A friend of mine describes bands that just seem to pop off in their respective subgenre of music as “having the sound.” Bands that really found the secret sauce for their artwork that resonates with many. Drain has been one of those bands in the crossover thrash space as they drop their third release, …Is Your Friend (Epitaph Records). Keeping it under thirty minutes but above the max of the energy meter.
Rather than worshiping Minor Threat, DC Punks Palladists pursue darker sounds on their new album Tenebrous Ways (Fiadh Productions). This is fitting when you are named after a satanic cult hidden within early Freemasonry. When it comes to the vocals on this album, they are still very much rooted in punk. It is the guitar tones that set them apart from the rest of the punk pack. They use more effects to add a creepy touch to the otherwise in-your-face rapid-fire attack. In terms of their songwriting approach, they are not busting out the kind of hooky anthems the Misfits are known for, nor are they dwelling in the kind of drug-induced morbid self-reflection Christian Death once lamented upon.Continue reading
Noted author Steven Blush is celebrating 15 years of the release of American Hardcore, the documentary film based on his award-winning book of the same name from 2001! He is kicking off a busy summer of projects by hosting screenings, starting this Monday. To preview a season of events appearances, and talking hardcore history, Steve caught up with Keefy to discuss the project and his upcoming book, “When Rock Met Hip-Hop!”Continue reading
Photo by Luis Hernandez
West Coast crossover crew Dead Heat will release their crushing Process Of Elimination full-length October 10th on their new label home of Metal Blade Records! Pre-orders are live at the link below! Stream Dead Heat’s new single “Perpetual Punishment” below!Continue reading
As if the past forty years hadn’t flown by quickly enough for German thrash titans Destruction, it’s already time to move forward from the anniversary celebrations of 2023 and get back to the bread and butter of studio recordings. On their sixteenth full-length release (fifteenth if you ignore 1988’s anomalous The Least Successful Human Cannonball), Birth of Malice (Napalm Records), the band’s founder member Marcel “Schmier” Schirmer looks to the past, present, and future for inspiration, reminiscing over old times as well delivering warnings and observations of a more contemporary nature.Continue reading
The more uncertain the times, the more violent the reaction. A point proven in the eighties with the explosion of Hardcore and Thrash, and this self-titled debut by Oregon act Stress Test is like taking a step back into that time. A time when everyday existence meant the fear of war, disease and hate; a time when religion and politics were even more corrupt and depraved than certain types of criminals. The sad thing is though, you only have to spend thirty seconds watching the TV or doomscrolling through your news feed to see history repeating itself, only worse and often in more insidious ways.Continue reading
Despite an ungodly early 5:30 doors Belgium Death/Trash collective Schizophrenia are met with a packed room as the Manchester crowd swarm Victoria Warehouse for a night of promised chaos. The thrashy death onslaught that Schizophrenia produce is a pummeling start to the evening for sure, perfect for ridding the lingering aches of a long work week with plenty of fist pumping and head banging.Continue reading
GWAR band photo 2024 – with permission from PR
In what seems like an impossibly long time, this reviewer found his way back to the legendary club on Delmar Ave, The Pagent. Not much had changed in the intervening five years, and it felt like home. On this particular evening, crossover, extreme, theater, sci-fi, porno-grind what nots, GWAR would be taking the stage, and staining the dance floor.Continue reading
On August 10th OTTTO and Bastardane – both prominent groups within the modern hard rock scene – came to Chicago in light of their current Reconquest Tour. The two rock outfits are no strangers to touring together, as both bands played together the previous summer as well. The Reconquest Tour sees both Bastardane and OTTTO in new fashions, but when it comes to each group’s signature sound, talent and onstage energy – those matters remain the same.Continue reading
A new group, known simply as Hatchend, has forcibly hatched its way into existence with members from differing death metal and grindcore bands. The debut album, Summer of ‘69 (Selfmadegod Records) dropped and it goes full throttle for thirty-three minutes. Bringing in their previous influences and dumping them on top of crossover foundations sets up quite the demolition derby of sound.Continue reading