Never Got Caught- “Creepshow” released April 20th, 2009 on They Want More Never Got Caught is a band featuring Brian “Uzi” Hinkley, Bill Hinkley (ex-TREE) and Paul Dallaire. “Anyway” starts off with more of a Jane’s Addiction feel to it and picks up a bit of hardcore influence among other styles. It never really strays and vocals seem catchy. “Slipping Out” has decent timing between the guitar/bass and drums with a bit of Helmet/Green Jelly feel in the middle. “Bad Idea” has an interesting feel to it and possibly in the vein of Clutch and Helmet. Overall, it’s an [...read more]
Iron Age- “The Sleeping Eye” released August 4th, 2009 on TeePee Records Iron Age is a hardcore band from Austin, TX with a thrash metal influence that shows. “Dispossessed” has a decent early Metallica (Kill ‘Em All) feel with mildly-distorted guitar and pounding drums. Riffs are well structured and dark. “Burden Of Empire” continues the same influence but things pick up and it takes on a bit of Motorhead influence as well. “A Younger Earth” is more of the same influences and actually seems like the best of the three as well. The ending is space-y as well which [...read more]
Solid live interview with Vincent of Howl, an amazing new Rhode Island band, who just signed with Relapse Records and have released a killer eponymous EP. Hear about the band’s origins, the process of pinning down their brand of heavy, Vincent’s music background, a taste of their latest effort (now streaming on their MySpace), and news of what’s to come.
Piss>ed Jeans- “King Of Jeans” Released August 18th, 2009 on Sub Pop Records Described as a noise/grunge band with influences ranging from Black Flag, Fang, Flipper and Shattered Faith, among others. “False Jesii Part 2″ starts off with a definite Black Flag feel, especially on the guitars and has a decent crunch throughout that confirms their influences. “Request For Masseuse” has a similar feeling with just a bit of Flipper and Fang showing through in the structure. The drums in “Human Upskirt” flow along nicely with the guitar and bass. Overall, a decent album from a decent band. Can’t argue with their influences [...read more]
Believer – “Gabriel” Released March 17, 2009 on Metal Blade It seems as though all the classic progressive death and thrash bands have been reuniting lately to release new stuff. Cynic and Pestilence have already released albums and both Atheist and Watchtower have announced upcoming LPs. But what about Believer? Well, they are also back. Production-wise, this is, despite all of our technological advancements, a step back. There are some really great songs in there, but it’s such a thin sound. Aside from that, though, there are lots of cool things here. The different instruments sound great with lots of piano and synthesizers (and [...read more]
This Ending – “Dead Harvest” Released March 2, 2009 on Metal Blade This Ending was initially formed as A Canorous Quintet back in 1991 in Stockholm, part of the initial wave of Swedish melodic death metal bands. Though they came nowhere close to achieving the same fame as other members of the scene like In Flames or At the Gates, when they disbanded in the late ’90s, drummer Fredrik Andersson joined Amon Amarth and has stayed in their lineup ever since. This does not change the fact that this album appeals to just about every cliché surrounding melodic death metal, though. The catches [...read more]
Malefice – “Dawn of Reprisal” Released March 3, 2009 on Metal Blade The term metalcore has grown to have so many negative connotations it isn’t even funny, and this album doesn’t help. Sure, Malefice is not purebred metalcore (there’s quite a bit of In Flames worship in there), but they certainly show lots of it in their music. For the first few songs, I was very impressed. Track 1 has some of the coolest triplet usage I have heard. 2 and 3, despite sounding very similar, also kick ass. However, it’s really just a downhill spiral from there. Lots of the [...read more]
Dying Fetus – “Descend Into Depravity” released September 15, 2009 on Relapse These guys take the term ‘power trio’ to the next level, as they streamline down one member further from 2007’s War of Attrition, and recruit new drummer Trey Williams. This in no way hampers their ability to compose dense, claustrophobic death metal with well-written, incisive sociopolitical lyrics by bassist/vocalist Sean Beasley accompanied by haunting high-res glossy artwork by Orion Landau. You’ll need the liner notes, as the growls range from throaty to guttural with minimal enunciation. This may be a caveat for some, but they’re still effectively [...read more]
Black Anvil – “Time Insults The Mind” released September 1, 2009 on Relapse The blackening of metal has certainly become increasingly evident in recent years. Many mainstream-ish bands (particularly certain big names in Roadrunner’s roster) have worked in small doses on their latest output. Not to mention the broadening palette of American musicians like Wolves In The Throne Room, Nachtmystium, Absu, and Book Of Black Earth, who are helping add dimension to a traditionally stripped-down genre. This trio, Black Anvil, is better known for their work in the NY hardcore punk band Kill Your Idols. But surprisingly, as a [...read more]
Suffocation – “Blood Oath” released July 14, 2009 on Nuclear Blast If this band does one thing right, it’s approach their songs with the delicacy of a surgeon who plans to carve a cadaver so that the organs spill out in a most interesting fashion. But the thing is, Suffocation actually does several things right: Frank Mullen is one of Metal’s most imposing and understandable vocalists; Derek Boyer holds up the bottom end like Atlas himself; Mike Smith’s drums expertly match and accent the band’s dynamic ebb and flow; and the Terence Hobbs-Guy Marchais guitar attack grates, slices, bludgeons, [...read more]
