Recent reviews

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)

Refused

Refused are Fucking Dead DVD
Burning Heart (2006)

A Reflection: The Death of Belief "We drove a few hours to get there. And when I got there, everybody in the band was in different places. I think David was probably talking on the phone to Vic. And Dennis was hanging out with Mike Fight. Angry. And you were all scowling, and, you know… Not getting along with each other. And you know, it was this ridiculous little basement punk show… Sometimes, punk rock is beautiful because it's a reflection of what life should be, in some ways. And sometimes, it's just a stupid clique for adolescents. This show was somewhere in between there. It wasn't, necessarily, the most beautiful and inspiring thing. We were talking about this before… Like, when it's time to die, who's ready to die as gloriously and nobly as the fact of our mortality demands? Who's ready for that? By the time you die, you're so exhausted and so beaten and so miserable that you can only die. And the night was tragic. I said it the whole way though, that it was tragic because punk rock didn't save our lives. It was tragic because the police beat us down and, you know, prevented … Read more

Path of Resistance

Can't Stop the Truth
Victory (2006)

Okay, Path of Resistance was a more hardcore project of Earth Crisis and their friends that convened the first time … Read more

Cross Examination

The Hung Jury
Organized Crime (2006)

Everybody's so political these days. Protesting this, boycotting that. Hell, there are more hippie protest songs out now then there … Read more

Exit the King

Exit the King
Independent (2005)

While most publications seem to avoid reviewing independent releases, I actually enjoy covering bands that aren't joined to a label. … Read more

Saves the Day

Sound the Alarm
Vagrant (2006)

It's been noted that the names of New Jersey's Saves the Day's records have been somewhat contradictory to the bands' … Read more

Dismantled

Standard Issue
Dependent/Metropolis (2006)

Gary Zon's blurb about the ethic behind Standard Issue reads something like, "a sarcastic take on the simplicity and emptiness … Read more

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One from the archives

Microwaves

Contagion Heuristic
Crucial Blast (2006)

I don't think I've ever heard an album come from this far out in left field and still come together flawlessly. The general consensus seems to be that you can either have a totally bizarre album or a catchy, cohesive album, but you can't have both. But Pittsburgh, PA's Microwaves is living proof that they don't have to be mutually exclusive. This band is obscure enough to impress all of your hip, indie friends, but at the same time, it's something you can actually sit down and listen to over and over. Microwaves has been called "no wave," but that doesn't seem to give a good idea of how they actually sound. The sound of Microwaves is a wacked-out whirlwind of skronky guitars (that sound like a more focused version … Read more

More album reviews

The Dick Cavett Show

Rock Icons DVD
Sony (2005)

My parents dug Dick Cavett, or at least I think they did. My dad certainly dressed enough like him - the rayon slacks, horrible monster-size lapel shirts, and maybe they spoke in a similar way too. I know, too, that like Cavett, my dad snuck a joint or two, socially of course. Still, who can really remember much about the … Read more

Avail

Dixie / 4 AM Friday / Over the James (Reissues)
Jade Tree (2006)

It's about damn time. Avail is a much beloved punk band out of Richmond, Virginia known for their blue collar style and attitude. They are the punk rock everymen. I can vividly remember my first Avail experience, as most people that I know can. It was 1998 (yes, I was a little late on the band). They were touring with … Read more

The Sea, Like Lead / Belegost

Split
Electric Human Project (2006)

It's a Saturday afternoon and I'm at present stuck at work flipping through a copy of the latest Alternative Press magazine. Good literature it isn't, an easy read between calls it is. This particular issue sitting in my lap contains a feature on the hundred bands that are going to be "taking over" in '06; i.e. rammed down my unwilling … Read more

Eagles of Death Metal

Death by Sexy
Downtown (2006)

The Eagles of Death Metal are back in action and are kicking all notions of a sophomore slump to the curb. Death by Sexy is thirteen tracks of sassed up garage rock that makes for the ideal Summer soundtrack. So pick up a copy of this album and plan a get-together, because if there is fun to be had, this … Read more

None More Black

This is Satire
Fat Wreck Chords (2006)

Have you ever heard a record for the first time and immediately received a feeling of comfort that you would normally get from an album you've been listening to for years? Every so often, you find an album that just "clicks" with you so well that you cannot deny it, and you know you will still be listening to it … Read more

Tool

10,000 Days
Volcano (2006)

Surrealistic imagery, lyrical lunacy, and musical fanaticism will always be the staples of Tool. Floating vocals amongst flares of guitars and some of the best drumming this side of Keith Moon's infamous demise. Tool albums all have the inescapable fact that they are Tool albums; they don't sound the same, but that they all sound like Tool. That Tool's brand … Read more

Jesu

Silver
Hydra Head (2006)

The truth needs to be said. The self-titled Jesu record was an almost masterpiece that topped many critics' and fans' top records lists last year (and was the #1 album of the year here at Scene Point Blank). So, Justin Broadrick (known for being the mastermind behind Godflesh and also for his part in early Napalm Death) and company have … Read more

Mouth of the Architect / Kenoma

Split
Translation Loss (2006)

When I started to write this review I wasn't really sure what direction this introduction was going to take. So I decided to let the album play on repeat and just sit back and in my chair and look outside at the rain. I closed my eyes and proceeded to relax, allowing the soft sound of the rain falling to … Read more

Angel Blake

Angel Blake
Metal Blade (2006)

The Crown was a good band; Angel Blake, not so much. Guitarist Marko Tervonen's decision to record a solo album seemed like an interesting move at the time. Writing all the music and performing all the instruments offered him the chance to really show what he was made of. Unfortunately, what he's apparently made of is the same milquetoast mediocrity … Read more

Rainer Maria

Catastrophe Keeps Us Together
Grunion (2006)

Finally. This record has taken forever to actually see the light of day. Rainer Maria is normally consistent (at least that is the way it seemed) with their time between releases. For those who are unfamiliar with the band, Rainer Maria is a three-piece based out of Brooklyn, New York by way of Wisconsin, and they play poppy indie rock. … Read more

The Sainte Catherines

Dancing for Decadence
Fat Wreck Chords (2006)

D-Beat hardcore is becoming a quite liked genre even outside of the shower-once-a-month hardcore cretins. Hell even one those little pukes in From First to Last was recently seen in a Tragedy shirt in a promo photo for their latest album entitled I Killed my Girlfriend with my Spiky $500 Dollar Haircut and then Pouted about it. D-Beat hardcore, for … Read more

Human Demise

Whitechapel Demise
xEnvy Recordsx (2006)

This review is an open letter to all the hardcore bands from the United States, consider yourselves called out. The next big thing in hardcore does not come to from the land of the free. Instead, Human Demise calls The Netherlands home. But these are not the quaint Dutch folk you see portrayed in cartoons. These guys are pissed off, … Read more

Loma Prieta

Our LP is Your EP
Inkblot (2006)

When it comes to jocking, there's no place better to be jocked than Northern California. This magical place is blowing up like an infirmary the day Ebola hits the streets. Their roster includes bands like Hella and Xiu Xiu, bands like Ceremony and Look Back and Laugh, bands like Funeral Diner and Bullets In, bands like Sabertooth Zombie and Burial … Read more

Mean Season

The Memory and I Still Suffer in Love
Indecision (2005)

It must have been over a decade on since I picked up Grace, the debut and what would be the last full-length from California's Mean Season. Out here on the east coast, they have been discussed in low voices and hushed whispers almost as if the band was some well kept secret. You see, Mean Season were around when Unbroken … Read more

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