Updates will be more regular I promise once the backlog of stuff I’m supposed to be reviewing arrives (i.e. once I get round to adding them to my basket on Amazon, or some nice record labels bung some stuff my way). For now, he’s a Rock Sound CD breakdown. Also, my xbox bricked it a few weeks ago, which left me in Minor Threat-mode.

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Bring Me The Horizon ”“ Football Season Is Over (After The Night Remix)

Bring Me The Horizon have always appeared to be style over substance, no doubt caused by the ‘outrageously wacky’ antics of the tattooed gremlin that fronts them. This appears to be a re-cut version of one of their ‘songs’, with the addition of some nice choppy beats and ‘WOWOWOW’ synth thumping. It’s not bad actually, but didn’t Enter Shikari already do this? The screaming is still abhorrent though ”“ sounds like trollman is vomiting up his pancreas.

Thrice ”“ All The World Is Mad

Thrice went through this big change recently, ditching all their shouty, fast hardcore tunes for a slower, more methodical approach and this is just another example of their transition. Despite the guitars sounding tinny as fuck, the vocals show progression from nonsensical barking, focussing more on melody and keeping in time with the progressive nature of this track.

Every Time I Die ”“ Wanderlust

More KFC finger-lickin’ good RAWK from Every Time I Die; perfect for backwards-baseball cap wearing rednecks speeding down some barren motorway, hollering like brain-damaged monkeys. The vocals are spot on and whilst the music appears somewhat pedestrian and restrained for ETID, it does the job in being suitably obnoxious.

Sights & Sounds ”“ Neighbours

Sadly not a reworking of the popular theme from the Australian soap of the same name. Instead this channels monolithic amounts of washing noise with shuddering, heavy rock and Dave Grohl-style wailing. Superb, with some nice swirling keyboard raking splutters at the end.

Twin Atlantic ”“ What Is Light? Where Is Laughter?

Sean Connery would love this. Scottish to the max, with the kind of whisky-soaked vocals and grandiose-bastard chunks of heavy rock that slams down harder and faster than those blockers in Bowser’s Castle. Melodic in just the right places and guitar-twiddling thumps of noise in others ”“ brilliant work.

All Time Low ”“ Lost In Stereo

Whilst the chorus lords itself like some 500Fft destructo-bot of doom, you could land on it’s head, twist the ear flap back and find some tiny feeble-bodied sprite working the levers and fiddling with the dials. Impressive from the outside; the loud, plodding, heavy pop-punk tries to make an impact, but is lost by being utterly soulless and bereft of any feeling.

Chuck Ragan ”“ Glory

It’s the guy out of Hot Water Music! Sounding like ZZ Top when they did that folky-Western version of ‘Doubleback’ for Back To The Future III; Chuck injects his own throaty baritone to the mix of acoustic strumming and jaunty violins. His voice is the true stand-out ‘instrument’ however, touching on William Elliott Whitmore-style blues that bleeds with the similar passion, warmth and sense of loss. Best track so far.

Frank Turner ”“ Try This At Home

Frank Turner’s gone punk again! Well, cow-punkish. Alright, so it’s a swaggering, fast acoustic-folky affair that seems to hark back to his Million Dead ways in its sense of urgency and the very nature of self-referencing the pressures of being a musician. Possibly the strongest track I’ve heard from him since his MD days.

Memphis May Fire ”“ North Atlantic Vs North Carolina

Never heard of them ”“ but it’s cool to have ‘fire’ in your band name now. It’s the new ‘wolf’. This could literally be anyone from the American post-hardcore community; it’s so interchangeable. I think He Is Legend have already done this ”“ bit of screaming, clean vocals, Guns ‘N Roses style guitar solo at 2 minute mark, more screaming ”“ END.

Blackhole ”“ Don’t Cry

For a band that’s supposed to be more hardcore than eating a bowl of gravel, mixed with acid and drizzled with broken glass, it’s an incredibly sappy track title. It also feels like a bad radio edit in that just as finally chugs into gear with some credible guitar shredding it ends with one of those “dunna, naaa nnnnowwwwwww” finishes that I swear were phased out about 10 years ago. Solid though, but for the love of god MORE BACKING VOCALS.

Donots ”“ Pick Up The Pieces

“What the hell are we waiting for?” Shout Donots. Something that doesn’t sound like it fell off the backend of the My Chemical Romance bandwagon that shot through this no-horse town about 5 years ago. Turgid.

Megadeth ”“ Head Crusher

Like you actually need to be told how totally awesome this. It’s MEGADETH people, they’re like the best band ever you utter shower cap.

Dead By April ”“ Stronger

Yo Dead By April, I’m happy for you, and I really dig your screaming and elaborately wanky keyboard pounding and I’m going to let you finish, but my song that was also called ‘Stronger’ is one of the best songs of all time.

The Black Dahlia Murder ”“ A Selection Unnatural

Salacious B. Crumb has decided that the Star Wars Cantina band and Jabba’s House band should ditch the spacey, keyboard led bobbins and take up death metal thrash. What you’re left with is a squawking monkey-lizard noise over waves of extremely furious guitar twanging and rapid double-bass drum rolls.

Evile ”“ Infected Nation

Not sure if you pronounce the ‘e’ on the end. “Evileeeeee”? Sounds shit. During the first minute, the drumming sounds distorted beyond repair, like a chewed up tape-recording. No-one really needs to hear this ”“ sub-par metal, tedious guitars and a vocalist who seems to think shouting like a medicine swigging homeless alcoholic that stands outside bottle banks is ‘singing’. Get bent.

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Links

As above – I have to go now, my planet needs me.

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By Ross Macdonald