It’s only mid-November, and you’re probably already sick to death of Christmas. Radio stations have already switched their formats to the all-Yuletide hit parade. Shopping centers are strewn with tinsel and lights. And retailers are going to bludgeon you with holiday ads for the next 35 days. ...

Metz isn’t going to change the world. The Toronto post-hardcore trio, whose debut album released earlier this year packs a glorious wallop like few others can, does not play music that’s particularly accessible to broad ...

Punk rock’s origins are often the subject of debate. Depending on the source, it could have been a rebellion against the establishment, a reaction to the pompous bloat of prog-rock, a form of expression born of a kind of primal simplicity, or simply a way to annoy and antagonize a proper and ...

As an artist, Beck has explored countless genres, styles and sounds. His body of work is so extensive, it’s hard to pin him down under just one small umbrella. But, because of his diverse background as a musician, it also makes him a more dynamic and eclectic performer. In fact, he stands out in ...

Next week, millions of Americans will queue up at polling places and cast their ballots for the next President of the United States, as well as for hundreds of other measures from state and local office to various initiatives. And while we’re certainly ready for campaign season to finally end, ...

Ever since Satan grabbed hold of Robert Johnson’s guitar at the Crossroads, gave it a tune and handed it back to him, the devil has had his hands all over popular music. You can barely throw a stone without it skipping across the edge of the River Styx or hitting a cloven hoof. We exaggerate, ...

A lot of people are planning on dressing like Psy or binders full of women for Halloween, but we’re taking a little bit different tack and slathering on the corpse paint. Black metal is fine listening year round, of course, but it seems particularly apt on the most sinister of holidays. And with ...

“PUNK IS BACK” So read the announcement Titus Andronicus posted earlier this month to coincide with a nationwide tour with Ceremony. But for Titus Andronicus, punk never really left. Since ...

Musical careers don’t always move in a straight line. They ebb and flow. They twist and turn. And sometimes, they wrap around in spirals and go off in any number of bizarre directions. But more often than not, musicians find themselves at a point in their career where a holding pattern just isn’t ...

To a certain degree, everyone who jumps into the field of music journalism does so because of a passionate hunger for hearing something new and exciting. When it comes to finding that something new and exciting, the deeper one digs into new sounds and unheard styles, the more apparent it ...