Scamp The Music Fan

This throwback album review is a retrospective look back at Karnivool's debut album, "Themata", from 2005. In almost every way imaginable, Karnivool is one of rock and metal's most underrated bands of all time. But, it isn't like that in every single continent, because in their home country of Australia, they are way more notable. This is also crazy considering Karnivool's discography is only three full albums, plus a couple of EPs recorded in 1999 and 2001 that acted as a preface to the band's incredible career. "Themata", the band's major starting point as an album-making act, was released on February 7th, 2005 through MGM Distribution before getting released in the United States through Bieler Bros Records on April 10th, 2007. What's interesting is that this album has not only been put out by many different labels, even getting a UK release in 2008 through Happy Go Lucky, but the recording sessions took place in the year 2004, with one...

This album isn't even worthy of a regular review, since we all know exactly what this album is and who it's by. I am not going to break things down like I usually do. Instead, I'm going to go right off the cuff. And let's face it. No one else was even going to touch this album with a ten foot or even a hundred yard pole because I think most humans in civilization don't care even slightly about Trapt as a band. Especially after Chris Taylor Brown, aka Mr. Trapt, and his egregious actions throughout the past several months. And let me tell you, for those who are SOMEHOW wondering if "Shadow Work" by Trapt is any good, or if they should actually seek it out for some ludicrous reason, let me spoil everything by saying... it's not. For those who missed out on this album, good for you, because I think even using this album as melatonin to help you sleep at night would cause you to exponentially grow more disoriented. And you would probably get laughed at. Th...

"The best punk rock and hardcore and metal has always come out of tumultuous times". That is a quote that Lamb Of God singer Randy Blythe gave to Consequence Of Sound when talking about the band's 2020 self-titled album. Originally scheduled for the month of May, the band pushed the album's release back weeks later to the middle of June due to the coronavirus and the shipment delays that could've harmed its commercial performance. There is no question about it. Lamb Of God is undeniably a flagship band in heavy metal and helped in bringing the metalcore sound to prominence during the earlier portion of their career, and they've never lost their popularity since. While I have personally been mixed on the band ever since getting into them during my metalcore phase, I can't deny that they've hit it out of the park every now and then, notable examples being in "Ashes Of The Wake" and their previous album, "VII: Sturm Und Drang". The epo...

Sharptone Records has carried a plethora of talented and promising metalcore bands with their recent track record, some of which have surpassed their potential to deliver music that is truly worth listening to. Hailing from the state of Connecticut, Currents is another band on the label's roster that is seeking to be held on the same level. After establishing themselves with 2017's "The Place I Feel Safest", and the EP that came shortly after, the metalcore band is back with their proper sophomore project entitled "The Way It Ends". Metalcore has morphed into a genre that has defied its own standards over the years, encompassing many diverse bands and styles from respectable to awkward. Infusing death metal sounds with metalcore is not by any means a new idea, but the method that this band mixes these two elements together sets them apart from others bands. "The Way It Ends" is a continuation of that, while it also shifts the band's gears sligh...

Progressive metal has been one of the more alluring subgenres of metal in recent years. One of the names that makes that statement accurate is Caligula's Horse. Hailing from Queensland, Australia, this is a band that you may not know about yet, which is strange due to their discography containing five studio albums. The latest of these is this years' "Rise Radiant". For those who do not know about Caligula's Horse, the progressive metal description definitely fits this band's style, as there are endless technical riffs and passionate vocals and peaks and valleys that prove that they are incredibly versatile. The talented musicianship is definitely a feature, but there is a wide range of styles that this band goes for, and that is prog metal's greatest characteristic. The fifth studio album from the band is hyped up as the band's most potent album to date. In an article announcing the album on their label's site, "Rise Radiant" is describe...

One of the year's most anticipated albums has finally arrived. Trivium has been a hot button band for a while at this point as their success and acclaim has grown substantially. That trend is not slowing down with their ninth studio album "What The Dead Men Say". Coming directly after "The Sin And The Sentence", the band's best album to date and a masterpiece that got music fans to pay attention to them following a couple of lesser albums, "What The Dead Men Say" has some lofty expectations by many. In the period of time between album cycles, frontman Matt Heafy has been extremely busy tending to family and recording covers for the fans. This kept him off the road for a bit, but now Heafy and his band are back in action to deliver the followup to a standard-setting album. About the overall tone of the album and what to expect, the frontman described the album as having elements of every Trivium album put into a blender to make a very calculated mix...

Sweden's Katatonia is back with their first record in four years. To many metal fans, Katatonia is a beloved band for multiple reasons. Beginning in the early 1990's as a doom metal act, Katatonia has evolved significantly past that as their career has gone on, and are pretty hard to classify. Some call them progressive metal. Others label them a dark rock band. Some still classify them as a doom metal band. Whatever you want to consider them, Katatonia have had an interesting career and they've still managed to receive acclaim across the board. The band's eleventh studio album "City Burials" marks their return to writing music after going on hiatus in 2018. Many fans worried that this hiatus might be permanent were instantly excited when the band returned. Regarding why the band felt their hiatus was necessary: "We felt that we needed to recharge and get some perspective. Basically we did a lot of touring from previous albums and by the end of that, the ...

Fans of Karnivool are likely to know that the band's frontman Ian Kenny also fronts the band Birds Of Tokyo. Formed in 2004 in West Australia, the band resulted as a collaboration between Ian Kenny and a member from Tragic Delicate. Comparing both of the Ian Kenny fronted projects is like comparing night to day. Where Karnivool is an alternative metal/progressive rock band with massive bodies of work, unending experimentation, and overall excellent, Birds Of Tokyo is considerably lighter and easier to digest for music fans. The band's sixth studio album "Human Design" exemplifies that fact. What separates this album from the band's other projects, though, is the fact that it is even lighter than anything they've done in the past. This album is directly inspired by a tumultuous period in the frontman's life involving his marriage. Referring to the tracks released before "Human Design" was released, the frontman stated the following: "These fo...

August Burns Red is one of the most acclaimed bands in the metalcore scene. Since the genre's popularity peak in the mid 2000's, the band has maintained the type of longevity that other bands haven't. This is proven as the band releases their eighth studio album "Guardians". The reason why August Burns Red is highly regarded as one of the better bands in metalcore is because of their technical riffs and experimental approach they take in their music. It has been something that has taken August Burns Red above the rest, but I will admit it's been a while since I've really been wowed by the band. "Constellations" really sucked me in to this band when I first heard it, but since "Rescue And Restore", the band has gone on a cycle of releasing music that I liked at first, but I didn't revisit as much as time went on. It's good metalcore, but it didn't necessarily blow me away in any regard. "Guardians" has the challengi...

Red has been one of the flagship names in Christian rock since their inception in the mid 2000's. After years of making and releasing music with a major label, the band decided not to renew their contract or sign with a different label, leading them to take the independent route with their seventh album "Declaration". Most bands who leave their label to distribute their music on their own have the freedom to do whatever they want, and this is the main theme that this album reflects. Previous albums from Red have contained their own themes, so it's not surprising that "Declaration" is meant to be looked at in a different light than the other albums. The major difference is that while Red has utilized themes such as struggle and self-reflection in the past, this time it is made crystal clear and upfront that this is what the ten songs on "Declaration" are mainly based on, in addition to being the rawest display of Red's signature style imaginable...

Since the mid-2000's, In This Moment has gradually attained success, which isn't easy for a band that came from that time frame. Led by vocalist Maria Brink and initially gaining underground attention with "Beautiful Tragedy", which was released by Century Media in 2007, that attention became more widespread with each release until they seriously broke out with 2012's "Blood". Now, as they arrive at their seventh studio album "Mother", they are one of the premier female-fronted bands working today. In This Moment is the kind of band that is hit or miss for some people, which is crazy considering Maria Brink claims that the fanbased has reached an alarmingly wide range of people, from seven year olds to people in their seventies. What I'm trying to elaborate is that their gimmick is not for everyone, and I am on the side that has been a bit oppositional of them. Nothing that this band has put out has ever wowed me or interested me aside from...

Hardcore has seen a major resurgence back to prominence thanks to Code Orange. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and starting in 2008, Code Orange has gradually become one of the most hyped new bands in recent years for their creative and ferocious style of heavy music. It's a style that has taken metal fans and music fans off guard, and that fact has been especially true since the release of the band's previous album "Forever" in 2017. After the band received a substantial amount of critical acclaim for that record, the Code Orange kids are back in town with their fourth studio album "Underneath". Produced by Nick Raskulinecz and Will Yip, who also mixed the album, "Underneath" features a more prominent usage of industrial elements while still sticking with the band's heavy sound. It's a unique interpretation of their genre for sure. While Code Orange are classified as hardcore punk in many areas, the band is also known for having a lot of...

Intronaut are finally back in action. After a hiatus that lasted since 2015's "The Direction Of Last Things", the band has now returned to the musicsphere with their latest studio album "Fluid Existential Inversions". The long wait in between studio albums was surprisingly not due to a lack of interest in recording and writing new material, but the band felt exhausted after touring and working on a nonstop basis since they founed in the year 2004. Ideas for the followup to "The Direction Of Last Things" had been floating around since 2017, meaning that the production period of this album lasted for under three years. For those not familiar with Intronaut, they are a progressive metal band from Los Angeles, CA that has a knack for polyrhythmic sections in their music, all the while blending that in with progressive rock and jazz elements. They've even been described as avant-garde metal due to their experimental nature, all of which is true about ...

Many of the metalcore bands from the early 2010s have made radical soundshifts in order to evolve past their original scene, and it's something that has overtaken the genre. It's inevitable to say the least. The Word Alive is yet another example of a band that has changedover the years, proven with their latest album "Monomania". The band's recent output beginning with 2016's "Dark Matter" has relied more on melody and more conventional song structures. You could tell that they were heading in this direction with 2014's "Real", but it wasn't until the following albums "Dark Matter" and "Violent Noise" that the progression from metalcore breakdowns to a style that is easier to digest became permanent. "Monomania" is a continuation of this style. On top of that, the band considers this as their most personal album to date. In an interview, vocalist Telle Smith had some great words to say about how this al...

Young bands are the ones that deserve more attention than more established bands. In many cases, if a young band shows potential for the future, it's never a good idea to ignore them and keep focusing on what's popular, because that new band may not be around for very long if you have that kind of ignorance. Polaris is an example of a band you shouldn't ignore. Hailing from Australia, the metalcore band has arrived with their sophomore album "The Death Of Me". Polaris first came to prominence in 2017 with "The Mortal Coil". Since then, Polaris has slowly gained traction as an up and coming metalcore acts to be on the lookout for. So, going into "The Death Of Me", there is a lot of lofty anticipation as to if the band is here to stay or not. Polaris is a band that focuses on every minute detail in order for their brand of metalcore music to deliver. In the band's own words: "The security we feel is that we know we wouldn't put somet...