★★★☆ This album has all the converge-ish tropes that you’d expect from Call Of The Void. But the real reason to listen to “Ageless” is to check out the weirdly progressive diversions the band explore, evoking the noise-rock of Glassjaw and The Jesus Lizard along the way. See the rest here
★★★☆ Progressive to the point of making you say, “Um, WAT?” You know you’re in for a wild ride when an album treats djent as a basecamp for more adventurous territory. It’s unique and memorable and compelling and weirdly poppy, in all the ways that remind me of Leprous and Textures and Destrage, even though the actual sound of the music is closer to Meshuggah or TesseracT. See the rest here
★★★☆ Everything lacking on Juggernaut: Alpha is fully evident here on Omega. It’s far more cohesive, even as it tilts from djent to late-70s prog and back. And, more importantly, it’s fucking heavy. Nice! See the rest here
★★★☆ This is quite simply one of the finest black metal albums of 2014. With the right kind of ears, you could hear this as if Deliverance-era Opeth decided to fully commit the dark. And the reverb. See the rest here
★★★☆ This is satisfyingly straightforward thrash, not bogged down by overthinking or overproduction. There is a sameness to the material and pace that starts to bog you down after a while, but the overall sound is just different enough to not sound too derivative (while still be very firmly rooted in the genre it so lovingly emulates). See the rest here
★★★☆ A throwback? Perhaps. But this album from Helloween-offshoot Gamma Ray also offers an updated take on some vintage power metal, with hints of Savatage, Queensrÿche, Blind Guardian, and yes Helloween. And Priest. And Queen? And to be honest, the album starts to overstay its welcome about two thirds of the way in. See the rest here
★★★☆ This is a fun half hour of grindcore, as perfectly gross, silly, and sloppy as the genre demands. You’ll likely appreciate it more if you keep in mind that this is the product of a co-ed Bay Area supergroup, featuring ex-members of Exhumed, Repulsion, and local heros The Iron Maidens. See the rest here
★★★☆ This is a mighty fine riff salad of an album. And while there’s plenty of room for Obscura’s drummer to showcase his percussive abilities, he also does a great job as composer and ringleader here. The music is proggier than I was expecting (always a bonus), and the sound comes from somewhere between Obscura and Marty Friedman. See the rest here
★★★☆ Torrential Downpour are so wonderfully weird. They’re weird even for prog metal, which I gather is the only category crazy enough to accept this band. And this album is equal parts Battles, BTBAM, Mars Volta, UK, and Dillinger. The band rely a bit too much here on digital whammy and trebly screeching for my tastes, but aside from that, this album just begs for multiple listens. See the rest here
★★★☆ This is as much a love letter to Floridian death metal as it is a paean to pot. But beyond both those traits, it’s also an entertaining riff fest, short and sweet, somewhere between Death and Gorguts. Fans of Death will enjoy the numerous nods to Chuck, but otherwise it’s a fun album. See the rest here
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