This is another band that while maintaining some bleak footing in the black metal scene exists as a noise group. That is not to say there aren't obvious trademarks of black metal within the structures, however loosely built they are. This band plays on the darkness that many black metal bands try to play up and orchestrate. Rather than just … Read more
Sinister Forces Of Hatred is the second album from Helsinki-based thrash metal ensemble Demonztrator. Formed in 2016 as a covers band, their aim being to revive Finnish speed/thrash metal from the late '80s and '90s. Their first album Forgotten Acts Of Aggression, released in 2017, is a collection of covers and is their love letter to fellow Finns Brainwash, Dementia, … Read more
So many bands have release their first albums to nothing but fanfare only to dissapoint with their sophmore release. I was certain Denali would not fit that mold and release another gem. Unfortunately, they proved me wrong. First things first, this is not a bad record by any means. It's just incredibly average. The record starts off very solid. Opener, … Read more
Murray/Smith King/Hanneman Tipton/Downing These are just a few of the lead guitar duos from Iron Maiden, Slayer and Judas Priest respectively, that dominated heavy metal music of the 1980s and beyond. Perhaps lesser known, but by no means lesser in all other areas is the guitar duo do Michael Denner and Hank Shermann from Mercyful Fate, the band whose music … Read more
I broke a fingernail tearing the shrink wrap off Playing the Angel - that's how excited I was to get into it. After the confusion caused by Exciter, and the months of consolation I indulged in with the two Singles collections, I was desperate for Martin Gore, Dave Gahan and that other guy who's name I had to look up … Read more
Chances are, most listeners have would heard everything on Derek Grant’s 2015 solo album Breakdown before - it seems to imitate everything from the driving road music of Jackson Browne to the ballads of Guns ‘n’ Roses while frequently capturing an alt-country vibe that might be unexpected coming from a musician undoubtedly best known for drumming in punk group Alkaline … Read more
So far, 2011 is proving to be a great year for music, and a great year for Indie-Rock. Des Ark's second full length, Don't Rock the Boat, Sink the Fucker, is surely doing its part to earn the genre's such high acclaim. It's an album that took 3 years to record, but the time spent on it paid off. Aimee … Read more
Desaparecidos is the Omaha emo outfit led by Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame. Payola is the band’s second album, and it’s been 13 years since they released their first album Read Music/Speak Spanish in 2002. Usually one of two things happens when a band releases an album after a long pause: Often it’s a huge disappointment, but sometimes it’s … Read more
While I like new Descendents, their older stuff always had an intangible bite to it. The new stuff feels more sarcastic while their earlier material was pissed off underneath that playful disposition. And that’s what you get on 9th & Walnut which is billed as the band’s eighth studio album, though the timeline is more complicated than that. All 18 … Read more
Some reviews are written after years of listening to a band and knowing nearly everything about them. Sometimes I listen to a record on repeat for weeks before I even look up the correct song titles – Deseos Primitivos (Primitive Desires) is the latter. This promo came to SPB as literally a one sentence quote about the band and its … Read more
Before I even really get into this review, I just need to let everyone out there in Scene Point Blank-land know that this album actually contains the lyric "You are speed bump in everyone's life." Not only is this line in the chorus which makes it repeated a few times, it's also the opening track under the same name. Speed … Read more
The second transmission of the Profane Existence Limited Edition Single Series—a subscription service that delivers seven inches of brand new vinyl to your doorstep every month—is from the latest Minneapolis-based troupe of metallic crust punkers, Despise. The band features former members of a handful of Midwestern crust acts—most notably Minneapolis legends, Destroy—and is fronted by Hannah, previously of Chicago’s Securicor … Read more
A while back, I asked a friend of mine to introduce me to some new music. I was feeling burnt out on my usual prog fare, and I desperately needed to listen to something different. She suggested I give an artist named Dessa a try, and a little while later, I was listening to her debut album A Badly Broken … Read more
I'd like to start off this review by stating how much respect I have for Nate Allen. Just like G.G. Allin was committed to being the most sick and depraved human being he could possibly be, Allen is committed to prescribing to punk's D.I.Y. ethics and living his life by them. Using any means possible to tour and recording his … Read more
Life ain’t so easy in the detention home- Dead Boys. Emerging from the underbelly of Jersey, made up primarily of three brethren. Raised on rock and roll and sipping from the chalice of early punk rock stalwarts like Da Bruddahs from Queens, Hey Ho! and the Pistoleros of Sexual Nature screaming banshees from across from the large pond. Thus forging … Read more
Metal, or all rock and roll for that matter, exists due to two necessary components: lies - fantasy a more fitting title if you're into prog rock - and boisterous showmanship. This truth then makes the next statement undeniable: Dethklok is the best metal band ever! How do I figure this? Let me analyze the grounds I set in the … Read more
Detournement are an Eastcoast band with members from a host of familiar bands. Rather than focus on who they are, though, their music should speak for itself. The fifty-one second opener, "Focus Explosion!," makes a quick impression, with melodic hardcore that's over before you've found your seat. The lyrics aren't exactly discernible, but I know both titular words were screamed … Read more
I work at this really cool toy store in Austin, TX called Terra Toys. No, I'm not trying to get a bunch of customers, this is just exposition. Anyways, Terra Toys is located on South Congress Ave., a street filled to the brim with stores containing all kinds of vintage clothes and furniture. Today, I was walking down to the … Read more
Looking for the SPB logo? You can download it in a range of styles and colours here:
Click anywhere outside this dialog to close it, or press escape.