Category: Album Reviews

Ignite – Ignite (2022 – Century Media Records)

A band that seemingly takes all their influences and jam packs them into each album, makes for a fun listening. Every time I hear a new album from these guys I’m always impressed at how catchy they are, while also remaining true to the southern California heavy, punky, rock ’n roll sound they’ve always put […]

RED FANG – ARROWS

Red Fang’s “Arrows” is a trippy, slow burn with attitude. To begin, I have always been a massive Red Fang fan. Their albums are always very groovy and powerful, but the second I started jamming “Arrows” I noticed it had a completely different vibe to it, and almost a completely different mix. Each song had […]

Nathaniel Rateliff – And It’s Still Alright

I would love to sit down over a cocktail and talk music, but more importantly talk life with Nathaniel Rateliff, his music never ceases to amaze me. Musically there’s nothing too special most of the time, but his voice matched with his lyrics make you “feel” and want to groove with him. If you’re looking […]

In Flames – I, The Mask

If there’s a moment in time that I could freeze and think back to with a much larger magnifying glass, it would be one of the most influential concerts I’ve ever been to. Sometime in the early 2000’s In Flames headlined a tour with Soilwork, Chimaira and Unearth and solidified In Flames as my favorite metal band of […]

Slash w/Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators – Living The Dream

“Living The Dream” is a special record that has all the layers of Myles Kennedy’s beautiful voice and the screaming melodies of Slash along with The Conspirators to keep your love for traditional rip-roaring Rock ’N Roll alive! If you tell me you like rock ’n roll but don’t like what Slash and Myles Kennedy […]

High On Fire – Electric Messiah

There’s not much that I can say that can quite prepare you for the attack that High On Fire puts out on ‘Electric Messiah.” From top to bottom this album moves so quickly and so precisely that it’s amazing to get through. It’s everything you expect from High On Fire, but seems to be much […]

Black Fast – Spectre of Ruin

What can I say that hasn’t already been said over the last few weeks about this album? I’ll give it a try. Black Fast has continuously impressed album after album, but this album has something else. An undeniable brutally fast black thrash attack that incinerates your ears track after track. Live, Black Fast absolutely shreds […]

At The Gates – To Drink From The Night Itself

At The Gates – To Drink From The Night Itself May be the best all around album I’ve heard in quite some time. Talk about a follow-up from “At War With Reality”! From start to finish this album is an all-out assault on your ears. Bruising guitar riffs and drums that remind you that Swedish […]

Frank Turner – Be More Kind

Where do I start on this one? I’ll start by saying that I’ve been a big Frank Turner fan since his first album dropped and it reminded me of Bruce Springsteen and was almost bordering on the side of indie rock, he still had enough of that 70’s rock edge to make it appealing to […]

Light This City // Terminal Bloom

Light This City – Terminal Bloom Light This City have returned with an absolute punch to the gut. One of the most underrated Bay area thrash bands of the last decade and a half have again released an album that is brutally bludgeoning from start to finish. It would do me no good to go […]

CRISIX // AGAINST THE ODDS

CRISIX – AGAINST THE ODDS By: Josh Pierson Today I received a seriously interesting album to review from this Barcelona born thrash band CRISIX, who I must admittedly say I’ve never heard before, which is odd considering I am a thrash guy, and the thrash guy at Loud & Heavy. That said, I was a […]

BREAKING BENJAMIN // EMBER

BREAKING BENJAMIN – EMBER By: Josh Pierson While I must first admit that I am not and have never been a Breaking Benjamin fan mostly because of my ties in with the metal scene, but also because of what I look for in my music, and I am actually all over the board with my […]

A Killer’s Confession // Unbroken

  Track Listing: Awakening Spawn of 7 Rebirth A Killer’s Confession (featuring Brian “Head” Welch of Korn) 1080P Final Breath L.O.L. (Life of the Lost) Reason Sympathy (featuring Kimberly Freeman of One Eyed Doll) I Will Define (with Dead By Wednesday) Judas Kiss (with Revillusion) Letting Go (with Amerakin Overdose) Purification (with HEX)   The […]

Upon A Burning Body – Straight From The Barrio

  Track Listing: ‘Til The Break Of Dawn Already Broken You Don’t Own Me Media Blackout B.M.F. Straight From The Barrio (210) Leave The Pain Behind Walk Alone Again Fake Plastic Smile D.T.A. (Don’t Trust Anyone) The Outcast My Distorted Reflection   Evolving musically is a key element to succeeding in today’s scene. Bands who […]

Allegaeon – Proponent For Sentience

  Allegaeon’s Proponent for Sentience is nothing short of absolutely crushing and certainly keeping form with their own unique brand of “Science-Core,” utilizing the now popular math metal style and molding it with the undervalued black/melodic-death/thrash style that is making bands such as Allegaeon, Skeletonwitch, Black Fast and others so entertaining to listen to as […]

Whitechapel – Mark Of The Blade

Tracklist: The Void Mark of the Blade Elitist Ones Bring Me Home Tremors A Killing Industry Tormented Brotherhood Dwell in the Shadows Venomous Decennium   Whitechapel are back with their 6th dose of brutal heavy ass kicking with Mark of the Blade. And yes as you’ve heard by now there is *gasp* clean singing. I’ll […]

Pierce The Veil – Misadventures

Track Listing: Dive In Texas Is Forever The Divine Zero Floral & Fading Phantom Power and Ludicrous Speed Circles Today I Saw the Whole World Gold Medal Ribbon Bedless Sambuka Song For Isabelle   Pierce the Veil’s 4th album has been something talked about in hush and worried tones for quite some time now, but […]

Hatebreed – The Concrete Confessional

Track listing A.D. Looking Down The Barrel Of Today Seven Enemies In The Walls From The Grace We’ve Fallen Us Against Us Something’s Off Remember When Slaughtered In Their Dream The Apex Within Walking The Knife Dissonance Serve Your Masters   There is the old saying “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. This is […]

Avatar – Feathers & Flesh

Track Listing: Regret House of Eternal Hunt The Eagle Has Landed New Land Tooth, Beak & Claw For The Swarm Fiddler’s Farewell One More Hill Black Waters Night Never Ending Pray The Sun Away When The Snow Lies Red Raven White Sky Burial   Ladies & gentlemen, boys and girls it’s time to take your […]

Misamore – Monolith

Track Listing Blister Choose Cassiopeia Calligraphy Dark Room Long Way Through Bloody Mary Monolith Circa Nema Nine Eyes   Emerging out of the Sacramento, CA local music scene is hard rocking trio Misamore, with their new full length album Monolith.  Building off their strong debut album, Horizon, band members Josh, Mike and Ryan all bring their […]

Darkness Divided – Darkness Divided

Track listing: The Point Of No Return Back Breaker A Life That Binds Wake Of The End Misery Deceiver From Dust To Stone The Answer Deliverance Mirror Of Death The End Of It All   As the saying goes “Everything is bigger in Texas”. San Antonio’s Darkness Divided aim to bring the art of metalcore […]

Devildriver – Trust No One

Track Listing: Testimony Of Truth Bad Deeds My Night Sky This Deception Above It All Daybreak Trust No One Feeling Ungodly Retribution For What Its Worth   The clouds are not just over California this time around, as the storm called Devildriver is on the forecast. Bringing their 7th album packed full of their signature groove metal […]

Lines In The Sky – Parallel Travel

Before I ever even knew the music of Rush, I wasn’t a fan. It was no fault of their own. I place the blame on a college roommate that spent our entire freshman year learning how to play guitar to “Tom Sawyer.” What started as sloppy chord work in the fall became a choppy, high-pitched […]

The Word Alive – Dark Matter

Track Listing: Dreamer Trapped Face to Face Sellout Insane Made This Way Suffocating Piece of Me Branded Grunge Dark Matter Oxy   Once I heard the single, “Trapped”, I was hooked, and like many of you, eagerly awaiting the release of “Dark Matter”, the latest album by The Word Alive.   The sound is very different from […]

Movements – Outgrown Things

Track Listing Kept Nineteen Worst Wishes Hatchet Vacant Homes Losing Fight Sounding more like Seattle, but coming from Southern California, the 4-piece band Movements have marked their place with their debut EP Outgrown Things.  Poignant lyrics, that come across more as spoken word poetry at times, paired with haunting guitar riffs and powerful drums that […]

Tonight Alive – Limitless

Circle Pit Review Reviewers: Mark & Tiffanee Mark & Tiffanee discuss the latest album from Tonight Alive, Limitless, and take it into a circlepit review. Listen below to see their thoughts :   Track Listing: To Be Free Oxygen Human Interaction Drive How Does It Feel Waves Everywhere Power of One I Defy We Are […]

Colours – Ivory

At the height of the compact disc era, the first rule of any debut album was to feature compelling cover art. This didn’t mean just slapping some eye-catching image on the front, but rather visually representing the music inside. I often used this rule as my sole criteria for determining whether the disc was coming […]

The White Noise – Aren’t You Glad?

  Track Listing: The Doctor Will See You Now Bloom Picture Day Red Eye Lids Brainwashed Cosmopolitician   The first time I heard The White Noise was through a friend, and I instantly fell in love after hearing just their debut song.  There was something about the mixture of hard and clean vocals, the in-your-face […]

After The Burial – Dig Deep

  Track Listing: Collapse Lost in the Static Mire Deluge Laurentian Ghosts Heavy Lies the Ground Catacombs The Endless March Sway of the Break   Often it is said that in the wake of chaos and tragedy that one can become stronger and better. This is the test that was facing Minneapolis’ After the Burial with the tragic […]

Fleshgod Apocalypse – King

Track Listing: Marche Royale In Aeternum Healing Through War The Fool Cold as Perfection Mitra Paramour (Die Leidenschaft Bringt Leiden) And The Vulture Beholds Gravity A Million Deaths Syphilis King   I was first introduced to Italian symphonic death metallers Fleshgod Apocalypse about 5 years ago when they came through town as part of the Summer […]

Cage The Elephant – Tell Me I’m Pretty

Tell Me I’m Pretty is not Cage The Elephant begging for attention. In fact, with this album, Cage knows they are pretty, and are daring you to disagree. The opening track Cry Baby opens like a Beach Boys record with a slight distortion. Like a stormy day on a beautiful southern California beach, it’s inviting, […]

Ice Nine Kills – Every Trick in the Book

Track Listing: The Nature of the Best Communion of the Cursed Bloodbath & Beyond The Plot Sickens Star-Crossed Enemies Me, Myself & Hyde Alice The People in the Attic Tess-Timony Hell in the Hallways   Music and literature, two methods people have used for centuries to express themselves and entertain others. Two methods that one […]

Wage War – Blueprints

  Track Listing Hollow Twenty One Alive Blueprints Youngblood The River Deadlocked Enemy Spineless Basic Hate Desperate   I was first introduced to Wage War just recently when they came through town as part of the Fearless Records Fresh Faces Tour. Its pretty rare for me to experience a band live before ever really hearing […]

Counting Days – Liberated Sounds

Track Listing Burned By Faith Die Alone Beaten & Scarred Life & Death Liberated Sounds Fire From The Sky Days Go By The Vines Sands Of Time feat. Tomas Lindberg of At The Gates Prison Of Misery Cold Truth Reunion   Roaring out of the UK is metalcore quintet, Counting Days. Their debut album Liberated […]

Ice Nine Kills – Communion of the Cursed

We’re back with another Ice Nine Kills review, this time for their latest single Communion of the Cursed. This marks the 3rd single off the upcoming highly anticipated release, Every Trick in the Book. This is the first single to also be accompanied by an actual music video, and wow is it an awesome video. Bands […]

Ice Nine Kills – Bloodbath & Beyond

I was introduced to Ice Nine Kills when I saw them earlier this year on tour with Motionless in White. We ran into their vocalist, Spencer, backstage and to this date he was one of the coolest and most hilarious people we’ve met to this date. After talking to him we had to go check them […]

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