L2: MELISSA & JESSICA LABBADIA

By Cody Thomas

“Paparazzi” was an interesting choice for a cover, considering the venue. When L2 performed the Lady Gaga song at the Bitter End this past Dec. 30, it paid homage to the pop star in more ways than one. For those who do not know, Lady Gaga performed at the Bitter End [...]

MUDVAYNE

By Cody Thomas
When “Do What You Do” was released for 2008’s “The New Game,” it was easy for Mudvayne fans to dismiss the album. Hell Yeah, Chad Gray and Greg Tribbet’s side project with Vinnie Paul, was still on their mind, resulting in a single with bigger, cheesier rock-and-roll tones. Many Mudvayne fans [...]

CHEVELLE

By Cody Thomas
The opening song of any show can usually tell you a lot about the rest of the set list. When Chevelle opened with “Sleep Apnea” at Irving Plaza this past Feb 9th, a show primarily consisting of songs off the recently released “Sci-Fi Crimes” seemed inevitable. The pattern, fortunately, did not [...]

PIG DESTROYER

A legion of metal fans squeezed onto a small boat on the Hudson may seem like a dangerous idea. For Pig Destroyer, though, the danger was part of the excitement.
This past October 24th, as part of the CMJ festival, the Temptress hosted about 500 fans (probably a few more than the boat is supposed to [...]

SLAYER

Slayer albums have been a point of contention ever since Seasons in the Abyss. Since then, nothing has seemed to satisfy the entire cult known as the Slayer fan base. Another tired stab from the ageing legends is unlikely to change that.
That is not to say there is no good material on World [...]

BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME

Between the Buried and Me seemed to reach their pinnacle when Colors was released in 2007. As impossible as it may seem, The Great Misdirect is an improvement.
The Great Misdirect has all the technical wonder of Colors, while lead guitarist Paul Waggoner continues to play astonishingly precise riffs and solos. The improvement comes [...]

SWEATSHOP

On Lorimer Street in Brooklyn, near Metropolitan Avenue, there’s a dumpster next to a staircase. Walk by too fast, and you would not even notice the staircase. A closer look, though, would reveal the steeply descending concrete stairs with the word Sweatshop neatly written on the building just above. A cold, metallic [...]

CHEVELLE

Chevelle, despite getting a bad rep for being associated with over simplistic nu-metal, always seem to put out excellent, thoughtful songwriting. “Sci-Fi Crimes” is no different. In fact, it marks another step in the bands movement towards maturity, something that older fans would be mistaken to confuse with being more radio-friendly.
Too often, bands [...]

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER

Some bands wait entire careers to release their masterpiece. Machine Head’s “The Blackening” was thirteen years in the making. Behemoth took twelve, finally releasing the unparalleled “The Apostasy” two years ago.
Then there are the unfortunate bands that release their masterpiece a little too early. When The Black Dahlia Murder came out with [...]