Recent reviews

Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

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

Raise the Red Lantern

Thunderfuck
Witch Trial (2006)

It's hard to say if stoner rock on a whole tries to be "epic" in a way that other instrumental oriented metals do. Mostly they try to get as heavy and slow as possible while still rocking out. Raise the Red Lantern eschews that…mostly, and makes a pretty epic EP. Now when I say epic EP I don't mean it's three songs that are fifteen minutes long apiece, I mean the three songs that are Thunderfuck broach a pretty large spectrum of sounds. "Thrower of Stones" starts off pretty fast-paced (well, fast for this sort of stuff) but peppered with some quirky dissonant leads that make you stop and say, "Stoner rock without mind numbingly stupid E chug? Why has no one thought of this before?" But rest assured, there is plenty of gratuitously heavy shit going on around here, it's just more thoughtful and well-placed than every twenty-something band that picked up Confederacy of Ruined Lives last year. "Wings of Fury" comes in with a weird rock-metal amalgamation of leads and chugs, which go into some melody that makes you stop and say, "Stoner rock with something more than mind numbingly stupid E chug? Why has no one thought … Read more

The Black Angels

Passover
Light in the Attic (2006)

In retrospect, the sixties were a time of incredible music. While many aspects of the sound have influenced, been watered … Read more

Brian Simpson

Postcard from L.A.
Independent (2006)

Brian Simpson plays that sort of music that you feel like you've heard before but can't really remember when or … Read more

Cinemechanica

The Martial Arts
Hello Sir (2006)

Cinemechanica are a math-rock quartet from Athens, Georgia. They are responsible for one of the most aurally exciting albums of … Read more

The Distance

The Rise, the Fall, and Everything in Between
Abacus (2006)

I like to look at pretty girls. It's easy for me; I live near a college and work at a … Read more

Young Widows

Settle Down City
Jade Tree (2006)

You could see this coming. You could see it from miles away if you listened closely and or fanatically collected … Read more

Browse our review archives

Reviews by year

Choose a year to view reviews of albums released in that year.

Reviews by artist name

Choose a letter to view reviews ordered by that letter (band name first).

Review categories

200 Words Or Less

754 reviews

Book Review

42 reviews

Classic Album

25 reviews

Multiple Authors

300 reviews

Review

5018 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

Marriage Material

Making the Worry Worth It
Dirt Cult (2018)

200 Words Or Less

I like this Making the Worry Worth It record. That should be all a review needs, right? I say that in part because this 9-minute EP is all over the place, style-wise. Marriage Material is a new group with members of Summer Vacation, Spokenest, Pinned in Place, and God Equals Genocide. It has some similarities to those bands, but each of the five songs really has its own sound. Opener “What Can You Say” has that God Equals Genocide brevity/punch with a little more melody in the vocals. The next song, “Left Me Waiting,” is even more melodic and in something of a Pinned in Place vein. Then it gets more unique on “Soggy Sock Town,” which starts off with a hypnotic rhythm a la The Blind Shake that morphs … Read more

More album reviews

The Great Crusades

Four Thirty
Innocent Words (2006)

According to the press blurb provided with Four Thirty, Midwestern natives The Great Crusades approached the songwriting process for their latest album in a way thus far unique to the band: the lyrics were written after the music, created to fit around the existing song structure. While I'm sure that some artists may be able to pull this off, the … Read more

The Ergs!

Jersey's Best Prancers
Don Giovanni (2006)

Anyone who's been paying attention can see the writing on the wall: like Cock Sparrer in 1982, pop punk's coming back. Of course, it never really left; it's just seen a variety of mutations since the halcyon days of "Locket Love": The Descendents' heartsick catharsis, The Lillingtons' television city dreaming, and the thrift store angst of Saves the Day are … Read more

Janez Detd

Like Cold Rain Kills a Summer Day...
I Scream (2006)

Archetypal scene dude: So yeah these guys are like super huge in Europe; I am sure they are going to hit it big over here. But I saw them like three years ago in like a port-a-potty with no electricity and they had a generator going to plug in their instruments. But you know they are socially conscious, so it … Read more

Keene Brothers

Blues and Boogie Shoes
Fading Captain (2006)

Everybody's got a little something to say about Robert Pollard these days. Drunk, father, master singer-vocalist. Many years ago, long before the advent of the Internet a close friend remarked how Pollard could basically do no wrong as he has the gift of having the voice of a bell. True enough. Once again, it's all here on display in Blues … Read more

Isis & Aereogramme

In the Fishtank 14
Konkurrent (2006)

By now all of should know who Isis is and what to expect from them in terms of their music output. A good number of you are probably familiar with Aereogramme - for those of you not, they're a Scottish band that mixes punishing metal with melodic moments and alt-rock vocals. So what's the deal with this In the Fishtank … Read more

The Hope Conspiracy

Death Knows Your Name
Deathwish Inc. (2006)

For those that did not hear The Hope Conspiracy's recent teaser 7" Hang Your Cross (which was later released as a CD and in digital format), now is your chance. Let me just say, WOW! I figured that the new full-length, Death Knows Your Name, would be good (this opinion was solely based off of the quality of said 7"), … Read more

As Tall as Lions

As Tall as Lions
Triple Crown (2006)

It is an awful shame that so many great indie bands often go unnoticed. As Tall as Lions is the perfect example of one of these bands. Here is a group who's already coming out on a small label, but also a label whose target audience is the complete opposite crowd that As Tall as Lions would normally appeal to. … Read more

Lamb of God

Sacrament
Epic (2006)

Lamb of God and I go back a long way. Their second album, As the Palaces Burn, was the album that really got me into them. Actually, it was the album that got me into metal in general. It is one of the select few albums from the so-called "New Wave of American Metal" that has stood the test of … Read more

Nueva Etica

Inquebrantable
New Eden (2006)

Spanish is a very musical language. It flows naturally with any rhythm and can accentuate the beauty of a melody like no other. For any artist, this particular romance language is a highly favorable ally. Nueva Etica, an aggressive hardcore/metal band from Argentina, fully embraces their native language. They are also relentlessly direct in their approach to the hardcore genre. … Read more

Theta Naught & Alex Caldiero

Sound Weave
Independent (2006)

Sound Weave is a collaboration between Theta Naught and poet Alex Caldiero. Combining cello and bass ambiance with occasional drum theatrics, bewildering soundscapes, and the ardour and insanity of improvisational poetry, it aims to combine a musical experiment "in a symbiotic form with creative language-based explorations." In other words, it sets the words of Alex Caldiero to the music of … Read more

On a Warpath

On a Warpath
Hand of Hope (2006)

Within hardcore there lies a style of music that has come to known as beatdown. It is an interesting but narrow-minded sub-genre to the whole hardcore realm. Musically, the bands that play this style of music rely heavily on having ridiculously huge breakdowns. I wouldn't be surprised if they wrote the breakdowns first and then surrounded them with the rest … Read more

Latterman

...We are Still Alive
Deep Elm (2006)

I haven't paid much attention to anything that Deep Elm has put out since Emo Diaries Volume #5. I always thought this label's marketing of the term "emo" was cheeky as they pawned off any band that had black-rimmed glasses as the next poster boys for shy teenage girls to adorn their room with. Then I heard a buzz floating … Read more

New Found Glory

Coming Home
Geffen (2006)

CAUTION: This review was written by someone who DID NOT agree with the Scene Point Blank reviews of New Found Glory's previous album Catalyst. I am all about New Found Glory's discography, start to finish. With that being said, here is the review. You have been warned! When I was younger and up until I listened to this album, I … Read more

Mastodon

Blood Mountain
Warner Bros. (2006)

Mastodon is on a major label. Does anyone else think this is weird? Good for them, I just think it is strange. So what do they have to show for themselves with their first record for Warner Brothers? Blood Mountain might be the perfect major label debut, well, at least it is for this band. While it is not one … Read more

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