The End Archives

Q&A: Massive Attack producer Neil Davidge scores the next chapter in Halo’s legacy

Massive Attack producer Neil Davidge was tapped to score the latest iteration of the Halo series, Halo 4. We talked to him about fandom, scale, and the challenges of working in interactive media.

ALARM’s 50 Favorite Albums of 2012

Another year, another torrential downpour of albums across our desks. As always, we encountered way too much amazing music, from Meshuggah to The Mars Volta, Converge, Killer Mike, P.O.S, and many more.

The soundtrack to alien killing: Massive Attack producer unveils Halo 4 OST

Massive Attack producer and co-writer Neil Davidge has debuted a single from the upcoming Halo 4 soundtrack, which accompanies one of the season’s most anticipated video games.

Review: Scott Lucas & The Married Men’s Blood Half Moon

Scott Lucas & The Married Men: Blood Half Moon (The End, 6/5/12)

“Blood Half Moons”

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In 2009, Local H front-man Scott Lucas found himself with a batch of songs — intended to win back an ex — that didn’t seem to fit within the Chicago two-piece’s hard-rock repertoire. So, rather than let the material go unreleased, he did what many musicians with a secret soft side are wont to do: he went solo.

Review: Bereft’s Leichenhaus

Bereft: Leichenhaus (The End)

“The Coldest Orchestra”

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In a field as saturated as doom metal, the only way to make a splash is to play heavier and harder than the band before. Bereft — a Los Angeles quartet featuring members of Intronaut, Graviton, Abysmal Dawn, and The Faceless — is clearly pushing ahead with that mentality on its debut album, Leichenhaus. The seven song, 40-minute onslaught has no breaks and no mercy.

Jarboe: Howling Artistry Born of Swans

Jarboe, a rare female crusader of the male-dominated metal scene, developed her formidable, performance-art-inspired presence as a member of influential no-wave band Swans.

100 Unheralded Albums from 2010

Among the thousands of under-appreciated or under-publicized albums that were released in 2010, hundreds became our favorites and were presented in ALARM and on AlarmPress.com. Of those, we pared down to 100 outstanding releases, leaving no genre unexplored in our list of this year’s overlooked gems.

50 Unheralded Albums from 2009

ALARM leaves no genre unloved in our round-up of 50 albums that didn’t receive enough attention in 2009.

Ten Albums to Anticipate This Spring

As the weather stops being oppressive in the Northern Hemisphere, a number of potentially great albums from countless genres are on the way. Here’s a list of ten that have us excited, including efforts from Isis, MF Doom, Coalesce, Prefuse 73, Mr. Lif, and more.

Weekly Music News Roundup

Announcements are made for new albums from Irepress, Karl Sanders, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and Staff Benda Bilili — a group of paraplegic Congolese street musicians.

Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey releases its new studio album for free; Secret Chiefs 3 announces a concert DVD; Les Claypool announces an outstanding mini festival that will be in a town near you. This and more after the jump.