Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of July 1, 2016. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
C.B. Murdoc: Nonplus Ultrataken fromHere Be Dragons. Released 24 June, 2016.
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I’m not the biggest fan of technical death metal. To me, a large majority of it is style-over-substance; a flurry of notes and chaos with nothing that sticks. C.B. Murdoc is different. Although they could easily be placed into the technical death metal genre, each song has a multitude of riffs and melodies that will stick in your head and make you want to come back. This is particularly amazing because the band definitely engage in a large amount of chaos played at breakneck speeds. In a nutshell, C.B. Murdoc’s sound could be described as a cross between At the Gates, Atheist, and Meshuggah. Their foundation is definitely based on the same high-intensity, raw melodic death metal sound that made Slaughter of the Soul such an instant classic; including the throat-shredding vocal style. This foundation is combined with the technical chaos of Atheist’s Unquestionable Presence, and the quirky rhythmic experimentation and balls-crushing heaviness of Meshuggah’s best material.
This particular track, ‘Nonplus Ultra’, is probably one of my favorites on the album if only because it is one of the more instant songs. It features multiple tempo changes, crushing riffs, atonal dissonance, quirky rhythms, but also just the slightest hint of melody. At the current moment, Here Be Dragons is probably my number 2 album of the year. It is that good. Be sure…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 24, 2016. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 17, 2016. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
– June 17, 2016 –
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A Devil’s Din: Skylight
Genre: Psychedelic Stoner Rock // Label: Self-Released
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Avion Roe: In Separation
Genre: Alternative/Emo // Label: Epitaph Records
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Ayreon: The Theater Equation
Genre: Symphonic Progressive Metal // Label: Inside Out Music
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Beldam: Still the Wretched Linger
Genre: Doom/Sludge // Label: Horror Pain Gore Death Productions
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Big Deal: Say Yes
Genre: Psychedelic Indie Pop // Label: Fat Cat Records
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 10, 2016. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
– June 10, 2016 –
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Astrakhan: Reward in Purpose
Genre: Doom/Sludge Metal // Label: War on Music
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Bait: Sunburst [EP]
Genre: Blackened Hardcore // Label: WOOAAARGH/Sell Your Soul Records
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of June 3, 2016. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
– June 3, 2016 –
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Attalla: Attalla
Genre: Hardcore // Label: Independent
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Beartooth: Aggressive
Genre: Metalcore/Hardcore // Label: Red Bull Records
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Cat’s Eyes: Treasure House
Genre: Indie/Dream-Pop // Label: Cat’s Eyes
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Cauchemar: Chapelle Ardente
Genre: Heavy/Doom Metal // Label: Nuclear War Now! Productions
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The Claypool Lennon Delirium: Monolith of Phobos
Genre: Psychedelic Rock // Label: Prawn Song Records & Chimera Music
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of May 27, 2016. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
Seven years. That’s how long it has been since Brand New has released a full length LP, and diehard fans are starting to lose patience with the band’s constant game of cat and mouse, teasing us with a single here or there before completely falling off the face of the Earth for another 365 days. It’s been a tiring wait, but it appears as if our collective patience is finally going to be rewarded. According to a Procrastinate! Music Traitors information report, the band is confirmed for a 2016 physical release of some kind, although it does not specify whether the format will be an LP or EP. Speaking from experience with the band, though, they’ve never been very big on extended plays – with the last release of this type coming via 2003’s The Holiday. If I were a betting man, I’d say we can expect to be listening to Brand New’s fifth full-length album before the year draws to an end, and that’s an exciting prospect considering the mythical status that the long awaited LP has garnered.
2015 saw the release of “Mene”, a punchy pop-rock number that harkened back to the days of Your Favorite Weapon and, even more so, Deja Entendu. The directional switch up seemed to catch more than a few of the group’s disciples off guard, which is altogether both surprising and not really surprising at all. The band’s most recent albums, The Devil…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of May 20, 2016. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
Ariana Grande seems to be heating up just in time for summer. Everything she’s done leading up to the May 20th release of her third full-length LP, Dangerous Woman, sounds sleeker, bolder, and sexier than anything she has released to this point. It feels like a natural evolution for the pop starlet who has enjoyed vast success early in her career without ever quite breaking into the stratosphere of contemporary pop, or at least not to the ridiculously celebrated extent that icons such as Taylor Swift or Adele have pulled off. To a point, Ariana has thus far demonstrated what it means to define the pop status quo, bringing forth radiowave-riding ear candy that is enjoyable for a hot minute before fading away just as quickly as it arrived. Consistency has also been a point of derision, as we’ve yet to see an album that explores Grande’s vocal arsenal and artistic palette in full depth. It has always consisted of hit singles padded by lighter ballads and the occasional guest rapper thrown in for good measure – once again, not all that dissimilar from what is going on anywhere else in the modern pop scene. But is all of that about to change? From the sound of it, Ariana has as firm of a grip as ever on her musical direction, and she’s about to totally dominate the summer of 2016. Bolstered by “Dangerous Woman”, “Be Alright”, and now “Into You”,…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of May 13, 2016. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors. As our staff post reviews of these albums, links will appear below the art work so that you can read about the release, see how we scored it, and more.
“Burn The Witch” feels like a cut right from the center of Radiohead’s prime – it’s eerie, compelling, and beautiful.
It’s not just any band that can drop a single and immediately earn a shout out from Time Magazine. Radiohead is one of the largest cultural phenomena in modern music. They’re as much generational icons as they are musicians, and much in the same way that music used to be able to shape the world (think civil rights and war protests during the 1960s / early 1970s), this is our very own paranoid bunch of 2000s cynics. That’s why when they release new material to the masses, it’s like a world leader making an important speech. Everyone just sort of listens.
It’s clear that Radiohead has a lot to say on “Burn The Witch.” Frontman Thom Yorke has never been one to state things plainly, as conspiracy theories and prophetic visions have become staples of the band’s lyrical content (If you haven’t researched the parallels between Kid A and the terrorist attacks of 9/11, then I highly recommend a quick google search for a very intriguing – if far fetched – read.) Yorke’s unyielding disillusionment with political/economic greed, consumerist societies, and the exploitation of technology have shown through in spades over the years, and there’s been nary an album to forego some type of political or cultural subtext worth investigating. In the midst of a particularly…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of May 6, 2016. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Alaric – End Of Mirrors (Neurot Recordings)
Aloha – Little Windows Cut Right Through (Polyvinyl Record Co)
ANOHNI – Hopelessness (Secretly Canadian)
Astronauts – End Codes (Lo Recordings)
Belvedere – The Revenge of The Fifth (Belvedere Music)
Beverly – The Blue Swell (Kanine Records)
CardiaC – Sangrar Hasta Lograrlo (Tenacity Music)
Chevalrex – Futurisme (Vietnam)
Chris Cohen – As If Apart (Captured Tracks)
Cole Swindell – You Should Be Here (Warner Music Nashville LLC)
Cyndi Lauper – Detour (Mutzarella Inc)
Death Grips – Bottomless Pit (Harvest Records)
Dead Register – Fiber (AVR Records)
Degtras – Hominidae Resonance (Wood and Stone Productions)
Electronic Frequency – Human Abyss (Electronic Frequency)
Fear Like Us – Succour (Poison City Records)
Ghold – PYR (Ritual Productions)
Glorior Belli – Sundown (The Flock That Welcomes) (Agonia Records)
The Goo Goo Dolls – Boxes (Warner Bros. Records Inc)
Homeboy Sandman – Kindness for Weakness (Stones Throw Records)
The Hypothesis – Origin (Inverse Records)
Imperium – Titanomachy (Ultimate Massacre Productions)
James Blake – The Colour In Anything (Polydor Ltd)
JMSN – It Is. (White Room Records)
Joana Serrat – Cross the Verge (Loose Music) Julianna Barwick – Will (Dead Oceans) — Atari Kaytranada – 99.9% (XL Recordings) — Will Robinson
Keith Urban – Ripcord (Hit Red Records)
Little Scream – Cult Following…
Last Saturday, on the 23rd of April, I got to sit down with Robert (drums) and Adrian (guitar) from the Polish sludge/stoner metal band Sunnata, ahead of their gig at Tallinn’s rockclub Rockstar’s, which in a way was ironic, because rockstars are exactly the kind of people who the guys in Sunnata don’t relate to. Being the down to earth dudes who don’t feel like they’re above anyone, even on stage, they happily answered any and all questions that I had, even if they reiterated that they were way too sober for some of the more philosophical things I threw at them. Tallinn was one of the stops on Sunnata’s road while promoting their brand new album Zorya, which came out on April 11th – a record that the band calls 100% Sunnata. What does that exactly mean? Well, that you must hear for yourself, but Robert and Adrian did give a comprehensive look into the workings of the band, while letting me peel behind their personalities as well. At the end of the interview, you’ll notice Adrian kind of disappearing from the conversation. It’s okay, nothing happened to him, and he didn’t quit on me either, he just had to go and dispense the typical problem that comes along when you enjoy a few bottles of beer. Mind over body is something that we all should strive for, but when your body reminds you that you need to take a massive leak, you just have to…
Here’s a list of major new releases for the week of April 29, 2016. Please feel free to request reviews for any of the following albums from staff or contributors.
Abhomine – Larvae Offal Swine (Hells Headbangers)
A Dead Forest Index – In All That Drifts from Summit Down (Sargent House)
Angarthal – Uranus And Gaia (Steve Angarthal)
Brian Eno – The Ship (Warp)
Britta Phillips – Luck or Magic (Double Feature Records)
The Boxer Rebellion – Ocean by Ocean (Amplify Music)
Darkestrah – Turan (Osmose Productions)
Doomsquad – Total Time (Bella Union)
Drake – Views (Young Money)
dvsn – Sept 5th (Elektra)
Fallujah – Dreamless (Nuclear Blast)
Germ – Escape (Prophecy Productions)
Gersey – What You Kill (Gersey) Haken – Affinity (Century Media Records Ltd) –Thompson D. Gerhart
Imarhan – Imarhan (City Slang)
The Jayhawks – Paging Mr. Proust (Sham)
John Doe – The Westerner (Cool Rock Records)
Kawir – Father Sun Mother Moon (Iron Bonehead Productions)
King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard – Nonagon Infinity (Heavenly)
Konono No. 1 – Konono No.1 Meets Batida (Crammed Discs)
Kyle Craft – Dolls Of Highland (Sub Pop)
Long Distance Calling – Trips (InsideOut Music)
Luca Brasi – If This Is All We’re Going to Be (Poison City Records)
Man Made – TV Broke My Brain (Man Made)
Melt Yourself Down – Last Evenings on Earth (The Leaf Label)
Mindshift – Horizon (Eclipse Records)
Pity Sex – White Hot Moon (Run for Cover Records)
Plants and Animals – Waltzed in…
Seven years. That’s how long it has been since Brand New has released a full length LP, and diehard fans are starting to lose patience with the band’s constant game of cat and mouse, teasing us with a single here or there before completely falling off the face of the Earth for another 365 days. It’s been a tiring wait, but it appears as if our collective patience is finally going to be rewarded. According to a 
