190 Proof Music tag:puregrainaudio.com,2005:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/reviews Textpattern 2013-06-19T03:02:47Z Chris Gonda gonda@puregrainaudio.com http://puregrainaudio.com/ Henry Kaldre 2013-06-19T02:13:45Z 2013-06-19T02:13:45Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-31:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/c94f9a011f4260cdbd4d8fb450a309d0

One, their debut album, until AFTER I listened to Altered State at least 4 or 5 times in its entirety.]]>

Henry Kaldre 2013-06-18T04:15:17Z 2013-06-18T04:15:33Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-17:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/ac144bacdda384216f6be90aa73e0c0b

Bleed American, which is what sparked my interest in their newest release Damage. The nostalgic part of me hoped for people in their underwear partying with the band, but then I realized that the guys in the band must be nearing 40, so that might not quite be the same, but I’d... I’d still watch.]]>

Curtis Dewar 2013-06-18T01:03:32Z 2013-06-18T01:04:29Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-30:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/db0304b2da5ae4f1b1b8b0a93012e354

Aura, this is not the case.]]>

Curtis Dewar 2013-06-18T00:54:17Z 2013-06-18T00:57:33Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-17:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/2d723fd75331e37b7d51e5462a124c6e

Amer, the new EP by Quebec bruisers Fuck The Facts, is a blur of sonic awesomeness that ends far sooner than it should. Clocking in at about 17 minutes, Amer is a blazing amalgamation of grindcore and death metal that I absolutely love.]]>

Bruce Moore 2013-06-13T17:10:00Z 2013-06-13T17:10:46Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-13:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/e572b9037ceaf67ab70df8662f7e9ba4

Running From Something, Searching for Anything is the latest release from Trash Candy, a female fronted pop/punk act from Slovenia. I must say I am not a huge fan of the pop punk genre at all - aside from the fact that there are too many acts trying to do the same exact thing, I find the music boring. This said, I began listening to Trash Candy with some very definite preconceived notions and soon realized I might be wrong!]]>

Bruce Moore 2013-06-13T16:50:09Z 2013-06-13T16:53:54Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-13:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/116e4dd55ce8da2b1150fdeca9be9f8b

Fragmented Armageddon, includes three new tunes, two remixes, and an acoustic track. As I was not familiar with One Minute Silence before receiving this release, nor have I ever really been a fan of rap metal, I went into this EP cautiously to say the least.]]>

Graham Finney 2013-06-12T02:22:29Z 2013-06-12T02:22:29Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-05:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/9dc602dc05f0445cf549a407309d3826

Starbound Beast, the new album by the California quintet, be anything other than heavy metal magic?]]>

Henry Kaldre 2013-06-10T23:27:15Z 2013-06-10T23:27:15Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-06:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/a877ca03873cb31e2bd4aea167afd182

Graham Finney 2013-06-09T17:06:04Z 2013-06-09T17:06:33Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-05:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/85e2401132080394c9de1acafd2f531f

Bruce Moore 2013-06-09T16:59:41Z 2013-06-09T17:01:46Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-05:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/92f26fb94cbbfb0d30c50799f90ef9d5

Weapon, Skinny Puppy return to their roots releasing a record that is heavy on '80s electro while still maintaining their classic dark, heavy overtones. Skinny Puppy has a unique way of embedding very serious subject matter over top of some of the best industrial music around; it's both extremely rhythmic and danceable. This is a group that has continually pushed boundaries with their unconventional, innovative song structures and in the process have become the blueprint for scores of bands that followed.]]>

Dane Prokofiev 2013-06-09T16:50:16Z 2013-06-10T20:24:55Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-02-22:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/a0b0b2434cdce6b88ae7dc86fdba03d5

The Living Infinite is the first double album by the seminal Swedish metal band, and apart from presenting twice the usual aural pleasure for old and new fans alike, its blueprint is possibly one of the best templates today for Soilwork's peers to adopt.]]>

Bruce Moore 2013-06-07T15:29:40Z 2013-06-07T15:29:40Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-05:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/5583ab4a0fda6e9746806f259c237f6f

Everything Happens for the First Time is the newest solo offering from Eli Mardock, ex-front man for the popular indie band Eagle Seagull. This is a curiously quirky, incredibly catchy record that completely caught me off guard. The combination of Mardock's hypnotizing vocals, odd timings, and instrumentation make this record hard to put down.]]>

Dane Prokofiev 2013-06-04T17:52:08Z 2013-06-04T17:52:44Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-01:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/a9cce6ad812f8da552d21299297c1c0a

Dane Prokofiev 2013-06-04T13:09:50Z 2013-06-04T17:49:58Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-01:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/ab184474034064b7cd2def106f800170

Lauren Protomanni 2013-06-04T12:34:15Z 2013-06-04T14:23:43Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-03:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/dae8cec57cde4ef3f151c8384723d0c7

Feel, and is a perfect example of how Sleeping With Sirens are expanding their musical sound and evolving as a band.]]>

Henry Kaldre 2013-06-04T12:14:48Z 2013-06-04T14:35:06Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-06-03:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/fb80cfcd1c1180692e26836b618f5742

The Migration, Scale the Summit’s fourth studio album, left me a little puzzled. It definitely SOUNDS like Scale the Summit so, if you’re super into jazzier instrumental music that features rock instrumentation, you won’t be disappointed. Chris Letchford and Travis Levrier maneuver their guitars tactfully, creating an immense wall of sound with the help of a substantial amount of delay at times, which adds to many of the tracks' ethereal feel. Unlike many guitar-driven instrumental albums though, there is absolutely no sense of overplaying. It’s refreshing, in a sense, to hear lead guitar performed in such a way that allows for the song to breathe, instead of forcing cascades of notes into your ear just for the sake of being featured on Guitar World's "Betcha Can’t Play This."]]>

Bruce Moore 2013-05-30T22:17:41Z 2013-05-30T22:18:11Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-29:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/21208a2b110361b43bec041eaa583cbd

Follow The Clouds, on June 4th. This is an interesting album to say the least and combines a synthy/electro vibe with some heavy, killer post-hardcore. The intro "No Tales, No Worries," sort of took me off guard with its driving electronic-laced instrumental - I was having flashbacks to the few times I actually ventured into a "Rave."]]>

Graham Finney 2013-05-27T22:52:54Z 2013-05-27T22:52:54Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-25:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/53f9e7d658d8298c45558beae1c39158

Graham Finney 2013-05-26T17:41:45Z 2013-05-26T17:41:45Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-25:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/3690a3c7f6c6e9579dc44faafb640349

Graham Finney 2013-05-25T17:48:12Z 2013-05-25T17:48:12Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-25:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/026be61505ebefed4601ccb9a1728be8

All Hell Breaks Loose being the first fruits of those recording sessions.]]>

Graham Finney 2013-05-25T17:27:42Z 2013-05-25T17:27:42Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-25:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/617c83842f35ae9ca79bd18fd6d82e4c

Mike Wardlaw 2013-05-24T15:45:56Z 2013-05-24T15:45:56Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-21:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/e5d4b00d26601168e69a1a15be0268d8

Whack Yer Brain's garage-pop peaks within its first three minutes and although the other tracks have their own subjacent charms, they leave the opener to do all the work. It's like "Team Spirit" is that one dude at work who kills it, and the four other songs are you and your three buddies who dick around in a burnout, Workaholics kind of way and do jack all.]]>

Bruce Moore 2013-05-24T12:48:10Z 2013-05-24T12:49:54Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-24:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/bf3e66f99f2d7f5157a2afc9d29a8de1

Resilience, is a sweet find; it's a terrific mixture of hard rock, alternative, and post-hardcore.]]>

Curtis Dewar 2013-05-23T16:28:35Z 2013-05-24T12:45:11Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-19:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/cbdea99a7bbc47d40e1e6ee5fd55e325

Bruce Moore 2013-05-23T12:51:10Z 2013-05-23T19:11:45Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-23:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/4947c420136497129122b35adc12047b

Chemical Reign may be Surgeon’s second full-length release, but I was not familiar with them when I sat down to give it a spin. "The Creeple" opens things up with a somewhat doomy-sounding vibe that really did not peak my interest at first. I say somewhat doomy because while it does have hints of a slow, doom-influenced tune, it doesn't have the sort of bottom end crunch one usually associates with the genre.]]>

Bruce Moore 2013-05-23T12:15:52Z 2013-05-23T12:24:21Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-23:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/c6e04f648c8313a9121c627979b6dbc4

Beginnings EP is the latest release from the UK and Latvia-based progressive metal band, The Mascaron. Simply put, I found this disc to be an interesting and ambitious undertaking. I say that because The Mascaron combine seriously down-tuned metal complete with growling vocals with elements of ambient and electronica.]]>

Curtis Dewar 2013-05-17T16:37:13Z 2013-05-17T16:39:13Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-17:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/ada30160bd9cc5f4dce15c9301584176

Visions of the Scourge. While the album didn't exactly reinvent the wheel, it was still an extremely solid release. As you can probably tell by the band's name and artwork, Begrime Exemious play blackened death metal. The slight twist in this case however, is that they add a bit of a punk/crust vibe to their music, which is actually pretty cool.]]>

Bruce Moore 2013-05-17T16:12:31Z 2013-05-17T16:13:47Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-17:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/a42521b1e5474e0370d016767a84d279

Cowards is the sophomore release from the Toronto-based, self-proclaimed nerdy, frenetic punk band Careers in Science. While I am new to the Careers In Science camp, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found. This new offering is packed to the gills with aggressive, fast-paced tunes, big catchy gang choruses, tons of sarcasm, and a healthy dose of humor!]]>

Bruce Moore 2013-05-17T14:41:03Z 2013-05-17T14:42:06Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-05-17:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/32dc87d8df74796e3a427b8f86702afc

So God Damn Over It is a folk record plain and simple. There are no bells and whistles here, just a collection of well-written, stripped down songs each with very personal, introspective lyrics.]]>

Graham Finney 2013-05-03T19:39:31Z 2013-05-03T19:39:31Z tag:puregrainaudio.com,2013-04-13:f1fae069640fab9b7cd5536427f7161e/a55addb68f35493e4ac992280f2e5b77