Recent reviews

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

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

The Fire The Flood

Truth Seekers
No Sleep (2007)

The Fire The Flood hails from North Carolina, a state home to metalcore greats Prayer for Cleansing. Unfortunately, the music that makes up Truth Seekers is nothing worth mentioning in the same sentence as one of the purveyors of modern metalcore. Truth Seekers is comprised of thirteen tracks, of which only two clock in over the two-minute mark. Musically, the band delivers what best could be compared to Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child-era Norma Jean. There is a huge dependence on the metalcore breakdown. Each song on the album is centered on the predictable and well advertised "Oh my gosh, here it comes" breakdown. Why this release is even necessary is beyond me, I mean, I can't say that Norma Jean is all that special, but at least they were ripping off the original pioneers of technical mathcore. This is just a fourth-rate knockoff. Read more

Lewd Acts

Dark Days
Independent (2007)

Dark Days is a discography release that compiles the San Diego-based hardcore outfits previous material into one neat package. The … Read more

Mekons

Natural
Touch & Go (2007)

Some critics may think that their age gives them more credit and validates every opinion they have. I am on … Read more

One Starving Day

Broken Wings Lead Arms to the Sun
Planaria (2007)

Hailing from Italy, One Starving Day are a four-piece band that, at times, sounds more like ten or fifteen people … Read more

Municipal Waste

The Art of Partying
Earache (2007)

Municipal Waste likes to party. How do I know this? Well, there's the album title. Couple that with songs like … Read more

Breakfast

Six Packs Classic
625 Thrashcore (2007)

Westerners tend to love Japanese pop culture almost as much as Japanese kids love western (read: American) pop culture - … Read more

Browse our review archives

Review categories

200 Words Or Less

755 reviews

Book Review

43 reviews

Classic Album

25 reviews

Multiple Authors

300 reviews

Review

5052 reviews

Video/DVD Review

19 reviews

One from the archives

Killswitch Engage

As Daylight Dies
Roadrunner (2006)

Complain all you want about the state of modern music. Yes, we have to deal with fake soul like Maroon 5, fake screamo like The Used, and fake men like Panic! At the Disco. But it's still a remarkable thing that heavy music with abrasive screaming has become at least partially mainstream. You won't usually hear it on radio, sometimes not even hard rock radio, but record sales speak for themselves. People are gravitating towards metalcore more than ever before. Killswitch Engage is arguably the biggest band in this emerging phenomenon, right alongside Lamb of God. Whereas the latter mine Pantera's military-stomp territory, Killswitch Engage excel in two areas: brutality and melody. As Daylight Dies shows a band getting even better at their craft, honing their ability to write concise, … Read more

More album reviews

Under Pressure

Come Clean
Escape Artist (2007)

Winnipeg's Under Pressure is a dirty 80's sounding hardcore band with a dude singing like he's trying to hold in his bong hit for the longest time while gargling glass. Saying he sounds a little gruff is like saying the people that have smoked Pall Mall Non-Filters for thirty plus years are a little raspy. Musically, the band either goes … Read more

The Swede

And the Swede
Shoddy Merchandise (2006)

God bless Matthew William Kohnle. Kohnle is The Swede. While I'm not sure if the name is a reference to his nationality (or if he is in fact a root vegetable), this project is solely his. With the exception of some bass clarinet by Todd Knapp and some vocals by Mrs. Kohnle, all songs are written, performed, and even recorded … Read more

Foo Fighters

The Colour and the Shape (Reissue)
RCA (2007)

The Colour and the Shape was the Foo Fighters second full-length release, though it was the first album in which Grohl enlisted a full band to back him in the writing and recording of the album. Grohl gathered an ensemble of musicians to surround him for what would become the band's breakthrough album: bassist Nate Mendel of Sunny Day Real … Read more

Year of No Light

Nord
Crucial Blast (2007)

As our global society is brought closer and closer as a result of the Internet and other lightning fast communicative technologies, the influx and exposure of foreign bands and musicians continues to increase in frequency at an unprecedented rate; one label that has fully embraced this global mixing is Crucial Blast who bring the United States the domestic release of … Read more

Happy Mondays

Uncle Dysfunktional
Sanctuary (2007)

This review is dedicated to Anthony H. Wilson. Fuck Keith and Mick, Fuck the Toxic Twins of Aerosmith, and fuck Britney Spears. The greatest rock and roll survivor of all time is one Shaun William Ryder. Here is a man that hasn't made a penny since he was sued by his former managers, a man that helped introduce ecstasy into … Read more

Stalaggh

Projekt Misanthropia
Autopsy Kitchen (2007)

When John Zorn released his Kristallnacht album, it contained one track of sheer horror, anger, and sorrow all rolled into one. Entitled "Never Again," Zorn did his utmost to convey his interpretation of the "Night of Broken Glass." The track is essentially just that: over eleven minutes of the unbearable sound of glass shattering. Zorn even went so far, though … Read more

J Church / Flamingo 50

Split
Los Diaper (2007)

Oh J Church how I love you and your noisy simple pop-punk brilliance. And thank-you for doing a good cover of The Car's "Just What I Need." Flamingo 50, you on the other hand and side, are completely new to me and are apparently from the UK. You remind of a Screeching Weasel mixed with early Discount for a decent … Read more

I Rise / Soul Control

Split
Eightfold Path (2007)

This split 7" features two of the most exciting hardcore bands that have been hitting the fest circuit this Summer. Soul Control sounds like 108 mixed with Quicksand and it's all awesome. "Focus" is one of my favorite songs of 2007. This song just fucking jams in all its noisy post-hardcore brilliance. I Rise also play melodic post hardcore with … Read more

The Ergs! / Lemuria

Split
Art of the Underground (2007)

More of The Ergs for you. More pop-punk. More songs about girls and this time a rather decent cover of the 90's rock staple "Hey Jealousy." Lemuria are on the poppy side but a tad inclined to the indie rock thing with male and female vocals. Both bands give that "Aw shucks" feeling when you listen to them and that's … Read more

I Adapt

From Town to Town
Six Feet Under (2007)

When I think of Iceland I don't think of hardcore bands. Actually, I don't think I ever thought about Iceland for anything musically besides Björk and The Sugarcubes. I Adapt sounds nothing like that schizophrenic ageless midget but they do sound like The Hope Conspiracy and other Deathwish Inc. type hardcore bands. It's an emotional outpouring over pounding rhythms and … Read more

Attitude

Turn into Stone
1917 (2007)

Turn into Stone is a new three-song platter from the upstate New York hardcore band. "Turn into Stone" has decent Supertouch type intro that busts into a manic throbbing piece of melodic hardcore gristle to gnaw on for a couple of minutes. "Somebody Up There Likes Me" is a rocking little tune with a huge skate rock riff, which seems … Read more

Seasick

Awakenings
Brain Drain (2007)

Seasick play fast pissed off political hardcore with plenty of twists and turns to keep me interested. There are some nice little breakdowns and some Integrity-like guitar solos. It reminds me a little bit of the stuff that Ebullition was hawking in the mid 90's but a lot more fun and catchy. I could see kids that use their dogs … Read more

Barbara

Peger
Heart & Crossbone (2007)

"Peger" is transliterated Hebrew for "corpse" or "carcass," so you know what you're getting into here. But Barbara, a bass/drum duo, compares themselves to everybody from Lightning Bolt to Today is the Day, and I'll confess that the idea of an Israeli Today is the Day had me curious. Peger is a bizarre record, alternating between blizzards of distortion and … Read more

Tyvek

Fast Metabolism
Whats Your Rupture? (2007)

I got interested in Fast Metabolism after seeing it billed as "fast, loud and weird" punk rock from Detroit - three adjectives close to my own heart. Oddly enough, Tyvek isn't all that fast, loud, or weird, but they kick up a surprisingly enjoyable and inspired racket nonetheless. Tyvek play a simple, unaffected kind of garage punk, drawing comparisons to … Read more

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