★★★☆ A meaty, albeit nu-metalish and slickly overproduced, post-djent bouillabaisse (with definite nods to Periphery, Chimp Spanner, et al). But what it lacks in originality per se, this album more than makes up for with a doubled-down commitment to all the tropes that make this microgenre so great: feminine subject matter, pseudorandom switching between clean singing and incoherent screaming, and above all, spasmodic aggression. See the rest here
★★★☆ This is such a compelling tour of audio aggression that at times hard to even call it black metal. The thrashing is crisp, the doom pervasive, and every track is epic in its own way. See the rest here
★★★☆ High-octane thrashy technical death from Tasmania that feels really fresh for the most part (although a few songs do feel very familiar indeed). This reminds me of a punkier Sylosis or a sped-up Gojira (and I say that with headbanging respect). See the rest here
★★★☆ A deft, disturbing, and thoroughly captivating 75 minutes of doomy post metal, cut of the same cloth as Indian, Isis, and The Ocean at their most plodding. There’s not a dull moment here, which is saying something; while it’s a long work by any objective measure, it generally doesn’t feel overlong, Still, this is Minsk’s best work so far. See the rest here
★★★☆ The Soilwork-meet-Kings-X-meet-Lamb-Of-God stylings heard on the band’s last eponymous release are all here again. This time around, they’re even more alien, even more polished and convincing, and there’s even a strong aftertaste of Meshuggah on a few tracks. This album’ll get your head nodding for sure! See the rest here
★★★☆ For my money, this is one mean improvement over the last Oceano album. To get there, apparently the band traveled halfway between The Acacia Strain and Vildhjarta… and then tunneled straight down. With the right kind of thinking, you can hear this as an intellectual level-up. With a different kind of thinking, this is a suitable soundtrack for breaking your hand on concrete. See the rest here
★★★☆ Impressive. Most impressive. This album bears more than a passing resemblance to The Faceless, Obscura, and other technodeath groups, which is the good news. The bad news is that, while it’s eminently replayable, it just misses the mark in terms of emotional resonance. Too many notes, perhaps? Still, I put this in my Don’t Miss bucket. See the rest here
★★★☆ Sure, Israel+Dutch extreme metal sounds like a gimmicky proposition on paper. But “Enki” is so self-assured and full-throated that you can’t help but dig it. See the rest here
★★★☆ Trascendent sludge that is utterly engrossing (and… dare I say, listenable?) from start to finish. Sure, the band give up some of their potential ferocity in exchange for cohesion and mood, but it feels like a good trade. This is now my favorite Ufomammut album to date. See the rest here
★★★☆ Easily the best album you’ll hear all year from a band featuring an Amott brother. As such, you’ll definitely hear the Arch Enemy imprint throughout, which is not a bad thing of course. This album may not revolutionize metal, but if you like your melodeath tinged with progressive elements and adorned with virtuosic shredding, this’ll be your jam. See the rest here
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