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Reviews
Alestorm - No Grave But The Sea
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Alestorm has developed a taste for songwriting that weighs heavily on party-style dance-metal tunes that could fly in any nightclub if they didn't smell so strongly of marine life, and No Grave But The Sea delivers the hearty "Mexico" and heavily hardcore "Alestorm" to follow up "Magnetic North" and the cover of Taio Cruz's "Hangover." It's good to see the band embrace such a fun, high-energy, and catchy style, especially because the strictly traditional folk metal sea shanties have begun to sound a little formulaic. I don't know if Alestorm could in good faith abandon its "serious" metal roots entirely and become a purely party band, but it's a shame they don't at least do so more often. Read more ›› |
Reviews
The Ruins Of Beverast - Exuvia
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I am not going to hide my bias. Alexander Von Meilenwald is a crafter of some of the finest blackened doom metal on the planet, and I am most definitely a fanboy for The Ruins Of Beverast. Having been somewhat disappointed, however, with the project's previous Blood Vaults effort, I went into 2017's Exuvia with some pretty high hopes of the music redeeming itself. And by the grace of Nyarlathotep, those hopes have been met. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Distillator - Summoning The Malicious
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Thrash power trios don't come along very often, unless you count the four-piece bands that utterly disregard their bassists (which is most of them). Distillator is a rare band whose members seem to be in perfect harmony; Summoning The Malicious is one of the best-mixed albums I've heard from the modern thrash movement, and there is something truly energizing about being able to hear all the instruments working in tandem. Guitar is still king, but Frankie Suim's bass playing is often the most interesting thing on this album, and Distillator were smart to make it audible. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Mastodon - Emperor Of Sand
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Emperor Of Sand follows after Once More 'Round The Sun and The Hunter before it as a mixture of streamlined hard rock and periodic bursts of classic Mastodon fury, with a psychedelic alt-rock haze seeping into a few riffs. As with any Mastodon album, Emperor Of Sand houses some inspired musicianship now and then, especially from Brann Dailor, but in keeping with the band's recent trend, the album centers around less kinetic displays and aims for commercial heaviness. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Body Count - Bloodlust
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Body Count is in the house. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Ulver - The Assassination Of Julius Caesar
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If Ulver were one of the X Men characters, they'd easily be Mystique. Ever changing, always in a state of flux, and able to morph their identity with incredible ease. When we last left off, Ulver dropped that "Zodiac Album" with the unpronounceable title. Highly psychedelic, jammy, and meditative, if you know the band and what they're all about by now, you know there's only one thing you can ever expect next out of them: the unexpected. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Cellador - Off The Grid
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The passion and pace that lift Off The Grid off the ground signal an album full of highly professional and energetic barrages of power metal marshmallow. Cellador hadn't released an album since 2006, but they have apparently been bottling up energy since their debut. Off The Grid is as crisp and pure as they come, with not a screw or crumb out of place. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Altar Of Betelgeuze - Among The Ruins
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There's a special feeling you get inside when you're anticipating the sophomore release of a quality band. You're obviously still following them because something about their breakout effort stuck with you. Maybe it floored you to the point that you're foaming at the mouth for the next chapter. Or perhaps you thought it was "just ok" but are still curious as to whether or not the band has gotten any better in the interim. Either way, you want more. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Miserist - Miserist
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You know the types of albums, the very serene and uplifting ones, that really overpower you with such an amazing sense of inner peace, and almost make you feel as though you're floating majestically on a quiet cloud? Yeah, definitely don't listen to Miserist if you're looking for such an experience. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Fen - Winter
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Now that spring is approaching us again with flowers in bloom and birds singing, Fen from the ever-so-rainy United Kingdom deliver us their new album, called Winter. A little late maybe? However, every season is a good season for atmospheric black metal and therefore we shall not hesitate to take a closer look. Read more ›› |
Reviews
Ordog - The Grand Wall
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I've been to the Great Wall, and it was pretty great. 10/10, would wall again. I still haven't seen The Great Wall, but it looks like Zhang Yimou lost his eye for imperial extravagance and tragic heroism in unexpected places beneath layers of overextensive eye-catching and Western-style explosion saturation. The Grand Wall sits somewhere between those two. Probably. I'll update you when I've seen The Great Wall. Read more ›› |