Stereoatypical

The Color of Violence - Youthanize (2009)

2011-07-20T11:39:00.007-04:00

The Color of Violence, man. These guys are crazy, they take Grindcore, Thrash, Mathcore, Post-Hardcore, and Screamo and throw em all in a blender until they become one uniform mix. These guys are so original and refreshing I was shocked (SHOCKED) to find out that this is actually the brainchild of two members of From First to Last, you know, that really terrible emo band that inexplicably blew up a few years back. It makes you think, not every member of every shitty band is an untalented and uncreative as they make themselves out to be, some of them are talented musicians that just care more about getting paid then about art. But hey, as long as we keep getting awesome side projects like The Color of Violence, then keep making your paper, boo boo.

DOWNLOAD IT!

Circa Survive - Juturna (2005)

2011-07-20T10:54:00.004-04:00

This was probably the hardest time I've had picking a song off an album,

had to go with "The Glorious Nosebleed" in the end

This album was an eye-opener for me in a lot of ways. For one, it was probably the first album that I listened to and thought "wow, I've never heard anything like that before." Unlike all the other bands on my iPod at the time that all sounded more or less the same, these guys had their own unique, and quite refreshing, sound. They raised the bar on what I considered to be 'good' music. I wouldn't exactly say this album is a 'must listen' by any means, but if you enjoy Progressive Rock, Math Rock, Indie, or Emo, and you enjoy complex and intricate songwriting that will keep you gripped start to finish, you should definetly click the button bellow.

DOWNLOAD HERE!!!

Armor For Sleep - What to Do When You Are Dead (2005)

2011-07-19T20:55:00.009-04:00

Listen To Track 1: "Car Underwater"

I never thought there would come a time when I would actually feel sentimental towards the Emo genre. In my "Scene" days I couldn't get enough of it. Thankfully after I turned 18 I realized just how sad the concept of a bunch of guys wearing their little sisters jeans, flat-ironing their hair and writing songs about how they're upset because their high school girlfriend dumped them really is. That being said, there were (and still are) are a handful of Emo bands who's songs had enough substance to them to manage to keep their place in my itunes library long after their less talented counterparts have been sent to the recycling bin.

Armor for Sleep is one of those bands. After listening to this album I remember why I enjoyed the genre so much in the first place. Fun, 2-steppy riffs mixed with mellow-dramatic melodies and pleasant vocals. Is it the most amazing album ever? No, But it is a nice stroll down memory lane.

Download Here!

Jeer at Rome - Demo

2011-02-24T22:28:00.005-05:00

Anthony Greens been in more bands then most bands have albums, how many? Let's see, there's his Solo work, Circa Survive, The Sounds of Animals Fighting, Saosin, High and Driving, Zoloft the Rock and Roll Destroyer, Audience of One, and last but far from least, Jeer at Rome. That's 8 bands total... Before Anthony Green became renowned across the scenedom as the man with the golden voice, before he even graduated high school, he was shredding his vocal chords to pieces as the frontman of Jeer at Rome.

This band had some serious potential. I really wish they had kept with this band rather than stopping after recording only 4 songs, I can't help but imagine how different the scene would have been if THIS was the band that took off rather than Saosin . Think about how many bands have imitated the formula of one Falsetto clean singer and one screamer, would those bands have even existed? Makes you wonder...

Download Here!

Enter Shikari - Destabilise (Single) 2009

2011-02-24T20:59:00.004-05:00

So Enter Shikari's released a track off of their upcoming album. I know there are a lot of people out there bashing on these guys right now for their zealous use of that Korg synth, but what else would you expect from them? That's just what they do, saying you think they're using too much synth in their songs is like saying you think there's too much bass in dubstep. All you haters can keep on hating if you want but I can't WAIT for the next Enter Shikari album.

DOWNLOAD!

Enter Shikari - Take To The Skies (2007)

2011-02-24T19:06:00.004-05:00

I was going to make an Abbot and Costello style joke about this song, but decided that would be just...terrible. Here's Enter Shikari - Enter Shikari

Let me start off by saying two things: First, I think the term 'Trancecore' is the most retarded concept for a genre I've ever heard, and anyone who uses this term seriously needs to be bitch slapped. Second, just because a band uses synths doesn't automatically make them Nintendocore, I'm tired of looking up nintendocore and seeing Enter Shikari and Skyeatsairplane at the top of the list. The term nintendocore started off as a joke by HORSE the Band, it wasn't meant to be taken seriously, but now there are a handful of bands who took the term to heart and have gone all out with it. They've tried to legitimize the term by writing songs directly influenced by old school games and culture, all of which have key similarties to them that make it practical to group them together with a label. I use the term loosely to describe any band that uses the kinds of synths found in nintendocore on this blog because I figured people who are interested in that kind of music would also be interested in those bands. It's not to necessary to make a sub-genre everytime a band comes around that has a slightly different sound to them. Sure Enter Shikari have a unique (borderline gimmicky) style, but it really only works because it's a sound synonymous with the name Enter Shikari. If there were dozens of other bands out there doing something similar it would get old real, real fast. There are already a ton of shitty bands like Attack Attack and I See Stars trying to imitate them already, we shouldn't be encouraging them by giving them a label to assign themselves.

That being said, I love Enter Shikari. Take to the Skies is definitely my favorite release to date, I love the style these songs were written in and how they went about producing the record. They layer well written emocore over short, repeating, spacey synth lines that play off each other perfectly to bring out the best in each other. This CD is top notch listening material, but it's incomparable to the experience of seeing it in person. Enter Shikari's live show is definitely one of the best I've ever seen, their music has incredibly high energy and the repitition of the synth creates an atmosphere that is easy to lose yourself in. You'll just be standing there waiting for them to go on stage, then they start playing and before you know it the entire crowd has become completely immersed in the music. It's an experience completely unlike any other show I've ever been to. Imagine seeing your all time favorite band live, think about how into every song you'd get and the energy that you would have. Seeing Enter Shikari live is kind of like that, only every single person in the crowd is hyped to that level. They might not be my favorite band of all time, but I'd never pass up a chance to see these guys live.

Download HERE!!!

Miss May I - Swing (Savage Cover)

2011-02-24T17:37:00.004-05:00

Oh Shit Smack that ass ma! Move it like a gypsy, stop, whoa! Back it up, now let me see your hips SWING!

There was a point in time a few years back when every single scene band was posting covers of Hip Hop songs to their myspace pages. 99% of them were terrible, rather than try and change a song to fit their own style we ended up with song after song that sounded more like scene kid karaoke than actual bands making music. There was one band though that managed to make a cover that actually sounded original. Now I don't particularly care for Miss May I's music, but their cover of Savage's Swing has managed to stay in constant rotation in my library since I found it a year ago. It's just a really fun song to listen to, I cant help but grin every time I hear the band chant "Now let me see you hips swing!"

Enjoy.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Genghis Tron - Cloak of Love EP (2005)

2011-02-23T01:26:00.000-05:00

Here's Track 3: "Ride The Steambolt"

I lovee me some Genghis Tron. Part Grindcore, part Experimental Electronica, and all amazing, Cloak of Love is the definition of the word 'unique'. Songs will go from blast beats and math riffs to hip hop beats and ambient electronica and back again in a way that makes it seem like it's the most natural thing in the world. If you savvy yourself a fan of Grindcore you need to give this a listen. If you like electronic music but aren't that fond of spasticly fast drums or screaming vocals I would still say you should give this a shot. The Grindcore is what carries the EP, but it's done in such a way that's not as overly abrasive as you would expect it to be. Genghis Tron is one of the very few heavy bands thats just avant-garde enough to have a fan base in the Hipster crowd as well as among Grindcore fans...that's saying something right there.

Download Here!

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Telefon Tel Aviv - Fahrenheit Fair Enough (2001)

2011-02-23T01:01:00.000-05:00

While I'm on the topic of relaxing music I should review my all time favorite album for when I when I want to mellow out. Telefon Tel Aviv's debut album Fahrenheit Fair Enough is by far the chillest music in my entire library. It's combonation of soothing, almost ambient melodies and super hi fi electronic sounds makes for a listening experience unlike anything else I've heard in my entire life. It's one of those albums that works perfectly as the background soundtrack to any chill sesh, but also good enough to keep your full attention if you were to sit down and give it a listen through. I would call this album a must have for every music collection. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it.

DOWNLOAD HERE!

Every Band I've Ever Seen Live and What I Thought Of Them

2011-02-23T00:27:00.000-05:00

Well there's no album to download but I figured I might as well still post a song. Here's my favorite song from my favorite band that I've seen live.

Ultrageist - New Intelligence

This post's a bit different that what I normally do here on the ol' blog. I guess it's still a review of sorts, a little while back I posted this as a note on facebook, here's a list of every band I've ever seen and what I thought of 'em.

The Word Alive - Discovered them when they opened for Sky Eats Airplane, back when they just had a demo out, they hands down murdered that show with just a 4 song set.

La Dispute - I had never been more excited for anything than I was waiting for La Dispute to go on stage. If Jesus Christ Himself were to rise from the dead in the middle of the Bowery Ballroom and started performing miracles on stage I would've tackled him off stage so that La Dispute could start playing. To Me, La Dispute > Jesus.

Sky Eats Airplane - Played a good set, was enjoyable, nothing to write home about.

Protector - Nothings ever made me want to get up and dance as much as Protectors downright spicy beats.

Eyes Set To Kill - Worst Kind of Terrible, Embarrasing even.

Blonde Redhead - Enjoyable, would've been really enjoyable except for the fact that it was an outdoor show, it was raining, and we had to sit in folding chairs, who goes to a show and wants to sit down? Honestly.

Hellogoodbye - Biggest mistake of my life.

Hawthorne Heights - I want to slap myself in the face for going to this one. Saw them in Orlando actually, they were playing on the boardwalk at universal studios and I begged my parents to let me go. The only saving grace was I left before SEETHER went on stage, dodged a bullet right there.

The Forever Endeavor - A bunch of times, all awesome. - If I could bring one band back from the dead I would pick The Forever Endeavor. I miss these guys, they were beyond awesome and so much fun to see live.

The Semester - As far as 'local' acts went, these guys were definitely one of the best. Lets put it this way, if a local band could get the crowd to do something besides stand still with their arms crossed they were awesome in my book.

Armor for Sleep - As good as emo music can be live.

Her Chance to Dream - Local Band who opened up for Dillinger, nice way to start the day.

Dillinger Escape Plan - These guys take the cake when it comes to stage presence and energy. The Guitarist literally spins his guitar up his arm, catches it by the strap and swings it inches over the crowds heads. Like, no joke, inches, if that. In fact I know a kid who was on barricade at a Dillinger show, and when the guitarist swung his axe over the crowd he caught the kid in the side of the face with a tuning knob. It ripped his face from the side of his head to his eye. Naturally he stayed on barricade, blood dripping down his face, for the rest of the set. Dillinger doesn't give a fuck. This guitarist (I hate that I don't know their names) is also susceptible to stage diving, guitar first. Lucky me being in the right place at the right time got a face full of guitar strings when he decided to leap off stage. Although I gotta say, there's a strange satisfaction in getting knocked in the face by the same guitar that just played 43% Burnt a minute ago. The lead singer's also a big fan of leaping into the crowd, he must've stage dived at least 4 or 5 times the night I saw them. One of those times landing directly on top of me, causing both of us to collapse to the ground while kids swarmed us, tripping over each other and piling on top of one another in an attempt to get as close to the Mic as possible. In the middle of all this madness I've got this huge jacked bald guy wrapping his arm around my neck, pulling me so close to the Mic we but heads, while both of us scream the words to Jim Fear, one of my favorite songs by one of the greatest bands of all time. That was, by far, the most intense show I've ever been to. C'mon, whose gonna top The Dillinger Escape plan? It's not gonna happen. You'd be a fool to even try.

Chiodos - Okay, I've never actually seen an entire Chiodos set, but whenever I go to warped tour they always seem to be playing on a stage near a band I actually want to see, so I've walked by their sets enough to get the gist of whats goin on over there. Honestly, I don’t understand how people can listen to Craig Owens sing for more than 25 seconds without having to retreat to a safe distance.

The Fray - Opened For Weezer, The most memorable moment of their set would have to be the "The Fray is Gay" chant that started when the band walked on stage and continued three songs into their set.

Jeffree Star - Okay, let me clear this one up, it was a Warped Tour like any other, after drinking my own weight in what I'm pretty sure was pool water I decided to take an afternoon nap on a nice grassy lawn. Suddenly, the stage in front of me started spewing out these heinous electro beats, and then this…just… downright creepy voice started singing. It sounded like a 20 yr old dude trying his absolute hardest to pretend that he wasn’t born with testicles. Thankfully, I could only see the back of the stage from where I was laying down, so I didn’t have to subject my eyes to all that is Jeffree Star, but because of my tiredness/refusal to give up the only free spot of grass, I had to subject myself to a half hour of what sounded like bad Ke$ha B Sides, at best. Still can't believe to this day that this motherfucker exists, and that there's enough people out there supporting his existence that he can get a spot on the entire warped tour.

Jimmy Eat World - First Show Ever, I don't know if it was good or not, I just know that from that day on anytime someone asked me 'do you wanna come see this band play?' my answer was going to be yes.

Plain White Ts - Um, hey there Delilah? Nuff Said

The Audition - Super Catchy, Super Danceable Powerpop = 30 minutes of fun.

The Format - Were awesome openers, didn't know who they were at the time but fell in love with them afterwards.

Knife the Glitter - You would think an instrumental progressive metal/mathcore band playing a set in between Stray From the Path And

The Dillinger Escape Plan would be something of a buzzkill, but they were good enough to keep the crowd entertained while we caught our breathe from the Mayhem that was Stray From the Path.

The Number 12 Looks Like You - Saw them Without their Deep Screamer, they didn't miss a beat, they were still awesome.

Dr. Acula - I saw these guys back when they were packing their EPs in old Goosebumps books. They sure as hell kicked my ass as well as everyone elses in attendance, most of whom had never heard anything even remotely that heavy, and were just there to dance to some Pop-Punk tunes.

Four Year Strong - When they were playing their OWN songs, they were dynamite, when they played shitty 90s covers off their cover album, it was just…sad.

Patent Pending - way too many times - Patent Pending is simply one of the most entertaining bands to see live. Their shows are just heaps of fun start to finish.

Motion City Soundtrack - Half a Set - Watched Them As HORSE The Band was setting up on the stage across the way, They sounded nice.

Painted in Exile - They were awesome, but 7 minute long songs tend to drag a bit when played live, and back to back to back.

Streetlight Manifesto - Talk about energy, I don’t care who you are or what kind of music you like, Streetlight will get you skankin round that pit in minutes.

Thursday - One of those sets that made you wanna go home and re-listen to the bands entire discography to see how the FUCK you could've missed THAT.

Trash talk - These guys are motherfuckin crazy, that’s all there is to say

Therefore I am - Lead Singer had good energy/stage presence, tried to get the crowd going, but the music is too bland to have any kind of impact on anyone…ever

Battles - Standing in front of Battles' Drummer, Gawking in amazement was enough to make this one incredible set.

!!! - These guys are groovy, Shit'll get you dancin all night.

Drop dead gorgeous - Awful, just awful, from their stage props to their energy to their…music, everything was just the worst.

He is legend - Just…Terrible

Before their eyes - As Far As Emocore openers go, these guys weren't half bad. Hell, they opened for Drop Dead Gorgeous and He Is Legend, and I'd have to say this was the only set I didn't cringe through.

Thrice - Decent Tunes, Infectious Energy, fun time.

The Bled - Twice - First time: Brutal, Intense, Heavy, Epic. Second Time: I was knocked out about 13 seconds into Red Wedding, the first

song they played, the concussion kinda put a damper on the rest of that set….

Circa Survive - Band had Good Energy, Crowd Sucked...most memorable moment would be Anthony Greens call for condom balloons, and the hundreds of Trojan blimps that flew up.

Gym Class Heroes - Eh, thats what i said back then, now i would say, "Aghhhh Again?"

Scary Kids Scaring Kids - twice - Enjoyable Screamo, back in the day they had a pretty intense live set too, you would not think they were the same band from their album.

Saosin - Awesome set, mainly because they played every song off Translating the Name and the Black Ep, and barely anything off the Self Titled.

Envy On the Coast - Without A Vocalist - Watched Hockey Fight Highlights on the tv over the bar the entire time they played. The only saving grace was not having to hear their lead singer. The downside to that was having to hear the crowd of highschool girls singing around a Mic they placed over the front of the crowd to "Replace" him.

Finch - I got kicked out halfway through but they were alright.

RX bandits - They're the RX Bandits, how do you think their set was?

The Exit - Very, Very entertaining, music could use more guys like these.

A Static Lullaby - Meh Screamo Openers, are they done yet?

Silverstein - I enjoyed it…not saying it was good, but I had fun.

Evergreen Terrace - They blew my 15 yr old brains out.

I am Avalanche - Frontman was mad awkward, no energy, one of those bands you just kinda wait....to finish....

Weezer - They were just…weezer. Idk that doesnt really do it for me.

Ultrageist - 4 times - If you live on long island, then WHY THE FUCK HAVEN'T YOU SEEN ULTRAGEIST YET???? They're fuckin amazing! Amazing live set, amazing album, amazing people.

Bayside - Fuck Bayside

The Sleeping - Hot Damn! These guys put on a good show. It doesn't get much better than the band wearing Halloween costumes and opening their set with the sickest breakdown in their repetiour.

Black Moth Super Rainbow - Everything You Would Want from a BMSR set, including trippy clips from independent art films played on a screen behind the band. Oh and free beer.

Enter Shikari - twice - One of my favorite live shows, Mad Energy and Mad Fun.

Stray From the Path - twice - LONG ISLAND HARDCORE MOTHERFUCKER

Casari - twice - I don't even know what these guys sound like, I just tune them out when they walk on stage.

Emarosa - Jonny Craig was too drunk for me to pay attention to anything other than his wacky onstage antics.

Dance Gavin Dance - Played good, crowd sucked, set was too short to really get into it.

I See Stars - Meh at best.

In Fear and Faith - three times (none voluntarily) - Not Good Not Bad, Not Exciting Not Boring, just average.

Broadway - Good Opener, I was pissed though, cause if you have a song featuring jonny craig, it just so happens to be one of your best songs, and your ON TOUR WITH JONNY CRAIG, shouldnt you play it? Oh? No? Alright then...douchebags

Taking Back Sunday - three times - The First two times (2006) Had lots of energy and put on a fun show, last time (2009) the leader singer talked in a fake 'southern bell' accent, and the bands on stage 'antics' and rants lasted longer than the music itself. Very, very, very annoying.

Down With Webster: Dem Canadian White Boys can rap! Very fun atmosphere, very fun set.

I Set My Friends On Fire: The only reason I subjected myself to their set was so I could get barricade for Streetlight Manifesto, who was playing directly after them on the same stage. These guys are garbage.

Underoath - three times - First time: Epic Set, basically a playthrough of their only chasing safety. Second: Caught half their set at warped tour 08, Just enough to hear all the songs I wanted to, I was happy about it. Third time: Alright set, but they played all their 'not so heavy' songs so as to appease the crowd (they were opening for taking back sunday at jones beach)

Everytime I Die - twice - Intense, the only band where I've seen the guitarist light a cigarette right before a guitar solo, just to emphasize how badass he is.

Bring Me the Horizon - Blarf, my only thought the entire time they were playing was "You know, you guys have other cds besides the new one, you should probably play something off of one of those, you know, back when you guys had talent, oh, no? You're not going to play any of your good songs? Mike C put it best "I went to see Bring Me The Horizon, I saw BMTH"

Architects - twice - Intense, high energy, super heavy, just great.

We.re All Broken - These guys were fun too, they played a bunch of shows with Patent Pending back in the day. The first time I ever saw a vocalist use multiple Mics for different effects and distortions, thought that was nifty.

Minus the Bear - twice - Probably the best SOUNDING band I've ever heard live, its rare for a band to sound better live than they do on their album.

Norma Jean - twice - Lackluster both times, dragged their asses through a ten minute encore of the most blandest song ever…..that was HORSE the bands time, assholes.

Arsonists Get All the Girls - Their Set Was Wayyy too short and I was wayyy too excited to see HORSE the Band to fully appreciate these guys, luckily their headlining in a week ^_^

As Tall As Lions - Made nice background music

The Chariot - Really Intense, Crazy Energy, Really Crazy Lights and Fog, these guys were infectious.

Horse the band (twice) - First time: Warped Tour 06 - Best band of the day hands down, and the only time I've seen a circle pit big enough to completely consume the sound booth. Second Time: They were absolutely amazing, easily one of my top five favorites of all time, except they got jewed out of time at the end, all so that Norma Jean could play their 10 minute encore of just…the most boring thing ever, like, "are we there yet?" boring.

Alexisonfire twice - Eh and Meh, I really wish I got to see these guys before "Crises" was released, because everyone knows, once album three comes out, you have to pretend like the first two NEVER HAPPENED, what the hell man, I just wanted to hear .44 Caliber Love Letter....

Soo there it is, every band I've ever seen get on stage and make noise...I think...I'm probably missing one or two more but....eh.

Auto?Automatic?? - Another Round Won't Get Us Down (2009)

2011-02-23T00:06:00.000-05:00

Enjoy My Favorite Track off the album "4182333461...Dance!"

There's nothing better than some nice instrumental Math Rock when you just want to relax and take a load off your mind. Auto?Automatic?? (Formerly Auto!Automatic!!) is the perfect 'Chillout' band. Their songs are upbeat and energetic for the most part, but the tambre of their instruments creates a sort of calming atmosphere. These songs are really well put together and seem to be able to mold themselves to whatever mood or situation your in. The same song can feel either uplifting and cheerful or sombre and sad, depending on the mood of the listener. Another Round Won't Get Us Down is a great addition to any music library, put it on when you wanna relax or if you've got a lot on your mind and see if it doesn't make you feel better.

DOWNLOAD HERE!

The Word Alive - Demo (2008)

2011-02-22T22:07:00.002-05:00

To Prove the Point I'm Going To Make In My Review, here is "Can't Let Up" off of "The Word Alive EP"

Now Here is it redone on "Empire EP" now called "Inviting Eyes"

There's a difference between BETTER Producing and OVER Producing -_-

Two years ago something suddenly dawned on me. "I haven't been to a show in forever" I thought to myself, and suddenly I was itching to go see live music. I started to look for upcoming shows and I wasn't being picky, as long as I knew the band I was going to see them. I noticed skyeatsairplane was playing a show soon, so I bought my tickets and checked to see who was opening: In fear and Faith, Eyes Set to Kill, and The Word Alive. I had no idea who any of them were, so I started looking for albums to download to check them out, In fear and faith and Eyes Set to Kill were simple searches, but I could not find shit on The Word Alive. So I researched it a little bit and found out that they had yet to officially release anything yet. At that time I did a lot of my listening either while driving or on break at my job, so I needed something downloadable to get familiar with these guys. I ended up finding a zip file on mediafire labeled "The Word Alive Myspace", and it had the five songs from the bands page. That 'demo' quickly became one of my favorite CDs, it was a refreshing take on the metalcore genre. These songs had a good flow, they were up tempo and intense and flowed in and out of breakdowns seemlessly, whereas with the other bands they felt forced. In short they were just well written songs played with a lot of energy and intensity.

Compared to this, Empire EP was a huge, HUGE, disapointment. It was overproduced as balls, they sucked the life out of the songs. Inviting Eyes was called Can't Let Up on the original demo, they lowered the bass, increased the keyboards presence, cleaned the guitar and cleaned the screams up, they took away all the things that made The Word Alive unique. The Empire EP was just a release from another cookie cutter Emo/metalcore band. Deceiver was better, but still overproduced as balls. I'm glad I got to see them when I did and that I was able to find this demo so I can show yall how good these guys were before they let the scene producers change them into more of the same.

DOWNLOAD IT!

Girl Talk - All Day (2010)

2011-02-22T20:27:00.000-05:00

Yall are in for a treat with this one.

Enjoy Track 1: "Oh No"

What do Ozzy Osbourne, The Ramones, Missy Eliot, Ludacris, and California Swag District all have in common? They're all sampled on track one of the new Girl Talk album! If you don't know what Girl Talk's about then try and picture this: you know all those top 20 songs you hear on the radio or on mtv all the time? You know, the ones you say you don't like but catch yourself singing at the strangest times? Okay, now how about all those classic 80s/90s songs that you don't know who sings or even what theyre names are, but have been in every movie/commercial/tv show you've ever seen? Okay, now how about all those 'alternative' bands that you hear playing whenever you walk into the apple store, barnes and nobles, or any store in your mall that sells guys' skinny jeans? Well take all of those and throw them in a blender and puree them until it becomes one smooth, uniform mix. That's basically what Girl Talk sounds like. He takes all the catchy parts from songs you already know (whether your willing to admit it or not) and mixes them together into something that sounds 100x better than the originals. "But if I don't like the original songs why would I like them all at once?" you might be asking yourself, but let me assure you, even if you hate all radio music, even if you consider yourself too 'Hardcore' to listen to anything but Grindcore and Thrash, you'll still like Girl Talk. It's just one of those things that everyone likes (except maybe mashup snobs, but they're just kidding themselves). Honestly it's not something you can understand until you've actually heard it, which you should have considering I posted a song at the top of this blog, if you haven't do yourself a favor and check it out, you wont be disappointed, swearsies.

DOWNLOAD!

Structures - All of the Above EP (2010)

2011-02-22T19:28:00.001-05:00

I know a lot of you out there aren't gonna download an album from a band you've never heard of just cause I told you to, so check out Track 2: 'Transitions' and see for yourself why you should never doubt anything I say ever again.

Usually when I download new music I do it in bulk. Once an album finishes downloading I listen to a song or two off it while I continue my search for more to download, not paying it all that much mind, just enough to get the gist of it and see what it's all about. When All of the Above Finished downloading I loaded it to iTunes, started the first song, minimized iTunes, and went back to Last.fm to search for more music. 2 minutes later my internet browser was closed and I was intently listening to every note on the record. With one song I was so impressed with this EP I had to stop everything I was doing so I could give this album my undivided attention, and as soon as it was finished I was so pumped about it I had to immediately begin writing a review for it…so here it is:

Structures is a Progressive Metalcore/Deathcore band the likes of which I've never seen. Before I start, let me say that usually I can't get into Deathcore at all, in my opinion the whole genre feels shallow and insincere. First off, I don't see how anyone could be expected to take these bands seriously with names like 'Decrepit Birth' or 'Carnifex'. It's like they purposely choose names that make people think 'these guys are scary' so they can feel cool/tough when in reality they're just a bunch of bitchasses. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Deathcore seems to be more about 'intimidation' than it is about anything else, I guess to people who listen to heavy music because they want to be feel tough or 'hardcore' than it suits them perfectly, but that's not why I listen to heavy music…at all. With that being said, lets continue with the review….

As far as the Deathcore aspect of their music is concerned Structures has all their bases covered; there's downtuned guitars with plenty of dissonance, chugging riffs with breakdowns to match, and bass drops so big they make your entire body shake. Without a doubt these guys are as 'brutal' as any other Deathcore band out there, but unlike so many other bands, Structures understands that there's more to making good music than just breakdowns and dissonance. Whether it be airy guitar melodies akin to Misery Signals, super-fast upbeat Math Rock riffs ala Tera Melos, even taking cues from bands like Emarosa or Broadway, All of the Above is constantly incorporating concepts from a huge range of influences to give each song its own personality and adds a much needed layer of depth to the Deathcore formula. And while that formula may be at the core (no pun intended) of each song, it's the addition of all these different influences that will have you coming back to this EP over and over again. Structures is definitely a name to look out for, if they can expand on what they've done here on their next release they'll become a colossal force.

DOWNLOAD IT FOO'!!!

Saint Young Men (Manga)

2011-02-16T15:17:00.001-05:00

Jesus Christ, the son of god and the founder of Christianity. Buddha, the enlightened one and the founder of Buddhism. To celebrate the turn of the millennium they decided to take a vacation together, but where do those who live in heaven go for a vacation? They go to earth! That's right, Jesus and Buddha are subletting an apartment in present day downtown Tokyo. Now I know this sounds like a recipe for an absolute disaster of a comic but the author is able to pull it off brilliantly. We follow around Jesus and Buddha's day to day life as they discover this new world called 'the present'. They'll take on train stations during rush hour, Tokyo Disneyland, the internet (Jesus starts his own blog), a public swimming pool, a street carnival, modern day Christmas, and everything else modern culture has to offer. The personalities the author has developed for both characters feel extremely believable to me, I could totally picture this being what Jesus and Buddha are like up in heaven right now. Jesus sees the best in everyone and everything, he always keeps a positive outlook and makes the best out of every experience. Buddha is more on the uptight side, he always acts based on reason and he sees things at face value. Where Buddha won't buy anything unless it's something that has a practical purpose, Jesus will hit up a store and come out with a complete samurai costume grinning like a little kid. Their personalities both stay true to the basic themes of the each religion as well as make for some really funny situations, for example, at one point they run out of food in the apartment while it's raining outside, Jesus suggests getting takeout because he doesn't want to get wet. So what's Buddha do? He hands him a plate with rocks on it and tells him to make some bread, problem solved.

If your looking for some light reading material definitely look this series up. Unfortunately it doesn't look like anyone's scanlating it at the moment so we've only got 12 chapters to work with right now, but each chapter is its own contained story so it's not like you'll be left on a cliffhanger or anything, check it out.

Read Online Here

Download Links Here

Everytime I Die - New Junk Aesthetic (2009)

2011-02-15T21:18:00.001-05:00

Listen to My Favorite Track Off The Album "For The Record" While Given This A Read/Waiting for the Download To Finish.

If Rock and Roll existed in Ancient Greece then Everytime I Die would be the gods they prayed to. If you don't know Everytime I Die by now, what the fuck are you doing man? For the last 10 years these guys have been tearing shit up with their own brand of Hardcore infused with the Spirit of Rock and Roll. They take all the brutalness of hardcore and give it just enough personality to make it stand miles apart from the rest of the bunch. If you're into heavy music, listen to all their albums, they're all top notch. New Junk Aesthetic is no exception, while it may be a tad less heavy than previous releases, it's still a great release and perfectly captures what Everytime I Die is all about.

Download Here!

Gantz (Manga)

2011-01-22T22:03:00.001-05:00

Imagine for a second that you have just been shot in the heart. You see your blood pouring out of you, you know that you're about to die, you close your eyes as you feel your life fade away. Suddenly a moment later you're in a strange apartment, the hole in your chest is gone without a trace. You look around, it's a plain ordinary apartment, all except for a gigantic black sphere sitting in the middle of the room. Mysterious right? Wanna know what happens next? Well you should read Gantz then! Out of all the manga I've read this is by far my favorite. So what's it about? Well here's mangaupdates description: "Somewhere in Tokyo, there is a room. In that room is a black sphere. Periodically, people who should otherwise have died are transferred to the room. There, the sphere gives them special suits and weapons, and sends them out on a mission to kill aliens here on Earth. While these missions take place, the rest of the world is largely oblivious to them. These missions are lethal--few participants survive them. The sphere calls the shots, and it's not the slightest bit nice. Its name... Gantz."

That's awful vague so I'll elaborate a lil bit. Basically people are forced to fight aliens to survive, they're given suits that give them super human strength and a variety of weapons. What weapons? Well, there's the X-Gun/X-Rifle, which causes whatever you shoot it with to explode from the inside. Then there's the Y-Gun, which fires a wire that restrains your target before 'sending' it away (To where? Who knows man.) And then there's the sword….that can extend infinitely and contracts back in the blink of an eye. Now that might seem like a lot of firepower, but when you're facing giant Buddha statues, the entire cast of Jurassic park, giant axe wielding centaurs, an ogre who can move faster than the speed of sound and control lightning, and a shape shifter that isn't even phased by having his entire body turned into a pool of blood, as well as being able to rip your arms apart just by thinking it....well you see my point.

As good as the setting and the action scenes are, Gantz wouldn't be anywhere near as good as it is if not for the characters, mainly Kei Kurono. Kurono, the main character, starts off as a self centered piece of shit, but over the course of the manga grows into a total badass with a heart o' gold, and while I hated him in the first few volumes he quickly became my favorite Manga character ever. Why? Because he's so human, he's not your typical morally righteous protagonist and he's not some dark gloomy anti-hero, he's just Kei Kurono, a teenager determined to survive no matter how impossible the situation may seem.

The last thing to mention about Gantz is that you never know what can happen. Just when you think someone has saved the day and is going to be the hero, bam!, laser through the heart . Just when you think someone has narrowly escaped death and they can breathe a sigh of relief, bam! decapitation. Just when you think their introducing an epic new character that is going to destroy everything in his path, bam! sliced in half. I can't even tell you how many scenes in this manga made me literally jump out of my chair and yell "Holy shit you've have got to be fucking kidding me! No fucking way! Did that really just happen!? *scrolls back 2 pages* What the fuck!"

All around, Gantz is a fucking awesome manga, and from the looks of the current arc it looks like its only getting better.

Things to mention: The beggining is really echhi, so if you're offended by naked chicks, just skip to volume 4.

Links!

Chapters 1-244

Or Just Go To Mangatraders (free sign up is totally worth it)

The Word Alive - Deceiver (2010)

2010-09-01T01:45:00.001-04:00

Enjoy Track Number 1: The Hounds Of Anubis.

I didn't know what to expect going into this album, I really liked The Word Alive's self titled EP (or demo or whatever It was), but I found Empire EP to be a tad lacking. While Empire was musically cleaner and polished, it lacked the intensity that seemed to ooze out of the Self Titled. I figured The Word Alive would be one of those bands that were going to water down their sound for the sake of accessibility, I should've known better. As if to dispel any doubts people might have had against them, Deciever starts off with a bang. The first track, The Hounds Of Anubi, starts off sounding like The Word Alive I know and love, and then it gets so much better. This band has grown in leaps and bounds since their last release. The first thing to instantly catch my attention was the synths…I don't remember The Word Alive having a keyboardist, if they did it was really downplayed. Synths play a key part in just about every song on Deceiver, and they're good enough to stand toe to toe with acts like Arsonists Get All The Girls. The second thing that made my jaw drop was the structural complexity and diversity of this album. Deceiver is much more progressive than anything the band has released to date. They take Progressive Metalcore, splice it with Emocore, throw a dash of Math in there to make the heavy parts heavier and to give the melodic segments a little extra oomph, then sprinkle on influences from a number of genres ranging from dubstep to grindcore. The last thing that made me do a double take was the production quality of this album. They went through this one with a fine tooth comb to make every second of this album the best it could be. This is one of those albums where you can hear how much work was put into even the smallest details, and it definitely pays off. This is one of the best releases I've heard this year. If you fancy yourself a fan of music, definitely check this album out, I guarantee it'll be worth your time.

Download HERE!!!

Stand Before The Firing Squad - Noise Machine (2006)

2010-08-31T14:14:00.000-04:00

New Addition! I'll be posting one song from the album at the top of the blog from now on. This little delight is The Shadow's Whisperer.

I'm starting to realize I review a disproportionate amount of Mathcore albums, but how can I not when they're all so good? Noise Machine is no exception. Unlike SBTFS' first release, which was very straightforward mathcore album, Noise Machine finds itself neck deep in experimental influences. The first track goes back and forth between intense mathcore goodness and jazzy prog rock segments. The prog segments change up often enough and use enough different sounds/textures to keep your attention throughout. A big problem I have with Experimental Mathcore is when bands get too caught up in a jazzy piece or some other experimental concept and they end up becoming repetitive or uninteresting. Stand Before the Firing Squad knows not to cross that line, they make sure to always have something changing to grab your attention. The next track is more akin to post rock in nature, and the track after that (titled "Lord Have Mercy") is just….well, I don't know if you can call it a song. It's spoken word with different background noises, distortions, echoes and whatnot all being carried forward by a quite drum beat. Usually I can't get into tracks like that, but there's something about the delivery of this one that compels me to press the back button once it's finished. The rest of the album keeps up this pattern, one song will be a grueling mathcore shred sesh, the next will be an alluring medley of jazz/prog/post-rock. Sometimes the band will switch band and forth from heavy to jazzy multiple times a song, like flicking a light switch on and off really quick. Around halfway through the album something changes, the line between the heavy and the experimental begins to blur, what were once two distinctly different things start to combine into one sound."The Bad Heart Ruse" is a great example of this, it's heavy, off timed, and abrasive but there's clear prog-rock influences in the guitar work. The closing track, "The Shadow's Whisperer", is the perfect ending to this album. All the concepts that were touched on throughout the CD are fully flushed out here. This song is just four minutes of prog rock/jazz fusing with intense mathcore in a way that only Stand Before the Firing Squad could pull off. All in all this is a solid Experimental Mathcore album. It can be really experimental without coming off as pretentious, it can flush out it's ideas without getting lost in them, and in doing so is able to keep the listeners attention easily, a problem a lot of bands of this genre face. If you're a fan of this kinda music you're gonna love this one. If you like heavy music but haven't treaded into these experimental waters just yet, this album would serve as a nice introduction. The thing about Experimental Mathcore is that although a lot of the bands follow similar formulas when it comes to songwriting, the ingredients they use, their influences, are all different. What you end up with is a similar end product with its own unique flavor. It's really a shame that more people don't know about these guys, they're relatively unheard of (which is where I come in…heh) and presumed broken up, since no one's heard a peep out of them in the last few years. It's a shame this band never got the notoriety it deserved, Stand Before The Firing Squad could have been one of the powerhouses of the genre if they got the attention they deserved. Andd that about wraps up this review….Oh! One other thing this band does that deserves mentioning is they named a song "13th Song". It's not the thirteenth song on the album, but when you look at the bands discography on iTunes, it's the 13th song on the list. It might not have anything to do with the music, but that got a chuckle outta me, not gonna lie.

Download HERE!!!

Andy McKee - Art Of Motion

2010-08-31T09:55:00.000-04:00

I Was Going to Write a Review for this, but I'm just gonna let Andy show you himself why you NEED this album.

Yeah, I Thought So. Download HERE!!!

Doin' It For The Shorties! #2 - Stand Before the Firing Squad - Electric Narcoleptic (2005)

2010-08-31T08:19:00.001-04:00

Okay, before I start, does anyone know how to copy or save album covers off of last.fm? It's the only place that had the cover to this and I couldn't use it...

Yay it's EP review time!, 'cause who really has the attention span to listen to full albums anyway? Stand Before The Firing Squad pack enough into 4 songs that an entire album isn't even necessary. In case you weren't able to figure it out from their band name, these guys are really, really heavy. More specifically, they play that style of controlled chaos so appropriately dubbed Mathcore. Electric Narcoleptic is the band's Debut release, and they really hit the ground running. Electric Narcoleptic clocks in just under 10 minutes long, 10 minutes of nonstop, in your face, lightning fast brutality. A few years ago I heard a saying that I think holds true for bands of all genres:"First, you define your genre, then you defy it." Virtually every band, especially in the mathcore scene, seems to abide by this rule. A Bands first release is a chance to show off what they can do, to strut their stuff so to speak. They follow the structure of their genre so that they can be easily comparable to those that came before them, this way listeners can easily judge if a band is worth their time or not. If a band is only mediocre when it comes to what has already been done by other bands, then you can't really expect much else from them. Those that successfully 'defined' their genre will inevitably begin to incorporate different influences into their music, and before you know it they begin to branch off from their base genre, they 'defy' it so to speak. HORSE the Band and Minus the Bear are two perfect examples of this, both of them started off by seemingly perfecting their respective genres, and every release since then has shown clear and distinguishable growth from the release before it. On the other end of the spectrum, there are also those bands that are purebreads when it comes to their genres. Bands like Everytime I Die and Converge have spent their entire career's perfecting hardcore, rather than altering their sound they release album after album, each structurally very similar to eachother but each so good in their own right that their sound doesn't get stale or tired. It takes a whole different kind of creativity to be able to do the same thing for a decade and never have it get old. Most bands fall somewhere in the middle of those two extremes, but uh, yeah, I'm getting way off topic, I gotta finish this review.(and these EP reviews were supposed to be the quick ones >_>) This EP follows the definition of mathcore to a tee. Let's review chapter by chapter: nonstop intensity start to finish? Check. Atypical rhythms? Check. Changing time signatures up mid song just to switch back almost immediately? Check. Oddly timed breakdowns? Check plus. Yep Stand Before The Firing Squad passes their test with flying colors. The only time you're ears'll get a chance to rest is during the occasional movie quote, which I'm pretty sure are all from Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas. Now that I think about it, Why hasn't anyone used Fear and Loathing quotes before? Hunter S. Thompson was like mathcore personified…

Download HERE!!!

Fizzy DINo POp - The Land Before Time (2007)

2010-08-16T20:31:00.001-04:00

Here's "Porom Is Silly", my favorite track off the album ^_^

A lot can change in 2 years time. In 2009 Fizzy DINo POp released Hello Party! A free Single which had 3 very catchy electronica/pop songs for your listening delight. Those songs sounded so complete that you would think the band was at it for years, but if you just backtracked two years prior Fizzy DINo POp was delivering their own brand of spastic Cybergrind, complete with blast beats and all. The Land Before Time show's off Fizzy's ability to combine enticing 8-bit melody with harsh distorted screams and can change pace so abruptly that you'll be taken off guard even after multiple listen throughs. The majority of the album is carried by nifty synth melodies played either instrumentally or layered with harsh/distorted screams. Most of the time the two work together perfectly, but there are times on the album where they clash in a way that just sounds…well…bad, to put it bluntly. While the majority of the album follows this formula, the few times where the music is interrupted to give you a few seconds of lightning fast brutality are what will leave a lasting impression, and are why you'll come back for more. Even if you don't give this album you're full attention, after one listen through I guarantee you the phrase "Build A Dino" will make you flinch. To sum things up, if you're a fan of Cybergrind then I would definitely check this album out, the songs on it that stand out are good enough to warrant multiple listens. If you're not a fan of Cybergrind, or have no idea what Cybergrind is, I would pass this one up for now. While I wouldn't exactly call this album 'Great' by any standard, there is such a shortage of good Cybergrind that even 'decent' is worth checking out. The two biggest highlights definitely have to be "Porom Is Silly!" and "Kitty Kat Keychain". Give those two a little extra attention.

Download HERE!!!

Trash Talk - Eyes and Nines (2010)

2010-08-15T18:31:00.001-04:00

Ah, a new Trash Talk album, it sounds….very similar to Trash Talks other releases. Not that that's their fault or anything, there's really not too much stylistic leeway to try different things in a genre like Thrash Hardcore, and to Trash Talk's effort they really do just about all they could to keep this Release fresh and unique. Thrash is just one of those things that varies person to person. Those who love it LOVE it, those who don't….don't. When I'm in the mood to hear those punkish heavy riffs and that steady 1-2 drumbeat then Trash Talk is definitely at the top of the list, but after about…10 minutes or so it starts to wear on me and I feel like I'm listening to the same 30 seconds of music over and over and over again. Now I'm sure there's some people out there who think I'm an idiot or that I don't get what makes Thrash so awesome, but the bottom line is that I just don't find it all that appealing, I can "appreciate" it for what it is, but It's just not for me. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a chance yourself, for what it is, it's really good.

Find Out For Yourself

Download HERE!!!

The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza - Danza III: A Series of Unfortunate Events (2010)

2010-08-15T13:27:00.001-04:00

The Extravaganza coming through in a big way with their third full length "Danza III: A Series of Unfortunate Events". Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza is probably the heaviest Mathcore band currently making music. If you fancy yourself a fan of Mathcore, Grindcore, or Hardcore in any shape or form, then what are you doing not already listening to Danza? That being said, if you're a fan of Danza than this album is pretty much exactly what you expected. From start to finish they're in your face beating you over the head with their trademark blazing fast, ultra-brutal brand of heavy. No tricks, no gimmicks, they don't need 'em. Honestly if you've never heard this band before I don't know what you could compare them too, the best I can come up with is a heavier, more technical See You Next Tuesday, but like I said earlier if you're going to download this album you shouldn't need anyone to tell you what Danza sounds like. If you like heavy music in any form, pick up this album, you'll love it. It's pretty much guaranteed, I mean, It's Danza….

It's Danza.

Download HERE!!!

Doin' It For The Shorties! #1 - Fizzy DINo POp - Hello Party!

2010-08-15T02:15:00.001-04:00

Well this is something new that I've decided to do here on the ol' blog. Once a week I'll be reviewing an EP, Single, Demo, you know, one of the lil guys. Let's start things off with a bang! An explosion of electronic glory that is Fizzy DINo POp's 2009 single, "Hello Party!" This bad boy is 3 songs (4 if you count the remix (I don't)) of some of the best 8-bit electronica/pop I've heard in quite a while. Japan's always got a habit of taking what America's done and pushing it to the extreme. They did it with technology, they did it with comics, they sure as hell did it with game shows, and yes, they do it with music too. Anyone who's spent his fair share of time on the internet is sure to have heard of J-Pop, or Japanese Pop for those of you who who're abbreviation impaired. Brands like "J-Pop" exist to show people that this is different than 'regular' pop, like it's a cheap imitation or knock off or something. Fizzy DINo POp prove with Hello Party! that they can play ball with the big kids, they take that "J" prefix and stomp it into the curb. "Space", the opening track, sounds reminiscent of acts like Justice, but after 30 seconds of listening you'll never make that comparison again. Fizzy DINo POp groove circles around Justice, combining upbeat dancey melodies with crystal castle-esque 8-bit samples and spacey, drawn out, trancelike vocals to create a sound all their own. They would sound just as natural playing a show with Daft Punk as they would on your local top 20 radio station. The only problem I have with this single is that the first track is by far the best. After an intro like "Space" you would expect to be blown away by the title track, but it falls just a little short of expectations. That's not to say it's by any means bad, but let's just say that "Space" would have been a much more appropriate title for this release.

Download HERE!!!

La Dispute/Touché Amore - Searching For A Pulse/The Worth Of The World

2010-08-05T21:50:00.001-04:00

Oh my, the new split between La Dispute and their slightly more aggressive older brothers Touché Amore. I'd be lying if I said I haven't been looking forward to this one. I'm sure everyone has a song that reverberates deep within themselves every time they hear it. That song that once it hits their ears their mind darts back to a particular place or a particular moment in time. Every song on La Dispute's full length hit me with that sort of impact. Needless to say I've more or less put the band on a pedestal since first hearing that album, in my mind they could do no wrong. This split is the first release from the band since their full length, and I've been anxious to see what the band has left up their sleeves, since it seemed like they threw all their cards down on the table with their last album. The first track on the split "How I Feel" showed that lyricist Jordan Dryer is not out of material just yet. The song goes into new philosophical and emotional territory for the band. For those of us keeping track, the Albert Camus quote used in the song "six" begins to show its influence on Dryer's perspective of the world. I have a feeling they're next album is going to be an expansion of those ideas. The main idea behind the split can be summed up in climax of the song, when the music breaks and Dryer cries out his exalted question in a desperate plea to reason with the world: "Don't we all just die?" Oh yes, the futility of human life and the they're struggle to gain monetary worth which is ultimately meaningless in the end, and despite knowing this truth mankind chooses to live in denial of that fact, each and every person feigning ignorance of what their final outcome will be. That certainly seems like the direction Dryer is heading in going into they're next full length. Their other song on the split, Titled "Why It Scares Me", is clearly a reaction to the thoughts presented in the first track. He sees the world as superficial and a façade, and he's scared that there's nothing else to it than that. Could it be that just because you know the truth, there is no other alternative than to just live the lie? Damn, you could fill textbooks going into the philosophical questions La Dispute can bring up in just 6 minutes of yelling. You might've noticed I haven't mentioned the music itself yet, well it's no secret that La Disputes lyricism is its strongest weapon, the band are the ones who deliver the perfect atmosphere for Dryer's message, accenting his tortured monologue perfectly so as to deliver the greatest impact possible. Musically La Dispute isn't a heavy band, they deliver that feeling of heaviness not through crushing guitars, but by delivering Dryer's message to us exactly as it feels to him. A silver tongue, a hurt voice, and instrumentation orchestrated to deliver the emotional subtext of the words being spoken, La Dispute is heavy because they're the voice of reason in a world run by chaos. Ah, I seem to have forgotten Touché Amore. Well, they did a great job, these are probably two of the best songs they've ever recorded, it's unfortunate for them that they have to be paired next to La Dispute. Compared to La Dispute Touché Amore's attempt to convey the same messages comes off as….I guess insincere would be the best way to put it. But hey, what can you expect when following one of the greatest lyricists of our generation.

Download HERE!!!

Me and Him Call It Us - Loss (2007)

2010-08-05T21:15:00.000-04:00

Now here's something you don't see every day, an emotionally charged Math/Grind band. I'm not the type of person to look up the lyrics to a song, if the vocals are so indecipherable that I can't understand them then I don't think you should take them into context as part of the music. However, this guys tone makes it come across pretty clear that he's hurt, upset, frustrated, angry, and every other negative emotion one can emit through gasping screams. For brief moments here and there this album can almost sound reminiscent of Saetia. Things like ambient instrumentals or slow paced, tortured vocals add a depth to the music that accents the brutally fast paced and intense sound of the rest of the album well. This band will go from chaotic and spastic blast beats, only to be interrupted by the lead singer releasing all his agony and pain in one long, tortured scream, ending it in a crushing breakdown to emphasize the release of this pent up rage. To sum things up: Me and Him Call It Us is Mathcore for screamo fans. If you're all about brutally fast/technical music, I would pass these guys up. If you're library holds bands Like Saetia, La Dispute, Pianos Become the Teeth, as well as bands like Dillinger Escape Plan and See You Next Tuesday, Definitely give these guys a listen. Songs to look out for: Encirclement of The Dancing Scarecrows, My Heart Beats In Blast Beats, and Innocent Bystanders Watched In Horror as Peter Jennings Drew His Murder Weapon.

Download HERE!!!

I Shot the Duck Hunt Dog - The Sounds Of End Game

2010-08-05T18:46:00.001-04:00

First thoughts upon listening to this album? Hell yeah! This is how chiptune/nintendocore should be done! Like all good Chiptune, this album is incredibly upbeat, written practically all in eighth and sixteenth notes. By getting rid of the guitars and relying solely on squares, triangles, and pulse waves I Shot the Duck Hunt Dog was able to discover something that really sets this release apart from their previous ones. They discovered if you make heavy music using only synths and a drum machine, the result is heaviness without the heavy. A large portion of people find heavy music inaccessible, whether it be the screaming vocals or the abrasive sound of the guitars, they're just turned off to the whole concept. But it's not the music itself that they're turned off to, it's the way that music is being presented to them. Enter The Sounds Of End Game. This album has all the characteristics of a heavy album: it's fast paced, utilizes stop and go rhythms, has breakdowns, but none of it comes across as overly aggressive, it just makes you want to get up and move! They should play this shit in night clubs, I guarantee you this will get people moving in ways the new Lady Gaga single could never. Highlights of this album include: BGM 10, BGM 11, and BGM 12. Not to say that the beginning of the album doesn't have some great songs on it, but I Shot the Duck Hunt Dog hit a groove with those tracks. If you listen to those three you'll understand what I mean by "Heaviness without the Heavy"

Download HERE!!!

Maps & Atlases - Trees, Swallows, Houses (2007)

2010-08-05T06:44:00.001-04:00

This album makes me laugh. Not because the music's funny or anything, but because every time I hear these guys, I picture they're guitarist as a stereotypical metal head, standing in a crab stance head banging with his 3 feet of hair while he does these grueling guitar riffs, because make no mistake, the guitar work on this album sounds EXACTLY like what you would expect from a Tech Metal or Mathcore band. The only difference is that it's played through a non-heavy sounding amp setting. The Vocals are nice and pretty, the drumming is that of your typical math rock/indie band, there's a tambourine, it's an overall pleasant and upbeat sound. And then there's this guitarist, absolutely shredding up and down, playing in I don't even know what time signatures. Don't get me wrong, it comes together great, I really do love this album, I just can't get this image of the guys from Jimmy Eat World or something playing on stage, doing their thing, all happy go lucky, then all of a sudden they're getting smacked in the face by hair as the guitarist from slayer stands in the center of the stage in his lowered stance head banging as he goes to work on his guitar… I know that's not how the band actually looks when they play, but a guy can dream, can't he?

Download HERE!!!

Letters In Binary - Pretty In Perpendicular (2006)

2010-08-05T05:41:00.001-04:00

It's time to review another Mathcore/MathGrind band. Letters In Binary is a relatively unheard of band that I think a lot of fans of the genre are missing out on. Let's see, where to start, I guess the opening track is a good place. It starts off in hyperspeed, mixes up the ryhthym a bit, goes a little jazzy for a second, before going back into a bru-hu-hu-hutal ending. At least, I thought it was over, they decided to put about 2 minutes worth of silence into the song, only to pick up where they left off for the last 20 seconds. Okay, so from the start I guess they're trying to say this isn't going to be what you'd expect from the typical MathGrind album. The next track starts off in a similar fashion, then about a minute into it switches it up completely and does this reverse breakdown type deal. At this point I'm 5 minutes into the album and have completely given up on trying to figure out what's going to come next. This band has three different styles which they seem to enjoy switching between every few seconds. They have they're Mathcore(hardcore) style, the style that hits you with lightning fast stop and go rhythms (al la dillinger), then they have they're Jazzy style, which they throw in just when you least expect it and switch back from as soon as you've gotten used to it(Think the number 12 in fast forward). And then they have they're Tech Metal side, where they switch to the high strings and sweep (tap…idk what it's called I'm not guitar savy) solos lightning quick and with surgical precision. (They'd make Psyopus proud.) The Entire Album clocks in at 13 minutes, so there really isn't any room here for filler. that being said, there are two interludes, but they're short enough that you're not going to want to bother skipping them, and they tie the album together nicely. If you're a fan of this type of music, then take 10 minutes out of your day and give this album a listen through, it'll be well worth your time.

Download HERE!!!

Telefon Tel Aviv - Remixes Compiled (2007)

2010-08-05T00:46:00.001-04:00

As the name rather blatantly points out, this is a collection of songs by various artists which Telefon Tel Aviv chose to add their trademark Hi-Fi electro-flare to. The songs they chose to Telefon Tel Avivize span a number of Genres, from Post-Rock to Pop, to Classical Strings to Indie Rock. Mixing these various genres and sounds with Telefon Tel Aviv's trademark electronic touch brings out something that neither sound or artist could achieve on their own. Whereas albums like Fahrenheit Fair Enough seem to struggle to reach the forty-minute mark, This Compilation starts off each track with a fresh feel to it, sounding completely different from the track before it while still feeling familiar. My favorites on the album include Komponent, which sounds like it was originally an Indie Emo ballad transformed into an Ambient Dance Groove, one of those tracks that could make you either want to get up and dance or lay down on the floor and stare at the stars, depending on your mood. Another High Point on the Album would be the two songs "A Genuine Display" and "Time Is Running Out". Now, I wouldn't be able to tell you what the original songs might've sounded like, these two wouldn't feel out of place Between Fahrenheit Fair Enough and TTV. This is Telefon Tel Aviv in their element right here, a mixture of intricate electronic drum-type sounds being carried by a distant melody, with tons of super Hi-Fi electronic sounds that only those with a top-notch sound system will be able to appreciate. Another shining star on this collection would be Stolen Moments, a classical orchestra piece. Telefon Tel Aviv work's their magic to enrich the sound of every instrument by using different delay, release, time stretching and about a gazillion other effects on it to make each instrument come out in a way that would make the original composer's jaw drop. As a whole, I would say this is my favorite album by Telefon Tel Aviv. While Fahrenheit Fair Enough is a very close second, there're a few points where album loses steam and slows to a crawl. Those songs aren't bad by any means, just a tad too slow/repetitive for my tastes. Remixes Compiled doesn't have that problem, each song is accessible, listenable, and enjoyable to just about anyone. Pop this into your stereo the next time you need some high quality background music.

Download HERE!!!!

The Bled - Pass the Flask (2003)

2010-06-04T23:25:00.001-04:00

The Bled is the story of a band that started with their best foot forward, and then tripped and broke their ankle and were never able to recover. Back in 2003 The Bled's 'Pass the Flask' set the standard for metalcore. At the time the concept of metalcore was fairly (in a relative sense) new. There were not a lot of metalcore bands around, to put it this way, if you were to go to warped tour there might be 3...4 sets where you could see a breakdown. Nowadays you can't walk 10 ft without hearing 'dum....dumdumdum dumm......dumdummm......dumdumdum dummm.' So while 'Pass the Flask' holds up as a great metalcore album today, back in 2003 it was THE metalcore album. Two years later the band released 'Found in the Flood', which was the most disappointing release I've ever had the displeasure of purchasing. "It's The Bled's new album, it's gotta be epic, right?" WRONG. They took everything that was great about Pass the Flask and threw it in the garbage, instead opting for the generic, bland, uninspired Screamo sound of the time. Even IF they were going to change their sound, they could have done it so much better, it feels like no effort was put into Found in the Flood, if there was it was just finding new ways to make it more 'mainstream'. It is, in my opinion, the Definitive "Sell Out" album. 2007 brought us 'Silent Treatment' which felt like damage control, they re-embraced their heavy side and combined it with the new sound of Found in the Flood, what came out was...eh. It sounds the same as the swarm of other Metalcore acts out right now, they don't do a single thing to stand out from the pack. The Bled might be happy being just an 'average' band, but I'll always be disappointed. They could have been up there with Everytime I Die, but they opted for the easier route. It's a shame....a damn shame.

Download Here!

HORSE The Motherfucking Band Motherfucker!

2010-06-04T22:12:00.001-04:00

HORSE the Band is one of the few bands that I loved when I was 16 and love even more today. Having grown up on Super Nintendo, a band who had dubbed themselves 'nintendocore' instantly caught my attention. As was customary back then I went to their Purevolume and listened to everything they had up, which was 3 songs, "Cutsman", "Birdo", and "The Black Hole". Now, at this point in my life I was a complete Scenester, I listened to Saosin, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, and basically worshipped UnderOath(no pun intended...wait, yes there was), to me 'heavy' meant that the lead singer screamed more than he sang. I was standing ankle deep on the shores of the Beach when HORSE the Band came in like a Tidalwave and swept we into the depths of Heavy Music. I knew I liked it, but I had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what I was listening to, my ears weren't able to pick up on just how truly amazing the music was. Cutsman instantly became my favorite song, The Black Hole was high on my list as well, but 'Birdo' was a little too out there for my tastes at the time. Nevertheless I bought Both The Mechanical hand and R Borlax, the bands two Releases to date. The Mechanical Hand was instantly accesible to me, I enjoyed listening to it start to finish, even if there were some parts of it I didn't 'get'. R Borlax was completely different story, other than Cutsman, the entire thing was incomprehensible to me, it was too fast, too heavy, I couldn't catch the rhythm of any song so it just all sounded like noise to me. Now, lets skip ahead about 3 years, HORSE the Band has released two more full lengths and one EP. The now musically literate me has now appreciated every tiny reason why The Mechanical Hand was so Perfect, appreciated 'Pizza EP' for the fact that even when making songs about something as ridiculous as 'Pizzarrhea in the Pizzaria' they won't fail to deliver musical brilliance, found 'A Natural Death' to have its shining moments and its shortcomings, and saw that 'Desperate Living' showed off that these guys will always find ways to be original yet still sound exactly like HTB should. Despite the greatness of the rest of this bands Discography, those memories of being sonically obliterated by R Borlax still lingered somewhere, stopping me from giving it the listen through it so rightfully deserved. After a friend of mine was talking about how amazing R Borlax was I decided that I HAD to give this album a shot, I mean, it's horse the band, I should be able to appreciate it now right? Right!? Right!!!!!!!!! I understand now why I couldn't handle this album before, it is one of the most intense Mathcore Albums I've ever listened to. And after the initial shock of how great it was set in, the realization that this was their FIRST album set in. R Borlax set the Standard for technical intricacy, and every album after that lives up that standard, in its own unique way. HORSE the Band is the best mathcore band making music today, a lot of people are blinded by the label 'nintendocore' or by Lord Golds amazing synth riffs to realize the glory of the 4 other members of this band, and it's probably that reason why these guys aren't hailed in the same light as bands like Dillinger, but thats okay, because the members of HORSE the Band don't give a shit, they're happy doing what they're doing, going where they want to go, even going so far as to book 'earth tour' and travel to every corner of the world, including africa, china, and every other place bands never even consider travelling to, just because they wanted to see the world. On top of all that, what other band do you know has the balls to name a song after themselves? Anyone else chant their Name during a breakdown and finish off with "HORSE THE MOTHERFUCKING BAND MOTHERFUCKER!" Can you honestly think of any? No? That's because HORSE the Band is just...they're just the best. You should listen.

Download Discography (1st half)

Download Discography (2nd half)

Heroshima - Through Hell and High Water (2009)

2010-06-04T21:21:00.001-04:00

Bands like Heroshima are rare. There are a lot of heavy bands, but most of them will fall into either the Metalcore or Mathcore niches, meaning, they're either too focused on double bass and heavy chugging or they're too focused on showing off how technical and fast they can play. Heroshima says fuck that, we dont like metal and we don't need to play 5 beats a bar to sound original. Heroshima is Hardcore. They play straight forward, fast paced stop and go rhythyms to create their brand of heaviness. They've got breakdowns, but like the rest of their songs their fast paced and will come and go before you realize what hit you. They've also got a kind of southern rock feel to them, I can't explain why, I don't even listen to any Southern Rock, I just think 'this has a southern feel' when I listen. If you still don't grasp what i'm trying to get at, think of it this way, Heroshima would be the perfect opening act to an Everytime I Die show.

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Misery Signals - Controller (2008)

2010-05-25T20:58:00.001-04:00

Misery Signals album 'Controller' is the best metalcore album ever recorded. I'm not exagerating and i'm not being biased, this is cold hard fact right here, and this blog is going to explain why.

Misery Signals is a Progressive Metalcore band. They use atypical time structures to give the rhythm a slightly awkward feel to it, and they do it perfectly. Back in another post I said that Minus the Bear had transcended Math Rock so that it sounded smooth and natural. Misery Signals is the Progressive Metalcore equivalent to that concept. If anyone ever asks me what 'Progressive Metalcore' means, I give them this album as an explanation. They are typical metalcore band in structure, two guitarists, a singer, a screamer, a bassist, and a drummer who seems to really enjoy using both his feet while playing. What sets them apart is how they use these pieces to make the greater whole. Let's start with the vocals, the lead vocals are a deep scream, almost a growl, that are perfectly articulate, you can understand every word, which is important, because Misery Signals LYRICS explain why Misery Signals is Misery Signals. From beginning to end this album is about internal conflict. The lyrics are all directed towards oneself. It's the narration of a man who hates his weakness and is desperately trying to overcome it. I think the opening song 'Nothing' sets the tone for the rest of the album with its last line: "Dear God! What have I let myself become!". There are instances of singing or backup screams throughout 'Controller', but they are few and far between, when they are used it's to portray a shift in emotion, from anger to desperation, or sometimes to serene calmness. But vocals are nothing if not backed up by fitting instrumentation, which is where Misery Signals truly shines. The Drums on this album are ridiculously good, and LOUD. If you don't 'get' what math based music is all about, listen to the drums on this album, they switch tempo and rhythm in a way that's noticeable but still sounds like a natural progression. A lot of Math bands either change tempo and rhythm so abrasively it sounds off putting or so subtly that you barely notice, but 'Controller' has found a happy medium. As amazing as the drum's are, Misery Signals two guitarists are what carry them from 'Amazing' to 'The Best'. One guitarist plays heavy (insanely heavy), riffs. He's so brutal he makes bands like Miss May I sound like Taylor Swift(Zing!). The second guitarist is there to add a layer of airy, melodic texture to accent the leads absolute brutality. While the rest of the band is pounding you into the dirt with their heaviness, guitarist number two sounds like he's playing off in the distance, or to keep with the theme of the album, he's like that small voice of in the back of your head you have when you're really, really, angry that's trying to tell you to listen to reason but you ignore it. It's volume and noticibility go up and down throughout the album, sometimes you can't hear it at all, sometimes it sounds level with the lead guitar, and sometimes, usually after a part that was particularly heavy, it takes center stage. It's like if you let out a huge surge of frustration and you punch a wall. After you do it you look at the hole you made, and you wish you had never lost control and broke it, because now you can't fix it. That is what 'Controller' is all about. Complex music backed by a complex message, this isn't something the typical Scene kid would appreciate, but being a metalcore band, and being from Canada, most of their US tours have been with really, really, shitty scene bands. No one wants to see Misery Signals open for Bring Me the Horizon, that's just depressing.

Download Here!

I Shot the Duck Hunt Dog - Ninstrumentalism (2008)

2010-02-28T13:44:00.001-05:00

Ninstramentalism is an instrumental nintendocore album, which in my book automatically makes it amazing. This album is six songs of insanely catchy, upbeat, heavy, jazzy, experimental, all around fun music. I can't see how anyone can NOT like this album, it's intelligent instrumental hardcore music with NINTENDO sounds. Like seriously, Nintendo synths are just the best sounding synths there are, even if you've never played an old school nintendo you'll love the high pitched, sometimes trancelike, 8-bit sound spectacular. If you grew up playing 8-bit Nintendo than the nostalgia factor makes it that much better. While the rest of I Shot the Duck Hunt Dog's discography is brutally heavy, I prefer the instrumental tracks a little bit more. It seems to me that losing a vocalist pushed the rest of the band to compensate for the loss,they made an album thats supported by creative and diverse songs, rather than just blast beats and piercing screams. The final result is an excellent addition to the world of nintendocore.

Oh wow its actually a short review. Maybe people will bother to read this one :p

Download Here (Mediafire)

Vanna - A New Hope (2009)

2010-02-28T03:16:00.001-05:00

In my last post I talked how a torrential downpour of shitty bands in emocore/metalcore have made it very difficult for some people to accept the fact that some emo/metalcore bands actually ARE talented. Inhale Exhale was my prime example for metalcore, but there are a lot of other really talented metalcore bands, so they're credibility isn't as bad as I might make it out to be. Emocore (or screamo as most people call it, I think of them as two different genres...not gonna get into it) on the other hand, has the misfortune of being the most underrated genre of music that I can find in my library. Honestly I can't say I blame most people for dismissing it as crap, I don't think I've ever seen a genre of music so overinflated with no talent bands as this one, and more and more keep popping up all the time. Putting aside all the awful Emocore/Screamo bands out there, there is one more prominent reason why most people wouldn't be caught dead listening to it. That being: the word 'emo' is in the title, no self respecting human being wants to be associated with anything that can be associated with anorexic teenage boys flat ironing they're black dyed hair while wearing they're sisters jeans and mascara, while moping around sulking about how no one understands them. Say you're willing to put that aside, there is still the problem of the hundreds and hundreds of terrible acts that have made careers making some of the most unoriginal, simple, boring, just all around awful music, and they've been doing this for almost a decade now. All that combined is why when a band like Vanna comes along, most people won't give it a second (or even first) look. If they would give this band a chance, they would realize that Vanna's latest album is different. It's actually good. All things typical of Emocore are found here, Clean and Unclean vocals used interchangeably throughout the album, elements from hardcore and emo combined to provide a listening experience that's both harsh and heavy as well as soothing and melodic. So what's different? (geez I feel like this is a repeat of my last blog, sorry) Well they take elements from each, it's not like, an emo song with a breakdown smushed in the middle. Making actual intelligent music requires a bit more effort than that (Don't tell that to Attack Attack though). They take the melodic and the heavy and fuse them together. The final product includes things such as melodies with chugging guitars and group shouting vocals mixed with clean singing. A New Hope is a fitting title for this album; from what has been more or less a dead genre since its creation, Vanna has given it a new hope to become something more than just music for teenagers who care more about the music being 'different' than it being good.

If after reading this you think I'm a complete retard, feel free to let me know using the comment box, its right underneath where you clicked to get your free music.

Torrent Download Link

Inhale Exhale - Bury Me Alive (2009)

2010-02-28T02:19:00.001-05:00

Some genres are so overcrowded with crap that some people just write them off as bad genres. In mainstream music it happens with Hip Hop, people hear Lil Wayne's newest track on the radio and immediately denounce all Rap as garbage. They never think that if they just look past what they hear on the Radio they could find that talented Rappers Do actually exist. The same thing happens in alternative music. People see terrible bands like Attack Attack, I Set My Friends On Fire, Bring Me The Horizon, Drop Dead Gorgeous (I could go on for days but i'll stop there) reach a certain level of popularity and they just write off all emocore/metalcore. However, just like the Radio, if you're willing to look past the giant wall of crap that is those bands you'll find that there are quite a number of bands doing amazing things with Screamo and Metalcore. Take Inhale Exhale, a metalcore band who's living proof that when done right, metalcore can be just as creative, intricate, dynamic, and intense as any other genre. The band makes use of the clean/unclean vocal setup that characterizes most bands of the genre, and for the most part they follow the same format of heavy/melodic/heavy with the unclean vocals accompanying the heavy parts and the clean vocals accompanying the melody. So what makes them different than every other band? Well, bands like ISMFOF and Attack Attack (And The Devil Wears Prada...I HATE Them) don't really put any effort into making their music. Let's put it this way, my friend picked up his first guitar a few months ago, he didn't have any talent for it, but he was determined to practice and get better, after about a week he was able to play every Attack Attack song. Shortly after that he stopped listening them entirely. So basically, these bands songs are so simple that anyone with a basic understanding of how to play guitar can pick them up quite easily. Inhale Exhales songs, on the other hand, are complex, intricate, dynamic, and intense. The heavy parts are some of the most creative I've ever heard, and the melodies fit well with the rest of the music. That's right EFFORT went into making songs flow seamlessly from heavy to soft, unlike some bands who's songs sound like breakdowns were just randomly thrown into the middle of them(*cough* I See Stars *cough*) Also, Inhale Exhale does a great job in melding the two together, the last minute of the song Condemned is the most brilliant combination of a heavy breakdown and a calming melody I've ever heard. Hell, I can't even think of another band who has tried anything like that.

So there ya go, Inhale Exhale is proof that there is no such thing as a shitty genre, only shitty bands that give genres a bad name.

Torrent Download Link

If Lucy Fell - You Make Me Nervous (2005)/ Zebra Dance (2008)

2010-02-27T16:28:00.001-05:00

If Lucy Fell is an experimental/progressive/different type mathcore band. They're not like most of the other mathcore bands I've reviewed, who use supersonic speeds and jarring time signatures to deliver their intensity. They play at a pace akin more to post-hardcore bands...like Thursday and the like. They're mixture of off putting rhythm with melody makes for quite the interesting listen. The first half of this album is good, but just good, which is why even though this band has been sitting in my iTunes for so long I've had the misfortune of overlooking them. As if the first four tracks are a warm up, the band kicks it up a notch at the track 'Together In Stupidity'. If you think about the first four tracks, they each have their moments, but the songs on a whole are subpar. Starting at track five, and staying strong throughout the rest of the 6 remaining tracks, If Lucy Fell shows their creative ability to the fullest. The songs "Demented" and "Whenever you find yourself deconstructed, It's a good starting point" shine as my two favorites. They're like this hybrid of Math Rock and Mathcore (sounds stupid I know) that's heavy without being heavy, tempos that are off putting but still have a melody and a dancability to them that make them just...great. The Band's sophomore release, Zebra Dance, is a great follow up. It's everything that was great about the debut album, with much, much, less of its flaws. The Vocals, which I found to be annoying on the first album, are much more listenable this time around. Other than that, It's just more creative, more dynamic, there's more depth to each song, It'ss just...better.

So to sum things up: You Make Me Nervous, " Eh, decent album." Zebra Dance: ".....Woah".

Link To Download Both Albums (Mediafire)

Sharks Keep Moving - Self Titled (1999)

2010-02-13T20:19:00.001-05:00

Here's "Sailor", the first track on the album and one of my favorite songs of all time.

Sharks Keep Moving was the former band of Jake Snider, the lead singer of Minus the Bear. They were an indie/math-rock band who played mellow, softer, but no less complex songs which have an overall soothing feel to them. If you enjoy Minus the Bears earlier work like Highly Refined Pirates, I can pretty much guarantee you'll like this album. The song 'sailor' is one of the most beautiful and calming pieces of music I've ever heard. It's too bad that this album only has three songs with vocals on them, because Snider does an amazing job with the lyrics, that and his voice fits perfectly with the music. It's really a shame that this band disbanded after a very short career, it would have been nice to have at least one more album just to have a few more songs of this sound at this level of quality. But I guess all good things must come to an end for better things to begin.

Download Torrent Link

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Minus the Bear - A Look Back In Anticipation of the New Album.

2010-02-12T17:55:00.000-05:00

I know everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I just cannot fathom how anyone could listen to Minus the Bear and not think its great. Usually bands that can be described as 'Math Rock' are so rhythmatically and compositionally complex that it puts off people who aren't familiar with it. However, Minus the Bear is able to make sophisticated songs that sound smooth enough that they sound like they wouldn't be out of place on the top 20 charts. But I guess when you're band is comprised of musical geniuses who have refined their skills in bands like Botch, Sharks Keep Moving, and Kill Sadie it'd be a shock if they weren't borderline perfect. Every album, hell, every song stands out in its own right as a masterpiece. I can't think of any other band that I can honestly say that I like every song that they've ever recorded. In fact, they've set the bar so high for themselves that I don't get excited when these guys announce they're releasing a new album, I get anxious that it won't live up to the brilliance of the rest of their discography, which is stupid because if I've learned anything in life it's that Minus the Bear can do no wrong.

Now, onto what makes them so great. These guys evolve and reinvent their sound so much that no two albums, Eps included, sound the same, you really never know what they're going to do next. While their first 2 releases are two of the best Math Rock albums around, they're just that, Math Rock, meaning you either love it or hate it. It wasn't till the release of "They Make Beer Commercials Like This" that Minus the Bear first showed signs that they had much higher aspirations then being the best at something, they were going to create something new altogether. Whereas the first two cds had a much heavier emphasis on the clean, quick guitar in unique time signatures that is so common in math rock bands like This Town Needs Guns, "They Make Beer Commercials" is where Minus the Bear started breaking away from the pack and started to develop a sound unique to them. They Make Beer Commercials had a layer of depth not yet seen from Minus the Bear, where in previous releases they used that direct, intricate and technically difficult, but rather straightforward guitar thats typical to the genre as the backbone of their songs, MTB had begun to take steps towards transcending all genres and become their own entity entirely. Keyboards and Synths, which were originally used to accent songs, started to take a larger role, allowing for more creative composition. While this new take in song writing wouldn't fully bloom until the release of Menos el Oso in 2005, my personal favorite album from the band. At this point Minus the Bear had shattered all limitations like Genres and evolved into their own sound completely beyond what anyone else had done before them. They were able to take the main principle of Math Rock, that is, using atypical rhythms to create compositionally complex songs, and do it in such a way so that it flows smoothly and sounds natural. People who listen to nothing but Battles and Don Caballero can listen and appreciate the complexity and attention to detail in each song, and people who have never even heard of things like Math Rock and think a time signature is signing a clock (horrible joke, i'm sorry) can listen and enjoy it because it just sounds good. Honestly, how many other bands who create songs as detailed and complex as Minus the Bear can you think of that you could show to your musically illiterate friends and expect them to like? Let me know if you can think of any cause personally, I'm drawing a Blank. Anyways back to the subject. So anyways, when MTB announced they were releasing their next album, I had mixed feelings, to me, Menos El Oso was like the perfect album, I was nervous the they peaked and that Planet of Ice could never reach the standard set by Menos El Oso. The Day of release I hurried over to best buy to pick up a copy. After listening to it once, I'll never doubt Minus the Bear ever again, not only did it live up to my expectations, it showed that they these guys are never going to stand still, that they're always going to be doing something new, something that sounds completely different yet exactly like Minus the bear

should. Calling them musical geniuses is an understatement, they are lightyears ahead of everyone else, and after seeing them live twice this fall and hearing them play a handful of songs off their new album, I can safely say they have no intentions of slowing down.

Download Torrent (Discography In Lossless format, the only real way to listen to Minus the Bear)

La Dispute - Somewhere At the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair (2008)

2010-01-23T16:42:00.001-05:00

Holy Shit. No, Seriously, Holy Shit. Listen to this album, I dont care what kind of music you like, this album is FUCKING PERFECT. I've listened to it all the way through at least twice every day since I've first listened to it. Its like, Post-Hardcore Old School Screamoish, sort of like a combination between mewithoutyou and Hot Cross. But if those bands were...perfect.

Download Torrent Link

Daughters - Canada Songs (2003) and Hell Songs (2006)

2010-01-23T16:22:00.001-05:00

I think if you know about Mathcore and Grindcore you know about Daughters, but hell, they're so amazing you practically HAVE to write about them. Canada Songs is basically the definition of these genres, if you have no idea what Mathcore is then listen to Canada Songs and you'll have a pretty good idea what its all about afterwards. Hell Songs is their second full length and the bands growth is shown in leaps and bounds. Every single song on this cd is completely distinct from one another, as opposed to Canada where they all sound pretty similar. Both cds are ridiculously fast and intense, both of them combined clocks in at about 38 minutes, which is a good thing because I think my head would explode out of sheer amazement if it was any longer.

I can only imagine whats going to happen later this year when their next Full Length drops.

Download Torrent Link (Discography)

Rolo Tomassi - Hysterics (2008)

2010-01-23T16:07:00.000-05:00

Hysterics has quickly become one of my favorite cds. Its everything you look for in mathcore, complex and intricate songs that can go from face melting speed to a crawl and back to blazing fast again before you knew what hit you. Add in an 8-bit nintendo synth and you've got yourself a winner.

Download Torrent Link Here

Cutting Pink With Knives - Populuxxe (2007)

2010-01-23T15:55:00.000-05:00

So its been a while since i've done this, kind of forgot I had a blog, oh wells. Well i've been binging on grindcore again and have come across a few ridiculous bands, a few terrible bands, and a few bands that've left me flabergasted. Cutting Pink With Knives falls into the last catagory. Imagine if Hellogoodbye did a collaboration with the Locust and you'd have a pretty good idea as to what this album sounds like. As absurd as that sounds its the best description i can think of.

Check Em Out - Torrent Link

Norma Jean - O' God, The Aftermath (2005)

2009-11-19T22:52:00.000-05:00

This album is ridiculous. Like its almost too good, borderline perfect. It kicked the shit out of me nonstop for 6 tracks, stopped for 10 minutes, brushed me off, asked me how I was feeling, then commenced beating me down even harder for 4 more tracks. All in the name of Jesus.

I've been saved.

Torrent Link (Discography)

Poison the Well - The Opposite of December (1999)

2009-11-18T19:10:00.001-05:00

Stop reading this right now, scroll to the bottom and start downloading this Album...once you've done that come back here and you can read this review if you want. But seriously you're wasting time not listening to it already.

Okay Then, now on with the Blog...

So i'm sure this happens to everyone, someone tells you about a band thats supposed to be amazing, you go oh nice! Download their CD, and never touch it again. It'll sit in your iTunes library for weeks or months and you always just browse past it never paying it any mind. Then one day it either comes up on shuffle or you decided to give it a listen...and then you feel like an asshole for waiting so long to listen to something so good. Well that happened to me with Poison the Well and their debut CD 'The Opposite of December'. I listened to it today for the first time and was blown away. This album is one of the heaviest hardcore albums I've listened to in a really long time, but what really makes it shine is what makes it different; the most notable being the vocals. Alongside the piercing screams so familiar to hardcore music is another set of vocals, not quite singing, more like talking with pitch. Unlike the bands today that use clean, melodic singing over their music, which more often than not takes away from the heaviness, the spoken vocals add to it, I mean, if someone was to sing "These lifeless days have left me with an empty heart, another wounded memory dies." It would probably sound whiny and emo. But the way the vocals on this album sound makes it sound...real? Believable I guess? It adds a level of emotion to the music that would be lost if it was just screamed. Basically, it can be emo without sounding bitchass, and thats awesome.

Other things that make this cd sound so good: its pretty progressive, now take into account that this album was released a decade ago, there was no metalcore or screamo (as it is today anyway) or anything, if a band was heavy, then they were heavy, there really wasn't a whole lot of middle ground. This CD incorporates, in small doses, those concepts which have become staples to a lot of newer acts. The song Nerdy starts off with that Heavy, but Upbeat and almost happy sounding riff that bands like A Day to Remember have made their own..and they were doing it 10 years earlier. The Song Mid Air Love message starts off as one of the heaviest on the cd, then abruptly just turns into this slow, soft, sweet melody, before pouring on the heavy again.

I could go on about how amazing it is, but this blogs long enough as is...Just listen to it already.

Torrent Link (Discography)

Saosin - Translating the Name (2003) / Black EP (2005)

2009-11-18T00:36:00.000-05:00

So once upon a time there was this band, they hadn't released a full length CD yet, but through the magic of the internet and an impressive debut EP had gained popularity throughout the United States. About a year later front man Anthony Green left the band. It was unknown at the time but Green was displeased with the direction his bandmates were taking the music and wanted to do something different . He was replaced by Cove..something..not important. And they released their second EP, titled Saosin [Ep], or as everyone called it, the Black Ep. This started one of those lame internet feuds...you know...where kids call each other names online and threaten to beat the shit out of each other knowing full well they'll never actually meet in person. Well anyways...half of the fans were pissed about the lineup change and whined about how the band was nothing without Anthony Green...the new Ep sucks... etc. etc. Loyal fans called them Green fanboys and told them to shut the fuck up. Now at the time I agreed with the latter, the Black Ep was by no means bad, I did miss the mix of Greens clean and unclean vocals, and maybe the songs were a tad less creative, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt, you know, new singer, its just 3 songs yada yada yada. I figured when their full length comes out they'll shut everyone up.

Wow was I wrong.

They completely proved all their haters right with the release of their debut LP. Like I dont even know where to begin its so bad. Okay, first off, the songs are astonishingly uncreative, they sound like copy pasted versions of each other, from the drums to the Vocals not much changes song to song. Second, it just sounds sloppy, Translating the name had such a...for lack of a better term...crisp sound to it, like the whole thing was mixed and produced with a lot of effort and attention to detail, you know, like any professionally released CD should be. The full length sounds like a rough mix in comparison, like they just got fed up with the whole process and released a half finished product. THIRD, even the old songs that they redid like "I wanna hear another fast one" (cleverly retitled sleepers) sounds WORSE than the original recording on the Black Ep. The vocals are now like a half step higher pitched and it sounds awkward, whereas the original they fit the music much much better. Its like Cove just thinks the higher pitch he sings the better he'll sound, he doesn't have to worry about things like how he sounds in relation to the music itself. After listening to that album Greens comment about not liking the direction of the band sounds more like a prophecy. He leaves and everyone else just seems to have gotten lazier. Translating the name was fairly dynamic, they experiment around a little bit with tempo changes and they keep the drumming attention grabbing on every track. Now the band is quoted in an interview as saying "Well all of our songs have the same...formula, but we change the bells and whistles." Are you serious? did you just say that you use the same song structure for every song you write? What did Green just write the music for everyone when he was in the band or did you all just get a lot lazier?

The only thing improved on the second full length is these "Bells and Whistles", basically it was just produced better.

*Sigh* Download Below to hear what I'm talking about.

Torrent Link (Discography *Not Including New CD*)

Boysnightout - Trainwreck (2005)

2009-11-17T22:24:00.000-05:00

Well I'm really agitated right now so i'll outlet by talking about some music... For whatever reason Boys Night Out seems to slip underneath a lot of peoples radar. It could be because their first cd was abysmal and thus no one ever bothered picking up Trainwreck, but this CD is everything you could want from an emo album. Now, I know a lot of people just shrug off the whole genre of emo music, because, well, most of it IS utter shit, but that doesn't mean that some bands didn't get it right. Trainwreck is a very dynamic album, it can go from morbid and dark to upbeat and catchy and make the transition seem perfectly natural. The cd is a concept album, following the story of a man who accidentally killed his wife. The rest of the cd charts the mans life as he slowly goes through all the phases of depression leading up to his suicide. Each song has a bit of story to it but its really about the leads emotional state, even the song titles are one word descriptions of what he's going through: Purging, Relapsing, Recovering....down to Dying. What makes this album so good is that they do this so naturally, it doesn't feel fake and it doesn't sound whiny the way the majority of emo bands sound. The reasoning for this is that musically each song backs up the lyrics, for example, theres a guitar solo at the end of 'Dying' thats so dripping with emotion it says more than any lyricist could describe.

So yeah, to the point, don't associate Boys Night Out with all those other cookie cutter emo bands. They do Emo the way it should be done, with...yaknow, actual emotion...that and the whole concept of creative song structure and making songs distinguishable from eachother by something other than just the words...

Oh right, they do have one more cd worth noting, the songs are just as good but it loses points for lack of emotion. After hearing these guys ooze feelings all over the floor its hard to get excited over songs with lyrics like "Let me be your swear word."

Link Below:

Torrent Link: (Discography)

See You Next Tuesday - Parasite (2007)

2009-11-16T23:37:00.000-05:00

See You Next Tuesday will knock you out of your chair if your not ready for it, and by the time you pick yourself up you'll be 3 songs into the album. Parasite, as with most grind albums, is really short, each song is about a minute and a half long, with the entire album clocking in at just under 19 minutes. Each of the 13 tracks on here are ridiculous in their own right. The majority of them barrage you with supersonic intensity straight on, leaving you just amazed that these guys can play that fast, and still sound as clean as they do. Like seriously, when songs are played THAT fast you don't expect each song to be so on point. Its apparent that although these songs are only a minute long, a whole lot of effort went into making each one the best it could possibly be. The attention to detail on this cd is phenomenal, it takes a few listens to even realize just how precise each song is because they go by so fast you don't even get a chance to appreciate it.

Its really a shame that for as amazing as 'Parasite' is, the follow up, 'Intervals', is such a letdown. The first 2 songs are slow slow slow. I mean its fine for a band to want to do an intro track, but it should lead into something extra special, instead here we get an intro leading into...another intro, and by the time you get to the first good song you're already 3 minutes into it....and 3 minutes can seem like an eternity in grindcore terms. Now finally you get to the first song on the album and its...eh...at best. For all the buildup leading up to it they had to go above and beyond for that one and it was just...average. The rest of 'Intervals' is a mess, you get one or two really intense songs, but then it gets stopped by a 10 second interlude track or a 3 minute "Progressive" track. Now I know they were trying to expand their horizons and do something different here, but if they wanted to change things up they should have gone all the way, not half assed. Fear Before did it, they jumped from ART DAMAGE, one of the most intense mathcore cds I’ve ever heard to "The Always Open Mouth" which was completely different sound entirely, but not bad by any means. Instead here we get 2 really intense grind songs, the momentums just starting to build up, and then....you get stopped by a 3 minute "Experimental" track. It’s like the music equivalent of your girlfriend doing a striptease for you then when she gets into bed she tells you she has a headache. OK I GET IT, you weren't going to make another "Parasite", but then why'd you have to tease us so bad? It’s frustrating.

Anyways, you can listen for yourselves underneath.

Torrent Link (Discography)

The Jonbenet - The Plot Thickens (2005)

2009-11-16T22:57:00.000-05:00

The Jonbenet is what happens when you get a group of guys who just don't agree about anything and put them in a band together. Its like one member was like "I want to play post-hardcore" and another member was like "No I hate that I want to play Indie Rock", and one other member was like "Hey I thought we were going to be playing good ol' southern rock" and then the last guy was like "Thats boring I want to do something more challenging lets do some intense mathcore riffs" And instead of compromising on any one thing they decided to just throw all of it together....and make it work perfectly. Like seriously listen to these guys and try to figure out what the hell they're doing, they're all over the place yet make it seem like its the most natural thing in the world. The Plot Thickens goes from toe tapping catchy to shredding your face off in seconds flat.

Now while it does incorporate all the things listed, it is a predominantly heavy album. So its really more of an Experimental Hardcore album, think if The Number 12 was from Texas and you've got yourself a ballpark figure.

Anyways you can figure it out for yourself By Clicking Below

Torrent Link (The Plot Thickens + Ugly/Heartless)

iamerror - Trout Yogurt (2008)

2009-11-16T22:26:00.000-05:00

Cybergrind, NintendoCore, 8-bit Grind, Nintengrind, chiptunegrind....how many names can one genre of music have? Anyways, iamerror is what happens when someone takes old school videogame music and combines it with the speed and intensity of grind music. When I first heard about this I was skeptical. I figured it was just a stupid gimmick and there would just be like a Mario intro at the beginning before just starting typical grindcore songs with synth thrown in. Wow was I wrong. This album makes you think 'oh so this is what Pokemon would sound like with a full band'. Even the songs that aren't directly related to video games still sound like they would fit in perfectly as background music to your old school megaman games. If you like old school video games, and you like stupid fast drumming, I guarantee you'll love this. For those who've never played a videogame in their life, well the sound is so full and the synth so mind blowing that it really doesn't matter. You'll still love it.

I promise.

Torrent Link (Discography)

PsyOpus - Ideas Of Reference (2004)

2009-11-15T21:35:00.000-05:00

Well I've been sifting through all of my Last.Fm recomendations, and up came a band called PsyOpus.....and....uh....

Holyy Shit.

I've only listened to there debut album so far, but I mean, after listening to this cd theres really not much else you can say. Its mathcore (or avant-garde metal as wikipedia claims) at its finest. If you like guitars going way too fast and then suddenly changing the tempo about 8 times (basically If you're A fan of Dillinger Escape Plan) then you'll love these guys. Every song on this cd is a perfect balance of complete chaos and perfect harmony.

Torrent Link (To First 2 Cds and Ep)