Murder By Death
Big Dark Love
Bloodshot (2015)
Making a career in the arts is hard. The job description lands somewhere between self-expression and entertainment and there isn’t a sure fire way to know whether or not what you’re creating is going to be profitable until well after all the art is done and out in the world for public consumption. Complicating things further is the fact that … Read more
Murder By Death
Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon
Bloodshot (2012)
Murder by Death are back with their sixth studio album, and it's their moodiest album yet. It's a stark contrast to their last record, Good Morning, Magpie--returning to, while exploring, more layers of atmospheric tones. With each album(excluding Red of Tooth...), I always found myself needing to give them multiple rounds to fully appreciate what I was listening to--Bitter Drink, … Read more
Murder By Death
In Bocca Al Lupo
East West/Tent Show (2006)
Music is an art, and oftentimes musicians will use their art to tell a story - concept albums have become increasingly popular in recent years. Murder by Death dabbled in this genre with their previous effort, Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left of Them?. And while they have cast aside the extended storyline from their new full-length, In … Read more
Murder By Death
Red of Tooth and Claw
Vagrant (2008)
With their fourth full-length album, Murder by Death has finally brought all their varying influences together. Each of the band's previous recordings focused on a general indie rock sound, but they also flirted with various musical styles: folk, country, Americana, classical, and post-punk, among others. But with Red of Tooth and Claw all the band's previous flirtations and even some … Read more
Murder By Death
The Other Shore
Bloodshot (2018)
Not many bands can make it eight albums into their career without a single dud. Murder by Death's mainstays, Adam Turla and Sarah Balliet, have spent nearly 2 decades honing their skills as songwriters, and they’ve let their growth lead us out into Space. The Other Shore has Turla returning to more of a long form narrative again. However, it … Read more
Murder By Death
Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left of Them?
Eyeball (2003)
I'll be honest right off the bat. The first mention I heard of Murder by Death was when they were making their name change from Little Joe Gould. I had yet to hear any music that the band plays, and my initial reaction was that based on namesake it was going to be another one of those emo-metalcore acts that … Read more
Murder Practice
Murder Practice
West Coast Worldwide (2006)
The wave of hardcore bands coming from the hotbed that is the Bay Area is endless; Murder Practice is the latest export from the constantly thriving scene to hit your stereo. Their self-titled debut is a ten-song soundtrack of aggressive hardcore mixed with the fury of punk and the ferociousness of metal. And while a lot of bands claim to … Read more
Murder Practice
Prophecies of Doom
Independent (2008)
Bay Area stalwarts Murder Practice return with their second full-length, this time they've abandoned the world of plastic and CD's for vinyl (each record comes with a free digital version of the album). Prophecies of Doom shows significant growth for the group as they've matured and left behind the more cliché mosh-forward sound they offered on their debut. Don't worry … Read more
Muse
Black Holes and Revelations
Warner Bros. (2006)
If you asked me six years ago to name a band that at this time would seem about to take over the world I really don't think Muse would have even been in my top 50 choices. Then they had just released the very Radiohead sounding Showbiz and seemed almost destined to spend their career being compared to the Oxford … Read more
Muse
H.A.A.R.P.
Warner Bros. (2008)
Muse is a band that has long had their music overshadowed by comparisons to the giants that are Radiohead, U2, and Queen. Rather than worry about dispelling said comparisons, Muse have taken the allegations of being a "rip-off" and "lacking originality" in stride and maintained its artistic credibility while continuing to deliver what many, even the most crass of critics, … Read more
Muse
The 2nd Law
Warner\Helium 3 (2012)
The year is 2052. Society as we know it has completely changed. The laws of government and nation have crumbled into dust, trodden down firmly by the feet of innumerable footsoldiers of the new autocratic rulers of the world. Big Brother's voice rings from every speaker; CCTV cameras record every communication between state-fearing citizen and obedient lickspittle. Comrades huddle in … Read more
Music Band
Wake Up Laughing
Infinity Cat (2016)
Music Band, along with JEFF the Brotherhood and Diarrhea Planet, forms the Infinity Cat triad, the latest representatives of the Nashville indie punk scene. I’ll readily admit to being a big DP fan - I’ve seen them four times, once with JEFF and once with Music Band. I knew these were DP’s buds, so I had high expectations. JEFF was … Read more
Mustasuo
Hiljaisuus
Label Off Records (2022)
My introduction to crust was the album Vengeance by Tragedy. I was blown away by it. I have heard a lot of crust since that day. And while I keep looking for that wow-factor that album has for me I (of course) encounter an album that has that only once in a while. Does Mustasuos blackened crust have that same … Read more
Mutant Reavers
Monster Punk
Wolverine records (2020)
Back in the late nineties I started listening to horrropunk. To this day it is one of my favourite scenes. Back in the day I listened to basically everything I could find that would match the description horrorpunk. Nowadays I am more picky. Still, if I see a promo mentioning horrorpunk I am so tempted to review it. I’ve skipped … Read more
Mutiny Within
Mutiny Within II: Synchronicity
Roadrunner (2013)
After releasing their striking eponymous debut in 2010, Mutiny Within were subsequently driven to disbandment by drastically lower than expected sales. Oddly enough, this wasn't due to a lack of musical proficiency but, rather confusingly, seemingly because of it; vocalist Chris Clancy maintains that the album was downloaded illegaly around ten times as often for every copy sold, making it … Read more
My Bloody Valentine
m b v
Independent (2013)
In what might be one of the longest case of collective breath holding since a band’s last previous album, My Bloody Valentine finally release the follow up to their landmark 1991 album, Loveless; and the single biggest question on many people’s minds has to be whether or not m b v is as good as the astoundingly enduring and growing … Read more
My Chemical Romance
The Black Parade
Reprise (2006)
The first time I heard "Welcome to the Black Parade," the first single off of My Chemical Romance's new record, The Black Parade, I was certainly, for lack of eloquence, fucking confused. The intro was absurdly epic, a throwback to the simple "rock" music of the 70's, before kicking into the type of upbeat punk rock that My Chemical Romance … Read more
My Dad Vs. Yours
After Winter Must Come Spring
Independent (2006)
I don't know when it happened, although I think it might have been around the time the movie Friday Night Lights came out and word got out that Explosions in the Sky was doing the soundtrack. That may have been the point but I'm not really sure. Anyways, at one time or another post-rock got popular. Now, after kids everywhere … Read more
