A Hole Inside - The Face Of Ignorance [2010]

Genre: Post-Hardcore
Label: Unsigned
URL: http://www.myspace.com/aholeinside
Country: Borås, Sweden

These guys were nice enough to hand me their brand new album way before release, so I feel a little special!
I have to say that I'm really amazed how much they've improved since Steps We Have To Follow. The music has much better quality than earlier and the vocals are improved beyond better.
Opening the album with what feels like a very long intro somehow, even though it isn't. It probably doesn't make much sense what I said, but it feels like a good way to open the album. Right in the first song you hear the difference between this and their previous opus. Screaming is clearer and sounds better. Instrumentally they have real studio-quality in contrast with Steps. Due to the fact that they're unsigned they've done a good job producing this album for themselves.
Then comes one of the best tracks on the album, An Act Of Desperation. I have to admit I didn't like the clean vocals earlier, but somehow they sound different, yet very same. The chorus sounds very nice, and the piano-ridden interlude later on in the song feature nice low-pitched clean singing that sound really good. I'd think that it would be a good idea to have some of those low-pitched singing even in the musically energetic parts to create a certain contrast, thus shaping a unique sound for A Hole Inside.
The aforementioned improved clean vocals are also featured in a good manner in Bottoms Up with a very catchy chorus and melodic riffing.
The album then ends in an acoustic ballad well performed with beautiful lyrics - a nice closure.
All in all, this is a huge improvement on A Hole Inside's part and I'm very impressed. Even though the clean vocals do need a little more refining they do sound much better, as does everything else. I'm looking forward to hearing more from these guys.



Best song: An Act Of Desperation
Score: 7/10

House vs. Hurricane - Perspectives [2010]

Genre: Post-Hardcore/Electronic
Label: Shock Records
URL: http://www.myspace.com/housevshurricane
Country: Melbourne, Australia

Australian post-hardcore act House vs. Hurricane releases a new, label debut album after their amazing first release, Forfeiture. The last two years three members of House vs Hurricane left the band, but that didn't let them stop their progress in making a new album. 
All I can say is I'm still amazed by the fact that Australian bands ALWAYS deliver. I'm yet to find an Australian band that isn't, in fact, good. 
Melodic yet heavy when the hammer strikes, intense screaming, beautiful clean singing. 
Not that common to the genre is the heavy use of synth, which was featured in Forfeiture aswell. I'm not a fan of pure synth music, but when it's mixed in like HvH does it, it makes them stand out a lot and it sounds really good. Bands are seemingly too afraid to include too much electronics in their songs, but HvH aren't afraid to experiment. 

First song on the album, Leaps & Bounds, gives a very strong first impression. It starts with a nice picking intro, which turns into melodic riffing together with the picking. It's hard to explain, but it sounds so damn awesome that I could listen to it over and over again without ever tiring. Later on in the song you get a taste of breakdowns, smooth piano-ridden intermissions blended with aforementioned heavy synth. You really get to know HvH right in the first song.
 About half in, you encounter one of the best tracks on the album - Experiences, which features an impressively catchy and energetic intro which ought to make your shake at least one of your bodyparts. Later this song turns into heavy beating and spacey synths which gives kind of a cozy feeling. 
The album as a whole features an almost-the-same sound throughout all songs, which is pretty disappointing. No peaks or surprises, except in Leaps & Bounds and Experiences. But don't get me wrong, it's not bad. Not at all. It's just not as good as Forfeiture was. 
When I heard the intermission II. Softlight, the next to last song, I was really building up for what hopefully would turn out to be a killer track - III. Nevermore. It gave me mixed feelings however. The intro wasn't what I would've expected, but later on in the track you get a lot of melodic verses and clean singing, so let's say it starts not-so-good, but ends with a bang (figuratively speaking). 
Something noteworthy is that not only does the album feature 12 tracks, but lots of them are over 4 minutes long. 

Ultimately, it's a solid album that's guaranteed to grant you a lot of listens. It was not what I was expecting, seeing as Forfeiture was really good I was hoping for an even better sequel. Nonetheless a very solid release and I'm sure HvH won't take any steps back from here.


Best song: Leaps & Bounds
Score: 8/10

Some "news"

As some of you might've noticed, I haven't uploaded that many reviews lately. This is because I've been writing for an online magazine called Corezine.
But don't worry! I'm still writing here, both regular reviews and band requests. So keep sending your albums if you want them reviewed - it means a lot to me! And make sure you check out Corezine as well!

Colossus - The Mechanical Engineering Of Living Machines [2010]

Genre: Progressive Metal
Label: Unsigned
URL: http://www.myspace.com/colossusstockholm
Country: Stockholm, Sweden
Note: By band request

First of all, I would like to apologize in advance if this review is bad since this is normally not in any way what I listen to. Therefore my judgment might be clouded.
That being said, I'm going directly to the point. This is, in my ears, not good. I'm having a hard time explaining what kind of music this actually is, but it's close to impossible. It's got doom influences with a dark aura surrounding it, with a tad of Guitar Hero included. What I mean by that is that it sounds very very very much like a Guitar Hero band.
The band discribes themselves as a mix of post-hardcore, old school doom, thrash and stoner metal to create their own sound. From my own experience, they do have their own sound. However, I'm not very familiar with the genre so I feel like I'm in no position to say that they don't sound like others, but I've never heard anything like it before.
The band members all seem to be in their best years (heh), so I'm guessing you'll have to be there aswell to really appreciate what they create. I, on the other hand, am not, and for that I'm sorry. But hey, if you like doom/thrash/stoner metal, give it a shot. You might like it!

Best song: Last Man Standing
Score: 3/10

Artist vs Poet - Favorite Fix [2010]

Genre: Pop Punk/Powerpop/Electronic
Label: Fearless Records
URL: http://www.myspace.com/artistvspoet
Country: Texas, USA

Pop punk from Texas. It's not something you come across every day I guess.
So what we got here is incredibly sweet pop(emphasis) punk that will make your teeth fall off. Both electric and acoustic guitar mixed in each song, very pop-ish built songs (with almost visible borders at verses, choruses and bridges) and modest use of keyboard á la Hellogoodbye. It's about the same style as Boys Like Girls, with the same radio friendly, MTV-esque sound.
Altough very catchy and energetic, it's TOO sweet. My teeth are disintegrating. But with producers Zack Odom and Kenneth Mount (All Time Low, Mayday Parade, Cartel) and Mike Green (Paramore), what would you expect?
I have to comment on the song Unconcious Reality, because I really like the strings in it. I haven't heard anything like that before, and it's fresh and unique to mix it into the song.
The album as a whole is pretty monotone with the same builds in all songs, basically. It's a little too MTV for me. I'd advice you to stay away from this unless you're into poppy mainstream rock.

Best song: Unconcious Reality
Score: 5/10