Here are the best rock and metal songs of March, 2023!

March was yet another stacked month with tons of artists both big and small offering up new tunes to fuel the start of the new year. Beyond all the fan favorites — the tracks you can't afford to miss — the Loudwire staff has made selections for their own personal favorites from March.

READ MORE: Every Nu-Metal 'Big 4' Album Ranked

There's literally hundreds of new songs coming out each week, but nothing was as good as what you'll find below!

Listen to and/or follow Loudwire's Best of the Month playlist.

THE ESSENTIALS

You know these bands and you probably heard these songs the instant they came out — midnight Spotify lurkers, we see you. These were the songs that kept March roaring:

As Everything Unfolds, “Slow Down”
Atreyu, “Watch Me Burn”
August Burns Red, “The Abyss” ft. Erra’s JT Cavey
Avenged Sevenfold, “Nobody”
Babymetal, “Mirror Mirror”
Buckcherry, “Good Time”
Cattle Decapitation, “Scourge of the Offspring”
Crown the Empire, “Black Sheep”
DevilDriver, “Through the Depths”
Enter Shikari, “Bloodshot”
Fall Out Boy, “Hold Me Like a Grudge”
From Ashes to New, “Hate Me Too”
Frozen Soul, “Arsenal of War”
Hollywood Undead, “Evil”
Immortal, “War Against All”
Incendiary, “Bite the Hook”
Ayron Jones, “Blood in the Water”
Linkin Park, “Fighting Myself”
Magnolia Park, “Facedown”
Mammoth WVH, “Another Celebration at the End of the World”
Meet Me @ The Altar, “T.M.I.”
Metal Church, “Pick a God and Prey”
Metallica, “72 Seasons”
Nita Strauss, “Winner Takes All” ft. Alice Cooper
Nothing More, “Best Times” ft. Lacey Sturm
Overkill, “Wicked Place”
Periphery, “Everything Is Fine!”
Pop Evil, “Skeletons”
Pupil Slicer, “Blossom”
Rival Sons, “Bird in the Hand”
Scene Queen, “18+”
Silverstein, “Poison Pill”
Story of the Year, “Sorry About Me”
Suicide Silence, “Fucked for Life”
Sylosis, “Deadwood”
The Amity Affliction, “It’s Hell Down Here”
The Devil Wears Prada, “Reaching”
Theory of a Deadman, “Medusa (Stone)”
The Veer Union, “The Ghost of You”
Thy Art Is Murder, “Until There Is No Longer”
Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown, “Thunder”
Underoath, “Let Go”
Waterparks, “BRAINWASHED”

STAFF FAVORITES

The stuff Loudwire's team has been obsessed with.

Lauryn Schaffner

BAND: Moon Fever
SONG: “Nothing Left to Lose”
RELEASED: March 8, 2023

My first exposure to Moon Fever was an intimate, live acoustic set, and Triston Bracht’s vocals pretty much silenced the whole room the way Axl Rose’s used to back in the day when Guns N’ Roses were performing in bars and restaurants. Ever since then, they’ve been one of the rising bands on my radar, and their newest song “Nothing Left to Lose” is a strong addition to their catalog. They have the soul and attitude of a lot of older groups while keeping their sound fresh and new at the same time. And check out that scream during the second half of the song!

BAND: Ghost Hounds
SONG: “Dirty Angel”
RELEASED: March 9, 2023

The first few bars of Ghost Hounds’ new single “Dirty Angel” transports you right to a saloon in a swampy town in the southern U.S. Sleazy, carefree rock ‘n’ roll isn’t very easy to come across anymore, so if you’re a fan of Lynyrd Skynyrd or the Allman Brothers Band, you’ll definitely want to check out Ghost Hounds — and “Dirty Angel” is the perfect place to start.

Joe DiVita

BAND: Spirit Adrift
SONG: “Death Won’t Stop Me”
RELEASED: March 24

I’ve written about Spirit adrift in this recurring monthly feature a handful of times before, and I’ll keep on doing it for as long as this band continues to dazzle me.

Ghost at the Gallows (out Aug. 18 on Century Media) will be the fifth album from this group, who debuted in 2016 with Chained to Oblivion and have also released a handful of EPs to boot. Usually, this sort of prolific streak results in diminished quality somewhere along the line, but, nope, not with “Death Won’t Stop Me.”

Keep the hits a’comin’!

RIYL: Khemmis, Tony Martin era Black Sabbath, most music made by Scott Wino

BAND: Bonginator
SONG: “The Intergalactic Gorebong of Deathpot” ft. Sanguisugabogg’s Devin Swank
RELEASED: March 19

There’s two kinds of single-digit IQ death metal: the good kind and the bad kind. Since Bonginator makes the cut for March’s best new rock and metal songs, you can sort out for yourself which category these knuckle draggers fall under.

Playing two-step, weed-infused death metal is Bonginator’s game and they recruited Sanguisugabogg brute Devin Swank to contribute guest vocals on the title track to their debut album, The Intergalactic Gorebong of Deathpot, due, you guessed it, April 20, through Barbaric Brutality.

If you’re not convinced yet, there’s nothing else I can do for you. Okay, one last attempt: there’s a melodic solo that’s totally out of place and totally rules.

RIYL: Sanguisugabogg, Obituary, Devourment

BAND: Smoulder
SONG: “The Talisman and the Blade”
RELEASED: March 9

Canada’s Smoulder trapped me in their trad metal/doom spell with their 2019 debut Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring and, this year, they’ll release Violent Creed of Vengeance on April 21 through steely heavy metal purveyor Cruz del Sur Music.

“The Talisman and the Blade” was the first of two new tracks to come out this month (see “Victims of Fate” for something a bit more epic). The classic metal spirit wholly possesses Smoulder and, well, there’s a reason the band is on the cover of Loudwire’s NWOTHM (New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal) playlist!

There’s no sophomore slump threatening Smoulder!

RIYL: Sumerlands, Crypt Sermon, Crystal Viper

BAND: Neurectomy
Song: “Crimson Tsunami”
Released: March 31

This is totally berserk!

The reigning champion of hyper blasts John Longstreth (Origin, Dim Mak, Hate Eternal, ex-Gorguts) goes for the gold on “Crimson Tsunami,” Neurectomy’s debut track of their self-branded nerve severing tech grind. There’s more sweeping over the opening 15 seconds that can be accomplished through 20 years of janitorial services, somehow intensifying along the way.

RIYL: Origin, Brain Drill, Artificial Brain

Rabab Al-Sharif

BAND: Hitbox
SONG: “Grief Inheritance”
RELEASED: March 23

Apparently the internet is good for something. Despite their bandcamp bio labeling them “an internet band,” this nu-core duo’s digital footprint is still relatively sparse.

The good news is that if you’re looking for a heavy new band to keep an eye on you only need a couple of minutes to rip through “Grief Inheritance,” and then you get to tell everyone you knew about Hitbox before they blew up.

Chad Childers

BAND: The Xcerts Featuring Sam Carter
SONG: “Ache”
RELEASED: March 8

Odds are you already know Sam Carter from Architects, but here he’s making a guest turn on the incredibly catchy, synth-driven and angst-riddled emo anthem from up-and-coming rock trio The Xcerts. And yes, that is A Streetcar Named Desire reference you’re catching in the opening line of the chorus.

BAND: girlfriends
SONG: “Over My Dead Body”
RELEASED: March 9

With the pop-punk revival, it feels like only a matter of time before girlfriends become the next big band to break out. After a stellar 2020 self-titled record, the duo of Travis Mills and Nick Gross returned earlier this month with a track that feels destined for alt-rock radio. “Over My Dead Body” embodies the angst of a deteriorated relationship but with such earworm earnestness that you can’t help singing along.

BAND: Tribe Friday
SONG: “Swimsuit”
RELEASED: March 10

There’s just something I’m hooked into with the darker danceable vibes these days, and Tribe Friday from Sweden have certainly hit that sweet spot. Their new song “Swimsuit” is a lushly beautiful jam about the pitfalls of survivor’s guilt, digging deep into one’s soul to reflect on the role played in the loss of a loved one.

BAND: Frame 42
SONG: “Thicker Than Blood”
RELEASED: March 15

Let’s go a little heavier with this next pick. There’s good reason to be excited about the future of Frame 42, with each of the members still under the age of 20. Toby Wright, who has produced Alice in Chains, Sevendust and KISS, has stated, “Frame 42 is one of the most talented bands I’ve ever had the pleasure to produce. Their musical abilities outshine their youth.” Now that we’ve hooked you in with the praise, take a listen to “Thicker Than Blood,” featuring some muscular guitar work and the gritty vocals of Ava Morris.

BAND: Velvet Condom
SONG: “Just Like Heaven”
RELEASED: March 16

With The Cure back in the spotlight of late, it’s a great time to throw some recognition to French electro-punk outfit Velvet Condom, who deliver a fuzzed out, darkwave cover of “Just Like Heaven” as part of the upcoming tribute compilation, Just Like Heaven - A Tribute to the Cure. This distortion-filled take on the classic cure cut is one of the set’s standouts. The compilation is due April 21.

Philip Trapp

BAND: Seaside Holiday
SONG: "Provisional Paradise"
RELEASED: March 31

Singer-songwriter Cara Dziak has been perfecting her catchy but devastating dark-pop melodies in small-town Ohio for over a decade. Usually, it's as Seaside Holiday with her brother, the multi-instrumentalist and producer Morgan McQuate. And it's always with an ear for regret, an eye for spirituality and an unquenchable thirst for renewal.

But it's been quiet by this sea until now. This spring, Seaside Holiday return with their first new music since their 2016 album, Grand Tours. And while it's only a single, the new Seaside Holiday song, "Provisional Paradise," refines the act's sonic palette to its most divine elements and delivers Dziak's most compelling melody yet. It's now on streaming services alongside an acoustic version and a remix.

For fans of spacey darkwave that embraces pop songcraft — a la Chvrches or Portishead, or even a more electronic but less gothic Evanescence — you'd be hard-pressed to find a modern act doing this thing much better. It's unclear if "Provisional Paradise" points to another Seaside Holiday album (their self-titled debut emerged in 2012). But it's undeniable that Seaside Holiday are only getting better at what they do, even if it's more sparingly.

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Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner