✦✦✧✧ This is an ambitious yet ultimately upsetting album. I generally admire bands who make a practice of blending disparate styles together, although in retrospect the unspoken aim is usually for some kind of cohesion. Here, it feels more like self-indulgent whiplash for abuse’s sake, like a meaner Mr. Bungle. The music defies the listener to settle into any particular mood. See the rest here
✦✧✧✧ What we once loved so much about Bizkit, back at the height of their powers, was how deftly they fused metal and rap, with equal deft contributions from all members of the band. This, the Jacksonville quintet’s sixth studio album, is something else: a hip-hop-centric collection of songs from all over the musical map, except there’s virtually no metal here at all. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Listen, I don’t fully grok the current state of the band. It’s just Dino now? Dino and Burton are only talking to each other through lawyers? All I know is, this sounds just like the Fear Factory I remember, only with a few improvements and tweaked parameters to the RiffFactory generator code. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ Finnish folk beerhall music at its finest, which touches of extreme and power metal. The lack of any English lyrics may be a drawback, but I’ve enjoyed plenty of American metal that was equally as indecipherable. Why this album is an hour long is beyond me, though. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ If you’ve never listened to BTBAM before, start with Alaska or Parallax II, but work your way back here.
If you’re already a BTBAManiac, here’s the deal: this is pure fan-service, and you’re going to eat it up. It’s as much a remake as it is a sequel. Fear not: you’re going to love all the many callbacks to Colors I, as well the novel forays into straight-up jazz, flamenco, and… hard rock? See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Mellower, more expansive, but also surefooted and intriguing. This is some of Mastodon’s riskiest stuff yet, and is a rewarding buffet of their growing appetites. See the rest here
Brace yourself, boys: 30 years ago today, Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious was released (first in the UK). As part of my celebration, I offer you this fawning and needlessly sesquipedalian article from The Quietus on how pivotal this album was. All hail Carcass!
✦✦✦✧ If you’re impatiently waiting for the next Tool, Karnivool, and/or Porcupine Tree, listen to this and you’ll feel a whole lot better. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Is this even metal? No, it is not (which is a surprise, given that the group now consists of people from FNM, The Jesus Lizard, Mr Bungle, and Helmet/Battles). But it is imminently listenable, endlessly innovative, and just lots of fun. Mybe I’m just a sucker for Duane Denison’s inimitable guitar stylings propping up Mike Patton’s vocal madness. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ I’ll confess that I completely forgot about Gizmachi, after glutting myself on their first major album on heavy rotation back in 2005. In retrospect, I think SikTh took up the space my brain had reserved for Giz. In retrospect, I should’ve just kept listening to The Imbuing and biding my time. See the rest here
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