Here are the best rock and metal songs of February, 2023!
February was yet another stacked month with tons of artists both big and small offering up new tunes to fuel the start of the new year. Beyond all the fan favorites — the tracks you can’t afford to miss — the Loudwire staff has made selections for their own personal favorites from February.
There’s literally hundreds of new songs coming out each week, but nothing was as good as what you’ll find below!
Listen to and/or follow Loudwire’s Best of the Month playlist here.
THE ESSENTIALS
You know these bands and you probably heard these songs the instant they came out — midnight Spotify lurkers, we see you. These were the songs that kept February roaring:
All Time Low, “Modern Love”
As Everything Unfolds, “Flip Side”
Attack Attack!, “Dark Waves”
Attila, “Handshakes With Snakes”
August Burns Red, “Reckoning” ft. Spencer Chamberlain
Avatar, “Chimp Mosh Pit”
Babymetal, “Light and Darkness”
Black Honey, “OK”
Bury Tomorrow, “Heretic” ft. Loz Taylor
Cattle Decapitation, “We Eat Our Young”
Crown Lands, “Lady of the Lake”
Currents, “Remember Me”
Dope, “Parasite”
Dying Fetus, “Unbridled Fury”
Enter Shikari, “It Hurts”
From Ashes to New, “Nightmare”
Godsmack, “Soul on Fire”
Haken, “Love Bite”
In Flames, “End the Transmission”
Invent Animate, “Immolation of Night”
Lamb of God/Kreator, “State of Unrest”
Linkin Park, “Lost”
Neck Deep, “Heartbreak of the Century”
Paramore, “Running Out of Time”
Periphery, “Atropos”
Pierce the Veil, “Death of an Executioner”
Powerwolf, “No Prayer at Midnight”
Real Friends, “The Damage Is Done”
Skillet, “Crossfire”
Sleep Token, “Vore”
Slipknot, “Bone Church”
Sophie Lloyd, “Fall of Man” ft. Matthew K. Heafy
Steel Panther, “Friends With Benefits”
Story of the Year, “2005”
Suicide Silence, “Dying Life”
The Amity Affliction, “I See Dead People”
Theory of a Deadman, “Two Of Us (Stuck)”
The Plot In You, “Left Behind”
The Used, “People Are Vomit”
Veil of Maya, “Godhead”
STAFF FAVORITES
The stuff Loudwire’s team has been obsessed with.
Philip Trapp
BAND: John Frusciante
SONG: “Clank”
RELEASED: Feb. 3, 2023
To those who appreciate his work outside of Red Hot Chili Peppers, guitarist John Frusciante’s solo albums are an arty treasure trove that tickles a sonic fancy far outside the “Stadium Arcadium.” His 2001 solo effort, To Record Only Water for Ten Days, is often held by indie-rock devotees as the archetypical lo-fi psychedelic experiment. And when you listen to Frusciante’s latest, the all-ambient dual release I and II, it might even sound like you’re tripping — especially on the long, noisy “Clank.” But let it play, and see where it takes you.
BAND: Ordinance
SONG: “America in Decline”
RELEASED: Feb. 1, 2023
If you take the time to look around, an abundance of amazing underground hardcore constantly swells up from the earth. Oozing out of Richmond, Virginia, comes the lo-fi D-beat powerhouse Ordinance, and they’re ready to shatter your sonic world with their new demo that sounds like it emerged from a crusty cassette deck. On its Bandcamp page, Ordinance call themselves brutal and dark “D-beat hardcore the old way. No fake broken English or laughing matter. For fans of the Swedish tradition and beyond…” Their four-song demo clocks in at a brisk six minutes. We’re listening.
BAND: Sløtface
SONG: “Indoor Kid”
RELEASED: Feb. 24, 2023
Sløtface (formerly Slutface) are a punky Norwegian pop-rock act led by the singer Haley Shea. Their new song “Indoor Kid” is a catchy, crunchy, low-key gallop reminiscent of that late-2000s corner of indie rock that could retrospectively be considered “electro-twee.” (It sounds like it could’ve been on someone’s iPod when indie fans were shuffling through Jens Lekman, of Montreal and Peter Bjorn and John.) An effective alone-in-a-crowd bounce, “Indoor Kid” kicks off AWAKE/ASLEEP, Sløtface’s latest collection of tunes. Get ya some!
Lauryn Schaffner
BAND: Annie DiRusso
SONG: “Hybrid”
RELEASED: Feb. 24
The rock genre has been needing its own version of a Lana Del Rey — poetic, but also dark and mysterious — and Annie DiRusso seems like she could be on her way to claiming that spot. “Hybrid,” from her brand new EP God, I Hate This Place, is the type of song you listen to when you’re longing to feel something, not just to hear something.
BAND: Cody Jasper
SONG: “Geronimo”
RELEASED: Feb. 24
Cody Jasper is a breath of fresh air for those looking for that good ole’ rebellious rock ’n’ roll sound. Nothing against the technological enhancements that a lot of modern artists use now, but sometimes you just want to hear some fuzzy guitar riffs and have something cheerful to sing along to. If that’s the case, his latest single “Geronimo” is for you. It’s short and sweet, and will have you going through his discography for more once it’s over.
Chad Childers
BAND: Blak29
SONG: “Bleeding Love”
RELEASED: Feb. 16
Samhain and Danzig musician Steve Zing steps out with his passion project Blak29 that features collaborator Daniel Tracey. On the recently released “Bleeding Love,” Zing evokes peak-era Cult, with a gritty, powerful Ian Astbury-esque vocal powering a driving rock track that deserves to be played with volume knob ripped off. Look for Blak29’s The Waiting album arriving March 3.
BAND: Cairo Knife Fight
SONG: “Churn”
RELEASED: Feb. 13
This one’s got that perfect soft-loud dynamic, serving up a sense of whispery unease before blasting you with a sonic power punch. The duo of Nick Gaffaney and George Pajon Jr. definitely take you on a journey with “Churn,” as the song ebbs and flows with razor sharp turns.
BAND: Mike’s Dead
SONG: “#1 Crush”
RELEASED: Feb. 10
This one sound familiar? It should, as rising industrial metaller Mike’s Dead takes on the Garbage Romeo + Juliet favorite “#1 Crush,” letting his lower register set the mood for this somewhat obsessive and creepy love song that was issued just in time for Valentine’s Day. Keep an eye out for Mike’s Dead as an emerging artist this year as he’s already locked in a Sonic Temple appearance for later this year.
BAND: GXTP featuring Tommy Lee
SONG: “Contraband”
RELEASED: Feb. 15
While Motley Crue remains Tommy Lee’s main gig, he’s shown his affinity to paint outside the Motley lines and here he joins GXTP (that’s Guns and Toilet Paper) on their new song “Contraband.” The group features producers Jason Paul (aka Poo Bear) and Sasha Sirotta along with Triple Sixx.
BAND: Elegant Weapons
SONG: “Blind Leading the Blind”
RELEASED: Feb. 24
Judas Priest guitarist RIchie Faulkner is paired with Rainbow vocalist Ronnie Romero, Uriah Heep bassist Dave Rimmer and Accept drummer Christopher Williams in the new group Elegant Weapons and their first entry, a song called “Blind Leading the Blind,” serves up some scrumptious metal riffs with a swinging drum beat that gives the listener an undeniably catchy debut.
Joe DiVita
BAND: Frozen Soul
SONG: “Morbid Effigy” ft. John Gallgher (Dying Fetus)
RELEASED: Feb. 17
For Fans Of: Bolt Thrower, Obituary, Creeping Death
Returning with Glacial Domination, their forthcoming sophomore LP, death metal’s coldest band Frozen Soul debuted the first new single, “Morbid Effigy.” It opens with big John Carpenter synth vibes before being crushed by an onslaught of heaving riffs, eventually giving way to the band’s most slam-worthy breakdown, for which they fittingly recruited Dying Fetus’ John Gallagher for some even deeper guttural wretches.
BAND: Night Demon
SONG: “Escape From Beyond”
RELEASED: Feb. 23
For Fans Of: Sumerlands, Judas Priest, Haunt
Yep, I put the spotlight on Night Demon last month and I’m still under the spell of Jarvis Leatherby and co. with “Escape From Beyond.” When it comes to this style, I’m easy to please, but that doesn’t mean this power trio just appeals my any-and-all sensibilities regarding the New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal — this track walks the ideal hard rock/heavy metal tightrope that Judas Priest made a high-wire career out of.
BAND: Majesties
SONG: “Our Gracious Captors”
RELEASED: Feb. 13
So, so, SO many bands have kneeled before the altar of At the Gates and fell considerably short of their aim, which was to take a stab at capturing their inimitable brand of melodic death metal. It’s not so much a knock on all those groups as it is a testament to the greatness of At the Gates.
However… Canada’s Majesties put a bit of a black metal twist on the With Fear I Kiss The Burning Darkness and Terminal Spirit Disease eras of ATG, cutting it with the grandeur of guitar harmonies found within Obsequiae’s own unique style, a black metal group whose principle member founded Majesties.
For Fans Of: At the Gates, Horrendous, Obsequiae
Rabab Al-Sharif
BAND: Squid Pisser
SONG: “Liquified Remains”
RELEASED: Feb. 17
What? You’re NOT going to check out a band named Squid Pisser?
BAND: View From the Soyuz
SONG: “Caligula”
RELEASED: Jan. 31 (Shh! Don’t tell anyone)
Based out of Tokyo, Japan, View From The Soyuz released their debut EP Immaculate this month with a sound that will surely perk up the ears of any fan of modern metalcore.
The technical and chaotic single “Caligula” serves as a highlight to showcase the budding band’s creative force. In their own words, the track is ““…based on Caligula, a Roman emperor who was once a great ruler but was assassinated due to his insane policies and cruel deeds. The song lyrics take from his story that people will pay the price if they live for their own selfish desires. Musically, there is a coldness and depressive melody reflected in the song that is mainly influenced by Scandinavian melodeath, metalcore, and Japanese hardcore bands from about 20 years ago.”
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