Album Review – Page 56

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From Monday 01 June 2020

Smiling Assassin – ‘Plight of the Millenial’

With their debut album clocking in at just under 16 minutes and featuring a title track that’s just 11 seconds long, Hull-based hardcore newcomers Smiling Assassin are here for a good time, not a long time. As the short runtime suggests, the record is incredibly pacy, and has a

Friday 29 May 2020

Bleed From Within – ‘Fracture’

Glaswegian metal heavy-hitters Bleed From Within are evolving at a phenomenal pace. Long gone are the days of banshee-like screaming and classic deathcore vibes, gently eased into the background in favour of monolithic metal riffs, blistering solos, and menacing, biting vocals. They’ve become like the UK’s answer

Thursday 28 May 2020

Bryde – ‘The Volume Of Things’

Nothing brings life into focus quite like a pandemic. Normalcy becomes an alien concept and queuing to get into your local supermarket is now just the done thing. Friends are now those you confide with through your laptop screen and dating has been reduced to walking in

Thursday 21 May 2020

COPE – ‘THE SHOCK DOCTRINE’

The concept of the ‘Shock Doctrine’, made popular by Canadian author Naomi Klein, is a simple one: if people are too tired, poor, miserable or apathetic to stand up for themselves, then governments and other powerful bodies can get away with pretty much whatever they want. As such, these

Thursday 14 May 2020

Non Canon – ‘Non Canon II’

In January 2019, Barry Dolan was writing and demoing tracks for what would become ‘Non Canon II’. During this process, the first of what turned out to be many deadlines for the UK’s departure from the EU loomed large in his mind. At the time, the drama unfolding at

Monday 11 May 2020

Hayley Williams – ‘Petals For Armor’

Far from the mania of 2000s pop-punk and from the pastel pastiches of ‘After Laughter’, ‘Petals For Armor’ recounts tragedy and travesty. The debut solo release from Paramore front woman Hayley Williams has been long anticipated – perhaps no more so than by Williams herself, who after

Friday 01 May 2020

Diet Cig – ‘Do You Wonder About Me?’

New York state indie duo Diet Cig promise a wealth of emotions on their sophomore record ‘Do You Wonder About Me?’. They want you to dance, to cry, to laugh, to commiserate, and over this collection of bubbly pop-infused tracks, they deliver in an abundance. This

Thursday 30 April 2020

GroundCulture – ‘How Well Do You Really Know Yourself?’

From Parkway Drive and Architects, to Knocked Loose, Code Orange and myriad bands in between, it’s hard to remember a time the heavy music scene was in such an internationally magnificent state as it is now. As the bigger names find themselves landing coveted festival headline slots once reserved

Havok – ‘V’

Over the last decade, Havok have earnt their place as one of the most prominent thrash revival bands. Instead of introducing new genres to the mix, they stick to the blueprint handed down by the titans of thrash, and they do it well. With the exception of a couple of

Wednesday 29 April 2020

Gold Key – ‘Panic Machine’

When the time came to record the follow-up to 2017’s ‘Hello, Phantom’, the members of Watford-based Gold Key bundled into a van and got dropped off at a cottage in Gwynedd, North Wales. With no car, no phone signal, and nothing within walking distance, they were completely off-grid as