Lacuna Coil — Delirium
✦✦✧✧ Djenty emotechnocore. I don’t get what the fuss is all about. Evanescence is more interesting than this, honestly. (The title track is undeniably catchy, but I’m not entirely sure that’s in a good way.) See the rest here
First Listens With Two-Star Ratings
Circle Of Dust — Machines Of Our Disgrace
✦✦✧✧ Little known fact: back when I was getting my industrial passion project Hagman off the ground, one of my biggest inspirations was the little-known-of producer Klayton, courtesy of his Circle Of Dust moniker. In fact, to this day, every time someone mentioned Cradle Of Filth, I feel an inner twinge, wishing instead that they were talking about Circle Of Dust. See the rest here
Omnium Gatherum — Grey Heavens
✦✦✧✧ This album has a few standout moments of melodeath excellence, and the musicianship is expectedly topnotch. But there’s a pervasive and formulaic familiarity to a lot (possibly most) of the material here. See the rest here
Hollow Earth — Dead Planet
✦✦✧✧ Strictly speaking, my first impression here is that this is some gloriously dark scifi/space metal. It’s a curious blend of Gojira, Nothingface, ETID, and Misery Signals. The production, which at first seems perfect, never relents from its excessively compressed assault on the eardrums. DR5 makes sense for the band’s more devastating tracks, but just sounds silly otherwise. See the rest here
Katatonia — The Fall Of Hearts
✦✦✧✧ The newest incarnation of Katatonia begs a few comparisons to Opeth (“Damnation,” anyone?). More pointedly, any vestiges of metal on this album are largely relegated to the status of ornamentation in service to a pervasively gothy form of prog. Look: props definitely due for the band burrowing deeper into their softer side. See the rest here
Metallica — Hardwired… to Self Destruct
✦✦✧✧ Proving that they are still a band that marches to the beat of their own badly mixed drums, Metallica have filled this (their tenth studio album) with riffs and aggression “inspired” by their thrashier past. This is a welcome departure from the overarching theme of the band’s last few albums: ill-conceived experiments in audio engineering gone wrong. See the rest here
Heiress — Made Wrong
✦✦✧✧ There’s a well-considered trajectory lurking within the formulaic confines of this sludgy album, almost bordering on the progressive side. Mostly, the plotted journey is a morose one, meandering awkwardly between Deafheaven and Isis. There are, however, tasty moments throughout that make it a worthwhile listen. See the rest here
Hatebreed — The Concrete Confessional
✦✦✧✧ You know, I don’t hate this! Jamey Jasta’s voice is irritating as always, but the music behind it is more interesting this time around (or at least less repetitive) than on their previous album. Of course, this is notably faint praise, which only gets you so far; in my case, it got me as far as the first 5 tracks. See the rest here
Opeth — Sorceress
✦✦✧✧ I really should stop listening to Opeth. This album is even further removed from progressive metal, and much closer to what I’d expect from Leprous or Ghost. Or the more expositional tediums of Dream Theater. It’s really not until “Will O The Wisp,” fourteen minutes into the album, that the band revisits familiar musical territory. See the rest here
Suicidal Tendencies — World Gone Mad
✦✦✧✧ There’s nothing complicated or earthshattering here… just good, old-fashioned, material for a good sweaty slamdance. The band are tighter than ever, and even Cyco Miko’s vocals sound a little more polished (but only a little). The album ends illadvisedly with two back-to-back ballads; I’d skip them if I were you. See the rest here
