✦✧✧✧ Oh great. More Brooklyn black metal Boris nonsense, only with even less listenability and more of their hellshrieking and unintelligible chaos. Good thing they made it a double album. I warned them last time that they were flirting with a one-star review. And here we are. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This is actually pretty good! Kip frankly sounds better than ever. And the rest of the band are a murderer’s row of musicianship. That said, the band now find themselves exactly where they’ve always been: just outside every envelope we’d assumed contained them. Not quite Kix, not quite Dokken, not quite King’s X, not quite Queensrÿche… but somehow evocative of all of them. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This is what it would’ve sounded like if Slayer had pivoted to thrash in 1987.
What are you waiting for? Get in the pit, hessians! No mercy!! See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ A stunningly beautiful and powerful album that defies genre boundaries. The band’s unique blend of melodic black metal, progressive metal, and post-rock creates a sound that is as haunting and uplifting as it is unpredictable. Avienne Low’s vocals are a standout, soaring over the complex instrumentals with grace and power. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ One of In Flames’ better late-stage albums. This feels like a return to the Gothenburg melodeath form that this band helped define. The back half of the album does wear out its welcome a bit, though. See the rest here
✦✧✧✧ WHAT? HUH? FUCK, THEY’RE JUST SO LOUD! WAZZAT? YEAH, TWO BANDS THAT LOVE NOISE! …WHY? WHO KNOWS! Oh, good. Now they sound a little like The Jesus Lizard. Maybe that’s OH SHIT LOUD AGAIN! See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ The band’s trademark blend of black metal and gothic rock is still present, but it feels more than ever like an underpowered version of Ghost. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Jesus Piece’s sophomore album is a blistering, uncompromising, and yet groovy metalcore assault on the senses. This is also a powerful and challenging exploration of addiction, depression, and self-doubt. And don’t let the 28-minute runtime fool you: this is a big meal, so plan accordingly. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ These guys aren’t the kings of NPR Metal for nothin’. Equal parts black metal, prog, and Dead Can Dance, this album once again marks an evolution of their sound, if not a complete departure. It’s full of surprises from start to finish. Do me a favor and give it a listen, if for no other reason than we can talk about it afterward. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ This is undeniably Metallica. It’s also pretty boring. Also also, it’s about twice as long as it needs to be. Not only does it have too many songs, and not only are the songs overlong, but even at the riff level, they tend to repeat too many times. You know you’re in trouble when you’re thinking about the Skip button about 20 seconds into a track. See the rest here
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