Alice In Chains
Rainier Fog
BMG (2018)
It’s been 12 years since Alice In Chains reactivated with vocalist William DuVall - making his time in the band roughly twice that of Layne Staley, but the shadow left by Staley was cast dark and long across the band’s last two albums Black Gives Way To Blue and The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here. Both competent albums that for better … Read more
Alice In Chains
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
Capitol (2013)
I'll admit, I'm a bit of a purist; though I didn't think it was a bad release, Black Gives Way to Blue always seemed to pale in comparison to Alice in Chains's earlier works. On some level, that's not entirely fair--without Staley, they are an entirely different band, and not necessarily even trying to recapture who they were before. But … Read more
Alien Nosejob
HC2
Iron Lung (2021)
It seems that Jake Robertson spent a lot of the past year playing with himself. But haven’t we all? Bad jokes aside, the one-man band put out multiple full-lengths in 2020 and now a new 6-song EP too. Overall, the project is diverse, falling generally within the punk umbrella but different influences scattered as Robertson feels like it. But this … Read more
Alien Nosejob
Once Again The Present Becomes The Past
Iron Lung (2020)
Alien Nosejob is a one-person project by Jake Robertson. On Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud, released in January, it was heavily influenced by melodic garage-punk. This time around the word was that Once Again The Present Becomes The Past is a hardcore record.So of course it starts with a short song called “Piano Prelude.” Because even when you know … Read more
Alien Nosejob
Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud
Drunken Sailor (2020)
With a name like Alien Nosejob I was expecting something a little more spacey or out there than what you get on Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud. A one man band of sorts, led by Jake Robertson (Ausmuteants, Hierophants, Drug Sweat, and more), Alien Nosejob is melodic and thoughtful, playing a variety of punk-inspired sounds over 13 songs. The … Read more
Alien Nosejob
The Derivative Sounds Of... Or... A Dog Always Returns To Its Vomit
Anti Fade Records, Goner (2023)
Alien Nosejob, the one-man project from Australian musician Jake Robertson has been releasing a lot of records. The project began a garage rock bent and recently moved into hardcore-inspired raw punk. The newest record, a 13-song collection called The Derivative Sounds Of... Or... A Dog Always Returns To Its Vomit goes full circle -- really even further back, with some … Read more
Alkaline Trio
Agony & Irony
Epic (2008)
Dear Matt Skiba, I recently picked up your band's latest release in the cut out bin at my favorite used CD store. After your last official long player, Crimson, which by the way sucked, I have given up all hope that your Alkaline Trio would ever release anything worth my time. Now here we are, Matt, with your first major … Read more
Alkaline Trio
Remains
Vagrant (2007)
I haven't met anyone in my life that is affiliated with hardcore or punk that doesn't like at least a handful of Alkaline Trio songs. Alkaline Trio's gothic twists on weathered topics like being drunk, drugs, and being heartbroken ring all but universal to the ears of every kid that has every thought about wearing black for a week and … Read more
Alkaline Trio
This Addiction
Heart & Skull (2010)
So. The big question. A return to form? Quick answer yes. Less quick answer yes, but. A lot has been touted about the latest album from Skiba, Andriano, and Grant and some of it is even true. It's a definite move away from the ill-advised adult rock of 2008's Agony & Irony, but it falls far from being a primal … Read more
All Hits
Men And Their Work
Iron Lung (2020)
Back in the 1980s there were some intriguing new sounds developing. Post-punk was always arty and a bit noisier, but always so serious. New Wave was danceable and synthetic, but sometimes not serious enough. The commonality between the two, tonally, was an exploration of new soundscapes with inhuman tones: finding a balance between a detached dystopian environment and the nuance … Read more
All Night Radio
Spirit Stereo Frequency
Sub Pop (2004)
Imagine driving down an endless highway in a thunderstorm while listening to your favorite AOR station. Suddenly lightning strikes the antenna and the gaps between the songs are erased. The songs of the Beatles, the Doors, Pink Floyd, Three Dog Night and even the Gypsy Kings all begin to coincide with one another, creating intricate, lengthy tracks. Through some variety … Read more
All Teeth
I am Losing
High Fidelity (2009)
Every so often you hear a record and it instantaneously floors you. All Teeth's debut full-length I Am Losing is one of those records. The thirteen songs that make up this album are filled with such passion, aggression, and emotion - it is as though anger, frustration, resentment, and bitterness actually fuel the songs. The lyrics and music perfectly match … Read more
All Them Witches
Sleeping Through The War
New West (2017)
All Them Witches is a rock band with a psychedelic blues tinge that reflects their southern-but-also-hip hometown of Nashville, Tennessee. Although All Them Witches can really deal in those druggy, heavy-hitting riffs that make you want to knock back a six pack in the desert, they also have a real musicianship that’s too often lacking in the dime-a-dozen bands that … Read more
All Your Sisters
Uncomfortable Skin
Flenser (2016)
Starting out as the solo project of Jordan Morrison, All Your Sisters turned into an intriguing duo with the addition of Mario Armando Ruiz on bass and synths. The band draws influence from mainly from the '80s new wave scene, paying tribute to the post-punk and noise rock styles of the era, but with an industrial edge and an ambient … Read more
Allegiance
Desperation
Rivalry (2007)
Do you ever buy the new album from a band you like and after a couple listens you just think, "This is about what I expected"? Most of the time this means the album is good; just more songs of the sound you've become accustomed to. This happened to me when I got Champion's full-length. I liked it, but it … Read more
Alluvial
Sarcoma
Nuclear Blast (2021)
Last year was definitely a great year for metal. Probably the best year for metal in the past like ten or fifteen years. So great in fact, that I’m still trying to catch up with albums I didn’t get to either listen to or review. I actually had to make a spreadsheet for tracking purposes, imagine that, hahaha! Anyway, I … Read more
Almøst Human
XS2XTC
Fastball Music (2019)
As most of you non-essential workers I have been working from home for what seems like forever now. What I see as one of the positive sides is that I get to decide what music to listen to (for those moments I am not in an online meeting that is). No discussions about what radio station to tune into. I … Read more
Altar Of Plagues
Mammal
Profound Lore (2011)
Ireland's Altar of Plagues play a style of black metal so atmospheric in nature, that you can't help but be completely taken in by the sounds you're hearing and the thoughts the music conjures in your mind. Mammal is only their second full length offering, and whilst White Tomb was unquestionably fantastic, this new record is on an entirely different … Read more
