Review / 200 Words Or Less
Fried Egg
Back and Forth 7”

Beach Impediment (2017) — Nathan G. O'Brien

Fried Egg – Back and Forth 7” cover artwork
Fried Egg – Back and Forth 7” — Beach Impediment, 2017

Fried Egg is hardcore punk band from Central Virginia. They rule. But that’s not important. What’s important is that I can’t possibly listen to a band named Fried Egg without thinking about, well, not just fried eggs, but all types of prepared eggs. I eat a ton of eggs – fried hard, over-easy, sunny side up, scrambled, hard-boiled, poached, deviled, etc. I even had one of those “naked egg tacos” from Taco Bell, where they employ innovative techniques like using a fried egg as taco shell. (Just kidding, that’s a total lie. I haven’t had anything from Taco Bell since what is commonly referred to by those in attendance as “The Black Tar Incident” back in ‘04.) But you know what I’ve never had? A scotch egg. I feel like an idiot admitting this, but truth is I didn’t even know what a scotch egg was until a few days ago. On the off-chance that you, the reader, might not know what a scotch egg is that I feel like I should really quickly tell you. And even if you do already know, it’s worth revisiting just for the sake of sheer absurdity if anything. So here it is: A scotch egg is a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, covered in bread crumbs, and then deep-fried. Are. You. Kidding. Me? 

Fried Egg – Back and Forth 7” cover artwork
Fried Egg – Back and Forth 7” — Beach Impediment, 2017

Recently-posted album reviews

Contention

Nuclear Summer
Daze (2026)

Contention, I would argue, has spent the last few years at or near the top of the heap of the return to 90's styled Straight Edge Metalcore. I am being specific because there is no mistaking Contention's influences nor their message. This is a STRAIGHT EDGE band that is far more indebted to Morning Again that anything that uses a … Read more

A Secret Revealed

The Ruin I Summoned Forth
Lifeforce (2026)

There are albums that use heaviness as an assault and others that use it to create an atmosphere. On The Ruin I Summoned Forth, A Secret Revealed manage to does both. The German quintet’s fourth full-length is an enormous, bleak piece of post-metal, but calling it post-metal only gets you part of the way there. Black metal cuts through its … Read more

Time Spent Driving

Lost Leaves
Thirty Something Records (2026)

There's a particular challenge facing bands that came out of the late '90s and early '00s emo scene. You can recreate the sound people remember and risk becoming your own nostalgia act, or you can abandon it entirely and risk losing whatever made the band matter in the first place. Time Spent Driving choose neither on Lost Leaves. More than … Read more