City Of Death is the third album from Polish noise makers Steamachine. Having dabbled in a few metal styles over their career, City Of Death has a heavy carnival influence to it which I have to say I really like. It's interesting just how much more sinister things sound when you pump eerie, jingly circus sounds amongst very dark, heavy, trash metal. Vocalist/guitarist Krystian 'Juras' Jurkiewicz makes some fantastic screams, grunts and generally unnerving noises as well as spitting out lyrics with venom (in English) with style. Their sound is big and busy for a four piece and each track has something different about it whilst in keeping with the carnival theme throughout the album. City Of Death consists of seven songs but with most of the tracks being over four minutes long it doesn't need to be any longer. Steamachine, would seem to fall under a few sub-genre banners such as groove, thrash, deathcore and nu metal. I'm pretty selective when it comes to nu metal as I am not fully on board with most of it however, Steamachine manage to blend this element with a mixture of other styles so the nu metal is not so in your … Read more
The opening track on Somehow, We Are Here is a statement. Yes, Faulty Cognitions is a punk band with members … Read more
Some bands are visual, yeah? You need to see them live, in person, to truly experience them. You need to … Read more
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What is it with the recent explosion of male singer/songwriters? Almost like buses, none show up for ages and then all of a sudden a billion swarm you and the one that everyone jumps onboard turns out to be James Blunt. And where have all the female singer/songwriters gone? It seems that when there is a rise in one sex playing guitar the other goes into decline and I, for one, am at a lose to explain why this happens. So it gave me a great joy when Bleeding Diamonds landed on my doorstep. Perhaps this was the change in fortunes that would lead to the return of the opposite sex. First things first, let's get it out of the way; Nicole Atkins is not the new Joni Mitchell. Now … Read more
Justin Pearson. The only person who you could hear Mike Patton say “Goddamn, that guy’s in a lot of bands”. And it’s true. The list of groups Pearson has been a part of reads longer than his lyric sheets. But within the myriad of music the man has released, Planet B is somewhat of an anomaly. There are synths. There … Read more
They’re calling Vial indie-punk on the press releases I’m seeing. That’s probably as fair a description as any, as the DIY punk band covers a lot of sonic ground. What’s impressive is that on burnout, their second record, that varied sound all feels unified. The 10 songs here go from indie rock to angry punk to grungy to bouncy but, … Read more
What I enjoy most about the Jesus and Mary Chain is arguably also their biggest flaw. The band’s slacker energy meets wall of feedback with a surprisingly melodic twist has always worked for me, but it kind of blurs together after a while. It’s kind of rainy day music – hence the classic “Happy When It Rains” off 1987’s Darklands. … Read more
Since the demise of Sonic Youth in 2011, Kim Gordon has stayed active through multiple outlets, through all of which she has rejuvenated her experimental outlook. Alongside Bill Nace in Body / Head, they have explored the no-wave aesthetic in its full glory, through minimalism and noise. But, it is also her solo project that has found Gordon at her … Read more
Somehow I never reviewed Viva Belgrado before, even though I have followed them since their debut album Flores, Carne. Somehow I was always a bit late to the show and thought: ok, this time I am too late, but next time I will catch this release on time! Well, the band just released their fourth full length and guess what? … Read more
DWNKILL are a band born of the monotony of the Covid pandemic which gave the band plenty of time to write, rehearse and perfect their sound. Hailing from Houston, Texas, DWNKILL are the brain child of identical twin brothers, Jesse (vocals) and Josh (drums) Rodriguez. Recruiting childhood friends Connor Clements (guitar) and Dylan McEwan (bass) their line up was complete … Read more
Since the 2010 release of her debut album, The Grime and The Glow, Chelsea Wolfe has steadily become one of the prominent figures in the dark intersection between gothic, doom, and folk. Not only has she amassed a discography without any true blemishes, but she has also transcended to other genres (in her collaboration with Converge in Bloodmoon: I) but … Read more
Sweat hit the ground running with their debut, working up a lather on Gotta Give It Up. Two years later, the California trio is back and they still seem plenty angry. Their second LP, Love Child may have a charming title but it has just as much fire as their debut. It follows a similar style while showing more nuance … Read more
With the billion or so punk subgenres and comeback cycles, it’s interesting to me that more bands aren’t playing this style of Crimpshrine-inspired East Bay punk. Popstar by Bad Idols is crunchy yet melodic. It’s generally pop-structured but with gruff and deeply personal lyrics. Let’s just say the word “I” is prevalent throughout this 12-song record. I’ll also add that … Read more
You know how most records start out with an absolute banger? It sets a mood, for sure, but it often feels like the band doesn’t top it as the full album plays out. I’m definitely not saying that The Sleeveens deliver a dud with the first song here, “Give My Regards To The Dancing Girls,” but I am saying that … Read more
Slumberland is one of those labels I note, but haven’t really dove into. The Umbrellas fit my expectations of the label’s sound though. It’s distinctly modern songwriting, but with a wave of sounds from yesterday. I’ll call this power-pop washed in the folk and psyche rock of the ‘60s, with a bit of twee and British invasion and dreamy indie … Read more
Rage meets dance-punk on Dublin four piece, SPRINTS’, first full length release. After a smattering of well received singles and a trail of blazing live performances, the group released their album following the success of their previous EP, A Modern Job. The Irish punk band’s star continues to rise in the good company of contemporaries Fontaines DC and Pillow Queens- … Read more
Canadian made horror/comedy Here For Blood sees Shawn Roberts (Resident Evil/Land Of The Dead/Diary Of The Dead) as Tom, a wrestler who helps his girlfriend Phoebe (Joelle Farrow) out by taking on her babysitting gig for a night whilst she studies for exams. What would appear to be a normal night of playing video games and eating pizza with Grace … Read more
Confession time: I was going to burn this record to the ground. I wasn’t writing a review yet, just listening to the album, but I had some really not nice things to say. And then everything changed. Why? Well, I decided to see if my problems with the album could be solved by playing it from another source. I thought … Read more
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