The Daily Drop: May 18th 2026

Welcome to The Daily Drop, your roundup of the latest news from the rock, metal, punk, emo, hardcore, and alternative scenes.

Catching up on the key stories from the past few days, today’s round-up sees Beartooth announce their sixth album, while Bristol nu-gazers Split Chain return with a new single and announce a deluxe of their debut. Liverpool’s No Play Festival also confirms its 2026 headliner. We also highlight the new single from Rome-based collective, Feldspar. There are also 36 new additions to the ‘Newish Music’ playlist.

Here’s everything you need to know for May 18th.

Beartooth Announce New Album ‘Pure Ecstasy’

Beartooth have announced their sixth album. Titled ‘Pure Ecstasy’ and due August 28th via their new label home, Fearless Records.

The follow-up 2023’s ‘The Surface’ promises to be Beartooth‘s most collaborative yet. Paired with ambitious intent, vocalist Caleb Shomo doesn’t perform every instrument himself, allowing bassist Oshie Bichar, guitarists Zach Huston and Will Deely, and drummer Connor Denis to have their say. While Shomo worked with songwriter Skyler Accord (Issues, Twenty One Pilots, Bilmuri). For Shomo, the album promises to explore a new level of vulnerability, building on the band’s longstanding reputation for delivering cathartic rock anthems.

This past March saw Beartooth share the news of joining Fearless Records with the release of ‘Free’. Upon its release, Shomo said the track is “the most honest depiction of my soul I will most likely ever make”

Joining the announcement is the album’s title track. Co-written with Periphery’s Misha Mansoor and expanded by producer Jordan Fish (Bring Me The Horizon), ‘Pure Ecstasy’ sees Beartooth leaning into a bolder, heavier direction, with chugging guitars. The track is described as “a raw, disorienting entry point for an album built on confronting extremes of emotion without flinching.”

“Song one is always a crucial part of an album to me. It’s gotta lock you into the vibe out of the gate,” says Shomo. “‘Pure Ecstasy’ was birthed in a studio with Misha Mansoor, ridiculous loudspeakers, and the dumbest heaviest chugs we could chug. Once it was brought home and expanded on with Jordan Fish, there was no question [that] it was the album opener. Play loud and kick ass.”

Beartooth will also play a run of UK dates this autumn. Support comes from Silverstein and Kingdom of Giants.

Split Chain Return With ‘scatterbrain’ & Detail ‘motionblur’ Deluxe

Bristol nu-gaze band Split Chain have returned with ‘scatterbrain’. It comes as they announce a deluxe edition of their debut album, ‘motionblur’. It’s set to be released on September 11th via Epitaph Records.

The new single that fuses shoegaze atmosphere with nu-metal crunch, and

Picking up where ‘motionblur’ left off, ‘scatterbrain’ is a distorted haze with a nu-metal crunch, and built around a theme of slow, one-sided emotional drift.

“Like all of our other music, ‘scatterbrain’ comes from personal experiences growing up that we’re sure everyone can relate with to some degree. It’s a song about the slow degradation of friendships, relationships and family ties. How all of a sudden, when things can seem to be at their best, the other person in the relationship, friendship or the family member seems to stop pulling their weight,” Split Chain shared. “They start to get caught up in their own thing, get lost in their head, and either consciously or subconsciously pull away without providing any reason whatsoever, leaving the other person with nothing but feelings of abandonment, unrequited love and questions.”

As for the upoming deluxe edition of ‘motionblur’. It’ll feature reimagined versions of every track on the original album, with collaborations from artists including London hardcore group False Reality on ‘SPIT’ and Las Vegas’ Roman Candle on ‘Headway’, among others still to be announced. March’s standalone single, ‘sylvia (i won’t belong to you),’ will also be included alongside ‘untitled’, a previously hidden track from the LP and CD versions of the album.

“We are so, so proud of what we created with ‘motionblur’, and we wanted to come up with a way to celebrate it all over again, in a way that both shows love to the scene that has helped us get where we are now, as well as including many of the friends that we’ve made along the way,” said the band in a press release announcing the deluxe record. “We get that everyone interprets music in their own way, and so we invited a bunch of mates to feature across the album, so that we could hear their individual interpretations of the songs. It came out so much better than we could have even hoped, and we genuinely can’t wait to hear what everybody thinks.”

Split Chain have also announced a UK headline run in September, their first UK dates since before ‘motionblur’ was released, with False Reality and Roman Candle in support.

July
8th 2000trees Festival, Cheltenham
August
10th Academy, Manchester (w/ Kittie)
11th O2 Academy Islington, London (w/ Kittie)
September (w/ False Reality & Roman Candle)
18th The Joiners, Southampton
19th The Flapper, Birmingham
20th The Deaf Institute, Manchester
22nd G2, Glasgow
23rd Boom, Leeds
24th Exchange, Bristol
25th Underworld, London

No Play Festival Confirms Stick To Your Guns as 2026 Headliner

Liverpool’s No Play Festival has named California hardcore veterans Stick To Your Guns as its 2026 headliner, with seven more acts confirmed as part of a second wave announcement.

Held in Liverpool City Centre on September 5th, the new additions bring in Las Vegas hardcore act Roman Candle, Pennsylvania’s Fools Game, Malignant Methods, Safeguard, Dormant, Sunday Best, and Invasion.

Now in its fourth year, No Play Festival is a proudly independent, no-barrier event spread across five stages in the heart of the city. Highlights this year include the Guillotine Stage at the Jacaranda Basement, named after the festival’s monthly local showcase, and the Best Life Records Stage at Kazimier Stockroom.

“We’re pretty excited about the new stage setup this year! No barriers all day is something we’ve wanted to do since we started, it’s how this music is meant to be experienced. The fest has really grown over the last few years and to have the two biggest stages in Arts Club running back to back as well, it’s gonna go off!” says No Play founder Ted MacDonald.

Some of the noteworthy names previously announced include Pest Control, Spaced, Liquid Mike, Bodyweb, and Dry Socket.

Tickets are £62.85 inclusive of booking fees, with a monthly payment plan available. Tickets are on sale now at noplayfestival.gigantic.com.

The full line-up so far:

Rome’s Feldspar Drop New Single ‘Good Kids’

Rome-based collective Feldspar are back with a new single, ‘Good Kids’. Produced by Jon Markson (The Story So Far, Drug Church, Quicksand) and Alan Day (Four Year Strong) at Animal Farm Studio in Flemington, NJ.

The track sees the eight-piece collective lean into their love of power-pop and punk, while maintaining their hardcore edge. Aided by Anna Portman and Marianne Leone shining melodies, they counter Rick Zamurri’s energetic hardcore bounce. It results in a vibrant number. Lyrically,  ‘Good Kids’ is built around the moment when being “good” starts feeling more conditional than inherent, when the rules stop making sense.

Named after a mineral said to have been worn by covert Roman clergy, the band call themselves the “Godless folk two blocks from the Pope.” ‘Good Kids’ follows their 2024 debut album ‘Old City New Ruins’, released via Time To Kill Records, with more new music and live dates promised over the coming months.

Today’s New Songs

Here’s a rundown of the latest additions to our ‘Newish Music’ playlist.

My Chemical Romance – Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na) [Recorded For BBC Radio 1]
Holding Absence – Reflection
Beartooth – Pure Ecstasy
Deaf Havana – Car Crash (feat. Sierra Annie)
Anthrax – It’s For The Kids
Sublime – Can’t Miss You
The Maine – Parking Garage Song #5
Five Finger Death Punch – Eye Of The Storm
Split Chain – scatterbrain
Madball – Rebel Kids
Free Throw – MissingNo. (reimagined)
Youth Fountain – Before We Go
Negative Frame – Sorrow & Solitude
Feldspar – Good Kids
Bailey Spinn – voodoo
Cober Mouth – CESSPIT
Bleeker – Elephant
Earthside – A Dying Star
Oh Hiroshima – Exit Cloud
Snarls – One Wish
proun – Coloring Pages
Dead Wells – Stain
Madison Violet – Bleed For Me (feat. Kellin Quinn)
Girls Like Mystery – Mary
2KINETIK – Sidewinder
The Failsafe – The Grey
Triple Lutz – Don’t Wake Daddy
Blue Meduca – Flying Monkey
VRSTY – Face Down
VoiVod – The End Of Dormancy (Symphonique)
Mother – Unholy
Moon Reaper – Dirge Of The Moons
Brocarde – Seven Sins
Red Method – Counting Corpses
Poison The Preacher – Chicken Out
Antariksh – Iltija

Keep up to date with all the latest rock, metal, punk, and beyond, by following AlreadyHeard‘s ‘Newish Music’ Playlist.

Find the playlist on Spotify and Apple Music.