Reviews

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Neon Christ- 1984

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  10th June 2021
In modern times, hardcore has travelled a long way from its relatively simplistic roots. Now metal and hardcore are inextricably linked, rather than being clearly distinct. The genre has incorporated electronics, melody,...
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Tardus Mortem- Engulfed In Pestilent Darkness

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  27th May 2021
Production is one of the most important but most frequently overlooked aspects of any record. Usually, albums are at the very least acceptably produced so there’s not much to complain...
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Caliban- Zeitgeister

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  13th May 2021
Reviewing metalcore in 2021 is a difficult experience. As a genre, it’s so played out and iterated upon that it’s as difficult to find new and interesting things to say about releases...
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Evile- Hell Unleased

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  28th April 2021
When I first got into heavy music, a frankly terrifying number of years ago now, I was obsessed with thrash metal. This was thanks in no small part to Evile being one...
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MMH Repeat Offenders #22

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  15th April 2021
So, while all the other members of MMH’s written content team are being decisive and writing their Repeat Offenders articles about individual songs, I’m being the true hero of the...
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Borstal- At Her Majesty’s Pleasure

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  31st March 2021
There are few scenes in the history of rock music as beloved as the New York Hardcore scene. Whether it’s Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags or Sick Of It All, the bands from this scene...
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Distant- Dusk Of Anguish

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  18th March 2021
Deathcore, much like its more commercial cousin- metalcore, has become much maligned in recent years. It can often feel like we’ve heard all the tricks these bands have to offer, so Distant...
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Hallucintion- Hallucination

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  2nd March 2021
The more extreme and aggressive ends of heavy music tend to benefit from having incredibly short run times. Slayer’s Reign In Blood is ten tracks in under half an hour, Scum by...
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Malice Divine- Malice Divine

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  18th February 2021
It’s a testament to the creativity of the extreme metal scene that the genres that comprise it have so much internal variety that even an outside can identify the contrast...
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Cult Of Luna- The Raging River

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  7th February 2021
A few years ago, I could barely tolerate to listen to anything slower than mid-paced thrash. As time has gone on and my tastes have matured, I’ve begun to appreciate...
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Repeat Offenders #11

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  22nd January 2021
January is the time of year that I like to reflect on the music from the last year I loved and anything I overlooked. That said there’s always room for...
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Slump- Nothing More Single Review

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  20th September 2020
The MMH team feel it is important to let you know that Slump guitarist and vocalist, Matt Noble, is also a regular contributor to MMH. While this review attempts to...
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Cro-Mags- In The Beginning

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  18th June 2020
Cro-Mags are unarguably one of the most influential bands to have risen from the New York hardcore scene. The Age Of Quarrel is an all time classic album that has...
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Trivium- What The Dead Men Say

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  23rd April 2020
Trivium have been on a bit of an upward surge in recent years after their return with The Sin & The Sentence after a couple of mediocre albums. The Sin…...
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Avril Lavigne- Avril Lavigne

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  1st April 2020
Given the current state of the world, I think we all need something to cheer ourselves up- whether it’s a new hobby, a beloved album or a film marathon to...
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Napalm Death- Logic Ravaged By Brute Force

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  23rd February 2020
Napalm Death have one of the strongest legacies in the history of metal, having established themselves as a leading light for grindcore in the late 80s before twisting and adapting...
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Avril Lavigne- Goodbye Lullaby

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  2nd February 2020
Converge’s landmark album, Jane Doe, is the best break up album of all time. A hurricane of anguished, chaotic, metallic hardcore clearly influenced by frontman Jacob Bannon’s recent messy break...
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Avril Lavigne- The Best Damn Thing

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  12th January 2020
Given the fact that Lavigne has almost completely disappeared from the zeitgeist of popular music, I am becoming more nervous the further I get into this deep dive. I’m constantly...
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Retrospective Review: Avril Lavigne- Under My Skin

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  29th November 2019
Despite have previously enjoyed Avril Lavigne’s debut, I was still apprehensive going into Under My Skin. Without big name songs like Sk8er Boi or Complicated in the track listing, I...
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Slayer- The Repentless Killogy

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  16th November 2019
Upon Slayer announcing that they are on their final world tour, I was left with mixed emotions. They have, and always will be, one of the greats of heavy metal,...
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Retrospective Review: Avril Lavigne- Let Go

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  8th November 2019
Given that pop-rock megastar Avril Lavigne is returning to the UK in April 2020 for a few shows, I’ve decided to dive into her back catalogue and give my thoughts...
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Alcest- Spiritual Instinct

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  25th October 2019
The French metal scene has been dominated, in recent years, by Gojira and Betraying The Martyrs in the mainstream. However, in more underground circles, Alcest have been beloved pioneers for...
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Life Of Agony- The Sound Of Scars

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  14th October 2019
Life Of Agony have always been a bit of a cult band. Having come up in the 90s New York scene, they gathered acclaim for their debut album, River Runs...
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Municipal Waste- The Last Rager

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  8th October 2019
During the 2000s thrash revival, Municipal Waste made a name for themselves as being the fun, party band as opposed to straight-laced, super serious style adopted by the countless other...
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SeeYouSpaceCowboy- The Correlation Between Entrance and Exit Wounds

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  27th September 2019
Since last year’s Songs for the Firing Squad, SeeYouSpaceCowboy have attracted a lot of positive attention from fans of mathy hardcore. In a year where we’ve had a new Employed...
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Nervus- Tough Crowd

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  19th September 2019
Since their arrival on the scene in 2016 with their debut album, Permanent Rainbow, Nervus have cultivated a small but dedicated fan base. Their bright indie-punk with lyrics that seemed...
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Placeholder- Despise Me

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  5th August 2019
For all the conceptions of hardcore as a collection of hyper masculine guys shouting down microphones, telling you how to live your life, and playing pretty basic music, the current...
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Rotten Hate- Stabbing The Masses

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  28th July 2019
Death metal and crust punk are often cited as the two key ingredients in the make up of grindcore. As such, when a band is described as death/crust the question...
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Matt Finucane- Vanishing Island

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  13th July 2019
Being unique in the modern music scene is hard with the over-saturation that occurs on the internet. As soon as an artist does something innovative and new it can be...
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Torchbearer- Against The Tide

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  8th July 2019
When reviewing music, it is inevitable that, at some point, a PR company will send you an album pitched as “for fans of X, Y and Z bands” or “where...
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Phoxjaw- A Playground For Sad Adults

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  28th June 2019
Phoxjaw have grabbed my attention in recent times for support slots with some of the great bands in the more expansive parts of the rock scene, most excitingly (though also...
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Friendship- Undercurrent

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  20th June 2019
In recent years there has been a lot of discussion around the rising scene of heavy hardcore, with the likes of Code Orange, Harm’s Way and Knocked Loose leading the...
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Words That Burn- Pyres

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  24th May 2019
Since Architects have become one of the most beloved bands in the UK with their techy take on metalcore, it’s no surprise that other bands have gone on to take...
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Next Year- Waterfalls EP

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  9th May 2019
Five years ago I would have discarded any highly polished pop-punk release as a cynical cash grab. Over the intervening years as my music taste has expended and the zeitgeist...
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The Parasitic Twins, The Carnival Rejects- The Parasitic Rejects EP

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  8th May 2019
The Parasitic Twins pedal sludge: a genre that combines the unlikely bedfellows of hardcore punk and doom metal. It’s slow, low end riffing and aggressive screamed vocals really inject intensity...
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The Godfathers of Hardcore- Directed by Ian McFarland

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  26th April 2019
Good documentaries should be engaging and enjoyable even if the viewer is not familiar with the subject in the first place. The Godfathers of Hardcore focuses on the two core...
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2019-50 Years of Metal

By  Stephanie Ingram  /  14th April 2019
Death Blooms- You Are Filth If an insane amount of live energy and an un-relentingly aggressive vocal performance is what you are after, then look no further than Death Blooms....
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2018- 50 Years of Metal

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  13th April 2019
Alien Weaponry – Tū Words by David Steed Every now and again a band comes along with an idea that is so good it makes you wonder why no one...
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2017- 50 Years Of Metal

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  12th April 2019
Code Orange- Forever Words by Matthew Brooks When Forever came out it took the rock world by storm, Code Orange were- and still are- massively hyped up by the press...
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2016- 50 Years of Metal

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  11th April 2019
Dissociation- The Dillinger Escape Plan Words by Matthew Brooks Dissociation is TDEP's final album. It would be easy to read into this when analysing the lyrics on this album, but...
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2011- 50 Years Of Metal

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  7th April 2019
Suicide Silence- The Black Crown Words by Matthew Brooks Deathcore is often maligned by more traditionally minded extreme metal fans, and it can be easy to see why when looking...
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2010- 50 Years of Metal

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  5th April 2019
As our celebration of metal moves into its last decade it's harder to identify bands and albums with long lasting impact, so we're focusing on great albums and up and...
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2007- 50 Years Of Metal

By  Stephanie Ingram  /  2nd April 2019
Machine Head- The Blackening     The Blackening is an album that I know inside out. But every time I hear it I’m blown away by how brilliant it is....
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2001-50 Years Of Metal

By  Stephanie Ingram  /  26th March 2019
American Head Charge- The Art Of War     This album was released in 2001.The album's name was influenced by a Chinese book called 'The Art Of War' and was...
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1992- 50 Years Of Metal

By  Stephanie Ingram  /  19th March 2019
Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated     Courting controversy the world over with their graphic cover art and explicit lyrical content, cynics may attribute Cannibal Corpse's ascent to...
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1987-50 Years of Metal

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  13th March 2019
1987 In 1987, one of the first bands of the grunge movement, Alice In Chains, formed. Their contemporaries would eventually end up killing off glam metal in the eyes of...
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1986- 50 Years of Metal

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  12th March 2019
Any metal fan will tell you how important 1986 was in the history of heavy metal. Megadeth continued to assert themselves with Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, Metallica cemented themselves...
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1977- 50 Years Of Metal

By  Stephanie Ingram  /  3rd March 2019
The Runaways-Queen's Of Noise Queen's Of Noise was recorded in 1976 in Santa Monica Ca at Brother's Studio's and later released in 1977.With member's Cherie Currie,Joan Jet,Lita Ford,Jackie Fox and...
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1975- 50 Years of Metal

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  1st March 2019
The year the Vietnam War ended, and Charlie Chaplin was knighted. Iron Maiden and Motorhead formed. We saw releases from Kiss, Rush, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, but in the...
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1973- 50 Years of Metal

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  27th February 2019
’73 was a landmark year for heavy metal. It was the year that Rob Halford joined Judas Priest, David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes replaced departing members Ian Gillan and Roger...
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Bury the Traitor- Ascend To Clarity

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  13th February 2019
It is strange that since the metalcore boom in the mid to late noughties, and its eventual decay, no other subgenre has stepped forward to lay claim to its throne....
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Cancer Bats, Bleed From Within, Underside at Rescue Rooms Nottingham, 05.02.19

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  6th February 2019
Cancer Bats were one of the first hardcore bands I ever got into, and their first four albums I consider some of the best hardcore albums of the twenty first...
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Parkway Drive, Nottingham Motorpoint Arena Review 31.01.19

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  2nd February 2019
It’s no secret that Parkway Drive have been eying larger stages with their last two releases- Ire and Reverence. Often heavy bands fail to appropriately adapt their song writing to...
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Ithaca- The Language Of Injury

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  29th January 2019
When listening to certain genres of music it is easy to have certain expectations and preferences of that music. For example, if one is listening to a mathcore band one...
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Masiro- Geodesics

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  28th September 2018
When progressive music is at it’s very best, it explores interesting textural, melodic, harmonic and rhythmic ideas, while managing to string it all together into a cohesive journey. This can...
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Heavy Music Awards 2018 Review and Round Up 23/08/18

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  25th August 2018
The nominations for tonight’s awards are amazing, a thorough inspection of which you can find here, and a true show of how strong heavy music is right now. While the...
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Jesus Piece- Only Self

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  18th August 2018
Hardcore is in a great place world wide at the moment. Experimentalism is being fully embraced by both bands and fans, whether it’s the integration of industrial elements by bands...
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Bury Tomorrow- Black Flame

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  22nd July 2018
Metalcore continues to be a massively oversaturated scene. Most of the “big four” (Bullet For My Valentine, Avenged Sevenfold, Trivium and Killswitch Engage) of the genre have moved away from...
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Witchingseason- Melancholy Disco

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  18th July 2018
Having broken onto the scene last year and gaining a lot of mainstream attention, Witchingseason have returned with brand new single, Melancholy Disco. A laid back, rumbling alt. rock jam...
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DevilDriver- Outlaws ‘Til The End Vol. 1

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  15th July 2018
Coming together after the breakup of vocalist Dez Fafara’s previous band, Nu Metal merchants Coal Chamber, DevilDriver delivered tight, groovy melodic death metal. Following the excellent album Pray For Villains,...

Blog

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Opinion: Politics is Part of the DNA of Heavy Music

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  16th January 2021
Just what we need right now: more conversation about politics. Thankfully though, this article isn’t for you. It’s for me personally to exorcise my frustration at comments like “keep politics...
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A Tribute to Riley Gale

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  1st September 2020
Image by Damian John   When it was reported last week that Power Trip frontman Riley Gale had passed away, a great sense of loss echoed throughout the rock and...
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MMH Radio’s Top Ten Ronnie James Dio Songs

By  Matt Noble  /  16th May 2020
It’s hard to believe we’ve been without Ronnie James Dio for an entire decade. There’s not much I can say about him that’s already been said. His voice? His lyrics?...
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The Menzingers Announce New Album and Tour, and Release New Single

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  15th July 2019
Philadelphia-based punk band, The Menzingers will release their sixth studio record 'Hello Exile' on October 04 via Epitaph. The album arrives as the follow-up to the band’s 2017 critically acclaimed release 'After The Party', which debuted...
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Conclusion- 50 Years Of Metal

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  25th April 2019
It's been nearly two weeks since our daily discussion of each year in the history of metal ended and nearly a week since we had a live celebration of this...
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Layne Staley: A Tribute- 50 Years of Metal

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  24th March 2019
Image Credit Alfredo Pangue   By the time I discovered the music of Alice in Chains I was just about ready to give up on grunge. As I grew up...
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50 Years Of Heavy Metal: Introduction

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  23rd February 2019
In 1969, a group of four young musicians in Birmingham were feeling disconnected from the hippy dream. Tony Iommi, Terrance “Geezer” Butler, John “Ozzy” Osbourne and Bill Ward ended up...
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Midlands Metalheads Albums of 2018

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  24th December 2018
2018 has been an incredible year for rock music- legends have released astounding albums, bands that never got the attention they deserved made astounding comebacks and new bands across the...
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Heavy Music Awards 2018 Picks And Predictions

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  21st August 2018
Following another great year for heavy music, it only makes sense that someone recognise the very best bands, artist and others working around the music we love so much. Thankfully...
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2018 – 10 of the best albums so far

By  David Steed  /  20th July 2018
There is no arguing the fact that 2018 has been spoiling us rock fans absolutely rotten. There has been no shortage of releases from across the musical spectrum, whether that...
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Download’s Impact On The World Of Rock: A Brief Overview

By  Matthew_Brooks  /  14th May 2018
Download is unarguably the definitive rock festival of the British summer, and is one of few festivals that can be mentioned in the same breath as Wacken and Hellfest in...