October 12, 2005

Nile Annihilation Of The Wicked [5] You’ve got to love any band so consumed by the intricacies of their own artistic process that they feel the need to explain every song in minute detail in their lyric sheet. And let’s not kid ourselves: They may do it at a gurgling, 900-bpm, down-tuned blur, but Nile...

The Holy Mountain Entrails [4] Pulling double duty in the crusty Holy Mountain and the downright screwball CombatWoundedVeteran, bassist/vocalist Ponch has punk-rock credibility to spare; but in terms of making music people actually want to revisit, he’s batting 1000 in the Holy Mountain. Sounding even more like Discharge than the Discharge-influenced bands people might namedrop...

The Esoteric With The Sureness Of Sleepwalking [4] Even as late as pre-production for this album, which is when AP interviewed them for our “100 Bands You Need To Know In 2005” special, the Esoteric still sounded like they were trying to escape the mathematical-metalcore shadow of their Kansas City, Missouri, forebearers in Coalesce. But...

Darkest Hour Undoing Ruin [5] Considering all of the hyperbolic marketing surrounding Darkest Hour’s third Victory full-length, (e.g., “heavier than Slayer,” “the best album since Slaughter Of The Soul”), most of us probably sort of wanted to hate Undoing Ruin. Well, good luck: Not only are these quotes true; they also don’t even begin to...

Billy Corgan TheFutureEmbrace [5] With a résumé that includes defining alt-rock (Smashing Pumpkins) exploring electronica for soundtracks, weaving together country and indie sensibilities (Zwan), and authoring poetry books, Billy Corgan has turned to embracing electronics, guitar textures and rudimentary machine rhythms for his latest project, in the process capturing the essence...

CKY An Answer Can Be Found [5] You can hear CKY’s sound all over pop culture-from the weirdly compressed riffs and marketable angst of Three Days Grace to the gazillion Bam Margera-related projects the band (featuring Bam’s brother, Jess, on drums) help soundtrack. Unfortunately, focusing on that stuff, you overlook the songs CKY actually write:...

The White Stripes Get Behind Me Satan [5] If White Blood Cells and Elephant were key recordings in acclimating mainstream America to the concept of “raw,” then the White Stripes’ latest will revitalize the concept of the album as a body of work, and not just a buffet for selective downloading. Jack White leaves his...

Goon Moon I Got A Brand New Egg Layin’ Machine [4] A unit comprising Masters Of Reality founder Chris Goss, Zach Hill (Hella, Team Sleep) and Jeordie White (former Marilyn Manson/current Nine Inch Nails bassist) seems as weird as the thought of Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley actually consummating their brief marriage. The 10...