Pan.Thy.Monium is a pretty batshit band, right?  

I think I judge all these batshit experimental albums by how justified the batshitness is to the music itself, and especially in the context of the whole record. What kind of statement is made here?

For the most part, Pan.Thy.Monium, on the third album, seems to be content with structuring the record with one weird moment after another. There's a moment where it abruptly transitions to honking sound effects for like two seconds, which is pretty novel, but that's just it: it's novel. Consider how many times you're going to relisten to this record, and how many times that specific moment will move you. My point is that when the album begins, there doesn't seem to be a unifying theme to the weirdness, and it sits firmly in the realm of novelty. Or does it? More on that later...

Another layer is the general musicality of it. Sure, the weirdness may just be done for the sake of it, but can you bop your head to it? Sure, you can. It's a perfectly competent album in composition, with catchy and effective parts. If anything, the weirdness makes those parts memorable so, at the end of the day, it is still more than a listenable album. You can enjoy it every time, but, of course, you're looking for something far deeper than just that when it comes to anything labelled "avant-garde", right?

The thing about this album is that while the weirdness is generally just done for the sake of it, as I said, there is division between tracks. Why not just have one long track? Instead, we have four songs, which have atypical lengths. This points to the fact that they're more akin to movements and, consequently, have distinct purposes from one another, which justifies the splitting of length. Because of that, we can deduce that there really is a unifying theme to this album, which is composed of those presumably different parts. 

In order to figure that out, though, we must first identify how these tracks are different from one another. Before that, it helps to consider the actual theme we may see before we even listen to the album. According to metal archives, the music of this band in general is centered around a chaos god known as Raagoonshinnaah. A little bird once told me that this album in particular is about that same god in a power struggle against a god of light known as Amaraah. From here, we can attempt to analyze if the music itself correlates to that information. 

So, the first track is called "The Battle of Geeheeb" and, already, we see confirmation of the power struggle theme. Now, the track itself is random in experimentation, although that description probably does it injustice. It's more like an explosion of creativity, where the intention is to produce some absurdism to throw the listener off balance. That seems obvious, doesn't it? Consider, however, that the music itself isn't played cheaply at all. If I was a band whose goal is to just shock the listener with weirdness, I wouldn't care about the structure of the music at all and just focus on the novelty. That tells us that there's something deeper about this than we may first assume. One different sound leads to another. An exchange of blows between the two entities, perhaps? 

Do you remember "The Devil Went Down to Georgia"? You know where the Devil's piece begins, and you know where Johnny's piece begins as well. That's where i'm getting at with this. What if... the parts of this whole album is a sequence of responses between the two opposing forces? The weirdness, then, isn't just random. Well, not really. I mean, it's not JUST random. It's random, yet, but random with a purpose. It represents an altercation between two transcendent beings. In that sense, the music begins to take a form akin to abstract art. You may suppose that the more sinister-sounding parts are from Raagoonshinnaah, whereas the sick blues-y and prog-like guitar solos are Amaraah pushing back.

"Thee-Pherenth" begins with a continuation of this battle. The near beginning of this track is actually where the part I criticized earlier comes from, where it abruptly cuts to brief honking sounds. Ironically, though, I would say that the subsequent parts of this track are a bit more structured in terms of narrative. Immediately after is a death metal part, a suffocating darkness that can be interpreted as a retaliation from Raagoonshinnaah. It leads to a tense, ascending synth section, building up more and more until it climaxes into an ambient-like section. This is Raagoonshinnaah's track, alright, as the consecutive parts contain some darkness to them. Compared to the previous track, this one uses more atmospheric sections, with ambient and doom as well. Around 19 minutes into the album, though, another solo plays in the midst of one of those ambient sections, culminating in a jingling synth sound. I interpret that as Amaraah persevering even as Raagoonshinnaah constricts him with the latter's previous successful advances. In general, though, it seems that the latter has the upper hand so far, as I feel more oppression in this part rather than light, even with the occasional moments of Amaraah probably pushing back.

That's the thing with abstract art in general. We must accept a certain amount of open-endedness inherent to the piece. However, that also means that my interpretation could be way off to yours. I suppose I hardly need to say that, so let's continue, yeah?

You'll notice also that both of these tracks end in some kind of non-musical soundscape. In "The Battle of Geeheeb", it ends in a slightly optimistic synth ambient with a loud, creaking noise, which I have always attributed to a crying baby. Maybe it symbolizes Amaraah winning temporarily in that moment. It fills me with a nostalgic feeling, one that almost seems hopeful. It's the noise of life and all its potential. "Thee-Pherenth", meanwhile, ends in a more distressing sound, and you hear the creaking once more. This time, however, it's recontextualized by the new background. Now it sounds painful. It's the same motiff, but now different, as it's clear that Raagoonshinnaah is the one that's won here, which is consistent with my theory that "Thee-Pherenth" is about him gaining the upper hand in this struggle.

Interestingly, "Behrial" is entirely a synth section. It's hopeful, and definitely sounds like light. You may even call it breathtaking, after all that has transpired in the narrative. I'd like to point out that Pan.Thy.Monium also has a motiff of dreams and, sure enough, there is the sound of a ticking clock in this section in particular. But I don't see this as dreaming but, rather, waking up. To a new beginning, perhaps? A burial marks the end of one's life, yet maybe an ending is just another form of beginning. 

"In Remembrance' is a minute-long silence. 

...

So who won in the end, Raagoonshinnaah or Amaraah? Well, usually, I like to leave it up to interpretation. However, here's my theory... I think it's Raagoonshinnaah who won. I think an honorific remembrance leans more towards the death of light and order, as opposed to chaos. Sure, chaos and order aren't really opposed, but we usually grieve the loss of stability way more than the loss of danger and uncertainty, even when change is found in the latter. Now, the reason why there is "Behrial" in the end is because this isn't a straightforward struggle of a good guy against a bad guy. The ending suggests that while order isn't a constant in life, light persists anyways. So maybe the struggle didn't end at all. Maybe it happens in every day of existence and, even after all that, there is always light in darkness, or chaos in order, what you will... all the things that make life. That sure is something, isn't it? 

It actually took me a number of years to realise that this, Dream Theater’s second entry in their ‘Lost Not Forgotten Archives’ line of releases, is actually from the same show as the previous album, that being, ‘Images & Words – Live in Japan, 2017’.

Unlike its predecessor, which was solely the band performing their groundbreaking sophomore album in its entirety, this one is a bit of a mixed bag. Featuring eight tracks, highlights include ‘The Dark Eternal Night’, ‘As I Am’ and ‘The Gift of Music’. The musicians are all on top form as always, however, the detriment (as per usual), is vocalist James LaBrie.

It’s not his fault. I mention this with every single Dream Theater live release, but a vocal accident in the 90’s, along with his age, make him as much a struggle to listen to as it is a struggle for him to sing these songs. In particular, there are a number of tracks where I genuinely have no idea what he’s even saying.

Still, overall, this isn’t a terrible release. It’s just pointless, really. I’ve no idea why the band chose to release this concert over two different albums, except as some kind of money-making scheme specifically targeting Dream Theater nerds. And I shall forever remain proof that it worked.

While I didn't mind the allegedly classic 1994 "Verwüstung/Invoke the Dark Age" debut album from this Austrian black metal trio, I wouldn't say that I was totally convinced until their underrated 1995 "Orkblut - The Retaliation" E.P. which Ben purchased on CD at the time of release. I remember it distinctly because I went to leave the house to purchase it myself, only to discover Ben playing his new CD copy in his bedroom which saw much squabbling ensuing between us. It's been a while since I've listened to "Orkblut - The Retaliation" now but I remember it being a significant step up for the band, so by the time Abigor's sophomore album "Nachthymnen (From the Twilight Kingdom)" appeared just months later, the Austrians had our complete attention.

Time has shown us that "Nachthymnen (From the Twilight Kingdom)" has gone on to be Abigor's most highly regarded release over the years but I've never found it to be any more than a passing amusement personally & I still maintain that position now. I think it's just a bit too melodic & one-dimensional for my taste & it doesn't feel all that dark for a supposedly dark & evil black metal record. I certainly really enjoy the drumming of Thomas Tannenberger which is excellent throughout, particularly his brutal blast beats. I don't think the blackened shrieks of Silenius (Amestigon/Summoning/Die Verbannten Kinder Evas/Kreuzweg Ost/Pazuzu) are very good though & the synth work is really quite cheesy at times which perhaps shouldn't surprise me given Abigor's links to Summoning who I've always struggled with. Despite what some people may say, I do enjoy the clean female vocals which pop up from time to time, even if they do feel like they've been stolen from a gothic metal band while Peter Kubik & Tannenberger 's melodic tremolo-picked guitar interplay had become somewhat of a signature for Abigor by this stage but it can sound pretty samey after a while.

"Nachthymnen (From the Twilight Kingdom)" can easily be broken up into three three-song portions in terms of quality in my opinion. The first trio of songs are all pretty decent but things only really heat up for the middle section of the album comprised of "Dornen", "As Astral Images Darken Reality" & "The Dark Kiss" before things settle back into the sort of standard we heard earlier in the release for the remainder of the tracklisting. There aren't any obvious duds included but I wouldn't say there's anything particularly classic here either so I can't justify those sort of claims about the overall album. Still... I think most black metal fans will appreciate Abigor's second full-length, despite the flaws I mentioned earlier.

For fans of Emperor, Dødheimsgard & Lunar Aurora.

I never would have predicted that Orbit Culture, a band that I did not actually care for, could disappoint me after 2023's Descent, but boy did they ever with their newest album, Death Above Life.

My biggest critique of the bands previous record was that it sounded like hot garbage. The production choices were so atrocious that I had to step away from the album multiple times just to finish it. Which was a shame because from a compositional level, Descent  wasn't the worst. Sure, it has issues with its length, but it could be overlooked for good songwriting. But in 2025, Orbit Culture took all of the worst elements of both the production and the songwriting and amplified them to almost unlistenable heights. The drums could have been recorded in a separate room, in another country, on another planet, and they would still be the loudest thing in the mix! Vocals and guitar leads have been unceremoniously muted in favour of gargantuan fundamentals; whether it be the chugging guitar grooves or the unbearable bass drum. The melody has been stripped away from Orbit Culture.

And you want to know what makes it worse? Look at the liner notes of Death Above Life and you'll see exactly why this album was destined for failure. Record label? Century Media; the same record label that has published the last two Lorna Shore albums. Production? Buster Odeholm; primary songwriter for Humanity's Last Breath. Lorna Shore's biggest claim since the start of the 2020s has been turning every instrument in the room up to eleven and have everyone competing for the spotlight at the same time. Humanity's Last Breath has been releasing deathcore/djent whose sole objective is to be unlistenable. Orbit Culture saw this and thought: why don't we take both of these terrible ideas and combine them together? 

Best Songs: Hydra, Death Above Life

Bold statement incoming. I like the new Lamb of God album. I think it is good. That might class as two bold statements, but I think you get the gist of how this review is shaping up even at this early stage of proceedings. I am not Lamb of God’s biggest fan; in fact, I doubt that I have successfully navigated one whole album by them before the multiple listens that this opus has enjoyed. Just like this review, Into Oblivion starts off positively with the title track presenting a solid groove metal track to open things up with. Dashing riffs jab at the listener whilst Blythe’s bruising commentary land more direct blows. The slamming metalcore tropes of ‘Parasocial Christ’ are a welcome continuation of things, making it very clear that Lamb of God have not just turned up, they have rolled their sleeves up, adorned some sweatbands around their wrists and are already hard at it. After a slower start, ‘Sepsis’ soon sets in as its title suggests it would, turning into a dirty little fucker of a track, treating us to a breakdown also before leaving us sweaty and exhausted.

It is no secret that groove metal is perhaps one of the sub-genres that I struggle with and it is only the fact that I curate the playlist for The Pit that I have actually managed to seek out some alternatives to the single-track of Pantera records that I have been listening to (increasingly sporadically) over the last thirty-plus years. Machine Head’s debut was a treat of course and later day Exhorder are perhaps my only other consistent listen. Lamb of God have not had a look in until now. However, this is a mature sounding record that keeps the fun of the style firmly in play. This is not Pantera worship; whilst those elements are certainly there, I must listen attentively to formulate the influence. Nor do the grooves reach the infectious levels of Exhorder. Instead, I pick up a mixture of reflective, contemplative subject matters malformed into a blunt force trauma style delivery that benefits from restraint being applied. Into Oblivion, ironically, never fully forms into the threatened state of the album title. Lamb of God are fully aware of what they are doing.

I put this record on rotation at the same time as the new Exodus release, fully expecting this one to fall foul of the two-way comparison and that I would be sat here writing a review on Holt and co’s latest instead. As it turns out, Into Oblivion is miles ahead of Goliath in my book. If anything, Lamb of God’s tenth studio album is still growing on me, after some four listens now, this is no mean feat. To still have the same levels of energy by track seven (‘Blunt Force Blues’) is not an accolade I am often able to dish out. Even the slower paced (ballad?), ‘El Vacio’ doesn’t derail things, despite being the weakest track on here for me. At under forty minutes, managing to maintain a high level of consistency throughout its runtime, Into Oblivion is a triumph of a record in a sub-genre that for me lacks many successes even. Nodding heavily back to their roots whilst applying an array of sonic textures along the way, this is a record I never expected to like, and I think it is outstanding. Bold statement to close as well.