Staff picks
A gem of a band you might have overlooked in the past. Excellent song-writing, beautiful and haunting melodies supplied by the cello, varying songs, a bit doomy, a bit proggy - this here is a great post metal blend to accompany you as we near the longest night of the year. Yes, it's a short release, and yes, it does lose some edge towards the end. Still worth your time, though.
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Ivor Ag Fox, BloodTears, Dane Train, Mr. Doctor |
Say what you will about the "Djent" genre but it mixes rather nicely with ambient soundscapes. Deep tone, spacey atmosphere and surprisingly pleasant clean vocals make this one of the most organic and impressive sounding Djent-affairs on the market. Called it "Progressive" instead of "Djent" if it irks you.
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!J.O.O.E.! Ag Fox, jupitreas, Introspekrieg, Mr. Doctor |
When the year is good, awesome releases of little bands often get overlooked. But the Prog Police has deemed this worthy. Enjoy.
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MoraWintersoul GT, Dane Train |
Piet Sielck's Iron Savior returns after four years with The Landing. In great form, this band always deliver some of the heaviest and catchiest power metal around.
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Baz Anderson Ag Fox, Lyrinan, MoraWintersoul |
Steady as she goes...
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Troy Killjoy DerRozzengarten, Ag Fox, MoraWintersoul, Mr. Doctor |
Grindcore isn't really my thing, but for whatever reason the 27 tracks in 27 minutes catchy blast plastered a smile on face. This album won't be on "repeat repeatedly", but paired with a mug of coffee it is a nice adrenaline spike to get me going in the morning. Haters be hatin' Hater, but not me.
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BitterCOld White Winter Sun |
Inner Monster Out has it all: heaviness; catchy melodies; non-cheesy vocals; boundless energy; badassitude; everything. Do you remember how great it felt to experience a truly amazing new power metal album? Let Shadowside remind you.
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Lyrinan dismaleuphony, Ag Fox, GT, MoraWintersoul |
Ok folks, shit just got real.
If Santa only brings your sorry ass one thing this year, pray it's The Fallen Divine's The Binding Cycle. It's a ferocious, yet melodic album that is appealing on so many levels.
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Doc Godin Troy Killjoy |
5.7 minutes of total ear demolition.
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wormdrink414 Mr. Doctor, Troy Killjoy, Doc Godin |
Melancholic & reflective, Weeping Silence's latest has us peering into a rain-soaked window of a forgotten cathedral, only to find a lush scene of classy atmospheric, doom & gothic metal within. Rich with warm female vocals, well-timed choir passages, and numerous memorable guitar melodies & contemplative instrumental sections, "Theatre Of Life" is a rewarding release of poetic sadness & reflection.
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dismaleuphony |
Yes, you read that correctly, hammered dulcimer black metal.
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!J.O.O.E.! Mr. Doctor, Introspekrieg, DerRozzengarten |
What is it? FOLKING BRILLIANT, that's what. Much more comparable to Serdca K Nebu than their last effort, which is a good thing to my ears. So much variety packed into each song without sounding messy or forced. Every song (minus the interludes) is like a little baby epic.
And just so you cats know, since I don't speak a lick of any Slavic languages, I sometimes pretend that the female singer is chanting about eating pizza for bonus-fun-time-points. You know... FYI.
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Fat & Sassy! |
In a couple of days Pure Reason Revolution will embark on their very final tour consisting of just six dates in UK. As a parting gift, their brilliant début album The Dark Third will be played in its entirety for the first time ever. So, this is a fitting moment to step 5 years into the past and revisit this beautiful progressive masterpiece that has found its way into my playlist more times than I could possibly count. This is an album that I've probably enjoyed the most from the past decade.
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Ivor Ag Fox, BloodTears, Fat & Sassy!, Lyrinan, Darkside Momo, Dane Train |
rawrrawrRAWR! riffriffriff pound pound pound screech ROAR! thud thud thud RAWR!
Gallows is just under 30 minutes of good old asskicking deathgrind fury, raw(R!) enough to make old-timers like me tear up. And tear up the house.
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BitterCOld wormdrink414, Doc Godin, Mr. Doctor |