For most bands, a decade together is enough time to settle into an identity, for Guilt Trip, it feels like the beginning.
The Manchester metallic hardcore outfit are preparing to release their third album, Armour of Angels, this Friday (June 5th) via Roadrunner Records, arriving at a time when the band’s momentum has never been stronger.
After years of grinding through the UK underground, touring relentlessly and building a reputation for crushing live shows, vocalist Jay Valentine says the last few years have changed everything.
“It kind of feels like the start, really,” he says. “I think the 10 years has gone really fast, but mostly the last three years, I’d say, is where it really started to feel like the band was going somewhere.”
That perspective says plenty about where Guilt Trip find themselves in 2026, while the band has been active for more than a decade, Valentine sees the recent period as the point where things shifted from simply existing to genuinely building momentum.
“It feels more like we’ve been going three years,” he says, noting that touring has become a year round reality for the band. “It feels a lot different now.”
Guilt Trip ‘Dirt’
No reinvention needed
Armour of Angels arrives as the follow up to Severance, a record that helped establish Guilt Trip as one of the UK’s most exciting heavy acts, rather than reinventing themselves, the band focused on refining and amplifying what already worked.
According to Valentine, the process happened naturally:
“I guess, just heavier, I think, subconsciously,” he says. “When we first started writing new tracks for this record, they just came out a little bit heavier.”
From there, the band leaned into it:
“We just tried to make every breakdown sort of as heavy as it can be, while still sounding like Guilt Trip,” he explains.
“I think most of the songs I would say are heavier than than pretty much everything on Severance, but I’d say it’s definitely still Guilt Trip.”
Guilt Trip ‘Angel Eyes’
Self Produced
The album was produced entirely by the band themselves, adding another layer of responsibility to an already pressure filled process.
“Just the band, we wrote the whole thing just on our own, and I’m super proud of it,” Valentine says. “I think it’s our best sort of writing yet, and the best songs we’ve ever done.”
There was a clear benchmark in mind throughout the writing process:
“We 100% wanted to surpass Severance and make a better record,” he says. By the end, the band’s internal goal was simple. “We felt like, you know, no song on Severance would get on this record.”
It’s a bold statement, but one that reflects the confidence running through the Armour of Angels sessions. The pressure wasn’t limited to following up a fan favourite album, Armour of Angels is also the band’s first full length release since signing with Roadrunner Records.
“There was definitely a bit of pressure,” Valentine admits. “They put a lot of faith into us.”
For him, the challenge wasn’t simply delivering another record, it was proving that Roadrunner’s belief in the band was justified.
“The last thing we wanted was to sign a record deal, and then, you know, come to the time where we’ve got our album, and they’d be like regretting it, disappointed in what we’ve done.”
Fortunately, confidence never disappeared:
“We knew Severance wasn’t just a fluke,” he says. “We were confident we could go in and just do it again, if not better, and I think we’ve done it better.”
Guilt Trip ‘Burn’
Sonny Sandoval
One of the album’s biggest talking points is the appearance of P.O.D. frontman Sonny Sandoval on the track ‘Resurrected’. For Valentine, a lifelong fan of the band, the collaboration came together in an unexpectedly organic way.
Growing up, he was “definitely” a nu metal kid, making the guest appearance a particularly meaningful addition to the album.
After wearing a P.O.D. shirt at a European festival and posting footage online, Sandoval spotted it and commented.
“We just DM’d him,” Valentine recalls. “He was super nice about it, he was down straight away, he said he loved the band.” The collaboration quickly became reality.
Guilt Trip ‘No Love Lost’
Manchester strong
Outside the music itself, Guilt Trip’s identity remains deeply tied to Manchester, Valentine believes the city’s influence extends far beyond sound.
“I think being from Manchester is massive for us,” he says.
Describing it as “a real workman’s town,” he credits the city’s culture for shaping the band’s mentality.
“There’s never been excuses. It’s get up and do your thing or hit the road, basically.”
That work ethic has taken Guilt Trip around the world, including recent touring alongside Malevolence, a band Valentine describes as “our best mates in the scene.”
The idea of bringing that package to Australia is something he would happily embrace.
“We’d love to do that as well,” he says. “If we can go come to Australia and do shows down there, it would be brilliant as well.”
Having recently visited Australia, Valentine admits the band has become particularly fond of the country.
“We love Australia, just in general,” he says. “Other than the jet lag, I think there’s nothing bad we can say about it, really.”
Personal milestones
While life on the road continues to expand, home remains surprisingly low key, over the past year Valentine has reached a milestone many musicians spend their careers chasing:
“I don’t have a job anymore, so I’m living off the band currently, which is sick.”
When he’s not touring, however, life is intentionally quiet.
“I’m kind of an introvert,” he says. “When I’m off tour, I kind of need to recharge my batteries and sit at home as much as I can.”
That usually means family, Call of Duty, sport and whatever television series he’s currently working through, at the time of the interview it was The Boys.
“I’m already on season four, I only started last week,” he laughs.
Armour of Angels is here this Friday (June 5th)
The focus for now is firmly on Armour of Angels, after ten years of hard work and three years of accelerating momentum, Guilt Trip aren’t approaching this release like a band looking to maintain their position. They’re approaching it like a band determined to take the next step.
Guilt Trip ‘Armour Of Angels’ track list
- 01 – ‘One By One’
- 02 – ‘Blood Atonement’
- 03 – ‘Cut From God’
- 04 – ‘Dirt’
- 05 – ‘Angel Eyes’
- 06 – ‘Veins’
- 07 – ‘No Love Lost’
- 08 – ‘Intermission’
- 09 – ‘Burn’
- 10 – ‘Suffer Me’
- 11 – ‘Resurrected’ (feat. Sonny Sandoval)
- 12 – ‘The Banner Of Heaven’
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