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Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

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Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)

Dead Swans

Anxiety And Everything Else
Bridge Nine (2012)

Good hardcore bands from the UK are a rare occurrence. Dead Swans, however, are one of the few exceptions. With a heavy melodic sound and powerful vocals from Nicholas Worthington, the band is able to pull themselves out of the realm of mediocrity. Anxiety and Everything Else is the first since Sleepwalkers three years ago, and does a good job of holding its own. The EP sets itself apart from their other works by having an excellent blend of powerful, hectic music and satisfying interludes. The first track, “I’ve Been Trying to Leave,” starts off the EP with an incredible amount of energy that really grabs the listener. Other songs like “Keep Them Shut” and “You Can Only Blame Yourself” show the band's melodic prowess with heavy interludes carried by strong vocals. The song “Summer of Hate” has a very good mix of this fast and slow, and as a result is one of the strongest tracks on the album. While it has the ability to stand its own ground, the EP fails to do anything original within the genre. Overall, fans of Dead Swans will be very happy with this release and newcomers who are fans of melodic hardcore … Read more

Metallica

Beyond Magnetic
Warner Bros. (2011)

Long story short: Beyond Magnetic is a collection of four tracks recorded for, and left off of, Metallica's 2008 album … Read more

Enforcers

End Of Time
A389 (2011)

Enforcers are a band out of Montreal. While the city has a long history of technical metal many forget about … Read more

Blueneck

Repetitions
Denovali (2011)

I wanted to write an introduction that accurately conveyed the sound of Blueneck's new album Repetitions, but my editor wouldn't … Read more

Servile Sect

Svrrender
Handmade Birds (2012)

Sitting down and listening to Servile Sect’s companion album to the great TRVTH has been a sincerely surreal experience in … Read more

Buildings

Melt, Cry, Sleep
doubleplusgood (2012)

Buildings. Two syllables. Direct and immovable. It seems a fitting name for this Minneapolis three-piece and their second album Melt, … Read more

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One from the archives

E. Town Concrete

Made for War
Ironbound (2004)

Let me start off by saying that E. Town Concrete is the only band I know of that can mix hip hop and hardcore and not come out looking like idiots. Their last release, Renaissance was a solid release, equal parts rap with equal parts hardcore. Made for War, on the other hand, leans more towards the hardcore genre and overall is missing a lot of the jump around hip-hop songs. The last release had a couple of dark songs, but those were balanced out by happy nod-your-head rap songs. This release lacks in that balance and just gives a stale after-taste. It feels like you've been hearing the same songs over again. When I first got the CD I was trying to show a friend how the band does … Read more

More album reviews

Junior Bruce

The Headless King
A389 (2012)

Bloodlet seem to be a sadly forgotten band. Even in their time they were overshadowed by the other bands Victory Records released. Sadly a band ahead of their time in a sense and far beyond typical hardcore constraints. What does this have to do with Junior Bruce? Well the booming voice of Bloodlet has returned as Scott Angelacos once again … Read more

La Dispute

Wildlife
No Sleep (2011)

La Dispute is a band that catches a lot of flak. People tend to jump to conclusions about their “whiney” sound, and the infamous song “Such Small Hands” doesn’t help their case. I myself took early judgment on the band and chose to dislike them. But once I checked my ego at the door and gave Wildlife a real shot, … Read more

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Area 52
ATO (2012)

Everyone's favourite thrash metal duo turned acoustic, Rodrigo y Gabriela stand out amongst their peers not only for their heavily metal-influenced Latin pieces, but also for their impeccable proficiency and astounding musicianship. Their latest album, Area 52, pairs the fiery duo alongside the ensemble C.U.B.A., the first time they've recorded their work with such full instrumentation.Let me tell you, the … Read more

Anne

Dream Punx
A389 (2011)

In a genre of little distinction, Anne’s Dream Punx delves deeper into their own capabilities than most would’ve thought possible. The melodies used and the intertwining riffs create a wall of sound that evoke a sense of nostalgia for when Slowdive was around without having the feeling of a cheap knock off. The most captivating thing about this album is … Read more

Sutekh Hexen

Larvae
Handmade Birds (2012)

If you have ever heard any Sutekh Hexen release prior to Larvae (and there is a multitude), than there is definitely a surprise in store for you because Larvae is a complete re-imagining of what this outfit has done from their first tape that they unleashed on the world; the mind bending riffing (of the black metal style) and the … Read more

Passiv Dödshjälp

Fasader
Power It Up (2011)

I’ll admit it; any band that requires key strokes to properly type their name has a good chance of ending up in my review pile. The reason is two-fold: It stems from my days as a Motley Crüe -worshiping adolescent, and the simple fact that I am a sucker for Scandinavian hardcore. Thus we have here the latest vinyl by … Read more

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

Reviews by score
Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)