Bush - I Beat Loneliness (earMusic) [Rich Piva]
A new Bush album has no business sounding this good in 2025, but the tenth record from the band most known for their 90s output during the grunge era (Sixteen Stone is a classic), has a really good rock album on their hands in the form of the twelve tracks on I Beat Loneliness.
Mr. Rossdale seems like he has a renewed energy at 59, as I caught their set at Welcome To Rockville back in May, and I was surprised how great Bush sounded. This is even more surprising given that I consider their live show when I saw them touring for Sixteen Stone 30 years ago one of the most boring concerts I have ever been to. Gavin was sprinting up and down the aisles in the crowd, jumping into throngs of fans, never missing a beat, even in the record hot temps (95 degrees in May!).
During that set they also played 60 Ways To Forget People, probably the best track on I Beat Loneliness. Catchy and pretty heavy for Bush, this is an excellent example of how this record sounds. Yeah, it is very 2025, and may be overproduced some, and maybe a bit long, but this is some of the best writing and playing on a Bush record in a while.
There is not a ton of ballad fodder on the record, with Scars and the title track kicking off the record in fine fashion with a nice one two punch. Gavin sounds great, and while there is that undercurrent of electronic stuff that he started to incorporated after the first record, this is pretty much a straight up heavy rock record that can hang with any of the butt rock people dig these days.
Other standouts include The Land Of Milk And Honey, the heaviest track on the record, I Am Here To Save Your Life, and the Filter-sounding Love Me Till The Pain Fades. There are no tracks that were an automatic skip, but the ones mentioned would be a worthy addition to any Bush headlining set.
I can’t believe Bush has ten records, and I also really can’t believe their tenth will probably be in their top three when all is said and done. I Beat Loneliness is worth your time if you have even been a fan of the band. 7/10
I can’t believe Bush has ten records, and I also really can’t believe their tenth will probably be in their top three when all is said and done. I Beat Loneliness is worth your time if you have even been a fan of the band. 7/10
Black Map – Hex (Spinefarm) [Matt Bladen]
Hex is fourth album from post-hardcore ‘supergroup’ Black Map, their first signed to Spinefarm and their biggest to date sonically.
Black Map play cinematic, emotional music that builds on post-hardcore into towering alternative rock, ripe for radio play. The trio guitarist Mark Engles (Dredg), drummer Chris Robyn (Far) and vocalist/guitarist Ben Flanagan (The Trophy Fire) have been playing together since 2014 when on hiatus from their other bands, they’ve been quite consistent in their releases since then, evolving with every record until signing with Spinefarm which has seen them lock down in the studio with Saosin guitarist Beau Burchell as producer again to expand on what their previous album Melodoria started.
The key focus was immediacy, cutting the tracks back to give as much as they need to without sticking around too long, every one of these nine tracks packing a lot into sub-four minute runtimes. From the emotional throb of Little Undead, to the return to post-hardcore roots of Oblivion Season, the band have a lot of scope on this record as there’s massive riffs on Disintegrate, spatial shimmering on anthems Tethered and Price To Fix It, and a strong sense of drama on Fake Your Own Life.
If you’ve ever indulged in bands like 30 Seconds To Mars (though probably not good to admit that anymore), Placebo, AFI or even Muse then you'll be able to pick out a lot to like about Black Map’s fourth album Hex. One moment raucous and unrestrained, the next introspective and tender, this Hex will cast a spell over anyone who loves their music leaning on cinematics and human emotion. 7/10
Sometimes music isn’t supposed to grab you right away. Sometimes it needs to surround you first, tighten the air, slow your pulse, and then begin its descent. Beyond What Eyes Can See is one of those records. Haxprocess deal in density and scale. Four tracks spread across nearly 45 minutes, each one layered with sludgy grandeur, death metal intensity, and prog-like structural ambition. This is less an album and more a descent into claustrophobic spaces, internal monologues, and some abyss just out of reach.
Opener Where Even Stars Die is a lumbering titan. Slow, patient, and smothering, it introduces the Haxprocess world without fanfare. Guitars grind like tectonic plates, the drums teeter between precision and punishment, and the vocals sound buried, less performed and more exorcised. The production is grimy but intentional, giving everything a sense of decay without sacrificing clarity.
The Confines Of The Flesh adds more movement without rushing anything. The pacing throughout the album is deliberate almost measured. Every passage is a step deeper, every riff like the slow closing of a door behind you. There are moments of dissonant melody woven into the oppressive atmosphere, hinting at blackened textures without ever fully adopting them. Thy Inner Demon Seed is a lurching monolith, built from alternating sections of blunt force and eerie calm. The transitions feel organic, even when they drag you from murky ambience to full-frontal assault. And that’s part of what makes this record so effective, it never plays for cheap contrast. It breathes. It moves in slow spirals.
Final track Sepulchral Void is an epic in every sense. Thirteen minutes of slow burn, collapsing structures, and a finale that feels earned rather than forced. It doesn’t try to outdo what came before. It simply allows the weight of the record to settle, lingering in those final moments of decay. This isn’t music for multitasking. It demands full immersion, a willingness to sit in discomfort, and an appreciation for the power of atmosphere over immediacy. But if you give it the space, Beyond What Eyes Can See doesn’t just unfold, it engulfs.
Meditative punishment from the void. Vast, slow-burning, and suffocating. 9/10
Filth - Time To Rot (Me Saco Un Ojo Records/Rotted Life) [GC]
The questions to ask when you release a debut, should it be an album or an EP? Not sure what Sweden’s Filth have gone for on Time To Rot, as at 6 tracks I personally wouldn’t class it as an EP because it’s too long and certainly wouldn’t class it as an album as its too short? Whatever it is classed as they are about to release it so here’s my review of it.
When you hear a band is from Sweden you almost expect to hear a certain sound, crisp melodic guitars, soaring harmonies, if you know, you know etc, Filth have decided to not do this and instead are the completely other end of the spectrum, Odious Obsession is a swampy, sludgey sounding affair with absolutely no polish or grandeur just disgusting sounding noises and slow, lurching noises, there are some nice riffs in there and overall it’s a decent way to get things going, Time To Rot doesn’t add or expand on the sound, its just more of the same but for a little bit longer, in fact it feels like the first track hasn’t actually finished and has just been extended into this one until the end when we get a little flurry of speed and melody you finally feel like this is a different song.
Flesh Dress probably could have done with a silly horror movie intro as it feels like that sort of track, musically it incorporates a bit more of a brutal death metal element which could usually hinder the sound, but it’s used in a much more old school way sound wise and makes this the standout track, Live In Agony Die In Pain bludgeons its way out of the speakers with blast beats a plenty and more crudely wonderful guitar work that manages to mix the lo-fi filth with some precise and sharp riffing and with a wonderful throwback Cannibal Corpse sounding mid-section, it’s all mixed together in a delightfully disgusting way and is another highlight.
A new direction is threatened on Decrepit Womb which has a slow and atmospheric opening reminiscent of familiar Swe-Death bands but, that is not that case, once this is over its back to the sludgy business as usual, its feels like it takes forever to actually get going, which does annoy slightly but the rest of the song is another decent if not overwhelmingly brilliant listen, so Emaciated is one last blast of putridity and its not re-writing any rule books or offering anything shockingly different from what you have heard throughout this EP/album, it’s got blast beats and good drum work with good solid guitar work and a bassline that holds everything together to end in a decent if not slightly predicable way.
It’s clear to see that Filth is not trying to re-invent the death metal wheel and shock you with what they can do, they have their preferred sound which is lo-fi swampy death metal with a sprinkle of brutality here and there for good measure. There isn’t much wrong with Time To Rot, and I enjoyed listening to it but that was about it, I just enjoyed it, there was nothing that made it stand head and shoulders above anything else I have heard recently but there was also nothing that made me detest its very existence? A decent listen if you don’t expect too much from it, if you do expect the world and more look elsewhere. 6/10
It’s clear to see that Filth is not trying to re-invent the death metal wheel and shock you with what they can do, they have their preferred sound which is lo-fi swampy death metal with a sprinkle of brutality here and there for good measure. There isn’t much wrong with Time To Rot, and I enjoyed listening to it but that was about it, I just enjoyed it, there was nothing that made it stand head and shoulders above anything else I have heard recently but there was also nothing that made me detest its very existence? A decent listen if you don’t expect too much from it, if you do expect the world and more look elsewhere. 6/10
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