Anti-Flag - American Spring

Anti-Flag Return With Their Most Inspired Sound In A Long Time.

Anti-Flag have been making noise in the punk scene for a good 20+ years now, shining a light on what they believe to be the corruption and ill doings around the World, and for over 25 years they've been using their fierce, anarchic punk . With 9 albums under their belt, the best including 2003's 'The Terror State' which featured a vast amount of catchy choruses, hefty guitars and mantra-like lyrics you'd expect to hear from Oi! band. 'The Terror State' has remained Anti-Flag's standard for their records ever since it's release. 2009's 'The People Or The Gun' was heavily praised for it's raw passion which was shown through what were described as their best lyrics since the 2003 release and hate for what was wrong with Washington and the American economy. Anti-Flag's 2012 effort 'The General Strike' saw the Pennsylvania based group drop the alternative rock influences from 2008's 'The Bright Lights Of America' and 'For Blood and Empire' and go back to their raw punk rock sound with their consistent influences coming from politics' wrongdoings, even though fans approved of this change, the album itself was panned as it lacked direction and offered nothing new to the punk rock scene that had grew in popularity since 1996.

Anti-Flag are back with 'American Spring' which sees the band embrace more pop and pop punk influences while sticking to their punk rock core. The album opens with 'Fabled World', a classic Anti-Flag song with nothing but high energy which runs onto track 2 'The Great Divide', 1:30 of the same speedy punk rock we've grown to expect. The energy is cranked up during the catchiest Anti-Flag song they've ever made 'Brandenburg Gate', this song perfectly showcases their ability to combine a catchy pop-like song with their politically fueled lyrics. 'Sky Is Falling' features the strongest vocals from Justin and Chris#2, they both work perfectly off the back of each other throughout the whole track, and the screamed line under that from Chris#2 sometimes accompanied by gang vocals too shows a total contrast to previous album 'The General Strike' which featured very dark vocals from both [Justin] Sane and Chris#2.

Sane's vocals are especially commanding in 'Walk Away' and the 48 second 'To Hell With Boredom' both of these songs, once again, are instantly catchy, with lyrics that you'll know all too well by the first listen, but this is what we expect from Anti-Flag now, they've got a loyal fan-base who like their sound how it is and wouldn't want it any other way, 'American Spring' isn't Anti-Flag's best album by a long shot, and there are forgettable moments on the album too 'Low Expectations' is probably the worst song on the album, it sounds more like a pop-punk song with the clichéd lyrics too. 'Set Yourself On Fire' sounds like a threatening enough song, but lost my interest only a minute in, a really repetitive track that builds towards nothing special.

Negatives aside, Anti-Flag still show no signs of slowing down, and with this latest album they've picked up on small influences to develop their sound how they want to, just what you'd expect from Anti-Flag.

6/10       

/ PUNK / POP-PUNK /

FAV TRACKS: - Fabled World - Brandenburg Gate - Sky Is Falling -

LEAST FAV TRACKS: - Low Expectations - Set Yourself On Fire -

Iwrestledabearonce - Hail Mary

Woman Fronted IWABO Release Their Fourth Earsore

Iwrestledabearonce are a Louisiana based experimental metalcore band who've been around since 2007, their early music under former vocalist Krysta Cameron was very diverse in genres, ranging from grindcore to jazz to synthpop, their songs could be simply identified by their constant, almost tedious changes of tempo, the boring and unvaried blast beats, and of course Cameron's uninspired, flat death growls. IWABO's songs almost always feature the more mellowed out, melodic interludes within their songs, often containing clean vocals. Iwresteledabearonce 2007-2011 was the same mindless one trick pony until the end which offered nothing but the same mediocre, almost laughable sound.

In 2012 Cameron was replaced by Courtney LaPlante, and by 2013 they had released their third album 'Late For Nothing'. This album showed off a more streamlined sound, the push and pull changes between heavy and melodic were less clunky, overall this record was actually pretty decent, it stuck to more core metal genres for inspiration such as heavy metal and hard rock, the rate of blast beats was toned down to the point where you weren't sick of listening after 2 tracks, and most importantly LaPlante's vocals were on another level compared to Cameron, her cleans especially were well polished and her gutturals were crushing.

So when they announced their fourth album 'Hail Mary' I was feeling optimistic, I thought that IWABO would carry on down the more melodic experimental path that 'Late For Nothing' offered and maybe the 2013 release may see the album keep the instrumental quality and not the wannabe brutal sound the early material was full of. I couldn't have been more wrong. 

The album opens up with 'Gift Of Death' and the first thing I was greeted with was everything that made me hate Iwresteledabearonce; predictable blast beats, horrific and forgettable lyrics and changes in tempo that made me feel uncomfortable from start to end. This album features guitar quality you'd expect from a band who record in their garage, the constant stock tones mixed with the unnecessary electronic noises that are as good as forcefully crammed into your ear right from the get go never leave, they're always around each track which makes the whole album so painful to listen to. The vocals are honestly laughable, there are some really horrific moments on this record, the very creatively titled 'Killed To Death' features lows that sound like the Cookie Monster might have made a cameo and 'Carbon Copy' sounds like they dragged a freaking dog into the studio and let it go ruddy mental, the song 'Doomed To Fail - pt2' sounds like it was taken straight out of an Evanescence B-side, it's awfully repetitive and soul-crushingly boring and Courtney totally fails to live up to the vocal heights she hit in 'Late For Nothing'. 

The whole album is nothing more than utterly forgettable, one minute they're trying too hard to be a breakdown heavy 'br00tal' almost deathcore-like band and the next their trying make hard hitting melodic metalcore. 'Hail Mary' is downright awful to put it simply.

1/10

/ EXPERIMENTAL METAL / MATHCORE / DEATHCORE /

FAV TRACKS: 

LEAST FAV TRACKS: Gift of Death - Killed To Death - Carbon Copy - 

Hundredth - Free

Hundredth's Third Album Is Their Most Direct, Hard Hitting Record To Date

South Carolina's Hundredth are back with their third album 'Free', this album follows 2011's amazing 'Let It Go' which features powerful tracks like 'Weathered Town' and 'Live Today', tracks like these really capture the core of Hundredth's heavy, melodic hardcore style whilst also using the lyrics to convey their morals of humanity and equality. In 2013 and 14 the band released the 'Resist' [2014] and 'Revolt' [2013] EP's, two very solid releases, 'Revolt' being the strongest of the releases with the sinister, shredding opener 'Ruin' and the more up-tempo, war cry like 'Free Mind / Open Spirit'. Both of these EP's saw Hundredth turn up the melodic elements and, 'Resist' especially, didn't hold back on the aggressive, protest like lyrics, especially on final track 'Wage'.

With 'Free', Hundredth have managed to blend the raw power from their first two albums and the increased focus on melodic influences from 2013 and 2014's EP's to create what is nothing less than a hard hitting masterpiece of a record. Right from the opening interlude '///' into lead single 'Unravel'. "Free" packs a punch straight off the bat, 'Unravel' immediately pulls you in with vocalist Chadwick Johnson's eerily compelling screamed and sung vocals in the chorus. Track 3 'Inside Out' is a classic Hundredth song with rapid, loud drums, guitars from Andrew Minervini and Blake Hardman which will no doubt cause many mosh pits throughout future gigs, and Johnson once again with the deeply immersive lyrics yelled with so much fury, proving one again that he is without a doubt one of current hardcore's best vocalists. 'Break Free' is also a very speedy, self hating track much like 'Inside Out', but doesn't offer anything more than the opening tracks do.

The next highlight on this album for me is 'Isolation' which is a prime example of Hundredth's blend of influences from their EP's and the raw power from the first two albums, there are some very impressive changes of tempo throughout the track, which also manages to present Hundredth's heavier, hardcore side. "Beggar" reminds me of very early Architects material, especially their 2007 album 'Ruin', Johnson's vocals are utterly throat ripping and so gripping, Hutchinson's drumming never fails to give throughout the whole record, in fact this album really brings out the bands pure raw skill and very clearly demonstrates how this already mature from the start band have managed to continue on this path to almost perfection. 'Burdens' is a perfect album closer, and this is definitely bassist John Paul Gressman's finest moment, his bass cuts through during this songs opening and just adds another layer to Hundredth's sound, Johnson opens this track with more lower, shouted vocals, over Hutchinson's almost tribal-like, hypnotic opening drumming, this builds into Hundredth's classic loud and fast mix of riffs and drums, and allows for plenty of breakdown friendly moments all until the inevitable climax of this epic album.

'Free' might just be one of the, if not the best hardcore album of this year, Hundredth constantly strive to improve and mature their sound, and this album is no short of a success.

9/10

/ MELODIC HARDCORE /

FAV TRACKS: Unravel - Isolation - Beggar - Reach - Burdens -

LEAST FAV TRACKS: - Delusion -  

The Vaccines - English Graffiti

The Vaccines Return With Impressive New Sound

English indie rockers, The Vaccines are back with their third full length album “English Graffiti”. This album follows 2012’s “Come Of Age” which really solidified The Vaccines’ loud, noise ridden, rock and roll sound. Songs like “Teenage Icon” and “Bad Mood” showed that the London based group had a real knack for writing a catchy chorus, and songs like “Weirdo” and “No Hope” proved that [Jason] Young had a real way with lyrics. In 2013 we were treat to the Melody Calling EP, which featured two singles which saw The Vaccines move away from their noisy rock sound and try out a more chilled out surf rock sound, a sound they most definitely pulled off, the lead single "Melody Calling" not only managed to establish The Vaccines as more than just a typical British indie band, but a band who seemed to be able to make an absolute tune no matter what the genre may be.

And once again The Vaccines have went and proved just that yet again, this new release features a lot of new styles by the boys, featuring more mellow, psychedelic influences like the single "Dream Lover", track 7 "Want You So Bad", and the very Strokes-esque "Minimal Affection", both of these songs once again show front-man Jason Young's genius lyrical skills. There are a lot of songs on this album that openly show influences from fellow indie artists, the track "20/20" sounds very Vampire Weekend inspired, and the mellow love song "Want You So Bad" almost resembles a Black Keys chart topper, showing The Vaccines' ability to give other artists' sound a shot, and pull it off better. Lead single "Handsome" almost seems like the band had a sudden realisation, after 2012's album of raw angst and self loathing with lyrics like "I'm no teenage icon" and the whole song "Bad Mood" in general, they are now back with lyrics like "Thank god I'm handsome", it seems like the four piece didn't want to wallow in self pity for all of their existence, and I respect that.

Overall I think this is The Vaccines' best release to date, it shows them to be more than people think they are, they unveil their true musical talents here, and I hope to hear more of this sound in the future. Well done boys.

7/10

/ INDIE ROCK / POST-PUNK / PSYCHEDELIC ROCK /

FAV TRACKS: - Handsome - Dream Lover - Minimal Affection, 20/20 - Want You So Bad

LEAST FAV: Ummm... - Give Me A Sign -

Slaves - Are You Satisfied?

Short Answer; Yes

So Slaves have finally released their début full length after what has been a very eventful 2014 and 15 for the Kent based duo. And bloody hell I've waited a long time for this.

Laurie and Issac released their first EP , the 8-track 'Sugar Coated Bitter Truth' back in 2012, the EP showed off the core of what the punk duo was about. With Issac furiously beating the drums, shouting harsh lyrics at the top of his voice, with Laurie supporting it amazingly with his riffs and backing vocals to Issac. They are definitely something to see live, their shows are always full of energy and if anything made me more excited for this release.

This album shows more of the same from Slaves, but definitely not in a bad way. There's songs on this album that show off their infectious and catchy riffs like the opening track 'The Hunter' and lead single 'Hey' and there's also songs on this record that feature lines and choruses you just want to shout along to, especially on the tracks 'Cheer Up London' 'Feed The Mantaray' and 'Sockets'. Although a lot of the songs on this album are based around a very repetitive and catchy chorus, there are signs of more intelligent and complex songs you wouldn't expect from a DIY punk band like Slaves, tracks like 'Do Something' which has a real "Get off your ass and do something" message, and the final track 'Sugar Coated Bitter Truth' which along with the 'Are You Satisfied?' has a much softer feel to it compared to the other tracks on this album.

Hopefully this is just another taster of what is to expect in the future. Although I do like most tracks on this album, I feel like the album is really held together by the 3 tracks that stray away from the fast, loud, repetitive punk sounds.

Overall I do enjoy this album, and can't wait to see these lads in November.

8/10

/ PUNK / GARAGE ROCK /

FAV TRACKS: - The Hunter - Cheer Up London - Sockets - Are You Satisfied? - Hey - Feed The Mantaray - Sugar Coated Bitter Truth -

LEAST FAV TRACKS: - Ninety Nine -