★★☆☆ Holy fuck, is this folksy. With most other bands, folk metal tips over too easily into awkward caricature. But somehow, not only do Equilibrium avoid this trap, but their unflinching commitment helps them create an authenticly uplifting headbanging experience. At its best, “Erdentempel” sounds like Týr as performed by DragonForce. See the rest here
★☆☆☆ Blech. I mean, for blackened death metal, it’s pretty good. But it’s so self-consciously de rigueur that the whole thing reeks of awful familiarity. See the rest here
★★★☆ This is a fun half hour of grindcore, as perfectly gross, silly, and sloppy as the genre demands. You’ll likely appreciate it more if you keep in mind that this is the product of a co-ed Bay Area supergroup, featuring ex-members of Exhumed, Repulsion, and local heros The Iron Maidens. See the rest here
★★★☆ This is a mighty fine riff salad of an album. And while there’s plenty of room for Obscura’s drummer to showcase his percussive abilities, he also does a great job as composer and ringleader here. The music is proggier than I was expecting (always a bonus), and the sound comes from somewhere between Obscura and Marty Friedman. See the rest here
★☆☆☆ I’m not sure whether to call this powercore (as the band’s marketing materials would want), or bro-metal or what, but it’s unfortunately very lackluster and derivative. See the rest here
★★☆☆ This EP is not unlike taking a quick regional flight: you spend so much of your time getting to cruising altitude, that once you’re there it’s time to start your initial descent. The material here is good and lush and well-done, of course, but Cloudkicker music needs time and space to unfold into its ultimate form, and that means that there’s actually not a whole lot here. See the rest here
★★★☆ Torrential Downpour are so wonderfully weird. They’re weird even for prog metal, which I gather is the only category crazy enough to accept this band. And this album is equal parts Battles, BTBAM, Mars Volta, UK, and Dillinger. The band rely a bit too much here on digital whammy and trebly screeching for my tastes, but aside from that, this album just begs for multiple listens. See the rest here
★★☆☆ This sure is an impressive half-hour of Gorguts-style technodeath, with PTH-style production. Inventive, impossible to predict, and listen to that fretless bass! But it’s impossible to shake the feeling that the entire record is just being played at 1.5x speed, and that gets distracting after a while. That’s nowhere more apparent than with the drums, which most definitely sound like you just blew out your right tire while driving 70mph down the highway. See the rest here
★★☆☆ This is pretty good for what it is, which is Scottish black metal that sounds an awful lot like Godspeed You Black Emperor. That said, you’re pretty much along for the ride with this album, and as soon as it’s done, none of it sticks with you whatsoever. Also, “atmospheric” does not have to mean “awash in reverb.” See the rest here
★★★☆ This is as much a love letter to Floridian death metal as it is a paean to pot. But beyond both those traits, it’s also an entertaining riff fest, short and sweet, somewhere between Death and Gorguts. Fans of Death will enjoy the numerous nods to Chuck, but otherwise it’s a fun album. See the rest here
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