★★★★ Is this another shameless reunion grab? Perhaps. But this latest helping of that sweet, sweet Gothenburg melodeath is certainly satisfying and it goes down so smooth. At times, it’s reminiscent of Opeth, of The Haunted, of a few bands that have come and gone since the last time At The Gates put out an album. See the rest here
★★★☆ Calling this metalcore is a little misleading. Sure, the trappings are there… but this album has as much in common with new-style thrash or some variants of prog metal as anything else (I’m looking at you, Meshuggah, BTBAM, and Exmortus). Whatever you call it, “Watchers Of Rule” is fast, heavy, and unrelenting. See the rest here
★★★☆ This is a challenging double-length release, intended to be two albums in one, each one different in tone and scope. This is asking a lot for a First Listen, especially if (like me) you’re not already all-in with Devy. Worse, the first half album is farther away from what one might traditionally consider “metal” than the second, thereby confronting the uninitiated with the bigger challenges upfront. See the rest here
★☆☆☆ I want to like it more than I actually do, based largely on the band’s status in the annals of Floridian death metal. But that band seem to have doubled down on keeping their sound rooted in the early 90s. At times, they sound more like Biohazard on this album than Malevolent Creation. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Oh hey, it’s Kurt Ballou. The sad thing is, the actual music here has the potential to be better than your average doom metal release, but those moments of promise are weighed down by the sameness of the production. The curious result is that, when the band play slow, you’re treated to some interesting dirgeness… but the faster they play, the more anonymized the sound. See the rest here
★★★☆ This album is a messy maelstrom of ferocity, with some weird production, EDM, and dubstep touches thrown in. But even with those non-trivial missteps in evidence, Anaal Nathrakh turn in a devilish 41 minutes of glory here. See the rest here
★★☆☆ I suppose that one needs to hear this album in the context of a well-loved band releasing new work for the first time in decades. As such, it’s a well-made piece of power metal nostalgia, like a new release from Original Queensrÿche or Ritual-era Testament. But those comparisons should also accurately convey just how old-fashioned the album’s aesthetics feel. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Look, when I say this is the Evanescence of Gothenburg, don’t assume that I mean that in a bad way. There’s something soothing in the cloyingly smooth sounds on this album, although not very memorably so. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Yep, Kurt Ballou. See the rest here
★★☆☆ This side project from Jason Popman of Mushroomhead and Gene Hoglan has got flavors from Slayer, Slipknot, Strapping Young Lad (naturally), and a few various metalcore bands. The net result is pleasing enough, and hits all the right notes, but there’s an antiseptic anonymity to a lot of the music here. See the rest here
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