Kingdom Hearts: Re-coded has Square Enix bringing their popular Kingdom Hearts title, coded, off of the mobile phones which it was originally released. This seems to me to be the strongest effort in the series. Where most titles make do with ratcheting up the graphics or game play, this DS port puts all of the dials to 11. Furthermore, unlike the original coded, Re-coded contains all the different chapters that…
TESSERACT is gearing up to unleash the first metal masterpiece of 2011 as their debut album ‘One’ will be released on March 22nd. The full length follows last year’s heralded ‘Concealing Fate’ EP and also includes a bonus DVD that features ‘Concealing Fate’ being performed live in the studio – no overdubs, no re-recording, just pure and raw – the way music was meant to be. The audio for the…
I was able to listen to Pipebomb on their MySpace site before we had them play here in Lancaster. I wasn’t able to get the right aura around the band when they played live, as the PA speaker was blown out by that time. The tracks on “Disclaimer” are all normal length for punk tracks – ranging from 90 to 120 seconds, but the recording on the disc really is…
Seminal electronic band MEAT BEAT MANIFESTO (MBM) is gearing up for their U.S. tour supporting the the release of Answers Come in Dreams via Metropolis Records (released October 12, 2010). Widely hailed for their groundbreaking live performances, MBM propels their electronic music into both a mesmerizing aural and visual dimension. “The live performance has become an integral component of my sound and production,” sound sculptor and music innovator Jack Dangers…
The Pin-Ups begin this EP with “Tonite” relying on the sound on bands like The Carsfor influence; even if this album is twelve years, there is a definite sound from the eighties that is culled together by the Pin-Ups. There seems to be a certain factor that the band lacks in moving from the eighties to the nieties, and that really has to be a lack of down and dirty…
February 2011 18 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echo – w/ Tera Melos 19 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar – w/ Tera Melos 20 – Scottsdale, AZ @ Martini Ranch – w/ Tera Melos 22 – San Antonio, TX @ The Ten Eleven – w/ Tera Melos 23 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk – w/ Tera Melos 24 – Dallas, TX @ Sons of Hermann Hall – w/…
Pillbox Remedy plays a brand of more-mature pop-punk, starting off “Wasted Memories” with a solid bit of music named “Get What You Deserve”. The entirety of “Get What You Deserve” is a track that does not follow the full-style that has lead from the Spector-created “wall of sound” so prevalent in today’s music. Beside the shortness of this EP (the six tracks all together barely break the eighteen minute mark),…
1/18 Vineland, NJ @ Hangar 84 1/19 Bay Shore, NY @ Sinai Reform Temple 1/20 Utica, NY @ Hotel Utica 1/21 Waterbury, CT @ South Street Stage 1/22 Haverhill, MA @ Anchors Up 1/23 Holyoke, MA @ Waterfront
Since joining all-female punk trio Vivian Girls during the spring of 2007 Katy Goodman’s DIY-style bass playing and drifty-faded vocals have sent waves of adoration rippling throughout Brooklyn’s pop punk circuit. Her newest band La Sera showcases her signature style, bringing her talent for creating dreamy pop songs even more to the forefront. La Sera just finished a west coast tour and had a smashing time at CMJ. After touring…
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, one of the UK’s most iconic bands, are back with their first new album in 14 years. The appropriately entitled ‘History Of Modern’ via Bright Antenna Records through Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group, has already sold over 100,000 copies. And what a return! Andy McCluskey has called it ‘our best album since Architecture and Morality’ – and few would disagree. The album was produced…
“Gracie” starts out like a Steppenwolf track, while the vocals come out with an indie rock style that reflects Pierce’s love of acts like Matthew Sweet. The track is radio friendly, but there is nothing immediately catchy about that track, no special rub that the track has to bring listeners into their local record store to pick up this album. “Divine Whoa” is another track that is much the same…
Finnish death metal outfit CORPSESSED has signed with Dark Descent Records for the CD release of their self-titled debut EP. Scheduled for an early 2011 release, the EP features six tracks of bludgeoning old-school death in the vein of Entombed, Incantation, Deicide, Immolation and Grave. Select tracks from the EP have been posted on the band’s official Myspace site, while more information on CORPSESSED can be found on their Facebook…
The mixture of rock and emo music that Picket Line starts off their “Chapter: End” is probably the smartest move that the band can make with their opening salvo. By tying together the two most popular genres of music on the market, Picket Line have shown that they can reach a large segment of the listening audience. The music is not just done to bring listeners to purchase this album,…
Way Yes are as prolific as promised. After releasing Herringbone late last year, remixing Computer Magic, and keeping their spear sharp, the guys are greeting up to drop another EP, Walkability. Herringbone was great of course, but Walkability is something else entirely. The band grew up fast – more candid lyricism, tighter sound, wider sonic palette. Way Yes leans more heavily on psychedelia than dance floor-ready bangers this go ’round.…
“Electric Shock” has The Photo Atlas start like any number of dance punk acts that were on the lips of indie scene kids from 2003 on. In fact, the spastic nature of “Electric Shock” is reminiscent of The Rapture, even if the vocals attempt to go in an At The Drive-In direction. The Photo Atlas will be big when this album gets to the right people, but I don’t know…
Like a bunch of zombies drunk on embalming fluid, veteran hardcore thrashers THE ACCUSED prepare to take their Splatter-Rock-Speakeasy and After-Hours-Sicko-Sideshow into turbo-nuclear-tombstone-kicking overdrive with the announcement of a new stick-breaker in Warren A. Pease (pronounced “war ‘n’ peace”) Said the band in a collective statement: “He’s a relatively young chap at the tender age of 25. Then again, with THE ACCUSED founding guitarist, Tommy Niemeyer rounding the corner heading…
Incase is pleased to premiere the second installment of Room 205 with La Sera, the solo project of Vivian Girls’ Katy Goodman. A few days before embarking on La Sera’s first UK tour, Katy stopped by Room 205 – along with hired guns Jennifer Prince and Jonathan Weinberg – to blast through a few songs from Katy’s upcoming full-length on Hardly Art. This week, Incase has unveiled the second song…
Ring in 2011 with DGC/Interscope Records rockers Escape The Fate’s Issues Remix EP due out tomorrow! The EP boasts hot remixes of “Issues,” the first single from their recently released self-titled album. The band launches “The Dead Masquerade” North American headlining tour January 20th in support of Escape The Fate. “Issues” cracked the Top 25 at Active Rock and continues to climb both the Active Rock and Alternative Rock radio…
Phoenix Mourning is an interesting signature for Metal Blade. The overall sound that the band puts forward during tracks like “Contrast” is a equal part blend of emo and Disturbed-like metal. The blend is not something that occurs frequently, and I’m not sure if I’ve heard a band at this level attempt something so daring. But, does this gambit work out, and is Phoenix Mourning an act that individuals should…
As announced last month, Korn and Disturbed, two of rock’s biggest acts, are teaming up to co-headline this year’s “Monster Energy Music As A Weapon V Tour.” With the first half of dates on sale now and off to a scorching start, the highly successful Monster Energy’s MAAW V Tour has added even more dates and new markets: a second leg from March 8th through March 30th that will include…