This is the debut album from Shock Narcotic, a grindcore band from the US.
Featuring current and ex-members of bands such as The Dillinger Escape Plan, Child Bite, and The Black Dahlia Murder, this is 19 minutes of nasty grindcore mixed with elements of chaotic hardcore and jagged metal. Continue reading
Gnarwolf are a US hardcore band and this is their latest EP, a split with Covina.
I enjoyed 2017’s II, so am pleased to hear some new work from Gnarwolf. We only have seven minutes of material here, divided into three songs, but it sure hits the spot. Continue reading
Dead Retinas are a hardcore band from the UK and this is their latest EP.
Here we have 10 minutes of energetic and charismatic hardcore. This is sharp, scathing music that knows a good riff when it sees it and is backed up by punishing beats and a sense of songwriting that’s compelling and moreish. Continue reading
Violent Life Violent Death are a US metal/hardcore band from the US and this is their second EP.
Mixing old and new influences from the metalcore and hardcore scenes, this is a savage and heavy collection of songs, despite being enhanced by some more accessible parts here and there. Continue reading
Hivetower are a US metal band and this is their debut EP.
I like this, it has character. On the longer side for an EP, (31 minutes), Hivetower have produced the type of metal album that pilfers willingly from a few different scenes and styles, while still managing to have a personality of its own. Continue reading
Brond are a Bulgarian rock band and this is their debut album.
Brond’s music mixes riff-focused modern rock and post-hardcore/rock, with progressive, stoner, and noise/math rock tendencies. Wow. Now there’s a description. Delivering eight tracks across almost 44 minutes of music, Graveyard Campfire is a well-realised and enjoyable release, despite my mangling together of various subgenres in an attempt to loosely categorise it. Continue reading
Ghastly Sound are a metal/hardcore band from the US and this is their second EP.
Oh Ghastly Sound, with this latest EP you’re really spoiling us. Already this year we were treated to your extremely enjoyable self-titled debut EP, and now, hardly any time at all later, you’ve now gifted us with your latest creation – The Bottom. Continue reading
Hundred Suns are an emotive metal band from the US and this is their debut album.
Featuring an ex-member of Every Time I Die and the singer of Normal Jean, it was a complete no-brainer for me to listen to this as soon as I could once I was made aware of it. Thankfully, I haven’t been disappointed with their very enjoyable brand of modern progressive/alternative metal. Continue reading
Extinguish the Sun are an alternative metal band from the US and this is their debut album.
Extinguish the Sun describe their music with reference to bands such as Mastodon, Clutch, Corrosion of Conformity, and Every Time I Die, and I have to say that sets the scene for their music pretty well. Continue reading
Tornado Kid are a Russian metal band and this is their debut album.
Holy shitbastards this is good!
This is Southern-styled metal, with a bit of hard rock thrown in for good measure, as well as some hardcore influences. Sometimes when you think of a band who are described as Southern metal, you can think of tired clichés and generic delivery; there’s none of that here. Continue reading
