Bad Religion – The Dissent Of Man

30 Years. 15 Albums. It sounds insane but Bad Religion is still going at it. And what’s even better… “The Dissent Of Man” is another kickass album that even trumps the last two albums and one that goes back to their heydays.

They kick things off in high gear with the opening combo that is “The Day That The Earth Stalled” and “Only Rain”. As you work your way further down the tracklisting you’ll find Bad Religion with their foot on the gas on even more occasions (“Meeting Of The Minds”, “Avalon”). But they’ll just as well slow things down though here and there. Like on “Won’t Somebody” which reminded me of Social D. All the while Greg Gaffin is still stringing lyrics together with words that sometimes have more than three syllables. You heard that right. That’s pretty much the same amount of chords they’ve been using all these years to play their songs.

It’s the combination of great hooks, vocal harmonies, energy, intelligent lyrics and 30 years of experience that makes “The Dissent Of Man” another must. It also accounts for the fact why Bad Religion still is one of the biggest and best punkrock bands on the planet.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
http://www.epitaph.com
http://www.badreligion.com

Kingfisher Sky – Skin Of The Earth

Thank god for the internet because I didn’t know the first thing about this band. Apparently Kingfisher Sky is a Dutch outfit that was started after drummer Ivar De Graaf left Within Temptation to make his own music. Apparently “Skin Of The Earth” is not the band’s first release. They’ve already been going at it since 2001 and this is their second full-length. And apparently… no, not apparently… this I found out while listening to the album… they like their gothic metal with some proggy twists and a slight medieval-sounding touch.

While listening the album, you’re bound to pick up on some influences by De Graaf’s previous band and it also made me think of Evanescence. That’s not hard to explain… every female-fronted band that has a bombastic sound like this, makes me think of them.

I seriously dislike both Within Temptation and Evanescence so listening to “Skin Of The Earth” was pretty much pure torture for me. But I guess that if you’re into this kinda thing, they’re not half bad at what they do.
Score: 3 out of 10
http://www.suburban.nl
http://www.kingfishersky.com

Best of 2010

Awesome picture, right? It shows you that tackiness is still very much alive in 2010. Luckily we had a lot of good tunes this year as well to counter all that bad taste. Here’s what we’ve been listening to for the past 12 months.

Top 20 of Best albums of 2010 (in alphabetical order):
Bad Religion – The Dissent Of Man
Ceremony – Rohnert Park
Cruel Hand – Lock & Key
Gatorface – Wasted Monuments
Gringo Star – All Y’All
Heartsounds – Until We Surrender
Johnny Cash – American VI : Ain’t No Grave
Kvelertak – Kvelertak
Leatherface – The Stormy Petrel
Middle Class Rut – No Name, No Color
Off With Their Heads – In Desolation
Spanish Gamble – It’s All Coming Down
The Flatliners – Cavalcade
The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
The Menzingers – Chamberlain Waits
The Riot Before – Rebellion
The Wonder Years – The Upsides
Trash Talk – Eyes & Nines
Trigger Effect – Versitis Maximus
Young Livers – Of Misery And Toil

Top 3 of best EP/7” of 2010:
Defeater – Lost Ground EP
The Lawrence Arms – Buttsweat And Tears 7”
Atlas Losing Grip – Watching The Horizon EP

Best live album of 2010:
The Weakerthans – Live At The Burton Cummings Theatre

Best re-issue of 2010:
Refused – The Shape Of Punk To Come

Best live show of 2010:
Trigger Effect at The Fest 9 (Gainesville, FL)

Most misguided promo sent to PunkRockTheory in 2010:
Chemical Brothers - Further

Weezer – Death To False Metal

Weezer hit the vaults and came up with a bunch of songs that for some reason never made the album they were originally recorded for. Now, normally there’s a good reason for songs like that not to be released. It could either be a good idea that never reached its full potential or it could just be a bad idea.

Whatever the reason may be, I don’t think these leftovers are supposed to sound as good as they do on “Death To False Metal”. The opening trio of “Turning Up The Radio”, “I Don’t Want Your Loving” and “Blowin’ My Stack” rock in vintage Weezer style. There’s really no denying the quality of these songs. I doubt we will get everyone on the same line when it comes to pure silliness like “I’m A Robot” or the cover of Toni Braxton’s “Unbreak My Heart”… fuck it, this is pure fun and I’m soaking up every second of it. It’s like a little bit of summer in the middle of winter.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.interscope.com
http://www.weezer.com

Megadeth – Rust In Peace: Live

I could bitch about how live albums are easy money for a band like this. But when watching and listening to Mustaine & co play their landmark album in its entirety on its 20th anniversary, it’s easy to relive puberty when I still had the long hair to bang my head to songs like “Hangar 18” and “Poison Was The Cure” which I played as loud as I could at every possible moment.

Yes, the stage looks cheesy as fuck and Dave Mustaine’s intro is as ridiculous as the band’s wavy hair. But this is thrash metal the way it’s supposed to be played and I’d rather hear a band churn out their classics with this much enthusiasm than having them release a new album that sucks. Oh wait, they did that last year. Oh well…

The DVD also comes with some select choices from other albums, including “Skin O’ My Teeth” and “Symphony Of Destruction” along with some behind the scenes material.

It’s a nice package that does the thrash classic that is “Rust In Peace” more than justice.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.umusic.com
http://www.megadeth.com

Bullet For My Valentine – Fever

When I first heard the insanely disappointing “Scream Aim Fire”, I was convinced that kids these days know shit. The album sucked big time and it was a complete mystery to me why Bullet For My Valentine became a huge name. They pulled a complete 180 though on “Fever” and give other current metal bands like Avenged Sevenfold a run for their money. Attitude-wise that is because musically nothing much has changed.

The drums still come storming out through the gates and are quickly followed by relentless shredding that leads up to a chorus that their audience will love to belt out at the band’s shows. It’s that same audience that will no doubt identify completely with the lyrical content that deals mostly with girls and relationships gone wrong.

This is normally not my cup of tea but when it’s brought with this much energy and enthusiasm, it’s very hard not to get sucked in and see why Bullet For My Valentine became as big as they did.

Check ‘em out live at the Ancienne Belgique on December 1st.
Score: 8 out of 10
http://www.jiverecords.com
http://www.bulletformyvalentine.com

Fistful Of Mercy – As I Call You Down

History repeats itself. It’s true. When George Harrison joined Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan in the Traveling Wilburys, he probably never thought that one of his sons would someday partake in a similar project. Yet that’s exactly what happened when Dhani Harrison joined forces with Ben Harper and Joseph Arthur to start Fistful Of Mercy.

“As I Call You Down” is the name of that collaboration where the three of them hit the studio running and wrote and recorded all nine songs in just three days. Maybe it’s because of that short period of time that this didn’t become the masterpiece you’d expect if you base yourself solely on the names attached to Fistful Of Mercy. The material on here is good enough though to make you wonder what this could lead up to when they take a couple more days next time around with the country/blues stomper that is “Father’s Son” and the instrumental “30 Bones”. But it’s especially the breathtaking vocal harmonies that draw the attention in songs like “In Vain Or True” and “Ad I Call You Down”. Very CSN&Y and I’m loving every second of it.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
Hot Records
http://www.fistfulofmercy.com

The Scabs – The Singles

The Scabs are basically Belgium’s version of the Rolling Stones. This year they’re celebrating their 30th anniversary and in those years they’ve done it all. Even calling it a day when egos started clashing and everyone was battling either an alcohol or a drug addiction. They’re back now though… playing a couple of big shows, releasing a book called “Dirty Years Of Rock ‘n Roll” and by releasing this compilation.

This double album comes with a whopping 31 songs, including the new single “Why?”. It’s a good enough song but listening to “Matchbox Car”, “Hard Times” or “Nothing On My Radio” one more time, I’m reminded even more why this was at one time the very best that Belgium had to offer when it came to rock ‘n roll.
Score: 8.5 out of 10
http://www.pias.com
http://www.thescabs.be

Such Gold – Pedestals

I love it when Windows Media Player fucks up… according to that silly software I’m listening to the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band! Instead Rochester, New York’s Such Gold does the whole hardcore/pop-punk thing on ”Pedestals” that helped set bands like Set Your Goals on the map as well. The only difference with Set Your Goals is that these guys manage to maintain a rawer edge. Is it on purpose or because they don’t have the same studio budget to smooth things out? Guess we’ll find out after they’ve been signed to a bigger label and released a full-length there.

That’s probably the way it’s going to go for these guys because the material on “Pedestals” will most definitely appeal to all the fans of the genre. And while the guest vocals by the likes of Kenny Vasoli (The Starting Line) and Karl Buechner (Earth Crisis), Such Gold doesn’t need them to make this a release that will turn more than a few heads.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.6131records.com
http://www.myspace.com/suchgold

The Mad Trist – Pay The Piper

Looking at the cover, I thought I was going to be in for some folksy indiepop. Rather than strumming a banjo though, Holland’s The Mad Trist come out rocking with their cocks out on the opening trio of “Juvenile”, “Alibi” and the title track. Sure, it sounds a lot like Queens Of The Stone Age. But seriously, is that a bad thing? It’s all kind of seedy, sexy and swinging… I’m all for it.

“Pay The Piper” did not become a flawless album thanks to songs like “Like A Perfume” which sounds a bit too sugary and the 8-minutes long closer that drags on forever, but it does show plenty of promise. A name to keep an eye out for!
Score: 6.5 out of 10
http://www.pias.nl
http://www.themadtrist.com

Winnebago Deal – Career Suicide

I doubt Winnebago Deal’s third album will turn out to be a real career suicide. After all, if you know what these guys are all about, this album will hold little surprises for you. None actually.

Ben Perrier’s voice is - unlike the water brand with the same name – is gritty as fuck and he treats his guitar like the damn thing cheated on him. In the meantime, drummer Ben Thomas (yes, they’re both called Ben) is making his drum kit sound like a blitzkrieg. No idea where that came from… but it sounds about right.

Things get kinda monotonous after the first couple of songs but hey, the fourteen songs are over before boredom really sets in. If you’re into high-octane punk ‘n roll, then you might want to check out these dudes.
Score: 6 out of 10
http://www.cargo-records.de
http://www.winnebagodeal.com

Dreamend – So I Ate Myself, Bite By Bite

So there’s this band called Black Moth Super Rainbow. Never heard of it? That’s okay. Neither have I. Apparently they play a kind of music they themselves once described as follows… ‘deep in the woods of western Pennsylvania vocoders hum amongst the flowers and synths bubble under the leaf-strewn ground while flutes whistle in the wind and beats bounce to the soft drizzle of a warm acid rain. As the sun peeks out from between the clouds, the organic aural concoction of Black Moth Super Rainbow starts to glisten above the trees’. That right there spells W-A-N-K-E-R-S if you ask me.

Dreamend is the solo projectof BMSR’s bassist Ryan Graveface. While he tells the story of a murderer who’s spiraling into madness on “So I Ate Myself, Bite By Bite”, he uses some elements from folk (acoustic instruments) mixed with some electronics and a lot of well, questionable songwriting. “So I Ate Myself, Bite By Bite” sounds like a bad acid trip. While I’m sure indie scenesters all over are cumming in their undies while listening to this, I think it falls under the ‘pretentious crap’ moniker.
Score: 3.5 out of 10
http://www.memphis-industries.com
http://www.myspace.com/dreamend

Knucklebone Oscar – Welcome To Trash Vegas!

Straight from Helsinki comes Knucklebone Oscar with album number four. “Welcome To Trash Vegas” lives up to its title with raw vocals, rockabilly guitars on speed and rhythms that will get your hips moving in no time.

With a raucous mix of rockabilly, punk, surf, blues and everything in between, these guys plow through eleven songs in barely 28 minutes. They cut out all the crap they didn’t need and ended up with an album that is as fun as watching James Brown’s stage moves and as over the top as Little Richard’s haircuts.
Score: 6 out of 10
http://www.rookierecords.de
http://www.knucklebone.fi

Black Sleep of Kali - Our Slow Decay

by Christophe

Well, when these guys decided on their band name, they should've known that every interview and every review would at some point refer to "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", as Indy suffers from the Black Sleep of Kali Ma after he drinks some kind of potion. It's some kind of trance.

And musically, these dudes almost got me there, with very groovy down tuned riffs, sludgy stoner metal and headbang-able material reminiscent of, ehm, Remission. You know, the Mastodon album;

So if you're into the old Mastodon and Torche, you'll love this rocking album.

But I would love the vocals to be a little more intense. Because now, at some points, they just downplay the awesomeness of Black Sleep of Kali's debut full-length.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.smallstone.com
http://www.myspace.com/blacksleepofkali

Final Prayer - Best of Times

by Christophe

Oh dear.... Germany... Why do you have such funny accent when you speak English? And why do you make hardcore the way you do?

Yeah, "Best of Times" is a collection of the first and long out of print releases from Berlin's finest: Final Prayer.

So you get twenty songs: the first demo, songs from two split records, the first full-length and a new song.
Those demo songs are really funny, by the way, with the singer sounding as if he wants to be in Cannibal Corpse, while the band plays like they wanna be in Madball.

Since those days, not much has changed. The band is touring a lot, still putting out albums, and the vocals changed. Thank god!

Still, this is a nice overview of Final Prayer's early days. And fans of the Eurocore and other moshable hardcore subgenres will be happy to pick this up and get acquinted with one of Germany's finest hardcore acts.
Score: 6 out of 10
http://www.letitburn.de
http://www.finalprayer.de

Red Giant - Dysfunctional Majesty

by Christophe

Red who? I thought the Americans only had Green Giant, a lovable lug who sells sweetcorn in a can to anyone who's too lazy to nibble it off the cob.

So I guess this Red Giant must be the not so friendly enemy of the Green Giant. And they don't sell corn, but hard rock.

"Dysfunctional Majesty" is their third album, and although I can't compare them since I haven't heard 'em - duh- I can only give my thumbs up to some awesome riffing and very cruisin'-in-my-car kinda grooves on this record.

However, I'm a little bummed that lead vocalist Alex Perekrest is at times trying to hard to sound like Kyuss' John Garcia. And face it, no one can sound like that guy.

Also, in accordance to my ridiculously short attention span, the songs and album could've been a little shorter.

Other than that, yeah, I rocked out listening to "Dysfunctional Majesty". But unfortunately, I was not compelled to have my cock out.
Score: 6,5 out of 10
http://www.smallstone.com
http://www.myspace.com/ultramagneticglowingsound

MSWhite - Squares

by Christophe

Ah nuts... When a sticker on the cover notes that this is for fans of Underoath and Refused, I was pretty much afraid I surely was the wrong person to review this album.

I am.

These Italians have some things going for them. The screams are good. The guitarwork is more than decent. But just when you think you've got an above average interesting album, the clean vocals kick in and you know why Underoath is mentioned on the sticker.

And honestly, where's the Refused that was mentioned?

Yeah, there just isn't enough Refused.

Then again, there never is enough Refused. So I'll be lenient and give these dudes the benefit of the doubt. "Squares" isn't half bad. And for a band in this genre being reviewed by me? Well, that's an accomplishment;
Score: 6,5 out of 10
http://www.riserecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/mswhite

Touché Amoré - ... To the beat of a dead horse

by Christophe

Now here's a band that has been garnering a lot of attention lately. The "hype" around this band has even sealed them a record deal with Deathwish Inc.

Well, of course it's not all hype. This record also has a lot to do with it, as well as their hefty tour schedule.

Anyway, with some obvious similarities to Modern Life is War and Give Up the Ghost, Touché Amoré did find a way to combine two of hardcore's most revered bands of the past ten years. But on top of that, there are some really cool screamo parts. And I don't mean the Alesana-kinda screamo. I'm talking about Swing Kids, or Hot Cross, or Funeral Diner.

Now, Touché Amoré doesn't really touch (oh, bet you didn't see that one coming huh?) me in a way one of those bands mentioned.

But it must be said that Touché Amoré did make a very cool record that found the perfect mix between heartfelt screamo, modern hardcore and even some punkrock-y moments. And it all clocks in at just over 18 minutes. Which makes it hard to get bored with a versatile album like this one anyway.

So far, this might just as well be the most interesting new punk/hardcore band since Ceremony.
Score: 7,5 out of 10
http://www.6131records.com
http://www.toucheamore.com

All Out War - Into the Killing Fields

by Christophe

Maybe it's got something to do with growing old. But since age stuffed a 30-burger on me, I crave for a return to the feeling I had listening to punkrock and hardcore in the late nineties, early naughties.

Well, no, honestly? I've always had a soft spot for the stuff I listened to back then.

I still remember spinning "For Those Who Were Crucified" for the first time. And grinning because of the violence and rage contained on that little disc, despite my disdain for the moshcore.

Why? Because All Out War was just better than other bands in an otherwise very boring genre.

And you know what? They still make me grin. And they're still full of rage and violence. Honestly, I think Mike Score's voice is one of the grittiest and hate-filled throats around. And I dig it.

So yeah, this is a nineties-record. But with maybe a little more Slayer in it than back then, and definitely a better production than they had back then.

I love nostalgia... And Slayer.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.victoryrecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/alloutwarny

Peter Pan Speedrock - We Want Blood

by Christophe

"We Want Blood" is the eighth studio album from the Dutch speed rock legend Peter Pan Speedrock. They've been terrorizing all kinds of stages, bars and festivals alike around Europe since 1997.

But the past couple of years, they finally manage to terrorize all stereo's and cd-players and record players as well. Their previous efforts, "Spread Eagle" from 2005 and 2007's "Pursuit Until Capture", already took the band to a next level in my humble, yet honest opinion.

Well, this one is definitely their best effort yet. Of course, they'll never match the intensity of yours truly's favorite speedrock band Zeke. But with the title track kicking off a good 33 minutes of high octane punkrock'n roll , it's very hard to discover any dull moment on this album.

Until you get to "Gotta Do the Catching" and "Bad Energy", two songs this album could do very well without.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.suburban.nl
http://www.peterpanspeedrock.com

Middle Class Rut interview

If you haven't heard of these guys yet, you're missing out on a treat! I'm not going to tell you more about it... just do yourself a favor: read this interview, watch the video for "New Low" and go out and pick up a copy of "No Name, No Color".

PRT: First of all, congratulations... "No Name No Color" is hands down one of the best albums I've heard all year. You've been working on these songs for close to four years . it made me wonder when and how you decide that a song is finished?
MCR: We usually write the song pretty quickly, over the course of a couple of hours sometimes. As soon as we’ve got the basic outline, even before we’ve really solidified all the details, we record it. We’re not necessarily sure if this is the last time we’re gonna record the song or not. Nine times of out of 10, we become attatched to the energy and spirit that results from recording a song when its freshly written, and just learn to live with the mistakes. Every once in a while we give a song some extra time to develop, play it live a few times, then record it once we feel its fully mature, but 90% of the time its done really fast with not much thought.

PRT: After several EPs ('Red EP", "Blue EP") there is now the first full-length, which is appropriately titled "No Name No Color". It seems almost like a statement, like you're saying you want to let the songs do the talking, not the other stuff that comes with it. Does that sound about right or am I completely missing the ball here?
MCR: That sounds so right, I think I will use your answer from here on out every time someone asks what the title means. We’re not really a conceptual band when it comes to making records, not yet anyway. We’re lazy, we hate naming things, commitment issues obviously. No Name No Color was a way to name the record without really naming it anything.

PRT: Having previously played in another band and having already been on a major label, did that help a lot in terms of knowing what you were going for with Middle Class Rut and how to go about it?
MCR: Yeah our history and our experiences prior to this band gave us something really valuable. It gave us a “what not to do” perspective so basically as long as we’re doing the exact opposite of everything we’ve done in the past, we’re fine.

PRT: Reason I'm asking is because I read somewhere that you immediately record everything you write yourselves. How come you started doing that?
MCR: We did the 300k record in our old band, spent almost a year on it, mostly with the singer doing vocals, and at the end of the process, were so burnt out on it that we basically fucking threw it in the trash and started over. The way we go about writing and recording songs now is almost like our own defense against ever making that same mistake again. For better or for worse, our songs should never sound overwritten or over produced because we literally don’t give them the oppurtunity to come out that way.

PRT: I'm guessing that way of working leads to a whole lot of songs that are already finished? If so, will those ever see the light of day as well you think?
MCR: We’ve got more songs than we know what to do with right now. That being said, not EVERY single one necessarily deserves to be released, but who knows. If we feel like people really want to hear some of the unreleased stuff we’ll have to find some way of getting it out there.

PRT: These days bands seem to get formed, signed and then dropped in no time without ever being given time to evolve. You on the other hand have already been playing together since your teens. Do you think that's one of your biggest strengths as a band?
MCR: Well yeah by now we’ve definitely figured things out. It also makes it hard for a band like us to get used to having to constantly come up with new and different ways of doing things. That’s definitely a struggle for us. We’re still holding on to the idea of the album, and we want to sell physical versions of the album, be it cd, vinyl, laserdisc, whatever. We’re finding it difficult to adjust to the new model.

PRT: You're a pretty eclectic band and the album shows a lot of different sides of Middle Class Rut. Is "No Name No Color" a way to introduce people to all those different sides of the band and then build from there? Or are there completely other sides of the MC Rut as well that you haven't even begun exploring?
MCR: We deliberately put together an eclectic mix of songs hopefully so people wont get too used to any one thing that we do. I like the idea of being able to flip things 180 degrees from one song to the next yet still sound like the same band, and I’m guessing we’ll continue to try and do that on records in the future. I can only hope theres things that we haven’t discovered yet, that’s what ininitally sparked this thing in the first place was getting together and writing music that we felt like we’d never heard before.

PRT: You still have a couple of shows to go in October but after that I was unable to find any immediate tours for you. Is there a lot more in the works? Maybe another European tour?
MCR: We’re doing a few radio things, then we’re doing 3 weeks with filter, followed by some stuff over in the UK. Idealy the next year is gonna take us all over the place includng Europe and Asia and Australia.

PRT: Any last words for our readers?
MCR: Come out to a show!

Night Horse – Perdition Hymns

From Los Angeles comes Night Horse, a band that likes their rock ’n roll bluesy and timeless. They do a pretty good job of rocking the fuck out at high speed while incorporating tons of catchy melodies and slick solos. The production job by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Pearl Jam) didn’t exactly hurt things either, even if I do think these guys are better experienced in a live setting. Preferably one where there’s a lot of beer at hand.

Think Dirty Sweet or Priestess and you’ll know whether or not you’re going to like these “Perdition Hymns”.
Score:7.5 out of 10
http://www.teepeerecords.com
http://www.nighthorsemusic.com

Frank And Earnest – Old Francis EP

I’ll leave it to you to decide which one of these guys is called Frank and which one is Earnest. What I can tell you is that this Lansing, Michigan outfit plays some pretty solid punkrock tunes on their EP that are both frank and earnest.

Call it gritty pop-punk or Midwestern beer belly despair rock, it sticks and while they aren’t exactly reinventing the wheel with songs about drinking and relationships gone wrong, they bring their material with so much energy and honesty, that you can’t help but get sucked in. I still haven’t figured out if the lo-fi recording is a positive (it does provide more of a raw sheen) or a negative (it doesn’t sound as crispy as would like) but fuck it, the songs on here are good and the lyrics are even better.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.bermudamohawkproductions.com
http://www.myspace.com/franknearnest

NOFX – The Longest EP

Leave it to NOFX to releases the longest EP known to man! It’s no new release if that’s what you’re hoping for, but don’t let that stop you from getting a copy… it’s way cheaper than picking up all of the separate releases where these songs were released on originally.

Kicking things off are the tracks from the “Longest Line” EP, quickly followed by the “Fuck The Kids” EP, the “Bottles To The Ground” EP, the “Regaining Unconsciousness” EP, the “13 Stitches” EP, a couple of “War On Errorism” outtakes, the “Never Trust A Hippy” EP… you still with me?... the “I’ve Become A Cliché” EP and the “Cokie The Clown” EP. And finally there are a couple of old songs at the end from when these guys were just starting out. Personally I could’ve done without those because they aren’t that good… and that’s really putting it mildly. But hey, by that time you’ve already endured NOFX for well over 20 songs so kudos to you!

Oh yeah, check out the artwork… you can play the game ‘guess the release’ 
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.fatwreck.com
http://www.nofxofficialwebsite.com

Your Demise – The Kids We Used To Be…

Your Demise is a UK hardcore band that has already been around the block a couple of times. The first time I – and a whole mess of other people – heard of them though was with the release of 2009’s “Ignorance Never Dies”. It was one pissed off hardcore album that did Jamey Jasta proud. Shortly after that release, frontman George Noble was kicked out of the band and then replaced by former Centurion vocalist Ed McRae. It luckily didn’t affect the band’s sound. Something that’s proven as soon as opener “MMX” bursts out of the speakers and punches you straight in the face while yelling ‘Your Demise 2010 bitches’!

That song is quickly followed by “Miles Away”, probably the band’s best song to date. It’s powerful as fuck and comes with the kind of chorus that you just need to yell along. They manage to keep you all riled up throughout the rest of the album as well using a smart combination of thundering drums, crushing riffs and tons of spat out vocals, dipped in pure vitriol intermixed with the occasional clean vocals or some nice melodic riffage.

The best thing about Your Demise is that they aren’t doing anything new. You can pick on some Hatebreed as well as a fair amount of Comeback Kid to name just two bands… but these guys are bringing so much energy and enthusiasm to the table that you can’t help but get sucked in. More power to them!
Score: 8 out of 10
http://www.visiblenoise.com
http://www.myspace.com/yourdemise

Alice Cooper – Theatre Of Death CD/DVD

If you’re really young and still think the Murderdolls are onto something new with their mix of horror and rock ‘n roll, then you might want to check out Alice Cooper’s “Theatre Of Death”. This is the recording of his show on December 6, 2009 at London’s Hammersmith Apollo, both on CD and DVD.

It’s all recorded very nicely even though it’s a bit of a shame that the DVD looks so bright. It’s as if someone left all the lights on, rather than just the stage lights. Another downside is Alice Cooper’s voice which seems to have lost some of its power over the years. Something that becomes especially clear as you work your way further down the tracklisting.

So why should you pick this up then? Well, because Alice Cooper did write some fuckin’ amazing songs and most of them are featured on this release. Yes, I’m talking about “School’s Out”, “Poison” and “No More Mr. Nice Guy”… and the Coop performs them with a solid back backing band and it’s all accompanied by his usual Grand Guignol-style stage antics. It makes “Theatre Of Death” a fun Halloween release and after seeing all of those young faces in the crowd all dressed up like Alice Cooper, it’s just more proof that the good man still has what it takes to entertain a crowd.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.umusic.com
http://www.alicecooper.com

Middle Class Rut – No Name No Color

Listening to Middle Class Rut’s debut full-length “No Name No Color”, you’d never guess that this act is a duo. The sound is nothing but massive, but behind it all you’ll find just two guys. They’re called Sean Stockham (vocals, drums) and Zack Lopez (vocals, guitars) and they’ve been playing music together since their teens. First in the band Leisure and now in Middle Class Rut (or MC Rut).

Opener “Busy Bein’ Born” immediately sets the scene for the rest of the album, showing off the band’s potential for rocking the fuck out while injecting the song with melodic hooks that rival the best of 90s alternative rock with a twist of Rage Against The Machine to spice things up even further. First single “New Low” with its mellow vibe is up next, after which “Lifelong Dayshift” bursts out of the speakers and wins you over completely. And that’s just song number four. By then you still have “Sad To Know”, “Are You On Your Way” and “Dead End” to go.

Their strength is that they offer a little bit of everything for everyone while staying consistent with Lopez sounding like a dead ringer for Jane’s Addiction’s Perry Farrell after a particularly hard year of partying. On top of that they convey equal parts angst and anger and succeed in making you believe every single word they utter.

“No Name No Color” is the result of four years of writing songs and then finetuning them on the road during tours with The Bronx, Social D, Them Crooked Vultures and Alice In Chains. And it’s a result that deserves to be heard… one of the contenders for album of the year? I sure as hell think so.
Score: 9 out of 10
http://www.brightantenna.com
http://www.mcrut.com

Restorations – Strange Behavior EP

You might still remember Dave Klyman and Jon Loudon from their previous outfit, Jena Berlin. If you don’t, I suggest you check them out. They were awesome. On “Strange Behavior” they took a slightly different approach and recorded a bunch of tunes under the moniker Restorations.

What that different approach is exactly? Well, they’ve gone rootsy on our asses with some shoegaze thrown in because it’s all the rage again these days. And they probably thought fuck, why not add some jangly indierock riffs in as well while we’re at it. And there’s simply no going round the gritty vocals of a man who sounds like he smokes two packs a day. So there’s that as well.

It makes for a sound that sounds as mellow as a summer jam session on the front porch yet at the same time it manages to keep you walking on your tippy toes throughout the four songs because you’re afraid they might throw a fit at any given time. Think of what the bastard child of The Constantines and Lucero would sound like and you’re getting close. But not quite.

Restorations is in the studio now recording a full-length and based on “Strange Behavior”. I’m already looking forward to it.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.paperandplastick.com
http://www.facebook.com/restorationstheband

Mad Caddies – Consensual Selections

One can argue about the value of a ‘Greatest Hits’ album when nowadays everybody can download just the songs they like from a certain release on iTunes and then create their very own greatest hits album by any band in about half an hour. What one can’t argue about however is that the Mad Caddies have written some damn fine ska songs over the years.

On “Consensual Selections” you get a whopping 24 songs that span the band’s entire career. The songs were chosen by the fans who could vote on their favorites on the band’s site. While 24 songs may seem like an awful lot of ska (and with 70 minutes it really is a lot of ska), the Mad Caddies were never strictly a ska band and so you’re treated to some reggae, dub, polka, piratecore (yup!) and even Dixieland jazz just the same.

It all makes “Consensual Selections” a cool collection that is perfect as an introduction to the band. For the real fans who already all own all of the band’s albums, this is hardly a necessity. Or it would have to be for the two new songs, “Save Us” and “Why Must I Wait”.
Score: 6.5 out of 10
http://www.fatwreck.com
http://www.madcaddies.com

Raunchy – A Discord Electric

On “A Discord Electric”, Denmark’s pop metallers most definitely don’t live up to their name. The songs on here are anything but raunchy. Sure, they’ve still got the heavy riffs and the thundering drums going on throughout the entire album, but the poppy synth sound and catchy choruses are taken to new extremes.

It seems this time around they went into the studio with an ‘anything goes’ (or a ‘fuck them all’) attitude and threw whatever they could think of at the songs, hoping it would stick. It actually works for them and rather than sounding overtly poppy or bombastic, they ended up with an album that has a little bit of something for everyone. And while listening to opener “Dim The Lights And Run” or “Nght Prty”, the things you don’t love at first are more than likely to grow on you as time goes by. Okay, so maybe “Big Truth” is a little too cheesy but let’s blame the synth pop band Dune for that… after all two of its members are helping out in the song.

If you’re into the likes of Sonic Syndicate, Lacuna Coil or Threat Signal, you should do yourself a favor and pick this one up.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.lifeforcerecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/raunchy

Ashers – Kill Your Master

If you’re wondering why it’s been kinda quiet around the streetpunks of The Unseen, then the reason you might be looking for is called Ashers. This Boston hardcore outfit features Unseen vocalist Mark Civitarese and the rest of the band is rounded out by members of Crash And Burn and Deadly Sins.

On “Kill Your Master” they are rather relentless and wreak havoc on the dozen or so songs like a fat man at a baked goods sale. The songs are fast, straight to the point and are loaded with gang vocals and the occasional solo. The only song that changes up the pace halfway through the album is “Blood And Grain”, sung and written by guitarist Billy Brown. Okay, and then there’s the 33-second long “Class Of ‘94” where the band goes for a barbershop quartet kinda sound. It shows they’ve got a sense of humor… the rest of “Kill Your Master though is no joke.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.thorprecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/asherstheband

Chatham County Line - Wildwood

“Wildwood” is already album number five for these North Carolina boys and while they have added some touches of drums and piano here and there, their acoustic brand of bluegrass doesn’t really need these enhancements to shine. Especially not when you’ve just written an instant classic called “Crop Comes In”, a song about a farmer working on the field while thinking about his girl. You’re instantly there beside him. It even makes you forget about the next song, “Porcelain Doll”, which is a bit too cheesy for me.

Luckily the band doesn’t fumble the ball on any of the other songs and as they strum and harmonize their way through the remainder of the songs, I can’t help but be instantly charmed. It’s like when I heard The Jayhawks for the first time… all of a sudden you realize that a genre you didn’t really care all that much for, can actually be really good as well.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.yeproc.com
http://www.chathamcountyline.com

Tamaryn – The Waves

Whether you want to call it shoegaze or dreampop that slowly evolves into a nightmare, you’re not too far off the mark. On Tamaryn’s debut full-length “The Waves”, the duo that consists of Tamaryn and her partner in crime Rex John Shelverton do a pretty solid job of adding layers on top of each other and then letting them wash all over you (to keep up with the album title).

Think of My Bloody Valentine making sweet, sweet love to Cocteau Twins and you’re not too far off the mark either. The rhythms on here sound like a person dragging his feet while making sure he doesn’t stumble over them. At the same time the guitars and hushed vocals completely hypnotize you and lure you in over and over again. Even after listening to the band’s more upbeat songs like “Love Fade”, you will find yourself reaching for the nearest antidepressant only to then press repeat.

Fans of Spacemen 3, Slowdive and Beach House are sure to appreciate this.
Score: 6.5 out of 10
http://www.mexicansummer.com
http://www.myspace.com/imagesmusic

JJ Grey & Mofro – Georgia Warhorse

Following up 2007’s “Country Ghetto” and 2008’s “Orange Blossoms”, JJ Grey and his band Mofro are back for another round with “Georgia Warhorse”. While the album’s predecessors were already well worth your time, “Georgia Warhorse” sounds even more accomplished and surprises all the way through.

You can tell right away that these guys hail from the Deep South of the United States as soon as opener “Diyo Dayo” kicks in the door in a funky kinda way. It’s that laidback, swampy vibe that trickles throughout the entire album that fools you. At first you think that you’ve heard all this before, no matter if they’re getting it on in a rocking, bluesy, funky or soul-y (?) way. But then, several listening sessions later, you realize that the songs on here have gotten under your skin and by then it’s simply too late. It doesn’t hurt that Grey has guitarist Derek Trucks and reggae singer Toots Hibbert helping out, but he’s doing a damn fine job of making his material sound fresh on his own.

Now that the summer is becoming somewhat of a distant memory, buying a copy of “Georgia Warhorse” is a good move to help relive some of those hot summer nights.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.alligatorrecords.com
http://www.jjgrey.com

The Morlocks – Play Chess

When The Morlocks got back together in the late 90ies, they didn’t have a lot in common with the original band other than the vocalist and the band name. And if ten years down the line all you can come up with is a covers album, then maybe it’s time to put it to rest.

On “Play Chess” The Morlocks tackle a dozen songs that were originally released on Chess Records. They do this in a garage-y way while still maintaining the bluesy edge of the originals. The problem is that a lot of the songs on here end up sounding very much the same, making “Play Chess” an at times fun yet overall superfluous release by a band about whom you can say pretty much the same thing.
Score: 6 out of 10
http://www.fargorecords.com
http://www.myspace.com/themorlocks

Kings Of Leon – Come Around Sundown

Wait a minute… didn’t Kings Of Leon claim that their new album would harken back to their old sound? You know… the time before they sold out stadiums and had even Paramore covering their songs. On “Come Around Sundown” all that reminds me of the pre-“Only By The Night” Kings Of Leon are a couple cuts like”Mary” and ”Birthday” on which they rock like they won’t make it to the next year.

Most of the time though the Kings build on the sound that helped shift 6.5 million copies of their last album. Opener “The End” shows these guys have that Edge-like wailing, slowly echoing guitar sound down pat while Caleb’s voice still manages to slither through all the cracks in the song. They do manage to mix things up here and there like on the fiddle-enhanced “Back Down South” that sounds like it came from a late-night jamming session on someone’s back porch. It’s one of a few highlights on the album. And then there’s “Pony Up” which surprisingly enough comes with a Talking Heads vibe.

All in all “Come Around Sundown” doesn’t hold too many – if any - surprises but it does show a band further establishing their sound without fumbling the ball too badly. I just wish they had been a little more adventurous rather than for a large part simply being content with repeating themselves.
Score: 7 out of 10
http://www.rcarecords.com
http://www.kingsofleon.com

John Legend & The Roots – Wake Up!

Supporting Obama in 2008 seems to have given R&B artist John Legend something of a social and political awareness boost. This now resulted in a collaboration with the überhiphoppers of The Roots called “Wake Up!”, an album on which they re-interpret just under a dozen of both well-known and lesser known protest songs that cover Philly soul, funk and gospel.

Donny Hathaways “Ghetto Boy” and Baby Huey’s “Hard Times” are juxtaposed against more hopeful cuts like Ernie Hines' “Our Generation” en Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes' “Wake Up Everybody” while Bill Wither’s anti-war classic “I Can’t Write Left-Handed” is stretched from a ‘mere’ 6 minutes to an 11-minutes long epic story.

“Wake Up!” is not so much a cover album as it is a modern take on the originals that haven’t lost any of their power… both musically and lyrically. It makes “Wake Up!” an album that is the perfect antidote for all the crap they try to sling as R&B these days while being a rallying cry at the same time that is worth being heard.
Score: 9 out of 10
http://www.columbiarecords.com
http://www.johnlegend.com

Go Rydell – The Golden Age

After having terrorized Florida (in a positive way) for over a year with their energetic live shows, it was time for Go Rydell to take the next step. So they got Less Than Jake’s Roger Lima to produce what would become their debut full-length which was then mastered by Descendents’ Stephen Egerton.

“The Golden Age” is fifteen minutes of melodic hardcore that reminds me of Kid Dynamite and Shook Ones. Well, it does more than remind me… it pretty much sounds exactly like the output of those two bands. But the guys that make up Go Rydell lay it all down with so much enthousiasm that you can’t help but get sucked in by their energy and passion. And sometimes that’s all it takes for an album to be a keeper.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.theblacknumbers.com
http://www.myspace.com/gorydell

V/A – Past Present – Breaking Out The Classics

For its 150th release Revelation decided to pull out all the stops and so they asked a bunch of current hardcore bands to cover some of the classics. The result is a compilation with a whopping 23 songs, all of which are exclusive to this release. I think this one was originally announced four years ago... no idea why it took so long but whatever, it’s a cool compilation.

So what current hardcore bands you ask me? How about Sick Of It All, Terror, Set Your Goals, Capital, This Is Hell and Down To Nothing? And which classics? Well, Warzone, Gorilla Biscuits, Bold, Judge, CIV and Texas Is The Reason to name but a few.

To top it all off, this release comes with fun artwork and 50% of the profit will go to Human Rights Watch... can’t really go wrong with that, right?
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.revelationrecords.com

Street Sweeper Social Club – The Ghetto Blaster EP

While Street Sweeper Social Club’s deubt wasn’t a bad album per se, I think it’s fair to say that more was expected of a collaboration between Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello and The Coup’s Boots Riley.

Following up last year’s debut, they are now back with a 7-song EP. Opener “Ghetto Blaster” is a kick in the teeth that goes a long way of redeeming that debut and “Everythang” keeps the momentum going with a nice funky vibe. The cover of M.I.A.’s hit “Paper Planes” was a bad move though... it does little else than annoy. Luckily they pick up the pace again after that with “The New Fuck You”, an enjoyable cover of LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out” and they even manage to reclaim the best song from their debut whil they’re at it by disco-fying “Promenade”.

All in all, the material on “Ghetto Blaster” is a step forward compared to the band’s debut but they’ve still got a long way to go before they will have the whole world shaking their hips and their fists at the same time.
Score: 7 out of 10
ILG
http://www.streetsweepersocialclub.com

Jimmy Eat World – Invented

Album number seven sees Jimmy Eat World teaming up again with producer Mark Trombino, the man behind “Bleed American” and “Clarity”, without a doubt the band’s best albums to date. It’s a good thing because listening to Jimmy Eat World became a bit too easy with their last two albums.

Opener “Heart Is Hard To Find” shows Jimmy Eat World from a restrained perspective with a song that’s about to burst wide open any second. They save that for “My Best Theory” though. It’s a song that doesn’t as much knock on the door rather than kick the damn thing wide open. The same can be said for “Action Needs An Audience”... I want more of that! But since this is still Jimmy Eat World we’re talking about, there are always the emotional ballads to deal with as well. There’s the title song for example which comes with some hauntingly beautiful backing vocals courtesy of Courtney Marie Andrews, a singer-songwriter from Phoenix, AZ who also helps out on four other songs here. And then there are songs like “Higher Devotion” and “Movielike”, which are mellow and determined at the same time.

On “Invented”, the guys in Jimmy Eat World make it clear that they are still able to pull your heart strings effortlessly before making you jump around the room as they kick out the jams. I guess it makes them excellent puppeteers who have released an album that works wonders when it’s dark, wet and cold outside.
Score: 8 out of 10
http://www.dgcrecords.com
http://www.jimmyeatworld.com

Neil Young – Le Noise

“Le Noise” is what happens when you let Neil Young do his thing during four nightly sessions in Daniel Lanois’ house in Los Angeles. It’s just Young’s voice and his electric guitar with Lanois fiddling the knobs but it works.

Don’t expect anything radically different because the lyrical content is the same always (peace and mother nature good, capitalism bad), Young’s voice is still the same as well and he still knows how to play his guitar. Surprise! But following up some weaker albums, it looks like Neil Young finally found his way back to being relevant and noteworthy.

With just eight songs, “Le Noise” might be a bit short on content but the songs that did make it on here, are gems. “Love And War” is an acoustic cuts that holds its own between le noise of the distorted guitars of the other tracks and while “Angry World” comes with the same lyrical theme, it lets Young bring out the fury. “Peaceful Valley Boulevard” is another beautiful acoustic track and then I haven’t even mentioned “Hitchhiker”, a live favorite that has finally found its way on an album.

I doubt “Le Noise” will be an instant classic but with the help of Daniel Lanois, it did turn out to be a great album that shows you don’t need a backing band to make a lot of noise.
Score: 7.5 out of 10
http://www.repriserecords.com
http://www.neilyoung.com

Linkin Park – A Thousand Suns

When Linkin Park entered the scene in 2000 with “Hybrid Theory” they helped define the nu metal moniker. That album alone shifted over 20 million copies. It’s hard to follow up a debut like that but Linkin Park never wavered and kept on going. Nevermind that not a single one of their subsequent albums ever even came close to “Hybrid Theory”.

The turning point came with 2007’s “Minutes To Midnight”. It showed a band that was completely clueless and didn’t know where to go from there. Maybe that’s why this time around Linkin Park teamed up with Rick Rubin, a producer known for whipping bands who’ve lost direction back into shape. Unfortunately not even Rubin can save these guys. “A Thousand Suns” is the worst Linkin Park album to date with the band sounding like a mix of some softrock outfit and a boysband.

The first two songs (“The Requiem” and “The Radiance”) are like an intro that’s not going anywhere and “Burning In The Skies” is the kind of mellow popsong that has me reaching for the barfbag. And the crap just keeps on coming from there. Thanks a bunch but I think I’ll stick with the memories of “Hybrid Theory” and leave it like that.
Score: 3 out of 10
http://www.warnerbrosrecords.com
http://www.linkinpark.com