It is undeniable that we live in uncertain and troubled times, a period of which this pandemic we’re struggling through is but the latest and perhaps most evident aspect. Life is increasingly complicated and burdens seem to get harder and harder to carry with each passing year, so the need to seek solace and to take refuge in things that you know you can count on becomes more and more urgent. Well, dear friend, put down those burdens for a little while, because Monolord have got your back. Ever since 2013, when the dormant power of the Monolord became too much for a simple boogie rock band called Marulk – featuring a certain Thomas V Jäger and Esben Willems respectively on guitars/vocals and drums already – to contain, that this Swedish trio’s almost endearingly relentless dedication to The Riff has been something you can count on, almost as sure as the sun that rises every morning above your head. Thomas and Esben joined bassist Mika Häkki, and ever since then they have been compelled by the power of the riff, with no time for any frills like line-up changes or inane experimentations just for the sake of it. Theirs is a higher calling, a purer statement of intentions. After all, their bandname is “a paraphrase of an unspeakable name of an unspeakable entity that not even we dare to mention,” as Esben explains. And if you don’t like that description, Thomas has another suggestion: “make one up, and it is true!"

Revan is a heavy metal band from Denton, Texas. The group is made up of Anthony Olgin, Cameron Hinojosa and Darren Converse.

"The cast of Radioactivity reads like the credits to an all-star lineup of Texas punk and garage rock royalty, including members of The Marked Men, Mind Spiders, Bad Sports, Wax Museums, The Reds, VIDEO, and The Novice. Jeff Burke is one of the most distinctive songwriters in the punk rock underground, and these songs will sound instantly familiar to any fans of the aforementioned. Radioactivity's first LP was rightly hailed as a sort of sequel to The Marked Men's remarkable run through the first decade of the millennium, and while Silent Kill bears the unmistakable hallmarks of that band's tightly wound ""Denton sound,"" Radioactivity can now lay claim to a sonic territory of their very own. Burke's distinctive hooks dig as deep as ever, but the scope of his vision has expanded. Although the twelve songs on Silent Kill abide one strict rule--providing garage punk pleasure at all costs--Radioactivity bend that mandate in myriad ways. Breathless ragers like ""Battered"" and ""No Alarm"" are as fleet and raw as anything in the combined canon of Radioactivity's members, while mid-tempo heartbreakers ""Way Out,"" ""Connection"" and ""Where I Come From"" find Burke and company opening up their sound to let in a little tenderness. And then there are songs like ""Not Here"" or ""With You,"" which enact perfect unions of melody and kinetic energy. Admirers of Burke's legacy will be not only satisfied, but pleasantly surprised. Homebase: Denton, Texas Label: Dirtnap Records"