The classic Anthrax line-up was Scott Ian, Joey Belladonna, Frank Bello, Charlie Benante and Dan Spitz, and with the exception of Sptiz (replaced by Rob Caggiano), this is the line-up that performed at Summit Music Hall last night. The Anthrax we grew up with, performing the songs we grew up on. They might have...
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The Morning Clouds – Wasted Youth Blues (Lefse, 2011) Wasted Youth Blues is the debut EP from Colorado’s own Josh Wambeke (of Phineas Gage and Fell). His latest solo project, The Morning Clouds, is a dreamy, druggy affair that blends as well with the crispness of these autumn evenings as it does with the misty...
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Astronautalis – This Is Our Science (Fake Four Inc, 2011) If you break Astronautalis down to basic elements you end up with a white hip-hop artist from Florida. An artist with the given name of Charles Andrew Bothwell. You will find Sage Francis in those elements. You will find Atmosphere, Felt and Grieves in...
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Post-hardcore was a short-lived passion of mine. Having discovered Minor Threat and Black Flag slightly too late to be a part of that movement, my generation could be found trying to recreate that scene with bands such as Good Riddance, Strung Out, Lagwagon, NOFX and others. When the old regime did come through town,...
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Various Artists – Drive OST (Lakeshore, 2011) When we walked out of the theater on that Friday night, the first words out of my friend’s mouth were ‘two hours of new-age music interrupted by extreme violence‘. In the minutes, and even hours, following our Drive experience, I have to admit I was less than...
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Andrew Jackson Jihad – Knife Man (Asian Man Records, 2011) Andrew Jackson Jihad are a folk punk duo from Arizona. Ben Gallaty plays the stand-up bass and Sean Bonnette plays guitar while doing his best to drive casual listeners running for the hills with his singing/screaming/speaking songs built around basic chords and ridiculou, insulting,...
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40 Watt Sun – The Inside Room (Metal Blade, 2011) Doom metal love ballads? I don’t know if they really exist, but Patrick Walker and his latest doom trio, 40 Watt Sun, do their best to make them so. Don’t get me wrong, this is a traditional doom album with slabs upon slabs of...
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James Blake – Enough Thunder EP (Universal Republic, 2011) Not being a huge fan of dubstep myself, James Blake appeals to my senses with his soulfulness. I appreciate the compositions he creates, some of them are incredibly soothing and enjoyable — some of them I only tolerate, but it’s the vocals that really set...
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Chuck Ragan – Covering Ground (SideOneDummy, 2011) Continuing my practice of discovering artists in the ‘alt/country/folk/punk/rock’ camp way after the fact, I have recently discovered Chuck Ragan. The former lead singer for Hot Water Music has been releasing material in one form or another for over 15 years now, but Covering Ground is the...
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It’s hard to believe it has been less than a year since we started talking about the black-veiled songstress Chelsea Wolfe. Since then she has released two albums, performed at SXSW, toured Europe, shared a stage with acts as diverse as Liturgy, How To Dress Well and Julianna Barwick, and now her Zev Dean...
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Youth Lagoon – The Year of Hibernation (Fat Possum, 2011) Bedroom projects are not usually known to have an immense amount of personality, so The Year of Hibernation acts as the exception that proves the rule. 22-year-old Trevor Powers is Youth Lagoon, but Youth Lagoon is only a part of Trevor Powers. The tracks...
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