Melechesh — Enki
★★★☆ Sure, Israel+Dutch extreme metal sounds like a gimmicky proposition on paper. But “Enki” is so self-assured and full-throated that you can’t help but dig it. See the rest here
Author Archives: arse
Ufomammut — Ecate
★★★☆ Trascendent sludge that is utterly engrossing (and… dare I say, listenable?) from start to finish. Sure, the band give up some of their potential ferocity in exchange for cohesion and mood, but it feels like a good trade. This is now my favorite Ufomammut album to date. See the rest here
Liturgy — The Ark Work
★★☆☆ This album comes from an alternate reality wherein 70s prog rock blossomed forty years later than it did here. The resulting hodgepodge has as much in common with Camel, Bill Laswell, and Barber’s Adagio For Strings as it does with Emperor. It’s a fascinating listen, marred by a difficult production aesthetic and an over-reliance on the glacial crescendo. See the rest here
Disgrace — True Enemy
★★☆☆ This is a meaty blend of Ballou-esque sludge and SOIA/Biohazard-inspired urban thug-gression. There is something inescapably retro about the whole album, but it’s interesting and evocative in spite of that flavor. Sometimes the groove of the band is a little too… groovy for my tastes. That, and a handful of awkward and sloppy moments, hamstring the whole effort just enough to rob the band of a three-star first rating. See the rest here
Bigger than David Lee Roth
I just learned that the three Decline Of Western Civilization movies are being released on DVD and Blu-ray this summer for the first time! More details here on Rolling Stone.
Armageddon — Captivity & Devourment
★★★☆ Easily the best album you’ll hear all year from a band featuring an Amott brother. As such, you’ll definitely hear the Arch Enemy imprint throughout, which is not a bad thing of course. This album may not revolutionize metal, but if you like your melodeath tinged with progressive elements and adorned with virtuosic shredding, this’ll be your jam. See the rest here
Cancer Bats — Searching For Zero
★★☆☆ It takes this album a few tracks to find its feet, by eventually finds its voice as a pounding screamfest, somewhere between Kyuss and Converge, yet somehow without the real moxie of either. See the rest here
All That Remains — The Order Of Things
★☆☆☆ Occasional moment of headnodding drowned out in a sea of boring metalcorepop. ‘Nuff said. See the rest here
Pyramids — A Northern Meadow
☆☆☆☆ Post-post-rockmetal that couldn’t be more boring if it tried. Seriously, there should have been a system of checks and balances that stopped this before it got anywhere near my ears. See the rest here
Venom — From the Very Depths
☆☆☆☆ This album very much sounds like an excuse for a showcase of bassist/vocalist Cronos, with everyone else feeling like an afterthought. It goes on way too long, with a doggedly old-fashioned and outdated sensibility, a production quality that while energetic is slapdash at best (especially the irritating guitar tone), and vocals that are at times clownish. See the rest here
