New Yorkers Couch Slut have been active since 2012 and are comprised of Kevin Hall (bass), Theo Nobel (drums), Amy Mills (guitars), Megan Osztrosits (vocals) and newbie guitarist Dylan Dilella (Pyrrhon/Solo) who replaces original member Kevin Wunderlich. The band already have three full-length studio albums to their name, 2014’s My Life As A Woman, 2017’s Contempt and 2020’s Take A Chance On Rock ‘n’ Roll. Couch Slut ‘You Could Do It Tonight’ Artwork You Could Do It Tonight, their latest long-player continues the band’s penchant for darkly satirical album art that bring to mind Raymond Pettibo ..read more

‘Brace yourselves…’ is the opening of the accompanying press release for the debut full-length from APF Records signed weapon of malcontent devastation Wasted Death. Now having had a promising start to the new year blown out of the water due to some personal stuff I won’t bore you with, I’ll just throw out the old adage, when life gives you lemons… well fuck lemonade, my jug of choice in such times is sinus clearing, brutal musical relief. Wasted Death ‘Season Of Evil’ Artwork Fortunately timed, comes the release of Season Of Evil, exhumed from the rabid minds of savage trio Charlie Davis (Beg ..read more

Forming in 2012 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Gouge Away‘s line-up comprises of Christina Michelle – vocals, Thomas Cantwell – drums, Mick Ford – guitar, Dylan Downey – guitar and Tyler Forsyth – bass. Soon after their formation came the self-released Still Bored and Focus Your Anger EPs followed by the Dies and Burnt Sugar full lengths not long after. Gouge Away ‘Deep Sage’ Artwork Deep Sage marks the band’s third album with work commencing on it back in 2019 and songs demoed in 2020, however, with Covid came an enforced hiatus. The only peep heard from the band during this interim period was ..read more

Next up through the review portal we have Grey And Dry, the debut album from Agonista, a blazing, d-beat, crust, hardcore punk and roll band that calls both San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico home. Made up of longtime veterans of both the San Diego and Tijuana hardcore and punk scenes, boasting members from bands like Bumbklaat, Run For Your Fucking Life, Swing Kids and the awesomely-named Sweep The Leg Johnny, among many others. Agonista ‘Grey And Dry’ Artwork Here, on their debut, the band come out guns blazing with the, written-in-Spanish, opener Larvas that’s a pummeling, angry har ..read more

Type O Negative were an important band during my formative mid-to-late teen years. They weren’t a top tier band in my affections at the time, but they were a band that a few of my mates also listened to, so their presence was a constant. Interestingly (and perhaps precisely because they weren’t ‘top tier’ and therefore not overplayed at the time) my interest in the band has only increased over the years, so I came to this tribute album with a mixture of excitement and what-the-hell-is-this-gonna-sound-like trepidation. ‘Blast No.1 – Blastbeat Tribute To Type O Negative’ Artwork Ironically enou ..read more

Two things caught my attention about Harsh Reality, the first is that it’s being released by the mighty Three One G and the other is the Daniel Harris cover that reminds me of Sean Taggart’s work on Prong’s Primitive Origins. Both the title and politically charged nature of the tracks (police brutality, poverty, capitalism), are exactly the kind of subjects that you’d expect from a hardcore/power violence band. Stress Positions ‘Harsh Reality’ Artwork Formed in 2020 in Chicago during the pandemic, Stress Positions are comprised of three former members of the band C.H.E.W, drummer Jonathan Gira ..read more

I’m no Mark Kermode, I won’t be able to tell you anything about screen ratios, cinematography, cross-cutting, dutch angles or any of these things. Instead, this will be me pointing out personal highlights from the documentary about musician/label owner Justin Pearson, rather than a detailed frame-by-frame analysis which, let’s be honest, would be far from exciting. Don’t Fall in Love With Yourself Don’t Fall In Love With Yourself is directed by Jon Nix of TurnStyle Films whose previous work includes Beyond Barricades (a documentary about punk band Anti-Flag), a series of music videos for the l ..read more

While New York’s Somnuri are described as a ‘progressive sludge’ or ‘post-sludge’ band, a term I would prefer to use to describe the trio is ‘blender metal’. ‘Fusion’ isn’t a good descriptor, because that word usually brings to mind jazz-rock crossover styles which are usually comparatively gentle and easy-going listening affairs. Somnuri ‘Desiderium’ Artwork By contrast, Somnuri take relatively disparate styles of metal and rock, throw them into a theoretical blender, flip the switch and allow the whirling blades to violently mishmash the different influences into something wholly different ..read more

Thetan is a two-piece hardcore/grindcore outfit from Nashville, Tennessee that comprises of Chad L’Eplattenier on drums and Dan Emery on bass/vocals. Emery may be a familiar name as the head honcho/numero uno behind both the Anti-Corporate Music (home to the excellent The Magnolia Sessions, Kool Keith and Dave Brockie‘s pre-Gwar outfit Death Piggy) as well as Black Matter Mastering. Thetan ‘Dim Times’ EP Artwork In addition to the six tracks included here, the extended CD version of Dim Times contains forty-plus bonus tracks that handily compiles all their split, compilation, demos, songs that ..read more

Following up the fantastic Dim Times EP (which just so happened to be reviewed by little old me), is Thetan‘s third full-length album Grand Ole Agony. The Nashville, Tennessee duo Chad L’Eplattenier (drums/theremin) and Dan Emery (bass/theremin/vocals/mountain dulcimer) have been kicking ass since their 2011 formation. Thetan ‘Grand Ole Agony’ Artwork However, while the band can rage with the best of them, they are not immune to experimenting with other genres, this is something the numerous guest appearances on Grand Ole Agony will demonstrate. Who are these mysterious entities you may ask? R ..read more