✦✦✦✧ This is the frontrunner for the best progressive metal album of 2022. It is an order of magnitude better than their previous album (which, as an Arsies contestant, was clearly no slouch). Seriously, it’s better in just about every way I can imagine. It shreds, but when it doesn’t shred, it emotes. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Korn’s fourteenth studio album showcases a streamlined and mature band that have learned how to cherry-pick from their various tics, reinvesting in the ones that still bear fruit (e.g., a seemingly endless penchant for fun guitar tones) and distancing themselves from those that no longer do (Fieldy’s scalloped tone). It’s a shame that there are no real instant classics here, which would be a far more fitting reward for their evolution. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ Three tracks; 62 minutes! But don’t let that scare you off: this is a compelling trip. It’s also totally stoney as fuck. But it works for me! Also, where are my pants? See the rest here
This week, there’s been a growing hue and cry about Spotify, precipitated by Neil Young taking a stand against the platform’s promotion and publication of Joe Rogan’s harmful rhetoric about CoViD, but further bolstered by people seeming to wake up to Spotify’s less than generous revenue sharing model. To be totally fair, they’re not the only ones screwing the artists, but they’re among the most egregious. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ Look at this three-necked instrument! This guy is still a shredding maniac. The album is definitely worth checking out for its unpredictable creativity and alien imagination, even if it is hardly rock, let alone metal. I’d describe it as a modern instrumental Zappa-like exploration, and I mean that as nicely as I can. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Aethereus’ sophomore album find the band in even more uncomprosingly dissonant form. Seamlessly transitioning from tradition techdeath to Gorguts-inspired mayhem is a talent in and of itself. And then there are the orchestral elements: rather than slathering the album with typical metal symphonic filler, the band present sections that would be at home with some of modern classical’s most atonal standardbearers (e.g. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This is an uneven deathcore album, but the highs outweigh the lows. I can’t help but imagine that if the band had focused on a 45-minute album, it might have made it to four stars. Alas, this 67-minute opus makes you hang in there for all the gems, which are plentiful thankfully. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ While arguably less experimental than the band’s previous two albums, F2A2’s sixth album is every bit as punishing and satisfying. It does feel like they keep finding new ways to merge deathcore and Gojira, not that I’m complaining one bit. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ Kudos for this postcore band trying to push the envelope, even if the results are not particularly compelling. Album closer “Pneumonia” does feel like something special, though, offering a taste of metal that’s both emotive and updated for a newer digital-ready generation. See the rest here
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