Category: Reviews

  • Kings Destroy – None More

    Kings Destroy – None More

    At this point, I’m pretty familiar with Kings Destroy… but you might not be. This NYC epic doom outfit has three albums under its belt, and they’ll be playing Toronto for the third time—along with Montreal and Ottawa—as touring support for Truckfighters later this month. Not that they sound much like Truckfighters, mind you. If…

  • Various Artists – Meantime [Redux]

    Various Artists – Meantime [Redux]

    Oh, Helmet! Now, I’m not talking about anything sexual. Just the legendary NY band. If I were a real journalist I’d go into the influence Helmet have had on the hard music scene, naming specific bands or scenes or whatever but Helmet’s reputation speaks for itself. Well, to a point. Strap It On, Meantime, Betty…

  • Erroll Garner – Ready Take One

    Erroll Garner – Ready Take One

    A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Ready Take One LP by Erroll Garner. What do critics really know about jazz? Such was the first question I found myself asking as I wound my way through Popmatters and Jazzwax looking at longer-lead reviews of Ready Take One. Complaints about Martha Glaser’s production styling…

  • Lo-Pan – In Tensions EP

    Lo-Pan – In Tensions EP

    Columbus heavy rock crew Lo-Pan is kicking off 2017 in style with this five-song, 22-minute EP. The grizzled tour veterans head out with “Go West,” a slower, sludgy stomp that kinda reminds me of Torche, especially in the vocal department. “Sink or Swim” is slightly shorter and crunchier, a decent, mid-paced, melodic rocker. The slow,…

  • Baby In Vain – For The Kids EP

    Baby In Vain – For The Kids EP

    Some self-important critic somewhere will review Baby In Vain‘s first EP and say they saw it coming. Over the last couple of years, bands like Dilly Dally, Like A Motorcycle and Ex Hex have all come along and resurfaced the road which once traced the way between hardcore, metal and grunge and also renewed interest…

  • Dealer – Billionaire Boys Club

    Dealer – Billionaire Boys Club

    Take me to your Dealer! This Oakland trio was formerly known as Sexless, are good bros of The Shrine, and totally take the piss outta the Bay Area tech scene with the title of their debut LP. Musically, they range from later Kyuss to Black Flag to Unsane, knocking out 10 tracks in 36 minutes.…

  • Arduini/Balich – Dawn of Ages

    Arduini/Balich – Dawn of Ages

    In case you weren’t familiar with the two names on the cover, Victor Arduini played guitar on the first two Fates Warning LPs, while Brian Balich is known to doomsters as the former voice of Penance and current voice of Argus, one of the leading purveyors of power-doom these days. This collaborative effort has been…

  • NOFX – First Ditch Effort

    NOFX – First Ditch Effort

    A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the First Ditch Effort LP by NOFX. While the last few years may not have looked like the busiest for NOFX on the surface (yes, as every fan knows, four years lapsed between Self-Entitled and First Ditch Effort – the longest gap between new full-length albums in…

  • Metallica – Hardwired… To Self-Destruct (Deluxe Edition 3CD)

    Metallica – Hardwired… To Self-Destruct (Deluxe Edition 3CD)

    It’s funny how the psychology of salesmanship works – after a certain point, one has to wonder where the logic goes. A great example of that can be found in the Deluxe Edition, 3CD version of Hardwired… To Self-Destruct. As previously stated in my review of the standard-issue 2CD version of the release, Metallica‘s new…

  • The Pixies – Head Carrier

    The Pixies – Head Carrier

    In music history, there have only been a few bands who have been able to make a truly great “petty rock” or “revenge rock” record (some might say Pink Floyd have done it, it could be debated if Smashing Pumpkins did it) but the Pixies have definitely added their name to that tradition with their…