Category Archives: Reviews

(record review)SHADOW WINDHAWK-The Funeral Cortege(Black Flame Records)

Yes! The long awaited new album by the horrorpunk legend Shadow Windhawk is out now! I was lucky to listen to the record and review it for this webzine.

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Everyone, even birds in the trees know that I love horrorpunk and how much I love all horror subculture. Shadow Windhawk is an important part of the small but tight and awesome horrorpunk scene and he has been here for years creating his own music, whether acoustic or conventional but always having a large dose of originality in his songs.

This new album contains 9 songs, one being originally written by TSOL. What instantly comes to mind when the first song Broken Signals started, is how much atmosphere can this band create in the songs, the darkness through the album being almost physically and you can almost touch it and feel it. Borgo Pass is a song that was released recently so I listened to it a couple of times already, so I know this beautiful ode to the nature and vampirism and fear. Cortege is a beautiful emotional slower song about death and dealing with death and feelings that take hold of you while funeral ceremony takes place and I can totally relate to that song. Fourteen Mile Tombstone is for me one of my favorite songs on this record, a simple melodic punkrock song dedicated to George Romero who sadly passed away and as a hommage for meaning so much to us, horror fans. Visitation Room is a slow rolling song carried by the simple, but effective melodic guitar riff that holds the song and Shadow´s excellent special voice takes us drifting to some other black dimension. Red Shadows was written originally by TSOL but this song fits perfectly in this album so I loved every second of that song. Feb 24th 1989 is a song that came out on Shadow Windhawk´s first acoustic e.p. and was my favorite song for a long time being a dark ode to Twin Peaks and the murder of Laura Palmer. I love how all of the Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi and other samples fit perfectly in the songs and I always admire when the band uses samples smartly. Green-Wood is a lovely graveyard ballad just made for listening while walking through the graveyard on an Autumn day. Wendigo closes the album with a feeling of just coming out alive from the dark, dangerous, but at the same time beautiful place.

10/10

https://www.facebook.com/shadowwindhawkandthemorticians/

https://shadowwindhawkandthemorticians.com/album/the-funeral-cort-ge

 

(record review)ManifeStatioN-Fair Enough(Dedication Records)

European hardcore scene is alive and well and pulsing with life and inspiration. ManifeStatioN from Germany release their new record via Dedication Records and it was my privilege to listen to the new record and review it for this webzine.

Cover Manifestation

The Germans from Saarland area started the band in 1996., but the real start of the band goes back in 2001. After several lineup changes and gaining new, fresh blood in the band with the new bass player and drummer in 2016.it was time to reveal the new record.

The record contains 12 songs of hardcore that somehow nostalgically reminds me of the 90-ies but done in a modern and fresh way. If I must compare the music to some bands which I hate doing, then it would be early Madball, Ryker˙s and Brightside. That means brutal, groovy and aggressive hardcore but also with some surprising melodic undertones like for example in excellent There´s a Light for which the video was made and you can watch it below. The vocals are angry, shouted with gang back vocals here and there just made for singing along at the gigs. I also feel the European hardcore spirit from the 90-ies like in the song called False Mirror. I love the mix of brutality and anthemic melody in Time Through My Hands. For me one of the absolute highlights of this record is for sure Keep It Together being short but sweet hardcore little hymn. This is a strong in your face no holds barred hardcore record!

8/10

https://www.facebook.com/Manifestationhc/

https://www.facebook.com/dedication.records.bad.salzuflen/

 

 

(record review)NOFX-“Ribbed-Live in a dive”(Fat Wreck Chords)

NOFX just released the new album in Live in a dive series. This time they played their legendary “Ribbed” album in it´s entirety.

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Many people think that this band somehow lost it˙s touch, lost inspiration and records one boring album after another boring album. Personally, I don´t think that this is true. I think that they still got that something that sets them apart from other bands of this style. They still got the mojo to have fun and at the same time play awesome music. Sometimes they don`t have their day, but we are all only humans are we? So, this legendary album is played live with standard NOFX trademark humour between the songs. Who loves songs like “Moron Brothers”, “Cheese/Where´s my slice” or “Together on the sand” and other legendary songs from “Ribbed” will love this album.

8/10

https://www.facebook.com/NOFX

https://www.facebook.com/fatwrecksf