Creatures
Vesuvius
Twelve Gauge (2012)
Creatures have made a name fo9r themselves over the past few years playing a style of metalcore that bears a resemblance to the Holy Terror style. So the basics here are heavy with a strong leaning towards metal riffing and an obvious inclination towards evil. The band seemed rather silent after releasing their Salvation EP last year. With a few … Read more
Cremation Lily
2
Strange Rules (2011)
Bear with me here as I am in the middle of sonically orgasming while listening to this tape from Cremation Lily (the aptly titled 2 as this is the second tape from this project); no seriously, I am not overly hyperbolizing right now because these sounds literally elicit this kind of intense and powerful emotional response while the tape plays … Read more
Cremation Lily
Dreams Drenched In Static
Flenser (2022)
It has been quite a journey for Zen Zsigo and Cremation Lily, a path defined by constant flux. It was back in the early ‘10s, that the initial demos of the project appeared. Back then it was all about textural harshness, with Zsigo pushing the power electronics ethos. The initial chaos would subside, and from there on Cremation Lily explored … Read more
Cremation Lily
Sexless Merit
Strange Rules (2011)
Sexless Merit is a release that I have been fixating on for some time (listening to all three tapes over and over again, much to the annoyance of some people that may or may not live in my house anymore) all the while enjoying every minute but not quite having anything to say about the six pieces that inhabit these … Read more
Cremation Lily
Untitled
Strange Rules (2011)
Bar none, I have never heard a more wondrous take on the violence of Power Electronics than the Untitled (which came in an extremely limited cassette run from the label Strange Rules) debut from Cremation Lily (a mysterious act from the British Isles). Without getting into the reasons or “how to’s” or “what for’s” of my finding this tape, suffice … Read more
Crevecoeur
II
Denovali (2008)
Crevecoeur are a French three-piece outfit which play a style of music that brings to mind the expansiveness of soundtracks. These nine songs comprise the group's second album since their formation as a duo in 2003 and first for Denovali Records. Considering that I have no previous exposure to the band, an admission to being roped in by their comparison … Read more
Criaturas
Aranas en el Corazon
Lengua Armada Discos (2011)
Austin, TX—wich recently shed its longstanding slogan “The Live Music Capital of the World” in favor of the less desirable “The Place Where Ben Weasel Punched That Chick”—is home to a relatively new five piece hardcore band called Criaturas. As is usually the case with incestuous genres such as punk, Criaturas shares its members with other bands—an impressive pool that … Read more
Crime Desire
Crime Desire
Life Is A Rape (2008)
The singer of Crime Desire is dead ringer for Rasaraja/Robert Fish of 108/Judas Factor fame. So I can't help to think that Crime Desire is either a Krishna band or some post hardcore unit from the Revelation catalog in the early part of this decade. I probably couldn't be more wrong. Musically Crime Desire reminds of those type of bands … Read more
Crime Desire
Id Music to Combat the Superego
Life Is A Rape (2006)
When no one's chomping at the bit, hardcore can easily turn into comfort food. Sing-alongs, breakdowns and carefully placed "go!"s can become a security blanket. This has its place, but hardcore is often best when bands eschew the easy outs of well-worn forms and stake out fresh ground. Bands like Crime Desire are what keep the wheels turning by breaking … Read more
Crime in Choir
Trumpery Metier
GSL (2006)
Remember the days when you and your buddies would get together in your mom's basement to play Dungeons & Dragons? You'd clear the table of Radical Software magazines, set your game up and to make everything perfect you'd put on some King Crimson, Yes, or Goblin records. Don't remember those days? Well that is because you are a twenty-something year … Read more
Crime In Stereo
...is Dead
Bridge Nine (2007)
I don't think there has ever been an album that I've liked that I have hated so much about. Case in point; not even fifteen seconds into Crime in Stereo's debut album for Bridge Nine Records there's a damn wah-wah pedal part. I hate wah-wah pedal parts. Does anyone out there like wah-wah pedal parts that isn't sitting in front … Read more
Crime In Stereo
Explosives and the Will to Use Them
Blackout! (2004)
I've gone off on tangents about the current state of hardcore in a bunch of other reviews, so I'll spare you the long-winded speech. We all realize that bands that would have been brushed over two years ago are starting to get a little more attention from the mainstream. And one of the hotbeds of this recent punk rock craze … Read more
Crime In Stereo
Selective Wreckage
Bridge Nine (2008)
If Selective Wreckage would have came out after the Troubled Stateside instead of ...is Dead no one would of batted an eye. Most of the songs on Selective Wreckage are more in the vein us Crime in Stereo fans were used before the band decided to take an unexpected turn into brand new (ha ha ha) territory of emotive pop … Read more
Crime In Stereo
The Troubled Stateside
Nitro (2006)
The lead off track on Crime In Stereo's The Troubled Stateside is titled "Everything Changes/Nothing Is Ever Truly Lost." This title could be used as a fitting description for the band themselves. Crime In Stereo began to receive recognition when they released their Blackout Records debut, Explosives, And The Will To Use Them, in 2004. The record was a raw, … Read more
Crimes of Passion
Demo
Independent (2005)
If you made a list of all the bands currently playing the style of music labeled as metalcore, you could fill up 30 or 40 pages in Microsoft Word. There are that many of them. Luckily, for every five bands ripping off At the Gates and Hatebreed simultaneously, there's a band doing metalcore right. Luckily for us, Crimes of Passion … Read more
Crisis Party
Welcome To The Party EP
Dirt Cult (2022)
Crisis Party is another band from Matty Grace, who SPB has covered in various capacity, playing with Cluttered, Auditory Postcards, Future Girls, and maybe more. There’s a common lo-fi, high-energy anxiety to their poppy-punk, but Crisis Party is a new band and that comes across instantly. Those other bands (which also deal with serious, heavy topics) feel generally positive in … Read more
Criteria
When We Break
Saddle Creek (2005)
Let's get a few obvious bits of information out of the way. Criteria is the latest vehicle by one half of the early Cursive writing team, Steven Pederson. No, this is not a blatant rip of Cursive's material. Criteria is a less pretentious and anthemic rock album. It is a supremely infectious pop record in fact. I was completely surprised … Read more
Cro-Mags
In the Beginning
Mission Two Entertainment (2020)
New York hardcore legends Cro-Mags's waste no time getting started on their new album In the Beginning. Opener "Don't Give In" kicks in the front door and immediately begins stalking the grounds looking for revenge, relief and solace, with deep growly, cross-over guitars leading the way like a pack of rottweilers hot on a guilty man's scent. When the tempo … Read more
