Ten reviews you might have missed

Reviews from Thursday 22 October 2020

Pallbearer – ‘Forgotten Days’

Three years on from their previous release, Arkansas doom rockers Pallbearer are back with their fourth studio album ‘Forgotten Days’, which sees a return to their earlier doom roots and heavy, crushing sound. Although written last year, the darker themes of the album feel particularly apt as a reflection

Hands Like Houses – ‘Hands Like Houses’

When Aussie quintet Hands Like Houses released fourth album ‘Anon.’ in 2018, the response from fans was, to put it mildly, a bit marmite. Considering the marked shift in sound that album represented, the reaction probably wasn’t too surprising; think of any release by a band who’ve made even

Tuesday 20 October 2020

iDKHOW – ‘Razzmatazz’

The princes of funk-rock have, finally, dropped their debut album ‘Razzmatazz’. I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME (or iDKHOW for short), have been making waves ever since lead singer Dallon Weekes introduced the band at an LA bar in 2016. Now, two years since

Monday 19 October 2020

Fever 333 – WRONG GENERATION

From a global pandemic threatening everything we knew as normal, to civil unrest based on race, sexuality and belief, 2020 will go down as one of the hardest years in human history. Throughout these trying times, the music industry has been one of the hardest hit –

Sunday 18 October 2020

Kingdom Of Giants – ‘Passenger’

Californian metal outfit Kingdom Of Giants have returned to our ears to bring us their brand new record, ‘Passenger’. After years of hard graft and seemingly continuous touring with bands like Born Of Osiris and Fit For A King, they’ve amassed a legion of loyal followers – yet

Saturday 17 October 2020

LIVE: Boston Manor @ Blackpool Tower, Blackpool

For most of us, it’s been at least seven months since we last entered a music venue with the excitable anticipation of a child on Christmas morning. The idea of being crammed in a room full of sweaty strangers ever again has become something of a pipe dream. So

Friday 16 October 2020

Seaway – ‘Big Vibe’

Sweet, loaded with choice and incredibly moreish, Seaway are the definition of pick n mix pop punk. One of the most laid back bands return with their third album ‘Big Vibe’ and it is filled with exactly that and more. Not only is it full of their trademark chilled

Young Culture – ‘Young Culture’

It’s only four short (or in some cases long – looking at you, 2020) years since Young Culture made their first appearance on the scene, but with a cluster of EPs, a swathe of US tours, and collaborations with the likes of Derek DiScanio (State Champs) under their belts,

Wednesday 14 October 2020

Greg Puciato – ‘Child Soldier: Creator Of God’

Greg Puciato – a man who is considered by fans and critics worldwide as being one of the finest vocalists to ever grace heavy music and the genres that orbit around it – has made a solo record. Best known for fronting The Dillinger Escape Plan and being

Monday 12 October 2020

Metz – ‘Atlas Vending’

Toronto has a legacy of producing outstanding bands. From PUP and Cancer bats, to Fucked Up and Broken Social Scene, there’s always been a strong outpouring of bands from the area. One band that’s seemingly overlooked in the higher echelons of Toronto superstars are Metz. Formed in Ottowa but

Pave The Jungle – ‘The Hissing’

It can take some bands years to develop a sound that’s unique to them. For others, it can happen in a heartbeat, arriving fully formed and ready to go. For Pave The Jungle, it’s the latter. After the dissolution of her previous band ILSER, Rachael Whittle formed Pave The Jungle

Saturday 10 October 2020

Slow Pulp – ‘Moveys’

By Slow Pulp’s own admission, ‘Moveys’ is a made-up word. An in-joke that can be interpreted however you wish. It can be an instance of wilful abandon, the starting gun to free your inhibitions, or something that just implores you to dance. For the Chicago four-piece, it

Venom Prison – ‘Primeval’

2020 has given all of us time and space to reflect. With ‘Primeval’, Welsh death metallers Venom Prison have given fans the opportunity to reflect on their earlier material by re-recording EPs ‘Defy the Tyrant’ and ‘The Primal Chaos’, while keeping one eye on the future by throwing in

Friday 09 October 2020

Touche Amore – ‘Lament’

It’s been four years since Touche Amore released ‘Stage Four’ – a devastating record built thematically around vocalist Jeremy Bolm losing his mother to cancer, covering all the mourning, regret and hindsight that comes with loss in such painstaking detail that many found it difficult to listen to. New

Thursday 08 October 2020

snake eyes – ‘skeletons’

South Coast three-piece snake eyes may only have been around for a short time, but they’ve been hard at work writing and promoting their debut EP, ‘skeletons’. They managed to fit in just one show in Brighton back in January before lockdown halted the live music scene, and they’ve

Wednesday 07 October 2020

Laura Jane Grace – ‘Stay Alive’

In a year that’s been full of nasty surprises, it’s incredibly welcome to have something nice happen for once. Enter punk rock legend Laura Jane Grace, who’s just dropped an unannounced solo album of original acoustic songs. ‘Stay Alive’ is an album that in any normal year may never have

Friday 02 October 2020

KING MOTHERSHIP – ‘The Ritual’

It’s finally here. After years of looming on the horizon the band known as King Mothership have arrived, ready to whisk you away to the strange world of ‘The Ritual’. As the side project of Spencer Sotelo, vocalist of tech-metal band Periphery, you knew this was going to be

Svalbard – ‘When I Die, Will I Get Better?’

Bristol-based post-crust quartet Svalbard have been an active part of the UK’s underground music scene since 2012, and have been steadily building up their reputation as one of our most exciting exports ever since. 2018’s stellar album ‘It’s Hard To Have Hope’ was critically lauded, most notably for its

Wednesday 30 September 2020

The Hunna – ‘I’d Rather Die Than Let You In’

While it’s not clear as to exactly when it happened, there’s no denying that The Hunna have become one of the biggest names in British rock music. Brixton Academy has all but become their second home, and under normal circumstances, you’d see them sitting on an eclectic

Monday 28 September 2020

The Losing Score – ‘Closed for Season’

There’s always trepidation when dropping a second album, and the same might be said for EPs, too. Although shorter in length, they’re still examples of the direction a band is taking, giving fans an idea of whether they’re progressing and what their aspirations should be. For West Midlands three-piece