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Reviews by Mark

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Hollow Ground – Cold Reality

Review — June 10, 2005

I can't possibly make this a lengthy review. I can't! I've tried to think of creative ways to give my opinion on this piece of melodic, tough-guy hardcore, "in the vein of Comeback Kid, Hatebreed, and Terror." But I keeping finding myself back at that very phrase which sits mid-page …

Paint It Black – Paradise

Review — May 15, 2005

CVA was fucking perfect. Naysayers beware: I am willing to defend that position. A hardcore supergroup of sorts (combining members of The Curse, Kid Dynamite, Lifetime, and Good Riddance), Paint It Black released one of the best melodic hardcore albums I've ever heard. I'm a sucker for melody and I'm …

The Unseen – State of Discontent

Review — May 29, 2005

I like punk rock. A lot. I listen to some punk bands that are far from extraordinary, who play contrived music, but make it fun (both for them and the listener). I am no expert on the scene; I've been involved with punk since I was 8, but I've always …

Fischerspooner – Odyssey

Review — August 25, 2005

#1 was such a fantastic, yet ultimately superficial, electro-pop album. Brimming with hits and infectious dance beats, it certainly helped to solidify the iconic duo of Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner as the leaders of this new-found "electroclash" genre. I've never understood what exactly was "clashing," but that is a …

The Black Dahlia Murder – Miasma

Review — September 3, 2005

I spent a good year learning the guitar arrangements, melodies, and riffs of The Black Dahlia Murder's Metal Blade Records debut, Unhallowed. It was certainly a fun, morbid, and visceral expedition into the world of melodic death metal, a la Gothenburg, Sweden. After having seen the phenomenal live show that …

Darkest Hour – Undoing Ruin

Review — September 26, 2005

Metal is getting to be popular again. Its popularity has fluctuated at times, dipping in and out of the pop culture eye, but usually staying under the radar. With the resurgence of thrash/melodic death metal/"hardcore" hybrids popping up everywhere, there is a sense of excitement (or dread) about new metal …

Every Time I Die – Gutter Phenomenon

Review — October 21, 2005

So you know how a band will take something that they wrote that does really well with the fans and expand on it? The Offspring, for example, found out that by writing a "witty" punk rock song they could sell lots of albums. On Every Time I Die's last album …

Against Me! – Searching for a Former Clarity

Review — November 27, 2005

Music fans are fucking assholes. For those of us in the world who obsess about music, we fail to realize this one fact. We can be incredibly annoying. We can be demanding. We can influence the musical and aesthetic choices a band makes simply because they want to please us, …

Ceremony – Violence Violence

Review — June 18, 2006

My buddy Dave said it best: "This shit makes me want to punch a whale." Ridiculous? Perhaps. But Ceremony's first full-length, Violence Violence is completely ridiculous. And I mean that as a compliment in every way. They released their Ruined 7" not too long ago and the hardcore hype train …