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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)

Clouds

Legendary Demo
Hydra Head (2007)

It's quite an interesting experience to hear the whole of Cave In broken down into its different parts, in a manner of speaking that is. Since the band has gone on hiatus, the members of Cave In have continued their musical outfit through a variety of sources. Vocalist Stephen Brodsky has been continuing to release material under his solo name as well as The Octave Museum. Earlier this year, bassist Caleb Scofield teamed up with his Old Man Gloom co-conspirator Santos Montano to release Zozobra's debut full-length. And here we have guitarist Adam McGrath's new project, Clouds, and their debut full-length, Legendary Demo. And while combining all the recent "solo" efforts of the members of Cave In may not yield the musical ideals of the whole, the sound of the final product makes a lot more sense once you hear the individual outputs. It doesn't take long after popping Legendary Demo into your CD player to realize that this is not Cave In, but you certainly understand where the more rock-n-roll approach of the band's later years comes from. McGrath gets help from a team of talented individuals: Jim Carroll, who spent time in the highly toted hardcore act The … Read more

Trap Them

Sleepwell Deconstructor
Trash Art (2007)

For those of you unfamiliar with Trap Them (or Trap Them and Kill Them or 77+K7, I'm not sure which … Read more

Burning Skies

Desolation
Life Force (2006)

Damn... Burning Skies has a ton of grind influence as well as some good old death metal influence to boot. … Read more

Youth Group

Casino Twilight Dogs
Anti (2007)

Australian-bred power-pop/indie-rock band Youth Group has returned with their second U.S. release, and third overall, with Casino Twilight Dogs and … Read more

Dälek

Abandoned Language
Ipecac (2007)

Dälek have the ability to produce an album that's so distinctively different from anything that have done before and yet … Read more

Years from Now

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
Get Outta Town (2007)

I have to admit, Years from Now do shed a tiny bit of warm sunlight into the dank black empty … Read more

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One from the archives

Pembroke

All The Brightest Pictures
HANDSTAND RECORDS (2022)

Let's say this is my first assignment at Scene Point Blank and this time I'll do a review for a hardcore punk album. It's an album by Pembroke entitled All The Brightest Pictures. Well, it's a quite rare thing for me to review hardcore punk records these days but at least I was an intense listener of this kind of music. One of the interesting points on the assignment is that Pembroke is made up of members of bands like Supertouch, Off Minor, and Saetia. Yes, Saetia got my attention for digging more into the band. The album All The Brightest Pictures is an initial record by the band released on a Virginia-based record label, Handstand Records. And I would say it's a record that needs a lot of "repair" … Read more

More album reviews

Years from Now

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat
Get Outta Town (2007)

Those of you who read my "Top 5 Awesome Bands SPB Got Into in 2005" feature in the end of the year recap, might remember my mention of Years from Now. Out of Daytona Beach, Florida, Years from Now play infectious melodic hardcore with pop-punk flourishes. Think New Found Glory meets Fastbreak. A melodic hardcore fan can't want much more … Read more

Abel is Dying

Gazing from the Abyss
Still Life (2006)

Lasagna. Pizza. Mario Bava. This is what I think of when I think of Italy. Oh, and the mafia. No wait - that's when I think of New Jersey. We all have our little preconceived notions of regions or countries when it comes to music. Sure, there's hardcore to be found all over the world, but good hardcore? By now … Read more

Coke Bust

Demo
Independent (2007)

It's an odd thing to look back on the things that helped shape us such as the music we listen to and just how long ago they initially took place. Looking back on the DC punk and hardcore scene, the time has flown by. It has been almost twenty years since Fugazi decided to form, and has been twenty-two years … Read more

Eluvium

Copia
Temporary Residence (2007)

Music has a way of bringing out many emotions in the listener. Whether it is fun music in the summer while you are having a good time or the making of a mixtape for a girl that you are trying to impress, music plays a very important role in all of our lives. We all have that one album that … Read more

Explosions in the Sky

All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
Temporary Residence (2007)

To call Explosions in the Sky's new record, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, expansive would be a horrendous understatement. The guitars swirl around each other in a dizzying fashion that does nothing other than grip the listener in a strange catatonic envelope. On the outside, the individual looks completely serene and vacant while inside they are caught up … Read more

No Harm Done

Our Day of Days
Anchorless (2007)

It's hard to be original anymore when playing any form of rock music and even harder to stand out when you're trying to sound similar to already-existing acts. No Harm Done are a melodic hardcore band from Florida who play their style by the book and not much else, as the idol worship of Strike Anywhere is clearly heard in … Read more

The End of Six Thousand Years / Embrace the End

Split
Still Life (2006)

Still Life Records delivers another slab of aggressive metalcore as it teams up Italy's The End of Six Thousand Years and Sacramento, California's Embrace the End. Each band contributes three songs each of punishing metalcore that will no doubt please any fan of the genre, whether they feel the genre is played out or are just getting into the scene. … Read more

Jesu

Conqueror
Hydra Head (2007)

Okay, I am saying it. This just might be my number one album of 2007. Whatever I thought of Jesu prior to this record went completely out the window. Conqueror is absolutely breathtaking. The audible space that this record fills up is mind-boggling. It is lush. It is sweet and pretty. I am listening to it over and over again … Read more

Bloodlined Calligraphy

Ypsilanti
Facedown (2006)

You, the Scene Point Blank readers, are probably tired of reading about how awful metalcore is these days. But as stagnant and formulaic as the genre is, bands just keep putting out albums and apparently there is fanbase that keeps eating this shit up. But somebody has to review them, so here we are. When SPB writers, including myself, review … Read more

Lifetime

Lifetime
Decaydance (2007)

Alright, I'm just going to come out and say it. I've been battling an evil demon inside myself that's been eating its way through my soul ever since I heard that Lifetime was going to put out an album on Peter Wentz's Decaydance Records. I've lost sleep. I get a nasty case of heartburn every time I think about this … Read more

Lifetime

Lifetime
Decaydance (2007)

On the song "Can't Think About it Now," Lifetime vocalist Ari Katz notes in passing that "nobody knows if the kids gonna like it." No kidding. As anyone talking about this record will likely point out, expectations ride high. After eight years away from the fray, Lifetime returned in 2005 for a scattered series of shows before reuniting for real … Read more

As Hope Dies

As Hope Dies
Still Life (2006)

This self-titled affair is the final recorded material from the melodic death metal/hardcore outfit As Hope Dies. Prior to this five-song EP, the band had released two other albums: a full-length and an EP. Their first effort showed immense promise as it blended together their influences of European thrash and death metal with a healthy dose of American hardcore. Their … Read more

Agalloch

Ashes Against the Grain
The End (2006)

Agalloch formed in the mid to late 1990's as a studio project of sorts and have actually maintained that distinction for the most part, as they seem to play very infrequently and undertake little touring. Ashes Against the Grain is the third full-length from this outfit and represents a further evolution in their recorded output. "Limbs" opens with a reserved … Read more

Various Artists

Our Impact Will Be Felt: A Tribute to Sick of it All
Abacus (2007)

Let's face it; if you're a hardcore kid and you DON'T like Sick of it All, there's something really and truly wrong with you. For over twenty years, Sick of it All have been consistently releasing albums and 7"s of unwavering quality, and touring the world relentlessly. With the band's somewhat recent signing to Abacus Recordings, the label decided to … Read more

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