Tombs — Savage Gold
★☆☆☆ Boy is this ever sophomoric, even by doom metal’s standards. Small kudos for not being thoroughly unlistenable, piteous vocals notwitshanding… but this was a very long hour for me nevertheless. See the rest here
First Listens With One-Star Ratings
Tiger Flowers — Dead Hymns
★☆☆☆ Well, I’ll give them this much: “Dead Hymns” sure is unfriendly. Tiger Flowers sound like big fans of Dillinger and Glassjaw. Unfortunately, this album (while undeniably aggressive) is not nearly as interesting as anything I can expect from either of those other bands. See the rest here
Eyehategod — Eyehategod
★☆☆☆ If there’s any confusion as to why I’m giving the latest Eyehategod such a low score, ask yourself this: how highly would you think of this album if it was the debut release of some band not named Eyehategod? Ya wouldn’t. See the rest here
Insense — De: Evolution
★☆☆☆ I wanted to like this a whole lot more than I actually did. It definitely wields an unorthodoxy, approaching many well-worn tropes without using them. And that’d be a lot more commendable if the music had hooks or melodies or other qualities to go along with their unusualness. Still, if you’re a fan of Misery Signals or Devin Townsend, you might enjoy it. See the rest here
Structures — Life Through A Window
★☆☆☆ This album obliterates the already uncomfortably thin dividing line between djent and nu metal. It’s equal parts Vildhjarta and Static-X. Ugh. See the rest here
Lacuna Coil — Broken Crown Halo
★☆☆☆ This is a crowning achievement for Lacuna Coil, with pristine production and their best sonic depth ever. This is also (and more importantly) boring to the point of tedium. Imagine Evanescence without Amy Lee, and you can safely skip listening to this album as a result. See the rest here
Killer Be Killed — Killer Be Killed
★☆☆☆ This is a wildly uneven effort on every level. Vocalists, energy levels, and styles change midsong without warning or reason. The low points, if we’re being very honest, is whenever Max Cavalera or Troy Sanders open their mouths to sing. (Remarkable as it may seem, Greg Puciato’s vocals are a breath of fresh air every time you get to hear them here.) See the rest here
Edguy — Space Police – Defenders Of The Crown
★☆☆☆ Imagine a cover band committed to doing songs from Powerslave-era Maiden or Turbo-era Priest. Now imagine that band hires a keyboardist. Then they hire Bobby Ellsworth to do vocals. Now take all that and assume the worst. This album gets a star for novelty, but otherwise, don’t bother. See the rest here
Basement Torture Killings — A Night Of Brutal Torture
★☆☆☆ Well, I’ll give BTK this much: this grindcore is pretty frantic. But it’s also fairly lo-fi, nonsensical, and slippery to boot. If all you want is grossness at high speed, you’ll probably enjoy it. Otherwise, it feels like a lesser version of Macabre. See the rest here
Lord Mantis — Death Mask
★☆☆☆ This album flirts with being interesting. See the rest here
