Pestilence — Obsideo
★★☆☆ This is a brutal slab of death metal, not unlike the latest Gorguts… but there’s an inherent goofiness that brings it down a peg. Too bad, as its loudness and brutality are quite pleasing. See the rest here
Category: First Listens
Meek Is Murder — Everything Is Awesome Nothing Matters
★★☆☆ There’s actually plenty to like about this release (clocking in at 17 minutes, I can’t bring myself to think of it as anything other than an EP, even though it has 13 tracks). It reminds me of the best parts of anything that Kurt Ballou has touched (which, by the way, includes this recording too). See the rest here
Russian Circles — Memorial
★★☆☆ 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
Dethklok — Metalocalypse – The Doomstar Requiem
★☆☆☆ 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
Living Sacrifice — Ghost Thief
★★☆☆ 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
Motörhead — Aftershock
★★☆☆ 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
Ihsahn — Das Seelenbrechen
★★☆☆ 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
Scar The Martyr — Scar The Martyr
★☆☆☆ Soooo boring. See the rest here
Pelican — Forever Becoming
★★☆☆ 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
Hatesphere — Murderlust
★★★☆ “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
