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, BadPenny,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…
TMMP is dedicated to discovering and supporting musicians who break boundaries, beat the best expectations, and mean what they play.
Is it trendy? Is it cool and hip and in and [insert alternative buzzword here]? Who the fuck cares, honestly?
A self-conscious reluctance to experiment holds a lot of musicians back from doing something fresh, new, and vital. Now more than ever, musicians are placed under constant and unrelenting pressure to conform to the ways of the past – expected to be slaves to external demands, pleasing everyone except themselves.
The thing is, all the styles and genres that we take for granted now were alien once. Jazz is now considered quaint and archaic, as is classic rock’n’roll – but when those movements first kicked off, people had no idea what to make of it. From the perspective of those original jazzers and rock’n’rollers, we live in the future – and yet that same future is frequently soundtracked by vintage sounds.
Although there’s nothing objectively wrong with that, it’s still a little ironic that this future currently tends (and trends) toward the past, rather than looking forward and trying something new. Too many of today’s musicians have forgotten that the (metaphorical) musical melting pot even exists, neglecting it in favour of textbook, formulaic recycling.
But then, there are bands like Press To MECO. Read more…
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 mustprevail.
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…
Word of advice: You’ll need a pair of headphones handy when listening to this album. There are so many deep-in-the-mix layers and subtle touches in there, and you don’t want to miss out on a single one.
Nothing But Thieves have come a long way over the past few years, and are on the edge of exploding. When it happens, it will be entirely deserved – and for proof, look no further than this album. Nothing But Thieves is consistently massive in terms of ambition and flawless in execution, not to mention sensual, emotive, and breathtaking – often all at once.
Excuse Me‘s polite title conceals a slow-burning opener, lulling the curious into a false sense of security before erupting in Read more…
This track is so immense, my mind has actually gone blank. Is there a single word that could possibly convey how stunned I am right now? I’ve scanned my dictionary, mined my thesaurus, even braved the depths of Urban Dictionary. But nothing really works.
I will say this, though: if you consider yourself a serious rock / metal fan, you HAVE to check these guys out. According to one of their t-shirts, Dorje are “Hench as fuck” – and it’s true, but still Read more…
Between The Buried And Me have spent the past decade-and-a-half ascending to the highest peaks of progressive metal. Fusing influences as diverse as Pantera and Queen (amongst a vast range of others), BTBAM / Bee-Tee-Bam are now in possession of an extensive back catalogue packed full of dense and intense tracks guaranteed to induce rapture in metalheads and migraines in grandmothers. Latest long-player Coma Ecliptic saw BTBAM expand their already massive sound, wearing their influences on their sleeves while still retaining the elements that make them them.
Last night, opening act Haken (90%) kicked things off in style with solid and sick idea after solid and sick idea. Hench grooves, ethereal low-key moments, mind-bending and freakishly inventive solos, a cheeky keytar excursion Read more…
Press To MECO’s ideas do not match any of those descriptions.
Family Ties ties together pop-punk’s signature let’s-drink-ten-Red-Bulls-and-have-a-star-jump-competition energy with hooks twisted into time-pretzels via multi-meter manipulations that are nothing short of genius. Then Diffusion Of Responsibility kicks into a fat head-bobbing riff that could spark off a circle pit at a funeral. By the time that super-tasty second track is through, we’re Read more…
