RIPLG
Holy crap, guys… according to fellas in Entombed AD, LG Petrov passed away from bile duct cancer today.
https://www.facebook.com/EntombedAD/posts/284292396380726
Time to pop on Wolverine Blues…. See the rest here
Author Archives: arse
Soen — Imperial
✦✦✦✧ This is an intriguing effort at accessibility, from a famously polymathic prog band who have been compared in the past to Tool, Opeth, and Leprous. While those touchstones are still discernible, Imperial finds the Swedes at last sounding more like their own thing than their influences. The only criticism I’ve got is that there’s maybe a little too much polish and sanding down of the rough edges (but that’s fairly typical of any prog band who tries to resonate with an audience, it seems). See the rest here
Asphyx — Necroceros
✦✦✧✧ I’ll be kind and call this retro Euro-style death metal. It’s not bad by any means; it’s just not particularly inspiring. I give it two out of 4 Obama-not-bads. See the rest here
Gatecreeper — An Unexpected Reality
✦✦✧✧ It is admittedly unusual to hear a band segregate their distinct influences, rather than try to meld them together. That what you’ve got here: Side A (grindy death core) vs Side B (doooooom). Both halves are competent, but I wish either side brought more originality to the mix. See the rest here
2020: The Year In Metal
Jesus fucking christ, guys. You know what kind of year this was. And if somehow you forgot what 2020 was, consider this: over the past 12 months, I have only managed to audition 52 new albums, or 1 per week. That’s something like 40% my usual workload. Do you have albums that I missed? See the rest here
Ulcerate — Stare Into Death And Be Still
✦✦✦✧ Haunting and atmospheric technical death metal, somehow reminiscent of both Gorguts and latter-day Death. See the rest here
Cryptic Shift — Visitations From Enceladus
✦✦✧✧ These guys totally remind me of Thought Industry. Oh man, I fucking miss Thought Industry. Did I ever tell y’all they TI was my first ever fan mail exchange? True story. Anyway, enjoy this super-interesting piece of art noise. See the rest here
Pallbearer — Forgotten Days
✦✧✧✧ Like a vintage yet less evil Sabbath clone with worse production. See the rest here
The Acacia Strain — Slow Decay
✦✦✦✧ I can say, without hyperbole, that this is the most experimental deathcore album I’ve heard in years, if not ever. It contains all of the genre’s hallmark touches (seismic detuning of mushy guitars, compressed triggered drums, and the cookiemonsterest of vocals), but deployed in novel and unpredictable ways throughout the album. See the rest here
Lamb Of God — Lamb Of God
✦✦✦✧ MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM LAMB OF GOD! See the rest here
