The V13 Fix #010 w/ High on Fire, NOFX, My Dying Bride and more

Welcome to the latest The V13 Fix our weekly round-up of some of the best albums, singles and EPs to drop in our laps/inboxes this week. From pop to black metal to experimental pop to punk rock, there is something for everyone in this mix of new music. Check out and support all the bands and labels if you like what you hear and if there is a particular album you like, make sure you head over to Spotify and check out one of our specially curated playlists where there is more great new music added daily.

Alternatively, if you’re in a band or want one of your bands considered for inclusion get in touch. While we can’t guarantee every album or EP we receive will be included, there are still plenty of other ways we can support you.

So, without further ado, sit back, plug in your headphones and get this week’s V13 Fix of new music…

Life’s Question
‘Life’s Question’[EP]
Flatspot Records

In our recent cover story with Comeback Kid (read that here), vocalist Andrew Nuefeld gave a huge thumbs-up to Flatspot Records and listening to the self-titled debut from Life’s Question, it’s easy to see why. A band who cite influence from Faith No More to Van Halen but fit perfectly at home sharing stages with One Step Closer and Drain, the mix of brash, chugging hardcore and classic rock riffs offer up something from the usual formulaic shouty hardcore while still maintaining that throaty rage.

Pick up your copy of Life’s Questions online here.

In Vain
‘Solemn’
Indie Recordings

Early teasers of Solemn from Norwegian progressive death/black metal troop In Vain had us frothing at the mouth in anticipation at the release of their fifth album and, now we’ve got our grubby mitts on Solemn, we’re glad to find we’re not disappointed. Sounding epic, the mix of death metal, traditional heavy metal and more progressive elements, Solemn is a majestic slice of heaviness. Flawlessly captured by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Katatonia, Devin Townsend, Kreator), Solemn shows that the Norwegians have no intention of letting up their unrelenting march towards progressive metal perfection.

Pick up your copy of Solemn online here.

My Dying Bride
‘A Mortal Binding’
Nuclear Blast Records

One of the pioneers of the British doom metal scene, Yorkshire’s My Dying Bride have now reached the milestone of their fifteenth studio album. This seven-track behemoth of an album is befitting of such a landmark release in their career and shows a band who are still at the top of their game. Hulking sludgy, doomy riffs create an air of darkness wrapping eerily around the bleak tones of vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe. Crushingly heavy, the album and the band hit their peak during the haunting and sombre eleven-minute masterpiece that is “The Apocalyptist” where the Yorkshire masters of misery step into their own on this rumbling, a morose slab of sonic gloom.

Pick up your copy of A Mortal Binding online here.

Blaze of Perdition
‘Upharsin’
Metal Blade Records

Outside of Norway, you can always rely on Poland to deliver the goods when it comes to the more extreme end of the metal spectrum, especially on the black metal front. Blaze of Perdition is no exception to the rule as their new album, Upharsin blazes out of the gates all guns blazing. A furious onslaught of buzzsaw guitars and feral vocals, Upharsin rattles along at a relentless pace, as the Poles steer their ship through the familiar black metal waters. Despite only weighing in with five tracks, Upharsin still clocks in at over forty minutes with every single one of those minutes packed with Polish black-souled savagery.

Pick up your copy of Upharsin online here.

The Melvins
‘Tarantula Heart’
Ipecac Recordings

I’m not sure anybody, even the band themselves, knows how many releases have had The Melvins name stamped across them in the four decades the punk rockers have been plying their trade. What isn’t in doubt is that their latest offering, Tarantula Heart still shows a band who are sounding more exciting, fresher and weirder than ever. One of the most influential bands of our time, the Buzz Osbourne-led pack have dropped this nineteen-minute album which finds the band tearing off the restraints and delivering an album that is as uncomfortable and unpredictable as you could ever expect from the Washington punks.

Pick up your copy of Tarantula Heart online here.

The Ghost Inside
‘Searching For Solace’
Epitaph Recordings

Looking back over the story of hardcore crew The Ghost Inside, it’s incredible that it’s been ten years since the horrific bus crash which nearly ended the band. Since then, the band have battled against all odds to not only return but return stronger than ever. Searching For Solace, their new album, is the sound of a band looking to the past, the future and the journey they have been on. A colossal, modern-sounding slice of metal meets hardcore, the passion which pours through their music is there but feels amped-up to the max on their latest album. A heartwrenching mix of darkness and positivity, Searching For Solace is the tale of a band embracing the now without ever forgetting the heartache that has brought them to this point.

Pick up your copy of Searching For Solace online here.

Dayseeker
‘Replica’
Spinefarm Records

Maybe it is the passion and the emotion in the music but when a rock/metal band goes down the route of stripping back their music, the end result, more often than not, brings out all of that in a whole new light. Californian crew Dayseeker are the latest act to reimagine their fan favourites and the end result is this superb collection. Stripping back the likes of “Burial Plot” and “Homesick” shows off their music in a whole new light while the collaboration with Lucas Woodland of Holding Absence, Amber Delarosa and Caleb Shomo of Beartooth are sublime. That’s before wrapping Replica up with their emotionally-saturated rendition of Evanescence smash hit “My Immortal”.

Pick up your copy of Replica online here.

NOFX
‘Half Album’
Fat Wreck Chords

In just over 6 months’ time punk rock legends NOFX, after 4 decades at the top of the pack, are hanging up their battered instruments after one final world tour. While it might be the end of NOFX as we know it, it’s not the end of the band completely with this five-track “half-album” picking up from 2021’s Single Album and 2022’s Double Album. It features five tracks which their iconic frontman describes as “the runts of the litter”. What that means for NOFX fans is five tracks which complete the double album set and, unlike The White Album, it doesn’t feature any shit songs. It may have taken five years to write this final piece of their particular chapter but listening to the raucous bleak humour shows exactly why we’re going to miss these punk rock scumbags more than we care to admit.

Pick up your copy of Half Album online here.

unpeople
‘unpeople’
Sharptone Records

Alt-rock quartet unpeople cite everyone from Deftones to SikTh as the inspiration behind their delightfully quirky sound. Already making waves in the industry, it seems like the band is already pressing the right buttons but, one listen to their new EP and it’s easy to see why. Mixing alt-rock grit with super catchy poppy hooks, you can almost see the band slotting as comfortably on a more mainstream rock line-up as they are opening for a band like Metallica. Featuring ex-members of UK alt-rock crew Press To Meco, the pair have brought a wealth of experience and knack for writing quirky pop/alt-rock bangers into their new band kickstarting this new chapter in their musical careers in style.

Pick up your copy of unpeople online here.

DVNE
‘Voidkind’
Metal Blade Records

Edinburgh-based outfit DVNE have been offering up something special to the extreme metal scene since their birth in 2013. A monolithic concoction of post-metal, progressive death metal and sludge, the band have fine-tuned their sound into this gargantuan release. As with previous releases, Voidfinder finds the band exploring the darker side of sci-fi, entwining these themes into a sound that is both crushingly heavy and beautifully hypnotic. While complex in structure, the band wanted a sound that would transform effortlessly into the live arena. Listening to DVNE as they weave through their fantasy/sci-fi prog/death metal journey, while it’s easy to see how Voidgazer will transfer to the stage, the mind boggles as to how utterly hypnotising the experience will be.

Pick up your copy of Voidkind online here.

High On Fire
‘Cometh The Storm’
MNRK Heavy

It’s been almost six years since US riff-slingers High On Fire graced us with new music so it only seems appropriate that they mark their twenty-fifth anniversary as a band by returning with this devastating album. Leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, Cometh The Storm is a hulking great lump of building-levelling riffs, paint-peeling vocals and ground shaking grooves. Like the bastard offspring of Black Sabbath and Motorhead, Cometh The Storm is a dirty, rough as fuck, slab of Kurt Ballou-produced sludgy metal. Although the past few years have seen the various members of the group splinter off and add various notches on their belts the draw of the groove always meant a return was on the cards and they’ve returned in some style because never has an album title been more appropriate!

Pick up your copy of Cometh The Storm online here.

Voidgazer
‘Dance of the Undesirables’
Reigning Phoenix Music

The journey for St.Louis prog-metal quartet Voidgazer has been a long and arduous one by the sounds of it. A debut EP released back in 2016, Years of Exile, was due to be followed up by the release of a secondary EP, Dance of the Undesirables. Unfortunately, after 3 years of honing their art, COVID brought the whole thing crashing down. Fast forward to 2024 and, having been beefed up to now form a debut album, Dance of the Undesirables is ready to drop. A lumbering slab of no-bullshit progressive metal, Voidgazer have gone into the studio, cranked everything up to twelve and delivered a debut album that will finally put their name deservedly on the metal map.

Pick up your copy of Dance of the Undesirables online here.

SeeYouSpaceCowboy
‘Coup de Grâce’
Pure Noise Records

Experimental San Diego quintet SeeYouSpaceCowboy have always pushed the boundaries of extreme music and Coup de Grâce, their latest offering is no different. Starting with an almost 1940’s vibe the album, as expected, soon spits off into all manner of directions. A sense-twisting ride, as an example, “Subtle Whispers To Take Your Breath Away” veers between nasty screamo-grindcore and almost My Chemical Romance emo melodies. It should be ridiculous, it’s executed perfectly. Which is the premise for the rest of this album. An appearance by Spiritbox vocalist Courtney LaPlante on “To The Dance Floor For Shelter” is one of several guest slots on the album (nothing, nowhere, Kim Dracula, and iRis.EXE the others) and just show the breadth and depth this album offers up. Mind-meltingly wild, perfectly delivered, Coup de Grâce is SeeYouSpaceCowboy at their experimental, challenging best.

Pick up your copy of Coup de Grâce online here.