reviews

Some time ago on her MySpace blog, Angela Gossow wrote, “I personally believe the last two Arch Enemy albums were too harmless. We got to get the grit, bite, speed and danger back into our music. Less controlled, more riffs, melodies, solos, different parts, breaks, sudden changes.” I couldn’t agree more. What frustrated me about […]

Estradasphere is one of the craziest bands I’ve ever come across. When I hear them, I hear a klezmer band, a bluegrass group, a jazz outfit, a chamber ensemble, a sometimes metal band, and so on. What sets them apart is the depth to which they explore genres. Whereas, say, Mr. Bungle might merely reference […]

Given my recent review of The Esoteric’s Subverter, I thought I’d revisit the band’s previous album, 2005’s With the Sureness of Sleepwalking (on Prosthetic). I saw this band play last year, and I was blown away. I picked up this album, and was again blown away (you can read an interview I did with the […]

Black Hole Generator is a two-man band from Bergen, Norway, consisting of Bjørnar Nilsen and Dreggen, whose collective resumes include Grimfist, Aeternus, Deathcon, and Vulture Industries. Black Karma (on Ars Magna) is the band’s debut EP, with five tracks of menacing industrial black metal. Of course, the first reference point for this kind of stuff […]

This is the second of a two-part tribute to Chris Poland (today is his birthday). After Return to Metalopolis, Poland had a band called Damn the Machine. As with RtM, his brother Mark was on drums, with David Randi on bass and Dave Clemmons on vocals. The band’s 1993 self-titled debut on A&M was its […]

A guitarist’s tone is in his fingers; this is especially true for Chris Poland. He’s played in a wide variety of settings, but I can always identify him within seconds. Few musicians have such a distinctive voice, or have brought such joy to my life. This is the first of a two-part tribute to Poland’s […]

Rock bands evidently don’t care about trademark protection, as no less than ten claim the name “Katharsis.” Three alone, including this one, come from Germany. Perhaps in some alternate universe these bands are competing on a reality show for the right to use the name. This Katharsis would no doubt wipe the floor with its […]

Scale the Summit is a Houston-via-LA instrumental prog metal band that began in late ’04. Influences are usually obvious with young bands, but with Scale the Summit, only a few reference points come to mind – Atheist, King Crimson, Dysrhythmia, the proggy parts of Between the Buried and Me. For being a bunch of guys […]

Formed in 2003, Zoroaster unload slow, sludgy grooves befitting of their beards. It’s heavy stuff, but it would have been heavier had the band named itself after a different religious leader, like, say, Mohammed or Jesus. Imagine the death threats! (See South Park, “Mohammed” episode) However, the original Zoroaster evidently also had a beard; maybe […]

My dual review of Stolen Babies’ There Be Squabbles Ahead and Unexpect’s In a Flesh Aquarium is up at Stylus.