British alt-metal band Aleya have self-released their second EP, How It Ends, a six-track record made with producer Dan Fox at Treehouse Studio, known for his work with Malevolence, Lake Malice and While She Sleeps. It came out on November 6, 2026, and the press release calls it bigger, bolder and more ambitious than their 2023 debut, Idle Minds.
Stream How It Ends here.
Every song on the EP deals with loss in a different form: loss of faith in people, loss of control, loss of loved ones, loss of youth, loss of self-belief and loss of meaning. Metalcore, nu-metal, alt-rock, post-hardcore, tech-metal and deathcore all feed into the sound. The band explain:
“We’ve tried to span as many parts of the metal genre as we can in this EP. SELF-TALK & Sapphire Skies are synth-driven, energetic and catchy, designed for a live setting. Follow Me & Old Friends move into a more melancholic and alt-rock style built around big choruses and cathartic singing, with Wasteland & DEATH SPIRAL being our ‘heaviest’ and most unpredictable songs.”
Aleya
From North West England
Based in the North West of England, Aleya are vocalist Tom Evans, guitarist Sam Lawson, bassist Mike Washington and drummer James Wright. How It Ends includes three previously unreleased songs alongside the singles “Sapphire Skies,” “Follow Me” and “Old Friends,” and the band have received support from BBC Radio One, Kerrang! Radio and independent stations around the world. The digital-only release is backed by a short UK tour this November and limited edition merch, including holographic trading cards. The full EP is also streaming on YouTube. Where Idle Minds introduced the band in 2023, How It Ends is pitched as a statement of intent, with songs designed both for radio play and for the circle pits the band mention, and the merch gives fans at the shows something physical to take home from a digital-only release.
Tracklist
- SELF-TALK
- Sapphire Skies
- Follow Me
- Old Friends
- Wasteland
- DEATH SPIRAL
Our Take
Cramming six subgenres into six songs is risky, but working with Dan Fox, whose credits include some of the UK’s heaviest modern bands, gives Aleya the punch to pull it off. Building an EP around different kinds of loss also gives the record a clear thread, even when the music jumps from synth-driven hooks to deathcore breakdowns. For fans of While She Sleeps and modern British metalcore, this is a band to watch.
