LAST LIGHTS MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lastlights Label: Think Fast! Records It’s inevitable that whenever you find a band that is truly great, something always gets in the way of you ever seeing more of them. With Boston’s Last Lights it’s that vocalist, Dominic Mallory, tragically passed away earlier this year. That shouldn’t stop you from checking them and their album, No Past No Present No Future, out. This is pissed off hardcore and it’s fast, heavy and hard! Lyrics like, “Your Holy Grail is a cup of piss” stand out and leave you wondering what the hell these guys were so pissed off about. You’ll have to listen to find out… Sarah Petchell CITY ESCAPE MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/cityescaperock Label: Taper Jean Records Since Closure In Moscow hit the big time, a number of imitators have cropped up, but it’s bands like Melbourne’s City Escape that are finding success – getting the big support slots (Thrice, Closure In Moscow) and releasing a brilliant EP that is getting everyone talking. Their prog-rock take on post-hardcore is moving, melodic and infectious and in the two years since their formation in 2007 have released a demo and their debut EP Avalanches which between the two shows massive progression and great potential of what is to come. Sarah Petchell HORISONT MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/horisont Label: Crusher Records Over the years Sweden has had an impressive showcase of old school rock/metal bands on display and Horisont is the latest band sure to be a big hit in this genre. Brandishing psychedelic and stoner rock elements that are as infectious as they are technical, and combining it with powerful vocals this is sure to not only please fans of Witchcraft and Danava but also the generation that lived through the greatness of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. You only need to look to Sweden to relive the glory days and here is a band to start with. Michael Anderson HEARTSOUNDS MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/heartsoundsband Label: Creator-Destructor Records Does anyone remember the awesome metalcore band Light This City? Well, Heartsounds started out as a side-project from that. Vocalist Laura Nichol and guitarist Ben Murray got together and wrote their debut album Until We Surrender, which is a massive tribute to their love of the 90’s Fat Wreck Chords/Epitaph sound they grew up on. Far removed from their metalcore past, the album has received great reviews (I love it!) and they’re playing shows with the likes of A Wilhelm Scream and The Swellers. This is definitely a band worth checking out! Sarah Petchell MISTUR MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/attende Label: Einheit Produktionen With the tragic end of Windir in 2004 it was possible to think that no band would ever be able to recreate the sound that made them unique in the black metal genre. Some bands are attempting to clone the greatness, and Mistur might be the closest to it. Mistur produces an epic display of symphonic extreme metal rich in texture through the use of synths, blazing distorted riffs and atmospheric leads. Odne’s vocals make him sound like the ghost of Valfar lives in him with a chilling rasp in every breath. The debut album, Attende, is out now. Michael Anderson MAN OVERBOARD MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/manoverboardnj Label: Run For Cover Records Man Overboard started when childhood friends Nik Bruzzese and Wayne Wildrick started writing songs together. From there, they’ve developed into a formidable pop-punk band that do whatever they can to stay out on the road ten months a year. Taking cue from bands they grew up with – Blink 182, Taking Back Sunday, Saves The Day – they’re pumping emotion and feeling back into a genre that is becoming saturated by pre-programmed, generic clones. Hooky choruses and fantastic tunes will have you dancing your shoes off in no time! Sarah Petchell
The mighty Converge have returned with an album that can rival the staples of their discography. Axe To Fall is certainly their most polished effort to date, thanks to the production efforts of guitarist Kurt Ballou, but in no way has this compromised the sheer aggressiveness and rage that has characterised their previous works. To the contrary, this is a band as pissed off as ever! From frenetic and frantic album opener ‘Dark Horse’ to the final seconds of the sanguine and haunting seven-minute epic that is ‘Wretched World’, Converge have proven yet again why they hold the monopoly on the brand of hardcore that they have spawned. This album is a major contender for the top spot on every reviewer’s ‘Album Of 2009’ list, and I can definitely tell you that it’s at the top of mine! Sarah Petchell Sounds like:The thrash-influences of early Converge mixed with the songwriting and production of recent Converge.
Axe To Fall – Converge EPITAPH/SHOCK It’s good to see ETID move away from their Southern influences and go back to their roots. New Junk Aesthetic is the heaviest, fastest, most caustic and volatile the band has sounded since Hot Damn! ‘Roman Holiday’ starts the onslaught with its sludgy, distortion filled riffs under Keith Buckley ripping lyrics from his vocal chords. The album culminates in ‘The Sweet Life’ – a rock & roll party song that owes more to The Bronx than Lynyrd Skynyrd. Maturity is not a word associated with ETID but it perfectly describes. The riffs are more technical, the rhythm section sounds even tighter and with guest vocals by Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan), Matt Caughthran (The Bronx) and Pete Wentz supplementing the best vocals Keith has ever done, this album rules! Sarah Petchell Sounds like: Norma Jean, Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster, He Is Legend.
New Junk Aesthetic – Every Time I Die EPITAPH/SHOCK Very rarely does a band come along that blows minds as hard as Doomriders do and with their sophomore effort, Darkness Comes Alive, their sound is an aural bombardment! The rhythm section of JF Connors and Jeff Riley set the backdrop for Chris Pupecki to throw down riffs that signals a songwriting maturity evident in the hook laden ebbs and flows of the album, while Nate Newton growls his way through a vocal attack that must have shredded vocal chords. Songs like ‘Jealous God’ and ‘Heavy Lies The Crown’ carry a precision and technical skill that belies the pedigree of Doomriders’ members (Converge, Cave In) while title track ‘Come Alive’ is an example of the more soulful and heavier path Doomriders has taken. Sarah Petchell Sounds like: Cursed, Trap Them, Rise & Fall.
Darkness Comes Alive – Doomriders DEATHWISH/STOMP If you like your punk to have absurd catchiness then the sophomore album by New Jersey’s Vivian Girls is definitely for you! Recorded over six days, Everything Goes Wrong showcases the Girls’ long lineage of influences, ranging from 50s surf rock, 60s girl groups, 70s punk and 80s noise pop. Darker and moodier than it’s predecessor, this time around Vivian Girls have mixed bubblegum melodies with pummeling beats and doo-wop vocal harmonies with a lyrical sadness that sees vocalist Cassie Ramone, chipping pieces off her heart one by one in tracks like ‘Can’t Get Over You’ and ‘I Have No Fun”. This is D.I.Y. charm in all its glory and while I don’t really want to talk about female empowerment, these girls definitely rock! Sarah Petchell Sounds like: Jay Reatard, Les Savy Fav, Bikini Kill.
Everything Goes Wrong – Vivian Girls INERTIA Baroness returns with another solid effort that should definitely please fans of the disjointed sludge that made Mastodon a household name before they took the prog road recently. With dirty, Southern sounding riffs that vary between a frenetic gallop or just plain rocking out, technical melodies and a sonic landscape hazy with the smoke of stoner rock, this is an album that has the band decrying it as their best effort to date. John Dyer Baizley’s vocal assault adds emotion and power, while the odd softer and more atmospheric acoustic song adds flavour and variety to an already brilliant album. These elements combined make this album feel epic as a whole, but what you’re actually feeling there is sheer passion. Michael Anderson Sounds like: Mastodon, Kylesa, Black Cobra.
Blue Record – Baroness RELAPSE/RIOT
There will be pundits out there stating that Mono is the best post-rock band right now and Hymn To The Immortal Wind is a big reason why. Rich in an icy cold atmosphere, melodies that echo, tremolos that drift high across the dim skies and a heaviness guided by soaring synths create an approaching storm with every rain drop being the crash of a cymbal or the hit of a snare. And when everything draws to a close, it is definitely the blue skies that emerge. If music had control over the weather, Mono would be the band that would possess complete control over it. This is the most epic album they have ever produced and it is definitely their best effort to date! Michael Anderson Sounds like: Mogwai, Explosions In The Sky, Godspeed You Black Emperor
Hymn To The Immortal Wind – Mono VALVE/MGM