Scamp The Music Fan

What better way to kick off the year in album reviewing than to go with one of rock's biggest household names, Foo Fighters? In the beginning portion of this year, as usual, there aren't a lot of major albums that rock fans are looking forward to. With "Medicine At Midnight", the prolific band's tenth album overall, this is easily one of the few highlights that fits that description. And it should be obvious, because Foo Fighters are seemingly the most omnipresent rock band in culture in general. Removing the Nirvana association completely out of the picture, Foo Fighters have made a name for themselves that has spanned over 25 years at this point and they've attained several massive hits and albums as well as Grammy nominations. The band is back at it again with "Medicine At Midnight", an album created in unpredictability. Produced by Greg Kurstin, who has worked with artists such as Beck, Paul McCartney, and Adele in the past, the album recording t...

  BLACK FOXXES | Black Foxxes | Album Review There are very few newer rock bands as overlooked as England's Black Foxxes. Additionally, there aren't as many bands that have gone through the ringer as much as this three-piece act, and that is particularly true for the lead singer, Mark Holley. Having replaced his former bandmates after the release of the monumental sophomore album "Reidi" in 2018, Holley is back at it again through his Black Foxxes project with their eponymous third studio album. It's commonplace for bands to lose their edge and fall apart when they lose band members, but on this album, Mark Holley and his new bandmates are pushing to experiment more with their alt-rock sound and expand their horizons while also retaining elements of previous albums. This was done with the intention of not alienating fans and blending all of their new and familiar tricks into one cohesive package. It's a nine-track album that runs for nearly fifty minutes in ...

Kingdom Of Giants is one of the latest signees of Sharptone Records, a label that has seemingly excelled with unique metalcore acts that deserve attention. Starting in 2011 as an unsigned band, the band gained an underground following until the release of their previous album "All The Hell You've Got To Spare" in 2017, which was a minor success for the band. "Passenger", the fourth studio album from the Northern California band, is another evolutionary step in the band's career, even though their evolving process wasn't followed by as many people. The band started out as traditional metalcore with their early material, but slowly transitioned into more of a cleaner sound that blends different styles together such as alternative metal and even nu-metal in a way. It's a formula that so many other bands have borrowed from in recent times, and while some execute it extremely well (Polaris, Northlane), there are multiple other bands that blend into the ba...

Going strongly for years without having a major downhill slide is a hard task, but Sevendust makes it easy. It's safe to say that there aren't as many bands in the genre with this much longevity and interest from all angles. What makes that claim even more impressive is that Sevendust were originally part of the nu-metal scene. They weren't at the top of the mountain in terms of media attention, but albums like "Home" and especially "Animosity" really connected with people, and that's only continued to be the case. Not many bands that were a part of their scene can tell the same story as some have fallen apart and others have done things that have polarized people. Sevendust is not one of those bands, even though they've had weaker albums that don't stack up well to others, as most bands do. The long running band's 13th studio album "Blood And Stone" is another venture into the breed of hard rock that only they know how to pull ...

Unpredictability and mystique are two things rock music is severely missing nowadays, but the Deftones have consistently provided that for years to their die hard fanbase. Originating from the early nu-metal scene and considered as one of the pioneering bands of the genre, the Chino Moreno led band from California is a case of a band expanding their style to keep things interesting and spectacular. The band's ninth studio album "Ohms", which comes after four and a half years, is another testament to the band's longevity and experimental nature. Helmed by returning producer Terry Date, who helped bring life to classic Deftones releases like "White Pony" and "Around The Fur" in addition to the unreleased tracks from "Eros", it's safe to say that fans of the long running band have a lot to expect as usual. It's been highly publicized at this point that guitarist Stephen Carpenter and the rest of the band are split on their last album...

Most bands that became big in the early to mid 2000s and slowly decreased in popularity would have called it a day by now, but that isn't the fate handed towards the Knoxville based 10 Years. After their big break in 2005 with "Wasteland" and throughout the years, they've gained a steady following all the while having their heads in the right place and releasing solid music to their fanbase. Their longevity has now increased through their ninth album overall, "Violent Allies". The title of the project has a dual meaning to the band. One definition alludes to the band's perseverance to make a meaningful album. The other is a reference to the social and political issues rampant in modern society which have become extremely prominent throughout 2020 as a whole. When looking at the recording process of "Violent Allies", there is a lot of information to take in. Howard Benson, who had worked with the band on "Feeding The Wolves", was tappe...