‘Armour Of Angels’ artwork
UK hardcore band Guilt Trip – Jay Valentine (vocals), Jak Maden (guitar), Sam Baker (guitar), Lily Kilcoyne (bass) and Tom Aimson (drums) – have released their highly-anticipated third album ‘Armour Of Angels’ via Roadrunner Records.
‘Armour Of Angels’ captures everything that has defined Guilt Trip since their formation a decade ago: uncompromising intensity, undeniable groove and a fierce sense of identity forged in their hometown of Manchester.
Having steadily built anticipation with the previously released singles ‘Burn’, ‘Angel Eyes’, ‘Dirt’ and ‘No Love Lost’, ‘Armour Of Angels’ arrives alongside lead track ‘One By One’ (video live at 3pm BST). Following a foreboding introduction, the song erupts into a barrage of pummelling rhythms and explosive energy that sets the tone for the record’s twelve-track journey. Produced by the band, ‘Armour Of Angels’ builds upon the foundation laid by 2023’s Severance while pushing Guilt Trip’s songwriting, musicianship and ambition further than ever before.
From the crushing weight of ‘Cut From God’ to Sonny Sandoval’s (P.O.D.) incendiary guest appearance on ‘Resurrected’, the album balances hardcore aggression with striking melody and unexpected influences drawn from artists such as Tool and Linkin Park, before closing with its heaviest statement yet in the metallic hardcore assault of ‘The Banner of Heaven’.
Vocalist Jay Valentine says, “We are proud to unleash our brand new record ‘Armour of Angels’ on the world. We put everything Guilt Trip lives and breathes into this LP and we are excited to finally share what we have been working on over the past three years. We believe these songs embody our journey from the very beginning to now, everything we have experienced over the past decade translated into twelve tracks. The first of which is ‘One By One’, just under 4 minutes of riffs, grooves and aggression Guilt Trip have come to be known for. Thank you for your unwavering support throughout the years, we hope you can enjoy and relate to these songs as much as we do.”
‘Armour Of Angels’ has garnered intense critical acclaim in the months leading up to release, with Rolling Stone UK christening the band as the future of UK music. Kerrang! awarded it 4 out of 5 stars, saying, “What is a feat is trying to pick highlights on an album so stuffed with moments of quality.” Revolver deemed Guilt Trip’s music simply and effectively, calling it “scorching while Metal Hammer rated it a storming 8/10.
Physical copies of ‘Armour of Angels’ are available HERE. Formats include burn orange vinyl, atonement swirl vinyl, suffer mix vinyl and CD.
Guilt Trip will mark the release of ‘Armour Of Angels’ with a special hometown takeover in Manchester. On Saturday, June 6th the band will host a pop-up over two floors of The New Cross to launch their collaboration with Adidas – the iconic sportswear’s company’s first collab with a UK hardcore band following previous partnerships withKorn and Black Sabbath.
Together they designed a custom Superstar II co-branded sneaker limited to just 150 pairs, available exclusively on the day. Open from midday until late, the pop-up will also feature vinyl variants of the new album, customisable football shirts, and limited-edition hoodies.
The collaboration also saw Guilt Trip become the first hardcore band invited to record a session at Adidas’srecording studio space (a partnership with Abbey Road) inside of Manchester’s Co-op Live.
Celebrations continue on Sunday, June 7th with a super intimate underplay show at the Star & Garter. Tickets sold-out in less than 5 mins, with proceeds going to four charitable causes: Lifeshare, the Senior Staffy Club, Manchester Women’s Aid and Andy’s Man Club.
2026 has already seen Guilt Trip tour extensively, including a North American co-headline run with Malevolence, shows spanning Australia, China, Japan, Asia and Europe, plus storming sets at last month’s Slam Dunk. The summer brings a mix of major festivals and gigs with Dying Wish, before their biggest UK and European headline tour gets underway in October – including their largest shows to date in Manchester (New Century Hall) and London (Electric Ballroom).
Tickets are available HERE.
JUNE
7th – Manchester, Star & Garter (SOLD OUT)
16th – Germany, Mannheim, Mvrksfest
19th – Belgium, Dessel, Plein Air
JULY
13th – USA, Louisville, KY, Headliners Music Hall
16th – USA, Cadott, WI, Rock Fest
18th – USA, Mansfield, OH, Inkcarceration Festival
19th – USA, Indianapolis, IN, HI-FI (with Dying Wish)
20th – USA, St. Louis, MO, Off Broadway (with Dying Wish)
22nd – USA, Oklahoma, OK, Beer City Music Hall (with Dying Wish)
25th – USA, Tucson, AZ, 191 Toole (with Dying Wish)
27th – USA, Pomona, CA, The Glasshouse (with Dying Wish)
AUGUST
15th – USA, Los Angeles, CA, Sound and Fury Festival
21st – The Netherlands, Lowlands Festival
21st – France, V and B Fest
OCTOBER
14th – England, Birmingham, XOYO
15th – Scotland, Glasgow, Garage
16th – England, London, Electric Ballroom
17th – England, Southampton, Papillon
18th – England, Manchester, New Century Hall
19th – England, Bristol, Bristol Electric
21st – Netherlands, Utrecht, Tivoli Vredenburg – Pandora
22nd – Germany, Bochum, Zeche
23rd – Switzerland, Aarau, Kiff
24th – Germany, Wuerzburg, Posthalle
25th – Germany, Hamburg, Gruenspan
26th – Germany, Berlin, SO36
27th – Austria, Vienna, Flex
28th – Germany, Leipzig, Täubchenthal
29th – Germany, Munich, Technikum
30th – Belgium, Antwerp, Zappa
31st – France, Lille, THE BLACK LAB
NOVEMBER
1st – France, Paris, Alhambra
ABOUT GUILT TRIP
Historically, Manchester breeds a certain toughness. As a pillar of the 19th century Industrial Revolution in northern England, factories and warehouses line much of the city’s rain-baptised topography. A hardworking lot who shoot straight without apology, its denizens traditionally take an incredible amount of pride in where they come from. Embodying the grit and gusto of Manchester, Guilt Trip bring a blast of homegrown intensity to their hybrid of hardcore and metal. The five piece slides striking melodies in between throat-slitting thrashy riffs and earth-splitting breakdowns.
Amassing tens of millions of streams and playing to packed crowds, they’re primed to amplify this hometown energy and pride on a global scale following the release of their new album ‘Armour Of Angels’, their first under a new deal with Roadrunner Records.
Guilt Trip started to forge a seething signature style without comparison back in 2015. Jay Valentine and Jak Maden cemented a lifelong bond as best friends at four-years-old when they met at reception in school. Over the years, the duo introduced one another to various favourite bands. Eventually, they welcomed fellow Manchester scene friends Tom Aimson, Sam Baker and Lily Kilcoyne to the fold.
To get to this point, the collective grinded the old-fashioned way one gig at a time, bulldozing their way out of sweaty basements and onto cramped club stages. They dropped the ‘Unrelenting Force’ EP during 2016 followed by their 2019 full-length debut, ‘River Of Lies’. The latter spawned ‘Thin Ice’, which reeled in 8.4 million Spotify streams and counting. 2023’s ‘Severance’ marked a turning point. It boasted popular collaborations with LANDMVRKS and Malevolence.
Beyond sharing the stage with bands such as Architects, Malevolence and While She Sleeps, they lit up festivals including Download, Hellfest and more. Attracting Roadrunner Records to their corner, the band decamped to StudiOWZ in Clarbeston, Wales with producer and engineer Adam “Nolly” Getgood (Periphery) early in 2025.
