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Bloodstock 2026 reveals first Metal 2 The Masses winners, lineup changes, and site updates
With just eight weeks to go until heavy metal fans descend upon Catton Park, the organisers of Bloodstock Open Air 2026 have unleashed a massive wave of festival updates. The announcement covers everything from the first batch of regional band winners and crucial lineup alterations to on-site charity events and expanded sustainable travel initiatives for … Continue reading Bloodstock 2026 reveals first Metal 2 The Masses winners, lineup changes, and site updates -
F & L 20 for 15 (15th Anniversary Post)
Well, this is a somewhat significant anniversary. On this day 15 years ago, I launched this blog. I figured it was something I’d do for a little while. And now “a little while” has turned into a decade-and-a-half and over 2,700 reviews. On day one, I stated that I’d only be reviewing “old school punk rock and its immediate variants.” Clearly, my mission has evolved. I doubt I’ll still be doing Faster and Louder in five more years, so this is most likely its last big milestone anniversary. Much about music has changed in the last 15 years. Much about the world has changed in the last 15 years. But I’ve managed to remain enthusiastic and consistent in maintaining this blog, which is somewhat surprising given that I tried to “retire” from writing about music numerous times in the past.My longest “retirement” was the three-and-a-half years that preceded me starting F & L. When I came back into this world, I did it on my terms. I vowed only to write about music I liked. I wasn’t going to be a “critic,” nor was I going to review stuff just because someone asked me to. I was just going to be a fan and spread the gospel about bands I was into. I envisioned myself as an evangelist for independent music.
I am so against self-promotion that I don’t even feel particularly comfortable writing this post. But there’s a reason why I’m still here 15 years later: I really love this music I write about! So I thought a fun thing to do for today would be for me to compile a list of my favorite albums from these past 15 years. More or less, these are the 15 albums I’ve listened to the most since 2011 — the ones I keep going back to and the ones I’ll want to own on vinyl if I ever have the space for a record room. On that note, let’s go!
20. The Exbats – Song Machine (2023)
On Song Machine, the greatest ’60s pop band of the 21st century set the Wayback Machine for 1971 and released one of the most perfectly-titled albums in the history of recorded music. Song Machine finds daughter/dad duo Inez and Kenny McLain delivering one could-have-been ’70s AM radio hit after another — with timeless melodies and majestic harmonies reigning supreme as always. How do soft rock, bubblegum, and sunshine pop vibes fit in with The Exbats’ signature pop classicism and punk spirit? Gloriously, it turns out. We have not heard any new music from this band since Song Machine, and that bums me out.
19. The Gaggers – Gag on This (2018)
Is it cheating to include a singles collection? Who cares? When it comes to snotty old school punk rock, this album earns a seat at the table with the all-time greats.
18. The Yum Yums – For Those About To Pop! (2020)
The title says it all. This is the magnum opus from Morten Henriksen and his merry band of power pop/bubblegum punk enthusiasts: 14 tracks of pure sonic sugar for the eternal teenager in all of us.
17. Pale Lips – Wanna Be Bad (2016)
This is the only band to appear twice on this list. Everyone talks about “Mary-Lou Sniffin’ Glue,” but how great are “Jangaroo” and “Rock ‘N’ Roll Dipshit”?
16. Night Birds – Mutiny at Muscle Beach (2015)
The entire Night Birds catalog is not to be fucked with, but they were at the peak of their powers on this particular record, a genuine classic of modern-day American hardcore punk. “Left in the Middle” was so prophetic that it still gives me chills.
15. honeychain – Crushed (2017)
I can’t believe this album isn’t talked about more often. It’s one of the best punk-inspired power pop records ever made, and Hillary Burton’s songwriting is extraordinary. Kim Shattuck produced this album, so those ’90s punky alt-rock vibes are no accident. A perfect record!
14. Natalie Sweet – Oh, By The Way… (2019)
Since a debut Shanghais album and a sophomore Tina and the Total Babes album never got made, Natalie Sweet and Travis Ramin got together and collaborated on this gem. Textbook power pop with a punk rock attitude and hit songs for days.
13. The Dahlmanns – All Dahled Up (2011)
When it comes to defining power pop bands of the past 15 years, The Dahlmanns take a back seat to no one. Their new album is incredible as well.
12. Rich Ragany – You Can Get Dark with Me (2024)
I’ve been championing Rich Ragany for years. I have raved about albums he has done with Role Models, The Digressions, and now The Sideshows. But on this intimate solo album, Rags crafted his masterpiece. These are songs that hit me deep in my soul. When I call Rags one of our greatest living songwriters, I can point to You Can Get Dark with Me as Exhibit A.
11. The Melmacs – Good Advice (2022)
True to its title, this debut from Germany’s most lovable power pop/punk band is full of indispensable life advice….and amazing tunes.
10. Hayley and the Crushers – Modern Adult Kicks (2022)
2020’s Vintage Millennial was the record that made me notice that Hayley and the Crushers had become something special, but Modern Adult Kicks took it to another level. All those punk, pop, surf, and new wave influences come together here to form a truly great modern & mature rock album that has surely gone platinum in some alternate universe I wish I could be living in.
9. The Cheap Cassettes – They’ll Never Forgive You for Pop (2024)
There are few precedents in music history for what happened here. A great band with one vocalist/songwriter brings in a second vocalist/songwriter and turns into an even greater band. Charles Matthews and Scott Sutherland went together like peanut butter and jelly, and I’m pretty sure everyone has forgiven them for pop.
8. Phone Jerks – self-titled (2018)
In just a couple years, Phone Jerks went from being a band I probably liked mainly because they were one of the few bands out there doing real-deal ’90s-style garage punk to a band I liked because they were genuinely great. Much has been made of Phone Jerks knowing how to rip off all the right bands, but when I listen to this record now, I’m struck by how killer these tunes are. Sure, they were not adverse to lifting directly from the Rip Off Records catalog, but they also brought those early American and Aussie punk influences that are often missing from budget rock. This may very well be the best album Alien Snatch Records has ever released.
7. Nato Coles and the Blue Diamond Band – Promises to Deliver (2013)
I didn’t get fully into this album until Rum Bar Records reissued it, but once I did, I played it to death and still do. Heartland rock meets Midwestern punk done to perfection. Rock ‘n’ roll with soul. If I ever have a baseball career, the title track will be my walk-up song.
6. Something Fierce – Don’t Be So Cruel (2011)
I reviewed this album 15 years ago today — meaning this was one of the records that made me want to write about music again. And it still holds up. This was classic punk rock with progressive intentions. Imagine The Clash in 1982 if they’d been more into power pop and Wire’s Pink Flag. It was a shame that they never followed this album. But what a way to go out!
5. Midnite Snaxxx – Chew on This (2017)
When it comes to straight-forward old school punk with pop hooks, this album is worthy of modern classic status. Dulcinea Gonzalez is an all-time great in the punk world.
4. The Cry! – self-titled (2011)
I can still remember how floored I was when Greg Mongroll turned me on to this record. This debut from Portland, Oregon’s The Cry! is the embodiment of perfect power pop with just the right amount of ’50s/’60s rock ‘n’ roll flavor and modern punk influence in the mix.
3. Kurt Baker – Brand New Beat (2012)
This album practically launched a new genre of music: power pop played by ’90s pop-punk kids. Its influence is undeniable, and this set of songs (co-written by Wyatt Funderburk) perfectly defines Kurt Baker and his “Have a good time all the time!” persona in the 2010s. You could argue that the Baker/Funderburk collaborations only got better over the years, but this one is special to me because it came first!
2. The Speedways – Radio Sounds (2020)
I’ll put this record up against almost any power pop album ever made. Matt Julian isn’t just a great power pop songwriter. He’s a great songwriter, period.
1. Pale Lips – After Dark (2019)
This holds the top spot because numbers don’t lie. I’ve listened to this record more times than I’ve listened to any record on this list. This is everything rock ‘n’ roll music ought to be. These songs are fun and full of energy, and they’re also smart and full of substance. Toss ’70s punk, power pop, girl groups, garage punk, and straight-up rock ‘n’ roll in a blender, mix thoroughly, add oodles of charm, gusto, and effortless cool, and you’ve got yourself a classic record. It’s no shocker that members of this band have gone on to do more amazing things.
Honorable Mentions
Los Pepes – For Everyone (2014)
Brad Marino – Extra Credit (2019)
Fashionism – Smash Singles (2018)The Sleeveens – self-titled (2024)So there you have it: a little look back at my favorite records since 2011. Now I can return to looking straight ahead and forward. When I launched this blog, I had just turned 40. Now I’m 55. I’ve gone from a young man to an entry-level senior citizen. Back then, I never could have envisioned a time when literally hundreds of thousands of songs would be getting released daily and even little-known music bloggers like me would have their inboxes inundated with communication from professional publicists. In theory, the move away from traditional media controlling the music scene should have led to the music mattering more than marketing and promotion. But the opposite has happened. There’s so much competition out there for people’s time and attention that you have to hustle just to get anyone to give a damn about this music that you’re putting your heart and soul into. And that’s what inspires me to keep doing what I’m doing. I’m not trying to make anyone rich or famous. But if I can write about a band I love and turn one or two people into fans as well, then I’ve made some sort of small difference.
Whether you’ve been along for the ride from the start or are tuning in for the very first time, thanks for taking the time to check out the music I feature here. And of course, thanks to all of you who make this amazing music and give me a reason to keep spreading the gospel!
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unpeople Announce Debut Album ‘we are unpeople’
After building up an huge head of steam these past couple of years, unpeople have now unveiled the details of their biggest statement yet.
The band’s debut album will be titled ‘we are unpeople’ and will be released on October 09 via SharpTone Records. It’s the band’s first full body of work since their 2024 EP ‘unpeople’.
The band had this to say about it, stating, ‘we are unpeople’ is released into the world on October 9th and we couldn’t be more proud of it”, say the band. “We collectively put our absolute everything into it and we can’t wait to share it with you all!The artwork looks like this:
Whilst the tracklisting is like this:
1. clouds
2. friends
3. the garden
4. swallow
5. bottle it
6. blueprints
7. haunted
8. waste
9. look up
10. kangareuben
11. smother
12. as you were
The keen eyed among you will see that the record features their already iconic track ‘the garden’ as well as ‘waste’ and ‘smother’ from their debut EP, as well as recently shared single ‘clouds’.
It also features freshly unleased track ‘friends’, a rip-roaring, rallying and raw piece of fun and fierce post-everything. Brimming with throat-shredding screams, insatiable melodies and plenty of angular intent, it’s a real earworm.
Vocalist Jake Crawford had this to say about the tune:
“‘friends’ is essentially a love song from the perspective of someone who is wholly sceptical about the very concept of love and what it’s come to mean in a modern context. I am essentially saying I am going to kill the very concept of love before it’s even had a chance to get a hold of me – I am that afraid of being that vulnerable. I’d rather not bother than risk saying something I don’t mean, and then pay for it emotionally down the line. I’m fully aware that this is not necessarily healthy, but the mind takes you to some strange places when strong feelings are involved.”The post unpeople Announce Debut Album ‘we are unpeople’ appeared first on Rock Sound.
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“Between girls, drugs and an entourage he’d bring everywhere, Pete was out of his mind more than at any other point”: How I Don’t Wanna Be Me gave gothic metal icons Type O Negative their last big anthem, but spelled the start of the end
I Don’t Wanna Be Me is one of Type Of Negative’s hallmark songs, but the story of its conception was, typically, surrounded by controversy, mayhem and a dose of black humour -
TULUS – Morbid Desires
Tulus is one of the long-running acts of the Norwegian black metal scene, returning on March 27, 2026 with their eighth full-length album. Morbid Desires was released by Darkness Shall Rise Productions on CD, vinyl and cassette. Musically, Tulus do not stray from their established path. The album is still built on mid-paced, crushing black […] -
“We did 57 festivals. They assumed I trashed my guitar at every one, and at every other gig. But Pete Townshend would have the edge over me”: Did Muse’s Matt Bellamy really earn his Guinness world record?
Ambitious from the start, the conspiracy-theory obsessives were always going to have to move on from their early days of excess. This is how they did it -
Iconic Venue Barfly To Reopen, Frank Turner To Play Launch Party
The Barfly is officially back, returning to Camden’s high street after a decade, and kicking off another special chapter in the capital’s live music history.
The venue that has played host to everyone from Twenty One Pilots to The 1975, My Chemical Romance to The Cure, became the Camden Assembly back in 2016. But under new ownership the venue is returning to its roots, and kicking off with a special launch party on June 22.
And there are few more fitting artists to signal its return than Frank Turner, who played the venue as his first ever show with his old band Million Dead 25 years ago. Now coming back to ring in a new chapter, it is set to be a celebratory, intimate and emotional affair.
You can sign up for the chance to get tickets from right here.
The post Iconic Venue Barfly To Reopen, Frank Turner To Play Launch Party appeared first on Rock Sound.
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“You don’t know my husband, OK? I know my husband”: Sharon and Jack Osbourne defend AI Ozzy avatar amidst “cash grab” allegations
The mother and son say that the project is about making sure the Prince Of Darkness is “remembered” following his death last July -
Reviews: Evergrey, Ditheist, Kid Feral, Sleepbomb (Simon Black, Mark Young, GC & Adz Redpath)
Evergrey – Architects Of A New Weave (Napalm Records) [Simon Black]
Evergrey are another act absolutely in my sweet spot but to whom I only came upon fairly late in the day a couple of albums back. Architects Of A New Weave is, believe it or not, their fifteenth studio recording. The line-up may have ebbed and flowed a lot in that time (and indeed quite a lot recently), but the consistency and quality have not, and I remain surprised that this unique and prolific act have not achieved more success than they have, because it’s surely deserved.
This new opus does not buck the trend.
A conceptual piece thematically (something Evergrey are no strangers to) the album starts a little clunkily with a narrative opening, which frankly serves little purpose other than to give the band 90 seconds to get on stage when playing live. At first I’m a little disorientated by the slightly jumbled opening bars of the opener proper – The Shadow Self, although once it gets going it delivers exactly the kind of catchy, mood and haunting vocal chorus hook that makes this band so distinctive.
The title track then proceeds to knock things out of the park, along with any of my concerns. Whilst clearly the strongest track of the crop, it’s also probably one of their best songs to date, and one I suspect is going to be in the set live for some time.
The record continues mostly in the darkly melodic, progressive-tinged vein that they are such masters at, but the pitch and tone do head into faster and more upbeat terrify from time to time, varying the pace at just the moment when things could get repetitive. There’s a slightly different and edgy vibe to this disk as well, and perhaps the line up fluctuations have been therapeutic as well, because at this stage in their careers it would be easy to just stick to what you know, but overall this feel like a positive step in a slightly different direction without losing the key sound which makes them so recognisably unique. 9/10
Ditheist – Cosmic Liar (Heathen Tribes) [Mark Young]
Ditheist, hailing from Chicago come in and drop what is essentially a decent bit of Death/Grind for their second full length release, Cosmic Liar. What you get is 8 songs that stick to a plan with little deviation in how each of the tracks deploy. There are moments where they spread their approach wider, such as the middle eastern tinge to Nyarlathotep but I’m getting ahead of myself by not starting at the beginning.It’s an odd one as the opening trio of Cosmic Liar, Evil To Live and Kill The Priest are relatively ok and represent a fairly strong start. Each of these take the core requirements for extreme music and apply generously like they are spending someone else’s money. For me, they don’t do enough to grab and to be honest I thought that this would be the general theme running through it.When we get to Nyarlathotep suddenly you sit up and take notice. This is a grand moment, carrying an epic feel to it where everything clicks into place. Riffs are huge with a cracking pace to them that drops in and out to suit. Throw in a lead break that does a lot in quick time and we are off with renewed interest.Apoplectic Delirium follows and keeps that intent steady, the band returning to a more traditional death metal sound which for me is a shame but this is still a strong track. One of the things that does punch through is the feeling that they are consciously being a little loose instead of being rigidly fixed to time. As a result of this you have a more organic touch to it. In any event its two for two. This upward swing continues with Covenant Ov Torture, a furious stab at old school goodness that Vader would be happy with.
The closing act consists of Mouth Of Hell and Singularity and its great to hear and acknowledge that they don’t drop the ball at the end. Mouth Of Hell is rapid, full of razor sharp riffs and that unswerving looseness. Its like a cart trying to come off the rails, tipping to one side before they manage to pull it back to relatively safety. It’s a strict combination of speed and brutality, a straightforward kick to the skull that is sure to scratch the itch of anyone looking for new death metal.Of course it has to come to an end and Singularity holds that position. This takes another turn, mixing in a wicked groove to the head kicking arrangements they have been dropping here. I go on about how the last song can really make or break an album and be the reason for future listens. Singularity builds on the good work that started with Nyarlathotep and provides a strong finish that I really wasn’t expecting earlier.
It is a literal album of two halves, one that starts slowly and finishes on a high. In terms of extreme music, its certainly worth a listen and I would have loved to have heard more like Nyarlathotep because they did it so well. It certainly represents the moment where things picked up but ultimately you have a decent bit of death metal. 7/10
Kid, Feral – 2019 (Backpack Records) [GC]
When you see the writing process for this record began all the way back in 2018, you wonder what has taken them so long to get it released, apparently parts of the songs have been re-written several time and they wanted to really take time to make sur everything was on point!? 8 years is a long time to spend on an album by anyone’s standards, so is 2019 worth the wait?
It gets going with Funeral In A Grocery Store which is a bit of a whirlwind it has the essence of a great screamo track but the way it dips in then mixes the jagged Dillinger Escape Plan style guitars in there but it feels a little short, maybe I’m missing something but the build-up feels like it needs to be more dramatic to have the full affect they are aiming for?Stop ‘N Go is a blur of noise over it 54 second run time and it feel like there is something there and I appreciate a short track more than most people but here the drama just seems to get lost, Substance is a bit more what I am looking for, the song has a bit more body to it and allows for a build-up and the emotion gets to really take the lead and the chaotic-ness of it all really takes it up to another level.Medieval Poetry again has the same sort of stylistic vibe and carries the emotion forward on a seething wave of anger, which grabs the attention and makes you really invest into the sound a bit more its melds the unpredictable and the heartfelt nature that is needed and you can really feel the energy through the whole track and it ends in a gloriously batshit way as well which is always a bonus.Pothead Archaeologist is a blink and you will miss it 51 second blast of unhinged noise that arrives, kick you in the teeth and then just leaves, no nuanced soft sections or emotional tug, just pure unbridled savagery which is nicely done and mixed in after a couple or more though provoking tracks.With Memories From A Stamp Collection you can just picture a shitty practice room somewhere in the mid 00’s with 4 guys with t-shirts that are 3 sizes too small, skinny jeans, Converse and black Romulan haircuts just chucking their instruments about and diving all over each other and hoping a song comes out of it and it sort of does in a way, again the main word that comes back to me is chaotic and honestly I’m not sure if that’s in a good or bad way?I Want To Be Your Canopy then of course just veers off in a totally new direction and throw in some black metal, just because, you know why not they have tried everything else so they may as well give this a bit of a go and honestly? It works it adds more drama to the overall sound of the song and gives it an interesting backdrop against the more emo-y sections an unexpected and savage mix of styles that compliment each other well.Puddle Jumper is the last track to give us one last weird pummelling, it smashes together the emo soft bits with more unwillingly bonkers mathcore which is the basis of screamo and they absolutely nail it here.
Reading over the PR for this I wasn’t 100% sure what I was expecting really, what I got was lots of chaos and emotion, sometimes mixed together really well, sometimes they allowed their intrusive thoughts take over and let them get too involved and the sound got a bit too much and didn’t make much sense but overall, I enjoyed what I heard and would be interested to see where they go from here in the future. 7/10
Sleepbomb – Songs In The Key Of Conan (Koolarrow records) [Adz Redpath]
After over a decade of fluctuating lineups with a stable core of 3 members this San Francisco Horror/Doom metal band provides here their interpretation of what the original Conan movie from 1982 should have had as a soundtrack. This is an intriguing and attractive concept to a movie buff such as myself and seeing their prior influences on past releases including the mighty George Romero I was excited to broach this and hear what vision this band was going to put forth. as a whole.
The production work on show is very solid here and undulates with atmosphere throughout, balanced and well mixed with a great use of instrumentation on show here although nothing of any particular prowess or technicality and with a lot of repetitive themes and time signatures. At times it does feel like a click was never used although that only serves to give the album a more organic feel and does not detract from what’s on show here. Musically the tracks flow well although it’s hard to find any stand outs amongst this release as it truly does feel more akin to a movie soundtrack than an album of songs that you will want to repeatedly listen to.
This could be epitomised as great background music with truly solid production and some really spacious undertones and musical soundscapes, but feels like an overly contrived concept that in all honesty I will be unlikely to check again unfortunately and was quite a slog for a newcomer to the group to get through. They fulfil what is a very niche vision that within the movie industry may do well but for the average fan of doom or metal is unlikely to garner much interest .
I don’t like to go full Dave Portnoy but it does seem to be my way with reviews and this although well constructed fails to deliver more than a conceptual idea. 5/10 -
Motörhead Announce 7th Lemmy Forever Ceremony At Download Festival 2026
On June 12th, 2026 at 3:00 PM local time in Donington, we will once again gather to celebrate our friend, our brother, and one of rock ’n’ roll’s greatest icons, Lemmy Kilmister, at the legendary Download Festival. As part of the ongoing Lemmy Forever initiative, a special ceremony will take place at the onsite Lemmy’s […]
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