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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)

This Will Destroy You

This Will Destroy You
Magic Bullet (2008)

It wasn't long ago that Texas natives This Will Destroy You were nothing more than a well-kept secret. But thanks to a solid debut album and a little luck the band went from practically unknowns to indie music darlings. As a result the band's debut full-length, This Will Destroy You, was placed atop many individuals lists of the most anticipated records of 2008. This Will Destroy You have completely blown all expectations I had of this album to smithereens and released what could possibly be the album of the year. This Will Destroy You opens with "A Three-Legged Workhorse." The nine-minute track floats by as the instrumental quartet of guitarists Jeremy Galindo and Chris King, bassist Raymond Brown, and drummer Andrew Miller have assembled an atmospheric moody number that reaches beyond previous conceptions that I had for the group. They have become so much more than just another post-rock group. "Villa Del Refugio" continues the listening experience in similar fashion as it opens with delay-induced guitars. The song moves on and dabbles more towards the experimental/ambient style than the previous venture. "Threads" is very much in line with the sound heard on the band's EP, Young Mountain. Present are soothing … Read more

Life Long Tragedy

Runaways
Deathwish Inc. (2008)

Evolution in the music world results in one of two things: fame or infamy. Life Long Tragedy have slowly grown … Read more

Able Baker Fox

Voices
Second Nature (2008)

A little over five years ago The Casket Lottery and Small Brown Bike released a collaborative 12" EP that proved … Read more

The Mongoloids

Time Trials
Collapse (2007)

There's something about over-hyped hardcore bands that makes me want to hear them. It has something to do with my … Read more

The New Dress

Where Our Failures Are
Red Leader (2007)

The New Dress certainly knows how to make a first impression. Twenty seconds into Where Our Failures Are the tandem … Read more

Come Sleep

The Burden of Ballast
Version Studio (2007)

That old saying attests that "you only get what you give." Nowhere does this apply better than heavy metal. The … Read more

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One from the archives

This is Hell

Warbirds
Think Fast! (2009)

Long Island natives This is Hell have been going full-force since their formation in 2004. There has been an endless stream of releases - a demo, a couple of EP's, a split, and two full-lengths - through those years. The Warbirds 7" features three brand new songs and two cover songs, something the band seems to rather enjoy (previous covers of The Beastie Boys, 108, The Movielife, Kid Dynamite, and CIV have been recorded). Warbirds opens with a bang. "The Search" picks up where the band left off with Misfortunes. It's fast-paced hardcore with a rock flavoring showcased perfectly on this two and a half minute blast. And while you're enjoying what you've come to expect from This is Hell, the band throws a bitching solo in midway through the … Read more

More album reviews

200 Words Or Less

Skeletons with Flesh on Them

The Fish Don't Mind
Independent (2007)

Some bands just have cool names. Skeletons with Flesh on Them, an indie rock band from Seattle, are one of them. This four-piece indie/rock group show obvious signs of influence from the pioneering and currently established bands of their neck of the woods - Modest Mouse, Built to Spill, Roy, etc. - on their debut EP, The Fish Don't Mind. … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Endgame

Distracted
Get Outta Town (2008)

Endgame is the latest band to emerge from the New Jersey hardcore scene. The four-piece outfit has returned after a split CD with Movement that was released last year. Distracted is a five song EP of upbeat melodic hardcore. Musically, Endgame have concocted a very catchy mix of fast-paced hardcore and melodic hardcore that draws similarities to Crime in Stereo, … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Orgone

The Goliath
Independent (2007)

Orgone is an interesting term that refers to the "life energy" of humans. It may exist; it may not. That's all up for debate. One thing that is certain is that Orgone, the metal band from Pittsburgh, plays some seriously intense tunes. This four-piece group of fellows fused together technical metal, grindcore, and even dashes of hardcore and drone metal … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Fight Pretty

Rewiring the Human Body
Dwell (2007)

How do you review an album plastered with a tagline from a review you wrote? We're both about to find out. Rewiring the Human Body is Fight Pretty's first full-length release following a slew of other recordings that were compiled on a discography release. The first thing that catches my attention about Rewiring the Human Body is the more focused … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Fire on Fire

Five Song EP
Young God (2007)

I have never been to Maine, but the visual in my head is that the state is a quite tranquil location. I know they have cities and I'm sure some of them are fairly large, but I can't help but picture a vastly rural landscape and unindustrialized setting. Fire on Fire is a group of five individuals that all live … Read more

200 Words Or Less

No Apologies

Survival
6131 (2007)

Survival is the debut full-length from No Apologies. This five-piece outfit comes from the land of koalas and aborigines. This album is filled with plenty of moshy New York-inspired hardcore, but there is also a hint of Westcoast flavor - not a surprise when one discovers Todd Jones (Terror, Carry On) wrote two songs for the album. Tracks like "Survival," … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Various Artists

Change!
Hopeless/Sub City (2007)

Change! is the latest compilation from the team of Hopeless/Sub City Records and Hot Topic. Included in this release are one CD and one DVD. The CD has twenty-one songs. The majority of the songs here are your run-of-the-mill screamo-core acts: Chiodos, Saosin, The Devil Wears Prada, etc. I despise this stuff. I would say there are only a handful … Read more

Trash Talk

Plagues
Malfunction (2008)

2007 was a huge year for this group of young men from Sacramento. A relentless touring schedule in support of their debut full-length, Walking Disease, fueled a hype machine - not necessarily in a bad way - that landed them on Malfunction Records and onto a lot of hardcore kids' favorites of '07 lists. Plagues picks up where the band … Read more

Arms and Legs

Arms and Legs
Closet Trekkie (2007)

With today's music scene escalating into an ever-expanding number of sub-genres, it seems a little risky to invade a style that's already been done many, many times over. Then again, if you think you can capture a genre differently (and better presumably) than anyone else, why not try it? Hailing from the New York City area, twenty-four-year-old Scott Daly decided … Read more

Darkthrone

F.O.A.D.
Peaceville (2007)

Those who know, love, and used to love this genuinely cult Norwegian band will probably know what to expect from their latest disc. Darkthrone have decided to take further musical steps away from the genre they will always be considered legends of and deliberately make all the puritan black metal fans furious. I'm not going to say that they decided … Read more

The Absence

Riders of the Plague
Metal Blade (2007)

The Absence hails from Tampa, Florida. Anyone with a sense of history knows that in the late eighties this meant something. Death, Obituary, Deicide, and Morbid Angel all hailed from Florida and significantly helped mold the clay into what we now know as death metal. The Absence are fully aware of their roots and have set forth to continue the … Read more

Have a Nice Life

Deathconsciousness
Enemies List (2008)

Have a Nice Life is a two-piece outfit from Connecticut that includes a member of the hardcore band, In Pieces; although, this double CD collection has nothing in the way of sound that can compare to that outfit in any sense of the word. Instead, Have a Nice Life actually has a sound that pulls from a variety of influences … Read more

Mouse Fire

Wooden Teeth
Lujo (2007)

Lakeland, Florida has given birth to spawn that has been attempted by many. Consisting of four members, Mouse Fire's debut album Wooden Teeth slices, blends, sometimes smothers, and completes the emo-pop sound forged in the beginning of the 2000's. Musically enchanting in its own right, every one of the twelve tracks contains a sense of musical prowess. Undoubtedly, the talent … Read more

Dub Trio

Another Sound is Dying
Ipecac (2008)

In the year 2008, one might question the relevancy of reggae and dub on today's music. When you take a closer look at things, you'd be very surprised at the answer. Sure, artists like Bob Marley and The Clash aren't around anymore. But others still carry the torch that they brought forth to the mainstream. Tim Armstrong released a reggae-based … 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)