Review / 200 Words Or Less
Matadors
Flame the Whisper

Devil Doll (2007) Kevin Fitzpatrick

Matadors – Flame the Whisper cover artwork
Matadors – Flame the Whisper — Devil Doll, 2007

Yippeeeee! It's Matadors time! Plug it in and lets party like it's 1992! Yes, that's right. 1992! Forget those bands of way back when. Gas Huffer. Mother Love Bone. The Mono Men. All great bands that never had a tribute band

until now (zing!).

Fifteen years late, but who the hell's counting? Matadors work on Swedish time, baby. It's not their fault - nobody told them that the war's over, and Seattle lost. Hell, for all I know they're keeping it real and trying to do a Dave Clark Five impersonation. Christ, at the very least you'd think The Hives would have dropped by to tell 'em.

Don't let the ads or press fool you. Billing Matadors as "Stoner Rock" is not accurate. Unless Poison 13 ever counted as stoner rock. Nope, these boys are straight outta tha' garage and let me tell you their garages are a whole lot cleaner than ours. What does that mean? Well it means that Flame the Whisper is sixteen tracks of competent-yet-senseless Sub-Pop nostalgia for the kids too young to remember - and trust me this album isn't exactly gonna have them asking their slightly older uncle if they could borrow his Mudhoney collection. It'll bore them to tears and reinforce the apathy already coursing through their Skyy Vodka soaked designer-drug addled brains. So for heaven's sake, won't someone please think of the children.

Matadors – Flame the Whisper cover artwork
Matadors – Flame the Whisper — Devil Doll, 2007

Recently-posted album reviews

Pure Intention

Pure Intention
Independent (2026)

Pure Intentions is a hard hitting punk band first emerging in the Chicago scene in 2020. Since its formation by Joe Asshole and Tommy Volume, they have since added Judson Jones in 2024 to become its current standing trio. During that time, these guys have spread their gritty sound by touring the United States while gaining a strong following along … Read more

Exhumed

Red Asphalt
Relapse (2026)

There are few bands in extreme metal who understand their own lane as well as Exhumed. For nearly three decades, Matt Harvey and company have made gore feel theatrical, technicality feel fun, and deathgrind feel almost celebratory. Red Asphalt doesn’t rewrite that formula but weaponizes it, straps it into the driver’s seat, and floors the accelerator straight into oncoming traffic. … Read more

The Dumpies

Lub Dub
Dirt Cult (2026)

Ok full disclosure, I sung backups on (allegedly) three of these songs and one song is a cover (albeit a stretch lol) of a song I co-wrote. What can I say tho? I was a fan of The Dumpies from the get go, before we all became very close friends and constant tour mates! Dub music diehards might be a … Read more