The list of bands that were ahead of their time is quite criminal. When you go back and just look at the time period between 1995 and 1999, the bands that formed then or began releasing albums, helped to change the musical landscape be it the alternative genres or heavy genres. Back in 1995 after guitarist Peter Mengede and Helmet parted ways he laid the foundation for what was to become the band, Handsome. The way Handsome incorporated heavy music with these type of melodic vocals would unknowingly be part of a new sub-genre, post-hardcore.
Held. are here and they are not about to loosen their grip! This new band on the scene that has caught my attention and I’m quite excited to share this with you all. Held. is made up of Douglas Robinson (vocals/guitars) who you know from The Sleeping and formerly of Night Verses, Sal Mignaro (bass) from The Sleeping and Josh Eppard (drums) of Coheed and Cambria. The band’s debut album “GREY” is headed for a May 15th release through MNRK Heavy. Their debut single/video for “New You Anthem” is as infectious as it is direct. The melodic nature balances quite well with the post-hardcore approach throughout. I have to say too its very cool to hear Douglas’s vocals like this again. I really enjoyed the Night Verses albums he was on and was disappointed when he left the band. But that was then and Held. is Now! Another fun and cool thing about “New You Anthem” it features My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero on vocals as well. Frank adds another layer to this already great song. The voices of Douglas and Frank compliment each other very well. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how damn good Sal and Josh are as a rhythm section. I already knew Josh was a great drummer but, this just proves he’s damn good! Mark your calendars for May 15th and the release of Held.’s debut album, Grey!
It’s happened to all of us I’m sure at one point or another. You hear a song/band in passing and you really dig it but don’t know who it is. Then on a random whim you hear it and then all is right for that moment. That happened recently for myself a couple months back, I had heard a band and I completely forgot the name as well as the song and then when I found out who it was, the volume sure went up. The band I’m talking about is Split Chain. If this is your introduction to them, you are in for a treat!
Split Chain is an English rock band that formed in 2023. This explosive five piece band, while still in it’s infancy is already packing quite the punch. Their first release, the single “Get Inside” came out in 2023 and it was a siren call for what was to come. A few more singles would be released as would a really fun cover of Type O Negative’s “I Don’t Wanna Be Me.” Then in later 2024 it was announced the band had signed with Epitaph Records and would begin work on their very anticipated debut album. Motionblur, would be released in July of 2025. Split Chain’s musical style incorporates bits of shoegaze, grunge, post-hardcore, and a dash of nu-metal. The combination sounds absolutely as you’d expect it to sound. It’s lush and full of space and dreaminess and on the other side there’s the heaviness and crunch.
Motionblur is one hell of a debut album. It’s one of those records you can just put on start to finish and just get lost in it. Across the eleven songs, you’ll find a very raw and dense album that is fused with soaring yet gut wrenching vocals, layered guitars that sway into the heavy and dreamy side of things, a rhythm section that thumps and kicks while also delicately ripping limbs away. The honesty found throughout is quite stunning too. You can hear it in the delivery of performances on the songs. The sonic aspect of the album is very direct in the way the album is produced. There are in your face moments of each instrument. The vocals are very up front but it doesn’t take away what the music is doing. The push and pull of both, makes these songs more haunting and personal. Each song has its own charm but, the sum of all the parts is what makes this album standout.
I love debut albums like this. You get to see and hear what the band is about but, you know there is way more to explore. Which means the what’s to come from Split Chain is going to be intense. Motionblur is authentic as it is a visceral album. Currently, Split Chain is out in Australia with Better Lovers. Their US tour with Soul Blind (another band you should know about) will be one hell of a great tour and chock full of high decibels!
For a little bit now, I’ve been really getting into The Barbarians Of California. There is a fun and urgency to what they are doing and I’m all for it. Made up of longtime friends, Aaron Bruno of AWOLNATION and Eric Stenman of Tinfed, The Barbarians Of California is a return to form of sorts for both. Aaron and Eric both got started in the hardcore world and though they both went in different directions for a point, this is where the roots are. Their new song “Bomb To A Knife Fight” has a very 90’s hardcore vibe with a a sort of hip-hop undercurrent throughout. And that breakdown! Oh yeah!! Looking forward to what’s to come from The Barbarians. And you can catch them on the West Coast leg of the Poison The Well/Converge tour!!
After 5 long years, A.F.I. have returned with their first new release. “Behind The Clock” is the first single from their upcoming twelfth studio (that’s right 12 full length studio albums), Silver Bleeds The Black Sun…, which comes out October 3rd via Run For Cover Records! This new song feels like it falls in the Sing The Sorrow/Burials era which to me is awesome since those are my two favorite A.F.I. albums.
As for the rest of the album, the band as stated “‘The goal of ‘Silver Bleeds The Black Sun…‘ was to make an album with a singular mood, something dreamy and ethereal, and the band members found themselves diving headfirst into influences that had always been deeply embedded in AFI’s musical core, but now were being brought to the forefront. The result is an album that feels out of time, at once familiar and fresh, drawing on classic sounds and reinterpreting them through a modern lens. ‘Silver Bleeds The Black Sun…‘ is dark and otherworldly, but also grandiose and stately, biting and beautiful in equal measure—in other words, it’s very AFI, yet not quite like any version of the band you’ve ever heard before.’ So with that in mind, I’m quite eager to hear what they have coming up. It really feels like the gents in A.F.I. have laid it all out on this record.
It’s only April and I believe I have found the album of the year. A couple weeks back I introduced you to the band Idle Heirs. I’ve been enthralled by this album from the moment I heard it in full. The singles definitely got me right off the bat as well. The 8 tracks on the album are some of the most gut wrenching, soul bearing and intense performances I’ve heard on record. Written by Coalesce’s Sean Ingram and Multi Instrumentalist/Producer Josh Barber, Life Is Violence, just set a new standard of what the “post-metal” genre should be.
I’ve mentioned in other reviews of mine that I don’t want to dissect each song as I feel that it truly takes away from the listeners experience of the album. The rawness, intensity and emotional charge that this album brings out of oneself is quite an accomplishment. It’s one of those albums that is like a mirror that responds back to you. The personal elements found throughout this album are eye opening and cut pretty deep. The way those emotions that are poured into these songs are enough to make you uncomfortable but, in a good way that is quite introspective. The vulnerability that Sean Ingram delivers on these songs is uncanny. The deeper you listen, the more you hear all the pain, anguish, remorse, sorrow and more in his vocal performance. I can only imagine how much more his live performance of this would be. I’ve seen Coalesce and this has got to be even more intense than that. There’s that word again “intense.” That’s truly what this album is. Musically Sean and Josh Barber crafted songs that not only are heavy in the traditional senses but, allowed for all the lyrical concepts to come to life through different instruments be it a simple shuffle on the drums, atmospheric soundscapes, sludgy tones, bright tones and a plethora of more. Life Is Violence is a great title for this album as that is a great summation of what this all sounds like.
When I first heard this band/album it immediately struck a chord with me. I don’t know what I was looking for at the time but, this was the one. For the past few weeks I’ve truly soaked this album up. It’s become one of those I can’t go a day without listening to it at least once. The eruption of brilliance that is poured out over 51 minutes is pretty astounding. I’d love to know more about the recording of this album because there are so many great nuances to it, that I’m just beyond curious to know. This is seriously one of those special albums that feels magical and for lack of a better phrase “Lightning In A Bottle.” What an incredible album and foundation to start with because, I sure hope this project keeps going. This is the power of music at its finest. The connection to a record and all that it brings. Thank you Sean and Josh for what you put into this to make what I truly consider to the the album of 2025!
Every so often, a band will release an album that changes everything for the band and genre. 25 years ago, Poison The Well released their debut full length, The Opposite Of December and it set forth a path that would go on to help pioneer a genre and inspire a new bunch of bands. Their distinctive “metalcore” sound has become often imitated but, there’s nothing like hearing the real thing! Joining Poison The Well on this celebratory tour are 2 of my favorites new and old in Better Lovers and Glassjaw as well as Teenage Wrist. When this show pulled into the Hollywood Palladium on a beautiful Friday night, the wake of destruction that was upon all those in attendance would not be for the faint of heart. This show was designed to go off the instant it starts and oh boy did it! NOTE- Continued on next page (look below).
For a while now, I’ve been searching for the a certain type of band to come along and ease my pain of not having Neurosis nor Isis (the band) being active. I know that sounds silly considering there are plenty of bands out there that I’ve heard that could possibly do it but, I’ve been looking for that one band to take that style a bit in a different direction and I found it. Guiltless, a fitting name for a band that definitely has that Neurosis vibe (their album is released through Neurot Recordings and guitarist/vocalist Josh Graham did work with Neurosis creating visual components). Joining forces with Sacha Dunable, Billy Graves and Dan Hawkins, members of Intronaut and Generation Of Vipers, this devastating four piece has taken the good old fashioned doom sound and added some really fun twists, turns and dynamics to push beyond that sound.
The debut album, Teeth To Sky is quite the eruption. Throughout the 8 songs and over 40 minutes of the album, the way it becomes immersive is quite the listening experience. There’s a ton of little nuances found throughout the songs that give Teeth To Sky the charm it has. Mixing doom with post metal, noise rock, ambient undertones and the twist… optimism. The addition of optimism in this style of music is quite interesting and part of the reason why it took me a minute to write this. I’ve been listening to this album for the past few weeks, eating up all the things I was looking for. As I kept listening especially listening with my really awesome headphones on, that’s when I started to figure out this album. There’s a reoccurring theme found on the album of how “one must take advantage of life” and in the times we are in, it’s pretty epic to find that in this style of music.
To describe each song and get into that would take away from the effect you’d have from listening on your own. The bludgeoning aggressiveness that is found throughout propels the album but, Teeth To Sky is more than that. This album is one of those that will grow on you as it did with me. I look forward to hearing more from Guiltless and seeing how they develop and evolve. These songs need to be played live and I would bet that the decibel levels will be astounding. Definitely give Guiltless and this crushing debut album a ton of listens. And if/when they arrive in your town, I’d go see them too!
As a giant music fan, I love when I hear albums that get me stuck on them. When that happens, I get so drawn into what is going on with everything about the album. Upon first listen of Gouge Away’s new and long awaited album, Deep Sage, I immediately started it again and I have yet to take it out of my rotation. The bands extended break and return to this material shows an immense growth in not only the bands approach to songwriting and ability to tell a story within a song, it also proved to be the right thing as these songs pack a walloping punch that is abrasive and urgent.
From the time the album starts with “Stuck In A Dream” all the way to the epic closer “Dallas,” Gouge Away have made an album that truly embodies what this band has always been capable of and more. Their first couple of releases started them on the path towards where they are now but, on Deep Sage it takes it to a whole other level. The way the album was recorded by Jack Shirley, really makes this album shine. The album was recorded live, the old fashioned way and that organic sound makes this record standout even more. The live feel of the album, the killer riffs and rhythms and the way the vocals grab you will not only make you pay attention but also shows the evolution of the band quite well.
I love this whole album so it’s hard for me to pick out certain songs to highlight. Instead of going track by track I will say this. Each song on Deep Sage is meant to be there and sequenced in such a manner that as I said above grabs your attention. The way Christina Michelle’s vocals are on this album showcase her talent not as a screamer but more as vocalist as she weaves really delicate webs and then can unleash a ferociousness that is quite intense, especially when you hear the songs “Idealized” and “Spaced Out.” The final track on the album, “Dallas” is a show stopper. I personally can’t wait to hear all these songs live but, this one in particular. There is such a wonderful dynamic shift within the song that when you hear it, let’s just say, you’ll know why this album is so damn good.
This is the type of album that gives me hope for the future of music. Not just in the genres that I enjoy most but, in general. Gouge Away made an album with Deep Sage that cements them as forces to be reckoned with but, also a record that stands out and can actually become a very influential album. Another thing about this album that I love is that it was made with a true passion and that shows through on each song. The live performance aspect really drives that home and it makes for a listening experience that feels alive. I can’t wait to see Gouge Away live and hear these songs. What a tremendous album this is. So much so that as of this writing, it’s my album of the year. I really do look forward to where the band goes next.
A while back a band reached out to me asking me to check out their music. If you send me something, I will always listen. What I heard from the band that sent me their album is a group that has harnessed the 90’s sound in a couple ways mixing alternative rock and what would become post-hardcore. Allow me to introduce you to Lived-In. Armed with guitars, drums, bass and vocals and a good dose of melody, Lived-In are on the right track. Their new album, Everything Is Just Money Away is an aggressive yet catchy record with a melodic tinge. One of the things I really enjoyed most about their album is the intensity that propels the record. Musically there’s a diversity of heaviness, quiet to loud and a great use of atmosphere to make the songs sound huge. If you are a fan of bands like Jawbox, Failure, and Handsome, you’ll dig Lived-In. You can catch Lived-In live at Corbin Bowl on Saturday September 23, 2023 as part of The Cobalt Presents monthly showcase!
