EP Review: Scene Queen – Metalicious (Hopeless Records)

Scene Queen will release her new EP, Metalicious, on 11th September 2026 via Hopeless Records. The latest release from the self-proclaimed Bimbocore artist promises to push her sound into heavier territory, with the title track featuring deathcore outfit Left To Suffer.

AKA Hannah Collins, Scene Queen has built a reputation for combining metal with colourful pop, Y2K and emo influences, while delivering lyrics that take aim at misogyny, genre purists and the expectations placed upon women within heavy music. Her bold visual style and unapologetic attitude have become just as much a part of her identity as the music itself, with the Scene Queen persona centred around creating an inclusive new generation of the emo scene.

Metalicious sees Scene Queen continuing to experiment with that combination of pop and metal, but with the heavier side pushed further than ever before. Collins describes the EP as chaotic, Y2K-coded metal madness, with deathcore features, some of her lowest screams yet and plenty of the playful energy that defined her earlier Bimbocore releases. The title track, ‘Metalicious’, is the latest example of that approach, featuring Left To Suffer and inspired by the idea of a girls’ night out at a metal show, complete with heavy music, flowing drinks and mosh pit chaos.

Metalicious gets underway with the short, sub-two-minute Pink Flip Phone. Scene Queen seems keen to showcase the additional heaviness here, with some great riffs and strong energy right from the off. The vocals are heavily affected by echo and delivered cleanly, but in a bit of a rap style during the verses. It’s quite chaotic, with lots of effects, plenty of noise and some pretty annoying “ring, ring” vocals in the background, but it’s not lacking in catchiness. More riffs and a few growls towards the end create a bit of an industrial metal feel, making for an interesting introduction.

Manicure is a bit more like the Scene Queen I’m familiar with, especially at the start, delivering a bouncy, poppy track packed with riffs and energy. The opening gets nice and aggressive and heavy, with bouncy riffs and growing vocals. That leads into a pop section with clean vocals and effects, which in turn leads into a much heavier section with more emphasis on the vocals, punchy drums and riffs. The chorus raises the energy further, although it is repetitive. A very heavy section comes in with some seriously impressive deep guttural growls that impress, though as the anger is lyrically directed at the manicurist, it’s not 100% relatable and adds a little bit of humour, at least to me. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who can relate and take more from the screams of “You fucked up my nails”.

Shopaholic is a genuinely good song. I really like it. The story told is clear and clever lyrically, while the song flows nicely, making use of Scene Queen’s undeniable vocal talent and range. A synth background adds layers and depth as the vocals mix between rap, gorgeous cleans, growls and shouts. The chorus is super catchy too, making this a modern metal/metalcore banger.

Drop Dead Gorgeous is up next and features alt-rocker TX2. It’s a sensibly placed bit of variety on the EP, bringing harmonised vocals between Scene Queen and TX2 to just shake things up a bit. Away from the layered vocals, we have a blend of, well, pretty much everything musically. Synth backing, keys and pop melodies lead us through the verses before crunching drums, bass and riffs take over to get crowds moving and swirling. It’s a busy track, but the guest spot really works and it’s another very enjoyable song that I will listen to again.

Tracksuit comes next and here we really see Scene Queen push the heaviness into new directions, with some brutal vocals and riffs at the start that, away from the lyrical content and synth, wouldn’t be misplaced on an extreme metal band’s album. The genre hopping continues after that, bringing clean vocals, more synth, pop melodies at times and heavy but bouncy riffs at others. Look, I’m a mid-40s male, so of course I can’t really relate lyrically with everything. I don’t feel particularly impassioned by the fact that “that is not her Juicy Couture”, but when music is creative, catchy and packed with hooks, like this song is, I can still find plenty to enjoy here.

T!ts Out At Brunch brings me back down to earth a bit, having had three tracks in a row I really like, to one I have less love for. It’s not bad, it’s just not really for me. To be fair, it’s not really aimed at me, but I find it to be a bit basic, a bit repetitive and to lean a little too much on effects, echo and synth for my personal taste.

Metalicious closes out with the title track, Metalicious, this time featuring American deathcore band Left To Suffer. That adds plenty of promise, but it isn’t instantly delivered. The opening section of the song is a little grating vocally, but as the song grows and Left To Suffer start working with Scene Queen, adding growls and grunts and heaving up the music, I find myself getting into it. The two styles, which should clash, combine well and turn a song I started unsure of into one I can get onboard with. It’s not a great track, but it has its moments.

Metalicious is a (mostly) fun and chaotic EP that sees Scene Queen pushing the heavier side of her sound further than before. The combination of pop, metal, synths, rap, clean vocals and some deep growls makes for a release that is rarely predictable, and when it works, it works really well. Shopaholic, Drop Dead Gorgeous and Tracksuit are the clear standouts for me. It isn’t perfect, though.

Far from it, for my personal taste. Some of the effects and repetition can become irritating, and T!ts Out At Brunch doesn’t quite hit the same heights as the stronger material. Even the title track, despite the welcome presence of Left To Suffer, takes a little while to find its feet without ever really finding firm ground. Still, there is plenty to enjoy here, and Scene Queen’s ability to blend seemingly opposing styles without losing her identity remains one of the EP’s biggest strengths.

Track List:

01 – Pink Flip Phone
02 – Manicure
03 – Shopaholic
04 – Drop Dead Gorgeous (feat. TX2)
05 – Tracksuit
06 – T!ts Out At Brunch
07 – METALICIOUS (feat. Left to Suffer)

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