VNV Nation
Matter + Form
Metropolis (2005)
In my experience there are generally three kinds of album. The first, and most commonly encountered, is the one that has little musical merit. The second, and less ubiquitous, is one that has good songs and forms a combined piece. The third and final is the most rare of all. That is, the album made from good songs that have … Read more
Voice Of Ruin
Self Titled
Heimathome (2011)
Believe me, I love oldschool thrash metal as much as the next person--give me early Metallica or Death any day of the week and I will gladly headbang hard enough to lacerate passers by with my hair. And that's all Voice of Ruin seem interested in on their self-titled release: pure, unadulterated thrash metal with death metal highlights. I commend … Read more
Voices
An Audience Of Mannequins
Church Road Records (2021)
The British prog-death metallers from Voices are back with some fresh material. It’s not much, but it’s something to hang on to until their next album. Formed alongside Akercocke, by some of their members, Voices deliver an interesting take on the genre and are definitely one of the better representatives of the niche. They’re also one of those criminally underrated … Read more
VoidOath
Ascension Beyond Kokytus
Cognitive Discordance Records, Cursed Monk Records (2022)
Four piece doom/sludge/death metal outfit VoidOath crawled their way up from the nether realms of San Jose, Costa Rica in 2018. In May 2020 they released a three track EP entitled Illumination Through Necromancy, a 30 minute taster preparing us for the abysmal horror doom of this debut full length album Ascension Beyond Kokytus. Kokytus translates (by the power of … Read more
Voivod
Katorz
The End (2006)
As tragic as it was, the death of founding member and guitarist Dennis "Piggy" D'Amour in 2005 was not the death of Voivod. The final nail in the coffin was hammered with the departure of Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault fifteen years ago. Although songwriting and arrangements were always credited to the band as a whole, the void left in the overall … Read more
Volcano Choir
Unmap
Jagjaguar (2009)
In the last two years Justin Vernon became a household name of sorts. Firstly it was under the pseudonym Bon Iver. Secondly it was indie rock stardom, which is similar to being Brian Dennehy. Who while a great actor in his own right is generally left to do cameos and if you were to quote him at the dinner table … Read more
Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!
Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!
Polyvinyl (2004)
Over the past 2 years, the exclamation point has become more played out than "Hey Ya!" has over these past couple months. The exclamation point is used to show urgency, uprising, excitement. Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!, like Stop It!! the previous year, manage to avoid all three of those in their debut record. What you'll get with this record is … Read more
Volcano!
Paperwork
The Leaf Label (2008)
Now, I am an extremely misanthropic individual. I generally enjoy disliking things (and people) almost as much as I enjoy liking them. There is a perverse pleasure in mild hatred, a smug sense of self-justification when you can hover above the morons of this world and curl your lip in distaste at their floundering attempts at humanity. When this is … Read more
Volt
Rorhat
Exile on Mainstream/Southern (2006)
There are a lot of bands out there that sound like nothing more than the sum of their influences, without adding anything particularly interesting to the mix. But then there is a rare breed of band whose influences are obvious, yet at the same time, manages to produce something compelling in its own right. Volts, a three-piece hailing from Chemnitz, … Read more
Vow
Kind Eyes
The Native Sound (2016)
LA has been spoiling us lately: Bleached, Deap Valley and Warpaint are just a few of the bands that have been releasing stellar new material. These bands, like so many other musicians, use the fragments of past relationships as a springboard for putting chords and words on record. They all deliver their seething rebukes with the grittiness and determination necessary … Read more
Vultress
Distance
Independent (2013)
Don't be fooled by the naïvely inconspicuous visage; Vultress are the real deal, and their debut release Distance has emerged out of nowhere to become one of the most surprisingly proficient progressive albums this year.Actually, what's most remarkable about Distance is just how unremarkable it is. For an album that leaves an unforgettably positive impression, it's surprising to realize that … Read more
Waco Fuck
Paranoia is Total Awareness
Life Is A Rape (2008)
Anger is a gift, at least when making music. Some really manic but great recordings have been borne out of huge amounts of frustration and anger. Waco Fuck are one seriously angry sounding band. Spend enough time listening to this and you will realize just how much. The album is called Paranoia is Total Awareness and the record label is … Read more
Wait in Vain
Demo
Independent (2005)
Wait in Vain was a band that featured ex-members of Trial and Champion who released a four-song demo back in 2005. A substantial buzz grew over this band and the band planned to release a full-length in 2006 with State of Mind Recordings. Sadly Wait in Vain ran into a problem that plagues many bands; they couldn't secure a drummer. … Read more
Wait in Vain
Seasons
Think Fast! (2008)
When you look at the list of previous ventures from the members of Wait in Vain, it's hard to not get excited. Frontman Timm McIntosh was a founding member of Trial, as well as spending some time with Champion. Bassist (and now guitarist) Roger Kilburn was in Sinking Ships among others, guitarist Chris Jacobsen did some time with Set Your … Read more
Wake
Devouring Ruin
Translation Loss (2020)
Wake started out as a grindcore act with a lot of Nasum influences. Nasum being one of my favorite grind bands that was never a big issue for me. It did not take very long to find a voice of their own though. The band added more and more sludge influences on each release. An odd combination, but it worked … Read more
Wake
Misery Rites
Translation Loss (2018)
Wake is a Canadian grindcore act. One of those grindcore-acts that have taken care of me not growing tired of the genre. The unrelenting speed and anger are good fun, but can get a bit samey fast. This is where the great bands differentiate themselves from the mediocre ones: they know how to keep things interesting. Wake is one of … Read more
Wang Wen
Invisible City
PELAGIC RECORDS (2018)
China isn’t the first country you think of when it comes to rock music but over the last two decades, Wang Wen has been placing their home on the musical map and in Invisible City the band brings a range of new emotion to their instrumental work. Wanting to record something warmer than the previous record, Sweet Home, Go!, the … Read more
War
At War For Youth
Sacred Bones (2012)
Debut 7”, At War for Youth (the band has also released a split cassette) seems totally off-putting. It’s brash, terribly lo-fi, and haunting. There is a strong, almost mesmerising quality that springs forth from its murky depths of whatever genre you might classify it as. And to make it easy on you, let’s just say its post-punk/lo-fi/electronic/no-wave whatever music.Akin to … Read more
