Image above used with permission. © Taylor Ballantyne. Last year, after becoming infatuated with learning the mandolin, I stumbled upon a young woman's Youtube video in which she played Bach on an octave mandolin. Her name was Eva H ...
CD Review: “Nobody Likes Neville” by Nobody Likes Neville
Hey there, Harry Potter aficionados! New Baltimore-based rock band, Nobody Likes Neville, is calling your out on the lack of love shown for their namesake: Neville Longbottom. Its self-titled seven song EP, released digitally on January 28 (a ...
CD Review: ‘Far Enough Into The Void’ by Brian Larkin
Emotionally driven, from start to finish, is the debut Brian Larkin album, Far Enough Into The Void. To many the name might not ring a bell, but I've had my ear to this man's musical grindstone for quite some time and have been anticipating ...
CD Review: ‘Devil In The Lake’ by Emperors and Elephants
Chicago's Emperors and Elephants, a band that formed in 2010, has been gathering momentum through the years. It's already achieved some radio support for the single, “Your Will,” and has opened for larger acts like SOiL and Pop Evil during tours. ...
CD Review: ‘The Shiver’ EP by Metameric
I'm going to do this one backwards. Stop what you're doing right now and go purchase The Shiver, the new EP by Seattle's very own Metameric. Never have I been so captured and engrossed by such a new band's release. Composed of elements of pr ...
CD Review: ‘Infection Legacy’ by Death Toll Rising
As I listened to the title track from Death Toll Rising's newest album, Infection Legacy, something clicked. As the guitar wailed into the solo, there was a remarkable melodic sensibility to it. The care given to each note and the smoothness ...
Live Review: Carbon Leaf at Rams Head On Stage
“Be careful this weekend. There's a winter storm coming in.” This was the foreboding text I received Saturday morning, conveniently placed before the Carbon Leaf concert my girlfriend and I had been planning to attend for the past few months. ...
CD Review: ‘Onyx’ by Pop Evil
I've been enjoying Pop Evil's most recent album, Onyx, so much that I nearly forgot that I needed to write a review. This May release, as the name implies, is a sojourn to the dark depths of personal struggle and hardship, while maintaining the pro ...
CD Review: ‘Return To The Point Of Departure’ by Mahogany Head Grenade
Mahogany Head Grenade is an odd name. I haven't a clue what it means, but that doesn't make the music this Dallas-based trio has written any less worthwhile. Having read it called “home grown instraMETAL for your head” made me a bit cautious. ...
CD review: “Constellation Prize” by Carbon Leaf
Earlier this year, Richmond, Va.-based band, Carbon Leaf, released its first full-blown Celtic-Rock album, entitled Ghost Dragon Attacks Castle, that enraptured me with its energy, humor and diversity of sound. I was rather surprised then, when I he ...