The dark nights are drawing in, but don’t worry – we’ve got an excellent soundtrack to keep you warm in these Autumnal months. Speaking of which, let’s go through the results of last week’s vote!
As we’ve come to expect, a big name doesn’t guarantee top billing in the Hammer TOTW chart, and the likes of Tony Iommi and Hatebreed were left behind some emergent talent. Aussie metalcore mob The Local Romance took third place, while Japanese newcomers EMNW stormed ahead with the fun Party Loud. But our overall winners for the week were the brutish, no frills hardcore champs of Inherited, Wasted Space proving anything but.
We’ve got a wide-ranging selection for you this week, as we always hope is the case. Trivium and Hanabie. have announced new albums for this side of Christmas, while Battlesnake and Resolve are eyeing early 2027 release dates for their new records. There’s also brutish death metal, CoB-style melodeath and some wild and wonderful music that crosses so many genre boundaries it’s pointless even trying to pin down (Hello, Calva Louise). Don’t forget to vote for your favourite in the poll below – and have an excellent weekend!
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Trivium – Crown In The Grave
It’s only been a couple of weeks since Trivium dropped Dead Inside Of Me, but they’ve barely let the dust settle before announcing that new album Crown In The Grave will be out on November 20. Alongside the announcement, the band unveiled a video for the title-track, a song which certainly upholds the classic-meets-contemporary sound they’ve been honing over the past few records with sublime guitars and a big, chest-beating chorus that’s sure to land when they hit the road again next year.
Thy Catafalque – Tombok
Want some weird black metal? Thy Catafalque have been masters of the art for decades now and if you ever thought jaunty flutes couldn’t work against crushing, blackened heft then clearly this is your first time listening to the band – welcome, things are about to get wonderfully weird! Tömbök comes from the Hungarian band’s new album XIII: Sárga erdő, which is due out November 20. Opening on 70s style keys, its not long before the track is blustering forth on blackened death metal blasts, only to get suddenly jaunty with jazz flutes. It’s glorious.
Wage War – God Complex
Metalcore with a bit of meat between its teeth, God Complex is a plain banger. From its bounding main riff to the shrieking high-end that adds a nu metal energy to the track, Wage War’s latest single has serious metal club anthem energy and we dare say that’ll translate well to gigs and festival fields next summer. Either way, their new album Landfall is out today and well worth a spin if you like big, hooky metal.
Employed To Serve – Absolute Onslaught
More proof that metalcore isn’t in a creative dead-end, you say? Well, look no further than the killer thrash-friendly pace of Absolute Onslaught, which isn’t a tribute to Bristolian thrashers, but instead a new offering by Woking’s Employed To Serve. With a guest appearance from Cabal’s Andreas Bjulver – who ETS will be touring with next month – it’s a solid fist to the lugs that’ll make you want to dropkick a pumpkin till the mush becomes a fine paste.
![Employed To Serve - Absolute Onslaught [Featuring Cabal] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/nfTzqGtslHo/maxresdefault.jpg)
Power Trip - Precinct 3
Want thrash riffs? Power Trip have always had 'em and in spades, and look - THEY'RE BACK! It's been a rough six years since the passing of original frontman Riley Gale, but the Texans have come back with a renewed force and fury with new vocalist Seth Gilmore. The band have released two new songs this week, Precinct 3 and Scavenger, and both are excellent, muscular showcases for why this band got people so excited in the first place. There's even an air of Ministry's mid-00s car-crash thrash to the early riff (we're proper hearing Rio Grande Blood), which is a delight when that band have dialled back in recent years. Either way, we're getting new Power Trip in 2027 and we couldn't be happier.
Calva Louise - La Promesa
We fell in love with Calva Louise last year when they unveiled the wild genre-hopping opus that was Edge Of The Abyss. It's looking like the band - based in the UK but made up of members from Venezuela, France and New Zealand - will have a new record coming next year, and if new single La Promesa is anything to go by, it's gonna be even wilder than the last. Mixing snarling metalcore, Venezuelan folk (Joropo) and even little Mozart-like key flourishes, it's typically madcap and utterly delightful.
Black Royal - Extremophiles
Slowing the pace down some, Finland's Black Royal excel at chucking together elements of black'n'roll and sludge metal. You can hear both of those elements in full swing on Extremophiles, a stomping, Motorhead-friendly riff delivered with tar-thick heft and grinding force that makes you wanna bang your head until your neck muscles pop. New album Abyssian is coming October 30, and well worth raising some hell to.
Hanabie. - Bari Bari Buddy
Well this one crept into the schedule! Hanabie.'s new album Umami is coming on December 2, and the Japanese group have celebrated the fact by dropping a typically unhinged mixture of snarling, riffy metal and cutesy J-pop melody. We've come to expect nothing less at this point and they're still one of the most vibrant new things in metal right now.
Battlesnake - Bog Bringer
Battlesnake must be the most disdainful band of Satan since Mr. Lordi announced the devil was a loser and also his bitch. After killing the horned one on a single earlier this year, now the weird and wonderful Aussies are apparently bringing us a whole album of colourful tales and weird fantasy themes, new single Bog Bringer toeing the line being ridiculous and utterly brilliant. There's plenty of run up to this one - the album isn't coming until February 19 next year, but we reckon its a strong contender for the maddest metal album of 2027. All hail the bogpocalypse...
Resolve - Godtier
If you're looking for a tune to bound around to and lose your mind, Resolve have you covered. Godtier practically leaps off its main riff, mixing up melodic hooks, quick rap flows and grimacing snarls in a delightfully energetic package. The band's new album Spread My Ashes Into Space is coming in January next year and is exactly the kind of energy we want to greet 2027 with.
Undeath - Arterial Bombardment
Propelled with all the force of a goods truck careening through a shopping centre, Undeath aren't reinventing the wheel with Arterial Bombardment. But why the hell should they? The New York death metallers have carved a bloody niche for themselves by making primo old-school-style death metal and this latest single is no exception, lumbering forth like the only thing they need is a bit of carnage and a great riff.
Ulthima - Midnight’s Call
Coming out of Mexico via Finalnd - and boy can you tell - Ulthima offer up a distinct fusion of worlds. Starting out in the realms of grandiose symphonic/power metal - hello, Nightwish - they're soon giving way to something more feral and extreme. There's an air of Children Of Bodom to the fusion of styles they offer, but Ulthima don't sound beholden to any one band or scene. Keep your eyes out for new album Midnight's Call on November 27.
