Buried Inside
Chronoclast
Relapse (2005)
My first encounter with Buried Inside involved a friend convincing me over AOL Instant Messenger (I get paid for that plug) that Buried Inside is "Hella sick!" BEGL00 sent me a few songs from Chronoclast, but I didn't listen to them right away due to my busy lifestyle. Coincidentally, that very night I saw Buried Inside. I watched as they, … Read more
Buried Inside
Spoils of Future
Relapse (2009)
Twelve years into their existence, Buried Inside are just now releasing their fourth album, Spoils of Failure. The practice of allowing four years to go by between releases can be a dangerous one, possibly causing your ear for quality to decline or a perfectionism to conquer your logic. This has not been a problem for Buried Inside in the past, … Read more
Burning Love
Rotten Thing To Say
Southern Lord (2012)
Leave it to Burning Love to provide an infectiously raucous soundtrack to 2012 (unlike so many of their peers and compatriots) full of the kind of riffs that in a perfect world would incite both vigorous head banging and the kind of massive circle pits that make people gape in awe at the sheer size of said circle pitting, and … Read more
Burning Love
Songs For Burning Lovers
Deranged (2010)
Upon the dissolution of Cursed, many people (including myself) let out a proverbial “NOOOOOOOOOOO!” when we saw that it actually had happened and right on the heels of releasing such a great album (if you have yet to experience any Cursed, you are missing out); but I knew deep down that breaking up one band would not hold the members … Read more
Burning Skies
Desolation
Life Force (2006)
Damn... Burning Skies has a ton of grind influence as well as some good old death metal influence to boot. I guess Misery Index and Dying Fetus would be good reference points. Regardless, this is a pleasant enough surprise. The production on Desolation is crisp, clean, and heavy; it definitely gives the band a brutal sound. Desolation is pretty crazy. … Read more
Burning Witch
Crippled Lucifer
Southern Lord (2008)
Hot damn, where have you been all my life Burning Witch! Apparently, as Aaron Turner documents in his liner notes contribution for this two disc CD set (the special edition includes a download card to grab the band's demo and live songs while the Japanese version is a mammoth three CD set) entitled Crippled Lucifer, Burning Witch has "traveled the … Read more
Burnt Books
Self Titled
At A Loss (2013)
It’s no secret that women are highly unrepresented in heavy metal and its various sub-genres. Their absence is clearly a result of the “boys club” mentality that seems to have been a defining characteristic of heavy music since its inception. It would seem logical to equate aggressive music with masculinity, but to generalize that women are incapable of creating aggressive … Read more
Bury Your Dead
Beauty and the Breakdown
Victory (2006)
Somehow I don't think it's a coincidence that this album is called Beauty and the Breakdown as the album is basically one long breakdown. Just when you thought moshcore couldn't get any more boring, Bury Your Dead thought it was necessary to deliver another all-too-predictable dose of rehashed Hatebreed-esque anthems. This album is basically a continuation of Cover Your Tracks, … Read more
Burzum
Umskiptar
Byelobog Productions (2012)
The prolific post-prison output of Burzum has verged on the slightly more experimental side of the black metal musical spectrum. Taking a more ambient turn after career highlight Filofosem and incorporating a neo-classical edge in Belus (2010), a new sound was forged by Varg Vikernes after his incarceration. Belus encapsulated a purer tone; less cold and frostbitten than previous efforts … Read more
Busdriver
RoadKillOvercoat
Epitaph (2007)
Busdriver is something of an anomaly in contemporary hip-hop. He is perpetually labeled as, if not "the next big thing", at least "someone to watch out for" by mainstream hip-hop media. And yet he never can quite break out of his underground, intelligent indie rapper niche. Whether this is due to his admittedly strange delivery or his legitimately politically aware … Read more
Butcher
666 Goats Carry My Chariot
Osmose productions (2020)
Bütcher takes you on an epic journey to a parallel universe. A universe that is very similar to ours. A universe where cars are referred to as chariots. A universe where we do not mention horsepower, but talk about goatpower. And Bütcher is here to introduce their new ride! Sorry, was that too corny? I know, I can’t help myself. … Read more
By Surprise
Mountain Smashers
Topshelf (2011)
Although the Indie-Emo genre has been getting over-saturated with new artists lately, there are a few that wear the title suitably; By Surprise are one of them. They take the sound and mend it into something that’s a little more adventurous, anthemic, and sometimes even quirky. By Surprise’s debut full-length, Mountain Smashers, gives us a bird’s eye view of a … Read more
Byla
Byla
Translation Loss (2005)
Byla is an ambient duo consisting of members of Dysrhytmia, Behold the Arctopus, and Infidel?/Castro!. The two started to work together in 2003 and have put out their debut full-length this year on Translation Loss Records. Despite the fact that their other bands are known for making either noise (Infidel?/Castro!) or being a technical debauchery (Behold the Arctopus), this band … Read more
Cable
Last Call
Translation Loss (2006)
Cable might be one of the best bands that you have never heard. In today's punk and hardcore atmosphere there is a serious lack of the visceral disgust that bands like Cable have produced. Originally part of the burgeoning "noise-core" movement that included Deadguy and later Kiss It Goodbye, Cable outlasted their peers in both longevity and creativity with their … Read more
Cable
The Failed Convict
The End (2009)
Exciting is a good term to use to describe the feelings from Cable putting out another album, particularly after they had apparently called it quits. Thankfully, their farewell turn juiced the band up enough to write and record a new album. The Failed Convict is the latest album from the Cable institution and the first with guitarist Bernie Romanowski in … Read more
Cable
Variable Speed Drive (Reissue)
Translation Loss (2009)
Sometimes there is something which goes by the reference of historical revisionism whereby people go back and alter the place of a person, place, thing, or idea into a more vaunted or lower position in the historical record. I bring this topic up because it does happen frequently in the world of music, independent music particularly as artists go in … Read more
Cadence Weapon
Hope In Dirt City
Upper Class (2012)
Hope in Dirt City is the third release from Edmonton, Alberta’s Cadence Weapon. With a smooth flow and an ear for wordplay, Cadence Weapon creates a kind of thumping hip-hop, with big beats that are crafted using sounds that are not traditionally percussive. All that, of course, with a bit of 20-something ironic hipster to it and a focus on … Read more
Cadette
Flesh Without Hunting
Independent (2012)
If first impressions are what make or break an artist, Cadette is a whole bunch of angry. The Minneapolis, MN trio’s debut release Flesh Without Hunting rips through eight songs, drawing a heavy 1990s influence but maintaining their own identity, rooted in the present, throughout. The easiest point of reference comes with vocalist and primary songwriter Laura Larson’s previous band, … Read more
