Photo: Doug Schwarz Jeff Buckley, Grace (1994) As cliché as it has become to say that you’re a Buckley fan, I’ll never stop admitting it. This was one of those records I got at the perfect time in my life. His lyrics are poetry, and his melodies are undeniably brilliant. He’s also the one who […]
Joshua Boydston
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Nu sounds
Photo: Sebastien Paquet Twenty years and 11 albums in, Korn is as loud as ever. Backstage, though, things are much quieter, and the toned-down partying has the metal outfit refocused and rejoined by founding guitarist — and born-again Christian — Brian “Head” Welch after an 8-year absence. “I came back and it’s like old times, […]
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Burnin’ up
In the face of national and regional budget cuts, the arts and art education are some of the first items on the chopping block. While there’s no shortage of vocal advocates rallying in support, metalcore outfit August Burns Red might be yelling the loudest, both literally and figuratively, with its latest album, Rescue & Restore. […]
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Pop. punk
Guitarist Ivan Lip and singer Chris Bug — the two figureheads behind New York act Pop. 1280 — formed a band for the right reason: They hated almost everything and everyone around them. “We didn’t like many bands in New York City or in general, really,” Lip said. “There’s so many things going on, and […]
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Somerset West — Black Cloud
Coming off a lengthy hiatus, the band’s passionate take on rock music (lining up neatly alongside acts like Brand New, Taking Back Sunday and Manchester Orchestra) is back in vogue, thanks to the “emo revival” now in full swing. Black Cloud brings most of the same touchstones found in its 2010 release, The Golden Land, […]
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Blades of gory
As Austin outfit The Sword would tell it, it’s a good time to be a heavy metal band. “People are finally trying some different stuff in heavy metal and hard rock,” frontman J.D. Cronise said. “All too often, bands rely on the traditional way … but traditional metal is funny to me because it’s a […]
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East meets West
Seattle’s Rose Windows cram as much into the music as they do players on stage. The seven-piece psychedelic rock outfit has concocted a wholly unique swirl of American classic rock, British prog and psychedelia with ready dabbles into Persian, Indian and Eastern European sounds, making for a worldly musical experience like few others that came […]
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The Younglings — The Younglings
The album bounds to a start with a drum cascade firmly out of the Queens of the Stone Age bible before making a firm turn with an old-school guitar riff that devolves into sparse verses and fleshed-out choruses. “Take My Hand” follows a similar path, if lighter and prettier, that veers into snotty series of […]
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Hard and ’toned
There are few modern hard rock bands that come to enjoy the wide appeal and critical acclaim that alt-metal act Deftones has over the course of its 20-plus years as a band, and the five-piece isn’t looking to slow down anytime soon. “I think the fact that people get this band is not so much […]
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Come closer
When you are having this much fun, who needs words? That must have been the thought process behind And So I Watch You from Afar, the instrumental rock act from Belfast in Northern Ireland. Armed with cheeky ’80s metal hooks sandwiched between spacious post-rock pillars, the four-piece outfit sounds like Dan Deacon covering Explosions in […]