Music Reviews Episodes

This week, we're scratching The Itch to visit Cyco City! Or at least Reggie's in Chicago. Sumo Cyco finished their headlining tour with New York's Black Satellite there a couple weeks back, and The Itch's own Aaron was there to experience the sights, sounds, and even smells of the show (more on each in the episode). Along the way, The Itch makes a friend, creates its own fan club, shares a bandicap beef (shout out to Podioslave), and debuts a brand new segment! It's an eventful episode! Enj...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to debut a new segment! Flavor of the Week has been a staple of our radio show for years, and album reviews have always been part of the podcast, both as part of Roundup episodes and as larger, band exploration episodes. But we wanted the best of all worlds, so expect to see more of these shorter episodes zeroing in on our favorite new releases in the future. First up is Halestorm and their new album Back From the Dead. Halestorm is a favorite of Dan and his...

The Itch originally had plans to record a full episode on The Metallica Blacklist when it was released last year. Alas, it didn't come to be. But as we prepare our next batch of episodes (including multiple interviews and an entirely new episode type!), we wanted to share this short discussion where Dan guides us through the good, the bad, an the ugly of Metallica's monstrous covers collection. Enjoy! And hey, when you're done, follow our New Rock Roundup playlist and then connect with us! itc...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to finally give Papa Roach the full episode they deserve. We've mentioned Jacoby Shaddix and the gang in so many episodes that we felt it was time to sit down and give them the whole spotlight. And not a moment too soon, because their new album Ego Trip is definitely worth a conversation. So join us to discuss the band's history, our connections, and how they've weathered the storm of rock's trends. Enjoy! And hey, when you're done, follow our New Rock Round...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to wax nostalgic! 2002 was the year that all three members of The Itch graduated high school and became radio students in together in college. It was formative, transitional... and full of great rock. KC, Dan, and Aaron each picked three albums to represent the year, and collectively agreed on a tenth to represent the group. Enjoy a trip 20 years in the past as The Itch celebrates some rock anniversaries! And hey, when you're done, follow our New Rock Roundu...

This week, we're scratching The Itch for a roundup! Our first one of the year, in fact. KC, Dan, and Aaron have each brought a new rock album from the first quarter of 2022 to the table, and now it's time to sell you on why you should hear it! KC's choice, The Violent, released their long-awaited debut EP on March 11. Dan's choice, VRSTY, dropped the album Welcome Home back in January, and Aaron's choice, Bloodywood, released the album Rakshak in February. Enjoy! And hey, when you're done, foll...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to meet a longtime virtual friend! Kaz, host of The Heavy Rock Show on East London Radio, joins us face to screen to face for the first time to discuss UK rock, music journalism, and her new gig with Emerging Rock Bands! Along the way we'll spotlight some of these emerging artists, taking a deeper dive into Kaz's interview with Malxolm Brixkhouse and her love for Black Lakes and their debut album For All We've Left Behind. Enjoy! And hey, when you're do...

This week, we're scratching the itch for awards! We made the nominations, you chose the winners. The 2021 Itch Awards are here, and we're celebrating our favorite debuts, breakthroughs, comebacks, workhorses, EPs, and singles of the year... and taking a quick peek into 2022. Thank you to everyone who voted, and if you just discovered us, we hope you'll continue on this rock journey with us into another great year! And hey, if you want 10 brand new rock tracks each week chosen by us for you, fol...

This week, we're scratching the itch for a list! And not just any list, but our collective (and slightly contentious) list of the Top 10 Rock Albums of 2021. After so many bands put a pause on album releases in 2020 since they couldn't tour behind them, 2021 felt like someone took the cap off of a shaken up bottle of delicious Dr. Pepper and great music just exploded everywhere. Or something. Anyway, these albums rocked all of the face and should be immediately added to your listening rotation.....

This week, we're scratching The Itch for rock music awards! We're bringing nominees for seven categories as part of the 2021 Itch Awards, and we're leaving the vote in your hands! Listen to the episode to hear the categories and nominations, then come back here and click https://bit.ly/2021itchawards (which we've spelled out to make sure it can't be missed) and participate in a fun bit of ranked choice voting, aka a more fair way to discern victors! Also, we've compiled our Top 20 albums of 202...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to talk about Tom Morello! The man's been busy this year, releasing two full albums, an EP, making some guest appearances, and apparently working with 95% of all musicians in existence. So join us for a fun discussion of The Catastrophists EP (a collaboration with The Bloody Beetroots), The Atlas Underground Fire (a collaboration with more musicians), and The Atlas Underground Flood (a collaboration with all the rest). Plus... is another generation of Morello...

We had so much fun with our first Real-Time Reaction (to Korn's "Start The Healing") that we decided to do it again! Three Days Grace just dropped "So Called Life", the first single from their upcoming album Explosions, and The Itch is here for it! Enjoy. Video still not included, but feel free to synch it up on your own. You'll know when. And hey, when you're done, follow our New Rock Roundup playlist and then connect with us! itchrocks.com Twitter.com/itchrocks Facebook.com/itchrocks Instagr...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to recommend some recent releases with a Fall Rock Roundup! Join us as we each recommend a new album from an artist that represents our own favorite slice of The Itch's musical pie: KC's blues rock swagger with Blacktop Mojo's self-titled, Dan's hard rock angst with Ded's "School of Thought", and Aaron's high-energy genre hopping with Des Roc's "A Real Good Person in a Real Bad Place". And stay tuned to the end, when the guys go fully off the rails with ideas...

This week, we're scratching The Itch to talk about custody battles! Sometimes bands part ways or reform amicably (listen to our interview with Mike Protich of The Violent for more on that). Other times... things get messy. So we're discussing the new albums from Bad Wolves and Fuel, and how one band transition continues to be a hot mess while the other was just... unusual. Plus, we're doing another guest spot this week as KC represents The Itch's third appearance on Playlist Wars! Be sure to lis...

So, The Itch stayed up so late recording our latest episode that we decided to stick around for Korn's premiere of their new track "Start The Healing"... so why not share it too? Enjoy our first ever real-time reaction as we listen in. It's a mix of analysis, episode preview, breaking news, and off-topic ramble. With a drop of MST3K for fun. And as usual, it includes plenty of grown man giggles. Enjoy. Video not included. And hey, when you're done, follow our New Rock Roundup playlist and then ...

This week we're scratching The Itch to finally give Limp Bizkit the episode they deserve! After returning at this year's Lollapalooza (discussed in episode 61), Fred Durst and the gang surprise dropped their first new album in a decade on October 31. But with a new generation of rap rockers rising to prominence, including Hyro the Hero, Oxymorrons, Zero 9:36, and even country rapper Jelly Roll, how do the nu metal dads vibe with today's sounds and sensibilities? Join us to discuss past, present,...

In this episode, we're scratching the itch to do a sequel! The first episode in our "The Itch On Tour" series, we hadn't actually SEEN the tour in question. But now that has been remedied! Join us as we discuss our experience at P.O.D.'s Satellite 20th Anniversary Tour, featuring From Ashes to New and All Good Things. Stick around to hear about Dan's home decorating tips, and pick a side when we discuss FATN's Quarantine Chronicles Vol 3 and Aaron chooses violence! And hey, when you're done, fo...

In this episode, The Itch goes to Kansas! On the strength of three great 2021 albums from Badflower, Teenage Wrist, and Dead Poet Society and a great experience seeing Badflower at Pointfest last month, KC and Aaron traveled to The Bottleneck in Lawrence, Kansas to see the This Is How The World Ends Tour. Join us as we discuss the albums and the live performances from all three bands. Spoiler: It's highly complimentary. itchrockjayhawk And hey, when you're done, follow our New Rock Roundup pla...

We're back on the interview grind! In this episode, we have a chat with the delightful Daisy Dead, bassist and (understudy harsh) vocalist for The Dead Deads, whose killer (heh) new album Tell Your Girls It's Alright combines the best sounds of glam, punk, grunge, and straight up rock (especially of the 90s variety). Along the way we'll talk about their tour with Candlebox, how to play two instruments at once, a good source for song inspiration, teeth, and ... yo mama? Yep. This conversatio...

The Itch has a new segment! Since concerts are happening more frequently these days, we're gonna see ourselves some shows and report back with our findings. First up: P.O.D.'s Satellite 20th Anniversary tour, featuring From Ashes to New, All Good Things, and Sleep Signals. This one comes with a twist, in that we're not exactly talking about the tour proper, but the discussion still goes to some places we didn't expect. Enjoy. As mentioned in the episode, here is where you can donate to help Sle...

In this episode, The Itch has got the blues! Blues rock, that is. Join us as we discuss recent releases from Southern rock mainstays Blackberry Smoke, London busker Cam Cole, and son of a legend Wolfgang Van Halen's Mammoth WVH. Find out what separates them, what drew us to them, and how Dan got over his disdain for genre labels enough to link them together! And hey, when you're done, follow our New Rock Roundup playlist, check out the brand new Resting Itch Face mask, and then connect with us!...

In this episode, The Itch turns back the clock a decade to revisit two handfuls of our favorite albums from 2011! We won't spoil the surprise by listing them all here, but trust that Stefon voice this episode has EVERYTHING! Post-grunge, reggae-metal, indie rock, club bangers, hip hop, Dan Cortese, and alternative weirdos! Enjoy! And hey, when you're done, follow our New Rock Roundup playlist and then connect with us! itchrocks.com Twitter.com/itchrocks Facebook.com/itchrocks Instagram.com/itc...

The Itch loves to talk about albums... but not just full-length LPs. Sometimes a band drops a noteworthy EP as well. In fact, over the past few months, we've heard enough fantastic new EPs that we're dedicating an entire episode to them (and it might not be the only one)! We've got Nothing But Thieves' Moral Panic II, (Hed) P.E.'s Sandmine, Crashface's debut Heavy Infectious, and Eve 6's Grim Value. Listen in and find out which album KC turns full heel on! And hey, when you're done, follow our ...

We're halfway through the year, so this week The Itch is bringing you our impressions on three impressive rock albums we've come across in recent months: Versatile from Pop Evil, Baptize from Atreyu, and Child of the State from Ayron Jones. Join us for history, commentary, and KC's attempt at a death growl. And hey, when you're done, check out our updated Flavor of the Week and New Rock Roundup playlists and then connect with us! itchrocks.com Twitter.com/itchrocks Facebook.com/itchrocks Insta...