The V13 Fix #009 w/ Boundaries, Sum 41, Devon Thompson 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…

Divided
‘Light Will Shine’
Dunk!records

Fellow countrymen Brutus shone a huge light on the Belgian post-hardcore/shoegaze scene with their stunning Unison Life album and it seems that they aren’t the only band from Belgium producing quality material. Divided’s debut album, Light Will Shine lunges into life immediately grabbing your attention with abrasive guitars grind over a tense, anxious atmosphere. Vocalist/drummer Pepijn Vandaele uses the band as a vehicle to channel his fears and anxieties with his bandmates providing the soundtrack through swathes of lung-crushingly heavy Converge-inspired grooves.

Pick up your copy of Light Will Shine online here.

Fortune Teller
‘Premonitions’
Self-Release

The stunning valleys of Wales aren’t the sort of place you would normally associate with the day-glo world of pop-punk but that all changed when Wrexham lads Neck Deep burst onto the scene. Since then there has been a plethora of Welsh pop-punk bands emerging and now it’s the turn of Rhondda Valley’s crew Fortune Teller to get our feet tapping with their big pop-punk hooks. Inspired by the likes of Knuckle Puck, Sum 41 and, of course, Neck Deep, Premonitions sinks its hooks in straight from the getgo and while it pulls every trick out of the pop-punk rulebook, tracks like “Problematic” deserve a chance to get lapped up by the excitable pop-punk scene.

Pick up your copy of Premonitions online here.

Venues
‘Transcience’
Arising Empire

In recent years there seems to have been a wave of modern metalcore pouring out of Europe with the latest band to join the raft of bands being German quartet Venues. A dual-vocal assault, their new album, Transcience, is a swirling cocktail of almost poppy synths and neck-loosening metal riffery. Entwined amid the catchy, crystal-clean music is the clean / scream vocal work of Lela and Robin. The former provides a soaring set of cleans that wouldn’t look out of place on any Euro Synth/Metal album while the latter has a roar that could strip pain. With the guitars providing a mix of classic, galloping almost traditional Euro heavy metal riffery alongside more metalcore crunch, Transcience is an album that offers plenty to the kind of modern metal fan who still lends their ear to the classics.

Pick up your copy of Transcience online here.

Chasing Kites
‘Collide’ [Single]
Memphia Music

A love story with a twist, “Collide”, the new single from Bristol indie-rock chaps Chasing Kites, sees vocalist and lyricist Matthew Donnelly exploring the story of how his parents fell in love under unusual circumstances. Played out to a soundtrack of 80s-inspired synths and Catfish & The Bottleman familiar melodic indie rock, “Collide” shows that, while Chasing Kites might still be a band in the early stages of their career, there is enough maturity and quality in the songwriting within their ranks to push them on to much bigger things.

Pick up your copy of Collide online here.

Neversaid
‘Bond Over Blood’ [EP]
Self-Release

Even now, twenty years since its explosion into alt culture, 2000’s emo is still having a huge impact on modern alternative culture and music. Citing the likes of The Used and My Chemical Romance as inspiration London emo-punk trio Neversaid kick and scream their way into your face with their new brash, rowdy four-track EP. Following on from their Getting Better debut, Bond Over Blood is packed with themes of anger, frustration and disappointment as the London three-piece smash through their bruising, cathartic, rough-around-the-edges emotional punk.

Pick up your copy of Bond Over Blood online here.

Wristmeetrazor
‘Degeneration’
Prosthetic Records

Three years since their last offering, Replica of a Strange Love, misanthropic US metalcore troop Wristmeetrazor returns with Degeneration. Having taken the time to regroup and reboot, Degeneration finds the band in a suitably abrasive mood. Locked away in a remote New Jersey cabin for days on end and targeting moral, political and religious hypocrisy, it should come as no surprise to find that Degeneration is a particularly blunt, violent affair. Shifting to full-time vocalist, Justin Fornof spits razor-sharp barbs of bile at his targets over a crushing wrath-laced display of hateful, unpredictably explosive molotov cocktail of industrial, metalcore and death metal.

Pick up your copy of Degeneration online here.

Boundaries
‘Death Is Little More’
3DOT Recordings

By the time frontman Matthew McDougal howls “I fucking hate you” about a minute into “Turning Hate Into Rage”, the opening track on Boundaries third album, you will have probably clocked that Death Is Little More isn’t going to be a particularly cheery album. That being said, this cathartic, emotion-spewing slice of metallic hardcore hits every spot. Crashing riffs, huge melodies, clean vocals, blood-splattered screams and wave after wave of emotion create a sonic wall of passion. Unfiltered emotion drips from McDougal’s mouth with every savage word of every moment on this incredible record delivered like a sledgehammer to the guts.

Pick up your copy of Death Is Little More online here.

Beyond Extinction
‘Nothing More Wretched’
Dead Species Records

Originally released last year, Nothing More Wretched, the deluxe edition, comes seven months after the tragic death of guitarist Zach Scott. Showing a maturity beyond their age (the oldest member being 24), Beyond Extinction is one of the breakthrough successes of the UK metal scene in the last few years. Dark and foreboding, this mix of crushingly bleak deathcore and more traditional death metal elements, is delivered with savage precision as the rising UK heavyweights continue to go from strength to strength. A tribute to the late guitarist is planned for August 17th, head over here for more details.

Pick up your copy of Nothing More Wretched online here.

Devon Thompson
‘Skin’
Exquisite Feline

Even from her early years, it was clear Los Angeles singer-songwriter Devon Thompson had attitude. Her earliest memory was punching through a pane of glass “to see if she could”. That attitude along with teenage years cutting her teeth in various bands on the LA club scene streams through in the music of her new EP. Gritty and dark, her music reeks of the LA underground scene and while there is a poppy, as she describes it, almost saccharine taste to the melodies, make no mistake, this EP comes armed with a vicious bite.

Pick up your copy of Skin online here.

Witchgrinder
‘Nothing Stays Buried’
Self-Release

Emerging from the darkness of the Melbourne underground, industrial rock crew Witchgrinder look exactly like the kind of characters you wouldn’t want to meet alone on a dark night. Armed with their new album, the band spit Rob Zombie/Wednesday 13 trashy, industrial rock. Dripping with sleaze, Witchgrinder’s sound, attitude and aesthetics can best be summed up by their current single “Queen of Sin”. Pulsating beats, anthemic rock bangers and a dominatrix-inspired sexually-charged video capture everything you need to know about these industrial rock boogeymen.

Pick up your copy of Nothing Stays Buried online here.

Sum 41
‘Heaven :x: Hell’
Rise Records

It might be nearing the end for punk rock stalwarts Sum 41 but, as Heaven :x: Hell shows, they’re making sure they go out with a bang. Labelled as pop-punk, those who have followed the band from their early days will know they didn’t hide their love for heavy metal. Their use of galloping metal riffs in their pop-punk anthems is something they’ve made sure Heaven :x: Hell delivers. Big, loud and heavy yet stupidly catchy, the album captures every element that turned Sum 41 into worldwide stars and, in doing so, shows exactly what we’ll lose when the metal-loving, pop-punk favourites finally wrap up their career in a few months.

Pick up your copy of Heaven :x: Hell online here.

Oli Brown & The Dead Collective
‘Epilogue’ [EP]
Self-Release

Epilogue is the latest in a series of EPs from multi-award-winning Blues musician Oli Brown. Having caught the attention of rock megastars like Slash, KISS and Aerosmith, Brown has fine-tuned his already immense talents by sharing stages with the best. His latest EP continues that tradition with the four tracks demonstrating that whether it is rock, blues, acoustic or soul, Oli Brown & The Dead Collective are a group teeming with natural talent. As a showcase Epilogue sets up a mouthwatering taster for their upcoming full-length album.

Pick up your copy of online here.

Coffin Storm
‘Arcane Rising’
Peaceville Records

In terms of underground heavy metal, there can be fewer iconic labels such as Peaceville Records. Joining the roster is Norwegian heavy metal outfit Coffin Storm who feature one Fenriz on vocals. Amongst the influences staining their Arcane Rising album, Coffin Storm cite Peaceville alumni such as Paradise Lost along with Fenriz’s own Darkthrone as inspiration. Their sound is pure traditional heavy metal with a classic doomy, thrashy twist. If you’re a fan of Fenriz’ work or that of his bandmates Apollyon and Bestial Tormentor, or any of the traditional metal scene from the early 80s, Arcane Rising will make a welcome addition to your collection.

Pick up your copy of online here.