A few months ago, not only was this band unheard of outside their local region, but the radio was free of the song “Bring Me To Life.” But alas, now one can’t more than 15 minutes without practically hearing this one somewhere on the dial – and I’m okay with that. What’s weird about this [...]

The title for this release could not be any more appropriate. I’ve always viewed E-TOWN CONCRETE as a spectacle that merely existed in hardcore and metal, but had no real depth worth appreciating. Worse, the band’s haphazard combination of rapping and beatdown-core guitar riffs led less than favorable impressions. But these guys have stuck it [...]

This is the second installment of Thorp Records’ “Unsung Series,” which pays homage to some early-to-mid-90s hardcore bands that seem to get overlooked during their heyday. While I wasn’t too familiar with Thorp’s first choice, CONVICTION, this EDGEWISE discography is much appreciated, as these guys were a band that I always heard on compilations, but [...]

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why this comparison makes so much sense, but everytime I play this excellent disc from EYES OF AUTUMN, I come to the conclusion of: this is Q AND NOT U without the dance beats. Yes, on the surface, I know that seems not only implausible, but [...]

It’s really easy to gripe about bands not being original in hardcore, but come on, don’t ya love it when you can listen to something and identify different parts that sound familar to other bands you dig? On its own footing, EMBRACED’s release, “An Orchestrated Failure” is pretty top-notch with great sound production, a huge [...]

When Drive-Thru signed these guys and tossed up a few of their earlier mp3s, I wasn’t all that impressed, mostly because the band just sounded sloppy, regardless of their energy. However, after a little bit of time to get their act together, replace a few members, and so forth, “For All of This,” the band’s [...]

Without even listening to this, I had a feeling “Burned Alive by Time” was going to shred on the sheer fact that the eighth song is titled “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em.” Seriously though, behind the goofy song titles (I also dig “Dear Live Journal”), the exisquisite artwork, and the thunderous sound, is a band [...]

After getting over the initial shock of hearing a female fronted pop-punk band on Tribunal Records (who are notoriously known for their forays in brutal metalcore), it took me no more than three songs to realize how incredible EVERAFTER are. Wow! Amazing, sweet, and soulful vocals coast delightfully over a rhythm section that rivals the [...]