White Denim’s James Petralli talks celebrating 20 years of the band, maintaining a positive outlook, and more ahead of the release of his 13th album, 13. Read my full feature on FLOOD.
Photo credit: Charlie Weinmann
White Denim Aiming to Put Out New Punk LP ‘Sooner Than Later’
Posted in Interviews with tags James Petralli, White Denim on 04/26/2026 by Kurt Orzeck10 Best Free Bandcamp Downloads #10: Witch Ripper, Aidan Baker, Frankie Tillo, arm’s length, Gunner
Posted in MP3s with tags Aidan Baker, Alfred., arm's length, Feral Kids, Frankie Tillo, Gunner, Theophonos, VTB, Wario Pianesi, Witch Ripper on 04/09/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Sorry we’ve neglected you by letting too much time elapse between our last rundown of free music on Bandcamp and this new installment. We’ll make it up to you, we promise. Wait, why are we apologizing? And why are we making promises? Do you really exist? And, for that matter, do we? Probably not. But let’s pretend we do and have some fun. Here’s a whole bunch of handpicked music that you can smash and grab without breaking any laws.
(Note: If you’re financially capable of supporting any of these artists and/or labels, please consider doing so.)
1. Witch Ripper – _
No, you’re not inebriated – hell, maybe you are, but either way, you’re seeing the name of Witch Ripper’s first release as the band intended: a simple underscore. Released in November 2012, it’s fitting to revisit the EP now because the Seattle heavy-rock band’s newest album, Through the Hourglass, comes out tomorrow via Magnetic Eye Records.
2. arm’s length – “loathe” (early demo)
Are we absolutely certain that arm’s length is the best emo band that Ontario has ever produced? No, but we’ll leave it up to you to prove us wrong. (And that involves listening to this demo.) Whatever the case, the lovable lads are about to play a month’s worth of gigs across North America with support from The Callous Daoboys. Just when you thought every clever tour name had been used, these guys came up with a good one: “There’s a Whole World ….” The website for arm’s length lists all the dates.
Continue readingA Place to Bury Strangers’ ‘Rare and Deadly’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags a place to bury strangers on 04/09/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
It’s futile to source the origins of each song contained on Rare and Deadly, a collection of songs by A Place to Bury Strangers. Some are demos, some are B-sides, and others are incomplete tunes and sketches of songs that were never realized. What’s more important is that Rare and Deadly—unlike haphazardly assembled comps that are often released to fulfill an artist’s contractual obligation—captures the spirit of A Place to Bury Strangers in a way that is ingenious as the band itself. Read my full review on Treble.
Witch Ripper’s ‘Through the Hourglass’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Magnetic Eye, Witch Ripper on 04/07/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Witch Ripper’s kindred spirits – Mastodon, High on Fire and Baroness, to name a few – have done quite well for themselves thanks in part to keeping their creative juices flowing at practically all times. But by taking a slow-cooker approach instead, Seattle’s Witch Ripper have deftly avoided pitfalls like getting overexposed or even overplayed, and they’ve instead siphoned that time into developing a coherent and well-considered sound. Look no further than their new album, Through the Hourglass, which comes out Friday via Magnetic Eye Records. Read my full review via Veil of Sound.
Filth Is Eternal’s ‘Impossible World’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Filth Is Eternl on 04/07/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Vibrant, dexterous, and unrelentingly compelling, Seattle hardcore-punks Filth Is Eternal demonstrate on their newest album, Impossible World, that they’ve matured into a band adept at writing songs just two minutes in length. Read my full review courtesy of FLOOD.
Ponte Del Diavolo Take Stock of Their Crackerjack Catalog, Album by Album
Posted in Discographies, Exclusives with tags Ponte del Diavolo, Season of Mist on 04/07/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Aren’t yet acquainted with doomy troupe Ponte del Diavolo, which also incorporates black metal and post-punk into a distinct witches’ brew they’ve dubbed “blackened post-punk hell”? For shame! The quintet – which hails from Turin, Italy – have already made their mark since forming in 2020, thanks to two long-players and three EPs. And their growth spurt shows no signs of letting up, either.
Ponte del Diavolo cranked out their latest LP, De Venom Natura, in February through the esteemed Season of Mist. The effort – which features “Every Tongue Has Its Thorns,” “Lunga vita alla necrosi,” “Spirit, Blood, Poison, Ferment!” and even a cover of Bauhaus'”In the Flat Field” among its seven songs is continuing to win over metalheads drawn to bands that break just about every metal convention.
Featuring vocalist Erba del Diavolo, bassists Khrura Abro and Kratom, guitarist Nerium and drummer Segale Cornuta, the wildly adventurous De Venom Natura captures the band going where few metal musicians have dared go before. In the band’s own words, they say LP number two is “an alchemical meditation on the poisons of nature – seductive, transformative and deadly.”
As with any band that lives to explore uncharted territory, we hit up Ponte del Diavolo to find out how their development as a band led to the audaciously ambitious record of theirs that just dropped. In a Bad Penny exclusive, the quintet graciously broke down each of their releases with descriptions that elucidate how they became the band that they are today.
Continue readingDoppelgängers: Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme and The Pale Man From Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’
Posted in Doppelgängers, Features with tags Josh Homme, Queens of the Stone Age on 04/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
Who’d win in a bar fight?
José González’s ‘Against the Dying of the Light’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags José González, Junip on 04/06/2026 by Kurt Orzeck
With his fifth album, Swedish songwriter José González considers his deepest of existential queries while maintaining the effervescent, seductive sound that’s the strongest through line in his career. Read my full review courtesy of FLOOD.
The Bad Penny (beta) 