Hellshock – Warlord EP / 2005 Profane Existence / 2 Tracks / http://www.profaneexistence.com / Reviewed 11 October 2005 Two tracks really make it nearly impossible to gauge the sound of a band, and while the two tracks of the Warlord EP (Warlord and Legion) are both of an extend track length (at least for a punk type of sound), this hypothesis still holds water. The music that Hellshock puts down…
Hockey Night – Keep Guessin’ / 2005 Lookout / 11 Tracks / http://www.hockeynightmusic.com / http://www.lookoutrecords.com/hockeynight / Reviewed 15 August 2005 Starting out “Keep Guessin’†with “Get Realâ€, Hockey Night show their ability to move beyond the pop perfection created by bands like Weezer and The Bravery and make something even more addictive. Instead of simply being pushe forward with a simplistic, driving beat Hockey Night allow a little bit of…
Hell Promise – Aim For Hell / 2006 Rocketstar / 10 Tracks / http://www.hellpromise.com / http://www.rocketstar.com / Reviewed 25 March 2006 “Chamber #5†is a great exemplary track for Hell Promise, as this confident track allows the band to showcase their hardcore sound, a sound that uses old Judas Priest and Maiden riffs (during tracks like “Brass Knuckle Nightmareâ€) to further their sound. The heavy double bass drums that make…
Helloween – Keeper of the Seven Keys: The Legacy / 2005 SPV / 13 Tracks / http://www.helloween.org / http://www.spv.de / Reviewed 16 January 2006 It has been nearly twenty years since the first Keeper of the Seven Keys album was released, and Helloween has not lost a step in the creation of theatrical metal that will keep heads bobbing even as Andi and the rest of the band tells a…
Hella – Total Bugs Bunny on Wild Bass / 7 Tracks / 2003 Narnack Records / http://www.hellatheband.com / http://www.narnackrecords.com / Released 6 August 2003 / Reviewed 27 September 2003 Totally coming out of a black metal tradition in the fact that at any one time, four or five sounds seem to be arising around you, Hella is the intelligent person’s Cannibal Corpse. With no rhyme or reason behind their sequencing,…
The Heartland – Demo / 2005 Self-Released / 4 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/theHeartland / Reviewed 06 July 2005 The guitar work on this demo has to be some of the most intense shredding since the Bill and Ted sequel’s soundtrack, and that is saying much (considering that Kiss’ cover of Argent’s “God Gave Rock And Roll To You†was only the second best track on the disc). The combination of screamed-out…
The Heart Attacks – Hellbound and Heartless / 2006 Hellcat / 12 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/theheartattacks / http://www.hell-cat.com / Reviewed 15 November 2006 If this were 1984, one glance at the glam rock image of the Heart Attacks and I would have thrown them in the garbage right next to any other Sunset Strippers without giving them one listen. But you know what? It’s a good thing this isn’t 1984, because…
Head Wound City – S/T / 2005 Three One G / 7 Tracks / http://www.threeoneg.com/etis/bands.php?action=view&id=29 / http://www.threeoneg.com / Reviewed 21 November 2005 The instrumentation that is present on “I’m A Taxidermist I’ll Stuff Anything†is done with a speed and a urgency that it almost sound that the vocals were placed over a sped-up background. There is more than a little tension between the vocals and the instrumentation on “Head…
The Head Set – Way Past Used / 2006 Businessman Businessman / 12 Tracks / http://www.theheadset.com / Reviewed 28 April 2007 “Way Past Used†starts out fairly calmly, with The Head Set not really crafting a sound that stands out from the rest of rock music for quite a few seconds. By the time that the band finally kicks in to “Enemiesâ€, one hears hints of The Police, Matchbox 20,…
Headlights – The Enemies EP / 2005 Polyvinyl / 4 Tracks / http://www.headlightsmusic.com / http://www.polyvinylrecords.com / Reviewed 24 November 2005 Four track EPs are always the most difficult of any release to review; I can’t get off with a shorter review because there are enough tracks but there are not enough tracks to really give a proper review. The style of music that the Headlights play is a very controlled,…
The first track on “Royal To The Bone†does not do much in the way of forwarding Heideroosjes’ sound. The repetitious nature of the track just gives individuals a few minutes to pick up something to eat or get properly situated in their favorite easy chair. The second track is “Psychicâ€, and it is a track in the traditional sense. Jay NeuFuturwww.neufutur.com
Head Control System – Murder Nature / 2006 The End / 11 Tracks / http://www.headcontrolsystem.com / http://www.theendrecords.com / Reviewed 09 July 2006 The back and forth of the distortion that starts out “Baby Blue†does not properly introduce individuals into Head Control System. This is due to the fact that Head Control System play a style of rock that blends the current nu-rock movement with rock from an earlier time…
Head Automatica – Popaganda / 2006 Warner Bros / 14 Tracks / http://www.headautomatica.com / http://www.warnerbros.com / Reviewed 21 May 2006 “Graduation Day†is the perfect introduction for individuals into Head Automatica. Gone is a lot of the electronic, dance-emo that made their previous album “Decadenceâ€. This is a brand of college-rock meets emo music that will go down listeners’ palettes easily. The inclusion of a clap track during “Laughing At…
As one can probably guess, what Heiarii opens up eir “Dance!†with is something that resembles the boy-band dance music of the Backstreet Boys. The style of dance music may seem to be dated by a few years but that does not hinder Heiarii from creating tracks that are interesting in their own right. The production is good for a small-market dance act (many of the albums seem unnaturally digitized…
Head Automatica – Decadence / 2004 Warner Bros / 11 Tracks / http://www.headautomatica.com / http://www.warnerbros.com / Reviewed 01 November 2004 Starting off “Decadence†with a Strokes and Hives-influenced track, “At The Speed of A Yellow Bulletâ€, Daryl’s first side project to Glassjaw captures a completely different side of eir. Keeping the same general sound, albeit incorporating a funky synth line and shuffling drum beat, “Brooklyn Is Burning†does much to…
The laid back rap meets R&B that opens up “Back 2 Base X†gives individuals a much different opinion of Hed (PE) than will the meat of “Listenâ€. In a sense, Hed (PE) plays a style of music that resembles that of Rage Against The Machine if Rage was much more bipolar. There is that same mixture of rap and rock that RATM made famous during Hed (PE)’s “Novus Ordus…
The Hatepinks – Plastic Bag Ambitions / 2005 TKO / 13 Tracks / http://www.hatepinks.free.fr / http://www.tkorecords.com / Reviewed 29 June 2005 The Hatepinks play a fleshed out version of 77 punk, mixing equal parts Ramones with Germs to make a very intense and bouncy style of punk for the new millennium. Tracks like “Microwave Drugs†literally pull the guitars straight from “Atomic Gardenâ€, but really push forward the tempo to…
Doing covers of jazz classics in a heavy metal vein might seem odd, but to be real, this is just a noisier version of a traditional jazz band. What they qualify as “Heavy Metal†on this disc is as tame as a Doors record, and about as clichéd as those California hucksters. I can say I have a fan of the decision to make the bass lines audible as per…
Jon Hassell – Maarifa Street: Magic Realism 2 / 2005 Nyen / 7 Tracks / http://www.maarifastreet.com / http://www.takticmusic.com / Reviewed 18 May 2005 “Maarifa Street†starts out with “Divine S.O.S.â€, a track that seems just as influenced by jazz reminiscing on the Pink Panther theme as it is by ancient East Asian sounds. Each of the tracks on this disc are given the proper time by Hassell, with the average…
Something that strikes me about The Heavenly States is the tremenous amount of restraint that they maintain throughout the earliest states of the disc. While lead vocalist Ted strains eir vocals during tracks like “Pretty Lifeâ€, the entire band’s output is very sedate. Tracks like “Black Comet†are so dense that they can work on four or five distinct levels without blending the distinct instruments into a muck. The density…