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Iggy and the Stooges - Ready To Die (Fat Possum)
So they successfully got back together and produced some damn good rockin’ tunes that show they’ve still got it in ‘em.
7 May 2013Instagon - Jazz for a Lesser Deamon (Thee Instagon Foundation)
The ever eclectic Instagon take a left turn at jazz, or more accurately, jazz-fusion, on this 20th anniversary release that documents recordings made throughout 2012 with a multitude of musicians.
2 May 2013Liver Cancer - Adrenalflag Cirrosismantis Livormortis (Love Earth Music)
Where Children of the Vortex, their previous effort for Love Earth Music, was the noise equivalent of an ’80s hardcore punk record, Adrenalflag Cirrosismantis Livormortis seems to have more in common with black metal.
1 May 2013Instagon - Thee Perplexity ov a Shrinking Steering Wheel (Auricular)
While this is certainly Instagon’s darkest release to date, it is also one of their most powerful – a raw, spontaneous outburst of twisted psyche.
25 April 2013Circuit Wound - Distress (Love Earth Music)
Over-modulated static twists and morphs, creating a wave of horrifying squelch intent on crushing everything in its path.
23 April 2013Instagon - Titanic CS (Blistered Mind)
Recorded live on the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the USS Titanic, this extremely limited cassette release shows the improvisationally inclined Instagon in a sparse, but powerful, lineup that successfully tackles one of history’s greatest failures.
19 April 2013Neorev - "No Control" EP (Neorev/Bandcamp)
Now on the fourth EP generated from his Children of the Bomb franchise, Matteo delivers yet another superb collection of remixes, reboots and brand new tracks guaranteed to drive all cyber knights out of their coffins and into the glowing neon sprawl.
17 April 2013White Fang - High Expectations 12"LP (Metal Postcard)
High Expectations is about as lo-fi as you can get, sounding like it was recorded on a cassette 4-track in a living room.
11 April 2013Pairs - If This Cockroach Doesn't Die, I Will 2xLP (Metal Postcard)
While the guitar/drums duo thing is tired, passé and generally a bore, Pairs, comprised of drummer/vocalist Xiao Zhong, aka Rhys, and guitarist F have somehow hit the nail on the head.
9 April 2013Rachel Lynn - Rachel Lynn EP (Rachellynnsings.com)
The girl’s got pipes. I mean, she can really sing.
4 April 2013Professor Sonic - Envoking Glitch (Professor Sonic/Bandcamp)
Summoning the spirit GLITCH is serious business, as it takes patience, precision and perfection to perform such a feat.
1 April 2013Faz Waltz - Life on the Moon 12"LP (White Zoo)
The music of Faz Waltz is firmly rooted in early ’70s glitter.
27 March 2013King Mastino - Hold Fast 12"LP (White Zoo)
While there is a sailing motif to the band, it doesn’t impact the music which is firmly rooted in the road rock of Radio Birdman.
22 March 2013John Butcher - Bell Trove Spools (Northern Spy)
Q: When is a saxophone not a saxophone?
A: When it’s handled by John Butcher.
3 March 2013Miscegenator/Cell 63/The Will/Eighty-Sixed - The Grand Victory (Brooklyn, NY) - Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Decent shows are slim pickings when your days off are Tuesday and Wednesday.
28 February 2013Zs - Score: The Complete Sextet Works: 2002-2007 (Northern Spy)
This brilliant four disc box set compiles all of Zs’ releases through their first five years as a sextet consisting of saxophonists Sam Hillmer and Alex Mincek, percussionists Alex Hoskins and Brad Wentworth and electric guitarists Charlie Looker and Matthew Hough.
13 February 2013Dolphins - Dolphins (Dolphins)
Sometimes it’s necessary to get away from all the noise and grit of the city and retreat into a paradise of soothing sonic waves.
30 January 2013Blackmondays - Blackmondays 7"EP (White Zoo)
The Italian/Spanish White Zoo Records continues its obsession with Killed By Death-style punk with this raging slab of darkness.
16 January 2013LHS (Libyan Hit Squad)/Round Eye - Full Circle split (Ripping)
This is one of those rare moments when I kneel down and genuflect in humble admiration for a contemporary hero.
10 January 2013RunnAmuckS - Deficit of Dreams (Ripping)
Now firmly within the grasp of bandleader Josh Dobbs, The RunnAmuckS have produced their finest album to date, an epic reflection on aging, relationships and punk rock frustration that is as honest as it is succinct.
19 December 2012Neorev - "Wildfire" EP (Neorev/Bandcamp)
The first question that comes to mind when listening to a new Neorev release is, “How in the hell does Michael Matteo keep getting better?”
13 December 2012Night - Offerings (Eleventh Key)
While not really a black metal band per se, York, PA’s Night successfully conjure the dark atmospheric quality of the genre, creating post-rock atmospheric tracks that draw as much from Mogwai as they do from Burzum.
28 November 2012Mongo - Mongo (Mongo)
So what happens when you have a wife, a kid, a house in the suburbs, a steady job, you’re living the American dream, but still full of the angst that drew you to punk rock when you were young?
21 November 2012+DOG+ - Fuck Faced Failures (Love Earth Music)
With Fuck Faced Failures, leader Steve Davis delivers an album so quietly frightening that nightmares seem preferable.
14 November 2012Mr. Clit and the Pink Cigarettes - Haircuts (Mr. Clit and the Pink Cigarettes)
Being an outsider in a Norman Rockell-esque town would certainly lead to psychosis, channeled here in musical form by three unbalanced individuals whose true calling was probably a circus sideshow.
9 November 2012Brutal Poodle - Trichotillomania (Love Earth Music)
Brutal Poodle are incomprehensible.
24 October 2012Medicine Cabinet - Discordant Ovation (Love Earth Music)
Just when you though noise was getting all wussy, Medicine Cabinet’s Marc Schneider releases his second album in a successful effort to make your ears bleed.
17 October 2012Merzbow/Actuary - Freak Hallucinations 12" (Love Earth Music/Obfuscated)
On this rare 12” outing, Merzbow joins forces with San Pedro’s premier black-grind-noisemongers for an epic release that will be a worthy addition to any noise fan’s collection.
10 October 2012Conscious Summary - "Prescription: Lullaby" 7" (Love Earth Music)
While it contains elements of harsh noise, Conscious Summary’s 7” effectively departs from the mold, bringing more music than power electronics.
3 October 2012Diamond Terrifier - Kill the Self That Wants to Kill Yourself (Northern Spy)
After a couple cassette EPs, founding Zs member, Sam Hillmer, finally delivers his solo album, an introspective journey that successfully expresses Hillmer’s starkly unique vision.
27 September 2012Neorev - "Let's Get Down" EP (Neorev/Bandcamp)
Once again, Neorev returns with music so astonishingly excellent that one truly has to wonder why Michael Matteo isn’t one of the top electronic producers of the moment.
20 September 2012World War IX - "Bender Royale" EP (World War IX)
Thee mighty World War IX have weathered yet another lineup change and, honestly, have truly hit their stride with the absolute best grouping to date.
4 September 2012Giuda - Racey Roller (White Zoo)
This is ’70s debauchery at its best. Forget retro, this is the real thing.
29 August 2012Idol Lips - Scene Repulisti LP (White Zoo)
It’s the kind of music that makes you want to guzzle beer amongst friends in your favorite scummy punk rock dive while the band plays a most awesome set that makes the hangover the next day totally worth it.
21 August 2012Silver Cocks - Silver Cocks LP (White Zoo)
Where the majority of contemporary punk rock tends to be tired, lacking in imagination and incredibly boring, Silver Cocks possess the beautiful spark that ignited their heroes so long ago.
15 August 2012Transex - The Heart of the State 7"EP (White Zoo)
This third record from Transex is the first from Southern Italy’s, White Zoo Records and a strong debut from a label devoted to bringing us the best Italian KBD punk.
7 August 2012Pretty Bullshit/Warm Needles - The Same Shit Everyday split 7"EP (Dig My Grave)
This is true punk rock – the sound of alienated individuals venting their innermost feelings in an attempt to connect with anyone who will listen.
31 July 2012Dental Work - "Fruit of Lebanon" 7" (Love Earth Music/Placenta)
It’s a bit like slowly scanning the dial of a shortwave radio, trying to reach that transmission, but just missing it every time.
26 July 2012Sibelian - Gothic Opera: 1999-2011 (The Fossil Dungeon)
In the late ’80s/early ’90s, Stephen Svanholm played guitar in UK thrash-funk-metal band, Ignorance, releasing two albums on Metal Blade before settling down to study music seriously and become a full-fledged opera singer.
18 July 2012Paper Bags - II 7"EP (Rapid Pulse/Paper Bag/No Front Teeth)
This is garage punk of the highest order, which makes sense considering the band contains members of The Radio Reelers, The Complaints and The Trust Fund Babies.
11 July 2012Grave Desecrator - Deathspells Rising (Metalhit.com)
With this collection of rare early releases and previously unreleased live and rehearsal recordings from Brazil’s black/death/thrash barbarians, Metalhit.com finalizes its most recent trilogy of South American extreme metal.
3 July 2012Poisonous - Perdition's Den (Metalhit.com)
This is furious rage in its purest form, unapologetic, unsympathetic, uncompromising, uninhibited animalistic fury that attacks only to kill.
26 June 2012Bestial Holocaust - Into the Goat Vulva (Metalhit.com)
The music of Bestial Holocaust falls somewhere between Sarcófago’s first two albums, INRI and The Laws of Scourge.
20 June 2012Deathronation - Exorchrism (Metalhit.com)
Where many death metal bands look to the Swedish scene of technical proficiency and high-end equipment for inspiration, Deathronation take a more old school, analog approach.
12 June 2012Forefather - Last of the Line (Metalhit.com)
For those who prefer a bit of melody with their metal, there’s Britain’s Forefather.
6 June 2012Hordes of the Morning Star - Consummatum Est (Metalhit.com)
With full-production and epic sound-quality, Consummatum Est is a solid statement of razor-sharp black metal with a death metal edge.
29 May 2012Neorev - "Brooklyn Stomp" EP (Neorev)
With this collection of tracks, Neorev proves to be a solid force in underground electronic music.
18 May 2012Amour Obscur - Amour Obscur EP (Amour Obscur)
Straight out of a after-hours basement cabaret, Amour Obscur give us a glimpse into their upcoming Vic Thrill-produced full-length.
10 May 2012Instagon - Pink Eye (Placenta)
Pink Eye showcases the true eclecticism of Instagon, compiling fully improvised noise and music from 1998, 2007 and 2011.
3 May 2012Neorev - Children of the Bomb (Neorev)
Children of the Bomb is a bona fide electronic classic composed with integrity and produced without pretension.
19 April 2012Wrath of Typhon - Speak from the Fire (Eleventh Key)
In a genre as rife with clichés as stoner/doom metal, it’s nice to hear a band who actually get it.
13 April 2012+DOG+ - Greetings from Moot Point, CA (Love Earth Music)
Moot Point perfectly encapsulates the experience of LA life for the outsiders who don’t buy into the fairy tale.
6 April 2012Strikemaster - Vicious Nightmare (Metalhit.com)
This is absolutely one of the best metal releases I’ve ever heard, and one that deserves to be heard by anybody who appreciates metal in any way.
29 March 2012Witchaven - Terrorstorm (Metalhit.com)
The music on Terrorstorm is perhaps best summed up by the album’s third track, “Black Thrash Assault,” where grooving thrash metal riffage converges with grim black metal vocals and tight blast beats.
22 March 2012Macabra - Blood-Nurtured Nature (Metalhit.com)
Death metal isn’t exactly the type of music I seek out but, for the most part, when it’s handed to me for review, I give it a fair listen and usually really enjoy what I hear, as on this filthy slab of vomit.
16 March 2012Immolith - Storm Dragon (Metalhit.com)
Immolith may not be pushing boundaries with their Scandinavian-style black metal but, with solid songs and a genuine affection for the genre, they make a worthy adversary to the masses.
3 March 2012Rote - Worried Parent (Rote)
Somewhere in Chicago, an angry man is venting his frustrations into a Zoom hand recorder.
22 February 2012Chopstick - Black Hole (Love Earth Music)
Chopstick’s second release for the label is a powerful masterpiece that deserves attention, not only from the noise contingent, but from the modern classical and ambient electronic corners as well.
16 February 2012Liver Cancer - Children of the Vortex (Love Earth Music)
Northern California’s Liver Cancer deliver something that’s almost more an old hardcore punk record than a typical noise album.
9 February 2012Actuary/Aderlating - Curses and Conspiracies split CS (Love Earth Music)
Here, two bands from different extreme metal genres from different parts of the globe collaborate by supplying each other with percussion tracks.
2 February 2012The London Diehards - There's Lies, Damn Lies and There's... LP (Rock 'N' Roll Disgrace)
After whetting my appetite with the strong Great Britain 7“EP, The London Diehards have delivered a full-length that displays their brute strength in all its boot-kicking glory.
26 January 2012Poor Lily - Poor Lily (Poor Lily)
Some people like their punk rock to look a certain way and sound a certain way. That’s fine, don’t waste your time here.
18 January 2012Wrath of Typhon - "Avenger" EP (Eleventh Key)
Applying old-school business sense to the modern music market, this EP is available as a free downloadable single of sorts through Eleventh Key to promote Wrath of Typhon’s full-length, Speak from the Fire.
11 January 2012The Brains - Drunk Not Dead (Stomp)
Rather than pigeonhole themselves with boring clichés, Canada’s Brains are more a punk rock band with a rockabilly edge.
7 January 2012Crank Sturgeon - Mashacoustic (Love Earth Music)
It may not be the easiest thing to listen to, but there’s a certain silly fun traipsing through all the squelch and static that makes the painful frequencies all the more endearing.
28 October 2011+DOG+ - Public Disgrace (Placenta)
Public Disgrace compiles three intense live recordings from a stellar lineup.
21 October 2011Viodre - Interpol Alchemi (Hospital)
On what is perhaps their first “official,” i.e., non-CDr or cassette, release, Viodre have assembled a collage of negativity that is at once disturbing, meditative and demanding, an unapologetic aural assault akin to those nightmares that just won’t let you wake up.
7 October 2011DDDD - Sameness (Love Torture)
LA’s premiere noise supergroup pick up where Frustration Music left off, continuing the saga of lost, forlorn emotion channeled through electronics and distortion.
3 October 2011Victory and Associates - "Party Savior" b/w "Thousandaire" 7" (Seismic Wave)
This is absolutely one of the most painful slabs of vinyl I’ve ever endured.
29 September 2011Josh Dobbs and His Deficit of Dreams/Ghost Aquarium - split 7"EP (Ripping)
Perhaps the best thing about of these songs is how much they could pass for tracks on a Killed By Death comp.
26 September 2011Apparat - DJ-Kicks (!K7)
The German Apparat’s entry in !K7’s DJ-Kicks series is a mellower affair than previous offerings, focusing more on sonic textures, atmospheres and patterns than floor-thumping house or techno music.
23 September 2011The Boss Mustangs - "Mrs. McKee" b/w "Hazel Holly (Please Come Back)" 7" (Spinout)
Sure, there’s nothing really new or original about these two songs, but that doesn’t mean they’re not any good.
20 September 2011Tania and the Revolutionaries - The Final Blow (Kicking and Screaming)
Streetwise New York songstress Lani Ford has lain her hard rock band Stark to rest and reemerged with a new sound, a new look and new songs that focus on her quiet side while retaining the intense personality that always shone through her music.
15 September 2011The Clearer - The Clearer 7"EP (Forge)
Former members of Shiv created a band that is simultaneously art rock and arena rock, two styles of music shouldn’t work well together, but somehow do.
12 September 2011The Turbo A.C.'s - Kill Everyone (Stomp)
Fortunately, Kill Everyone was well worth the wait, showing the band evolving even further in their expanded four-piece lineup.
8 September 2011Michael Korb - Two of Me (Winged Disk)
Hopefully, a television producer will hear this and use a song and Korb can make tens of thousands of dollars from it.
6 September 2011Instagon - Scary City (Love Earth Music)
With this combination book/CD, Instagon delivers a self-described “noise opera” about the seedy dark underbelly of urbanity.
25 August 2011The Spanish Donkey - XYX (Northern Spy)
The Spanish Donkey are a prime example of everything that can be wrong with improvisational music.
23 August 2011Various - Blow Your Head: Diplo Presents Dubstep (Downtown/Mad Decent)
Whether, as I was, you’re wary of the dubstep thing, or you’re completely new to the genre and need a good place to start, this compilation is for you.
15 August 2011My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult - Sinister Whisperz: The Wax Trax! Years 1987-1991 (Rustblade)
These songs are downright sleazy blasts of orgiastic frenzy packed with B-movie samples, grinding rhythms and blasphemous lyrics.
11 August 2011Ultrabunny - Volume Merchants/Unsafe at Any Age LP (TPOS)
Their music could almost be called no wave, as it consists of improvised punk rock explosions and noise, but instead of looking to the past, Ultrabunny are about the present tense, here and now.
8 August 2011Endometrium Cuntplow - Ecoplasty (Love Earth Music)
Simply put, this is noise at its absolute best and a perfect starting point for anybody who’s been curious about the genre but too afraid to ask.
5 August 2011The Safes/The Blackbelts - split 7" EP (Wee Rock)
If you’re out record-hunting and you come across this little ditty, pick it up. It’s well worth a few of the bucks in your pocket.
1 August 2011Wry - "Blueprint to Nero" b/w "Tempt of Will" 7" (Forge)
Well, the cover art is pretty cool. If only the music matched…
28 July 2011The Barbarellatones - The Sound of Love (The Barbarellatones)
For his first digital-only release, head Barbarellatone Robbie Quine presents what is quite possibly his best album to date.
25 July 2011Confines - "Withdrawn" 7"EP (Labor of Love/Side Two)
This is powerful music that is as much Damaged-era Black Flag, early Doom and Gauze as it is Gang Green and Jerry’s Kids.
21 July 2011Controlled Bleeding - Odes to Bubbler (Soleilmoon)
This album may be more a collection of tracks from the past five years than a cohesive unit, but it maintains a consistency that proves CB have no plans to call it quits anytime soon.
18 July 2011Shark Pants - "Automatic Pinner" 7"EP (Dirt Cult)
Quite honestly, this entire EP sounds like a Bad Company LP being played at 45 rpm, and since I’ve never been much of a fan of Bad Company, I’m not much of a fan of this record.
14 July 2011Le Futur Pompiste - Le Futur Pompiste (Shelflife)
It’s one thing to use Stereolab as a reference/influence, but to just swipe chord-change for chord-change is simply unforgivable.
14 July 2011Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Live at Nassau Coliseum '78 (Shout! Factory)
Sure it’s a lot of self-indulgent uber-musicianship that seems to glorify dexterity over song-craft at times, but it’s also a lot of fun if you have a sense of humor that allows you to appreciate cheesy music like Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
30 June 2011London Diehards - Great Britain (Rock'N'Roll Disgrace)
London Diehards are more what you’d expect from a skinhead oi punk band. The songs are solid, catchy and melodic, with tough British vocals and football chant choruses.
28 June 2011Discodeine - Discodeine (Dirty/Pschent)
This French self-titled debut blends elements of house music, old techno and classic disco with an overall italo feel to produce engaging, intelligent electronic dance music that goes beyond the typical 4/4 club banality.
23 June 2011P.R.O.B.L.E.M.S. - "Buzz Off" 7" (Rock'N'Roll Disgrace)
Featuring Kelly Halliburton – drummer of the post-*Dead Moon* Pierced Arrows – on bass and original Poison Idea drummer, Dean Johnson, this is a powerful blast of rock’n‘roll fury that few bands are actually capable of achieving.
21 June 2011Brandt Brauer Frick - You Make Me Real (!K7)
An inverted Kraftwerk, the classically trained trio of Daniel Brandt, Jan Brauer and Paul Frick compose music that is at once avant-garde classical and thumping club music.
15 June 2011Ami Dang - Hukam (Ehse)
To say that Ami Dang’s music is indescribable would be an understatement.
13 June 2011+DOG+ - Forced Morality (Love Earth Music)
Never known to be predictable, +DOG+ follow their antisocial masterpiece, Bliss, with a less harsh, but extremely misanthropic album.
9 June 2011Bronto Skylift - The White Crow (Bronto Skylift)
Sure it has all the hallmarks of a ’90s-ish noise rock classic, but for the most part, it reminded me of an unlikely combination of Karp and post-In on the Killtaker Fugazi.
6 June 2011Miss Chain & The Broken Heels - On a Bittersweet Ride (Sonic Jett)
Moving away from the blues-based Rolling Stones influence and more into the ’60s girl pop sound, Italy’s Miss Chain and company have managed to craft an album that is as contemporary as it is retro.
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