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 / rock

sludge / doom 

shoegaze / dreampop

new wave

pop / rock

black metal

bandcamp

post rock

punk / crust

nu metal

drone / jazz

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drone / ambient

shoegaze / ambient rock

ambient / experimental

bandcamp

hard rock / heavy metal

industrial metal / alternative metal

thrash metal

death metal

dark ambient

black metal

dark ambient

stoner rock / grunge

post punk / dark wave

metal

stoner rock / psychedelic rock

alternative rock / post punk

punk / alternative rock

progressive metal

black metal

punk / grindcore / crust

First, a little background on the band name. A "Pink Mass" is a Satanic ritual performed after death that turns the deceased's heterosexual spirit into a homosexual one. It's an actual thing and has been performed, for example, on the grave of Westboro Baptist church (of the anti-gay picketings at funerals and tragedies in the US) founder Fred Phelps' mother. Who, according to the ritual is now lesbian in the afterlife. Now, as a devout atheist, I have no beliefs in the supernatural or spiritual or religious but as a firm believer in blasphemy I think this is hysterically funny. Especially because I am 666% pro-LGBTQ rights. 

It's pretty safe to assume then that in a genre filled with über-manly theatrics, interests and poses, Pink Mass is one of the, if not THE most forward thinking bands with their brand of pro-gay crust grind. Needless to say, I love this to bits. They released an album last year called 'Slvt Kvlt' which I am definitely going to check  out, but first this one: the wonderfully named 'Necrosexual'. With an album title like that it's pretty obvious that this is pure sexual debauchery transformed into sound. Blasphemy, sodomy, necrophilia, BDSM, you name it, it's all fair game (or should I say 'bear' game *badum tss*) for Pink Mass. 

What all this aural debauchery amounts to is dirty, disgusting crusty grindcore. Filthy, raw, full of dirty riffs, d-beats, guttural growls, high pitched screams, blast beats, some old-school deathmetal, some hardcore punk, some blackmetal. It's a wonderful mix for everybody who likes their metal disgusting, decidedly unsophisticated and naaaaaasty. That's not to say there isn't some really great musicianship behind it, because there is, especially in the sparse guitarsolos and the basslines. And for something this dirty, the production sounds unexpectedly clear. Nasty it may be, but all the individual parts of nastiness can be heard clearly. It's not just a muddled mess. Bonuspoints all around!

A wonderful release for everyone who craves for something nasty. Just not with all the clichéd nasty grindcore tropes. Even more bonuspoints for the final track 'FOAD NSBM' because, you know, fuck national socialism! Do yourself a favor and check them out. And if you're up to it, look them up on YouTube as well.. 


Bjorn 

psychedelic rock / experimental / electronic

In 1890 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky premiered his opera 'The Queen Of Spades', with Nikolay and Medeya Figner, who sang the roles of Herman and Liza. In French speaking countries, the opera is known as 'Pique Dame'. For the record,  'Pique Dame' is also an operetta in two acts by Franz von Suppé, premiered in 1864.
In October, another  'Pique Dame' will be revealed upon the world. This time, it had very little to do with opera, operetta or classical music as a whole. This time, it's an album by two women from Swiss, one on e-bass and one on drums. But now it gets complicated.

THe album opens with a song called 'Slutwalk' which is mainly based on bass and percussion. Is it rock music? Is is punk? I don't know. All I know is that I'm suddenly thinking about acts like Chicks On Speed and The Breeders. 'Slutwalk' is actually a pretty energetic piece of basement punk rock and I like it. But, like I said, it gets complicated from now on. 'Be Loud' comes up with sludge and doom metal riffs, just not as heavy and pulverising. Instead, this turns out to become something rather psychedelic.

'72 Vierges' suddenly drags us into the world of electronics, where bands like Suicide and Crash Course To Science come to mind. Yeah, weird, isn't it? But again, I like. There is something highly infectious about this act, infectious and unique. Then, there is 'Forgotten Responsibility' which flirts with soundscapes and dark ambient. What? Yeah, I know. We're only four songs into this album and I'm already checking out if it is not a compilation. Turns out it's not, it's just incredibly versatile.

Right, what else do we have? 'Big Bang' is a piece of space rock inspired jam rock. Nice. 'La Vie En Rose' suddenly turns into a highly danceable piece of music. Neat! 'Dienstag' is another jam piece and title track 'Pique Dame' goes from eerie avant garde towards post punk. 'The Rise Of The Witches' is almost horror doom and by the end we get an industrial/future pop remix of 'Slutwalk'.  Varied enough for you? Oh well, this is simply a surprising and immersive album which indeed comes highly recommended.


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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

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ambient / experimental

ambient / electronic / downtempo

doom / sludge metal

ambient / classical

punk / antifolk

progressive metal

death metal / industrial

black metal

shoegaze / alternative rock / dark rock

facebook

ambient / downtempo

electronic / techno / experimental

Hypermedium

black metal

drone / ambient / minimal

noise

techno

post hardcore

death rock / punk / hard rock

Bordeaux, France, to most people probably known as one of the world's greatest wine regions. But if you thought the Bordeaux was a place of vineyards, cheese and tranquility, you're wrong. Bordeaux is also the birthplace of Volker, a dark rock entity that makes a lot of noise and defies genre classification.

Fronted by an energetic Jen Nyx, Volker effortlessly blends todays heavy scene with those of the eighties and nineties. Yet, before you expect something grungy or glamrocky, Volker seems to prefer the darker things in life and thus also in music.

The result is a massively varied dark rock album where death rock, gothic doom, hardcore punk and hard rock meet. I can hear flashes from The Misfits, Ramones, Moonspell, Christian Death, Guns 'n Roses and even some bands in today's metalcore scene. Metalcore fans will adore 'Yell', a vein cutting ballad, while deathrock aficionados will undoubtedly fill the dancefloors whenever 'Freaky' starts to play. There is truly something for everyone in the dark music scene.

The majority of the music on this album aims for either the mosh pits of the dark dance floor and in that aspect the horror punk smasher 'Voodoo Baby' is my favorite track. Jen Nyx goes pretty damn wild here, as she often does, which places this excellent old school punk rocker into a modern day metalcore thing that even I can appreciate. Needless to say perhaps, but this album rocks and obviously that's a good thing. So yes, dark rock fans of around the world, check it out, this would make an excellent addition to your collection.


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noise rock / punk / metal

Commonly known as "the only rock band in Tromsø", this noisy duo has been jamming and working for ten years before this debut album was released upon the world.  They hail from the rural town of Sørreisa, probably a place where a lot of noise can be made without anyone really complaining about it.

The album contains eight tracks, all created with a distorted bass guitars, pummeling drums and brutal hardcore vocals. No wonder that some people call them "the bastard sons of Motorhead and The Melvins". This stuff is intense, punkish, raunchy and highly destructive.

I think the best way to describe this music is by simply calling it "noise rock", as they remind me of bands like Unsane, Vandal X and Today Is The Day. Of course, punk and sludge metal have been massively influential for this Norwegian duo, just listen to blasting tunes like 'Final Form' and 'Mathlete' (or anything else on this album for that matter), but the whole thing comes with such intensity and grittiness that it becomes irresistible for noise rock fans. 

I don't think there's much left to say about this album, except maybe that it might need some time to grow on you. Rome wasn't built in a day and your eardrums won't be destroyed in one listen either. I'd certainly suggest giving it a try. 


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punk / ska

Swedish punk rockers Blisterhead have been around for twenty years. They toured all over Europe and recorded quite a few albums. Now, they return with a new EP named 'Border Control'. Obviously, this is a political inspired title and the content doesn't leave much to the imagination either. With lyrics like "Building walls around the valley of the dead", Blisterhead breathes the sign of the times and they do it with some uplifting punk rock songs, four to be exact.

While the opener 'Border Control' somewhat reminds me of the Ramones, the rest of the album is a splendid mix of old school punk and seventies rock music. There is a lot of energy to be found in these songs, along with a decent heap of aggression. Furthermore, like all decent punk and ska, there are great sing-along choruses and a tempo that will ignite a mosh pit in no time.

The only thing I miss on this ep, is the presence of saxophones and trumpets. I mean, this was presented to me as a punk and ska and for me, ska comes with joyous wind instruments. Oh well, I guess that's just my problem. Besides, 'Border Control' is still a great ep if you love uptempo punk rock. Blisterhead have been delivering the good for two decades now, so you can be damn sure that you will love these songs, especially if you love great three way harmonic vocals and a bit of social criticism.


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