AFI's trajectory over the last twenty and more years has been one that emulates growth and experimentation and the quartet that once sang about not being allowed a mohawk is now one that that sings about much darker, twisted subjects (although in more obvious terms than they once did). Still led by the effervescent Davey Havok, AFI are a band that peaked in 2003 with Sing The Sorrow, lost their way a little with the weird stadium rock vibe of 2009s Crash Love and came back to their darker elements with the delicious Burials in 2013. The Blood Album tries to take the high points of those two records to create an album that reflects a band that has been together for over two decades - the big singalong moments and the shadowy elements from the aforementioned pieces combine here to signal the band moving on and realising that actually, they should be making the kind of music they want to, and not what their rabid (and vocal) fanbase would like to hear. Of course, many of those fans would love The Art of Drowning V.2 but that's insulting and boring and the charm of AFI has always been in … Read more
With Help Wanted, California’s Civil War Rust aren’t inventing any new sounds but they’re delivering heartfelt, direct punk rock in … Read more
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Google Heihaizi and you will find a wikipedia entry telling you: “The term denotes children born outside the One child policy, or generally children who are not registered in the national household registration system.” Not exactly what I expected. I am not really sure what this name means for the band. Perhaps it just sounds cool to them. Perhaps they feel like unregistered children, people that exist, but are forgotten by the system. Who knows? Let's kick this review of with a few boring facts. Heihaizi is a band from Zagreb, Croatia. This self titled album is their debut album. It has thirteen tracks and lasts less then 18 minutes. Before Heihaizi the bandmembers played in Ekebuba. I must admit, that didn’t mean much to me. After checking that band … Read more
This split 7” from a US band and a UK band carries a surprisingly unified sound over its four songs, two from each band. The record starts with Raging Nathans and their whoa-oh pop-punk that sounds like it’s just a hair faster than it’s supposed to be – in a good way. Listening to their two songs brings a number … Read more
There is a lot of history in Code's DNA. When releasing their debut album, they were considered a type of supergroup, including members such as Vicotnik of Dodheimsgard and Aiwarikiar of Ulver in their line-up, as well as Kvohst, who would later become the new vocalist of Dodheimsgard. With an album such as Nouveau Gloaming it is fairly difficult to … Read more
Some bands just make things difficult for those interested in the band. Some bands do so by making complicated music. Need is not one of those bands. Need makes things unnecessary complicated by choosing a name that will not soon pop up after searching for it online. And by making a self-titled album they are not making the search much … Read more
It’s been a while since I thought about the Fat Wreck effect, where a band signs to the San Francisco label and then releases a notably “Fat styled” album. Propagandhi’s How to Clean Everything is the biggest example to come to mind, but it was a thing people talked about in the ‘90s. You know, besides talking about baggy pants, … Read more
Perhaps best known as the frontman of Vermont post-punk band The Static Age, Andrew Paley has never been shy about his penchant for playing solo acoustic songs. Where The Static Age's sound is sound is distantly confrontational and awash with the vivid colours of late nights, Paley's solo work has mostly been more reflective and vulnerable, like the sounds of … Read more
There is very little information available about who Enmeshed is, other than that they are a four piece band, releasing their debut album The Egesal. With an interesting setup, including electroacoustic guitar, drums (alongside drum machines) and tenor electric guitar, they like to blend diverse sounds, within an overall experimental extreme doom setting. Their vision for The Egesal is quite … Read more
Bad Sports are coming into their own. They’ve always been a solid Denton, TX hyphen-rock band but on their new EP, Dirtnap’s Living With Secrets, the nuances are starting to pull together a little more and the “influenced by” is harder to decipher. The first third or so of the record takes the commodified Denton garage-punk sound in a new … Read more
There is no pain so great as the memory of joy in present grief - that is how ancient Greek tragedians put it. Grief and beauty. Parallels between the literate wisdom, apocalyptic imagery, emotional and romantic density and weight in Cave’s oeuvre and the emissions of the ancient Greek are manifold. The expression of love that no pain can erode.One … Read more
It’s probably been a decade (maybe two) since anyone reviewed a NOFX record without starting out by talking about “knowing what to expect.” The band has their sound down pat and I’ll spare them the skatepunk adjectives except to say that new LP First Ditch Effort doesn’t change it up. The only shift here, if it is one, is that … Read more
The Melvins are becoming one of the most prolific bands of any in recent memory. One could speculate on the reasons for this, but ultimately it could probably be chalked up to the lack of constraints on their music.The Melvins can pretty much do whatever the fuck they want and Basses Loaded is no exception. Taking their revolving roster to … Read more
Mark Sultan has long gone by two stage names: his own, and BBQ (of King Khan & The BBQ Show). Most solo work has been truly solo: just Sultan, his guitar and his drums. That’s right: he’s a one-man band instead of a “singer-songwriter.” On BBQ, Sultan merges both names and both worlds.While I’m familiar with his work, for the … Read more
If you asked me how I feel about two-piece bands, I’d say I’m not really a fan. But there’s some disconnect as I find myself listening to quite a few of them, really. A lot of the time I praise the arrangement for their ability to find a full sound in limited instrumentation. With Hannahband it’s something different, an ability … Read more
Bloody Hammers hail from North Carolina and specialize in doom. The band was founded by Anders Manga, who remains the main songwriter and performer - recruiting others only for tours. Manga's partner-in-dirge is keyboardist, Devalia and while she has been with Manga since the beginning, it would seem she is poised to assume a larger role with the band's music.Providing … Read more
Gojira are an anomaly. Not because they're form France, though French metal is somewhat of a rarity - but Gojira are one of the few bands that have long held the respect of fans, peers and critics alike. This will not change with Magma, the band's sixth album. If anything, their ascension in this regard is most likely assured with … Read more
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