Year: 2005
Review: Combichrist – Everybody Hates You
Combichrist Everybody Hates You Metropolis In the last year, Combichrist has released some of the best music to cross my desk in a long time. It’s lighthearted, evil, sexy, danceable and delicious. Fifteen years ago, I felt the same way about Nitzer Ebb; it got in the veins and you were hooked. “This s*it
Review: Codeseven – Dancing Echoes/Dead Sounds
Codeseven Dancing Echoes/Dead Sounds Equal Vision Apparently Codeseven were once a screamcore band whose high watermark was a cover of “Boys of Summer.” One day they got older, heard Radiohead and traded in their metal for something more mother-friendly. They of course lost nearly the entirety of their original fanbase. I can only imagine the wonderful
Review: Caustic Christ – Government Job 7”
CAUSTIC CHRIST GOVERNMENT JOB 7″ Some punk bands never get famous enough to appear on MTV, play Warped Tour or even have their music played in the background on TV shows about snowboarding. Some punk bands don’t get famous enough to upgrade from a Ford van to a small motor home. Lots of punks
Review: Cerrone – Not too Shabby
Cerrone Not too Shabby Purple Music Here comes another great Cerrone classic after 26 years of life. Purple Music gives it another round of life with Jamie Lewis assigned to remix duty. Following up Jamie’s “Be Thankful” featuring Michelle Weeks (the Miami WMC top tune), this latest soulful disco gem from Switzerland’s finest shows what
Review: Carpathian Forest – We’re Going To Hollywood For This...
CARPATHIAN FOREST WE’RE GOING TO HOLLYWOOD FOR THIS DVD Seasons of Mist Carpathian Forest = Satyricon + Dark Throne + Bethlehem + Dissection From Norway, Carpathian Forest play black metal. Not interested yet? What about seeing them live? Still not interested? What about the nude dancers they have come out on stage during every
Review: Brian Evanson with Xingu Hill & Tamarin – Altmann’s...
Brian Evanson with Xingu Hill & Tamarin Altmann’s Tongue Ant Zen Street: Out Now The spoken word project with Xingu Hill, Tamarin and author Brian Evanson has been in the works for quite some time now. When I first met the musicians in 2002, John Sellekaers of Xingu Hill had flown from Belgium to
Review: Bloody Sign – Vana Vingala Loits
Bloody Sign Vana Vigala Loits Ibex Moon Records Like their fellow death-metal countrymen Mercyless and Phazm, Bloody Sign manage to combine the speed with guttural heaviness while keeping things interesting the whole way through the disc. You might say they come across as sounding like a slightly less sepulchral and less down-tuned version of Incantation.
Review: Bloodbath – Nightmares Made Flesh
Bloodbath Nightmares Made Flesh Century Media Records Sweden is home to a lot of totally shitty bands these days. Bloodbath is not one of them. This band has actually existed for almost six years now. Don’t let the founding members’ more accessible full-time gigs (Edge of Sanity, Opeth) fool you—Bloodbath is a serious nod
Review: Billy Idol – Devil’s Playground
Billy Idol Devil’s Playground Sanctuary Having placed himself in a self-imposed exile, the majority of the last decade was decidedly Idol-less. Billy was off losing himself in cyberpunk culture (rather prophetic, considering The Matrix was far from view) and the excesses that defined him as one of the 80s most reckless superstars. Then there was
Review: Augie March – Strange Bird
Augie March Strange Bird Spin Art When Elbow’s vocalist Guy Garvey sings the praises of Australia’s Augie March, you can’t help but feel like he’s being narcissistic. It isn’t that Strange Bird steals from Elbow as much as it implements the same mumbled vocals over a down-tempo atmosphere that dominates Elbow’s recordings. While many might