“Electronicore concept album” is something of a mouthful, but it perfectly encapsulates what Crossfaith have lined up for their fifth full-length release. Already globally notorious for their consistently inventive mix of assorted metal and electronic styles, these guys have managed to make an admittedly Read more…
As a cult musical hero and prolific solo artist – not to mention the frontman of long-running British alt-metal survivors InMe – Dave McPherson is a natural choice for 2000 Trees’ first-night post-headliner Forest Session. Read on to learn about his special plan for 2000 Trees 2018, accidental onstage unconsciousness, and Read more…
First things first: Hyro The Hero is about to drop one of the best – and most explosive – albums of the year.
As anyone with the slightest degree of political awareness knows, our world and culture has been thrown into disarray in recent times. Madmen trade insults, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war, before shaking hands and smiling – and division is everywhere Read more…
From Ashes To New have a storied history strewn with lineup changes – and their latest creative move sees them come extremely close to Linkin Park territory. There’s a strong focus on accessible riffs with an occasional hint of djent-related guitar tones, setting From Ashes To New apart from the nu-metal legends – but Read more…
Breaking Benjamin are a classic Marmite band. You either love what they do, or hate their guts. You’re either satisfied by the quality of their songs, or frustrated by Benjamin Burnley’s well-entrenched habit of making more or less the same album over and over again Read more…
Listening to Will Haven’s latest feels like discovering some vast, alien, rusty undersea structure. The sheer pressure Muerte puts your eardrums under is incredible.
Time has clearly not softened Will Haven Read more…
When a band’s legacy and reputation endures for as long as CKY’s has, it’s obvious they’re on to something special. Last night, CKY’s latest tour came to an end with the second of two shows at legendary London rock venue The Underworld – and some 500 residents of the capital’s underground scene watched them close proceedings with a sonically pummelling set Read more…
In recent years, it’s been fashionable to slag off turn-of-the-millennium alt-metal – but the trend-pandering critics of the music world tend to overlook one simple thing. At that point, metal grooved. Bands like CKY made people want to move – and for a short time alt-metal even managed to impact the mainstream, before it all went downhill and morphed into the mainly stagnant pool of same-old-same-old we see around us today.
CKY have not forgotten the importance of The Groove in the eight years since Carver City came out – and thanks to Read more…
We live in a divided world. Conflict is common, and even the smallest things can spark it off. Unity and respect are relatively rare.
With their new album You Are We, While She Sleeps are working to balance things out. Funded by fans via PledgeMusic, You Are We sees While She Sleeps push further in the experimental groove metal direction established on 2015’s Brainwashed. Metalcore remains at the core of While She Sleeps’ sound, but You Are We was recorded in a self-built Sheffield studio – and the resulting sense of newfound independence and freedom permeates every Read more…
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As the music industry slows down, its alternative end hibernating while the pop-enamoured mainstream hungrily ogles Christmas shoppers, the time has come to look back on a seriously strong year for organised soundwaves. For me, it’s been heavy, intense, and a hell of a lot of fun thanks to the releases listed below.
With so many exceptional contenders in the running for the top spot, the thought of ranking them in order of quality is plainly ridiculous. So instead, I’ve picked out three releases that had memorable impacts on me when I first heard them, and assembled the others in alphabetical order.
The Pretty Reckless’s Who You Selling For – along with previous effort Going To Hell – is conclusive proof (if it were honestly needed in 2016) that women belong in rock music, and are fully capable of kicking ass. The sexists of the music world are like Wile E. Coyote; they’ve run off the edge of the cliff, nothing surrounds them but empty air, they’ve looked down, and they’re panicking. Sonic Boom Six’s The F-Bomb picks up where that image leaves off – it’s cheeky, chirpy, happy and hard-hitting (sometimes simultaneously), addressing a wealth of gender-related issues and providing a great ska-fuelled party soundtrack as only Sonic Boom Six can.
Musically, Dissociation is The F-Bomb’s polar opposite. The Dillinger Escape Plan’s swan song is crammed with brutal and ultra-experimental mathcore – but it’s also Dillinger’s most delicate and diverse album. The Dillinger Escape Plan are living proof that you can achieve great things without compromise, by sticking to your guns and just going for it.
Beyond that point, you’re free to dive into an epic range of albums including solidly grooving rock sets, monolithic slabs of military-grade metal, and progressive masterpieces. Since I’ve not reviewed many EPs this year, I’ve also included a pair of extended-playing mind-blowers in the form of Dorje’s Centred And One and Toska’s Ode To The Author. Dorje specialise in utterly idiosyncratic rock tunes with added progressive spice, while to me, Toska (made up of Dorje’s backline, namely guitarist Rabea Massaad, drummer Ben Minal, and bassist Dave Hollingworth) represent the future of instrumental metal.
Both Dorje and Toska are bands on the rise – and they fully deserve to hit the same peaks enjoyed by the biggest names on this list.
There’s little more to say; for me, this list represents the top albums of 2016. Enjoy the full reviews linked below, follow TMMP on Twitter, subscribe to my brand new YouTube channel, and stay tuned for more world-class music next year!
1) The Pretty Reckless – Who You Selling For
1) Sonic Boom Six – The F-Bomb
1) The Dillinger Escape Plan – Dissociation
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2) Read more…