Courtesy Vulgarian
Audio By Carbonatix
This month’s new music roundup could easily be called “sounds from the underground,” as bands from across the local alternative scene showed up and out during the first month of 2026, including a booze-filled party-thrash offering, hardcore heavy-hitters and surprises from a few up-and-comers. That’s not to mention the Bandcamp-only releases by Colorado Springs femmecore five-piece Gunk! and recently resurrected Denver punks Prescription.
So here are the best January releases by Colorado musicians:
Acid Sentence
Thrash N Burn
Crack open a cold one before you start spinning Acid Sentence’s debut EP, Thrash N Burn, released independently on January 22. The well-lubricated Denver party-thrashers are all about facilitating a good time, and the only other thing Acid Sentence loves more than suds is fast-as-fuck riffs. Mix those two together and you get such songs as “Brewtal Decapitation,” “Beerzerker” and “KegDozer.”
The passion project of vocalist-guitarist Jorge “Moose” Lopez, Acid Sentence is known locally for playing pop-up shows out of the back of U-Haul trucks, especially if there’s a metal show happening nearby. Just listen for the sound of crushed beer cans.
Alex Lutze
I Sleep Alone Too
I Sleep Alone Too, the debut album of Denver indie-folk singer-songwriter Alex Lutze, is a lo-fi metaphorical statement that uses nature as its protagonist.
Released on January 23, the nine tracks are socially conscious and sonically intimate, addressing themes of heartbreak, isolation, and climate anxiety. For example, on song “When the Ice Melts,” Lutze whispers, “Where will we be when the ice melts? Where will we be when eternal spring comes knocking on our door?” It’s a line that’s equal parts personal plea and broader political statement, but that’s what Lutze does best on I Sleep Alone Too.
Creek
“Call Your Bluff”
Denver grungegazers Creek started the year with a softer single, “Call Your Bluff,” released independently on January 2 via frontman Jared Barnes’s Swadley Studios.
While Creek definitely dispels the decibels, this particular track feels more like sitting in the backseat staring out of a rainy window and counting the soggy trees as they blur by as it broods along. There’s enough heaviness happening in the world right now, so I’ts nice that Creek offers a brief respite with “Call Your Bluff.”
Definer
“It was fun while it lasted (but now you ruined it)”
Definer brought in the homies for new single, “It was fun while it lasted (but now you ruined it),” released independently on January 26.
The beatdown Colorado outfit teamed up with local acts Spellwork and Playn For Keeps, as well as Indianapolis noise merchant Funeral Language, on the slam psalm so heavy you feel trapped under a writhing dogpile. Definer’s only been active for the last few months, but the five-piece seems primed for a breakout year.
Degreaser
“Born of Fire”
Discover the knuckle-dragging hardcore of Degreaser. The NoCo crew put out latest song, “Born of Fire,” on January 25, and it crushes, chugging along in all its deathcore glory.
While Degreaser is still a relative newbie to the local scene, its mission is clear. “Unapologetic with our words we wish to enlighten the unaware minds to the pointless turning of their lives in a world on the verge of collapse,” the band states. “Corporate oppression, religious brainwashing, and general ignorance all plague our society. Let us degrease your brain and bring you into the truth.”
Eyes of Salt
“Melt” and “No Greater Truth”
Denver metallic hardcore maniacs Eyes of Salt dropped the most relevant mosh-inducing songs of the month with double single “Melt” and “No Greater Truth,” released on January 23 via LA label WAR Records.
A fiery anti-ICE anthem, “Melt” distills the anger and aggression anyone with an empathetic heart is feeling regarding the recent fatal federal agent fracas in Minneapolis, while “No Greater Truth” is all about classism and how the powers that be are more than willing to use such discrimination against the masses. United we stand, divided we fall.
Vocalist Gary Cherny, bassist Jacob Mendez, drummer Christopher Fine, and guitarists David Westfall and Aaron Davis are prepping for new album, Collapse Of The Infinite, which WAR Records is putting out later this year.
Jordan Yewey
QUEEN
Denver singer-songwriter Jordan Yewey has been writing music and performing music her whole life, but only really started focusing on putting it out there more about three years ago. Now, she has debut album, QUEEN, released independently on January 16, to show for it.
The ten-song record showcases Yewey’s powerhouse vocals and upbeat bedroom-pop beats. Previously shared single “LOVE ME LIFE YOU MEAN IT” and “BETTER (YOU & I KNOW)” are the stands out here, while “WEREWOLF” is another fun one.
NVR ENDVR
“GLUSNFR”
Miss the early 2000s days of Every Time I Die and Norma Jean? Then check out NVR ENDVR’s new single, “GLUSNFR,” released independently on January 15. The Grand Junction four-piece is starting 2026 the same way it finished 2025 — by sharing another spastic rager filled with mathematic riffs and call-and-respond vocals.
It’s only been a year, but NVR ENDVR has made it a point to get up to Denver, including a late-January gig at Black Sky Brewery, so keep an eye out for this furious foursome.
Siege Perilous
“As the Dragon Falls”
Warriors unite and unsheathe your swords, as Mile High power-metal practitioners Siege Perilous rally the troops to slay a winged serpent on new song, “As the Dragon Falls,” released independently on January 16 via band label Crunchtronic Records.
Vocalist Shaughnessy McDaniel, drummer Mark Girard, bassist Eric Fischer, and guitarists Scott Hancock and Ryan Flanagan recruited operatic singer Fabio Lione, the former frontman of Italian symphonic power-metal troupe Rhapsody of Fire, to aid their efforts, and the addition only pushes “As the Dragon Falls” into even more epic territory.
Sungrave
Cold Flesh and No One
It’s not often you come across a post-metal split inspired by a Rwandan Civil War survival story, but Denver band Sungrave teamed up with Portland cave-doomers Creaturess to do just that on Cold Flesh and No One, released independently on January 9.
The two groups toured together last year and came up the two tracks based off Clemantine Wamariya’s twelve-year journey to the U.S. and reuniting with her family. “The EP reflects on the state of the world, where rootedness is increasingly tenuous and the very notion of being displaced is often demonized,” Sungrave shares. “The story evokes a range of emotions — from heartbreak, to anger, to inspiration — and Cold Flesh and No One encapsulates that intensity.”
Tainted Blade
“TIE YOUR NOOSE”
As one of Denver’s newest up-and-coming death metal bands, Tainted Blade further introduced its brand of barbaric brutality with latest single, “TIE YOUR NOOSE,” released independently on January 2.
Formed from the ashes of local group Tricoma, vocalist-guitarist Rory Rummings, drummer Riley Rukavina and bassist Matt Ross venture into sludge-soaked filth with Tainted Blade. After releasing debut EP PSYCHIC ILLNESS in 2024, “TIE YOUR NOOSE” is a teaser of upcoming album, Wrath Made Flesh (out February 27).
Vulgarian
Cost of a Bullet
Fast riffs, slow songs. Denver’s Vulgarian bills itself as an “anti-capitalist old school/traditional sludge metal” band, and that’s exactly what you get on latest album, Cost of a Bullet, released on January 23 via Golden-based independent label Nauseating Whiff Records.
With nine songs clocking in at just over forty minutes, the group’s third record — complete with suggestive art of tech billionaires looking over a decrepit cityscape, a cuffed Luigi Mangione front and center — is the sound of war-torn turmoil and capitalistic collapse, particularly on the feedback frenzied title track and sludgy saga “W.C.N.S.F.” Vocalist Anders, bassist-guitarist Bradley, guitarist Corbin and bassist-drummer Thomas know what’s up.
Yugs
“OUTTA MY MIND”
Yugs treated us to the funk-infused, psychedelic heartbreak spiral that is “OUTTA MY MIND,” released independently on January 27. The lead single from imminent third LP, Dancing In My Room, the track is about a New Year’s Eve party gone wrong, while exploring the moment after a breakup when you realize you might be your own worst enemy. Essentially, it’s a funky break-up song.
The Denver alt-indie Chilean-Jewish artist and producer has a music video for “OUTTA MY MIND,” too, filmed by Meg Kelley of Thousand Ships Studios and out on Tuesday, February 3.
Want your music to be included in our monthly roundup? Email it to editorial@westword.com.
