✦✦✦✧ This is as much an evolution from 2016’s accessible hit Magma, as it is a descendent of their earlier albums. Fortitude is the best of both wordsL experimental, driving, satisfying, heavy, and confident. My only question is: what more can Gojira do before they’re accepted into the media mainstream? See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ The latest from Belgian deathgrind heroes Aborted continues the band’s fascinating and satisfying assault, following their career-long trajectory that has me convinced they’re Carcass from a parallel and slightly more demented universe. There’s not much innovation here, but with shredding this lethal, who’s going to complain? See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This is unusually catchy, but it’s also very sufficiently tech-deathy. There’s an obvious lean toward songcraft here; that, coupled with the ultra crisp production and emotive cleans, combine to file down the rough edges a bit, giving you an album that often sounds more like Parkway Drive than The Acacia Strain. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Vildhjarta prefers their djent jarring and jazzy (djarring and djazzy). Good god, this album is heavy. But the heaviness hides some inner subtlety and beauty, in the staccato spaces between the palm mutes and quarter-note crashes. Vilhelm Bladin’s Swedish screaming are paradoxically an essential part of the listening experience, adding a layer of focus and attention to the music that can often sound chaotic at best; familiarity with the Swedish language is not required. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Listen, I don’t fully grok the current state of the band. It’s just Dino now? Dino and Burton are only talking to each other through lawyers? All I know is, this sounds just like the Fear Factory I remember, only with a few improvements and tweaked parameters to the RiffFactory generator code. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ If you’ve never listened to BTBAM before, start with Alaska or Parallax II, but work your way back here.
If you’re already a BTBAManiac, here’s the deal: this is pure fan-service, and you’re going to eat it up. It’s as much a remake as it is a sequel. Fear not: you’re going to love all the many callbacks to Colors I, as well the novel forays into straight-up jazz, flamenco, and… hard rock? See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Mellower, more expansive, but also surefooted and intriguing. This is some of Mastodon’s riskiest stuff yet, and is a rewarding buffet of their growing appetites. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ If you’re impatiently waiting for the next Tool, Karnivool, and/or Porcupine Tree, listen to this and you’ll feel a whole lot better. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Is this even metal? No, it is not (which is a surprise, given that the group now consists of people from FNM, The Jesus Lizard, Mr Bungle, and Helmet/Battles). But it is imminently listenable, endlessly innovative, and just lots of fun. Mybe I’m just a sucker for Duane Denison’s inimitable guitar stylings propping up Mike Patton’s vocal madness. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ I’ll confess that I completely forgot about Gizmachi, after glutting myself on their first major album on heavy rotation back in 2005. In retrospect, I think SikTh took up the space my brain had reserved for Giz. In retrospect, I should’ve just kept listening to The Imbuing and biding my time. See the rest here
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