Moving Mountains – Alleviate
[Triple Crown Records]
6/10

New York ambient indie rockers Moving Mountains have acoustically re-interpreted four songs from their most recent release Waves and their debut Pneuma. These four songs are included on the bands’ new EP Alleviate which is released through Triple Crown Records. The title track begins the release and while the material is solid, the acoustic version leaves something to be desired as the singing has sort of a difficult time pulling in the listener. This improves on the next track, “Ode We Will Bury Ourselves”, while also have an interesting musical backdrop to help in the process. Usually acoustic renditions have been hit or miss, but Moving Mountains has seemed to find a middle ground where they are not horrible, but nor are they great either. The songs are average as standalone tracks, but listening to all 4 in one setting the release progressively gets better as it nears the end. This allows for Alleviate to become an above average EP, but a great placeholder for fans of Moving Mountains.

MewithoutYou – Ten Stories
[Pine Street]
10/10

Native Philadelphia 4-piece MewithoutYou has been putting out great records since their 2002 debut A->B Life. Album after album mewithoutYou has changed their sound slightly, but have consistently made it work. MewithoutYou’s newest album Ten Stories is a perfect mixture of all their previous styles with some new tricks thrown in. The album starts out with “Febuary, 1878”, which has a beautiful chorus and strong intro, and then flows into “Grist for the Malady Mill” the best song on the album. The standout characteristic of Ten Stories is vocalist Aaron Weiss’ lyrics. With his unique storytelling Aaron knows how to write very poetic lyrics that paint a gorgeous musical picture. The instrumental parts of the record are also way above average compared to most bands out there today. Guitarist Michael Weiss’ lead riffs along with drummer Rickie Mazzota and bassist Greg Jehanian form one of the best musical groups to date, There is not a bad song on Ten Stories and it is a shoe-in for my top 10 of 2012 write-up.

For The Foxes – The Revolution
[Hopeless Records]
9.5/10

Hopeless Records has steadily risen into the discussion as being the best label around in the past two years. In that time span they have released albums of varying genres without releasing a single dud. One reasoning behind this could be the fact that they are so selective in their artists that they rather release a handful of great records a year as opposed to two dozen decent albums. With that said, Hopeless hopes to continue that streak with their newest signing For The Foxes’ The Revolution. “Sinking Like A Stone” opens with a highly unique sung part that sounds like a mix of horror punk and pop-rock. The rest of the band then enters and the band’s pop-rock draws the listener in while keeping them hooked with the top-notch singing found throughout the entire release. The title track then begins with a soft almost spoken vocal part that bursts into the soaring chorus. While their base sound is in pop-rock it is very clear the band has some punk influences in their sound. From the opening vocal style to the gang vocals and even some screaming all draws from the punk scene and adds even more dimension to the batch of six songs featured on the EP. With For The Foxes using their sound as a melting pot of all their influences, it leads to another spectacular release from a label that seems to be making releasing great albums a trend. Here is hoping that trend does not end soon. The Revolution may end up being the most underrated pop-rock album of the year, and this is a shame as the band has released an EP deserving of fans’ attention.

Otherwise – True Love Never Dies

[Century Media Records]

8.5/10

The single, “Soldiers”, is what launched these guys in a matter of no time, and for good reason. The song is still one of the best tracks on the band’s Century Media debut, but True Love Never Dies is full of memorable hits. Recorded with acclaimed producer Jay Baumgardner [Godsmack, Bush, Papa Roach, Seether, Sevendust, P.O.D.] at NRG Studios, the record is a hard rock record full of anthems and ballads. The first actual song, “Die For You”, is an instantly catchy song that you’ll want to have on repeat several times before continuing forward. “Vegas Girl” is probably the most angry sounding track, and as such packs the most punch. Then, of course, you have the extremely well crafted “Soldiers” single. There are several other slower tracks that also shine, so True Love Never Dies does have a good balance between the rock-out and slow-down moments. The first half of the record is more of the in-your-face material, while the second half is composed mainly of the steady and beautiful tracks. Otherwise have come out with an excellent debut that should easily propelled them even further than they already have in the past year. Any fan of hard rock should check these guys out today. – by Nathaniel Lay

Demon Hunter – True Defiance

[Solid State Records]

8/10

Demon Hunter is a well known Christian metalcore act, and for good reason. Their latest release, True Defiance, is quite memorable, hard hitting, and even melodic. The opening track, “Crucifex”, opens like an Underoath song, prepping the listener with some distant beats before launching forth. The song is one of the heavier ones, giving the start of True Defiance a good kick. However, it’s the larger tracks that take the gravy during this album. The song that follows, “God Forsaken”, is easily one of the best moments found on the record, and its mainly due to its balance between brutality and melody. Instrumentally, Demon Hunter have a very metal structure at all times, but their blend new age and old is what makes their formula highly entertaining. Their vocal work is also top notch, whether it’s the demonic screaming or smooth singing. There are a handful of songs here that you could easily call “single worthy”, but in all honesty, True Defiance does have some minor faults. By the time you’ve passed the half way mark, the listener could easily find themselves growing a bit tired of the sound. It’s not that it dwindles at a certain point, but this is a lengthy record. This means that it’s best enjoyed in fragments. To hear True Defiance from start to finish can make you lose appreciation for the talent at hand. Despite this minor setback that many metal bands tend to face, Demon Hunter have returned strong with True Defiance. This is a metalhead’s dream. – By Nathaniel Lay

FIRE & ICE – Not of This Earth

[Reaper Records]

5/10

If you were to briefly skip around Not Of This Earth, it may appear that Fire & Ice have some worthy to offer listeners. Sadly, once you’ve sat down and actually played through the songs, you’ll discover that you were mistaken. Instrumentally, the band has some good chops, blending rock and hardcore primarily. Even the vocals aren’t that bad; they suit the genre. However, where Fire & Ice fail, is in their song construction. The tracks almost always end sooner than you were expecting. They really don’t have highs and lows, causing them to have a fairly steady and boring pacing from start to finish. Basically, the songs tend to just…exist. Not much else. Even with this record only clocking in at 28 minutes, with most songs sticking between 1-3 minutes in length, Not Of This Earth feels too long. Fire & Ice may make more of an impression if they got a new leader to send them in the right direction. As of right now, they don’t seem to know how to create a song with a lasting impression. – By Nathaniel Lay

Charm City Devils – Sins

[Fat Lady Music]

8.5/10

Charm City Devils have come a long way since their 2009 release of Let’s Rock-N-Roll. At that time, they had a poor AC/DC vibe to them that just didn’t stand up. However, Sins takes the band to some memorable heights through the course of eleven tracks. Kicking off with the hard-hitting “Spite”, Charm City Devils immediately show their improvement over the years. Everything is more polished and defined. They may not have an original sound, but they do the rock genre great justice. Sins is the kind of record you’d hear playing loud and proud in a bar or on the national radio waves. In fact, more than once, Charm City Devils follow up with a song that has that instant-hit stamp of approval. Such prime examples include “Man of Constant Sorrow”, “Still Alive”, and “Walk Away”. Sins has a very solid balance to it throughout, bringing you the faster and more energetic songs (like “Spite” and “Blame”), along with the slower and more impressively written ones (such as “All You’ll Ever Need” and the previously mentioned “Walk Away”), and the perfectly structured “Problem”. With repeated listens, Sins could win over any fan of rock. Give Charm City Devils a chance with this one. – By Nathaniel Lay

Miseration – Tragedy Has Spoken

[Lifeforce Records]

7/10

For the uninitiated, MISERATION is one of the many projects that Christian Alvestam (formerly of SCAR SYMMETRY) has lent his devastating vocal work to. His is an instantly recognizable voice, both harsh and clean, and while some are not fans of his previously more melodic bands, very few critics have been harsh on Christian’s vocal duties. It is then high praise to say that his band-mates in MISERATION do not sit idly by letting their front-man take over; instead, this is just over forty-two minutes of nearly non-stop technical old-school death metal. Save for one song, there isn’t a whole hell of a lot of melody. This is brutal death metal, minus the breakdowns, thankfully. While there isn’t much of a progressive element, some interesting folk instruments weave themselves in and out of the proceedings. The album incorporates a hammered dulcimer, organ, mandolin, and the Indian harp Esraj, to name a few. Those unique instruments aren’t overbearing, but their use is welcome and adds another interesting element to Tragedy Has Spoken. The only problem with this album is the single use of melody is the best moment of the album. In “On Wings of Brimstone”, Christian’s clean vocals are utilized to great effect, with a rare clean chorus. The issue is it’s so well done that if you are a fan of that style, you wish more of those had been added into the album. The aggression on the track is so visceral that the clean vocals serve more as a accentuation of the brutality than as a jarring respite. No matter the slight issue, MISERATION has released another fantastic album that will be swooned over by fans of death metal in its purest form. – by Nicholas Senior

Matt Skiba and the Sekrets – Babylon
[Superball Music]
7/10

While Babylon doesn’t stand up to Skiba’s Alkaline Trio albums, it is a huge improvement from his solo work that came out within the last two years. Teamed up with Hunter Burgan (AFI) and Jarrod Alexander (My Chemical Romance), the threesome play rock very much similar to Skiba’s fame. While it doesn’t seem to be as memorable, fans of A3 will definitely feel at home with Babylon. The songs are cleverly crafted and original sounding, though they do seem to blend together at times. Lyrically, Skiba still shines as he always has. Fans will still be able to relate to these songs as strongly as they have in the past. Of the highlights, you have “Voices” (the opening track), “The End of Joy” (an upbeat, yet darkly written track), “Olivia” (which has an old school A3 vibe to it), and “Angel of Deaf” (the simple, yet very memorable acoustic closer). While I wouldn’t say that Babylon is one of Skiba’s top records, it is certainly a good one. This is a group I’d definitely want to hear more from.

The Royalty – Lovers
[Victory Records]
8/10

With summer quickly approaching everyone is in search of a go-to soundtrack for their vacations and other summer festivities. El Paso indie rockers The Royalty want their new album Lovers to be that soundtrack. With elements of soul and jazz music mixed with the upbeat tempos of indie and pop rock there is something for almost all music lovers to enjoy. Vocalist Nicole Boudreau’s voice has a hint of the late Amy Winehouse, but with more clarity and brilliance while guitarist Jesus Apodaca has a guitar tone eerily similar to those of Vampire Weekend (which can only be a good thing). Lovers starts off with “Bartender” a song full off jazz organ and beautiful harmonies and keeps up a beautiful pace until the closing track “Won’t Be Long”. Lovers is the definition of a summer album, and a darn good one at that.