punk / hard rock

Well, they couldn't have made this any clearer, could they? With a band name like this and a highly promising title, these French guys appear to be prepared for a heavy rocking battle that will eventually end up in a dental hospital. Are they? We'll see.

Rock 'n' Brawl appeared on the French rock scene in 2013. That scene appears to be overloaded with hard rocking bands already but nobody seems to mind, especially not these guys. With a high energy mix of hardcore punk and hard rock they blast the competition off stage.

Looking at their facebook profile, I see that the band is influenced by Danko Jones, The Bronx and AC/DC. However, when I listen to some of the tracks here, I can't help but think that hardcore punk bands like Agnostic Front and Hatebreed also had their influence on Rock 'n' Brawl. 'Can't Stop The Fight' and 'Unbreakable' are fierce punk tracks that will undoubtedly cause crowd surfers and moshpits, with the inevitable broken teeth as a result.

However, sometimes the tempo goes down a bit, resulting in sweet hard rock tracks like 'Coughing To Death' and 'Loud Punch'. With 'Lack & Wounds' there is even a ballad on the album, be it a raunchy, gritty one. In fact, that's my favorite track here. It might sound weird but I really love this tune. Obviously it adds variation, but it also serves as a calm spot in a raging ocean of hardcore punk rock. So who to recommend it to? Hard core punk rockers, of course. They should really check out this thing.


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doom / post metal

metal / hardcore

psychedelic rock / doom

psychedelic / doom

shoegaze / dream pop

shoegaze

post punk / new wave

alternative rock / shoegaze

neofolk

experimental / ambient / noise

Unexplained Sounds

ambient / noise / experimental

bandcamp

dark ambient / drone

bandcamp

ambient / electronic

death metal

black metal

Serge

hardcore

As I'm working my way through the heap of albums to be reviewed I start realizing that this is just becoming too much. I can't keep up with all of this and I'm sure that I'm not the only music reviewer who feels this way. In today's music scene, there is such an overload in releases, some brilliant, others not so brilliant and here I am, sitting next to a pile of CDs wondering if it is all still worth the effort. I know that I won't like some of these albums, and to be brutally honest, this one is one of them. That is not the band's fault by the way. It's nobody's fault. It's just a difference in musical taste, but since we have no other active hardcore reviewers, here we go.

Oh, that sounded rather negative, didn't it? But don't worry. I'll find a group of people to recommended this album, regardless of my personal opinion about. Besides, I can appreciate the music by Oregon Trail. I'm just not fond of hardcore vocals, not even in today's sludge, post- and doom metal scene. Here, the vocals remind me of Sick Of It All, Agnostic Front and so on while the music takes on a different approach, that of post rock acts like God Is An Astronaut, for example.

That, I can certainly appreciate and the instrumental passages on this album are right on point. I also like the fact that most of the music here is mid- to up-tempo, which is a welcome change in a genre that usually takes it slow. By the time I'm writing this paragraph, I'm already through the first three songs of the album, all three are energetic and immersive post hardcore songs with the aggression of hardcore punk and the immersive nature of its adjective, "post". Yet, on 'Aven' the band suddenly comes up with clean vocals which immediately improves my opinion about them.

In a way, I certainly think that these Swiss are a talented and well-attuned band, showcasing an overwhelming sound. I'm sure that heaps of young (post- hardcore fans will absolutely worship this massive, coherent, varied and often brutal sound. For them, obviously, this is a highly recommended album. This will undoubtedly help troubled youngsters through some difficult times and for that I applaud Oregon Trail. I just won't be listening to this album very often but if you're a fan of intense and harsh music, you definitely should.


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post rock

densely acquiescent serenity, majorly entangled in a human emotional diagram of omnipotent infinity, S/T is a simple, yet complete sonorous conflagration of a melodic universe, whose imponderability is virtually attached to the most restless deliberation of a wonderful and honest expressive moment in time.     

​Wagner

heavy jazz / grindcore

ambient / post rock

jazz / noise rock / experimental

bandcamp

heavy metal

crust / hardcore

progressive metal

hip hop / j-rap

electronic

black metal / metal / death metal

black metal

doom / post metal

death metal / thrash metal

folk metal

alternative metal

death metal

punk / hardcore

sludge metal / noise rock

death metal

death metal

post rock / post metal

alternative rock

electronic / alternative / experimental / trip hop

indie / alternative rock

post rock

black metal / "funeral grunge"

black metal

sludge metal / doom / krautrock

ambient / experimental / noise

Serge

screamo / hardcore / metal

It is always hard to review an album I'm not quite fond of. Yeah, I know, This is a harsh opening for this article but it is the truth. I am not very fond of this album. I am not a fan of hardcore or screamo but I do recognize a well executed album when I hear one and this thing is damn well executed. 

Time for energy is a "brutal rock" band from Nantes, France. They formed in 2008, which might explain the coherent and well attuned sound of 'Gang Of Losers'. Their music is a blast of noisy and intrusive rock and metal with harsh and intense screaming vocals. Yet, it comes with a decent dose of variation.

Time For Energy takes hardcore, post hardcore and screamo as a foundation for their varied and quite infectious sound. Yet, unlike most bands I hear in this genre, this is not another faceless copy of Oceans Ate Alaska, Thrice or any of the popular bands in the genre. No, this is a band of friends who know damn well what they want and how to conceive it. You can feel the chemistry coming from songs like 'Black Eye Blues', 'Prick' or 'Bring Out The Flags'. 

Besides, 'Trucks' is a pretty neat piece of music. It's intense, melodic and just a bit out of the ordinary. I like that. Like I already mentioned, the whole thing is perfectly executed and in modern day standards, I truly believe that 'Gang Of Losers' is an absolute must-have for fans of the genre. As far as I'm concerned, Time For Energy might as well climb the bigger stages on metal festivals. I'm sure that they can set the whole thing ablaze.


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dark ambient

black metal

post hardcore

drone / dark ambient

doom / post rock

death metal / punk 

doom / sludge 

hardcore / metal

experimental / ambient / noise

bandcamp

funeral doom

black metal

speed metal / black metal

bandcamp

death metal / grindcore

techno / rave / house

techno

Serge

hardcore / grindcore

When this album came in, I immediately downloaded it, which is quite odd because I don't consider myself a fan of hardcore. But something about it told me that I would probably enjoy this thing and guess what, I did, even though it took me a while before eventually loading it into my media player (I've been busy).

What I like about it? Well, for starters I love the sheer darkness that covers the whole thing. From gloomy noise passages to intense pieces of blackened grindcore, this thing is pitch black. Furthermore, it's violent and aggressive as fuck, but also well written and highly conceptual.

Somehow Apes have managed to combine grindcore, doom metal, noise and hardcore into this brutal cesspool. The whole thing is rather short but incredibly vicious, as if it's sole purpose is to drag you down to hell and unleash all its demons. Anyway, if you are one of those people who love to be brutally beaten down by music, this sonic assault obviously is your thing. You can bang your head, you can start a mosh pit, you can do whatever you like. In the -core genres, 'Lightless' certainly is one of the best I have ever heard!


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post hardcore / post rock

It's strange how bands and fans from across the Belgian language barrier often have no idea about each other's existence. For years, Walloon bands have been relatively unknown in the Flemish region and vice versa. Luckily, in recent years that seems to change. One example is this noisy ensemble from Liege. A few years ago, they delivered a massive set in front of the mainstage at Dunk! Festival and this years they almost destroyed the forest with their intense blend of post hardcore, noise rock and post rock. They were there to present their new album, 'Veil', which is quite a destructive piece of work.

If I had to organise my music collection according to genres, I think Ilydaen would end up right between Russian Circles and AmenRa. The songs combine the atmospheric elements of post rock with the explosive bombast of hardcore, here and there enhanced by screams. Above that, you can find influences from mathcore, noise rock and progressive rock, all blended into seven typically Ilydaen tunes. That being said. I've seen them live and I've heard their previous work and I have to say, these guys are growing as a band. They are becoming better at what they do, something which they beautifully showcase on a masterpiece like 'Aura'. 

In all, 'Veil' is an excellent album, a worthy follow-up to their highly acclaimed 'Maze'. They no longer seem to care about genres and restrictions. Instead, they grab their instruments and do their very best to come up with something immersive and intense. And in that, Ilydaen have certainly succeeded. I can only recommend this album to all fans of progressive and intelligent rock music. So if you haven't checked out this album, be sure to do that and to get your hands on a copy. You'll be amazed by the sheer amount of talent this little country has to offer...


Serge

hardcore / sludge metal

This is just in. Literally. There have been less than five minutes between seeing the email and starting to write the review. That must be a record for Merchants Of Air. But, there are a few good reasons: One: the band name. "Rotzak" is Dutch for "asshole", which predicts some dirty, filthy and nasty rock 'n roll music. Second. They're from Diest, which in Belgium, which is where I am from. Third. This is a bloody sleazy blend of hardcore, metal, sludge and stoner rock, one that I gladly push forward as a possible addition for Desertfest.

I just don't think I'm going to buy a bandshirt. I mean, I'm not keen on walking through Antwerp (or any other of our cities) wearing a t-shirt with the word "rotzak". People who have no idea about this band will look at me funny. And when I explain and make them listen to the music, they'll look even funnier. Yet, for those who are into other Belgian powerhouses like Bark, Vandal X, Steak Number Eight and so on, will definitely appreciate this slab of aggression.

What I like most on this ep, is the level of variation. Besides aspect from melodic hardcore and sludge metal, there are some aggressive slabs of noise rock. The vocals too range from clean and melodic to "I won't need these lungs anymore". Besides, each of the four tracks seems to have its own identity, which obviously is also a decent plus. So yeah, Rotzak convinced me and I hope that they will convince a lot of fellow countrymen too on the upcoming summer festivals. This is one to keep an eye on before Merchants Of Air loses them to Humo and StuBru...


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