During 2011 I bought an awful lot of albums. at least 75, in fact. And so many that some that might have made it in a normal year ended up being missed off this list. So there may well be a “what I overlooked” post at the end of the year, just to ensure that […]
After their first two albums and an EP, and seeing a live show that was so loud and intense that it felt like the back wall was going to be blown at points, W.A.S.T.E. are back to sear your eardrums once again. And you have to wonder exactly what they can do next: almost like […]
It has been a while since the last ADR album – I reviewed the gloriously chaotic mash-up of styles that was The Giants From Far Away a couple of months short of three years ago now, and have been looking forward to new material for some time.
In quite fabulous timing for this review, there was an intriguing article in the Guardian’s music section yesterday entitled When Bands Fall Off Cliffs. Ostensibly about how some bands find massive success and then the next release sees their fanbase simply fall away – and there were some pretty sobering and unexpected examples in the […]
When Left Spine Down first burst on the scene – the first track I heard was the blistering U Can’t Stop The Bomb, as I recall, and it was certainly among the best tracks of 2008 – they seemed like an awesome idea. Like someone had finally, after some years of trying, understood the idea […]
Mika Goedrijk’s This Morn’ Omina have been plugging something of a lonely trail for many years now – fifteen, in fact. And with them now being long-time members of the Ant-Zen roster, it has to be said that even there they stand out. While many acts on the label are often harsh, noisy acts – […]
Björn Alexander Brem’s Gothminister have remarkably been around for over ten years now. They first gained real attention with the stellar singles from their debut album (the grandiosely titled Gothic Electronic Anthems), and indeed such was the quality of the album that it was stacked full of potential singles right to the end. Sadly over […]
It really is remarkable how time flies by so fast. This is Necro Facility’s third album, and their debut The Black Paintings dates back to 2005 (and second album The Room is already four years old now). To be honest, both of those albums were something of a solid effort in hero worship, though. Basically […]
We appear to be in something of a transitional period in the scene nominally called “industrial”. Many bands I have looked upon as relative newcomers for some time have now been around for five or ten years, few new bands are coming through, and even the clubs and DJs appear unclear on what they want […]
After celebrating 25 years of “conceptual continuity” in 2009-2010, with the associated tour and best-of album, as we headed into 2011 the first signs of the next stage of KMFDM were revealed, in the guise of a couple of singles, and now a new album under the moniker of WTF?! – continuing with the age-old […]
It’s always a tough one when a much-loved band split up. Such was the case when Interlock did so – on the verge of announcing the release of a second album. Their first album proper, after a long period of playing small venues and releasing the odd track and a split EP with Needleye, was […]
I’ve always been in two minds over whether Tim Skold is actually any good or not. He’s had his moments – some of his production work has been good (indeed his work with Marilyn Manson on The Golden Age of Grotesque resulted in MM’s best album in years), but then much of his work with […]
Matt Fanale’s rise through the ranks has been steady and impressive. From self-released/his own label early on, via some high-profile live slots, to this album being released on Metropolis. The steady change in styles has been notable, too. From early material having more of an industrial noise slant, to dabbling in what can only be […]
I think it's fair to say that I had begun to wonder if this album was ever going to appear. Endlessly delayed – 'Modern Ruin' was first revealed as the album title way back in 2009 at least – and seemingly with something of a difficult gestation, with various tracks debuted live and then not […]
It’s been a while since I’ve really hunted out any new extreme metal. Part of that is down to being a little bit detached from the scene nowadays, with it being a couple of years or more now since I ceased the three years of fun that was Stormblast. And to be honest, part of […]
Here’s a question for you. What is “urban” music? Is it really just hip-hop, rap, R&B and various forms of dance music? For me, urban music brings to mind music that could only be created in the environment fostered by living in a city – and that isn’t always music you can dance to. The […]
A good year for music, so here’s twenty albums I think were great this year.
There has been a steady procession of reformations and/or long-awaited returns in the past couple of years, either bands returning for one last shot at success that perhaps eluded them in the first place, bands simply looking at making some (more) money on the back of previous success and a feeling of nostalgia, and then […]
Initially I thought this was a new artist, although the name sounded vaguely familiar from somewhere. Helpfully their MySpace page fills in the gaps – a surprisingly long-lived artist that has been around since the late 90s, although this is the first new album from them in eight years.
Maybe it’s just me, but the idea of an album with Dramacore in the title would immediately suggest an emo band favoured by teenagers, or someone taking the piss in a big way (Caustic, did you miss a trick here?). But no, a quick look at their website suggests a band who are deadly serious, […]
