Ex Friends
Rules for Making Up Words
Paper + Plastick (2014)
Ex Friends are a group of Philly area punks, recognized from their work in other bands. The band features Joel Tannenbaum (Plow United), JP Flexner (flyer artist), Audrey Crash, and Jayme Guokas. On their debut full-length, Rules for Making Up Words, they don’t let those previous associations get in the way, though; they embrace them. The project sounds like the … 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. It refreshing to hear from passionate artists - it says a lot about a band to not only take the time to release an album on their own, but also to send it off to be reviewed by the "elitist … Read more
Exitmusic
The Recognitions
Felte Records (2018)
What gathered my eyes about Exitmusic’s newest album The Recognitions was not any previous knowledge about the group, but a shared name of a favorite book by William Gaddis. Gaddis’s book borrows heavily from religious text, poetry, opera; even the name borrows from the Clementine Recognitions: a religiously gnostic narrative featuring the Apostle Peter told through one Clement.In the Clementine … Read more
Exodus
Let There be Blood
Zaentz (2008)
Why re-record your own album almost twenty-five years later? Some, including this reviewer, find the redundancy almost laughable, but yet it appears to be more and more common, crossing across all genres everyone from Dimmu Borgir to the Cowboy Junkies is doing it. The more mainstream of bands could certainly be accused of doing it solely for financial gain. After … Read more
Exodus
Shovel Headed Kill Machine
Nuclear Blast (2005)
We've all heard the stories. Someone leaves your favorite band and the remaining members have two choices.... carry on or pack it in. It doesn't mean shit to a tree why the member left - whether they were kicked out, quit, or had a bus roll over on them, the point is they're gone, and as popular as the band … Read more
Explode and Make Up
Some Kind of Diplomat
Underground Communiqué (2009)
Any band that names themselves after a Sugar song automatically wins major points with me. And it doesn't hurt the band's cause when you hear names like Dag Nasty and 7 Seconds batted around in reviews either. Explode and Make up features the singer of 88 Fingers Louie as well as members from The Bomb and The Suicide Machines. And … Read more
Explosions in the Sky
All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
Temporary Residence (2007)
To call Explosions in the Sky's new record, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, expansive would be a horrendous understatement. The guitars swirl around each other in a dizzying fashion that does nothing other than grip the listener in a strange catatonic envelope. On the outside, the individual looks completely serene and vacant while inside they are caught up … Read more
Explosions in the Sky
Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Temporary Residence (2011)
Explosions In The Sky proudly create post-rock music that, though sounding simple, is far from being simplistic. Consistency remains a key element in their vast, instrumental sound, comprised of atmospheric rhythms, lofty dynamics and the band’s ability to produce colorful, emotional soundscapes. Sonics aside, even the illustrious art works of each of their six studio album covers indicate the sort … Read more
Explosions in the Sky
The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
Temporary Residence (2003)
If Explosions in the Sky's previous LP, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever, could be called one thing, it would be called "derivative." Not that it wasn't an incredible record crafted by a band on top of their game, but let's be honest: it simply regurgitated ideas that the forerunners of … Read more
Explosions in the Sky
The Wilderness
Temporary Residence (2016)
It’s been five years since Texas post-rock outfit Explosions in the Sky released Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, which makes this the longest between-album gap for the band. Not that they’ve been sitting on their hands: They’ve been reliving their Friday Night Lights claim-to-fame years, writing three soundtracks for movies you’d probably only watch because Explosions scored them. There’s … Read more
Explosions in the Sky with David Wingo
Prince Avalanche Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Temporary Residence (2013)
The soundtrack for the 2013 film Prince Avalanche, created by instrumental rock group Explosions in the Sky in collaboration with David Wingo, has to be considered one of the most strange and potentially divisive albums in the band’s repertoire. Though the group gained notoriety when they were featured extensively on the soundtrack to 2004’s Friday Night Lights, the music used … Read more
Extinction A.D.
Faithkiller
Good Fight (2015)
Extinction A.D. rose like hellfire from the rubble of the, now listless, Long Island hardcore outfit This is Hell. In a rare move, the entire musical backing of This is Hell packed up and moved into the world of thrash, leaving the band’s lead vocalist in the dust. The result was Extinction A.D., an immaculate four-piece thrash metal juggernaut. The … Read more
Extinction A.D.
Plague Prophecy
Good Fight (2014)
A storm has ostensibly been brewing in Long Island, New York beneath the surface of the hardcore outfit This Is Hell. For those in the know, This Is Hell has been an East Coast staple for the better part of the millennium. Interestingly, the band had been bearing the teeth of metal and thrash in their later records, moving off … Read more
ExxoStack
Terramygdala
Independent (2022)
Instrumental progressive metal pretty much died out in the late 2010s, right? Wrong! While it can feel like that at times, there are still plenty of bands out there toying with the legacy of the genre in interesting ways. One of them is ExxoStack, on which I’ll be focusing today, particularly the latest record, Terramygdala. ExxoStack took off as the … Read more
Eye of Judgement
The New Crusade
New Eden (2006)
Let's face it, since the departure of Earth Crisis in 2001, there hasn't been a prevalent force in the vegan straightedge scene. I suppose Undying made an attempt at it, but with constant lineup problems and a lack of touring, they never quite got on track. xMaroonx also had a shot at it, but they really haven't toured outside of … Read more
Eyehategod
Eyehategod
Housecore (2014)
With their first full-length album in 14 years (save for an EP of sorts in 2005 and a 7" in 2012), it's almost one's gut instinct to remark that Eyehategod haven't missed a beat in all that time and sound as lethal now as they did on 2000's Confederacy of Ruined Lives. However, to gloss over those nearly 15 years … Read more
Eyes Averted
Eyes Averted
Independent (2009)
Eyes Averted return with a four-song EP that the band is once again self-releasing, something they're used to after self-releasing their debut album back in 2006. These four songs continue the band's display of technical abilities but with a slightly different approach than what was displayed on their debut. The four songs still boast a technical hardcore sound akin to … Read more
Eyes Averted
Paralyzing Passion and Motion
Independent (2006)
It seems strange that a band like Eyes Averted would end up having to self-release their debut album. Before Paralyzing Passion and Motion was completed, the band was abruptly dropped from their label. Why would this happen? What acceptable excuse could there possibly be? The technical, almost progressive, hardcore style the band embraces has reached a level of popularity that … Read more
