Mister Asylum

This Brooklyn-via-Cape Cod trio holds nothing back on their debut album: the gale-force guitars, heavy beats, and black-hearted angst of Mister Asylum will blow your hair back. The intensity of guitarist/vocalist Johnny Stevens makes him heir to heavy rock howlers like Chris Cornell or Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, while bassist Rich Meyer and drummer Ryan Meyer charge forward with amps-on-11 arrangements. Things are especially potent on the album’s biggest hooks, like the cathartic kiss-off of “Lydia,” the thrashing double-time shuffle of “Lost,” and the riff-driven “Bloodfeather." We picked Highly Suspect for our 2015 New Artist Spotlight.