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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)

Angel Eyes

...and for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars
Underground Communiqué (2007)

Let me get to this straight away; I love the movie, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, so naming yourself after Lee Van Cleef's character in that movie, makes you a-okay in my book. and for a Roof a Sky Full of Stars is the third record from Angel Eyes, following 2005's Something to Do with Death and their split with the group A Fine Boat, also released this year. As "One" unfolds, the various sounds are rather edgy but somehow soothing at the same time; I really enjoy the measured pacing that Angel Eyes establishes from the start of the song and the way that the music slowly begins to congeal into a more recognizable form. When the vocals explode onto the proceedings (at about the seven and a half minute mark) the tone of the music only slightly changes but the intensity kicks up several notches. Even when "One" quiets down again, there is an ominous or menacing mood to the tone of the music; it gives off a very uneasy feel while listening to it, but "One" is still completely enjoyable. The raw production even gives the recording character that lends a positive affect to the … Read more

My Flea Circus

Fancy Feast
Independent (2006)

I've come across some weird avant-garde bands, but it's a rare occurrence that I hear a band as bizarre and … Read more

Nirvana

Unplugged in New York
Geffen (2007)

At the risk of sounding like a filthy hippie droning on about the sixties and how you had to be … Read more

Kaada & Patton

Live
Ipecac (2007)

Has it really been three, almost four, years now since Mike Patton and John Kaada released Romances? Apparently so! Live … Read more

Make Do and Mend

We're All Just Living
Restless Minds (2007)

Don't you just hate it when an album, or in this case an EP, is marred by one or two … Read more

Pusher

Pusher
Auxiliary (2007)

Pusher hails from Louisville and features an impressive cast of ex-members as Steve Sindoni (vocals) comes to the band after … Read more

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One from the archives

Jesse Fink

Bon: The Last Highway: The Untold Story of Bon Scott and AC/DC's Back in Black
Random House Australia (2017)

Book Review

Ronald Belford “Bon” Scott.Lyrics, the personality and presence – it is not merely because of his vocal range and the band he headed that he is considered to be one of the greatest frontmen and rock’n roll vocalist of all time.His life and untimely death is being revisited in the new biography Bon: The Last Highway: The Untold Story of Bon Scott and AC/DC's Back in Black, which was released on 30 October.The book is a long time labour of love courtesy of author Jesse Fink, whose work may not be unfamiliar to aficionados of literature on AC/DC as his 2015 release The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC lays the foundation for this tome.It took Fink three years and extensive research to pen this first extensive biography of Bon … Read more

More album reviews

Strangers

Weight
Action Man (2007)

Earlier this year Strangers really grabbed my interest with their four-song EP, Holding. On that release, five individuals from New Zealand delivered a devastating aural assault. So here we are a couple of months down the road and Strangers have unleashed their debut full-length, Weight, upon the masses. The album begins with "Expositions," a two-minute number that picks up exactly … Read more

Chosen

Promo 2007
Independent (2007)

HEY YOU! Metal Blade! Century Media! Lifeforce! Earache! All you record labels down with the metal: LISTEN UP! Chosen is an independent metal band hailing from Ireland and I can say with all sincerity that the fact that none of you have stepped up and signed these guys is a Goddamn travesty. Granted, this might be due to the fact … Read more

Air

Pocket Symphony
Astralwerks (2007)

You know those bands that everyone talks about but you never get the chance to check them out? This is one of those cases. I never knew anyone who listened to Air on any regular basis, and bands that have extremely simple names never really seem to stick in my mind. Plus, when I hear the word electronica, it doesn't … Read more

Alkaline Trio

Remains
Vagrant (2007)

I haven't met anyone in my life that is affiliated with hardcore or punk that doesn't like at least a handful of Alkaline Trio songs. Alkaline Trio's gothic twists on weathered topics like being drunk, drugs, and being heartbroken ring all but universal to the ears of every kid that has every thought about wearing black for a week and … Read more

Saves the Day

Under the Boards
Vagrant (2007)

Part two in the trilogy of concept (small C) albums, Under the Boards sees Saves the Day back on a quick release schedule. This follow up to Sound the Alarm took only a year to release, compared to the three that passed between Sound the Alarm and the critically-panned In Reverie. With a third record, Daybreak, already in the works … Read more

Tombs

Tombs
Black Box Recordings (2007)

Tombs is the latest project from Mike Hill (former member of the criminally underrated bands Anodyne and Versoma). Tombs seemingly picks up from where Hill's last and short lived project Versoma left off with their EP Life During Wartime; this short, seven song EP is a good starting point for Tombs with its thick guitars and loud sound. Opening with … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Spank Rock and Benny Blanco

Bangers & Cash
Downtown (2007)

The latest effort from Baltimore club/DJ/rapping outfit Spank Rock brings more to the table than one might think. The opening line, "Welcome to the fuck shop," gives you an idea of what you're in store for. Bangers & Cash is five tracks of sex and money, with Spank Rock rapper Naeem Juwan dominating the lyrical space. This is also two … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Terror

Rhythm Amongst the Chaos
Reaper (2007)

I love Terror. I don't care about what anyone has to say about this band being simple-minded or playing hardcore for the "wrong kids." Terror just flat out rules. Always have, and so far, always will. Rhythm Amongst the Chaos basically takes off where Always the Hard Way left off with Scott Vogel and company infusing the metallic overdrive of … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Provoke / Tempo 38

Split
Independent (2007)

This is going to be the last split CD I ever review for Scene Point Blank. Okay, this is going to be the last split CD I ever review of two unknown bands that I review for this site. Sorry, split CDs are becoming the bane of my existence as I try and think of something to say about two … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Kill Conrad

32 Short Films About Nothing in Particular
Independent (2007)

Boston's Kill Conrad sound like just about any other punk band on No Idea that doesn't want to be or is Hot Water Music. I am reminded of the sing-along bouncy pop-punk intensity that Against Me! once had. Actually, Kill Conrad remind of Atom's (you know from Atom and His Package) punk band Fracture with their off-key vocals and the … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Get Back Up

Weathering the Storm
Organized Crime (2007)

Buffalo, NY's Get Back Up unfortunately sounds like every other new school hardcore band out there playing in local venues across the United States and probably Canada. They sound like a mixture of the heavy handed emotionally drone of Modern Life is War and the crunchy 90's hardcore metallic speed inspired Have Heart. I enjoy what I'm hearing as the … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Countime

Broken, Blinded, Betrayed
No Joke (2007)

Just about everything about this release offended me, from the cover photo a bloodied tricycle to one of the members flashing a gang sign in the band photo and Rick ta White saying, "No One! Fuck all you bitches and sorry ass motherfuckers out there!" in the thank-you list. If you haven't guessed, Countime is yet another run of the … Read more

The Catalyst

Marianas Trench
The Perpetual Motion Machine (2007)

When The Catalyst made a stop in D.C. over the summer, Mass Movement of the Moth's drummer perfectly described the band: "Welcome to Headbanging 101 with your instructor's, The Catalyst." The Catalyst then proceeded to break necks, and more than likely got drunk doing it. Rewind a few hours before, a front porch full of D.C. straight edge vegan punks, … Read more

End of a Season / Many Men Have Tried

Split
Refoundation (2007)

I've always enjoyed sampling international hardcore or punk. Sometimes it's nice to have a reality check. It seems like sometimes we're under the impression that hardcore is an expressively American creation or tradition, and though the genre certainly manifested itself in the states, predominantly, often times international bands have perfected it. I'd never heard of either of these bands before … Read more

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