From First to Last-My Teen Angst Has a Bodycount
(Epitaph, 2004)


If I had to make a list of the best bands to come around in the past few years, From First to Last would definitely be on that list. For a debut album it’s utterly mind-blowing how mature and original the band manage to be. Even if you hear otherwise, this band definitely isn’t just following the melodic hardcore bandwagon.

One thing this band definitely has a good grasp on is dynamics. The main core of the bands sound is a melodic punk sound that is slightly reminiscent of Hot Water Music. But elements of metal, electronic music, and even rap show themselves over the course of the albums duration. It’s a testament to times when albums were eclectic yet stayed true to one vision for the duration. They don’t force anything and it all seems completely natural.

There’s a certain amount of intimacy that goes into this band. Just from the album you can tell that the band must have an unbelievable live show. You can hear every last ounce of energy being put into each and every note. Each scream or vocal line is completely from the heart and doesn’t miss the mark.

I can’t believe that a band this young has created an album that shakes the genre down to it’s very foundations. The only other band to come around like this was Hot Water Music and how long has it been since they first showed up on the scene? This isn’t a flash in the pan, this band will be around for a long time.

Vrykolakas-Spawned from Hellfire and Brimstone
(Vyrkoblast, 200)


It was definitely a nice surprise to find this cd in my mailbox. I received a demo from these guys when I was going my old ‘zine, Engulfed in Gore, and this is such a huge jump in quality that it’s hard to believe this is even the same band.

It’s pretty easy to hear the bands influences, but it’s nice to see a band playing dark death metal. The band draws heavily from Incantation and I also hear quite a bit of Nile, especially in the vocals and some of the more busy sounding riffs. I think some of the lyrics even revolve around the same topics of Nile if I’m not mistaken.

This is almost dark enough that it might fit into the black/death category. You won’t find any bumble bee guitar riffs or cheesy synths, but the riffs use darker melodies and the vocals are just hauntingly guttural. They have an almost ethereal quality and seem to float above the music. You can almost picture a horned figure belting out the vocals. I know that the band does consider their music black/death so they definitely have succeeded in creating the right atmosphere here.

This could win an award for most improved band. Granted it’s been a long time since they sent me the demo, but they have become a death metal powerhouse. Fans of Incantation, this comes highly recommended.

Bolt Action-Straight Out the Sticks
(Cartel, 2004)


From the band name, album name and imagery I was pretty much expecting hardcore with a bit of a hip hop influence coming in. I was partially right. The band is heavy hardcore, and they have some groove and almost rap styled phrasing, but aside from that the influence isn’t very blatant.

The one band they do remind me of is Biohazard, but nowhere near as cheesy. I also hear a bit of Fury of Five at times as well. The guitar riffing is heavy and very much metal based, but it’s much more groove oriented and this really isn’t a fast band at all. It’s more mid-tempo and almost has a thrash feel at times.

The band features two vocalists and both have a knack for solid rhythms. The vocal patterns are really what makes this band interesting. The guitars by themselves are definitely cool but a bland vocal performance would have totally brought this album down.

These guys aren’t doing anything new, and that’s perfectly fine with me. It’s heavy, hardcore that really sounds more like it came out in ‘92 then 2004.

Antigamma/Third Degree/Herman Rarebell-The World Will Fall Soon and We All Will Die
(Selfmadegod, 2004)


Antigamma kick off this three way split with harsh grindcore that has one of the noisiest guitar approaches I have ever heard with grindcore. It’s heavy, but there is a lot of treble and excess noise. The vocals are also heavily distorted for the most part, with the exception being the lower vocals. They actually remind me quite a bit of Brutal Truth. Both bands explore different tempos and offered an experimental take on grindcore.

Third Degree actually remind me of Brutal Truth as well, but the more blasting side then the experimental. The vocals switch between a high pitched scream and a guttural roar, with the music blasting underneath. It’s sometimes hard to follow the guitar during the faster sections, but it’s definitely easy to hear during the slower sections. A more powerful production might have helped everything cut through a bit more.

Herman Rarebell ends with the most chaotic approach. Blast beats, punk tempos and utterly savage vocals are what HR brings to the plate. It would almost seem like I’m making this up but these guys actually remind me of Brutal Truth as well. I guess it goes to show how much impact they had on the grindcore scene.

After Forever-Invisible Circles
(The End, 2004)


I was honestly a little bit worried when I say the bands matching outfits, but thankfully the music really makes you forget about that. The easiest comparison I can come up with is Nightwish, but I actually hear a little bit of Evanescence. I know that’s a total cop out when it comes to a female fronted metal band, but I honestly do hear it. I’m not just using it for lack of a better comparison.

Of course this band isn’t anywhere near as radio friendly and the structuring is a bit more drawn out. I don’t think the death growls would really go over well on radio either. Musically it actually reminds me a bit of King Diamond. They use a similar sense of dynamics, and the only thing really missing is Kings gigantic choruses.

That brings me to my next point. I think the songs could have been a bit more memorable. But it almost gives the music a progressive feel at times. The busier moments are when I hear the most Nightwish. They don’t have the five minute long synth solos though thankfully.

Gigantic Brain-The Invasion Discography
(Razorback, 2004)


It’s nice to see a one man band that proves that not every band with a drum machine sounds like Mortician. This is sci-fi grind and once you hear it you’ll understand why. You have the blasting and heavy vocals, but you also have weirder sections full of sci-fi sound effects and what could only be described as alien voices. Trust me, it might sound fucked up, but it’s even weirder once you actually hear it.

You’ll be treated to a whopping 63 tracks here from various splits while a great deal of the songs are unreleased tracks from projects that seem to have fallen apart or never saw the light of day. It might be a lot to go through in one sitting, but each set of material is of the same quality.

It’s nice to see Razorback adding even more diversity to their label. It’s like they’ve added the sci-fi horror genre to their roster to go along with the regular horror. There’s a lot of creativity at work here. It might not be everyone, but for those looking for unique and original grind, look no further.

Anodyne-Lifetime of Grey Skies
(Level-Plane, 2004)


Heavy, jarring and rhythmic would all be good adjectives for Anodyne. Seemingly the bastard child of hardcore, sludge and noise rock, these guys don’t play by the rules and do whatever it takes to make sure you leave a bloody mess.

You could almost call them the Black Flag of sludge. The riffs are technical and busy, yet in a straight ahead and energetic manner that makes them easy to follow. The songs actually flow quite well, even with the seemingly jarring nature of some of the riffs and the start stops and weird timings.

The vocals are pretty much constantly a harsh yell that really conveys a sense of hopelessness. You can tell that the band feels what they are playing and the music is a natural extension of all three members. Even if it seems like all instruments are pushing in separate directions at times, it’s all part of the plan.

Throw in a heavy production and an amazing layout and you have one of the most impressive heavy records of 2004.

Lickgoldensky-s/t
(Level-Plane, 2004)


This is possibly one of the most diverse yet heavy records I have ever heard. The main sound that people associate with this band is rhythmic and noisy metalcore. The guitars are noisy, while the vocals switch between harsh vocals and almost snotty sounding cleaner vocals. From here, hell basically breaks loose.

You’ll be treated to slower sections with odd instrumentation, lulls in the middle of heavy songs that are basically odd noises, and some very mellow songs that almost have a new wave-esque yet ambient feel to them. You have no idea what to expect next, and I think the band just went with whatever felt right. They weren’t concerned with making a straight forward heavy record. If they felt like exploring something new, they just did it. And it works.

There is pretty much no track listing and the lyrics are pretty much just a jumble of words in the booklet. So I’m sure the songs do have names, but the booklet doesn’t help you out with this at all. I can’t complain though because the booklet is very creative and the color scheme is pretty unique as well. You don’t see much yellow for heavy bands.

This still has the past elements of Lickgoldensky, but that’s just the beginning of what they explore on this album.