Tortorum — Katabasis
★★★☆ This is quite simply one of the finest black metal albums of 2014. With the right kind of ears, you could hear this as if Deliverance-era Opeth decided to fully commit the dark. And the reverb. See the rest here
First Listens With Three-Star Ratings
Nervosa — Victim Of Yourself
★★★☆ This is satisfyingly straightforward thrash, not bogged down by overthinking or overproduction. There is a sameness to the material and pace that starts to bog you down after a while, but the overall sound is just different enough to not sound too derivative (while still be very firmly rooted in the genre it so lovingly emulates). See the rest here
Gamma Ray — Empire of the Undead
★★★☆ A throwback? Perhaps. But this album from Helloween-offshoot Gamma Ray also offers an updated take on some vintage power metal, with hints of Savatage, Queensrÿche, Blind Guardian, and yes Helloween. And Priest. And Queen? And to be honest, the album starts to overstay its welcome about two thirds of the way in. See the rest here
Cretin — Stranger
★★★☆ This is a fun half hour of grindcore, as perfectly gross, silly, and sloppy as the genre demands. You’ll likely appreciate it more if you keep in mind that this is the product of a co-ed Bay Area supergroup, featuring ex-members of Exhumed, Repulsion, and local heros The Iron Maidens. See the rest here
Hannes Grossmann — The Radial Covenant
★★★☆ This is a mighty fine riff salad of an album. And while there’s plenty of room for Obscura’s drummer to showcase his percussive abilities, he also does a great job as composer and ringleader here. The music is proggier than I was expecting (always a bonus), and the sound comes from somewhere between Obscura and Marty Friedman. See the rest here
Torrential Downpour — Truth Knowledge Vision
★★★☆ Torrential Downpour are so wonderfully weird. They’re weird even for prog metal, which I gather is the only category crazy enough to accept this band. And this album is equal parts Battles, BTBAM, Mars Volta, UK, and Dillinger. The band rely a bit too much here on digital whammy and trebly screeching for my tastes, but aside from that, this album just begs for multiple listens. See the rest here
Cannabis Corpse — From Wisdom To Baked
★★★☆ This is as much a love letter to Floridian death metal as it is a paean to pot. But beyond both those traits, it’s also an entertaining riff fest, short and sweet, somewhere between Death and Gorguts. Fans of Death will enjoy the numerous nods to Chuck, but otherwise it’s a fun album. See the rest here
Beyond Creation — Earthborn Evolution
★★★☆ Since I’m a graduate of the Steve DiGiorgio School Of Excess Bass, it’s almost impossible for me to not admire this album from Beyond Creation, especially with some of the songs being thinly-veiled excuses for fretless bass worship. And to be honest, those egregious moments are when the album falters the most. See the rest here
Skyharbor — Guiding Lights
★★★☆ If you liked TesseracT’s last album, you’re going to like this one as well for a few reasons (not the least of which is that Daniel Tompkins is the lead vocalist for both bands). It’s lush and layered and gorgeous. I just wish it was slightly more metal than it is. See the rest here
Old Man Gloom — The Ape Of God I
★★★☆ The first half of this double album finds Old Man Gloom in an even more experimental mood than ever before. Sure, we still here the crushing noisescapes that we heard on the group’s previous album, “NO,” but these are shorter now, as are the more “conventional” songs. Speaking of which, the band seem to be caught between different identities. See the rest here
