Issues: Issue 325 – January 2016
Local Review: Militant – Father Figure
I find it funny, and maybe a little annoying, when bands get uptight about genre. To me, it feels like a non-issue that distracts from a discussion of the actual music. When I opened Bandcamp to listen to Father Figure, I noticed that Militant had tagged the album as “not metal.” … read more
Local Review: Gunfight Fever – Self-Titled
Hailing from Ogden, this four-piece instrumental metal outfit is packing some serious teeth in its jaws. Their debut album is well-structured, with a songwriting style reminiscent of the thrashier spectrum of NWOAHM blended with efficient prog sensibilities. … read more
Local Review: Grey Glass – Self-Titled
Straight out of Provo, Grey Glass are somewhere between pop rock and indie rock. Amid slow-tempo drumming, singing, and infrequent acceleration on tracks like “Lioness,” the “rock-band” essence is somewhat elusive. … read more
Local Review: God Country – Last Songs
Had this album come out in 2004, my 15-year-old self would’ve freaked out. To a degree, it uses the tried-and-true formula of distorted guitars with angry-soft vocals that crescendo into a cloud of noise so saturated in raw emotion, I inadvertently absorbed the singer’s climactic experience as my own. … read more
Local Review: Former Tides – What We Are EP
The post-hardcore scene has been dwindling as of late, but these guys brought some serious crashing guitar riffs to the studio just in case you forgot. The title track gets the EP started and really displays the overall sound Former Tides are going for. … read more
Local Review: Eyes on Kites – New Lens
Eyes on Kites’ most recent release, New Lens, is able to constructively take aim at a certain nostalgia—not necessarily in sound, but in feeling—and remind us of a more innocent, purer time in our lives. … read more
Local Review: Entomb the Wicked – Mortem
Vocalist/lead guitarist Tyler Bromberg has intriguingly diverse vocal abilities that come through in the slower tune, “Despondency,” which has a very Alice in Chains “Rooster” vibe to it. However, the rest of Mortem consists of faster, mosh-worthy death metal. … read more
Local Review: Dead Bod – Self-Titled EP
You and everyone subject to your sound system should note and thoroughly enjoy the sheer, brutal and deadly brilliance of Dead Bod. This self-titled EP beautifully captures a contemporary form of the late-’70s L.A. punk explosion, which inspires nostalgia for the movement. … read more
Local Review: Conquer Monster – Metatransit
Not only do local duo Daniel Romero and Joshua Faulkner produce their music using reworks of old video game controllers, but their new album, Metatransit, was released in conjunction with the comic book Purge Worlds. … read more
Local Review: Christopher Alvarado – The Eye of Imagination
Ambient music can be interpreted in many different ways; it all depends on what a person’s mindset is and what they are feeling at the moment, if anything. What one person hears may be drastically different from what another hears. … read more