Sell Out Records - A Music Review Blog

Rating: 3 out of 5 Hardcore music is definitely an acquire taste. If you’re not a fan, then you’re not a fan. But if you are a fan, then you are a diehard fan of the type of music that hits hard. With the release of “Refresh Renew” Point of Recognition stepped into a new arena, without their second singer, they put on a simplified version of the hardcore sound that will drill you in the head. The sound is heavy, with a lot of break downs, and focus on the hardcore sound that you would come to expect from the Inland Empire’s hardcore scene. “Refresh Renew” is not a long album, and it features a great deal of sing-a-long vocals that are aimed to be amazing in live performances. The frenetic pace is good, the sound quality is grand, and you get a sense of belonging if you’re a hardcore fan. The band really plays on the notion of hardcore, and it doesn’t hold back. That may be something that you may not enjoy, as it can be repetitive, but if you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll understand...

 

This has moved to jdune.com

This has moved to jdune.com

This has moved to jdune.com

Beauty To Ashes "Reproduce The Common Practice"  In 2002, I was delighted to see that one of the best bands in Southern California had finally inked a deal to release their first record. Of course, the band had done a few things on the independent tip, but they finally put out a full length and I was excited to see them grow. The band was Beauty To Ashes. The record was titled “Reproduce The Common Practice” and it blew the doors down on the hardcore scene, for about a few weeks. What happened to the band? Well, like a lot of other hardcore bands, money, family, and reality hit them hard. Not only that, this record is only 21 minutes long, which means that the band didn’t exactly put on the best showing. The songs on “Reproduce The Common Practice” are a far cry from the initial EP that they put out. However, they were able to harness some of their best studio work and create a good overall sound. “Bystandards of a Lifestyle Obsession” for instance, is a definitive sh...

Few Left Standing "Regeneration of Self" I’m not sure what it was about the late 1990s that made so many Christian youth pull together some of the most incredible music. There hasn’t been a time before or since that I’ve followed music as a whole and had so many amazing records hit my desk and speakers. One of the many records that I remember being floored by was Few Left Standing’s 1999 release on Takehold Records. It is called “Regeneration of Self” and it is by far one of the most complete metal core records that can be labeled Christian and still be very much heavy. Yes, there are other bands that put out great records, but nothing really coalesced with the spiritual side as much as it did with the heavy sound of Few Left Standing. The flow of this record and the all-out onslaught of progression through heavy gut wrenching speech is second to none. Chris Stafford goes to nail down some of the most outright religious lyrics, while maintaining a signature sound ...

Hardcore records come and go, but in 2002, when Point of Recognition put out their third record , I wore it out. I loved the band, and really enjoyed the work that they were able to create in a short span of time. With the release of “Day of Defeat”, the band came together to put out their best effort, and it’s not just lyrically or musically, the production stepped up. Aaron’s vocals really shined here, with a much deeper song structure, and a booming bass and driving guitar that nailed the Southern California hardcore sound. I heard a lot of comparisons when this record came out, people saying that the release sounded a lot like All Out War, and even Warzone, but I think it was a strong, bass heavy brother of Warzone and Hatebreed. There was a lot of slow down here and there, with some great break downs and sing-along parts. The band put together one of the heaviest hardcore records for the time. The title track, is by far the best on this record. It’s loud, it’s aggressive, and shou...

This blog is all about music discovery. It's updated not so daily with elements from all over the web. Mostly music that I like. Nothing really too difficult. I'm just trying to figure out how to navigate all of this.

I write a lot. People don't understand how much I write. I write so much that I start blogs and just run them into the ground with the amount of text that I throw at them. Some of them get popular, others die slow deaths. I was listening to a song by Thursday, and it begins with the title of this post. So I decided to name a blog, and start writing reviews about the music that I want. I already have a review site called Sell Out Records (http://selloutrecords.blogspot.com), but that's for long form reviews. I also post random thoughts on Sold Out Records via Tumblr. However, I wanted an outlet where I wasn't confined to long forms, so here is this idea. In this blog, you will see reviews of music from all over the map. I will write about things in a very concise, and simple manner. No long form reviews will be posted on here, unless I want to rant. The reviews will be 250 words each and edited by James Himsa. The editing and writing will be to give you a break down of some ...

P.O.D. has been going strong for a long time. I remember hanging out with Sonny and the boys way back when they were playing shows up and down the West Coast with Dogwood. That’s a long time ago, and since then, the guys have been packing away some of the most powerful songs. This time around they have gone full tilt with a concept album called “The Awakening”. It’s equal parts metal, rap, hardcore, and reggae. The band has really fused together some of their best elements, and has really ramped up the production this time around. The band is absolutely at their most melodic, and urgent with this one. If you are a fan of the Deftones recent pushes, you’ll absolutely love this record, because it very much feels like a brother of Deftones and Incubus right now. From the start of the record, you are going to get hit with a reggae and hard rock blend. “Am I Awake” is a beautiful concept, with a mix of media sounds and the powerful elements that have made P.O.D. so poignant in the past...

I’m slow to the grind sometimes. There are moments in my life in which I don’t want to write any longer. Then inspiration strikes and I jump at the chance to speak up. Music is that way for me, there are so many tracks, so many albums that I love, and while I listen to a LOT of music, I tend to forget to review it all. That’s what happened with the latest from Fit For A King. They released “Slave To Nothing” in 2014 , and I haven’t reviewed it for this site yet. So here is my take on this incredible mix of hardcore, metal, and melody. From the beginning of the album, you are messed with. The band doesn’t hit you with the chugging riffs and hardcore elements that made some of their previous songs so heavy. Instead, they pull you throw an emotional connection not too unlike the openings that made Poison The Well industry darlings long ago. “Kill The Pain” does just that, it brings you into the mix of soft, heavy, and break downs that make the genre of heavy music so eclectic. If you’...

The power of the Deftones, the intensity of Poison the Well, and the precise elements that made Chevelle so good are all filtered into a whole new presentation with the release of “Bye Bipolar” from the band Fey. The Canadian band unleashes 7 tracks of experimental hard rock that is a breath of fresh air in a genre that is somewhat boring at times. There’s a lot to listen to here and it’s going to punch you in the throat if you aren’t paying attention. Things really start to go crazy with “Rent Free” as the ending minute will completely shake your computer and headphones. The promise of a record that sounds like Glassjaw is what you’re going to get here, because that’s what I got at first, but you know what? Fey seems to come into their own element on this one, and perhaps that’s the thing that you’ll takeaway. Comparisons aside, the band has found a voice that is very much welcomed in regards to hard music. It’s not quite hardcore, it’s not quite metal, but it has elements of all ...

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Vileborn is an independent hard rock act that caught my attention recently. Their latest release “Vileated EP” is a complex mix of several genres, but in the end, it’s heavy. It moves fast through 4 songs, and pushes the boundaries of metal, rock, and even a little punk for the mix. There’s a lot to enjoy here, even in just 4 songs, as each one stands out as an anthem that will definitely find a home with many hard music fans. From the introduction of “Plague the Day” to the heavy handed “Terminal”, you get a lot to balance out. “Pick Your Poison” and “Bastard” close the EP out and you get a fully scale rock approach, but not without some incredible metallic crunch. The guitar work on the record is good, and the drums definitely find a home with the singing and screaming really well done as well. This is a band that has a bright future, especially if they continue to work within the balancing act of metal and hard rock, leaving nothing behind. Vileborn really comes through on thi...

Face to Face is one of my favorite punk rock bands ever formed. Their documentary really showcased how hard their life was trying to put out music. “Big Choice” was an incredible release at the time, and it sounded like it was recorded in a cave, but who cares, it was fast, it was punk, it was catchy. It was put out in 1994 and was originally released through Victory Music, not to be confused with Victory Records. The band put this album out eventually got put out through A&M Records, however it was an awful experience. The record has a lot of great songs, and for being a sophomore record, still rocks as hard as it did when I first heard it. I bought the cassette tape when I was a kid. I used to listen to my Walkman non-stop. Regardless, this record is awesome, and it features some of the best hits from the band. Songs like “A-Ok”, “You Lied”, “Disconnected” and “Bikeage” all point to greatness. The re-recorded “Disconnected” is sometimes heard on rock radio, to this day. The...

In our latest feature for you cheap ass music fan, like me, I found one heck of a release. It’s from 2001 and it’s one of my favorite rock records that should’ve gotten way more attention. It’s from the band Rival Schools, and it’s called “United By Fate” . Now, if you were a fan of Anime and video games as a whole, you will remember the short lived series, or at least the fighting game that was on the Sega Saturn. Aside from the reference to obscure video games and anime, the band put out one cohesive album that is more so enjoyable as a whole than it is by just 1 or 2 singles. They call this genre post-hardcore, but I don’t know if I would claim that. The guitar work is far more intricate than just punk or hardcore, and there’s not a ton of yelling or anything like that. The band formed in New York and quickly became a part of the hardcore scene since the members were all from bands that I grew up with, throwing fists in the air. Bands like Gorilla Biscuits, CIV, and Youth of To...

Always being on the lookout for new music brought me to a Facebook post about an upcoming hardcore and metal show that is coming through my town. One of the bands playing the showcase of immortals is the band Palace in Ruins. They label themselves as a Christian hardcore outfit from Los Angeles, and I immediately thought about my previous experiences with this genre. I used to even have a record label with bands like Drawn Close, Engraved, and others that would play in the scene. That’s past, and this is the present. Palace in Ruins released an ep entitled “Great Depths” and comes out swinging with a wall of metallic overture. They mix metal and hardcore with tinges of death metal to an overall interesting device. On the track “Guidon” they scream and sing through moments of true brutality. You get the waves of metallic fury with lyricism that is empowering for any hardcore fan. But they are not just satisfied with flowing through the same old trudging lineage, they push through wi...