The V13 Fix #006 w/ Midnight, Ashes of Billy, Norah Jones 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…

Skeletal Remains
‘Fragments of the Ageless’
Century Media

Having smashed the faces off the metal scene in 2020 with their savage The Entombment of Chaos disc, Skeletal Remains are back, renergized, and going at it full throttle. A ferocious death metal assault, new disc Fragments of the Ageless pulls no punches as it hurtles through nine tracks of skin flaying brutality. Chris Monroy provides the acid-gargling vocals while the band, including Monroy on guitars, deliver a blur of blastbeats and blistering leads. There is no let up from the moment “Relentless Appetite” opens up this disgusting death metal assault so strap in and prepare for death metal exactly how it should be played.

Pick up your copy of Fragments of the Ageless from here.

Floya
‘Yume’
Arizing Empire

If your music collection can best be described as “varied”, then German duo Floya are going to fit right in. Having set out to explore sound aesthetics across every genre, following one simple mantra: there are no limits. For the Yume debut the pair, comprising of Phil Bayer on vocals and Marv Wilder on guitar wanted to create an album bigger than them. So, have they created that? Well, Yume certainly fits under the category of expansive. From EDM to modern rock, tracks like “Willows” and “Epiphany” are pristine and dreamy although it has to be said that, when the pair switch things up a bit, Yume will end up sitting comfortably in any “alternative rock” Spotify playlist.

Pick up your copy of Yume from here.

Norah Jones
‘Visions’
Blue Note Records

GRAMMY winning singer, songwriter, and pianist Norah Jones is returning with Visions, the ninth album in her solo career and finds the much-loved songwriter in happier place. As the quiet sound of seagulls fades away in the background of opening track “All This Time”, that moment alone epitomises the carefree, relaxed vibe this record gives off. Showing a different state of mind to the lockdown-era material Jones, along with collaborator Leon Michels, takes a chilled approach to this album and it comes as no surprise to read that much of the material on Visions came from jamming sessions between her and Michels. An uncomplicated album, Jones said of Visions that it was about “wanting to be free, to dance and accept what life brings.” If ever there was an album to make you appreciate those things, Visions is that album.

Pick up your copy of Visions from here.

Ancient Teeth
‘Humanizer’

Ancient Teeth describe their sound as ‘Dream Noise’ but, if you’re wondering what that is, Humanizer, their new album, encapsulates that perfectly. Opening with a blast of distorted guitars on “Feral”, Humanizer lulls you into a false sense of expectation before the fog clears and it becomes clear what “dream noise” actually is. Lucious vocals provided by Trish Robb weave effortlessly into the sounds of this record. Whether your ears are getting battered by dirty, fuzzy guitars on tracks like “Loathe” or “Ashtray” or they’re being soothed by the dreamier, semi-acoustic “Down a Hole”, you’ll want to soak up every moment. Described as a personal outlet for founder member Adrian Mottram, with the help of friends, Humanizer has turned into a quite special album.

Pick up your copy of from here.

Midnight
‘Hellish Expectations’
Metal Blade

Midnight, or one-man-army Athenar, has been churning out his brand of balls-to-the-wall filth in some form or another for two decades now. Spewed out of the Cleveland sewers, Midnight is the sound of pure musical grot. A mixture of Motorhead, Venom and the scrapings from some stinking dive bar toilet, the latest offering, Hellish Expectations, is a gobbed-up ball of rage, riffs and bile. Trashy as fuck, the likes of “Nuclear Saviour” are, in the words of the man himself, “pure testosterone meat”. A grubby, unpleasant listen, Hellish Expectations is a bullshit free zone occupied by dirty music. In otherwords, utterly essential listening.

Pick up your copy of Hellish Expectations from here.

Kelevra
‘Oneiric’
Self-Release

Dig around enough and the underground metal scene delivers some absolute diamonds. Formed in Regina, Saskatchewan back in 2009, Kelevra are one of those bands. Their new album, Oneiric, Oneiric comes from the Greek word oneiros, and means a dream. For metal fans with a wider appreciation, that dream is a collision of jackhammer modern thrash metal and expansive, progressive passages. You can pick out bits of Lamb of God and Chimaira (along with fragments of your teeth) during face-slammers like “Cleanse The Fire”, compositions which, if you have an ear fine-tuned to this sort of thing, also flow off into more epic, dramatic moments. Artfully woven into this fabric of this album, it’s this progressive side, amongst the slamming metal, which make this a gem of a listen.

Pick up your copy of Oneiric from here.

Cell Press
‘Cages’
The Ghost Is Clear Records

Written over a period of two years, this collection of bruising noise-rock outbursts from Canadian crew Cell Press sums up the rapidly changing world it was written in. An abrasive set of songs, Cages is a brutal listen which musically leans more on influences from the rougher side of the hardcore and metal worlds. Tracks like “Dark Side of the North” and “Recoil (A Collective Behaviour of Violence) tackle subjects like the lack of clean drinking water in the Northern Communities of Canada (the former) and gun control / American Mass Murder (the latter). Unsurprisingly, this raw, honest, ugly look at life, is sonically matched by a soundtrack that is equally as harsh.

Pick up your copy of Cages from here.

Exhorder
‘Defectum Omnium’
Nuclear Blast

NOLA thashers Exhorder are one of those bands never really attained the recognition afforded by thrash fans to their peers during their time as an active band. After a twenty-seven year break, the thrash outfit returned in 2019 and are now back with more pit-friendly thrashers in the form of new album Defectum Omnium. As is the case with many of their influences, Exhorder’s new material is inspired by the current state of the world. Talk of the world collapsing, religion and humanity are all familiar topics while musically, tracks like “Desensitized” are full throttle thrashers tinged with that NOLA swampy sludge. Will this album get Exhorder the recognition they deserve? It’s hard to say but for veteran thrashers, we’ll see you in the pit when the band come to town…

Pick up your copy of Defectum Omnium from here.

Before The Dawn
‘Archaic Flame’
Napalm Records

The camp of Finnish metallers Before The Dawn lay silent for a decade before the band returned in 2023 with their comeback album Stormbringers. Now, less than twelve months later, the band are back with this four track EP. Featuring 2 new songs, a cover and a live rendition of “Dying Sun”, the two tracks on the EP provide a great showcase for the Finns grandiose melodic death metal. Galloping guitars, a mix of clean and harsh vocals and just the right measure of synths, in two tracks, they capture everything you could want from a European metal band. Sitting very much in the modern camp of the genre, Archaic Flame is polished without sounding clinical while the live track and the cover are really nothing more than a bit of a bonus for fans tagged on the end.

Pick up your copy of from here.

Ashes of Billy
‘Obscene’ [EP]
Prime Collective

Without wanting to come across as patronizing but Obscene sounds way more accomplished musically than many bands of their age. A teenage trio (whose youngest member is 14) hailing from Denmark, the three-piece unashamedly channel influence from the 90s Seattle grunge scene into their music. Recent single “Feel You Around” wouldn’t have looked out of place had it have dropped onto mainstream radio back during the heydays of Nirvana, Pearl Jam et al. In fact, had Ashes of Billy emerged during that period, they would have been bona fide stars by now. However, that wasn’t the case but, far from sounding like a dated rehash, these young Danes have channelled everything that made grunge huge and brought it right into the modern day.

Pick up your copy of Obscene from here.

Domain
‘Life’s Cold Grasp’
DAZE

When a band has guest appearances from Remembering Never, Terror and Indecision on their album, you know they’re only here to do one thing and that is fuck shit up hardcore style. Unsurprisingly, coming from South Florida, the death metal influence is there as is influences from the usual suspects like Hatebreed and Slayer. What that means is that there isn’t anything new on Life’s Cold Grasp but, let’s be honest, who cares that much when you’re smashing out your own frustrations in the pit to metallic hardcore nosebreakers like “Chaos Reigns” and, ahem, “Divine Intervention”?

Pick up your copy of Life’s Cold Grasp from here.

Kill The Lights
‘Death Melodies’
Fearless Records

Comprising of former members of Bullet For My Valentine, Still Remains and Threat Signal located all over the planet, listening to modern metal crew Kill The Lights’ new album, this collective of musicians really clicks. A blend of modern metal and old school thrash, Deathless Melodies does sound like a melting pot full of ingredients of their previous bands but mix it all up and as heard on tracks like “Hear You Scream” and “Scapegoat”, the output is polished and anthemic enough for arena singalongs and snarling enough to whip up a sizeable circle pits. If ever there is evidence that long distance relationships do work, this blistering collaboration of like-minded friends is it.

Pick up your copy of Death Melodies from here.

Cold Years
‘Choke’ [Single]

Aberdeen quartet Cold Years are one of those bands whose music sounds like it comes from their surroundings. Rowdy, gritty and wearing their hearts on their sleeves, the Scottish band are back with a new album in April and their new single, “Choke”, provides a taster for A Different Life. Heading over to the equally gritty New Jersey to record the album, “Choke” is a politically-charged blast from the Scots. Sounding like it was written by a band who pored blood, sweat and tears into it, there is something so genuine, honest and from the gut about the music these four punks spit out. The band have stated that the new record is about making your own future and, listening to “Choke”, it sounds like they made the right choice.

Pick up your copy of A Different Life from here.