Let’s start the week off right by announcing the first band to play at Rock la Mures 2024 edition, June Turns Black. Formed in 2023, June Turns Black is one of Romania’s most exciting new metalcore bands. From the very first release, the Bucharest-based band caught everyone’s attention with their electronicore/screamo-djent style.

Their music combines personal lyrics, fierce vocals, and captivating melodies. With genre-bending creativity, they merge heavy guitars with electronics and experiment with song structures. “Hurt Me,” the band’s first offering is about finding your strength and coming out of a life of trauma and abuse. Looking at the one who did this to you and telling them defiantly to “hurt you,” since nothing they can do can really harm you anymore. It is a painful, angry song, but also an uplifting one as well. “We Kill What We Love” tackles both interpersonal damage and environmental destruction. Shedding light on the dark aspects of modern life, it explores the commodification of human psychology and the growing disconnection in our supposedly connected world.

June Turns Black‘s music videos, created by the band and their tight-knit team, beautifully complement their songs’ themes. From the Kintsugi-inspired makeup in “Hurt Me” symbolizing strength in scars, to the constructed fake-foliage room in “We Kill What We Love” representing environmental decline, the visuals enhance the band’s message.