Korn - The Paradigm Shift (Album Review)
Paradigm Shift. According to genius physicist and all-round boff Thomas Kuhn, that’s a “series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions”, in which “one conceptual world view is replaced by another”. Given that Korn basically released a dubstep album in 2011, and have since reunited with original guitarist Brian 'Head' Welch, it seems that ideas and concepts are being tossed about like loose change. This is not the same band that wrote 'Life Is Peachy', and they're all the better for it.
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Thursday, 10 October 2013
Panic! At The Disco - Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! (Album Review)
Panic! At The Disco have had to do things the hard way at times. Since 2009, when Ryan Ross and Jon Walker left the band to explore other creative directions, frontman Brendon Urie has taken hold of the reins.
Written by: Katie Vowles | Date: Wednesday, 09 October 2013
Pelican - Forever Becoming (Album Review)
For all their predictability, there’s no denying that Pelican remain one of the best bands in the world at what they do. There are hundreds of instrumental post-rock/metal bands around nowadays, but few have the assuredness of touch and quality control that the Chicagoans have demonstrated over the last decade and more.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Wednesday, 09 October 2013
Miley Cyrus - Bangerz (Album Review)
Miley Cyrus has commanded a large slice of the public’s attention for a while now, for reasons good, bad and weird. She’s undergone a remarkable transformation from twee Disney popstar to rebellious, largely naked, twerker and her exploits have recently earned candid, differing responses from Sinead O’Connor, Annie Lennox and Amanda Palmer.
Written by: Katie Vowles | Date: Tuesday, 08 October 2013
Eden's Curse - Symphony Of Sin
Following a biblical sized bust up with their former singer, Eden's Curse rise from the ashes with a cracking new vocalist and album that blows their previous releases out of the water. If this heavyweight collection of guitar driven anthems doesn't see them ascend to the major leagues then it's surely the end of days for quality rock music.
Written by: Simon Ramsay | Date: Friday, 04 October 2013
Vulture Industries - The Tower (Album Review)
Every once in a while a metal band pops out of nowhere, grabs the world by the bollocks and demands to be heard. Slipknot did it with their self-titled masterpiece and this year Crossfaith have been receiving obscene amounts of media attention off the back of their 'Zion' EP and latest opus, 'Apocalyze'. Hell, Avenged Sevenfold are headlining Wembley Arena in a few months.
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Thursday, 03 October 2013
Fenech-Soler - Rituals (Album Review)
The time is now for Fenech-Soler. They’ve been knocking around for a while, with their profile slowly on the rise since the release of their self-titled debut three years ago. Likened to Friendly Fires and Delphic by the Guardian earlier this year, they’re packing that upbeat, electropop kind of sound that you know and love.
Written by: Emma Dodds | Date: Thursday, 03 October 2013
Drones - Free Marked Kid
Angry, loud, melodic and passionate - Camberley's Drones have all the ingredients for success when it comes to punk rock. Their new EP 'Free Marked Kid' pays serious homage to their influences, including Rise Against, Strike Anywhere and Anti-Flag, but manages to make an exciting dent of its own.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Thursday, 03 October 2013
Soulfly - Savages (Album Review)
Right, let's get something out of the way right now. We're not going to be comparing this album to anything Sepultura have churned out post-’Roots’. Why? Well, because they're a completely different beast now and Soulfly are arguably a bigger draw in 2013.
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Wednesday, 02 October 2013
Justin Timberlake - The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2 (Album Review)
There’s nothing understated about the second instalment of Justin Timberlake’s ‘20/20 Experience’. It’s an unwieldy proposition, its bloated running time conspiring to overpower the few fresh, exciting ideas that made the cut.
Written by: Gavin Rees | Date: Wednesday, 02 October 2013
A Storm Of Light - Nations To Flames (Album Review)
Josh Graham’s A Storm Of Light project will always remain in the shadow of Neurosis, the band with whom he collaborated on visuals for over a decade until the release of their ‘Honor Found In Decay’ album last year. But if any record in the Storm of Light discography is going to allow Graham and company (drummer Billy Graves and bassist Domenic Seita) to escape the Neurosis shadow, then it’s ‘Nations To Flames’.
Written by: Ben Bland | Date: Tuesday, 01 October 2013
Haim - Days Are Gone (Album Review)
Nostalgia is a powerful tool, and a dangerous one when wielded by the wrong band. Luckily, Haim have skirted the thorny divide between authenticity and parody on their debut album, turning in a batch of songs built for a golden age of radio.
Written by: Gavin Rees | Date: Monday, 30 September 2013
Drake - Nothing Was The Same (Album Review)
Drake’s an emotional guy, and he’s not your garden variety hip hop star either. ‘Nothing Was The Same’, his third full-length, finds him indulging this side of his persona again, while pushing his music in a few new directions.
Written by: Katie Vowles | Date: Monday, 30 September 2013
Nirvana - In Utero: 20th Anniversary Edition (Album Review)
If any record has new things to say 20 years after its initial bow, it’s Nirvana’s ‘In Utero’. Released at a time when Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl were chewing their way through the inevitable backlash that accompanied ‘Nevermind’, it has since become a prisoner of tragic circumstance, evoking time and place in a manner that wasn’t intended by its creators.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Friday, 27 September 2013
Dregen - Dregen (Album Review)
Of all the rock stars to have graced the planet in the last 20 years, few are as underappreciated as Dregen. Having spent time at the helm of Backyard Babies and the Hellacopters, the guitarist recently put out ‘Horns And Halos’ as part of Michael Monroe’s band, and here we find him solo and in fine form.
Written by: Gemma-Louise Johnson | Date: Friday, 27 September 2013
Kids In Glass Houses - Peace (Album Review)
‘Peace’ might just be the biggest statement in Kids In Glass Houses’ career to date. The quintet have built strong foundations over the last seven years and in that time they’ve turned in three full-lengths and a batch of well-received singles.
Written by: Katie Vowles | Date: Friday, 27 September 2013
Devin Townsend - The Retinal Circus
The world changed on October 27, 2012. The messiah wasn’t born, we didn’t stumble across the meaning of life, but on that hallowed day, Devin Townsend set foot on the stage of the Camden Roundhouse and unleashed something that had been meticulously planned and mulled over for the better part of a year. This was the biggest headline show of the man's entire career.
Written by: Alec Chillingworth | Date: Thursday, 26 September 2013
Saves The Day - Saves The Day (Album Review)
It’s been a while since Chris Conley and Saves The Day sounded this vibrant. Maybe it’s the cover, in all its grapefruity glory, or maybe it’s the fact that the conceptual strings that bound ‘Sound The Alarm’, ‘Under The Boards’ and ‘Daybreak’ have been cut.
Written by: Huw Baines | Date: Wednesday, 25 September 2013
More Than Conquerors - Everything I've Learnt (Album Review)
Formed in 2009, More Than Conquerors are a dynamic, alternative punk outfit from Belfast. Why it has taken them so long to release their debut album, ‘Everything I’ve Learnt’, is anyone’s guess, but it has definitely been worth the wait.
Written by: Lee Johnston | Date: Wednesday, 25 September 2013
Tonight Alive - The Other Side (Album Review)
On their debut, Aussie pop-rockers Tonight Alive asked, 'What Are You So Scared Of?'. Well, when you’ve made a dent with a solid debut, the idea of producing a successful follow up is pretty scary. The balance between developing your sound and ensuring that you please the fans is a fine one, but on 'The Other Side' Tonight Alive are in confident mood.
Written by: Heather McDaid | Date: Wednesday, 25 September 2013