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 ...

This has moved to jdune.com

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...