{"id":2048646,"date":"2026-07-17T08:00:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T05:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2048646"},"modified":"2026-07-17T08:00:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T05:00:24","slug":"loathe-a-stranger-to-you-review-a-barn-storming-collection-of-maximalist-genre-bending-digi-metal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2048646","title":{"rendered":"Loathe \u2013 \u2018A Stranger To You\u2019 review: a barn-storming collection of maximalist, genre-bending digi-metal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Loathe-Credit-Steve-Gullick.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"template-id-3332206\" class=\"post-3332206 tdb_templates type-tdb_templates status-publish post\">\n<div id=\"tdi_65\" class=\"tdc-zone\">\n<div class=\"tdc_zone tdi_66  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div id=\"tdi_67\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row_1400 td-stretch-content\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_68  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_70  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_71 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_71\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"696\" height=\"442\" class=\"entry-thumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Loathe-Credit-Steve-Gullick-696x442.jpg\" alt=\"Loathe A Stranger To You Review Artwork\" title=\"Loathe Credit Steve Gullick\"><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\">Loathe. Credit: Steve Gullick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_72\" class=\"tdc-row stretch_row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_73  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_75  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_breadcrumbs tdi_76 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-breadcrumbs \" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_76\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span>Reviews<\/span><span>Album Reviews<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_title tdi_77 tdb-single-title td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_77\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Loathe \u2013 \u2018A Stranger To You\u2019 review: a barn-storming collection of maximalist, genre-bending digi-metal<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_78 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_78\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>On their long-awaited return, the Liverpool band offer up an innovative, exhilarating record of finely tuned modern heavy music<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_review_overall tdi_79 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_79\">\n<table class=\"td-review td-fix-index\">\n<tr class=\"td-review-footer rate_stars\">\n<td class=\"td-review-score\">\n<div class=\"td-review-overall\">\n<div class=\"td-review-final-score\">4.5<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_80 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_80\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span> Tom Morgan<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_81 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_81\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2026-07-17T09:00:24+01:00\">17th July 2026<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_82\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_83  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_85  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Ah, the long-awaited album; an increasingly rare pleasure. In order to stay visible amid the relentless digi-noise of 2026, musicians today prefer to drip-feed fans a constant stream of new music rather than keep them tentatively waiting. The days of Guns \u2018N\u2019 Roses spending a decade tinkering with \u2018Chinese Democracy\u2019 are broadly a thing of the past, and in the process, a welcome bit of mystery has been lost from music culture. Waiting and speculating is fun; think of it as a variation of the friction-maxxing trend.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: Trueno\u2019s politically charged rap is putting him on the path to global success<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Loathe have offered us a tantalising glimpse of this rapidly receding age in the lead up to their third album, \u2018A Stranger To You\u2019. Intriguingly, they\u2019ve done it by making the world wait over five years for a record that could not sound more like the present day if it tried. Loathe\u2019s first release since 2021\u2019s pandemic-released ambient effort \u2018The Things They Believe\u2019, \u2018A Stranger To You\u2019 is a thrilling collection of maximalist metal built on an ultra-modern, everything-all-at-once approach that attempts to weld a million ideas (musical, textural and emotional) into a cohesive bludgeon.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>The Liverpool band\u2019s 2020 breakthrough \u2018I Let It In And It Took Everything\u2019 saw the four-piece elegantly blend together Deftones-esque heavy-gaze and punishing post-djent digi-core. On album four, Loathe have taken the tried-and-tested route of cranking up their various polarities: the heaviness is heavier (\u2018Revenant\u2019), the dreaminess dreamier (\u2018The Way It Breaks\u2019). The band\u2019s melodic tendencies have also been notably ramped up. \u2018The Ladder\u2019 is chill dream pop, while \u2018Harder To Pretend\u2019 packs a monster chorus that\u2019s not a million miles away from stadium pop, before disintegrating into gentle beats in the manner of several tracks on Turnstile\u2018s \u2018Never Enough\u2019.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Loathe - Fangs (Official Music Video)\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8JefYd7TBck?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Loathe\u2019s aesthetic ambition here is seriously impressive, particularly regarding the album\u2019s production. These 14 tracks have been fine-tuned to within an inch of their lives. The band (namely producer-guitarist Erik Bickerstaffe) have assembled it so that low-end baritone guitars and warm, un-metallic drums are fused together; a unified force of astonishingly heavy rhythm. The best tracks use this hyper-calibrated flair to blend Loathe\u2019s heavy-melodic sensibilities. \u2018Meet My Maker\u2019 is a bouncy banger, \u2018Block Of Flats\u2019 builds to a memorable post-hardcore passage (featuring vocals from Static Dress\u2019 Olli Appleyard), while closer \u2018No Stranger To You\u2026\u2019 is a lush dream-metal epic that\u2019ll have you wiping away tears.<\/p>\n<p>The highest compliment that can be paid to \u2018A Stranger To You\u2019 is that it just feels so bracingly new. The finely calculated, digital-maximalist aesthetic works head-smashing wonders on the heavier tracks, while the myriad details and nuances are so carefully arranged they ensure that the many stylistic shifts never induce tonal whiplash. It more than justifies the wait and confirms Loathe\u2019s position as heralds of the savage and eclectic cutting-edge of contemporary heavy music.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Loathe-A-Stranger-To-You-Review-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"Loathe A Stranger To You Review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> SharpTone Records<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> July 17, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_tags tdi_87 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_87\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<ul class=\"tdb-tags\">\n<li><span>Related Topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Loathe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_88\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_89  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_91  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_93  vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column_inner tdi_95  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-inner-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"vc_column-inner\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_97 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>More Stories<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap td_flex_block_1 tdi_98 td-pb-border-top td_module_flex_1--card td_module_flex_1--card--highlight td_block_template_2 tdc-no-posts td_flex_block\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_98\">\n<div id=\"tdi_98\" class=\"td_block_inner td-mc1-wrap\">\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Garbage\u2019s Shirley Manson apologises to Mel C for calling Spice Girls \u201cabhorrent\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Film News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">\u2018Kpop Demon Hunters\u2019 is still one of Netflix\u2019s most watched films, nearly one year on<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Gojira drummer Mario pulls out of US tour due to \u201cvisa issues\u201d \u2013 replaced with man named Luigi<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Robbie Williams shares new version of Official Fifa Anthem \u2018Desire\u2019 featuring Nicole Scherzinger and Laura Pausini ahead of World Cup final<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music Interviews<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">Sigrid on her love of pop and rock: \u201cI\u2019ve been somewhere in between\u201d<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_module_flex td_module_flex_1 td_module_wrap td-animation-stack\">\n<div class=\"td-module-container td-category-pos-above\">\n<div class=\"td-module-meta-info\">\n                    Music News<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"entry-title td-module-title\">The Cure\u2019s Robert Smith expands on his \u201cplease just fuck off\u201d post about Chris Martin\u2019s World Cup halftime show<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"tdi_99\" class=\"tdc-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_row tdi_100  wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<div class=\"vc_column tdi_102  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_wrap vc_raw_html tdi_104 \">\n<div class=\"td-fix-index\">\n<h3>You May Also Like<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><span><\/span><\/span><span class=\"td-page-meta\"><\/span><\/article>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_86 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_2 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_86\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Ah, the long-awaited album; an increasingly rare pleasure. In order to stay visible amid the relentless digi-noise of 2026, musicians today prefer to drip-feed fans a constant stream of new music rather than keep them tentatively waiting. The days of Guns \u2018N\u2019 Roses spending a decade tinkering with \u2018Chinese Democracy\u2019 are broadly a thing of the past, and in the process, a welcome bit of mystery has been lost from music culture. Waiting and speculating is fun; think of it as a variation of the friction-maxxing trend.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ MORE: Trueno\u2019s politically charged rap is putting him on the path to global success<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Loathe have offered us a tantalising glimpse of this rapidly receding age in the lead up to their third album, \u2018A Stranger To You\u2019. Intriguingly, they\u2019ve done it by making the world wait over five years for a record that could not sound more like the present day if it tried. Loathe\u2019s first release since 2021\u2019s pandemic-released ambient effort \u2018The Things They Believe\u2019, \u2018A Stranger To You\u2019 is a thrilling collection of maximalist metal built on an ultra-modern, everything-all-at-once approach that attempts to weld a million ideas (musical, textural and emotional) into a cohesive bludgeon.<\/p>\n<div class=\"td-a-ad id_inline_ad0 id_ad_content-horiz-center\"><span class=\"td-adspot-title\">Advertisement<\/span><\/div>\n<p>The Liverpool band\u2019s 2020 breakthrough \u2018I Let It In And It Took Everything\u2019 saw the four-piece elegantly blend together Deftones-esque heavy-gaze and punishing post-djent digi-core. On album four, Loathe have taken the tried-and-tested route of cranking up their various polarities: the heaviness is heavier (\u2018Revenant\u2019), the dreaminess dreamier (\u2018The Way It Breaks\u2019). The band\u2019s melodic tendencies have also been notably ramped up. \u2018The Ladder\u2019 is chill dream pop, while \u2018Harder To Pretend\u2019 packs a monster chorus that\u2019s not a million miles away from stadium pop, before disintegrating into gentle beats in the manner of several tracks on Turnstile\u2018s \u2018Never Enough\u2019.<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Loathe - Fangs (Official Music Video)\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8JefYd7TBck?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>Loathe\u2019s aesthetic ambition here is seriously impressive, particularly regarding the album\u2019s production. These 14 tracks have been fine-tuned to within an inch of their lives. The band (namely producer-guitarist Erik Bickerstaffe) have assembled it so that low-end baritone guitars and warm, un-metallic drums are fused together; a unified force of astonishingly heavy rhythm. The best tracks use this hyper-calibrated flair to blend Loathe\u2019s heavy-melodic sensibilities. \u2018Meet My Maker\u2019 is a bouncy banger, \u2018Block Of Flats\u2019 builds to a memorable post-hardcore passage (featuring vocals from Static Dress\u2019 Olli Appleyard), while closer \u2018No Stranger To You\u2026\u2019 is a lush dream-metal epic that\u2019ll have you wiping away tears.<\/p>\n<p>The highest compliment that can be paid to \u2018A Stranger To You\u2019 is that it just feels so bracingly new. The finely calculated, digital-maximalist aesthetic works head-smashing wonders on the heavier tracks, while the myriad details and nuances are so carefully arranged they ensure that the many stylistic shifts never induce tonal whiplash. It more than justifies the wait and confirms Loathe\u2019s position as heralds of the savage and eclectic cutting-edge of contemporary heavy music.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Details<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3782516 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Loathe-A-Stranger-To-You-Review-Artwork.jpg\" alt=\"Loathe A Stranger To You Review\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Record label:<\/strong> SharpTone Records<\/li>\n<li><strong>Release date:<\/strong> July 17, 2026<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/reviews\/album\/loathe-a-stranger-to-you-review-3956636&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Loathe-Credit-Steve-Gullick.jpg&#8221;] Loathe. Credit: Steve Gullick ReviewsAlbum Reviews Loathe \u2013 \u2018A Stranger To You\u2019 review: a barn-storming collection of maximalist, genre-bending digi-metal On their long-awaited return, the Liverpool band offer up an innovative, exhilarating record of finely tuned modern heavy music 4.5 By Tom Morgan 17th July 2026 Ah, the long-awaited album; an increasingly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,78],"class_list":["post-2048646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nme-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2048646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2048646\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2048646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2048646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2048646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}