★★☆☆ It’s good, it’s dynamic, but it’s frankly a little difficult to get excited about or pumped by. You know how you’ll say, “Oh yeah, I fucking LOVE baklava!” but never actually think about it unless you see it in front of you? This album is like that. See the rest here
★☆☆☆ I’m giving this a huge helping of optimistic benefit of the doubt, as it probably plays better as a soundtrack to the cartoon than as a standalone album. That said, it’s best described as an archipelago of decency in a deep, cold ocean of unlistenability. See the rest here
★★☆☆ It’s good, it rocks, but it doesn’t really stick with you after the first listen. Definitely recommended as a once-through, though. Hopefully more good things will come from this band in the future. See the rest here
★★☆☆ This is a thoroughly decent continuation of what Motörhead has been consistently doing for years: churning out well-produced high-octane hard rock. That said, only the briefest of moments on this album will get you anywhere near the memorability or caliber of… well, anything you’d hear on a “Best Of” album (and, let’s face it, that’s pretty much as much Motörhead as I’ll ever need anyway). See the rest here
★★☆☆ The entire album features Ihsahn at his most cinematic. This is both a testament to one of the most inventive and prolific musicians in metal today… and a big problem for the listener. Every track sounds like it’s excerpted from somewhere in the middle of a soundtrack. There are no real starts or finishes here, so the whole thing is more comparable to Fantomas than any concept album, or anything else that Ihsahn has done post-Emperor. See the rest here
★☆☆☆ Soooo boring. See the rest here
★★☆☆ An entertaining journey without much of a destination or impetus to get moving in the first place. It’s enjoyable, mind you, but it lacks the gravitas that can’t be explained away simply by a lack of vocals. See the rest here
★★★☆ “Murderlust” is an earnest and driving piece of modern thrash, which manages to innovate even as it holds fast to well-worn metal traditions. This album totally reminds me of The Haunted’s “The Dead Eye” with a dash of Entombed’s “Wolverine Blues.” (Admittedly, there are fans of either band who look down their noses at those two particular albums, but not this guy.) See the rest here
★☆☆☆ Seriously, who gives a shit about Sepultura anymore? I mean, “The Mediator…” continues the band’s progression (such as it is) into unformulaic tone poems of inchoate rage, but no one — not producer Ross Robinson, nor Dave Lombardo — could make me actually care. Mind you, none of the tracks are particularly bad, and buried in the mix is “Grief,” a legitimately great tune. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Of the many bands to be produced by Kurt Ballou this year, Skeletonwitch may have benefited the most from his touch. Their latest album is as short and unsubtle as ever, but it’s definitely punchy, accessible, and fun. See the rest here
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