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Reviews by Alex-n

26 total search results — Page 1 of 2

Pink Razors – Waiting to Wash Up

Review — April 18, 2006

Do you remember when pop-punk wasn't sung by guys with swooping black'n bleached haircuts wearing button-up shirts and girl pants? Do you remember when pop-punk didn't have over-produced, mirror-polished, fake-as-hell vocals? Remember when pop-punk had some attitude? Yes, I also remember Screeching Weasel, and more recently, Dillinger Four. Now here's …

NOFX – Wolves in Wolves' Clothing

Review — April 20, 2006

At this point, NOFX know where they stand in their musical career. That much is obvious not only when you see them play a show, but also when you listen to the final track of Wolves In Wolves' Clothing, "60% (Reprise)". There's no dancing around the subject with ambiguous …

AFI – Decemberunderground

Review — June 6, 2006

For AFI, the name of the game has always been about evolution. About "out-doing" themselves one time after another. I can't say that they haven't, because each record has had it's own significant changes, some more noticeable than others, but they still retain part of their roots. Decemberunderground retains the …

None More Black – This is Satire

Review — May 1, 2006

Have you ever heard a record for the first time and immediately received a feeling of comfort that you would normally get from an album you've been listening to for years? Every so often, you find an album that just "clicks" with you so well that you cannot deny it, …

Less Than Jake – In With the Out Crowd

Review — May 26, 2006

I'm a huge Less Than Jake fan. Hello Rockview is one of my favorite albums ever recorded, so when I heard that the band would be working with Howard Benson (who produced that stellar record) to record In With the Out Crowd, I was pretty excited. The band commented …

Ceremony – Violence Violence

Review — June 18, 2006

Hate is a tough thing to grasp for many people. They say they hate, but I'm not sure I believe it because the term "hate" is like love. It's thrown about haphazardly and used in offhand comments and that makes it lose it's true, immensely dark and angry feeling. So …

Rise Against – The Sufferer and the Witness

Review — July 3, 2006

It's always nice when a band that exhibited incredible promise coming up through indie labels continues to show evolution without distancing themselves from their roots once they've hit major label status. Rise Against continues to prove that a major label doesn't mean shit when it comes to writing their music, …

No Trigger – Canyoneer

Review — July 25, 2006

Melodic hardcore seems to be falling back into favor these days, which is a good thing in my opinion. And Massachusetts' No Trigger provides an excellent debut full-length that doesn't stray from the tried-and-true. Everything you'd expect from a melodic hardcore band is here: breakneck speeds, good ol' guitar solos, …

Ignite – Our Darkest Days

Review — August 4, 2006

It's been six years since Ignite's last full-length, A Place Called Home, so one might expect their return to be a bit rocky, it having been so long. It turns out that it's anything but rocky. Our Darkest Days is quite possibly Ignite's best work to date, and depending …

Ryan's Hope – Apocalypse in Increments

Review — August 24, 2006

If you're looking for a catchy yet simultaneously heavy melodic punk album, look no further than Ryan's Hope's sophomore release, Apocalypse in Increments. Blending monster hooks with production that makes every instrument kick as hard as it should, Apocalypse in Increments may have you wondering how you've never heard …

Strike Anywhere – Dead FM

Review — September 11, 2006

The return of Strike Anywhere seems to be met with mixed emotions by a lot of people, and that's tough for me to understand. While I enjoyed their last proper effort, 2003's Exit English, I know it wasn't their strongest release, but I never expected to hear people claiming …

Dead to Me – Cuban Ballerina

Review — October 5, 2006

In this day and age, it seems to take way more effort than it should to get a new band's name out there. There are so many ways people can check out a new band, not to mention it's so much easier than it has been in the past. It …

The Falcon – Unicornography

Review — October 22, 2006

The Falcon is here, so ready your crusty, unpolished, dull silverware and let a knife sink through the skin of the first layer of Unicornography, "The Angry Cry of the Angry Pie." I warn you though, don't be surprised when you hear the pie's shrill scream before his patented …

Rx Bandits – ...And the Battle Begun

Review — November 7, 2006

There is a startling disparity between the Rx Bandits' 1997 debut Those Damn Bandits and …And the Battle Begun if you listen to them back to back, yet the progression makes perfect sense if you listen to their discography in order. In just a hair under a decade the band …

Shook Ones – Facetious Folly Feat

Review — December 11, 2006

2006 has seen the release of plenty of outstanding records from melodic hardcore bands, and as the year is coming to a close you might think the best of the best have already graced us with their presence. If so, then think again. Shook Ones' Facetious Folly Feat has defied …

Greg Graffin – Cold as the Clay

Review — December 14, 2006

Nearly a decade ago Bad Religion's Greg Graffin released his first solo effort, the miscellaneous American Lesion (miscellaneous because you can only find it online), and it was a definite departure for the punk rock icon. He slowed it down quite a bit and explored a different side of his …

Bad Astronaut – Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment

Review — December 19, 2006

Before the release of Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment, frontman Joey Cape willingly admitted that the record does not measure up to what it should have been, and not many bands would ever publicly admit something like that, but not many bands have experienced the tragedy that befell …

Only Crime – Virulence

Review — January 28, 2007

Supergroups are a curious entity, as they often appear to be incredible in the idea stage, but the expectations often exceed the execution. Fortunately, the classic phrase "too many chefs in the kitchen" does not apply to Only Crime - whose talents have been involved with acts such as Bane, …

Fall Out Boy – Infinity on High

Review — February 7, 2007

In the punk scene alone, the collected amount of shit that has been talked about Fall Out Boy could probably fill the Atlantic Ocean…twice. I am certainly, without question or hesitation, as guilty of it as anyone else, but I'm willing to admit it when I like music by a …

No Harm Done – Our Day of Days

Review — February 20, 2007

It's hard to be original anymore when playing any form of rock music and even harder to stand out when you're trying to sound similar to already-existing acts. No Harm Done are a melodic hardcore band from Florida who play their style by the book and not much else, as …