✦✦✦✧ Epic technical death metal that utterly shreds in the moment, but somewhat fails to stick in one’s memory. Also, it goes on and on and on. Still, it’s blistering and super impressive. These guys definitely put in the work (there’s probably something like a quarter million notes on this album, no exaggeration)! See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This is the Platonic ideal of a stoner metal album, from one of the O.G. progenitors of the genre. Is it groundbreaking? Not really. Is it technically shreddy? Hell no. Am I going to put this on heavy rotation this weekend? Already on it, son. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ TesseracT have expanded their emotional resonance on their fourth album, but the price is a somewhat lessened emphasis on their foundational djent. The sacrifice isn’t too dear, as the songs don’t spend too much time away from the band’s bread and butter. Speaking of time, I wish this album was longer; as it is, it is evocative of their debut EP “One” for brevity. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This reminds me of Scatterbrain, and BTBAM, and of course goblins. There is an unsubtle goofiness here, although it’s self-aware, joyous, and purehearted in its silly purity (something I could never say of cringeworthy Steel Panther, for example). If you can embrace the obvious goofiness of the band’s conceit, you’ll be rewarded with some objectively technical melodeath. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This reminds me of Torrential Downpour, Norma Jean, Converge, Sumac, Rolo Tomassi, and a kick to the nuts. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Technical death metal in metalcore’s clothes. This has more in common with Machine Head and Gojira than Killswitch Engage, even as it evokes the best of all those bands. Nasty, surgical, full of swagger and juicy riffs. Most definitely a must-listen. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Tasty and energetic melodeath, leavened with equal parts Revocation, Arch Enemy, and The Haunted. The music here is not exactly cutting edge, but that’s perhaps to be expected from a band who hasn’t released an album in eight years, and besides we all loved this sound back then well enough anyway. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This sixth album from The Sword continues the band’s progression from frantic Mastodon territory to more of a laidback Earthless vibe, while giving us the band’s most cohesive sonic landscape since 2010’s “Warp Riders.” If anything, “Used Future” marks a doubling down on the band wearing their 70s and 80s influences on their sleeves (there are obvious nods here to Santana, Skynyrd, John Carpenter, Pink Floyd, The Dead, etc.). See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Rivers Of Nihil have really outdone themselves this time. Their third album adds a 70s’-prog sensibility to their already omnivorous brand of technical death metal. This seems to have squeezed out and refined some of the other voices in the band’s collective heads, and while not altogether foolproof, it culminates in a new maturity and gravitas. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ A reassuringly good and fun album. This sounds like Priest has been listening to Overkill a bit, but otherwise it’s exactly what you’d hope to hear. Rob’s voice is in fine, fine form of course. See the rest here
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