Exodus
Shovel Headed Kill Machine
Nuclear Blast (2005)
We've all heard the stories. Someone leaves your favorite band and the remaining members have two choices.... carry on or pack it in. It doesn't mean shit to a tree why the member left - whether they were kicked out, quit, or had a bus roll over on them, the point is they're gone, and as popular as the band … Read more
Explosions in the Sky
All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone
Temporary Residence (2007)
To call Explosions in the Sky's new record, All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, expansive would be a horrendous understatement. The guitars swirl around each other in a dizzying fashion that does nothing other than grip the listener in a strange catatonic envelope. On the outside, the individual looks completely serene and vacant while inside they are caught up … Read more
Explosions in the Sky
Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
Temporary Residence (2011)
Explosions In The Sky proudly create post-rock music that, though sounding simple, is far from being simplistic. Consistency remains a key element in their vast, instrumental sound, comprised of atmospheric rhythms, lofty dynamics and the band’s ability to produce colorful, emotional soundscapes. Sonics aside, even the illustrious art works of each of their six studio album covers indicate the sort … Read more
Explosions in the Sky
The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place
Temporary Residence (2003)
If Explosions in the Sky's previous LP, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever, could be called one thing, it would be called "derivative." Not that it wasn't an incredible record crafted by a band on top of their game, but let's be honest: it simply regurgitated ideas that the forerunners of … Read more
Explosions in the Sky
The Wilderness
Temporary Residence (2016)
It’s been five years since Texas post-rock outfit Explosions in the Sky released Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, which makes this the longest between-album gap for the band. Not that they’ve been sitting on their hands: They’ve been reliving their Friday Night Lights claim-to-fame years, writing three soundtracks for movies you’d probably only watch because Explosions scored them. There’s … Read more
Explosions in the Sky with David Wingo
Prince Avalanche Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Temporary Residence (2013)
The soundtrack for the 2013 film Prince Avalanche, created by instrumental rock group Explosions in the Sky in collaboration with David Wingo, has to be considered one of the most strange and potentially divisive albums in the band’s repertoire. Though the group gained notoriety when they were featured extensively on the soundtrack to 2004’s Friday Night Lights, the music used … Read more
Extinction A.D.
Faithkiller
Good Fight (2015)
Extinction A.D. rose like hellfire from the rubble of the, now listless, Long Island hardcore outfit This is Hell. In a rare move, the entire musical backing of This is Hell packed up and moved into the world of thrash, leaving the band’s lead vocalist in the dust. The result was Extinction A.D., an immaculate four-piece thrash metal juggernaut. The … Read more
Extinction A.D.
Plague Prophecy
Good Fight (2014)
A storm has ostensibly been brewing in Long Island, New York beneath the surface of the hardcore outfit This Is Hell. For those in the know, This Is Hell has been an East Coast staple for the better part of the millennium. Interestingly, the band had been bearing the teeth of metal and thrash in their later records, moving off … Read more
ExxoStack
Terramygdala
Independent (2022)
Instrumental progressive metal pretty much died out in the late 2010s, right? Wrong! While it can feel like that at times, there are still plenty of bands out there toying with the legacy of the genre in interesting ways. One of them is ExxoStack, on which I’ll be focusing today, particularly the latest record, Terramygdala. ExxoStack took off as the … Read more
Eye of Judgement
The New Crusade
New Eden (2006)
Let's face it, since the departure of Earth Crisis in 2001, there hasn't been a prevalent force in the vegan straightedge scene. I suppose Undying made an attempt at it, but with constant lineup problems and a lack of touring, they never quite got on track. xMaroonx also had a shot at it, but they really haven't toured outside of … Read more
Eyehategod
Eyehategod
Housecore (2014)
With their first full-length album in 14 years (save for an EP of sorts in 2005 and a 7" in 2012), it's almost one's gut instinct to remark that Eyehategod haven't missed a beat in all that time and sound as lethal now as they did on 2000's Confederacy of Ruined Lives. However, to gloss over those nearly 15 years … Read more
Eyes Averted
Paralyzing Passion and Motion
Independent (2006)
It seems strange that a band like Eyes Averted would end up having to self-release their debut album. Before Paralyzing Passion and Motion was completed, the band was abruptly dropped from their label. Why would this happen? What acceptable excuse could there possibly be? The technical, almost progressive, hardcore style the band embraces has reached a level of popularity that … Read more
Eyes of Ligeia
A Fever Which Would Cling to Thee Forever
Paragon (2006)
Ask the founding member of Eyes of Ligeia about his band history and you're likely to get this responseââ¬Â¦ In the cursed year 1998 of the Common Era (not coincidentally corresponding to the Number of the Beast three times over), a new medium was required for the communication of haunting despair and abject misery through music. It was to this … Read more
Face To Face
Laugh Now, Laugh Later
Antagonist (2011)
By the end of 2004, Face to Face had disbanded and there were no signs that would have suggested they’d ever write or play again. It was 4 years later that a glimmer of hope began to shine when the band announced a run of reunion shows. Eventually, word broke out that there would be a new album, and the … Read more
Faith No More
Sol Invictus
Reclamation Recordings/Ipecac (2015)
June, 1997.Hanson's Mmmbop was at the top of the charts. Hype was building for James Cameron's soon-to-be-released new film Titanic. Layne Staley and Princess Diana had yet to shuffle off this mortal coil. And Faith No More's Album of the Year hit the shelves - what was to be the last album the band released before calling it quits the … Read more
Fake Names
Fake Names
Epitaph (2020)
Fake Names formed when two long-time friends decided to play music together at home, with no plans for it to grow into an actual group. But after Brian Baker (Minor Threat, Dag Nasty, Bad Religion) and Michael Hampton (S.O.A., Embrace, One Last Wish) put the pen to paper, they changed their mind and recruited a band. They’d attended elementary school … Read more
Fake Problems
How Far Our Bodies Go
Sabot (2007)
The comparisons are going to be made so let's just get them out of the way right now. As Against Me! becomes the new Hot Water Music, Fake Problems might just become the new Against Me!. Maybe. Yes, Fake Problems hails from Florida, a few hours north of the aforementioned bands and yes, they take a no frills approach to … Read more
Fall City Fall
Victus
Victory (2013)
Meet Fall City Fall, the patron saints of Calgary Metalcore. Five years in the making and putting out their Major Label Debut, “Victus” through Victory Records, these guys have been working hard to get to where they are and this record shows it. Fall City Fall blends a melodic sensibility akin to bands such as La Dispute with a what’s … Read more
