With a slew of singles already released ahead of the album drop, fans had fair warning of what Grove Street had planned for Path To Righteousness and with the final release of “Hunting Season” mere days ago, the tension and stakes could not be higher for a band on the edge of breaking out. And fans will undoubtedly be as hungry as ever to see the new songs performed in the live setting.

Speaking on the release of “Hunting Season,” the band have stated that the song “was written to highlight how being obsessed with scrutinising each other and watching people fall from grace, rather than helping each other and seeing people succeed, is hindering society, stopping it from flourishing. This kind of behaviour is detrimental to progression, both individually and as a collective.”

Originally named Grove Street Families, the Southampton metal crossover band can trace its roots to a project that was intended to be slightly tongue in cheek. Grabbing their name from infamous best selling video game Grand Theft Auto, Grove Street eventually dropped the Families portion from their moniker but retained both the intensity and light-hearted vibes in their music.

Once the band started getting noticed and the members acknowledged they had some legitimate metal chops, Grove Street landed a major coup by signing to Australian independent label UNFD where they have released Path To Righteousness. That success, coupled with their electrifying live shows, have made Grove Street a top band to watch out for.

Guitarist Chris Sanderson (known as Sandy) said of the band’s direction,“The years of slogging away gave us time to focus. We were still doing a hardcore thing, but we were just vibing. We hadn’t narrowed down the crossover sound we’ve got now. I’m glad we did, rather than rushing music out to keep algorithms happy. We took our time to make sure everything was perfect.” 

Path To Righteousness is released today 29 September on UNFD and can be purchased here.

we have signed with @unfdcentral! we are insanely proud and grateful to be a part of this family, thank you to everyone who has supported us https://t.co/lClEjtKsR4

— TROPIC GOLD (@tropicgoldmusic) July 26, 2023

The four piece London group have been cutting their teeth with a few EP releases via Dreambound Records but are now looking to take the next massive step in their careers, signing with the independent label UNFD. Beginning to make waves in the metalcore scene, many critics began to take notice of the group with the 2022 release of their EP, Do You Feel It?-being compared favourably to Bring Me The Horizon. Tropic Gold are ready to further expand their sound and fan base with the UNFD partnership, as the band set their sight on the next chapter of their lives.

In a celebratory mood, the band have released new single, “Adrenaline” which has arrived with a video alongside it. The band have said, that it “unravels the uncontrollable feeling of not being able to get through a day without an unreasonably positive event occurring. It vocalises how having a day without an extreme positive lift can result in intense lows, similar to withdrawal symptoms. The lyrics are from a ‘talking to myself’ perspective, with vocals representing an inner monologue highlighted throughout the song.”

UNFD, known for signing metalcore and punk acts including In Hearts Wake, Void Of Vision and Frank Iero represent the opportunity for Tropic Gold to shape themselves into a force to be reckoned with within the scene. The signing represents a validation of their talent and the opportunity to have a formidable name in metal and punk behind them.

The band, understandably excited, said of their label signing, “the excitement of signing with UNFD is undeniably life changing. We are beyond grateful for the shared enthusiasm UNFD have in the future of Tropic Gold, and are not holding back on making the most of what this partnership can create. The shared ambition for bringing the vision of Tropic Gold to life has allowed us to expand our team for the first time, and UNFD have made us feel lovingly welcomed and part of a family immediately. We can’t wait to invite the world to join the experience.”

Tropic Gold have signed to UNFD and released the huge new single ‘Adrenaline’ https://t.co/2re4MXfLrI pic.twitter.com/BhDm5mod97

— Rock Sound (@rocksound) July 26, 2023

With considerable success in Australia, UNFD expanded its roster to international acts-signing a host of American and UK acts such as Like Moths To Flames and The Xcerts. With Tropic Gold their latest UK signing, fans can expect the band’s star to continue to rise rapidly in future.

Much in line with Hacktivist’s signature sound, the single hits hard with low djenty guitars and pinpoint drumming, backing up the fierce verse exchange between rappers J Hurley, Jot Maxi and Kid Bookie and building towards the explosive anthemic chorus. Speaking about the powerful track, J Hurley said: “It’s like a shield against anyone attacking us. Anyone can say anything they want, but you can’t get through the armoured core!” 

‘Armored Core‘ is the first new track from Hacktivist this year and the fourth standalone single since the release of their debut studio album Outside The Box that came out in 2016 via UNFD Records. In 2019, the rap metal outfit dropped the three fresh songs ‘Reprogram‘, ‘Dogs of War‘ and The Prodigy cover ‘Spitfire‘. Recently, the band also teased the exciting collaboration with Arizona nu metal act Dropout Kings ‘I Ain’t Depressed‘ expected on 4 December. All new material and recent activity surely means a second album is on its way, expected in 2021 without confirmed title or tracklist yet.

The new single premiered with official video at 10am today and is available to stream and download from all digital platforms. The video is predominantly shot around Hacktivist’s hometown Milton Keynes and directed by their own bassist Josh Gurner, with additional camera and drone footage by PJ West. Mostly self-made project, the track is produced by guitarrist and band’s main driving force James Hewitt, with mixing and mastering by the rewnowned metal producer Justin Hill, ex-singer of djent godfathers SikTh.

INTRODUCING ‘ARMOURED CORE’ FEATURING @kidbookie
OUT NOW VIA @unfdcentral

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO: https://t.co/6oh08KqJ1n
STREAM / DOWNLOAD: https://t.co/LFjqSNC5sV pic.twitter.com/i4wQFciL8l

— H Ʌ C K T I V I S T (@HacktivistUK) November 18, 2020

Hacktivist were the symbollic headliner at Knotfest’s inaugural Pulse Of The Maggots virtual festival that took place last Friday 13 November. The event was streamed for free and featured pre-recorded mini sets by some of the most exciting emerging and less popular bands from various metal genres all over the world. Representing the modern UK scene alongside Hacktivist were Wargasm, Death Blooms and October Ends, all of which with exciting recent releases or new material in production.

Born Tyronne Hill and usually labelled under the ambiguous trap metal style, Kid Bookie has been acting as South London’s primary melting pot of hip-hop and metal for few years now and slowly building his reputation as one of the most exciting names on the underground scene. He featured on Corey Taylor’s track ‘CMFT Must be Stopped‘ from his 2020 debut album, and recently released the killer collaboration with Tech N9ne ‘In My Soul‘. Kid Bookie’s highly anticipated new album Cheaper Than Therapy is dropping on December 1st.

My album is fucking sick, a south London mother fucker, no label, no backing, no help but I get to hear my voice with the voices that raised me on my own music, literally raised me, I don’t give a fuck if nothing happens, I made a dope album with my inspirations, heavy rock & rap pic.twitter.com/psxg6vSMUF

— Cheaper Than Therapy – Dec 1st. (@kidbookie) November 14, 2020

‘Monsters‘ is an explosive blend of post-hardcore, melodic alternative metal and energetic punk rock. Dream State have been hailed as one of the most exciting rising bands in recent years and the single delivers yet another dose of their fresh and contemporary take on the genre. Lead singer Charlotte-Jayne “CJ”Gilpin arguably puts on her best vocal display so far, switching between gentle personal singing, and powerful emotional screams with ease and finese, breathing life into the intimate lyrics.

The South Wales wonders have been making the headlines ever since their self-released debut EP Consequences came out in 2015 and placed them at the forefront of the UK post-hardore and alternative rock scene. Signing for UNFD and dropping the huge single ‘White Lies‘ from their follow-up EP Recovery in 2018 earned them slots at major festivals such as Reading and Leeds, Download, Slam Dunk and Unify Gathering, and helped them gain international acclaim as one of the rising global acts of the future. Moreover, they were selected as the Best UK Breakthrough Band at the 2018 Kerrang! Awards and the 2019 Heavy Music Awards.

Their first studio album Primrose Path proved to be “one of the most talked about debut heavy releases in years” and featured absolute bangers like ‘Hand in Hand‘, ‘Primrose‘, ‘Twenty Letters‘ and ‘Open Windows‘. Only a year later, ‘Monsters‘ speaks loud and clear of Dream State’s huge potential and relentless energy, breathing life into a genre that has recently gone somewhat stale and repetative. The single is supposed to feature in a brand new EP expected at some point in 2021 and set to kickstart an exciting “new chapter” for the band.

Вижте тази публикация в Instagram.

Dreamers: this is MONSTERS Brand new single & music video out now on all platforms (link in bio) We are ecstatic to start this new chapter with you

Публикация, споделена от DREAM STATE (@dreamstateuk) на Окт 28, 2020 в 12:19 PDT

Earlier this year, Dream State released an invigorating lockdown-inspired video for ‘Are You Ready To Live‘ at the end of June. Originally planned to feature exclusive live footage, the YouTube description confirmed that the filming was interrupted by the global pandemic and the band “saw this as a chance to get creative and involve [the] dreamers with a collection of footage that exudes positivity and light”. More recently, the initial line-up announcement of the re-scheduled 2000 Trees festival confirmed Dream State among the main support acts for Thrice on 9 July 2021, alongside Young Guns, Boston Manor and Laura Jane Grace.

Dream State return to the live stage with a UK tour in April and May 2021, followed by a performance at Slam Dunk 2021 in Leeds and Hatfield. The band’s current line-up consists of CJ Gilpin (vocals), Aled Evans (lead guitar), Rhys Wilcox (rhythm guitar and backing vocals) and Jamie Lee (drums).

‘Monsters’.
An anthem of love.
World premiere on @BBCR1 @AnnieMac / October 28th, 7pm. pic.twitter.com/8sPlgKje8S

— DREAM STATE (@DreamStateUK) October 26, 2020