Alternative Rock

Idiot Robot – Anti Pop Culture Review

Idiot Robot – Anti Pop Culture Review

“Perusing the promo sump, I stumbled across Idiot Robot, intrigued by the grunge tag they were saddled with. Being an avid fan of the ’80’s/’90’s grunge scene, Seattle rock movement and ’90’s alt-rock in general, I’m a sucker for this shit. Hell, even 2023’s Somnuri album, which kicked endless arse, sealed my love with its earwormy grunge hooks and melodies. Under closer investigation, I realized our resident spongey friend Kenstrosity reviewed the Floridian duo’s self-titled debut album in 2020, where despite endearing elements of nostalgia, the end result was something akin to a dumpster fire. Nearly four years have passed, and everyone has room for improvement, right?” Robot problems.

Transit Method – Othervoid Review

Transit Method – Othervoid Review

Transit Method delivers to us their newest amplified declaration, Othervoid. And it’s prog! Is that not what you expected? Truthfully, Othervoid carries prog rock that reminds me of stuff that doesn’t necessarily qualify as the most heady music—less 70s Rush and more 90s Rush if you catch my drift.” Mass prog transit.

Caligula’s Horse – Charcoal Grace Review

Caligula’s Horse – Charcoal Grace Review

“You never know which bands are going to pull together seemingly disparate minds, whether it be the starving prog fans who can’t agree on anything or the ever-diverging wiles of our own Angry Metal Overlord and Kronos—the polished professor and the angular dreamer. But more so than any other band in the modern progscape, Caligula’s Horse does just that, bridging the gap of the jittery, sweep-starved guitar lover; the hug-craving, sunset-staring sadboi; the chorus-hook, bravado-stricken empath, all with a brand of progressive metal that’s grown alongside genre titans Haken and Leprous in curious, somewhat convergent ways.” Lead a horse to water.

Timechild – Blossom & Plague Review

Timechild – Blossom & Plague Review

Timechild takes the feel-good sounds of hard rock past and fuses a modern-looking, 00’s radio melancholy to form their own brooding yet bolstered identity. Cuts from Blossom & Plague don’t feel far away from the T-injected dad jams of a band like Tremonti or the soulful and virtuosic AOR thump of Winery Dogs, but this unheralded Danish act plays without a notion that bands like that even exist.” Time, tide, and plague.

Sinheresy – Event Horizon Review

Sinheresy – Event Horizon Review

“I know what you’re thinking. That cover, those outfits, the absolutely killer orange-tinted glasses—they must be Italian. And it’s-a true, the members of Sinheresy hail from Trieste, which technically, in its annexed sliver, flies il Tricolore all the same. Also technically, Sinheresy plays metal, albeit in a variety that resembles the anthemic sympho-ish bounce of Olzon-era Nightwish smattered about with Björiffs to provide a kind of glossy crust.” Sinners bleed orange.

Memorrhage – Memorrhage Review

Memorrhage – Memorrhage Review

“Nostalgia is one hell of a drug, but as a creative tool, it can offer us the ability to look at the past to dig through elements that shine rose-tint or otherwise—or at least cover them with a modern spit polish. Not far removed from the idea of Brents’ chiptune grind explorations with Gonemage, Memorrhage explores the br-deng grumblings of Mudvayne, the hazy aggro-interventions of Deftones, and the stop-start core-isms of Zao.” Nu hage music.

Sunbeam Overdrive – Diama Review

Sunbeam Overdrive – Diama Review

Sunbeam Overdrive as a name conjures the gaudy—a would-be leisure suit-wearing hotshot cruising down the coastal highway, top-down, sunglasses on, radio cranked. But the 90’s California kid in me hears this modern style of progressive metal that borrows more from aged successful radio-friendly acts like A Perfect Circle and Sevendust than anyone who plays in the more expected noodling and tricky rhythm definitions of the genre.” Sun’s out, prog’s out.

Vintersea – Woven into Ashes Review

Vintersea – Woven into Ashes Review

“In the past 20 years that bands like Wolves in the Throne Room and Agalloch have been pioneering a shade of the American black metal sound, a few interesting things have happened: black metal got cool and, as such, has continued to add new notches into its total allowable expressions. Youthful bands, who likely grew up finding out about these bigger names alongside other 00s music trends, have erupted with melodic and even fairly accessible atmospheres defining their modern vision of what black metal can be. These visions can feel a little kitchen sink at times, but that doesn’t stop acts like Vintersea from continuing to try and find that special melodic thread that binds their wide-ranging influences together.” New blood, old blackness.

Netherlands – Severance Review

Netherlands – Severance Review

Netherlands has been kicking, screaming, and blowing out subs with furiously fuzzed twangs for a little over ten years now. Up until receiving this promo for their seventh album, Severance, I had no idea this band existed. Powered primarily by Brooklyn native Timo Ellis, ever busy with various groups (Cibo Matto and Morningwood, to name a couple) ranging from power pop to stoner rock to art rock, Netherlands explores the loudest and proudest of what the multi-instrumentalist has assembled over the years.” No sleep til…Netherlands!