Singles Roundup: Illumishade, Green Day, Any Given Day, & Magnum

Finishing out the year, let's look ahead to what a few songs are telling us about 2024:

Illumishade - Here We Are

While I don't get too far into symphonic metal, this is a group who do it extremely well. I loved their first album, other than thinking it was more of a stretched-out EP. Their second album is coming out in February, and the singles released so far are all continuing in the right direction. While none of them are quite as exceptional as "Rise", Fabienne's voice and melodies are a perfect foil for the modern, djent-ish guitars. It's almost a way of playing 'beauty and the beast' metal without needing the awful growling vocalist. I love the melody, I love the sound, and the sense of drama is just about right. This one should be a winner.

Green Day - Dilemma

The latest single from Green Day's 'triumphant' return is the best one so far. That's damning with faint praise, of course, but at least this keeps me optimistic it won't be a complete clusterfuck of an album. This song is basic Green Day, but actually sounds more like Billie Joe's side-project The Longshot. It's trying to be power pop, but it moves too slow, and the hook doesn't sell. It might have a bit more mental power than "Look Ma No Brains" had, but it still doesn't sound like there's much heart in it. I'm not sure Green Day even knows who they're trying to be at this stage. This one should be a solid loser.

Any Given Day & Annisokay - H.A.T.E.

For being metalcore-adjacent, Any Given Day's last album was great. I loved that one, and thought they were probably the best as doing the style since the glory days of Killswitch Engage. The first couple of songs they released, before I knew an album was coming, were also good. Not as good, but still enjoyable. This song... leaves me questioning some things. First of all, it's not nearly as hooky as their best material, which is strike one. The bigger issue is the guest spot, since I find his voice lesser than Any Given Day's singer, and also rather annoying. When you bring in a guest, they should be doing something you can't, or something better than you can do. In this case, he makes this song worse than if he wasn't there. I'm not writing the band off, by any means, but I'm at least giving them a bit of side-eye. This one should still be solid.

Magnum - Blue Tango

Like clockwork, it's time for another Magnum album to start the new year off. The last one was one of their better efforts, and that just makes this song even more torturous to sit through. Magnum is not great at rocking out, and this effort to do so is one of the weaker songs I've ever heard from them. The aren't heavy, or energetic, so focusing on those aspects is pulling attention from what they're actually good at. Couple that with having a rather weak and anemic chorus, and we're left either with me questioning their ears for picking this song to be the first impression. This one might be a huge letdown.