Shake off that New Year’s hangover, lace up your Docs, and get ready to discover the bands that are about to take over 2026. Hand-picked by the team at Amped, here are the acts you need on your radar right now.

Words by Amped Magazine Staff | Jan 01, 2025

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As we stumble into 2026 with ringing ears from festival season and our bank accounts still recovering from all those rising gig tickets, it’s time to look ahead at the bands ready to absolutely blow up. Now, as a new year kicks off, there’s a fresh wave of artists waiting in the wings to plug straight into that Jan playlist. The Amped team has assembled the definitive list of bands you need to get stuck into before they’re too big for the small rooms. So without further ado, let’s get into it!

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Heaven Unknown

Sheffield’s Heaven Unknown are bringing that proper Northern misery to the metalcore scene, and honestly, we’re here for it. This five-piece’s debut EP It Hurts The Most has already caught the attention of Triple J and BBC Radio 1 Rock Introducing, which is mad considering they only properly kicked off this year. Tracks like Mourning and Carousel show a band that refuses to be pigeonholed, mixing sharp post-hardcore intensity with unexpected sweetness. If you’re into bands that can make you mosh and cry in the same song, get stuck in now.

President

Now how could we not include President, the hands-down the most mysterious and hyped new band in the alt scene right now, and the intrigue alone makes them essential watching for 2026. This masked metalcore project appeared out of nowhere, got added to Download Festival before releasing a single song, and proceeded to pack out tents with fans desperate to figure out who they are. What we do know is their debut EP King of Terrors absolutely rips, blending metalcore with electronic flourishes and dark, theatrical atmospherics. They’re already confirmed for Slam Dunk, massive European festivals, and a North American tour supporting Bad Omens and Beartooth. Whether they’re industry plants or genuine enigmas, President are making massive waves and 2026 is going to be huge for them.

Ray Noir

If you thought goth and industrial metal couldn’t get any queerer Ray Noir is here to prove you spectacularly wrong. This London-based alt-goth artist is fusing industrial beats with electro-metal grit and dropping absolute bangers like his recent EP Against The Machine with new music and sound slated for early 2026. Collaborating with Grammy-winning guitarist Steve Stevens on Razorblade Romance and getting his Scorpio mixtape into the Top 5 of the German Alternative Charts is just the beginning. Ray Noir is the queer rebellion the scene desperately needs.

Slay Squad

Slay Squad are bringing attitude, aggression, and absolute bangers to the table. This band understands that heavy music should be fun as well as fierce, and they deliver both in spades. They’re building a reputation for shows that leave venues absolutely destroyed (in the best way). If you like your metalcore with extra swagger and zero apologies, Slay Squad are your new favourites waiting to happen.

LAKE MALICE

If you caught Lake Malice on this years festival circut then you know damn well that the Brighton duo are gearing up for a banger of a year in 2026! Alice Guala and Blake Cornwall are fusing hyperpop with crushing metal in a way that sounds like Spiritbox met Grimes and decided to start a riot. Their splicing of electronic chaos with metal brutality is genuinely innovative, and watching Blake play guitar in the circle pit has become legendary. Get yourself stuck into that pit in the new year and don’t miss your chance to catch these two!

Honeybadger

Honeybadger have been quietly building a reputation as one of the UK’s most vicious live acts, and 2026 is when they break through properly. This band brings that raw, uncompromising hardcore energy that makes you want to flip tables and start circle pits in inappropriate places. If you’re into bands that sound like they could tear down walls with their bare hands, Honeybadger should already be on your radar.

The Hara

Manchester trio The Hara are absolutely unstoppable right now, and their upcoming album The Fallout (dropping January 23rd via Mascot Records) is going to cement them as ones to watch. These guys have already played Reading and Leeds main stage, supported Sum 41 and Ice Nine Kills, and are about to drop what might be their most brutally honest work yet. Josh Taylor’s vocals are raw emotion incarnate, exploring mental health struggles and the messy contradictions of band life with zero filter. Their raucous blend of alternative rock, metalcore, and emo is designed for carnage in the pit, and they’re not shy about wearing their hearts on their sleeves. With a massive UK tour planned for early 2026 and a co-headline European run with Call Me Amour, The Hara are proving they can hold their own among the greats. Get on board before they’re too big for small venues.

Hell Hotel

Brighton’s Hell Hotel are the emo duo bringing back that early 2000s heartbreak energy with a modern metalcore edge, and it absolutely slaps. Duo Demi Jay and Tom Maxfield have been dropping bangers like Chandelier, Promises, and Sweetness that blend melodic emo nostalgia with crushing contemporary heaviness. They’re taking influences from The Used, Taking Back Sunday, and My Chemical Romance while adding the bite of bands like Holding Absence. For a band that’s only been around for a year and a half, they’ve got serious momentum.

Party Cannon

Okay, so Party Cannon might already be legends in the brutal death metal scene, but if you haven’t discovered their gloriously absurd world of party slam yet, 2026 is your year. These Scottish madmen have the most hilariously out-of-place logo in all of extreme music (it literally looks like the Toys R Us logo in rainbow colors), and they lean into it completely. In a genre where everyone tries to be the most extreme, Party Cannon went the opposite direction and became iconic for it. They call it party slam, and honestly, that’s the most accurate genre description ever.

False Reality

False Reality are bringing proper heavy hitting metalcore with a modern edge that’s impossible to ignore. These guys understand dynamics in a way that keeps you on your toes, one minute you’re getting battered by breakdowns, the next you’re caught in an unexpectedly melodic passage that hits different. They’ve been building momentum steadily, and everything points to 2026 being their breakout year.

The Molotovs

The Molotovs are exactly what their name suggests, explosive, dangerous, and likely to cause chaos wherever they go. This band brings punk rock energy with a metallic edge that feels both nostalgic and completely fresh. They’re the soundtrack to bad decisions and better stories, the kind of band you discover at 2am and immediately add to every playlist you own. Oh and did we mention these two have just been cruising the streets of London and putting on some banging pop up shows?

I Promised The World

Texas five-piece I Promised The World are proof that the most powerful music comes from the rawest places. Their self-titled EP drops January 16, 2026 via Rise Records, and it set to deliver on a sound that weaves screamo, Midwest emo, and post-hardcore into something that hits you right in the chest. Despite only being around for two years, they have already shared stages with Deafheaven, Midwit, and Koyo, proving they can hold their own with the heavyweights.

Friends Of Friends

Friends Of Friends have that DIY punk spirit that makes the scene so vital. We caught up with the Aussie crew earlier this year to chat about community, authenticity, and making music that actually means something. They’re not chasing trends or trying to sound like anyone else, they’re just doing their thing with infectious energy and genuine passion.

Tropic Gold

Tropic Gold are serving up metalcore with a sun-soaked twist that somehow works perfectly. They’ve been tearing up UK venues and building serious buzz with their high-energy performances and catchy-as-hell anthems. These guys know how to write a hook that burrows into your brain and refuses to leave. With festival slots stacking up and momentum building, Tropic Gold are positioned to have a massive 2026.

Beyond Extinction

Essex bruisers Beyond Extinction are out to prove that age is just a number when it comes to delivering nihilistic, bone-crushing death metal. Three years in the making and plagued by lineup changes, their new album is a raw, uncomfortable journey into darkness that deals with cultural hatred, destruction, and the fundamental dysfunction of modern existence. Influenced heavily by Black Tongue, The Acacia Strain, and Ingested, Beyond Extinction blend deathcore, metalcore, and British death metal into something that feels genuinely vital and urgent. They are not here to offer you hope or easy answers, just flesh-ripping riffs and existential dread.

Mother Vulture

Mother Vulture are weird in all the best ways, blending mathcore chaos with unexpected melodic moments and experimental flourishes. This band refuses to be pigeonholed, constantly zigging when you expect them to zag. They’re the kind of act that makes you go “what the hell was that?” and then immediately hit repeat. If you’re bored of bands playing it safe, Mother Vulture are the antidote you need.

Mouth Culture

Aight Mouth Culture have been absolutely crushing it lately but that’s no reason to take the eye off the ball with these lot. They’re been steadily building their reputation in the alt scene, and with a slew of banging singles dropping in 2025 it’s looking like the new year is shaping up nicely for some new bangers to drop.

Thrown

It’s no secret that one of the Amped team has been working closely with the Swedish metalcore destroyers Thrown so it would be criminal not to hype these boys up as big as we can! Their debut album Excessive Guilt won them Heavy Music Awards for Best Breakthrough Album, and they’ve already toured North America, played Bloodstock, Rock Im Park/Ring and are selling out shows across the globe. The fact they fit 11 punishing songs into just over 20 minutes shows they’re all killer, no filler. They’re designed to be commercial but hard, and it’s working spectacularly.

The Word Alive

The Word Alive gave us an early Christmas present late last year during their support slot alongside Caskets with an absolutely belter of a set. Nearly two decades in, Telle Smith’s vocals still hit with that 2010 Deceiver-era intensity, but their recent single ‘Eyes Above’ proves they are not interested in nostalgia trips. They smashed it at Warped Tour Orlando in November, reminding everyone why they have remained one of the scene’s most underrated forces.

Angel Du$t

Baltimore’s Angel Du$t have spent over a decade proving that hardcore doesn’t have to sound like hardcore to hit like hardcore. As frontman Justice Tripp told us when we caught up with him and guitarist Jim Carroll in Camden this summer, “We’re not here to follow trends, we’re here to smash them.” Born from the ashes of Trapped Under Ice and sharing members with Turnstile, this lot have always been about subverting expectations, swapping brutal breakdowns for power-pop hooks and still managing to incite absolute chaos in the pit. Their new album Cold 2 The Touch drops February 13, 2026, and if the singles are anything to go by, it is going to be a glorious mindfuck of a record.

Call Me Amour

Hailing from the Isle of Man might not seem like the most obvious launchpad for a breakout UK act, but Call Me Amour are proving geography means nothing when you have got the songs and the ambition to back it up. As guitarist Geoff Murphy told us earlier last year, “A lot of people don’t know much about the island. They think it is just a tiny rock in the middle of the sea, but it is actually a vibrant place with a lot of talent. The challenge was getting noticed on the mainland.” Well, they have smashed that challenge. They are co-headlining with The Hara, supported Set It Off on tour, and have festivals lined up for 2026.

The Vantages

If you are still mourning the loss of HIM and desperately need something to fill that heartagram-shaped hole in your chest, meet your new obsession. Finnish outfit The Vantages are blending melancholic gothic vibes with melodic indie rock in a way that has earned them the ultimate seal of approval from Ville Valo himself. The comparisons to HIM are inevitable, but these lads have carved out their own niche, throwing in elements of 1960s melancholy and creating something that feels both nostalgic and fresh. If your inbox looks anything like ours, it is full of people demanding to know when Vantages are coming to the UK and USA. Until then, stick “Darker” on repeat and join the rest of us in the comments section begging for tour dates.

High-Vis

High-Vis are the UK post-punk/hardcore hybrid that’s been getting some serious buzz. Having caught the a handful of times – once supporting Deftones of all bands they’re bringing that Britpop sensibility into heavy music in ways that shouldn’t work but absolutely do. They’re proving there’s plenty of life left in genre-blending when you do it with this much conviction.

Poppy

Poppy has fully transformed from pop enigma to genuine metal powerhouse, and she’s not looking back. Her recent work is legitimately heavy, working with producers and musicians from the core scene while maintaining her unique artistic vision. Whether you knew her from the weird pop days or discovered her through the heavy stuff, Poppy in 2026 is essential and boy we can’t wait for that album to drop in Feb!

Sweet Pill

Philadelphia emo revivalists Sweet Pill are about to have a massive 2026, and if you are not paying attention yet, you soon will be. Their sophomore album Still There’s a Glow”drops March 13, 2026 via Hopeless Records, and lead single ‘No Control’ proves they have levelled up in every possible way. This is their first release written fully as a band with the current lineup. They have spent years touring with La Dispute and The Wonder Years, honing their craft and building their sound. 2026 is looking like it’s going to be the year they step out of the shadows and take the limelight.

BEX

Right, let’s talk about BEX, the pocket rocket of nu-punk who is absolutely not here for your BS. If you have caught her at 2000 Trees or Y Not Festival over the past couple years, you already know what is coming. For everyone else, strap in. This DIY queen dropped her debut EP SCUM back in October 2023 via Scruff of the Neck Records, and she has been a menace to small venue stages ever since. When she is not wielding a guitar, she is bouncing around the stage like a human firework, diving into crowds, and making every gig feel like a proper riot. Oh, and she designs and makes her own stage costumes, because of course she does. She has already done her first headline tour, supported the likes of Wargasm, and had spins on Kerrang! Radio and BBC Radio 1.

Bodyweb

Leeds misfits Bodyweb are what happens when you throw nu-metal, jungle breakbeats, grunge, and hardcore into a blender and hit “obliterate.” Their second EP deadwired dropped September 5, 2025 via Flatspot Records, and it is a proper brain scrambler with four tracks of overstimulating chaos that sound like your nervous system on the verge of a breakdown.

Graphic Nature

We have been banging on about Graphic Nature for ages, and we are not about to stop now. Kent’s finest nu-metalcore destroyers have been on an absolute tear since signing to Arising Empire, and their trajectory shows no signs of slowing. Blending Deftones-worship with Slipknot-era aggression, drum’n’bass rhythms, and bass-drop riffs that could level buildings, they have carved out a sound that feels both nostalgic and completely fresh. We have been here since the beginning, and watching them grow into one of the UK’s most exciting heavy bands has been a proper privilege. Trust us when we say 2026 is going to be their biggest year yet.

Grove Street

Grove Street are bringing street-level hardcore with genuine aggression and zero pretence. This band keeps it real, delivers punishing beatdowns, and creates music for the pit, by the pit. They’re not here to reinvent the wheel, they’re here to perfect it and make you move and with an LP scheduled to drop in mid-2026 this is the perfect time to get stuck in!

Mould

Mould are the UK’s answer to grimy, sludgy hardcore that sounds like it was recorded in a basement and is all the better for it. This band embraces the filth, the rawness, and the DIY ethos that makes underground music so vital. They’re not polished, they’re not trying to be, and that’s exactly why they matter.