Review: Emery – While Broken Hearts Prevail [2008]

Transplanted South Carolina emo rockers Emery provides a stopgap release in the form of the seven-track WHILE BROKEN HEARTS PREVAIL. Heartwrenching histrionics and hard rock riffs collide at the Warped Tour on cuts like the showtune-esque “Thoughtlife” and the keyboard punk rock sunshine of “Always Depends”. This quintet (who now call Seattle home) combines airy […]

Review: Birushanah – Akai Yami [2008]

Pushing doom metal’s expansive boundaries to the outer limits, Birushanah present a three-track, forty-minute excursion of crushing sonic excess. This Japanese unit embraces its roots wholeheartedly, intertwining native instrumentation (fretless bass and crashing cymbals) with drone metal rhythms, a frenetic multi-percussive assault (whose output includes everything from pounding drums to what sounds like sheets of […]

Review: Kreator – Hordes Of Chaos [2009]

Fresh off previous effort  ENEMY OF GOD, German thrash titans Kreator return sharper and more focused with another batch of devastating thrash metal goodness titled HORDES OF CHAOS. Showing no signs of slowing down, Mille Petrozza and company blast through the gates whether you like it or not with all guns blazing (“Warcurse”), giving contemporaries […]

Review: U2 – No Line On The Horizon [2009]

By Peter O’Brien Henry Rollins once said, “The Clash is the band that U2 always wished they could be.” That may have been the truth once upon a time, when the angst filled, youthful quartet released their debut album Boy almost three decades ago, but now they simply have to settle for being U2. They […]

Review: Sepultura – A-LEX [2009]

Left with only one original member in the fold (Andreas Kisser for those keeping score), Sepultura continues to trudge on Cavalera-less with the entity’s latest release  A-LEX, a conceptual album based on cult novel A CLOCKWORK ORANGE by Anthony Burgess. This 18-track affair attacks with the fervor this act has championed since the split in […]

Review: The Horse You Rode In On – Beating [2008]

By Peter O’Brien Most bands who perpetually play the same songs for twenty years, and only do an annual “reunion” show would be accused, without question, of beating a dead horse, but most bands aren’t The Horse You Rode In On. Their aptly titled album, Beating, features fifteen original tracks written in the early days […]

SOS Interview: Dug Pinnick of King's X

By Mike SOS ____________ When speaking with Dug Pinnick from King’s X over the phone a while back, everything from his upbringing to the making of the trio’s latest outstanding disc XV to what aspirations the bassist/vocalist has left was discussed. ____________ SOS: What do you guys do in the studio that helps incite the […]

Review: Thin Lizzy – Still Dangerous: Live At The Tower Theatre Philadelphia 1977 [2009]

Classic Irish rockers Thin Lizzy unearthed this powerful live set from 1977 on Still Dangerous. The band blazes through classic cuts “Jailbreak,” “Cowboy Song,” and “The Boys Are Back In Town,” guitar dueling glory included. Recorded at Philadelphia’s Tower Theatre the band seemed careful not to include fancy studio overdubs as heard on many live […]

Review: Rush – Retrospective 3 [CD/DVD 2009]

Rush continues to completely blow my rock and roll mind by infusing the infectious heavy guitars of Alex Lifeson, the exotic vocals of Geddy Lee, and Neil Peart’s aggressive percussion. On Retrospective 3, the band compiles their best material from 1989 to 2008 which includes a devastating  remix of “One Little Victory” from 2002’s Vapor […]