Local Review: Malignant Inception – Black Death

Local Review: Malignant Inception – Black Death
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Malignant Inception Black Death Slaughterhouse Records Malignant Inception = Malevolent Creation + Suffocation + Decapitated   Malignant Inception have everything the die-hard death metal fan needs—relentless double-bass drumming, ever-changing guitar and bass technicality and trademark dual low vocals topped off with the screeching highs that made this band notorious. Black Death is a bloody, throat-wrenching

Local Review: Powerhouse Rock – Self-Titled

Local Review: Powerhouse Rock – Self-Titled
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Powerhouse Rock Self-Titled Powerhouse Rock = Alice Cooper + Ted Nugent Good God. Someone in the 80s invented a time machine and sent a butt-rock group to the new millennium to see if it could still survive. Unfortunately, it landed in SLC and somehow made it into my hands. I’m guessing the entire band consists

Local Review: Two and a Half White Guys – Self-Titled

Local Review: Two and a Half White Guys – Self-Titled
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Two and a Half White Guys Self-titled Gringos Productions Two and a Half White Guys = The Good, The Bad and The Ugly soundtrack + Aquabats + Bob Marley   Jazz-inflected ska calypso reggae jam bands aren’t really my thing, but Two and a Half White Guys are good at what they do, and they

Local Review: The Contingency Plan – Self-titled demo (2002)

Local Review: The Contingency Plan – Self-titled demo (2002)
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The Contingency Plan Self-titled demo (2002) The Contingency Plan = Drive-Thru Records + sincerity   Oops … this is what happens when you lose a band’s press kit in your car’s trunk for two years. This four-song demo is a neat, tight conglomeration of polished emo pop-punk with sharp production (Boho Digitalia), tight performance and

Local Review: Rope or Bullets – Call It for What You Want

Local Review: Rope or Bullets – Call It for What...
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Rope or Bullets Call It for What You Want Rope or Bullets = Atom and His Package + Modern English   From the band that brought you “I Love Personality,” the outright best song on the Death By Salt compilation, comes a six-song precursor to a full-length album. Rope or Bullets, though not the rockin’est

Local Review: Pagan Dead – Mors Janua Vit Æ Et Vita Janua Mortis

Local Review: Pagan Dead – Mors Janua Vit Æ Et...
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Pagan Dead Mors Janua Vit Æ Et Vita Janua Mortis Self-released Pagan Dead = Misfits + Accused   When I first received a copy of Pagan Dead’s debut album, I was a little leery, thinking, “Rockabilly? Next!” But after giving it a chance, I was instantly hooked! Relentless drumming by Jodie Hecate, demonic guitars by

Local Review: NSPS – Timeless Towns and Haunted Places

Local Review: NSPS – Timeless Towns and Haunted Places
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NSPS Timeless Towns and Haunted Places Nutra Stick NSPS = They Might be Giants + Barenaked Ladies   NSPS might not be too bad of a band, if it weren’t for the vocals. They’re gruff, tongue-in-cheek and strained, not unlike Van Morrisson’s, but unlike Van Morrisson’s, they’re painfully out of tune, making portions of this

Local Review: Less People, More Robots – Self-Titled

Local Review: Less People, More Robots – Self-Titled
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Less People, More Robots Self-Titled  LPMR = Fiona Apple + Weezer My friend Melinda told me that robots are one of the three things in the entire world that scare her. The other two are children and monogamy. Go figure. Though some, like Melinda, would argue against having more robots in the world, you’ll probably

Local Review: Jupassa – Attack of the Red Dinosaurs

Local Review: Jupassa – Attack of the Red Dinosaurs
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Jupassa Attack of the Red Dinosaurs Kitefishing Family Jupassa = Edward Scissorhands + Ray Bradbury   If Mogwai were approached about concocting the soundtrack for The Nightmare Before Christmas Part II: Jack Gets Funky Fresh with Kwanzaa, this is what they might come up with. Trip-hoppy electronica skips rope with quirky guitar breaks and odd

Local Review: The Furies – Sunday Satellite

Local Review: The Furies – Sunday Satellite
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The Furies Sunday Satellite Dumb Angels The Furies = (Pavement + Lou Reed) x emo   The songs on Sunday Satellite are well thought-out, well produced and could serve as an accessory to a deep, deep depression. This minimalist, sad indie rock of The Furies could either woo the right concert audience into a feeling