Astpai
Burden Calls
Jump Start (2014)
I’m not sure what this says about me, but I like Astpai’s Burden Calls just fine but it takes until they pull a sample from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (the original) to hit that next level. It has little to nothing to do with the actual songs, but somehow it shifts the tone and the energy just picks up at “Death Everywhere” after Master … Read more
Astpai
True Capacity
Jump Start (2018)
Austrian touring machine Astpai are ready to release their sixth full length album unto the world. Astpai has held a low profile recently. Their previous album Burden Calls is from 2014. Ok, there was 7” somewhere between these albums, but still. Astpai once started out as a punk band in the Strike Anywhere camp. Over the time this band has matured and found a … Read more
Asunder
Works Will Come Undone
Profound Lore (2006)
To many, 2006 will be remembered as the year Britney Spears' vagina was opened to the world. To others, it will be remembered for the synthesis of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie into one super compassionate human being. And to those into doom metal, 2006 will be remembered for Profound Lore's release of Asunder's Works Will Come Undone. What Spears' … Read more
Asva
What You Don't Know is Frontier
Southern (2008)
Every once in a while, there are albums that are born from such gut wrenching emotional outpouring as a form of personal therapy or personal journey of recovery for the artist or artists responsible for the work. It is a rare opportunity to glimpse such pain and catharsis, and G. Stuart Dahlquist (Burning Witch, Goatsnake) and a cast of co-conspirators … Read more
At All Costs
Direction
Anti-H (2006)
There's an awkward goofiness to the Start Today album, or any of the first fifteen Revelation releases, that will always make them powerfully classic. None of the bands at the time really knew what they were doing both musically and culturally. These were just a bunch of bored kids, mostly in middle and high school, who felt alienated by their … Read more
At Our Heels
At Our Heels
Heart In Hand (2009)
At Our Heels is yet another in the ever growing list of bands to emerge from the Bay Area's excellent hardcore scene. Alex Pulisci began piecing together what would come to be At Our Heels following the breakup of Love, Hope and Fear. Musically the group treads similar water, fast-paced hardcore with a rock swagger. Pulisci, who enlists the drumming … Read more
At Our Heels
Misanthropy & Godlessness
Creator-Destructor (2010)
At Our Heels is a young band coming out with a strong EP last year but never getting as much recognition as that EP probably deserved. They are certainly not a hype band or even getting any real talk outside of a few vague mentions. Strangely, this does more good than bad for them. What has resulted in this case … Read more
At Risk
At Risk
Bloody Knuckles (2005)
This past summer, while vacationing in California, I decided to do the drive down the Pacific Coast Highway. I drove along the winding road that hugs the Pacific coastline as I made my way towards my Los Angeles destination. On the way, I came to the city of Santa Cruz. I was stoked at the thought of being in the … Read more
At the Drive-In
In•ter a•li•a
Rise (2017)
Interminable slack-ass Omar Rodriguez-Lopez only released 12 solo albums this year on Ipecac Records. So to alleviate the presumed guilt, he’s gotten the old band back together again. That band is At the Drive-In and as far as “reunion” albums go, In•ter a•li•a is a monster. While not quite a complete reunion, in a presto-change-o move, guitarist Jim Ward has been … Read more
Atavist
II: Ruined
Profound Lore (2008)
Minimalistic drone/doom is a hit-or-miss kind of genre. When you are relying on only one or two riffs to carry an entire song, the results can be either bone-chilling or yawn-inducing. With their second full-length, Atavist, hailing from Manchester, England, has once again proven it can achieve the former. Atavist's brand of tortured, bowel-loosening doom is not for the faint … Read more
Atlas Losing Grip
Currents
Creator-Destructor (2015)
I first discovered Atlas Losing Grip after the release of their 2009 EP, Watching the Horizon, and became an instant fan. 2009 seemed to be a dark time for technical melodic skatepunk and Watching the Horizon was basically a glimmer of hope in the blackness. It didn’t hurt that the singer, Rodrigo, was a founding member ofSatanic Surfers, one of … Read more
Atlas Sound
Parallax
4AD (2011)
Bradford Cox is in many ways like a ghost. There’s his whispery vocal style, like that of a specter, haunting and evanescent. And the glaring image of himself on the cover of his side project, Atlas Sound’s, second release, Logos. Or for instance his entire musical catalogue; a seamless spawn of translucent albums that are distinct, yet share vivid familiarity. … Read more
Atmosphere
Seven's Travels
Epitaph (2003)
"Atmosphere finally made a good record, yeah right, that shit almost sounds convincing...." Almost. Actually, not at all. Sometimes underground hip hop boggles my mind. I'll admit, there are lots of great artists that remain 'underground' or at least avoid regular MTV video rotation and major success. Not to say that either being hugely successful or "staying true to the … Read more
Atmosphere
So Many Other Realities Exist Simultaneously
Rhymesayers (2023)
Atmosphere has always felt like rapper Slug pouring his soul into the mic. It feels authentic and refreshing to hear his humble self-reflection. But after a few albums, it also kind of feels like overload. There’s such a thing as too much emotion and strife. That’s not a knock on Atmosphere’s art, but Atmosphere took a break from each other. … Read more
Atmosphere
The Family Sign
Rhymesayers (2011)
Atmosphere’s MC, Slug has made a career, literally, out of exploiting and exercising his own personal demons as well as of those around him. He has an uncanny knack for telling a deeply personal story—sometimes his, sometimes someone else’s—all while moving the crowd. In short, he’s the heart-on-his-sleeve guy who rocks the party. Though, as Slug gets older, there’s a … Read more
Atmosphere
When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
Rhymesayers (2008)
While When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold brings Ant and Slug closer to full-blown mainstream success, it's an album that's not really about either of them. Rather, it's about those that possibly buy their albums, those that struggle to make it through the day, no real future in sight given their conditions. While Ant brings to … Read more
Atoms For Peace
Amok
XL Recordings (2013)
Every so often an unusual group of veteran musicians gather to form what was coined in the late ‘60s as a supergroup. There have been exceptional creative ventures, from the early Crosby, Stills & Nash, to the more recent Them Crooked Vultures and various Jack White endeavors, while others were better left to inebriated jam sessions at rock star house … Read more
Atreyu
The Curse
Victory (2004)
The first time I ever heard Atreyu, I started laughing. Everything about them was laughable to me; from the name of the record Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses to the overly typical "singing into screaming into mosh" formula they followed, to the already played out "fashioncore" image they displayed. However, after my laughter subsided, I also said to myself, "this … Read more
