Month: June 2013
Review: Arsis – Unwelcome
When I first started listening to Unwelcome, I was a little apprehensive—however, the album’s title and first song pulled me in. The chugging guitars, blasting double bass and high, pterodactyl-Satan vocals brought back warm fuzzy memories. … read more
Review: Armed With Legs – Self Titled
To stand out as a two-piece you have to be creative. You are starting off at a disadvantage, and even if you are damn-decent, at best you will be getting compliments laced with qualifiers … read more
Review: Anchoress – Set Sail
I’m calling it—this is the album of the summer, if not the year. Furious and cocky hardcore punk with more swagger in 22 minutes than most bands have in a full LP, I haven’t taken this album out of my stereo since I started listening to it. … read more
Review: Anvil – Hope is Hell
It’s been six years since the documentary was made about Canada’s Anvil rising out of obscurity to, well, just about a higher level of obscurity. The fact that Anvil had some good records in the ‘80s—right about the time metal wasn’t so cool anymore—but never rose to outright fame is the story of a lot of metal bands. … read more
Review: Adventure – Weird Work
As soon as I stepped into Weird Work’s world, I found an immediate juxtaposition. Adventure hit you with beat-box 8-bit synth atop melodic keyboard and bell contributions. … read more
Review: Age of Taurus – Desperate Souls of Tortured Times
Three years after their promising debut, Age of Taurus return to bring down the heavy hammer of doom. Desperate Souls of Tortured Times might take some time to sink in, but once you give in to the unrelenting rhythm of its leaden dirge, there’s no going back. Very few modern metal bands are brave enough to draw comparisons to doom metal giants Candlemass, and fewer still do justice to the classic sound. Yet Age of Taurus seems to have hit on a unique sound, both heavily influenced by the golden age of doom metal and bravely departing from tradition. … read more
Review: Agrimonia – Rites of Separation
Part neo-crust, part post-hardcore, with a healthy heaping of sludge and doom, is the recipe for Rites of Separation by veritable super-group Agrimonia. … read more
Salt Lake Till I Die
“Olé, olé olé olé, ReAL, Salt Lake!” repeats, increasing in volume on the south end of the Rio Tinto Stadium on a Saturday night. The stands are full—red, gold and blue are the colors of choice—except in Section 9 at ground level behind the south goal, where a menacing row of black-clad hooligans wave flags and lead chants over a banner printed “Salt Lake’s Finest.” … read more
The Tallest Man on Earth @ The Depot 05.31 with...
The fact that only three people could garner such a response and hold so tightly to such a large audience is completely baffling. Both Strand of Oaks and the Tallest Man on Earth played sets that can only be described as faultless. … read more