✦✦✦✧ This album is as subtle as a root canal. But that’s what you want from these Belgian death metal masters. So what if nothing here really stands out as an instant classic? Your knuckles may wind up bloody nevertheless. There are notable cameos on “Retrogore” (from the likes of Revocation and Origin), but that’s like putting a parsley garnish on a flambé. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Apparently, Layne Staley faked his own death, moved to Southern California, and fronted this doomrock band. So they’ve got that going for them. But in addition, this is some interesting and catchy swagger, reminiscent of QOTSA and 36CF. Come for the crooning, stay for the dooming! See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This instrumental power trio’s latest album weaves a nasty web of psychedelic trance mayhem, best described as an intersection between Boris, Don Caballero, Pallbearer, and Gojira. It’s purely of-the-moment, which makes for a compelling and effective forced meditation, albeit difficult to remember. And it’s really meant to be listened to all in one go, which makes it a workout for the listener (not to mention for the band themselves). See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Well, this is certainly a surprise from AHC: the nu-metal also-rans make a retro-industrial inspired departure from formula, wielding a sound that’s more Stabbing Westward than Mushroomhead. If anything, this is more Deftones than Deftones anymore, but with a strong Mike Pattonesque vocal performance from Cameron Heacock. And the rest of the band is pleasingly snarly, for the most part. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This is sludge that I can get behind! This is a highly regarded black metal band who haven’t released anything in about seven years; unfortunately, that’s how long the album feels. This album has been universally praised, and I get why (I really dig the early-Tool-meets-Aaron-Turner aesthetic here)… but it’s a bit of work to get through. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ While I won’t go so far as to call BABYMETAL victims of the sophomore slump, there is definitely a new aimless quality to the music on this album. The shredding is as ridiculous as ever, and there’s some catchy shit on here, but you’re also lacking any classic memorable moments. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ Mighty Anthrax serve up an excellent sampling of modern thrash, which manages to come across as fresh and invigorated while still sounding very much like Anthrax. New lead guitarist and ex-Shads founder Jon Donais ably fills Rob Caggiano’s shoes (and then some), while Scott and Charlie and Frank are peerless in their performances. See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ The phrase “15 songs, 23 minutes” can only mean one thing: blast beat grindcore mayhem! And yet, there are some surprising twists and turns on this EP. The mandatory fury is tempered with pace changes galore, in delightfully unpredictable ways (my favorite is on “The Opportunist”, wherein the band switch into half time about six seconds before the end of a 68-second tune). See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ FGA take their neoclassical pretensions to ridiculous heights with this one; it says something that they were able to release a deluxe double-length edition, with soloed-orchestral versions of every song on the standard release (and it says something else that this bonus actually kinda stands up on its own, like a video game soundtrack). See the rest here
✦✦✦✧ This is glorious neoclassical speed metal, and a paean to cokehead Vikings everywhere. See the rest here
This work by Metalligentsia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.