Gridlink — Longhena
★★☆☆ Jazzier than your usual grindcore fare, but just as typical in its brevity, this 22-minute EP is a fun enough hit-and-run that you’ll nevertheless have a hard time remembering past the first few tracks. See the rest here
Author Archives: arse
Steel Panther — All You Can Eat
★★★☆ Steel Panther have elevated the act of crass party-time parody into high art. There’s a cognitive dissonance between, for example, between the near-perfect emulation of Journey’s brand of anthemic balladry and the lyrical content of “Bukkake Tears.” And so the whole album goes. The nonsense is right at the surface at all times, but the hair metal the band wields is expert enough to help you forget. See the rest here
Re: Quick Question
That’s a tough one to answer, honestly. They’re all good, and all slightly different from each other. Worse, it’s not like the shifts from album to album are linear progressions, per se. Sworn To A Great Divide feels like the album that’s the closest to The Living Infinite in terms of their blend of metal and melody, but The Panic Broadcast is a great album in its own right (and more of a rager). See the rest here
Austrian Death Machine — Triple Brutal
★★☆☆ This album has some truly great moments, surrounded by truly unremarkable stretches. The Ahnold schtick has never sounded more tired, but the unavoidable skits are quickly forgotten in the face of all the different shredz. And yet, never has 46 minutes felt so long. Triple Brutal is worth a listen, if you are man enough to make it all the way through. See the rest here
Black Space Riders — D:REI
★☆☆☆ I imagine that this is what Monster Magnet or Queens Of The Stone Age would sound like if they ever full-on committed to being a sludge-metal band. See the rest here
Artificial Brain — Labyrinth Constellation
★★★☆ A fairly uneven, but wildly entertaining collection of post-death songs. During the moments that really work (which are at least half of the album), you’re treated to a Gorguts-style grossfest, but with Glassjaw-like deconstructionism. Definitely worth at least one listen, all the way through. See the rest here
Culted — Oblique To All Paths
★☆☆☆ I don’t always listen to sludge, but when I do, I at least require it to have more sonic depth than “By-Tor & The Snow Dog.” See the rest here
Cynic — Kindly Bent to Free Us
★★☆☆ This is very interesting and enjoyable. This is also about as hardcore as Mahavishnu Orchestra. It actually sounds a lot like UK in places. So I give it enthusiastic praise for modern jazz fusion, but it’s a complete waste from a metal perspective. See the rest here
Mayan — Antagonise
★★☆☆ This sophomore album from Epica-by-another-name is chock full of the hallmarks of any good symphonic death metal recording: lush arrangements, over the top drama, and quietly excellent guitarwork. However, this album has a bit of an identity crisis on its hands, at times evoking Soilwork, Ludovico Einaudi, and prog rock. See the rest here
IXXI — Skulls N Dust
★☆☆☆ A very boring album, even by black metal’s standards of relentlessness. See the rest here
