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Articles by Eddie Sims
ALBUM REVIEW: Gone Are The Good Days - Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!
Album Reviews Alternative Post Hardcore Reviews July 30, 2021July 29, 2021 Eddie Sims Chunk! No Captain Chunk!, Fearless Records, Gone Are The Good Days, Turn The Page If you weren’t one of the many kids sweating over the beef between FOUR YEAR STRONG and A DAY TO REMEMBER back in the mid 00s, then the genre of easycore might go right over your head.
Boss Keloid: A Long Climb Up Lung Mountain
You may or may not be familiar with the monstrously optimistic musical tidal wave that is BOSS KELOID, but make no mistake that your life is slightly less colourful without their music in it. Jumping from strange technical sludge to huge progressive soundscapes, the Wigan group have grown and developed into one of the most beloved and critically acclaimed groups the country has produced in a while.
Holding Absence: The Greatest Step Forward
There are few bands that are shining as brightly as HOLDING ABSENCE right now. With the huge success ARCHITECTS and PARKWAY DRIVE are currently finding proving that with the right formula and enough tenacity even the heaviest of metalcore acts can find real mainstream success, it certainly begs the question. What will happen when a band has the right formula from the off? What heights are achievable then? Well, HOLDING ABSENCE might just be the band to answer these questions.
ALBUM REVIEW: There is No God Where I Am - Cruelty
If there was one thing guaranteed to happen over the lockdown period, it was a boom in artistic output thanks to the extra downtime everyone had. Hardcore saw albums spew forth from every level of the genre, but most notably have been the albums from the likes of CHUBBY AND THE GANG and their intense focus on sounds of yesteryear. The quality of their sound has made them one of the more hotly tipped bands the genre has housed in a while, and now it seems CRUELTY are set to follow the same path.
Enforced: With A Reckoning Force
Thrash metal has always had a penchant for taking on board the pointers from other genres. With its roots planted firmly within the punk rock scene from the decade prior, the 80s birth of thrash proved to be one of the most timeless moments in musical history. As now we look wide eyed at the exceptional revival of the scene and sound currently happening, the bands at the forefront of its resurgence have a true grasp on the diverse nature of the sound that captured the world.
EP REVIEW: Nyarlathotep - Estuarine
Avant-garde grindcore isn’t a genre you’d ever really expect to exist. But alas, as big as the internet is and also the fact that weirder things will still happen in the space it takes you to read this review, it seems ESTUARINE have found a viable niche for themselves to writhe around.
Lastelle: True Strength is Delicate
Band Features Features Post Hardcore Post-Rock April 5, 2021 Eddie Sims Delicate, Lastelle, Saviour Management If you dig deep enough into the UK music scene and there really is a wealth of world class music that the seemingly shining light of exposure never really found. Not for any fault of their own, but sometimes breaking through into the ‘mainstream’ can be a task that relies on entirely on luck and being in the right place at the right time.
ALBUM REVIEW: Johannes - Decline of the I
DECLINE OF THE I definitely fall into the deeper end of the conceptual spectrum. With their mastermind AK polishing up their first trilogy of interconnected albums, the group now aims for even more philosophical debates with their latest release Johannes, and the beginning of a new trilogy chapter for the group. Focussing this time on Søren Kierkegaard’s theological and philosophical works.
EP REVIEW: Beset by False Prophets - Twitch of the Death Nerve
British extreme metal tyrants TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE dropped a pretty disgusting album last year in amongst all the real life filth we all had to trudge through. The cathartic release albums as extreme as these brings is something unique to the genre of brutal death metal and a reason why so many find it appealing. Alongside the hilarity that comes with extremity as well, that is.
EP REVIEW: Dusk of Anguish - Distant
Deathcore EP Reviews Reviews March 25, 2021 Eddie Sims Distant, Dusk of Anguish, Hold Tight, Unique Leader Records There’s been a decent crop of deathcore recently that has actually felt like it’s pushing the genre forward in the right direction. From the stunningly heavy and atmospheric work of HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH and BLACK TONGUE to the epic progressive work of MENTAL CRUELTY and their latest singles.
ALBUM REVIEW: Kill Grid - Enforced
In the same way KREATOR separated themselves from the Big Four with their immense brutality, so too do ENFORCED enshrine themselves as a beast entirely unto their own on their debut Kill Grid. The Virginia-based group were already turning heads with their previous remastering effort At The Walls, but the lingering feeling that there was so much more to come was something that coated the release.
EP REVIEW: Delicate - Lastelle
Alternative EP Reviews Pop-Rock Post Hardcore Post Punk Post-Rock Reviews February 28, 2021February 28, 2021 Eddie Sims Delicate, EP, Lastelle, Saviour Management It is difficult to imagine LASTELLE being anything other than a seasoned band if you were to listen to their Delicate EP without any prior knowledge to the DIY act.
Lonely The Brave: Crossing That Victory Line
If you are able to cast your memory back to the turn of the decade you might be able to remember when Warped Tour came to the UK for the first time in decades. Despite the largely stacked line up of that first return, a late coming band were booked at seemingly the last minute to round everything off. That band was a fresh LONELY THE BRAVE, doing the rounds to hype up their, at the time, as yet untitled debut record.
Distorted Sound Magazine
GASSED UP have released a new music video! The new music video, for the track Section 20, is the brand new single from the Preston-based hardcore/metalcore band and is their first first new music since 2019’s Gnostic State EP. The new single highlights the rise in knife and violent crime in the UK over the past years, and how easy it is as a youth to be roped into narcotics and a life of violence and crime.
High Command: The Impending Crusade
Kevin Fitzgerald of HIGH COMMAND is a more timid individual than his musical output lets on. Having formed the band in the first half of the decade and released their first demos by 2016, the Worcester, Massachusetts heavyweights soon established themselves as one of the more unique offerings the new wave of modern thrash has to offer.
Distorted Sound Magazine
BLOODY HAMMERS have released a new music video! The new music video, for the track Not Of This World, is taken from the band’s brand new album, Songs Of Unspeakable Terror, which was released on Friday. Speaking about the new music video and it’s accompanying music video, frontman and multi-instrumentalist Anders Manga says “Devallia and I knocked out this video a couple weeks ago in our little cabin basement.
Distorted Sound Magazine
THY CATAFALQUE have release a new music video. The new music video, for the track Napút, is taken from the bands recent album Naiv, which was released in February last year. Speaking on the new music video, band mastermind Tamás Kátai says, “this is a video we shot in my home town, Makó. Many of these locations are the places I grew up in and although nothing fancy is going on, it was nice to get back to where the songs came from.
Distorted Sound Magazine
Album News Alternative Hard Rock News Pop-Rock Post-Rock LONELY THE BRAVE have released a short documentary about the recording, writing, and meaning behind their most recent single, Keeper. The single was the first song the band wrote with new vocalist Jack Bennett and the documentary delves into what the song means to each member of the band and also gives an insight into how Jack has not only recorded his own vocals, but has helped mix and master the track.
Distorted Sound Magazine
Before metalcore, the world of underground hardcore was a largely a one sided affair. Not to its detriment, given how widespread the influence of the American underground has been, but the one sided nature and vehement defence of it made the swelling ranks of the hardcore scene become an increasingly popular niche interest.
ALBUM REVIEW: 10 Years Gone - Deafheaven
Despite the depressing lack of live performances, the amount of creative output otherwise has definitely helped fill the void left over. The fact that anywhere you look there are ample selections of both newer and older talents providing the best work many have ever put out thanks to the time gifted by the pandemic. Indeed, even live music has changed, with livestreams and recorded live performances becoming more the norm than ever before in the absence of opportunity to play to a live crowd.
Napalm Death: 40 Years Of Rebellion
There are few bands that are as influential as NAPALM DEATH and even fewer that have remained as influential throughout their entire career. The Birmingham squad have shaken the tree ferociously since their inception, and when Barney Greenway joined the troupe in the late 80’s the group eventually became the band we know and love today.
INTRODUCING: Young Culture
Alternative Features Introducing Pop-Rock October 26, 2020 Eddie Sims Alex Magnan, Good As Gold Group, Rude Records, Young Culture Standing out amongst the crowd can be a difficult thing nowadays. With so much available, it’s nigh on impossible to truly make a name for yourself without first committing yourself to a lifetime of grinding on the road due to the after effects of the streaming generation. In reaction to this there has been an explosion in creativity when it comes to sound, though.
ALBUM REVIEW: Young Culture - Young Culture
Album Reviews Alternative Pop-Rock Reviews October 21, 2020 Eddie Sims Good As Gold Group, Rude Records, Young Culture If the sheer size of song THE 1975 are capable of writing attracts you to them but the pretention they exude puts you off then fear not; we understand. It’s easy to understand why bands like that reach the heights of success they do, and why bands such as BUSTED have erupted into the stratosphere in the past.
ALBUM REVIEW: Lament - Touché Amoré
Album Reviews Alternative Post Hardcore Reviews October 11, 2020 Eddie Sims Epitaph Records, Lament, Prescription PR, Touche Amore TOUCHÉ AMORÉ have been somehow managing to not only grow their popularity with each release but deepen their cult status as the most consistent post-hardcore band ever.
ALBUM REVIEW: 20/20 - Knuckle Puck
Album Reviews Pop-Punk Reviews September 19, 2020 Eddie Sims 20/20, Good As Gold Group, Knuckle Puck, Rise Records Ever since KNUCKLE PUCK released their seminal debut record, it’s fair to say they have never been fully able to recapture the exquisite sense of exploration on that record.
ALBUM REVIEW: S&M2 - Metallica
There is no denying the legendary status of METALLICA at this point in time, and the fact the band simply keep adding to their already unimaginable legacy is truly incredible. Whether it be headlining Glastonbury or releasing an epic double album, METALLICA have never been ones to rest on their laurels, and a band as classic as them running at such a high gear is amazing stuff.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Cosmic Key II - Crafting the Conspiracy
Album Reviews Deathcore Reviews August 27, 2020August 26, 2020 Eddie Sims Crafting The Conspiracy, Earsplit PR, Innerstrength Records, The Cosmic Key II One of the best things about the core genres is their incredible ability to produce countless new iterations of themselves through their near limitless supply of new bands that flood the scenes every year.
ALBUM REVIEW: Yokai - Within Destruction
Album Reviews Deathcore Reviews August 18, 2020 Eddie Sims Ultra Heavy Records, Within Destruction, Yokai You don’t need to dig particularly deep to find some hate towards the WITHIN DESTRUCTION sound. Their audacity to fuse the obscenity of the slam genre with the more ‘mainstream’ sounds of deathcore made them an easy target for anyone who felt they were ruining the sanctity of a genre basically made up of awful production value and cliched riffing.
ALBUM REVIEW: Free Us From Existence - Concrete
Album Reviews Hardcore Punk Reviews August 9, 2020 Eddie Sims Black Voodoo Records, Concrete, Earsplit PR, Free Us From Existence CONCRETE definitely embody the righteous rage of hardcore better than most. Whilst their sound doesn’t necessarily match the punk rock influences from their home city, the band take the attitude and hardman status to new levels with their newest release, bleakly titled Free Us From Existence.
ALBUM REVIEW: Kaliyuga - In Hearts Wake
If you’ve followed the trajectory of IN HEARTS WAKE then you might have actually been able to predict this eventual shift towards brutish strength after their career of soaring melodic heights. Having always been on the side of the metalcore spectrum that’s pushed towards more traditional song structures and a focus on strong melodic choruses to really highlight the message of the songs.
ALBUM REVIEW: No Wilderness Deep Enough - Steve Von Till
This far into his career, there is little doubt in anyone’s mind the legitimate legacy STEVE VON TILL has. His work with NEUROSIS aside, his time creating with TRIBES OF NEUROT and HARVESTMAN has allowed him forge a unique path with his career, and his four solo records all add to an artistic legacy few come close to matching.
ALBUM REVIEW: Sex, Death, & The Infinite Void - Creeper
CREEPER have always had a tinge of the theatrical woven into everything they do. From the very first moments when they stepped onto the scene, they’re songs oozed with a confidence that very few new bands have, and it was awesome. CREEPER have always owned everything they’ve done, and as a result everything the band have released has progressively gotten better until Eternity, In Your Arms cemented them as a true, new British legacy to watch. And then they seemingly called it quits.
Distorted Sound Magazine
There are more similarities between Satanism and punk than initially meets the eye. And ACXDC are at the heart of the cross section. Where DIY meets the adversary, where rejecting the mainstream can be read in multiple ways, and where violence, intensity, and hatred are all positive things to be said about music. And you can definitely say that the newest release and second full length from ACXDC is an intensely violent spat of bubbling hatred and is utterly fucking brilliant for it.
ALBUM REVIEW: Close - OHHMS
OHHMS are a bit of a special band. Their progressive doom base is bolstered by a deep running punk rock spirit and it results in some of the most interesting and compelling music you can find. With a history of writing some of the most impressively epic songs, OHHMS have always been able to keep their music pulsing with energy that erupts beautifully from front man Paul Waller, both in his on stage antics but also in his gravelly and unique voice that carries so much power and emotion.
Deftones: White Pony 20 Years On - Looking Back To Prepare For The Future
It’s not hard to hear just why White Pony gets the love it gets 20 years down the line. The record is a confident defiance of every musical movement of the time and in doing so became the stand out record of the early 2000s. DEFTONES had made a true masterpiece after two prior releases that had done good work in putting the Sacramento pathfinders on the map thanks in both to viscous and ferocious creativity.
Xibalba: A True Place Of Fear
With bands like TOMB MOLD and SPECTRAL VOICE proving there to be ample room for a revival of old school OBITUARY worship, it’s actually a bit of a wonder why no one is championing XIBALBA as one of the finest purveyors of this thick-as-tar sludgy death metal sound; because that is exactly what they are.
ALBUM REVIEW: Aeons of Misery - Visions of Disfigurement
British heaviness has been on a progressive upward slope for the past decade, with a seeming endless array of quality acts working their way up the ranks of the underground to help solidify the scene as one of the most vibrant and excellent in the world. As the hardcore and beatdown scenes swell, so to does the deathcore and slam side of the spectrum, with bands like INGESTED and OSIAH proving just how brutal Brits can get.
EP REVIEW: Same Side - Same Side
Alternative EP Reviews Pop-Punk Reviews June 9, 2020 Eddie Sims Good As Gold Group, Pure Noise Records, Same Side Whilst THE STORY SO FAR take the time off after their impressively accessible and emotive last album Proper Dose, SAME SIDE is the next project to take over the attention of THE STORY SO FAR guitarist Kevin Geyer.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Ghost Inside - The Ghost Inside
There are few albums that come with as much anticipation as The Ghost Inside. This self-titled record represents the five year path to recovery the Californian band have taken since their tragic accident in 2015. The band were slowly building upon every release to become recognised as the pinnacle of melodic hardcore at the time thanks to their seminal Get What Your Give album and the equally excellent Dear Youth.
Beggar: Stopped Before You Start
Things are not easy for bands at the moment. There’s a big scary pandemic and as a result the gigging lifeblood of the alternative scene has ground to an unfortunate halt. With no end in sight for the moment as well, the situation is as dire as dire can be. For a band like BEGGAR, this has meant that the release of their exceptional debut Compelled to Repeat has been mired with muffled praise, as opposed to celebrated with the rapturous applause the record truly deserves.
I Am Destruction: Carving A Path Of Destruction
Stephen Mashburn is no stranger to the international technical death metal scene. Having formed his band I AM DESTRUCTION back in 2013, he quickly asserted himself as a talent to watch whilst he proceeded to grow the ranks of a genre widening with every passing year. Starting as a one man project, Stephen was quick to want to grow his ideas even further.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Shock Doctrine - COPE
Album Reviews Hardcore Reviews May 27, 2020 Eddie Sims COPE, Major Publicity, The Shock Doctrine With British hardcore and metalcore currently doing particularly well at the moment, you need to do quite a lot to stand out from amongst the pack.
ALBUM REVIEW: Años En Infierno - Xibalba
Despite the incredibly welcomed resurgence of throwback death metal making massive waves, there have been some bands that have always been plugging the gap. With GATECREEPER and TOMB MOLD quite rightly getting high praise for not only their recent musical releases but also with the sheer colossal guitar tone that both forges onward into the void whilst holding close what made death metal great in the first place.
Tenside: Boldly Stepping Into The Next Chapter
There is never a better time to change things for the better than right now. As RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE eternally put it, there truly is no better time than the present to make positive changes to any aspect of your life. And in translation, being in a band can be a constantly evolving process, with things changing from album cycle to album cycle, as well as potential line up changes within the band itself.
Distorted Sound Magazine
If you have paid even the vaguest bit of interest into the British alternative music scene over the past 10 years then you will have likely come into contact with the HAGGARD CAT duo. With the vocals and guitars handled by Matt and the energetic rhythms by Tom, the duo were formally noise makers-in-chief for HECK, the post-hardcore unit that became synonymous with sheer chaos thanks to their live shows.
Desert Storm: Rooted Deep In The Scene
Being a part of the underground scene and working your way through the ranks is a crucial rite of passage for any band who want to make anything of themselves. With a music scene often bulging at the seams finding a way to cut through the fat and find your niche is what separates the good from the bad, and being able to build and fortify your empire through consistent releases with a sound diverse enough to capture the hearts of multiple genres is what separates the great from the good.
ALBUM REVIEW: Requiem (Live at Roadburn 2019) - Triptykon
Few bands are as encompassed in legacy as TRIPTYKON are. With their heritage going all the way back to the very birth of the black metal genre thanks to Tom G Warrior’s career as the grunting frontman of HELLHAMMER and eventually the eternally excellent CELTIC FROST.
Huntsmen: Connection Through Story
Storytelling has long been a part of music, and when done well it can be utterly captivating. Even when limited to simple song inspiration, bands have ample opportunity to tell enthralling stories. Spread that across to fully fledged concepts and you have the opportunity for even more depth and detail that can drag an album into the all time classic category.
ALBUM REVIEW: The Sharp Blade of Integrity - Ash Return
There is one thing the world can genuinely never have too much of, and that is positivity. And when you can tack that positivity onto a bounding hardcore record then the whole project becomes immediately more appealing as well, and thankfully there is also no shortage of new hardcore bands having emerged over the past few years.
ALBUM REVIEW: Satan is King - ACxDC
Despite Satan is King being the bands 2nd full length release, ACxDC have been frothing bile into the American hardcore and powerviolence scene since 2003 with their blasphemous combination of satan, straight edge lifestyle, and political anger. With more split EPs than we’ve had hot dinners, ACxDC released their first full length back in 2014 before alternating between playing live and taking time off.
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