With grey skies overhead and showers threatening across the weekend, that can only mean one thing: Download Festival is upon us. But come rain or shine, the UK biggest rock and metal fest is sure to offer up plenty of chances to discover brilliant new bands, and even as we hit the main stretch of festival season new release announcements are coming thick and fast.
Before we get stuck into that though, the results of last week's vote! There was a healthy showing from power metal's elite and it's reflected in the final three, with Battle Beast securing a healthy third place in the poll. Breaking up the plastic swords and horns brigade were returning doom metal legends Paradise Lost, whose return with Silence Like The Grave took second place, but our overall winners - and you'd not wanna argue when they've got a tank to back them up - was Sabaton. Huzzah!
There's more power metal fun to be found this week, with our top line of Helloween and Burning Witches representing two very different eras of the genre. But that's not all we've got; there's nu metal flavours from Code Orange guitarist Reba Meyers and Gore., stoner/doom brilliance from Castle Rat, symphonic metal from Blackbriar and so much more besides.
As ever, we need you to tell us which songs excite you most, so don't forget to cast your vote below - and have an excellent weekend, come rain or shine!
Helloween - This Is Tokyo
There's a proven track record for power metal love in Japan, but it turns out that love goes both ways. German power metal legends Helloween are pinning their colours to the mask with new single This Is Tokyo, a loving tribute to the Japanese city delivered with typical gusto and fist-pumping choruses. Taken from new album Giants & Monsters, due August 29, it's a colourful first taste of what may lie in store.
Burning Witches - Inquisition
Sticking to the realms of power metal for a moment, Switzerland's Burning Witches have announced their sixth studio album Inquisition for an August 22 release. The title track and lead single lays their stall out ably: classic heavy metal motifs with thumping beats, wailing leads and despairing howls of "Inquisition!" that come off like a head-on collision between Warlock and King Diamond. It's ace, naturally.
Orbit Culture - Death Above Life
2025 is shaping up to be a seriously big year for Orbit Culture. In January, they were openers on the epic Trivium/Bullet For My Valentine double-bill, and they'll be opening the Main Stage of Download on Sunday before limbering up for more tour dates towards the end of the year. Apparently not content with just popping up on massive bills, the Swedes have also announced new album Death Above Life for an October 3 release, the title-track and lead single all pummelling beats and massive melodeath grooves.
Drain - Nights Like These
Hardcore is on a real tear right now. Outbreak might be bringing Turnstile and Knocked Loose back to the UK this weekend, but there's plenty to be excited about later in the year with the announcement of a new Drain record in ...Is Your Friend, which comes November 7. Lead single Nights Like These is exactly what you'd expect of modern hardcore: chunky riffs, bouncy beats and throat-shredding vocals that command total excitement.
Ho99o9 - Upside Down
It's hard to believe it's been almost a decade since Ho99o9 released their debut album. The LA/New Jersey group are still proving impossible to neatly classify on new single Upside Down, a track which combines crunching industrial guitars, hip-hop flows and flecks of electronica to create something grimy and exciting. The first single for new album Tomorrow We Escape, out September 9, it's a handy reminder that this band are still pushing boundaries.
Witch Fever - The Garden
Encroaching dread rules the day on Witch Fever's latest single The Garden. Typically immersive melodies drift beneath slamming alt/doom riffs, offering an introduction to the band's upcoming second album Fevereaten with a refinement of the elements that made their debut so brilliant. Keep your eyes out for Fevereaten on its oh-so-appropriate release date of Halloween.
Cemican - Táan Ti Le Xibalbá
And now for something completely heavy. Self-styled "Aztec-metallers", Mexico's Cemican combine lurching grooves, explosive blast-beats and light flute work on new single Táan Ti Le Xibalbá, taken from their forthcoming new album expected later this year. It's a brilliant and unique mix, yet more proof that extreme metal continues to thrive as its sound diversifies and it draws in different cultural influences.
Reba Meyers - Clouded World
While it's anyone's guess what's happening in the world of Code Orange right now, guitarist Reba Meyers certainly isn't standing idle. Clouded World is her third solo single and was recorded by legendary noise rocker Steve Albini before his passing in 2024; don't let the Albini credit fool you though, this isn't a departure from the nu metal inspired bent Reba explored with both Code Orange and her previous two singles.
Gore. - Sepsis
Speaking of nu metal influences... Gore. offered up a fascinating mix of metalcore and R&B with their debut EP, but new single Sepsis seems to be pushing their sound in a heavier direction that actually feels akin to what Code Orange were doing with Underneath, albeit with Gore.'s own sonic footprint stamped all over it. Making their Download Festival debut this weekend, this lot are worth keeping eyes out for.
Sturle Dagsland - Galdring
The world of Nordic folk has often intersected with metal, making the likes of Eivor, Wardruna or Heilung popping up at a festival like Download or Bloodstock feel completely natural. Forged in that same spirit is Norway's Surle Dagsland, a more frenetic take on the style that feels like the folk equivalent of jumping from Black Sabbath to Napalm Death. Taken from new album Dreams And Conjurations, due October 10, it's an energetic showcase that Nordic folk can be just as sonically diverse as the metal world it so often crosses over with.
Blackbriar - Harpy
Rising stars of symphonic metal, Netherlands' Blackbriar are spreading their grandiose vision on new single Harpy. There's a natural inclination to bombast within the genre, but its the subtle swells of what sounds like decidedly Celtic folk influence and vocal melodies that could come from fellow Dutch symphonic forebears Within Temptation that help sell this as something truly epic.
Castle Rat - Wizard
We all know that heavy metal loves a bit of theatricality. It doesn't come much more epic in scope than newcomers Castle Rat though, the high fantasy heavy metallers fully committed to the bit with live shows that include a lurking grim reaper and a sword battle. Latest single Wizard shows their music is just as grand as their show; Sabbathian riffs and rhythmic struts that call back to the stoner/doom greats.
Pinkshift - Anita Ride
Clattering, hammering riffs and soaring vocals make for a potent brew in Pinkshift's new single Anita Ride. Taken from new album Earthkeeper, due August 29, it's an explosive first taste of what the band are aiming to do this time out and a perfect introduction if you're not already familiar. Stick it on loud and hav at it.
