Life In A Bungalo

Throwdown
Venom and Tears
Trustkill

The O.C.’s toughest straight edge boys have completed their full transformation into Vulgar Display of Power-Era Pantera. Over the years Throwdown have gone through many lineup changes, but this one is the tightest. With producer Mudrock (Avenged Sevenfold) at the helm they’ve finally gotten it right.

“Holy Roller” sets the pace with quick thrashy bursts of power and mosh. Vocalist Dave Peters sounds exactly like Phil Anselmo. It’s frightening, but welcomed. The groove heavy “Day of the Dog” chugs along and has a catchy group chorus. Not until the somber “Cancer” does the listener catch their breath from this sonic assault. The mid-tempo heaviness continues with “No Love.”

As a whole Venom & Tears builds off the Pantera influenced hardcore of Vendetta and ditches the hardcore part. Think Pantera with all the heavy riffs and gruff vocals, just without the Dimebag solos. Maybe they should get a second guitarist to fill that void for the next record. This is highly recommended if you like metal and will surely fill the Pantera void for the jocks, tough guys, and rednecks of America.

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Boys Night Out
Boys Night Out
Ferret

Boys Night Out’s second record was their masterpiece. “Train Wreck” was a mature, dark, innovative and ultimately poppy record. It had the perfect mix of arena rock choruses, beautifully layered guitars and amazing periods of female vocals and synthesizers mixing things up. “Boys Night Out” is the band’s third full length on Ferret and not only have they outdone themselves here, but they may have put out the record of their career.

Boys Night Out dropped the lovely Kara Dupuy (boo!) on vocals and streamlined their line-up a bit. Having re-invented themselves for a third time it’s hard to ignore just how great this band is. Gone is the concept album, in is a much poppier sound that almost reverts back to the screamier “Make Yourself Sick.” “Get Your Head Straight,” “Up With Me” and “Fall for the Drinker” deal with the dark and welcomed subject matter of alcoholism and drug addiction. “Apartment” is a brilliant Alkaline Trio-inspired pop song about apartment living. “It Won’t Be Long,” the album-closer, is a long drawn out, “hold your lighter in the air” jam that should have you singing along in no time.

The Great White North’s Boys Night Out (it’s a really bad name I know) may be thrown into the emo crowd, but they’re better and different then the rest of the pack. Back when bands like Knapsack, Braid, The Get-Up Kids, and The Promise Ring were in their glory Boys Night Out would have fit right in and they would have been drunker, higher, and better then every single one of those great bands. Go see them this Summer and for the love of god can a major label sign them already?

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The Destro
As the Coil Unwinds
Iron Clad/Metal Blade

The Destro are a new band signed to Trevor Phipps of Unearth’s Ironclad Records. If you were a betting man you could probably guess that this sounds like Lamb of God or Pantera’s bastard child.

This is sludgy metal destruction with a Texas flavor. The vocals are as gruff and brutal as you’d expect accompanied by heavy guitars, but something is off with the drumming. The double bass pedal sounds really shitty and it stands out above everything else. We’re talking Lars Ulrich on the last shitty Metallica record bad. “Rivers Bottom” shows the bands heavy groove rock side while the absolute standout track is the thrashy “The Offering.”

If The Destro fixed the awkward drumming and shortened things up a bit and just went with an all out thrash assault they’d be a better band, but they’ve go plenty of time to work on things as this is their first proper release. Interesting albeit a bit mediocre, “As the Coil Unwinds” is a solid attempt that can and should be better next time.

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Pierce the Veil
A Flair for the Dramatic
Equal Vision

Equal Vision has made a critical mistake when signing new bands. Pierce the Veil is a shining example of when a label forgets about integrity and honest rock and roll and signs a flash in the pan with no real substance. You’re not gonna find the next Saves the Day or Coheed and Cambria here folks.

“A Flair For the Dramatic” should sound familiar to you as it sounds exactly like half of the shit that passes for “punk rock” these days. Whiny vocals, lamer lyrics, cookie cutter drums, and an embarrassing look are among Pierce the Veil’s many faults. “Chemical Kids and Mechanical Brides” starts the record with a whimper and its all downhill from there. When singer Vic Feuntes cites Silverchair as one of his main influences you know there’s something wrong. Read more »

Pelican
“City of Echoes”
Hydrahead

This is one of the best metal albums of the year. This instrumental band is poised to get HUGE after this record. Take all the hype you heard about Mastadon and transfer it over to these guys. City of Echoes is a brilliant, epic record that exceeds expectations on all levels and puts Pelican at the top of the heavy metal food chain.

City of Echoes is more accessible then Pelican’s previous works, but you wouldn’t know it from the album’s opener, “Bliss in Concrete.” Sludgy and Heavy riffs kick your ass and then the boys shift gears and lay down one of the best tracks they’ve ever written in the atmospheric and quiet title track. “City of Echoes” is a beautiful song with some heavy moments and not once will you be bothered by the lack of a singer. Read more »

From Autumn to Ashes
“Holding a Wolf By the Ears”
Vagrant

More like From My Hands to the Garbage. FATA have been doing this for too long and keep releasing the same record. This time they recorded with the drummer singing everything. Unfortunately the monotonous yell sounds the same in every uninspired song.

It’s time to hang it up FATA. You missed the boat by a couple years. I wish I knew what the chick from One True Thing is up to now though.

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Hot Cross
“Risk Revival”
Equal Vision

Hot Cross has been around for about six years and was born from the ashes of Off Minor, You & I, and Saetia. The band while finally abandoning its DIY roots have created an album that well, sounds like it should have been released in 1999. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I would have preferred the brutality and intricacies of You and I. Read more »

Betrayed
“Substance”
Equal Vision

Betrayed broke up before they even got started. I believe this record was out for about 2 weeks before these boys called it quits. It’s a damn shame because this is a solid debut.

Betrayed was made of members from Champion and Carry On and was produced by Kurt Ballou of Converge. “Think Twice” and “Substance” set the pace and they never look back. The entire disc clocks in at about 28 minutes. There’s plenty of substance in this release and a good amount of Judge and Youth of Today influence too. While it doesn’t measure up to the brilliance of Have Heart’s disc, “Substance” remains a fun listen.

Every once in a blue moon Equal Vision decides they want to get behind a hardcore band that keeps them true to their roots—they did it with previous bands like Black Cross, but they never seem to get the credit they deserve or the push from the label. “Substance” is one of the best releases on Equal Vision this year and I doubt anyone will remember it even came out by year’s end. I’m happy that if you search hard enough through all the cookie-cutter Fallout Boy and AFI rip-offs you can still find real punk and hardcore bands—Betrayed could have been a band that mattered

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