Recent reviews

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

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

Dark Days

How Have We Done This
Independent (2009)

Dark Days is a new band from the Bay Area of California and this is their five-song demo recording. It was printed on both cassette tapes (limited to 50 copies each with a different cover) and CD-R. Musically, I'd compare them to Trash Talk. They make use of short fast blasts of chaos and then let things hang with slower bass-dropping breakdowns. Lyrically they take a bleak outlook of world that surrounds them, which adds further fuel to their sound. The quality of the recording isn't the best, but it is a demo. Dark Days is still a new band, they haven't even played their first show yet. Time will benefit them to become more cohesive and find their own distinct sound. Read more

200 Words Or Less

Iron Rain

Demo
Independent (2009)

I got this demo while I was in Chicago recently. This one was being given away outside of a show. … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Nowhere Bound

Demo
Independent (2009)

Nowhere Bound is a new hardcore band from the Chicago area and this is their four-song demo. They've got an … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Arms Aloft

Comfort at Any Cost
Dead Format (2008)

Hailing from Wisconsin, Arms Aloft are quite a surprise with their 7" debut Comfort at Any Cost. This four-song EP … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Hope Lane is a Dead End

Illuminate
Independent (2009)

Metalcore has been an interesting genre over the years. Initially bands like Integrity, Earth Crisis, and Unbroken were labeled as … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Heads Held High

So Say We All
Crossface (2009)

So Say We All is the full-length debut from Clevelanders Heads Held High. These five gentlemen have been kicking around … Read more

Browse our review archives

Reviews by year

Choose a year to view reviews of albums released in that year.

Reviews by artist name

Choose a letter to view reviews ordered by that letter (band name first).

Review categories

200 Words Or Less

749 reviews

Book Review

42 reviews

Classic Album

25 reviews

Multiple Authors

300 reviews

Review

4900 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

Arms Aloft

Sawdust City
Kiss of Death (2012)

When I speak of a “Kiss of Death” sound, I don’t mean it derisively. What I do mean is poppy song structures with powerfully belted lead vocals and strong guitars. It’s pop-punk, but with a little extra torque under it and maybe a secret passion for melodic hardcore buried somewhere in their basement cd piles from the early 2000s. Arms Aloft, from Wisconsin, is a good fit for the label. The primary reason that their first full-length, Arms Aloft is as strong as it is, is the distinct blend of influence that comes together with their own songwriting prowess. Lumping them in with their label is the comparison; what is most interesting is the distinction. Ignoring the intro track, the record gets off to a fast start. “Irish Coffee” is … Read more

More album reviews

200 Words Or Less

One Win Choice

Define/Redefine
Jump Start (2009)

Don't you love finding new punk bands? I sure do, which is why I was stoked to find out about New Jersey's One Win Choice who have just put out a new 7" with five adrenalizing new songs. There's not really a lot to say about this band because they sound very similar to a lot of other melodic hardcore … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Miseration

Your Demons ~ Their Angels
Lifeforce (2008)

Former Scar Symmetry vocalist Christian Älvestam has left said band to focus more on his other project, Miseration. Miseration is also a melodic death metal band, like Scar Symmetry, only they take a more straightforward approach rather than a technical/progressive one. The band's debut album Your Demons ~ Their Angels may satisfy fans of melo-death but their overall sound is … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Charged

Summer 2008
Melotov Cocktail (2009)

Charged is a hardcore band from southern California, playing a pretty straightforward style. The vocals are probably the strongest part of this band, reminding me a little bit of Verse or even Cut the Shit. The music ranges from fast-paced punk beats to slower breakdowns, and brings in a decent amount of melodic and singing parts, akin to Stay Gold. … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Tommy Keene

In the Late Bright
Second Motion (2009)

New release from this accomplished singer/guitarist finds him continuing to offer us great songs, which are really hard to come by these days. Keene handles the majority of the instruments here, save for longtime mainstay John Richardson on drums. "Save this Harmony" features a laid back groove and a fantastic melody to carry this one home. "Tomorrow's Gone Tonight" has … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Longwave

Secrets are Sinister
Original Signal (2008)

So much going on here it's hard to know where to begin. But if you like bands that prefer atmospheric overlays on their songs versus sparse settings, this band is for you. Fans of The Church and Echo & The Bunnymen will most likely appreciate the sonic depth presented here. "No Direction" should be a hit, I'm surprised I haven't … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Sleepies

Join the Shark
Doom Song (2008)

Cranky, off kilter rock from this Brooklyn power trio. Best lyrics on this EP (I guess it is an EP; it's seven songs clocking in at under sixteen minutes) are "Body cast but you ain't speaking / Drunk and grinding on your gun / That's how you ruined Surfer Rosa" (from "You're Still An Owl.)" Best song title - "Napolean … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Mitch Easter

Dynamico
Electric Devil (2008)

Excellent debut solo record from the former Let's Active mastermind. Of course, the sound quality is killer, considering it was recorded in his own studio. Power pop with cool guitar licks throughout makes this a consistently rewarding listen. "Time Warping," "Dusky Lair," and "Why is it so Hard?" are my favorites here. But this record is bursting at the seams … Read more

mewithoutYou

It's All Crazy! It's All False! It's All a Dream! It's Alright
Tooth & Nail (2009)

The title for Philadelphia act mewithoutYou's fourth album comes from Parable 518 of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen's The Golden Words of a Sufi Sheikh where he writes, "It's all false, It's all a dream, It's all crazy, It's all over, It's all right, Let's see what's next." Perhaps better than any others, these words mirror the band's evolution from their screamish [A->B] … Read more

Clutch

Full Fathom Five: Audio Field Recordings
Weathermaker Music (2008)

This review is pretty damn pointless. No one is going to buy a live album unless they're familiar with the band, and anyone familiar with Clutch will know whether they want to purchase it long before they read these fevered scribblings. For a long time now, Clutch have been leaders in the field of live rock for those in the … Read more

Multiple Authors

Narrows

New Distances
Deathwish Inc. (2009)

Yes, this is finally out and not a moment too soon! The first Narrows full-length, New Distances, is indeed finally available for the shattering of our ear drums. And it must be said that it does come amidst a slew of hype and anticipation (and no small amount on my own part to be brutally honest). Coming off their first … Read more

Multiple Authors

Narrows

New Distances
Deathwish Inc. (2009)

Narrows return to the musical fold with their debut full-length and follow-up to last year's very impressive self-titled EP. Like many others, when news of this project was first announced, I was beyond excited and anticipated great things. Who wouldn't be when members of Botch, Unbroken, Some Girls, and These Arms are Snakes get together? Fools. That's who! The band's … Read more

Multiple Authors

Green Day

21st Century Breakdown
Reprise (2009)

Green Day are at a point in their careers where they can basically do anything. Almost all of their fans from the Gilman Street days are gone and they seem to appeal to a completely different crowd now. That's not to say that the "true punks" don't still enjoy then, but the band's audience has definitely expanded over the years … Read more

Multiple Authors

Green Day

21st Century Breakdown
Reprise (2009)

I'm going to keep this brief, because Billie Joe Armstrong and company couldn't 21st Century Breakdown is Green Day's first record clocking in at over an hour in length, comprising, as you're probably sick of hearing about, three acts and eighteen songs. It also picks up where American Idiot left off, except it lacks any of the character of that … Read more

Gifts From Enola

From Fathoms
The Mylene Sheath (2009)

Post-rock has predictably reached its stage of full saturation, becoming the self-loathing cliché that wasn't hard to see coming. Bands are unfairly and mockingly compared to Explosions in the Sky, Mogwai, and This Will Destroy You, whose stranglehold over the genre have made them a benchmark for those that follow suit and a constant reminder of the jadedness of the … Read more

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