Coup D'etat - Coup D'etat The Band The Promo The EP

Labels: Zegema Beach Records

Formats: Lathe/Digital

Release Date: 13 Jul 2026

Tracklist:

1. Survivorship Bias

2. Losing Meaning

3. On Staying Put

I've taken a two-week break from the day job to re-decorate. Been putting it off for way too long, which means time spent in close proximity to noxious cleaning/painting materials. Needless to say, I'll be glad when it's all over and I can relax. It has its plus side though, as I get a lie-in each day and I can listen to more music (I need to do more of the latter).

Sticking to my self-made commitment to cover every 2026 release from Zegema Beach Records, I'm covering the new Coup D'etat EP this evening. The Canadian quartet released it digitally (as three tracks) and on super-limited 7" Lathe (as two tracks) with the help of ZBR.

For some reason I feel out of practice. Maybe it’s the fumes! As mentioned above, only two songs from this EP made it to the 7” lathe, the first one being ‘Survivorship Bias’. What strikes me first is how familiar it sounds, with guitar riffs that rip with intensity but are also very melodic. Dave’s promo write-up draws comparisons to Alexisonfire and Boysetsfire (the latter being my favourite band full stop), and he’s not wrong. Coup D’etat have semi-clean vocals up top and harsh ones backing them up, while the bass and drums provide a backdrop of sheer class. This is awesome!

‘Losing Memory’ is the lathe’s second song and a dramatic version of modern-day emotional hardcore. It’s pretty damn good as well. It definitely feels like a generation of bands that I grew up with are coming full-circle again through bands like Coup D’etat, which is great honestly. I’d add Funeral For A Friend to the list of comparisons as well, though loosely. I mention them because I picked up a 7” single of theirs that I already own, over the weekend. 

Ending with digital-only song ‘On Staying Put’, Coup D’etat deliver their most concise and ferocious take on emotional hardcore. As that previous sentence suggests, their approach is both a mixture of heaviness and tempered emotion, thanks in part to laid-back instrumental passages. Goddamn, I need to get back into some sort of writing rhythm! This EP is such a great way to discover Coup D’etat, if you haven’t done so already. I’d recommend you go back and listen to their earlier releases too, as they’re all golden!

You can stream and purchase the EP digitally (with all three songs) via Coup D'etat's bandcamp page below:-

Surprisingly, 7" lathe copies are still available to grab from ZBR here:-http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/zegema-beach-releases/coup-ep

Also, for anybody who has missed the announcement, Persistent Vision Records are now the US store for ZBR. Check out what they have available here (with more due shortly):-https://persistentvisionrecords.com/collections/zegema-beach-records

Coup D'etat Instagram - @coupdetatbc

Zegema Beach Records Instagram - @zegema_beach

Threat Signal - Revelations

Labels: Agonia Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital

Release Date: 27 Mar 2026

Tracklist:

1. The Great Tribulation

2. Non-Essential

3. Exercise The Demon

4. Fire At Will

5. Death Will Find Us All

6. Paralysis

7. Revelations

8. NME

9. Hell And Back

10. Live For You

I didn't think I would ever get the opportunity to review an album by Canadian metal band Threat Signal, until I wrote about their 2017 album Disconnect that is!. My introduction to the band stretches right back to their 2006 debut album Under Reprisal. They've steadily released albums ever since and earlier this year they released their fifth full-length Revelations via Agonia Records. This is still one of those pinch-me moments for both 20 year-old and 40 year-old me!

It’s time to put the stresses and strains of everyday life to one side for a bit. To escape, to reflect and to enjoy. That’s exactly what I intend to do with Threat Signal’s newest album Revelations. This is what I remember from Threat Signal. Epic technical/thrash metal with heaps of melody on opener ‘The Great Tribulation’. I’ve always heard much more European influence in their sound. The tempo of the music here is more mid-paced, but it works perfectly alongside the instrumentation and vocals. Think of bands like Textures and Soilwork as a reference.

As with my initial listens to Under Reprisal back in 2006, Revelations builds with every track. The excellent melodic layers of ‘Non-Essesntial’ provide an approachable warmth, which tempers the heavier passages. Threat Signal have never truly been about outright heaviness and that’s worked for them, even if they have floated under the radar slightly. ‘Exercise The Demon’ opens with riffs that sound like djent before djent was a thing (if that makes sense?). Add symphonic elements and harsh/clean vocal interplay, and there’s plenty going on. The lyrical content and use of samples paint a serious image, but the twin-leads towards the end make it all about the music again.

We all have our favourite albums by certain bands and at least for me, they tend to tie into when I first discovered them. That means that I’ll always compare newer albums to them, which is a bad habit and one I’m trying to break. ‘Fire At Will’ fills me with excitement as dramatic strings carve out an intro that leads to what is probably the album’s biggest anthem, in may opinion. Yes, it has a more traditional song-structure than the progressive structure Threat Signal are known for but there’s definitely room for that on the album.

Saying that though, the first half of Revelations ends with ‘Death Will Find Us All’, where thrash metal meets modern technicality, dialling up the heat once more. Heavier, gnarlier and full of riffs. Mid-points of albums can be a bit wishy washy but not here!. ’Paralysis’ opens with a pop/hip-hop intro before prog-metal takes the reins. The harsh vocals are a little lower in the mix, to match the instrumentation before the volume increases soon after. It’s Threat Signal delivering their version of tech/melo-death with a dollop of virtuoso instrumentation, much like they’ve always done. 

Threat Signal strike hard again with their title-track ‘Revelations’. Thrash metal is where it’s at here, coupled with a lot more urgency and expertly used melody. The fact that they’re able to weave together so many different elements without sounding disjointed is pretty damn impressive!. I’m not sure if this is a nod to the UK music magazine institution of the same name, but whatever, ’NME’ sees Threat Signal once again going about their business in a way that’s filled with epic song-writing and instrumentation that’s dripping in beautiful melody. 

The album’s penultimate song ‘Hell And Back’ continues with it’s own melodic approach, as dramatic piano leads into an orchestral/almost nu-metal song that’s punctuated by the band’s more familiar heaviness at times. Maybe it’s shining a light on Threat Signal’s future musical direction, but maybe it isn’t. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Closing out Revelations, ‘Live For You’ is both their most expansive and most accessible song (maybe?). I’m not saying the latter is a bad thing as they’ve always been a band that I thought would break through to wider audiences.  Honestly, it’s a great ending and a signal of intent from a band that have gained so much experience over the last twenty years. 

Throughout my time following and writing about bands, I’ve always covered those who have forged their careers on DIY/indie labels before jumping to larger ones. Threat Signal forged a different path as they started out on Nuclear Blast Records (with licensed pressings beyond Europe), before finding a home on Polish indie metal label Agonia Records. The move has done a lot of good for them though. Starting with 2017’s Disconnect and now Revelations, Threat Signal have proven that they’re in it for the long haul. Purist or not, I defy you to find anything wrong with this record.

You can stream Revelations and purchase it on vinyl, CD and digital formats via Agonia Records here:-

Threat Signal - https://www.facebook.com/threatsignal

Agonia Records - https://www.facebook.com/agoniarecords

Dno - Cena za úsměv

Labels: Owlripper Recordings/Na Druhé Straně Řeky

Formats: Digital/Tape

Release Date: 23 Jul 2026

Tracklist:

1. Nemy dopis

2. Spirála hlouposti

3. Past

4. Sladka chut rozkladu

5. Cena za úsměv

6. Valka nemá vítěze

7. Hra na pravdu

It's been a while since I was last able to attend a bandcamp listening party, so it's exciting to be able to attend this one courtesy of both Czechia hardcore/screamo band Dno and Owlripper Recordings. This is Dno's third album and it'll be my first time experiencing their sound. Thank you goes out to Paul and Owlripper for the invite too. I think this release was meant to reach me.

Dno have been a band for over ten years now, though they may have flown under the radar for many people (including mine) until now. It’s always hard to write during these sessions, but the whole point of them is really just to listen, so i’ll flesh this review out later on. Album opener ‘Nemy dopis’ has such a euphoric melodic hardcore sound to it. It’s very emotive and certainly more on the hardcore side. The sound takes you to a more nostalgic place.

‘Spirála hlouposti’ is a lot more immediate in both length and instrumentation, but no less musical. More off-kilter too but with utterly beautiful instrumental passages that really complement the heartfelt aggression of the vocals. I love the slightly blackened approach to ‘Past’. It’s only really evident in the riffs, but it works so well on the album. Okay, maybe I was slightly premature in saying that as the drumming and more to the point, the cymbals also sound black metal-like.

‘Sladka chut rozkladu’ continues that same approach but it leans further towards post-metal too. It’s excellent and quite dramatic too, showing once again how lines between genres/sub-genres are being blurred. In fact, let’s just say there are no genres in heavy music now. It’d all be much easier that way.  ‘Cena za úsměv’, the album’s title-track, is carved out of punk and then injected with yet more emotive hardcore. As a result, it’s more accessible I would say and maybe a bit more personal.

Penultimate song ‘Valka nemá vítěze’ has me wondering why more people didn’t attend this listening party. The song itself is super upbeat and heart-wrenching, but it also feels like it can bring people together. It certainly doesn’t need to be flashy or uber technical to make a point. Dno are just absolutely spot on at what they do.

Album closer ‘Hra na pravdu’ offers one last quick-fire round of hardcore; leaving you emotionally spent but also resolutely upbeat. I’ve been surrounding myself with so much prog/tech stuff recently (outside of the blog) and while I really enjoy that side of heavy music, I’ve maybe forgotten about how in the present I feel when hardcore like this hits. 

Honestly, this has been such a great listen. Raw and intense but with so much passion as well. Dno really hit the spot, probably because I haven’t gone down the hardcore path much this year. One thing’s for sure though, I’m really eager to dig deeper into Czech hardcore now and I know just where to begin!

You can stream and purchase the album both on tape, and digitally from Dno here:-

It's digitally available from Owlripper Recordings here -https://owlripperrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/cena-za-sm-v

Tape copies are available too from Na Druhé Straně Řeky here:-

https://ndsr.bandcamp.com/album/dno-cena-za-sm-v

Dno Instagram - @dno_band

Owlripper Recordings Instagram - @owlripperecordings

Na Druhé Straně Řeky Instagram - @na_druhe_strane_reky

Letterstoyou - A Shoebox Of Letterstoyou

Labels: Zegema Beach Records/Third House Label

Formats: Tape/Digital

Release Date: 25 May 2026

Tracklist:

1. Lifted

2. Fireflies

3. Watch Your Lips Beg

4. Summer Rain

5. Letter To You: July 7

6. Subtle Language

7. Feral Growth At The Side Of Mystery

8. Letter To You: July 9

9. From A Photograph

10. Our Naked Legs

11. November

12. You're The Warmest Place I've Ever Felt

13. My Veins Are Burning

14. Eight Autumn

15. Early Garden

16. Orange Lights And November Rain

17. My Heart Is Beating Out Of My Chest

18. Lavender Orange Blood

Last month was quiet both on the blog and on ordering of new records. Notifications are coming through about imminent arrivals though and I did splurge on one big drop (points for guessing correctly on that one!). This post has nothing to do with that though and all to do with the semi recent Letterstoyou compilation release from Zegema Beach Records and Third House Label.

Letterstoyou is one of the many projects from the mastermind more widely known, perhaps, for Sadness. This comp gathers the first three releases from Letterstoyou. Eighteen songs is an insane amount to have on a tape. They're almost completely sold out too, so be quick if you want one!

ZBR has been putting together loads of great discography/compilation releases recently and this is the latest one. Opening with ‘Lifted’, the first of four tracks from the very first Letterstoyou release And Crying Impulse (released July 2025) is both kind of obvious but also a masterstroke, as it shows right away what the band is about. Solo emo-violence/mathcore instumentation with shrieking/black metal vocals. I didn’t realise that all three releases featured here were only released last year! Crazy productivity.

‘Fireflies’ follows with a more gentile intro before morphing into a start/stop collage of melody, mathcore heaviness and piercing vocals. Its mid-section is instrumental emo at its best, but the foreboding notion that it’s going to blow up again is always there, and it does so but slowly. The build-up is done in a very obvious way, where it readies you properly before hitting something that’s nearly full-throttle. On the contrary, ‘Watch Your Lips Beg’ kind of moves in the opposite direction. It’s heavier than it is light and it has more urgency, due to its brief length. 

Rounding out the And Crying Impulse portion of this collection, ‘Summer Rain’ shows an even more expansive side to Letterstoyou. Every texture and sound seem to be completely separate yet they fit together perfectly. It’s crazy how that happens. Even after years of listening to and digging deeper into the music, I still don’t know how it’s possible. Maybe that’s why I’m not a musician! The next portion of this collection belongs to Feral Growth At The Side Of Mystery (also released July 2025) and  ‘Letter To You: July 7’ is a lot more subtle, at least until it fully kicks in, when the mix of twinkly emo and mathcore seems to become even more entwined. It’s quite majestic really. 

The drumming on ’Subtle Language’ is amazing and it’s given so much space, which was very unexpected. It’s only joined by quiet guitar and acts as a massive drum solo for at least two minutes. When the guitar and vocals grow in prominence later on, the drumming is still there and just as spellbinding, It’s just fills for days. I was going to say that title-track ‘Feral Growth At The Side Of Mystery’ was more normal, but there’s nothing normal about it. There are less drum fills here, but instead there are some proper heavy breakdowns and melodic textures that sound like 80’s video game synths in parts. 

It’s normal for me bemoan those pauses between songs but I think with Letterstoyou, they do work. ‘Letter To You: July 9’ may be a continuation of track 5 ‘Letter To You: July 7”, but I’m not sure how to tell you if it is. It’s better to treat it individually though, as once again the project delivers a song that’s expensive and quite diverse in my opinion. ‘From A Photograph’ is Killers-esque for a brief minute, but not for long so don’t worry (sorry for what comes out of my head sometimes!). It’s hella funky though in places, reminding me of some nu-metal in the riff department. Maybe Incubus? Really, there’s just a whole lot of beauty and a dash of mayhem here. 

‘Our Naked Legs’ is the final song on Feral Growth At The Side Of Mystery and its warm, fuzzy rawness radiates throughout the recording. It’s a lengthier song once again but that just adds to the enjoyment, with more off-kilter instrumentation, frenetic screams and bass-drops that bookend more lovely emo. The collection closes with the self-titled album, which was released in November of 2025. It’s quite something to hear how far the songwriting and musicianship of Letterstoyou progressed through these three releases. ‘November’ is a case in point, being more brooding and mid-paced with a big hint of shoegaze, until the emoviolence kicks in.

The melodic, country-like intro to the excellently titled ‘You’re The Warmest Place I’ve Ever Felt’ fools you, but only for a moment, as familiarity returns fairly quickly. The melody is retained throughout the song though, which has violent elements but also nods to modern pop culture too. The urgency is real here as ‘My Veins Are Burning’ presents an aural take on that very notion. It’s like it was written as a commentary about how polarised and angry society is becoming, while also referencing the rise in environmental temperatures we’re all facing. My interpretation’s probably way off the mark, but I don’t mind. I still feel it!

It’s back to the off-kilter madness on ‘Eight Autumn’ and suffice to say, it’s bloody brilliant. Cathartic songs like this seem to come along exactly when I need them. I’m not sure if that’s the case for everyone else! That mentality carries on through ‘Early Garden’, even when it drops back into the same guitar refrain that appeared on ‘You’re The Warmest Place I’ve Ever Felt’ towards the end. ’Orange Lights And November Rain’ contains emotive spoken-word and instrumentation that gets faster and faster, before crushing hardcore riffs take over. The rest is history as they say, as it’s over before you know it. A whirlwind of excellent screamo and extreme heaviness.

‘My Heart Is Beating Out Of My Chest’ is a bewildering song, as it combines nursery rhyme-esque melodies with furious screamo. I’ve got to say that dramatic penultimate songs don’t get much better than this. Ending with ‘Lavender Orange Blood’, Letterstoyou sign off in beautiful style. This has been a joy to listen to and while my paragraphs have shortened (I still need to edit it as well!), my love for Letterstoyou has grown. A project that’s new to me but one that also sounds so familiar. To have three releases gathered in one place is a great way for new fans to discover it too. 

You can stream and buy the collection as a name-your-price download from ZBR below:-

Letterstoyou Instagram - @letterstoyouscreamo

All three releases are also available digitally to buy directly from Letterstoyou here -https://letterstoyouscreamo.bandcamp.com/music.

Very limited tape copies remain for sale via ZBR here - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/zegema-beach-releases/ashoeboxofletterstoyou and Third House Label here - https://thirdhouse.limitedrun.com.

Zegema Beach Records Instagram  - @zegema_beach

Third House Label - @thirdhouselabel