The Riffs of The Week - 18/09/2026
Updated: Sep 19
This week comes loaded with heavy hitters. Anthrax end a decade-long wait, Falling in Reverse assemble one of the year’s most outrageous collaborations, while Architects, Trivium, Royal Blood and Nothing But Thieves all bring something new to the table. Turn it up—these are The Best New Riffs of the Week.
Anthrax – “Cursum Perficio”
On the eve of their first album in a decade, Anthrax unleash its six-minute title track, “Cursum Perficio”. Darker and more reflective than a straightforward thrash assault, the song finds Joey Belladonna confronting life’s endless struggles, the passage of time and the uncomfortable question waiting at the finish line: was any of it worth it? It is the record’s self-described “dark horse”, but also one of its most imposing moments.
Those themes become painfully literal in Don Argott’s stark black-and-white video, starring former Samhain drummer London May as he drags real chains across unforgiving terrain—a shoot so gruelling that he broke his finger on the first day. Cursum Perficio arrives September 18 via Megaforce, following “It’s for the Kids”, “The Edge of Perfection” and “Everybody’s Got a Plan”.
Falling in Reverse – “Joseph” featuring Corey Taylor and Serj Tankian
Possibly one of the collaborations of the year, “Joseph” brings Falling in Reverse together with two of modern metal’s most recognisable voices: Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and System of a Down’s Serj Tankian. The result is every bit as excessive and unpredictable as that combination suggests, jumping from ominous choirs and theatrical rap to arena-sized riffs, crushing breakdowns and bursts of wild guitar shredding.
Ronnie Radke moves between falsetto, screams, manic laughter and rapid-fire delivery before Taylor arrives with pure aggression and Tankian provides an unmistakably eccentric, folk-tinged contrast. Released September 15 via Epitaph Records, “Joseph” is chaotic, ridiculous and completely committed to the spectacle—three enormous personalities colliding without anyone agreeing to turn things down.
Trivium – “Dead Inside of Me”
Trivium kick off their next chapter with “Dead Inside of Me”, the first taste of their forthcoming eleventh album. Built around a riff Paolo Gregoletto had been carrying for five or six years under the working title “Slam”, the track locks into a stomping groove before Corey Beaulieu tears through it with a suitably vicious solo. Matt Heafy’s clean vocals and screams weave together naturally, delivering something heavy, immediate and unmistakably designed to shake much larger rooms.
Loosely inspired by the Japanese concepts of honne and tatemae—the tension between our true feelings and the mask we present to the world—the song carries more beneath its muscular surface. It is Trivium’s first track of 2026 and points towards their first full-length since 2021’s In the Court of the Dragon, following last year’s Struck Dead EP.
Architects – “Machine”
Architects return with “Machine”, their first new music since 2025’s The Sky, the Earth & All Between. Driven by mechanical industrial beats, writhing synth-bass and echoes of Nine Inch Nails, the track finds Sam Carter reaching for understanding and human connection as his vulnerable clean vocals gradually give way to a ferocious mid-song breakdown.
Its futuristic video, directed by Jensen Noen, pushes those ideas into a distorted world of control, perception and increasingly uneasy human-machine relationships. Dark, sleek and emotionally exposed, “Machine” feels like Architects stepping beyond their established metalcore framework without sacrificing the weight at its centre.
Royal Blood – “Swallow the Bomb”
Royal Blood return to their heavier instincts on “Swallow the Bomb”, another taste of their forthcoming fifth album, Dead Company. Mike Kerr’s distorted bass once again behaves like an entire wall of amplifiers while Ben Thatcher drives the song forward with the kind of thunderous simplicity that made the duo so dangerous in the first place. It is lean, filthy and built around a riff that refuses to ask permission before entering the room.
The track follows “Ten Over Ten” and continues to suggest a more direct, muscular chapter for Royal Blood. Dead Company will be released on November 13, with “Swallow the Bomb” occupying the second position on the album’s tracklist.
Nothing But Thieves – “A Different Kind of Happiness”
Nothing But Thieves explore the distance between the person we expected to become and the one who eventually emerged on “A Different Kind of Happiness”. Beginning with a restrained, atmospheric vulnerability, the track gradually opens into one of those towering choruses that seem purpose-built for Conor Mason’s voice.
Described by the band as a message arriving from both your past and future selves, it captures the feeling of being haunted by a promised version of your life that never materialised. Released on September 8, it is the fourth and final preview of Stray Dogs, the band’s fifth album, arriving September 25 via RCA/Sony Music.
Keep the Riffs Coming
You can find all these tracks—and plenty more of our recent favourites—in our Spotify playlist, The Riff. Follow the playlist, turn it up and check back every Friday as we add the best new rock and metal released each week.
The Riff Collective
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