Amber Asylum
Sin Eater
Prophecy Productions (2015)
Amber Asylum has been a force in the post-rock/post-metal domain, since the mid '90s. With their origin found back in 1996 with the release of Frozen In Amber, this intriguing band was able to keep a presence, unfortunately not as constant as we would prefer. The seven year drought leading to the release of 2007's Still Point was the first … Read more
Amber Asylum
Still Point
Profound Lore (2007)
The first time I listened to Still Point I was riding to work on the top deck of a double-decker bus at eight o'clock in the morning. Record opener "In the Still Point He Remains" was just starting; sounds could be heard moving backwards and forwards in the dark; slow strings breathing and playful chimes jangling, the inevitable build having … Read more
Ambitions
No Limits
Independent (2005)
Demos can be funny sometimes. They are called a demo for a reason; it's by no means a finished product. And yet many times these demos end up becoming just that. Ambitions will see No Limits mass-produced in both 7" and CD format in the near future, but with good reason. Over the course of these four songs, Ambitions have … Read more
Ambitions
Stranger
Bridge Nine (2007)
I've been a dedicated follower of Ambitions since their introduction as a side project band that featured three-fifths of With Honor and occasionally Matt Fox from Shai Hulud fame. There was a demo, a vinyl version of that demo, two other EPs and now the full-length, Stranger. There could be a couple of other compilation appearances here and there but … Read more
Ambulance LTD
LP
TVT (2004)
New York City looks so glamorous from afar, but when I get there I'm reminded that I don't belong with the constant honking, the frustrating one-way streets, and the crazy taxi cab drivers. When I leave, however, I am suddenly left with a longing to belong. I guess NYC is too hip for me, and sometimes it is too hip … Read more
Ambulette
The Lottery
Astralwerks (2006)
When a band breaks up, it can be a good thing. The members who your ears felt a pull for will start new bands in new directions. Such is the case when Denali broke up, a band that started off jaw-dropping-good with Denali and then stagnated into something slightly better than generic with The Instinct that loomed into a large … Read more
Amebix
Monolith (Reissue)
Moshpit Tragedy (2008)
Seriously, Monolith being reissued in a digital format on a donation basis is an incredibly important occasion for several reasons that are worth being mentioned. But instead, let us focus on two particular ones here for the time being rather than run through some silly list. First, allow me to digress a bit. My first exposure to the strange and … Read more
Amebix
No Sanctuary: The Spiderleg Recordings
Alternative Tentacles (2008)
So the early Amebix releases are finally becoming more widely available (even though they have been on the bootleg circuit for quite a long while) which is excellent because some of the bootlegs of them are pretty nigh unlistenable, and considering that these releases are some of the best material that Amebix offers, finally seeing the light of day can … Read more
Amebix
Sonic Mass
EasyAction (2011)
Amebix have been away for twenty years plus, and if you're expecting Arise or Monolith v2.0 then look away now. Because Sonic Mass is so much more than those classic records, and all the better for the band's time spent away from the music scene. In a recent interview we did with vocalist Rob "The Baron" Miller, he explained how … Read more
Amenra
De Doorn
Relapse (2021)
Memories burn in the flames while onlookers stare on. Relief washes over those present as though cleansed in the fires and reborn. Screams of catharsis spill from the lips of the watchers, emptying their souls of all the hurt and pain that has brought them to this point. Letting go of the mistakes and agonies that tie us to this … Read more
Amenra
Mass IIII
Hypertension (2008)
With no previous exposure to Amenra, the band which I am involved prepares to play a show with them knowing only that they are from Belgium. In the weeks leading up to said event, the support of fellow Belgian outfit Rise and Fall impacts me personally and intrigue begins to set in my mind. Well, let me just say that … Read more
Amenra
Mass V
Neurot Recordings (2012)
Rituals are deeply ingrained into our shared human experience and the modern ones seemingly thrust us back through the ages to some vaguely remembered race memory locked in the genetic code in safe guarded in our cells, and Amenra not only appreciates this phenomenon but exploit our collective unconscious to produce some rather breathtaking performances that at this point has … Read more
Amenra
VI
Neurot Recordings (2017)
I thought it a safe bet to listen to any album off Neurot Recordings with care and patience, and expect something great. Amenra is no fragile exception. Their essence taps a well of meaning seemingly endless on all levels of analysis, as much as it taps a particular sound thrust forward first by Black Sabbath, and most recently by Neurosis. Amenra didn’t … Read more
American Football
American Football (Re-Issue)
Polyvinyl (2014)
Much like the recently-reunited Owls, the unfortunately short-lived American Football was a group formed from the remnants of seminal Midwest-based 1990s emo band Cap’n Jazz (whose members went on to form a seemingly endless number of great bands). Unlike Owls who set about making rhythmic post-punk however, American Football’s lineup of Mike Kinsella (guitar, bass, vocals), Steve Lamos (drums, trumpet), and Steve Holmes (guitar) … Read more
American Football
LP2
Polyvinyl (2016)
American Football are the sort of band that shouldn't have attracted so much attention. When they first properly emerged in 1999, a copy of their eponymous debut in hand, they were still playing small college bars around the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Their album cover was so low-key it should have been unremarkable, depicting the darkened exterior of a … Read more
American Heritage
Millenarian
Translation Loss (2006)
I want to say, before I get to my actual review, that I give out a lot of high scores in my reviews because I would much rather write about a record that makes me stoked to listen to music than something that I hate after one song. And American Heritage is a band that I am constantly stoked about. … Read more
American Steel
Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts
Fat Wreck Chords (2009)
After returning from a five year hiatus in 2007, American Steel released Destroy Their Future, which may have been their strongest release yet. It showed the band with a more mature sound while still not drifting too far off from their roots. The follow-up record, Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts is a little different. Here we see the Bay Area … Read more
American Steel
Destroy Their Future
Fat Wreck Chords (2007)
It's crazy how many bands have reunited lately. If you'd asked me a few years ago what I'd be listening to in 2007, I never would've guessed "the new Lifetime and American Steel records." But I'm not complaining, because in my eyes American Steel did no wrong. (And the Lifetime reunion album is so good.) The last American Steel LP, … Read more
