I agree that it’s not that bad reimagined. (I would also contend, never has Lars looked more ridiculous than his squinting overperformance in what is now a power ballad.) All in all, I dig it!
Also, not to blow your minds, but: Robert Trujillo is now the bassist who has been in Metallica the longest, making him a part of the band’s de facto mainstay lineup. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ This reminds me of that Roadrunner United album that came out in 2008. Not only is it full of uninspired songs as platforms for guest musicians, but the kind of metal here also feels at least 15 years past its prime. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Perhaps not as catchy as “The Direction Of Last Things,” but certainly more progressive, unpredictable, and fascinating. Hey Intronaut: if you ever need a second bassist and don’t mind remote work, LMK. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ If you’ve been waiting for Testicle to do something utterly different for once… well, you’re gonna have to keep waiting. Otherwise, this is finely crafted thrash, of course! See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ A clearly rëenergized Sep come out with an album that is paradoxically less exciting than its predecessor, “Machine Messiah” (and I’m not just saying that because I’m an unrepentant Yes fan). Hints of “A-Lex” and “Kairos” abound here, as well as the band’s lifelong devotion to their punk forebears. Also, the production is oddly mushy, and bums me out (a band this established and influential deserves a better mix; that it came from Jens Bogren is mystifying). See the rest here
Last year was my first year in a decade that did not culminate in an Arsies tournament. That was bittersweet for me, but I still feel good about the decision. And clearly, I did not slack on my Firsties duties: 144 new albums evaluated in 2019! We’ll see how I do in the coming year. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ Merry Christmas! I got you a present… assuming of course that you are a fan of cacophonous, shrill, self-indulgent lunacy. Liturgy’s avant-black-metal is tempered here with digital frippery and all manner of orchestral instruments (sampled or otherwise) that have no business near an amplifier. This album is just begging me to give it a 1-star review. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ I had no idea that technical death metal and symphonic metal could coexist so comfortably! Sure, we’ve all heard tech death albums with “orchestral” intros, but those always seem to be only loosely related to each other. Melancholy is the first example I can think of where both genres feed off each other. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ Black metal meets stoner metal meets industrial? I guess that sounds like a good idea on paper. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ Your best bet is to pretend like this album came out in 1990. This hardcore album is so obstinately nostalgic that it rushes headlong past Charming and instead crashes right into So What. Good news, though: you get 14 songs in 30 minutes, making this my winner for More Concise Album Of The Year. See the rest here
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