Saunter over to New Noise to hear a new song by Depth Beneath Us ahead of the band’s upcoming LP release on Aug. 1. Also, read insights on the song and LP, both called Descent, courtesy of Depth Beneath Us guitarist Matt Rockman.
Depth Beneath Us Rise to the Occasion on Epic New Single
Posted in Exclusives, Interviews with tags Depth Beneath Us on 06/04/2025 by Kurt OrzeckTodd Trainer on Surviving Shellac: ‘There’s Still a Massive Void There’
Posted in Interviews with tags Shellac, Steve Albini, Todd Trainer on 06/02/2025 by Kurt OrzeckOne of the greatest noise-rock drummers of all time granted yours truly his first interview following the still-unbelievable death of long-time Shellac bandmate Steve Albini, roughly a year after the underground legend’s tragic departure. Read one of two feature stories stemming from a truly heartfelt conversation via Music Connection.
Drifter Tests the Boundaries of Sludge-Metal on Debut LP
Posted in Interviews with tags Drifter on 05/23/2025 by Kurt OrzeckDrifter bassist/vocalist Dean Edington says the band from Kansas “want to see how far we can push the envelope before it becomes ludicrous.” Learn more about Edington’s thoughtful approach to making heavy music in my New Noise story on the band.
‘New Noise’ Editor Addison Herron-Wheeler Has the Purr-Fect Punk-Rock Cat
Posted in Interviews with tags Addison Herron-Wheeler, Cronos Compulsion on 05/23/2025 by Kurt OrzeckAddison Herron-Wheeler has a huge mutt, a fluffy black cat, and a fat ex-alley cat to ensure there’s never a dull moment in the life of the New Noise Editor.
Bruit ≤ Force Fans to Challenge Their Musical Horizons With New Album
Posted in Interviews with tags Bruit ≤ on 05/23/2025 by Kurt OrzeckThe Age of Ephemerality, the sophomore effort from France’s Bruit ≤, is a transfixing tornado that sweeps into its spiral numerous musical styles, moods, tones, volumes, and melodies. Read my interview via New Noise.
Fuzz Evil ‘Smear’-ing Boise with Punk-Rock Doom Tonight
Posted in Interviews with tags Fuzz Evil on 05/22/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
To use the most groan-inducing rhyme that we can conjure at the moment, buzz is building around Fuzz Evil, a distortion-heavy desert-doom quartet set to perform tonight at Realms Arcade in Boise. The four dudes share a strong affinity for the Stooges, and it shows in the ensconcing Smear Merchants, a new full-length the band unveiled almost two months ago to the day.
Fuzz Evil hail from Sierra Vista, Arizona, and feature drummer Kenneth (Cajun) Adam, baritone guitarist Preston Jennings, guitarist/vocalist Wayne Rudell, and bassist/vocalist Joseph Rudell. (As you probably surmised, the Rudells are brothers.) In addition to Smear Merchants‘ 10 slow-but-somehow-still-catchy songs, Smear Merchants marks a watershed moment for Fuzz Evil, as they reconfigured themselves from a trio into a four-piece.
Joseph (affectionately called “Joey” by his mother) humored us with his answers to a slew of questions we tossed Fuzz Evil’s way just three days ago.
Continue readingNow Playing: Felgrave, DVNE, A Flock Named Murder
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags A Flock Named Murder, Conan, Crematory, Dvne, Felgrave on 05/22/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Hop over to Treble‘s Patreon page to read my pithy remarks about the five records I’m most hooked on at the moment. No spoilers. Oh, wait, I’m gonna have to get around to changing the headline to this post …. and the image … and the tags. Cripes. Pretend you didn’t see any of those things and just clink on the link.
Club Night’s ‘Joy Coming Down’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Club Night on 05/22/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Joy Coming Down is an expertly crafted piece of work, as if Club Night—comprising guitarist Ian Tatum, bassist Devin Trainer, singer Josh Bertram and keyboardist/drummer Nick Cowman—can already see themselves playing it in full if not this year then on tours 10, 20 and 30 years from now. Read my lengthy review of the record on Treble.
Blood Monolith’s ‘Calling of Fire’: Two Cent Review
Posted in Album Reviews, Reviews with tags Blood Monolith on 05/21/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Don’t seep on my first story for Post-Trash, a new music website that launched six months ago and is catching on like an out of control blaze. In my first contribution to the website, I review The Calling of Fire, for which Profound Lore brain scramblers Blood Monolith relentlessly punish listeners over the course of 28 minutes.
Exclusive Album Premiere: Wipes’ ‘Wipes’
Posted in Exclusives, Interviews, News with tags Wipes on 05/21/2025 by Kurt Orzeck
Wipes are declaring Don’t Tell My Parents with the new LP that the noise-punk band will issue through Hex Records on Friday. But The Bad Penny is telling everyone we know about the righteously rambunctious by exclusively presenting a stream of the entire album today.
Not to be confused with Wipers, the influential Portland post-punk band that both Nirvana and the Melvins covered, the rather similar-sounding Wipes are still in their toddler years and hail from Allentown, Pennsylvania. Wipes carry the heavily distorted torch previously held by Wipers but are even more committed to making exuberant, off-kilter noise.
The band released new cuts “Social Mask” and “Stone Eater” earlier this year. Now, check out Don’t Tell My Parents in its entirety:
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The Bad Penny (beta) 