Full Length Review: Amyl and the Sniffers "Cartoon Darkness" (B2B Records) by Dave Wolff

Band: Amyl and the Sniffers

Location: Melbourne

Country: Australia

Genre: Punk, rock

Full length: Cartoon Darkness

Format: Digital album

Label: B2B Records

Release date: October 25, 2024

Naming themselves after the Australian term for poppers, and comparing themselves to the thirty-second effect it has on you when taking it, Amyl and the Sniffers have won three of nine Aria Award nominations. Not too shabby for a pub rock band that released two EPs and three albums since 2017.

You may say it’s the band's capacity to encompass punk, proto punk, post-punk, rock and inspiration from Cardi B and Dolly Parton that got them favorable press in Australia, but it’s just as likely it was their causing a stir by channeling their inspiration through loud, raw guitars and the irascible cockiness punk became known for in its inception. Sharing the stage with high profile artists like Weezer, Green Day, Smashing Pumpkins, Jane's Addiction, Foo Fighters and AC/DC didn’t hurt either.

On “Cartoon Darkness” Amyl and the Sniffers bristle at and reject preconceptions of punk, daring you to judge them, waiting to call bullshit with as much scorn as you yourself laid out. Lead vocalist Amy Taylor’s seething umbrage and displeasure oozes through her lyrics like molasses. Her approach to girl power is infused with enough baleful menace to give you a headache like a post-popper experience.

That being said, do I think they're selling out or becoming posers because their raw, scratchy guitars and sharply accented Australian vocals are receiving more aboveground notice? Probably not, considering they still seem to have their pub rock/street punk attitude, they've reached their mainstream success by their own merit and more people are exposed to the fresh viewpoint they bring to their work. Like punk was in the 70s, they're about being themselves and not being restricted on either end of the spectrum.

The band usually concentrates on feminism and personal issues, but according to an interview they did at Triple J in 2024, “Cartoon Darkness” is externalized and focused on comprehending the world around them. Taylor, an imposing frontwoman, injects melody and personality into her message about what's considered proper societal behavior. The band is inevitably bound to piss people off, not because of rude dispositions but because of their rejection of traditional standards set below and aboveground.

People dislike being trolled and/or body shamed online, and this is an issue Taylor unrepentantly speaks out about. Rather than feel obligated to appease those who criticize from behind screen names, Taylor defines herself on her terms. The promotional video Amyl and the Sniffers made for "Jerkin'" (linked below) in 2024 is about empowerment, not gratuitous nudity. The band and people they know are shown as accepting themselves as they are, despite not having perfect bodies seen on "Baywatch."

Knowing each other and growing together over the years has made Amyl and the Sniffers comfortable working as a unit and diversifying under the umbrella of raw grit and energy. As you listen to "Cartoon Darkness" you don’t sense egos interfering with the band’s passion, professionalism and mutual respect; They maintain that the music they create together is most important, and they demonstrate how release of anger makes room for the exhilaration and joy of playing good aggressive music.  –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Amy Taylor: Vocals

Declan Mehrtens: Guitar, keyboards, vocals

Gus Romer: Bass, vocals

Bryce Wilson: Drums, vocals

Track list:

1. Jerkin'

2. Chewing Gum

3. Tiny Bikini

4. Big Dreams

5. It's Mine

6. Motorbike Song

7. Doing In Me Head

8. Pigs

9. Bailing On Me

10. U Should Not Be Doing That

11. Do It Do It

12. Going Somewhere

13. Me And The Girls

Full Length Review: The Rumours "Suck It" (Independent) by Dave Wolff

Band: The Rumours

Location: Waterloo, Iowa

Country: USA

Genre: Punk, rock

Full Length: Suck It

Format: Digital album

Label: Independent

Release date: March 19, 2020

With "Suck It," their second full length following “Hotbang,” (2017) The Rumours achieve what many punk/hard rock and pop/punk bands aim for, without trying. By playing what they feel, they show there’s little difference between the attitudes of punk and rock & roll. Either it speaks to you or it doesn’t.

I could be way off, but as this is my first time sitting down and listening to this band I gather this album expresses a modicum of disdain for musical romanticism, viewing it as a pompous smokescreen for the primal love instinct. This sexualized presence meant to mirror the primal urges behind the romanticism falls somewhere between street punk, androgynous proto-glam, and sleaze rock.

"Suck It" is crude, brash, and raw on many levels, resonating with the snippy, hymnatic sarcasm Johnny Rotten and Steve Jones brought to the Sex Pistols in the 70s and the unconventional toughness Joan Jett introduced as she fronted the Blackhearts and went solo a decade later, with little patience for hangers on, punk wannabes, and would-be rock stars with oversized egos.

If punk is still about individualism today, Carli Foxx exemplifies the genre by projecting ferocious independence and standing in a category all her own. As the band's lead vocalist and frontwoman, she sings with relative melody, moans, squeals, yelps, growls, snarls, yells, screams and delivers snarky raps, titillating the audience in a way that fulfills and mocks expectations about how punks behave.

Behind Foxx’s voice are bluesy vamps, Angus Young inspired solos and energy inherited from Jerry Lee Lewis, old Kiss, the New York Dolls and the Donnas with equal parts conviction. Mixing the disdain I perceived earlier with dark humor, and the sexuality I noted with playfulness, The Rumours make the experience fun and enjoyable, especially when they play out (as I gather from their live clips).

As early punk bands did in the 70s, they manage to capture a healthy portion of their live energy in the studio. Undermining the stereotype that punk is all about playing three chords and screaming about how angry you are at the world, the band reminds you in “Electric Blues” and “You Suck, Baby” their sardonic disposition is meant to be satirical, as is the defiance of traditional "blonde bombshell" beauty standards they project during their shows with equal ardor. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Carli Foxx: Vocals, guitar

Stu The Dew: Lead guitar, vocals

Ela Rose: Bass, vocals

Daniel Kluiter: Drums, vocals

Track list:

1. Hey You

2. Never Comin' Back

3. Electric Blues

4. Caroline Brown

5. Phone Calls

6. Take Me Shake Me

7. Put Your Love On My Face

8. You Suck, Baby

9. L.A. Trends

Full Length Review: Gridfailure "Sixth Mass-Extinction Skulduggery III" (Nefarious Industries) by Dave Wolff

Band: Gridfailure

Location: New York, New York

Country: USA

Genre: Experimental

Full Length: Sixth Mass-Extinction Skulduggery III

Format: Digital album, limited edition cassette

Label: Nefarious Industries

Release date: October 3, 2025

It’s been a few years since “When the Lights Go Out Volume II” and “When the Lights Go Out Vol. III” by Gridfailure were spotlit here. Back then, this project gave me the idea this was not your typical ambient project. As nightmarishly bizarre as Abruptum is dark and violent, and old Mortiis is cold and solitary, this David Brenner-led ensemble seeks other avenues into your mind to disconcert you, generating specific discomfort and dismay, literally to the point of primal dread.

Corban Skipwith stated Gridfailure has the potential to scare you out of your wits if you listen late at night when it's black as pitch outside and everyone is sleeping, probably with more agreeable ideas on their minds. He went on to explain that the project's work seemed tailored to one's deepest hidden fears and apprehensions, as it gave him the creeps in all directions.

When you cross paths with Gridfailure again you’ll be propelled headfirst over the thin barrier between rationality and lunacy, and it will as always take a considerable amount of time to return. “Sixth Mass-Extinction Skulduggery III” sees Brenner handling more instruments than his previous recordings.

Along with Steve Austin of Today Is The Day on vocals, guitar, and extra lyrics, he collaborates with his most manifold lineup to date. His list of studio collaborators this time includes musicians who have worked with David Bowie, Hasard, Xtinguish The Code, Cardinal Wyrm, and Chrome Waves, as well as artists who have accompanied him during live performances.

The increased amount of musical instruments and studio collaborators bring this record closer to conveying a narrative than Brenner’s previous Gridfailure efforts. Said narrative continues to illustrate humanity's proclivity for self-destruction, which by now has resulted in the extinction of the ecosystem on a worldwide scale and widespread misery.

This impression is clear from the beginning, and as you listen you can imagine a scene so bleak and devoid of hope it makes “Blade Runner” look like “Legally Blonde”. Brenner and his partners elevate Gridfailure’s creativity while atmosphere, programming, effects and the most horrid vocals ever heard make the lyrical and musical images even more palpable.

With minimalism, dark ambient, post-punk, goth, folk, techno, black metal, industrial, experimental jazz, chant, Americana and classical, the disastrous scope of man’s lost war against a world he created is replete with images of disasters, starvation, moral perversion of every kind, homicide, cannibalism and tribal warfare, not to mention the increased reliance on artificial intelligence.

This is more than an apocalyptic event, it’s slow extinction of every human being on earth. It’s the sonic equivalent of humanity fading out. Even as life itself is falling apart at the seams, there's still a crawling suspicion that the worst is yet to reveal itself with Gridfailure’s next album. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

See Bandcamp link

Track list:

1. Subdividing The Survivors

2. Extermination Level Eventuality

3. Hybrid Warfare In Defense Of One’s Habitat

4. Anthropophagiae Nationis

5. Drunk On The Blood Of My Neighbor

6. Vestiges

7. Ration Distribution/Processed For Storage

8. Communal Taxidermy

9. This Was More Than Just Killing… It Was Art

10. Sixth Mass-Extinction Skulduggery III: Acquiring A Taste

11. Maria

12. Necrotizing Fasciitis

13. End In Sight

14. Species Deconstructivist

15. Transmissions Cease

Single Review: Awaiting Abigail "Anxiety" (Independent) by Dave Wolff

Band: Awaiting Abigail

Location: Dallas, Texas

Country: USA

Genre: Rock, metal

Single: Anxiety

Format: Digital

Label: Independent

Release date: October 24, 2025

When most bands are a gathering of musicians that pool their resources from scratch, Awaiting Abigail is formed largely of musicians who’ve known each other for some time. The band started with three old high school bandmates crossed paths again and discovering a former band student of one of the founding members, her father (an aviator and musician), and a theater student and vocalist.

They seem to be on similar enough wavelengths to form a cohesive unit as they’re acquainted with each other to some degree or another. Solidifying the lineup in 2024, they launched a series of singles with a professional, crystal clear sound identical to Lacuna Coil and Within Temptation, with textures added by synthesizers and more candid sentiment expressed in the vocals. Going by what I've heard, Awaiting Abigail is becoming more established, displaying equal potential and passion while receiving airplay on local and national levels, while still being quite green when it comes to experience.

What I mean is, their songs portray the growing pains encountered with being different from everyone and not fitting in while pursuing your own path to follow late in high school or early in college. At the same time, there's an awareness that remaining on that path ultimately means everything. To highlight the intensity of the lyrics and emphasize the feelings they express, the vocals appear to vary and fluctuate in accordance with each song or verse. The capacity to attract new listeners is improved by the dark undertones and commercial potential the vocals possess each time they’re given radio rotation.

The melancholy, despairing tone of "Anxoety", aided by the synths, poignant guitars and solemn piano, features a darker tone than usual, with drawn out notes and palpable isolation and sadness. Its central message of being surrounded by people who don't understand you and being silenced both inside and out when you try to maintain your point of view is enhanced by a harmonic vocal influence in the background, subtle but nonetheless profound. When combined, these elements create a style likened to gothic metal with twice the honesty and drive, and should make a lasting impression. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Abigail Hill: Vocals

James Smith: Guitar

Mike Tolla: Guitar

Kori Tolla: Keyboards

Laurie Barnett: Bass

Heather Hammonds: Drums

Single/Video Review: The Zenith Passage "Fleshbound Reliquary" (Metal Blade) by Dave Wolff

Band: The Zenith Passage

Location: Los Angeles, California

Country: USA

Genre: Progressive technical death metal

Single: Fleshbound Reliquary

Format: Digital

Label: Metal Blade

Release date: December 1, 2025

The Zenith Passage is partly comprised of former members of The Faceless, a Los Angeles-based technical deathcore/prog technical death metal band. From 2006 to 2017, they wrote lyrics heavily influenced by science fiction and handled their songs with inventive, spine-chilling precision.

Also comprised of members of Dreamer (extreme prog metal), Exterminatus (tech death/groove metal) and Atavistia (symphonic death metal), the band builds on The Faceless’ work. Their CD “Datalysium” is a trippy excursion into unexplored regions with a personality all its own; the band describe it as a fusion of Necrophagist and Meshuggah, or Cynic and Extol. The progeny of either wedding is described as a film student into the films of Ridley Scott and David Lynch, and synthesizer-based music.

Composing harsh music rich in atmosphere with a healthy dosage of prog rock, jazz metal and prog metal while accentuating each instrument, is the result of tremendous effort on their part. Balancing low-pitched vocals with prog-influenced songwriting, illuminating the multi-layered, electronically enhanced ambiance, and giving the guitars an electronic feel are the consequence of an imagination going above and beyond what is expected of musicians raised on death and technical death metal.

On “Fleshbound Reliquary” the band’s elements of jazz fusion, dissonant black metal, synth and orchestra are dramatically tightened and pushed further into the foreground, for a chilling portrayal of where humanity is likely being taken by artificial intelligence in the near future. Where “Datalysium” is founded on the premise that human beings, while developing for mankind are inventing themselves out of their own identity, “Fleshbound Reliquary” shows a resultant world where resources are spent and the machine is looked to as a higher consciousness.

Performed and produced to resemble an unending ocean of virtual reality, machine learning, and cyber communication threatening to drown us, “Fleshbound Reliquary” is a stunning, horrific visualization of the future. –Dave Wolff

Derek Rydquist: Vocals

Justin McKinney: Guitar

Christopher Beattie: Guitar

Brandon Giffin: Bass

Max Sepulveda: Drums

Promo Review: Cleaver Cult "Promo 2024" (Independent) by Daniel Ryan

Band: Cleaver Cult

Country: Greece

Genre: Death metal

Promo: Promo 2024

Format: Digital

Label: Independent

Release date: August 2, 2024

“Deadly Reflections” starts off strong with a powerful groove of brutal death metal that tears you up from the insides. This manifestation is pretty wild and straight forward at the same time. It stands on its own very well.

“Cold Blood Slasher” is my favorite of the two and has a resemblance of Cannibal Corpse in some areas. Then it breaks down for some moshing for a less than a minute picking up speed and back to the nasty growls and guttural tones by the vocalist Valantis “Cannibal” . They are from Greece and there is a huge scene there.

They can possibly fit in anywhere when it comes to live shows of the extreme metal genre but mostly pure death metal. Check these guys out if you want a taste of something brutal in all categories! Emphasis on gories! –Daniel Ryan

Track list:

1. Deadly Reflections

2. Cold Blood Slasher

Full Length Review: Blood Freak "Sleaze Merchants" (Extremely Rotten Productions) by Dave Wolff

Band: Blood Freak

Location: Portland, Oregon

Country: USA

Genre: Death/grindcore

Full length: Sleaze Merchants

Format: Digital album

Label: Extremely Rotten Productions

Originally released on CD by Razorback Records in 2003

Release date: October 31, 2025

When Maniac Neil formed Blood Freak in 2003, numerous death/grindcore bands had already taken us back to their love of splatter, cannibals, reanimated corpses, and demented slashers from the 70s and 80s. It all may sound like typical fare now, but on their debut album "Sleaze Merchants," the band tempered their songs with shades of rock, funk rock, and blues rock while retaining multiple gore-soaked vocals, whirlwind blast, blender bass, and movie samples.

Independent horror and gore films Blood Freak grew up with, films that couldn't be found anyplace other than Kim's Video, have maintained their fan bases since before "Scream" and "Saw." When they were released, they satisfied horror and gore aficionados with their grit and desire to go the extra mile. Same can be said for grindcore and goregrind, which constantly replenish their cult followings. This is most likely why old unsung albums are being re-released.

"Sleaze Merchants" combines riffs flavored with rock and funk, as well as bluesy solos, amid the insane, manic images and overlapping vocals clearly inspired by "Reek of Putrefaction" and "Symphonies of Sickness" by Carcass. This helps tighten the sweeping brutality, crossover hardcore riffs, and doomy breakdowns that inspired many bands from Exhumed and Ghoul to pick up instruments and capture the essence of grindcore and goregrind.

I read at Jill Girardi's Facebook profile that a number of albums originally released by Razorback Records from Long Island, New York, USA, are being re-issued for new grind enthusiasts to hear, including underground slabs by Fondlecorpse (Holland). Jill also says the reissue includes liner notes by Razorback's Billy Nocera and new artwork by French visual artist Pierre DePalmas from the goregrind band Blue Holcaust. I suppose it goes to prove that bands, no matter how obscure, can always attract new listeners.

Maniac Neil's diverse experience in death metal, thrash, grindcore, goregrind, and black metal had a hand in his writing breakdowns leaning toward doom and stoner metal. He recorded the Razorback release of "Sleaze Merchants" with an old 16-track. Lasse's efforts at remastering make it sound recorded with more sophisticated equipment while bringing the original’s rawness to light. The samples, for the most part, sound untouched and maintain the film's grungy vibe.

The balanced musicianship and sound are a push toward making the customary blast and brutality of grind accessible to a larger audience. What Maniac Neil does demonstrates that you don't have to be a purist or a gatekeeper to appreciate Blood Freak for what they are, or a poser to accept the other aspects he unashamedly brings into grind. –Dave Wolff

Track list:

1. Warning

2. Feast of the Undead

3. Blood, Blood, and more Blood

4. Grinding of the Dead

5. Bloodthirsty Butchers from Beyond

6. Flesheaters from Outerspace

7. The Gruesome Gorehounds

8. Infested with Worms

9. The Cult of the Cannibal Freaks

10. I Rip Your Flesh

11. Gobble up Your Guts

12. The Slaughterhouse

13. You are What We Eat

14. Werewolf A-Gore-Gore

15. Kill! Kill! Kill!

16. A Brutal Orgy of Ghastly Terror

17. Awakening the Beast

Full Length Review: Emperors & Angels "IIII" (Curtain Call Records) by Dave Wolff

Band: Emperors & Angels

Country: USA

Genre: Rock, metal

Full Length: IIII

Format: Digital

Label: Curtain Call Records

Release date: 2025

Over the last five years, the close-knit friends comprising Emperors & Angels have cultivated a career by self-producing their albums, fueled by the internal gasoline they ignite to overcome obstacles and setbacks they face daily. Confronting personal demons stemming from interactions with others, they find strength sharing these experiences with each other and the listener. The extent to which their musical preferences are intertwined reflects their shared commitment and unity of purpose.

What classification, then, works for "IIII"? Is it pop punk? Is it late 80s metal? Is it alternative rock? Is it grunge? Is it blues rock? Is it emo? Is it funk rock? Is it nu metal? Or a blend of all these? Specific labels start to seem trivial as the band’s unapologetic boldness becomes more apparent. Regardless of what influences you hear in their songwriting, the anguish of betrayal and the determination to move forward are vividly expressed in every drum hit, every guitar and bass note and every vocal line.

Emotive, gritty and anthemic, "IIII" comes across as a seamless outpouring of edginess. Emperors and Angels create appealing assaults that flow through your eardrums and into your brain. Sometimes evoking Lenny Kravitz, sometimes Soundgarden, sometimes Coheed and Cambria, they appear to have an instinctive wavelength to reach fans of Candlebox, Five Finger Death Punch, Anthrax, and Alice Cooper, whom they opened for, or more likely an understanding that music is music and a rejection of labels.

What binds their personal tastes together is not only a sense of diversity, but also a sense of solidarity and mutual respect for the contributions each member makes to the writing process. This proves the value of forming a band with people you're friends with and feel comfortable being informal and having beers with. Spending this kind of time together, eventually picking up instruments to create music together, will flow naturally through your stereo, and the results will easily speak to you.

The guitar lines, bass lines, lead guitars, and verses blend together to create multifaceted pieces contrasting just enough to add multiple textures without negating the catchiness they aim to express. This arrangement, in its own way, draws more emphasis to lyrics phrased with the intensity and melody nu metal and pop punk fans expect. While the lyrics are intended to reflect personal experience, this arrangement also helps them to be relevant on an equally personal level.

As varied as the music is, the message presented to you is enhanced by how they support the lyrics. This as much as the band expresses their thoughts without taking down to you. After the lines and verses resonate with you, those whose resolve is bolstered by failure or disappointment will find something to relate to. Emperors & Angels will always be able to connect to their listeners, regardless of how much recognition they attain. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

Matthew Nevitt” Vocals

Bela McKnight: Guitar

Jason Hedrick: Bass

Brett Huntley: Drums

Track list:

1. Here’s to Now

2. Only Way to Be

3. Someone Anyone

4. Welcome to the Show

5. What Kills

6. It’s Like That

7. Lifeline

8. Dark Skies

9. Dangerous

10. Bury the Hatchet

11. Worry Bout Me!

Full Length Review: Them "Psychedelic Enigma" (Steamhammer) by Dave Wolff

Band: Them

Country: USA, Germany

Genre: Progressive thrash/power metal

Full length: Psychedelic Enigma

Format: Digital album

Label: Steamhammer

Release date: October 24, 2025

It has been a long time since I listened to Them's "Sweet Hollow" and "Manor of the Seventeen Gables," and I wanted to see what they've been up to lately, see how far they'd come since they released those landmarks of underground metal.

Them was founded in 2008 by KK Fossor aka Troy Norr (also of Coldsteel) as a King Diamond tribute band, gradually moved away from emulating King's stage show to write original songs. Keeping what inspired them about King's horror elements, crossing over classic metal, thrash, symphonic metal, and some prog metal. They also developed a conceptual narrative spanning more than one full length. One of the more ambitious metal bands to emerge this century, Them continues to establish themselves as the next step in metal’s evolution. It’s been a slow, steady ride with no signs of stopping soon.

Searching their catalogue at Bandcamp, I found "Fear City," an album they released in 2022 that continues the epic story depicted on "Sweet Hollow," "Manor of the Seventeen Gables," and "Return to Hemmersmoor." Offering a unique spin on that storyline. "Fear City" takes place over a century later in modern-day New York, complete with crime and general ugliness. The characters are descended from the main characters of the trilogy mentioned above. One of the lead characters here is Peter Thompson, a televangelist who descended from The Witchhunter from the previous albums.

I'll have to catch up on "Fear City" another time, however, as we're talking about their most recent album released last month. "Psychedelic Enigma" is a conceptual horror story presented with another twist, focusing on a core protagonist and building a plot comparable to turn-of-the-century supernatural classics such as "The Sixth Sense" and "The Ohers," and developing mystery and tension until the epic conclusion arrives. This is all Them chooses to reveal about "Psychedelic Enigma" at their Bandcamp link. You get a little more from the lyric videos released to promote the album.

Whereas Them's previous albums incorporated symphonic and progressive metal, the songs on this album are thrashier, more abrasive, sharp and energetic, and more inventive than I remember Classic thrash's execution and its spirit, are recaptured here. The increasing emphasis on thrash doesn’t make "Psychedelic Enigma" less progressive. The composition and musicianship are more experimental, with more hooks to pull you in, and a range of keyboards written to portray the intended mood and make you experience the oddities here, as well as the occasional blast to underline the point.

Randy Burns, who has engineered sound for Megadeth, Death, Possessed, and Dark Angel, achieves an impresssive job of bringing these qualities to the forefront in "Catatonia," "Silent Room," "Psychonautic State," "The Scarlett Remains," "Electric Church," and "Echoes of the Forgotten Realm." KK Fossor's vocals have his distinctive blend of melody and ferocity, similar to old-school power metal vocals, with clear phrasing and a tendency to fluctuate and provide emphasis for the emotionality here.

The album becomes more expressive and dramatic with each song, with the musicianship telling the story as convincingly as the lyrics, and the payoff at the finale is well worth the wait, seriously rivaling horror classics like "Rosemary's Baby," "The Omen," and "The Changeling" in terms of suspense and visceral enjoyment. "Psychedelic Enigma" celebrates the spirit of metal while pushing the ingredients that make classic horror films memorable for years after their screenings. –Dave Wolff

Lineup:

KK Fossor: Vocals

Markus Ullrich: Guitars

Markus Johansson: Guitars

Alexander Palma: Bass

Richie Seibel: Keyboards

Steve Bolognese: Drums

(Session drums by David De Liniers)

Track list:

1. Ad Rem

2. Catatonia

3. An Evil Deed

4. Reverie

5. Remember To Die

6. Silent Room

7. Psychonautic State

8. The Scarlett Remains

9. Electric Church

10. Echoes Of The Forgotten Realm

11. Troubled Minds

12. Delirium

EP Review: Dan Sindel "They Only Love You When You're Winning" (Independent) by Dave Wolff

Artist: Dan Sindel

Location: Los Angeles, California Country: USA

Genre: Rock, progressive rock

EP: They Only Love You When You're Winning

Format: Digital album

Label: Independent

Release date: May 28, 2025

After thirty years as a performer and music instructor, Dan Sindel developed a method of recording involving multi-tracked electric and acoustic guitars and symphonic arrangements. His bio emphasizes the recognition it earned him, and the recognition he received opening for Saxon, King Diamond, Wendy O. Williams, Accept, Metal Church, Armored Saint, Flotsam & Jetsam, and Grim Reaper among others. Sindel’s bio also mentions that he hopes to encourage future musicians to develop their abilities.
Sindel’s website bio page doesn't provide much information about his performance experience, instructional background or recording technique. At least, the profile doesn't tell me as much as I’d have liked to after listening to his second EP. If you seek more, there are interview links, news and information about his videos and a music section on his site (it may interest you that his devotion began with Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same”), plus information about streaming his recordings on Bandcamp.
Besides showcasing the wall of sound he built at maximum level, “They Only Love You When You're Winning” provides the range of the heavy rock Sindel was exposed to during his long musical career, spanning the 1960s to the 1980s to the present. There's much to be found here if you grew up with the Beatles, Beach Boys and psychedelia like Pink Floyd and progressive rock like Yes. The mix is technically proficient but not flowery; the psychedelic complexity doesn’t allow for too many pleasantries.
I've listened to Little Steven's Underground Garage, a weekly show that traces punk rock's origins back to the fifties. It shows the early roots of punk in many groundbreaking artists, and given that Sindel and Steven Van Zandt share similar roots, I was surprised by how well Sindel's work suits Van Zandt's format. For its experimentation, "They Only Love You…" is as hard, uncompromising and not-radio-friendly as anything by musicians who aimed to write something more exciting than the traditional pop of the time..
Besides the origins and progression of rock music, Sindel draws on John Philip Souza's military music to create the wall of sound features. He draws heavily on jazz, blues, and r&b for complexity. These influences are apparent behind the harder elements, as do faint elements of rockabilly and psychobilly. One more significant contribution is Sindel’s early training in French horn and trombone. This combination upends everything, removing rock from its linear cruise control.
In the same way the Sex Pistols were the culmination of their influences and created something raw and exciting, Dan Sindel combines everything he learned during his musical education, binding it together by his love of the medium, feeling its energy as any fan would, and expressing it through the originality and creativity he brings to the table. Check out this EP and his website. –Dave Wolff

Track list:

1. Ambition

2. America! America!

3. Blindsided

4. Burning Bridges

5. Freedom

6. Spellcaster