After a short break we’re back with some great tracks for your ears. Get a load of them now and follow our Spotify playlist to hear all of our tracks from 2019 so far.
Optic Oppression – See No Evil
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Fans of nu-metal need to tune their ears into this one. Optic Oppression are channelling KoRn and Marilyn Manson to name but two and the outcome is an energetic track in ‘See No Evil’ that has all the hallmarks of a song that when played live has people encapsulated from start to finish. Vocally it feels very similar in places to many of the nu-metal legends but musically it has more depth to it than your average song from that era a modern twist in there too. This isn’t your standard nu-metal cliche, this just feels a bit different and, quite frankly, a bit better.
Kendall from the band had this to say: “See No Evil is a song about betrayal. Being blind to the darker side of someone you once trusted. A song about throat choking, plate throwing domestic drama that everyone can relate to on some level. Literally or otherwise.”
Reach The Surface – No Return
Fans of a good “bluegh” should have their ears pricked by Reach The Surface and their metalcore style romp. ‘No Return’ is a near four-minute track that feels like a journey of its own, let alone as part of an album. Anthemic choruses power this track forwards and the combination of different vocal styles is truly the song’s pulling power. Many bands come into these style of track with an inferior clean vocalist but that isn’t the case here. This has the hallmarks of being a breakout track for the band. Get in there now.
Eyes Wide Open – Solitude
Eyes Wide Open are up next with their powerful metal track ‘Solitude’. A track that is straight out of the Trivium school of melodic metal. As with all good metal tracks there is a strong theme running through it, that you can read about below from the band themselves, and that adds an extra dimension to the song, along with some Crossfaith style electronic elements in parts. This is a song that was born to be played on a festival stage with horns fill with beer being thrust towards the sky.
You’ve read my thoughts, here is what the band had to say about the track: ”Solitude is a reaction on the world we live in today, a world we think has been turned upside down. A theme that can be heard on the upcoming album as well. To call it a concept-album might be a bit of a stretch, but it is pretty close to the truth. In the best of worlds we want to take the listener on a sort of science fiction-inspired journey in the ”upside down world”, where we search for our dreams and ambitions as well as meet our fears”.
The Mean Times – Be Still My Beating Heart
Finishing up today we have a bit of a feel good ska/punk track from The Mean Times. ‘Be Still My Beating Heart’ is fun, energetic romp through everything that is good about ska. The vocals are the stand-out element in the song in truth, the raspy voice of the frontman is immediately engaging and combine that with some strong backing vocals and enough brass for your annual fill and you’re laughing…or skanking or whatever you want to do really.
That’s all for this edition, thanks for reading! Don’t forget you can check out all the tracks we’ve reviewed this year on the playlist below: