kurt ballou

Album Review: Sumac – “Love in Shadow”

Jon1 Comment

Sumac - Love In Shadow

The music of Sumac seems to always exist in states of perpetual construction and deconstruction. On a macro level, the trio of Aaron Turner, Nick Yacyshyn and Brian Cook frequently conjure up some truly giant apocalypses. And yet on a micro level, there’s all kinds of jagged and uneven sonic qualities brought to the surface that create a texture of crumbling brittleness. Picture a skyscraper heavily damaged, still standing but with huge swaths of rebar exposed. In this metaphor Love in Shadow, Sumac’s most recent 2018 album, tries to patch up the crumbling sections without losing its distinctiveness.   Continue reading →

Interview: Trap Them’s Ryan McKenney on Crown Feral, Non-Musical Influences and Technology

Josh2 Comments

Trap Them

Since 2001, Washington’s Trap Them have cut their own angry path through the hardcore/crust/metal landscape. Early on, the band became extremely reliable for anyone looking for an aggressive outlet to turn to. Later this month the band’s fifth full length Crown Feral will be released and their tried and true reliability hasn’t changed one bit — if anything it’s possibly one of the darkest and best written albums of the band’s career. On the heels of the album release is a continent spanning back to back tour so their next few months will be hectic to say the least. Vocalist and founding member Ryan McKenney was kind enough to give us a few minutes to discuss all this and more. Read all about what he had to say after the jump… Continue reading →

Album Review: Magrudergrind – “II”

Manny-O-War3 Comments

magrudergrind ii 2

It’s not everyday that a powerviolence band makes its way onto an HBO set and shares the screen with the likes of Julia Louis-Dreyfus. OK. They weren’t actually on screen together, but Magrudergrind being featured on HBO’s VEEP was a great sign regarding their triumphant return to the grindy world of powerviolence. After six years of surprising silence, Magrudergrind have exploded back onto the scene with II recorded at God City Studios and mixed/mastered by Mr. Brad Boatright. And for fans of the best, there’s not much to dislike. Sure, the band is a bit more polished, perhaps even more melodic, but they are still the same old Magrudergrind. Just a bit older and more mature. Continue reading →

Daily Bang: High on Fire to release new album, Luminiferous, on June 23

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high on fire band photo

The riff lords are back! Oakland heroes High on Fire have announced the details for their next full-length album! The new set is called Luminiferous, and will be out June 23 on eOne Music. The band had this to say:

We’re doing our part to expose The Elite and the fingers they have in religion, media, governments and financial world downfall and their relationship to all of our extraterrestrial connections in the race to control this world. Wake up, it’s happening. All while we stare at a socially engineered lie we think of as normalcy. Unless we wake from the dream, there will come true doom.

…alright, then! Luminiferous follows up on 2012’s well-received De Vermis Mysteriis, and was recorded and produced by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou at his GodCity Studio in Massachusetts. The band’s lined up some European dates ahead of its release, including an appearance at France’s Hellfest on June 19. In the meantime, keep an eye on the band’s Facebook and Twitter pages for updates.

-Manny-O-War

Live. Love. Plow. Horns Up.