The Atlas Moth — The Old Believer
★★☆☆ This album is equal parts Isis and A Perfect Circle. It’s a lovely blend, but as one might imagine given that kind of formula, the final result suffers from a lack of energy. See the rest here
Category: First Listens
Alestorm — Sunset on the Golden Age
★★★☆ Goddamn, but this album is fun. Our favorite Scottish pirate metal band do good on this one, with a perfect blend of frivolousness and serious riffs. It’s really hard note to smirk and imagine sloshing a frothy mug of beer to each tune. Even the Taio Cruz cover feels good to hear. See the rest here
Belphegor — Conjuing The Dead
★★★☆ My very first impression was that, while there’s nothing new or fancy here, that familiarity comes across as classic more than tired. Beneath the surface of this short and sweet deathy brutality, however, these guys are experimenting a little with mood and dynamics, in a way that reminds me of a more Euro version of The Black Dahlia Murder. See the rest here
Godsmack — 1000hp
☆☆☆☆ “Wow.” “WOW.” “Jesus no.” These were my first reactions to this album. This is Godsmack’s St. Anger. Zero fucking stars. See the rest here
Darkest Hour — Darkest Hour
★★★☆ This album starts out with some a fierceness that never completely dissipates, even as the music transitions from ballsy detuned death to a more traditional metalcore. Even at their most derivative, Darkest Hour have an undeniable energy pumping right into your face. Scowlworthy from beginning to end, and that’s a good thing. See the rest here
KXM — KXM
★★☆☆ The new supergroup featuring Doug Pinnick and George Lynch has got perhaps the most faultless production I’ve heard in months. Beyond that, there is no way that anyone unfamiliar with the album is going to hear this as anything other than an amazing new King’s X album. That of course is faint praise, as there’s no escaping a right-down-the-middle radio-friendly blandness that haunts the hard rock pretentions of the first half of the album. See the rest here
Grave Digger — Return Of The Reaper
★★☆☆ This is some good old-fashioned power metal, so unabashedly playing to type that it’s difficult not to admire the band’s singlemindedness. But with the only innovation (arguably) being a more modern sound, it’s really difficult to hang on to any of the material, which comes across as forgettable, even as you listen to it. See the rest here
Savage Messiah — The Fateful Dark
★★☆☆ A curious and good blend of power and thrash metal from Savage Messiah. There’s some tasty, tasty guitarwork on this album, strong enough to elicit a warm nodding of heads, but the rest of the performances do feel a bit phoned-in. See the rest here
Goatwhore — Constricting Rage of The Merciless
★★☆☆ Energetic and nasty, but also clean. Surprisingly clean. I hear the angry, but it also feels a little cautious in its delivery. Also, these tunes don’t have a long shelf life in my memory. The album is a bit like a lesser hot sauce: it packs a punch, but its flavor doesn’t stick with me. See the rest here
(Hed) p.e. — Evolution
☆☆☆☆ Let me be at least a little charitable: the sound quality on this album is quite nice. Otherwise, this is a curiously dispassionate rapcore recording, bereft of any excitement. If the band themselves can’t muster the enthusiasm and energy anywhere on the album, how can they expect me to feel any? See the rest here
