Yashira — Shrine
✦✦✦✧ This reminds me of Torrential Downpour, Norma Jean, Converge, Sumac, Rolo Tomassi, and a kick to the nuts. See the rest here
First Listens With Three-Star Ratings
Bleed From Within — Era
✦✦✦✧ Technical death metal in metalcore’s clothes. This has more in common with Machine Head and Gojira than Killswitch Engage, even as it evokes the best of all those bands. Nasty, surgical, full of swagger and juicy riffs. Most definitely a must-listen. See the rest here
The Absence — A Gift for the Obsessed
✦✦✦✧ Tasty and energetic melodeath, leavened with equal parts Revocation, Arch Enemy, and The Haunted. The music here is not exactly cutting edge, but that’s perhaps to be expected from a band who hasn’t released an album in eight years, and besides we all loved this sound back then well enough anyway. See the rest here
The Sword — Used Future
✦✦✦✧ This sixth album from The Sword continues the band’s progression from frantic Mastodon territory to more of a laidback Earthless vibe, while giving us the band’s most cohesive sonic landscape since 2010’s “Warp Riders.” If anything, “Used Future” marks a doubling down on the band wearing their 70s and 80s influences on their sleeves (there are obvious nods here to Santana, Skynyrd, John Carpenter, Pink Floyd, The Dead, etc.). See the rest here
Rivers Of Nihil — Where Owls Know My Name
✦✦✦✧ Rivers Of Nihil have really outdone themselves this time. Their third album adds a 70s’-prog sensibility to their already omnivorous brand of technical death metal. This seems to have squeezed out and refined some of the other voices in the band’s collective heads, and while not altogether foolproof, it culminates in a new maturity and gravitas. See the rest here
Judas Priest — Firepower
✦✦✦✧ A reassuringly good and fun album. This sounds like Priest has been listening to Overkill a bit, but otherwise it’s exactly what you’d hope to hear. Rob’s voice is in fine, fine form of course. See the rest here
Slugdge — Esoteric Malacology
✦✦✦✧ The highly anticipated album from our favorite space-slug-themed band does not disappoint. The music is massive like Gojira, inventive and suitably alien like Gorguts, but catchy like Mastodon. And yet, Slugdge manage to avoid some of the pitfalls that have recently tripped up those progenitors. Honestly, this is far better than anyone has a right to expect. See the rest here
Extinction A.D. — Decimation Treaty
✦✦✦✧ I wouldn’t even call this rethrash; more than anything else, this feels just like a vintage Anthrax album I’d never heard before. I ain’t complaining, especially when they step out from that core sound, and evoke fresh takes on other thrash classics such as Exodus, Powermad, and yes, 3250. See the rest here
Rolo Tomassi — Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It
✦✦✦✧ This new Rolo Tomassi album operates in two modes fairly equally: interestingly jazzy post-trip-hop and chaotic mathcore, like DEP meets Lamb meets Norma Jean. The beautiful thing here is that neither mode feels like filler against the other. It’s all internally consistent, cohesive, and compelling. And in a further evolution for the band, the album’s emotional range is almost cinematic in scope. See the rest here
The Atlas Moth — Coma Noir
✦✦✦✧ The Isis-meets-APC vibe of TAL is more finely tuned on this album than ever before. Heavy, moody, and unique. See the rest here
