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Wumpscut

Body Census
Metropolis (2007)

Wumpscut has been called many things - aggrotech, hellektro, terror EBM and many other awful genre portmanteaus. If you are new to the band, it would be easiest to say that what they - they being German DJ Rudy Ratzinger - create is electronic music designed to scare. Wumpscut first achieved popularity with "Soylent Green," now a much played club-classic. … Read more

Celestia

Apparitia-Sumptuous Spectre
Paragon (2007)

More melody than mayhem, France's Celestia is a band that catches your ear immediately because while they can definitely fly the black flag over their heads, they have an oddly upbeat overall tone to the music. Of course this is a paradox to the true nature of the genre of black metal, but it does open it up to a … Read more

Inhale Exhale

The Lost, The Sick, The Sacred
Solid State (2007)

The Lost, The Sick, The Sacred starts off with this atmospheric near dirge ditty that I thought I might have a Joy Division clone on my hands. That would have been a treat, sadly the guitars down tune, the drums begin the pummel, and then some screaming is started. Oh of course, it wouldn't be today's metalcore without some nicely … Read more

Annasay

Annasay
Independent (2006)

I know this sounds familiar and you've heard a thousand of projects along these lines by now. But bear with me. Following the breakup of melodic hardcore/rock band Linus, Brad Lebakken decided to start writing music on his own. The songs that developed from these writing sessions were acoustic guitar driven indie rock. Lebakken recorded and released these songs under … Read more

Our Resolve

Demo
Independent (2007)

If you glance over the list of hardcore bands coming out of Cleveland over the years, you'll find that most of them are very heavy, and very pissed off. It's a nice change of pace then, to hear Our Resolve coming from Cleveland with an incredibly melodic sound. It's almost the polar opposite of everything before them. Our Resolve's goal … Read more

Leftover Crack / Citizen Fish

Deadline
Fat Wreck Chords (2007)

Have you ever bought a split record that made absolutely no sense because the two bands sharing a disc sound nothing alike? As illogical a notion as it is, this phenomenon happens more often than you would think. Anyone remember those two splits The Lawrence Arms did with the Chinkees and Shady View Terrace? Yeah… But that is not the … Read more

Hella

There's No 666 in Outer Space
Ipecac (2007)

Okay, let's talk about Resident Evil for a minute. If you're at all familiar with the games, you felt a strange feeling of dread mixed with anticipation mixed with hope when you first heard about the plans to totally revamp the classic RE control scheme for the fourth installment of the series. Part of you thought; "If it ain't broke, … Read more

Wolverines / The Sibling Project

Split
Independent (2006)

Wolverines, you ponder. Wolverines remind you of X-Men - of retractable claws - of deep, absonant snarls. "But what about siblings?" you ask yourself. Siblings bring to mind petty arguments, worthless rivalries, and sharing menial house chores. You rack your mind for any comprehensible link between a carnivorous mammal of the North and your sister. "Ay, there's the connection!" you … Read more

Ground Unicorn Horn

Ground Unicorn Horn
Three One G (2007)

Ground Unicorn Horn's self-titled release, which is packaged on a 3" mini-CD, is four minutes long, so I'm going to spend four minutes reviewing it. Three One G Records is a silly lot of folks with some pretty forward thinking ideas. I have plenty of seven inches that are only four minutes long, and I'm fine with that. But when … Read more

The Stooges

The Weirdness
Virgin (2007)

This metaphor has been used in other instances and with different figures at the head of the punchline. But believe me when I say that when the smoke clears after the apocalypse, be it biblical or manufactured, the only thing left alive will be cockroaches and Iggy Pop. Mr. Pop has had about as wild and varied a career as … Read more

Permanent

Sink|Swim
6131 (2007)

One of the best indicators of rating how good a band is is if you can feel your heart pounding as you listen to them. Your adrenaline is pumping, you're shouting alongside the music trying to keep up, and all you really want to do is grab onto something and hold on because, for all you know, you're on a … Read more

The Hidden Hand

The Resurrection of Whiskey Foote
Southern Lord (2007)

Let's be up front with this right off the bat. For all of Wino's - the guitarist and vocalist of the Hidden Hand - history in prominent bands like The Obsessed, St. Vitus, Spirit Caravan, etc, he is a workhorse musician who maintains a level of consistency that most bands and songwriters would kill to have. The Resurrection of Whiskey … Read more

Stars are Falling

The Consequence of Revenge
Blood & Ink (2007)

Sacramento's Stars are Falling are yet another in long line of bands coming out of California and inking a deal with Blood & Ink Records, an imprint of Facedown Records. So you basically know what you are going to get here even before you listen to it. Yup, you guessed it more Jesus loving metalcore that today's sleeveless t-shirt camo … Read more

Dohrn

Dohrn
Ethospine Noise (2006)

I have a soft spot for those noise punk and grindcore albums that blaze by in ten minutes or less. You know the kind. They're not something you listen to every day, but they are the perfect unrelenting catharsis on those days when you feel like the whole world is against you. Dohrn's self-titled debut is that kind of album. … Read more

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