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 hardcore, nu-metal, post-metal 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.
Linkin Park - "Lost"
Mike Shinoda said the only reason "Lost" didn't end up in the tracklist of Meteora is because "it had the same intensity as 'Numb,'" the record's generation-defining single. That's a pretty high compliment for the Linkin Park co-vocalist to pay to "Lost," the previously-unreleased, Meteora-era B-side that the band unleashed this week to commemorate their sophomore LP's 20th anniversary. So now fans have their ears on another prime-era Linkin Park banger that shares the high-octane power of one of the band's most beloved songs. Lucky ducks.
Scowl - "Opening Night"
"Catchier" and "not as much screaming" aren't things that hardcore fans usually want to read about their favorite bands' new songs — unless that band is Scowl. The Santa Cruz crew hinted at their potential for hooky alt-rock on their debut album's ear-worm outlier, "Seeds to Sow," and "Opening Night" leans all the way in to their not-so-secret knack for bubblegum bliss. It's a simple recipe of sing-songy grunge à la Hole and the Breeders and the rippin' hardcore of their past material. It might be Scowl's most instantly gratifying song yet.
Drain - "Evil Finds Light"
Every Drain song sounds like pouring a case of Mentos into a gallon of cola, dousing it with gasoline and then chucking it into a bonfire. That's how much sheer adrenaline drips from these NorCal shredders, who haven't softened an iota on their first song in two years, "Evil Finds Light." Drain make thrashy hardcore that bounces more than it gallops, and "Evil Finds Light" hits their golden ratio of eruptive fun and crater-blasting anger.
Spotlights - "Algorithmic"
Featuring Revolver's own Chris Enriquez on drums and big-upped by Deftones, Melvins and Mike fucking Patton (who releases their music on his Ipecac Recordings label), Spotlights are a band with backers. And deservedly so. Their new song "Algorithmic," the first taste of new album Alchemy for the Dead, is a trance-inducing journey that weaves between avalanches of fuzz-soaked doominess and tense, eerie verses drenched in an alt-metal haze.
Initiate - "Alone at the Bottom"
It's been a few years since we last heard from Initiate, whose 2020 EP, Lavender, positioned them at the forefront of California's new wave of hardcore. A lot has happened since then (both in Cali and across the broader hardcore landscape), but their long-awaited return single, "Alone at the Bottom," sees them snapping back right at the front of the herd. The Nineties-style swagger and barbed-wire thrash riffs are venomous, but it's Crystal Pak's tremendously powerful and catchy vocal delivery that makes this such a knockout. Sheesh!
Lamb of God, Kreator - "State of Unrest"
In 2020, Lamb of God and Kreator were set to tour Europe with new-gen thrash rulers Power Trip, and the three bands cooked up a whole plan to write a collaborative song that Power Trip's Riley Gale would sing over. Tragically, the Texas frontman died before he could record his parts, so LOG's Randy Blythe and Kreator's Mille Petrozza decided to forge on and sing the words in Gale's honor. The two metal vets channel the late singer's fiery resolve on "State of Unrest," which musically meets in the middle between the Virginia band's savory groove and the German pioneers' thrashy heft.
