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
War From A Harlots Mouth
MMX
Lifeforce (2010)
War from a Harlots Mouth is definitely not new to the metal core or death core scene. They’ve been around a while, done tours, essentially put in their time. But, how has this experience shaped them when it comes to writing and recording? The blunt answer seems to be that it hasn’t in a big way.What we get is well-played … Read more
War On Women
Wonderful Hell
Bridge Nine (2020)
I owe War On Women an apology. This review was due months ago, but some shit circumstances came about and an unplanned hiatus was from Scene Point Blank was needed. The band deserved far better and I very much regret that I wasn’t around to give them the lauds and love upon Wonderful Hell’s release because had I been around … Read more
WAR//PLAGUE
On A Darker Dawn
Profane Existence (2012)
Minneapolis’ scene veterans WAR//PLAGUE have finally released their debut full-length LP On A Darker Dawn on Profane Existence Records. The recipe first displayed on their debut 7” single Smolder b/w Malevolent Winds and subsequent Attrition split LP with Police Bastard continues to evolve, albeit minor—then ‘n’ now comparisons show them veering in slightly different directions while still snarled up in … Read more
WAR//PLAGUE
Temperaments of War EP
Profane Existence (2014)
Over the course of their last few records these Minneapolis crust punk stalwarts have really honed their metal chops. I’ll do my best to avoid any “who put their metal in my punk” type of argument and just say, as someone who prefers my metalpunx leaning more to the punk side, I find Temperaments of War a little less intriguing … Read more
Warbringer
Waking Into Nightmares
Century Media (2009)
A little over a year has passed since the release of Warbringer's debut album, War Without End, an album which was solid, but didn't really have any lasting value. Imagine opening a time capsule and finding an unreleased Sepultura album from 1987, that was basically what War Without End was. Not saying it's a bad thing, but I felt the … Read more
