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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)

The Hope Conspiracy

Hang Your Cross
Deathwish Inc. (2006)

Okay, okay, yes The Hope Conspiracy is back and Hang Your Cross is the clarion call for their abrasive take on hardcore. Keeping with the their usual revolving door of a line-up, Neeraj Kane (also of The Suicide File) is back on guitar, and Tim Cossar (American Nightmare, Bars, and Ten Yard Fight) joins as the second guitarist. In essence, The Hope Conspiracy has become something of a hardcore super-group. The results of the revamped line-up speak for themselves. Hang Your Cross is a great teaser EP for the upcoming full-length for Deathwish Inc. "Hang Your Cross" is an absolute bruiser of song. When this song first appeared on the Internet via all of the official channels, it made an immediate impact on me; and it made me excited for this 7" in ways that I had never felt before concerning a Hope Conspiracy record. The feedback drenched intro blasts into a fast, chunky sounding riff. Kevin Baker, the vocalist, is as impassioned as ever here. It is definitely my favorite song by the band so far and might be the best that they have ever produced. It is gritty piece of rock-n-roll abandon. The break in the song is … Read more

Envy

Insomniac Doze
Temporary Residence (2006)

"In such an ugly time the real protest is beauty," said some smart dude once. Right now, July 17 of … Read more

Envy

Insomniac Doze
Temporary Residence (2006)

Unless you haven't heard Envy before, which would be a tragic mistake, then you already know how incredible this Japan-based … Read more

Envy

Insomniac Doze
Temporary Residence (2006)

I came to Insomniac Doze with no prior knowledge of Envy, but with a strong interest in Japanese culture. As … Read more

Head Automatica

Popaganda
Warner Bros. (2006)

When searching Daryl Palumbo's name on Wikipedia - a great tool to prolong pointless Internet usage - an interesting passage … Read more

Force of Change

The Bond We Share
This Blessing, This Curse (2006)

Metallic hardcore is easily my favorite genre of not only hardcore, but of all musical genres. My fondness of this … Read more

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One from the archives

The Constellation Branch

The Dream Life, The Real Life, The Empty Glass
Independent (2008)

"To sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub." Hamlet (III, i, 65-68) Man's relationship to his dreams has been the subject of his art forever. Nothing else seems so beyond our realm of control yet so integrally personal - it is us but outside of us. And so, myriad records have been made in reflection of that ponderous relationship. The Constellation Branch's debut full length, The Dream Life, The Real Life, The Empty Glass, is another document of this struggle to go down in the annals of Morpheus and mankind. To begin with, the organic structure of the record mimics the dream process lucidly to me, which deserves an accolade itself. For a band whose first record just came out to show that kind of maturity and foresight … Read more

More album reviews

Soul She Said

As Templar Nites
Dim Mak (2006)

Putting their best foot forward from the off, Soul She Said's debut record opens with what is easily its strongest track, "Sunken City." Strongly influenced by My Bloody Valentine, early Primal Scream and probably a whole host of hallucinogens, it's the prefect balance to the Icarus Line's dark back alley, class A take on The Stooges. Soul She Said is … Read more

Yakuza

Samsara
Prosthetic (2006)

Chicago's Yakuza, despite two previous albums and a deal with Century Media, have not received much attention for their brand of chaotic metal. Bearing likeness to bands such as Naked City and Kylesa (a very strange combination indeed), Yakuza's third full-length Samsara has and will continue to garner well-deserved attention of metal fans looking for variety. Samsara begins with "Cancer … Read more

Attitude

We All Go Down Together
1917 (2006)

Any band that has a song called "Gets **** Started" and has not one or two, but three pictures of their guitar player doing posi-jumps you just know I'm going to automatically fall in love with even before I listen to the CD. Luckily I didn't go and make myself look like an ass by gushing over Attitude before I … Read more

Landmine Marathon

Wounded
Level Plane (2006)

All the musically discontent who seek great screamo bands and other various awesome musical projects, surrender your soul to the beacon of light that is Level Plane Records. After four years of being a die hard fan of this label, it has introduced me to such awesome bands such as Hot Cross, Envy, A Day In Black and White, Coliseum, … Read more

Landmine Marathon

Wounded
Level Plane (2006)

I'm from Arizona and I can attest that our local music scene sucks. There are occasionally a few decent bands but they never go anywhere. The exception to this would be Suicide Nation releasing 2 LPs and a split with Yaphet Kotto (who now play in the slaytanic Saviours). Unruh comes ahead with 2 LPs and a few more splits. … Read more

The Raconteurs

Broken Boy Soldiers
XL Recordings (2006)

A raconteur is defined as "one who tells stories and anecdotes with skill." A skillful storyteller draws in his audience with an introduction that makes them want more. "Steady, as She Goes," the first single from The Raconteurs debut album Broken Boy Soldiers, is this introduction. At first listen to "Steady, as She Goes," you may think, "Oh, it's The … Read more

Mass Movement of the Moth / The Catalyst

Two Thousand And Six Six Six
The Perpetual Motion Machine/Electric Human Project (2006)

Released by two stellar labels, Perpetual Motion Machine and Electric Human Project, Two Thousand and Six Six Six is a split between two up and coming Virginian bands, Northern Virginia's Mass Movement of the Moth and Richmond's The Catalyst. Two Thousand and Six Six Six is a very collective effort, with the bands switching from song to song instead of … Read more

My Dad Vs. Yours

After Winter Must Come Spring
Independent (2006)

I don't know when it happened, although I think it might have been around the time the movie Friday Night Lights came out and word got out that Explosions in the Sky was doing the soundtrack. That may have been the point but I'm not really sure. Anyways, at one time or another post-rock got popular. Now, after kids everywhere … Read more

Graf Orlock

Destination Time Yesterday
Level Plane (2006)

The connection between abrasive, warp speed music and film samples isn't new - for a whole wave of turn of the century hardcore bands, the familiar samples punctuating minute long tantrums were usually the most memorable part of the entire enterprise. But Graf Orlock takes this connection to an entirely new level. Named after the vampiric villain in Nosferatu, Graf … Read more

Scanners

Violence is Golden
Dim Mak (2006)

You, faithful SPB readers as I, listen and tend to prefer music that can best be described as "heavy". This is quite possibly the music you exclusively listen to. Perhaps you put on The Locust and Gorgoroth when you want to get pumped and juiced and rocked and whatever proactive analogy you can think of and then, when you're done, … Read more

Rhymefest

Blue Collar
J Records (2006)

Honestly, Blue Collar could have been one of the best hip-hop albums of the year. A few months ago, when he first caught my attention, around two-dozen Rhymefest songs were already circulating the Internet. More than half of these are undeniably some of the best mainstream hip-hop tracks in recent history. Rhymefest, who is already a Grammy winner as co-writer … Read more

Muse

Black Holes and Revelations
Warner Bros. (2006)

If you asked me six years ago to name a band that at this time would seem about to take over the world I really don't think Muse would have even been in my top 50 choices. Then they had just released the very Radiohead sounding Showbiz and seemed almost destined to spend their career being compared to the Oxford … Read more

Starkweather

Croatoan
Candlelight (2006)

The enigmatic metal behemoth that is Starkweather has been erratically dropping musical bombs sporadically for well over a decade. An uncompromising band of musicians that set out to artistically satisfy their own predilections rather than satisfy any kind of musical "market", Starkweather has been lauded in the underground metal and hardcore community for quite a long time. They have been … Read more

Outbreak

Failure
Bridge Nine (2006)

The first time I saw Outbreak was at the "last" Suicide File show at the ICC Church in Boston during the baseball playoffs of '03. I had no clue whom Outbreak was except the fact that they were from Maine of all places and the kids went absolutely ape shit for them. After that show they were quickly signed 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)