Author: Mitch Ellerbrock

FIGHT THE FIGHT – FIGHT THE FIGHT (METAL BLADE RECORDS) Norway’s Fight the Fight have released their debut self-titled full-length album in January, even though vocalist Lars Vegas, guitarist Amok, guitarist Lord, bassist HM, and drummer Detyler have actually been together for over a decade under the name Faenskap (which even Google Translate has failed me in figuring out exactly what that means) playing major festivals in Norway and touring across Europe in support of bands like Satyricon. Starting off, “Fight the Fight” is the perfect opening track to show off the band’s musicianship. It’s energetic, it’s catchy, Vegas showcases an impressive range, and the guitar solo is killer. Another enjoyable...

DIMEBAG DARRELL – DIMEVISION VOL. 2: ROLL WITH IT OR GET ROLLED OVER (METAL BLADE RECORDS) Back in 2006, the world was given Dimevision Vol. 1: That’s The Fun I Have, and it was glorious. For those not in the know, it was a fun and touching look into the life of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, pieced together from hundreds of hours of footage recorded from video cameras he always carried with him between the late 80’s and his early years. There was a plan to release a second volume a year later, but obviously, that didn’t happen. Well, those who eagerly awaited...

On November 10, Toronto based sludge-rock outfit Pale Mare will release their self-titled three-song EP via Medusa Crush Recordings. Let’s take a quick trip through these three tracks that were born out of a desire to make music that is loud, aggressive and full of thick groovy riffs. As soon as opener “Carthage” begins, you can tell that Pale Mare have achieved their goal. This track oozes aggression and is filled with an energy that is perfectly suited to a hardcore punk rock show. If you close your eyes and just listen, you can almost see a crowd of people moshing and crowdsurfing....

Thirty years. Unsane have been together for thirty years. Somehow, I’m just now hearing about them. Coming out of New York City, the noise rock trio have released their eighth full-length studio album Sterilize, which according to their bio is “a record that recalls the most defining elements of the band’s seminal Scattered, Smothered & Covered and Occupational Hazard albums, surging with the band’s unrelenting singular sound created by guitarist/vocalist Chris Spencer, bassist/vocalist Dave Curran, and drummer Vinnie Signorelli.” You know what comes next. We’re gonna break it down. It didn’t take much for the opener “Factory” to hook me. It has a good speed to it and...

Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, Motherslug played their first gig in 2012, and have since released two separate EPs which were combined into a full-length album. The Electric Dunes of Titan, then, is their first true full-length album since that effort. Somewhat appropriately released on Halloween, here we have an album that’s part psychedelic, part doom metal, and part stoner rock. Let’s break it down. It opens up slowly and steadily with “Downriver”, which really feels like an eight-minute long instrumental track, but it isn’t. It’s eight minutes long, but it’s not an instrumental track; the vocals just don’t come in for a...

Hailing from the fine state of Virginia (specifically Richmond), vocalist James Menefee (formerly of River City High and Highley) formed rock’n’roll laced punk rock outfit Long Arms, who have just released their album Young Life via Dead Serious Recordings. The album is about keeping your values of friendship and rebellion in times of fear and depression. Starting with the title track “Young Life” the punk rock influences of bands like Social Distortion and Gaslight Anthem become apparent, and while it is poppy, that element doesn’t sound forced. Instead, the track just sounds fun and almost dance-worthy. Next up is “Quentin” but the song is not about Tarantino....

From Portugal, Annihilation are a brutal five-piece death metal band who have returned with a whole new album, The Undivided Wholeness Of All Things, due out November 28 via Nice to Eat You Records. This album is the follow-up to 2014’s The Undivided. The album opens up with “M.A.S.S.” which begins slowly but picks up and gets pretty brutal at about the forty-second mark. It slows back down at about three minutes and fifteen seconds, and being an instrumental, my initial reaction to the track was that it was easily skippable. As you’ll find out, the instrumental work is this album’s high point....

BIG MESS – TRY TO ENJOY IT (INDISCIPLINARIAN) Copenhagen’s melodic punk band Big Mess released their second album Try to Enjoy It back on September 29 via Indisciplinarian. A follow-up to 2016’s You Know I Care, this album is 12 tracks of energetic, melodic, and catchy – if a bit too poppy – rock and roll with themes ranging from illness and addiction to heartbreak and even gender identity. The album opens up with the track “Pick Ur Queen.” It’s even-tempered yet upbeat, a very radio friendly opening track. Vocalist/guitarist and main songwriter Tobias Bendixen said about the song: “‘Pick Ur Queen’ showcases our direct, poppy...