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Human Sculpture

Our World / Torn Down
Independent (2011)

Debut EPs rarely tend to be that standout. Most of the time, it will just present a band's core sound, as if to say “here is what we are capable of,” and then abruptly end. They almost never wind up being good albums in their own right. They often act as barometers, telling us what to expect in the future. … Read more

Anneke van Giersbergen

Everything is Changing
PIAS (2012)

There's something odd about Anneke van Giersbergen. I keep hearing her name tossed around next to acts like Napalm Death, Moonspell and Within Temptaion, and I've heard her collaborations with other artists scores of times. And yet I've never heard what her solo music sounds like. Let me tell you, I wasn't expecting an alternarock album when I first played … 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

Blackfield

Welcome To My DNA
Kscope (2011)

Steven Wilson is a man of many talents--and more than three dozen of them are just different ways of making music. Though he's known mostly for his more complex work, his progressive conquests all take a side seat for a moment as he again sits down with Aviv Geffen on the third album from his pop rock project Blackfield, titled … Read more

The May 4th Massacre

All Guilty
MorseCode (2011)

I'm still not completely sold on hardcore music, but if The May 4th Massacre's latest offering All Guilty is any indication, I may still be swayed on the genre yet.Before I get to the good stuff, however, I have to mention one thing that immediately jumps out about this album: sometimes I just cannot tell if these guys are being … Read more

Sun Caged

The Lotus Effect
Century Media (2011)

For a band I really enjoy, it was extremely difficult for me to review the new album from Dutch progressive metal band Sun Caged, The Lotus Effect. I found this odd, because it actually is a very good album. It took me a while to pin down exactly what it was about it that was irking me.In fact, I actually … Read more

Tesseract

One
Century Media (2011)

Bring out the djent parade!Every single Meshuggah-loving act and their goddamn mother is releasing an album this year. Xerath released their sophomore album, Uneven Structure and Vildhjarta have their debuts planned, Cloudkicker released a single, Periphery and Gojira both have EPs on the schedule... In fact, it seems like the only band who isn't getting in on this action themselves … Read more

The Black Keys

El Camino
Nonesuch (2011)

By now, the Black Keys have released enough material to seemingly exist since the early nineties. This is not the case, however, only having released their gritty debut, The Big Come Up, in May 2002. Since then, amidst a steady growth in production efforts and more polished recordings, The Black Keys manage to stay true to their simplistic form.Where the … Read more

Life In The Dark

Hushed Bloom
Sunyata\Music Ruins Lives (2011)

I need to stop listening to this, but, wait, no, I really do because it is getting rather ridiculous repeatedly listening to the same piece of music over again and that is exactly what is going on with Hushed Bloom and my headphones; these tones reverberate inside my head as the warm tones caress my tired brow in an utterly … Read more

Voice Of Ruin

Self Titled
Heimathome (2011)

Believe me, I love oldschool thrash metal as much as the next person--give me early Metallica or Death any day of the week and I will gladly headbang hard enough to lacerate passers by with my hair. And that's all Voice of Ruin seem interested in on their self-titled release: pure, unadulterated thrash metal with death metal highlights. I commend … Read more

Cara Neir

Stagnant Perceptions
Independent (2011)

Extracting the finer points of black metal, hardcore and mad experimental sounds is hardly the newest trick in the book, but melding them together and producing an exciting and cohesive record such as Stagnant Perceptions is no mean feat. Hailing from Texas, Cara Neir destroy everything in their path. This, only their second full length, is such a fully rounded … Read more

Future Virgins

Western Problems
StarCleaner\Plan-it-X South (2011)

2011 saw me getting deeper into garage bands. What better way to close out my year than with Future Virgins, who blend garage brevity and song structures with pop punk melodies. The Chattanooga, TN band mixes up a garage influence without feeling nearly as formulaic, due in large part to the punk that oozes over the surface. Sure, the songs … Read more

Aelter

Dusk-Dawn/Follow You Beloved
Crucial Blast (2011)

Aelter, like most bands, have a backstory. Unlike most they can be explained through their other projects without fully describing what they are about. The band acts as an offshoot of the doom band WolvSerpent (formerly known as Pussygutt). Wolvserpent deal in massive undulating walls of sludge with use of uncommon (for their style) instruments, namely violin. This tends to … Read more

Dead to Me

Moscow Penny Ante
Fat Wreck Chords (2011)

After listening to Dead To Me’s latest release Moscow Penny Ante it made me think about something bassist/vocalist Chicken said the last time I interviewed him. I asked him if he agreed that the band’s sound had seemed to change from the release of their first LP Cuban Ballerina. “I do agree with that and I’m proud of it. I … Read more

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