Metal trailblazers Loathe are back after their 2020 album ‘I Let It In and It Took Everything’ brought a bold new sound to the world of heavy music. They started this week off with the announcement of fourth studio album ‘A Stranger To You‘ due for a July release, as well as dropping exciting new single ‘Revenant’ featuring some special guests.
Loathe formed in Liverpool in 2014, and were put on the radar of many after debut album ‘The Cold Sun’ earned them best new band nominations at both the Metal Hammer Golden Gods and Heavy Music Awards in 2018. From there, they perfected their adventurous spin on metalcore, nu metal and djent on ‘I Let It In and It Took Everything’, an album which shot Loathe straight to the upper echelons of the UK’s alternative music scene. Inspired by bands like Deftones, Korn and Slipknot, whose unorthodox approach to heavy music led the nu metal culture in the 2000s, the album has already inspired droves of new bands in the 2020s.
Since the release of ‘I Let It In and It Took Everything’, the band followed it up with ambient companion LP ‘The Things They Believe’ in 2021, and concert recording ‘Audiotree from Nothing’ in 2023 which showcased the energy of their live performances. The last studio update came when they cancelled their 2022 tour dates to concentrate on writing their fourth album, leaving fans rabid for updates. In 2024, Loathe confirmed the album would be out in 2025, and when single ‘Gifted Every Strength’ dropped last May alongside live performances of a then-unknown song, speculation became rife that the album was just around the corner – however a solid announcement didn’t come until this Monday, the 27th of April 2026.
New single ‘Revenant’ was the first thing to be revealed, confirmed to be the mystery song the band was playing live last year. Featuring Eric Balderose and Jami Morgan of US alt-metallers Code Orange, performing here under their new side project NOWHERE2RUN, ‘Revenant’ is a harsh, noisy blast of overdriven bassy grooves, a blistering attack on the ears. While other Loathe tracks ease up the pace with atmospheric interludes and melodic clean vocals, this one revels in being as brutal and dissonant as it can be.
After the release of the single Loathe wasted little time in presenting ‘A Stranger To You’ to the fans. According to news site Lambgoat, the album has been produced and engineered by the band alongside Ed Al-Shakarchi, who has previously worked with acts like Action Bronson and Imogen Heap. The full track listing including ‘Revenant’, ‘Gifted Every Strength’ and another unreleased track they’ve played live named ‘اثينا’, looks like this:
1. Entrance
2. Block Of Flats
3. Fortress Down
4. Gemini
5. Nothing Like The Knife
6. Harder To Pretend
7. اثينا
8. Revenant
9. The Way It Breaks
10. Meet My Maker
11. Fangs
12. The Ladder
13. Gifted Every Strength
14. No Stranger To You…
‘A Stranger To You’ releases via Sharptone Records on the 17th of July, with streaming pre-save links here and official pre-orders here. Loathe are playing live across Australia through May, before returning to Europe for a festival tour in June including Manchester’s Outbreak Fest. Earlier today, they announced a run of US dates for this September and October, with tickets for that on sale on Friday the 1st of May.
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