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1.
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Saor - Aura
(10) This amazing album had me the whole journey. Every minute of it was pure enjoyment. As it stands this is my vote for Album of the Year so far. |
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2.
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Dog Fashion Disco - Sweet Nothings
(10) I'm a big fan of all of Todd Smith's projects so when the news came that DFD was putting out a new album I was happy. In no way could I predict just how much ass this album would kick. Every track is just amazing. Hands down the best DFD has ever done. So hard to pick Fav tracks because I liked all of them but i'll go with "War Party", "Down The Rabbit Hole", and "Pale Horse" |
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3.
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Fluisteraars - Dromers
(10) Very awesome! Definitely one of my tops of the year so far. Very hypnotic and doesn't get stale. Even the first track being a solid 16 minutes, I never got bored with the song. Only three songs but they all have length. I originally rated this a 9 but after re-listening several times I had to give it a 10. It just got better every time I heard it. |
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4.
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Infestus - The Reflecting Void
(9.5) This album hit in all the right places for me. Hard to believe it's a one man band. Fav tracks "Constant Soul Corrosion" and "Spiegel Der Seele" |
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5.
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Emptiness - Nothing But The Whole
(9) Wow...Just wow... Everything about this album kicked ass. The vocals, the bass, the guitars. But overall the whole atmosphere of this album. Fav. tracks "Nothing But The Whole", "All Is Known", and "Lowland" |
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6.
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Nachtmystium - The World We Left Behind
(9) This album was amazing. So refreshing compared to everything else I've listened to this year so far. To me this album sounds like a more straight forward Agalloch with some added Psychedelic elements here and there. Definitely will be replaying this one often. Fav tracks "Fireheart", "In The Abscense Of Existence", and "Epitaph For A Dying Star" |
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7.
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Coffinworm - IV.I.VIII
(9) Awesome album from beginning to end. My first real joy of the year. Song in particular "Instant Death Syndrome" |
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8.
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Blood Of Serpents - Black Dawn
(8.5) Amazing album. Great combo of Black and Death. Fav tracks "Illuminator of Flesh", "Masquerade of Plagues", and "Unhallowed" |
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9.
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Novembers Doom - Bled White
(8.5) Great album. The middle kinda trailed off but it picks back up. Some of the clear vocals were kinda meh but nothing bad or annoying. Fav tracks "Heartfelt", "The Brave Pawn", "Clear" |
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10.
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The Great Old Ones - Tekeli-Li
(8.5) The French scene has mostly been hit or miss with me. Mainly the latter. TGOO however are pretty dam good. Music wise this album is amazing. Vocals are good but for some reason parts here and there rub me the wrong way but thankfully those parts are few and far. Fav tracks "The Elder Things" and "Awakening" |
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11.
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Terra Tenebrosa - V.I.T.R.I.O.L. - Purging The Tunnels
(8.5) The more I listen to this band the more I fall in love with them. Strange, odd, noise, eerie, call it what you will. I dig it. Just a 2 track EP here but still awesome. |
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12.
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Panopticon - Roads To The North
(8) This album has some very good sounds and a nice flow. Personally it didn't do much to grab or impress me but it's still a very well done album. |
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13.
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Vanhelgd - Relics Of Sulphur Salvation
(8) Good riffs, good pace. Something about the way the album as a whole sounded was a bit off to me but nothing that takes away from how awesome this band is. Fav tracks "Sirens of Lampedusa" and "Cure Us From Life" |
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14.
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Fat Monsters - Thrash We Trust
(8) Dam good thrash from Russia. I won't say this album goes above and beyond the genre but I would recommend this album for someone that doesn't typically listen to thrash. |
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15.
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Chaos Moon - Resurrection Extract
(8) Honestly after listening to the first two tracks I was thinking about bailing on listening to this album. Something told me to keep on though and wow am I glad I did. "Altar" just grabbed me and then "Barrow" just raised the bar on showing me what this album is all about. So I say skip the first two tracks and enjoy the masterpiece. |
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16.
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Black Tongue - Born Hanged
(8) The only way to properly describe the heaviness of this album is to have you lay on the ground and have someone drop a bowling ball straight on your gut. Fav tracks "Waste" "Purgatory" and "Eclipse" |
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17.
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Lord Dead - Lord Dead
(8) Pretty decent introduction for this band. I'd say draw the songs out a little more and up the production just a bit and this will definitely be a band to keep your eye on in the future. |
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18.
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Contrastic - Jařmo
(8) Death/Grind with a small touch of electronic in just the right spots. The version I listened to had 5 tracks but MS only has 2 listed. Fav tracks "Bassima", "Jařmo", and "Libri prohibiti" |
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19.
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Church Of Disgust - Unworldly Summoning
(8) Good sludgy riffs and it picks up when it needs to. Just a few tweaks here and there and this would be an amazing album. If you liked Coffinworm's release this year than I recommend this. Also as a side note, the "Interlude" track gave me flashbacks to playing "Chakan" on Sega. Unless you've played that game then you wouldn't understand lol. |
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20.
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Adversary - Adversary
(8) The first two tracks sound pretty general for the genre (Black\Death) but are good. The last two "Unremitting Illness" and "Divine Abuse Of Credence" are where it's at. |
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21.
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Kringa - Total Mental Desecration
(8) Very good Black Metal album from the UK. I just wish the production was a little better. Any bass tones are next to non existent. That's really my only complaint. If that was fixed I'd say this would be a solid 9. |
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22.
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Black Monolith - Passenger
(8) The old punk in me was able to really enjoy the mix of Black/Punk here. Songs "Dead Hand" and "Victims and Hangmen" where good, quick and catchy. These play well to the low production of the album. What I really enjoyed though was the more developed songs like "Adhere" and "Eris". |
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23.
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Tombs - Savage Gold
(8) Great riffs and pounding drums. Only a few spots were I thought the vocals took away from songs but nonetheless a great album. Fav tracks "Portraits", "Seance", and "Edge Of Darkness". "Spiral" has to be one of the best closing tracks I've heard all year so far. |
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24.
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Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere
(8) Another decent album by Agalloch. I feel this album is a lot more welcoming than their last (Marrow Of The Spirit) but only delivers standard Agalloch. Which is not a bad statement by any means. Personally I was looking for something a little different but if it ain't broke don't fix it. |
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25.
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Buckethead - Backwards Chimney
(8) Another part of the never ending Buckethead saga. Some entries are better than others but this one is definitely worth a listen. Nothing crazy psychedelic like he does sometimes. Just good rockin' tunes. "Sentinel Hill" and "Other Paths" were particular favs. |
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26.
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Buckethead - Rainy Days
(8) This is just a straight forward slow, easy going set of songs. The title couldn't be more perfect. Top choice for slow rainy days. |
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27.
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Cara Neir - The Overwatch
(8) This EP has a lot of different things going for it. My only real complaint is the songs are way to short. Whenever a song hits its high point you just wish it would last. Bits of Black and Grind chopped up in an experimental blender makes for a fun quick listen. |
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28.
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Noctem - Exilium
(8) Brutal, Melodic and just the right amount of a Thrash element. Some songs could have used a little more work and this album could have easily been a 9 or even a 10 in my book. Still a very enjoyable album though. I'll be very interested to see what they do in future albums. |
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29.
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Dead Instrument - See Through Negative
(8) As good as 2 minutes can be. Fast and ripping. |
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30.
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Nausea - Condemned To The System
(8) Not to knowledgeable on their past work but if you need something loud and fast this is pretty decent. |
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31.
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Soreption - Engineering The Void
(8) Guitar work was good enough to keep me entertained. The drums seemed very lacking. Like they were only trying to do just enough to keep up with the music. Overall though this album was a nice ride. |
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32.
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Deserted Fear - Kingdom Of Worms
Decent listen but easily forgettable. Fav. tracks "Forging Delusions", "Call Me Your God" |
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33.
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Moonmen From Mars - 7.2.2014
(7.5) Awesome little punk album. Goofy band from FL, USA but dam catchy. Reminds me of some older stuff from The Dwarves. If you get a chance to catch a show, do so. Check them out on Bandcamp. |
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34.
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Buckethead - Abandoned Slaughterhouse
(7.5) Kind of a dark industrial mixed with Buckethead's style of playing. I'll give him credit for titles. This definitely gave me the feeling of exploring a creepy abandoned slaughterhouse at night. |
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35.
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Buckethead - Aquarium
(7.5) Just standard Buckethead here. Nothing makes this one stand out or special. Still a good listen though. "Aquarium" and "Attention Electric Cyclone" are my picks from here. |
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36.
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Dig Me No Grave - Cosmic Cult
(7.5) Decent debut by this Death Metal group. Not there yet but with a little more focus I think this band with do well for themselves. I'll be looking forward to whenever they put out another album. Fav tracks "Shrine Of Blasphemy" and "Mortician" |
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37.
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Martyrdöd - Elddop
(7.5) This was a fun album to listen to. Totally catered to my old punk enjoyment. The only thing was while it was enjoyable it fell victim to why I fell out of the punk scene to begin with in that it didn't sound like anything that hadn't been done before. Absolutely nothing special or unique about this. Still a good listen and i'll be replaying this a good bit I imagine. Fav tracks "En Jobbig Jävel", "Victoria", and "Tentakler" |
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38.
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Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun
(7.5) With this album it seems Mastodon took what they were trying to do with The Hunter but applied it to their tried and true style. The result is a much better album. The drums were my favorite thing about this album. I thought the chanting part towards the end of "Aunt Lisa" was a bit ridiculous but just a minor annoyance. Fav. tracks "The Motherload" and "Asleep In The Deep" |
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39.
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Tacit Fury - A Social Berserker
(7.5) Loved the guitar work on this. Vocals work really well but don't go looking for inspiring lyrics. Headbanger the whole way |
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40.
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Dol Kruug - Eat Me
(7.5) If a high tech computer got infected with a death metal virus this is the album that would have spawned from it. I may bump this up to an 8 later if it starts to grow on me. A lot of cool things here but I felt it could have been better if explored a little deeper. Definitely worth a listen though. |
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41.
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Ringworm - Hammer Of The Witch
(7.5) Made me wanna go start a mosh pit in my living room. Every track sounds more or less the same but the riffs pack a punch. |
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42.
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Buckethead - Hide In The Pickling Jar
(7) Seems this was Buckethead's version of a chugging funk\Jimi Hendrix style. Not bad but some things drag on longer than needed. |
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43.
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Buckethead - The Coats Of Claude
(7) The opening\main track "The Coats Of Claude" was really good. the tracks following didn't quite hit the same mark. The final track "Headless Reflection" was pretty decent though. |
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44.
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(hed) p.e. - Evolution
(7) This being another band from my younger days that I feel I've kind of grown out of, I wasn't expecting much from this album. Especially since their last album "Truth Rising" sucked. I'll admit I was surprised with this album. Seems like they finally took a step forward. Not a giant one but a noticeable one nonetheless. My only real complaint is the last three tracks. Granted I've never been a fan of anything reggae sounding and that's what they are. So if you like that kind of stuff you might dig the last tracks. |
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45.
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Altar Of Betelgeuze - Darkness Sustains The Silence
(7) Listening to this high I enjoyed it. Sober not as much. So if you wanna listen to this, get the bong ready or you'll be bored. |
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46.
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Vainaja - Kadotetut
(7) I liked the heaviness and the low vocals. Nothing super amazing but one of the more entertaining Doom albums I've heard. |
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47.
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Graveborne - Through The Window Of The Night
(7) I really enjoyed this album. Nothing that drags on and is to the point. Plenty of riffs to bang your head to. The louder you can play this album, the better. |
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48.
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Sockweb - Werewolf
(7) Gotta give credit when it's due. Awesome grindcore album. Great riffs and the vocals are just impressive. I should mention that the singer is a 7 year old girl. I'll let that sink in...... Ok, she apparently writes the lyrics and screams while her dad does the music. Family bonding at its best. If your willing to dive into the imagination of a little girl grindcore style (that sounds wrong but you know what I mean) definitely give this a listen. |
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49.
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Cloud Rat - Blind River
(7) I've enjoyed Cloud Rat's work for the most part. This album isn't anything really new, just a compilation. Just standard for what they do. Fun listen but nothing impressive. |
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50.
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Lord Mantis - Death Mask
(7) Not to bad of an album but I think their previous album "Prevertor" was better. It seems all the elements I liked about that album were either reduced or nonexistent on this one. Still a few things to enjoy but if your gonna listen to this band go for the other album. |
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51.
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Hail Spirit Noir - Oi Magoi
(7) I was a really big fan of this bands last release but this one wasn't as good in my opinion. There are definitely a lot of good things about this album but what some would consider "being original" can sometimes just be annoying. |
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52.
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Al-Namrood - Heen Yadhar Al Ghasq
(7) Music wise I feel this album is an 8 but more often than not the vocals kind of took me out of it but they are from Saudi Arabia. |
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53.
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Suicidal Angels - Divide And Conquer
(7) When it comes to thrash I never focus on the singer at all (unless it's ridiculously annoying). It's all about the music itself. For what it was I enjoyed this album. Plus I've been a sucker for stuff coming from Greece lately. Nothing special but if your a fan of D.R.I.'s later stuff you should enjoy this album pretty well. |
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54.
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Shroud Of Despondency - Tied To A Dying Animal
(7) Well this album apparently is broken up into two parts. Part 1 (Tracks 1-8) While I thought there were some decent sounds here most of the time it lead to nothing. Every build up would just dissipate or turn into something nowhere near as good as what got it there. Part 2 (Tracks 9-16) are all chill acoustic songs. Most are a good listen but nothing extra special about them. I actually preferred them over anything from Part 1 though. |
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55.
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Pekla - Speed'n'Roll
(6.5) Combo of Thrash and good ol' fashion rock and roll. This will mange to keep your head nodding but nothing to inspire. Decent road trip album at best. |
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56.
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Iron Reagan - The Tyranny Of Will
(6) Nothing about this stood out to me. Basic and boring for thrash. |
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57.
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Buckethead - You Can't Triple Stamp A Double Stamp
(6) Buckethead didn't get a very good start to 2014. I assume/hope that these were all bits and pieces of things he didn't finish last year. |
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58.
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Illdisposed - With The Lost Souls On Our Side
(6) Nothing spectacular. Another album that would make decent background music but doesn't do anything that hasn't been done already. |
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59.
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The Atlas Moth - The Old Believer
(6) Music wise this has some ok parts here and there but nothing that stands out. With the vocals though to me it was either annoying or they just felt out of place. Not the worst thing I've heard this year but definitely not on my replay list. |
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60.
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Archspire - The Lucid Collective
(6) Can this band play their instruments? Yes. Can they entertain me? Not really. I just couldn't get into this. To much stop and go and not enough punishing riffs to go along with the tech parts. |
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61.
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Ifing - Against This Weald
(6) This album has some good sounds and a decent flow but it was a little boring for me. Also there were some parts here and there where I felt the drums were a bit off. |
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62.
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Magenta Harvest - Volatile Waters
(6) This wasn't all bad but it did nothing to impress me. I felt it just sounded to generic. It could be acceptable background music at best. |
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63.
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KillWhitneyDead - Suffer My Wrath
(6) I enjoyed most of KWD's previous work. There was tons of hype and years worth of wait. Sadly the anticipation was way better than what was released. This album takes the good things this band has done and turned it into generic puke. Maybe it's just because I'm older than when I first listened to them. |
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64.
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Slipknot - .5: The Gray Chapter
(5) I've always tried to give Slipkot a chance. In high school their first 2 albums were essential. After that the band has had a major drop off. This album continues that trend. Skip it. |
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65.
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Sea Of Trees - Envision
(5) This would have been a lot better if the album was pure instrumental. The vocals are just awful and ruin pretty much everything. |
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66.
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Mushroomhead - The Righteous & The Butterfly
(5) Mushroomhead is one of those bands I haven't been able to shake since 8th grade. When all the cool kids were running around screaming Slipknot it was fun to bring up Mushroomhead and get puzzling stares. Overly simplistic and an extreme over use of palm muting but that doesn't mean they can't pump out a few decent tunes. XIII was by far my favorite album of theirs so I was really happy to hear they were bringing back J Mann to the band. With 3 singers though I thought definitely it would sound over crowded. In fact it's actually the opposite. In comparison to their other albums I find this very lacking in every department. Looks like I'll be able to put this band to rest once an for all. Skip this album. |
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67.
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Monuments - The Amanuensis
(4) Ugh... Another band that should definitely consider going instrumental. Im not saying good singing doesn't have its place in metal but not when it sounds like awful radio-esque BS. I throw this in the "chick friendly" pile of albums |
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68.
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Palace Of Frost - Palace Of Frost
(2) I don't even know what the hell the point of this album was. Shit, just pure shit. How this even got tagged as any form of metal I'll never know. |
