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The Eradicator

Peak Eradicator
Say-10 (2019)

Hoo boy! What am I really supposed to say to introduce The Eradicator. The concept is based on a Kids in the Hall sketch, and it definitely draws some inspiration. But it’s also hard to picture the small stature, screeching Bruce McCulloch character being into this style of hardcore. He seems more like an Iron Maiden kind of guy to … Read more

200 Words Or Less

Earth Mother Fucker

I Fuck Therefore I Am
Antigen Records (2019)

Calling your band Earth Mother Fucker is a statement in and of itself, and having the audacity to go for such an aggressive sounding moniker should stand a project in good stead for the coming years. Should. For this wildly named band, the lights of the stage were few and far between and despite existing for just over a decade, … Read more

Butcher

666 Goats Carry My Chariot
Osmose productions (2020)

Bütcher takes you on an epic journey to a parallel universe. A universe that is very similar to ours. A universe where cars are referred to as chariots. A universe where we do not mention horsepower, but talk about goatpower. And Bütcher is here to introduce their new ride! Sorry, was that too corny? I know, I can’t help myself. … Read more

Wrekmeister Harmonies

We Love To Look at the Carnage
Thrill Jockey (2020)

Wrekmeister Harmonies style is one that is hard to pin down and give a definitive name, yet the duo of JR Robinson and Esther Shaw do create music that is beautifully intimate and stark in equal measure. Latter day works are much more stripped back and streamlined, a change from the huge swells of sound that coloured earlier works and … Read more

Body Count

Carnivore
Century Media (2020)

You couldn't keep them on their leash forever, and now that they're back on the streets, it's either ride or die with Ice-T's and Ernie C's hardcore thrash revival, Body Count, and their seventh album, Carnivore. Body Count are well into the second leg of their career, having jump started the group's black heart with 2014's Manslaughter, following an initial … Read more

Pearl Jam

Gigaton
Republic (2020)

In a culture of such immediate gratification, immediate information, and immediate reaction, seven years is a long time to wait for an album. Seven years in a country that’s seemingly seen more regression than growth can make the wait for relief seem twice as long. The upside is that the relief can also seem twice as invigorating once it arrives. … Read more

Jonathan Hulten

Chants from Another Place
Kscope (2020)

It is always interesting to see well established artists step out of their comfort zone, attempting to broaden their horizons and produce something novel. Jonathan Hulten has taken such a turn once already, when his main band Tribulation departed from their early, death metal drenched style and stepped into a forward-thinking heavy metal bliss. Incorporating everything from black metal to … Read more

Regarde

The Blue And You
Epidemic Records/Through Love Records (2020)

The mind is a wonderful thing. Memories can be triggered by different stimuli. If you have ever watched The Chef's Table (a series about the chefs and their motivations to do what they do best) you will have seen many chefs confess they make food that reminds them of the food they ate in their youth. And that eating that … Read more

Wolf-Face

Still Golden
Say-10 Records / Gunner Records (2019)

Teen Wolf itself is goofy but with some surprisingly poignant metaphors. Wolf-Face is the same, straddling its own bizarro stance between cartoonish monsters, high school, adolescence, melodrama and real, honest emotion. I didn’t expect to like Still A Son of a Bitch in 2013, but I did – quite a bit, really. The band is built on a gimmick: that … Read more

Bad Year

My Escape
Snappy Little Numbers (2019)

Snappy Little Numbers make some snappy packaging. Cover art, one-sided vinyl and specialty colors shouldn’t drive musical decision-making but, let’s face it, in the digital era it definitely makes a difference when you pick up a record that stands out from the pack. And as an uncle who has spent a lot of time watching Ninjago and making internal judgments … Read more

Bernays Propaganda

Vtora Mladost, Treta Svetska Vojna
Moonlee Records, Geenger Records, Pop Depresija, Ill in the Head, Balkan Ve (2019)

Nothing is certain except that everything will change. The fact that change is one of the only things you can count on in life is sometimes hard to deal with. Some bands present you a different nuance of the same sound on each album, which can result in the complaint they release the same album again and again. Some bands … Read more

Envy

The Fallen Crimson
Temporary Residence (2020)

I doubt that many musicians would claim to not be slightly jealous of Envy's career trajectory. From humbler beginnings as a hardcore band singing in a non-native tongue, to issuing splits with the likes of Thursday and Jesu, releasing albums through Stuart Braithwaite's Rock Action, and palling around with Steve Aoki, they've been met with almost universal acclaim and success … Read more

Black Lips

…Sing In a World That’s Falling Apart
Fire Records/Vice Records (2020)

In an era of heart-on-sleeve Americana, the Black Lips are up to something else on …Sing In a World That’s Falling Apart. Black Lips approach Americana in this record in half parody and half serious mode. It embraces the ugly with their tongues sticking out instead of buried in their cheek. The record takes traditional stylings, music-wise, and piles the … Read more

(මහසෝනා​)​*

යන්ත්‍ර.මන්ත්‍ර.ගුරුකම්!
Virvpi Propaganda (2020)

Given that I’ve put together year-end lists of the strangest albums I heard for the past couple years, I was pointed to this release coming out of Sri Lanka. It’s by a band with no name (the only representation of the group is the image of Sri Lankan demon Mahasona depicted on the album cover), there’s no list of band … Read more

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