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Reviews by Michael

588 total search results — Page 24 of 30

Smartbomb – Diamond Heist

Review — January 14, 2009

Smartbomb return with their debut full-length, Diamond Heist, following the quite promising debut EP Chaos and Lawlessness. The band's first long-player is packed with more of what we heard on the EP, fast-paced punk with a melodic twist. Diamond Heist kicks off with "Barely Legal." First and foremost, you are …

Dead Vows – Bad Blood

Review — January 26, 2009

Bad Blood is the debut effort from Swedish hardcore outfit Dead Vows. This release is my first exposure to the band, though I am familiar with one member's other group - Anchor. Dead Vows serve up eleven tracks that whip by in just about a half-hour's time. "We're All Judas" …

Unreal City – Ephemeral Subsistence

Review — January 26, 2009

Cities like Boston, San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles get a lot of attention when it comes to hardcore. And it's not that it isn't deserved, they turn out a ton of quality bands. But there are other cities to keep tabs on as well... Pittsburgh is one of …

Bad Lovers – Four Bad Lovers Sitting in a Tree

Review — February 1, 2009

Bad Lovers is a new project from members of Restrained. This Los Angeles-based punk outfit offers four songs on their demo recording. Musically, I am reminded of The Jesus Lizard, Sonic Youth, late Black Flag, and other noise-punk outfits. You've got that down and dirty approach to punk with droney …

Timber – 2008

Review — February 1, 2009

Hailing from Maryland, Timber is a hardcore outfit that plays an interesting style of the genre that reaches beyond the typical sounds associated with the genre. They've got the fast and aggressive riffs and the coarse screaming you'd expect. But they also incorporate melodic and post-hardcore elements into their songs …

Caestles – We Have Built a New God

Review — February 1, 2009

Caestles is a six-person conglomeration of two bands that have fused together to form one entity. And when you listen to the band's self-released EP, We Have Built a New God, this makes perfect sense. The four songs that comprise this EP takes equal parts atmospheric and electronic-based indie/rock and …

Gray Ghost – Gray Ghost

Review — February 1, 2009

Copper Lung Records strikes with another great find in Atlanta, GA's Gray Ghost. The five-some melds together atmospheric post-rock, meandering drone-metal, and dissonant hardcore on this, their debut offering. This 10" has five tracks that'll please fans of Isis and Cult of Luna but also will draw in some hardcore …

Murder Practice – Prophecies of Doom

Review — February 1, 2009

Bay Area stalwarts Murder Practice return with their second full-length, this time they've abandoned the world of plastic and CD's for vinyl (each record comes with a free digital version of the album). Prophecies of Doom shows significant growth for the group as they've matured and left behind the more …

Eyes Averted – Eyes Averted

Review — February 1, 2009

Eyes Averted return with a four-song EP that the band is once again self-releasing, something they're used to after self-releasing their debut album back in 2006. These four songs continue the band's display of technical abilities but with a slightly different approach than what was displayed on their debut. The …

Like Wolves – Like Wolves

Review — February 1, 2009

Like Wolves is the latest product from the upstate regions of New York - Rochester/Buffalo/Syracuse. This record is the band's demo recording pressed on a limited silk-screened 7". What you get from Like Wolves is fast and aggressive hardcore with metal-tinged accents. The music is somewhat gritty and the production …

Bitter End – Bitter End

Review — February 1, 2009

Texas hardcore powerhouse Bitter End return with a brand new 7" EP. You get two brand new cuts of punishing New York-flavored hardcore on this limited vinyl release. Following a short intro track "Purgatory" slams you in face like an unexpected punch. You get clobbered with searing riffs and throaty …

Sakes Alive!! – Act I

Review — February 1, 2009

Rochester, NY hardcore/punk outfit follow-up their impressive debut EP/demo with a series of 7" releases. Act I is the first in said series and features three brand new tracks. Led by guitarist/vocalist Chris Vandeviver, Sakes Alive!! deliver the goods yet again with these three songs. "I'm Religious" is jamming punk …

Energy – Invasions of the Mind

Review — February 8, 2009

Massachusetts' Energy is a band that showed great promise with the 2007 EP Punch the Clock. The band's fusion of the classic punk sounds of The Misfits and Ramones with that of more modern punk and hardcore outfits like A.F.I. and Ignite brought them a lot of attention. But with …

Lords – Fuck All Y'all Motherfuckers

Review — February 9, 2009

It's been an interesting road for Lords since their formation by Chris Owens about five years ago. Initially boasting members of underrated The National Acrobat and other notable Louisville groups, from the get-go the band delivered an unrelenting concoction of noisy hardcore that the city's scene is often noted for. …

This Will Destroy You / Lymbyc Systym – Field Studies

Review — February 17, 2009

Split recordings are almost always unique projects in some aspect or manner; I particularly enjoy them when there is an artist involved that I'm not too familiar with. Field Studies is one of those occasions. The two parties represented - This Will Destroy You and Lymbyc Systym - came up …

Mouthpiece – Can't Kill What's Inside: The Complete Discography

Review — February 18, 2009

There are many names - bands, labels, zines, promoters, etc. - that instantly come to mind when one brings up the 90's hardcore scene. Groups like Lifetime, Earth Crisis, Unbroken, Integrity, Quicksand, 108, Strife, etc. and record labels like New Age, Revelation, Edison, Victory, and Equal Vision all spring to …

Ramming Speed – Brainwreck

Review — February 18, 2009

Boston-based Ramming Speed burst onto the scene with their debut 7" in 2007. The EP followed suit of the crossover/thrash revival that had recently begun to sweep our nation. But don't write these fellows of as a knockoff, Ramming Speed is the real deal and the thirteen songs found on …

Above this Fire – Last Ones

Review — February 23, 2009

It's been over three years since Above this Fire released their debut full-length, In Perspective. Since that recording the band has grown immensely as songwriters, something that is evident when you listen to the two albums back to back. The band's growth and evolution since their initial recordings is something …

Killing Kings – ...The One You Feed the Most

Review — February 26, 2009

Killing Kings 2007 release Delusions of Grandeur was an under appreciated gem of 90's inspired hardcore. It was equally as destructive as it was thought provoking. The album was a combination of bruising metallic hardcore and searing metal that often had me dreaming of dance-floor incited frenzy sing-alongs. The album's …

Memorial – The Creative Process/Berlin

Review — March 12, 2009

Some of you may recall a band by the name of Renee Heartfelt. They were a fairly short-lived group that released an EP and a full-length before abruptly disbanding a few years back; an unfortunate happening as their 2005 release Death of the Ghost was absolutely stunning. Well, vocalist Pete …