Tag Archives: Wil Cifer

ALBUM REVIEW: Conjonctive – Misère de Poussière

Posted on by

Swiss death metallers Conjonctive have released Misère de Poussière (Tenacity Music), an album that features their dual vocalists Randy Schaller from Voice Of Ruin and Sonia Kaya. Unlike many European Death Metal bands, there is a bouncing groove to their sound at times that might bring to mind the rougher moments of a band like Slipknot. Not that the band is trying to hop on the Nu-Metal revival train; things like the tremolo-picked guitars prove to the contrary. Though with ample Black Metal influence, aggression is more of a focus than a worship of darkness. They are skilled at delivering deliberate accents to provide more hooks than just battering your senses.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Tribulation – Sub Rosa In Æternum

Posted on by

The direction Tribulation heads on Sub Rosa In Æternum (Century Media Records) has been a long time coming. You can’t call a band goth without them eventually turning to the dark side. The Swedes started as a Death Metal band that flirted with the shadowy atmosphere, but never bore the Sisters of Mercy Halloween trappings they were credited with. Until this album. The sung vocals that open the first song solidify this; this may be the final step over this threshold for them. Johannes Andersson has sung on their previous albums in smaller doses, but this album finds him committed to it. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Nachtmystium – Blight Privilege

Posted on by

The problem with American Black Metal bands, is they are often comprised of Punk Rock kids from Brooklyn or any other hipster city, who appropriate the sonic aesthetics that work for their indie-rock sensibility lacking any sense of darkness. There are a few bands who have proved an exception Tombs, Weakling, and Nachtmystium. Blake Judd’s struggles with addiction are responsible for giving Nachtmystium its legitimacy his harrowing accounts of inner torment are far more intense than faux Satanism. After all, exorcising one’s demons can not be faked. Blight Privilege (Lupus Lounge) is Judd clawing his way back up from the abyss to make music again. This album might not be as experimental as his past work but it feels more honest.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Dirty Shades – Stuck in Motion

Posted on by

Hailing from France the Dirty Shades upholds the country’s legacy of birthing powerful atmospheric rock. Their new album Stuck in Motion (Modulor Music) offers a post-Hardcore punch to the dynamics as their sound swirls around you. They step on the gas at a few points in the opening track “Cannon Fodder” to keep the dynamics varied. Lead singer Anouk Degrande is backed by shouted accents where she allows her voice to wander off the swells of the guitar. The bass line anchors the second track “Mine,” as the ambiance thickens to a palm-muted groove buried in the layers. They build the song up into a heavier punch not unlike how Tool once commanded dynamics during the nineties. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Dead Posey – Are You In A Cult

Posted on by

With Halloween upon us, and Instagram beginning to fill with girls sporting a Vampira look for their selfies, it begs the question what is Goth? The answer might not be revealed in Dead Posey’s new album Are You In a  Cult (Self-Released), but this duo is banging out some fun-filled arena rock that has more in common with The Pretty Reckless than it does Siouxsie and the Banshees. The album is full of catchy choruses and frontwoman Danyell Souza sings about creepy things, but it packs the kind of punch that would be more at home at the Welcome to Rockville fest than, opening for The Cure. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Touché Amoré – Spiral In A Straight Line

Posted on by

Spiral In A Straight Line (Rise Records) is Touché Amoré’s sixth album. They are not only more confident in who they are as a band, but continuing the journey fussy they are not capable of explosive emotional outbursts as heard in the song. This is handled in a more Punk way, with less overt emoting. The more polished production compliments the progression of their creative path, with the guitars being where growth is most evident. On a song like “Hal Ashby” they embrace the late nineties all over again thanks to the jangle of the guitars. This feels the most like what we once called Emo with a punk drive that thankfully owes more to Hot Water Music than Blink-182.Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Chat Pile – Cool World

Posted on by

Cool World (The Flenser) might not be the album that is going to make Chat Pile a household name, but is does exceed the expectations set by  2022’s God’s Country. This album exudes anger. It’s become a cliche for bands to say their new album is going to be their heaviest yet, Chat Pile let the music do the talking in this regard. Continue reading →


ALBUM  REVIEW: The Barbarians of California – And Now I’m Just Gnashing My Teeth

Posted on by

The sound of what was once considered West Coast Hard Core is changing.  The Barbarians of California‘s new album And Now I’m Just Gnashing My Teeth (oneRPM) carries more of a metallic stomp aligned with modern Hardcore. Right from the first song you can hear the band’s more experimental edge. Once into the meat of the album, they bridge hardcore with a Nu-Metal sound, which is not unlike what System of a Down does. They attack with a more spastic jerk. It’s hard not to appreciate the sense of adventure that runs through these songs. The new generation of nu-metal kids who attend festivals like Sick New World will dig it. Hardcore purists might have some questions. Continue reading →


ALBUM REVIEW: Swamp Coffin – Drowning Glory

Posted on by

An entire anthropological study could be done on how the region a band comes from affects the sound of any given genre. Continue reading →