A Storm of Light
Nations To Flames
Southern Lord (2013)
A band reinventing itself is not an uncommon occurrence, but a successful reinvention is, and the more drastic the shift, the less likely it is to succeed. There are some notable success stories, but let's face it, not every band can have the graceful chance of being, say, Anathema. One of the most recent bands to take the chance and … Read more
Agrimonia
Rites of Separation
Southern Lord (2013)
In this day and age, if you're going to write 11-15 minute songs about death, decay and other moribund topics you need to make damn sure that they're interesting. This is usually achieved with liberal doses of the left hand of doom sprinkled throughout the riffage. On this front, Agrimonia succeeds quite well, and without playing the doom card. At … Read more
Asbestosdeath
Dejection, Unclean
Southern Lord (2007)
If you are at all familiar with doom metal you should no doubt be aware of who Bay Area legends Sleep are, and how big an impact they had/still have on the genre. And you're most likely aware of the post-Sleep projects High On Fire and Om. But you might not necessarily know that Sleep had its humble beginnings in … Read more
Baptists
Beacon of Faith
Southern Lord (2018)
Canadian hardcore is a weirdly veiled style. Like Canadian politics, it is highly deferential, often distinctly so. This means it both blends in with previous hardcore styles at the same time it writes original sounding songs, and it sounds highly derivative and mediocre despite the musician’s individual skill. Split in so many contradictory directions, Baptists newest release, Beacon of Faith, … Read more
Baptists
Bloodmines
Southern Lord (2014)
Now that was intense! Having listened to the new Baptists full-length multiple times I still cannot get enough of it. The crust of Baptists is rapid and exciting, filled with violence and oppressed anger. The band from Canada is releasing their second album, Bloodmines, just one year after their debut album, Bushcraft, was out. And since everything seemed to be … Read more
Baptists
Bushcraft
Southern Lord (2013)
Crusty hardcore is making a sort of renaissance as of late. With more and more bands playing the basics and still more adding the style to their more broad repertoire it can make it harder and harder to pick a truly great example of the genre as opposed to a band that merely does it well.2 years ago Vancouvers' Baptists … Read more
BIG|BRAVE
A Gaze Among Them
Southern Lord (2019)
Big | Brave set out on a sonic journey influenced and inspired by diverse forces. For the band, on the one hand there was the elusive pull of their native Montreal post-rock scene, but on the other side there was the inclination towards the heavier post-metal and drone trajectories. It was this dichotomy that fuelled two excellent works in Au … Read more
BIG|BRAVE
Ardor
Southern Lord (2017)
I love music that expands as it moves as if it is pushing glaciers, building worlds, or splitting atoms. Music that is not meant for Sunday drives, lullabies, or backyard barbeques. Music that is meant to be listened too fully, as a whole, not in 2 minute pop biscuits, albeit I love that type of music as well. However, that … Read more
Bl'ast!
Blood!
Southern Lord (2013)
Southern Californias' Bl'ast are certainly not new by any stretch but possibly forgotten by most to the annals of time. Hardcore is a scene that attempts to treasure the past while forgetting certain standard bearers and originators as suits the times. Southern Lord has managed to unearth a forgotten chapter of hardcore history with this record of forgotten and remastered … Read more
Black Breath
Razor to Oblivion
Southern Lord (2009)
Holy Moses! Do you need a new recipe for a Molotov Cocktail of ROCK?! Mix one part Motörhead with two parts dirty, smelliest hardcore this side of Poison Idea. Shake vigorously. Then release it onto the headbanging masses. I am usually not into metal but when it is played with such vigor and with such a balls out attitude even … Read more
Black Breath
Sentenced To Life
Southern Lord (2012)
Black Breath came out of the depths of the Seattle hardcore scene about 6 years ago and released a sole demo before getting the eyes and ears of the infamous Southern Lord. Since then they have managed to make a name for themselves playing a well thought out mix of hardcore and classic metal (in this case meaning Motorhead and … Read more
Black Cobra
Chronomega
Southern Lord (2009)
Black Cobra have quite an impressive sound considering they're only a two-piece band consisting of a guitarist and drummer. The duo consisting of Jason Landrian on guitar/vocals and Rafeal Martinez (ex-Acid King) on drums do a pretty good job of delivering a strong sludge metal sound that remains consistent throughout on their third album, Chronomega. Already with two albums under … Read more
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
Burning Love
Rotten Thing To Say
Southern Lord (2012)
Leave it to Burning Love to provide an infectiously raucous soundtrack to 2012 (unlike so many of their peers and compatriots) full of the kind of riffs that in a perfect world would incite both vigorous head banging and the kind of massive circle pits that make people gape in awe at the sheer size of said circle pitting, and … Read more
Burning Witch
Crippled Lucifer
Southern Lord (2008)
Hot damn, where have you been all my life Burning Witch! Apparently, as Aaron Turner documents in his liner notes contribution for this two disc CD set (the special edition includes a download card to grab the band's demo and live songs while the Japanese version is a mammoth three CD set) entitled Crippled Lucifer, Burning Witch has "traveled the … Read more
Eagle Twin
The Feather Tipped The Serpent's Scale
Southern Lord (2012)
Sophomore albums are always an intriguing milestone for musicians and bands because they kind of serve notice as to how they react to people’s reception of their work (and that reaction ranges from full on ignoring critics and listeners alike and following their own directions to modifying and mass alterations to style and sound depending on what grabbed people’s ears … Read more
Eagle Twin
The Unkindness of Crows
Southern Lord (2009)
Gentry Densley is somewhat of a living legend in the metal world. Unfortunately I am not as familiar with his work in Iceburn as I should be, but I've known him as an indispensable part of the Southern Lord supergroup Ascend. Ascend took experimental metal to new heights, but his latest project Eagle Twin, while moving in a similar direction … Read more
Earth
Angels Of Darkness, Demons Of Light I
Southern Lord (2011)
What more can be said about Dylan Carlson and his outfit, Earth (and long time drummer Adrienne Davies), that probably has not been said many times over ad nauseum? Personally, Earth has become a touchstone and jumping off point for a ton of incredible music (Carlson and company certainly broadened my musical horizons and palette) while at the same time … Read more
