Despite a global pandemic derailing gigs, it’s been a very productive couple of years for British prog band Big Big Train. They released a critically acclaimed album, ‘Common Ground’ during the first half of 2021, and another new album is expected in the early part of 2022.
In the meantime, they’re set to warm the cockles of prog fans with a surprise new single, ‘Proper Jack Froster’.
Barely any time has passed since US doom metal band Death On Fire released their ‘Six Foot Box’ EP, but the Fort Wayne riff makers are back with a new treat. Tapping into their slower, moodier side, they’ve unleashed a cover of Type O Negative’s ‘World Coming Down’.
2021 may well have been another shaky year in terms of social elements and the ongoing global pandemic, but it hasn’t been short of good music. Here’s another new band to add to your growing list of artists to check out.
The new single from Mantic Ritual sees the Pittsburgh thrash band tapping into everything you’ve ever loved about the seemingly unsinkable metal sub-genre. ‘Crusader’ mixes Testament-like riffs with the speed of old Exciter tunes, but for that full on authentic feel, it features a brattish vocal that recalls the carefree style of the young James Hetfield circa 1983, complete with the kind of reverb present on the early 80s thrash releases.
Salad were one of the most underrated indie bands of the nineties. With one foot in the noisy indie camp – leading to more than one support slot with Carter USM – and the other within the Britpop family, their quirky lyrical concerns and melodic vocal phrases gave them the potential to be huge. Although the band never really rose above cult status, those who liked them absolutely adored them.