Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Technically considered “noise rock,” Aids Wolf is much more “noise,“ and much less “rock.” This foursome from Montreal seems to strive for something different, but is ultimately way too bizarre for their own good. The Lovvers LP is strange, uncoordinated, and honestly sounds like nothing but noise. The vocalist, Chloe ...

I think it is safe to say that the metal scene is living in the age of the mediocre. For every great album that is released, there are ten albums that are completely boring and uninspired. Look at The Final Dawn, for example. This album sounds like ...

Far From Finished is a quartet from New York, or a quintet or a trio from Boston. Or something. The membership of the aggregation is somewhat hazy and inconsistent, I think partially by deliberation. What is a certainty is that Far From Finished is really, really good. ...

There are two main problems with Wintereich, the new album from Finland’s Immortal Souls. First and foremost, while the band has a few cool things to offer a listener on their 3rd outing, none of them are particular new. Toiling away in the Scandanavian melodic death metal ...

Having been a member of a cool band isn’t always a guarantee that someone can make good music outside of that band. Heck, even the greats, like, say, Mick Jagger, have faltered when set loose on their own. So it’s not a shock, exactly, when a former member of Kyuss ...

Usually, re-releasing old material carries the stench of a band trying to cash in. This time, however, I am definitely willing to make an exception. Moonspell have released one hell of an album with Under Satanae. They have gone ahead and made brand new recordings of their ...

This live Motorhead album commemorates the band’s 30-year career.  Listening to the album, one may find it hard to believe that band has been around for that long.  Motorhead are able to tear through a set of classic and newer songs side by side, with no change in enthusiasm, tone, ...

Where did this album come from? With the name Nights Like These, all I could expect was standard, boring metalcore on this album. My first listen did nothing to prove otherwise. Once I put the CD into a real sound system where I could hear all of ...

Dark Passion Play is an epic journey through music and poetry. The members’ musical talent is incredible, as well as the poetic feel of the songs. What a way to start out! The opening track The Poet And The Pendulum actually contains five separate parts, each as ...

Thrash is most definitely not dead. Old school veterans Overkill have returned with their new album Immortalis, a testament to the raw ferocity of an important metal genre. Overkill have enjoyed a long and well documented career spanning back to the 1980s. They have been through numerous ...

First of all, what message are these boys trying to get out? I hear the screaming, and the melodic music. I honestly cannot understand a word, but all it takes is one trip to a lyrics website… Horizons begins with Begin and end with the title track, ...

Pathosray is, well, an Italian metal band. Their self-titled CD is the band’s third release since forming in 2000 (with a subsequent name change). Points of reference would be Queensryche, Dream Theatre, and, interestingly enough, a bit of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. This type of bombastic rock is somewhat lost ...

I received a bit of surprise when first listening to Another Way Home, the debut CD from Remove The Veil, a Birmingham, Alabama quartet. The design of the CD jacket ---an offset photo of a man in traditional prison garb, holding a sledgehammer, among other things, gives the disc a ...

Mainstream pop-punk bands have seen quite a bit of change throughout the past several years. Saves the Day is no exception. Their new album, Under the Boards, is unlike anything I have ever heard by them. While they sound furious and rebellious on previous records, songs ...

Let me get this out of the way right away: with Humanity Hour 1, The Scorpions have delivered their first GOOD album in nearly 15 years. If it sounds like I’m saying that with a bit of surprise, well, I am. As a fan, I’ve listened to the band’s output ...

This is the second release from Scum of the Earth, a band fronted by former Rob Zombie members Riggs and Tempesta. And listening to this, it’s not surprising. In fact, when listening to the first track brought me back to 1998 and Rob Zombie’s Hellbilly Deluxe. The guitar and drums ...

Audio and Murder is wonderful. It is the debut full length CD by The Frantic, a Chicago quartet who you’ll see all over SxSW 2008 in Austin, and deservedly so. The lads (the oldest, as of this moment, is 18) have got the chops.Audio and Murder is perfect music to put on ...