The debut album promises a big and bright future for this Chicago-based band. Blending elements from several different subgenres, including power and melodic death metal, this is an album full of blood and fire and battle (which I now dub “warrior metal”), free of clean singing, arranged with occasional symphonic and piano elements that really bring out cinematic properties in the sound. … read more
Their fifth album in the last ten years, The Hands That Thieve is a catchy and encouraging sign that ska has gas left in the tank. Like with all ska reviews, if you’re not a fan, just quit reading right now and kindly fuck off, we don’t care. … read more
Simpleton historians cling to the idea that “hair metal” met its final death-blow the second “Teen Spirit” debuted on MTV, but they’d really only be half right. … read more
I don’t like posthumous releases, mostly because they tend to break my heart. … read more
The sophomore album from U.K. band Spectrals is a step up from their 2011 debut record, Bad Penny, as their sound seems more confident and polished. … read more
It’s funny, I never thought about Sleeping With Sirens being an overly poppy band, but after listening to Feel, it’s pretty hard to ignore. … read more
Three extremely talented and seasoned musicians came together to create this excellent, bluesy stoner rock album. … read more
Sydney Australia’s Sleepmakeswaves have the ability to move from the sublime to sublimely heavy in a half-breath’s time. … read more
Blood Tears is bristling with synths and heavy bass riffs, and in between, Vu’s voice creates melodramatic tension. Most of the tracks recall the current ’80s pop revival, but there’s something refreshing about the sleeker production here, especially on the awesome single “Harpoons.” … read more
Honestly, I wasn’t a huge fan of Forever Abomination, but in my eyes, the band has transcended their sound on this record—the technically modest solo of “Beneath Dead Leaves,” for example, demonstrates Skeletonwitch’s penchant for song construction rather than stereotypical, dick-swingin’ metal guitar solos. … read more
The wide-open spaces of places like Joshua Tree, animal corpses rotting under the blazing sun and the myth of the desert have marked all of their records, but for Ghost of the West, Kirpatrick Thomas wanted something different. He wanted to make an album that didn’t emulate the myth of the West, but embodied the West—what it actually was. … read more
When Fate begins, the full richness of the music, along with the double-time dance beat, doesn’t prepare me for the voice of Alessandro Costantini. It’s not that his voice doesn’t mesh well with the overall sound—it does. It’s perfect for the crunchy bass that sits on the forefront of the album’s mixes, allowing the guitars to create texture or melodic leads reminiscent of Holograms’ synth work. … read more
