Review / 200 Words Or Less
Under Anchor
There is No End

Truth and Justice (2007) — Michael

Under Anchor – There is No End cover artwork
Under Anchor – There is No End — Truth and Justice, 2007

Despite my close proximity to the state, it's been quite a while since I've heard something new from Michigan that's caught my interest. Under Anchor is the first band to do so in a while. They are a three-piece hardcore band that draws equally from the youth-crew sound and metallic hardcore of the 90's.

There is No End is the debut full-length from the band. Over the course of these ten songs the band unleashes a dramatic concoction of hardcore that could put the band on bills alongside Have Heart or Verse. For the most part the band sticks to two/three-minute songs with mid-paced riffing and breakdowns with shouted vocals. Occasionally the band does mix into some more chaotic moments, but for the most part they stick to what they do best. Lyrically things concern themselves with typical topics: loss, loneliness, betrayal, etc. A nice accompaniment to the lyrics is brief explanations, which gives the band a more down to earth quality. Overall, a good debut that shows promise.

6.5 / 10 — Michael • June 16, 2008

Under Anchor – There is No End cover artwork
Under Anchor – There is No End — Truth and Justice, 2007

Recently-posted album reviews

Contention

Nuclear Summer
Daze (2026)

Contention, I would argue, has spent the last few years at or near the top of the heap of the return to 90's styled Straight Edge Metalcore. I am being specific because there is no mistaking Contention's influences nor their message. This is a STRAIGHT EDGE band that is far more indebted to Morning Again that anything that uses a … Read more

A Secret Revealed

The Ruin I Summoned Forth
Lifeforce (2026)

There are albums that use heaviness as an assault and others that use it to create an atmosphere. On The Ruin I Summoned Forth, A Secret Revealed manage to does both. The German quintet’s fourth full-length is an enormous, bleak piece of post-metal, but calling it post-metal only gets you part of the way there. Black metal cuts through its … Read more

Time Spent Driving

Lost Leaves
Thirty Something Records (2026)

There's a particular challenge facing bands that came out of the late '90s and early '00s emo scene. You can recreate the sound people remember and risk becoming your own nostalgia act, or you can abandon it entirely and risk losing whatever made the band matter in the first place. Time Spent Driving choose neither on Lost Leaves. More than … Read more