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August 12, 2016 5 minutes read

Nothing “Eaten By Worms”

People often wonder why Philadelphia’sÂ NOTHINGÂ are so damn loud. In the case of many artists, the volume stems from a preoccupation with negativity, misanthropy and the human condition. But whileÂ NOTHING’s attitude lines up with these ideas, their personality isn’t one that the band picked from a list of cliches. Instead, it’s one that’s been molded by the band’s own experiences, from family troubles and personal tragedy to a string of bad luck that Murphy’s Law would balk at. And that volume, rather than a selling point, is the only way the band has been able to translate the difficulty of real-life events into musical form.

Borrowing from personal memoir and external works alike,Â NOTHINGÂ have worked the deepest influences of their youth & maturation into a package that’s ultimately at its most relevant in the present day. Case in point:Â Tired Of TomorrowÂ was written before the Shkreli debacle, but as Palermo sees it, those events only served to strengthen the sentiments and ideas behindÂ Tired Of TomorrowÂ rather than confuse its message. It’s a mess to think about, but as always, the contradictions and paradoxes of the kindÂ NOTHINGÂ harnesses ultimately lead to the greatest revelations, and the band’s personal and tragic path has nonetheless ledNOTHINGÂ to produce deeply heartfelt and inspiring music. Whichever way you want to look at it, you can’t deny thatÂ NOTHINGÂ feels good.

The Album Leaf “Between Waves”

THE ALBUM LEAFÂ has been making its mark as a soft-spoken innovator steadily and surely since 1999. One year after forming the influential San Diego instrumental group Tristeza, songwriter & multi-instrumentalist Jimmy LaValle foundedÂ THE ALBUM LEAF, a solo studio project turnedÂ full-fledged live band. The diversity ofÂ THE ALBUM LEAF’s music is second only to the diversity of the music that has inspired LaValle through the years – the artist has named everything fromÂ German Ambient/Pysch bands like Can, Cluster and Harmonia to traditional mariachi music, electronic music and Brian Eno as some of his primary influencesÂ – and it’s clear thatÂ THE ALBUM LEAFÂ is unafraid of thinking outside the box, both as an individual artist & within the larger scope of modern music.

Between WavesÂ isÂ THE ALBUM LEAF’s first full-length record to be recorded with the band’s current lineup, and was written with greater emphasis on the group dynamic (the album was also entirely recorded and produced by LaValle and the band).

The album’s eight tracks were winnowed down from thirty, and it shows: each song is memorable and unique, all speaking inÂ THE ALBUM LEAF’s singular voice while expressing themselves through a wide variety of different sounds and emotions. The band’s thorough, unified approach is evident on nearly every aspect ofÂ Between Waves: the album displays multifaceted, meticulous sound design, a keen ear for balancing disparate influences, and the strongest senses of dynamics, rhythm, and compositionÂ THE ALBUM LEAFÂ has displayed to date. From the moody evolution of “Glimmering Lights” to the wistful trip-hop stylings of “A New Soul” and beyond,Between WavesÂ isÂ THE ALBUM LEAFÂ at its most inventive, most confident, and most impressive.

Wrong “Turn In”Â

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High-energy Miami noise rock quartetÂ WRONGÂ formed in 2014 from the ashes of punk/hardcore trio Capsule and streamrolledÂ onto the scene in 2014 with its promising debut EPÂ Stop GivingÂ (Robotic Empire). Featuring former members ofÂ TorcheÂ and Kylesa amongst their ranks,Â WRONGÂ play Helmet / Unsane inspired heavy noise rock and put on an appropriately unrelenting live show along with the music. In its brief lifespan, the band has already beenÂ described by Noisey as an “outfit with impeccable credentials and a firm handle on the art of the bludgeoning groove” and by PunkNews as “very promising indeed” – promising enough to get signed by Relapse Records in the summer of 2015, after the band made waves on its first North American tour with now-labelmates Torche andÂ Nothing.

After spending the rest of 2015 on tourÂ withÂ Black TuskÂ and House of Lightning,WRONGÂ put the finishing touches on their debut full-length at PineCrust studios in Gainesville, FL. The band is now readying its self-titled full-length debut, a raucous and modern take on 90’s grunge and alternative metalÂ comprised of eleven riff-driven, powerhouse songs replete with battering grooves, dissonant melodies and cathartic vocals.Â WRONGÂ play noise rock for a new millennium: this is one of the most infectious and captivating heavy debuts in years.

Ringworm “Snake Church”Â

Ever since emerging from the Cleveland metal underground,Â RINGWORMÂ has garnered the immediate attention of hardcore and metal fans.Â RINGWORMÂ displays an awesome ferocity in the power of its instruments, and vocalist The Human Furnace uses his voice as a tool to extract the diabolical nature of anyone who hears it. The band has toured with dozens of prominent metal and hardcore acts over the years, ranging from Hatebreed and Converge to Goatwhore, Napalm Death, Voivod, and Eyehategod.

2016 is poised to be a breakout year forÂ RINGWORMÂ with the impending release of the band’s eighth full-length,Â Snake Church, a 12-track, 30+ minute testament of vicious aggression. After having converted metalheads and hardcore fans alike with their intense, no-holds-barred live shows and consistently punishing albums over the course of the last 25+ years,Â RINGWORMÂ once again prove that they are in a league of their own when it comes to face-breaking sonic fury. Recorded and produced by Ben Schigel (Chimaira, ZAO) at Spider Studios and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Nails, Xibalba, Black Breath),Â Snake ChurchÂ obliterates the listener and never relents, leaving nothing but bile and bone in its wake.