✦✦✧✧ COC’s eleventh album (their first in eight years) is also their first since the untimely passing of drummer Reed Mullin. Warren Riker’s production is a little rough around the edges, which mostly suits the swampy riffage, and new rhythm section Stanton Moore and Bobby Landgraf nicely complement Pepper and Woody. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ Symphonic deathcore that sounds like it’s =all nu metal/post-industrial breakdowns or guest-spot songs or something difficult to get into. Also, the production is entirely too much: brickwalled to hell and back, and hazily indistinct. It’s a shame, as I feel like there’s a talented band in here under the mire. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ I give credit to LOG for pushing their envelope, even if I love their envelope just fine as-is, and even if it doesn’t always pay off (for me, anyway). Put another way: leave your preconceptions at the door, give the whole album a chance, and you’re likely to be pleasantly surprised when you least expect it. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ We need a name for this kind of metal-in-tone-only (MITO?). I mean, it’s fine, but it doesn’t really scratch any metal itches for me. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ 40 years in, and KMFDM continue their decade-long slide away from abrasive industrial noise and toward catchy industrial synthpop. Still, it puts a smile on my face that they’re just as committed to this underappreciated genre. And somehow they seem more vital and committed to it than Ministry. Not everything here works, and trying to listen to it in one go is tough… but definitely give it a listen, even if you’ve got you need to skip around. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ The band and/or label have chosen to not provide the album via any of the streaming services, except for YouTube. I’m generally sympathetic and supportive of that kind of decision these days, although it makes our job a bit harder in the modern age. But ya know what? Half the reason of me doing First Listens is to help you, Dear Reader, decide where to devote your time, energies, and cold hard cash. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ I prefer my Testament without blast beats, as it turns out. Don’t get me wrong: in terms of composition, you can still hear the Eric Peterson of it all. And the band is definitely shredding, including new drummer Chris Dovas. But the band feels to me like they’re trying to be too many things at once, and not all of their experiments pan out. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ Very shreddy middle-of-the-road classic speed thrash. If you like Morbid Saint, you’re gonna love Morbid Saint! See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ A thoroughly passable Slayer-adjacent album. Don’t expect too many revelations or surprises; even Death Angel vocalist Mark Osegueda sounds more Arayaish here than usual. See the rest here
✦✦✧✧ I was going to say that I don’t know who this collection of lukewarm rockers is for, but I realized that I do know: it’s for Mick Mars, of course. See the rest here
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