The new release from Alkaline Trio makes the Chicago band stands above the punk rock movement, as this

band is really starting to develop their own ROCK sound. Already started with the previous “Good Mourning”,

the band keeps me releasing good quality rock songs and the quality of the new ones is top notch. Opened

by the hit “Time To Waste”, and followed by what you could never expect, as a fast tune like “The Poison”,

“Crimson” is a 13 track record where Matt Skiba and Co. are able to put their own personality in every songs.

The lyrics still deal with loss, love, death, friendship and depression, and tunes like “Dethbed”, “Your Neck”

and “Mercy Me” are incredibly catchy and serious. The trio does not only play your classic punk rock

instruments anyway, as they have pianos, keys, violins and string all over the place, as on songs like “Smoke”

or “Time To Waste”. “Crimson” is a stand alone disc, where you can hear the soul of a REAL band. This new

DELUXE VERSION also features a second CD that contains all of the same songs on “Crimson” (for a total of

14 tracks), but played in a different way: there are a lot of demos, acoustic verisons of songs, matt’s home

demo songs and so much more. The best stuff comes from the acoustic versions of “Mercy Me” and “Time To

Waste”. Must own!

Canadian bands and friends Alexisonfire and Moneen comes together on one single CD to make a split album

where every band covers the other band’s songs. The result is a six song EP made of funny moments, where

the two gourps just try to have fun and deliver something new. “Passing Out In America” and “Tonight I Am

Going To Was The Hippy” by Alexisonfire are gorgeous, with screamo parts fused with hardcore guitar riffs

that are seriously tight. Moneen delivers “Bleed And Blister (Version Two)” and “Sharks In Danger”, where

they show how it’s possible to put the pop in the post hardcore. If you like both bands and cheap price EP’s,

this is for you.

The latest release from Bleeding Throught starts with the lead singer screaming “I Don’t Give A Fuck” and you could

actually expect this band does not give a fuck about anything, but you couldn’t be more wrong. “The Truth”, which

starts as a metal core opera masterpiece, becomes boring in a quite short time. With songs like “For Love And

Failing” and “Love In Slow Motion” you can hear who the six piece is trying to create something new, failing

miserably. After “Kill To Believe” and “Line In The Sand” it’s all clear that this is the last of a never ending list of

metal core records that sound all of the same, with a perfect, clear and brillant production, a nice cover art but

without the most important things: ideas. Already heard, already seen, already felt. It’s hard today to impress, and

surely Bleeding Throught are not putting a lot of effort to leave a mark.

Slowride’s third album “C/S” signs a new direction for the band, which keeps on growing up on new level of

progression. On their first album “As I Survived The Suicide Bomber”, Slowride played a lot of pop punk melodies on

tunes like “Montana” and “Winter”. On their second album “Building A Building”, this Dallas, TX trio played a more

complex sound, with hints of post hardcore filled with melodic pop and hand clapping, but on the new “C/S” I do

believe Slowride have gained a major maturity. With such songs as “The Year Of The Snake”, this band shows the world

how they can play new and innovative sounds. Produced by Stuart Sikes (The White Stripes, Jets To Brazil, The

Walkmen), “C/S” is the final climax of Slowride’s discography: a solid record made for pure fans of rock n roll and post

hardcore music.

Maybe the best compilation in the world. Surely the compilation with the best package ever (buy it to check it out),

the “Masters Of Horror” compilation is a collection made of a double CD filled with unreleased songs from dark bands,

that love horror movies, Dario Argento and darker lyrics. It is all inside this package: fury, screams for hell, violence,

rape, and even more. Bands like Alkaline Trio, Fear Before The March Of Flames, Gratitude, Norma Jean, Funeral For

A Friend are the ones with the best tracks, but you cannot forget about Armor For Sleep, Every Time I Die, Murder

By Death, Scary Kids Scaring KIds and Bear Vs Shark. The 30 bands on this album have something original and

unique in them, and if you think you know all about good music, wait till you hear this double CD.

Small Arms Dealer features old members of On The Might Of Princes, Contra, Explosivo! and they hail from Long

Island and they play straight fucking punk rock, with no compromises. Produced by Phil Douglas of Latterman, “A

Single Unifying Theory” is a “say hello goodbye kickass” album, that you won’t regret you bought. When I popped it

into the stereo, I couldn’t not play it loud, with the girl who lives next to me screaming and shouting at me telling me

to shut that off. No seriously, this music is meant to be played loud and to hurt, and such tunes as “Your Sister’s A

Werewolf” and “The Small Arms Psalms Dealer Suite” are really too smart and fast for not being played aloud. “A

Single Unifying Theory” is made of 32 minutes and 54 seconds of pure fun, punk and sweat. If you like bands as

Latterman, Smoke Or Fire, Kid Dynamite and Dillinger Four, get this. It will leave you screaming for more!

The latest band to got signed to Ferret is xBishopx, with their name between two “x” ’s, because they are a

straightedge hardcore band. They hail from South Florida and sound faster than anything else I heard on this planet.

Maybe they sound slower than a grind core band, but that’s another thing. “Suicide Party” is filled with hardcore

anthems where heavy and fast guitar riffs find themselves fighting between screaming vocals and aggressive

drummings. The band delivers anthems like “xBishopx Basically Owns Your Face” and “Let’s Get Free” that are like a

fist in your face, with a hardcore attitude and straightedge beliefs. The songs are all shorter than two minutes

except a couple ones, but it’s really great to hear songs like “Ingest” and “Next Big Thing” where as soon as you

realize how the song is done, it stops. “Suicide Party” is a hardcore album from die hard fans of the genre, for people

who listen to Gorilla Biscuits and Youth Of Today, not just for the average fans of Comeback Kid and the new

generation.

“Under The Gun” is the first DVD compilation released by Ferret Music, and it features a lot of hot stuff. After 10

years and 43 releases, Ferret has become one of the finest hardcore label out there and this DVD contains all of the

videos ever released by bands on Ferret, plus a couple of anticipations from upcoming DVD’s. But let’s start from the

videos. On this DVD you will find the older bands on this label as The Rise and A Static Lullaby, as well as older

videos by Every Time I Die and From Autumn To Ashes. Among the newest videos, you can watch some of the finest

videos ever made in the alternative music scene, with “Kill The Music” by Every Time I Die and “Vulture” by A Life

Once Lost, which are truly amazing. Some more hot stuff comes from Boys Night Out, Lovehatehero, Remembering

Never, The Bronx and Scarlet, as well as the other Ferret bands like Zao, Blood Has Been Shed and Twelve Tribes.

The DVD also features two bonus tracks that are some highlights from the upcoming DVD’s by BOYS NIGHT OUT and

EVERY TIME I DIE.

Portugal.The Man is an oxymoron. Their name means people against the single man, a group versus individuality.

With this said, they do not come from Portugal, but from Alaska. And this is their first record, but they have been

rocking with a band named Anathomy Of A Ghost in the past. Waiter: “You Vultures!” is a progressive rock

masterpiece inspired by the likes of The Mars Volta and At The Drive In, with the ability to fuse pop melodies and

hard rock guitar riffs, as on “How The Leopard Got Its Spots”, where the heavy guitars find themselves comfortable

with catchy keyboards and avantgarde harmonies. Just like the newest bands as Chiodos, Brazil and Emery, but with

even more personality, fusing elements of Owen and Coheed And Cambria, Portugal. The Man is able to create

unique atmospheres on tracks like “Elephants”, “Chicago” and “Stables & Chairs”, where the four guys show how it’s

hard to play innovative music. If you find yourself bored with the 99.9% of today music scene, give Waiter: “You

Vultures!” a listen because this might be the 0.1% you are missing out.

Sugarcult’s third release, after the first full album “Start Staic” and the sophomore “Palm Trees and Power Lines”, is a

double release, which features a kick ass DVD and a nine song live CD. Starting from the end, the CD is a live

recording of nine songs, where Sugarcult displays their punk rock attitude during live shows, with a great

performance, a lot of “fuck-you’s” and so much sweat you will feel in through your stereo. They deliver such

anthems as “Stuck In America”, “Memory” and “The Worst December”, and I am just too sorry they only put up nine

songs leaving out such great masterpieces as “Bouncing Off The Walls”, “Over” and “Saying Goodbye”. Anyway, the

guys put up a great show. The DVD is a little messy. It is divided into six parts where you can see Sugarcult both on

stage, during their live shows, but also during life out of the road, with family, daughters and in record stores

checking out AC/DC and Louis XIV albums. If you every enjoyed power pop punk, I do believe this record is the best

way to spend some good times.