Single Slam: Avatar, Demonstealer, Me from You, Coheed and Cambria, Kill, the Icon!, The Halo Effect, Oceans, Bloodywood, PUP, Extermination Dismemberment and Korn!

This week’s single slam features Avatar, Demonstealer, Me from You, Coheed and Cambria, Kill, the Icon!, The Halo Effect, Oceans, Bloodywood, PUP, Extermination Dismemberment and Korn. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Avatar – So Sang the Hollow

Avatar have released another single, this time called So Sang the Hollow. It is unclear whether this is part of their next album or just a standalone single.

Vocalist Johannes states:

So Sang the Hollow lives between a dream and our waking nightmares. It’s like a seance with ghosts of your own creation. It’s one of those songs that was a very long time in the making, with the main guitar part having been kicked around since I entered the workforce. It also answers the question what Simon and Garfunkel would’ve sounded like if they grew up listening to BLACK SABBATH.

Having recently released two very different singles in the form of Going Hunting and Barren Cloth Mother, fans of Avatar won’t be surprised to hear that So Sang the Hollow is again a completely different style to the previous songs which were also completely different to each other. More of a dark, morose ballad, So Sang the Hollow is insanely listenable with a gentle acoustic melody, no drums and plenty of harmonising vocals.

Demonstealer – From Extinction Begins Evolution

Demonstealer (Sahil Makhija), one of India’s premiere death metal musicians, has revealed his new track ‘From Extinction Begins Evolution’. Another glimpse into Demonstealer’s forthcoming EP The Holocene Termination, released 3rd December, the new song features Simon Schilling of Marduk, Anton Zhikharev (Gorgasm), and Fabio Bartoletti (Fleshgod Apocalypse).

A hefty slice of death metal featuring 4 of metal’s finest artists, Demonstealer’s EP is one you’re not going to want to miss based of this meaty track. If you’re not head-banging throughout, you might want to check your hearing. Clever writing, interesting complexities and overall, a thumping heaviness – it is great. Check it out here.

Me from You – Borrowed Time

Pop punk band Me from You have released the single ‘Borrowed Time’, taken from their EP ‘Rival Towns’. Out on the 10th December 2021.

There’s a classic pop-punk feel to Borrowed Time, as though it has time-travelled from the early to mid-noughties. Which does mean it has a wicked catchiness to it. Mellow but with some bite, the lyrical content is very notable and the melodies are memorable. Check it out here.

Coheed and Cambria – Rise, Naianasha (Cut the Cord)

Coheed and Cambria have unveiled a new track entitled “Rise, Naianasha (Cut the Cord)”, available now on all streaming platforms.

Coheed and Cambria vocalist / guitarist Claudio Sanchez elaborated on the genesis of “Rise, Naianasha (Cut the Cord)” explaining:

‘Rise, Nainasha’ explores the reach of love and loyalty and the reality that sometimes you need to be more than a shoulder to lean on – you need to become the destroyer.

Classic Coheed and Cambria progressiveness but with their more modern penchant for catchy choruses, this is a track that is as weird as it is wonderful. Such is the way in which Coheed and Cambria perform, you never know what you’re going to get next and this is a track that keeps you guessing. It’s a lot of fun with plenty of energy while appealing to their core fanbase with instrumental complexities.

Kill, the Icon! – Buddhist Monk

Founded by a bandleader who has been at the forefront of recent protest movements, Kill, the Icon! are a duo that serve up an angular soundtrack to modern British activism. Furious at billionaires and corrupt politicians alike, Kill, the Icon! make lo-fi protest punk that promises to make a dent in the kleptocracy.

Their debut single “Buddhist Monk” tells the tale of Thich Quang Duc, the man who burned himself alive in protest against an oppressive Vietnamese regime. Buddhist Monk will be released on streaming platforms on 17th November 2021.

Punky speed with snarl and snarkiness about it, Kill, the Icon!’s debut single is lo-fi noise that also has a garage rock flavour to it. The duo play with a vigour that excites but also approach it with a satirical touch, which does entertain. A little bit angry, a little bit silly, a little bit fun but mostly focused on political punk intent. You’ll be able to check it out here.

The Halo Effect – Shadowminds

The year of the corona-pandemic, when the world was forced into a standstill, five old friends finally put an old idea in motion. The result is a brand-new band, The Halo Effect, who recently inked a contract with Nuclear Blast.

The of The Halo Effect are not only masters of their domain, but also pioneers of the Gothenburg melodeath scene, who, at some point, have all been of fellow Gothenburg icons IN FLAMES: Lead guitarists Niclas Engelin (ENGEL) and Jesper Strömblad (CYHRA), lead singer and lyricist Mikael Stanne (DARK TRANQUILLITY), bassist Peter Iwers, and drummer Daniel Svensson.

Now, the band are giving metal fans all over the world a taste of their sound with debut single ‘Shadowminds’.

The band comments:

We are incredibly excited to unveil this new band with one of the first songs that we wrote together. We felt strongly that this was the right direction for the band. Finding identity, finding a drive and ion is what the song is about and also what this band is about. What drove us to do this in the first place, what obstacles have we overcome in order to fully commit to this lifestyle? It’s about how easy it is to get lost if you lose focus and ion for what you do.

With the video we wanted to convey the emptiness of the city in the early stages of the pandemic and what we saw outside of the studio as we were writing but we also love the cool dystopic imagery so we made the city look even more barren and destroyed. Enjoy!

This many icons of the melo-death scene means you can be assured you’re going to hear a melo-death banger and The Halo Effect deliver. Heavy, groovy, atmosphere-laden and exciting. There is no going through the motions here, The Halo Effect wanted to make a splash and this track does that. It will make you feel exactly like you did when you first discovered the Gothenburg sound. Check it out here.

Oceans – Sulfur

After releasing their digital EP ‘We Are Nøt Okay’ in early 2021, rising German-Austrian band Oceans unveil their brand-new digital single, “Sulfur”, via Nuclear Blast.

Timo Rotten comments:

‘Sulfur’ is a love song but in a very unconventional way. You know the situation: you and your loved one get into a serious fight, doors slamming and all. And then sometimes, things are being thrown at each other that shouldn’t have been said… words that sting like knives. This is where love burns like sulfur.

After the release of their insanely brilliant EP, We Are Nøt Okay, I really hoped Oceans were a new band I could really get into but on the strength of this song, Sulfur, I now have my doubts. It isn’t bad, it has plenty of heaviness and darkness to it. Musicianship is good and vocals are strong. I like lots of it but it absolutely lacks in all the things I loved about the EP. Clever lyrics, harmonising and mixing cleans and harsh vocals – this is very run of the mill in comparison. Not bad just not living up to the high expectations the EP put upon themselves.

Bloodywood – Gaddaar

Indian heavy metallers Bloodywood are back with ‘Gaddaar’, the highly political single from their debut album Rakshak. Shot on the streets of New Delhi during a rainstorm, the song explores how politicians have turned to spreading hate in order to gain votes and how one can rebel to break out of this cycle.

Says the band:

It’s been a while since our last song, so we wanted to come back heavy with ‘Gaddaar’! It’s a song that’s aimed at a complete separation of religion and politics across the world. Everyone deserves equal rights and equal treatment at the hands of their governments no matter who and how they worship. We’ve seen the use of religious and divisive politics globally in recent years and it needs to be spoken about.

A powerful message wrapped around Bloodywood’s constantly thrilling style of heavy metal, Gaddaar will hit hard. You can pretend that you’re don’t care about politics but a message like this cuts through all the bullshit.

Musically, it’s a heavy-weight effort that gets you moving and head-banging. Bloodywood are raging and raging hard here. They have something to say and it is going to resonate, all while you’re losing your mind to the quality of their metal.

PUP – Waiting/Kill Something

Toronto punk heroes PUP have released their first new original songs of 2021 called ‘Waiting’ and ‘Kill Something.’

Canadian punk artist Kathryn McCaughey of NOBRO makes an appearance on the fiery and heavier sound of Waiting. The punk side of the band is ever present but there’s a metallic sharpness to this track that cuts through the brain matter nicely. Regardless of that though, it’s still a very catchy PUP offering.

Whereas Kill Something is a bit more morose and melodic, it has an anthemic quality that sticks with you long afterwards. Both tracks are undoubtably PUP but are also different enough to make you excited about what the future might bring from this band. Check out Waiting here and Kill Something here.

Extermination Dismemberment – Protonemesis

Belarus-based brutal death metal band, Extermination Dismemberment, return with an apocalyptic new single ‘Protonemesis’, streaming now via Unique Leader Records.

On the new single, the band comment:

Fire and total extermination! ‘Protonemesis’ was created as a crushing composition that does not let you rest. The song consists of two acts. The first is slamming brutal death metal at its finest. It takes no hostages and leaves no survivors. The second act depicts the end of humanity. Imagine fire consuming the world and millions burning to death. This is our first use of an orchestra that we feel compliments the epic, dark nature of the song’s ending. This is both classic and new Extermination Dismemberment at the same time.

Freaking brutal. That’s it. That’s the review in two words. What more do you need to know? Extermination Dismemberment are back and bringing with them a grinding and grimacing form of slamming death metal. The years away haven’t chilled them out in the slightest but there are some excellent symphonic touches that help give it an even grander feel. Check it out here.

Korn – Start the Healing

Korn have announced their new studio album Requiem and in tandem with the album announcement, the band share the lead single and video ‘Start the Healing.’

A bit of a trip down memory lane, Korn’s new track is an interesting combination of earlier Korn and where the band find themselves now. Not early Korn as in ‘self-titled’ but more the ‘See You on the Other Side/Untitled’ era mixed with their sound from their most recent output. Big choruses, clean chords and some meaty sounding riffs. It’s a solid Korn offering that has a certain catchiness to it, even if it’s not exactly memorable.