✦✦✦✧ I’m shocked: not only is this the most not-bad Todd La Torre-era album the band have ever released, but it also finally halfway sells me on the very notion of a post-Empire Rÿche. (Speaking of La Torre, he not only sings on this album, but he also plays drums on this album instead of Scott Rockenfield. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ I can believable: 33 years after giving doom metal its name, Candlemass come back with an album every bit as menacing, gritty, and powerful as anything else in their catalog. Bringing back founding vocalist Johan Langquist is a winning touch, as is Tommy Iommi guest soloing on “Astorolus.” The album loses points for its buzzsaw production and luddite attitude to innovation, but these are meaningless quibbles in the face of a foregone classic. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Don’t be fooled by the album’s decidedly weak first minute: In Flames shred all over the place on this one. The band are no fools when it comes to delivering what their fans want, and “I, The Mask” is another in the unbroken line of the metal primacy of Gothenburg, may it never fade. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ There are a number of reasons to dislike this solo project from one of Lamb Of God’s guitarists. It’s fucking weird to start a 2019 album with a track sung by Chester Bennington (R.I.P.). It’s less weird to follow it up with vocalists from Papa Roach and Screaming Trees. But mostly, the album swings from metal to alt rock and back again, and the moves toward the latter rarely pay off for me. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ Trvly emotive and moody, if not entirely memorable or innovative black metal. The piano and violin are welcome additions to Soar’s atmospheric style. And the vocals take a reasonable back seat to the rest of the proceedings. All in all, my favorite Soar album to date, for what that’s worth. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Welcome back to the Three Star club, boys! The band step back toward a sound reminiscent of “The Harvest Wombs” or “The Flesh Prevails”, and thankfully away from “Dreamless”‘s trancepop leanings. This is still atmospheric and moody, but also aggressive as it is technical. New singer Antonio Palermo brings a screechier clarity to the proceedings, which I think works well for the music here. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ This is somewhere between doom and death metal, but not fully either. This album somehow manages to sound familiar yet totally unique. But it’s also somewhat uneven when it comes to the songwriting; another editorial pass or two would have propelled this album to three stars, I’d wager. But do listen to it, and tell me what you think. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This is just like Dream Theater, except better in virtually every way. That is to say, the cheese is the same, but the vocals and keyboards are a smidge more restrained. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This tech death band sound like… a lot of other tech death bands. That’s not to say they sound derivative; rather, you can hear a staggering number of influences in their sound. It’s truly impressive how much this band can cram into songs that don’t spill into 10-plus-minute territory. On the other hand, good luck trying to headbang in time to the music! See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ It’s an Overkill album. New Jersey’s most steadfast thrash organization gives us pretty much exactly what we want them to, god bless ’em. See the rest here
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