5 Modern Metal Bands You Need To Catch At Slam Dunk

Slam Dunk starts Saturday. That is approximately 40 hours away. But, who’s counting?

Summertime brings out the best in the music industry – the best releases, the best performances, and arguably, the best time time of the year. With festivals nearly every week, tucked in different parts of the world, rock festivals are becoming more and more popular.

With Sonic Temple and Welcome To Rockville kicking off the festival season in the US, Slam Dunk is leading the way within the UK and Europe. And they have a pretty killer lineup that spans pop-punk, modern rock, and – obviously – metal. A representation of the alternative scene and all of its blazing glory, here are five modern metal bands we think you need to catch at this year’s Slam Dunk festival.

1. ELECTRIC CALLBOY

Worried about missing a rave while attending Slam Dunk? Don’t bother – just hop on over to Electric Callboy‘s set. Combining this fusion of metal and techno, the band bounce through influences as if they’re wearing Moon Shoes, all while maintaining some lethal breakdowns and melodies to hum along to. The band are best described as avant-garde – out there, and definitely not palatable to everyone. For fans of Enter Shikari, the band taps into that freeform thinking of instruments and techniques people have come to adore about Enter Shikari, but instead of using such a punk base, swaps it for metal. Looking for something out there? Find your way to Electric Callboy‘s set.

2. LANDMVRKS

LANDMVRKS deserve to be bigger than they are. Their newest release, The Darkest Place I’ve Ever been has been out less than a month ago and it saw nothing less than a 8/10 from publications that reviewed it. For the most part, it scored a solid 9. It’s an intense record, bouncing between a nu-metal, thrash, and French rap sounds, channelling the raunchiest aspects of metal alongside raw grief, emphasised by the sharpness of the French language. The bilingual band show their capabilities of being showstoppers on the most recent release, causing for moments of sheer surprise, or downright shock. The Darkest Place I’ve Ever Been is unpredictable, but it’s easy to predict to LANDMVRKS will be a band to catch at Slam Dunk.

3. SCOWL

Scowl went a little shoegaze-y with their most recent record, Are We All Angels, but that hardcore structure the band was built on still stands strong. Lead vocalist Kat Moss manages to both sing like an angel and scream like a demon. Her DIY-roots haven’t led her astray as her band learned the ropes alongside her. A cohesive act that’s broken into the mainstream as well – despite their very obvious hardcore sound – that led to a performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Scowl is an act that’s not to be missed.

4. DEFECTS

Defects‘ first record is heavy – it’s genuinely to be listened to with a sound mind as lead vocalist Tony Maue recounts his childhood in which he was rehomed at a young age and forced to assimilate to new houses, to different ways of life. It’s a record full of trauma – hence, a song title like “Broken Bloodlines” – but by god, does it absolutely blast through speakers. Defects balances melody, precise riff structures, and guitar solos in a way that is truly representative of modern metal and the wave of bands that have been influenced by the bands that came before them. Bound to be an emotional set to catch, it’ll be worth it in the end.

5. IMMINENCE

Cinematic, orchestrated – Imminence‘s newest release, The Return of the Black, is a rather beautiful take on modern metal music. For those who like the drama of a chorus of strings or get goosebumps when the vastly different instruments harmonise, Imminence is a hell of a band to just stumble upon. Intricate guitar plucking is tucked into corners of melodies and thudding drums while clean vocals balance with dirty vocals. And yet, despite the use of orchestral instruments, the band doesn’t hold back shit during their breakdowns, actually using the strings to accent the raunchy riffs. It’s a hell of a record – it’ll be interesting to see how Imminence translates to a live setting.