Walls Of Jericho “Redemption” MCD

Candace Kucsulian singing rather than spewing out constant wrath? Walls of Jericho doing acoustic, duets with Corey Taylor and a cover of The Animals' 'House Of The Rising Sun'? It all sounds like a nightmare for the hardcore purists, and yet cast aside the preconceptions and you're left with a collection of dark, solemn songs perfect for joining you when you pour out your heart with a bottle at 3am. It's raw and stripped down rather than MTV US superstar ballad (a la Amy Lee and Seether's Shaun Morgan) and these songs have a dark, bleak edge to them - tales of loss, tragedy and family member addictions, rather than love and roses. Don't be afraid, just embrace. FOR FANS OF: Stone Sour, Evanescence, Keith Caputo

Crash Romeo “Gave Me The Clap” CD

Fresh off their Trustkill Debut "Minutes to Miles," Crash Romeo are back again with their follow-up dubbed "Gave Me The Clap." But this time around the group strike the pop-punk ranks with A different formulaic blend of poppy melodies and vocals loops then before. In their 2006 "Minutes to Miles," the group's sound seemed to draw parallel to that of Boys Like Girls where this time around these rookies have developed their style into a form that fans of The Starting Line, Taking Back Sunday, and even All Time Low would appreciate A lot more. When considering "Gave Me the Clap" for purchase at your local record store or in most cases I-Tunes, there are a few things you must be aware of before confirming your transaction. Crash Romeo are in no way out to re-invent the pop-punk genre. In fact in most cases, the group's latest efforts remind me of the bands that built the foundation of which the genre was formed on. They impliment simplistic leads with faster strummed rhythms ala All Time Low and top it off with vocal tendencies of TBS and TSL to make this pop punk experience A truly enjoyable one. In tracks such as "Popular" listeners find themselves faced with copious amounts of cringe-worthy lyrics. But It's pop-punk, What do you expect? If the genre wasn't full of 25 year old guys still singing about Highschool and being "Popular" it just wouldn't be pop-punk. "Victim Liar," "About to Break," and "Better Off In Jersey" are tracks that open up to the aforementioned Taking Back Sunday influence combined with hints of Armor For Sleep (mostly evident in "Better Off in Jersey.") While the title track opens up with A Brand New-esque riff relevent to "Jude Law and A Semester Abroad." Crash Romeo don't score very high in creating a soley original album, but the group truly wins me over when they combine influences from such bands as Brand New, Armor For Sleep, No Use For A Name, Taking Back Sunday, and All Time Low. Granted these are popular bands to copycat, but Crash Romeo pull together influence from each of the artists' early material which is sure to send listeners for A trip down memory lane. With this album being as catchy as it is, I think it's safe to say Crash Romeo's "Gave Me the Clap" is one infection that penicillin won't easily scare off.

This Is Hell “Misfortunes” CD, 12" vinyl

Aggressive, dark and heavy. Those are three simple words that describe a classic hardcore disc best and luckily for This Is Hell, their follow up to the Sundowning is just that. This Long Island based five piece know how to get a mosh pit going and Misfortunes portrays that chaotic energy nicely on disc. From the second the crunchy guitars, thumping basslines, rapid fire drumming and tortured, venom dripping vocals kick in on Reckless, you know you’re in for quite a ride. The lyrics Travis Reilly growls are angry and dark but not to the point that they’re cheesy, plus they compliment the gang vocals spread out among the record nicely. Things don’t let up until the beginning of Realization:Remorse , a short song that slows things down for a second with a cool little riff before returning to the chaos and blending a little too well into Without Closure , another super fast track. Not everything is short and fast though. The final track Last Days Campaign clocks in over four minutes and gives listeners the best of both worlds. If you’re into hardcore and you still don’t know who This Is Hell is, get on it. 2008 isn’t over for awhile but chances are few other hardcore bands will be able to top Misfortunes because yes, that disc is just that good.

Memphis May Fire “Memphis May Fire” CDep

For those who were distraught when Chasing Victory called it quits earlier this year, no need to worry because I have discovered that the band in fact had a long lost monozygotic twin, Memphis May Fire. With the release of Memphis May Fire’s debut self titled EP, the band is clearly trying to capture audiences with their infectious southern rock, metal blended formula. Memphis May Fire use their formulaic breakdowns, growls, clean vocals, and squeals in opening track, “Cowbell’s Makin A Comeback”, leaving the listener with a slight feeling that the band has been listening to a lot of Every Time I Die and Underoath. “Cowbell’s Makin A Comeback” is just a taste of what the rest of the tracks are. The four following tracks (“Neutron Cameras Vs. Smuggled Nuclear Bombs”, “Therapy Caravan Of The Fair Room”, “History Of Mercia”, “Conjunctions, Conjunctions, Everybody Loves Them”) swim their way through numerous genres boundaries so much to the point where you couldn’t label Memphis May Fire under any particular genre—southern rock, metal, hardcore, pop—frivolously breaking down the walls of any specific genre. While this style of rock is not anything new or original, Memphis May Fire pulls it off decently; in fact the problem with the EP it is just plain addicting at times. Memphis May Fire have really done nothing more than add catchy hooks, growls, clean vocals, and squeals in the right places. Regardless of that lack of “creativity” Memphis May Fire will definitely please the crowds where ever they are and while I look at this EP as a critic, when it’s playing, it’s very hard to not be content with what the band has created. Recommended If You Like: Every Time I Die, Underoath, Chasing Victory, A Day To Remember

StoneRider “Three Legs Of Trouble” CD

Yet another great band from Georgia! What do they feed ‘em down there? Harder than the Georgia Satellites, more southern than the Black Crowes, and armed and ready to rival the next big thang in Blackberry Smoke, StoneRider really lock into an infectious groove and just hang there. “Rush Hour, Baby”, the opener and heaviest track on the plate, is simply stunning, and “Bad Lovin’ Never Felt So Good” and “Shut My Mouth” are even better. The songs are constructed around enormous riffs, choruses many bands would kill for, and Matt Tanner’s cool voice. There’s really nothing groundbreaking or original here, but so what? Every rock musician since Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis has borrowed from them – as they say imitation is the best form of flattery. To that end, StoneRider borrow from early AC/DC, the aforementioned Black Crowes “Lions” era, and even a bit of Nazareth, whose “Hair Of The Dog” is covered here. It appears that, finally, contemporary bands have not only embraced classic rock, but once again have made this sub-genre the norm – and for this I am eternally grateful!