Cruel Hand
Prying Eyes
Bridge Nine (2008)
I love it when hardcore bands up their game. I understand it's hardcore and bands have made decade-long careers on releasing the same album year after year. Or usually they run out of material and gracefully bail out after an EP and one full-length. However with Prying Eyes Cruel Hand decided to out-do themselves with releasing one of the better if not best heavier hardcore albums of 2008. I thought Cruel Hand's Without a Pulse was good album, full of mosh, sounded a bit too much like No Warning but it was enjoyable nevertheless. However, Prying Eyes trumps that album tenfold. Prying Eyes is the album I wanted way back in the '91 when I was hanging out with my fellow burn out friends smoking stolen cigs in front of the water tower outside of Owatonna High School. Most high school buds were true metal fans straight down to their long hair, markered up jean jackets, and having an unrelentingly devotion to the M&M of metal, Metallica and Megadeth. I always liked Megadeth a bit more myself when the subject was forced on me. And believe me, the issue of who was better was always forced as we flicked butts … Read more
Red Sparowes
Aphorisms
Sargent House (2008)
When Red Sparowes released At the Soundless Dawn, I began to better appreciate instrumental music. The sound that the band … Read more
Hope and Suicide
Hope and Suicide
SuperNova (2008)
Many recent listeners may not remember (nor heard in the first place) the first couple of releases by Florida's Hope … Read more
Mötley Crüe
Saints of Los Angeles
Eleven Seven (2008)
Sometimes you just want to tear something down, rip it to shreds. To have that attitude when reviewing an album … Read more
Perth Express
Harrowed and Wealdstone
Vendetta (2008)
Harrowed and Wealdstone marks the final recordings from German bruisers Perth Express. It's quite a shame that the band decided … Read more
