Katatonia
City Burials
Peaceville (2020)
Katatonia are one of the most well loved and revered bands of today and while the wait for new music since The Fall of Hearts in 2016 has been a little longer than the usual cycle for the Swedish band – they announced a hiatus after this record was released - they have not been resting in that time, rather … Read more
Katatonia
Dead End Kings
Peaceville (2012)
Sweden’s Katatonia have been a constant presence in the realm of blackened doom/death metal since the bands inception way back in the very early 90s, and whilst a modicum of that era is still present in the group’s sound of today, Katatonia are now a fully fledged depressive rock entity. Whilst this depressive tendency ebbs and flows throughout much of … Read more
Katatonia
Sky Void of Stars
Napalm (2023)
Forgive me, for a moment, while I take some time to explain that sitting down to write this piece was difficult. I stopped and started several times and that’s not counting the amount of days I spent just thinking about writing a review. You see, Katatonia are an institution and I felt that trying to describe their music was a … Read more
Katatonia
The Fall of Hearts
Peaceville (2016)
Katatonia’s evolution over their twenty five year career has been one that’s taken in doom, death metal, gothic soundscapes and progressive beats, but more than anything, a deeply felt emotional tie to the music has been found within. Whenever they’ve been moving through difficult moments as a band - with members leaving during last few years – their music hasn’t … Read more
Kayo Dot
Blue Lambency Downward
Hydra Head (2008)
Kayo Dot is still creating music that's "eerie as fuck," but that comes as no surprise. The band seems to follow no set of guidelines when it comes to writing music. Toby Driver's voice is the only certain thing that can be heard over the sounds Kayo Dot makes. Not to say that the music is uncertain, but it is … Read more
Kayo Dot
Coffins On Io
Flenser (2014)
Just last year, Kayo Dot were releasing one of their most ambitious and challenging albums, Hubardo. The US based band, led by mastermind singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Toby Driver, has made a career out of their crazy mold of different musical genres. Hubardo was the perfect example of the Kayo Dot vision, encompassing in its two disks elements of avant-garde metal, post-metal and … Read more
Kayo Dot
Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue
Robotic Empire (2006)
Premise: An album comprised of five tracks. -Five tracks, man? Pffft, how long could it be? -Like, you know... longer than that Locust joint. -No way? Which Locust joint? -Any of them, and yeah way. -Kayo Dot's on Robotic Empire. So, this album's a combination of spazzy drumbeats, everywhere guitar parts, and harsh vocals - that I love, of course … Read more
Kayo Dot
Hubardo
Ice Level Music (2013)
It starts off inconspicuously enough, a series of instrumental swells that set the sombre and dark mood for the rest of the album. And then the growls enter, delivered as if part of a spoken word piece, each individual syllable pronounced as if there was all the time in the world. The swells become broader and more intense, a series … Read more
Keelhaul
Keelhaul's Triumphant Return to Obscurity
Hydra Head (2009)
It's been five years since Cleveland-based Keelhaul last graced us with Subject to Change Without Notice. In that time a lot has transpired, and not just in the world of music. And yet it is refreshing to know that even though everything surrounding us appears to be in a state of flux, that there are some things that remain constant. … Read more
Keelhaul
Subject to Change Without Notice
Hydra Head (2004)
Remember when you and your friends formed your first band? It didn't matter what kind of music you were going to play. As long as you had a really awesome sounding name. So when a band takes the stage and screams "We are Keelhaul, from Cleveland, Ohio," I bet the first thing that pops into your head is what the … Read more
Keene Brothers
Blues and Boogie Shoes
Fading Captain (2006)
Everybody's got a little something to say about Robert Pollard these days. Drunk, father, master singer-vocalist. Many years ago, long before the advent of the Internet a close friend remarked how Pollard could basically do no wrong as he has the gift of having the voice of a bell. True enough. Once again, it's all here on display in Blues … Read more
Keith Canisius
This Time It's Our High
Darla (2010)
Keith Canisius is a lesser known musician who managed to be born in the USA and move himself out to Denmark. This album is not his first for certain. In the time between albums he has made a mark on the growing dream-pop and shoegaze scenes. The man has clearly been able to create a fan base using a backing … Read more
Keith Emerson and Greg Lake
Live at Manticore Hall
Manticore Records (2014)
After forming in 1970, the members of progressive rock group Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (i.e. keyboardist extraordinaire Keith Emerson, guitarist/bassist/vocalist Greg Lake, and drummer Carl Palmer, all highly experienced and extremely technically proficient players) crafted some incredibly influential music and perhaps were the only popular music group that performed classical music and classically-influenced pieces as part of their normal repertoire. … Read more
Ken Mode
Entrench
Season of Mist (2013)
Ken Mode from Canada have been around for quite a while. The band was formed back in 1999, releasing their debut album, Mongrel, in 2003. Since then three more full-lengths followed (Reprisal, Mennonite and Venerable) until Ken Mode reached their absolute peak with the enthralling Entrench. Listening to the album what seems so surreal is that, even though this is … Read more
Ken Mode
Null
Artoffact (2022)
KEN Mode have always favored a dark and oppressive path for their extreme music aspirations. From their early days up to the release of the seminal Entrench, the act from Winnipeg, Canada has not held anything back. In 2013 it would be difficult to imagine how KEN Mode could surpass their seminal works. The release of Success in 2015 felt … Read more
Kendrick Lamar
good kid, m.A.A.d city
Interscope/Top Dawg/Aftermath (2012)
What better way to start my career at Scene Point Blank and as a published writer than by reviewing one of the most important releases of 2012? Probably any other way, really, but I feel compelled to share my take on Kendrick Lamar’s second studio album Good Kid: M.A.A.D. City because of the impact it has made in the short … Read more
Kepi Ghoulie
Ramones in Love
Pirates Press (2023)
The (rightful) knock on many of the “old punks gone solo” is that it’s a person with an acoustic guitar, playing stripped down punk that kind of all sounds the same by the time the record ends. Add the concept of this record, a Ramones covers album, and you likely already expect a lot of that “sameness factor.” Ramones in … Read more
Keren Ann
Nolita
Blue Note (2005)
On The Blood Brothers' 2004 disc Crimes singers Jordan Blilie and Johnny Whitney scream, "Everybody needs a little devastation," from "Devastator." Well you know what fellas, sometimes everybody needs a little benefaction. Sometimes we need love and flowers and pretty things, like rainbows and holding hands. Singer/songwriter Keren Ann Zeidel, whose recording name is simply Keren Ann, shows us the … Read more
