Om
Addis Dubplate
Drag City (2013)
Everyone's favourite stoner rock band with a flair for the religious Om has been on a roll lately, releasing the incredible Advaitic Songs just last year. But they aren't stopping anytime soon--in addition to a planned single from frontman Al Cisneros to hit later this year, two of the band's tracks from their latest release have been handled by British reggae/dub act Alpha … Read more
Om
Advaitic Songs
Drag City (2012)
Om is one of those offshoot bands that wound up better than it had any right to be. Borne from the ashes of stoner metal giant Sleep, Om managed to create a two-piece band whose hypnotic tunes were much more powerful than they would appear on the surface. What could a band really do with just a rhythm section? Yet, … Read more
Om
Conference of the Birds
Holy Mountain (2006)
There is little disputing that Sleep was the quintessential stoner metal band. After breaking up due to the band's now infamous falling out with London Records, the members went on to form two bands that are insanely heavy in their own ways. Forming High on Fire, guitarist Matt Pike upped the tempos and the technical ability. Meanwhile, bassist Al Cisneros … Read more
Om
Gethsemane Dubplate
Drag City (2013)
Everyone's favourite stoner rock band with a flair for the religious Om has been on a roll lately, releasing the incredible Advaitic Songs just last year. But they aren't stopping anytime soon--in addition to a planned single from frontman Al Cisneros to hit later this year, two of the band's tracks from their latest release have been handled by British reggae/dub act Alpha … Read more
Om
Pilgrimage
Southern Lord (2007)
Sleep was great. High on Fire is pretty good. But Om consistently impresses me, and seems to gain momentum with every album. Om seems to be getting closer than ever to carving out its own unique corner in the psychedelic genre that I could simply call "zen doom." These days "hypnotic" is a much-overused word in review writing, especially since … Read more
Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez
A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 1
GSL (2004)
Fans of the bespectacled Omar of At The Drive-In/Mars Volta fame will already have an idea of how this record will sound thanks to Rodriguez-Lopez's creative and original guitar work in both bands. More notably in The Mars Volta (where Rodriguez wrote most of the songs) his passion for synths, drum machines, strange vocals and heavily effect-laden guitars was documented … Read more
Omar Rodriguez
Omar Rodriguez
Willie Anderson (2006)
Recorded between shows on The Mars Volta's recent European tour, Omar Rodriguez' second solo outing is a different beast from his previous release on his GSL label, 2004's A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack Volume 1. Recorded with a band partially recruited from Mars Volta personnel and other musicians, present to bolster the instrument count, the record serves not just as a … Read more
Omega Massif
Karpatia
Denovali (2011)
Holy shit.Let me put the rest of this review in context. The day I discovered post-metal was the day I was told to listen to Isis' seminal album Oceanic. For an hour I could do nothing but sit still and listen in awe to such beauty. It started my long-standing interest in the genre, though to this day no album … Read more
Omnium Gatherum
New World Shadows
Lifeforce (2011)
As I listen to New World Shadows, the latest opus from Finland's Omnium Gatherum, I am awash in triumphant and majestic riffs that are far prettier than anything that a sub-genre of death metal should ever produce. But therein lies the rub. The reason I stay up at nights listening to New World Shadows followed by Scream Bloody Gore. These … Read more
On a Warpath
On a Warpath
Hand of Hope (2006)
Within hardcore there lies a style of music that has come to known as beatdown. It is an interesting but narrow-minded sub-genre to the whole hardcore realm. Musically, the bands that play this style of music rely heavily on having ridiculously huge breakdowns. I wouldn't be surprised if they wrote the breakdowns first and then surrounded them with the rest … Read more
On Fire
This Time it is Forever
Magic Bullet (2004)
With the crumbling of The Burning Paris, a void was left that needed to be filled. The Burning Paris' farewell of And By December You'll Know Where You're Heart Truly Lies was the masterpiece that everyone ignored. Only four songs, one being a Smiths' cover that managed to one up the original, the album was gut wrenching and utterly soothing … Read more
On Our Own / Under One Flag / Your Mistake
Split
True Destiny (2005)
Split releases are a great way for bands to promote their music in locations they might not be able to travel to for shows. This split from Own Our Own, Under One Flag, and Your Mistake is a prime example of why. Here you have three bands playing different variations of hardcore music from three different areas - Florida, Ohio, … Read more
On the Outside
Tragic Endings
Thorp (2005)
No Warning officially called it quits in late 2005, but for most of us, the band died when this photograph surfaced. I figured No Warning was headed for a career in rock-n-roll's vast array of mediocre bands that came from a hardcore background, and then put out incredibly crappy albums. Remember DYS's Fire and Ice, or Uniform Choice's Staring into … Read more
On Three
No More Excuses
Strikin' Out (2007)
I hate to pigeonhole myself as the token fast hardcore reviewer at Scene Point Blank but I just can't help myself when Michael lists off those promos we can snag up for review and I see words like "fast" "posi" and "melodic." I just have to swoop down and collect them all like a Pokemon Master of mediocre mid-level hardcore … Read more
Once Nothing
First Came the Law
Solid State (2008)
It's been a few years now since I first became acquainted with Once Nothing. They were just a local band playing shows wherever they could and having a good time playing to whoever would listen. Now the band is on Solid State, touring the U.S., and First Came the Law is their first big-label release. Once Nothing fuses together the … Read more
One Day as a Lion
One Day as a Lion
Anti (2008)
The background behind the formation of One Day as a Lion isn't really well, there at all. It pretty much consists of a day when Anti Records made the announcement that they would be releasing this EP. Boasting Zach de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine/Inside Out and Jon Theodore of The Mars Volta, there is obviously going to … Read more
One Dead Three Wounded
Paint The Town
Lovelost (2004)
Living in California definitely has its perks. There's the near perfect weather, bodacious waves to hang ten upon, killer earthquakes that hella shred, beautiful ladies with even more beautiful brains (JK ON THAT!), and tons of other stereotypes that are all 100% true. But don't get me wrong, chill ass brah, this isn't perfect-land. As evidence of the lack of … Read more
One Hundred Year Ocean
Where Were You While We Were Getting High?
Broken World Media (2013)
Where Were You While We Were Getting High?, the latest release from the seven-member Connecticut indie-emo band One Hundred Year Ocean, is a four-track collection of massive, breathtaking sonic concoctions.The EP starts with the slow, slightly depressing “Hospital Town”. “Soco Amaretto Bud Light Lime” immediately follows with a faster tempo and brighter feel. “Apples” preserves the happy vibe with upbeat … Read more
