★★☆☆ Rather than the extreme fearcore of “Wormwood” or sluggish tedium of “Death Is The Only Mortal,” The Acacia Strain treat us this time around to a detuned-as-always party album, of sorts. Not that you could ever accuse the band of being subtle, but more than ever they’re wearing this silly excesses on their sleeves. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Much like Overkill, Exodus is in the business of giving you meat-and-potatoes thrash metal. But as much love as I give Exodus (or anyone) for flying the vintage thrash banner, this album feels a bit too retro. A big part of the problem is that, rather than trying to bring the old form into the present day to freshen it up, the album seems stuck somewhere between 1997 and 2003. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Meaty as ever, although most of the material on this EP is literally feedback. Still, if you have love in your black heart for PD, this recording is for you. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Take the Scar Symmetry you think you knew, and randomly add J-Pop, Meshuggah, and EDM to the mix. This works more often than you’d think, and at its best the album is a bona fide headnodder. But these changes happen mid-song, making it difficult to get into a real groove with the album. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Yep. This is an SOIA album, alright. See the rest here
★★☆☆ This is a strong post-metal noisefest, a kind of Isis-by-way-of-Sonic-Youth exploration that is dark and compelling. At the same time, the almost aimless meandering does work against the listener’s need for a sense of purpose to the journey. And yet, the whole album features aural delights that are hard to stop listening to. See the rest here
★★☆☆ This is a challenging album to dig into, which is an odd thing to say about a band that were former Arsies winners. There are great concepts and moments all over “Blood Mantra,” but they invariably take work to find. The album’s second half is more engaging and interesting and captivating than its first half. See the rest here
★★☆☆ Look, I get that this is a highly anticipated piece of prog metal, and clearly the band put a lot of care and thought and musicality into making it. It makes for an interesting and unpredictable ride… but as much as I want to, I just can’t get too worked up about this album. See the rest here
★★☆☆ This is pretty much exactly what you want from a deathcore band. Breakdowns and brutality are the meat and potatoes of this band, and this album delivers dutifully. Don’t expect any surprises or evolution and you’ll do just fine. See the rest here
★★☆☆ After a promising and surprisingly meaty opening track, this album quickly reveals an unevenness to its songs. A lot of the latter songs feature riffs and sections seemingly lifted from other European metal bands (I can hear Soilwork and Meshuggah in “Rusted Nail,” as just one example). In Flames occasionally succeed in their attempts here to expand their repertoire, with almost enough hits to justify the misses. See the rest here
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