Lo-Pan — In Tensions
✦✦✦✧ Lo-Pan do a convincing imitation of Quicksand at their happiest. A raw and energetic EP of songs, if not entirely groundbreaking or habit-forming. See the rest here
First Listens With Three-Star Ratings
Sepultura — Machine Messiah
✦✦✦✧ This is one weird album, and unlike anything I’ve heard Sepultura do before (which is a very good thing). You’ve got elements from all possible constituent influences (old Sep! more recent Sep! punk! thrash!), as well as rando sounds I never would have pulled for them (vaguely Persian root music! See the rest here
Dark Tranquility — Atoma
✦✦✦✧ Not content to serve up another satisfying helping of the Gothenburg melodeath sound that they helped pioneer, DT actually push things forward a bit on their latest album. There’s a slightly greater reliance on shredtastic riffage (for the win), while the melodrama remains effective. And their accessibility on tracks like the title track doesn’t rely on hackneyed clichés, instead elevating their gothic leanings into something more. See the rest here
Allegaeon — Proponent For Sentience
✦✦✦✧ This album is a metal nerd’s wet dream… at least on paper. The musicianship, technicality, and fetishistic love of science that were hallmarks of the band on their last album are all still here. But Allegaeon’s tongues seem a little less firmly planted in their cheeks, and the slight increase in self-seriousness makes this a harder listen straight-through. See the rest here
Fates Warning — Theories Of Flight
✦✦✦✧ The band’s crazy time signature changes are a little more restrained (relatively speaking; the opening track is largely in 9/4), and their latent power metal side is more nuanced than ever. I’m also detecting stronger undertones of Porcupine Tree and Rush, alongside their signature prog stylings. If you’re already a Fates fan, you’re gonna dig this. See the rest here
Mantar — Ode To The Flame
✦✦✦✧ This is some delightfully noisome aggression. Self-assured and epic in its scope, the album is like a moodier and darker Entombed. There’s a blackened/gothic rock vibe that brings a smile, if not a full-on fist pump. “Ode To The Flame” goes on a little longer than I’d like, though. See the rest here
Destrage — A Means To No End
✦✦✦✧ The mad men of Milan are back with this predictably unpredictable metal smorgasbord. There are too many flavors to list here (DEP, SOAD, IWABO, Racer X, Maximum The Hormone, etc and so forth), but rather than coming across as self-indulgent, these pulls are all employed for the benefit of your ears. See the rest here
Conan — Revengeance
✦✦✦✧ Nasty, sludgy, stoney doom! There’s a soggy industrial nihilism to this band’s sound, reminiscent of Unsane or Eyehategod. Good lawd is this music heavy. There’s a good 20 minute stretch that feels like one massive breakdown though which may test your stamina. See the rest here
First Fragment — Dasein
✦✦✦✧ Imagine if Cynic had decided, ten years ago, to double down on their tech death leanings. Then imagine if they’d released an EP and gone into hiding for a while, quietly working on their craft in secret, before securing a gross vocalist and dropping a masterpiece on an unsuspecting metal landscape. See the rest here
Inter Arma — Paradise Gallows
✦✦✦✧ Holy fuck is this heavy. “Paradise Gallows” makes Inter Arma’s previous releases sound like “(Listen To The) Flower People.” But that sledgehammer to your balls is not without finesse; how else could this band pull off 90 minutes without it feeling overly long? The expert pacing makes possible the band’s ability to cover a vast terrain of moods and progressive elements. See the rest here
