Review: Engrave
Engrave “The Rebirth Remasters” (World War III) The reissue of this band’s 1998 MCD, then on the SOD label, has been brought back to life like a time capsule from an earlier era of thrash/death metal. Heavy with Slayer, Sepultura,…
Tag issue-20
Review: Face to Face
Face to Face “How to Ruin Everything” (Vagrant) Face to Face, a band that has had the yo-yo effect with criticism from the media and their fans, has finally gone back to their punk rock roots–and I thank my lucky…
Review: Firebird Band “The Drive”
Firebird Band “The Drive” (Cargo Records) Dammit people, listen to this. The Firebird Band seems to be one of these bands that I run around and tell people to check out, and they won’t. Is it the name? Do they…
Review: Flogging Molly
Flogging Molly “Drunken Lullabies” (Side One Dummy Records) It’s about time Flogging Molly pumped out another drunken masterpiece. Since the release of “Swagger,” the band has been whoring itself across the US and back. They’ve created a spectacular following of…
Review: The Thing That Ate Floyd
Various Artists “The Thing That Ate Floyd (or ’38 Bands That’s Can’t Mosh’)” (Lookout! Records) Thirty eight bands make up a comp, which means a good portion suck, eh? Wrong. What a great sampler! If I had this CD when…
Review: Furious IV
Furious IV “…is that you?” (Pointed Finger Records) Furious IV is a three-piece band from Southern California. They practice a revved-up poppish punk style that’s roughly comparable to, say, Fenix*TX, but occasionally hints at Green Day’s early days due to…
Review: Goldfinger
Goldfinger “Open Your Eyes” (Jive / Mojo) Yawn. After being hammered by Blink-182, Sum41, and all their spinoffs, this Goldfinger album comes off bland and unoriginal. Perhaps true fans of those bands previously mentioned and the genre they represent may…
Review: In Flames
In Flames “‘The Tokyo Showdown’ (Live In Japan 2000)” (Nuclear Blast) Live In Flames. Recorded pristinely. A lot of bands could hope to sound this good in the studio. Opening with ‘Bullet Ride’ from their last album ‘Clayman’, the righteousness…
Review: Burnt By The Sun
Burnt By The Sun “Soundtrack to the Personal Revolution” (Relapse Records) All of the time these guys have spent in the sun has finally fried their brains and forced them to produce incredibly scary music! “Soundtrack to the Personal Revolution”…
Review: Canterbury Effect
Canterbury Effect “An Exercise in Humility” (Pluto Records) Either I’m not a good music reviewer or this couldn’t be more of a rip-off of At the Drive-In if they tried, which I assume they are trying. But rather than succeeding…