Conan — Blood Eagle
★★☆☆ This album is really heavy. And really moody. And unrelenting. And a bit boring, honestly. Then again, I don’t smoke dope, so what do I know. See the rest here
First Listens With Two-Star Ratings
Carnifex — Die Without Hope
★★☆☆ This album is caught halfway between deathgrind and technodeath, between sounding like The Black Dahlia Murder and The Acacia Strain. While that sounds great, the problem is that the shifts between modes happen too quickly to really seat the listener in either. It’s still a well-done bit of nastiness, though, with a nice assortment of riffs and leads. See the rest here
Prostitute Disfigurement — From Crotch To Crown
★★☆☆ Very technical death metal, on a par with Gorguts or Disincarnate. Impressive, furious, but a little dated by now. By the way, I can’t say that I’m in love with the band’s gratuitously misogynistic tone. I get the need to be shocking, but c’mon. See the rest here
Morbus Chron — Sweven
★★☆☆ This is a conflicting album. On the one hand, you get the sense that it does an excellent job executing on whatever kind of music it’s trying to be. On the other hand, it’s not quite outlandish or groundbreaking enough to be notable. Combined, it comes across as a high-water mark of self-informed nonreferential music that’s equal parts doom, sludge, and Southern rock. See the rest here
Behemoth — The Satanist
★★☆☆ This album is as good as Behemoth gets. And that there is mixed praise. It is relatively expansive, and more mature than you’d suspect. But it’s also a bit tired and unexciting. Still, it’s a bit of an improvement over Evangelion. See the rest here
Conquering Dystopia — Conquering Dystopia
★★☆☆ The debut album from this talented instrumental supergroup is turgid with virtuosic excellence, letting loose an unfettered stream of steaming self-indulgence. Analogies to pissing notwithstanding, it’s definitely an entertaining ride, but almost impossible to remember once the ride is over. See the rest here
Suicidal Angels — Divide And Conquer
★★☆☆ Delightfully uncomplicated thrash, with a hint of Slayeresque sensibilities. This isn’t going to make it to the New York Times Book Review, but it is going to get your head to bob. See the rest here
Intervals — A Voice Within
★★☆☆ This album is a bit of a headscratcher. When it’s working, it’s a fairly interesting bit of jazz metal. Other times, it sounds like a djenty Papa Roach. See the rest here
Nausea — Condemned To The System
★★☆☆ Fairly solid grindcore that’s not terribly complicated, but also not entirely memorable. Worth a listen, but only just one. Still, I can’t complain. See the rest here
Pantokrator — Incarnate
★★☆☆ This is a pretty solid bit of melodic death metal. It’s not particularly special or innovative or memorable in its own right. But it evokes enough Soilwork and Amon Amarth that I wouldn’t kick it out of bed right away. See the rest here
