The Raconteurs
Broken Boy Soldiers
XL Recordings (2006)
A raconteur is defined as "one who tells stories and anecdotes with skill." A skillful storyteller draws in his audience with an introduction that makes them want more. "Steady, as She Goes," the first single from The Raconteurs debut album Broken Boy Soldiers, is this introduction. At first listen to "Steady, as She Goes," you may think, "Oh, it's The … Read more
The Rebel Spell
Last Run
Rebel Time Records (2014)
In many ways The Rebel Spell’s Last Run is a depressing album. The cover art depicts a feeble, aging anthropoid trying desperately to hold back an immense industrial wave. It’s clear that he won’t be able to stand his ground for long. The album title itself can be interpreted as an ominous prediction for the fate of our civilization. And … Read more
The Red Baron
My First Love
Blood & Ink (2009)
Christian hardcore isn't exactly my thing but I was willing to give The Red Baron's debut album, My First Love, a fair, unbiased listen only to find out that the record is everything I'd fear it would be: preachy, generic and forgettable. What we have here is twelve tracks of straight-edge and Christian-inspired hardcore songs where the band isn't afraid … Read more
The Red Chord
Clients
Metal Blade (2005)
Since the release of 2002's Fused Together In Revolving Doors, The Red Chord has slowly but surely become one of the most popular and respected bands throughout the hardcore/metal scene. Fusing together an amalgam of various styles of heavy music, the band's sound refuses to be typecast into any one specific genre. Drawing influences from hardcore, thrash metal, and grindcore … Read more
The Reds
Fugitives from the Laughing House
Tarock (2008)
Fugitives from the Laughing House comes twenty years after The Reds released their first single. Despite such a history, the band is not a household name and, with Fugitives from the Laughing House being only the band's second full-length since 1984 (sixth total) it's not that they've been overly prolific. While I am unfamiliar with most of the band's releases, … Read more
The Rememberables
The Rememberables
Adagio830 (2017)
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
The Reptilian
Boys Life EP
Count Your Lucky Stars (2009)
Angular, discombobulated yet tuneful and melodic 90's styled emo. I haven't heard a band like this in quite some time and there's probably a good reason for that. The Reptilian is decent enough with their jangly guitars and drums that sound they're falling down a flight of stairs in time but they are also nothing I can fully enjoy. All … Read more
The Residents
Animal Lover
Mute (2005)
The Residents are an anomaly. This is an age where most music is the same regardless of how deep the scratch is. But whether their music is at its most simplistic and frivolous, or challenging and complex, there's an underlying malevolence beneath the songs that somehow make it seem all the more beautiful. Animal Lover is the group's umpteenth recording … Read more
The Right Here
Northern Town
Rum Bar Records (2021)
Northern Town is a fitting title for this album. It feels like winter: cold, lonely, and daunting. It’s the third record from The Right Here, based in Minneapolis, MN, one of the northernmost cities in the continental US. The band play alt-country with punk undertones. The songs are a little more expansive than your standard punk thang, with more lament, … Read more
The Riot Before
Fists Buried in Pockets
Say-10 (2008)
The Riot Before hail from Richmond but look and sound like a Gainesville band. Musically, I'd lump them in with American Steel and old Against Me!. There is a folk undertone, but the music is electric guitar-fueled punk rock with strong, emotive vocals. The band quickly establishes their sound with the titular track "Fists Buried in Pockets," a minimalist song … Read more
The Riot Before
Rebellion
Paper + Plastick (2010)
Early releases from The Riot Before have had an undeniable feeling that the band was primarily Brett Adams’ project. Although they have a handful of releases under their belt, the band just formed in 2006, and Rebellion shows them still growing beyond Adams’ dominant shouts and the sonic contrasts that define his songwriting. On their latest release there is a … Read more
The Rise
Reclamation Process
Law of Inertia (2004)
Someone call the RIAA because I stole an album. That's right, I downloaded the entire Reclamation Process album using a downloading program that shall rename nameless. So how long before I can expect a knock at my door from men in black? Who cares? Let them knock. Why am I being so bold about illegally downloading music? Perhaps it is … Read more
The River Bends
And Flows into the Sea
Tooth & Nail (2004)
Denison Witmer-say the name with me- Den-i-son Wit-mer. We are doing this exercise for two reasons, because a) his name is kinda hard to pronounce and b) I don't want you to forget it. Now I suppose you want to know who this guy is and what does he have to do with The River Bends? Well, please allow me … Read more
The Riverboat Gamblers
The Wolf You Feed
Volcom (2012)
The Riverboat Gamblers are an established band. So much so that it surprised me to see that The Wolf You Feed is just their fifth full-length, following last year’s Smash/Grab EP. With that history, they’ve jumped styles and labels, going unfettered rock to slick anthems, and successfully straddling the lines between punk, hard rock, and garage. The Wolf You Feed … Read more
The Roots
Undun
Def Jam (2011)
I’m conflicted when it comes to “conscious rap.” On the one hand, I hate the label and attempt and creating a subgenre for hip-hop that doesn’t adhere to the conventions of mainstream rap. To me, it’s still rap and it makes little sense to marginalize those artists who seem to more highly value originality over the fast-food punchlines which dominate … Read more
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Plays Prog Rock Classics
Cleopatra (2015)
At a point in the late '90s and early-to-mid 2000s, it seemed like every major artist had at least one tribute album out there. Invariably produced by one cheap-jack record label or another, these albums highlighted a dozen or so no-name musicians playing through (and quite possibly butchering) various well-known songs and were often framed around a particular type of … Read more
The Ruins of Beverast
Blood Vaults The Blazing Gospel Of Heinrich Kramer (Cryptae Sanguinum Evangelium Flagrans Henrici Institoris)
Ván (2013)
On first listen of The Ruins of Beverast new record Blood Vaults – The Blazing Gospel Of Heinrich Kramer (Cryptae Sanguinum – Evangelium Flagrans Henrici Institoris) you pretty much fall in love. On repeated listens however, you find much to dislike about it. It’s too long, there’s too much happening, there’s too much weird stuff going on. While weirdo black … Read more
The Ruins of Beverast
Rain Upon the Impure
Ván (2007)
This is the only album I've ever heard that sounds like it should have been wrapped in a shroud. Relentlessly bleak and resoundingly brilliant, this project of Nagelfar (no, the other one*) drummer Alexander Von Meilenwald is the best ambient black metal album to come around since .well, since the project's last album, Unlock the Shrine, with a couple of … Read more
