Here at Revolver, we're always on the hunt for new songs to bang our heads to — indeed, it's a big part of our jobs. With that in mind, here are the tracks released this week in metal, hard rock and hardcore that have been on heavy rotation at Revolver HQ. For your listening pleasure, we've also compiled the songs in a Spotify playlist, which will grow each week.
Suicide Silence - "Two Steps"
Suicide Silence get back down to business on their latest vicious blackened deathcore ripper "Two Steps." Almost shockingly heavy in light of some of their previous material, the California brutes dive deep into the guts of hell and pull out some of the most terrifying passages of their career during the track's penultimate breakdown. Even doubters will be hooked by the insatiable groove leading up to a soaring guitar solo, turning sharp once more into pure brutal death metal by song's end.
Higher Power - "Lost in Static"
Higher Power have been billed a hardcore band, but their new single "Lost in Static" is straight-up bubblegum pop-punk goodness served straight from decades past into the ears of Nineties-obsessed millennials in 2020. Undeniably a frontrunner for earworm of the year, the three-minute cut is an easily digestible snippet of punky sweetness, served with a gap-toothed, sneering smile.
Azusa - "Memories of an Old Emotion"
Bursting out the new year's gate with one of the most inventive and interesting takes on progressive heavy metal is Azusa, the band helmed by former members of Dillinger Escape Plan and Extol. "Memories of an Old Emotion" abruptly opens with a wicked whirlwind of earth-shattering heft only to segue into a fever dream lullaby. You won't know what to expect next throughout the dynamic (and fucking weird) song's span, but rest assured it will be excellent.
Grey Daze - "What's in the Eye"
"What's in the Eye," the new single from Chester Bennington's pre–Linkin Park band Grey Daze, is weighty enough in its lyrical theme and guitar-driven riffage already, but released in this reworked version two years after the suicide of singer Chester Bennington, it hits even harder, a haunting reminder of the scars that death leaves on the living. In this context, the song's slow-burning, grungy alt-rock vibes feel less dated than they do tragically nostalgic.
Leeched - "I, Flatline"
If the January doldrums have you feeling in the mood for some oppressively vile sludge colored with punishing hardcore, Leeched have you covered with their latest brutalizer "I, Flatline." Just when the track becomes almost too much weight to bear, the group bring in a nasty groove hook to keep you bopping until the muddy, feculent end.
Avenged Sevenfold - "Set Me Free"
Not quite new but new to the world at large, Hail to the King–era rarity "Set Me Free" comes off the cutting-room floor, a welcomed stopgap while we await Avenged's follow-up to The Stage. Playing out almost like an homage to the stadium days of power ballads, the six-minute-plus epic relies on dueling guitars, a lone backing line sitting just beneath those leads for added depth, and a stark drop-off when the vocals kick into the spotlight with heartfelt delivery by champion belter M. Shadows.
