Brand new review of THE WAYWARD record from our friends at HellrideMusic is posted below –

“It’s been too long since I’ve heard anything new from The Wayward (hailing from Baltimore, Maryland and Fairfax, Virginia respectively). The destructively progressive, noise-rock trio still has the distinguished honor of being one of the tightest, most technically impressive live acts I’ve ever seen!

Formed out of the ashes of the godly Carrion with the only difference being Jesse Skrobiz replacing Dustin Swanson on bass (Nate Simms is still bashing the kit and Nick Skrobiz is still dazzling with his proficient noise-rock shred and lacerated vocal chords), The Wayward still tours relentlessly, but haven’t released any new material since 2007’s shamefully underrated opus, Overexposure.

Unveiled at the tail end of 2009, the trio’s latest 7” recording features two newer cuts and a cover of The Birthday Party’s “The Friend Catcher.” Basically, the original compositions are sheer class, and the band couldn’t have chosen a better cover, as there’s more than a few similarities between the two outfit’s jagged, rhythmic workouts and scraping guitar textures. Their cover is a spot on rendition of the original with Nick Skrobiz mutating his scathing howl into the drugged out drawl of TBP’s very own Nick Cave. The major different is that The Wayward’s version is so damn heavy, it’s as much of an exercise in stomping, noise-damaged doom as it is a nod to the legendary, originators! Fucking awesome stuff, and they even renamed it as “The Chum Snatcher,” which is telltale of its pulsating, bone-rattling surge.

They didn’t skimp on the original material either. Side A will give you more than a run for your money with “Alzheimer’s” and “Ripcord.” This pair of dizzying, almost virtuoso-esque noise-prog jams is as tricky, agitated and winding as anything the band has ever done. “Alzheimer’s” throws early Today is the Day, Big Black, King Crimson and Black Flag into a room and let’s ‘em duke it out for the top dog award. Sporting an intro with deliberately slow pacing, a murky bass presence and spoken vocals, it isn’t long before this towering inferno burns up high into a sky of manic drumming (swift, punctuated fills unload by the bucketful and Simms proves he’s capable of literally rolling across his kit for days on end), unbelievable guitar wizardry that toys with the type of jazzy progressions and noisy punk abandon that was the mark of Am-Rep TITD with bass licks to match, all the while Nick’s patented, semi-melodic shout rings out like a gunshot above the complexity laden din produced by the instruments.

If Am-Rep was still around, I guarantee they would have put out every Carrion and The Wayward release to come down the pike. “Alzheimer’s” is without a doubt one of the tensest, most varied weapons the band has added to their arsenal thus far. “Ripcord” is much shorter on the other hand and melds the broken back punk ethos of Black Flag with the number crunching arrangements of King Crimson circa their debut In the Court of the Crimson King.

I’m floored by this 7” and everything the members have done past and present. The only complaint I can levy against the band is that there is never enough of The Wayward to go around. Three new tracks is both a sensuous fuck and a blue balling tease, but I’ll take any loving I can get from the band at this point. It’s been too long since we’ve heard from you Wayward…please don’t make it a habit! Highly recommended, now bring on a new LP and another Pittsburgh stop and we’ll be in business.” – Jay Snyder // HellrideMusic.com

FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORED!!!!!!!!!

Not so new but RECENT review of BALACLAVA’s “Shame” EP up over at DeafSparrow.com, THEY GAVE IT A 3.5 out of 5!!

“Balaclava call Richmond home but live somewhere between punk and metal. And yeah, hardcore too. Shame is their seven inch released by Forcefield Records and it packs four songs of massive riffs, post hardcore structures (here and there but not all over) and plenty of metallic brutality. Balaclava sound to me like the punk band that never intended to come out even as slightly metal, but whose sounds came out so fluidly and flowed so organically they just couldn’t help it. “Fences” is as nice as this quartet is willing to play, and to be frank, it ain’t that nice. The track starts clear, only to distort to a cruel mid tempo. The other three songs are way harsher, with faster tempos and the constancy of a D beat band with too much in their mind.” – DeafSparrow.com