Sol
Let There be a Massacre
Ván (2007)
You know how to work that evil shit when you can make an accordion sound sinister. Even by the strictest of doom metal standards this is one gloomy-ass album. Like a lot of the pure metal coming out of Europe these days, Sol is the work of one man, Denmark-born Emil Brahe, who has created perhaps the quintessential album of doom with Let There be a Massacre. Most bands of the doom metal ilk will drone on incessantly about the end of times in a general sense, but Sol wants to make it perfectly clear that they should be the ones to pull the trigger. "If only I had a bullet for each human being / I'd promise this world a miracle" The preceding quote was taken from "The Inanity of Man," one of seven tracks that'll have you reaching for the razor in no time. With the chorus vocal effect used on the ten-minute funeral dirge "Boginki" you can almost picture the "end is near" guy with his megaphone, announcing his sins to the indifferent masses. I won't lie to you; the album can be a tough listen. Fifty-seven minutes of rampant, unrelenting misanthropy and nihilism can be difficult … Read more
Wyclef Jean
Carnival Volume II: Memoirs of an Immigrant
Columbia (2007)
In 2001, Nas released Stillmatic, a direct play on his first album Illmatic, and an indicator that he was still … Read more
Planes Mistaken for Stars
We Ride to Fight: The First Four Years
No Idea (2008)
One might be hard pressed to envision a band that seems to exemplify a road warrior type touring ethic than … Read more
Souvenir's Young America
An Ocean Without Water
Crucial Blast (2007)
From the reviewer's initial notes made upon first hearing the album: Quiet + Loud + Quiet + Harmonica = Souvenir's … Read more
