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IhsahnIhsahn

✦✦✦✧ So, when I said that Ihsahn is my favorite Norwegian composer since Edvard Grieg, I didn’t mean that he had to go quite so orchestral with the music. The lush arrangements here often work, but when they don’t work, they sound as awkward as Michael Kamen and the SF Symphony’s contributions to Metalica (ie, conspicuous and ill-fitting).

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Judas PriestInvincible Shield

✦✦✦✧ Folks, this album is maybe everything I ever wanted from Priest. It’s anthemic, shreddy, speedy, gritty, and even more energetic than 2018’s Firepower. Andy Sneap’s production is top-tier, of course, but that only serves to showcase how great the whole band sound. Only time will tell if tracks like "The Serpent And The King" and "Trial By Fire" will take places aside "Painkiller" and "Breaking The Law"; regardless, this album is a must-listen.

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PersefoneLingua Ignota: Part I

✦✦✦✧ More prog metal perfection, although I can’t help but feel like this one has been sanded a bit too smooth. Still, for a five-track, 26-minute half album, this is a remarkably unrushed and hauntingly mature release. New vocalist Daniel Rodríguez Flys definitely fits in nicely here with the rest of the band.

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VitriolSuffer & Become

✦✦✦✧ This album gives me chills, y’all. And not just because the band obviously took to heart my critique of their promising yet flawed 2019 debut, fixing or improving upon everything on it. Seriously, aside from the already-stellar shredding or vocals, Vitriol have improved their scores for every one of my criteria, resulting in a new benchmark for modern techdeath.

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KMFDMLET GO

✦✦✧✧ Poppy Eurodisco industrial which still works well enough. It kinda reminds me of a more party-friendly Rammstein, or a more aggressive Yello, if that means anything to you. (Oh yeah.) If you’re not already a fan of KMFDM, this isn’t going to bring you into the fold. But if you do already dig KMFDM, I’m sure you’ll eat this up.

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Enterprise EarthDeath: An Anthology

✦✦✦✧ Continuing their exploration of kitchen-sink post-deathcore, EE sacrifice cohesion for a cavalcade of endlessly tasty bits. This turns out to be a winsome choice, and a recipe for a grower of a record. As was also the case of its predecessor, the album is possibly 15 minutes too long for my attention span, but so what?