Metal Blade Records have delivered another heavy round of new music, with Australian thrashers Harlott, Swedish heavy metal titans RAM and Danish metallers Gradience all pushing toward major upcoming releases.
From politically charged Australian thrash, to classic heavy metal rebellion, to a wild collision of metal, trap, rap and blackened atmosphere, this latest Metal Blade run has plenty for heavy music fans to sink into.
Harlott Present New Single “The Joyful Stain”
Long-running Australian thrashers Harlott have released their latest single “The Joyful Stain”, taken from their upcoming full length Exsequiis, set for release on September 11 via Metal Blade Records.
Preorders:
https://metalblade.com/harlott
The band comments:
“‘The Joyful Stain’ is an homage to ‘the lucky country’ that we call home; a second-rate first-world dystopia governed by corruption, stupidity, and indifference.”
That pretty much tells you where Harlott are aiming with this one. Sharp, angry and very much looking at the world around them, “The Joyful Stain” continues the band’s run toward Exsequiis with venom in its teeth.
After a six year gap, Exsequiis is shaping up as a major leap forward for Harlott. Denser, harsher and more confident than ever, the album is built around world class guitar work, relentless forward momentum and lyrics that cast a hard eye over a bitterly divided world.
Guitarist and vocalist Andrew Hudson explains:
“Detritus Of The Final Age was a great experience in digging out sounds and ideas that we would have been too trepidant to explore. For Exsequiis, we went further into that, but with the confidence that it would work as it had done before.”
Hudson also speaks to the band’s songwriting mindset, noting:
“Whether it’s lyrics or riffs or breakdowns, I always make sure that every song has at least one bit that makes you go ‘fuck yeeeeah.’”
With Exsequiis, Harlott have clearly doubled down on that approach. The record looks set to stack those moments across its full runtime, while still holding onto the band’s own identity as one of Australia’s most consistent and punishing thrash exports.
There are nods to the wider thrash lineage in the mix too, with moments that call back to the fire of Arise era Sepultura, the groove of 90s Overkill, touches of Testament technicality and the communal bite of crossover gang chants. But at the centre of it all, Harlott sound locked in, sharpened and ready to take a few heads off.
Lyrically, the band remain grounded in the depressingly real world rather than running toward fantasy or escapism.
Hudson adds:
“It’s been a pretty interesting time to live through politically and socially. Disinformation appears to be the new normal and a population obsessed with content creation and online participation has really exposed some things that I think we were all probably happier being ignorant of.”
RAM Announce New Album Against And Release “Ghost Emperor”
Swedish heavy metal titans RAM will release their new full length Against on October 9 via Metal Blade Records.
The first single, “Ghost Emperor”, is out now with an accompanying video.
Preorders:
https://metalblade.com/ram
It has been nearly seven years since The Throne Within, an album shaped by spiritual and metaphysical themes. With Against, RAM take a more grounded and defiant approach, focusing on the experience of being pushed past reasonable limits and refusing to comply.
The album captures that moment of resistance, that fire of defiance that ultimately defines both the title and the message.
For the production, RAM reunited with longtime collaborator Johan Reiven, who previously worked with the band on Lightbringer in 2009. Without their own studio, after selling Black Path Studios, the band recorded at Studio Recordia in Varberg, Sweden.
Singer Oscar Carlquist says:
“At first, I wasn’t really comfortable not being in my own domain. But Johan is a far better sound tech than me and he did a wonderful job. We recorded the solos in a cool new way, as we set up two amps, one wet with a lot of effects and one dry with no effects. They were both mic’d up separately and they played into the enormous recording room in Recordia that is 150 square meters, where we placed two room mics left and right.”
That approach gives Against a rich, organic character, built around classic recording philosophy rather than over-polished modern production. The inspiration comes from early Dio, MSG and Sweet, aiming for a sound that feels honest, direct and alive.
In a metal landscape that continues to split into endless subgenres, RAM are not interested in chasing labels or trends.
Carlquist states:
“We do not give a fuck about all these new strange subgenres popping up. We try to play heavy metal in its purest form. We try to hang on to the center of that energy, and we are completely uninterested in 99% of the metal scene.”
That says a lot about where Against is coming from.
Lead single “Ghost Emperor” opens the album and arrives as a straightforward classic heavy metal strike. According to Carlquist, the track deals with hidden power structures and unseen rulers pulling strings behind the curtain.
Carlquist comments:
“This is the opener of the album, a straightforward classic heavy metal song and pure RAM. Lyrically, it deals with how our power structures exist to conceal the true rulers, the ones we will never see or know, pulling the strings behind the curtain and controlling us all.”
Gradience Share “Undone” Ahead Of Debut Album Anomaly
Danish metal outfit Gradience have released their latest single “Undone”, taken from their upcoming debut full length Anomaly, set for release on September 4 via Metal Blade Records.
Preorders:
https://metalblade.com/gradience
Vocalist Gavin Mistry says:
“‘Undone’ is about not keeping my negative thoughts unspoken — about saying them out loud when I’m trapped in a dark thought pattern. It’s about realizing you don’t have to deal alone with finding and fixing all your flaws but allowing your friends and loved ones to be there for you. To let them help you and not stand in the way of others helping you navigate your negative mind.”
On Anomaly, Gradience are not easing into things quietly. The Danish outfit blur the line between apocalyptic, sludgy blackened death metal and dark urban trap rap, building a sound that is heavy, modern, emotional and deliberately hard to box in.
The record pushes extreme metal growls, fierce rhythms, emotive vocal lines, trap energy, glacial synths and hypnotic sonic details into one volatile space. For listeners who like their heavy music neatly categorised, this might throw a few curveballs. For those who like bands willing to smash boundaries and build something of their own, Gradience sound like a very interesting one to watch.
The project grew out of an immediate creative connection between Gavin and guitarist Jakob Lærke Harris, who met at a Copenhagen show for local deathcore band Cabal in 2022.
Gavin had previously been signed to Sony in Denmark with his grunge, rock and trap duo KXDS, while also having a background in underground hip hop. Jakob recognised the potential straight away.
Jakob says:
“It was an immediate musical and creative match. I admired Gavin’s vivid lyrics and his ease, switching between delicate melody lines and hard flows; it just opened so many doors to explore in the songwriting process.”
That creative spark sits right at the core of Gradience. There is real “planets aligning” energy in the way the band bring these elements together, with drummer Frederik Kjelstrup Hansen and bassist Patrick Petersen adding plenty of force to the rhythm section.
Metal Hammer Germany praised Anomaly, saying:
“With a skillful blend of rap, metalcore, and black metal, the quartet goes a step further than well-known rap metal acts and weaves dark, atmospheric black metal riffs into trap beats and powerful breakdowns.”
Rock Hard Germany adds:
“The raw power of the guitars and double bass meets hard-hitting flows, emotional melodies, and hypnotic electronic elements. In terms of quality, Gradience can easily hold their own against the bigger names in the genre.”
Anomaly will be released on CD, LP and digital formats.
Final Word
This latest Metal Blade Records wrap up really covers a wide heavy spectrum.
Harlott are sharpening the blade for Exsequiis with furious Australian thrash and a bleak stare into the modern world. RAM are standing firm with pure heavy metal defiance on Against. Gradience are tearing down genre walls with Anomaly, bringing together metal, trap, rap, blackened atmosphere and emotional honesty in a way that feels fresh and fearless.
Three bands. Three very different approaches. One heavy batch of new music from Metal Blade Records.
