Single Slam: Cage Fight, Barrens, Asymmetric Universe, Krooked Tongue, and Eville!

Today’s single slam features Cage Fight, Barrens, Asymmetric Universe, Krooked Tongue, and Eville. You can read our thoughts about the latest singles from these bands below.

Cage Fight – IHYG (I Hate Your Guts)

UK hardcore metal bruisers Cage Fight are back with a brand-new track called ‘IHYG (I Hate Your Guts)’, out now alongside a video. The lyrics are deeply personal for frontwoman, Rachel Aspe, detailing a bleak and traumatic experience.

Vocalist Rachel Aspe comments:

IHYG is a response to a deeply traumatic experience that had a life changing impact on me. It crushed my confidence and self-worth which spiralled me to rock bottom, but I’ve become stronger and more resilient than ever. This experience inspired me to write lyrics for the first time, resulting in this song. The video tells this story.

Guitarist James Monteith adds:

Since the release of our debut album, we’ve been through some changes and significantly evolved as a unit. We’ve gotten to know each other much more musically and personally, and the result is a much more honed vision of Cage Fight. IHYG is the first taste of what’s to come. We’re also excited to finally release new music with our new bassist Will Horsman.

A powerhouse of a metallised-infused hardcore track that showcases the evolved state of mind that Cage Fight are in, while also delivering manic ferocity and furious intensity. It’s vibrant and vigorous from an instrumental perspective, but alongside that is the sound of a woman possessed. Rachel is on fire here and you’ll want to pay attention to what she has to ‘roar’ here.

Barrens – The Derelict

Swedish post-rock trio Barrens have released ‘The Derelict’, the fourth single from their forthcoming album Corpse Lights, out on 12th September via Pelagic Records.

I think it’s fair to say that this Barrens’ album is going to be a contender for one of the best of the year, and not just in the post rock world. Once again, the trio deliver something with feeling, albeit with a much thicker and doomier edge here. This is Barrens at their heaviest and at their darkest, and it is stunning. Only a band on this kind of form could deliver something so captivating. Check it out here.

Asymmetric Universe – Feather on A Glass

Founded by multi-instrumentalists Nicolò and Federico Vese, Italian progressive metal duo Asymmetric Universe has carved out a distinct space in the modern instrumental scene with a sound that seamlessly blends the aggressive intensity of metal with the rich harmonies and improvisational spirit of jazz fusion.

The band are set to release their debut album, ‘A Memory and What Came After, via InsideOutMusic’, on the 29th of August 2025. With less than a month to go before the album is released, the band have launched the track ‘Feather on A Glass’ now.

A band who defines progressive brilliance, Asymmetric Universe’ experimental sound is wholly unique and undeniably compelling. They’re a band who refuse to conform, even in the progressive world, and deliver another slice of dynamic brilliance here. Complex and clever, fascinatingly twisting melody in a way that sounds so fresh. Progressive music should not be this accessible and this listenable, but that’s Asymmetric Universe for you.

Krooked Tongue – Dog Days

Rock trio Krooked Tongue are back with their brand-new song, ‘Dog Days’, the next single to be taken from their upcoming debut album, arriving early 2026.

On the single, vocalist and lyricist Oli Rainsford explains:

‘I feel like ‘Dog Days’ is a tune that perfectly sums up that feeling of teenage love; There’s a chaotic beauty in teenage love. It’s everything and nothing all at once. We trick ourselves into thinking that this moment, right now, is all there will ever be. Blinded by the vapour of adoration. Hindsight is everything now, but the innocence of youth is everything at that time. We attach importance to things that seem so trivial now but in the moment, are our whole life. Those years are ones where we find ourselves, who we are, and those first relationships we have are cornerstones throughout the rest of our lives. Nobody forgets their first love, that’s for damn sure. There’s a nostalgia for the teen years that I think resonates with most people in their 20s and beyond. A retrospective comfort that makes us remember the weather somehow always being good. Every memory dressed in a golden hue and every moment packed with a constant stream of peers that never seemed to fade. Of course, as we get older they do; friends drift apart and relationships, despite our naivety, come and go. But to have felt the full bearing of our budding emotions at that time, as if the whole world stopped for a summer just so you could live it to the maximum is a beautiful thing.

Once again, delivering utter melodic rock gold that is fresh and exciting, while being warmly familiar, Krooked Tongue’s new single is quite lovely. Not just because it has got a vein of nostalgic emotion running through it, not just because vocalist Oli’s voice is smooth and rich, and not just because the moody melody is infinitely appealing. No, there’s also the matter of the chorus, which is so damn infectious. I love this. Check it out here.

Eville – BR4T MBL

Brighton’s self-defined ‘Brat Metal’ trio Eville, have announced their debut EP ‘BRAT METAL’, set for release on October 17th. The announcement is made ahead of the band’s hotly anticipated appearance at this year’s Reading and Leeds Festival.

Leading the charge is new single ‘BR4T MBL’ (pronounced brat mobile), inspired by Fast & Furious, Need for Speed, and the hyper-feminine aesthetics of Y2K icons like Paris Hilton.

Speaking of the track, vocalist Eva Sheldrake shares:

We wanted to write an empowering song that puts women in the driver’s seat for a change.

The rise to the top is in full force now and moving at speed, which is a summation of this manic dance-inducing head banger of a track too. Eville have kept it simple here, but in doing so, has created an experimental banger that is very infectious. Did I mention it comes with a killer breakdown? The hype is real.