responsible. We are battling with that rage throughout the start of the song then by the time we reach the end, we are reflecting upon the possibility of more violence and asking if society has really learnt anything from its past mistakes. I’m sure most people reading this have felt the same anger and frustration in recent history. This song is for you.

Rarely failing to deliver, Bleed from Within are back with a stomping and head-banging inducing blast of passionate metalcore with this new single. Hyperactive and heavy, there’s a real sense of bubbling violence behind this track and Bleed from Within are barely keeping it in check. Exciting and animated, this is a pit filling track from a band who know how to cause a fair amount of carnage.

Words That Burn – You’re on Your Own

Words That Burn release anthemic new single/video ‘You’re on Your Own’, out now on Blood Blast/Believe. ‘You’re On Your Own’ is taken from their forthcoming third studio album.

Speaking of the new single, vocalist Ronni Vox commented:

The general point of the song is that the world will keep turning regardless of what we do, or who we are. Nature doesn’t care whatever side of whatever fence you sit. It doesn’t care what your politics are. It doesn’t care what clothes you wear. It doesn’t care how many followers you have.

We’re all caught up in this vicious, media-fashioned spin-cycle that has progressively normalised humans being dreadful to each other, and glamourises the worst things about us as we become more and more consumed with creating angels and demons.

We share, but a blip of existence on this planet, so allowing our psyches to become saturated with silly things like “who’s an asshole today” sounds a bit crazy to me! The world is full of assholes, always has been, always will be…. yet the world keeps turning.

I’d rather enjoy the ride.

How bloody good is this? You’ll find yourself compelled to bang your head, tap your feet and get up and move from the very start. However, this is a track that just gets better and better as it goes on. The filth of the heavy portions, the interesting use of effects, the anthemic chorus and that blistering breakdown. This is a track you simply fall in love with and play over and over again. At least until the next banger that Words That Burn unleash. Check it out here.

Matricide – Walk into the Flames

Israeli metal/hardcore band Matricide have released a brand new single and music video called ‘Walk into the Flames’ on all digital streaming platforms.

An epic and hot start gets the blood pumping ready for the stomping smash-mouth explosion of head-banging noise that follows. A really meaty sound, aggressive but blended with touches of grandeur, Matricide are spitting teeth with this gurning slab of heaviness. It’s a thrilling track that makes you wonder why they’re not more well known around the world. Check it out here.

The Amsterdam Red Light District – Trapped

Highly-rated French melodic hardcore quartet, The Amsterdam Red Light District (TARLD), have released the title track from their upcoming new album, Trapped.

A blistering blast of high-powered energy, TARLD make metalcore sound fresh and interesting again with this focused heavyweight effort. A track that doesn’t mess around when it comes to heavy intensity but is also surprisingly catchy, especially when it comes to the chorus. You’ll find yourself singing along while going crazy in the pit. Check it out here.

Motionless in White – Masterpiece

Motionless In White have unveiled brand-new single, ‘Masterpiece,’ which is available now on all streaming platforms, accompanied by an official music video directed by Max Moore. The new song paves the way for the band’s hotly anticipated new full-length album, ‘Scoring The End of the World’, set for release on 10th June 2022.

Vocalist Chris Motionless elaborated on ‘Masterpiece’ noting:

‘Masterpiece’ is a song which I feel embodies the raw and brutally honest nature of what makes Motionless In White. It took me many years to fully recognize that these are the types of songs that truly are the lifeblood of the relationship between the band and our fans. There is something really powerful and magical in being able to write a song that not only expresses your own deepest emotions and feelings, but to write something that may express the feelings of those who find it hard to articulate their own at times. It is on another level of special. In my own experience as a listener, these types of songs have always offered comfort amidst the pain, and ‘Masterpiece’ is my way of returning that energy back to the universe for others to potentially find and carry with them. We’re all going through something dark in our heads on a daily basis, so why not go through it together?

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, their star power is undeniable and that is something that is so very present on this melodramatic slice of nostalgia grandness. A track that has a lot of heartfelt melodies and some really powerful vocals. It’s a bit of an undeniable anthem that gets really heavy just after the mid-point of the track. An easy track to love.

Jungle Rot – A Call to Arms

Death metal legends Jungle Rot return have streamed their mighty new single, the title-track from their forthcoming record A Call to Arms, to be released 13th May via Unique Leader.

A monstrous assault of death metal, Jungle Rot come skulking out of the shadows at first. Unseen but giving off an aura of threat. Before unleashing a savage and blood-thirsty assault. One that brings bone-crunching and flesh-tearing nastiness to the forefront and refuses to let up. A track that simply doesn’t mess around and is all the better for it. Check it out here.

Exocrine – The Hybrid Suns

French masters of technical death metal, Exocrine, have announced their new full-length album The Hybrid Suns which is set for release via Unique Leader Records on 17th June.

Ahead of the album release the band have delivered their first single, ‘The Hybrid Suns’.

Comments the band on the new single:

‘The Hybrid Suns’ is the first titular offering, introducing a new concept with a complex narrative frame to set the tone for the forthcoming album. As usual we have paid particular attention on the technical aspects and the speed, however this time we’ve pushed harder on the epic side of things to create a more grandiose sound!

What the actual hell? That opening flurry is so cinematic, yet so intense, it’s simply shocking. That Exocrine immediately transition into brutal death metal technicality is awe-inspiring. This is a showcase track that is impossibly fast, startlingly epic and stunningly complex. It’s a track that you listen to over and over again and still find elements that surprise. Utterly brilliant. Check it out here.

While She Sleeps – Eye for Eye

While She Sleeps have just dropped a new single called ‘Eye for Eye taken from a new expanded edition of last year’s Sleeps Society album.

Detailing the whole undertaking, guitarist Mat Welsh reveals that:

With this song and video, we wanted to push our DIY attitude to the limits, especially with the visuals. The entire video was directed and filmed by the band. We came up with the concept, built the sets, designed the choreography, wrote the score, directed the acting, and cut the edit. It’s our biggest visual project to date.

The song is born from an idea we’ve had for the past few years. We knew it would grow into a great Sleeps song but have never had the time within an album to focus on it and develop the idea into what it is today. It’s definitely an amalgamation of the last 10 years of the band. We wanted something that felt thrashy and something you can really blow off some steam to when you’re playing it live. We know from filming the video that it feels incredible in a room full of people. The song also contains gang vocals from Sleeps Society members – we recorded them at the warehouse with 100+ people and also had members send in their vocals so we could get them on the song.

One of those tracks that you really must watch the video that goes alongside it (you can, below) as the impact is all the more powerful. That being said, this is a blazing Sleeps number. One that begins with heart-wrenching melody and gang-vocals before exploding with the band’s innate style of passionate metalcore. Bouncy and aggressive but with turns to melody, clean singing and effects. The chorus is While She Sleeps magnificence as we know it and while this is the modern band in every way, it’s still every bit the banger you could hope it to be.