Aiming to “stamp out gender stereotypes in music for good”, UK lo-fi duo Kamikaze Girls not only identify with the feminist anger of the 90s riot-grrrl movement, but also do so whilst being fifty percent male. Their music, an angry melting pot of riffs and social commentary, is unrelentingly vibrant.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
HUMANITY DELETE – Fuck Forever Off
From the outside looking in, this second album by Humanity Delete seems a bit…silly. They’ve got a clumsy band name, a dodgy album title and even dodgier artwork. It’s 2016 and yet these Swedish death metallers present themselves with two raised middle fingers, a giant horned demon and a couple of severed heads. Not especially impressive. First impressions are important…but in this case, the music is far more important and ‘Fuck Forever Off’ is a solid, well produced slab of metallic intensities that brings past death metal traits into the present via classy playing, great production and the presence of a band who clearly know not to meddle too much with a classic musical formula.
SHOTGUN RODEO – The New Standard EP
Norway’s Shotgun Rodeo released their debut EP in 2012 and subsequently proved fairly prolific, releasing another two discs over the next three years. Fusing various rock styles, 2016’s ‘The New Standard’ is a hard and riff-heavy six-tracker that, influence wise, is sometimes hard to pin down and occasionally just as hard to take seriously. In this respect, Shotgun Rodeo are frustrating. Their sound is full of great riffs that sadly collide to create a mess of hard rock that never quite knows what it wants to be. This EP includes sounds that appear somewhat contemporary at the time of release – with bits of Avenged Sevenfold bubbling under the surface – and yet there are other elements that borrow from thrash’s past glories, as well as occasional rhythms hinting at the most melodic end of something more extreme. And it’s all topped by a fairly old-school vocal. It’s like experiencing Pantera’s ‘Cowboys From Hell’ by way of Skid Row and with added bits of Buckcherry but with less trash…if that even begins to make sense. Needless to say, it should be better than it is.
ASSAILANT / UBIQUITOUS REALITIES – Bringers Of Delusion (split release)
A release co-masterminded by two independent labels – Russia’s Symbol of Domination and Costa Rica’s Cavan (the latter still very much in its fledgling stages) – ‘Bringers of Delusion’ brings together tracks from two Central American underground metal bands. Both from Costa Rica, Assailant and Ubiquitous Realities appear at different ends of the heavy spectrum, thus making this disc very much an experience of two halves.
PANSY DIVISION – Quite Contrary
During the peak of American pop-punk in the 90s, around the time that Green Day made the jump to a major label and set upon a road to megastardom, their one-time label mates Pansy Division released their first full-length. ‘Undressed’ brought pop-punk greatness and the band used their art to spread love and understanding of gay culture, often with with a huge sense of humour. Over the next fifteen years, this out and proud stance, combined with more musical talent than some of their peers (trying hard not to point too much at Pounded Clown here) gained Pansy Division a loyal following. 2016’s ‘Quite Contrary’ – their ninth album, released via the legendary Alternative Tentacles label – breaks a seven year recording silence with some of their best original material to date and a fantastic cover tune.