Lollipop Magazine

Rich Robinson – Paper – Review

December 27, 2004

Paper is a dissatisfying experience. I’ve been spoiled by Chris Robinson singing this material for so long, and Rich’s voice just doesn’t get the job done.

Antler – Review

December 27, 2004

Antler reside in some of the same classic rock territory as Roadsaw but focus on the mellower, more emotional “lighter in the air” side of things.

Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus – Review

December 27, 2004

Cave’s love of Cohen, Waits, and Cash is sublimated into an intoxicatingly passionate collection of songs that bears no connections to their forefathers.

Metal Church – The Weight of the World – Review

December 27, 2004

Not crazy about the noisy production, and I find the record melodramatic in parts. Too Metal. But man, new vocalist Ronny Munroe is a corker.

Hatesphere – Ballet of the Brute – Review

December 27, 2004

Third album. Denmark’s Hatesphere crank out signature Scando-thrash with an emphasis toward faster, more claustrophobic and intimate American hardcore moshing.

Meshuggah – I – Review

December 27, 2004

A nonstop rollercoaster of accelerated awkward tempos, tempered by stylish dynamics to create a flowing, well-paced epic. You never see it coming.

Floor – Dove – Review

December 27, 2004

Fine, concise sludge-metal, down-tuned guitars and huge downstrokes driven by fairly brisk tempos, conventional song structures, and non-growly vocals.

Coliseum – Review

December 27, 2004

This five-piece out of Kentucky are solid musicians playing well-written, honest songs about disillusionment, despair, and outsider pride. Heavy stuff!

Cattle Decapitation – Humanure – Review

December 27, 2004

A smoky, claustrophobic, humid form of warm death metal modernized and tenderized by grind. A much better record than the murky and befuddled To Serve Man.

Nathaniel Mayer – I Just Want to Be Held – Review

December 21, 2004

You don’t have to be a fanatic or a geek to appreciate the raw beauty of Mayer’s Fortune recordings, and you don’t have to be one to love this album, either.