Loathe - A Stranger To You

A Stranger To You is the ambitious fourth album from Liverpool metal quartet Loathe, arriving after six years of writing, touring and creative development. Across fourteen tracks, the band push far beyond a single heavy-music category, combining progressive metal, metalcore, shoegaze, industrial texture, electronic ambience and moments of unexpected soul and restraint. This double-vinyl gatefold edition is offered in two colour variants: a UK Indies Exclusive transparent blue pressing and a turquoise and white marbled pressing.

The record begins with the atmospheric “Entrance” before “Block Of Flats” shifts between dreamlike space and sudden weight. “Fortress Down” and “Gemini” show the band's ability to balance melody with physical impact, while the brief “Nothing Like The Knife” acts as a transition into the more fluid “Harder To Pretend”. The album's middle section expands its palette through guest appearances and collaborative production, including bucki sugar, Static Dress, NOWHERE2RUN, Mansur Brown and Jordan Rakei.

“Revenant” brings one of the album's most forceful rhythmic passages, while “The Way It Breaks” moves through darker, more cinematic territory. “Meet My Maker” and “Fangs” underline how confidently Loathe can move between crushing guitar, electronic detail and clean vocal hooks. “The Ladder” offers a striking change of pace, and the near-eight-minute “Gifted Every Strength” gathers many of the album's contrasting ideas into one extended journey before “No Stranger To You...” closes the sequence.

A Stranger To You is designed as a front-to-back listening experience. Its contrasts are central to the album's identity: dense riffs sit beside ambient passages, aggressive vocals give way to intimacy, and complex arrangements remain anchored by memorable songs. The result is Loathe's broadest and most exploratory statement to date.

Both variants are pressed across two records and housed in a gatefold sleeve. The transparent blue version is the limited UK Indies Exclusive edition, while the turquoise and white marbled version offers a distinct alternative colour finish. This release is recommended for listeners drawn to forward-looking metal, shoegaze, industrial rock and boundary-crossing contemporary heavy music.