In no less than 10 minutes of listening to “Black Phantom Crusades,” I was fully convinced that I was listening to one of the most intriguing pieces of music that I have ever heard. RED ANIMAL WAR’s previous full-length, didn’t really do much for me, so I wasn’t really expecting to much from this one, [...]

Not saying these CDs are necessarily good (actually… yes I am), I'm just saying this is the batting order for the 4 hour trek….<Br><Br>

1) Yellowcard – Ocean Ave.<br>

2) Every Time I Die – Hot DAMN!<br>

3) Garbage – Beautiful Garbage<br>

4) Nightwish – Century Child<br>

5) This Day Forward – In Response<br>

6) Madonna – American Life<br>

7) Teen Idols – Nothing To Prove<br>

8) Beloved – Failure On<Br>

9) Marilyn Manson – The Golden Age Of Grotesque<Br>

10) The Juliana Theory – Love<br><br>

If I actually end up needing all ten of these, I probably took a wrong turn.

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Current best CD that is not well suited for driving: Mars Volta – Deloused In The Crematorium.

Hoping to take a cue from MCA’s success with NEW FOUND GLORY, Columbia Records added Texas’ melodic power-punkers, RIDDLIN’ KIDS to their stable. While musically, these guys have their chops down pat, the relative blandness of the vocals and the apparent lack of personality have doomed this band in my opinion to becoming nothing more [...]

I saw how you tried to sneak that in there…shameful…<br>

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song of however long-<br>

Brandtson-You Do the Science

Originality is overrated. Sometimes. In the few cases where great bands achieve their highest popularity post-mortem, many people find themselves craving for an “almost as good” alternative. And thus, you will probably hear the name REFUSED with nearly every mention of THE RISE. The comparisons are inescapable, these bands sound, look, and think alike, though [...]

1) THE BIG TAKEOVER, Issue 52 is amazing, as expected. Once again, this mag covers over 100 bands that I haven't heard of before that I know want to know more about. And at almost 300 pages long (of mostly text), this is something you can keep by the toilet for a month or two.

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2) WONKA VISION zine – although the current issue has been out for a bit, Homestar Runner is on the cover, and that's all you need to know.

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3) AMP MAGAZINE (national edition). I believe issue three of the natioinal version is out now, but I just picked #2 and it's great. With just short of 200 pages of interviews, reviews, and news from the punknews.org team, this is probably the most complete fanzine out there. Amp Editor Brett Matthews is one of the best ears out there (or we just have very similar tastes).

Whenever I hear someone make an uneducated judgement that punk or hardcore has gone soft and that the commercialization of our scenes has ruined everything – I usually feel like taking a brick to that person’s face. How such ignorant comments can be made in times where the evergrowing hardcore and metalcore scenes cannot stop [...]

I remember picking up this EP for the first time right after I saw REACH THE SKY play the defunct Phantasmagoria in Wheaton, Maryland on a wicked Sunday mantinee in 1999. This Boston based group came down here and played a stellar set to a mostly stunned, and quiet audience. Phantasmagoria’s terrific sound system really [...]