Although this album only came out last year, it can already in some ways be considered a classic. It got buried or largely forgotten in the end of year lists by many (including myself) as it came out in early January, as not many people were aware of who they were then. Right from the…
When I met Bowling For Soup bassist Erik Chandler back in October and we discussed the new BFS album, he remarked that it was going to have a “more traditional Bowling For Soup 2 guitars bass and drums sound”, after they had done various experimenting on the last couple of albums. Since I have been very fortunate…
Dangerous New Machine are a band that not too many people on the UK side of the Atlantic may have heard of. I confess, until meeting Dangerous New Machine guitarist Billy Grey (read Rocksins interview with Billy here) when he was in his other role as Axeman for FOZZY I had not heard of them either….
It’s no coincidence that as the first rays of sunlight trickled through the clouds, the first chords of ‘When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes’ shimmered out of my speakers. Seven albums down the line and 3 million records later, Yellowcard are still delivering the kind of euphoric, feel-good soundtrack to your summer. I feel I…
Although it’s only early in the year – and undoubtedly there are still plenty more surprises to come – but what 2011 has proven so far, much like 2010 did, is that many bands are ready to make the step up to the next level. From the retro-rock-inspired Black Spiders, to the Industrial-tinged the Defiled,…
I’ve done some wrestling with this bastard. When I normally listen to any of The Haunted’s albums, I come complete with a huge grin on my face and my trusty air guitar in hand. Not so with ‘Unseen’; my face resembles that of someone who has received terrible news and placed under suicide watch, just…
I can take or leave Funeral For A Friend. I’ve never been entirely captured with an album. It all started out promisingly enough when they brazenly introduced themselves with ‘Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation’, followed up with the diluted radio friendly style found in ‘Hours’ which led to the release of their extremely catchy…
A Day To Remember’s fourth full length album What Separates Me From You hit the shelves over three months ago now and it somehow slipped the Rocksins radar to do a review, so I thought I would make up for lost time. Florida’s favourite collective of pop-metallers (“its not pop and its not metal, its…
Like a lot of people in the UK metal community, I have been awaiting Sylosis’s follow up to their debut album Conclusion of an Age with considerable anticipation. When Conclusion of an Age hit our ears in late 2008, it made an immediate impact and as more and more people have discovered Sylosis in the 2…
If you saw a picture of The Defiled and your first thought wasn’t ‘they’re probably shit’ then you’re either lying, very un-judgemental, or you’re a fan of Black Veil (holding back the urge to spew) Brides. Whichever way, the lesson learnt here is not to judge a book by its cover, and never has there…