★★☆☆ 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
★★★★ I have not a single bad thing to say about this “one-song EP.” It’s a peerless exploration of sludge, doom, and progressive music, somewhere between Isis, Sleep, Don Caballero, Pink Floyd, mid-70s King Crimson, and Meshuggah’s “Catch Thirty-three.” Do not pass up the chance to hear it for yourself. See the rest here
★☆☆☆ This album wavers between two modes: slow moodpieces, and more accessible riff salad. While the latter is no real surprise, it’s all cut from the same misguided cloth of polished accessibility that we’ve come to expect from the Knot. In fact, the few moments that are legitimately shredding sound a whole lot like Slipknot trying to tap into their former selves; song titles like “Sarcastrophe” and “The Negative One” do nothing to dissuade from the feeling that we’re listening to Iowa b-sides. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Rather than the extreme fearcore of “Wormwood” or sluggish tedium of “Death Is The Only Mortal,” The Acacia Strain treat us this time around to a detuned-as-always party album, of sorts. Not that you could ever accuse the band of being subtle, but more than ever they’re wearing this silly excesses on their sleeves. See the rest here
★☆☆☆ I continue to not get this band, at all. I mean, you guys hear how sloppy this sounds, right? It’s all super self-distracting. See the rest here
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