Turnstile is a hardcore band. For some reason this seems to be a debate online. No matter how many synth interludes you have, no matter how many songs that sound like The Cure, no matter how catchy and melodic the 14 songs on their new album Never Enough are, no matter how many national TV late night performances they have, Turnstile is a hardcore band.
You listen to the title track and you may ask, Rich, are you crazy? This is not hardcore music!!! I would reply that yes, I am, but not about this. The title track may be airy and atmospheric, but that chorus is pure sing back to the singer shit no matter how much candy it tastes like. Sole comes next and rips it up and try to keep the pit down during this one, even with the massive synth presence. That breakdown!!! Yeah, I Care sounds like The Cure and is super poppy, but that bridge!!! Is that a trumpet at the beginning of Dreaming? Hardcore Mombo!!!
Hardcore shoegaze you say? Yup, that is what Light Design is all about. I know you want the pit to start back up again, and that is what Dull is here for in all of its chunky breakdown start and stop and start again glory. No starting and stopping with Sunshower, just starting and ripping the place up for two straight minutes. It really should have ended there, I did not need the last minute of flute, but this is Turnstile so deal with it, it gives the old guys in the pit a chance to catch their breath. A six-plus minute hardcore track? I mean try to tell me that Look Out For Me doesn’t rule, even the part in the back half that sounds like you are at the club.
Does the band have a Roxy Music record in their collection? Seein’ Stars tell me they do. If you have been sitting here listening to Never Enough asking the band to turn up the tempo and the NYHC vibes you should be happy with Birds. You may expect a song called Slowdive to not have a take on the Sweet Leaf riff, especially with me calling the band hardcore shoegaze, but here we are and I am happy to be here. Time Is Happening sounds like something right off of Glow On and that is just fine. The closer, Magic Man may have been unnecessary; a three-minute voice and synth track that is a bit of a bridge to nowhere.
Are there a few too many interludes? Is the record like five to seven minutes too long? Does Never Enough not move the bar far from their last classic, Glow On? I would answer yes to all of those things, but when this band is on, there is no one better out there is any genre and no matter how you label them, but this shit is hardcore, through and through. 8/10
Buckcherry - Roar Like Thunder (Earache) [Matt Bladen]
For more than 25 years Buckcherry have a rock n roll survivors, Josh Todd has fought demons, dragged himself through hell and lived to tell the tale on the other side. Those tales usually take the form of hip shaking, head nodding, rock that roots itself in the Sunset Strip sleaze and the pub rock riffs of AC/DC. In recent years they've seen their stock rise in Europe, especially the UK where they've always been a popular act, but have seen recent songs/albums get plenty of airplay and high chart positions, their sell out tour from last year is proof of this and Roar Like Thunder.
Their eleventh album is another set of rock n roll anthems ready to be released on the world, when they next set out on a tour, which won't be long for these perennial road dogs. Again written by Todd and guitarist Stevie Dacanay alongside the direction of producer Marti Frederiksen and his son Evan, (mastered by Anthony Focx) Roar Like Thunder drips with attitude, with the AC/DC thrust of Come On and Machine Gun and the anthemic rock of the title track and Blackout, Buckcherry still write songs to be shouted along to, built around a killer vocal hook and a bluesy riff.
That rough vocal of Todd still as strong as ever, his commitment to his craft and his music still ringing strong while his lyrical whit gives tracks such as I Go Boom and Talkin' Bout Sex more clout than just being the dirty, little ditties they could be in another bands hands. While they will they might not ever write another crossover success such as Lit Up or Crazy Bitch again, Buckcherry know how to knock out a rock n roll anthem and they're riding high on this new international recognition as a 25 year overnight sensation. 8/10
Earl Of Hell - Earl Of Hell (Copper Feast Records) [Rich Piva]
A little bit garage punk, a little bit fuzzy stoner, a little bit grunge, a little bit post punk, a lot spooky and evil, Earl Of Hell's debut full-length brings the riffs long with the thrills and chills, delivered with a more-punk-than-you attitude and a not-afraid-of-the-90s vibe that jumps out of your stereo to smack you on the back of the head.
We got riffs with The Infernal Dream, nice and fuzzy ones too. I really dig the vocals on this track and throughout the entire record, not because the singer is a virtuoso, but because the voice(s) fit perfectly for the music and the vibe. I love how the vocals are layered and even some oohs thrown in there. Impaler is a quick little ripper that reminds me more of Venom than anything else, not the combo of Alice In Chains, Killing Joke, and Black Sabbath that their bio calls out. You hear that stuff on the record, but not on this one. But tell me you don’t hear some AIC in the next one, Brave New Age, just without any kind of fancy recording equipment.
Are there a few too many interludes? Is the record like five to seven minutes too long? Does Never Enough not move the bar far from their last classic, Glow On? I would answer yes to all of those things, but when this band is on, there is no one better out there is any genre and no matter how you label them, but this shit is hardcore, through and through. 8/10
Buckcherry - Roar Like Thunder (Earache) [Matt Bladen]
For more than 25 years Buckcherry have a rock n roll survivors, Josh Todd has fought demons, dragged himself through hell and lived to tell the tale on the other side. Those tales usually take the form of hip shaking, head nodding, rock that roots itself in the Sunset Strip sleaze and the pub rock riffs of AC/DC. In recent years they've seen their stock rise in Europe, especially the UK where they've always been a popular act, but have seen recent songs/albums get plenty of airplay and high chart positions, their sell out tour from last year is proof of this and Roar Like Thunder.
Their eleventh album is another set of rock n roll anthems ready to be released on the world, when they next set out on a tour, which won't be long for these perennial road dogs. Again written by Todd and guitarist Stevie Dacanay alongside the direction of producer Marti Frederiksen and his son Evan, (mastered by Anthony Focx) Roar Like Thunder drips with attitude, with the AC/DC thrust of Come On and Machine Gun and the anthemic rock of the title track and Blackout, Buckcherry still write songs to be shouted along to, built around a killer vocal hook and a bluesy riff.
That rough vocal of Todd still as strong as ever, his commitment to his craft and his music still ringing strong while his lyrical whit gives tracks such as I Go Boom and Talkin' Bout Sex more clout than just being the dirty, little ditties they could be in another bands hands. While they will they might not ever write another crossover success such as Lit Up or Crazy Bitch again, Buckcherry know how to knock out a rock n roll anthem and they're riding high on this new international recognition as a 25 year overnight sensation. 8/10
Earl Of Hell - Earl Of Hell (Copper Feast Records) [Rich Piva]
A little bit garage punk, a little bit fuzzy stoner, a little bit grunge, a little bit post punk, a lot spooky and evil, Earl Of Hell's debut full-length brings the riffs long with the thrills and chills, delivered with a more-punk-than-you attitude and a not-afraid-of-the-90s vibe that jumps out of your stereo to smack you on the back of the head.
We got riffs with The Infernal Dream, nice and fuzzy ones too. I really dig the vocals on this track and throughout the entire record, not because the singer is a virtuoso, but because the voice(s) fit perfectly for the music and the vibe. I love how the vocals are layered and even some oohs thrown in there. Impaler is a quick little ripper that reminds me more of Venom than anything else, not the combo of Alice In Chains, Killing Joke, and Black Sabbath that their bio calls out. You hear that stuff on the record, but not on this one. But tell me you don’t hear some AIC in the next one, Brave New Age, just without any kind of fancy recording equipment.
Calling, Is The Crow does live up to the Killing Joke comparison, and is the coolest and most post punk track on the record, and is probably my favourite track. The lo-fi proto doom of My Twisted Mind rips while Macabra Cadabra, my other favourite track, has another cool riff and certainly lives up to its title, especially during that solo. Waiting To Die brings more of the grunge vibes with some more of those cool vocals. The closer, the seven-plus minute Bloodlines, is Earl Of Hell’s attempt at an epic doom track and they knock it out of the park. Great stuff.
Franic enough to make you want to break stuff and scary enough to make you want to run and hide, Earl Of Hell delivers a perfect combination with their self-titled debut, A huge step up from their very good first EP. 8/10
Dahuz - Cineres Mundi (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
Cineres Mundi translates to The Ashes Of The World and this French band certainly write music that could soundtrack the apocalypse, inspired by Greek mythology and how the sun will inevitably destroy all of us. Any album the depicts the end of the world you'd expect to be menacing but also very weighty, traits that these five tracks all have as each of them increase length and in scope creating a vast sonic soundscape that acts a journey towards it's 17 minute climax.
Franic enough to make you want to break stuff and scary enough to make you want to run and hide, Earl Of Hell delivers a perfect combination with their self-titled debut, A huge step up from their very good first EP. 8/10
Dahuz - Cineres Mundi (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]
Cineres Mundi translates to The Ashes Of The World and this French band certainly write music that could soundtrack the apocalypse, inspired by Greek mythology and how the sun will inevitably destroy all of us. Any album the depicts the end of the world you'd expect to be menacing but also very weighty, traits that these five tracks all have as each of them increase length and in scope creating a vast sonic soundscape that acts a journey towards it's 17 minute climax.
This debut album from Dahuz has been in production since 2020 but was finished in 2024, so these five monstrous tracks have had a long gestation period but they're all very long in themselves so probably needed the time to craft these dark, progressive pieces that total an hour of intensity. 7/10
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