Reviews

ALBUM: Fallujah – ‘Dreamless’

May 4, 2016

Michael Bird

Atmospheric death metal. On paper, it’s an incongruous mash-up of genres that should work about as well as crunkcore did; in practice, it’s an approach to extreme music that has made Fallujah one of the most exciting names in the scene. Their second LP, 2014’s The Flesh Prevails, was much lauded in the world of […]

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Reviews

ALBUM: Deftones – ‘Gore’

April 11, 2016

Michael Bird

Deftones are my favourite band. Over the course of their 20-plus year career they have built up a stunning catalogue of music that repeatedly demonstrates relentless creativity as well as exceptional individual and collective talent. The quintet has proven brilliant at everything they care to turn their hands to: helping to kick-start a genre in […]

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Reviews

ALBUM: Babymetal – ‘Metal Resistance’

April 4, 2016

Michael Bird

There’s no escaping it: Babymetal is ridiculous. A manufactured band built on the gimmick of three Japanese teenage girls singing pop hooks over bruising metal, their enormous success in the heavy music scene has been bewildering considering how many elements of the formula should be anathema to your common dyed-in-the-wool metalhead. Their success in the […]

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Reviews

SINGLE: Issues – “The Realest”

March 25, 2016

Michael Bird

Are Issues a metalcore band? On the evidence of 2012’s Black Diamonds EP, yes, albeit one that could mix and match elements of R&B, EDM, nu metal and hip-hop with a dexterity that belied their then infancy. When they had the opportunity to spread their wings on a self-titled full-length, they made the question even […]

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Reviews

ALBUM: Asking Alexandria – ‘The Black’

March 25, 2016

Matthew Powers

Asking Alexandria are simultaneously standing with one foot in the past and one stepping towards the future with their fourth record The Black. Recently inducted frontman Denis Stoff leads the album through a whirlwind of aggressive moments with emotive death metal shrieks that rival anything heard on any The Black Dahlia Murder record, but it’s […]

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Reviews

ALBUM: Wildways – ‘Into the Wild’

March 18, 2016

Michael Bird

If it weren’t for the fact that they originate from Russia, a country not exactly well known for its contribution to the heavy music scene, Wildways might have the most clichéd story in modern metalcore. Starting out with an unnecessarily unwieldy moniker, Sarah Where Is My Tea, their primary accomplishments have been tours with the […]

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Reviews

ALBUM: Hacktivist – ‘Outside the Box’

March 17, 2016

Michael Bird

Four years is a long time in music. When Hacktivist burst onto the then vibrant djent scene in 2012 with their self-titled EP, the subgenre was in a boom period and their fusion of Meshuggah riffs and grime rap vocals was exciting enough to draw in listeners beyond your typical tech-heads and music theoreticians. Now […]

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Reviews

ALBUM: Killswitch Engage – ‘Incarnate’

March 17, 2016

Matthew Powers

Being a pioneer of an entire movement in music is quite the title to be tagged with. Earning that divine right of accountability means other musicians heard your music and followed in your prestigious footsteps. This is certainly the case for Massachusetts metalcore veterans, Killswitch Engage. If one traced the lineage down throughout the metalcore […]

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Reviews

ALBUM: Anthrax – ‘For All Kings’

March 1, 2016

Matthew Powers

Thirty-five years into their illustrious career and the New York thrashers that are Anthrax have no intent of slowing down nor repeating history. After one of the most heralded comebacks from a metal band in recent memory with 2011’s Worship Music, the hardest ever are back once more to prove they are metal royalty with […]

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Reviews

ALBUM: Hands Like Houses – ‘Dissonants’

February 19, 2016

Michael Bird

A handful of silly song titles on their Ground Dweller debut album aside, Hands Like Houses have never really fit in with the Rise-core breakdown-pop brigade. They’ve never been content to settle for the base elements employed by their colleagues, instead drawing on electronics that flesh out atmosphere (rather than fulfilling gimmick quotients) and lead […]

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