Gabriella Michelle Henderson, known professionally as Ella Henderson, emerged from the ninth series of The X Factor UK in 2012 and quickly proved that finishing outside the final did not stop her from building a major pop career. Born in Grimsby, England, she had been playing piano and writing songs from a young age. Her voice, combining pop power with soul and R&B phrasing, became the foundation of a catalog that has moved comfortably between solo ballads, dance records, acoustic performances, and collaborations. Her debut album, Chapter One, arrived in 2014 and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.
September is done! We’re closing in on spooky season now (and damn if we can’t hear the faint rustle of bells in the distance) but before we hit the end of the year there’s still plenty of great new releases to explore, meaning its important as ever for us to cut through the clutter and bring you some excellent new metal songs.
First, the results of last week’s vote! Belgian speed metallers Evil Invaders charged into third place, while Waterlines took a very healthy second with Giant Killers. But the overall winners for the week were Ukraine’s Ignea, whose collab with Combichrist Prefab proved too good to resist.
This week we’ve got the first glimpse of an Alissa White-Gluz fronted Dragonforce as well as new music from Bullet For My Valentine, Crypta, Enslaved, Clutch, Apocalyptica and more. As ever – and with the end of year rapidly approaching – we need you to tell us which songs excite you most, so don’t forget to cast your votes in the poll below – and have an excellent weekend.
Apocalyptica – Upperhand (ft. Kalandra)
Partnered up with nordic folk star Kalandra, Apocalyptica’s Uppherhand makes great use of the Finns’ ability to create a sense of scope and drama. It’s a slow building track, Katrine Stenbekk’s voice soaring over brooding melodies before the song really leans in on its symphonic metal elements at the 2:30 mark. Gorgeous.
Dragonforce – Hunger Of The Beast
Recruiting Alissa White-Gluz was always going to have a big impact on Dragonforce’s sound, but we’d wager few people were expecting this. It feels like a full mash-up of the powerful melodeath that Alissa has been belting out for over 15 years now, colliding head-on with Dragonforce’s brand of full-tilt power metal. With a self-titled record set for March 17 next year, we reckon this is just the start of exciting new realms for the power metal vets.
Crypta – A Portrait Of Decay
It’s been three years since Crypta’s last record, but we’re finally getting a glimpse of what comes next. With guitarist Victoria Villarreal joining their ranks, the Brazilian death metal group have offered up something grandiose and sweeping on A Portrait Of Decay, a six-minute monolith with some gorgeous proggy guitars creeping in before the end.
Bullet For My Valentine – Social Apocalypse
Picking up from the more metallic edge they reintroduced on 2021’s self-titled album, Bullet For My Valentine are going big on Social Apocalypse. Far from going back to The Poison playbook after celebrating that album, the Welsh band have picked up where they left off and crafted something that would fit comfortably in the modern metalcore bracket alongside the likes of Parkway Drive or Bring Me The Horizon. They’re certainly writing for the arenas they’ve eyed up for the UK tour next year.
Tom Morello – Unconquered (ft. Kneecap)
Tom Morello has never shied away from making political statements. The fact he appears in this video wearing a Bob Vylan shirt, with Kneecap guesting is a pretty clear line in the sand. Musically, Unconquered feels like that all-too-often unexplored realm of rave-rock energy, not quite using EDM but bringing to mind acts like the KLF or The Prodigy with a tight, dancy riff. Tom’s new album Everyone Gets Everything They Wantis out today.
Polyphia – With Eyes To See
Keeping those danceable riff vibes going strong, Polyphia’s With Eyes To See also delivers some tight, stomping beats. In truth, if you heard this on radio – or a club, which seems like a much more fitting setting for it – you could be mistaken into thinking this is some Glastonbury-friendly dance group, such is the track’s infectious energy (with the looping vocal definitely helping cement the sense). New album Be Not Afraid is expected October 23.
Clutch – Wasted Lands
If you were worried that rock’n’roll had all but given up on its street walkin’ cheetahs with hearts full of napalm, and fellas who make love to mountain lions and sleep on beds of red-hot branding irons, rest assured: Clutch have you covered. The band’s latest single – and the title-track of their next album, due January 22 – Wasted Lands is exactly that kind of dick-swinging, chest-beating bravado that made rock so damn brilliant in the first place: “What’s it’s name? This creature of malice? No one knows for sure, but the locals call him Neil Patrick Fallon.”
Suicide Silence – Make Your Exit
It’s been a hot minute since Suicide Silence sounded this feral. There’s been no shortage of heft on the last couple records, but Make Your Exit is genuinely abrasive and punishing in the most satisfying ways, spelling good things for new album Graceless, due November 20.
Wolfbrigade – Doomrunner
If the d-beat and barked vocals weren’t a dead giveaway, Wolfbrigade love them some crusty punk. Doomrunner is a rampaging, slobbering beast, simple yet effective as the band kick it out fast and hard like Discharge and Napalm Death did before them. New album Howl From Underground is out October 9.
Leng T’che – Hammered Into Collapse
Wait, is that another d-beat we hear? For the briefest moment, yes, but Leng T’che aren’t exactly the kind of band to stick in one lane, Hammered Into Collapse managing to sprint its way through a extreme metal’s diverse land-scape in under two-and-a-half minutes as they go from squealing deathcore, grind and death metal to sludgy filth. Its been almost a decade since their last record, but they’re making up for lost time.
Haerdsmaelta – City Of The Dead
“We built this city on rot ‘n’ mold.” Its hard to say exactly where you’d place Sweden’s Haerdsmaelta, the gaskmask-festooned group pogoing on skronky, off-kilter riffs that bring to mind Voivod’s X-Stream with their weird punk-metal weirdness. Taken from the band’s upcoming self-titled album – due October 23 – it’s a delightfully weird and fizzy track well worth your time.
Brat – Speculum Bleed
Fancy some gore? Brat are going full Cannibal Corpse with the lyrical content to Speculum Bleed, while adding a subversive twist that is really highlighted in the splat-happy video. With some big, thrashy riffs, it’s proof that they’re pushing their brand of bimboviolence into new directions on new album Manslayer, out today.
Enslaved – Tale Of Trees
Prog be damned, Enslaved are back in the realms of frosty nastiness. Alright, not entirely, but you’ll forgive our excitement after shanties and folk tunes (which were great, we’ll concede) just having the Norwegians go absolutely barmy with raspy black metal scratches the itch nicely. Taken from upcoming album Mið, Tale Of Trees suggests the album will be anything but.
Nu metal/metalcore formation Sicksense have unveiled a final touring plan across the North American continent, a combination of support and headline shows that will happen in November and December. Read more…
Cloven Hoof continue what has been a strong year for what may be deemed “legacy” New Wave of British Heavy Metal era bands which are still with us releasing top class albums or have albums planned. Never a Prophet in Your Own Land comes a couple of years or so after the somewhat disappointing Heathen […]
Brazilian death metallers NERVOCHAOS have released “Lorde dos Mortos,” their first song performed entirely in Portuguese across a 30-year career. The track is the second preview of Chaosmongers, due on November 13, 2026, through Black Lion Records. Its accompanying video was produced and scripted by Brazilian horror filmmaker Rodrigo Aragão, connecting the band’s music with […]
A new international festival bringing together psych, shoegaze, post-punk and noise will launch in Copenhagen in March 2027. BLAZE will take place across two nights at Loppen in Christiania on 5/6 March 2027, bringing together emerging artists and established acts from across the international underground.
The inaugural lineup features The KVB (UK), Winona Riders (Argentina), MAQUINA. (Portugal), Clustersun (Italy), Golden Hours (Germany/Belgium) and Mayflower Madame (Norway).
Created by Copenhagen-based Epic Noise International, BLAZE grew from an observation. Scandinavia has passionate audiences for underground music, but there is room for a stronger meeting point connecting those audiences with the wider international scene.
For BLAZE founder and MetalTalk writer Lea Wagner, the idea extends far beyond putting six bands on a stage. “At some point I realised that if I want things to change, I have to start with myself,” she said. “We have to create our own opportunities instead of waiting for somebody else to create them for us.
“That’s the wild horse energy behind BLAZE. You move. You fucking go. You build. And you build with people who get it.
“One of the things I wanted BLAZE to become is an anchor point. If an international artist has a confirmed Copenhagen date, hopefully that can make it easier to build other Scandinavian dates around it. Copenhagen shouldn’t have to be an isolated stop.
“If we can develop stronger connections between cities, venues and promoters across the region, coming to Scandinavia starts making more sense as a tour rather than as one expensive date at the end of a very long road.
“That’s obviously much bigger than BLAZE, and it only works if people work together. But imagine a stronger network where an artist coming north can build a viable route through the region. The artist reaches new audiences, and audiences get access to extraordinary international music.
“Then venues get stronger programmes, and promoters can take more chances and collaborate on routing. Each part makes the other parts more viable. It becomes a feedback loop. Better routing makes touring more sustainable for artists. More artists coming through strengthens venues and programmes. Stronger programmes build audiences. Stronger audiences make it possible for promoters to take more risks. And promoters, agents, and bookers working together can create better routes for the next artist coming through.
“That’s the ecosystem I would love to see become stronger. This is a cut-throat industry. If we don’t help and support each other, we’re all fucked. It really is that simple.
“You have to start somewhere. We’re starting in Copenhagen.”
BLAZE – One Sonic Universe
Musically, BLAZE deliberately refuses to sit comfortably inside one genre. Psych is very much part of its DNA, but the festival reaches into shoegaze, post-punk, noise, kraut, electronics and the beauty between them. The first edition reflects that approach, bringing together artists with established international histories and artists whose audiences are still growing.
Friday is headed by The KVB, alongside Italian psych-shoegazers Clustersun and Norway’s Mayflower Madame. Saturday sees Argentina’s Winona Riders headline, joined by Portuguese MAQUINA. and Berlin-based Golden Hours.
For Lea, that mixture of established and emerging artists is fundamental to what BLAZE is intended to become. “I’m interested in what is happening now and what could happen next,” Lea said. “History matters enormously, but an underground scene can’t survive by constantly looking backwards.
“Some of these artists have been building their own worlds for years. Others are at a point where new audiences are discovering them. I want those things to exist alongside each other. Iron sharpens iron.
“The six artists playing BLAZE are very different. That’s intentional. There are different sounds, different countries, different histories and different stages of development. But to me they all belong in the same sonic universe. Curation should mean making choices. These are mine. This is what BLAZE sounds like.”
The international nature of the inaugural programme is equally deliberate. Six artists from across Europe and South America will converge on Copenhagen, with MAQUINA. and Clustersun making their first appearances in Denmark.
Rather than attempting to build the largest possible bill, the first BLAZE is deliberately concentrated: Three bands each night, with every act forming a significant part of the programme.
“I would absolutely rather have six artists I believe in completely than fill a poster because a festival is somehow supposed to look a certain way,” Lea said. “I don’t work that way.
“BLAZE is called a festival because that is what I want it to become: A place people travel to, where artists and audiences meet, where relationships begin and where something can continue long after the last band leaves the stage.
“The first edition is two nights at Loppen. That’s our starting point.”
But beneath the ideas about touring, infrastructure and building something sustainable is a much simpler reason BLAZE exists. “I love this particular sonic universe,” Lea said. “That’s what drives everything for me. The rest is what you build around it to give that music more opportunities to travel, to be heard and to find the people who get it too.
That’s why the first lineup moves between psych, post-punk, shoegaze, kraut and electronics. I don’t hear those things as separate boxes. I hear the connections between them.
“Six different lanes of epic noise all intersecting in Copenhagen.”
The inaugural edition is presented in collaboration with Loppen, one of Copenhagen’s longest-standing independent live music venues and a natural home for the festival’s first edition.
International symphonic black metal duo MORTEMUTTA have released their new single, “Hrungutsutr.” The track was recorded at Eijefjorden Studios, with mixing and mastering handled by Chris Highlander. Formed in 1999 by DC from Norway and JJ from Japan, MORTEMUTTA describe their approach as “Fjordmetal.” The project brings together Nordic and Japanese folklore, multilingual vocals and […]
