Full Of Hell — Trumpeting Ecstasy
✦✦✦✧ Griiiiiiiiiindcoorrrrrrrrreblech. (Halfway between AC, Carcass, and Converge. Tasty.) See the rest here
First Listens With Three-Star Ratings
He Is Legend — Few
✦✦✦✧ So much swagger! The band have expanded their already unique sonic palette since 2014’s “Heavy Fruit” (although it’s still hard to avoid thinking about modern-era Alice In Chains). The result is more surefooted, more convincingly emotional, and at times far more metallic than anything they’ve done before. Also, holy crap: they’ve got a song called “Fritz The Dog“! See the rest here
Set And Setting — Reflectionless
✦✦✧✧ Pleasing instrumental post-metal in the vein of Russian Circles or even Godspeed at their most sinister. They’re not pushing the envelope very hard here, but they are delivering solid and dramatic shoegaze. Nota bene: they’ve got two drummers, although not really using that dynamic to its fullest potential, if you ask me. See the rest here
Persefone — Aathma
✦✦✦✧ Let me get this out of the way: when you say that Paul Masvidal does guest vocals on two of your tracks, you’re really only referring to Paul Masvidal’s vocoder.
That said, this is shockingly compelling and well-done modern prog metal from Andorra. Think equal parts Dream Theater, Protest The Hero, Cynic, and Periphery. See the rest here
Body Count — Bloodlust
✦✦✦✧ This is a surprisingly fun time. As Ice-T says himself on “Raining Blood/Postmortem”, this is equal parts Sabbath, Suicidal, and Slayer. This isn’t going to move the needle in terms of metal evolution or anything, but that’s not why you listen to Body Count. You listen because you want to hear a bunch of homies from the hood throwing down some earnest hardcore and speed metal. See the rest here
Northlane — Mesmer
✦✦✦✧ Djentcore lives on! Equal parts Periphery, Karnivool, Linkin Park, and Bring Me The Horizon. Sadly, it takes the band at least half an album to really find their footing, so if you’re particularly sensitive to awkward sequencing (or just wanna get to the really good stuff), focus on the last four tracks for ultimate justice. See the rest here
Fit For An Autopsy — The Great Collapse
✦✦✦✧ FFAA (F2A2?) pick up where they left off 17 months ago with their Gojira+JFAC style of deathcore, adding more than a few touches of modern Meshuggah to their already potent witches’ brew. This is one heavy slab of music, and somehow it manages to convey an even more cohesive and unique sound than ever before. See the rest here
Darkest Hour — Godless Prophets & The Migrant Flora
✦✦✦✧ You know, for a Kurt Ballou produced recording, this album has surprising depth behind its muscular aggression. It’s a spin on the band’s typical deathy metalcore-laden explorations that actually improves things. And just when you think you’ve got a handle on the compositions, Michael Carrigan’s leads come in and inevitably take things up a notch. See the rest here
KXM — Scatterbrain
✦✦✦✧ A definitely improvement over the supergroup’s 2014 debut. This sounds much more like a fusion of King’s X and Lynch Mob, with a competent drummer (and fortunately no Kornisms sneaking in over the fence). Also, George Lynch can do no wrong. 66 minutes is at least 20 minutes too many, though. See the rest here
Havok — Conformicide
✦✦✦✧ This album starts out in a rough way… like the worst parts of Scatterbrain, Suicidal Tendencies, and Municipal Waste hogtied together. I’m very, very conflicted about the too-funky bass antics of Nick Schendzielos. Not at all conflicted about David Sanchez’s lyrics and vocals, which are as subtle as Dave Mustaine’s fever dreams. See the rest here
