Lollipop Magazine

Swarm of the Lotus – The Sirens of Silence – Review

May 24, 2005

Can’t tell at a quick pass if this is solid, or just random clusterfuck to impress those impressed by loud noises, not knowing how easy it is to do.

On Broken Wings – It’s All a Long Goodbye – Review

May 24, 2005

Killswitch Engage and Shadows Fall grew outta hardcore (or outgrew hardcore). KSE’s and SF’s clean vocals are pretty bad. OBW’s clean singing is even worse.

Life of Agony – Broken Valley – Review

May 24, 2005

The first record with the original line-up in almost a decade. This brooding metal/ex-hardcore band has always broken rules and reinvented themselves.

Behemoth – Demigod – Review

May 16, 2005

Polish black metal. Chugging guitar riffs, lots of Arabic-sounding lead lines, really mushy cookie monster vocals, but the drummer! Hot damn!

Beat The Bone – Naked – Review

May 16, 2005

They sound like Defiler (The Sopranos: Adriana tries to bankroll her ex-boyfriend’s band). I wonder if any of them banged a chick as hot as Drea DeMateo?

Vader – The Beast – Review

May 16, 2005

Polish grinding deathsters’ hyper-real lyrics, old school meets new school meets black metal speed insanity, thrashing half-steps, and tri-tones for 37 minutes.

Drawn and Quartered – Return of the Black Death – Review

May 16, 2005

Around since the late ’90s playing pretty standard death metal: Guttural vocals, heavy downstroked guitar riffs, machine gun fire drum beats, etc.

Sonata Arctica – Reckoning Night – Review

May 15, 2005

Guitar work is fantastic, the song-crafting is good. Power metal’s inherent cheesiness factor is present throughout. Like a bad guest, it overstays its welcome.

The Alter Boys – The Exotic Sounds of – Review

May 12, 2005

An experimental side-project of bands who were lucky they got away with it the first time. Mushroomhead and CKY are not known for being cerebral.

Superkollider – Atomic Clock – Review

May 12, 2005

Boston groove/rampage metal. These guys’d probably kill live, on CD they’re a little generic sounding. Second CD, first on Wonderdrug in 2001.