Hello! We have moved! Actually, everything is pretty much the same, except new server, new OFFICIAL ownership and actual total and utter control which we should have had years ago, but were too lazy to sort out. All is good in the KIF house. What better way to celebrate my a slating/praising/some pointless rambling about some bands from a Rock Sound CD. Yeah?

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Funeral For A Friend – Welcome Home Armageddon

Retaining the similar catchy riffs from their debut ‘Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation’; Funeral For A Friend seem to be making a stab at grasping at the time when they actually sounded good – the pop elements that dominated most of ‘Hours’ are present; but seem a lot keener and more earnest. It’s still not quite what I expected as a comeback, but Davies-Kreye’s voice has never sounded stronger.

Yellowcard – For You And Your Denial

Does anyone actually listen to Yellowcard? Thought not. This sounds proper weak to their old stuff. I blame them kicking out their old singer – yeah, it’s a case of ‘preferred the early stuff’ and so would you; this is so wet – sure, it’s fast, but completely soulless, dull and throwing a violin at it isn’t going to cut it here.

D.R.U.G.S. – If You Think This Song Is About You, It Probably Is

The ‘hilariously’ named D.R.U.G.S. are apparently a super-group of modern emo-alumni, led by Craig Owens who was once in Chiodos. The intro is actually fairly heavy – stop-start rhythmic blasts that lean towards being somewhat hardcore. The use of trippy beats and glitching noises turns it away from the predictable pathway of wailing vocals and a chorus that could have been cribbed from ANY of the bands associated with this group. Patchy.

Defeater – Dear Father

It must be cold in the Defeater studio. The chill this track has is sharp, gritty and will make you shudder. The vocals are spat, rather than sung; half the time sounding like a fanatical preacher raging at a patriarch, with such ferocity (“YOU COWARD! YOU COWARD!”) it’s perhaps obvious to make some connection towards absent figures and daddy-issues.

Such Gold – Sycamore

Sometimes I wish I wasn’t such a massive sucker for this sort of punk rock. You know; the stuff that mixes clean/shouted vocals so well; rollicking along with that kind of 90s emo intensity, mixed with Four Year Strong-meets Set Your Goals hardcore attitude; fist-pumping choruses, spluttering lead vocalists and massive stupid-grin-on-my-face dumbness. Uplifting, boisterous punk that I can’t get enough of.

Trap Them – Evictionaries

The bass on this sounds as if it’s been dipped in sludge and left to rust. It’s a dense, tight attack that seems to rely on disconcerting the listener, whilst a man doing a very impressive Kevin Baker of the Hope Conspiracy impression as the guitars chew and mangle their way through just under 3 minutes of bitter and twisted hardcore.

Within Temptation – Where Is The Edge?

Not feeling this at all. True, she’s got a decent voice and there’s some nice keyboard moments, particularly the breakdown, but Symphonic metal never really sits well with me; and always seems to sound, well – repetitive. Massive rising and crashing choruses, quiet patches of instrumental build, bit of wigging out on the guitar – not for me really.

TesseracT – The Impossible: Concealing Fate Part Three

This doesn’t actually go anywhere. TesseracT seem to rely on shitloads of build and interesting movements, but they all seem to then fizzle out, only for them to start a new idea that then fizzles out, only for….oh forget it – you get the picture. It’s a complete fucking unlistenable mess that disguises some effective chugging guitar lines, which is a pity. Vocalist doesn’t seem to have a clue what he’s doing and nor does anyone else.

Sick Puppies – You’re Going Down

Some slick riffs in this; Sick Puppies, want to be intense – they want to be that edgy, no-bullshit band, that are unfortunately hampered by being so incredibly clichéd. Grunge-elements, mixed with tired nu-metal from about 10 years ago; shout-sung vocals full of angst and bored bitterness. Nice backing shouts mind, but nothing remotely special.

Thomas Giles – Hypoxia

This is the guy that fronts mathcore monsters, Between The Buried And Me. Screams and fragmented blast-beats of noise and experimental squeals are gone; what we have hear is looped piano chords, soft guitar plucking and a somewhat monotone yet, warm vocal lead that is greatly enforced when the drums kick in and everything gets turned up notch; in the style of Cave In crunchy rock. For some reason, I had expected something more electronic-based.

Vessels – The Trap

Vessels sound like a continent shifting – there’s something eerily serene about their almost ambient post-rock soundscapes, with guitars and echoing warbles shifting in and out of each other, whilst a steady drum roll manages to slot itself beneath an ethereal haze of mesmerising sound.

Ken MODE – Obeying The Iron Will

Let’s get angry. Focused, raw aggression is something that really makes music come alive. You can feel the spittle from the singer as they roar blue-bloody murder in your face, feel the guitars ringing in your ears and of course absorb the heavy vibration of the bass and drums as it buries you in sound. Ken MODE do this in the style of Taint-meets-Dillinger, pissed off metallic-noise hardcore.

Earthship – Sea of Peril

Vocalists who sound like a pig being strangled = funny as hell. Earthship’s main squealer has a tad or porcine in his throat It’s dense – riffs pummel and twist with a heavy, stoner crust and it clunks along at a strange, twisted gait, sounding a bit Poison The Well in some places.

The Royal Republic – The Royal

Fat Wreck Chords punk rock chords, mixed with perky, somewhat plumy vocal snaps and a streak of punchy, fast rock ‘n roll; this is truly special. Its blink-and-you’ll-miss it fist-pumping speed-punk.

Random Hand – Find What’s Out There

Random Hand are flying the UK flag for skacore at the moment and it’s easy to see just why. The mixture of gritty, trashed-sounding punk rock, snotty malevolence, Rocket From The Crypt-style brass blasts, quick fire vocal diatribes (in the style of the much missed Capdown) and a surprising amount of melody makes Random Hand the cream of the UK punk scene – nice work lads.

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Links

2, 3, 4

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By Ross Macdonald

I’ve been busy writing for two three other sites at the moment, so updates to this one are erratic to say the least. If you want to read about me rambling about computer games, then go here. Also, I write about any old music crap here, with my last post taking the piss out of Iced Earth for having about 9 drummers. Coming up: Mad Mac reviews, plus some other junk.

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And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Summer Of All Dead Souls

I’ve always considered Trail Of Dead to be an incredibly eccentric band; but one that delivers the goods. ‘Summer Of All Dead Souls’ is a grand mix of soaring/crashing choruses coupled with raucous churning guitar lines and smothering percussion, not to mention some brilliantly distorted vocals. A swirling cataclysm of joyful yet unconventional sounds that gives a nod to their snotty-punk roots of ‘Madonna’ and the bonkers epic parts that made up ‘Worlds Apart.’ Superb stuff.

A Skylit Drive – Too Little Too Late

Throughout the three minutes and eleven seconds that make up this track I thought to myself their must be something positive I can glean.  Unfortunately, even if they’d thrown in some fucking trumpets, the fact remains that I’d still be hearing the awful boy-band auto-tune vocals shrilling in my lugholes, coupled with some fifth-rate metalcore wannabes who accidentally lent on a piano during the recording. Hideous music, hideous band.

VersaEmerge – Figure It Out

Vocalist Sierra Kusterbeck has a sweet, dream-like flavour in her voice, wavering between Amanda Palmer style scariness and squeaky-clean, but gutsy pop-punk. Musically….it’s fairly light-hearted rock that threatens at something more and the ethereal passages that shimmer in the background (twitching loops and bubbling synth lines) all add depth and body to a well crafted tune.

Arcane Roots – In This Town Of Such Weather

Arcane Roots are all over the place – if the guitars aren’t stabbing great big prog-shaped holes in the scenery, then the slightly-too-shrill vocal lead (that gets more aggravated and scratchy as the track progresses) is bulldozing it’s way through, not to mention the almost math rock nature past the 3 minute mark, where it all seems to lose control, juddering and flailing everywhere like the ghost of Meet Me In St. Louis.

The Joy Formidable – I Don’t Want To See You Like This

Ritzy Bryan’s voice is a complete joy. Coupled with this swirling, powerful indie-rock it sounds like one of the best things ever. Her breathy whispers are alluring, as is the music which swoops in like a giant eagle, snatching you out of danger with its echoing, shuddering beauty. Hooks so big you can’t even scale them – simply wonderful.

Daytrader – Kill My Compass

Hot damn – before I bothered to look up about Daytrader I thought ‘hey, these guys sound a bit like they’ve listened to Latterman and Crime In Stereo’ – which are two bands Daytrader share members with. Anyway, this is freakin’ ace – think kind of Mineral-style emo, mixed with good-Jimmy Eat World choruses that soar, but still hold an agitated scratch of post-hardcore beneath the surface.

Lemuria –Chautaugua County

I reckon I heard this on the sound track to the latest Michael Cera indie-fluff. I love this; Lemuria make that kind of summery haze of dreamy indie rock that bounces along with uplifting grace and a sense that things aren’t complete and utter shit. There’s a grungy, lo-fi punk element to the recording, as well as an incredibly relaxed, apathetic twinge to drummer and vocalist Alex Kerns, which pairs nicely with the harmonising ‘whooaa oohs’ of guitarist Sheena Ozzella.

Day Of The Sirens – Home Is A Working Title

I reviewed these guys about 2 years ago – I’d love to say that my opinion of the band has completely reversed and that their latest musical exploits are a revelation…. but I’m not because that would be a lie and I don’t tell lies.

Don Broco – Dreamboy

Local boys Don Broco are all about the swaggering groove and hitting big choruses with cheeky gusto. Lyrically it’s nothing to really write home about; all seems a bit New Found Glory 10 years ago. When they find their stride though, the chorus of ‘Dreamboy’ burrows its way in and sets up shop quite nicely inside your brain, which is to be commended – very promising indeed.

Tephra – Chains And Pounding Hooves

“Hey let’s sound evil” must be what Germany’s Tephra were thinking when they decided to make music. It’s dense and kind of unsettling doom-laden metal that touches on Botch-style hardcore growls and a shrugging disgust of throw-away anger, whilst the bass gurgles beneath it all. Disturbing; a bit like listening to Cult Of Luna during a thunderstorm.

Mogwai – Rano Piano

It’s all about the slow-burn with Mogwai. ‘Rano Piano’ is an ambient wall of discordant fuzz; dragged along by a drumbeat that gets progressively louder and more sinister. There’s an eerie atmospheric howl stuttering through in the background as the track finally finds its feet and rises with such over-powering grace, it’s hard not to feel moved by this extraordinary composition.

Amplifier – The Octopus

If Adebisi Shank are the caped-crusader super heroes of space rock, then Amplifier are the evil twisted mastermind who resides in a skull palace carved out of a cliff face. The first 4 minutes of this are unrelentingly sinister, but never seems to tire from throwing new and exciting moments in the mix. It soon spirals out of control though, like a villainous breakdown of lurching riffs and bottoming-out heaviness. Easily the best song this month, hands down.

Black Spiders – Stay Down

The sneer in the voice of Pete Siby; frontman of Black Spiders, is so big it’s threatening to become a corporal entity. Black Spiders are rough, ballsy rock ‘n roll, part Foo Fighters in some areas, part Airbourne in others, with a hefty dose of arrogance and a scuzzy 70s swagger and filthy riffs – lovely, lovely stuff.

Polar – Shanghai Junk

Awesome amounts of breakneck speed and a scratchy, straining voice and bear-like backing vocal roars are always going to be in my good books. Polar have all this, as well as a surprising amount of melody within their scuzzy, hardcore punk that owes a lot to Gallows to some extent; but less whiny and more raw and slavering.

DevilDriver – Dead To Rights

DevilDriver might just be the best name ever for a metal band. Hey, it’s the dude that chauffeurs Satan around, got to be awesome right? Well yeah, to be honest this could have gone one of two ways; thankfully it took the right path – with elements of thrash-hardcore spilling through the more ridiculous moments and some of the most insane drumming ever as well as Megadeth tendencies shining through, former Coal Chamber man does very good indeed.

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By Ross Macdonald

Just….just don’t say anything. My kingdom for an internet connection that wasn’t the equivalent of two wires blowing in the wind; occasionally connecting for a split second, before being tossed into the air by a sudden gust. Computer is about 10 seconds away from going down the stairs.

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A Day To Remember – All I Want

I half expected this to be a load of screamy metalcore crap, but I’m pleasantly surprised. Mixes some of the best pop-rock moments of Four Year Strong, with a guttural punk rock edge and a sneering vocalist who lapses between melody and anthemic rage. The trademark “woaaahhooohhhs” are perfectly timed; as are the gang vocal mentality and general fist-in-the-air determination and grit – brimming with passion.

The Damned Things – We Got A Situation Going Here

So it’s the two less famous dudes from Fall Out Boy, Scott Ian and the other guitarist dude from Anthrax and Keith Buckley of Every Time I Die? Shit son, I actually like the sound of that. It’s basically Buckley fronting a pop version of Anthrax; the guy’s got a brilliant voice, backed by the shredding of some decent thrash. The song to background all high-speed car chases; a relentless salvo of swaggering hard rock that demands frantic air-punching – absolutely fucking brilliant from start to finish; especially the ridiculous mini-guitar solo 20 seconds from the end.

Middle Class Rut – I Guess You Could Say

I can’t get behind the swaggering country-meets-cocky rap rock mess of this enough. Seriously, this is fantastic stuff. On a first listen it feels so disorganised and ramshackle, yet it leaks confidence. The vocalist seems to be channelling elements of Zach De La Rocha, mixed with angry hardcore punk; whilst the drums rattle and roll like some disorganised circus procession; complete with twanging banjos, tambourine hits and a sense that you want to repeat the last 4 minutes until the CD caught fire.

Blood Command – On And On Chameleon

Excellent band name and kudos for the musical output not being plodding hardcore. They’re from Norway and apparently list Hot Snakes as an influence. Whilst Froberg and Reis riffage does shine through on this occasionally; it seems to have more in common with dance-punk; which is played supremely tight. The female vocals dominate it completely; dipping between a sharp end squeal and the strutting attitude of Juliette Lewis. The weird glitch-ridden effects in the middle of the track are a nice touch also.

The Ocean – She Was The Universe

There’s quite a low-end twang to this German-metal mob. At times it can twist and contort with the kind of tormented urgency of Botch mixed with elements of Dillinger Escape Plan. Underlying it all though, is some post-rock guitar bending that shudders beneath the part-screamed/part-sung vocal lead; which at times falls on the side of generic, but saves itself by overdosing on the throaty, aggressive gargling.

Senses Fail – The Fire

I remember watching Senses Fail about 7 years ago. Some guy was rubbing himself against me during their set. Kind of put me off. Anyway, not much to say about this really; I quite enjoyed their first EP (indie-bellend alert) but found everything else quite ‘eh’. There’s some quite lovely guitar lines in this though; the chorus is suitably massive, but feels all too familiar and the cry of “from ashes we will rise” means I’ve just won emo-core bingo for the 3rd week running. Note: must write better lyrics.

Miss May I – Relentless Chaos

Props to the drumming in this; which is like a scattergun of furious blast-beats smashing against a tin roof in a thunderstorm. Vocals are mostly unfathomable growls and barks beneath that bottoming out thug-attack of metallic vitriol. Angry = yes; Original? = hmmm….

Me Vs Hero – Draw The Line

I saw this band at a punk festival back in May. They wanted people to form a human pyramid. Bunch of wankers. Oh yeah, the music = er…pick any band from Drive Thru Records and voila.

Talons – In The Shadows Of Our Stilted Homes

It’s like watching the world end. It’s akin to that final push over the top; ignore the bleeping from your shield which is struggling to recharge. Ignore the low ammo counter; it’s not like you’d get a shot off anyhow. The one grenade is your best shot. Your visor is smeared with soil and blood As you leave the sanctuary of the ditch a shriek like that of a violin cuts through you and explosions wrack the terrain like a the beats from a flailing octopus of a drummer. As you fall, the guitars cut your body to ribbons. Some of the darkest instrumental rock music I’ve heard in a long, long while. Pelican via And So I Watch You From Afar greatness.

The Amity Affliction – I Hate Hartley

God, the first few seconds sound like the Halo soundtrack….ah wait, no they’ve changed it. Awesome vocal cut-up; MORE OF THIS PLEASE! No…not standard metallic-shouty stuff please. Melody is present though people! Angst though; real fucking angst in that. Keyboard break – *shrugs* Positive gang vocals! “I WON’T DIE DEFEATED!” Love this; optimistic; even if it’s a total slice of Edam next to a massive block of cheddar.

Touché Amoré – Honest Sleep

With a voice that sounds like it’s been flogged to within an inch of it’s life, then set on fire and rubbed in salt; Touche Armore have got a unique edge to their scrappy hardcore, which sounds slightly Minor Threat in its execution. Guitars are tuned high and sound scratchy and scything; whilst the bass is relatively non-existent; making way for the caustic scraping of the disgustingly harsh vocals which sound like they’d infect the listener with throat problems just from hearing them. Nice break around the minute mark also.

Electric Wizard – Venus In Furs

With a vocal drawl that sounds as if it’s been recorded underwater by someone with schizophrenia; sludge-coated guitars, wailing solos and an intro that wouldn’t look out of place on a Rob Zombie soundtrack; Electric Wizard are pretty damn metal. The best way to describe this is a lurching, intoxicated monster of snarling noise and amplified vibration that dabbles in stoner rock and probably several bottles of whisky.

Killington Fall – To A God Unknown

Post-rock again turned up (or down however you see it) to the max in both its depressing rise and fall in a sorry sounding and slovenly gait. It’s not bad; but not really that original to be honest; which is odd considering a (mostly) instrumental piece can offer a band the chance to create all manner of chaos or even twisted beauty. This sadly, is neither.

Death Of Thieves – An Angel Has Your Knife

Part-tech metal that then decides to have a vocalist not full on growling; but channelling the rage and sound of Every Time I Die’s Keith Buckley for good measure. Nice! The guitars are frankly, far too choppy and elaborate for something that should be perhaps toned down to a nice slower, dirtier groove but it actually makes a nice and refreshing change.

Awolnation – Burn It Down

Absolutely fantastic stuff right here. Awolnation is like a punk version of the Prodigy, experimenting in more beats and drum loops; straddling the boundaries of clean and grimey-hip hop rock. There’s so much going on here; darkwave Nine Inch Nails basslines, twee handclaps, brief hardcore screaming, weird drum-roll breaks and trippy, bending noises – second best thing on the CD straight after The Damned Things.

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Links

Go away.

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By Ross Macdonald

I need some time off, seriously. I’ve been far too busy with other things when really I should be updating this site. However, considering it’s STILL bodged regards coding on everything after June, I’ll do my best to make the rest of October up to December as decent as I can. Hopefully. Also, this picture has nothing to do with anything reviewed/talked about below, I just couldn’t find an image and this one best represented my mood – showing some n00b who can’t edit his Halo character getting owned.

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Torche – Out Again

Not really heard much Torche, save for in a review I did a few years back and I absolutely loved what I heard. This however, doesn’t sound like the Torche I knew. The vocals are fairly strained; whilst the music is a plodding, monotonous dirge of lumpy stoner metal that doesn’t go anywhere and just relies on some poor distortion and tedious noise effects that don’t add anything except confusion. Poor.

Dinosaur Pile-Up – Barceloner

I have no idea who Dinosaur Pile-Up are, but I suddenly want them to be massive. I’m already a minute into this track and it’s absolutely fantastic. Nasally, dual-vocal whines, some nice “wwwwuhhhhhooohhhh” backing, razor-sharp guitar lines and a thundering rhythmic fuzz that sounds a bit Mudhoney playing snotty punk rock. It’s super-dumb, but compelling, bastard riffage and I kind of want to own everything they’ve ever released.

Attack! Attack! – No Excuses

Not to be confused with the black t-shirt haircut mong brigade called Attack Attack!; the double exclamation-marked lot are musically superior in everyway possible. Despite being Welsh, they don’t half sound a lot like Fighting With Wire. Not that this is a bad thing; they’re like a cleaner, more polished version of the Irish 3 piece. Limited originality, but nailing that Biffy/post-punk sound into the ground.

The Black Pacific – Living With Ghosts

JIM! FROM PENNYWISE! YES! The old saying of “if it isn’t broke….” Is something Mr Lindberg must have tattooed on his chest. What we have hear is a standard punk rock; yet there’s heaps more melody than his former outfit, more harmonies, more “woooaaahhoooos” and a gritty tenacious attitude that punk vocalists must get after 20 odd years of chanting bro hymn – solid stuff.

Les Savy Fav – Let’s Get Out Of Here

This seems like quite a thoughtful piece of music from Les Savy Fav. It’s hard to imagine this is the bearded cross-dressing psycho, Tim Harrington; as his voice is oddly sorrowful and melancholy, whilst the music; despite retaining that art-punk edge that made Inches and Let’s Stay Friends so raucous, this is quite restrained, but no less zealous.

Calories – You Could Be Honest

Nice to see Calories haven’t moved on much. Okay, so they’ve gotten a bit tighter and the cymbal crashes are more prominent; but this is thankfully, business as usual for the 3-piece. Breathless, fuzzy rock music, dual vocal shouts and that filthy bass-hum; just what we need to take our minds of the impending cold weather.

Of Mice & Men – Second And Seabring

I realise this will never, ever be phased out, but I still can’t believe people buy into or any of this utter rotting phallus of a genre. I nearly chewed off half my fist when the audible clean vocals cut through the mix. Totally abhorrent garbage that shouldn’t be given air to breathe.

Your Demise – Teenage Lust

I quite like the denseness of this. It’s blunt and to the point without being incredibly thuggish; yet lacks that scrappy and lopsided nature of some hardcore, opting to channel a more rugged, tight attack that is to a large degree, formulaic in nature but is helped by a strong vocalist who pulls off a passable Wes Eisold interpretation.

We Came As Romans – To Plant A Seed

There are some nice tech-aspects in this; but why does it all have to sound so angsty guys? Actually I’m quite jealous of the trippy, electronic bits that litter this piece – nice amount of twinkling pianos as well as the bending noises, but unfortunately this could be any and I mean ANY fringe-core wannabes who decided that naming their band similar to a genre-defining Botch album was a good idea. If they lost the vocals, this would be so much better – like a lot of metalcore.

Thieves & Villains – Virginia Woolf

The melody on this is annoyingly catchy. I don’t like it; but it’s one of those tunes that can weave its way into your brain, like that ‘Breakfast In America’ by Supertramp. It’s a bit Nada Surf/Weezer in its execution, but with a happier clappy vibe of spontaneous enthusiasm – i.e. they sound far too cheerful. Actually, scrap my comment in the first line; it’s actually really good; annoyingly good.

The Attika State – Recycle

My god has this singer got a plumy voice. At least he sounds different, which is somewhat of a relief. Oh my, THE CHORUS. This is Pop-rock done with massive fist clenching passion and a haughty pompous attitude.

Volbeat – A Warrior’s Call

This is really strange. What I really like about this is Volbeat’s straddle of genres. The opening 40 seconds sounds like a traditional heavy metal attack – stop-start drumming, power chords, etc. Then when the vocals kick in; there somewhere between Tiger Army-style rockabilly swagger; Iron Maiden bravado and punk rock meets Manson gang chants. Difficult to describe, but it’s absolutely superb and the best track on this CD so far.

Brutality Will Prevail – Early Grave

With a name which is about as thick as all their collective necks, Brutality Will Prevail aren’t offering anything new to hardcore, except perhaps dragging its well beaten carcass through a mire of sludge and bass-droning noise. Part Raindayfuckparade, part Poison The Well; mostly meathead; but it’s strangely better than most, so yeah, thumbs up to this.

We Are Knuckle Dragger – Steel Toe-Capped Sandal

I love how guttural this sounds. The bass is quite high up in the mix, creating an eerie grinding rasp of rusty stuttering rock; that’s part Future of the Left aggravation, part Hot Snakes scathing punk but all down-tuned, snappy metallic punk that to be honest, I can’t get enough of.

Last Lungs – Oh, Good Morning

Taking a leaf out of This Will Destroy You’s book of “How To Do Instrumental Rock Part 1”, Last Lungs have all the dynamics in place, ranging from the slow-quiet bits, to the apocalyptic crashing noise of the heavier, sporadic bits. The title sums the track up perfectly; it’s as though you’re waking from a deep sleep and this uplifting, flourish of post-rock twiddling slices delicately through the air. Sounds like: the sun rising during autumn.

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Links

See above; it’s my dinner time.

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By Ross Macdonald

I’ve been busy, ok? It’s a hard life drinking beer in the sunshine whilst you watch your mates cook using lighter fluid gel and a great deal of hope. I’m not sure where this month has gone – seems to have been a great vacuum of space/time has absorbed the mid-part from the 8th-onwards. Oh well, back to reality.

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65DaysOfStatic – Crash Tactics

It’s hard to believe that this 65DaysOfStatic. The glitchy, screeching noises that dominate most of this, coupled with the techno-math rock drum patterns and grating guitar scratching have more in common with Adebisi Shank covering Next Life songs. Absurdly disjointed instrumental chaos that builds with a rising euphoria and heaves like a robot vomiting its circuit board over a drum machine – brilliant stuff.

Open Hand – So Far

Remember Open Hand? Think they’ve gone through another line up change. This is a decent fair – the grungy, bitter rock of ‘You And Me’ has been tightened considerably and Justin Isham has reigned in a more melodic, shoegaze-style wash of noise, content to soften his already warm, whispered vocals and give prominence to the soaring backing vocals which compliment the sound excellently.

Melissa Auf Der Maur – Out Of Our Minds

I quite liked ‘Follow The Waves’ and that other one she released. Not so keen on this though. She’s got a decent voice, but the music seems incredibly flat. The guitars have that really tinny, fake-crackled quality at the start and there seems to be no real body to it, just quite a dreary, listless tune that plods with very little style. Some nice “Aaaaaahhhaaaaaa!” wails though, which just about save it from being completely pedestrian rock fodder.

Hearts Under Fire – Liquid Luck

Hearts Under Fire aren’t sure what they want to be. Treading water between some quite formulaic pop-punk and the harder edge of melodic hard rock actually gives their music the right kind of bite that it so sorely needs. The vocals seem to ape Hayley Williams, which is a shame (lack of originality on their part) but it’s a good, strong singing voice all the same. Slightly scrappy drum and bass parts, which only add to the charm.

The Dangerous Summer – Where I Want To Be

Oh my god; stand by for the sort of earnest fist-clenching emo rock that you inevitably fall in love with and put in a playlist as you get horribly drunk on your own, screaming the over-wrought gurning vocalist’s words back at him from your position on the floor in a puddle of ice cold lager and your own tears.

Acid Tiger – The Claw

Fact, Acid Tiger are damn good. They start sounding like some precise math rock band, playing their music through a hardcore filter, which distorts the high-pitched, barbed vocal attack and squealing guitars leaving you with a sound reminiscent of Snapcase trying to be melodic and angry at the same time. The last minute or so, goes all Clutch – swaggering lead vocals, cocksure guitar strutting and a rhythm section that churns out sickeningly good groove after groove – ace!

Mutiny Within – Oblivion

*Looks at watch* Hmmm….nope sorry.

As I Lay Dying – Beyond Our Suffering

Nice guys, just got a few tweaks I’d like you to make – 1.) stop all the shouting, maybe some nice harmonies yeah? Bit of melody, so we can hear what you’re saying, because it sounds like you’re shouting into a flamethrower. 2.) Ditch the stupid metal guitars and pick up an acoustic and try playing some nice chords. 3.) Sack the drummer, far too noisy. What do you mean it’s not the same band? Fuck you.

Lafaro – Cold Dog Soup

Taking a big alcoholic sweat-stained leaf out of the Winnebago Deal book, Lafaro play fast and hard. Similar to Whitemare and Zeke, the vocals are spat with a disgusted, southern drawl, whilst the ramshackle country-punk rock bounces along, threatening to disintegrate through it’s rattling fury.

Grown Ups – Three Day Weekend

For fans of Algernon Cadwallader – the nasally, shout/sung vocals have much in common with these guys, whereas the music falls into the realm of bouncing, vigorous pop-rock and 90s emo, slotting into both genres superbly, with added tappy-flourishes and boisterous choruses. Brilliantly done, infectious rock music that seems to poach from a wide variety of sources and replicates them with a great degree of style and grace.

(Damn) This Desert Air – Ghost I Own

Sounds a bit like Cave In around ‘Antenna’ era. You know, when they were less riff-orientated and concentrated more on big choruses and that. The vocals are suitably impassioned and soaring. The music seems a little on the flat side, but is reasonably sturdy with the odd atmospheric flourish and pairs the quiet/loud dynamic of slow-build to huge chorus efficiently.

Caesars Rome – High On The Nines

Where have I heard their vocalist from? This is going to bug me. Caesars Rome sound big – it’s an enveloping wave of huge crushing guitars and stubborn drum beats, touching on the right sight of stalwart melodic rock, similar to that of Twin Atlantic but with the choruses that roar as opposed to a quiet, muted squeak.

Maycomb – Whatever Happened, Happened

Vocals are a bit wet. I hate playing the ‘if this had been released 10 years ago it would be huge’ card, but the fact is….naa, even back then this would be considered landfill pop-punk fodder. Sorry, but what happened to bands actually trying to sound like a punk band (say like Guttermouth) as opposed to those making something that’s started to rot the teeth out of my head? Balls.

Karma To Burn – Waiting On The Western World

Recognise the name – haven’t these guys been about for ages? Got that thick stoner-groove, wins it major plus points. Vocals have that hollow, yet rich wail, kind of makes me want to listen to Kyuss, which is never a bad thing.

Twilight – 8,000 Years

This is just one big cluster-fuck of shrieking fuzz and the sound of someone shouting himself hoarse into a vacuum cleaner. Something about Edward Cullen.

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Links

See above, the need for sleep is overwhelming.

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By Ross Macdonald

We are still alive. My time has mostly been consumed by going to the pub and I’m starting to think I might have a problem – i.e. I don’t go to the pub often enough because it’s been pretty rad. Oh yeah, happy weekend everyone, here’s a post and a special photo. Remember: looking good is all that matters.

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High On Fire – Frost Hammer

High On Fire are totally ace. Dirty, filth-encrusted metal that combines the right moments of speed and thrash, with that twisted progressive edge and theatrical classic rock fury. Matt Pike’s chanting of the tracks title is a throaty roar of terror through the booming crash of Des Kensel’s beats and the rumble of Jeff Matz’s bass guitar. The convulsing, thrusting solo that shudders through in the tracks final minute absolutely slays.

Rob Zombie – Sick Bubblegum

I feel sorry for Rob Zombie. He wrote a killer song and then decided to copy that on nearly every album; dipping into more and more extreme horror themes as he went until reaching the point when singing about vomiting sweets was the best course of action. Saying that, this is possibly the best interpretation of said first track and sounds like an anthem that would be played to a motorbike gang as they chain-whip their way through some Hillbilly settlement.

The Unwinding Hours – There Are Worse Things Than Being Alone

The Unwinding Hours are made up of Craig B and Iain Cook, both ex-members of Scottish oddballs, Aereogramme. It’s a sparse, delicate effort, with Craig’s vocals dominating over the gentle pluck of the guitar. The fragility of his voice is truly beautiful – part drenched in angst, part hopeful of resolution. The build of scratched loops and crumpled programming melds into this voice, like a cacophonic drone engulfing a doomed siren – amazing stuff, words can’t do this justice – LISTEN.

Delain – April Rain

Nice keyboard intro that morphs into the discordant heavy barrage of abrasive guitars and Rammstein-style marching drums. In fact…until the un-German female vocals kicked in, this could have easily covered as a lost b-side for the Buck Dich boys. Think operatic metal in the same vein as that Within Temptation lot and Nightwish and you’re about right; but with that slight industrial edge – not overly original, but a terrific voice.

Hope Is Noise – Peace & Quiet

Obviously a somewhat ironic track title, as there is very little peace or indeed any quiet in this. The guitar tone is a scratching, caustic mess of warped, shrill squeals under the shout-sung vocal bark. This is dense and incredibly blunt rock music that bridges the gap between post-hardcore and a wall of feedback.

Crime In Stereo – Not Dead

Absolutely brilliant stuff right here. Crime In Stereo are a terrific amalgamation of barbed, spiky hardcore-meets-Brand New-style intensity. Some brilliant vocal interplay between the main singer and the backing vocalist over the serrated riffs and the slight Hot Snakes-meets-Hot Water Music punk rhetoric.

So Many Dynamos – New Bones

The best thing about this? The space invader/car alarm/someone mashing a kaos pad with their hand/trippy beats that litter this song, giving it that unconventional and off-kilter sound of someone fucking about in the studio and coming out with something that strangely works. Unfortunately when it’s not doing this, it reaches pedestrian-level indie-wetness with tedious vocals – turn the guitars up, lose the vocals then we’ll talk.

These Monsters – Call Me Dragon

This is a bit like entering a cave and disturbing something that should have stayed dormant. Whilst mostly instrumental; what vocals that do manage to fight there way through the spiralling twist of bleak prog-noise are jumbled cries of help, whilst the whine of the saxophone is the almighty roar of a beast that is frothing with malicious intent.

Story Of The Year – I’m Alive

They’re certainly keen – I mean, the eagerness bleeds through this so much, I’m in danger of being drowned in fresh-faced, soaring alt-rock. Unfortunately, the interchangeable nature of so many bands that sound like Story Of The Year means this doesn’t really do anything for me, except sounding like a track that would probably soundtrack a particularly poignant moment in One Tree Hill or something equally naff.

Person L – Goodness Gracious

This should probably come with some kind of health warning – you may injure yourself and others from all the vigorous dancing you’re about to engage in. A combination of stoner-ish, fuzzed out bass, a great emphasis on percussion, a rich infectious garage-rock drive of snotty aggression and the slightest element of funk this is one of the best tracks I’ve heard this year – outstanding work Person L.

Straight Lines – Versus The Allegiance

Holy shit is that a 12 year old girl singing? Hmm…it’s decent rock in the same vein as Fighting With Wire, but cleaner and tighter – brimming with youthful optimism and bounce, which certainly makes a change. Vocals could divide opinion however.

Mia Hope – (Filmed Like A) Modern Day

Oh man, what is it, ‘hilarious vocal month’ in the Rock Sound office or something? First we have the sound of one of the chipmunks covering a Foo Fighters song, now we have someone trying to do an impression of a crow squawking over double-bass pedal, rasping metalcore-meets-spazz rock. Actually, the tormented bird vocals work surprisingly well, obviously showing the influence of early-Poison The Well and seem to have ex-Eden Maine members as well – nice, worth investigating this raw, hardcore onslaught.

Fear Factory – Powershifter

Ah it’s nice to see things never change. With Fear Factory you’re always guaranteed the following  things – songs about machines taking over/rebellion against/of machines/destruction/construction of machine, ridiculously fast drumming and Burton C Bell’s slight-operatic-meets-Iron Maiden wail of fury at those damn self-reliant mechanoids. If they ever change, prepare for Armageddon.

Ihsahn – Lakes On Mars

This is some black metal dude who used to be in Emperor. Stabbing, punk-rock drumbeats litter this composition, that plum the dark recesses of scourged black metal, coupled with the soaring/hoarse vocal combo of dread. The guitar seems to wander at the halfway mark, leaving the drums and bass to continue down the same dark pathway of despair but holds it’s own as a competent piece of progressive metal.

In Vain – Captivating Solitude

The girl from the exorcist is coming through one speaker, whilst Marlon Brando rasps his way over well played, but dreary noise-metal through the other and ultimately melding together into some weird ritualistic chant, followed by suffocating keyboard whines. I don’t have a clue what’s going on, because frankly it’s pretty disturbing.

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Links

SEE ABOVE JACKASS

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By Ross Macdonald

You don’t know how hard it is to find a picture of an insect playing an instrument on google images. No, I don’t want a crude drawing of a grasshopper riding a motorbike, that’s exactly the opposite of what I wanted.

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You Me At Six – The Consequence

Skyscraper high hooks that could net Moby Dick and that fresh, earnest sounding desire to please; it’s a bit like dropkicking a puppy in the face by slagging off bands like You Me At Six (atrocious band name). Despite their wetness, they actually make some half-decent pop-punk, which straddles the line between jumping on the railway tracks, before scrambling over the side before the guard catches them.

We Are The Ocean – (I’ll Grab You By The) Neck Of The Woods

I’ve reviewed these guys before; they’re pretty decent actually, trying to tap into that hole left by Funeral For A Friend, by mixing their soft post-rock noodling alongside Poison The Well-style big riffs and weird, grungy vocal wails (which don’t really work that well) but I suppose make a change from the strained yowl of the lead singer who struggles to make himself heard sometimes. Anyway, solid track.

Day Of The Sirens – Juneifer

A promising start that’s obliterated by the try-hard American-wannabe vocals that seem to have been copied and pasted from about 60 billion other bands that sound exactly like this and THEN they have the audacity to do the big SCREAMY breakdown bit – oh fuck off, I’m totally fed up of this shit now.

Dommin – Dark Holiday

I like the keyboards – reminds me of some baroque rock opera song; can almost imagine the floppy-haired lead singer swinging himself from the rafters like a yodelling miscreant. It’s that morbid gothic sound – more Danzig/Alkaline Trio (when they were really miserable) with (for once) a unique vocal lead, a chilling backing drone, heavy percussion and a confident swagger. Keep an eye on these guys.

Emilie Autumn – Misery Loves Company

Glitch-beats, a smattering of strings, squelching synths, odd bit of pounding techno and grit-your-teeth keyboard shrieks, coupled with that quirky cabaret gloom and some clichéd lyrics = Emilie Autumn. A decent voice, alongside an amalgamation of sounds that shouldn’t really work, but are surprisingly pleasant. For fans of Amanda Palmer, still undecided; kind of wish she’d given the track a different name.

Tiger Please – Without Country

I feel some punctuation has fallen off Tiger Please’s name. Perhaps it should be Tiger? Please! Anyhow, despite the music being pretty standard, (think alt-rock, rising guitar scrawls, scattered percussion, very Hundred Reasons in delivery) the vocals punch through the mix with a degree of age and wisdom, despite the fact Tiger Please’s singer resembles someone who isn’t old enough to buy alcohol. A clawing attempt to capture the spirit of 2002, which I commend.

Survive Atlantica – We’re All Shipwrecked

Someone’s been listening to Brand New. Yes Survive Atlantica, I’m talking about you. In fact, it’s like you’ve stolen the thoughts from Jesse Lacey’s head and crafted them into your own work. Slower passages and a greater emphasis on that rising hum of reverb that’s destined to crash in alongside a painful scream. No original ideas here, although it’s perfectly listenable.

A Hero A Fake – Swallowed By The Sea

Three dudes in this band play guitar = well overkill. Technically impressive, all ‘I can swing my guitar round my head and plant the body into your face, shattering your nose, yet still blast out an awesome riff’; also approve of the lyrics (of what I can hear) “OH GOD I’M SINKING!” – even the clean parts give it potency by not sucking complete arse. Would be interesting to hear what their other material sounds like.

Alesana – To Be Scared By An Owl

Bwahahahahahahaha, fucking jog on you bunch of overcoats.

The Mantra ATSMM – Helder Pedro Moreia

This is a bit like listening to a remix of an old-post rock song backwards; the skipping, shudders at the beginning, the short passages of crashing glitch-noise. Then a new element is introduced – ghostly vocal cries bleed through the smog of conflicting sounds and spiralling beats, only for the reintroduction of some 65daysofstatic riffage to finally finish the listener off. Stunning.

BigElf – Superstar

Trying to recapture the sound of the 70s, BigElf and their beards of power are a step in the right direction. Catchy choruses, cheesy keyboards, psychedelic riffs, steady rhythmic rumble and a sound that brings to mind Slade, Queen, The Beatles and T-Rex, this makes a nice change from the legions of screaming mongs that I have to put up with. Theatrical cock-rock eccentricity done with style and grace.

Rising – Dead Kings

This is actually a lot better than some metal I’ve heard from Scandinavia. Instead of just a bunch of dudes screaming at each other over some sloppy clattering; Rising have decided to actually write a tune; their sound is grime – the bass seems to dominate most of the verses, rustic to the point of collapse, whilst the guitar rings out an ominous screech ever chorus break and the drums feel like a savage blow to the head from a club hammer.

Slomatics – It Won’t Make You Happy

Never had a band been more aptly named. Slomatics take an unhurried approach to their playing, content to sit back and loiter on each note, each distorted drum hit, and each slurred vocal. Christ, with this relaxed attitude, I’m surprised they’re not playing backwards. Stoner-rock gone beyond; flying somewhere in the face of a sluggish, lingering pause and the sound of the Melvins crushing some bass guitars under an industrial press.

Throwdown – The Scythe

Are there any original members left in Throwdown now? This is more of the same; drilling-into-the-earth drumming, the odd flourish on the guitar, but it’s mostly the same stop-start-mosh-break brutality; but vocalist Dave Peters is actually trying to sing now instead of his usual meathead shouting; focusing more on raising his voice above the relentless barrage. Sometimes it works, sometimes not – weird one this.

Annotations Of An Autopsy – Impale The Sun

If you’re a fan of the sounds of someone hacking up a nice phlegm ball and gargling it for about 4 minutes, then chances are you’ll like this you disgusting human being.

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Links

See above. COMING SOON:

Mad Mac – casting his eye at the new music for 2010!
Retrospective (open to suggestions)
Hopeful album review
Amazon Marketplace challenge
Mixtape
Attempting to play Beatles Rock Band after too many beers

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By Ross Macdonald

Happy New Year and what a way to start but break out the old Rock Sound CD and see what there is on the horizon for the coming 12 months in the music world. An interesting and varied selection;  I only recognise about 2 bands and on the whole, most of them are worth investigating. Currently my mood is less than cheerful due to my stereo system deciding to censor my listening habits (i.e. skipping nearly all my cds or sometimes not recognising them at all.) Also, can you find a CD head cleaner anywhere? Can you bollocks – you’d have more luck going round toy shops asking for rocking-horse shit.

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Don Fernando – What You Need

With a name that sounds like a wealthy kingpin who grants favours on the day of his daughter’s wedding, Don Fernando plough a grubby furrow in rumbling, balls-out, meaty rock that gives nods towards Hermano and G.U. Medicine. There aren’t any lyrics as such, more variations on repeating the tracks title about ‘needing something’ – hey, not all rock has to be clever. Inevitably set to soundtrack the next Jason Statham film.

Japanese Voyeurs – Dumb

Singer sounds like a 13 year old pink and black haired slut-bomb “well goffik innit” chinless stropper who has decided that spilling out all her anger and frustration in the world through the medium of slurred, Hole-esque, bass-heavy, stupid punk is a good idea. One for Jason I think.

Dinosaur Pile-Up – Cat Attack!

Not sure what to say about this. Massive swinging ‘yooooooooooooooowwwwoowww’ verse-chorus transition through the guitar that they don’t try and cover up in any way, which gives it that cheeky quality. Reminds me a bit of Weezer if they were heavier – CATchy chorus (pun intended) and seems to be taking some ideas from Calories as well. Would definitely see live.

The Swellers – Fire Away

Rubbish name. Singer’s obviously been listening to a lot of New Found Glory as his Jordan Pundik impression (singing through his nose) is rather tiresome. Standard emo-core stuff, absolutely nothing new; I’m also not surprised to find that Hayley Williams from Paramore champions them, because they sound EXACTLY like Paramore, only with more annoying vocals. No one wants this.

Blacklist Royals – American Hearts

The Swellers take note: this is how you do punk you fucks. Blacklist Royals sound a bit like Rancid if they cleaned up the vocals, added more melody and a bit of organ. The Gaslight Anthem is also another obvious reference point (musically, not vocally) as ‘American Hearts’ has a similar patriotic swagger. Very Epitaph records, plus, I’m already on my second listen and I’m singing along, therefore: excellent track.

Sick Puppies – So What I Lied

Had these guys down as twee indie nonsense from their name; I’m only a minute and 40 seconds in and I’m starting to wish that this sub-par, straw-grabbing, formulaic nu-metal was all about handclaps and xylophones. The only kudos this gets is when the angsty, hand-wringing lead singer starts yelling “LIFE! IS TOO! FUCKING! SHORT!” like he’s been scrambling up KoRn lyrics.

Skeletons and the Empty Pockets – Everyone Still Loves You

Now, I really like this – not just because Skeletons feature the four dudes out of thisGIRL + 1 more; but because it’s a seriously brilliant tune. A jaunty, circus-style stomp, a huge jazz-hands in the air flamboyant burst of sound, Liam Creamer’s tremendous vocal lead and some driving riffage – great stuff.

Blackstorm – Weakened By Division

Sounds like Rainydayfuckparade. Oh sweet, Karl Middleton from Earthtone9 on vocals! Impressive riffs that slam down with textbook precision alongside the stocky drumbeats and this familiar, grinding drone of a particularly filthy bassline. Absolutely adore the rushed ending that should have been slightly longer.

Karhide – Stooge

Ah now this is something along the same lines as 65daysofstatic. Here we have the odd juxtaposition of trip-hop beats, bottoming-out, rumbling basslines that drip with malice, sporadic drum hits and some chunky, driving revs of guttural sludge. Nice spacey “wooohhhaaawwwooohhhaaaa” bits as well.

Maths – To Be Frozen

The Maths sound – “like wiping your arse with vinegar-soaked sandpaper after 10 pints of Guiness and a curry.” It’s raw, uncompromisingly vicious, with a vocalist who must spend about 8 hours everyday shouting into a storm. The feral future of noise/hardcore if I’m not much mistaken; ones definitely to watch, future Botch/*insert name of popular American hardcore band here* in the making.

Trash Talk – Sacramento Is Dead

Hardcore punk done in about 69 (dude!) seconds. No time for solos, chorus or any of that other bollocks. The vocalist spits lyrical sound bites at breakneck speed, spluttering and stammering over the wave of standard punk riffs, only slowing to chant the songs title like some drunken disobedient.

Talons – Commiserations Buff Orpington

Some nice instrumentals now in the form of Talons, who’s heavy use of percussion and sweeping violin segments give a nod towards something you could expect sound-tracking the trailer for a BBC period drama. It then evolves into something that would be played during an eclipse or even at the event of an exploding space shuttle. Depressingly heavy, which gets Talons a big thumbs up.

Whitemare – Deal The Cards

Oh god, actually air-punching to this shit. Whitemare sound like Zeke, in fact, if I hadn’t read their name I’d have thought “wow, Zeke are sounding a bit awesome nowadays!” There’s a bit of that Winnebago Deal fire present as well. I bet they all wear lumberjack shirts, drink whisky straight from the bottle and smash their instruments to bits at the end of every set. No frills crusty speed-rock, that everyone wishes they were part of. Easily the best track on the CD.

Wounds – Ugly Mouth

With a name like Wounds, they just had to be a hardcore band, or at least, in league with that whole noise-meets-hardcore racket that’s so popular nowadays. The singer seems to be channelling the dude from Snapcase, as do the rest of the band; as they’re jerking; dislocated sound is almost identical to the unsettling, caustic racket of the much missed New York quintet – a harsh, scratching, ear-wrecker of the future.

Carcer City – Signals

Good name, (Grand Theft Auto reference?) shame about the music. When a singer has an interesting voice, this kind of plodding metalcore can sometimes be saved; but when he’s just doing the same old “yeah, been gargling bullfrogs for about a year wwoorraaagggggg”-fest then naaa, not for me.

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Links

As above, I’m going for a Ketel One.

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By Ross Macdonald

Has anyone been watching that load of old bobbins called Flashforward on Channel 5? Sweet zombie Jesus, absolutely nothing happened in the last episode, except for the Harold/MILF guy from American Pie 1 and 2 moaning about his death, which is supposed to happen in 6 months time. Quit your bitching, it’s almost as boring as main character (the guy from Shakespeare in Love) and his Christian Bale-deep-voice-intense-stare ‘acting’. Utter crap, but I can’t stop watching. Oh yeah, reviews:

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Converge – Dark Horse

Classic Converge – you’ve got the drums in hardcore punk overdrive, sounding like industrial pistons going 200 times their natural speed, barbaric and extremely dirty guitar strangulation and the irrepressible howl of vocalist Bannon, who sounds like he’s having a shouting match with a vacuum cleaner. This is why they’re the kings of hardcore; with just that right amount of fury and metal to make something that’s truly monstrous.

Baroness – A Horse Called Golgotha

IF I ever decided to take up ‘the drugz’ Baroness would probably be the first band I’d listen to whilst getting baked. Whilst not inherently ultimate-stoner like say Fu Manchu, Nebula, etc. they have that huge crushing grooves alongside their metallic, southern rock flavour, as well as a impressive distorted guitar solo, acoustic guitar plucking and of course that voice which is reminiscent of a god crowing for his minions to march to war.

Pelican – Strung Up From The Sky

Pelican offer up some more instrumental rock and manage to, with its downcast, plodding nature; create the vision of the despondent hopelessness of a wounded soldier, dragging an injured comrade up a hill during some horrific storm. The wailing shriek of the guitars, not to mention the low-end hum of the bass and dead-sounding drumbeats all offer very little respite, but a stunningly morbid piece of music.

Juliette Lewis – Noche Sin Fin

So The Licks have been ditched then for this, which I prefer actually. The bratty, intimidating punk rock sound has been ditched for a more haunting, disjointed, jagged sound with howling guitar effects, an abundance of percussion and a voice that has definitely improved with age – good work; this is the kind of track that swirls with unpredictability and a dangerous edge of confusion.

Flood Of Red – Little Lovers

The last minute is the best bit. The gratuitous usage of layered guitar/keyboard noise and pummelling drums give this track a well needed bit of body, but the vocals need to stop sounding like they’re whining through a recorder by some pre-pubescent; give it some balls man. Pleasant enough in places, but like a disintegrating kipper in others.

Deaf Havana – Another Day In This House

“THIS IS MYYYYY LAAAASSTTT CHANCE TO IMPRESSSSSSSSS” wails Deaf Havana’s Jim Varney-vocalist. It certainly is mate, I’m now 2 minutes through this track and the last 150 seconds better cure cancer or make a copy of Duke Nukem Forever appear in my hands, or I’m writing this off as ‘incredibly fresh-faced but mind-numbingly dull pop-meets-hardcore emo-bullshit that I thought was stopping because everyone was so fucking sick to the back teeth of it.’ Good screaming though.

Horse The Band – Shapeshift

I thought the Nintendo-core had been washed out of Horse the Band after the first minute or so. At one point it sounded like someone farting into a mic at a hardcore show, which then changed to some social retard playing Super Mario 16: Fuck You Peach, I’m Going To The Pub before slowing the first part down and draping this blurred haze of synthesised noise over two people crooning at each other. Strangest song I’ve heard in a long while and the best on this CD to be honest.

Fuck Buttons – Surf Solar (edit)

Try listening to this track whilst choreographing all your movements in slow motion. Whilst it may sound like someone re-tuning a loud radio during a storm, whilst a scratched trance record skips along in the background under the glitching sound of tribal drumming, Fuck Buttons manage to create the kind of resonance that melds together the opposite worlds of noise and house music in one glorious mess.

Tubelord – He Awoke On A Bench In Abergavenny

When in hell did Tubelord start sounding like RayayayayayayayaStantz? They seem to have gone ultra-pop now and twee-to-the-max (i.e. was that a xylophone?) Pleasant – that’s all this is, only really seems to get aggressive in the last half with a nice breakdown and tappy guitar parts.

Cars On Fire – Sharks

These dudes sound a bit like Daniel P Carter’s band, Hexes but with more screaming and less Danny Farkin’ Dyer and channelling a dump-truck load of anger into some nice thick punk rock punches, with a touch of the melody last heard back when Hundred Reasons were good. Solid sounding stuff, great dual vocal interplay between the shouty guy and the melodic guy (although they could be the same person, if so…nice!)

Johnny Foreigner – Ghost The Festivals

I’ve noticed that Johnny Foreigner always have that same ‘errrrrr, errrrrrrrrr’ guitar noise (god, my onomatopoeia is appalling) kind of a grinding, jerky sound. Erm…so…yeah, I mean they sound like an ultra-fast pop-punk band now, that’s channelling that kind of scrawling, low-fi tune that’s a bit Pavement-like, with those high-pitched vocal scream/male-back-and-forth singing that I’ve always had a soft spot for. Pimp.

Latitudes – Antechamber

Move over Pelican, if I wanted the end of the world this is what would be playing as I directed the comet into the sea and flooded all of Earth. This is chilling, desolate and incredibly dense. The muted, Thom Yorke-vocals sound like the last lament of a dying priest, gazing towards the heavens as fire and brimstone rains down upon him. Doomed-post rock never sounded so barren, yet so rich with rasping intensity.

Bury Tomorrow – Evolution Of Self

Promising start, all gang vocals, cries of “AND IN OUR HEARTS, WE STAND TOGETHER!” – That’s brotherhood and unity, staple diet of good hardcore, though this paddles in the waters of metalcore and the melodic vocal lead on the chorus saps the impact somewhat. For something that started off quite battered and world weary, this seems a bit squeaky clean.

Five Finger Death Punch – Burn It Down

Band tries to drag nu-metal back into 2009 and being a massive hypocrite my feelings are they shouldn’t have bothered; because this is so cliché ridden I don’t know where to start. An absolute rotting pig cock of a song.

Skeletonwitch – Repulsive Salvation

This is confusing – the Dani Filth vocals, punk rock drumming, slight-black metal guitar and leaden rhythmic pound seem kind of out of place, but tie together quite well. The song? Something about eating flesh, so it’s probably about cannibalism or some other horror-related guff; scrappy, odd change of pace with the breakdown which makes them sound like a Bridge 9 hardcore act being fronted by the cookie monster – the bastards stole my idea!

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Links

Scroll up mother-truckers. COMING SOON:

BYO Records Let Them Know Review
El Bronx Review
Mad Mac 7:  So Very, Very Tired
Brand New ‘Daisy’ Reivew
Titanic Vs Mech-Godzilla

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By Ross Macdonald

Updates will be more regular I promise once the backlog of stuff I’m supposed to be reviewing arrives (i.e. once I get round to adding them to my basket on Amazon, or some nice record labels bung some stuff my way). For now, he’s a Rock Sound CD breakdown. Also, my xbox bricked it a few weeks ago, which left me in Minor Threat-mode.

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Bring Me The Horizon – Football Season Is Over (After The Night Remix)

Bring Me The Horizon have always appeared to be style over substance, no doubt caused by the ‘outrageously wacky’ antics of the tattooed gremlin that fronts them. This appears to be a re-cut version of one of their ‘songs’, with the addition of some nice choppy beats and ‘WOWOWOW’ synth thumping. It’s not bad actually, but didn’t Enter Shikari already do this? The screaming is still abhorrent though – sounds like trollman is vomiting up his pancreas.

Thrice – All The World Is Mad

Thrice went through this big change recently, ditching all their shouty, fast hardcore tunes for a slower, more methodical approach and this is just another example of their transition. Despite the guitars sounding tinny as fuck, the vocals show progression from nonsensical barking, focussing more on melody and keeping in time with the progressive nature of this track.

Every Time I Die – Wanderlust

More KFC finger-lickin’ good RAWK from Every Time I Die; perfect for backwards-baseball cap wearing rednecks speeding down some barren motorway, hollering like brain-damaged monkeys. The vocals are spot on and whilst the music appears somewhat pedestrian and restrained for ETID, it does the job in being suitably obnoxious.

Sights & Sounds – Neighbours

Sadly not a reworking of the popular theme from the Australian soap of the same name. Instead this channels monolithic amounts of washing noise with shuddering, heavy rock and Dave Grohl-style wailing. Superb, with some nice swirling keyboard raking splutters at the end.

Twin Atlantic – What Is Light? Where Is Laughter?

Sean Connery would love this. Scottish to the max, with the kind of whisky-soaked vocals and grandiose-bastard chunks of heavy rock that slams down harder and faster than those blockers in Bowser’s Castle. Melodic in just the right places and guitar-twiddling thumps of noise in others – brilliant work.

All Time Low – Lost In Stereo

Whilst the chorus lords itself like some 500Fft destructo-bot of doom, you could land on it’s head, twist the ear flap back and find some tiny feeble-bodied sprite working the levers and fiddling with the dials. Impressive from the outside; the loud, plodding, heavy pop-punk tries to make an impact, but is lost by being utterly soulless and bereft of any feeling.

Chuck Ragan – Glory

It’s the guy out of Hot Water Music! Sounding like ZZ Top when they did that folky-Western version of ‘Doubleback’ for Back To The Future III; Chuck injects his own throaty baritone to the mix of acoustic strumming and jaunty violins. His voice is the true stand-out ‘instrument’ however, touching on William Elliott Whitmore-style blues that bleeds with the similar passion, warmth and sense of loss. Best track so far.

Frank Turner – Try This At Home

Frank Turner’s gone punk again! Well, cow-punkish. Alright, so it’s a swaggering, fast acoustic-folky affair that seems to hark back to his Million Dead ways in its sense of urgency and the very nature of self-referencing the pressures of being a musician. Possibly the strongest track I’ve heard from him since his MD days.

Memphis May Fire – North Atlantic Vs North Carolina

Never heard of them – but it’s cool to have ‘fire’ in your band name now. It’s the new ‘wolf’. This could literally be anyone from the American post-hardcore community; it’s so interchangeable. I think He Is Legend have already done this – bit of screaming, clean vocals, Guns ‘N Roses style guitar solo at 2 minute mark, more screaming – END.

Blackhole – Don’t Cry

For a band that’s supposed to be more hardcore than eating a bowl of gravel, mixed with acid and drizzled with broken glass, it’s an incredibly sappy track title. It also feels like a bad radio edit in that just as finally chugs into gear with some credible guitar shredding it ends with one of those “dunna, naaa nnnnowwwwwww” finishes that I swear were phased out about 10 years ago. Solid though, but for the love of god MORE BACKING VOCALS.

Donots – Pick Up The Pieces

“What the hell are we waiting for?” Shout Donots. Something that doesn’t sound like it fell off the backend of the My Chemical Romance bandwagon that shot through this no-horse town about 5 years ago. Turgid.

Megadeth – Head Crusher

Like you actually need to be told how totally awesome this. It’s MEGADETH people, they’re like the best band ever you utter shower cap.

Dead By April – Stronger

Yo Dead By April, I’m happy for you, and I really dig your screaming and elaborately wanky keyboard pounding and I’m going to let you finish, but my song that was also called ‘Stronger’ is one of the best songs of all time.

The Black Dahlia Murder – A Selection Unnatural

Salacious B. Crumb has decided that the Star Wars Cantina band and Jabba’s House band should ditch the spacey, keyboard led bobbins and take up death metal thrash. What you’re left with is a squawking monkey-lizard noise over waves of extremely furious guitar twanging and rapid double-bass drum rolls.

Evile – Infected Nation

Not sure if you pronounce the ‘e’ on the end. “Evileeeeee”? Sounds shit. During the first minute, the drumming sounds distorted beyond repair, like a chewed up tape-recording. No-one really needs to hear this – sub-par metal, tedious guitars and a vocalist who seems to think shouting like a medicine swigging homeless alcoholic that stands outside bottle banks is ‘singing’. Get bent.

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Links

As above – I have to go now, my planet needs me.

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By Ross Macdonald