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Neon Christ

1984
Southern Lord (2021)

Power Power of Power of Neon Power of Christ Power of Neon Christ Compels You! I cast you out! Your mother darns socks in Hell! Your mother is here. Would you like to leave a message? I’ll see that she gets it! I adorn my Crucifix on my horsehair and lath wall and point the saviors head north but inevitably … Read more

Benthos

II
Eclipse Records (2021)

I was absolutely stricken a couple months ago when I discovered Benthos. I can and also can’t understand how I managed to miss out on this band and how basically no one is talking about them. One of my best friends showed them to me and I knew I just had to listen to II until I’d grow to hate … Read more

Lyra Pramuk

Delta
Bedroom Community Records (2021)

It’s not often I run into a musical project like Lyra Pramuk’s. She is the kind of artist that did away with most of what conventions are, at least when it comes down to styles and labels. It is obvious that she has no regard for cookie-cutter/run of the mill/dime a dozen kinds of approaches to music. With an incredibly … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Hawk

Tolerance’s Paradox
Independent (2020)

Remember early/mid 00s metalcore? It was a great time for the genre. Among the plethora of bands that made some of their best stuff back then, we’ve got This or The Apocalypse, although arguably they stretched towards the end of the decade. So, what does that have to do with HAWK? Well, it’s one and the same band, basically. After … Read more

Heart & Lung

Twistin' The Knife Away
Red Scare Industries (2021)

Heart & Lung released their debut in 2017, then Red Scare reissued it last year, putting it on my radar. The band is from Cleveland, OH, playing melodic pop-punk with gruff moments. While the debut was fairly call-and-response in song structure, Twistin’ The Knife Away mixes up the songwriting quite a bit throughout its 11 songs. And, as that title … Read more

Sodom

M-16 (20th anniversary edition)
BMG (2021)

German thrash metal giants Sodom have released a 20th anniversary remastered edition of their tenth studio album M-16 (2001), unleashed in three formats: a glossy CD mediabook, 2 LP 180gm orange vinyl and a deluxe boxset. The CD and LP releases contain two previously unreleased live tracks "Remember The Fallen" and "Blasphemer" from Wacken 2001 as well as some exclusive … Read more

The Right Here

Northern Town
Rum Bar Records (2021)

Northern Town is a fitting title for this album. It feels like winter: cold, lonely, and daunting. It’s the third record from The Right Here, based in Minneapolis, MN, one of the northernmost cities in the continental US. The band play alt-country with punk undertones. The songs are a little more expansive than your standard punk thang, with more lament, … Read more

Book Review

Joy Division

Juvenes
Hachette Publishing (2021)

Chances are that if you dig underground music, you will harbour an appreciation for Joy Division and New Order. If you close your eyes and envision Ian Curtis and co in their heyday, chances are what will appear is a depiction that has been channelled through the lens of Kevin Cummins, a photographer that like no other depicted the band … Read more

The Muslims

Fuck These Fucking Fascists
Epitaph (2021)

Fuck These Fucking Fascists is the fourth full-length by the Muslims, and their first on Epitaph. As the name suggests, it’s complex music steeped in subtle political theory. Just kidding. This is straight-up angry, screamy punk with overt politics. Which is often needed, especially in the current environment. Besides the title track, other song titles include “Crotch Pop A Cop,” … Read more

Pop Icons

Prelude
Independent (2020)

The slack jawed audio sample that begins this EP sets a tone like many other humorous pop punk groups, a promising sign. Southern Arizona’s Pop Icons instantly launch into a full throttle punk sound that reminds me of many things I’ve heard before. Catchy lyrics and sharp chords played on distorted guitars sounds very normal and competent. Two vocalists trade … Read more

Send More Paramedics

The Final Feast
Independent (2021)

When Send More Paramedics announced a brief reformation to play a handful of shows celebrating 20 years of reanimation no one expected them to chuck out a brand new 9-track album but they surprised us all by doing just so. The Final Feast is their first studio album release in 15 years, the last being The Awakening (2006). Listening to … Read more

Vacation

Existential Risks & Rewards
Salinas Records (2021)

I’ve been fighting the urge to just quote John Hoffman from when I interviewed another one of his bands, The Mimes, earlier this year, because I think he described his songwriting style really well in it. Instead, you get a vague, shameless plug, though I’ll circle back after more explanation. On their latest offering, Vacation hasn’t wildly changed. Existential Risks … Read more

Book Review

Robby Krieger

Set the Night on Fire: Lying, Dying and Playing Guitar with The Doors
Hachette Publishing (2021)

Within the canon of American countercultural rock bands of the 1960s, there is hardly one that stands out more than The Doors - not merely because of their musical output but due to the controversy the trailblazing riddle hidden an enigma that was their frontman Jim Morrison embodied with his beautifully erratic and mythological persona. Formed in 1965, the core … Read more

Znous

Znousland 3 EP
Independent (2021)

It took Znous exactly one year to release a new EP. You will not hear me complaining about this. Avid readers of this site will remember I was very fond of Znousland 2, which I discovered half a year after its release. I described the sound of this Tunisian band as a mix of modern metal bands (Sepultura and Ministry … Read more

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