It's Friday, Friday, got to get your fresh metal fix on Friday. That's right Maniacs it is finally Friday which means it is time to kick off the weekend with some Friday Fire.
With so many new metal releases dropping every week, it can be hard to know what to listen to, so we've taken it upon ourselves to do the heavy lifting, sorting the 'hell yeah' from the 'hell meh' you don't have to. So without fear or favour, here are is our Friday Fire: Five New Tracks We're Feeling This Friday.
Zeal and Ardor - Bow
The new single from the Swiss band follows the sole vision of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Manuel Gagneux. Bow is our third taste of Zeal and Ardor's forthcoming self-titled third full-length. The scathing, unflinching Bow follows the unsettling, sinister single/video Run and attention-demanding song, Erase. Gagneux says of Bow.
"'Bow' takes out established musical themes and places them into a completely different background. It’s an amalgam of things bestowing bad luck demanding you to join it".
Crossfaith - Slaves of Chaos
Japanese metalcore monoliths Crossfaith are back doing what they do best. The band dropped the explosive new track Slaves of Chaos yesterday and we can't get enough of the trap-infused stylistic switch they've made. No word on if this is off of an upcoming album, but the way frontman Kenta Koie is speaking it does seem like the band is in a very creative space, so we can only hope there is more where this came from. Koie shared his thoughts on Slaves of Chaos.
This is our message to the powers who try to control us – we have been strangled by your ego and we need to take back control! Slave Of Chaos mixes trap with hardcore punk and rock’s attitude, so it’s different from our last releases but you’re going to find out about the new Crossfaith style as soon as you hear this song."
Whitechapel - Lost Boy
Deathcore lifers Whitechapel return with the vicious Lost Boy. The first taste of their eighth studio album Kin, sees the band continuing the progressive trajectory of their previous album The Valley.
Lost Boy combines the best of both sides of the Whitechapel sound, mixing all-out tech-death with more progressive elements. Speaking on Kin guitarist Alex Wade revealed the band's creative intentions with Kin.
"To me, it was like the stars aligning for us to create our almost perfect record in regard to songwriting, vocal performance, the mix and master, and the artwork. We like to look at our albums as chapters of our career, and that is one chapter I will never forget. I think it really solidified that we can embrace a new sound, and if we execute it properly, then the fanbase is going to support and enjoy it."
AVATAR - Going Hunting
Sweden's AVATAR continues on being one of the most creative forces in the metal world with Going Hunting. One of two new songs that were released on the same day to celebrate launching their own new label imprint Black Waltz Records via Thirty Tigers. Going Hunting is a wild, show tune inspired, euro metal song with an incredible video clip made by frequent AVATAR collaborator Johan Carlén. The band had a typically creative way of explaining their move to BlackWaltz/Thirty Tigers.
Since the early '60s, Swedish children have grown up reading Lee Falk's 'The Phantom', according to legend, The Phantom has the strength of 10 tigers. Thus, AVATAR now has the strength of three Phantoms and are therefore finally unstoppable. Thirty Tigers are innovators and we are very excited to have signed with them. It's good to work with such forward thinking people who truly understand what it means to be an artist in this millennium."
Asking Alexandria- Alone Again
British rockers Asking Alexandria announced the October 1 release of their upcoming studio album See What’s On The Inside this week, and gave us our first taste of what is promising to be a belter of an album with the enormous rocker Alone Again. A raw, emotional, introspective rock anthem, the single was co-written by all five members. Speaking on Alone Again founding member and lead guitarist Ben Bruce gave some insight into what we should expect from the album.
Alone Again and the rest of this album is the result of us reconnecting and falling back in love with why we started this band in the first place. No frills or cheap tricks, just the five of us playing our instruments as hard and as loud as we can! At some point in our lives, we all feel lost and confused as to who we are and who we want to be, and I think this song will really unite all of us in that sense. We are so excited to share, not only this new song with you all, but our new album. We went back to our roots as musicians and really wanted to reignite that passion and love for rock and metal music. Metallica, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Aerosmith, AC/DC….all the greats that we fell in love with as kids have greatly influenced this new album and we couldn’t be more excited!"
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