ALREADY DEAD – I Think It’s Time To Leave… EP

The first new music from the Boston punks Already Dead in almost a year, the band’s 2025 EP ‘I Think It’s Time To Leave…’ is in danger of being over as soon as it’s begun. Packing five high octane numbers into a little over ten minutes, the release barely gives the listener time to catch their breath, let alone provide an ideal opportunity to take stock of what they’re hearing. In terms of blending the classic Ramonescore sound with some old school, sometimes very British sounding punky thrills, the material really hits the mark, though, regardless of the release’s obvious brevity.

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HOUSE OF HOSTS – Reckoning EP

At the end of 2023, House of Hosts’ debut single ‘Oblivion’ introduced a band who clearly knew their way around a riff. Right from the off, it showcased a band who could potentially crush their audience with relative ease. A few of the vocals were perhaps a little too gruff to fit with the alternative metal backdrop, but it presented something with a great potential. Over the course of a couple more singles, the rough edges had been ironed out a little, but by often sharing a cleaner vocal over a heavy sound, this Welsh band marked themselves out as a rising talent and an act that might build a committed following rather quickly.

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VARIOUS ARTISTS – It’s A Wicked Cool Christmas!

Love it or hate it, Christmas music is big business – especially in the US, where it seems that almost every great artist has recorded something festive for posterity. Apparently, if you’re a country artist, recording a Christmas album is the law. The amount of time and money invested in festive tunes is huge, and that becomes rather bewildering when you consider that the music basically has a shelf life of four or five weeks a year.

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WEFT – The Splintered Oar

The brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Charlie Anderson, Weft’s album ‘The Splintered Oar’ isn’t a record that’s easily categorised. Across five fairly lengthy, mostly instrumental numbers, the Panopticon violinist takes in elements of folk metal, melodic black metal, dark folk, prog metal and even an element of alternative country to create a musical journey that’s full of twists. It is a record that won’t be loved by a mass audience, but it’s ultimately one that feels very rewarding in terms of depth and variety.

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THE FEAR – Christmas Time EP

Alternative metallers The Fear had a very successful 2025. Not only did they release their debut ‘Falling Forward’ to a raft of online praise, but the band also got to tour in support of nu metal legends Snot. Not content with that, they also found time to record a bunch of festive tunes which, released as the ‘Christmas Time’ EP pretty much the moment December reared its very cold bonce, showed that the lads not only had a serious work ethic, but also a sense of fun.

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