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

The Dwarves

Jenkem
Greedy, MVD (2026)

The Dwarves first cut me off on my path with their 1986 garage-rock debut, Horror Stories, on Voxx Records. Been a fan since. Over the forty years they've been around, some albums hit, some didn't connect as much. Their last main outing, Concept Album, bloated into a 26-song deluxe CD. Jenkem returns to familiar territory: 14 tracks screaming by in … Read more

David J

Tracks From the Attic Revisited
Independent Project Records (2026)

Sometimes musical circles take decades to close. Just ask Fleur De Lys and their catchy cover of The Who’s '60s freakbeat rarity, "Circles." For those of us digging through dusty crates at the margins of post-punk, a first introduction to mid-century mystic Eden Ahbez didn't come from a Nat King Cole hit. It came straight from the liner notes of … Read more

Physicalist

Self Titled
Dirt Cult (2026)

F.Y.P is one of the rare bands that I'd say nobody sounds like -- but in the past two months I've caught myself making that comparison twice. First while listening to the new Dumpies LP (spoiler alert: they cover F.Y.P on that same record) and now as I listen to the Physicalist debut EP. The interesting thing here isn't the … Read more