The V13 Fix #005 w/ In Vain, Yard Act, These Wicked Rivers 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…

Noah And The Loners
‘A Desolate Warning’
Marshall Records

A Desolate Warning has all the trapping of a modern-day release but, at the heart, beats a collection of songs written straight from the punk rock bible. This five-track EP may have a lovely polished sound but frontman Noah Lonegan’s punk rock poetry is far from pretty. Driven by societal injustice, adolescence, mental health and inequity, Lonegan’s voice comes with the kind of snarl inspired by frustration and downright anger at the state of UK politics. The result is an explosive barrage of proper punk rock firecrackers.

Pick up your copy of A Desolate Warning from here.

Yard Act
‘Where’s My Utopia’
Island Records

Leeds band Yard Act are back with the follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut The Overload and it finds the Yorkshire favourites romping through an experimental, unpredictable journey. With co-production duties handled between Yard Act and Gorillaz member Remi Kabaka Jr that should give you some indication of the expansive nature of Where’s My Utopia. When you couple that with the jumble of emotions pouring out frontman James Smith’s head – from traversing the music industry to becoming a father – you can only then start to understand why an album which is their way of “articulating the absolute minefield of human existence” sounds as brilliantly random as it does.

Pick up your copy of Where’s My Utopia from here.

New Years Day
‘Half Black Heart’
Century Media

For vocalist Ash Costello, Half Black Heart, the fifth album from Californian modern metal outfit New Years Day is the culmination of a ten-year journey for herself and the band. Pouring her soul into this record, Costello and her bandmates have delivered an album that is dripping with raw, honest, dark-hearted emotion. That being said, while Half Black Heart at times comes from a dark place, musically it is an album of goth-tinged modern rock packed with deliciously sinister pop hooks and pulsating rock beats. Powerful and passionate, Half Black Heart is which straddles the line between dark and light while being able to effortlessly blend into both worlds.

Pick up your copy of Half Black Heart from here.

Bruce Dickinson
‘The Mandrake Project’
BMG

A man who needs no introduction, heavy metal icon Bruce Dickinson is back with his seventh solo album but one that, as you will read in our cover story next week, has been a long time in the making. Unsurprisingly, considering he fronts one of the most epic heavy metal bands of all time, The Mandrake Project is a huge piece of work one which transcends the boundaries of being “just an album”. A dark, mysterious world, the album follows the release earlier this year of The Mandrake Project comic book, a tale which sets the scene for where this story will go. Musically, The Mandrake Project is everything you could want from the Iron Maiden frontman from his soaring vocals to the huge, epic galloping metal. If exploring huge, expansive fantasy worlds to a soundtrack of epic heavy metal is your thing, The Mandrake Project will tick all your boxes.

Pick up your copy of from here.

Volcandra
‘The Way of the Ancients’
Prosthetic Records

Since the term heavy metal was first uttered, the worlds of metal and fantasy have always gone hand in hand. Now, there are times when the combination is just pure cheese but, as is the case with The Way of the Ancients, the new album from Louiseville death metal crew Volcandra, the pairing can be pure magic. Using their second album to build upon their conceptual world with fables, beasts and mystical mountain peaks, Volcandra tells their stories through a soundtrack of brutal death/black metal and melodic death metal. Inspired by everything from the Diablo video games to movie classics such as Conan and Excalibur, on The Way of the Ancients, Volcandra have demonstrated how to perfect the art of marrying up ferocity and fantasy.

Pick up your copy of The Way of the Ancients from here.

These Wicked Rivers
‘Force of Nature’
Fat Earth Records

Whichever town or city you go to across the UK, you will always find a band or two waving the flag for traditional rock ’n’ roll. Head to Derby in the East Midlands and that particular band is These Wicked Rivers who have been plying their trade since 2014. A slew of positive reviews on their earlier releases have led to this point and the release of this foot-stomping collection. Wailing solos, bags of British attitude and, in singer John Hartwell, someone who can belt them out, Force of Nature is unashamedly traditional without sounding dated. With the riffs of Clutch, the bluesy edge of The Black Crowes and the big, booming anthemic nature of Black Stone Cherry, Force of Nature shows that These Wicked Rivers are precisely that.z

Pick up your copy of Force of Nature from here.

Worst Doubt
‘Immortal Pain’
DAZE STYLE

French hardcore maulers Worst Doubt take strong influence from the brutal side of the metallic hardcore world. The face-pummelling savagery of bands like Merauder and King Nine seeps through the five tracks on their new EP. Uncompromising from the get-go, Immortal Pain is downright vicious and ugly. Vocalist Hugo snarls and scowls his way through each track spitting venomous lyrics over a soundtrack of rough around the edges metallic fury. Essentially a thoroughly unrelenting display from the French crew, Immortal Pain is the kind of EP you wouldn’t want to meet down a dark alley late on a Friday night.

Pick up your copy of Immortal Pain from here.

Defocus
‘there is a place for me on earth’
Arising Empire

I swear that during the first twenty-five seconds, my speakers started to shudder and that’s before German metalcore quartet Defocus plunged headfirst into their savage noise. Now, once you’ve got over the abrasiveness of the early moments, as you dig further into their second album, it becomes clear that there is more to there is a place for me on earth , than just textbook metalcore. The Germans intelligent use of electronics, guttural/clean/harsh vocals, moshy passages and brutal breakdowns has crafted an expansive soundscape. Defocus’ sound is one that never sits still and, rather than sounding disjointed or cluttered, weaves a stark, attention-demanding listening experience for the listener.

Pick up your copy of there is a place for me on earth from here.

TSOL
‘A-Side Graffiti’
Kitten Robot

It would be fair to label So-Cal punk rockers TSOL as punk rock royalty and, in keeping with the importance of mixing things up, their ninth album sees the band dropping a mix of covers and original material. Of course, it doesn’t stray too far from the Californian’s frantic punk rock formula but the choice of covers avoiding “the norm” certainly makes for an interesting read. By choosing to rework tracks like Louis Armstrong’s “Wonderful World” and “Sweet Transvestite” from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, they’ve shown a wide musical palette while their tracks like the blistering opener “Low-Low-Low” show a band who are still as loyal to their punk rock roots as they were on day one!

Pick up your copy of A-Side Graffiti from here.

In Vain
‘Shadows Flap Their Black Wings’
Indie Recordings

Lifted from their upcoming Solemn, the latest single from Norwegian progressive metal chaps In Vain delivers a crushing statement. Sticking true to their roots, “Shadows Flap Their Black Wings” combines a hypnotic groove with splashes of melody both in the vocals and the music. Sombre yet anthemic, the blend of haunting clean vocals and more brutal roars from Sindre Nedland and Andreas Frigstad entwine together effortlessly alongside a sound that ebbs and flows with the vocals. One moment crushingly heavy before heading into more melodic metal waters, the rest of Solemn should be exquisite.

Pick up your copy of Solemn from here.

Fates Messenger
‘Scars/Bonechapel’ [Single]
Self-Release

With a pedigree in the UK metal scene which has seen the various members of Fates Messenger cut their teeth in metal/hardcore bruisers like Above All, Romeo Must Die and Dishonour The Crown, the newcomers debut single promises to be a punishing affair. And it doesn’t disappoint. A monstrous slab of modern thrash with a nod of respect shown to their previous bands, this now double-single is a pumped-up neck-snapper. Taken from their upcoming debut EP, both tracks show that their time away from the music scene has been well spent as they return fired up and ready to bring some honest, savage brutality back to UK moshpits.

Pick up your copy of Scars/Bonechapel from here.

Alienist
‘Love/Hate’
UNFD

Looking down the list of themes littered through Love/Hate, the new EP from Alienist looks like it could be a fairly dark affair. From religion to toxic relationships, self-doubt and mental health, the EP explores the two connected emotions through five tracks of jarring, cathartic metalcore. The result, while an emotional experience for the band, is also one that is going to set moshpits alight thanks to huge, rage-releasing anthems like “Godless”. Even despite the polished, slick production, and the clean, crisp melodies, hearing tracks like the opener or chuggy “Absent”, where the two worlds collide, fans of bands who already do this kind of stuff well (I Prevail, Wage War etc.), are going to lose their shit over it.

Pick up your copy of Love/Hate from here.

Essenger
‘Silence’ (feat. The Midnight)
FiXT

Normally known for his EDM/rock fusions, songwriter Essenger has turned his hand to synth-wave for new single “Silence”, a track which sees him team up with The Midnight. An unfinished track from his 2020 After Dark album, “Silence” is a fairly chilled slice of synthwave with the occasional burst of guitars melted into the mix. Taking his music down a more laid-back route from edgier material like his recent “As Above, So Below” single, “Silence” shows Essenger as a songwriter with plenty of tools in his music armoury so who knows what is going to come next?

Pick up your copy of Silence from here.