In August 2025, Ophelia’s Eye made a grand statement with ‘Enter The Arena’. The track presented the ultimate in heaviness, without moving into extreme territory. The opening riffs blended top notch metalcore with a pinch of groove, which made the band sound like Lamb of God with sharper edges. The body of the track blended pneumatic rhythms with a heavy downtune, taking a metalcore sound into even heavier and darker realms, and while the vocals appeared abrasive, they were never impenetrable.
Tag Archives: metal
Watch: Keep This Up share new video for ‘Remedy (For The End)’
On a pair of singles issued in 2024, Keep This Up shared a strong blend of melodic post-hardcore with more than a hint of emo. On ‘Blossom’, in particular, the way the band fused speed driven angst with vocals that sounded if they were either on the verge of tears or exploding under the weight of pent up fury owed as much to the mid 00’s as the present.
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #131
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the more interesting individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This time around, we welcome back a cult Canadian act and an equally cult Boston based singer-songwriter. We also share a couple of metal oriented tracks pitching at very different influences, and applaud the most inventive single to date from a genre-bending Italian band. Between those, you’ll find other tracks from the underground and, as always, we hope you’ll find something new to enjoy…
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HOLLOWKIN – Decrepit Nature EP
As 2024 began to pull to a close, the Bath-based metal act HollowKin released their ‘Confessions & Failures’ EP, a pleasingly heavy affair that also managed to use its short playing time to effectively showcase the band’s desire to blend genres. The four songs used a base of metalcore, but introduced elements of thrash, doom, prog metal, groove metal and hardcore to form a complex sound that showed off a band who were not only tight, but insanely confident.
Watch: Premier Jester take a ‘Slow Dance’ in new video
Premier Jester aren’t afraid to mix genres. On their previous single ‘All I Ever Wanted’, the UK band managed to fuse metalcore riffs with R&B vocal melodies, programmed drum loops and blasts of synth drawing from a dance-oriented sound, and – latterly – some fierce hardcore breakdowns to create a truly intense experience.