Album Review: Full of Hell – Garden of Burning Apparitions

Full of Hell - Garden of Burning ApparitionsOctober 1st, 2021GrindcoreRelapse RecordsOcean City, Maryland, USA Garden of Burning Apparitions is the fifth record from Maryland grindcore outfit Full of Hell, a band that I was initially turned on to by my partner a few years ago around the release of their previous LP, Weeping Choir. I …

Album Review: Seum – Winterized

"Take back control of your fucking life. Take back control or shut the fuck up." Seum - WinterizedJune 11th, 2021Sludge MetalIndependently ReleasedMontreal, Quebec, Canada I first encountered Seum at a live show at Traxide, the beloved underground punk venue in Montreal known for being notoriously hard to find for the uninitiated as well as hosting …

Film Review: Mandy [2018]

"They lit her on FIRE! They were weirdo, hippie-types, whole bunch of 'em. And then there was some muscle - it didn't make any sense. There were bikers, and gnarly psychos, and... crazy evil!" - Red Miller MandyDir. Panos CosmatosJanuary 19th, 2018Horror / Action / ExperimentalSpectreVision / Umedia / XYZ FilmsRLJE FilmsBelgium / United States …

Film Review: The Matrix Reloaded [2003]

"We are here because of you, Mr. Anderson. We are to take from you what you tried to take from us.....Purpose!" - Agent Smith The Matrix ReloadedDir. Lana & Lilly WachowskiMay 7th, 2003Science Fiction / ActionVillage Roadshow Pictures / NPV Entertainment / Silver PicturesWarner Bros. PicturesUnited States of America In preparation for watching The Matrix …

Classic Review: The Matrix [1999]

"You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes." - Morpheus The MatrixDir. Lana & Lilly WachowskiMarch 24th, 1999Science Fiction / ActionWarner Bros. …

Album Review: Between the Buried and Me – Colors II

"Watch the distant fires, there's trust in what we've done, our shallow grave of freedom, a new life that's just begun." Between the Buried and Me - Colors IIAugust 20th, 2021Progressive MetalSumerian RecordsRaleigh, North Carolina, USA Between the Buried and Me have been a hugely important band to me throughout my life, and among their …

Film Review: Dune [2021]

"Dreams make good stories, but everything important happens when we're awake." - Duncan Idaho DuneDir. Denis VilleneuveSeptember 3rd, 2021Science FictionLegendary PicturesWarner Bros. PicturesUnited States of America Having read the original Frank Herbert novel Dune earlier this year, and watched the David Lynch film adaptation from 1984, I felt sufficiently prepped to head into the Denis …

Album Review: Limp Bizkit – Still Sucks

"Check out your dad with the swag on the floor. Momma gonna brag when I walk in the door." Limp Bizkit - Still SucksOctober 31st, 2021Nu Metal / Rap RockSuretone RecordsJacksonville, Florida, USA Is there any band in the rock and metal world that inspires such widely varied reactions as Limp fucking Bizkit? Seems to …

Album Review: Mastodon – Hushed and Grim

"Will there ever be a moment I won't feel this heat coming up from ground?" Mastodon - Hushed and GrimOctober 29th, 2021Progressive / Stoner MetalReprise RecordsAtlanta, Georgia, USA Those of you who know me well know that Mastodon has long been one of my absolute favourite bands. Their first four albums are iconic slabs of …

Album Review: Poppy – Flux

Poppy - FluxSeptember 24th, 2021Alternative Rock / Dream PopSumerian RecordsWhitman, Massachusetts, USA Those who have been following this blog for some time know that I named I Disagree one of the best records of 2020 on my personal 'best of' year end list. As such I was very excited to hear what Poppy would bring …