There's something to be said for bands that get right to the point. Literally within the first ten seconds of "11th and Arch", Philadelphia's How it Ends lets you know exactly who they are and what they're about. And on their second album, Beloved, How it Ends is all about the heavy. Heavy guitars set just how i like my coffee - heavy on the grind. For those that have heard How it Ends' first album So it Shall Be, you'll be happy to know there's a new vocalist in town. What's that? You loved the band because of Ross'* vocals on the first album? Well then, you just loved the band for the wrong damn reason, dintcha? Gone is the done-to-death (no pun intended) guttural bullshit that can take the mightiest band and reduce it to something as memorable as a Matchbox 20 song. While always wearing a hardcore heart on their sleeve, How it Ends takes it one step further with Todd* behind the mic, with a shout straight outta the 1987 NY Hardcore scene that winds up doing the music a whole lot more justice. Now, since the inception of heavy music, very few bands have known … Read more
When quality is superseded by time constrains, one feels a certain degree of relief. If all goes terribly wrong and … Read more
Doesn't the Bay Area have enough good hardcore bands? It's like they grow them on trees, or breed them in … Read more
2004 was an odd year in the United Kingdom. The word 'chav' became part of everyday life, there was an … Read more
Metal is getting to be popular again. Its popularity has fluctuated at times, dipping in and out of the pop … Read more
I'm going to start this one by saying that, with very few exceptions, I fuckin' hate metalcore. Has a genre … Read more
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OK, here we are dealing with an absolutely stunning collaboration. In a live setting, cellist Okkyung Lee, an excellent improviser who has worked alongside artists such as Jenny Hval, Swans, John Zorn and Cecil Taylor, and Christian Marclay, a visual artist and composer, master of turntablism, meet to create an Amalgam, a combination of the most strange, bizarre metals that the two can unearth.The frantic playing of Lee kicks fiercely comes into view with a sense of urgency. Something is always transpiring when Lee is playing her cello, a feeling that never stops evolving. Continuous and disruptive, describing her playing as free-jazz does not even begin to scratch the surface of what is actually going on here. The performance travels beyond the musical domain, and dwells in an actual, realistic … Read more
About a year and a half about I was fortunate enough to catch a Cave In performance at which they debuted a handful of new songs, many of which made their way onto this release. When they played these new songs, they were sprinkled about a set-list of recent songs from Jupiter and Antenna as well as old jams from … Read more
First released in 1998 und das Vaterland, Mad Sin's album Sweet and Innocent? Loud & Dirty! finally gets a "proper release" on North American Shores, courtesy of Thorp Records. A band that's been around for nigh on 17 years, these guys could quite possibly be the only band to have been on more labels than they have albums released. How … Read more
Andrew Bird is an intelligent and elegant Chicago based musician. He molds his work carefully. To give you an idea of how careful he is, he scrapped his latest album, The Mysterious Production of Eggs, three times to go as far as traveling in-between studios from Chicago, Los Angeles and his hometown in Northern Illinois until he got it right. … Read more
The Spill Canvas's debut LP Sunsets and Car Crashes showed us that in high school the members of the band were very, very, sad. With their sophomore follow-up, One Fell Swoop, it looks like the boys are out to prove they're still not over it. Self proclaimed as 'intense and emotionally driven,' The Spill Canvas are the type of band … Read more
So you know the story; you wait all your life for a band to sing about zombies and the living dead tearing at your flesh and then two come along at the same time! However, unlike the number 33 bus to Castlefield this is not just a small annoyance that makes you grumble all the way to work. Having the … Read more
One of the best jokes ever created was "rap metal." A suburban fusion between nu-metal (i.e. Korn) with a frontman that yelled out words in a "rap" fashion. The result was a golden age of LOL. Remember Limp Bizkit? If you didn't prior to clicking this review, you sure do now. Backwards hats, shaved eyebrows....or maybe I'm just thinking of … Read more
A few names come to mind when you hear the term technical punk: Strung Out, Bigwig, and Propagandhi. These bands started off as scrappy punk rockers whose talents progressed as their members became more and more skilled at their craft. A Wilhelm Scream fit perfectly in this category. Formerly known as the band Smackin' Isaiah, A Wilhelm Scream changed their … Read more
I turned 31 about a month ago and at my age a person tends to finally want to "grow up" and get out of hardcore. There's been plenty of lonely Friday and Saturday nights (like tonight) where I've wanted just pack up 90% of my CD collection (the fuck if I'm going to give up my Cro-Mags and Lifetime discs) … Read more
Let's play a game. It's called 'name a better band than Minus the Bear.' Ready, go! Wrong! Ok, you might be right. But let's see you start a review in a more exciting way. You asshole. This is only the second full-length from Minus the Bear. Or as Michael affectionately calls them, 'Amazing' the Bear, nyuk nyuk nyuk. Although, they … Read more
'The Fall of Troy is everything you wish your band could be - younger, faster, louder, and well'better looking. These are the facts, but don't let it get you down. You're a snowflake, unique in your own way.' This is taken from the Equal Vision Records website. With a press release like the above, a band is sure to have … Read more
Partners in Crime opens up with a sound byte of god only knows what (I don't know, maybe something eastern-influenced? Is that PC? Who cares) and melts into metal. I know, I know, since when do things melt into metal? The laws of physics dictate that this is not possible, but the laws of hardcore dictate that it is both … Read more
I'll be honest. I expected certain things when I attended Yngwie Malmsteen's Rising Force show at the Hammersmith Apollo this past spring. I was prepared for all the aging rock couples of London, with their teased hair and blue eyeliner, and for the teenaged spotty hoards in Children of Bodom shirts; the ancient and loyal, mixing with the curious and … Read more
'So good!' I've had those two words typed at me too many times in the past few weeks. Any time the subject of Late Registration comes up, there it is. 'So good!' When I actually bought the damn CD, I was surprised there wasn't a little sticker on it saying 'So good!' Apparently, the cashier at the store noticed this … Read more
It must be a truly horrible feeling to have the heart and soul you pour endlessly into your music summed up by thousands in one singular, horrendously monotone phrase: 'bath music.' No matter how many hours you bleed emotion into your chosen art form; to many that art will simply be regarded as something to stick in their stereo system … Read more
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