Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

In their sophomore release, Ace Troubleshooter has come up with a decent, if formulaic, album. The opening track, "The Madness Of The Crowd," has a huge punk rock hook, full of fuzz guitar and bass and a speedy tempo, along with the required angst ridden lyrics that include, "Here I ...

Everything about this record screams for attention… to say nothing of the singer.  From the name, the title, the biblical cover art absorbed in violet and shadow, to the five colorfully titled personalities that created it, Avenged Sevenfold is like few bands you’ve heard before—and about five in one.   At ...

During Fear Factory's gravy days, there were only a handful of other acts who took notice of their innovations. First, there was fusing the jackhammer intensity of industrial programming with the human strength and splatter of real drums. Then there was implementing the venomous split-voice, operatic-metal yowl alternately mixed with ...

Although different from Halford’s debut solo effort, Crucible serves up that perfect Halford crunch we all know and love. Crucible is harder, darker, and more brooding than Resurrection. With his unforgettable vocal style the CD is of course reminiscent of both Judas Priest and Fight, but more modern, dark, and ...

After a nearly 7 yr. hiatus, Lillian Axe has released "Live 2002," celebrating both the band coming together once again and the 20th anniversary of the New Orleans hard rock heroes. This 2 CD set was recorded at Houston's "19th Hole" in May of this year. Founding members Steve Blaze ...

Manifesto Jukebox is an interesting name of sorts… I won’t begin to attempt a translation but suffice it to say, Garage-quality Punk and primer Rock and Roll intrigue brought you by a trio of Finnish degenerates who’ve got plenty to say and find their voice with lyrical despondency spun in ...

Dutch melodic metal band "Montany" has it's original roots in the late '80s. After several line-up changes over the years, only one of the founding members remained (this is the only member name I CAN'T find - either John Brederode or Stefan Brederode are possibilities) in 1995, when Patrick van ...

When your opening line goes “I’m sick of smiling and so is my jaw,” you know you’re either in for a raucous rendition of grade school Punk or a doom drawn fender-dented FTW foible that’s about to ruin an already imperfect day.  We’ll go with the former and add a ...

Orange Goblin’s always been known as one of the more “colorful” characters to “grace” the TMC roster.  TMC, a major leader in the rebirth of seventies’ Blues and bare back Rock essentials, landed a big time talent with the arrival of Orange Goblin, a spirited UK five some that’s as ...

I was in New Jersey a couple of months ago and there seems to be a renewed energy in the air. There are a lot of energetic bands, there are a couple of radio stations that kick righteous ass, and a found a couple of indy CD stores (one in ...

Orange Goblin’s always been known as one of the more “colorful” characters to “grace” the TMC roster.  TMC, a major leader in the rebirth of seventies’ Blues and bare back Rock essentials, landed a big time talent with the arrival of Orange Goblin, a spirited UK five some that’s as ...

Seems almost trivial for a band not long ago having released a monstrous career-spanning two-disc set to follow up only a few years later with another, decidedly shorter one… Overkill?  Well not exactly.  Commemorating their 20-year existence and a tribute of sorts to where it all began in the days ...

Toyz in the attic, noize in the cellar… the pack strikes back?  Well hey anyway, here’s Germany’s answer to age old Brit-Punk all summed up in one word… yup, you guessed it.  And they do The Blitz to boot!  Important to note, Oxymoron’s influences trace as far back to many ...

Sometimes a band goes so far over the top, it's no use trying to take them seriously. At that point, you can either ignore them as completely irrelevant, or enjoy them for what they're actually offering. The Italian symphonic metal band "Rhapsody" crossed that line a long, long time ago ...

If Pantera and Down had brutal sex, Superjoint Ritual would be their bastard child! Rising out of the swamps of the Louisiana underground, SJR began in the basement and retained that raw, hardcore edge in the production. The first thing you notice off this album is its distinctive underground flavor, ...

Who wouldn't be sucked in by the sinewy, lopsided bass line that consumes "South Texas Deathride." It's one of the handful of classic nu-metal riffs that will, no doubt, spawn thinly-veiled surrogate  copies from weary lessors. This 21-minute, six-track live disc features the definitive version (so far!) with singer Bryan Scott ...

Considered an asterik among other patrons of the withdrawn and private loneliness that commands much of the British pop charts currently, Vex Red are conspicuous in their intensity. As such, they are one of the few heavy Euro acts to attempt a legitimate dent in the American numetal armour. Fusing ...

The first thing that stands out about this one, apart from the sparks flying toward your face, is the production—Death Metal shouldn’t sound this… good!  A testament to the skills then of their tandem tweakers’ Larsson and Studio, but more so to the steadiness of the band who comes across ...