Single Slam: Watain, Pupil Slicer, Tungsten, Detective Larsson, Halestorm, Author & Punisher, Bad Omens, Vilify and Kreator!

This week’s single slam features Watain, Pupil Slicer, Tungsten, Detective Larsson, Halestorm, Author & Punisher, Bad Omens, Vilify and Kreator. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Watain – The Howling

Notorious Swedish black metal collective Watain are proud to unleash ‘The Howling’ – the first single from their upcoming new studio album, The Agony & Ecstasy Of Watain, which will be released on April 29th 2022.

‘The Howling’ sets the tone for what will be offered on the band’s 7th full-length, an unsettling blackened voyage in 10 chapters that is as inexorably vicious as it is enticing.

E. Danielsson (vocals) adds:

The Howling refers to the wordless voice of the wild, wailing eerily through the ages, urging us to leave our safe spaces and explore the dark recesses of the great Abyss both within and without. To see it, to learn from it, to know it.

As evil sounding as always. As dark and black as we’ve come to expect. Watain are back with an ode to black metal in their inimitable harsh style. The Howling is an apt title as this is a track feels suitably wild and dangerous. The pace is akin to running desperately through a thick forest at night while being pursed by beasts looking to rip you apart. However, savagery isn’t the only thing that makes this a damn good track. No, there’s some grandeur and even some class head-banging rhythm. It’s clearly black metal but black metal Watain style.

Pupil Slicer – Thermal Runaway

Pupil Slicer have released a new single and shared a music video for it. Called ‘Thermal Runaway’, it features Cara Drolshagen from The Armed on guest vocals.

Vocalist/guitarist Katie comments:

The idea behind the track was to capture the experience of being in a catastrophising cycle of anxiety and depression that keeps getting worse no matter what you do, through metaphors of thermal runaway that occurs in stars which leads to supernovas.

As savage as always, Pupil Slicer combine their mathcore roots with groove and alt-metal influences to create a track that can certainly be called ‘noisy’. Considering just how wild it is, and it’s really wild, there’s a delightful amount of technicality throughout but it’s also hooky as hell. If this is the direction Pupil Slicer are heading in, going forward, things are about to get even more interesting in the metal world. Check it out here.

Tungsten – Come This Way

Swedish symphonic metal quartet Tungsten have released their new single ‘Come This Way’, taken from their third album, Bliss, due for release on the 17th June via Arising Empire.

On the new single, vocalist Mike Andersson comments:

It’s also a bit different to the rest of the album but, on the other side, all songs are quite different to each other in a nice way.

The ‘chiptune’ style touch is cool but it’s the nice groovy beat with symphonic grandness and massive folkish chorus that really stands out. An impressively catchy tune that is kept nice and tight, the foot will be tapping and the head will be nodding along with this one. A kickass guitar solo is the icing on this delicious cake but don’t ask us to explain the brief ‘ad’ interlude that comes up near the end.

Detective Larsson – Magic Show & Castello

Detective Larsson is a dream-pop/post-punk band based in the old mining village Blaenrhondda in the Rhondda Valley, South Wales, etching authentic narratives of the secret worlds of the outsider.

They have released two singles called ‘Magic Show’ & ‘Castello’.

Up first is Magic Show and it features mellow vocals, a memorable guitar tone and the just a touch of melodrama. It’s sweet, heartfelt and very authentic sounding. In a short amount of time, Detective Larsson deliver a convincing dreampop style track that has a ton of feeling to it. That it builds in power as it goes on without changing the tempo is all the more impressive.

Following that is Castello, an even shorter and just as mellow effort. Super relaxing melody and really captivating vocals make this another top shelf listen. Not quite as memorable as Magic Show but just as effective in regards to feeling. Check it out here.

Halestorm – The Steeple

Grammy-winning hard rock band Halestorm have announced Back from The Dead, their fifth studio album due out May 6, 2022, and follow-up to 2018’s Vicious. In addition, they also revealed “The Steeple,” the second single from Back from The Dead.

A safe bet, Halestorm’s new single doesn’t drift too far from the band’s playbook. Featuring hard rock groove, powerful vocals and head-banging riff work, alongside a chorus that hits nicely. Radio fodder in the best and worst way possible. The best, because it’s easy to get into and will have widespread appeal. The worst, because it’s not exactly inspiring even if it is good. Check it out here.

Author & Punisher – Blacksmith

San Diego-based outfit Author & Punisher treat fans to a third and final preview of the forthcoming album, Krüller, out 11th February via Relapse Records, with the release of ‘Blacksmith’.

Explains mastermind Tristan Shone:

’Blacksmith’ is a track that I co-wrote with the Krüller producer Jason Begin (Vytear). This one is a bit of an adventure where we go from my slow bending drones and morph into Jason’s jungle and breaks, with the same halftime bassline and vocals tying it together. Lyrically, this is an ode to Black women-led movements who have been fearlessly leading the way against oppression in this country for a long time.

Beginning with jarring computerised noises, a dark melody starts to build up as the vocals arrive bringing with them ominous intent. The track really opens up but in a very jarring, noise-based way. The off-kilter melody in the background of a wall of disconcerting effects and fuzz keeps the track from descending into madness up to a point. However, madness is a major component of this single and if you thought it was jarring before, it goes off the rails later.

Bad Omens – Like A Villain

Los Angeles-based rock sensation Bad Omens has released their new music video for “Like A Villain”. The song is taken from the band’s upcoming album ‘The Death of Peace Of Mind’ out on Friday, February 25 2022 (via Sumerian Records).

With each release Bad Omens are proving themselves to be a powerhouse in the alt-metal/metalcore world and Like A Villain doesn’t change that. This album release is going to be huge for them but for now, we get one hell of a taster with this track. Powerful buzzsaw riffs, eerie and heartfelt melodies, impressive vocals and relatable lyrics, it’s a banger. One that challenges as much as it does enlighten and entertain. To see them just go crazy heavy for a brief moment at the end is awesome but the chorus is what most will remember. Check it out here.

Vilify – Veils of Grey

It is the hypocrisy of religion and the frustration and anger that it brings, that sees Vilify release this new song, Veils of Grey. Vilify want everyone to know that they do not believe in any religion that is exclusionary, who divides, who takes, who punishes. Vilify aim to target unjust social issues that continue to slip through the cracks of society’s attention, offering a sense of hope – and to inspire people to question the worth that religion brings into their lives and society.

Vilify hope to inspire people to bring positive effects into the lives of others, without the context of religion or need to involve a god, or gods. Just care, inclusion, empathy and love.

This is the statement from vocalist Amy McIntosh, with the sentiments echoed by the band as a whole:

‘Veils of Grey’ started as a song about searching for inspiration in a time where everything feels helpless. That is not where it ended up.

As I explored the concept of manifesting inspiration more and more the obvious tie to religion came up over and over. So many people pray to God for inspiration, and thank God for any blessing of a revelation. This began to bother me as I sat in isolation during a worldwide pandemic. Lonely. Frustrated. Helpless.

I began to look at my life and thought about the blessings “God” was currently giving and had given me and those around me. Repressed homosexuality at a young age, and the constant death and loss I’ve experienced still feels like the freshest of wounds. The list goes on and on – as it does for everyone. Then music. Music was all but taken. What else could this god possibly take?

I don’t believe in a god. But if I did – He doesn’t believe in us.

I stewed on this despair for a while before making a realisation. Praying to deities gets you nowhere. But I believe in us. Humans are powerful and inspiring. I’ve seen humans overcome time and time again and surprise me with compassion over and over. I believe in us. Be your own fucking god.

With one hell of a powerful message, Vilify certainly get the attention but their way of expressing this is what really counts. A brash and brutalising assault of metal/deathcore, Vilify come at you… hard. Circle pit mayhem but with sense and more importantly… meaning. It has an ton of impact and it will make you want to go crazy. Check it out here.

Kreator – Hate Über Alles

The mighty Kreator are proud to announce their fifteenth studio album, “Hate Über Alles,” which will be released on June 3rd, 2022. The title track ‘Hate Über Alles,’ serves as the first taste of what is to come.

Mille Petrozza comments:

Hate Über Alles reflects the time we’re living in. Everything is really loud and aggressive. The way we communicate has changed, thanks to social media. It causes a lot of imbalance. The world is in a state of disrepair. Life is not harmonic right now, it’s disharmonic… that’s where I was going with the title.

Thrashing and crashing, Kreator don’t change, they only get stronger and this is one hell of a Kreator track. A frenzy of thrash, frenetic instrumentation, snarling and spiting vocals and a chest-beating, horn-throwing and head-banging chorus. It’s Kreator at their best and it’s awesome to see that this far into their careers, they’re still producing such banger thrash-infused listens.