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Our latest album reviews, featuring the records we've most enjoyed (or not) over the past few weeks.

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Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)

The Seven Mile Journey

The Metamorphosis Project
Fonogram/Pumpkin Seeds in the Sand (2008)

Operating under the post-rock banner, The Seven Mile Journey's The Metamorphosis Project offers an hour of sparse and atmospheric soundscapes. It is the group's second release for Denmark's Fonogram Agency, and is released in the United States on Pumpkin Seeds in the Sand. The design is minimal yet eye-catching, with a white logo stamped in the corner of a glossy black digipak. Varying only in color, the art is identical to their previous releases. It's almost as if the band wants the music to speak for itself... Opening track "Theme for the Elthenbury Massacre" offers little in terms of variety, using droning guitars that maintain a bleak aura. It's similar to many Explosions in the Sky songs before they crescendo and, frankly, that monotony makes it rather boring; it's the auditory equivalent of driving through the plains for hours on end. You might come across an occasional hill or curve, but it's basically a lot of the same thing. After fifteen minutes and two tracks, the album starts to pick up. On "Identity Journals (Anonymous)," the group incorporates more energy, varying the tempo and offering a melody to counter the record's dreary start. For my tastes the melody is essential. … Read more

City of Ships

Tour EP
Independent (2008)

Now, I had only heard of this band's existence and never actually had the opportunity to listen to their music … Read more

Blacklisted

Heavier than Heaven, Lonelier than God
Deathwish Inc. (2008)

Let's be honest, the vast majority of hardcore music is similar sounding. There is only so many ways in which … Read more

Why?

Alopecia
Anticon (2008)

I'm still trying to fully wrap my head around this album. Why? hails from Oakland, California and puts an interesting … Read more

Smartbomb

Chaos and Lawlessness
Think Fast! (2008)

Members of No Trigger and Shock Nagasaki playing melodic hardcore in the vein of Kid Dynamite, Descendents, and 7 Seconds? … Read more

Attention

Stand Strong
Independent (2007)

Pop-rock is a huge right now and Attention has a shot at being the next big thing. This four-piece group … Read more

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One from the archives

Old Canes

Early Morning Hymns
Second Nature Recordings (2004)

Imagine waking up and stepping outside of a small cabin. The sun is just rising over the trees on a cool autumn day, the dew on the grass is still there and the sun is reflecting off of it. The leaves are catching a breeze and calmly whispering. Small songbirds are singing back and forth to each other and the ferns and bushes are moving back and forth together in a rhythm as if they're listening and dancing to an orchestra. You stand there and take everything all in, you just listen and admire nature's early morning hymns. I don't mean to sound like Henry David Thoreau but this is the feeling I get every time I listen to this album. Old Canes is unique blend of upbeat folk, indie-rock … Read more

More album reviews

Sakes Alive!!

Presents
Independent (2007)

Sakes Alive!! hails from Rochester, NY and this is the band's debut offering. Interesting enough, this recording actually started as the project of one individual, Chris Vandeviver. I'm not sure who told him to enlist other members and make this a full-time venture, but bravo to whoever did. The EP delivers what is an even mixture of the No Idea … Read more

Empire! Empire! (I was a Lonely Estate)

Year of the Rabbit
Count Your Lucky Stars / Strictly No Capital Letters (2008)

Emo is a genre that often gets its name dragged through the mud. While there are artists now classified as emo that are pretty horrendous, it is those artists playing traditional emo that unfortunately are hurt the most. Empire! Empire! (I was a Lonely Estate) is one of those acts lumped in with emo that shouldn't be looked down upon. … Read more

Salt the Wound

Carnal Repercussions
Rotten (2008)

Cleveland-based Salt the Wound has been festering in the depths of the metal world since their formation in 2001. With the release of their debut full-length, Carnal Repercussions, the band will finally come to the attention of headbangers around the world. Carnal Repercussions is a twelve-track foray into the world of melodic death metal, thrash, grindcore, and modern metalcore. The … Read more

The Gutter Twins

Saturnalia
Sub Pop (2008)

So here we have the much-anticipated collaboration between Greg Dulli of Afghan Whigs/The Twilight Singers fame and Mark Lanegan of Queens of the Stone Age/Screaming Trees fame (as well as an excellent solo career along with collaborations with Isobel Campbell). The Gutter Twins, as this duo refer to themselves, have been a rumored project for several years now that finally … Read more

The Gutter Twins

Saturnalia
Sub Pop (2008)

There's cool and then there's cool. Mark Lanegan is cool. He was cool fronting the Screaming Trees back in the day. He was cool on each one of his six-or-so solo albums. He was cool as a member of Queens of the Stone Age. For those of you who had the pleasure of seeing QOTSA on the pre-tour for Songs … Read more

Pain Principle

Waiting for the Flies
Blind Prophecy (2007)

This Florida four-piece was an entirely unknown proposition to me until Waiting for the Flies was delivered to my house. They may hail from the state that brought us some classic old school death metal, but Pain Principle have plenty more in common with the modern melodic death of the recent times. In fact, I'd go so far as to … Read more

This is Hell

Misfortunes
Trustkill (2008)

Long Island's road warriors return with their second full-length, Misfortunes, laying waste to a host of notions about who they are and what they stand for. The ante has been upped, so bid in or bow out. Dogged by claims of being both a hype band, existing on word of mouth rather than talent, and a Trustkill marketing move, This … Read more

MGR

Wavering on the Cresting Heft
Conspiracy (2007)

Wavering on the Cresting Heft is the second solo recording from Isis guitarist Michael Gallagher under the moniker MGR. MGR is an acronym for Mustard Gas and Roses, which is taken from Vonnegut's classic novel Slaughterhouse-Five. This new full-length follows Gallagher's debut MGR offering, 2006's Nova Lux. If one were to loosely describe the music of MGR, an appropriate description … Read more

Cursed

III
Goodfellow (2008)

Finally, I seriously have been waiting for this album since Cursed released last year's furious EP, Blackout at Sunrise. No, scratch that because the wait has been going since I listened to II (their obviously titled second album), and while Blackout at Sunrise was a bit of a tease and served to get listeners through until III. Cursed lay down … Read more

One Win Choice

Never Suspend Belief
Jump Start (2007)

I've had a really shitty day today. I got into a useless argument with my boss. I feel like shit. I'm piss-broke until Wednesday and I'm living off popcorn and Pop-Tarts until then. The last thing I wanted to hear today was a bunch of twenty-something kids telling me how horrible the world is while rehashing every single 90's Fat … Read more

Ritual

Wolves
Still Life (2007)

I don't know what it is but Europeans love vegan and straightedge hardcore a lot more than us Americans do, or at least they come across as more passionate about them than the average hardcore fan here. I can't explain it nor will I attempt to do so. I just know there is a greater concentration of those types of … Read more

Jarboe & Justin K. Broadrick

J2
The End (2008)

After a year like 2007 that Justin Broadrick and his Jesu project had, one has to wonder what J2 (his collaboration with Jarboe who has previously been in Swans and collaborated with Neurosis among others) is all about in reference to his numerous other projects (Final, Grey Machine, and the aforementioned Jesu as well as remixing duties for other artists … Read more

Riddle of Steel

1985
Ascetic (2008)

Riddle of Steel's Myspace blog is an amusing read for a variety of reasons, most notably the October 12, 2007, entry. While he'll probably never come out and say it, lead singer/guitarist Andrew Elstner would love to kick Radiohead's asses. His frustration (or jealousy) is somewhat understandable and very human, as it's likely that pure egotism would allow the acclaimed … Read more

J. Bannon

The Blood of Thine Enemies
Deathwish Inc. (2008)

A few years back Jacob Bannon took some time from his busy schedule of providing vocals for Converge and design work for a whole lot of bands to create the as yet and more than likely only Supermachiner album (with Kurt Ballou also of Converge, Ryan Parker, and Seth Bannon of Daltonic). The effort was a foray into ambient music … Read more

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Browse our album reviews according to score: Highest (9.5/10 or more) or Lowest (2/10 or less)