Three-fourths of an hour of music await the listener of “Desperate Northâ€. This ample amount of time means that Celestial can set the stage for large things, devoting the entirety of tracks like “Into This Earth of Shallow Intent†purely to set the mood for everything that ultimately follows. One just hears the tension level rise as Celestial works in repetitious ways, in the style of a more metal Vangelis.…
The speed in which Celestia start off their “Apparitia†is without comparison. Also impressive is the harmony that the band can bring to the table with the chorus of this track. This extremely focused output puts Celestia immediately alongside the most impressive acts in their genre. The track could almost be on popular radio, it has so much in the way of harmony strung through it. This is not saying…
One note before this review: if you have seen this band live, you must expect something almost totally different from what you experienced at the show. This album, from last year, really demarcates another stage in the continuous development of Cause for Diversion. What is now a very melodic post-hardcore band is recorded on this disc to be much more sedate musically. There are seconds, like in “Sucker Punchedâ€, when…
So is Cattle Decapitation trying to go for the play on “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath†or “Sunday Bloody Sundayâ€? The way that they create metal, I’d have to think the former is true. The style is a plain, unadorned metal that is just fast. Supersonic guitars tie up with intricate drums and a shouted out, early Seputltura-esque set of vocals to mark the bands foray with “Unintelligent Designâ€. The one thing…
There are so many nods to the earlier nineties version of pop punk music in Cats and Jammers’ first track on “Whole Lotta Goddamn†that one almost feels as if they are listening to “Dookie†all over again. The only thing that really distinguishes Cats and Jammers from the rest of the acts out there is more of an appreciation for the sixties rock that would eventually filter down to…
When the promotional sheet for Cats + Jammers says that they “have been lingering in a state of obscurity since 1997â€, they are not joking. This may just be the only greatest hits album of a band I’ve never even heard of, much less heard. While the music collected on “Propose Toast†was spread over the last decade, the surprising thing about Cats + Jammers is that the formula that…
From the opening strains of “Contradictoryâ€, Lucas Cates calls forth the Dave Matthews Band. However, this influence is not borne out through the entirety of “Contradictoryâ€, as a bluegrass type of style dominates, along with a Jason Ringenberg meets Anthony Kiedas approach to vocals. The track starts slowly, but by the time Cates has worked through half of the song, individuals will have to listen a little closer. This is…
Caterpillar Tracks may categorize their sound as being descended from Fugazi, but with their first track, “Just Here To Visitâ€, the band shows their allegiance to Monster Magnet, Offspring, and Henry Rollins. The straight-forward rock assault of Caterpillar Tracks on this song is one of the best lead ins to a disc, benefiting even more from the surf-breakdowns nestled away in opportune moments during the track. The vocals that dominate…
Catalyst starts this split out with “Kiss You Goodbyeâ€, a typical over-blown, theatrics-laden hardcore track rife with screaming. What saves “Kiss You Goodbye†is the ever-present and impressive drumming laid down by Kevin. Fairly normal guitar riffs wreck any pretense of innovation and spontaneity on Catalyst’s side of the split, as “Your Deathâ€â€™s average fare is just a poorly-mixed example of how to scream in monotone. Guitar lines are heavily…
The Casualties and I have had a long history. When I first heard that individuals were into them, I decried them as mall punks. One of my buddies told me a story about how ey was at an earlier Warped Tour and saw one punk person that was passed out with a beer in eir hand. Trying to be helpful, my friend told the “passed out†person that the cops…
Castles in Spain play a style of rock that often goes toward the goth side of things. This means that songs like “My Nerves†will remind listeners of acts like Siouxsie and the Banshees as well as early Sarah McLachlan and Natalie Merchant.
I don’t know, for some reason I thought that Casket Architects were going to play a style of music that was not related to the hard rock meets punk blend that first assaults listeners during their opening track to “Dance on the Death Nerveâ€, “Turbine Vaccineâ€. Throwing in a shrill guitar line and a blend of elements from Bad Religion to Avenged Sevenfold to the Refused, Casket Architects are a…
With vocals like “One For The Kidsâ€-era Yellowcard, Will’s vocals match well with the supersonic instrumentation laid down by Nic and Joseph (guitars), Kevin (drums) and Ryan (bass). Tracks mesh well with each other; there is nary even a breathe between “Say Anything†and “Honestlyâ€. While there might not be the sizzling guitar solos and outright technical prowess of the technical emocore bands (those influenced by bands like Converge), the…
Seeming more like the shoe-gazing indie rock of the early nineties than the Detroit acts of the seventies that many rock and roll magazines have been want to compare them to, The Carlsonics nonetheless rock. Whether it be the utterly chaotic guitar solo of a song like “Ice People†or the look back to the British invasion of punk in “I Dig the Bushwackâ€, The Carlsonics can make the lo-f…
The style of music that The Cocktail Revisionists play is something that is pulled from a different time in alternative music, and songs on “This Is My Happy Face†are those that would have been all over the radio in the early days of the nineties. The style of vocals laid down on this disc by Leslie is something that is in locked-step with other artists like Susanne Vega and…
The opening of “Feel Good Tunes†really confuses listeners into first thinking that the band is harder than the rest of the fare would indicate, and then immediately inculcates them into a set of truly “Feel Good Tunesâ€, beginning with “Psshhh…Like I’m Handcuffedâ€. The “pick it up†that was heard much much too often back in the late nineties is used to some minor success on this track; the band’s…
I had to stop myself and actually ignore the fact that Capture the Flag was on Go Kart Records. Even with a relatively embarrassing promo sheet that dropped tons of names of bands that had absolutely no ties aurally to CtF (like Bad Religion, Dag Nasty, Descendents), Capture the Flag still makes a very good fusion of post-hardcore and pop-punk. Heavily drawing from some of the better metal from the…
I guess I do not understand the theme behind titling the songs in the way they do on “Ruder Forms Surviveâ€. Each of the seven tracks has a date and then a title; I understand some of the dates’ significances, but am not sure about all of them (1946 instead of 1945)? However, the tracks all have a lot to do with each other, and these ties are made even…
Groove Kings start off their latest release “Blood Red†in a way that will ensure that fans will remember the band long after the disc’s final track, “What’s Realâ€, finishes up. This introductory (and titular track) shows a band that is confident in the instrumental side of their music. When the vocals do enter into the equation, they add not only another dimension to the band’s music but further the…
“Goodbye Mrs. Rose†is a hard-rocking track that plays upon the hair metal genre of the nineties as well as approaches a sort of intensity that only bands like the Black Crowes and “Appetite For Destructionâ€-era Guns N Roses could bring to the table. It is the perfect introduction to Shakyfoot, and will stick with listeners for a long time. The band continues the high energy and momentum through “Bust…