Under Pressure
Black Bile
Escape Artist (2007)
Apparently, Under Pressure hails from Winnipeg, Canada - former home of the Jets hockey team before they became the Phoenix Coyotes. Black Bile is the latest release for the band following several seven inches, compilation appearances, splits, and full-lengths; an impressive amount of work since their formation in 2003. Still, this is my first exposure to Under Pressure, and it … Read more
Under Pressure
Come Clean
Escape Artist (2007)
Winnipeg's Under Pressure is a dirty 80's sounding hardcore band with a dude singing like he's trying to hold in his bong hit for the longest time while gargling glass. Saying he sounds a little gruff is like saying the people that have smoked Pall Mall Non-Filters for thirty plus years are a little raspy. Musically, the band either goes … Read more
Underground Railroad To Candyland
Knows Your Sins
Recess (2011)
Considering that Underground Railroad to Candyland was formed, in large part, to be a party band, and combining that with the So. Cal. sun that’s been beating down on Todd Congelliere for all these years, it somehow makes sense that URTC has a number of surf elements bubbling through the surface on the band’s sophomore record. Still, surf is only … Read more
Underground Railroad To Candyland
The People Are Home
Recess (2015)
I wasn’t sure what to make of Underground Railroad to Candyland when I first saw them. They were a very new band, but the style was off-kilter and different than what I expected of a Todd Congelliere (Toys That Kill,F.Y.P) band. But along the way it’s clicked, both for me and the band. Where they first seemed slogany and weird, … Read more
Underoath
Define the Great Line
Tooth & Nail (2006)
It's pretty commendable that a band like Underoath, who easily could be on a major label right now after their extremely successful breakout album They're Only Chasing Safety, chose to stay with their original label Tooth and Nail. Even more impressive however is that their latest outing, Define the Great Line, is significantly more mature in their songwriting style and … Read more
Underoath
They're Only Chasing Safety
Tooth & Nail (2004)
Within the world of science there exist certain absolutes that are ever-present and unchanging. While most of these laws are complex to the nth degree, even even the most common simpleton can understand a few of them. For example, the majority of the population knows that no matter how hard you try, oil and water will never mix. Similarly, with … Read more
Unearth
Our Days of Eulogy
Eulogy (2005)
I really don't know what came over me. There I was sitting on the bus on my way to work when I slid in Unearth's Our Days of Eulogy into my CD walkman and I was suddenly overcome with the urge to get off the bus and cause mayhem; metal mayhem. I pulled the stop signal cord and exited the … Read more
Unearthly Trance
Stalking the Ghost
Relapse (2017)
To my mind Unearthly Trance was the act that truly defined the doom/sludge push of the '00s. Starting off with their debut album, Seasons of Seance, Science of Silence they displayed a claustrophobic, catastrophic drone induced version at a time where the push was towards the more fun side of doom/stoner. Through the years they kept evolving, switching from the … Read more
Uneven Structure
Februus
Basick (2011)
It takes a lot of chutzpah to have a double-disc debut. That doesn't seem to faze French/Swedish band Uneven Structure, as proven by their debut release on Basick records, the 90-minute opus Februus.The first disc is one 55 minute unbroken suite. It takes a lot of cues from the thick, layered ambiance of bands like Dirge and the deep-seated spaciness … Read more
Unholy
Blood of the Medusa
Lambgoat (2007)
Unholy first appeared on the hardcore radar in late 2004 when demo recordings from the band surfaced on the Internet. While many may have gotten caught up in the members' previous bands - Another Victim, Santa Sangre, Godbelow, The Promise, and just about every other Syracuse hardcore band from the past ten years - others let the music do the … Read more
Unholy
New Life Behind Closed Eyes
Prosthetic (2009)
Unholy returns with a brand new full-length effort, and with it comes a number of new beginnings. First off, the band has seen a major lineup shift, trading out vocalists and its rhythm section. Secondly, the band has upgraded to a more high profile home at Prosthetic Records. In spite of these changes, Unholy has continued to deliver a quality … Read more
Unholy Majesty
Self Titled
A389 (2012)
Burgeoning from a small town called Margate in the United Kingdom, is Unholy Majesty, a metallic hardcore supergroup meant to convey the bleak atmosphere of their city through music. With members of bands such as Sacred Ritual, Cold Snap, Age Of Kali, The Break In and Santa Karla it’s clear that this band has paid it’s dues and are looking … Read more
Uniform
Shame
Sacred Bones (2020)
Uniform’s music is aggressive; it’s harsh, noisy, power electronics with smatterings of industrial, metallic hardcore and rumbling chords and overseeing it all is Michael Berdan’s voice – a voice that has lived through more than most can ever imagine and one that underpins their fourth full-length, Shame, as its narrator.Shame is the study of the in between, the moments that … Read more
United Nations
The Next Four Years
Temporary Residence (2014)
United Nations have been locked away for a few years now. Members have come and gone and we aren't even exactly sure which ones. In those four years though, they created music, and that music is finally available to the masses in the form of The Next Four Years. While it's being released as a new full length, it's fair … Read more
United Nations
United Nations
Eyeball (2008)
The initial suggestions of United Nations falling under the grindcore, powerviolence, and traditional screamo umbrellas may have created unrealistic expectations for some music lovers. However, one can't really fault the band members of United Nations for attempting to distance themselves from the stereotypes of their main projects with these descriptions of what to expect from the band. To many screamo … Read more
United States
Divorce Songs
Iron Pier (2006)
United States are back, following up their Fuck It Tapes cassette release with an pseudo-urgent catcall of angular and somewhat disjointed full-length tunes on an album entitled Divorce Songs. The band is from Brooklyn and these songs, according to the one sheet, are about "surviving the city, struggling in the city and learning in the city." The lyrical content definitely … Read more
Universe 217
Never
Catch The Soap Productions (2013)
I still remember the first time I saw Universe217 playing live in Athens, back in 2008. They were the supporting act for Scott Kelly of Neurosis and I found myself thinking that this band definitely is on the right path in terms of what they are doing with their music. Considering they had just released their debut self-titled album at … Read more
Unmothered
Self Titled
Independent (2013)
Unmothered from Austin, Texas have released one of the most promising releases of 2012. The band, featuring members of acts such as Lions of Tsavo and The Hidden Hand, brings seven tracks of atmospheric sludge that you definitely need to have a listen to. By combining their sound with influences from stoner and southern rock influences along with their doom … Read more
