“Is this too much? Is this not enough? If I don’t cover up, Does that make it my fault?”  OOF. For some time now, Svalbard – led by vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Serena Cherry, have been proving time and time again that real life is far more horrifying and brutal than any fictitious song about […]

Back in 2016 these California newcomers ( though the duo has served in black metal act Lake of Blood since 2008) released their debut album, the aptly named The Embodiment of Hate, and it would have made my year end list if I had hear it earlier. Well, there will be no such issues with […]

I’ve long championed Philadelphia’s Starkweather as a horribly underrated force in American metal. But with only 4 album since 1992, the less than prolific noisemongers keep themselves on the outer fringes of metal popularity, and that’s probably a good thing as more album like 2006’s landmark Croatoan or 2010s This Sheltering Night, might be too […]

“This is what happens. It indicates the non-frenzied feeding of a large squalus – possibly Longimanus or Isurus glauca. Now… the enormous amount of tissue loss prevents any detailed analysis; however the attacking squalus must be considerably larger than any normal squalus found in these waters. Didn’t you get on a boat and check out […]

I’ve been a fan of Colorado’s Call of the Void, since their 2013 Dragged Down A Dead End Path debut and then the band following it up with Ageless in 2015.  Both releases on Relapse Records.   COTV play a blistering combination of crusty grind, with some hardcore/punk influences.  Super aggressive and pissed off music.  […]

Generation of Vipers’ Howl and Filth was, in my opinion, one of the top records from 2011. So it was with bated breath that I waited for the follow up, which arrived in October 2014 in the form of Coffin Wisdom.  Follow-ups to favorite albums are dangerous, because bands run the risk of letting fans […]

Lesbian has been on my radar since their 2008 split with the amazing doom band Ocean. From there I snagged 2007’s awesome Power Hor, and anxiously awaited 2010’s killer Stratospheria Cubensis. So when I heard 2013 would bring a 45 minute, single track full-length titled Forestelevision, I was stoked. Lesbian are an odd group. They […]

It could be said that all music is mood music because who honestly puts on an album they aren’t in the mood for? We’ve all got go-to albums for our moods. Records we put on when we’re sad, when we want to relax, when we cook. Birth Control is the kind of album to listen […]

Struck By Lightning is the new project of former Mouth of the Architect frontman/keyboardist Gregory Lahm, but those expecting an ambient, massive wall of post rock will be sorely disappointed. Instead, Lahm’s new iteration is a more traditional, dissonant, caustic form of angular hard core based metal rooted in the likes of Coalesce, Botch, Cable […]

Finally given a proper label release (and a nifty new cover) after a self released push from band members (notably the wonderful Jackie Perez Gratz) and friends earlier this year, Giant Squid’s second offering should finally get the attention it deserved before the tragic death of the band’s publicist, Adrian Bromley. And Translation Loss is […]

A good portion of the first decade of the new millenium marketing in both underground and mainstream rock music has been a question of labelling all the new, increasingly interchangable product of independent and corporate labels. It used to be readily apparent which bands were indie and which mainstream, but those lines have been blurred […]

A really solid debut here from ex-members of the short-lived punk band Bars, who also have some more recognizable Massachusetts metal and hardcore pedigree in the form of The Red Chord and American Nightmare members. As you could probably tell from the evil-word/equine moniker (see also Palehorse and Warhorse), we are dealing with a band […]

Translation Loss Records is extremely pleased to announce the signing of San Francisco’s GIANT SQUID. Translation Loss Records will release The Ichthyologist this summer in correlation with the bands summer tour alongside label mates GRAYCEON (*TL has a Giant Squid / Grayceon split planned for 2010). Engineered, mixed and produced by Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Pearl […]

BLOODHORSE have posted the new song “Paranoiac” from their Translation Loss Records sophomore release “Horizoner” due May 26th 2009 here:  http://www.myspace.com/bloodhorse   BLOODHORSE’s follow up to their TL debut “EP” and proper full length record on Translation Loss entitled “Horizoner” was recorded at Mystic Valley Recording Studio with Alex Garcia Rivera of Bloodhorse and mastered […]

Translation Loss Records are extremely excited to announce the addition of Richmond, VA’s CITY OF SHIPS to their roster!   CITY OF SHIPS has been touring relentlessly since its inception in 2005, promoting self-released EPs as well as CD and Vinyl releases from independent Richmond, VA labels Forcefield Records and the Perpetual Motion Machine. The trio […]

Normally, for me to attend a decent metal show I have to either drive 2 ½ hours East to St Louis or 2 ½ hours West to Kansas City. However, once in a while Columbia, Missouri, a mere 30 minutes from my house, will have a decent show at one of their smaller venues (Origin, All That Remain, Mastodon, Between the Buried and Me). So once I saw that North Dakota/Minnesota noise merchants Battlefields were going to hit up one of the venues along with former label mates Sleeping In Gethsemane (who by the way are a very cool instrumental metal act) , I had to attend. I also thought I would squeeze in an interview with a band which has released two very impressive albums (2007s Stained by the Blood of an Empire and 2009s Thresholds of Imbalance) that take the typical post rock genre, add some doom, some progressive elements and a sprinkle of hardcore. So on a chilly evening outside the venue I shared some beers and visited with the very amicable trio of vocalist Rusty Steele, drummer Rob Schmidt and guitarist Matt Ricigliano….

Post rock is off to a busy start in 2009 with the likes of Nanda Devi, Tombs, Buried Inside, and the new Isis (which is killer BTW) – already before the start of spring. However the album I was most anticipating in the genre this year, the sophomore effort from North Dakota’s Battlefields as I […]

Translation Loss Records are extremely pleased to announce the addition of Columbus, Ohio’s STRUCK BY LIGHTNING to their roster! Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, STRUCK BY LIGHTNING features Gregory Lahm (previously of Mouth Of The Architect) on vocals and guitars, accompanying by Travis Kline, Mike Leach and John Peters. Encompassing the aggression and punk slathering of […]

“Post-rock” is always a genre I’m reluctant to throw around because of its inherent “what the fuck genre is that?” status. For my part, slapping “post-rock” anywhere near or around a band has many times put them in listener’s purgatory, and I have shoved numerous worthy post-rock bands aside prior to hearing their albums that […]

Translation Loss Records are extremely pleased to announce the addition of Minnesota’s BATTLEFIELDS to their roster! Hailing from the depths of Minnesota, BATTLEFIELDS have been touring relentlessly for the last three years and accruing massive accolades for their astounding live performances and their two previous records “Stained with the Blood of an Empire” and “Entourage […]

In celebration of the bands recent reforming and small string of live dates, September 30th will see the reissue of CABLE’s debut, Variable Speed Drive. The record has been remastered by Mick Mullin (Fight Amp, Pentagram, Zodiak, Intronaut) at Super 8 and the artwork was updated by Century’s very own mastermind, Carson Slovak for Century […]

You do not fuck with javelina. We have ‘em here in Arizona – big wild pigs out in the desert, usually sleeping under mesquite during the day but out foraging for food at night. Get too close to one – or worse, the babies – and they’ll charge you, running you down and tearing your […]

Ambitious post rocker/shoegazers Rosetta made quite a splash with their debut, The Galilean Satellites, especially with its 2 discs that can supposedly be played simultaneously for a complete experience (if anyone has ever done this, please let me know how it is). So here is the follow up, and much like equally talented and influenced […]

If not for Cable, there may have never been Isis…or Red Sparowes. Bassist Jeff Caxide played on Cable’s eponymous 1996 debut then left to join Isis. Cable’s influential 1999 album Gutter Queen was release number 26 on a then-fledgling indie label in Boston called Hydra Head. Many noisecore bands copied Cable’s formula for success, and […]