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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)

The Killer

Better Judged by Twelve than Carried by Six (Reissue)
Organized Crime (2006)

If there is one hardcore band in Chicago that truly defines the conventions of "Chicago Hardcore," it is The Killer. The various musical backgrounds of each member leads to an interesting fusion of the heavier metalcore bands as well as Southern Rock, and even a bit of doom metal. Everything about this album is solid from the production to the songwriting itself. Undoubtedly, there is "tons of mosh" to be brought when The Killer play. Yet to the chagrin of Jason, you'll never see mule kicks at their shows, just pure wall to wall aggression. Topics from addiction, self-failure, and the Catholic Church are covered in this album's short, brutal, and pissed off duration. The vocalist is absolutely livid and sincere with every word, and the vocals come through clear and menacing. The guitar work transitions from the heaviest Integrity-style riffing into an even heavier groove-laden Southern rock solo. The guitar work makes me want to smoke weed - and I'm Straight Edge - that's how good it is. When it finally ends with the sludgy outro of "The King Is Dead" a cathartic feeling sweeps over the listener when they realize this isn't just a mosh band. The Killer … Read more

Multiple Authors

The Killer

Better Judged by Twelve than Carried by Six (Reissue)
Organized Crime (2006)

If Myspace, YouTube, and various messegeboards have shown me anything in 2006, it is that kids love to mosh. From … Read more

The Futureheads

News and Tributes
Vagrant (2006)

In late 2004, The Futureheads punctured the mope-heavy indie rock bubble with the delivery of their hyperactive post-punk debut album. … Read more

Crime In Stereo

The Troubled Stateside
Nitro (2006)

The lead off track on Crime In Stereo's The Troubled Stateside is titled "Everything Changes/Nothing Is Ever Truly Lost." This … Read more

Saviours

Crucifire
Level Plane (2006)

I had been listening to this record for almost three weeks trying to place the sounds and get some kind … Read more

Hard- Fi

Stars of CCTV
WEA (2006)

The preamble about Hard-Fi is something about DIY, self-financing, self-promotion and the dole. There's something about the middle-English wastelands in … Read more

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One from the archives

Needles//Pins

Needles//Pins
Dirt Cult (2021)

Needles//Pins have all the familiar elements of pop-structured punk. Yet, at the same time, it’s hard to distill their sound to a single scene or subgenre. It’s melodic; it’s gruff; it’s sing-along. But it’s not really angry, fist-in-the-air cynicism. There’s an uplifting vibe underneath the coarse offering that soars instead of cycles. Off the top of my head, there are shades of Dead Bars and maybe subtly Iron Chic in here, also while not sounding at all like those bands (though I think the case could be made for Dead Bars). It’s a tone that balances resignation with empowerment while centering around alienation.But that opening is probably too philosophical for anybody’s benefit but my own. This is post-Off With Their Heads punk, in that it’s peppy but littered with negativity … Read more

More album reviews

Neko Case

Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Anti (2006)

According to Playboy.com, Neko Case is the "Sexiest Babe of Indie Rock." Fortunately for the listening public, such a lofty title hasn't gone to Miss Case's head. "I'm not out to become Faith Hill," she says. "I never want to play an arena, and I never want to be on the MTV Video Music Awards, much less make a video … Read more

Hank Williams III

Straight to Hell
Bruc (2006)

Weak. Shallow. Lame. Insipid. All of these words have been used at some point (by me) to describe country music. I fucking hate what passes for country music today and thankfully, so does Hank Williams III. He knows that the crossover into pop music in the late eighties/early nineties signaled the death of whatever creativity or credibility was left in … Read more

Slayer

Eternal Pyre
American (2006)

It's been a quite wait for Slayer fans, who are as rabid as music fans come. We last heard new music from the metal masters on 2001's God Hates Us All. Well here in 2006 we have been graced - an ironic choice of words I know - with Eternal Pyre featuring a brand new Slayer song, "Cult." On "Cult" … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Aoria

If I Slow Down Everything Will Disappear
Independent (2006)

I love unsolicited review materials, especially when it's a band I've never heard before, and even more so when said band turns out to be surprisingly good. Aoria is a four-piece outfit from Sweden that plays rock music with the electro-pop influence of The Cure. The songs of this three-song EP are strongly written and the intricate composition of the … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Defcon 4

File Under Fuck
Black Box Recordings (2006)

A lot of bands claim influence from early hardcore favorites like Black Flag and Minor Threat. Nine times out of ten it is complete bullshit and nothing more than a marketing ploy - "We blend the intensity of Minor Threat with the brutality of Slayer and the social awareness of Catharsis." Actually that band sounds kind of sweet, but you … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Apiary

Lost In Focus
Ironclad/Metal Blade (2006)

Lost in Focus is the debut release from a Southern California five-piece know as Apiary. I listen to a lot of music, and have jaded fucking ears that just don't prick up the way they used to. It takes a good shot of aural Viagra to get my attention. My attention was grabbed not long into "Pain Is The Reason" … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Guiltmaker

Driven By Arms
Kiss of Death (2006)

Despite featuring ex-members of Combatwoundedveteran and Reversal of Man, Guiltmaker is distinctly less heavy than you might initially assume they would be. In fact the band does a fairly catchy take on the mid 90s emo rock/ post hardcore sound. Reminiscent of both bands like Rival Schools, Jets to Brazil and Jawbreaker, as well as uber popular present day acts … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Boris

Pink
Southern Lord (2006)

Initially released late last year on Japanese label Diwphalanx, Pink now finds a worldwide release through Southern Lord. It also see's the band at their scuzzy rock best. Similar in sound in many ways to their 2005 Southern Lord release, Akuma No Uta, but upping the ante considerably with tighter more memorable songs. Tracks like "Regardless it is not Separable" … Read more

Genghis Tron

Dead Mountain Mouth
Crucial Blast (2006)

Genghis Tron is something of an anomaly in the world of music. On their Myspace site they list themselves as Grind/Electro/Metal, which is a pretty disconcerting declaration to some. It sounds a bit off-putting, like a botched crossbreeding that has yielded mentally handicapped offspring in the form of songs that should have never been written. That's the way it usually … Read more

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

Etiquette
Tomlab (2006)

My initial experience with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (henceforth referred to as simply 'tones, to save me a fair bit of typing) was not an audio one. Rather, for sometime the only working knowledge that I had of the band was their lyrics which I read through after Soulseek dropped the ball and returned no search results. This, granted, … Read more

Paatos

Silence of Another Kind
Inside Out (2006)

Prog-rock is quite an unstable ground to tread upon. One uneven step can send you hurtling into the abyss of ridiculous pretentiousness. As Silence of Another Kind begins, Paatos is already dangerously close to losing their footing. "Shame", while aptly named, does nothing more than give the impression of a rather uninspired band that is simply going through the motions. … Read more

Multiple Authors

Ceremony

Violence Violence
Malfunction (2006)

Hate is a tough thing to grasp for many people. They say they hate, but I'm not sure I believe it because the term "hate" is like love. It's thrown about haphazardly and used in offhand comments and that makes it lose it's true, immensely dark and angry feeling. So when a band aims to go for hatred as the … Read more

Multiple Authors

Ceremony

Violence Violence
Malfunction (2006)

My buddy Dave said it best: "This shit makes me want to punch a whale." Ridiculous? Perhaps. But Ceremony's first full-length, Violence Violence is completely ridiculous. And I mean that as a compliment in every way. They released their Ruined 7" not too long ago and the hardcore hype train started a-chuggin'. You'd see kids in Ceremony hoodies and tees … Read more

The First Step

What We Know
Rivalry (2006)

Almost ten years ago the California hardcore band Chain of Strength asked, "Has the edge gone dull?" The edge hasn't lost any of it's sharpness but has transformed from a simple song written by teenagers in Washington D.C. in the early 80's to a positive filled jock rock by the end of the decade. The 90's itself was a scary … Read more

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