Album Review: "Inner City Wolves" by Johnny Touch

Inner City Wolves

The world is a smaller place today. Is it because of the robot master race as discussed in The World's End or are we just advancing?

Thankfully, that connectivity is making it easier to find new music in an age when terrestrial radio has achieved a smug sameness across the country. In this modern world, it's easier and harder than ever to find new metal...

Today's album review is of a debut record. Johnny Touch, the band in question, is from Australia, and has released small bits of music here and there: demos, split 7"s, and not much else.

Outside of their home nation, they are virtually unknown, but that's all going to change soon.

Hopefully. For those metal fans who don't enjoy cookie monster vocals, ultra high gain music that all sounds the same, and desires music that hearkens back to the good old days of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, keep reading.

Album Review: "The Awakening" by Powerlord

The Awakening

Have you ever heard of Powerlord?

Well, in my opinion, to know about this band you'd have to be one of those fabled tape traders from the early days of thrash metal that got Metallica noticed by Johnny Zazula on the East Coast.

I surely had never been introduced to this band and I've been metal for a long time.

As is normally with the case with demos that are discovered and later released as albums, this album sounds gritty. There's literally no polish on this record at all. It takes money to be able to hire a producer and get it to sound clean.

Well, it's not entirely true to say that this album has no polish, because it does, just not in the production. This band was wildly talented.

"To Him That Wills The Way" by Walking Bicycles

To Him That Wills The Way

 I love a great story and Walking Bicycles definitely has that.

Julius Moriarty, the band's guitarist was incarcerated in 2009 just weeks after the release of the band's third album, GO?.

He was released in 2012, after his three year incarceration, the band is back.

(I'm assured that it was a non-violent offense, but in the spirit of full disclosure, I do not know what his offense was, however, he was given a sentence and has served it.)

The rest of the band waited for him to be released and they did nothing during that time. Now as a free man, Moriarty returned to the fold after his release and they have unleashed their fourth album, To Him That Wills The Way on Highwheel Records.

Album Review: "Goin' Under" by Black Trip (Re-Release, sort of)

Goin' Under

Today's review is the debut album of a side project. Ex-Entombed drummer, Peter Stjärnvind, who's playing guitar on this album, hatched the idea for this project way back in 2003.

Black Trip was put on hiatus until 2011, yes a full eight years, until a meeting with vocalist, Joseph Tholl. They recorded a demo and then returned with a full band....and fast forward a bit...

Well, many years later and the album now has its very own US release on Prosthetic Records.

The band is considered to be "classic heavy metalists." Frankly, I'm really beginning chuckle at the classifications of metal. Can't we just say heavy metal anymore? Of course that's neither here nor there, as the band claims to be influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

Album Review: "Overhaul" by Monsterworks

Overhaul

Well, who would have thought we would be here again so soon?

The clearly insane New Zeleanders have return with another album full of their signature brand of multiple personality disorder.

You may recall their brilliant album from earlier this year, Universe.
The funny thing is, it gets even crazier when you dig a little deeper into it. It's hard to believe the amount of material they are writing and recording.

In 2013, they released two full length albums as well and in 2012 they released two extended plays. Before they had started on their torrid pace of two releases per year, they had already released seven full length albums!

Monsterworks has music in their soul that they frankly cannot keep inside of them and it continues to pour out. They may not be working as hard as Buckethead, but how long can they keep this pace up?

Album Review: "Brimstone Coven" by Brimstone Coven

Let's review: Black Sabbath is awesome.

Retro rock is awesome.

Harmony is awesome.

Psychedelia is so awesome that it's a crime against humanity that the art form died out in the early 70's.

Enter today's review, Brimstone Coven. Even though they are on Metal Blade Records, I question how truly metal they are.

They remind me a bit of Baroness, insomuch as they are not a metal band per se, but have metal influences. As this post goes on, I think that you'll be able to understand this quite well.

Album Review: "System Subversion" by Methedras

System Subversion

For today's album of record, we're reviewing the latest release by Italy's Mathedras, System Subversion.

Originally formed in 1999, Mathedras has released three other albums preceding this album: 2009's Katarsis, 2006's The Worst Within, and 2004's Recursive.

So, it has been five year since these death thrashers (as they so succinctly put it) have put out any new music.

They took a break after the release and tour for their Katarsis record, but now they are back, seeking interested labels, and they're ready to get the death machine rolling again.

Thankfully, the time off has not slowed them down, softened them up, or caused them to have mellowed out in any way, shape, or form.

Album Review: "Ravenous" by Slaughterday

Ravenous

German death metallers Slaughterday are back with the ferocious EP, Ravenous.

This is the follow up to their 2013 full length debut, Nightmare Vortex.

The brutal duo features the ex-Obscenity, Jens Finger on bass and guitars and ex-BK-49 Bernd Reiners, on drums and vocals.

How often do drummers sing? I cannot think of another drummer in the game that also handles the vocals.

They've been at this as Slaughterday since 2010 and they are showing now signs of slowing down. Ravenous is being released on FDA Rekotz and features three new songs and one cover, Acheron's Ave Satanas. The EP is being released on CD and vinyl.

Album Review: "Back To The Front" by Entombed A.D.

Back To The Front

Entombed, wait, Entombed AD, welcome back, to the front as it were.

For some of us in the world, you'd never left the front of our consciousness. For a close friend of mine, their Wolverine Blues record is the be all and end all of death metal. Just even mentioning the genre and he spouts off that title.

There was a bit of an issue and now the band has changed up their name in order to continue, but the group has been at this a very long time.

When I had my first taste of extreme metal, Entombed were among the first I'd heard. I still think back to when my friend introduced me to death metal and I still see the Carcass, Napalm Death, Entombed, and Forbidden album covers in his room....oh to be 16 again right?

Album Review: "Fragments" by District

Fragments

Twitter is a funny thing.

In the very recent past, I received a message from a band asking if I did reviews, and after answering in the affirmative, they sent me their album.

That is still my very favorite thing about running this little music blog. When a band contacts me. (Please see email address to the upper right of the screen should you be interested.)

But, in the end, I've never heard of this band and I have very little information about them other than that they have released an album and they are from Seattled and named District.

They self identify with alternative rock, but could they really call themselves anything else while being from Seattle? Perhaps I'm just too old, but that's all I think of when I think of Seattle...well that and The Crow.

Album Review: "Hang Them" by Atara and Miserable Failure

Hang Them

The split EP!

This is a long staple in the world of extreme metal where many of the labels don't have billions to spend.

I suppose it's more than just the metal that does this, but also the music industry as a whole that doesn't have the distribution and power that some of the other bigger labels have.

Atara and Miserable Failure are both on the Kaotoxin label and are angry, riffy, and unstoppable grindcore metal.

For the uninitiated, Grindcore is a name given to very extreme metal that has some similar traits to hardcore punk music. Short songs, no solos, just flat out going after it and then reloading for the next go around. Both bands have been around the block a bit and we'll take each side of the EP...

Album Review: "Scorched Earth Policy" by Brother Dege

Scorched Earth Policy

Few things are better to me than new music.

The subject of today's review has just released an album, or digital mixed tape, that's available for immediate purchase and download.

Brother Dege, aka Dege Legg, has been in the game for a little while now. He's been touring and recording since 2009.

His music was used by Quentin Tarantino for the movie Django Unchained.

Clearly, he's knocking on doors and getting noticed out there. He's described as "Cajun Blues," and I can certainly get behind that. He's a very unusual artist and that's pretty cool.

The current release is a mammoth 19 track undertaking chock full of three kinds of recordings: Studio, Demos, and Field Recordings. He certainly has released a giant pile of music.

Album Review: We Have A Ghost Eponymous (Re-release)

We Have A Ghost

Music is, your friend and humble narrator's opinion, the supreme art form because it encompasses all other forms of art, but what if that artist doesn't want to be recognized in the outside world?

My favorite band of all time, KISS, kept their identities secret for the first ten years of their existence. A new band with a similar name, Ghost, is doing the same thing.

These artists are more than just musicians, they are also actors. They are playing roles nightly in front of audiences.

Well our new friend, We Have A Ghost is the exact same way, though I think he's a bit smarter than the boys in KISS, he probably didn't create his character based on his real life personality. He's also gone one better than New York's Favorite Sons...

He's kept his location secret. So good luck figuring out this mystery, should you be so inclined. Personally, I allow these men to have their space and choose to love the mystique..look what happened to Ozzy after he lost his...

Album Review: "The Last Defence" by Keitzer

The Last Defence

Formed in 1999, this German band has been blasting beats for a long time.

They're compared to other brutal metal acts like early Deicide, Misery Index, and Marduk.

I'm really only familiar with the legendary Deicide in that list, so I cannot comment on the other two and how Keitzer compares.

I suppose that might take my metal cred down a notch?

Over the last fifteen years Keitzer has had a steady stream of albums and Split EPs. The Last Defence is their fifth full length album and their first since the wild days of 2011's release Descend Into Heresy. Even fifteen years on, Keitzer just cannot calm down.

Album Review: The Eponymous Debut of the Casual Strangers

Casual Strangers

Musical acts, like normal people, run in packs, scenes, cliques, etc.

After my review of Megafauna's latest album, The Maximalist, a couple other bands out of Austin, TX came out to say hi to me. I would definitely love to become more familiar with the scene in Austin, TX.

(It should be noted that if you're reading this and you want me to review anything, I'll listen to whatever's sent!)

The Casual Strangers.

In an era of an ever expanding list of terrible band names, I think this one is pretty damned cool. The standard trope of opposites becomes something very cool here.  I always hope to bring new artists to your attention, and this band couldn't be any newer. This is their first album.