★★☆☆ There’s a lot to commend this album: it’s djenty but with more fury than technicality (which is a good thing), and it’s high energy and eminently listenable. At the same time… there’s a vague whiff of Korn or crabcore about the whole thing that’s hard to shake. I think I’d feel better about it if I wasn’t so allergic to popped collars, bro. See the rest here
★★☆☆ To call this simple sludge would be to miss the deconstructivism at work here. Throughout this challenging album, you can hear hints of Catch 33, Suffocation, and other modern metal landmarks… all shat through a meat grinder repeatedly. Definitely something to listen to at least once… although calling this “metal” requires a degree in ethnometallurgy or something. See the rest here
★★☆☆ A nicely full-bodied hardcore album that has tasty bits throughout, but doesn’t really coalesce into a strong, cohesive whole. Worth a listen, but it doesn’t have a lot of staying power. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Oh sure, it’s heavy and interesting and whatnot… but it’s so slippery. Definitely from the kitchen-sink school of polyglot metal. You like djent? Death metal? Melody? Check check check. An interesting ride, but I defy you to describe a specific moment from it when it’s all done. See the rest here
★★☆☆ A high two-star on First Listen, although I’ll admit that I gave it a second listen (after which I liked it even more). It’s uneven as fuck, but that’s part of its charm. The vocals are the weak link here, but a small price to pay for really interesting post-core metal. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Surprisingly good, if overlong. This album has an air of self-parody vibe to it: all the things you’d expect from a Deicide album are here, but there’s a staleness to the whole thing. I will say that the solo work is very tasty, though.
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★★☆☆ This sounds like a cross between vintage albums from Entombed and Carcass. That’s a blessing and a curse, as the album has a tendency to feel dated or underevolved. See the rest here
★★☆☆ This is a brutal slab of death metal, not unlike the latest Gorguts… but there’s an inherent goofiness that brings it down a peg. Too bad, as its loudness and brutality are quite pleasing. See the rest here
★★☆☆ There’s actually plenty to like about this release (clocking in at 17 minutes, I can’t bring myself to think of it as anything other than an EP, even though it has 13 tracks). It reminds me of the best parts of anything that Kurt Ballou has touched (which, by the way, includes this recording too). See the rest here
★★☆☆ It’s good, it’s dynamic, but it’s frankly a little difficult to get excited about or pumped by. You know how you’ll say, “Oh yeah, I fucking LOVE baklava!” but never actually think about it unless you see it in front of you? This album is like that. See the rest here
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