Manchester, UK-based five-piece GUILT TRIP — Jay Valentine [vocals], Jak Maden [guitar], Sam Baker [guitar], Tom Aimson [drums], and Lily Kilcoyne[bass] — are one of the most exciting and fast-rising bands in heavy music. They have surprise-dropped the three-song EP, God Forgives, today, February 11. Listen and get it here.
It includes two new tracks — "Dirt" (which premiered on Daniel P Carter's Radio 1 Rock show on February 9) and "Angel Eyes" (which premiered via SiriusXM Liquid Metal on February 10) — as well as a new mix of the previously released "Burn."
The band also shared a music video event presented in two parts featuring "Dirt" and "Angel Eyes," which can be viewed below. It's quite a one-two knockout punch.
"God Forgives is a culmination of progress and the embodiment of Guilt Trip's identity, whilst consciously trying to build on the style and songwriting onSeverance we are yet embracing and moving with the sound we achieved on that record," says Valentine. "The songs were written with one thing in mind: 'Make it better' and we hope we have hit the mark for every Guilt Trip fan out there."
Regarding the accompanying video, he says, "It was birthed by a mix of transitioning lyrical themes into visuals and original ideas that we felt best represented the subject matter metaphorically. We wanted to show something other than just a live performance — a story that could entertain while relating to the music and still convey a message but be open enough for the watcher to make their own interpretations."
The EP highlights the band's gritty and groove-laden metallic hardcore style — and is just a taste of what's to come for the band's forthcoming full-length.
Guilt Trip, who announced their signing to Roadrunner Records last year, will also embark on a co-headline U.S. tour with Malevolence that runs through April. All dates are below. Get tickets here.
GUILT TRIP ON TOUR:
EUROPE:
3/17 — WOLF Barcelona — Barcelona ESP
3/18 — ReviLive — Madrid, ESP
3/19 — Urban Rock Concept — Vitoria-Gasteiz, ESP
3/21 — Coliseum — A Coruna, ESP
3/22 — RCA Club — Lisboa, POR
5/23 — Slam Dunk — Hatfield, ENG
5/24 — Slam Dunk — Leeds, ENG
6/19 — Grasspop Metal Meeting — Dessel, BEL
8/21 — V and B Fest — Chateau Gontier Sur Mayenne, FRA
WITH MALEVOLENCE:
3/31 — Detroit, MI — The Shelter
4/2 — Buffalo, NY — Rec Room
4/3 — Montreal, QC — Fairmount Theatre
4/4 — Toronto, ON — Hard Luck Bar
4/7 — Worcester, MA — Palladium Upstairs
4/8 — Brooklyn, NY — Meadows
4/9 — Baltimore, MD — Metro Gallery
4/10 — Philadelphia, PA — Ukie Club
4/11 — Pittsburgh, PA — Preserving
4/13 — Nashville, TN — The Mil
4/14 — Atlanta, GA — Masquerade
4/16 — Houston, TX — Secret Group
4/17 — San Antonio, TX — The Rock Box
4/18 — Dallas, TX — Puzzles Deep Ellum
4/20 — Denver, CO — Marquis
4/22 — Minneapolis, MN — Amsterdam Bar
4/23 — Milwaukee, WI — X-Ray Arcade
SUMMER U.S.:
7/16 — Rock Fest — Cadott, WI
7/18 — Inkcarceration — Mansfield, OH
ABOUT GUILT TRIP:
Historically, Manchester, UK breeds a certain toughness. As a pillar of the 19th century Industrial Revolution in Northern England, factories and warehouses line much of the city's rain-baptized topography. A hardworking lot who shoot straight without apology, its denizens traditionally take an incredible amount of pride in where they come from. Embodying the grit and gusto of Manchester, Guilt Trip bring a blast of homegrown intensity to their hybrid of hardcore and metal. The five piece slides striking melodies in between throat-slitting thrashy riffs and earth-splitting breakdowns.
Amassing tens of millions of streams and playing to packed crowds, they’re primed to amplify this hometown energy and pride on a global scale with a series of 2025 singles and their forthcoming debut LP for Roadrunner Records. More information about the new album will be released in due course.
Guilt Trip started to forge a seething signature style without comparison back in 2015. Jay and Jak cemented a lifelong bond as best friends at four-years-old when they met at reception in school. Over the years, the duo introduced one another to various favorite bands. Eventually, they welcomed fellow Manchester scene friends Tom, Sam, and Lily to the fold. To get to this point, the collective grinded the old-fashioned way one gig at a time, bulldozing their way out of sweaty basements and onto cramped club stages. They dropped the Unrelenting Force EP during 2016 followed by their 2019 full-length debut, River of Lies. The latter spawned "Thin Ice," which reeled in 7.1 million Spotify streams and counting. 2023's Severance marked a turning point. It boasted popular collaborations with LANDMVRKS and Malevolence, while KERRANG! hailed their "unique brand of hardcore that sees them delve into elements of thrash, old-school hardcore and fist-pumping metal." Beyond sharing the stage with everyone from Sylosis to While She Sleeps, they lit up festivals, including Download, Hellfest, and more. Attracting Roadrunner Records to their corner, the musicians decamped to StudioOWZ in Clarbeston, Wales with producer and engineer Adam "Nolly" Getgood [Periphery] during early 2025.
