Somewhere between rock, stoner, sludge and noise, 30,000 Monkies manage to find a point of equilibrium and they are now unleashing their latest EP, Somewhere Over The Painbow. The malice of the Melvins merges with the spirit of Sonic Youth to bring four songs that will leave you stunned. With their furious sound, heavy riffs and relentless groove, this release … Read more
Buying compilation albums are like going to a family reunion. It starts with a sense of misguided obligation and ends with regret for ever having done so in the first place. A Perfect Circle's Three Sixty blessedly proves that ham-fisted metaphor to be all wrong. At first glance, it's a typical chronological affair, beginning with The Hollow from debut album … Read more
Who needs functioning eardrums anyway? A Secret Policeman’s Ball play post-punk indie music with new wave undertones, and there is only one volume their music should be played at: LOUD. The Tennessee band have a penchant for mixing pop-filled melodies with aggressive guitars and vocals that frequently turn into screams; what initially starts off as a song with sweet vocals … Read more
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
It’s been hard to believe that A Wilhelm Scream’s last full length, Career Suicide, was released in 2007. I’ve seen these guys live a handful of times since then, and they are anything but old news. No Idea definitely knew what they were doing by adding this headlining band to their roster. The amount of energy and spirit A Wilhelm … Read more
The history of A.M.S.G. (or Ad Majorem Satanae Gloriam, or For The Greater Glory Of Satan) is one that is filled with darkness and the actions of vocalist/guitarist Angelfukk Witchhammer are dubious to say the least (Mr. Witchhammer has spent some time in prison and wrote this album during a period of incarcaration) and yet the duo have found ways … Read more
Aaron & the Sea have come a long way from writing dinosaur-themed ballads. The Minneapolis band formed in 2008 when roommates Aaron Rice and Alex Brown started making music together, and later completed their line-up with the arrival of drummer Peter Leggett. Over a year after releasing their debut album Creature Creature the trio are back with their Cloak & … Read more
Aeon Zen is one of the more recent progressive bands to work its way up to massive critical acclaim. Grounded by sole permanent member Rich Hinks and a reputation for unorthodox compositions, the quintet released their third studio album in four years this January, 2013's Enigma.Right off the bat, there's no denying that their reputation is well earned--literally no two … Read more
Aeronaut’s Coronal Mass is one hell of recording, but just saying that does not a hint of justice to the overall quality of this release because I would be damned if I did not say that the packaging for this cassette tape is disgustingly awesome, and in truth, what ultimately makes the release is the music that takes up the … Read more
As a zine built on the foundation of loving AFI, it would clearly be remiss not to talk about their new record. We try to pretend that Decemberunderground and Crash Love never happened - the first rule of AFI fandom is.... - but it would be silly to think that AFI made it to Burials without having to go through … Read more
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
If the name Al Cisneros doesn't ring an immediate bell, his impressive résumé no doubt will. In addition to fronting the godliest (and highest) of all stoner metal bands Sleep, Cisneros has gained even more popularity fronting the offshoot stoner/drone rock band Om, as well as appearing in the recent doom metal supergroup Shrinebuilder. If none of that seems impressive … Read more
I'll admit, I'm a bit of a purist; though I didn't think it was a bad release, Black Gives Way to Blue always seemed to pale in comparison to Alice in Chains's earlier works. On some level, that's not entirely fair--without Staley, they are an entirely different band, and not necessarily even trying to recapture who they were before. But … Read more
Often an album comes along that defies all genre constraints and challenges your own perception on life and reality. Sometimes that album makes you delve deep within the self and question your own outlooks. Teethed Glory and Injury is that album. And oh, how it ravages your being.With Teethed Glory and Injury Altar of Plagues have created a work of … Read more
This review is part of my coverage of the 2013 Progressive Music Awards, on 3 September. Amplifier is one of the few bands in the small but noticeably growing post-progressive scene (proving, once and for all, that "post-" can be appended to anything). It's music that firmly falls into the progressive rock camp--you won't be at a loss for extended … Read more
Anathema's live performance had always been something special and their latter day music is built for an arena such as the roman theatre of Philippopolis and the accompaniment of the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra. Outdoors, under the stars and note perfect, Universal showcases the Liverpudlian bands' incredible atmosphere with a heavenly precision.Directed by Lasse Hoile, who has also made concert films … Read more
A lot has been said about Ancient VVisdom, not all of it positive, and for many just letting the music do the talking isn’t enough. Heck, it should be more than enough, because Ancient VVisdom’s second shot at the full length is a deadly and distressing thing of beauty. Deathlike does exactly what it says on the tin, and this … Read more
The debut album, Heart of Oak, for the Canadian extreme/progressive metal band, Anciients, is a fascinating one. And do not think that this is going to be your standard “progressive” band, where technicality is more important than feeling or substance. This band is an extremely difficult one to categorize so the term “progressive” is used here in a very vague … Read more
Looking for the SPB logo? You can download it in a range of styles and colours here: