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 rap metal, metalcore, noise-rock and more that have been on heavy rotation at Revolver HQ. For your listening pleasure, we've also compiled the songs in an ever-evolving Spotify playlist.
Nova Twins - "Antagonist"
There are many present-day artists who are cleverly blending elements of pop and metal, but no one's doing it quite like the Nova Twins. "Antagonist" folds No Doubt's swagger, Rage Against the Machine's fury and the trunk-knocking bounce of mid-Nineties Korn into a sound that's novel, invigorating, catchy and not gimmicky in the slightest.
Underoath - "Cycle" (Feat. Ghostmane)
It's been a great year for unlikely collaborations — Corpsegrinder and Dee Snider, Tom Morello and Bring Me the Horizon — and now Underoath are getting in on the Avengers style action. Their latest of four quite different Voyeurist singles, "Cycle," features banshee-like guest shrieks from rap-metal mage Ghostmane. It works.
Scarlxrd — "The Walking Dead"
Of all the artists blending trap with nu-metal bounce and metalcore bite, scarlxrd might be the heaviest. The U.K. MC cranks out albums with machine-like efficiency (over 10 in the last five years), and this week's DeadRising boasts a pulverizing standout called "The Walking Dead" — a convulsive rager with Slipknot-ish instrumentation and the lxrd's spastic screams.
Volbeat - "Becoming"
Typically, fans turn to Volbeat for rousing sing-alongs that channel vintage rock & roll melodies through proto-metal energy. Sometimes, though, the band gets heavy, and "Becoming" is one of those times. It kicks off with a thrashy gallop and a minor-key riff that's more Slayer than they've ever sounded, and then settles into a sturdy groove-metal stomp that could knock the drink right out of a rockabilly's hand. We're here for it.
Sasami - "Skin a Rat"
Earlier this year, L.A. multi-instrumentalist Sasami abandoned the sleek dream-pop sound of her 2019 debut for a noise-rock reinvention of Daniel Johnston's "Sorry Entertainer." It's a style that suited her incredibly well, and that violent rage carries over onto the vicious "Skin a Rat," which sounds like Boris and the Pixies tearing a house apart while cranking early System of a Down.
Crown the Empire - "Dancing with the Dead"
For almost a decade, Crown the Empire have successfully done the delicate tightrope walk between theatrical emo-pop-rock and down-tuned metalcore. On "Dancing with the Dead," they chuck all the catchy shit out the window and seethe through three minutes of face-mauling metallic wreckage that's all scream and no clean. More of this, please.
Anxious - "In April"
One of the most salient hardcore trends of 2021 has been the wave of bands who are pulling from old-school post-hardcore (Rites of Spring, Fugazi, Turning Point, etc.) and Nineties emo in new and fresh ways. Bands like Fiddlehead, One Step Closer and Militarie Gun are leading the pack, but Anxious aren't far behind. "In April," the second single from their 2022 debut, is a catchy and urgent ripper that'll do it for you whether you grew up with Texas Is the Reason or Title Fight.
