★★★★ This is everything you’d want to meloprog metal, and consummately tasteful from start to finish. Imagine Symphony X by way of Soilwork. Bombastic at all the right moments, the sweetest of leads, and muscular right when you need a good punch in the gut, too. See the rest here
★★★☆ A staggeringly self-assured debut album of inventive and unpredictable prog death. Think equal parts Allagaeon, Leprous, and The Black Dahlia Murder, but with occasional clean vocals. There are plenty of gambles here, and to be fair they don’t all work in the band’s favor, but on the whole, this is an enjoyable and original 52 minutes not to be missed. See the rest here
★☆☆☆ This album lives somewhere between Saliva, King’s X, and Sevendust. There’s a somewhat satisfying snarl throughout the very-self-conscious radio-friendly tunes here, although I wish the whole affair wasn’t quite so polished-to-a-smooth-finish unoffensive. Also, let’s be real: the album art looks like a concept art reject from The Amazing Spider-Man. See the rest here
★★☆☆ This is a challenging album to dig into, which is an odd thing to say about a band that were former Arsies winners. There are great concepts and moments all over “Blood Mantra,” but they invariably take work to find. The album’s second half is more engaging and interesting and captivating than its first half. See the rest here
★★★☆ This is easily my favorite Cannibal Corpse album of the last ten years. While the changes are subtle, you get a definitely step up from the band in terms of dynamic ferocity. The production is both refined and blistering. And pay special attention to the ultra-detuned title track and “The Murderer’s Pact” — it feels like drop-A is the band’s sweet spot. See the rest here
★★★☆ If only more stoner metal was like this. Full of satisfying attitude, but shot through with thoughtful progressions and pacing, so that the end result is the feeling that you’re on a swaggering journey, nodding and head-bobbing the whole time. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Look, I get that this is a highly anticipated piece of prog metal, and clearly the band put a lot of care and thought and musicality into making it. It makes for an interesting and unpredictable ride… but as much as I want to, I just can’t get too worked up about this album. See the rest here
★★★☆ Push past the first impression of a lo-fi hardcore recording from the 90s, and you’ll be rewarded for listening to this album with a surprising range of moods and tempos. At times doomy, at times thrashy, it all works somehow, and makes for an engaging and energetic work that sounds a little like a whole bunch of other familiar bands… and yet at the same time, not quite like anything you’ve ever heard before. See the rest here
★☆☆☆ It’s not that this album is bad per se… but it just sounds so derivative and dated. The performances are blistering, but the anemic production and clichéd use of samples are so distracting that I just had a hard time wanting to pay attention. See the rest here
★★☆☆ This is pretty much exactly what you want from a deathcore band. Breakdowns and brutality are the meat and potatoes of this band, and this album delivers dutifully. Don’t expect any surprises or evolution and you’ll do just fine. See the rest here
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