It’s that gap between hope and expectation that we often fall through. Let’s be honest, your hope levels for Architects’ new album Holy Hell (Epitaph) might be stratospheric, but your expectations…? Given what this band has been through in terms of loss, sorrow and anguish, you could easily have fallen into that space of hoping for the best but guarding your expectations. It might be enough just that they simply deliver us something, anything, yes?Continue reading
Rock n’ roll has been around for over sixty years, yet has evolved so much in this decade alone that the sub-genres are hard to keep track of. Sure, computers have made it easier for musicians to explore new techniques but not all have been successful at mastering it. Thrice burst out in the scene in the early 2000s when the OC metalcore scene was at its prime. A lot of those bands are still around today sounding the same as no time has ever gone by with different members. Dustin Kensrue, Teppei Teranishi and brother’s Riley and Eddie Breckenridge are celebrating twenty years and their tenth album overall with their first for Epitaph, Palms. The Orange County, Calif. natives have progressed and evolved to an impressive quartet, keeping fans satisfied.Continue reading
As we move into the Post-Warped Tour era (don’t write letters, we know it’s coming back as a festival in a year or two), it’s a comfort to know that there are still classic 1990s pop-punk bands you can count on. The mid-to-later half of that decade was full of great punk bands with a lot of fire, and some killer melodies. One of those bands was Chicago’s Alkaline Trio, led by founding vocalist/guitarist Matt Skiba, also doing time in Warped mainstay Blink-182. Their ninth and most recent release, Is This Thing Cursed? put out on their longtime label Epitaph, feels like a win early on. In spite of a five-year gap between albums, the enthusiasm of the band can be felt in the songs and was intended to recapture the feel of their earliest work. Continue reading
If you grew up in the 198os and you liked heavy music, New York Hardcore has a profound effect on you. If you were born too late, say the little bros and sisters of hardcore kids, you too might have been influenced by this massive scene. Some of you formed bands yourself, that matched the style and fire of the earlier wave but did their own thing, like Madball. Others included their own influences, emo, thrash, rock, reggae and other subgenres to shape and mold what musical sound was coming next. What came next was post-hardcore. Not exclusive to NYC or even the east coast, it soon became a worldwide phenomenon, and like it’s older brother, it also came in waves. All these years later, two of the most impressive and talented bands ever Quicksand (first wave, helped create the genre) and Glassjaw (second wave, equally defining and crucial) not only have recent new albums out, they are both vital today as they were back then. Continue reading
Converge released a brand new EP today, Beautiful Ruin, streaming on all digital service platforms. The band began teasing the release on their social media platforms yesterday. This marks the bands’ third release in two years since dropping the I Can Tell You About Pain single and The Dusk In Us (both Deathwish Inc./Epitaph). Jam it out right now. Continue reading
Ok, ok, complete transparency here from me to begin with. I happen to be a massive fan of Parkway Drive. From the very first time I heard the now classic record Horizons (Epitaph) the band have had my undying attention and indeed love. They became the absolute pinnacle and standout Metalcore act of the mid to late 00’s with heaviness and hooks in all the right places. Then came 2015’s Ire (Epitaph) and what greeted fans was one of the most divisive records of that year as PD chose to veer in many different stylistic directions but still managed to retains their innate knack for combining the catchy and the crushing. Continue reading
It has never felt that God Is An Astronaut have gotten nearly as much love as they deserve. County Wicklow’s favourite sons have been a mainstay of the prog and post-rock scene for the better part of 20 years, and with one of the strongest and most consistent back catalogues you’re likely to delve into, it feels like there should be just as much praise for GIAA as there is for 65daysofstatic or Sleepmakeswaves. With Epitaph (Napalm), however, it seems that we’re getting a much more personal look into the artists behind the music, as they take you on a journey of grief and its many challenges.Continue reading
Parkway Drive will release their sixth studio album, Reverence, on May 4th via Epitaph. Continue reading
Falling In Reverse have dropped brand new single, and a companion video for ‘Losing My Mind’. The song is their first new music since last year’s full-length Coming Home (Epitaph), and is a promise of more new songs to come. The band is currently on the road with A Day To Remember, Papa Roach and The Devil Wears Prada.Continue reading
What keeps Converge in the race these days? I don’t mean that as a slight or implying that they’ve lost a step, quite the opposite. More than 20 years into the game and each studio album have been tasked with following up the obelisk that came before it. We’re finally getting The Dusk in Us (Epitaph) five years after their last release. Am I disappointed? Hell no. Not everyone is in the business of following up All We Love We Leave Behind, or Axe to Fall before that.Continue reading