Playlist for February 10 – 23, 2025

Quick playlist highlights: I’m going to start doing the playlists a little differently in the near future. Instead of making a new one each week, I’m going to have one single playlist that is continuously updated. I’ll keep the 100 most recently added songs on the playlist (so if I add 15 one week, that means the oldest 15 will be removed). This means that you won’t be able to go back and listen to a playlist from last year, which is a bummer, but I can’t have 50+ playlists crowding my Spotify anymore. Having random songs in all these playlists is also making it tough to tell which ones need to be on my “greatest heavy songs of all time” playlist that I’m still working on for you guys.

– Heavensgate – “Oblivion.”
I loved their 2023 EP and they continue to push that sound. Of all the Dealer copycats, these guys might be my favorite.

– Church Tongue – “You’ll Know It Was Me.”
I listened to this EP a few times and really enjoyed it. The vocalist is also one of the vocalists of PsychoFrame (a wild deathcore band), but Church Tongue is metalcore so it’s interesting to hear a different style from him. This song features the vocalist of Deafheaven which is super cool.

– Ameonna – “The Birth of Death.”
This is Ameonna’s third EP in the last 13 months. In case you forgot, this is Alex Koehler’s new band (he was the original vocalist of Chelsea Grin). This is solid heavy music – most similar to how he sounded on ‘Ashes To Ashes’ in 2014. I feel like a full length album has to be in the works soon.

– Killswitch Engage – “Forever Aligned.”
I think I hate this. It’s obviously not stadium rock, but it’s just like…clearly geared toward the lowest common denominator of listeners. Maybe it’s the fact that it is heavy, but there’s just so much better heavy music out there compared to this.

– Memphis May Fire – “The Other Side.”
This song also sucks. I’m just including it so I can say how insane it is that this is the EIGHTH single from Memphis May Fire’s unreleased album. There are only two unreleased songs left. The songs (other than this one) have been pretty good, but I hope this album flops because I will lose it if other bands start copying this marketing strategy.

– Bleeding Through – “Nine.”
I enjoyed their new album a lot – I almost reviewed it this week instead of Silverstein. It’s kind of like a mix of Motionless In White and Carnifex. It has a few symphonic elements and it hits pretty hard. Might actually be my favorite release from them so far.

– Orthodox – “Commit to Consequence.”
These guys are gearing up to release an album this year. They haven’t broken through yet, but I’ve enjoyed their prior work. Metallic hardcore has been back in style and their grooves might be enough to get their head out above the rest.

– Traitors – “No Witness.”
Traitors just released a new album. I haven’t listened yet, but Tyler Shelton is a beast of a vocalist. They occupy a weird spot in deathcore so it’s hard to tell if they’re trending up or down.

– Axty – “Fragile.”
There aren’t many Brazilian bands that I’m aware of, but these guys caught my attention over the last year. The heavy parts remind me of Left To Suffer and the dynamic singing is reminiscent of Landmvrks.

– Scowl – “B.A.B.E.”
I hardly ever care about hardcore punk, but Scowl’s last three singles have been so interesting. The choruses are dreamy and then the screams are razor sharp. Really cool dichotomy.

– Justice For The Damned – “The Current.”
Finally, a new song after four years. Their 2020 album was solid. Hopefully they haven’t lost too much momentum after taking such a long break.

– ten56. – “Earwig.”
It’s crazy hearing Aaron Matts go all out again. I was disappointed with how Betraying The Martyrs changed over the years, and he obviously was too. He abandoned ship at the perfect time and created something even better.

– Body Prison – “Wounds Will Heal.”
This is a super exciting young band from Australia. I’m going to go back and listen to their debut album today because their next album comes out on February 28. I really like the melancholy atmosphere of this track.