Single Slam: Darkthrone, Boundaries, Kingdom Collapse, and Blue Medusa!

Today’s single slam features Darkthrone, Boundaries, Kingdom Collapse, and Blue Medusa. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Darkthrone – Pre-Historic Metal

In a year marking the 40th anniversary of their initial formation – under the moniker Black Death – 2026 sees the return of the imperishable Norwegian duo and influential genre legends Fenriz and Nocturno Culto, their new studio album ‘Pre-Historic Metal’ set for release on 8th May via Peaceville Records. The title track is out now.

It really doesn’t get more primitive than this, and while that might seem appealing, what we get is far from that. What we get is something that seems like a parody of old-school black metal and I think it is terrible. It certainly doesn’t help that the production makes it sound like utter crap. It pains me to be so harsh, but I’d be lying if I said anything positive about this nonsense.

Boundaries – Skies cast amber black

Boundaries return with ‘Skies cast amber black’, their first new music since 2024’s Death Is Little More, and a track that channels the current cultural climate into a crushing, cinematic storm.

Says vocalist Matthew McDougal of the Drew Fulk produced track:

I have a deep desire in the pit of my making to surround and suffocate the growing plague of people’s self-interest. Given the chance, I’d remove every ego from the music landscape and burn it off for fuel to power blood hungry behemoths whose only goal is to crush and disable. This song is my plea to cleanse a community I adore of people who see it only as an opportunity or a stepping stone.

A noisy blast of ragged intensity that lacks finesse, Boundaries new track is a bit of mess, but it does have heavy appeal. They’re raging and that is awesome, particularly the vocals, but damn it if the mix doesn’t hurt things. I am no expert, and maybe that’s how they wanted it to be (it is raw), but that’s just head-scratching. I reckon it will seriously go off live though. Check it out here.

Kingdom Collapse – Watch You Bleed

Kingdom Collapse create the soundtrack to survival. The San Antonio, TX hard rock band alchemizes unfathomable tragedy, trauma, and loss into their new single ‘Watch You Bleed’.

Declares vocalist Jonathan Norris:

‘Watch You Bleed’ wrestles with the desire for revenge and realization that holding onto that negativity only ends up hurting yourself in the end.

Brilliantly anthemic, and not just because of its infectious hard rock elements. No, a serious part of the track’s appeal comes via the passion, relatability, and authenticity on offer. Kingdom Collapse throw their all into this one and deliver big singalong moments, a soaring chorus, and plenty of reasons to bang your head and shake your ass. Check it out here.

Blue Medusa – Checkmate

Internationally acclaimed vocalist Alissa White-Gluz returns with ‘Checkmate’, the new single from her band, Blue Medusa.

Says Alissa White-Gluz:

This is a song where everything just clicked. Checkmate is an extremely cathartic song for me. It was created in one of those flow states where the lyrics and melodies and rhythms just write themselves and you get the feeling that you’re onto something powerful. It’s probably the heaviest thing I’ve written in terms of lyrics, and probably the lightest of what we have cooking in terms of sound. I wanted to share the intensity of these feelings with fans and give them something to hold onto. I’m so happy to see so much support for Blue Medusa already; fans can look forward to more dark, heavy, brutal and haunting music very soon.

Watch our world, Blue Medusa are here, and they are going to dominate metal. Ignore the gnashing and wailing of sexist idiots, this goes hard. Fast, furious, technical, and very addictive. Alissa’s vocals are fantastic too, blending clean and harsh effortlessly, resulting in something downright anthemic.