Single Slam: Machine Head, Last Hyena, Eyes, Nightfall, Those Damn Crows, Wallowing x Tayne, Cober Mouth, Orthodox, Wednesday 13, and Alien Weaponry!

Today’s single slam features Machine Head, Last Hyena, Eyes, Nightfall, Those Damn Crows, Wallowing x Tayne, Cober Mouth, Orthodox, Wednesday 13, and Alien Weaponry. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Machine Head – UNBØUND

For over three decades, the personification of determination, founder/vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn, has led Bay Area icons Machine Head on an uncompromising path – one fuelled by defiance, reinvention, and a relentless pursuit of evolution. UNATØNED, the band’s eleventh album, will be unleashed to the world on April 25th via Nuclear Blast Records. UNATØNED is a testament to momentum, an album honed to its sharpest edge, forged on creative discipline and the hunger to push forward. To mark the announcement, the band has also revealed the first single, ‘UNBØUND’.

Come on… it’s all about that riff now, isn’t it? I think we can all agree on that. Although hopefully we can also agree that this is a banger metal track overall and a great showcase of this band as they stand in 2025. Forward thinking, but still so capable of embracing their past. Those cleans are so reminiscent of Machine Head of old, and when complimented by furious growls and frantic instrumentation, the result is satisfying.

Last Hyena – Make It Sound French

‘Make It Sound French’ is the new single from Bristol’s instrumental-rock trio Last Hyena. It follows 2021’s debut album, ‘How Soon is Mars?’, which received critical acclaim for its innovative sound and emotional depth.

Discussing what they hoped to achieve with the track the band explain:

With ‘Make It Sound French’, we wanted to explore the emotional weight of complex situations purely through music. It’s a deeply personal piece for us, with the absence of words inviting a more universal experience, where the music itself speaks directly to the emotions we all go through. The track builds from intricate guitar textures, driving rhythms to moments of cathartic release, using dynamic shifts and thoughtful builds to express the tension between disorder and serenity aiming to create a sonic representation of the process of working through inner chaos and ultimately finding clarity.

This is great, but what else should we expect from a band that consistently delivers big instrumental hits? This new single is a journey, a powerful journey with intense quirks throughout, showcasing all the nuances that come with the feelings that the band aim to portray. It’s very cleverly done, and impressively anthemic too. Check it out here.

Eyes – Better

Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, Eyes will make their Prosthetic debut with their third full length album, titled ‘Spinner’. Taken from the forthcoming album, the single ‘Better’ is out now.

Says the band:

Better is in many ways a statement of intention for the album. It’s short and intense. The song is about wanting to improve as a musician, as a band, as a person. But no matter what your intentions are, there will always be someone who will put you down. Sometimes that person is yourself.

It’s always impressive when a band can make an impact in such a short amount of time. Even more so when their message is on point, and you’re left thinking about it afterwards. Eyes does all this in a single minute, while also delivering some nasty noise and hyperactive raw intensity. That’s very cool, a great introduction to the upcoming new album.

Nightfall – I Hate

Since 1991, Nightfall have stood alongside Rotting Christ and Septicflesh as the pioneering trinity of Greek metal. Now, the blackened death metal band emerge again with their eleventh album, ‘Children of Eve’, their darkest and most epic creation yet. It is out on May 2nd, 2025, via Season of Mist, and the album’s lead single I Hate is out now.

Grandiose as ever, while being harsh and heavy in classic blackened death metal style, the legend of Nightfall grows stronger when we have epics like this to enjoy. Showcasing a vibrant extreme sound layered with melody and clean chants. It’s powerful, but that’s all part of the Nightfall DNA. Check it out here.

Those Damn Crows – Dreaming

Bridgend-based, salt-of-the-earth rockers Those Damn Crows are not a group to rest on their laurels, gearing up for the release of their new album by unveiling ‘Dreaming’, a new single and video. It is an epiphanic voyage of discovery, taken from the forthcoming album ‘God Shaped Hole’, due out April 11th via Earache Records.

Asked about the track, frontman Shane Greenhall explains:

Dreaming… is a song about the moment you realise you’re no longer mentally and emotionally locked up. When you stop the guilt, suffering, and self-sabotage, your dreams, perspective, and reality change simultaneously.

On brand for Those Damn Crows, this new single has a ton of heart and soul in it and continues to show that the new album is going to be very dynamic overall. It’s sweet, it’s melodic, it has got great vocals, some big riffs, a strong guitar solo, and a solid chorus. There’s no surprises, but there’s nothing disappointing either. Check it out here.

Wallowing x Tayne – Ancient Sorcery

What happens when you mix the intergalactic chaos of Wallowing with the industrial pulse of Tayne? You create a black hole on such a scale that it swallows up everything in its path, aka their new single, ‘Ancient Sorcery’.

The collaboration we never knew we needed, and the collaboration of the year, no doubt. All because it’s two unique entities coming from different ends of the industrial spectrum, running head-first into each, but rather than exploding, they implode into each other. Merging to create a twisted visage that is liable to send most minds spiralling into madness. It’s the kind of noise you can’t help but be drawn too, even if its allure is impossible to comprehend. It’s a very special track, and leaves you wanting to hear more that this perverse beast might have to offer. Please?

Cober Mouth – Steride

Much-rated Brit newcomers Cober Mouth continue their swift ascent armed with their towering new single and video, ‘Steride’.

A stompy blast of modern metal that has hardcore intensity warped by effects throughout. Cober Mouth have gone the full-on aggressive route here, delivering a track that snarls and snaps as though it has a point to prove. It slams hard, over and over again. Check it out here.

Orthodox – Commit to Consequence

Nashville heavy hitters Orthodox have dropped their chaotic new single ‘Commit to Consequence’ featuring Comeback Kid vocalist Andrew Neufeld via Century Media Records.

Frontman Adam Easterling shares:

‘Commit to Consequence’ is about taking accountability for the wrongs you’ve done and dealing with the fallout; delivered through the extreme metaphor of finding out if your skull is bullet proof.

A fast and frenzied experience that is all about the vocal delivery, especially as it features Comeback Kid vocalist Andrew Neufeld. The word that comes to mind is ‘chaos’ and for around two and a half minutes, Orthodox create some beautiful pandemonium.

Wednesday 13 – When the Devil Commands

After returning in 2022 with his widely acclaimed full-length album Horrifier (#8 US Top New Artist Albums), as well as several major tours supporting his solo work and celebrated Murderdolls reunion shows, world-renowned fearsome frontman Wednesday 13 is back with another slew of harbingers of horror to slay the masses. His new full-length album, ‘Mid Death Crisis’, is set to drop on 25th April 2025 via Napalm Records. The album’s first single, ‘When the Devil Commands’ has been unleased, alongside a raucous and blasphemous new music video.

Wednesday 13 comments:

Growing up in the 80s, I remember the satanic panic of heavy metal music and parents’ concern over what their kids were listening to. My mother was constantly checking my cassettes and making sure I wasn’t possessed by the devil. Most of the music that I listened to never had any of those themes, but they were just accused of it. So when writing the lyrics to this song, I wrote what I thought would terrify my mother if she had stumbled upon this music. I wanted the lyrics to be upfront and leave no question as to what they were about… the Devil. This song is done in a fun spirit, and we don’t plan on burning any churches in the future.

As predictable as ever, Wednesday 13 returns with a bland and cringe-inducing ‘twisted’ take on heavy rock music, ala everything the artist has done to date. It’s Wednesday 101, except more lifeless than usual, and lacking any kind of hook. It’s not a bad song by conventional standards, but damn, is it boring. We should all expect better, and even the salacious video is humdrum. Check it out here.

Alien Weaponry – 1000 Friends

New Zealand modern groove metal trio Alien Weaponry recently announced their heaviest, most powerful and mature album to date, ‘Te Rā’, released 28th March 2025 via Napalm Records. Now, following the release of the album’s acclaimed first single, ‘Mau Moko’, the band returns again with second single, ‘1000 Friends’. Warning of the looming societal division and hidden dangers created by social media dependency.

Frontman Lewis Raharuhi de Jong says about ‘1000 Friends’:

‘1000 Friends’ encapsulates the shifting way we socialize today, and the impact it has on the human psyche. We can often feel disconnected from the outside world. The human mind wasn’t built to comprehend the world we are currently living in.

Is this an evolution? Considering it sounds more like a melodic metalcore track from the mid-noughties, it feels more like a devolution. Not to suggest that it isn’t a banger though, because it is, it’s just a little bit unexciting for this band. It does show they’ve got more strings to their bow though, and all the parts (instruments and vocals) are sounding so strong again. Maybe this new album is going to be more varied than expected.