2016 has been a brilliant year for British bands and more specifically bands releasing their debut albums. Whats so inspiring about this is that all of a sudden the British music scene seems far more diverse and vibrant than ever before. So I’ve decided to celebrate this phenomenal year of music by putting together a list of British bands that have a very bright future ahead of them. What counts as upcoming? the band must have no more than one album, bands without an album release yet are also included but obviously need some sort of material released e.g an EP or single.

CREEPER:

Before they’ve even released an album Creeper have gained mass amounts of attention from the media as well as already creating a dedicated fan base. If you’re a fan of AFI or even ALKALINE TRIO then you should check em out but the lazy comparison would be MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, so if you loved the my chem aesthetic and the cult like fan-base then maybe you should join the Creeper gang. They’ve released three EP’s and are set to let loose their debut, Eternity, In Your Arms in early 2017, the singles they’ve released from it so far, Suzanne and Hiding With Boys, Both have this epic feel to them as Will Gould has an almost MEAT LOAF wail in him, I’m hoping these songs are trustworthy indicators of how good the album will be, fingers crossed. Its also good to see that their dedicated to their craft and art as they put 100% effort into every little detail, with the promotion of the album being so elaborate, making out that they’ve disappeared and having fans get involved in the mystery, nothing half-hearted about this band.

Song to check out: Suzanne

MILK TEETH:

Milk Teeth are a 90’s inspired rock band, Vile child, their debut album, was released early 2016 and since then they’ve gone on tour with AGAINST ME!, BRAND NEW and REFUSED, so they must be doing something right. Vile child is a stellar debut filled with easy to listen to grunge tinged pop songs, if this album had been released in the 90’s they would’ve easily been the headlining act of those previous tours. Another female vocalist set to be a figure head for the British rock scene, Becky Blomfield has a heart-melting voice shown on Swear Jar but don’t be fooled cause she can still spit fire take the chorus of Burger Drop as an example. This is a band that I can see doing big things as they’re still young and are already creating incredible music as it is, it wouldn’t take much for them to have a song that just takes off and gets huge, they deserve it.

Song to check out: Crows Feet

PUPPY:

A three-piece heavy-metal band fused with college rock styled songs, imagine if METALLICA wrote WEEZER songs, sounds pretty unique doesn’t it?. Puppy have released two EP’s in which the most recent one of the two shows huge amounts of potential. The epic riff on Entombed comes straight out of the 80’s in fact the band in general feel fairly retro. For a three-piece they pack quite a punch and with Jock Norton’s geeky-esque vocals not too distant from Papa Emeritus from GHOST, Puppy sit by themselves on the music spectrum and god bless em for it.

Song to check out: Entombed

MARMOZETS:

Probably my favourite on the list, it’s pretty darn hard to pigeon-hole Marmozets into one genre but if I had to describe their sound i’d say that at their core they’re a brilliant rock band and a unique one too. They released their debut album, The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets, in 2014 to critical acclaim and rightfully so, Not many bands can write radio friendly rock songs with technical off-beat riffs and hardcore breakdowns that rival the heaviest of bands but Marmozets… they can do it in their sleep. Listen to the song Vibetech, that’s a song filled with around 20 odd riffs that are all destined to be classic’s but Marmozets just chuck em into a barely three-minute riot fest, if Metallica came up with any of them riffs they’d be stretched out into six-minutes, where by the end you’ll be bored to death of em. Another weapon in Marmozets arsenal is the force of nature that is Becca MacIntyre, a no bullshit, don’t give a fuck rock star, she is THE standout front-woman of the past decade and she gives a performance of a lifetime on the record. Whether its giving nastily rough growled vocals on Born Young and Free or making songs even more fun and care free like she does on Is It Horrible to even pouring her heart out on the deep and emotional song Back To You, Becca MacIntyre can do it all with ease. Marmozets delivered a 10/10 with their first effort so just imagine what they could achieve in the future, keep an eye on them in 2017.

Song to check out: Move, Shake, Hide (All of them really)

ZOAX:

Easily the most criminally over-looked band in 2016, they’ve delivered an album full of bangers yet no one seemed to give a damn, pathetic, especially considering how accessible and hook-laden the songs are as well as their clean production but don’t mistake them for another pretty boy band. They’re quirky like SYSTEM OF A DOWN and their musicianship is as tight as LETLIVE., if they were around in the early noughties they would’ve been huge. This record is full of party anthems that wouldn’t feel out of place at your typical club setting, they do a pretty amazing job of slapping a smile on your face, I hope 2017 gives Zoax the attention they deserve.

Song to check out: Roses All The Way

HECK:

Do you like Hardcore? I like hardcore! HECK IS HARDCORE!. Previously known as Baby Godzilla and previously known as that band that go crazy on-stage, well they still do that but now they’ve got a new name and a crazy album to go along with the live show. An onslaught of riffs that give EVERY TIME I DIE a run for their money, matched with dizzying twists and the spassy mayhem that we usually associate with THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN. Heck and PALM READER (on their second album so they don’t make the list) are reigniting the British hardcore scene and hopefully we’ll see it last a little longer than last time. If you like that sort of untamed, almost-falling-apart type of hardcore then Heck’s debut Instructions is a must-listen, just wait til you get to that 16-minute behemoth at the end.

Song to check out: The Great Hardcore Swindle

BLACK PEAKS:

Black Peaks, where to start… no seriously, help me, I genuinely don’t know where to begin. I guess I could list a bunch of bands that they sort of sound like, well there’s DEFTONES, EVERY TIME I DIE, MUSE, ARCHITECTS, MASTODON you’re probably still not getting the picture but if you enjoy any one of those band then there’s no reason you can’t enjoy Black Peaks. Each member is a brilliant musician and the vocalist can easily traverse between delicate and powerful, together they create phenomenally captivating music. Truly unique to the point where it is hard to describe, they are rock, metal and hardcore in one. To call their debut album, Statues, a masterpiece would be an understatement but we don’t have better words, Black Peaks are so brilliant they demand better words!

Song to check out: Glass Built Castles

Honorable mentions: Blood Youth, Giants, Counting Days, Making Monsters, Trash Boat, Black Foxxes, Boston Manor, Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes, Venom Prison, Employed To Serve, Hacktivist, Gnarwolves