I love my Metal pretentious, I love it complex and I love it challenging. However there are times, you just want total sugar overload, to wallow in commercial pleasures that are smothered in melody. Lovebites are a saccharine bomb of sing along lyrics, catchy hooks and memorable tunes. Their sound is big, bold and accessible. Each and every track welcomes you in with choruses that you could land a plane on.
Read MoreWhitechapel get a berth on our list on the virtue of having released one of the albums of the year and the excitement of hearing those tracks live (well as many as their half hour slot on Sunday in Dogtooth allows) makes them for me a must see. “The Valley” is a masterpiece of brooding, emotional and intense Metal that moves Deathcore forward like nobody before them.
Read MoreOk! This is a strange one as there are currently two Batushka in operation and as the band hide their appearance on stage by wearing habits and eastern orthodox schemas, it is unlikely we will ever actually know actually which version turns up at Download.
Read MoreIt is frankly impossible for me to write objectively about At The Gates, so I am not going to try. They are my Iron Maiden, my Metallica, My Slipknot in that they have shaped everything I love and cherish about this musical genre. 1995's “Slaughter of the Soul” is perfect in every single facet. It is direct, venomous and drips with righteous anger. It is also a masterclass in extreme songwriting as every track is defined, melodic and devoid of any padding.
Read MorePut aside your assumption of sexually oppressed Norwegians in corpse paint and battle armour as in the right hands Black Metal is a highly emotive and passionate art form. French duo Alcest make exquisitely beautiful music that soars with a euphoric intensity.
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