Take two parts Imogen Heap’s pre-solo-work project Frou Frou, and three parts Signals’ unique math-pop stylings, and you have this absolutely amazing little single.
Every time these guys come out with something new, I’m all over it for many a good reason. Signals’ ability to pen deeply complex yet accessible songs; their stellar musicianship and otherworldly chops; the Read more…
As the song from Team America tells us, freedom isn’t free.
Pause for a second, and think about what the word “freedom” means to you. Do you associate it with money? Power? Fame? Travel? Sex? Love?
On the surface, The Truth is about the latter two terms on that list, combined under the umbrella label “relationship”. After all, its subtitle is An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships – and its author, Neil Strauss, also infamously penned The Game, a testosterone- and male-insecurity-fuelled tome primarily concerned with…shall we say…relations.
Plenty of readers will pick this book up expecting balls-to-the-wall debauchery involving more body parts than just balls. They will also find more than enough to satisfy – a literary orgy of orgies, a smorgasbord of explicit experiences recounted in graphic detail. The S-word is a core theme, as is the L-word.
But so is the T-word.
Trauma.
When you first dive into The Truth, tumescent with anticipation, smut-radar set to Hypersensitive, I recommend you Read more…
On We Are Liars – a knockout punch delivered with grace by a rock-solid fist – In Dynamics seem set on getting people excited about their upcoming debut album.
Well, it’s definitely working at this end. Fuck me. Gut-wrenching words; huge riffs; a sky-high chorus hook…this is really all you should need!
Turn up the volume, press Read more…
Secret Black Boyfriend are more than an odd name. They’re an odd band, with a hard-to-categorise sound. For most of their second album, they sound like Reuben jamming with Rage Against The Machine’s rhythm section – only to throw a massive curveball on final track Hepatinnitus, where bleak, noise-ridden math-punk is the order of the day.
This album will have you scratching your head while rocking out – so do it in public at your peril.
Opening track Baby Shooter hits hard with raw, incensed lyrics addressing domestic violence – and seventh cut High Fives Save Lives hits the same mark with one of the best riffs of the lot and words directed at Read more…
If you’ve ever wondered what a panic attack might sound like, look no further than this album.
Let’s Talk Daggers do hyperventilating riffs, bludgeoning beats, and rhythms that would make a professional mathematician’s mind cave in. They don’t do sweet, calming chillaxatives – and even when they do turn down the intensity, the results possess a constant undercurrent of disturbed unease.
This is not the kind of music you’d admit to enjoying on a first date. Read more…
If you’re the sort of person for whom massive riffs are more essential than basic nutrients, Dinosaur Pile-Up will provide way more than your five a day.
On top of those ass-kicking slabs of guitaristic catharsis (the best of which come into play during opener 11 11 and later cuts Anxiety Trip, Bad Penny, and Willow Tree) lie no-bullshit lyrics targeting toxic relationships and mental health issues. Eleven Eleven is the kind of album that can be listened to from two main perspectives: Read more…
Skindred have spent the past 17 years forging a rock-solid reputation for fat, festival-field-bouncing grooves and instantly addictive songs. On Volume – Skindred long-player number six – the ragga-metal masters keep up the kind of pace that would exhaust even the hungriest of younger bands.
The big question set to hit the lips of every listener who comes into contact with Volume is this: Just how many crates of Red Bull were sacrificed over the course of this album’s creation? One thing’s for sure – Read more…
11 albums into a world-beating career, keeping things fresh and interesting is a tough ask. Still, Sevendust have good reason to keep looking forward, possessing a fanatical fanbase hungry for freshly forged metal.
Kill The Flaw grooves hard from the get-go, rammed to the gills with churning riffs (opener Thank You), super-tight modern stabs (Death Dance), and unstoppable tidal waves of metallic tones (Forget). Letters pulls back briefly before the brilliantly structured Cease And Desist takes things to a new, epic level; Not Today anxiously twitches before those intimidatingly Read more…
UPDATE: TMMP has been reborn! This video has the full story:
Click here to subscribe for free on YouTube!
Stop for a second.
Seriously.
This is important.
Catalyst – the latest EP from Dorje, a band who are, right now, one of my favourite rock acts in the UK – is dangerous for your face.
You may laugh, but do so at your peril.
This EP will make you gurn like a mad bastard. For its entire duration.
That’s 25.3 minutes of major-league face wreckage.
Whether the wind changes or not, you’re going to regret not preparing yourself if you fail to prepare. So, engage in a full facial-muscle workout immediately. I recommend this one; it’s pretty comprehensive.
If you’re reading this before November 6th, you’ll have plenty of time to get your face fully Dorje-ready – but if you’re reading this after that date, you’ll no doubt be insanely impatient. Chill. Willpower must prevail.
Once Catalyst drops in its entirety, and that all-important, deliciously tempting “Play” button gets pressed, you’re going to be chucked into the jaw-ruining Written, super-hench intensity topped off by a vocal that long-time Dorje followers will instantly recognise as unmistakable and fully evolved, Pokémon-style.
Many musicians would stop and plateau forever if their band Read more…
Opening an album with a 13-minute epic, taking in everything from delicate acoustic guitar arpeggios and gracefully dramatic piano to chunky, churning riffs and soaring solos in the process, is not a move most bands would choose to make.
But then, Teramaze aren’t most bands.
After An Ordinary Dream establishes Teramaze’s home territory – a fastidiously percolated progressive-metallic blend of Symphony X, Dream Theater, and Karnivool – these guys spend the duration of Her Halo exploring both its hyperdense core and wild outer limits. The result is a journey full of Read more…