“There Can Be No Dispute That Monsters Live,” contains the overall message of The Sounds of Animals Fighting‘s Lover, The Lord Has Left Us…, in a very They Might Be Giants meets a 60 year-old guy in a Haight Street café, still drumming on his bongo from the days of LSD and flowers in your […]
The veteran Delaware quintet, Boysetsfire have been through the mandatory ups and downs of every conscious rock band teetering the line between independent realism, and major label grandeur.
Is it just me, or is Equal Vision the new Vagrant? The bands that are getting signed on this label are becoming less and less amazing and more and more predictable, essentially adding to the mediocrity that is infecting the current state of music. I’m not saying that the latest release from Chiodos titled, All’s […]
Bear Vs. Shark is unique, experimental, emotional and honest. They strive to be set apart from corporate-driven, financial ideals and to be heard without discrimination through unfiltered ears. Their newest album, Terrorhawk, encompasses every intention to be set apart from the social norm, and to be as diverse as humanly possible.
Converge is an acquired taste. It’s heavy, aggressive and loud. And for those who like that sort of thing, the re-release of Petitioning the Empty Sky, originally released in ’98, comes as a welcomed addition to most up-to-date metalcore collections.
The most liberating thing in the world to me is when a song reaches a climax that deserves a few words sung into an invisible mic. It is that moment of lost control, which provides a welcomed freedom. Emo usually features that loss of control in small bursts that reflect the genre’s definition. With Circa […]
I think that someone out there should develop software so you can remove the vocals on a CD. Maybe something like that already exists, but my version of the software would have genre specific buttons in my neat computer window. My buttons, creatively designed, would be labeled: “eliminate whinny suburbanite punky voice, click here” and […]
A bold and solid sophomore release from New Jersey’s Armor For Sleep, What To Do When You Are Dead packs a mean punch in pop-punk’s stoney mug with a killer concept album. The title pretty much says it all: an ongoing reflection of regret and disappointment in the afterlife. Make no mistake, though, this is […]
This is a first release. Not the worst, mind you. This is hardcore. Not the best, mind you, but not bad. The musical structure is impressive. The guitar licks—believe it or not—could have been Murder City Devils songs. In other words, this is NOT your grandpa’s idea of hardcore. It’s got a sense of southern-rock […]
A Celebration of an Ending couldn’t be a more fitting title for San Diego quartet Before Tomorrow’s Victory Records debut. Riding on the ragged coat-tails of the post-hardcore movement, the band’s penchant for inappropriately drawn-out guitar clutter and the singeing vocals of Victor Fuentes burn any chance of success. Fuentes’ voice is smeared over the […]
