First, yes, Laura Roach sounds similar to Evanescence’s Amy Lee, but don’t hold that against her. Sh >> View Complete Article

Your Guns is a young, up-and-coming screamo metal-core band that hails from the volunteer state of >> View Complete Article

Technical death metal, while widely popular in the death metal underground, is a genre of music that >> View Complete Article

To call this an “album” projects a smoker-coughed bloody loogie at all of the real albums this waste >> View Complete Article

Masters of Luxury, from Columbus, Ohio, are one of those bands that is difficult to label. Welcom >> View Complete Article

Two Oklahoma City bands, Red City Radio and Street of Thieves, came together for the split EP >> View Complete Article

A name like “Piss-Shit-Fuck” makes one skeptical immediately. With a name so blatantly offensive or >> View Complete Article

United States black metal always seems to be a step behind Europe. For the most part it lacks atmosp >> View Complete Article

It is evident after hearing the first set of lyrics on Berlin Drop’s Red Metal that this albu >> View Complete Article

Fairly new to the Kansas City music scene, Shut the Light is the first >> View Complete Article

Tengwar has spent much time studying the heavy metal classics. Considering that all of the band memb >> View Complete Article

Red Line Chemistry’s latest album, Chemical High and a Hand Grenade, is a rock force to >> View Complete Article

Though Seeking Surreal has been around since 1998, the music they play has a decidedly new (and dare >> View Complete Article

Chicago’s ADD offers up a broken love saga in the form of power rock and estrogen with their latest release Elements of Emptiness. There >> View Complete Article

Whether they are speaking out against the media or taking a stance against the war, these socially aware Midwest punks make no apologies for their outspoken >> View Complete Article

At the beginning of the decade, Ancient Creation probably would have been viewed as nothing more than a novelty act playing power metal well after its >> View Complete Article

It is unsure what Tainted are trying to accomplish with their latest release Bridging the Gap. The title would suggest they are try to define something >> View Complete Article

Bodisartha embraces the ‘90s era grunge movement with their latest release, Find Yourself Getting Lost. It is a surprisingly >> View Complete Article

Combining the passion of hardcore with the ferocity of death metal, She Killed Poetry from the Dallas/Forth Worth, Tex. Area is not for the cavemen of metal’s >> View Complete Article

Within the Hearts of Redemption is the latest offering from Austin, Tex.-based spastic metalcore band Thumbscrew. To say that >> View Complete Article

The Esoteric’s latest album, Subverter, is razor sharp and filled with a wide-open, ecl >> View Complete Article

Kansas City based metal core act The Messiah Complex has managed to release an album that stands out >> View Complete Article

There is absolutely nothing ‘core about Whoracle, of Topeka, Kan. Their latest release, The Awakening of the Wicked, is seven songs of straightforward Swedish >> View Complete Article

The gears begin to turn before the passing of the first second of Moiré’s Public Execution. With mechanical precision and a robotically sadistic >> View Complete Article

While II is certainly a solid effort, Kill.Pop falls a few notches short of producing a truly fantastic CD. This Kansas City band has been playing the area >> View Complete Article

Kansas City metro area band Pittcore is a fairly diverse group with a sound that typically leans more toward nu-metal than metal, and with some hardcore influences thrown >> View Complete Article

Third Time is the Charm is - you guessed it – the third album from Southern Gentlemen, the first to feature new members vocalist Eric Johns and bassist Dave Swart, joining guitarist David >> View Complete Article

In a place saturated with country music and virtually void of all things heavy, Branson, Mo. heavy band Leadboot Marathon began >> View Complete Article

New band name, new album, same line-up. The only question is, does Occam’s Razor still have the same Apathy sound? The answer is a vague “kind of.” Occam’s Razor has managed >> View Complete Article

Lawrence has long been considered one of the most liberal cities in Kansas. On the eastern edge of the state, smack in the middle of the Bible Belt and the United States. Those from >> View Complete Article

Wave on the Barrage’s Left Behinds… is one hell of an acquired taste. Specifically, guitarist and vocalist Ryan Hubener’s voice may be like nails on a chalkboard at first, but as the CD continues, the listener discovers >> View Complete Article

Based solely on Chiasma, Insignifica sounds like old school Metallica and new school Incubus had a bipolar lovechild. The alt-metal sound goes from mellow to raging and back to mellow again so often the >> View Complete Article

Female-fronted band Chokehold, based out of Chicago, Illinois, play what they have dubbed “theatrical rock,” resembling more closely power metal and old school thrash/speed metal. Musically, they are comparable to a less >> View Complete Article

Misanthropic, based out of St. Louis, Missouri, play something resembling industrial quasi-death metal, playing mostly mid-tempo sludgy riffs combined with abrasive vocals >> View Complete Article

After over a yearlong delay and years of earning tenure playing live, One Degree Difference has finally launched their official debut release, A Sphere of Influence. The long-awaited CD lives >> View Complete Article

If you toss Slayer, System of a Down, old school punk, early ‘90s grunge rock, some random noise and a little death metal into a blender, out comes an Apathy smoothie. Apathy, of Kansas City, plays >> View Complete Article

From an early age, I pictured death metal as the soundtrack to a zombie movie on amphetamines. The victim in the film knows that his or her brain will ultimately be a Denver omelet, yet he or she still >> View Complete Article

Evermourn plays a traditional old school breed of metal, reminiscent of Iron Maiden, Iced Earth and Judas Priest. This is a surprise considering the age range of band members, from 18 to 20 years old. They manage to keep their music >> View Complete Article

Eyes of the Betrayer blend the lines between metal and post-hardcore, especially in their latest release, Recovery. The EP, recently released on >> View Complete Article

Annihilate the Hero’s self-titled work covers the entire rock-metal spectrum, from Tool-influenced vocals to blast beat death metal, and even a hint >> View Complete Article

A tasteful piano opener to albums is usually unexpected of hard rock bands, but Penumbra did just that on their recent release, Five Side Square. So be it then, as >> View Complete Article

The Esoteric has paved its way through the area for over seven years and has become a formidable force in local metal. Their latest offering, 1336, ups the ante >> View Complete Article

Pneuma’s Definition brings only one word to mind – slow. The cool thing to do in hardcore these days is to slow breakdowns for sufficient >> View Complete Article

Did you ever wonder what a band would sound like as a mix of Alice in Chains and Black Label Society? Me neither, but L.I.E. will show us anyway. >> View Complete Article

Nothing better exists than thrashy metal mixed with violent grind, and Thirld World Sin dishes it out. >> View Complete Article

The packaging of This Bulding is Cursed’s disc Demographic leaves a lasting first impression on listeners. Packaged in a transparent DVD case, the band name is printed across the front, complete with bloodstains >> View Complete Article

Audio Kombat Arsenal, with their latest release, Ammunation, plays a breed of progressive hard rock slash heavy metal largely reminiscent of Iron Maiden, minus the dual guitar harmony leads. Even the vocals of front man >> View Complete Article

Mathematical metal is a rarity in Kansas City, and none pull it off better than The James Dean Trio with their debut album, Getting Scary. The release is only a tiny taste of what this band brings to the table >> View Complete Article

One Degree Difference plays a groovy, melodic brand of heavy rock. While not my personal cup of tea, the men in One Degree Difference are competent enough musicians. >> View Complete Article

Lucky readers and lucky listeners receive a double-dose with the split disc from Flattery Leads to Ruins and Eyes of the Betrayer, both bands’ first release through Recorse Records. >> View Complete Article

The new Kao Kyen disc, simply entitled 2, goes above and beyond their previous work on 1. Kao Kyen has gone through numerous lineup changes, most recently and most obviously with new vocalist Brandon Bamesberger. 2 could easily have been >> View Complete Article

It has been years since the local music community has seen a release from heavy metal champion Moiré. Their second 213 Records release, Without Place, certainly demonstrates the new and improved Moiré since their previous work, A New Breed of Sylence >> View Complete Article

It has been years since the local music community has seen a release from heavy metal champion Moiré. Their second 213 Records release, Without Place, certainly demonstrates the new and improved Moiré since their previous work, A New Breed of Sylence >> View Complete Article

Maximum Tunageness delivers as promised, a high-quality production that prove difficult to top in the local hard rock genre. The first track on the album, “Keep it Simple, Stupid” immediately defines the >> View Complete Article

Pillbox’s new CD Revelations of the Enslaved was a highly anticipated release for the Kansas City metal scene. Obviously, a lot of time and money were invested in the album, which Pillbox has been developing on since last summer. The band ordered >> View Complete Article

Most music listeners do not expect local hardcore bands to release high-quality material. This is obviously not the case with Majaedus’s debut CD, The Cicada Chorus Offerings. The album contains seven songs of >> View Complete Article

Contrary to the general radio-metal cliché, a sound like heavy metal band Trip Hazzard’s has yet to emerge from the depths of Kansas City - until now. Trip Hazzard rages through their latest release, Coroner’s Milk, featuring tracks >> View Complete Article

Lakeland Community Church of Lee’s Summit, Missouri may have sounded like an unlikely place for a me >> View Complete Article

Upon entering Static this evening, I came to realize that not all local venues have the same feel as >> View Complete Article

The first annual Phantasm Fest took place over two days on June 15 and 16 at El Torreon in Kansas Ci >> View Complete Article

Assistant Editor Jodi Michael reviews the Boobie Trap Metalfest ‘06. >> View Complete Article

Journalist Bri Hodge reviews the August 5 show at The Static Bar featuring Stand Under Nothing, Copus and Placate. >> View Complete Article

Journalist Jodi Michael reviews The Static Bar’s April 21 show featuring DreamsCrape, Obsidian Shore, Diskreet, Moiré, and Unmerciful. >> View Complete Article

Journalist Jeanie Moore reviews Island Bar's June 24 show featuring Civel Bell, No Cause/No Cure, and The Leo Project. >> View Complete Article

Journalist Jeanie Moore reviews The Bunker’s August 21 show featuring Evermourn, Leadboot Marathon, A Certain Cure. >> View Complete Article

Journalist Jeanie Moore reviews 321 Club’s August 6 show featuring Truth Cell, Moire, The Esoteric, and Given With Honor. >> View Complete Article

Journalist Dustin Albright reviews El Torreon’s >> View Complete Article

Editor in Chief Heather Bashaw reviews America’s Pub February 25 show featuring Eyes of the Betrayer, This Building is Cursed, and The Esoteric. >> View Complete Article

Journalist Dustin Albright reviews El Torreon’s September 12 show featuring Lantern Hill Nightmare, Prometheus, Die Section Ate, and Given With Honor. >> View Complete Article

Journalist Jeanie Moore gives her review of El Torreon’s September 12 show featuring Lantern Hill Nightmare, Prometheus, Die Section Ate, and Given With Honor. >> View Complete Article

Jodi Michael / Journalist Editor in Chief Heather Bashaw and Journalist Jodi Michael review El Torreon’s June 21 show featuring The Searing Hour, Die Section Ate, Human Ritual, and Moiré. >> View Complete Article

Loud music; cold beer; cheap food. What better way exists to show our national pride than to combine all of these American favorites into one long, enjoyable Memorial Day weekend? I cannot think of none better, and apparently neither could Brian Chambers, owner of the Boobie Trap Bar >> View Complete Article

Editor in Chief Heather Bashaw reviews El Torreon’s March 29 show featuring Pillbox, Say Your Prayers, Die Section Ate, and Given With Honor. >> View Complete Article

Journalist Jeanie Moore reviews the January 25 show at El Torreon featuring Third World Sin, Headless and Walking, and Die Section Ate. >> View Complete Article

Journalist Jeanie Moore reviews Bodies’ December 7 show featuring No Flesh Spared, Classic, and Moiré. >> View Complete Article