As the festive seasons draws to a close, bands have been waiting in the wings to hit us with some of the most intense projects of their careers thus far. Well, that’s the case for the bands we are featuring today.

Starting the new year strong all across the Asia Pacific, here are some albums and EPs you should be checking out to find musical refuge from the emotional carnage that is ripping through our planet.

DUSKMANA- SELF-PRODUCTIVE ANIMATION

DUSKMANA is a Thai metalcore act that may not quite yet be on your radar, but that’s okay. They should be now. With their first album, SELF-PRODUCTIVE ANIMATION, the band from Bangkok is striving to stand out in the currently oversaturated metalcore scene, with their sound leaning into a more unorthodox bend of the modern djent style. Moments of cinematic soundscapes, absolutely vicious vocals, melodic sing alongs and heavy as hell breakdowns, we cannot rate this one highly enough. Sixteen tracks that fly past, dragging you into an ocean of sound, DUSKMANA have managed to give a moment to every single style of metal that has ever tickled your fancy. 

REDGRAVE- Vol. 2: Reset

If you have been reading NOISE ’N’ VISUALS lately, then you will be no stranger to Singapore’s REDGRAVE. The much anticipated follow up to their EP Vol. 1: Reflect, this releaseis a melodic hardcore delight. A beautiful blend of mosh pit anthems and ambient, soulful masterpieces, Vol. 2: Reset is drenched in stirring emotion. Even the soft, sweet pieces turn into chaotic brutality and take you on a journey through the spectrum of the human heart. Anger, pain, sadness- REDGRAVE is a Lion City treasure and this EP proves that. Modulated breakdowns that tear through your headphones, two-step sections that will have you grooving and melancholic melodies that hit you right in the soul. 

Cloath- THE FALLEN GOD

Mosh music inspired by Norse Gods? Then you must be talking about Jakarta’s Cloath. The band have been dropping heat after heat over the years, but finally giving us an extended release. The Fallen God (From Odin to Ash) blends spin kicking moments with grungy bass and undeniable. There are moments of doom and gloom, combined with furious riffs that feel like a sonic embodiment of moshing in a haunted forest. Modern metalcore, with glimpses of classic and nu-metal peppered in, Cloath have hit it out the park with this new release. 

Repriever- Fracture

The Australian metalcore scene is a hard place to stand out in but Repriever are doing just that. Fracture is a constructed with obvious heart and soul. Melodies, emotion and passion drenches the release from start to finish. Blending modern modulation with some good old finished room spinning ferocity, it is hard to listen to this EP and keep still. Some notable features from David De La How from Bellehaven and Monique Pym from Reliqa turn this also into a vocal masterclass. Of course, there are some sick breakdowns along with the lovely orchestral moments, filling out this gut-wrenching, metalcore powerhouse of an EP. 

If this is how we are starting the year, then at least we can be sure the soundtrack to 2026 is going to be good!

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