✦✦✦✧ Lots of energy here from MC on this, their fourteenth studio album. The band is 60% new, with only guitarists Kurdt Vanderhoof and Rick Van Zandt surviving the cut. The big news is newbie Dave “Junior” Ellefson on bass, sounding great of course… but vocalist Brian Allen and drummer Ken Mary also bring the thunder. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Russian Circles are so fucking cool. Just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they pull a Crazy Ivan and surprise you with more variations to their sonic explorations. Some of their most metallic and heaviest moments are on this, their ninth (duh) album. But so are some of their synthiest moments. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ A solidly delightful shredder of an album, more vintage thrash than rethrash. You never quite know how serious or goofy Exodus are going to come across, so let me assure that this release is one of Exodus’s more harrowing albums. It’s also more experimental (don’t miss violinist Katie Jacoby). Gary Holt is as frickin’ awesome as ever. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Blisteringly shreddy as always, although I find that the band is most potent when they slow down even just a little bit. I really dig the added investment in melody and (dare I say) catchiness, which act like life preservers in an otherwise mercilessly raging sea. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Converge’s eleventh studio album is half pit-roiler, half moody reflection. The first four songs have the band moving from shredfest to breakdown to panic chords with impossibly smooth abandon. But the rest of the album is where the real emotional damage lands; brooding, patient, and yet just as brutal in its complexity. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ The band does an even better job fusing their varied moods on this, their eighth album. Part djent, part emocore singalong, part dripping synthwave, A Pale White Dot boasts the band’s shortest average track length in a decade. Also, they’re playing 6-string baritone guitars, and until Misha, Matt, or Jake tell me otherwise, I’m going to assume that changeup is contributing to the slightly more focused and honest feel of this album. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Dammit this should’ve been mine! On the off chance that you don’t know who these guys are, do yourself a favor and just listen to them immediately. This, the band’s second album, is every bit as mindwarpy as I’d hoped, equal parts Battles, The Jesus Lizard, and King Gizzard. You should know, however, that the points docked from a perfect score are baked into the premise of the band’s conceit: there are no real vocals to judge, there’s not much shredding here in a traditional sense (unless you count mental gymnastics, which I don’t), and once you recontextualize microtonal loop layering as your base camp, there’s not much incremental innovation here. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Megadeth’s final album is absolutely listenable. The shredding is beyond reproach, of course, and Teemu Mäntysaari does a great job filling Marty Friedman’s shoes. And I’ve gotta say, the album closer Ride The Lightning really does bring something extra to the Metallica classic, and may be my favorite thing on the whole album… but you ought to listen to the whole thing through, from start to finish. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This is a surprisingly engaging album of blackgaze-centered eclecticism, moving adroitly from hard rock to post metal and beyond. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on their sound, they go for something new, which makes for an intriguing and rewarding listen. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ A consistently very good, sometimes great, new offering from my favorite Australian band. Not as progressive as its predecessor Asymmetry, its return to alleged accessibility is crunchy and snarly, but also atmospheric and sumptuous. It’s an impressive first listen, but I suspect this might be a grower of an album, such is its subtle meanderings. See the rest here
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