New Eternal Champion EP! 2 tracks, 31 minutes. One track metal, one track synths/harps. Shades of Blood Incantation's Timewave Zero where they honed that style ready to incorporate into a full album If Eternal Champion do the same, their album later this year could be amazing.

New Music Friday is here! Absolute metal kings Lamb of God return with hard groove grit, Sweet Pill and Shoreline bring the poppy punky warmth, UnityTX deliver nu metal hardcore tinged aggression and Monstrosity do Monstrosity things. heavydistortionuk.substack.com/p/friday-13t...

More UK releases! NWOBHM band More return after 44 years, hardcore punks Grail Guard highlight the problems in UK society, Desert Storm riff hard while death metallers Crowsblood & black metaller Nine Spears bring extreme debuts of extreme quality. heavydistortionuk.substack.com/p/6th-march-...

Wooo! New Release Friday! 6th March 2026 isn't the biggest release day for name recognition, but there's still bangers to hear. Bit of fun (Machinae Supremacy & Lost Society), Bit of bleak (Vreid & Temple of Void), Bit of raging punk (Surfbort & Vial) heavydistortionuk.substack.com/p/new-releas...

As part of my UK releases update for this week I listened to deathcrash and Blunt Knife Castration. One band sounds exactly how you'd guess and the other completely doesn't I love both. When the name lowers your guard or when it perfectly describes the band. Any other examples?

God damn there's a lot of albums out this week! In the first "Heavy Distortion UK" UK round up are: Cryptic Shift, deathcrash, Phoenix Lake, Blunt Knife Castration, No Murder No Moustache, Gladium Regis, wears me out and Unburier heavydistortionuk.substack.com/p/27th-febru... #UKMetal #UKRock

New Releases on one of the busiest days of the year for new releases so far. Headline releases this week come from Rob Zombie, Carpenter Brut, Nothing and A Wilhelm Scream. #NewReleaseFriday #Rock #Metal heavydistortionuk.substack.com/p/new-releas...

New Release Friday for 20th February may not have some of the behemoth bands of the last month or so but the quality remains high. Particular highlights are Sylosis, Trauma Ray, Worm Shepherd and Exhumed. Check out the substack post for more detail! heavydistortionuk.substack.com/p/new-releas...

Friday the 13th. Unlucky for some but not for me. Some great albums out today including the long awaited new album from Hardcore icons Converge, happier hardcore from AngelDu$t, TX2 bringing a 2026 sound and Worm in a Symphonic Black Metal Castle #NewReleaseFriday #Metal #Rock

Maynard James Keenan's Puscifer, Black Metal daddies Mayhem, Silversun Pickups and the absolute lads of karnivool? Pretty great first release of February...

Happy New Release Day! It's the end of January! You made it! Good job! New music from Joyce Manor, Softcult, Møl and Urne are all worth your time today For more detail and in depth release list check out my new substack heavydistortionuk.substack.com #NewMusicFriday #Metal #NewMusic

It's Friday! The biggest release today is the final album by thrash gods Megadeth. The other biggies are in modern metalcore with Poppy's Empty Hands and Crystal Lake's The Weight of Sound. Also of note is Prog Metal band Texture's first release in 10 years with Genotype

I just had an MRI Scan and god damn, that machine was pumping out the Industrial Noise album of 2026

16th Jan 2026, Let's go! Lot of releases today, but the biggest of the bunch comes from German thrashers Kreator with their 16th album Krushers of the World Pictured top left, clockwise: Ov Sulfer- Endless Soen - Resiliance Kreator - Krushers of the World Blanket - True Blue

Poison The Well have announced their first album in 17 years. "Peace in Place" releases on the 20th March and lead single "Thoroughbreds" is available youtu.be/jkNroy6Tvy4?... I'm pleased they're back and making their brand of atypical metalcore. Also, Versions is a masterpiece

I love seeing metal in unexpected places www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/1... Converge in the bedroom, Full of Hell/Cruelty on the fridge and Anal Cunt in the dining room. A thing of beauty.

Damnation Festival. What an absolute beaut of a weekend. The first bands have been announced for 2026 and it looks tasty as ever. Im pumped for Rwake and Lamp of Murmuur after their killer albums last year, chuck in seeing a reformed Gorerotted? Icing on the cake. Nice one.

Checking out the Lionheart album Valley Of Death II and Chewing Through The Leash comes on. Absolute rager of a chorus. There are few things in hardcore music better than a man shouting "Oh Yeah" at you and making dog noises. youtu.be/Nlnjh0Gh0sg?...

More releases? Yes please. Calling All Captains - The Things That I've Lost (Punky Post Hardcore) Six Going On Seven - Human Tears (First album in over 20 years for Indie Emo Rockers) Ruins Of Beverast - Tempelschlaf (Black Metal) Bullet - Kickstarter (Veteran Heavy Metal)

Welcome to 9th January 2026! Here's the headline releases: Alter Bridge - Alter Bridge (Radio Hard Rock) The Protomen - Act III: This City Made Us (Megaman Themed Rock Opera) Lionheart - Valley Of Death II (Rugged Hardcore) Beyond the Black - Break The Silence (Symphonic Metal)

Fuath - III Genre: Frosty Black Metal Excellent 90s style black metal, which provides exactly what I needed for the first week back to work after Christmas. Melancholic, savage and atmospheric Fave Track: Embers of the Fading Age Full review in images #BlackMetal #Metal #HDUK

Good Morning! Some highlights from the first release week of 2026. Some excellent stuff to start the year off right: - Paleface Swiss - The Wilted EP - Ulver - Neverland - Ellende - Zerfall - Fuath - III #NewReleases #Metal #Rock #BlackMetal #HDUK

Welcome to 2026! Starting Monday, I'll be posting all sorts of Rock/Metal adjacent things including: - Reviews/Recommendations - Release Previews - UK Music/Tour News - Hot Button Topics and Polls Im excited to share music i love and hope I hear back from a bunch of you HDUK

Blind Equation's A Funeral In Purgatory is the Heavy Distortion UK Album of 2025. Let me know your thoughts on these albums and please let me know your favourite Albums of 2025! Thanks for reading and see you all next year! #AOTY2025 #2026 #Metal #HDUK

1. Blind Equation - A Funeral In Purgatory Genre: Emo Cybergrind Dungeon Synth? It's my album of the year because it sounds so unique, so we'll crafted and being honest just appeals to my interests in a way no album in recent memory has. Very 2000s coded in the best way possible

2. Deafheaven - Lonely People With Power Genre: Blackgaze One of the most important bands of the modern era deliver an album to remind everyone who the fuck they are. Beautiful, violent and meticulous. A capsule of their career to date. The Kings Top Tracks: Doberman, Revelator

3. Decline of the I - Wilhelm Genre: Avant Garde Black Metal 45 minutes of experiental black metal, electronics, poetry and ambient passages. Crucially, it delivers on the metal. When it goes hard, it goes fucking hard. Absolute Masterpiece Fave track: L'alliance Des Rats

4. Trauma Bond - Summer Ends Some Are Long Gone Genre: Grindcore After a summoning ritual style intro, you get pure blistering blasts of violence. Vocals shift between a Godflesh demon and a banshee tormenting you as your head is caved in. Bliss. Fave Track: Chewing Fat

5. Spiritworld - Helldorado Genre: Rootin' Tootin' Hardcore Thrash Like if Slayer soundtracked Red Dead Redemption, this album is a mix of country/western and metal. The balance between is perfect with both sides getting time to shine. Just a rager. Fave tracks: Abilene Grime

6. Callous Daoboys - I Don't Want To See You In Heaven Genre: Theatre Kid Screamo All over the place in the best way possible. Lots of style, lots of hooks, lots of silly fun! This album throws the kitchen sink of ideas at it. Wonderful maximalism Fave track: Full Moon Guidance

7. Creeper - Sanguivore II Genre: Glammy Goth Rock Vampire concept album which spends a lot of time homaging the 80s. Huge choruses, big riffs, massive solos and dual vocalists that shine together and alone. Leather Jackets and Fangs Fave Tracks: Headstones, Mistress of Death

8. Crippling Alchoholism - Camgirl Genre: Goth NoiseRock Equal parts harrowing and depressing, this is a concept album touching on various themes, none of them pleasant. The vocals are skin crawling, while the music menaces and threatens throughout Fave tracks: Bedrot, Pay Pigs

9. Health - Conflict DLC Genre: Cum Metal Another set of industrial bangers from Health. Songs that'll make you shake your hips while getting makeup ruining tears on your corset. Mechanised chaos surrounds deeply human, deeply bleak lyrics. Fave Tracks: Vibe Cop, You Died

10. Homefront - Watch it Die Genre: Punk New Wave I adore it when an album does something you've not heard before. Homefront have created an Oi Punk Gothy 80s New Wave album. When you hear that described sounds like a mess. But the songwriting is so strong it just works.

11. Stray From The Path - Clockworked Genre: Hardcore Final album from an insanely consistent band. Hooks, shout along choruses and unsubtle lyrics a plenty. They aren't political messages. They're common sense. RIP SFTP Fave Tracks: Clockworked, Can I Have Your Autograph?

12. Dreamwake - The Lost Years Genre: Synthwavy Metalcore 80s Synthwave paired with Progressive Djenty Metalcore shouldn't work. But it does and it slaps. Even with a few saxophone solos it all still feels like a cohesive immersive package. Im shocked too. Fave Track: Daydream

13. Turnstile - Never Enough Genre: Slacker Hardcore Probably the biggest hardcore band in history. The chill parts are effortlessly cool but when the riffs boot off, it's impossible to resist the urge to bang your head or jump around like a dickhead. Fave Tracks: Birds, Sole

14. Autumn Nostalgie - Metanoia Genre:Blackgaze Frosty, beautiful, black metal with shoegaze. Blackgaze isn't new but it's delivered to an insanely high standard here. Gruff growls and tremolo lines just add to the sensation of snowblindness Fave Track: Shrouded by Fading Years

15. Knives - Glitter Genre: Jazzy Hardcore Hardcore with shouty duel vocals and thicc bass. But the secret sauce is the duel saxophones which provide rhythms and solos adding wild, discordant mania to each song. No one sounds like Knives. They're rad. Fave Track: Public Juice

16. Spiritbox - Tsunami Sea Genre: Metalcore Another album where I float blissfully, this time washing up on a cold shore. Hype surround Spiritbox but theyve delivered again. Nothing too different from past releases but still executed expertly Fave track: A Haven with Two Faces

17. Astronoid - Stargod Genre: Dreamy Space Rock This album just makes me happy. A euphoric proggy album with twinkly keys, big choruses and a feeling of floating in space just before the rocket boosters fire. Retro futurism has never felt this joyous Fave Track: Third Shot

18. Steröid - Chainmail Commandos Genre: Punk/NWOBHM Do you like songs about rocking? Do you like energetic Punky riffs? Do you like weird Chipmunk vocals? Then boy do I have an album for you. 11 tracks, 30 minutes, all about how cool rockin' is. Pure fun Fave Track: After Dawn

19. Bleeding Through - Nine Genre: Metalcore (The Good Kind) Somehow still criminally underrated, Nine rips as every previous BT release has and nine albums in they're still trying new things with Marta taking more vocals. Hard as fuck, as always Fave Tracks: Our Brand is Chaos

20. Lamp of Murmuur - Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy Genre: Epic Black Metal Moving from ice blasts to a scorched majesty, this is another step up and cements Lamp of Murmuur as a leader in the scene. The way new sounds are incorporated is a thrill each time (The Panpipe Synths <3)

21. Infectious Jelqing/DJ Smokey - Nuclear Slam Division Genre: Slam Slop The same day DJ Smokey was nominated for a Grammy he co-released this EP of Slam, Dance & HipHop. It fucking rips acoustic Pig Squeal Trap Ballad and all. For single dads only. Top Track: Shadow Wizard..

22. Employed to Serve - Fallen Star Genre: Metal Ragers Britain's most consistent riff dealers put out another excellent collection of headbangers. A few great guest spots add extra seasoning to yet another banger of an album Fave Tracks: Atonement (Feat Will Ramos), Treachery

23. Die Spitz - Something to Consume Genres: 90s Alt Rock plus a lot more Debut which shows a variety of styles all handled expertly. One of the strengths of this album is the switch between genres and times with 80s Hard Rock, going into 90s grunge, going into 00s hooks

24. Peeling Flesh - PF Radio 2 Genre: Slam Hip-Slop Just disgusting toilet slam with blast beats and trap beats paired with hip hop samples. You know from that sentence if you'll like it. I know I did. Fave Track: Redacted and Midnight

25. Sleep Paralysis - Sleep Paralysis Genre: Avant Garde Black Metal Favourite Track: Fever Dream Piano based Black Metal isn't often my thing, but this album perfectly uses it to build dread & fear. The piano scuttles around each song like the horrific spider on the cover.

My favourite 25 albums of 2025! As promised, here are my favourite albums of 2025. Overall, it's been a fun year for new music, with a few big name bands impressing and a lot of underground smaller bands making their mark. So without further ado #HDUK #AOTY #Metal #Alt