Best Rock + Metal Songs of June – Staff Favorites + Essentials
Here are the best rock and metal songs of June, 2022!
It was the most stacked month of new music so far this year with some seriously huge acts all dropping fresh tunes. Even so, plenty of newcomers and other artists dominated our listening habits this month. Beyond all the essentials, the Loudwire staff has made selections for their own personal favorites from June and it's possible you may have missed some of these. There's literally hundreds of new songs coming out each week, but nothing was as good as what you'll find below!
Follow the Best of the Month playlist here.
THE ESSENTIALS
You know these bands and you probably heard these songs the instant they came out — midnight Spotify lurkers, we see you. These were the songs that kept May roaring:
Adema, “Violent Principles”
Amon Amarth, “Get In the Ring”
Behemoth, “Off to War!”
Clutch, “We Strive for Excellence”
Coheed and Cambria, “A Disappearing Act”
Counterparts, “Unwavering Vow”
Fame on Fire, “Ketamine”
Five Finger Death Punch, “Welcome to the Circus”
From Ashes to New, “Heartache”
GWAR, “Ratcatcher”
Highly Suspect, “Natural Born Killer”
Hollywood Undead, “City of the Dead”
I Prevail, “Body Bag”
In Flames, “State of Slow Decay”
Jack White, “If I Die Tomorrow”
King’s X, “Let It Rain”
Kreator, “Become Immortal”
Lamb of God, “Nevermore”
Lorna Shore, “Into the Earth”
Machine Head, “UNHALLØWED”
Maneskin, “If I Can Dream”
Megadeth, “We’ll Be Back”
Miss May I, “Bleed Together”
Motionless in White, “Scoring the End of the World”
Municipal Waste, “Electrified Brain”
Muse, “Will of the People”
Nothing More, “SPIRITS”
Nova Twins, “Choose Your Fighter”
Ozzy Osbourne, “Patient Number 9” (ft. Jeff Beck)
Palisades, “Sober”
Panic! At the Disco, “Viva Las Vengeance”
Parkway Drive, “Glitch”
Queensryche, “In Extremis”
Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Nerve Flip”
Saint Asonia, “Better Late Than Never”
Serj Tankian with Sevak Amroyan, “Amber”
Shinedown, “Daylight”A
Sleeping With Sirens, “Crosses”
Soulfly, “Scouring the Vile”
Spiritbox, “Rotoscope”
Stratovarius, “Survive”
Suicide Silence, “Engine No. 9”
The Devil Wears Prada, “Salt”
The Mars Volta, “Blacklight Shine”
We Came As Romans, “Plagued”
STAFF FAVORITES
The stuff Loudwire's team has been obsessed with.
Philip Trapp
BAND: Artificial Brain
SONG: "Artificial Brain"
RELEASED: June 3
Isn't it great when metal bands have a title track based on their name? The song "Artificial Brain" by the cathartically progressive death metal group Artificial Brain is a technical mish-mash of instrumental cacophony. And the futuristic sci-fi narrative that emerges in the vocals (if you read along with lyrics, anyway) shows that this New York quintet has more on its mind than simply corporeal matters. But don't be fooled — the self-titled Artificial Brain is not the act's debut effort, but it is actually the third studio album by these brutal metal mind-wizards. Get into it.
BAND: Noah Weiland
SONG: "Breakup Song"
RELEASED: June 21
Giving modern listeners an alternative to the current pop-punk mainstream led by Machine Gun Kelly, the 21-year-old Noah Weiland — the son of the late Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland — released his debut solo EP, Last Kiss Before Detox, earlier this month. Its opening track, "Breakup Song," shows the endearingly bouncy pop-rock tack Noah is taking. Note that it sounds nothing like his father — "We make completely different music," Noah recently told Loudwire of the comparison between the two.
Lauryn Schaffner
BAND: Classless Act
SONG: “Made in Hell”
RELEASED: June 24
You may have heard of Classless Act because of their song with Vince Neil, or perhaps you’re already aware that they’re opening for Motley Crue and Def Leppard’s Stadium Tour with Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Poison. Regardless of how you discovered them, their debut album Welcome to the Show just came out on June 24. While the whole album is sure to attract lovers of gritty, classic-sounding rock ‘n’ roll, “Made in Hell” is a standout track that really lends the spotlight to frontman Derek Day’s soaring vocal range.
BAND: The Warning
SONG: “Error”
RELEASED: June 24
At this point, I get excited anytime I hear that The Warning have released new music. They initially garnered popularity with their cover of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” that went viral when they were teenagers, but they’ve truly come into their own with their original material over the last few years. The title track from their latest album Error is a powerfully moody track that emphasizes just how badass all three sisters really are.
Todd Fooks
BAND: Pixies
SONG: “There’s a Moon On”
RELEASED: June 8
Pixies are back with a September 2022 planned release for a new record, Doggerel, the 4th of their reunion-era albums. Guitarist Joey Santiago says of the band’s evolution “This time around we have grown. We no longer have under two-minute songs. We have little breaks, more conventional arrangements but still our twists in there.” “There’s a Moon On” is a nice example of this. It’s two minutes and 50 seconds of vintage Pixies.
BAND: Jimmy Eat World
SONG: “Something Loud”
RELEASED: June 9
I continue to argue that Jimmy Eat World is the purest pop punk that has ever been and they continue to prove me right. The Arizona rockers look back to their youth in “Something Loud” and continue to channel that musical energy that is their timeless sound. If you grew up with Jimmy Eat World this will make you feel nostalgic in all the right ways.
Rabab Al-Sharif
BAND: Callous Daoboys
SONG: “What Is Delicious? Who Swarms?”
RELEASED: June 2
Atlanta’s Callous Doaboys are somehow both chaotic and calculated. Picture frantic math-core that’s a bit myspace metalcore that also somehow includes electric violin and synths. Nothing makes sense but it also works perfectly in ways I can’t fully express with words. You kinda just have to hear it. If you find yourself drawn to their absolutely unhinged energy on this track be sure to look out for their album Celebrity Therapist dropping Sept. 2 via MNRK Heavy.
BAND: Pinkshift
SONG: “nothing (in my head)”
RELEASED: June 1
I’ve said it before and I will say it again: LISTEN TO PINKSHIFT. Their first song to release on their new label Hopeless Records, “nothing (in my head)” shows the band upping their songwriting skills and production level while maintaining that pop-punk catchiness they’ve been bringing all along. Their incredible musicianship also is on display with soaring vocals and heavy riffs that will surely burst from the stage when they play this new track live. It’s time for Pinkshift, so consider this your warning.
BAND: Fire From The Gods
SONG: “SOS”
RELEASED: June 3
Listen, there is a lot happening in the world right now, and it’s enough to send anyone’s anxiety through the roof. Fire From The Gods have captured that feeling of drowning in unease on their latest track, “SOS,” which is a blend of soaring, anthemic rock and rap with a little reggae flavor. Maybe you can see them play it live this summer on their tour with Five Finger Death Punch and Megadeth.
Chad Childers
BAND: Jeff Beck and Johnny Depp
SONG: “This Is a Track for Miss Hedy Lamarr”
RELEASED: June 9
Johnny Depp’s classic rock influence has seeped into his work with Hollywood Vampires and it carries over here with legendary guitar great Jeff Beck as well. The two pair up for a spacey, Bowie-esque ode to the golden age of Hollywood film star Hedy Lamarr. The actress would be muse enough as a big screen siren, but her second career as an inventor made her one of the more intriguing figures of the day. Depp, who took the lead on the track and steps up to sing vocals, delivers a true gem on this effort.
BAND: Near Beer
SONG: “Dead Drummers”
RELEASED: June 30
After a decade fronting Los Angeles favorites The Henry Clay People, singer Joey Siara returns with his new band Near Beer and a song pretty close to his heart. “Dead Drummers” was penned after the death of a friend during the pandemic and serves as a tribute to the “reckless spirit of buddies who find a surrogate family in the music scene.” Despite the darker situation that inspired the song, the track is actually quite uplifting and hits at the spirited fun of making music. We’d be surprised if you weren’t picking up an instrument with the idea of jamming with friends by the time the track is over.
BAND: The Nixons
SONG: “Kaleidoscope”
RELEASED: June 7
Once a band with modest success amid the ‘90s alt-rock scene, the Zac Maloy-led group disbanded in 2000. Now back after reforming in 2017, the group hasn’t lost their touch for melodic and impactful music. Maloy, who co-wrote on Shinedown’s chart-topping single “Atlas Falls,” is in fine form on the chugging rocker “Kaleidoscope” that takes a look at a relationship through a different perspective. With songs like this, The Nixons’ second era could rival their first.
BAND: One OK Rock
SONG: “Save Yourself”
RELEASED: June 24
One OK Rock have enjoyed major success in their native Japan and it’s easy to see why. And if ever there were a song that should knock down the doors stateside, it’s “Save Yourself” off their upcoming album Luxury Disease. Channeling a bit of an early 2000s rock sound, “Save Yourself” feels rock radio ready, serving an uplifting message of overcoming doubt by leaning into self-reliance.
BAND: Vexes
SONG: “Energy Vampire(s)”
RELEASED: June 9
Welcome back, Vexes! It’s been four years since their debut album Ancient Geometry turned our heads with its atmospheric sound. But the time away has been put to good use with the new double album What We Could Destroy /// If Only Given Time. One of the standout tracks off that release, “Energy Vampire(s),” is an easy track to get lost in, with its distortion-filled wall of guitars and drumhead piercing beats. Singer Charlie Berezansky ties it all together, perfectly pacing the song between hypnotically meditative verses and moments of full throttle anguish.
Joe DiVita
BAND: Spirit Adrift
SONG: “Mass Formation Psychosis”
RELEASED: June 24
Isn’t it just the best when a band you love releases a song and you think, “Wow, that’s their best one yet!” And then it just kind of keeps on happening? That’s the case with Spirit Adrift who are quite possibly the mightiest traditional metal-leaning act around right now. There’s traces of post-Ozzy Sabbath coursing through their veins, but it’s presented with touches of the U.S. response to the NWOBHM in the early-to-mid-’80s and some burly melodic riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place on an Entombed record.
“Mass Formation Psychosis” is the most doom-laden Spirit Adrift have been in a while and now it’s a huge balancing act, stylistically, that keeps things so fresh as we await the August release of the 20 Centuries Gone EP that’s stuffed with some seriously cool covers.
BAND: Vomit Forth
SONG: “Predatory Saviour”
RELEASED: June 15
July 8 marks the release of Seething Malevolence, the first album from Connecticut’s Vomit Forth. “Predatory Saviour” is a guts-out, grimy stomper of a death metal hymn with a title that seems to put a certain religious institution with a centuries-long track record of molesting children and other nefarious acts of depravity within their lyrical crosshairs. No wonder the malevolence is seething!
BAND: Phobophilic
SONG: “Those Which Stare Back”
RELEASED: June 10
I don’t think I’ve ever been this stoked over a young death metal scene since I first got into death metal half a lifetime ago (about 16 years). Enveloping Absurdity, the debut album from North Dakota’s Phobophillic (a phobophile is someone who is aroused by fear, just FYI) is due Sept. 1 and “Those Which Stare Back” drops the first bites of meat into our open and salivating mouths.
That’s right, this is some chunky, contorted death metal with a rough-around-the-edges production (hooray!) that most immediately brings to mind late ‘90s/early ‘00s Incantation. Are you sold yet?