I came of age amid the opening cusp of the time of the standardized test. During elementary school, the California Achievement Test came around every year to classify the dumbs from the smarts, and offer parents tangible quantification of their child’s intellectual worth.

I loved the tests. I was great…

Oh hi! Come right in. I’m guessing you saw the house on Zillow? Isn’t the future great? Well, this is it. What’s that? Yes, I know we only put two pictures of the exterior online, and that they were taken from down the street and out of focus, but that’s…

Erland are the definition of a DIY band. From funding their album to crossing the country on their first tour, they handle every detail of their band themselves. With this DIY work ethic comes their debut album, On Our Side. A fantastic and honest look at life with an underlying…

Just when the world seemed in dire need of a great noise rock band, Metz came along. Actually, the Ottawa-based trio have been around for a while, relentlessly touring, recording, and creating chaos. Their amped-up, fuzzed-out sludge pop won them a dedicated following, as well as comparisons to Big…

East Of The Wall remains one of the most sonically engaging metal acts around today. The South Jersey-based collective, who author a befuddling dichotomy of visceral, pummeling sludge metal and discerning progressive rock meanderings, are among the most prolific of their ilk. Always looking forward, they release a new…

(Photo by Rachel Perrotta)

Trenton-based aggressive metal group Beyond Dishonor are working like a powerhouse, staying incredibly busy this year. With a new record on the brink, Beyond Dishonor have big tour plans beginning this spring. Their soon-to-be released album, Generations, takes on a darker life than records past with…

With Sheffield, UK as their hometown, While She Sleeps are taking a leap of faith in their journey to America to tour for the first time this spring. Still performing on the success of 2012’s This Is The Six, their first full-length released via Search And Destroy, the group…

California-based indie rock band Wavves have just released their anticipated full-length, Afraid Of Heights. They’re currently singed to Mom + Pop Music, with this CD as their fourth so far. The album has been well-received, much like its predecessor, King Of The Beach.

Wavves have just come off several…

For the past few decades, patrons at one particular corner pub in Carteret have been seeing four colorful and oddly familiar figures hanging around by the back wall of the bar’s garage. They huddle together at the edge of the parking lot behind the tall blue plastic recycling barrels.…

Some professional sports teams—with the exception of the Miami Marlins and Houston Astros—have been “making it rain” like Adam “Pacman” Jones at a Vegas strip club. Money hasn’t been much of an issue when it comes to re-signing key players and making sure they don’t take their talents elsewhere.…