Featuring their first foray into concept album territory, it’s too bad that the dystopia-themed lyrics don’t form the most coherent concept in the world, and it’s all fairly forgettable in the long run. … read more
Reviews: Havok – Unnatural Selection
Havok’s rocked a cut above the feckless ‘80s imitators since day one, shamelessly copping chunks of top-tier bay area mayhem into their casserole, while freely adding their own ingredients. … read more
Reviews: GWAR – Battle Maximus
GWAR are metal to the teeth, even if you count their dabbling in punk rock and other musical diversions. … read more
Reviews: Ghost Wave – Ages
Everyone loves songs about getting drunk and breaking stuff, romanticizing self-destructive behavior like a poorly written Bukowski novel. This album gives me none of those feelings—it is about as visceral as a Ryan Adams song. … read more
Reviews: Get Dead – Bad News
Intense, growling vocals swoon wonderfully over heavy acoustic rhythm instrumentation and an electric lead guitar. … read more
Reviews: Gauntlet Hair – Stills
It starts with “Human Nature,” a fist-pumper with an awesome build-up to a glorious hook. What follows is a collection of songs that are grungy, crystalline, sexy and ugly. … read more
Reviews: Front Line Assembly – Echogenetic
Returning somewhat to their early 1990s sound, but with a detour through dubstep—it’s sort of impossible not to get that particular peanut butter wub in your electronic chocolate these days—Echogenetic is a very workable, even strong bit of electronic industrial/ebm. … read more
Review: Wordsmith – The Blue Collar Recital
His flow is clean with simple drumbeats and keys, looped with soulful samples that bump the tracks to an almost gospel status. The “day in a life” approach makes The Blue Collar Recital personal and powerful without being over the top. … read more
Review: Xiu Xiu – Nina
This is obviously a work of love. This homage to the late, great soulstress Nina Simone is beautiful and stark. … read more
Review: Young Turks – Where I Rise
“I don’t give a shit, your music means nothing! Your actions speak even less,” yells Matt Koenig at the beginning of “Territo(royally) Pissed.” … read more
Review: Wolves in the Throne Room – BBC Session 2011 Anno Domini
Ethereal as their studio recordings are, the BBC Session provides a different and equally as compelling experience. “Prayer of Transformation” is a slow and whispered black metal trek on Celestial Lineage, but in the live studio setting it shares a kinship with the patience-testing doom of Bell Witch and Samothrace. … read more
Review: Youth Forgotten – Ghost of A Fallen Empire
Youth Forgotten have a lot of influences: speed metal, thrash, early-’00s metalcore, gothic rock and crossover. When YF combines two genres in one song, it sounds good, but this was quite rare. … read more
