Single Slam: Rick Massie, Collected, Sylvaine, Helpless, Ghosts of Sunset, Nuclear Winter, Demonical, QU!ET, Burning Sister, Cold Night For Alligators, Dick Von Rock, CHLSY and Dark Funeral!

This week’s single slam features Rick Massie, Collected, Sylvaine, Helpless, Ghosts of Sunset, Nuclear Winter, Demonical, QU!ET, Burning Sister, Cold Night For Alligators, Dick Von Rock, CHLSY and Dark Funeral. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Rick Massie – Need

Progressive metal/rock artist Rick Massie has released his first single from his upcoming 2nd album. “Need” is a nearly 10-minute journey through darkness and hope, with many riffs and melodies that straddle the lines between prog metal, prog rock, doom and black metal.

Another incredible release from Rick Massie, the solo artist has been providing wondrous and deeply detailed music for the last few years. Now, ahead of his new album, he brings us the first single that solidifies the believe that he is one of world’s finest solo artists. Need is a journey. A track that assuredly blurs prog, metal, doom and much more. The ambient vocal echo, the layered melodies, the freaking riffs… this is one hell of an accomplishment.

Collected – Say When

Essex metallers, Collected will set loose their formidable debut EP, Say When, on Friday 18th February. Ahead of that release, the contemporary hard hitters have also just released a brand-new music video for their current single, also entitled Say When.

Expect the unexpected with Collected. So, when they start with heavy metalcore groove and then immediately drop into a melodic funk and dance beat you won’t be completely shocked. Of course, it’s just the start as they hit the chorus and power up for hard and rockier singalong. Further along, the eclectic unit get chunkier and much more abrasive but still keep the core catchiness ever present. Check it out here.

Sylvaine – Nova

Scandinavian multi-instrumentalist Sylvaine has unveiled the third new song taken from the upcoming fourth album ‘Nova’. The album is scheduled for world-wide release on March 4th, 2022 via Season of Mist.

Sylvaine comments on the track:

Even without saying a single word, ‘Nova’ perfectly captures every single emotion that went into the creation of this fourth album of mine. It’s hard to put into words what this song means to me and just how much it makes me feel every single time I listen to it. All I will say is that nothing felt more fitting than to open such an incredibly personal album with such a naked piece of music, made up of the most personal instrument I could’ve chosen: my voice. My soul laid barer than ever before; this is ‘Nova.’

A captivating piece of light melancholy, Sylvaine delivers an emotional piece of music that feels so much like the artist laying themselves bare. It’s very relaxing but that doesn’t overshadow the sense of wonder that comes from the light and airy melody. It’s a track you could drift off to sleep listening too, such is the strong sense of lightness that comes from it.

Helpless – The Empty Gesture

Extreme metal band, Helpless have released ‘The Empty Gesture’ the second single from their upcoming new album, Caged in Gold out on March 25th, 2022 via Church Road Records.

Picking up where they left off, this new album promises to be another blast of abrasive metal noise and the proof is in tracks like this. Complex tempos, sharp riffs, ear-splitting vocals and gut-churning percussion. Helpless are a chaotic bunch and The Empty Gesture showcases this with a contagious blast of heavy. Check it out here.

Ghosts of Sunset – Queen of Used to Be

Ghosts of Sunset release new single ‘Queen of Used To Be’, from new album ‘No Saints In The City’ to be released on 4th March on Golden Robot Records.

A foot-tapper with hard rock vibes and groovy melody, Queen of Used to Be’s punkish vocals dominate but don’t overshadow memorable rhythm. With strong lyrical content that focuses on how the celebrity machine just keeps on churning regardless and a catchiness that gets this track stuck in your head, Queen of Used to Be is a class listen. Check it out here.

Nuclear Winter/DJ W.O.L.F – The God Without Shadows (Remix)

Collaborating with DJ W.O.L.F (We of Little Fiath), Zimbabwe’s Nuclear Winter presents a dynamic remix of the track “The God Without Shadows”. The new single showcases a different shade of darkness drawing this track, first released early in Nuclear Winter’s career, out of the buried depths and into greater experimental realms.

In mastermind Gary Stautmeister own words:

I was very excited when I heard that Chris (W.O.L.F.) was keen to do a remix on one of my songs. He had chosen a couple of options from my Night Shift Album and from those I thought “The God Without Shadows” would be a good candidate for a remix. I’m really pleased with the result of what he did. I wasn’t sure what to expect initially but Chris did his thing and gave it a great industrial vibe which I’m very impressed with – and it was interesting to hear how someone else could re-work the sound and structure of the original track into this new version.

It’s a cool remix here. One that has Prodigy and Pendulum industrial groove to it but is also notably intense. You’re as likely to be dancing to this as you will be head-banging thanks to the hot-fire tempo and industrial beat. A remix that doesn’t necessarily better the original but offers an interesting alternative. Check it out here.

Demonical – Mass Destroyer

Swedish death metal masters Demonical premiere a lyric video for the first song to be revealed off the band’s looming album “Mass Destroyer”, set for release on May 6th, 2022 via Agonia Records.

A brash blast of melodic death metal with blackened touches, Demonical bring the heavy with this punchy and violent noise. Where the riffs cut through soft meat with ease, the drums grind bones into dust and the vocals spit absolute fire. It’s the melodic metal style chorus that really makes this a banger though.

QU!ET – There’s No Escape

Alt rock band QU!ET combine each of their unique musical perspectives to craft their sound, and share lead vocal duties to express themselves personally. They have released a brand new single called ‘There’s No Escape’.

A great combination of heartfelt melody, alternative rockiness and a sing-along chorus, QU!ET have crafted a meaningful tune here. The tone has a sombre feel to it aided by the chilled-out melodies. The chorus is the lift that puts a smile on the face, but the slow, piano outro is a moment that really makes this special. Check it out here.

Burning Sister – Cloven Tongues

Cloven Tongues is the second single from the Burning Sister’s upcoming debut full-length album Mile High Downer Rock.

Delivering a brain aching level of filthy stoner doom, the psychedelic touches are what really makes this a bearable listen. The fuzz is enough to set your teeth on edge and the doomy, methodical approach is down-right uncomfortable. If you’ve got a penchant for mind-altering music than Burning Sister have the pill for you to swallow. It’s going to leave you feeling a bit discombobulated. Check it out here.

Cold Night for Alligators – Water

Forward-thinking prog-metallers Cold Night for Alligators have just released their new single ‘Water’, out now worldwide on all digital streaming platforms.

The new track is taken from their upcoming album ‘The Hindsight Notes’, due for release on March 4th.

An epic piece of prog-metal that delivers incredible melody and powerful, mind-altering proggy instrumentation. For over 6-minutes, Cold Night for Alligators capture the imagination with meaningful melodic highs and lows but layer in moments of metal aggression and passion. It’s a track that needs multiple listens to full unpack but is worth every second of your time.

Dick Von Rock – Dick Von Rock

Dick Von Rock’ is the high energy in your face and your ears debut song from the American rock n rollers known as Dick Von Rock founded by Erik Turner (Warrant) and Skyla Talon (Producer/Musician).

As no nonsense as you can get, Dick Von Rock simply wants to blow you away with an old-school rock and roll tune. Gang vocals, groovy riffs, a punchy chorus and a fast-moving tempo ensures it certainly achieves its goal. A fun piece of music that would happily fit on old-school party playlists. Check it out here.

CHLSY – Sinner

Nashville rock group, CHLSY is breaking genre barriers with their 90’s influenced sound. With Chelsea Gilliland on vocals and guitar, Sean Swanson on bass, and Sawyer Dodds on drums – CHLSY strives to provide melodic yet head-banging music for today’s youth. No Hard Feelings is their new single.

A touch of moody ambience, cold melody and mournful vocals; Sinner seems like it is going to be focused on dark melodic soft rock. Then the chorus comes along and we get a tempo shift that increases the energy, introduces effects and transforms the track into something more modern and alt-pop orientated. Its sinister vibes are still strong and really help it stand out. Check it out here.

Dark Funeral – Nightfall

Swedish black metal masters Dark Funeral release the second single “Nightfall” from their highly anticipated seventh album “We Are The Apocalypse”, which will be released on March 18th, 2022 via Century Media Records.

Lord Ahriman says this about their brand-new track:

With ‘Nightfall’, we continue to push the boundaries and go faster than anything we have ever done before. I wanted to create the feeling of levitating above the soundscape and into my own dark and twisted world. At this speed, it was also a challenge to find a good balance and dynamic where melodies and atmosphere did not disappear in a noise, but I think we really nailed it! Nightfall gives epic a whole new meaning. Enjoy!

This is building up to be one of Dark Funeral’s most accomplished albums to date. Going off the first single and now this, the black metal masters are firing on all cylinders. Here we get a blistering blast of pure black metal noise moving at a frenzied pace. However, what makes it more than just another black metal track is the subtle layering of melody, atmosphere and a chorus that is kind of catchy. An excellent listen.