January 2012
2 posts
7 tags
EP Review: Skin Like Iron / Nails – Split EP
To get your hands on this split 7” from Skin Like Iron and Nails, you will have to part with 10 of your shiniest golden nuggets, and be prepared to wait a couple of anxious weeks whilst USPS decide whether to stress test your purchase. But that’s the price you have to pay if you want to keep supporting self-released EPs from these two Golden State hardcore bands.
At first, this got my interest...
“America spends five times as much on defence as China does, and even though...”
– While America still tops a few league tables, the year when the Chinese economy will truly eclipse America’s is in sight. It would be a mistake for American leaders to try to block China’s rise—it is better to be number two in a fast-growing world than top dog in a stagnant one. (via theeconomist)
December 2011
4 posts
The Hazards of a National Geographic... →
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-12-18) →
Incubus (6)
Roots Manuva (3)
Cynic (1)
Textures (1)
Exhumed (1)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
9 tags
November 2011
2 posts
9 tags
EP Review: Senser – Biting Rhymes
Emerging from a politicised music scene in England’s capital city, Senser dipped into the genre-blending alternative punk/metal pool of the early 90s. Although they don’t specifically enjoy being referred to as rapcore, they perhaps surely paved the way for other UK acts such as One Minute Silence and even stretched out to third-wave skacore bands such as Capdown andSonic Boom Six. After the...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-11-20) →
(Hed) Planet Earth (7)
Thievery Corporation (3)
Björk (2)
Prodigy (1)
Senser (1)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
October 2011
3 posts
7 tags
12 tags
Album Review: Martyn – Ghost People
“Plastic, hollow shells that focus only on the in-the-now grooves or keeping in line with trends.” This is how Martyn would describe some of today’s DJs. He isn’t necessarily finger-pointing particular individuals, the Internet can take care of that — just look at the polemic Skrillex. But his general view is that DJ superstar culture coupled with rock star marketing has created a host of vacuous...
10 tags
Jazz Monroe: Feist - Stool Pigeon feature →
jazzmonroe:
http://www.thestoolpigeon.co.uk/features/interview-feist.html On record, Leslie Feist is the fairest dame of melancholy, but in the flesh a certain reputation precedes her. She’s the distant beauty whose airy-fairy streams of consciousness wind and whirl, leaving hapless…
September 2011
4 posts
7 tags
9 tags
Watch3 badly joined time-lapse videos of the journey up the Hintertux Gletscherbusse.
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-9-18) →
Aphex Twin (13)
2562 (11)
High On Fire (9)
Textures (2)
I The Breather (2)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
8 tags
Album Review: Primus – Green Naugahyde
That’s enough nay-sayers. I certainly didn’t expect to see Les Claypool resurrecting Primus from such a long hiatus, especially considering the time he has spent furthering his ambitiously sounding solo projects. The brief stint at getting Primus back in the swing of things earlier last decade hit a musical wall; they just weren’t the same energised band as they were in the 1990s and Claypool...
August 2011
5 posts
7 tags
Album Review: Sarabante – Remnants
From civil unrest in this country to a long and severe situation in another. Throughout very recent times Greece has had its fair share of extreme discontent which has resulted from the proposed and then implemented austerity measures designed to save the country and its worsening economic climate. You would have to go as far back as the transition from a war economy after the Second World War in...
7 tags
Album Review: Japanese Voyeurs – Yolk
Ironically, when a generous sector of the alt-rock community reacted against the increasing marketed side of the industry during the “Grunge” era, the culture itself became a commodity largely based upon its gradual popularity and became a victim of its own success. Today Japanese Voyeurs seem intent on rekindling this anti-commercial spark that existed over 20 years ago. Their raison d’être is...
7 tags
Album Review: Xibalba – Madre Mia Gracias Por Los...
For the promo video of the track “Cold”, Xibalba got together with a bunch of friends, had a bbq and generally smoked and drank their way through the afternoon. It’s a video shoot not uncommon amongst hardcore bands, and designed to show how much people love to floorpunch at some of their gigs. The Southern California five-piece are a mix of lifestyle choices and influences that broaden the local...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-8-7) →
Japanese Voyeurs (8)
Sick Of It All;Mobb Deep (1)
Ol’ Dirty Bastard (1)
System Of A Down (1)
Wu-Tang Clan (1)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
July 2011
5 posts
11 tags
Album Review: Suicide Silence – The Black Crown
“It’s more […] to do with crowning ourselves as the king of what we do” says Suicide Silence vocalist Mitch Lucker. It seems that he is adamant that The Black Crown should not be seen as a change in direction, but a consolidation of what the band have achieved over the years. It is a mysterious way of introducing what is only their third album, drawing a line under and championing themselves above...
10 tags
Album Review: Obscura – Omnivium
I’d like to say that this review was a little late due to being so engrossed that I lost complete track of time (though that would only be a half-truth). Obscura’s fourth album will leave you absolutely in awe of the musicians involved whilst leading you on a dark and spiritual journey into the very essence of technically proficient and all-encompassing death metal.
The album covers themes that...
10 tags
4 tags
dbox: Instagram Filters as Photoshop Actions →
dbox:
I recently did a google search to see if anyone had “converted” instagram filters to photoshop actions. After not finding any results, I decided to see if I could do it myself. I didn’t get a 100% exact match, but it’s pretty close.
Im starting with “Nashville” then will add more soon. Let me…
5 tags
Album Review: Decapitated – Carnival Is Forever
Hidden away at the top of Decapitated’s homepage is a quotation. It reads: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.” This fitting quote sums up both the tragic back-story of this release, and the strength in character of focal point Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka to continue this part of his life.
Bringing this more up to date, the line-up changes and brief UK tour...
June 2011
2 posts
12 tags
EP Review: Slugabed – Moonbeam Rider
I wonder whether Greg Feldwick aka Slugabed will ever upgrade his studio setup. The London based musician is still adamant that everything released is fully composed through Fruity Loops 4, with an added splash of an external drum sampler to develop the sounds. I wouldn’t exactly class the studio software in the same way as the seminal TR-808 drum machine, but the years of using and abusing has...
10 tags
Album Review: The Soulless – Isolated
One of the obvious and important aspects of starting a new band is of course what you decide to call yourselves. It doesn’t really matter what your name is as long as your fan base are able to both remember and to a certain degree spell it. In a previous existence, The Soulless were known as the cryptic sounding Ignominious Incarceration. Yes, quite something. A few years down the line and a few...
May 2011
5 posts
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-5-22) →
The Herbaliser (14)
2562 (9)
M3NSA (8)
Deadbeat (7)
Kwabena Jones (2)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
10 tags
Gig Review: The Sword + Gentlemans Pistols +...
Not only was Warp Riders a breakaway album for The Sword in terms of their musical style, but the sci-fi narrative within the album itself looked inwardly at the band capturing the stresses of their biggest and longest tour to date. Cabin fever seemed to spill over during the original opening tour dates to this album, and these stresses resulted in the departure of drummer Trivett Wingo. He has...
7 tags
6 tags
A Simple Guide To The Acronyms On Your Lenses →
April 2011
10 posts
7 tags
Album Review: Zuul FX – The Torture Never Stops
It isn’t entirely obvious that this release is a concept album, but the premise of The Torture Never Stops involves a metaphor for society, of doomed relationships and the psychological breakdown of the album’s protagonist, all happily buried amongst a thoroughly zombie inspired fiction. Yet this borderline grindhouse script doesn’t have the planned structural changes in the pacing of the album...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-4-24) →
Ill Bill (16)
Atmosphere (14)
Method Man (14)
Foo Fighters (11)
Roots Manuva (10)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
12 tags
3 tags
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Album Review: Human Improvement Process —...
I really don’t know why this Italian 5-piece describes themselves as “metal / deathcore / dubstep”. They sound more like a hybrid of metalcore and deathcore, a cross of Black Dahlia Murder, Bleeding Through et al. And that’s it. I am still scratching my head to find exactly why they need to put “dubstep” in there. It doesn’t sound like the “dubstep” I am familiar with, and thankfully it...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-4-17) →
Cavalera Conspiracy (14)
Mungo’s HI FI (12)
Timbuktu (10)
Zuul FX (4)
Marc Rizzo (1)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-4-10) →
RJD2 (18)
Faith No More (14)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience (12)
A Life Once Lost (11)
Sneaker Pimps (10)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
13 tags
Nikon D5100: Offers "Night Vision" + Built-In...
Key Features:
16.2 megapixel DX-format CMOS image sensor: delivers lifelike images with vivid colors, reduced noise and smooth tonal gradations.
High ISO (100-6400) light sensitivity - manually extendable up to 25600 using the Hi2 setting. Enables faster shutter speeds for finely detailed images with minimal noise when you shoot fast-moving subjects or take pictures in low light. Features an...
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-4-3) →
Nas (10)
Graveyard (9)
Clint Mansell (9)
Kraftwerk (6)
Noisia (6)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
March 2011
9 posts
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-3-27) →
John Lee Hooker (17)
Periphery (13)
Basement Jaxx (12)
Tesseract (7)
Headhunter (5)
Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz
11 tags
Album Review: Born Of Osiris – The Discovery
Some musicians and labels have accepted the changing face of the music industry: at some point their albums will almost definitely find a way on the Internet without their permission. But not many have audaciously been involved in leaking albums in order to gain publicity — at least not openly. In a crude and haphazard PR stunt, the Sumerian label and members of Born of Osiris apparently released...
7 tags
Album Review: Scanners – Submarine
Before the Internet existed many like-minded music lovers out there relied on gigs, magazines, fanzines, word-of-mouth and the mighty John Peel for more information about new or breaking bands. But it seems that within today’s self-facilitating media environment, getting one step ahead in promoting your own music via social networking sites and/or your own little place on the web, a band should...
8 tags
9 tags
Gig Review: Orange Goblin, Viking Skull, Imicus,...
Last month rockers in Cambridge were spoilt rotten by the appearance of Black Label Society at the Corn Exchange. To be fair, this city does get its fair share of hard rock, but it isn’t often you get bands who aren’t Saxon or Motorhead. Three months ago Orange Goblin were celebrating their 15th anniversary at their annual shindig in London, and here we are in March with what could be the the...
7 tags
Japan - Vast Devastation →
9 tags
5 tags
Nikon shuts down Japan quake DSLR factory →