Single Slam: Veil of Maya, Stell/\ris, Spacegoat, Burner, pMad, Of Virtue, After Elmer, Seeing Things, Villa Morte, and Those Damn Crows!

This week’s single slam features Veil of Maya, Stell/\ris, Spacegoat, Burner, pMad, Of Virtue, After Elmer, Seeing Things, Villa Morte, and Those Damn Crows. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Veil Of Maya – Godhead

Genre-bending metal powerhouse Veil of Maya have dropped their brand new track ‘Godhead’, streaming now via long-time label Sumerian Records.

Speaking on their new release, virtuoso Veil Of Maya guitarist, Marc Okubo shares:

We’re so excited to introduce the next phase of Veil of Maya with the release of ‘Godhead’. We know our fans have been waiting patiently for a long time for us to release a new album and we appreciate you all so much. All I will say about that is that good things come to those who wait. 2023 is going to be a BIG year for Veil of Maya. This is just the beginning.

Pure fire, this new single from the complex and fascinating minds of Veil Of Maya hits extremely hard. The eye-watering speed, the ear-bleeding heaviness, the gobsmacking technically-driven shifts… it’s a manic and chuggy monster. A tense experience as Veil Of Maya deliver something so unpredictable that has inhuman levels of talent across the entire band. Be prepared to be well and truly knocked on your ass listening to this one.

Stell/\ris – Avatar

Czech Republic based modern metal band Stell/\ris have released their new single, Avatar. Taken from their upcoming debut album, to be released later this year.

Heavy and fast, with scathing sounding guitars and vocals that both strip the flesh from bone and offer comforting depth, Stell/\ris showcase their focused metal credentials with this new track. Featuring brash speed and some savage sounding ferocity, but also hitting melodic highs and delivering an anthemic chorus, it’s a familiar encapsulation of modern metal but done extremely well. Check it out here.

Spacegoat – Earthquakes

Spacegoat, the Aussie alt-metal band have released their new single, Earthquakes. Their first new music since the release of their EP Catharsis in 2021.

Says vocalist, Ez:

Earthquakes is essentially an acknowledgement that sadness has its place and is as valid and useful as any of the so-called ‘positive’ emotions. My hope is that listeners can feel the optimism in this song and turn to it as a light in darker times.

A band that takes the term ‘alt-metal’ and makes sure it means something. On Earthquakes, they deliver a genre-bending style of music that is complex, catchy, and challenging. Easy to listen to on face value with memorable rhythms and big choruses, but dig a little deeper and layers of detail is uncovered. A little moody, easy to rock out to, but with depth, Earthquakes is an extremely impressive new track from this band. Check it out here.

Burner – Hurt Locker

Following their critically acclaimed debut EP ‘A Vision of the End’ which was released in June 2022, death-infused hardcore band, Burner are back with a brand new single called ‘Hurt Locker’.

Carrying on where they left off, Burner are back with a nasty, chaotic, and noisy sounding single. A snarling beast of intense riffs, pounding drums, and rasping vocals. The union of death and hardcore continues to impress here. Burner creates carnage in everything they do, but this new single goes that little but harder and that little bit faster. Mayhem that everyone wants to be part of.

pMad – Down

Irish post punk, gothic rock artist pMad has a Valentine’s Day treat for listeners called ‘Down’. The new single delves into the impact people can have on one’s identity and self-esteem. It is out on February 14th, 2023.

On the one hand, Down is an empowering track that encourages the listener to break the cycle of suffering and reclaim their self-esteem and personal identity. A strong and important message. On the other, it’s danceable and groovy, in a darkly electro-goth way. An energetic pace, a foot-tapping beat, and catchy vocals, expressed with passionate lyrical content. This is another extremely memorable track from the talented artist. It can be found here upon release.

Of Virtue – A.N.X.I.E.T.Y.

US metal quartet Of Virtue have unveiled a new single and video called ‘A.N.X.I.E.T.Y.’, out now via Arising Empire.

On the single, vocalist Tyler Ennis comments:

This song is about being uncomfortable in your own skin and being so far in your own head that you allow outside factors to break you down. While you may know you need to change, not knowing how, not wanting to ask for help, not allowing yourself to be vulnerable to change – all due to the fear of the unknown, the anxiety – that’s what paralyzes us. This all isn’t talked about enough because of guilt or shame. The last few years have been very difficult for a lot of people, including us, for this reason – so we decided to speak up in case anyone felt the same way.

Ever-growing, ever evolving, and always delivering massive heavy anthems, Of Virtue hit another extreme sounding high with ‘A.N.X.I.E.T.Y. Where the band’s maturity comes through with the clean vocal transitions. The crunching rhythm and pounding beat is stupidly catchy, an impressive feat for a band that is hitting this hard. Check it out here.

After Elmer – 246 Toothpicks

Keeping their momentum going, following the three singles released in 2022, pop-punk band After Elmer have released a brand-new single called 246 Toothpicks.

The band had this to say about the new single:

The song is a big shout through space and time, to our former selves. How many times would you love to reach back through time to tell your former, sad self that everything is gonna be okay, and that you’ll come out stronger? This song is exactly that, it has that full-circle feeling to it. With that, it’s also a song that – in between the lines – says to be proud of whatever you’ve accomplished.

What a pop-punk anthem this is. Bravo After Elmer, from the first notes to the very last, this one gets jammed in the brain. The band have already proven they have an ear for combining classic pop-punk energy with modern rock heaviness, but this is up there as one of their most infectious tracks. There are some stunning guitar parts but it’s the chorus that will put a big stupid smile on faces.

Seeing Things – Soulkiller (feat. Grapefruit Astronauts)

Capturing fear, anxiety, terror and despair, Czech alt-metal band Seeing Things reflect on current social issues of apathy and injustice with their new single, Soulkiller.

An experimental track that has the modern feel of a metalcore club hit, combining sharp electronica with explosive heaviness. Seeing Things new single is a journey of highs and lows, were blistering instrumentation and growling intensity slams headfirst into dramatic melodies and eccentric electronica. With a bit more technicality to the guitars and an impressive guitar solo, it starts to standout from the pack as the tone constantly shifts.

Villa Morte – The Abstract

Step into “The Abstract”, the latest single from Melbourne heavy independents, Villa Morta.

Explains the band:

We can witness the same things as each other and experience them completely differently. Life is not just black and white, it’s ever evolving in its complexity. The universe is in constant flux and chaos… we’re simply along for the ride.

A burgeoning touch of atmosphere erupts into brutal slams instrumental slams, garish vocal roars, and meaningful intensity. As the track develops, some touches of clean singing refresh the tone and keep things interesting. Villa Morte are giving it their all, and it pays off. Check it out here.

Those Damn Crows – Takedown

Welsh rock juggernauts Those Damn Crows continue their enviable ascent with the release of empowering new single, ‘Takedown’, included on their forthcoming new album, ‘Inhale/Exhale’, which is set for release worldwide on February 17th, 2023, via Earache Records.

Frontman Shane Greenhall gets personal, confiding:

‘Takedown’ is the feeling you get when someone challenges you. I’m a very competitive person and have no issue going up against ANYONE… Especially if someone tells me I can’t do something…. WATCH ME! You know the people who big themselves up by knocking down others? The ones who talk like they’ve been there, done that, know everything. They haven’t lived a day in your shoes though; they don’t know the real you. But “Takedown” isn’t just about the bullshit you hear from others. It’s also about the bullshit you tell yourself everyday too. ‘You’re not good enough’, ‘you can’t do that’ – the constant put downs we tell ourselves. I used to get caught up in how others saw me and do this to myself… it was a red rag to a bull. I’m always happy to prove people wrong, but these days I can see that coming a mile away and try to avoid it like the plague. Focus on you and what you CAN achieve as you ‘fly and soar’ above the negative, life sucking bullshit!

Not to long to wait now and based off this, and the previous singles, this is going to be a game-changing album for Those Damn Crows. Nothing to ‘out there’ in regard to what you expect from the rockers but that just means we get a catchy, groovy, energetic anthem and that’s exactly what we want. Guess what? It will get well and truly stuck in the mind and most will find themselves humming the chorus for days afterwards. Anticipation for the new album is already at an all-time high, but with Takedown, Those Damn Crows push it just that little but further.