HOCICO WRACK AND RUIN Metropolis 5/5 There is a special feeling when listening to a band for the first time and you are blown away by how good it is and you know you have just unearthed something amazing. That happened for me several years ago when I discovered Hocico’s first album, Odio Bajo
Hell-Born Legacy of the Nephilim Conquer Records Hell-Born is a band from Poland that sounds remarkably close in style to Japan’s Hellchild. This album has a definite thrash metal feel in the guitar playing, as well as the way the vocalist belts out the lyrics, but that’s as close to thrash as this gets. The
SLUG Reviews Heimataerde’s Gotteskrieger. Of all the German industrial that I listen to, this one wins the prize for being so German. Keep Reading… … read more
I think Hate Eternal had reached “blur status,” and had to take it down a notch. Not bad for three guys from back East. Imagine Suffocation, but less sloppy. … read more
Hidden Towers = Queensryche + Soundgarden … read more
A classic case of stoner doom by numbers, High Priest of Saturn imitate all the basic components of their chosen genre, but fail to add anything substantial or unique to the mix. Highly hailed with comparisons to Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard, the band’s self-titled debut only resembles these bands by the most generous comparison. … read more
Short, hateful and sublimely coated in a venom akin to straight hatred, Certain Death takes a “less is more” approach to affirming the chilling truth of that title: Everything is finite, living is dying and just by existing, we’re slowly ebbing our bodies into a slow and slimy decay. … read more
I’d heard of the one-man doom cult Hell at different points over the past few years, but I was never sufficiently interested to actually give the band a listen. … read more
This double A-side bucks most retro-brain nu-gaze trends by not trying too hard to ape MBV, and just sort of arrives there nonchalantly. … read more
Forever uses the upbeat power of nearly unbroken speed to avoid any clashes with boredom while finding identity through unique vocals. … read more
Prominence expands on the downtempo aesthetic of Talent by incorporating darker, introspective lyrics into the same exuberant sound. Peña’s airy falsetto floats through the tracks here, cozying up with lush loops of nylon strings, steel drums, and New Order–styled harmonica. … read more
I’ve felt starved for feminine vocalists in the upbeat lo-fi community up until Transmuting. Heaven’s Gate mix reverberated guitars and non-stop ride cymbal with a voice between the sustained notes of Best Coast and the tone of Siouxsie Sioux. … read more
