Author: Ryan Swope

If you’ve read a few of my other reviews, you probably already get the sense that I have some age on me.  And that’s fine.  I was around for record label samplers on compact disc.  And what a glorious time it was. There was nothing better than getting a free sampler with a mailorder or buying a sampler in the wild.  Those days are long gone, or so I thought… Broken Curfew Records have reinstated the CD Sampler and brought it to a new level. This sampler features 20 of their artists and it has something for everybody.… Continued →

I am a few months behind with this review, but man, Tundra’s Rottweiler Records release, Eternal, is a straight up banger. Tundra is a Metalcore/Deathcore unit that has put together a fun listen with Eternal. Eternal has a lot of depth, as it feels like a metalcore mixtape.  There are ambient-ish post-hardcore moments.  There are seething Deathcore beatdowns.  There are festival-ready Metalcore parts.  And, last but not least, there are some spacey Djenty parts as well. This about as modern as metal gets right now.  They’ve put all the ‘core elements into a blender and hit the SHRED button.… Continued →

As a (ahem….) 40-something year old punk kid, listening to The Rocky Valentines new full-length “Music On The Shelf” takes me back to my high school and early college days. Back then, my Sony Discman would have been filled with the sounds of The Get Up Kids, Velocity Girl, New Order, Superchunk and Teenage Fanclub. I probably would’ve had a home-made mixtape with all those bands floating around on it. And The Rocky Valentines would’ve fit in comfortably. This record is pure nostalgia for me. It’s part lo-fi-ish guitar pop mixed with equal parts melody and post-punk melancholy.… Continued →

Rottweiler Records teamed up with Death Metal titans, Decayed Existence, for a fun, brutal exercise in heaviness. This EP is short and to the point. Decayed Existence leave nothing to the imagination as they pummel the listener via 5 tracks of brand new material.  (And 3 live tracks.) At first glance, Decayed Existence is an Old School Death Metal band. But, after a couple listens, Decayed Existence prove that you can teach an old dog new tricks. Decayed Existence does a great job at toeing the line between the old and the new. … Continued →