2019 Albums

Album Review: Secret Band – LP2 9.1 (Post Hardcore)

Secret Band is the heavy side of Dance Gavin Dance and their first LP in 2014 reflected that more accurately. This LP marks their departure from that context as they develop a more unique metal orientated sound. The Metal Archives will have a hard time not accepting Secret Band after this one. I won’t go into the background with DGD, Will, Jon, Eric, Acceptance Speech and Happiness again, you can suss out my first review to read that stuff. […]

Carcassbomb's Reviews

Album Review: Secret Band – S/T Full Length 8.3 (Post Hardcore)

These guys represent the under appreciated side of Dance Gavin Dance, the core of the sound the exists without Johnny or Tillian that draws from metal and older post-hardcore/metalcore influences. This record is Jon Mess’ vocal playground where we get to hear just how versatile DGD’s unclean vocalist can be with his unique sound. As far as my appreciation of DGD, the guitars are what always carried their tunes through and the unclean vocals from Mess were some of the clearest and expressive screaming I’ve heard. The success of the Justin Timberlake-esque vocalist in the mix is what spawned a million imitation bands and changed the definition sound of post-hardcore, it became a theatrical farce more than poetry and catharsis. It was a nice sound for a couple of albums but after the whole scene replicated it, it lost its charm and became the standard. For an older fan it sucks watching them live and just seeing these guys who look like they have STD’s in their hair, air humping along to lyrics about love, facing a crowd of underage girls. That’s the side of DGD I can’t fucking stand, and so here is SECRETBAND – the anti-thesis to Isles & Glaciers. Similar to Fear Before and The Tony Danza Tap Dance Extravaganza. […]

2018 albums

Album Review: Nekrogoblikon – Welcome To Bonkers 8.5 (Heavy Metal)

Nekrogoblikon are obviously about having fun with music and they still have done alright with reviews in the past, mostly getting through with high scores. I dig their approach, it’s a classic heavy metal sound with a lot of modern techniques and ideas thrown in. It borders on avant-garde in the vein of UneXpect but is just tight enough to be a serious composition. They have some good song writing that takes them above the meme they embody in their public personas and music videos. There’s some real poppy hooks like you’d expect from British rockers The Darkness. […]