Posts tagged "2011 in music"
Spin Cycle: Korn's "The Path Of Totality"

Spin Cycle: Korn’s “The Path Of Totality”

Limp Bizkit did it right. They came back after a long hiatus, original line up in tact, and put out an album that was as offensive as ever and stuck smack dab in the middle of ’90’s nu-metal. I’ll give Korn credit for always pushing the envelope albeit with mostly mixed results and barely resembling the band they used to be. 2007’s Korn was ok. The Unplugged record was weird but credit them for trying. 2010’s III was the kicker […]

Spin Cycle: VNV Nation's "Automatic"

Spin Cycle: VNV Nation’s “Automatic”

I am pretty embarrassed that I don’t know VNV Nation’s catalog as well as I should, especially after hearing their latest, Automatic. I know the band. I know I have some of their older records. I just couldn’t name you a single before now and I am sorry for that. Thankfully, albums like Automatic come along and give me a renewed interest in VNV Nation. If I couldn’t name you a single before now, then Automatic does a good job […]

Metal Monday Volume 45 (11.21.11)

How is it possible that any one band can manage to sound more intense than Meshuggah in this day and age? Just one listen through Masstaden, the stellar debut from Vildhjarta , and you’ll hear how true that statement is. It’s a concept record but don’t let that scare you away. Every song works separate from the concept but if you have a chance to listen from start to finish, you’ll be in for a treat. There’s three (3! Daniel Bergstrom, […]

Spin Cycle: Rob Potylo's "How Do You Feel In June?"

Spin Cycle: Rob Potylo’s “How Do You Feel In June?”

Rob Potylo’s just released the final installment in a trilogy of albums AND he’s playing Boston tonight. Check out our review of the album and hit the show up if you’re local!

Spin Cycle: “The Front Bottoms”

It’s very rare in this day and age that bands still come out and manage to sound like no one else. The Front Bottoms are that kind of a band. A duo like no other of their contemporaries, they create stories within each one of their songs. At times blink 182-ish without the brattiness (Maybe if Tom Delonge took Angels & Airwaves in a more acoustic direction without the air of pretension…), The Front Bottoms do so much with so little. With such lush arrangements on […]

Spin Cycle: Childish Gambino's "Camp"

Spin Cycle: Childish Gambino’s “Camp”

Donald Glover has been Childish Gambino for a long time so don’t live under the impression that he gained more fame from Community and decided to become a rapper. Be clear about one thing, Childish Gambino is the real deal and this is, without a doubt, Donald Glover’s Dark Twisted Fantasy. It can’t be coincidence that Camp comes out around the same time Kanye’s masterpiece dropped last year. If you didn’t know that Donald Glover was a rapping maniac before, […]

Spin Cycle: The Dreaming’s “Puppet”

This one was an absolute surprise. I’ve been a fan of Christopher Hall since his Stabbing Westward days and was excited at the prospect of what his new band, The Dreaming , would bring. Etched In Blood, The Dreaming’s 2008 debut, was  stripped of the electronics that made Stabbing Westward stand out and decidedly more in your face rock but Hall’s distinct voice and heartbroken lyrics still made his new band rise above the rest. Cut to 2011 and a firm line-up […]

Spin Cycle: Skinny Puppy’s “hanDover”

What differentiates oHgr from Skinny Puppy these days? That’s a tough question. They both share the same vocalist in Nivek Ogre. They both have Mark Walk. They’re both industrial giants who dwell in our dark psyches creeping out at just the right moments…I could go on, but that would take focus away from the celebration that is a new Skinny Puppy album! The long gestating and even longer delayed hanDover is finally out and it is a masterpiece of an […]

Metal Monday Volume 42 (10.31.11)

Metal Monday Volume 42 (10.31.11)

Metal Monday. Megadeth. Halloween. Come on now. Can’t get more obvious than this, can it?

Metal Monday Volume 41 (10.24.11)

Boston’s metal band Junius has a new album out now! Jesse talks about ’em in our latest Metal Monday column!

Spin Cycle: Wayne Static’s “Pighammer”

I know this is probably blasphemous but some aspects of Pighammer, the debut solo album from Static-X front man Wayne Static,  greatly remind me of Godflesh. Now, I’m not saying that Wayne Static is by any means in the same ballpark as Justin Broadrick, but you can’t deny that the minimalist approach to his solo album, especially the static (no pun intended) guitar drones and the lo-fi production, are very much in the Godflesh vein. If you think I’m crazy, […]

Metal Monday Volume 40 (10.17.11)

Five Finger Death Punch’s latest, American Capitalist, is a concise slab of 21st Century thrash metal. On their third album, FFDP really deliver the goods. Zoltan Bathory’s guitars sound nastier than ever, Jeremy Spencer lays down a slick and solid drum groove while  Ivan Moody sounds better than ever behind the mic. The third album is the defining moment for any band. On the first, you get an introduction. The sophomore album can go either way: an experiment or more […]