Articles
Album Review: Green Day – Father Of All Motherfuckers
This album was released on 02/07/2020. Green Day is my favorite pop punk band, but this album may be more pop than punk. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Beatles themselves, who posed with butchered baby dolls and claimed to be bigger than Jesus (punk as fuck), also aspired to become the “Toppermost of the poppermost.” The line between rock and pop has always been blurred. And, like The Beatles, Green Day … read...
read moreLyrical Analysis: Hatebreed – Defeatist
Defeatist is a single from the 2006 Hatebreed album, Supremacy. Intro Hatebreed is one of my favorite hardcore bands. People think that the genre is for a bunch of posturing dudes with something to prove. But I disagree. And even if a bunch of losers were listening to it to feel tough, isn’t that the point? I feel shy and awkward all the time. I rarely ever feel like a badass. But Hatebreed is one … read...
read moreAlbum Review: Krosis – A Memoir of Free Will
A Memoir Of Free Will, the latest offering from Krosis, is anticipated to drop in February of 2020. Currently signed to Unique Leader Records, Krosis is a progressive deathcore band from North Carolina, USA. Vocalist Mac Smith, guitarists Adam Theissen and Brandon Scurlark, bassist Brian Krake, and drummer Dan Cece have carved a name for themselves in the North Carolina scene. They will be dropping the new album, A Memoir of Free Will, … read...
read moreLyrical Analysis: Green Day – Macy’s Day Parade
Intro: Macy’s Day Parade is a single from the album Warning, released by Green Day in the year 2000. I consider myself to be a free spirit. I do what I think is right, even if it feels like the whole world is against me. I march to the beat of my own drum. I am neither a leader nor a follower, but a lone wolf. Living in my solitary, self indulgent fantasy land, sometimes … read...
read moreAlbum Review: Bhas – Torture Punishment Eternity
This EP was released on October 16, 2019, just in time for Halloween. Bhas is a 5 piece death metal band from Glasgow, UK, comprised of vocalist Lee Lewis, drummer Conor Quinn, bassist Danny O’Keeffe, and guitarists Mark Williamson and Alasdair Blair. Their new album, Torture Punishment Eternity, features genre staples such as guttural vocals, dissonant guitars, and high speed drumming. The album art is black and white, but hyperrealistic. The detailed drawings of contorted … read...
read moreAlbum Review: Future Scars – Harrow
This intriguing album cover is a delicate balance of minimalist and ornate. If something will be a scar in the future, that means that is still an open wound in the present. This is bittersweet music of healing and sorrow. At times it sounds like the dulcet tones of 1970s songstresses, like Carly Simon and Carole King. At times it has a gruffer, growlier, rocker chick sound, roots still planted firmly in classic rock, like … read...
read moreAlbum Review: Lake of Tears: Moons and Mushrooms
The spacey themes of this 2007 release are out of this world. Melancholy metallers, Lake of Tears, live up to their melodramatic name. Hailing from heavy metal mecca, Sweden, this band is sordid and sorrowful. Smooth synth beats and distorted riffs converge to form an electric sound, combining elements of techno and heavy metal into a glorious, shimmering alloy. The psychedelia of this music is tangible. If the trippy title and befitting album art weren’t … read...
read moreLyrical Analysis: Amorphis – Sky Is Mine
Released in 2009, Skyforger is the 9th studio album from Finnish melodic death metal outfit Amorphis. Amorphis is one of my favorite bands, and this song is one of the many reasons why I love them. This track is from the concept album Skyforger, which is about the Blacksmith of the Gods, named Ilmarinen. (Not to be confused with Leminkainen, the warrior-poet, or Kullervo, the Tragic Antihero.) That’s the trouble with centuries-old ancient epic literature. … read...
read moreAlbum Review: Blood Wolf – Blood Wolf
Abomination of the Wretched/ Clergy of Sin lyric book, illustrated by Den Yudi Art. This self titled debut album is everything that the band Blood Wolf stands for. It’s heavy, it’s political, it’s fast, it’s loud, and it’s fun as hell. The riff master Chad Baca writes and shreds awesome thrash metal on his guitar. The opening track, 1680, hits the ground running with a galloping melody, and lead singer Ross Reano screams lyrics about … read...
read moreLyrical Analysis: Amorphis – Alone
The album cover for Am Universum, released by Amorphis in 2001. Being a band from Finland, Amorphis is known to reference the Finnish epic saga called the Kalevala. This song may allude to the heroic protagonist, Vainamoinen, who suffered greatly in his struggle to find a wife and carry on his legacy. He colluded with gods and spirits, yet the divine feminine still eluded him. Even though he was a heroic warrior-poet, he wasn’t even … read...
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