We'll be back in a moment

December has turned out to be a really busy month for me. With two teenagers and an ex-wife to contend with I have had even less time to myself than usual. As a result I have decided to shut down operations until sometime in January. Until we meet again I'd like to wish all of you happy holidays and I hope that your New Year's celebrations are fun & safe! 

Novacaine Nothing-Noughts and Crosses

Self-Release/Independent
2015

With a release date of December 18th (which is incidentally this Friday ladies and gentlemen!), "Noughts and Crosses" is the first major release from alternative metal/ nu metal band Novacaine Nothing. That particular fact wasn't lost on me as I made my way through the lead single, "Closure", and the rest of this EP's equally stellar tracks ("Kill You", "Smiling", and "Generation"). Then again neither was the part about how this London-based band has been through 3 drummers, 4 vocalists, 5 bassists, and 4 guitarists since forming back in 2013! Despite all of that noise (and the admittance on the part of some of the band members that there has been personal struggles with depression and addiction*) Novacaine Nothing has released one hell of a bang up EP in "Noughts and Crosses"! For a general ideal of what is in store for you should you decide in engage this band in one on one combat, "Noughts and Crosses" is the explosive sound of one highly-skilled and extremely-diversified (culturally at least) band** whose aggressive take on extreme rock/heavy metal comes by way of influences that include the likes of Korn, Slipknot, and Stone Sour. Now, that was certainly a mouth-load of a sentence, but one does have to go a bit out of the way in order to properly describe everything that this London metal band brings to family game night! As this is just the beginning of Novacaine Nothing I do get the feeling that there are much bigger and better things waiting in the wings for this act. With the right kind of backing and a stable line-up this emotionally-provocative band has all the makings of a knock you the freak out (!) powerhouse!!. Let's all hope they get that shot. In the meantime Novacaine Nothing has posted a trailer for the new EP. You can check it out by heading here. And for more information on this up-and-coming band be sure to check out their Facebook page.


*As someone who has struggled with depression for well over 28 years I appreciate this group's honesty of the subject. These personal struggles have obviously influenced the nature of this EP seeing as "Noughts and Crosses" simply bleeds pain and anger.

**Band members Jason Leung (vox), Ronan Kemp (guitar) Roman Uetskiy (lead guitar), and Jamie Parker (drums) hail from various parts of the globe including Russia, Canada, Hong Kong, and France.

Broken Teeth-Bulldozer

Texas Metal Underground Records
2015

"Bulldozer" is the latest release from Austin, Texas' hard rock/heavy metal band Broken Teeth. This EP arrives nearly 16 years after the release of Broken Teeth's self-titled (and highly recommended!) debut album and while it might not be the full-length release of originals that long-time fans had hoped for this 7-track recording does pack a shit ton of rough & rugged hard rock into it's short run-time! As per usual the band is lead by former Dangerous Toys & Watchtower front-man Jason McMaster and in addition to this group's well known love of all things AC/DC you'll discover nods of appreciation dished out to likes of ZZ Top, Riot, (early) Mötley Crüe, Judas Priest, and even Motörhead! And speaking of Lemmy and company, "Bulldozer" finds Broken Teeth covering Motörhead's "The Hammer" in grand fashion. Of course Broken Teeth also cover the Aerosmith' song "Lightning Strikes", but for my money "The Hammer" is where it's really at! With these two rock-steady covers joining five original compositions (all of which are really good!) this EP does have a lot to offer. It's definitely been made to order for die-hard fans of the band, but even casual  hard rock and heavy metal listeners should appreciate tracks such as "Raining Fire", "Red River Rising", "The Rough and the Tumble", and "Flamethrower". As a tied-over release, "Bulldozer" hits all the right notes and finds Broken Teeth rocking out like there's no tomorrow. Needless to say it's good to have this band back!