Check out my album reviews for issue 108 of Smash Magazine, including Beartooth and Trash Boat. Beartooth – Below Album ReviewFor their fourth studio album, Beartooth went big—stadium-level big—with twelve alternating metal and pop-rock tracks that could easily shake a hefty-sized venue to its core. (Just listen to “Dominate” and tell me you can’t perfectly picture the ebb and flow of the circle pit from sharp start to furious finish.) If you’re more into bangers that make you…Continue reading September/October Album Reviews
Category: Music
July/August Album Reviews
Check out my album reviews for issue 107 of Smash Magazine, including AFI and supergroup Fuckin’ Whatever. AFI – Bodies Album ReviewIt’s only natural that a band evolves over time—especially one that’s been around as long as AFI. Ever since they solidified their lineup and veered away from their 90s punk roots 20+ years ago, AFI has been cultivating an emo/goth/glam rock sound all their own. Yet their latest release, Bodies, doesn’t feel like an evolution of AFI,…Continue reading July/August Album Reviews
May/June Album Reviews
Check out my album reviews for issue 106 of Smash Magazine, including A Day to Remember and The Juliana Theory. A Day to Remember – You’re Welcome Album Review If it was possible to get whiplash just by hearing something, then there’d be a wave of rockers at the chiropractors with ADTR Syndrome. A long-standing staple for hardcore, emo, and scene kids everywhere, A Day to Remember (ADTR) is known for albums of hard-hitting tracks mixed with the…Continue reading May/June Album Reviews
Ready for a Relapse: The Return of D.R.U.G.S.
It’s been over ten years since Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows (D.R.U.G.S.) hit the scene and released their debut, self-titled, full-length album. And just like actual drugs, the band was intense, fast-burning, short-lived fun. So much so that when they disbanded in 2012, while disappointed, fans accepted their demise as the inevitability of a supergroup destined to briefly delight them before vanishing from the spotlight like so many before. Imagine everyone’s surprise when a new…Continue reading Ready for a Relapse: The Return of D.R.U.G.S.
March/April Album Reviews
Check out my album reviews for issue 105 of Smash Magazine, including Teenage Wrist and Weezer. Teenage Wrist – Earth is a Black Hole Album Review On first listen, Teenage Wrist fans may write off the band’s sophomore full-length album Earth is a Black Hole. Beloved originally for their nostalgic, grungy, 90s alternative sound, the more upbeat tracks that open the new album are off-putting, particularly the single “Yellowbelly.” However, the change in sound is understandable when…Continue reading March/April Album Reviews
Rock & Ride for Our Vets with A7X
There are some things that go together seamlessly—gin and tonic, nuts and bolts, smoke and fire. In this case, we’re talking motorcycles and heavy metal, or more specifically, Four Corners Motorcycle Rally and Avenged Sevenfold (A7X). These two juggernauts have partnered together to throw their weight behind a good cause—Building Homes for Heroes—with the “Ride Now and Rock On The Road” Sweepstakes. The Cause Building Homes for Heroes is a nonprofit that builds or modifies…Continue reading Rock & Ride for Our Vets with A7X
January/February Album Reviews
Check out my album reviews for issue 104 of Smash Magazine, including grandson and Bring Me the Horizon. grandson – Death of an Optimist Album Review This album may be titled Death of an Optimist but it’s the rise of a superstar, mark my words. Beautifully crafted, this concept album explores the duality of identity many of us are experiencing in our torn society by pitting grandson against his other half, simply called X. From the opening…Continue reading January/February Album Reviews
Confronting the Reflection: The Two Faces of grandson
I usually open my articles with some witty anecdote or soundbite that leads into the meat of the story. A clever pun. A summative quote. It typically comes to me easily, but this time, I struggled writing my intro. Not because the artist is boring, or the material is convoluted, or I don’t relate—quite the opposite. I struggled to find an opening because I understand so clearly the emotional push-pull grandson has captured in his…Continue reading Confronting the Reflection: The Two Faces of grandson
November/December Album Reviews
Check out my album reviews for issue 103 of Smash Magazine, including the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Movements, PVRIS, and Touché Amoré. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – The Emergency EP Album Review If your only knowledge of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is their radio hit “Face Down” from their 2006 debut album, now would be a good time to get reacquainted. Each track on their new EP slaps, and at six songs, The Emergency EP could have made a…Continue reading November/December Album Reviews
September/October Album Reviews
Check out my album reviews for issue 102 of Smash Magazine, including Blaqk Audio, Sleeping with Sirens, Bright Eyes, and Neck Deep. Blaqk Audio – Beneath the Black Palms Album Review Essentially the electronic alter ego of AFI minus a few members, duo Davey Havok and Jade Puget, a.k.a. Blaqk Audio, have returned to their dark, synth, dance party glory with their fifth studio album, Beneath the Black Palms. At just under 40 minutes, this twisting, writhing, mass of…Continue reading September/October Album Reviews
Fighting the Darkness with Hawthorne Heights
“This is our way of trying to keep our business afloat, which is Hawthorne Heights. It’s trying to service our fans. We are at heart, entertainers, and that’s what we love to do, and we’ve been building this community for 17 years, so we do want to give them something as well. But an important part of what we’re doing with this Stay Home tour is to try to give a little bit back to…Continue reading Fighting the Darkness with Hawthorne Heights
July/August Album Reviews
Check out my album reviews for issue 101 of Smash Magazine, including Emery, The Used, Asking Alexandria, and Dance Gavin Dance. Emery – White Line Fever Album Review As a band that’s been around for nearly twenty years, Emery has seen many of their early 2000s counterparts that sweated it out with them on the Warped Tour, Take Action Tour, and more, fade away. But not Emery. The Seattle based band has steadily been there all the while—making…Continue reading July/August Album Reviews
Supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement is Punk AF
“So cool to be led by the young people in our hometown. What they are doing as a part of advancing the BLM movement is punk AF and completely heroic.” Posted Hayley Williams on her Instagram account on June 7th, several days after attending a Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest march in Nashville, Tennessee. This event was one of the largest peaceful protests in the city’s history, and it was organized by six young female…Continue reading Supporting the Black Lives Matter Movement is Punk AF
May/June Album Reviews
Check out my album reviews for issue 100 of Smash Magazine, including All Time Low, Silverstein, Sparta, and The Word Alive. All Time Low – Wake Up, Sunshine Album Review If you’re looking for music to blast post-quarantine as you roll the windows down and cruise the again bustling streets while soaking up the warm Vegas sun, this is it. On their eighth full-length album aptly titled Wake Up, Sunshine, All Time Low makes good on…Continue reading May/June Album Reviews
Interview with Violent New Breed
Violent New Breed Establishing Their (Bad) Reputation If Three Days Grace and Trivium had a badass love child, it would be Violent New Breed (VNB for short). Led by founding member Max Green (former Escape the Fate, and briefly, Falling in Reverse), VNB combines gritty vocals, intense metal riffs, and blow your speakers-out breakdowns to create a rock album worthy of your attention. Rounded out by new additions Sean Russell (vocals, guitar), Charlie Nicholson (drums),…Continue reading Interview with Violent New Breed