Before dwelling into the extreme metal scene, Amalie Bruun was known from a few indie releases, which merged an alternative pop style with elements of traditional folk music. A self-defined black metal girl at heart, Bruun started moving away from her mellow side, and begun transforming into Myrkur, her black metal alter ego. Her project caused a turmoil in the black metal scene, first with the release of her self-titled EP, and then with her debut record. In M, Bruun was embracing black metal at its most raw and chaotic. The fury and aggression of the genre, coupled with the traditional stylistic touches begun unfolding her vision. However, it also felt slightly incomplete as a whole, and that was something that her follow-up live album, Mausoleum came in to rectify. In her first live record, covering tracks from M, Myrkur revealed how deep her folk routes run. While promising M felt unbalanced and slightly rushed. On one hand, Bruun had done an excellent job with the production and performance aspects of the record, but it felt that there was a lot left unexplored. That is why Mausoleum was so effective, managing to smooth out this phenomenon and present an unfiltered … Read more
Neil Young is cool as shit... there I got that out of the way. He has been an inspiration to … Read more
Nicole Hummel aka Zola Jesus, is one of the most enticing singer/songwriters of the current scene. By incorporating elements of … Read more
By now it feels like hitting repeat, but for the uninitiated, Lost Balloons has to be introduced through the Marked … Read more
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According to the press blurb provided with Four Thirty, Midwestern natives The Great Crusades approached the songwriting process for their latest album in a way thus far unique to the band: the lyrics were written after the music, created to fit around the existing song structure. While I'm sure that some artists may be able to pull this off, the result in this case is less than stellar and often feels uninspired, with little apparent emotional connection between the sound the band creates and the words coming out of the vocalist's mouth. "Porch Song" and "Billy Smashes it Up" are especially guilty of this, with gems like "Only time I gotta move is when I take a whiz" and the baffling "Billy, why'd you have to kill me? / Why'd … Read more
Hailing from Seattle Washington, Monika Khot produces music under the Nordra moniker and is now releasing her self-titled debut album. Coming out from SIGE records, her record encompass a diverse set of elements, which while at first glance might appear inhumane and mechanical, under the surface contain moving moments and a lot of emotion. The album was initially released last … Read more
There's been many words used to describe GG Allin.PunkFelonSado-MasochistShit TerroristOk, in all fairness, that last one was used to describe Mike Patton, but believe me when I say, folks - it's applicable.Kevin Michael Allin was not a complex man, but a fucked up individual whose extreme music and shows had a tendency to unnerve even the most hardened of punks.My … Read more
Bonafide legends of the Australian music scene, Tex, Don and Charlie are somewhat an Australian super group with gravitas aplomb.Comprised of Tex Perkins (The Cruel Sea, Beasts of Bourbon), Don Walker (Cold Chisel) and Charlie Owen, the trio first incarnated in 1993 and has since released an album every 12 years. The formula has not changed much, despite the passing … Read more
au·da·ciousôˈdāSHəs/adjectiveShowing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks.The one mission statement that Josh Homme and Queens of the Stone Age has long established was to never make the same album twice. Four years after their strongest effort yet, ...Like Clockwork - Queens have taken another left turn at Albuquerque and continued this tradition with Villains - a wholly unexpected yet … Read more
Why I choose to review Radiation I can’t exactly recall (perhaps sharing members with Rorcal and Vuyvr did the trick, perhaps it was just the description “post-hardcore” that triggered my interest); whatever it was, the album surprised me, let me tell you that. I was expecting post-hardcore from this Swiss band (as the promo said it would deliver just that) … Read more
It’s strange to me to realize that Rancid just released their ninth album. It’s a mark of age, not to mention that they haven’t been the most productive band on the block since the 3-year spree of LPs 1-3 from 1993-1995. Mostly it just makes me feel old, which is also how their last album, (the disappointing) Honor Is All … Read more
White Suns, the New York based noise trio, has been slowly descending on the path of deconstruction. Founded in 2006, the band has released a series of albums, presenting an experimental rock perspective and subsequently deconstructing it to its most basic core. The highlight of this process was Totem, a record where at times it felt like the experimental aspect … Read more
Based in San Fransisco, Moon Duo is the brainchild of Erik “Ripley” Johnson, known from his work in Wooden Shjips, and Sanae Yamada. Centering around a psychedelic perspective, the band has released a series of works, influenced by garage aesthetics and krautrock, projecting their own trippy themes within an existing framework.Occult Architecture is Moon Duo's latest full-length releases. Split into … Read more
Concept albums aren’t a new trick but for Poseidon and their epic, sludged-out doom, the concept forms more than one story and instead will be stretched across a multitude of records in order to give the narrative the space it certainly needs. Hailing from London and having been members of many bands over the years, Poseidon have created their own … Read more
Fonija became one of my favorite punk bands… correction: favorite bands with the release of Mojot Pekol. I never heard of this Macedonian band before that release, but boy, that album left a lasting impression. It’s an album I still come back to on a regular basis. The album (...Bez Ime) and split with Culture Development (Magla) that followed are … Read more
Hailing from Odessa, Ukraine, White Ward exist within the post-black metal scene, stirring experimental means to enhance the core of the genre, and push it forwards. Initially founded in 2012, the band has released a series of EPs and demos, taking five long years for their first complete work, Futility Report, to come into light. Being released through White Ward's … Read more
Time Lurker, the one-man project from France, is releasing its debut, self-titled record. Coming out from Les Aucteurs de l'Ombre, it is easy to get a first idea about what type of sound to expect. The label specializes in the more adventurous side of black metal, and its experimental and atmospheric edges, with the most famous alumni in their roster … Read more
Whiskey & Co. are something of an outlier on the No Idea Records roster, but it’s still a cultural fit. Their boozy, swaying country may not be in the same vein as the gruff punk “Gainesville sound,” but it’s a fitting morning after with its laid back, introspective vibe. Ripped Together, Torn Apart is their latest, and it’s a solid … Read more
Is this bandname some sort of challenge the bandmembers set for themselves? A goal to achieve so to say: be remembered? Is this debut full-length their first step on a clear defined path? So many questions pop up in my head just by the name alone. This album was brought to my attention with the statement it was a great … Read more
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