This Ending
Inside the Machine
Metal Blade (2007)
This Ending's Inside the Machine is a creeper. The first time I heard it, I really didn't care for it. It was alright, but the music seemed somewhat stilted and uninspired. Sure it was heavy, but so are a lot of groups - groups that manage to be more interesting, as well. Then, as I'm wont to do, I gave … Read more
This is Hell
Misfortunes
Trustkill (2008)
Long Island's road warriors return with their second full-length, Misfortunes, laying waste to a host of notions about who they are and what they stand for. The ante has been upped, so bid in or bow out. Dogged by claims of being both a hype band, existing on word of mouth rather than talent, and a Trustkill marketing move, This … Read more
This is Hell
Sundowning
Trustkill (2006)
This sounds like what could have been the missing link between American Nightmare's two full-length LPs, the straightforward brilliance of Background Music and the more eccentric but equally great We're Down 'Til We're Underground; This Is Hell are certainly keeping hardcore fresh and new-sounding, but they're not straying so far away from their roots as to render them unrecognizable. I'll … Read more
This is Hell
This is Hell
State of Mind (2005)
This Is Hell was unavoidable in 2004. Whether it was This Is Hell's demo that quickly sold out, their rabid touring or people uttering, "This is hell..." after President Bush was elected, the band couldn't be ignored. Well boys and girls, This Is Hell will even be harder to ignore in 2005 with the wheels of the touring juggernaut beginning … Read more
This is Hell
This is Hell (Demo)
Run for Cover (2004)
Essentially, there are two types of hardcore bands. The first gravitates towards kids who are really into hardcore. The second is enjoyed by casual hardcore fans. Then there are the bands that fit in both categories (Terror, American Nightmare, etc.) Although this is This Is Hell's first release, a demo/EP, all the ingredients are present for This Is Hell to … Read more
This is Hell
Warbirds
Think Fast! (2009)
Long Island natives This is Hell have been going full-force since their formation in 2004. There has been an endless stream of releases - a demo, a couple of EP's, a split, and two full-lengths - through those years. The Warbirds 7" features three brand new songs and two cover songs, something the band seems to rather enjoy (previous covers … Read more
This Moment
Finding a Voice in the Dark
Uprising (2005)
Playing music in a genre like metalcore is a difficult thing. You've got to do what you do very well to separate yourself from the rest of the pack. Even then, odds are you will be tagged as such and thrown in with the rest of the pack of 18 Visions', Atreyu's, and Unearth's. Finding a Voice in the Dark, … Read more
This Time Next Year
Demonstration
Independent (2006)
I know I've said this before, but God bless the Bay Area! Five-piece outfit This Time Next Year is the latest band to emerge from the thriving music scene of the Golden Gate. The young pop-punk outfit hits the scene with Demonstration, five tracks of fabulous pop-punk and melodic hardcore fused as one. "The Wise are Always Better" begins the … Read more
This Time Next Year
Road Maps and Heart Attacks
Equal Vision (2009)
The term "pop-punk" has been tarnished and dragged through the mud quite a bit thanks to the surge of boy bands disguising themselves as pop-punk bands: All Time Low, Forever the Sickest Kids, Mayday Parade, etc. These bands parade around giving a bad name to any band that draws any influence from the New Found Glory/Saves the Day school of … Read more
This Time Next Year
The Longest Way Home
Run for Cover (2008)
So many thoughts come to mind when I think of this California-based pop-punk group. This Time Next Year is a band that not only captured my ear, but also my heart when their demo recording landed in my mailbox. I was so infatuated with their sound that I literally put my money where my mouth was when I released A … Read more
This Will Destroy You
This Will Destroy You
Magic Bullet (2008)
It wasn't long ago that Texas natives This Will Destroy You were nothing more than a well-kept secret. But thanks to a solid debut album and a little luck the band went from practically unknowns to indie music darlings. As a result the band's debut full-length, This Will Destroy You, was placed atop many individuals lists of the most anticipated … Read more
This Will Destroy You / Lymbyc Systym
Field Studies
Magic Bullet (2009)
Split recordings are almost always unique projects in some aspect or manner; I particularly enjoy them when there is an artist involved that I'm not too familiar with. Field Studies is one of those occasions. The two parties represented - This Will Destroy You and Lymbyc Systym - came up with the idea for this recording while on tour together, … Read more
Thisquietarmy
Resurgence
Denovali (2012)
Existing purely on the periphery of my personal aural hemisphere due to their touring with and collaborating with several artists and bands that I avidly follow but never getting around to actually listening to their records, Thisquietarmy has eluded my attentions for far too long and Resurgence seemed like the perfect opportunity to check out this prolific artist; but maybe … Read more
thisquietarmy X Away
The Singularity, Phase I
P572 (2020)
Imagine a highway, stripped of all life and containing their minute particles, each one full of information and colour, sound and breath. Imagine the highway reaching to the sky, its steps as notes and stretches of sound as the straights. thisquietarmy have created such an image in their collaboration with Voivoid’s Michel “Away” Langevin, their rhythms bringing soul and a … Read more
Thom Yorke
Anima
XL Recordings (2019)
There’s a kind of anxious immediacy that bleeds through every song on Anima, Thom Yorke’s latest solo album. Normally this would signal a lack of cohesion or at the very least an uneven listening experience, but somehow Yorke manages to pack all his troubles in his old kit bag and smile, giving us his strongest solo album to date.The whirring, … Read more
Thom Yorke
Suspiria (Music for the Luca Guadagnino film)
XL Recordings (2018)
Taking a page from bandmate Jonny Greenwood’s songbook, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke has thrown himself into the breach of film scoring and it really takes only 1 minute and 47 seconds - or roughly the length of opening track “A Storm That Took Everything” to wonder why it ever took this long to begin with?For the uninitiated, Suspiria is an iconic … Read more
Thom Yorke
The Eraser
XL Recordings (2006)
I'm pretty sure Thom Yorke needs no introduction. As part of "that" band Radiohead he has helped make some the most beautiful, challenging and plain odd music of the last decade. So when it was announced that he had decided to release an album all by himself (he won't call it a solo project) it seemed like a bolt out … Read more
Thou
Rhea Sylvia
Deathwish Inc. (2018)
Thou, in this particular rendition, throw down great song thud after thud, right on the table, while permeating a delicate scent through their carefully constructed EP, Rhea Sylvia. Each song is a steamy dish, smelling like Tool, Starkweather, and Isis mishmashed together. The vocals have a Maynardish-Alice In Chains chest voice, a Starkweather scream, and a shimmering lead guitar tone. … Read more
