EYES : "SPINNER"

Quite a few impressive hardcore bands are coming out of Scandinavia. In fact, we were so impressed by the Danish hardcore band's 2020 album that we gave this one a shot. It feels a little more metallic in the spastic way it emotes like a rabid version of the Deftones that flirts with metal core.  "Deflating Rooms' reminds me a little too much of the song before it until they stomp into a breakdown. The band's more unhinged qualities remind me of Dillinger Escape Plan, but without any of the progressive flirtations.  The bass leads the way into "Beelzebub" to create a more punk feel. Then, when they kick into the syncopated riff, things hit their stride here. It is kinetic in the same way the Refused once were. There are breakdowns, but handled in a more original manner than most. 

There is a hookier touch to their songwriting, which works really well and makes this album more memorable than if they just hit you with a bunch of unhinged screaming. They get the point across without beating it to death. There is still something nu-metal about the groove for "Moving Day For the Overton Window." It is not the first time metal-core has intersected with nu-metal; in fact, the current incarnation of the genre is pretty much an incarnation of it. 

Songs like "Clown" are a more burly outburst of punk the direction of grindcore. They go for the throat with a feral lust here."Money Mouth" picks up with where the intensity of the previous song left off, though things are deliberate here.  The title track closes the album. It is the kind of frenzied attack you would expect from these guys. The chaos the vocals allow themselves to descend into holds touches of Mike Patton, though with none of his melodic sensibilities. They stepped up the songwriting, and that gives this album the grooves needed for me to rate it a 9. Out on Prothestic Records .

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Blackwater Holylight : "If You Only Knew"

 The Portland shoe-gazers take things in a more organically jammed direction. There is a brooding underbelly to the verse that finds them taking off in a more stoner rock direction. The dreamy vocals counterbalance when they dig and go into more aggressive riffs that steer toward a more metal direction. But one heavy riff does not make a band metal. There is a brighter, almost 90s glaze to "Torn Reckless." There is a drive to this one, and a swathe of sounds layered here, but it is not as sonically dense or heavy as the first track.  

This is fine as the EP carries a dynamic breadth, which is important when there are only four songs in the presentation, as all of them need to count. So it's interesting that they end this EP with a cover, but we will get to that later"Fate is Forward" finds the lilted vocals coasting over the backbone the bass provides, as the song takes on a more deliberate rock throb. I can't praise the production enough, and tell you how perfect all the tones are. The mix is a masterclass for this kind of rock-based shoegaze, as it's organic yet heavy, with all of the sound given its rightful place, which can be a lot to work with as synths coexist with the guitar in a similar sonic zip code. 

This is one of Radiohead's more notable post-"Ok Computer" songs. It might be the best song on "In Rainbows' and an interesting choice of a song for the band to cover. They capture the groove, then the vocals do Yorke's melodies and mood justice without becoming a tribute band. I was unsure about how I was going to feel about this one when I saw it was being done and not dropping the song title on you, so there are no spoilers in that regard, but they do a great job with it and capture the spirit of the song. I will give this EP a 10. I wish this were a full-length, but if they are making you want more, then something is working. Out on Suicide Squeeze Records. 

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L.A. Guns : "Leopard Skin'

 

If Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis are both in the band it's L.A. FUCKING Guns to me. The past few albums have held up their legacy, so here's to hoping this one does, and the first two songs find them staying true yet not stagnant. They have the sleazy vibes from their era, but more slathered in blue grooves. It's more rock n roll than metal.  Phil Lewis sounds great. Amazingly, he is 68 years old. Holy shit. That is four years older than Vince Neil, and he sounds better than Neil has since "Dr. Feelgood". For a song like "Hit and Run," they are going into a more Doors-like sonic place, but it makes sense as a more mature step for the band that works even though it's removed from their hair metal past. It is jammed out a little more than you might want for them, but it still works.  

What makes an L.A. Guns album worthwhile in 2025, you ask? Much like other bands, they are judged by their songs. Do they hold up against the quality of work we have come to expect from this band? "Don't Ginme Away" has a more Rolling Stones like shuffle to it, but it is one of the colors they have been employing since "Cocked and Loaded". Perhaps it's not Lewis's most inspired vocal we have heard on this album, but it's in line with what they do, and he is not trying to be someone else. There are some great rock n roll guitar tones on this album. I prefer when they are ripping and tearing it in a more metallic direction, but at 68, he's not as angry.  Guns is an underrated guitarist as there is a Hendrix-like quality to his playing on this song. 

"I'm Your Candy Man" has more of an Aerosmith-like groove to it. The blues inflects get thicker on "Runaway Train," which might take things in a more Led Zeppelin direction, and reaches the bounds of how far they should try to take this sort of thing. Throughout working my way through this album, I have also taken my time and gone back to listen to some of the older stuff, especially giving "Cocked and Loaded" a closer listen and this not far removed that era, as a song like "Rip and Tear' is more rock n roll than metal, when you listen to it today. "Follow the Money" has a groove that at times brings Aerosmith to mind, at other times Alice Cooper. I was not expecting "The Masquerade" to be the album's ballad. "If You Wanna' closes the album with a blues-flavored rock that shows you how they were doing this sort of thing before Buckcherry. I will give this album a 9.5, it works for what they do and upholds the band's already impressive legacy when it comes to this kind of leather-clad rock n roll. 

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Superheaven : "s/t"

 

The third album by this band which built a buzz with their first two albums. They have a 90s sound that occupies the middle road between grunge and shoegaze, recalling "Gish" era Smashing Pumpkins, but with a less androgynous vocal approach. In fact, the vocals owe a bit more to Helmet in how they occupy space. This space is created by the grooves of their drummer. They do not allow the atmosphere to bog them down as the songs retain their smooth momentum. They have released four singles leading up to this album's release, but I did not check out any of them, so going in fresh, though I have listened to this band before, so I am familiar with what they do. 

"Cruel Times" has some heavier accents, but these guys are in no way metal. If you think just using distorted guitar makes something metal, then you don't know anything, and we are just going to ignore you and get on with the rest of this review. Often, more shoegaze bands tend to allow the vocals just to be a texture, but these guys use the vocals as a focal point of the songs. Palm muted chugs sometimes shift the dynamics, and they never really take the songs in the most expected places. There is more Nirvana in the influences of " Sounds of Goodbyes", which is a great deal of catchy fun. 

The thing about what they are doing is that the pieces of sound they have collected to work with are derivative, but it's the spirit in which they have assembled them that carries enough personality to make them their own. "Long Gone' digs into a more stadium-ready vision of grunge. "Hothead' feels more like the Foo Fighters. It is the first moment where things do not feel equally inspired, but I guess they felt they needed an uptempo song like this. I am guessing it was the drummer's idea, as he sounded like he was having the most fun.I prefer the reverb-heavy melancholy of "Conflicted Mood" that sets up "Star at the Void".  "Next Time" sulks around with hopeful melodies arising from the brooding. The last song reminds me of Failure, which works for me. I will give this album a 9.5, as it gives you what you want from this sort of 90s gaze rock. 

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LA Witch : "DOGGOD"

 The post-punky trio is back, this time there is a more organic 90s feel that takes Cure-like guitar lines and sits them against a mood that reminds me of Hole. But this might be the toll that Los Angeles takes on you over time that makes you feel like a junkie in one way or another. The vocals feel indifferent in their street-wise depressive state. There is a more Sonic Youth-like feel to "Kiss Me Deep". The guitars are more jangling. The vocals are not very dynamic, but two songs into the album, and they still work for me. There are some darker passages on this song, but I would not say that is the overall mood of the album, two songs in. 

"777" has a more punk feel, and just kind of briskly shuffles past like early Cure. I like the way the vocals are produced for this one. "I Hunt You Prey" finds the bass holding things down with a creepy groove that brings out a different mood for these gals. The reverbed guitar sound is cool. The vocals are not selling me on their more spoken phrasing. A minute and a half into this one, I suspect they will draw this one out with some jamming. There is a slight reggae influence to the drumming, so if you are really high, this might be your favorite song on this album. They just drone on this groove without going anywhere with it. 

They return to the more grunge feel on "Eyes of Love' that finds them ambling about more. The vocals are more spoken in the verses, which limits the dynamic level of emotion in this one. "The Lines' is much more like the early Cure. Not the first time I have said this during this review, so there might be something to it. They even jam this one out a little, and it's only three minutes long. "Lost at Sea" has more of a Sonic Youth-like strum to the verses. The vocals take on the drugged-out slacker guise. The narrative works as it's another song that dynamically ambles on. The title track finds effects on her vocals, but she talks through it. There is a gothy synth line on the chorus that works well enough, despite the vocals being somewhat boring.

 '"Sos" proves to be the song that works best as the vocals have attitude, even though they are spoken, the guitars create a memorable backdrop,p while the chorus clicks more than they have up til this point in the album, it has pop smarts and a hook. While I am glad the break away from the droning jangle of the previous song here to focus on something catchier, I wish they had incorporated this sound into more of the album as a whole. As far as post-punk goes in 2025 so far, this album is a success, I'll give it an 8.5, not sure how much play it will get from me but if you are on the more indie-rock side of the genre it's worth a listen.

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FLOATING : "Hesitating Lights"

Here is the kind of interesting blend of sounds that I am always looking for. Given the fact that bands like In Solitude come from Sweden, a death metal band that blends post-punk into their sound, it is not a huge surprise; I am more surprised by how well this is done. Less than 30 seconds in, they go from a Siouxsie and the Banshees-like riff to throwing in a blast beat, the growled vocals are layered over the guitars, splitting the difference between the two sounds. At times, this is a little chaotic, but it flows well more often than not. This is not to say they are not adverse to bringing in some brooding, angular sounds on "Grave Dog". It's cool how the sounds simmer, and they do not feel the need to rush things into your standard dense gain chugging. 

"Cough Choir" at times finds things converging back into a cool groove, though it is perhaps the most metallic song so far. The lyrics, more easily deciphered, find references to a place where witches were burned and corpses are piled, so not your normal gore fest. There is a more haunted feel to things. "Exit Bag Song' feels like a jam that kind of falls out of the previous song. In fact, I thought it was like a weird ending to "Cough Choir".  The title track lingers more like something the Cure might do in recent years. 'Dark Enough" grooves even harder. It's more metallic without depending on hyper aggression. 

"Wrong Body' finds them picking up the pace a bit and reminding me a little of old Tribulation. These guys have a beefier growl and are less progressive in the places they wander off to, though not far removed from Tribulation. Guess this comparison sticks around for the last song, which is a little more experimental, certainly more so than old Tribulation. I will give this one a 9.5 and see how it grows on me, they certainly have some cool sounds woven together, and are taking death metal in a different direction, it might not be as heavy as some but it's darker in places, and not the same old same old which goes a long way with me. This comes out July 11th on Transcending Obscurity. 

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Celestial Sanctuary : "Visions of Stagnant Blood"

 It's always weird to me when a band sounds like they are drawing inspiration from post-Vincent Morbid Angel. It's done, but it uses a mechanical churning sound to angular riffs that feel more chugged from a technical place than still retaining the hook of thrash. There are also more riffs crammed into a tighter space with less of a verse-chorus arrangement. Of course, in their promo material, they cite every band but Morbid Angel as an influence, well, not everyone, just Carcass, Cannibal Corpse, and Dying Fetus, none of which I am hearing. 

Though I guess it depends on which era of those bands, not from their classic 90s days, the Carcass thing I can only hear if we are referring to when they double up the vocals. I think they find themselves a band al little more on the second song than the opening track. Given their name, you would think they would use more cosmic sounds or give more of a focus to atmosphere, but here they are grinding away pretty heavy. By the time we get to "Choking on Rotten Seed' which is a great song title, perhaps the influence of Cannibal Corpse only lies in the song titles, but we can tell here that their drummer is great, but you have to be to play death metal, we also get some dynamic shifts where they slow down to put a more deliberate spin on a song that started off pretty fast and feral. 

The last song, "Gavage of the Vile" is ten minutes, which brings the album up to a just a 22-minute run time, making this an EP, since the 28-minute mark of "Regin in Blood" is my barometer for what an album is here. They set a little more of a mood here, but chug into things with a pretty heavy intent, thought giving a creepier slant mood-wise to the otherwise more riff-minded aggression that has colored this album, Guitars begin to introduce single note melodies to what feels like the entire album's sonic climax, before doubling back down on the Morbid Angel grooves.  I think these guys are effective at what they are doing, even if it recalls a phase of Morbid Angel, that I was not as into as what came before "Formulas Fatal to the Flesh" , so I will give it an 8.5, as I am unsure how many extended listens I would give this one, but if you are into grinding death metal no shy on the riff fest technique these guys have you covered.  Out on Metal Blade Records

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