Mushroomhead — The Righteous And The Butterfly
☆☆☆☆ Believe it or not, I remember Mushroomhead being better than this. Avoid at all costs. See the rest here
Category: First Listens
Mastodon — Once More ‘Round The Sun
★☆☆☆ This album puts forth the difficult-to-dispute premise that Mastodon is slowly, steadily, smoking enough dope to transform themselves into Baroness. There’s some interesting musical direction on here, and the band’s performances are generally as good as they’ve ever been. But even on tracks like “High Road” and “Chimes At Midnight,” where you can still detect a glimmer of the swagger and bravado that really was the whole point of the band to begin with, everything feels like it was processed through a cheap King’s X or QOTSA filter. See the rest here
The Austerity Program — Beyond Calculation
★★★☆ This is one of the most interesting things I’ve heard this year so far, somewhere between The Jesus Lizard, The Ocean, Filter, The Melvins, Zombi, Fantômas… or just hovering around The Black Keys, once those guys grow up and develop a serious problem with black tar heroin. This album is a controlled, snarling exploration, one that rewards repeated listenings even with its seemingly lo-fi pretensions. See the rest here
Trash Talk — No Peace
★★☆☆ Once this short and sweet hardcore album starts out in earnest, you get an affable what-you-see-is-what-you-get slugfest that’s well-produced (for what it is) and generally smileworthy, if not exactly groundbreaking. On that subject, the opening ambient track is a complete red herring that has nothing to do with the rest of the album, and doesn’t serve the band at all. See the rest here
Vanna — Void
★☆☆☆ While this is pretty well-executed emocore, it’s still an aspirational Norma Jean replica at best, and something approaching Emmure at its worst. See the rest here
Wretched — Cannibal
★★★☆ This band have their feet planted in two camps. The first, their Black Dahlia Murder brand of death metal, dominates the first half of the album, in a way that feels familiar (almost to the point of forgettability). But the second half of the album gives way to more of their progressive tendencies, reminiscent of The Faceless. See the rest here
Marty Friedman — Inferno
★★★☆ This is a bizarrely great, or greatly bizarre, album. To write it off as a lead guitarist’s solo wankfest is premature and a disservice. If anything, it’s more a showcase of Marty’s omnivorous tendencies, as he deftly through the many styles of his long and storied career. Through it all, there’s sick guitarwork of course… but to focus on that would be to miss the equally deft hand that Marty uses in his arrangements. See the rest here
Arch Enemy — War Eternal
★★☆☆ Take heart: Alissa White-Gluz does a great job filling Angela Gossow’s formidable shoes in this, Arch Enemy’s latest album. And the musicianship is likewise bankably excellent from the rest of the band. But the songwriting is so slapdash and uneven that, at first, I was sorely tempted to give this album one star only. See the rest here
Trap Them — Blissfucker
★★☆☆ This grindcore album isn’t bad per se, but it’s definitely hobbled. The good news is that the aggression is definitely in effect throughout, and several songs feature little flourishes that remind me of Brujeria, Slayer, even The Jesus Lizard and Suicidal Tendencies. The bad news is that a lot of this record is mired down by the same old Midas touch of Kurt Ballou, so much so that the tracks often boil down to an epic struggle between forgettable sameness and the band’s ability to rise to distinction. See the rest here
Vader — Tibi Et Igni
★★★☆ This album is brutal like an industrial accident. Something like a cross between Decapitated and Exodus, the thrashy death metal on here is unshy, well-produced, and above all punishing. For me, this rivals Vader’s last album “Welcome To The Morbid Reich” (if anything, that album has slightly more memorable moments, but the overall effect is better on “Tibi Et Igni.”) See the rest here
