✦✦✦✧ Tasty and super inventive riffs adorn this latest from this British prog melodeath band (if that’s even a thing). More memorable than their 2015 album “Dormant Heart,” this is also mroe cohesive. And did I mention those riffs yet? Impressive to hear this kind of uniqueness coming consistently on track after track, like they have this creativity in a firehose. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Another blistering onslaught of crisp death metal from TBDM. There aren’t any instant-classic tunes on here, but plenty of meat on the bone. It almost grooves in places, too! Strong stuff; highly recommended! See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Perhaps not as catchy as “The Direction Of Last Things,” but certainly more progressive, unpredictable, and fascinating. Hey Intronaut: if you ever need a second bassist and don’t mind remote work, LMK. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ If you’ve been waiting for Testicle to do something utterly different for once… well, you’re gonna have to keep waiting. Otherwise, this is finely crafted thrash, of course! See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ I had no idea that technical death metal and symphonic metal could coexist so comfortably! Sure, we’ve all heard tech death albums with “orchestral” intros, but those always seem to be only loosely related to each other. Melancholy is the first example I can think of where both genres feed off each other. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Just plumb mad dog mean deathcore. This album ticks all boxes for any and every trope you could ever want from the genre (and then some), but the interplay, timing, and pacing of it all lead to a cohesive masterclass in aggression. What it lacks in memorability, the album more than makes up for with unbridled energy. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Finally, SFTP find a way to channel their RATM tendencies into a sound that feels as modern and fresh as it does explosive. Ironically, the band apparently had to also draw inspiration from Norma Jean into to complete the formula, but it works! Break some shit, fuckers! See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Long-time readers are no doubt aware of my blatant fanaticism over this band, so it’s no easy thing to say that this is not my favorite Cannabis Corpse album. The production in particular feels like a step backward. Also, as much as I’d gotten comfortable with how far the band are willing to stray from their jokey origins, I hadn’t prepared myself for the idea of them trending a little less seriously here. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Skinlab walk the thin line between revigoration and rehash, with just enough nu-metalisms to remind you who you’re dealing with (without the whole thing sounding dated). Most interestingly, there’s also enough shared DNA here with heavy acts like Tombs, Machine Head, and even Sepultura to make this music sound both familiar and novel. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Run, don’t walk to your nearest wifi enabled device (or if you are JaPaBo, inefficiently procure a hard copy in the format of your choice) to listen to this gem. For the first couple of tracks, which come out of the gates hard, it’s like you are listening to the best DM album of 1991 you somehow missed, but with better production. See the rest here
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