Now Hear This: Tobi Duncan on the best new rap-metal, pop-punk and hardcore

Finding new music to listen to is something that helps keep me sane at the moment. A lot of it might not be brand new, but it’s new to me, which is what counts. I started doing little cheesy acoustic covers on TikTok and people started recommending various artists to cover, then other things I’ll just sort of stumble upon. Hopefully there will be some new things here for people to discover…

This guy has that hip-hop, punk rock, heavy metal crossover vibe going. It’s hip-hop at its core but the beats are practically breakdowns and his delivery is shouting, it’s in your face. I love everything about it. The aesthetic, the tunes and beats, the delivery – they’re all just banging. It made me happy because that crossover, the amalgamation between hip-hop and punk rock is extremely important. I love hearing it and it’s very much present in Kamiyada+. I think he has a roaring flame of a future.

These are good friends of ours and I’d say they’re one of the most slept-on bands in the world. They have this nice, easy to get along with, kind of British Weezer vibe about them. The melodies are tight, the vocal delivery is awesome. We’ve toured with these guys and tried to force them down people’s throats. One of the first runs we ever did as a band was with these guys. They’ve been great mates ever since but they also write absolutely slamming tunes and everyone needs to get on the Weatherstate hype train!

I got introduced to these guys at Slam Dunk a couple of years ago. Their music is everything I wanted when I first started getting into Deftones and that alternative rock style of music. I fell in love with Deftones immediately but I was a death metal, beatdown kid as well and there was always a part of me that wanted them to be heavier. Loathe do all that – they’re like the Deftones with shark jaws and a massive set of steel balls on them. They’ve got that Title Fight melodic element to it as well and they’re just the perfect crossover. If I’d have found these guys when I was 16 they’d have been my all-time favourite band and they’re close to it now.

These won’t be new to a lot of people but they’re still rising and they’re just so good. I’ve been going to shows and participating in the hardcore and metal scene since I was 15. I’m not talking shit about anyone and I still love a lot of bands who might sound quite similar to each other, but Vein.FM (formerly known as Vein) deliver such a breath of fresh air into the stagnant areas of the hardcore scene. They’ve got that Slipknot chaotic aspect to them, they’re bringing something new and exciting, and they’re definitely the band on this list that I’m desperate to see live after all this is over. I want to kick off and be part of that energy.

This is the band of a close friend of mine. They’re a hardcore band from Brighton and they deserve a shout-out. They’re great musicians and great tunes in that pure hardcore style. I’ve seen them live and they kill it. Their debut album is called Carcosa and it sounds massive. It’s really heavy but really well-written, so I’d advise people to check it out.

Trash Boat's new single He's So Good is out now via Hopeless.

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