With few exceptions, metal has become creatively malnourished in recent years. Old ideas have been recycled over and over again, while alternatives are met with resistance at every turn. Bullet For My Valentine are the latest band to step into the breach, preparing Gravity for its time in the spotlight Read more…
Lovebites are headed for the big leagues – and if this is the first time you’ve heard of them, keep that name in mind. You’ll be hearing it much more often in the future.
Despite forming fairly recently, Lovebites have already Read more…
Ghost possess a reputation built on a perfectly crystallized creative vision. Rock fans the world over are by now familiar with their Satanic-Catholic image and the sight of demon-pope Papa Emeritus – and they’ve at least heard of a set of albums bursting with wicked lyrics and increasingly groove-focused rock songs Read more…
If you’ve ever wondered what a jam involving The Mars Volta, Coheed And Cambria, Protest The Hero, and The Cat Empire might sound like, Things To Place On The Moon is the answer to that unspoken question. Odd Palace throw all of the above into a blender while leaning heavily on heavily effected guitars, expensive-sounding chords, and syncopated riffage – and they’ve come up with a Read more…
Alt-rock up-and-comers Black Orchid Empire definitely know a thing or two about quality songcraft. My Favourite Stranger opens Yugen with sick bass tones, cool riffs, impressively subtle odd-time verses, and – most importantly – a catchy-but-not-overbearing chorus hook. It’s a strong Read more…
As one of modern prog’s most definitive bands, Spock’s Beard have a reputation for consistently high-class performances. Historically, musical missteps have been few and far between – and more recently, they’ve been on a formidable winning streak Read more…
Beach Slang’s James Alex could have taken the easy, lazy route when reimagining the above band’s songs as Quiet Slang. He could’ve called in a bunch of reasonably able Ableton jockeys and let them warp his songs into a quaking mass of depressingly shit EDM and R&B tracks. There would be four-to-the-floor beats, obligatory guest rap vocals, and factory-preset synths all over the place, and the resulting criticism would have been fast, brutal, and merciless Read more…
With so many contemporary rock bands lining up to give the sellout gods a rimming, albums like this are a welcome fucking relief. Rat Scabies has been around far longer than the aforementioned, and throughout P.H.D. he makes it clear that he hasn’t lost his connection to the punky vitality that kick-started his career as a member of The Damned Read more…
Although death metal – even melodic death metal – isn’t normally my thing, there’s no denying that At The Gates are sitting on one of the best metal albums of the year right now. If you have the slightest interest in heavy music, you can’t go a moment longer without at least checking this album out Read more…
Korn were the first band to get me into heavy music. After blowing up in the ‘90s, they paved the way for the djent-embracing pioneers who now represent metal’s cutting edge. While much has been made of Korn’s use of extended-range guitars, it’s important to remember that they’re successful because of their songwriting – and, of course, the idiosyncratic vocal belonging to one Jonathan Davis Read more…