It's hard to believe that Richmond, Virginia natives The Catalyst are only releasing their first full-length record in the form of Swallow Your Teeth. But I suppose that is a testament to their craft. They've kept fans satisfied with a series of split recordings and EP's over the years so that fans haven't had a chance to really yearn for more. In spite of the wait - seven years since their formation - The Catalyst makes good on holding out for so long. Swallow Your Teeth is a stellar display of noisy hardcore punk that showcases the band's best material to date, something that often fails to happen as a band gets deeper into their career. Swallow Your Teeth begins with "I Hate the Future" and immediately the listener is kicked in the face and has their ears boxed in. The guitars are loud as fuck and the rhythm section provides a thick dirge that recalls The Melvins. The album continues with "Lars Ulrich's 1986 Funeral," which wins for best song title of the year, hands down. The music is equally as rad; it's a distortion heavy punk cut with a slight rock feel. It's boasts a funky guitar and … Read more
Panic Records has been on quite a roll as of late. Releasing great records from Final Fight, Outrage, Make Do … Read more
In 1995 Testing the Limits of Infinite would have been standard fare by any big league hardcore band. You see, … Read more
Always an air of mystery or uncertainty surrounding The Hope Conspiracy due to their status and rare live appearances, the … Read more
Occasionally, a member of the staff at Scene Point Blank will write a piece on an artist of which I'm … Read more
About the only comment that I could muster when I saw the existence of this release was an extremely emphatic, … Read more
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Christopher Mevel, one of the founding members of the Dale Cooper Quartet & The Dictaphones, set up his solo project, Pan & Me, in order to step outside of the jazz based sound of the main band and to explore other sonic domains. Ambient music and drone are the key aspects of Pan & Me and their main focus of Melvel. Following the release of his first album, Paal, Melvel’s takes on an ever more expanding voyage in his sophomore full-length,Ocean Noise, giving more depth and detail to his sound.Since this is ambient music, the aspect where Ocean Noise really succeeds is in creating huge atmospheric music. From the very start of the album, it hits you straight away. The grand vibe of “Yotsuya Station” swoops in and hooks you … Read more
Certainly, GREYMACHINE is a group whose mere existence is enough to generate interest and the inevitable hype considering its composition of some rather prominent members of the "extreme" music community. Seriously though, how could it not comprising members of Isis, Godflesh, Jesu, and tons more? The real question, at least if we concentrate on the actual content of Disconnected should … Read more
Los Angeles by way of Boston by way of Miami by way of Venezuela, Mellowdrone return with a second full-length recording in a career that now spans ten years. While the first five years saw Mellowdrone remarkably productive as a solo venture releasing a series of EP's, it took a while to produce the first long player. The now trio … Read more
Bold, in your face stoner rock from members of Bad Wizard and Party Time. If you like your rock heavy with Sabbath sprinkled into the mix, Red Fang are your guys. Curiously, the first four songs blast your face off. Then later on, it got a bit too Nirvana-esque for me song structure wise. "Reverse Thunder" will singe your eyebrows … Read more
Austin, Texas natives We'll Go Machete offer six songs on their debut EP, released through indie label Cedar Fever Records, also based in Austin. It comes in a cardboard sleeve, which for a CD release isn't much plus, there are no lyrics. Over these six songs, We'll Go Machete, blast through twenty minutes of alternative influenced hardcore punk. If you … Read more
Two newcomers from Texas team up for a split 7" release. You get one track each, generally falling within the bounds of the indie music circuit. A Kid Named Thompson is not a one-man emo guitarist - thank goodness. This three-piece outfit instead offers up "Fall Down," a three-minute venture of upbeat pop-rock. I'd liken them to Jimmy Eat World, … Read more
Seafoam Recordings teams up No Harm Done from Florida and Offsides from Connecticut on this limited edition split 7". The a-side features the final three tracks from No Harm Done, who just recently called it quits. This Floridian outfit continues their melodic hardcore and punk assault that follows the lead of Strike Anywhere and Rise Against. I've always found this … Read more
Two years back I reviewed ¡Apeshit!'s self-titled demo. The record contained thirteen songs in just about eleven minutes. This 7" EP - which the band has self-released on their own label - counts a modest seven songs in just a smidge over seven minutes. Cavalier Activity is an extension of the sound heard on their previous recordings, which also includes … Read more
With the demise of Some Girls and the considerable downtime of The Locust, Justin Pearson got the itch to do something new. He teamed up with fellow Some Girls cohort Nathan Joyner and Maniqui Lazer's Jung Sing to form All Leather All Leather ventures towards slightly different territory that previous Pearson projects, and yet there is still that distinct sound … Read more
Massachusetts is obviously more well known for its metal and hardcore scenes, but they've also got a pretty substantial stream of pop-punk bands churning out the hits as well. Half Hearted Hero is one of the upstart groups part of this surge. And here they offer up their debut full-length, Defining. Refining. Half Hearted Hero fall in that middle of … Read more
Sirhan Sirhan plays groovy hardcore punk with a bit of a noise rock bent and maybe even some of that vintage rock 'n' roll vibe from The Bronx's early work, but with a much heftier guitar sound and harsher vocals. This album doesn't really have a whole lot in common with what would traditionally be considered hardcore except for being … Read more
Cave In is back! Yes! The band makes its comeback known with the four-track twelve inch EP, Planets of Old, much to the excitement of long time fans and those that have yet to experience the four piece outfit (with drummer JR Connors rejoining the fold). Considering the chameleon like shifting of the band's sound over the years, the question … Read more
The disbanding of Boston punk groups Stray Bullets and Chicago Typewriter led to the formation of the band Have Nots. Sometimes, stronger bands are formed from the ashes of two defunct ones and Have Nots are looking to prove this with their debut album, Serf City USA. They bring a nice balance of ska and aggressive punk rock to the … Read more
Massachusetts has been a bastion for hardcore throughout the years, and 2009 isn't any different. Outrage bring forth their debut full-length, Broken, which follows up the Savior EP they released late last year. Outrage draws heavily from an era of hardcore that I both love and know well: the mid-90's. Therefore, I am predisposed - subconsciously or consciously I do … Read more
After hearing a certain amount of buzz surrounding Mouthbreather and their album, Thank You For Your Patience, there seemed a certain pull for me to listen to this record, if only to check out what the band has to offer. My piquing interest aside, this Richmond, Virginia band continues to turn heads. One aspect of Mouthbreather on Thank You For … Read more
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