Immortal Technique
The 3rd World
Viper (2008)
With the likes of T-Pain and Lil Jon being the pop music representatives of hip-hop, it seems that the narcissistic materialist is officially the new standard. Fighting the power is just not all that cool. The average kid today associates rap with the glamor of Lil Wayne and Soulja Boy rather than the fury of Ice-T and NWA. Meanwhile, Ice … Read more
Impious
Holy Murder Masquerade
Metal Blade (2007)
For the most part, there is no concept to Death Metal other thanââ¬Â¦..well, death. Lofty ideas or "concepts" are usually left to the Power Metal bunch who just looooove to show off their epic sagas with tales of wizards and ghosts and pumpkins and whatnot. This also affords them the opportunity to tell a story, usually in great length, interspersed … Read more
Implodes
Reverser
Gilead Media (2015)
Implodes from Chicago is a very interesting act. Their debut album Black Earth which came out in 2011 was an unbelievable blend of noise, post rock and kraut rock which showed the band balancing all these different elements to find their unique sound. A couple of years afterwards this insane company was putting out their sophomore release, Recurring Dream, digging … Read more
Impure Wilhelmina
Antidote
Season of Mist (2021)
My girlfriend asked me, earlier this year: “why does all music you like sound so bloody serious?”. At first I denied this and listed a couple of bands and albums that sound more party-like, but after giving it some thought I had to agree. I really lean towards the stuff that sounds bloody serious. In comes Impure Wilhelmina, who can … Read more
Impure Wilhelmina
Radiation
Season of Mist (2017)
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
In Control
In Control EP
Indecision/Martyr (2003)
A piece of hardcore music is going to die when In Control bows out later this year. They are one of the most loved, respected, and important bands in the scene currently and the West Coast is going to feel a bigger disturbance in the Force than Obi-wan Kenobi did when Alderon was blown to bits by the Emperor's Death … Read more
In Control
The Truth Hurts
Indecision/Martyr (2003)
When I first got into hardcore, I was exposed to the old shit'you know, Bad Religion, 7 Seconds, Minor Threat, DI'the stuff from when people still realized that hardcore IS punk. Slowly, as metal began to invade the scene, hardcore and punk split into, what seem today, two completely different genres. In Control bring it back to the old school, … Read more
In First Person
Lost Between Hands Held Tight
Paramnesia (2006)
A few months ago in Scene Point Blank's Mid Year feature I mentioned that Paramnesia Records had been the record label of the year up to that point, and that I was looking forward to their next release by In First Person. That release is now here, and with it comes the solidification of my belief that Paramnesia is the … Read more
In Flames
Come Clarity
Ferret (2006)
In metal circles, In Flames need little introduction, if any at all. The once vaunted band was at the forefront of the "New Wave of Swedish Death Metal" invasion that produced masterpieces like Jester's Race, Whoracle, and Colony. The band has been on somewhat of a decline over the last several albums, culminating in the critically panned, ill received nu-metal … Read more
In the Crosshairs
Partners in Crime
Blood Money (2005)
Partners in Crime opens up with a sound byte of god only knows what (I don't know, maybe something eastern-influenced? Is that PC? Who cares) and melts into metal. I know, I know, since when do things melt into metal? The laws of physics dictate that this is not possible, but the laws of hardcore dictate that it is both … Read more
In the Face of War
We Make Our Own Luck
Detournement (2007)
I remember this band; a few years ago I picked up Live Forever or Die Trying with false promises of sweet melodic hardcore. We all know how much I love sweet melodic hardcore. Unfortunately, I was rewarded with another bland disc of substandard metallic somewhat fast hardcore. The only redeeming factor on Live Forever or Die Trying was a good … Read more
In the Red
Volume 2
Suburban Home (2009)
California's In the Red always fell under the radar to me until I decided to listen to vocalist/guitarist, Mike Hale's latest solo album, Lives Like Mine. I really liked this album and his other solo work and was impressed enough with his acoustic outing to give In the Red's sophomore record, Volume 2 a chance. Unfortunately, I was let down … Read more
Inara George
All Rise
Everloving/Loose (2005)
It's taken more than a year, but finally, Inara George's All Rise opus has been given a UK release. Readily available on import at no extra cost, the necessity for it is questionable. But with a new album on the way, featuring songs co-written by Idlewild's Rod Jones, and a performance with the very same coming up in London, the … Read more
Indian
From All Purity
Relapse (2014)
There's a song on Indian's From All Purity titled "Directional" and given the Chicago-based band's implementation of new ideas such as fuzzed out guitars and meat cleaver sludged riffs, it'd be easy to make a joke about the group going in new directions. However, the phrase "new direction" implies a sort of willingness. From All Purity, the group's fifth full-length … Read more
Indian
Slights and Abuse / The Sychophant
Seventh Rule (2008)
"Apocalyptic" is a word thrown around a lot in reviews, to the point where readers could really stop putting any stock in it. But many genres, like black metal, drone, and probably even folk, really do have a few artists deserving of this most serious adjective because of their unnerving atmospheres and epic, timeless approaches. For the doom metal genre, … Read more
Indian Summer
Hidden Arithmetic (Reissue)
Future (2007)
It just does not come anywhere near as enigmatic as this. Indian Summer was a very short-lived band from the early to mid 1990's that made music in an era when "emo" was not a dirty word (it was simply derided by uppity hardcore kids). The songs were and still are sloppy, emotional, powerful, and unnamed (their fans later gave … Read more
Indian Summer
Science 1994 (Reissue)
Future (2008)
Following up the recent release of their live "discography", Hidden Arithmetic, Indian Summer is re-releasing their "studio" discography to make available just about everything that this outfit put to tape and thankfully so since their original versions can be known to fetch decent sums of money on the collector's market. This band is a much lauded and revered group by … Read more
Infectious Garage Disease
Self Titled
Negative Reaction / MVD Audio (2013)
The gods of weird have unearthed yet another obscure group of misfits and re-unleashed them upon those of us that zealously engross ourselves in all things loud, fast and fucked up. This is the complete discography of Northern California’s short-lived thrashing party punks, Infectious Garage Disease. There is a whopping two-plus hours of material on this double disc collection. It … Read more
