108
Creation. Sustenance. Destruction.
Equal Vision (2006)
108 may have been one of the major proponents of the "Krishna core" movement of the early to mid 1990's in the hardcore and punk scene, but the religious or ideological essence of their music does not even come close to overshadowing the energetic, passionate music that they produced over their short but relatively productive lifetime. At this point it … Read more
Alexisonfire
Watch Out!
Equal Vision (2004)
Back in the late nineties a handful of bands like Shai Hulud and Poison the Well began blending technical metalcore with more melodic, Midwest-style emo, building a sound that for the time was pretty innovative. After gaining a large amount of popularity, newer bands began emulating this style and making it more and more watered down. These are bands like … Read more
Armor for Sleep
What to do When You are Dead
Equal Vision (2004)
Armor for Sleep is a band that for me failed to live up to the potential they were capable of on their debut album, Dreams to Make Believe. They had recorded a great demo, but when the record came out those re-recorded songs were the only shining moments. A few years have passed and now we have a new album … Read more
Bane
Don't Wait Up
Equal Vision (2014)
It has been literally years since I have been so taken with a hardcore record, and I am not talking about saying that you love a record with all your being; but rather I am talking about living with the record and sleeping with the record still going on in your desperate feverish brain while some batch of loveable hooligans … Read more
Bane
The Note
Equal Vision (2005)
Remember in high school when big ass dudes would ask you if you knew where the beach was, just so they could flex their muscles and say "that way"? I don't know if that made your underpants moist, but The Note is Bane flexing, and I am currently sitting in a puddle. Has Bane ever done anything bad? Ever disappointed … Read more
Betrayed
Substance
Equal Vision (2006)
I just finished watching the trailer for the book-to-film documentary American Hardcore and it got me thinking. Anyone that claims to be a fan of hardcore/punk is bound by an unwritten law to have read that book, as well as Get in the Van. Many - mostly the older blokes - feel that those times documented in those books were … Read more
Boy Sets Fire
The Misery Index: Notes from the Plague Years
Equal Vision (2006)
In 2001 Boy Sets Fire recorded an album that many consider to be the band's finest hour, After the Eulogy, for Victory Records. The band was becoming bigger and bigger, and were ultimately snatched up by major label Wind-Up Records in 2002. The following year brought an EP, Live for Today, a teaser for an upcoming full length. Later that … Read more
Chiodos
Bone Palace Ballet
Equal Vision (2007)
Before we begin, a short caveat: a little more than six years ago, when first throwing myself into the world of hardcore and post-anything, I was a fan of some terrible music. My CD and t-shirt collection was almost an homage to Trustkill Records. And for a time, I actually thought listening to Coheed and Cambria excessively might change my … Read more
Codeseven
Dancing Echoes / Dead Sounds
Equal Vision (2004)
A lot of albums are released during the course of a year. Hell, even if you rule out all the albums that you know you have no interest in at all, there will still be some that you just don't get around to fully checking out until much after the fact. So while everyone else is focusing on the next … Read more
Coheed and Cambria
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Equal Vision (2003)
I guess I'm one of the few people in the world that don't really like Coheed and Cambria. Sorry. But here's to all those that are with me in saying that Coheed and Cambria are overrated. The first track starts exactly like JR Ewing's song Graduation Day, but with a different ring of the phone, and when the phone is … Read more
Coheed and Cambria
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Equal Vision (2003)
IN KEEPING SECRETS OF SILENT EARTH: 3 REVIEW A one act play CAST: Sean Apartimus.....our humble narrator Claudio.....our noble hero, leader of the clan Coheed Will Writinpahpsung.....elvin, Coheedian clansman King Concepticus......ruler of the kingdom Cambria, holder of the cherished concept album scroll Bordalon Pretentious.....brother of King Concepticus, but he smells of foul intentious! Boran Structuron.....the executioner, a dastardly fellow, and … Read more
Damiera
M(us)ic
Equal Vision (2007)
M(us)ic equals "us in music." Playful guitar lines and broken time signatures characterize Buffalo, New York's Damiera. Imagine a mélange of The Fall of Troy and Circa Survive. This comparison (to bands also on Equal Vision Records) was the first thing I thought of when listening to Damiera. Each track is respectively catchy and melodically technical, proving the musicians know … Read more
Dustin Kensrue
Please Come Home
Equal Vision (2007)
All right doggies, saddle up. It's time to slip off those slip-on vans and lace up a pair of shit kickers; the terrain gets a lil' rough up ahead. That's right, y'all better trade in those half inch gauged earrings for a ten gallon hat because we're about to take a bucking ride through the romantic Midwest with Dustin "Dusty" … Read more
Fear Before the March of Flames
The Always Open Mouth
Equal Vision (2006)
According to guitarist Adam Fischer, "The Always Open Mouth is the person in the crowd who, when you say something, they yell out 'Fuck you, play another song'." With this in mind, it's not hard to imagine what to expect from Fear Before the March of Flame's third album. Raw and scathing, this is an all-out attack on the ignorant … Read more
Fear Before the March of Flames
The Always Open Mouth
Equal Vision (2006)
Very few bands, after putting out two records that made me cringe, put out a record that moves me. Not very few, make that zero bands, except for Fear Before the March of Flames. Odd How People Shake and Art Damage were both unappetizing attempts to reach some sort of plateau where they could rain down shit on everyone around … Read more
Give Up the Ghost
We're Down Til' We're Underground
Equal Vision (2003)
First of all, I'm going to apologize for only reviewing records that I like a lot. With that being Said, American Nightmare/GUTG has done it again. I've been a fan of American Nightmare since their first 7" came out, and I've loved all of their subsequent releases. This is is no exception to the trend. We're Down Til We're Underground … Read more
Give Up the Ghost
We're Down Til' We're Underground
Equal Vision (2003)
You might be asking yourself, "who the Hell is Give Up the Ghost?" If you are, you missed out on the hardcore scene's answer to the OJ trial, in which some shitty band from Nantucket sued hardcore favorites American Nightmare over the copyright of that band name. AN had no choice but to change their name to Give Up the … Read more
Good Clean Fun
Between Christian Rock and a Hard Place
Equal Vision (2006)
I can't think of one person out there that doesn't like to laugh. However, not everyone likes to laugh at the same things. Some people think Adam Sandler is funny; I don't. Some people think Robin Williams is a hoot; I don't. Hell, some people think American's Funniest Home Videos was the greatest show in television history; I... well, who … Read more
