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Reviews by Michael

588 total search results — Page 15 of 30

Dirty Money – No Escaping This

Review — November 20, 2007

Dirty Money is one of the latest upstarts to emerge from the U.K. scene and take hardcore by storm. Dirty Money set forth a furious attack of fast-paced hardcore that draws great influence from the New York scene. No Escaping This features four new songs, all of which blend together …

Skeletonwitch – Beyond the Permafrost

Review — November 20, 2007

Skeletonwitch is the latest band from Ohio to make it to the big-time. These five dudes sport some silly names - Nate "N8 Feet Under" Garnette and Derrick "Mullet Chad" Nau for example - but the jokes end when they pick up their instruments. Beyond the Permafrost is twelve tracks …

Pulling Teeth – Martyr Immortal

Review — November 27, 2007

Pulling Teeth have quickly emerged as one of hardcore's most respected groups following their formation a couple years back. With a steady supply of releases coming in their short lifespan - a self-released demo, last year's Vicious Skin, and a split 7" with U.K outfit Frightener earlier this year …

Shipwreck A.D. – Abyss

Review — November 29, 2007

Let's be honest about things. Deathwish has hardcore locked down and Shipwreck A.D. is a key part of their commanding roster. After two self-titled 7" releases that have fueled the band with a fair amount of hype - which isn't always a bad thing - Shipwreck A.D. have brought forth …

Jena Berlin – Quo Vadimus

Review — December 4, 2007

Quo Vadimus is the sophomore effort from Philadelphia's Jena Berlin. Unfortunately, odds are that most of you reading this are unfamiliar with the group despite releasing an extremely promising debut in 2005. This, in my opinion, makes the title of the album all the more fitting. "Quo vadimus" is Latin …

Pet Genius – Pet Genius

Review — December 5, 2007

Stephen Brodsky is a shape-shifter. Throughout his musical career, the oftentimes-enigmatic frontman has been the main songwriting force behind numerous projects of all realms of music. He's tackled everything from metal and hardcore to acoustic and indie with Cave In, Kid Kilowatt, New Idea Society, The Octave Museum, and even …

Strangers – Weight

Review — December 11, 2007

Earlier this year Strangers really grabbed my interest with their four-song EP, Holding. On that release, five individuals from New Zealand delivered a devastating aural assault. So here we are a couple of months down the road and Strangers have unleashed their debut full-length, Weight, upon the masses. The album …

Kaada & Patton – Live

Review — December 13, 2007

Has it really been three, almost four, years now since Mike Patton and John Kaada released Romances? Apparently so! Live chronicles the first and only live performance of Patton and Kaada's music of Romances at the Roskilde Festival in 2005 on DVD format. The two constructed a band that …

Said Radio – Tidal Waves and Teeth

Review — December 17, 2007

The initial rumblings of Said Radio caused a lot of excitement in the punk/hardcore community, and for good reason. Rumors of Said Radio - though different names have been tossed around - began to circulate the Internet early in the year, but by mid-Summer Said Radio was officially unveiled. Eric …

New Atlantic – The Streets, the Sounds, and the Love

Review — December 19, 2007

Hmmmmmm. That's the sound inside my head when I popped in New Atlantic's The Streets, the Sounds, and the Love. That is the sound of deep contemplation on what exactly New Atlantic is trying to accomplish with their first full-length. Hmmmmmm. The sound continues as I make my way through …

The Narrows – Benjamin

Review — December 19, 2007

The Narrows have been a band for nearly nine years and yet this is my first exposure to them. And its not like they haven't been trying; the three-piece outfit from Bellingham, WA have released an EP or LP for nearly every year they've been a band. Benjamin is the …

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza – Danza II: The Electric Boogaloo

Review — December 19, 2007

This Louisiana/Tennessee metal conglomerate has a fairly funny yet juvenile name that is likely a huge hit with the faux-hardcore kids. But rather than live off of namesake alone, The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza can actually write a good song or two. Danza II: The Electric Boogaloo is the band's …

The Flash Attacks – Revenge of the Fruit Flies

Review — December 19, 2007

I know I've said this before, but sometimes a randomly received album can be a pleasant surprise. The Flash Attacks latest 7" release, Revenge of the Fruit Flies arrived at my door unsolicited, but you won't hear me complaining. Over the course of these four songs, the New Jersey three-piece …

The Catalyst / Brainworms – Split

Review — December 19, 2007

This split 7" features two up-and-comers from the hardcore punk scene of Richmond, VA: The Catalyst and Brainworms. Brianworms is up first with two cuts. "Winnie Cooper" takes to the less caustic sound we heard on the band's previous release. The song is a lot more indie rock than hardcore …

The Flatliners – The Great Awake

Review — December 19, 2007

The Flatliners hail from Toronto, Canada and The Great Awake is their second full-length. By the Fat Wreck Chords connection, you can certainly expect this, in the most general of descriptions, to be punk music. And sure enough, The Flatliners offer up twelve punk anthems to cause a ruckus to …

Don't Mess With Texas – Los Dias de Junio

Review — December 19, 2007

Don't Mess with Texas is my first exposure to any artist from the country of Croatia. Despite reading through their one-sheet, I was a little skeptical of what I might hear - some crazy gypsy folk perhaps? Nevertheless, Los Dias de Junio made its way into my CD player and …

Intronaut – The Challenger

Review — December 19, 2007

After the release of their debut full-length last year, Intronaut return with an EP containing three new songs and some added bells and whistles. The Challenger kicks off with the title-track and the members of Intronaut pick up where they previously left off with a fairly straight-forward display of metal, …

Xasthur – Defective Epitaph

Review — December 19, 2007

One-man black metal projects certainly have become overabundant in the past couple of years. I'm not exactly sure what brought on their increased presence in music, but nevertheless, their popularity has grown exponentially in recent years. Xasthur, which is the project of Malefic, has been releasing material under this moniker …

Romans – All Those Wrists

Review — December 19, 2007

Romans is the latest band to be sprung forth from Vermont's underground music scene - the last two that I recall are My Revenge! and Drowningman. So, these four gentlemen from Burlington are in fairly good company in that regard. On their debut release, All Those Wrists, the band unleashes …

Animosity – Animal

Review — December 20, 2007

Animosity has proven that metal can truly reign supreme again in the Bay Area. Following the initial burst of thrash metal that drew the attention of every person with long hair and a will to bang their head, the metal scene of San Francisco and its surrounding areas fell off …