Music Reviews

Death From Above 1979’s combination of in-your-face dance punk with raw riffage is a sound that is uniquely theirs. Now onto their fourth record, 'Is 4 Lovers', the duo have taken their tried and tested formula and incorporated some experimental new sounds.

ERRA is a band that have seriously put the time in. The quintet have been consistently putting out solid slabs of progressive metalcore music, without ever pushing themselves to the front of the crowd. The band have clearly taken stock of what does well and have streamlined their sound to make things a lot more digestible. This is not to say that they have diluted their overall sound to an unrecognisable degree, but they have harnessed their strength and the result is their most captivating release to date.

'Elasticity' is a good mix of Serj Tankian’s signature vocal wails and captivating yet intriguing lyrics, as well as sounds you’d expect from both his usual solo material and System of a Down.

Aggression is quite often the source of inspiration and delivers a cathartic energy into a band's music, but it is rare that this aggression is channelled into every facet of a record. From the pure visceral vocals, the lyrical content and the instrumentation itself, Death Blooms have let their anger at the world consume every inch of their new record 'Fuck Everything', and the result feels like you've just gone 12 rounds with a heavyweight boxer.

The word ‘legend’ gets banded around a lot nowadays, giving it little credence in the modern world. It can, however, be used when it comes to a band with the kind of influence that Eyehategod have had, over their more than thirty-year reign at the top of the NOLA sludge metal scene. The band return with their sixth studio album 'A History of Nomadic Behavior', a release that has been over three years in the making, with the band having started the writing process all the way back in 2018. They say that all good things come to those who wait, and these sludge titans have earned the right to take as much time as they need to cook up something special. So, with that being said the question must be… have they managed it?

Los Angeles-based four-piece Dead Poet Society lay everything bare on their emotionally palpable debut album, '-!-'. The entire record is a tangible expression of heartbreak and recovery, that offers comfort to others who may feel stuck in a loop of trauma and are trying to break through. 

A Day To Remember are back with a new album, 'You’re Welcome', which sees the band to take on a brand-new ambitious sound. So, after nearly two years of hype and speculation, will the band pull off this new, arena-friendly sound or will they fail miserably?

Innovative young pop prospect Amber Jay releases her debut EP 'Never Too Far From A Dark Thought' on 3rd March. Her blend of dark-pop, alternative synths and honest, emotional vocals make her an extremely exciting artist worth keeping an eye on.

With album number nine, 'For Those That Wish To Exist', Architects are switching up the status quo in more ways than one. The fifteen-track full-length defies the short, sharp releases of singles and EP’s in a fast paced music industry, in favour of a lengthy LP that serves up a heavy dose of lyrical reality, analysing our collective actions that are directly affecting planet earth's destruction and, moreover, our ability to rally round as a society to strive for a better, brighter future.

After kicking off 2021 with a bang by dropping huge new single 'Obsolete', Of Mice & Men have set the standards for this EP incredibly high. The band have labelled these tracks as the beginning of a new era. So does their first music released on SharpTone Records begin the new era fittingly?