Review / 200 Words Or Less
Apiary
Lost In Focus

Ironclad/Metal Blade (2006) Kevin Fitzpatrick

Apiary – Lost In Focus cover artwork
Apiary – Lost In Focus — Ironclad/Metal Blade, 2006

Lost in Focus is the debut release from a Southern California five-piece know as Apiary. I listen to a lot of music, and have jaded fucking ears that just don't prick up the way they used to. It takes a good shot of aural Viagra to get my attention. My attention was grabbed not long into "Pain Is The Reason" when I realized that this was probably the best drum sound I've heard in a long, long time - something that's sorely lacking with a lot of today's heavy music. Not to mention, when you have a drummer as good as Adam Elliot behind the kit - this is always a good plan. What came to my mind halfway through "Extract", the third song on the album is that these guys are fucking brutal. In the good sense. In short, Apiary is wicked good. To summarize for the lazy reader: ...think God Forbid meets Dillinger Escape Plan. A great heavy album that makes you want to drive into a wall, steal another car and then do it all over again. Buy this album.

Apiary – Lost In Focus cover artwork
Apiary – Lost In Focus — Ironclad/Metal Blade, 2006

Recently-posted album reviews

Opus Kink

The Sweet Goodbye
So Recordings (2026)

ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS – “Come Over, Do Me Wrong”, “The Sweet Goodbye”, “I Have to Shine My Sunday Shoes”, “Crucify!” Opus Kink sound like nobody else. To call them “jazz punk” is to massively oversimplify it. In fact, there’s not much traditionally “punk” about them. If anything, it’s “noise rock”, but with traces of almost every other genre you could name. … Read more

Sludgeworth

Second Time Around
Red Scare Industries (2026)

I never got very into Screeching Weasel and the extended family tree. Ignoring the politics of the matter, the music never really hit that sweet spot for me either. But Sludgeworth were an exception. The band released just one album, that I discovered at least 10years after its release, but seemingly disappeared -- only to resurface after a 2022 reissue … Read more

Social Distortion

Born to Kill
Epitaph (2026)

Rating: 🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🍸🚬 / 10 (8 Tipped Martini Glasses and a Cigarette) Remember that movie Fantastic Voyage, where a miniaturized submarine gets inserted into a person's bloodstream on a mission to clear a blood clot in the brain? Well, consider yourself in luck: I’m infiltrating your brain with my own fantastic journey with Social Distortion, which goes all the way back … Read more