This Month: Freight Trains, Sucker Punches, and Next-Level Noise
August came in swinging. From devastating metalcore debuts to emo sucker punches and masked Scottish chaos, this month’s lineup wasn’t short on impact. If July felt like a battle royale, August felt like a full-scale brawl.
Each of these artists proved their worth with tracks that refuse to sit quietly in the background. This wasn’t music you put on while doing the dishes this was music that demanded attention.
And while the choice was once again brutal, the crown has been claimed.
Let’s break it down.
3️⃣ Third Place: Obelisk – “Tragically Designed”
Genre: Alt / Metal / Punk
Echo Scale™: 4.8/5 ★★★★☆
Echo Rebel’s favourite masked Scottish Metalcore-meets-Electronic sledgehammer is back, sharpening his sound with “Tragically Designed.” This isn’t a wild reinvention, but rather a brutal refinement of what already made Obelisk impossible to ignore. Huge guitars, punishing drums, and his trademark Scottish snarl combine with flawless production to create a wall of noise that somehow still breathes.
Obelisk continues to prove he’s not a passing curiosity in the scene he’s a one-man demolition crew with a vision.
2️⃣ Second Place: PTRNS – “Mary Jane”
Genre: Emo / Post-Hardcore / Rock
Echo Scale™: 4.9/5 ★★★★✮
Already a local name in Belfast, PTRNS cemented their rising reputation with “Mary Jane” a song that manages to balance emo vulnerability with post-hardcore aggression. It’s bleak, it’s powerful, and it hits with a sucker punch of raw honesty. Nicole and Tom’s vocals are a masterclass in dynamic delivery, elevated by meticulous guitar tones and a rhythm section that refuses to phone it in.
This isn’t just a single it’s a statement that PTRNS are ready to step beyond their scene and onto much bigger stages.
1️⃣ Artist of the Month: Hopes Avenue – “Back to Me”
Genre: Metalcore / Alternative
Echo Scale™: 5/5 ★★★★★
We’ll be honest Hopes Avenue weren’t on our radar before “Back to Me” landed in our inbox. But they didn’t just make an entrance, they kicked the damn door off its hinges.
What makes this win so exciting isn’t just the strength of the single (which is immense), but what it signals for the band’s future. Hopes Avenue have arrived at a moment when the metalcore scene is hungry for something that feels real again. Too many releases in this space sound like they were churned out of a plugin preset predictable drops, cookie-cutter screams, and nothing left to say. “Back to Me” is the exact opposite. It’s human, it’s deliberate, and it’s impossible to ignore.
Behind the crushing guitars and synth-wrapped aggression is a sense of craft that belies how early this band is in their journey. Every detail feels intentional. Every shift feels earned. And that outro? Pure theatre leaving you floating in the same synth haze you started in, only now carrying the weight of everything that came before it.
It’s the sort of track that doesn’t just win you fans, it creates believers. If this is the band’s opening statement, then Hopes Avenue could quickly become one of the most exciting names to watch not just in their scene, but across the wider heavy landscape.
This wasn’t just a victory. It was a freight train moment the kind that makes you stop, stare, and realise you’ve just witnessed the start of something special.
🏅 Artist of the Year Update
With their August win, Hopes Avenue now join Eliza Delf & The Wilderness, Saint Senara, and The Guillotines in the official shortlist for Echo Rebel UK’s 2025 Artist of the Year.
Four finalists in, and the competition is already vicious.
Final Thoughts
From the ferocity of Hopes Avenue to the emotional force of PTRNS and the sonic sledgehammer of Obelisk, August gave us three artists operating at the top of their game. Each one could have taken the top spot in a different month but this time, the freight train momentum of “Back to Me” made the decision impossible to ignore.
September, you’re on deck. Let’s see who dares to step up next.
Echo Rebel UK – For the bold. For the real. For the rebel.
