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Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

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Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)

Nine Covens

...On The Dawning Of Light
Candlelight (2013)

Nine Covens second release …On The Dawning of Light is a raging follow up to their debut that’s full of extremity and shades of melody alike. The furiously enigmatic group – no names, or indeed, faces – prefer to step back from the spotlight in order to let their music do the talking. Although, if you have a keen ear and a working knowledge of the current UKBM scene, then you may be able to figure out a few things for yourself. It’s this mystery that sets Nine Covens apart from their black metal brethren and makes them all the more intriguing. Who are these heathens and what do they want?…On The Dawning of Light fires with the intensity of black metal as you know it, yet with members culled from varying realms of the metal spectrum their sound flickers with a heat that radiates through d-beat tempos and harsh melody, often within the same track. “As Fire Consumes” rages with disgusting coarse screams and roars whilst gorgeous waves of guitar curl around crust-laden drum crashes and a dastardly rhythm of unnatural speed. At this point Nine Covens leave behind all traces of pure black metal and enter a new … Read more

Anchors

Lost At The Bottom Of The World
Creator-Destructor (2012)

Anchors are a five piece from Melbourne, Australia who play melodic hardcore in the vein of Strike Anywhere. While a … Read more

200 Words Or Less

9th Wonder & Buckshot

The Solution
Duck Down (2012)

The histories of both Buckshot and 9th Wonder in the rap game are long and storied. Buckshot’s tenure started in … Read more

Mixtapes

Even On The Worst Nights
No Sleep (2012)

Even on the Worst Nights beams with positivity. Sure, a closer listen will reveal a lot of sarcasm in the … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Deathstench

Rites Of The Dead Moon
Independent (2012)

Deathstench has done much to make their name in the underground world of blackened noise. This EP contains a solitary … Read more

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

Lost Songs
Superball (2012)

The past decade has been an artistic whirlwind for the Austin, TX …And You Will Know Us by the Trail … Read more

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One from the archives

Sleigh Bells

Reign Of Terror
Mom + Pop (2012)

Derek Edward Miller and Alexis Krauss start this record like it's a Van Halen concert. They're tricking you into thinking that maybe after the Skins commercials that had everyone humming "Kids," after the Williamsburg and Pitchfork royalty fame, and after all the music festivals they attended last year, they were going to take things in a different direction - maybe a little more heavy metal. Before Reign of Terror came out, the band even described the album as "heavy, immense, and huge." Sounds pretty metal, to me. But instead, they hit you again with a distorted, loud, synthesized ballad with Krauss' eerie, soft almost Marilyn Monroe-esque tone - "Born to Loose" and that's when you start to feel the relief of something familiar.A sophomore album needs to be tactfully done … Read more

More album reviews

Book Review

Greg Prato

Too High To Die: Meet The Meat Puppets
lulu (2012)

Do you know who the Meat Puppets are, or have you ever wondered who the two long-haired guys that appeared on Nirvana’s Unplugged performance were? Like many people my age, I was introduced to the Meat Puppets by seeing the Kirkwood brothers perform their songs with Nirvana on MTV’s Unplugged way back in 1993 (Dear God has it really been … Read more

Young Statues

Self Titled
Run for Cover (2012)

Young Statues are a newly formed, Philadelphia indie rock band that arose from the coming together of long time friends. Their debut self-titled full-length is full of catchy riffs and appealing melodies and comes together to form a great overall “easy listening” feel. In short, your girlfriend will like this from the get-go and, if you give it a real … Read more

Norwegian Arms

Wolf Like A Stray Dog
Independent (2013)

I discovered Norwegian Arms the same way I discover most of the best music I listen to – with the pop of a facebook chat window opening accompanied by a youtube link. As the video for “Tired of Being Cold” loaded (I have satellite internet because I live in the woods. It’s very slow, comparatively.) My friend Cris explained that … Read more

Downtown Struts

Victoria!
Pirates Press (2012)

Pop-punk, Americana infused rock 'n' roll isn't really something I'd usually find myself listening to, but occasionally it's quite nice to break free of the norm and invest your time in something a little different. Downtown Struts are one such investment, and it was very much time well spent. Riding the coattails of bands such as Against Me!, The Gaslight … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Various Artists

Touche Amore/Pianos Become The Teeth - Split
Topshelf (2013)

I’m going to say it outright; I love both of these bands and when I saw hints at this split popping up on message boards I couldn’t have been more excited. Of course with this attachment there is a huge build up of expectations and I can promise you that neither band disappoints, each putting up a song that is … Read more

The Tallest Man on Earth

There's No Leaving Now
Dead Oceans (2012)

Sweden’s Kristian Matsson (more popularly known as the Tallest Man On Earth) first found himself atop a mountain of praise in 2010 following the release of The Wild Hunt, wheedling his way into the hearts of many with soothing melodies and uplifting energy. Relying almost entirely on just his guitar and commanding voice, Matsson’s brand of folk garnered more than … Read more

The Black Widow's Project

Heavy Heart
Shitstem (2012)

Initially, I thought I had this band all figured out. From the obvious stoner metal influence and playful title of the lead track, “Ha ha ha uh”, I felt like I knew exactly what to expect. These guys were not interested in odd time signatures or complicated song arrangements. They were merely interested in having some fun with rock n’ … Read more

Year Of The Goat

Angels' Necropolis
Ván (2012)

Year of the Goat haven’t had the best of starts in life – injury, great upheaval, internal friction and possibly more has meant that the Swedish quintet have had to push back the release of their debut Angels’ Necropolis further than they imagined. Praise Satan then, that the record finally sees the darkness of their retro sound birthed into the … Read more

The Magnificent

Bad Lucky
Dirt Cult (2012)

As I’ve gotten older, there are punk scenes I shy away from. Among those topping the list is street punk—not to totally write off the subgenre, but a lot of it gets bogged down in sloppy slogans, ridiculous themes, and a rather rigid dress code. It’s not that I’ve grown averse to a well-written street punk song as much as … Read more

Amenra

Mass V
Neurot Recordings (2012)

Rituals are deeply ingrained into our shared human experience and the modern ones seemingly thrust us back through the ages to some vaguely remembered race memory locked in the genetic code in safe guarded in our cells, and Amenra not only appreciates this phenomenon but exploit our collective unconscious to produce some rather breathtaking performances that at this point has … Read more

Brother Ali

Mourning In America And Dreaming In Color
Rhymesayers (2012)

Brother Ali is one of RhymeSayers’ and Minneapolis’ premiere rappers, and his career trajectory has been on the up-and-up with each release. Still, for whatever reason, my interest in Ali has waned with each new LP. His tendency for bluntness and tough guy delivery of not-so-tough material had gotten to be a bit much, and I figured it was time … Read more

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Tarkus (Re-Issue)
Razor & Tie (2012)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer, in addition to being amongst the first and most recognizable supergroups ever, have somewhat of a divided reputation. Either they're the ultimate expression of talented rock musicianship, each member being an established virtuoso musician in his own right, or they're the posterchildren for everything that there is to hate about progressive rock, creating music that can … Read more

Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Self Titled (Re-Issue)
Razor & Tie (2012)

Emerson, Lake & Palmer, in addition to being amongst the first and most recognizable supergroups ever, have somewhat of a divided reputation. Either they're the ultimate expression of talented rock musicianship, each member being an established virtuoso musician in his own right, or they're the posterchildren for everything that there is to hate about progressive rock, creating music that can … Read more

Wintersun

Time I
Nuclear Blast (2012)

Wintersun make even Godot look punctual.The Finnish black/folk/power metal band was originally conceived as a solo project for Ensiferum guitarist/vocalist Jari Mäenpää, who released its eponymous debut in 2004. The album was incredibly well-received critically, so it was no surprise that a follow-up album, Time, was quickly announced and scheduled for release in November 2006.No, that is not a typo. … Read more

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Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)