Recent reviews

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)

Ihsahn

Eremita
Candlelight (2012)

Norway’s Ihsahn (or Vegard Sverre Tveitan if we're being formal) has continued to produce some of the most exciting and progressive music since his days as a member of the influential Emperor. Gradually turning from the black metal aspect of his career, Ihsahn has taken his skills as a songwriter and instantly recognisable vocalist to an entirely different and powerful new level. Eremita is his fourth solo album and it pushes the extremity of After (2010) into new realms whilst retaining that signature throaty vocal and incredibly singular guitar sound. Full symphonic keys make an appearance, an instrument Ihsahn first introduced into the early days of Emperor giving them an atmosphere not yet heard in the cold harsh landscape of Norwegian black metal. This willingness to experiment and work outside of what’s expected gives Ihsahn a deliciously avant-garde edge, particularly with saxophone duties being once again handled by Jørgen Munkeby of Norwegian black-jazz madmen Shining. The instrument gives rich and warm tones to “The Eagle and the Snake,” a slow-burning affair that let’s Ihsahn’s clean vocal prowess coil around the bursts of sound from the saxophone and the mighty lead guitar lines from ex-Nevermore member Jeff Loomis. He drafts in … Read more

Maudlin Of The Well

Leaving Your Body Map (Re-Issue)
Antithetic (2012)

(This excessive treatise is continued from my review of Bath)You can already tell the second album is going to be … Read more

Maudlin Of The Well

Bath (Re-Issue)
Antithetic (2012)

I think I can tell you the exact moment my perception of music changed. It was a complete Gestalt switch, … Read more

Pujol

United States Of Being
Saddle Creek (2012)

Pujol seemed like an odd pairing with Saddle Creek when I first heard of the signing last year. In 2011, … Read more

A Whisper In The Noise

To Forget
Exile on Mainstream (2012)

The 2 piece "band" A Whisper In The Noise has been kicking around for the better part of the 2000's … Read more

1982 (Statik Selektah & Termanology)

2012
Brick\Showoff (2012)

In what makes for a numerically confusing artist/album title (and opening sentence,) 2012 is the new record by 1982—the producer/rapper … Read more

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200 Words Or Less

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One from the archives

Dustin Kensrue

Carry The Fire
Staple Records/Vagrant Records (2015)

The basic tenets of theology and philosophy concern discerning right from wrong, good from evil. There will never be any clear answer to this, but as humans we're going to keep guessing and muddling through. At least partly as a result of its ambiguous nature, morality will always be a topic that's ripe for exploration and dissection. This isn't the first time rock music has been used as a vehicle for trying to figure out some resolution to these themes, but in Dustin Kensrue's case Carry The Fire is his most cohesive effort yet.It's been a busy couple of months for Kensrue: he left his position as the director of worship at the since disbanded Christian 'mega-church' Mars Hill, moved back to California and has immediate plans to get the … Read more

More album reviews

Burzum

Umskiptar
Byelobog Productions (2012)

The prolific post-prison output of Burzum has verged on the slightly more experimental side of the black metal musical spectrum. Taking a more ambient turn after career highlight Filofosem and incorporating a neo-classical edge in Belus (2010), a new sound was forged by Varg Vikernes after his incarceration. Belus encapsulated a purer tone; less cold and frostbitten than previous efforts … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Ab Imo Pectore

The Dissociative Path
Debemur Morti Productions (2012)

Ab Imo Pectore has come out of Portugal and after 3 years as a band have managed to put together their first demo and get it released by a label. As with many black metal bands that represent themselves as being of the TRVE variety they have released it on cassette as well. The real question is how does this … Read more

200 Words Or Less

September Malevolence

Our Withers Unwrung
Tendervision (2011)

There are some albums that you can just tell everyone can like, and September Malevolence's 2011 album Our Withers Unwrung is one such an album.Prominently, the music features an enjoyable post-rock reminiscent backing, with tons of light, melodic guitars and repetitive themes. However, the overall experience sounds closer to alternative rock; this is mostly a result of the vocals, which … Read more

Craig Finn

Clear Heart/Full Eyes
Vagrant (2012)

Clear Heart Full Eyes starts off curiously. Sure, “Apollo Bay” establishes that Finn’s solo debut is a separate project compared with The Hold Steady, but it’s also a minimal and boring song—among the worst and most forgettable on the record. He speaksings over a wandering guitar with some occasional slide that ultimately gets repetitive: something I won’t say about the … Read more

Æges

The Bridge
The Mylene Sheath (2012)

Los Angeles band Æges are a beautiful combination consisting of equal parts post-hardcore and sludge metal, and you can plainly hear this on their 2012 debut The Bridge. It combines weighty and languid guitar churning with fast-paced and frenetic songwriting to create a stunningly vivid result.You can prominently hear the hardcore facet of Æges's sound on the majority of their … Read more

Classic Album

Sick of it All

Self Titled
Revelation (1987)

Sick Of It All are easily the longest consistently active New York Hardcore band in existence today (both the Cro-Mags and Agnostic Front have broken up and reformed, although a case might be made for Murphy’s Law but that is it), and this EP from Revelation is ground zero for the recorded works from this hallowed institution of a band … Read more

Classic Album

Burn

Last Great Sea
Revelation (2002)

Burn holds a semi mythical place in the pantheon of the hypothetical New York Hardcore Olympus as they were relatively short lived and only had a couple of recording sessions (releasing at one point only a single four song EP and a couple of compilation appearances) while impacting many with their volatile shows and powerful presence that seemed to surround … Read more

Classic Album

Texas Is The Reason

Do You Know Who You Are?
Revelation (1996)

Do You Know Who You Are? is one of the best selling albums that Revelation ever released, and Texas Is The Reason flirted with major label courtship (almost signing to Capitol before splitting up instead) on the strength of their what would ultimately prove to be this their sole album; I remember two things about the band when they were … Read more

Classic Album

Drowningman

Rock 'N' Roll Killing Machine
Revelation (2000)

You know that there was never a genre of music that was named something along the lines of sarcastic bastard core or something along those lines, but if there ever was, then Drowningman would have been the undisputed kings of just such a genre; Rock ‘N’ Roll Killing Machine (the only album that they released for Revelation) was not only … Read more

Classic Album

Himsa

Ground Breaking Ceremony
Revelation (1999)

Have you ever had one of those records that you were so extremely excited for that the anticipation was eating at you and you counted down the days until it finally showed up in your mailbox, and, upon receiving said album, you immediately tossed in or on your stereo (regardless of the format that you are listening to the music) … Read more

Corrosion of Conformity

Self Titled
Candlelight (2012)

The mighty COC have returned. In the past few years the band returned to the musical landscape by reforming their original and much beloved lineup. That is the lineup that wrote the much lauded classic Animosity. Records under such pretenses could go a few ways. Will the band return playing a rehashed version of old songs? Will they reach far … Read more

Multiple Authors

Martyrdöd

Paranoia
Southern Lord (2012)

Swedish ragers Martyrdöd, along with Acephalix and fellow countrymen Wolfbrigade, are the latest to be chosen in the great Southern Lord crust roundup. Featuring former and current members of Skitsystem, Agrmonia and others, Martyrdöd have been unleashing their brand of blackened everything to the crust-consuming masses for over a decade now. Their latest offering Paranoia was recorded at Göteborg’s famed … Read more

A Death Cinematic

The New World
Simple Box Construction (2012)

When you anticipate things, do you find that you build up these lofty expectations that are virtually impossible to reach; or is the anticipation more often than not a good quality that leads to a build up of excitement? Anticipation (for me) is often a double edged sword that may do any combination of building up expectations and or excitement, … Read more

Toys That Kill

Fambly 42
Recess (2012)

It may have been six years since Toys That Kill put out a full-length, but Fambly 42 sounds like it could have been released immediately after Shanked. The melodies are seamless and the precision between band members sounds like they haven’t missed a beat—maybe that’s because the band plays sporadic shows and the pieces of their line-up comprise a number … Read more

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