Reviews
HARDLY DANGEROUS -The Whisky 6/25/13
There is a big difference between a singer and a performer. There are many talented vocalists who lack stage presence; conversely, in the present day, emphasis seems to have shifted in favor of style (how a singer moves and looks) over substance (the quality of their voice). Tomi Rae Brown of the band Hardly Dangerous… Read more »
DEVOUR THE DAY LIVE – Val Air Ballroom, West Des Moines, IA – June 16th
Devour the Day was included in the lineup when well-known Hinder and not so well-known up-and-coming band Acidic, played Val Air Ballroom in West Des Moines, Iowa on Sunday, June 16, 2013. The Memphis, TN based band is considered the reincarnation of Egypt Central, with a much different sound than the now defunct alternative metal… Read more »
MARK KNIGHT & the UNSUNG HEROES – Roadsick Eyes
One of the first thoughts upon listening to Road Sick Eyes, the latest album from Mark Knight and the Unsung Heroes, is that as a singer, Mark Knight is a pretty good guitar player. Sounds odd, right? Of course, no one ever lavished praise on the vocal abilities of Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix, but those two… Read more »
DIO – Magica: Deluxe Edition
To be in a great hard rock or heavy metal band that stands the test of time, influencing generations of musicians to come, is no easy task. Few musicians can say they’ve done it and even fewer can say they’ve done it three separate times with three separate bands. But Ronnie James Dio was no ordinary… Read more »
MY HEART TO FEAR – Algorithm
Metalcore is a subgenre of heavy metal music that combines the hardcore style with elements of metal. My Heart to Fears release Algorithm captures this style in its purest essence. What the band accomplishes best is they it don’t over saturate either of the two elements, but rather pairs the two together in a medley… Read more »
MOTORFINGER – Coming in Clear
One glance at the cover of the EP Coming in Clear by Oslo band Motorfinger, and there is no question what kind of music you will be hearing. Alternative rock, grunge whatever you want to call it. The band is clearly paying homage to bands of the early 1990s. Their name itself is a reference… Read more »
PICTURE ME BROKEN – Mannequins
In the musical worlds of Post-Hardcore and Hard Rock you will find a lot of stagnicity. These are both genres that haven’t really seen anything new or exciting in a long time, but Picture Me Broken takes a little of both, a lot of musical talent, and gives the listener a fresh taste of what… Read more »
RED – Release The Panic
Red’s fourth studio album, Release the Panic, goes in a different direction than what we are used to from this band to say the least. When they started with their 2006 End the Silence release, they were perhaps one of the hardest hitting hard rock groups in the scene at the time. There are still… Read more »
TESSERACT – Altered State
True to their progressive roots, TesseracT’s new record Altered State carries the listener off on an adventure in four parts. The bands diverseness and strong overall performance on this album gives you exceptionally heavy elements pinned together with light airy moments that allows the listener to either head bang their way or gently glide through… Read more »
ABATED MASS OF FLESH – Brutal Death
Death Metal focuses on three things; guttural vocals, distorted guitars, and lyrics that invoke violent and/or graphic images. The style that Abated Mass of Flesh plays is called Brutal Death Metal, and just with that genre name alone it should be easy to tell it takes these styles to the max. Their release Brutal Death… Read more »
HEAVEN SHALL BURN – Veto
A band that is educated more so than other bands on combining unrelenting brutality with melodic hardcore sentiments, Heaven Shall Burn proves that time has only sharpened their skills with VETO. After completing the celebrated Iconoclast trilogy, VETO shows a blend of their older style from Antigone mixed with Iconoclast song writing technique. The unison… Read more »
THE BRAINS – The Monster Within
These guys hail from Canada and must feast on a daily portion of virgin blood, “psychobilly” bone scraps and the very finest punk-injected poison droplets. The Monster Within isn’t their debut album if you’re unfamiliar with their name; instead it follows in the shadow of their tradition of producing fabulous upbeat, hook-laden horror punk with… Read more »