Heavy Song of the Week is a feature on Heavy Consequence breaking down the top metal, punk, and hard rock tracks you need to hear every Friday. This week, No. 1 goes to Fugitive’s single “Spheres of Virulence.”
Fresh off a new record deal with Blue Grape Music, Texas band Fugitive dropped their first new music in two years this week in the form of the ripper “Spheres of Virulence” — one of the best thrash offerings of 2025 thus far.
The band emerged in 2021 as a sort of spinoff of Power Trip in the wake of Riley Gale’s tragic passing a year prior. Guitarist Blake Ibanez joined with frontman Seth Gilmore — who is now the current vocalist of Power Trip — and other members of the Texas hardcore/metal scene to form what would become Fugitive, with the band releasing an EP in 2022 and a 7” in 2023.
The comparisons to Power Trip were inevitable, and Fugitive’s first releases are pretty much in the same vein as Ibanez and Gilmore’s more famous project. However, on “Spheres of Virulence,” there’s less crossover hardcore influence, as Fugitive tap into more of an ’80s speed-thrash vibe with hints of early old-school death metal. The band sounds like it has found its own voice here, outside of its Power Trip associations.
Honorable Mentions:
Faster Pussycat – “Motorbike”
Faster Pussycat have always been able to pen a damn catchy tune, and their authentic approach and knack for big hooks helped set them apart from many of their more vapid hair metal peers back in the day (as documented in Penelope Spheeris’ legendary Decline of Western Civilization Part II). Well, the cathouse boys still got it, as heard on their latest single “Motorbike,” a bluesy romp that breaks into one of those signature, earworm choruses — this one almost reaching bubblegum levels of sing-a-long catchiness. It’s also good to see frontman Taime Downe back on the grind and doing what he loves following the personal tragedy he suffered earlier this year.
Nova Twins – ”Piranha”
Nova Twins once again toe the line between pop and metal on their latest single “Piranha.” A slow electro beat paces the song, with the Twins — aka Amy Love and Georgia South — laying down crushing guitar chords and vocal hooks to boot. Clocking in at under three minutes, the song is structurally more pop-oriented, but the unabashed use of rock and metal instrumentation sets it apart from your standard Top 40 fare.
Pelican – “Evergreen”
Flickering Resonance marks the first Pelican album from the band’s founding lineup since 2009, signaling a sonic callback to the band’s earliest instrumental works. As heard on the appropriately titled album highlight “Evergreen,” the reunited lineup — seemingly unmarred by time — pick up right where they left off, churning out heavy post-hardcore riffs that beget softer passages and lush soundscapes of feedback.
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