North West England alt-metal four-piece ALEYA have released "Old Friends," their third single of 2026 and the latest preview of the upcoming How It Ends EP. The track is out now independently on all major platforms.
"Old Friends" pushes ALEYA toward a more atmospheric direction while keeping the bursts of modern metal aggression and the melodic streak heard on "Sapphire Skies" and "Follow Me." Frontman and lyricist Tom Evans says the song is about remembering people who have died and the fact that they will never know who you became. Losing someone, he explains, can change the way you see life itself, and those friends will never see how their passing changed you.
Loss is the thread running through all six songs on How It Ends, the follow-up to the band's 2023 debut EP Idle Minds. The EP has been completed with producer Dan Fox at Treehouse Studio in the UK, and ALEYA say full release details are coming very soon.
The band have also confirmed the three-date UK headline run we mentioned in August:
- November 12 — Birmingham, Subside Bar
- November 13 — Chester, Live Rooms (with 7EVENTH SEA and NOISELESS)
- November 14 — Nottingham, The Old Salutation
Stream "Old Friends": Spotify