Latest Reviews

See You Tomorrow Baby

Surprisingly good and catchy mathcore from a band that I had no expectations for going in. It is very much derived from the Frontierer and Car Bomb school of mathcore with insanely loud soundscapes and very little room for the listener to breathe. However, Weston Super Maim do give their listeners just that little bit more space compared to their contemporaries. The album manages to sneak in some very subtle yet catchy melodic hooks throughout the record and they help to exemplify the heavy, bone shaking breakdowns.

Best Songs: Slow Hell, Johnny Menomic, Kryptonite Renegade 

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Saxy S Saxy S / March 27, 2024 06:19 PM
Insanium

Whom Gods Destroy come right out of the Dream Theater school of progressive metal. So much so that their original drummer was Mike Portnoy (while they were still under the name Sons of Apollo). And without Portnoy's compositional contributions to Insanium, this record sounds even less like progressive metal and more like straightforward groove metal with the occasional time signature variation. And yet it's still more enjoyable than recent Dream Theater output. What is wrong with me?

Best Songs: In the Name of War, Crawl, Keeper of the Gate

P.S. We can stop with these types of album titles any time now. They are honestly quite cringe at this point. They ran their course about fifteen years ago with Nightwish's Imaginaerium

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Saxy S Saxy S / March 27, 2024 06:14 PM
From Mars to Sirius

Gojira seem to have achieved legendary status among metalheads for their innovations in the death metal scene, innovations which I can't fully deny.  Gojira really did something easy to get behind with From Mars to Sirius.  They captured the essence of the many genres that influenced the whole album throughout.  The industrial simplicity and grooves that come from these almost djenty progressive structures flow together brilliantly with a metallic aesthetic that's deep, rough and used the edge factor to max effect without going into the kind of over-edgy nu metal territory that a lot of people like to call butt-rock.  This kind of unique behavior can almost be compared to Dream Theater's artistic inclusion of 80's rock sounds in their brand of prog metal, or even Athiest's wild jazz influence.  This range of influences also allows for slight variations in aesthetics to give most of the songs their own identity.  Still, I have only one complain about this album.  I feel like the evolutions of each song weren't fully lived up to, likely because the progginess, while still good, have been outperformed earlier prog metal bands, so it's not the best prog death I've ever heard.  But it's still a really cool album with a lot of strong merits, and I won't complain about its popularity.  I feel like Gojira are a staple for what to do right when you have multiple interest and influences that you want to put in one project.

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Rexorcist Rexorcist / March 25, 2024 07:48 PM
Confessor

I'd honestly never heard of North Carolina five-piece Confessor until I picked up 1992's Earache Records "Gods of Grind" compilation back at the time of release. The CD brought together high-quality EP's from Entombed, Carcass & Cathedral as well as the three-song self-titled effort from Confessor which featured the title track from their 1991 debut album "Condemned" as well as two cover versions of old Trouble songs that I probably wasn't aware of at the time. I think it's fair to say that Confessor's contributions saw my ears pricking up in a pretty major way too just quietly because they offered a very fresh & professional sound that not only showcased their clear technical talents but also saw them presenting something a little different to the norm.

If there's one reason to check out the "Confessor" E.P. then it's most certainly the opening cut "Condemned" which is a real treat for fans of the more complex side of progressive metal. The rhythmic experimentation on show here is nothing short of marvelous & will have even the more capable drummers out there picking their jaws up off the ground. Scott Jeffreys soaring higher-register vocal histrionics are certainly an acquired taste but shouldn't be too much of a challenge for prog fans who have been raised on a steady diet of Watchtower & Fates Warning. Things change up significantly for the second song "The Last Judgement" (an old Trouble demo track) which sees Confessor taking a different approach that sits somewhere between traditional doom metal & stoner metal. It's still solid enough stuff though. Closer "Endtime" was one of my favourite inclusions on Trouble's debut album "Psalm 9" so there's no surprise that I enjoy Confessor's version too. It kinda combines the three sounds we've heard over the first two tracks for a high-quality progressive stoner doom instrumental.

There's no question that "Confessor" is carried by the single original inclusion in "Condemned" but the two cover versions are both excellent too which has seen me being tempted to award one of my more premium scores. I've never gotten around to checking out much of Confessor's other material but it might be about time I did. The "Confessor" E.P. comes highly recommended for fans of Abstrakt Algebra, Dark Millenium & (unsurprisingly) Trouble.

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Daniel Daniel / March 25, 2024 05:52 AM
Noir

This is it. This album has been on repeat since I first heard it about a week ago and I just keep going back to it. It sounds nothing like others of it's genre, the "Atmospheric Sludge" genre. This album is absolutely beautiful and could possibly be up there for one of my all time favorite albums, still early but I haven't listened to anything on literal repeat in a while. I listen to other albums and I go back to this one. Every time I get this vibe that I'm in someone's basement studio after a long day and it's now 2 am in the morning and we're all just lounging around relaxing with some easy jams. The guitarist is playing his favorite lick for a bit, and the drummer just casually hits his favorite melody, and every once in a while they get in a groove and go hard for a moment and rock out then slowly ease back out and just relax again. It's such a meditative listen for me, listened on walks and while I can't quite go to sleep with it on it definitely relieves stress for some reason. I was almost out of this challenge for the Infinite but this kept me back in.


This album doesn't have that "sludge" element that I don't like where it really is just wading in dirty grimy melodies that I don't enjoy, while it can be darker it's much brighter and airier then the other albums I've been listening to. This has a meditative open airy jam session feel unlike anything else I've heard in a while if ever. The first song, (on Spotify is named "Sink Your Teeth In" by Disco Ensemble and i'm not sure why) but I found other recordings and track listed as Wormwood is an interesting start that I do like with the Dark Jazz element referenced elsewhere more here than throughout the album I feel is a great introduction while not entirely adheres to the expectations I had on the rest of the album. I really wanted to point out the first song for the odd discrepancy that Spotify has and the extra Jazz work but the rest of the album all have their own formula of slow jams that ramp up into a more explosive near headbanging experience and then slow down that just works so smoothly I can't get enough.  If you like the more atmospheric of the sludge but not so much sludge, this is the album for you. I want to and will recommend this to more even though that aren't into metal. Even the more metal screamed vocals, what few there are, really do just add to the enjoyable explosion of sounds for me. This is an underrated gem that I think more people need to be aware of.

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Shezma Shezma / March 20, 2024 10:31 PM
Sulphur English
I see the love for this one, and if I had listened to this album early on in my Atmospheric Sludge challenge journey I would have stopped here because this is not for me. This album frustrated me to all hell. This hits all of my personal stereotypes and gripes of the genre. Sludge is such a good word to refer to this type of music, and this one for me doesn't even have the "Atmosphere" that helps me struggle through the sludge. There are elements of black metal I liked, there are the death doom elements that I liked, and I think the vocalist does really well with doom style. I would think a straight forward death/doom album would be better for my taste and I am not even the biggest fan of that either. The sludgier, messier melodies did not want me to listen to this. It frustrated me because when his clean vocals or the good growls hit in it I enjoyed, but then I had to tread through the "sludge" to get to the moments in between to enjoy, entirely my subjective opinion and hate to rate such a beloved record of the genre low but I'm here to be the other side of opinion and to share that if you have the same opinion as I do of sludge this is not for you but I have now found that there are other albums that get included in the genre I like much better that to my ears don't sound like this. If you don't like this album like I do, look into other Atmospheric Sludge metal as they don't all sound like this.  
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Shezma Shezma / March 20, 2024 09:57 PM
Manic Impressions

I'm late to this February '24 Infinite feature. Listened to it once, didn't think of much of it then here I am listening to it again today a month later. It is not sticking with me, and it didn't on my first listen either. I have never heard of this band before until the feature and I am doing my best at keeping up with these but this one isn't sticking with me to have much to write about. The production definitely feels 90's, the thrash elements feels early 90's so it's not in it's best form but still has very bright moments. I'm not a big fan of the vocals but I also wonder if that has to do with the production and mix.  This isn't a bad album either by any means and when it does go, the guitars really do have a place. The progressive elements are here, but I almost had to look for them or otherwise they were so blatant that it did take away from the overall piece. Maybe they just didn't lean into the prog elements enough here. Maybe someday I'll check into the rest of the discography because I do hear some cool bits here but overall still not super impressed. The cover is more memorable than what's on the album.

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Shezma Shezma / March 16, 2024 11:30 PM
Arte Novecento

Novembre is an Italian progressive/gothic/doom metal band formed by brothers Giuseppe and Carmelo Orlando, and their second album Arte Novecento is totally worth experiencing something from the band! It was made between their underground debut Wish I Could Dream It Again and their 3rd-time charm breakthrough Classica, blending the melancholic doomy guitar of Katatonia and Anathema at the time with more upbeat aspects.

Although there's not much soloing to expect here, Novembre have their own creative ways of layering their structure. The immense production really lets the instruments shine, not just for the Orlando brothers but also the guitar reverb of Massimiliano Pagliuso and masterful bass of Fabio Vignati (RIP).

"Pioggia... January Tunes" starts the album with a rainstorm as slow clean guitar slowly rises then sets up the rough heavy melody. There's some more of this beauty in "Homecoming". Then "Remorse" will make you shed tears with a climatic guitar buildup. They also made a cover of "Stripped" by Depeche Mode, and while there's nothing wrong with that cover, it's not really my favorite here, though the rest of the album is still perfect.

"Worn Carrilon" has more upbeat rhythms and leads, and great singing by Carmelo. "A Memory" has more of the heartful vocals where the emotion fits greatly with the powerful lyrics. My favorite song in this album is "Nursery Rhyme". It's a dark epic of perfect harmony and well-placed acoustics, all for some gothic fun.

"Photograph" is an instrumental, but the music has some 80s The Cure vibes. I like that! Carmelo reaches his height with his vocals in "Will", alongside a glorious blend of electric and acoustic guitar from the soul. His vocals of dynamic emotion flow through the atmospheric darkness. "Carnival" is the closing 10-minute epic, and although it's enjoyable in every minute, it can't beat the other long tracks.

All in all, Arte Novecento has strong structure to flow through the atmosphere. Carmelo's vocals might not be for every metalhead due to his occasional soft pop tone, but I still enjoy his vocals and everything else. A gem worth discovering!

Favorites: "Pioggia... January Tunes", "Remorse", "A Memory", "Nursery Rhyme", "Will"

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Shadowdoom9 (Andi) Shadowdoom9 (Andi) / March 16, 2024 10:16 PM
Panopticon

After multiple tries to listen to this, trying and making it through about the first half 3 or 4 times and the second half a few tries as well I forced myself to listen to this all in one go. Most definitions of the word sludge comes to pretty much be summed up as mud, and this album does feel in a sense "muddy" as does this genre and though I know I feel I repeat myself and try to reword my reviews of this style, I'm still not a fan but will dredge myself through it because I am starting to accept the beauty more and more. I am not enjoying my time listening to the beautiful atmospheric post-rock/metal instrumentals just to be interrupted by an enjoyable heavier measure. I enjoy, for the most part, the different styles that hit here it just doesn't mix well like oil and water for me. Maybe this is what bothers me of this style and I am doing a person journey to better explain why I would rather not be listening to this style of music.

The beautiful moments though and the riffs, really had me for those not-so-brief moments where it was just a good atmospheric chill time until the distortion really kicked in and it went heavy for a moment. Wills Dislove started off beautiful, Syndic Calls was around the middle, and then the end of the last song in Grinning Mouths entrapped me into the moment and I enjoyed myself. I could hear those riffs again and be happy, but the fact that the rest of the song did a mood change for me that went off the path in a way that while I didn't hate I wanted to keep on the path that I was already going down. I could metaphor all day about this, and it sucks because while like I said I enjoyed both parts I can't keep them separate in the songs to enjoy it as a full sandwich and would rather have them as separate parts to enjoy individually.

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Shezma Shezma / March 12, 2024 05:40 AM
Wings of Lead Over Dormant Seas

This is such an album of two halves. First of all it's 2 hours long. Can't say I've ever enjoyed an album completely for 2 hours+, most aren't good past 1. The first half is a generic atmospheric sludge album. The second is a one hour long title track that I fell completely for. It's not as sludge, but maybe a bit more of the drone style. I'm not really well versed in drone but I always appreciated it when I heard it. There's just so much music that I have yet to listen to. My rating is entirely for the song, the hour long song that is the length of the album. I debated on whether to average out my rating for both halves but since the Wings of Lead Over Dormant Seas is so long and definitely worth checking out I decided to lean towards the higher rating. The first half was uninteresting to me and as I've said many times, the atmospheric sludge metal genre is not my forte and I think I would've given it a 2 star as it really was the most boring in the challenge yet that I've listened to. However, I am very glad I stuck with it and gave the second half my full attention.


Wings of Lead Over Dormant Seas the track is solid as hell. It's atmospheric, and while it is an hour long it doesn't feel like it. The sludge elements are muted and the drone takes over. However, I usually think of drone to be slower and heavier and this isn't quite that. This isn't a stoner metal song, but I couldn't help but get some Sleep vibes off of it from it's long drawn out sequences with repetitive melodies that never really get old and you really could just take a big bong hit and live in the moment. On that note, I really think if I tried that one first half of this album I would be taken so far out of it that my anxieties would take over but not here in this title track. It never goes to a dull moment, but also never really tries to hype itself up at all here where I don't think there's any harsh vocals at all. There is a bit of vocals throughout, mainly at the beginning and end of the track in a very emotional poem that is beyond my understanding even looking and reading the lyrics myself I still don't quiet follow. (Though I'm not great at understanding poems unless they are really face value). It's hauntingly beautiful and would recommend. But really only the title track, and not the rest of this album. 2 hours is way too long anyway, if you do listen to this you should break it up in 2 halves to better let it sit with you. I tried multiple times but could not do a single full listen, but I can listen to this song all the way through and enjoy it.

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Shezma Shezma / March 04, 2024 07:45 PM
Inlé

Generic Atmospheric Sludge, back to the basics on this one versus the other albums i've listened to. There are instrumental bits that are more post-rock over post-metal that I do like that remind me of something that Godspeed You! Black Emperor would do and I do like that, but the interesting relaxing spots are interrupted by the sludge harsh vocals that aren't bad but I just have no interest in hearing. A style that I just keep talking about is not my cup of tea. This isn't terrible, but I also see that nobody has even rated this album yet so maybe this isn't as much of a classic. There just really isn't anything of note that I could find to try get anything out of and I really am trying with this genre, but this is as cookie-cutter of an atmospheric sludge that i've heard. Just entirely middle of the pack.

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Shezma Shezma / March 03, 2024 05:16 AM
Until Fear No Longer Defines Us

This is on the right track for my ears. Though, I'm not sure if this is true Atmospheric Sludge metal. I do hear it in here, but I definitely hear a more progressive almost Opeth-esque style that I do love. I did have to make sure when I started this album that this was the right one because the first song, "In The Woods" is a decent enough acoustic song that did a terrible job starting the album. Terrible opener in my opinion, not a bad song but did not do a good job at all of setting a foundation for this album in my opinion.

Because right after it goes heavy with really great growls in the "Clawmaster." I do wish the screamed vocals were around more throughout the album because it goes back to clean singing soon after and his voice gets the job done well. Not the best cleans I've heard but it does fit the acoustics moments. The screams on the other hand are really where this shines and if there was more of the clean/scream within a song and play off each other more like my aforementioned Opeth, I could see this being an all-timer record for me. However it loses alot when it calms itself down then ramps back up again. Oddly enough too, the songs while disconnected by intensity are still connected.

There was a disconnect in the songs but overall I really did enjoy this album. This one just clicked for me in a way I wasn't expecting, but also doesn't sound like other albums I've heard so far. Definitely a recommend from me as an album to get you into the genre if you are more into the progressive style of metal.

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Shezma Shezma / March 02, 2024 06:48 AM
Blackwater Park

As a long-time fan of progressive metal, Opeth was a band name that kept popping up. I knew the day would come that I'd have to give them a shot, so where better to start than what seems to be one of their more highly-praised albums; 'Blackwater Park'.

Now, the whole doom and gloom death metal shouting has never really been my cup of tea. I can tolerate it in small doses, and when used in certain contexts it can be very effective, but too much of it is, well, too much! And Opeth have a lot of it!

But if I need to, I can look past that. And in this case, I can (just about) tolerate it, because Opeth have some incredible guitar acrobatics going on! The guitar riffs are so complex and intricate, there's a lot of things going on but at no point does any of it become overbearing. It sounds dark and gritty, but there's some really intelligent riffs going on here.

There are times when vocalist Mikael Akerfeldt sings cleans, and these are some of the more stand-out moments for me. And with some pretty amazing musicianship displayed in pieces like 'Bleak', 'The Funeral Portrait' and 'Harvest', there are some songs worth coming back to. Even if the singing is nothing more than unintelligible gibberish.

Opeth will never be my favourite band, and 'Blackwater Park' won't be an album I intend to go back to very often. But for what it is, it hasn't deterred me from sticking with the Swedish band for a while longer.


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MartinDavey87 MartinDavey87 / February 29, 2024 01:37 PM
Fall

Borknagar continue to produce solid quality progressive metal after a nearly three decade career. Their brand of folk/melodic black metal has a very comforting warmness to it, despite the obvious winter themes over the bands last couple of records. For some reason, I feel like Fall is a heavier record than True North with more of Lars A. Nedland and ISC Vortex's harsh black metal screeches and black metal blast beats from Bjørn. Production is still very good; it has a distinct Century Media sound as the melodic passages, both in the instrumentals and the clean singing, have more of a gothic texture to them. The light touches of a warm synth/string arrangement beneath the bands metal sound is executed well and it never feels like these tones are taking over the mixing.

It all comes together in what should be a knock-out-of-the-park home run for Borknagar, but given the bands long history, it's hard to view Fall as anything more than decent. You certainly cannot go wrong with starting off with Fall as your first Borknagar album, but this is a well oiled machine at this point just going through the motions. It still feels like its being written with passion though, so I'm willing to continue giving them a free pass.

Best Songs: Summits, Moon, Unraveling, The Wind Lingers

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Saxy S Saxy S / February 27, 2024 06:35 PM
Moon Healer

The career trajectory of Job For A Cowboy has certainly been a fascinating one to follow. Arguably considered one of the first bands to popularize deathcore during the mid 2000s and helped to spawn the debate as to whether deathcore is even death metal at all with its patchy structure and metalcore breakdowns. Of course, by the time this conversation began going mainstream, Job had already moved on to more straightforward death metal anyway!

Now I did find some of JFAC’s (Job For A Cowboy) later records as decent (i.e. Ruination & Demonocracy), but given my progressive metal wormhole during post-secondary, they were a band that I never paid that much attention to. Now it’s been just over ten years since Sun Eater and JFAC are back with a new record that is more progressive than ever before.

And there are certain elements that are worth the price of admission. The independent bass lines are gorgeous and help the band distinguish differing timbres or textures at any given time. When the bass is near its low end, songs are crushing, when those bass lines are soaring, the intensity is unrelenting. Guitars are less noodly with more open power chords, and Jonny Davy’s vocals are intense. Compositionally, Moon Healer is more a progressive album than a technical one. I think it is important to distinguish between them because those expecting a Dying Fetus-esque assault from top-to-bottom might leave feeling disappointed. What this album reminds me of more is if what if Gojira made death metal. As for JFAC themselves, the more progressive shift means structurally, Moon Healer is more focused on melodic/harmonic repetition for memorization and enjoyability.

The record is produced very well. All you must do is listen to those bass lines on “Etched in Oblivion” and “Into the Crystalline Crypts” to hear this. It isn’t as clean as a recent Dying Fetus album, but this has more life put into it. JFAC are also aware of their past as well as a deathcore band and occasionally you’ll hear passages on “A Sorrow-Filled Moon” that break the immersion and feels like a subtle wink to the audience instead of a well incorporated idea.

Despite the positivity, I feel the same way about Moon Healer as I did with Tomb Mold’s The Enduring Spirit last year. It’s a good album, and I would recommend it to progressive metal fans trying to get into the more technical side. But it feels lacking in some way; as if the technical death metal aspects were not fully realized and took a backseat to the progressive techniques. If JFAC took the concepts of progressive metal and laid them on top of some punishing technical death metal, I think Moon Healer would have been great.

Best Songs: Etched in Oblivion, Grinding Wheel of Ophanim, Into the Crystalline Crypts, The Forever Rot

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Saxy S Saxy S / February 27, 2024 05:29 PM
Mr. Bungle

Mr. Bungle are known as one of the most weirdly diverse bands around. The tracks all contain a mix of different genres, each track different from each other. Bands like Incubus would try that experimentation in the mid-1990s before sticking firmly to a different style. The talented skill of Mr. Bungle is in great display here!

Their 1991 self-titled debut was certainly unexpected at a time when grunge killed the glam star. No one before Mr. Bungle had ever dared to go full-on experimental, except John Zorn with his band Naked City. Zorn would also perform saxophone on one of the tracks in this album. But there's more than just jazzy saxophone. Here we have an avant-garde metal exploration through noise, funk, thrash, and circus music. Just far how can they go to reach the experimentation limit?

The spooky opener "Travolta" was named after John Travolta, but due to trademark conflicts, the song name was later changed to "Quote Unquote". It's truly the soundtrack to a spooky Halloween night at a carnival, though not as disturbing as its banned music video that shows clowns hanging on meat hooks. "Slowly Growing Deaf" is the best example of the band's metal, while exploring the carnival's house of mirrors. Brass-fueled "Squeeze Me Macaroni" is also amazing. That's where the album sounds best when blending lightness with spookiness. Chords are played around in "Carousel", which is actually slightly more normal. You're having fun in the funfair and riding the carousel, but it's too much to take for your motion sickness, and you throw up right in front of all the clowns that laugh at you.

"Egg" is one of two 10-minute epics in this album, this one having some playing fun before a bit of chaos that then leads to a few-minute segue to the next track. "Stubb (A Dub)" is a 7-minute track, but that includes a two-minute outro of audio samples for a nice atmosphere. Still if you want to listen to this track on its own, you might wanna just listen to the 5 minutes of actual music. "My A** is on Fire" is another more normal song, though the title is not one you would find in every album. I like the drums here, but I'm not too sure the Blue Velvet samples click.

"The Girls of Porn" has some groovy bass. "Love is a Fist" is about spouse abuse. The vocals and keyboards shine the most in "Dead Goon", the closing second 10-minute epic. Now this story might not be for the easily weirded out... An asphixiophile clown finds desire in choking himself to escape his own misery. He wasn't planning on committing suicide, but he did in a hanging accident. For a song with such a dark theme, the chorus has such a clean pop vibe.

All in all, Mr. Bungle's debut is the kind of album that someone who was a rebellious troublemaking high school kid can hear and be like, "Wow, that is musically like what I was as a kid." If the human equivalent to this album's music is around, I would hang out for some time with this cool guy whose name is... Mr. Bungle!

Favorites: "Slowly Growing Deaf", "Squeeze Me Macaroni", "Egg", "Stubb (A Dub)", "Dead Goon"

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Shadowdoom9 (Andi) Shadowdoom9 (Andi) / February 27, 2024 01:12 AM
Perdition

I was impressed by these french industrial sludge-meisters' 2021 album, Pantocrator, and although their Privation album from last year somehow passed me by, I have been looking foward to this one for a while now. Riff-wise and with the general instrumentation, this bears a significant Fear Factory influence, with some pretty immense and sludgy machine-like riffing and harsh distortion that often sounds like the sound of escaping steam buried down within the mix. The tinniness of the programmed snares adds another layer to the dystopian, Blade Runner-esque atmosphere the band is (successfully) striving for. Within this evocative, machine-dominated atmosphere intrudes the only-too-human, angered vocals of singer Matthias Jungbluth whose hardcore-style delivery gives the album a sludge metal twist with his railing against the world the band have so vividly created lays bare the alienation of his soul. I don't think any language is better than French at sounding pissed-off and Matthias here sounds really pissed-off.

The Fear Factory comparison is more pronounced here, I think, because the band have sought to add more melodic hooks into their overall sound, rather than doubling-down on the alienating atmosphere of Pantocrator. Now this is an approach I would probably normally be sceptical about, but I think it still works here and the band manage to retain the atmosphere of their alienating machine-like rhythms, even though they sometimes give the listener more of a handhold into the album. Is it as good as Pantocrator? Probably not, I guess time will tell, but it is still worth the mere thirty minutes of your time you would need to spare to lend it your ear.

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Sonny Sonny / February 24, 2024 04:31 PM
Affliction XXIX II MXMVI

This was the first album that I listened to on my journey and Atmospheric Sludge Metal challenge, and I've listened to this multiple times now. Sometimes finishing it, other times just starting it and just not wanting to spend my time with it. After these multiple sessions I'm just bored, I've found interesting bits that I try to hold onto like what I believe is sax early on in the album that makes me feel like a little more jazz could spice it up a bit. Later on the vocals feel straight out of 90's Seattle Washington grunge music and the instrumentation even feels like it just slowed and sludged up the style but all it did for me was have me go back and listen to early Mudhoney and have a much better time. This just isn't for me, and I feel bad giving this such a low rating, but I can't justify giving it a good one since I was so bored by it and know there are others out there like me who could use a view on the other side of the river. I am learning more and more this is just not my type of music but for me this is definitely not the direction of sludge or slower metal that I want to listen to but I know this is just a fork in the road for me where I found other music here similar that's more akin to what I want to hear and this is the prime example of what I don't want to hear. I can't say this is inherently bad and know this isn't what I want but I would also recommend this to someone who asks about this style and I would gladly show this record to them and I would be sincere knowing they would like it and not just a complete joke of an album for us to all laugh at.

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Shezma Shezma / February 23, 2024 07:33 PM
Charcoal Grace

When Charcoal Grace is at its best, Caligula's Hose are playing into their very best elements and turning them up to eleven. This band has always been great at writing the long, ten minute epic that I always cry about whenever I see them on an album. They have also redeveloped a knack for melodic songwriting, which make for some of their most memorable tunes since Bloom. The decreased focus on djent inspired instrumentals is very nice as well. However, I can still detect that Caligula's Horse aren't really reinventing the wheel all that much. Not like they need to of course; but the album cannot maintain that 8/10 pace for an entire playthrough. This becomes especially apparent during the "Charcoal Grace" saga, which starts and ends very well, but is marred by two clunkers during the middle. I also felt less than impressed by the second ten minute epic "Mute" as well. 

Best Songs: The World Breathes with Me, Charcoal Grace (pts. I & IV only), Sails, The Stormchaser

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Saxy S Saxy S / February 23, 2024 07:06 PM
Ihsahn

This is the best version of Ihsahn I've heard in a long time. The old symphonic elements of Emperor have returned with a feverous intent and craft this new collection of songs into some remarkable ways. It feels like more than ever that Ihsahn is comfortable with his own voice and the occasional clean vocal passage is really well done. I've never had a problem with the number of guest vocalists that have appeared on these albums in the past, but something about this one just feels more complete. The record does an even better job than 2010's After of being a well crafted story and passing it on to the listener without too much down time or wasted space. The record can get a little derivative during the second half and its extended runtimes, but the quasi-black metal hits with grit and emotion. Not since After have I been so high on an Ihsahn album and quite comfortably fills a symphonic void that has been missing in Ihsahn's music since the final Emperor album.

Best Songs: THE PROMETHEAN SPARK, PILGRIMAGE TO OBLIVION, A TAST OF THE AMBROSIA, BLOOD TRAILS TO LOVE, AT THE HEART OF ALL THINGS BROKEN

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Saxy S Saxy S / February 23, 2024 06:58 PM
Mr. Bungle

While I was the source for Ben picking up so many of the extreme metal game-changers that would stay with us for most of our lives, he would also open my eyes to exciting new bands at times too with bizarre Californian outfit Mr. Bungle being one of the more significant of them. Faith No More was a REALLY big band for Ben & his best mate Matt during the early 1990's with Mike Patton becoming nothing short of an obsession for Matt so I think it might have been him that initially brought Mr. Bungle's self-titled debut album to our attention before Ben purchased the CD. While I also loved me some Faith No More, Mr. Bungle sounded like none of my business on paper. I mean it's quirky, it's funky & it's consciously weird, none of which are characteristics I would usually be open to in my metal. But that's the true genius in this artist really i.e. the ability to do something so unusual but still achieve timeless hooks & eternal laughs that manage to immediately recall a time in my life with an effortless ease that few acts can achieve. It's been a while since I've revisited "Mr. Bungle" though & I really didn't have any idea how I might end up rating it in the modern day so it was with much anticipation that I pressed play on my long drive into work this week. What I found was that my passion for Mr. Bungle's freakish circus sideshow took very little time to rekindle too.

"Mr. Bungle" is very much a mishmash of disparate genres & ideas that somehow manages to sound cohesive & vital. Other websites will tell you that it's a blend of experimental rock, avant-garde metal & funk metal but I don't think that's quite right. I mean, there's very little actual rock on this album so calling it experimental rock is a little misleading in my opinion. There's certainly a lot more metal than there is rock here but even metal is just one of many tools that are used within a wider range of sounds & styles that include funk, ska, experimental, psychedelia, deep jazz, field recordings, circus-themed music & an array of other subgenres. Still... I think there's enough metal on offer to warrant the avant-garde metal tag given that metal provides somewhat of a platform for which to present the other quirkier sounds. Funk metal is a little bit more of a stretch in my opinion though as the funk & the metal rarely appear together & there's a lot more to "Mr. Bungle" than just funk. Regardless of these concerns, it's fair to say that "Mr. Bungle" sounds like nothing you've ever heard before so traditional tags are ineffective in preparing you for what's in store for you anyway.

The hero of the day is certainly Faith No More/Dead Cross/Fantômas front man Mike Patton as this record provides him with the ultimate showcase for his extraordinarily wide range of psychotic vocal techniques & noises. In fact, I find it entirely captivating to simply follow him through the record & observe just how fucking nuts he can be. Anyone that hasn't heard the extended "No Place Like Home" section on "Egg" or the "Redundant" part of "My Ass Is on Fire" really owe it to themselves to experience it & I challenge you to not let out at least the odd giggle (if not uncontrollable laughter) which is really saying something all these years later. Mr. Bungle are a seriously talents group of musicians too though & the way they manage to bring all of the whacked-out insanity together as a cohesive whole is really quite something. I tend to love the opposite extremes the most with the deeper psychedelic moments & the heavier metallic sections giving me the most joy but there's not a weak track to be found amongst the ten on offer with opener "Quote Unquote" & the previously mentioned "My Ass Is on Fire" both playing pivotal roles in my youth. Fantômas bassist Trevor Dunn's contribution is worth mentioning as he shows himself to possess some pretty impressive chops with some of the funky bass lines he manages to pull off. The way that Faith No More/Asva/Faxed Head guitarist Trey Spruance manages to swap from the funkiest of clean ska or funk riff to the heaviest of metal dirge is quite an eye opener too.

"Mr. Bungle" is certainly not the sort of thing that you'll find me listening to all that often as I tend to take my metal music pretty seriously at times but it's refreshing to take a musical u-turn like this every now & then, particularly when it summons up so many memories of Ben & I rolling on his bedroom floor laughing until tears streamed down our faces. Mr. Bungle serve a very clear purpose in reminding me that I don't have to be quite so intense all the time &, for that reason alone, I think everyone should experience their debut at some point in their lives, particularly where weed is involved. Fans of the more avant-garde end of metal will almost inevitably see the genius in this record while those with a strong penchant for artists like Fantômas, Buckethead & Diablo Swing Orchestra may just rank it amongst their more elite releases of the time.

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Daniel Daniel / February 23, 2024 06:46 PM
Parallels

The 1991 sixth full-length from Connecticut progressive metallers Fates Warning would represent not only my introduction to the band but would also be the only one of their releases I'd dish out my hard-earned cash for with my purchase of the CD coming very shortly after its release & off the back of my experiences with the magnificent "Point of View" single which was being consistently flogged on late-night metal radio programming at the time. "Parallels" would also be the last Fates Warning album I'd ever bother to check out which is a little strange when you consider that I still regard it as being the best of the four records I'm familiar with from them. Still... better late than never I guess as I fully intend to get there eventually. It's been a little while since I revisited "Parallels" though so it's well past time that I got a well-informed rating up on the Academy for it. Let's see how I went.

Fates Warning's first three albums from 1984-86 were all heavily weighted towards a US power metal sound with the last two (1985's "The Spectre Within" & 1986's "Awaken The Guardian") also sitting amongst the most complex & ambitious examples of metal music released to the time. Their debut "Night on Bröcken" was merely a chance to break the ice & saw the band simply emulating their NWOBHM idols Iron Maiden but things got significantly more creative after that with their two 1980's classics taking a much more technically challenging road & achieving suitable notoriety as a result. I didn't mind "Night on Bröcken" & "Awaken The Guardian" but it was "The Spectre Within" that I found the most appeal in &, of the three, it's still the one that I go back to when I feel the inclination for 80's Fates Warning. Despite possessing clear prog credentials though, "Parallels" is a very different record from that trio of early works & it makes me wonder what I might have missed out on with the two albums in between "Awaken The Guardian" & "Parallels". The 1991 Fates Warning model is a much cleaner & more sophisticated one to the band's more aggressive roots, utilizing strong prog rock influences for a moodier result that leans hard on social issues for inspiration. Rush was no doubt a huge source of influence at the time with three or four of the songs feeling more like rock than they do metal. The more metallic inclusions see the instrumentalists flexing their rhythmic muscles through structurally complex time signatures & less riff-oriented textures which makes for a highly intellectual sound that I would imagine wouldn't appeal to some metalheads. For me though, it showcases a new level of maturity & creativity for Fates Warning over their early works & it worked a treat for me as a teenager.

The tracklisting begins in stellar fashion with the technicalities of opener "Leave the Past Behind" being balanced by some brilliant hooks & vocalist Ray Alder proving himself to be infinitely more capable than divisive original front man John Arch. In fact, Alder is so wonderful on this record that I have to question why he's not spoken of more often when discussing the great metal singers of all time, such is his range & control. But the opener would not be the only highlight to be included on "Parallels" with the two real classics being the previously mentioned progressive metal anthem "Point of View" & the splendidly atmospheric prog rock closer "The Road Goes on Forever", both of which would go on to become some of my very favourite tracks of the early 1990's. The rest of the tracklisting sees the quality levels varying a little with the fairly insignificant prog rock of "We Only Say Goodbye" being the only clear failure. Songs like "Life in Still Water", "The Eleventh Hour" & "Don't Follow Me" are all high-quality examples of their type while the hard rocking riffs of "Eye To Eye" are merely pleasant without taking the same grip on the listener's emotions that the better tracks so emphatically achieve.

While "Parallels" may be a little less metal than Fates Warning's 80's classics, there can be no doubt that it's still an inherently progressive release & it shouldn't alienate fans of the other two US prog metal heavyweights in Queensryche & Dream Theater in any way as there are easily enough points of comparison to satisfy the fan bases of all three classic bands. Alder's contribution puts him right up with Geoff Tate & James LaBrie in my opinion (perhaps even surpassing the latter) & I can't help but think that I may have missed a trick by not fully exploring the rest of the band's Alder-fronted back catalogue at some point. Perhaps I've just been a little fearful of what Fates Warning might become following the hints at more of a rocky direction on this record but I've certainly found my interest peaked by this revisit which has only firmed up my opinions on what was already my favourite Fates Warning release to begin with. 

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Daniel Daniel / February 22, 2024 07:03 PM
Somewhere Along the Highway

I feel like I'll be repeating myself a bunch on these reviews; I am trying, I really am to get into Atmospheric Sludge through the challenge laid out for me. Cult of Luna may be my introduction into the genre all those years ago back when I was in high school really getting into more extreme music and I know I had tried to listen to this back then around release. This is still not my thing and for my own personal listening enjoyment this should be a lower score because I won't be coming back to this again. I still didn't "enjoy" putting this on, not that it was grating or anything just doesn't hit what I want to listen to. I can try to be subjective as possible and know that there is something here for those that are into this style. There are many moments that I consider more post-rock that I did like. The instrumentally slow and rocking moments I like, but the more muddy or "sludge" is uninteresting for me. At this point I just want to say I gave it the 'ol college try but sometimes it's just not for everyone and this isn't for me.

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Shezma Shezma / February 22, 2024 12:33 AM
Mass IIII

I've listened to this again. A few times now to try to review this. This is what it is, a post-metal and sludge record. Not my thing, and I don't get much out of it. I've known and listened to Amenra for years, and every time I leave wondering why I spent my time with it. However I do keep coming back so maybe there's something to it. I don't go back time and time again, just every time I hear about these guys in one of my many social media feeds they tend to show up. If I sat down with this one and their entire discography I could probably pinpoint the differences between them if I wanted to but I don't really want to keep going back to these any more. I have tried, and I know whenever they release their next album eventually I'll listen to it too.

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Shezma Shezma / February 17, 2024 08:51 PM
A Day of Nights

I'm on a journey (for the Infinite) to get into Atmospheric Sludge Metal. I understand why this album is considered so, but also it really doesn't fit the mold of other ASM that I've heard. Most sludge I do not like but I am trying to give them a chance and it's been a rough go at it. This album on the other hand had the slower, darker, more emotional sounds that I didn't know that I wanted. If there are more in the genre like this I am back in. This is my first album in the challenge that I am rating and I'll see after listening to a few more if it's worth continuing forward because I don't feel I can give the genre justice as it's just not my type of tea. This album however, I can absolutely see why other fans of the genre may shy away from caring too much about. It's darker and more emotional, I want to listen to this again already but it hit my emotions too hard on first listen to want to go back and give another spin immediately.


There are quiet droning moments with bombastic metal screams and explosions of guitar and drum melodies. It is a rollercoaster of emotions, that I truly fell into and maybe enjoy is not the right term but I connected to it and had an experience. Her singing is incredible, and screams too. It may not be the most catchy or melodic album but it's like watching that movie that's not particularly good but leaves a lasting impression on you. Maybe on repeat listens the "sludgier" aspects of this will creep in and I won't be as invested but the emotional ambience is what's lingering.

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Shezma Shezma / February 13, 2024 09:44 PM
Acheron

So, where do I begin when describing such an ambitious band? Mechina is known for their series of concept albums and singles with a massive saga covering them all. Think about it like Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe combined and played out like Rhapsody of Fire's conceptual sagas. Their 2005 debut The Assembly of Tyrants started off as a one-off story, but their second album Conqueror, released over 5 years later, started turning the story into a saga. The mastermind behind this project, Joe Tiberi can perform digital guitar and construct epic orchestration to flow well with the storyline in a bombastic style of extreme djenty symphonic/cyber metal!

Acheron continues their style in logical creativity. Their ambitious motive was a risk that paid off almost entirely well. Here we have the djent pioneered by Meshuggah, blended with the progressive groove of Xerath, the industrial tendencies of Fear Factory, and the cinematic symphonics of Two Steps From Hell. The rhythms and percussion band together with the riffs and keyboards for a unique combination that sometimes breaks into different territories. And f***ing h*ll, Tiberi's sonic guitar is really what the instrumentation needs as the engine for the machine. It is all in digital construction, and in many strings of the guitar, maybe beyond 8, like 9? 10?! The notes shall devastate and never drone, all in the equality of sound...

"Proprioception" is one of the best ways to open an album. There isn't any technical music, but rather a scene that sounds fresh out of an epic sci-fi movie that builds up and gets you geared up for the action, as a true concept album would. The engines ignite and the spaceship blasts off in "Earth-Born Axiom", an extensive epic in which electronic synths and cinematic orchestra prevails over the heavy djent instrumentation. Tiberi knows how to combine all that with a landscape of sci-fi dystopia that Neurotech can also achieve. "Vanquisher" is another powerful highlight, this one working well separately from the concept as a pre-release single. I don't know if they perform live concerts, but "On the Wings of Nefeli" would certainly be an interesting setlist staple. The female chanting and simple yet epic keyboards and in full prominence while the riffs have their moments, all that could easily fuel up the live crowd.

"The Halcyon Purge" sounds ominous from the name. It has some of the best writing I've heard in the album with emotional diversity. The haunting chorus is sung by Mel Rose, who first appeared in the non-album single "To Coexist is to Surrender" and would become a full-time member in subsequent albums. Absolutely spine-chilling! It's interesting how the shortest non-interlude song has the best lyrical writing. The instrumental "Lethean Waves" has nearly the same length as the previous track, but as cinematic as it is, it's rather pointless and doesn't have much value. That kinda reduces the high quality the album has. Regaining balance is "Ode to the Forgotten Few", though despite Mel Rose's vocals sounding serene, they can be tiring. Nonetheless, kudos to Tiberi for expanding his boundaries with more than just hammering heaviness.

"The Hyperion Threnody" is a massive beast of an almost 10-minute epic that works as the soundtrack to a massive space battle. There's a lot of epic power in both the title and the song that's nothing but true galactic carnage. This extensive track is so interesting and prevails as a glorious highlight. The more obvious interlude "Adrasteia" is another atmospheric track, and it's a bit boring and purposeless as well. All it's good for is being the soundtrack to a video game's main menu. "Invictus Daedalus" goes all-out fast and furious, but a bit of the interest factor has worn off. Closing this interstellar adventure is "The Future Must Be Met", a good outro but nothing worth mentioning.

And just like that, we have a bold ambitious offering with profuse variety. Acheron is a journey through the greatness of combining electronics, symphonics, and metal into one. Tiberi has had great potential that he has fulfilled and has kept his ideas going through more of his works. Although I probably would've enjoyed this more when I still into highly epic melodic styles of metal, and the second half could've been improved, Acheron has memorable moments that shall last through time, space, and reality....

Favorites: "Earth-Born Axiom", "Vanquisher", "On the Wings of Nefeli", "The Halcyon Purge", "The Hyperion Threnody"

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Shadowdoom9 (Andi) Shadowdoom9 (Andi) / February 13, 2024 01:07 AM
Manic Impressions

Missouri-based thrash metallers Anacrusis & I have had a fairly long affiliation that kicked off in the early 1990's through their 1990 sophomore album "Reason" & would expand to cover their entire discography over the next couple of years. I have to admit that I always quite liked them too but my brother Ben would go on to be a much bigger fan of them than I was. During more recent times I've revisited their supposedly classic 1993 "Screams & Whispers" fourth album which is generally considered to be Anacrusis' finest work & found that it has lost a fair chunk of its luster over the years. I certainly got some enjoyment out of it but can't see the justification for it being claimed as any sort of classic. It did however lead to me wondering whether 1991's "Manic Impressions" might suffer a similar fate which saw me nominating it for The Infinite feature release status this month.

My first revisit to "Manic Impressions" was a pretty challenging one to tell you the truth. The album's flaws immediately presented themselves as an obstacle to block my path to any sort of enjoyment & it took a full four listens before I felt that I'd managed to develop a firm & justifiable position. The first & admittedly pretty major flaw is the production job which presents this material in a format that I wouldn't have accepted for a live release or even a demo if it was me. Music of this complexity requires a crisp, clear production that allows the listener to take in all of the finer nuances but here we find a rough & ready sounding record with the ultra-dry & noticeably raw guitars being too far back in the mix & the tinny drums booming out over the top. The vocals also seem to hide behind the instrumentation most of the time & I can understand why they might have voluntarily gone with that approach given that guitarist Kenn Nardi's vocal skills are very patchy indeed. In fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that he can't sing to save his life so I was understandably doing it really tough early on.

Thankfully there are some great musical ideas hidden beneath the mess described above though. Unlike "Screams & Whispers" which is entirely focused on the progressive side of the equation, "Manic Impressions" is a much more pure representation of its progressive thrash metal tag which is an immediate plus in my book. In fact, I can see strong similarities to artists like Atheist, Voivod & Watchtower which can't be a bad thing now, can it? There are a number of tracks that eschew the thrash elements altogether though for an undiluted progressive metal sound or one that's heaped with US power metal ambiguity but at least half of the tracklisting sits very comfortably in thrash or tech thrash territory. It's kinda sad that many of the more technical & complex sections are left sounding really messy due to production issues that see the instrumentation lacking any sort of cohesion. Tracks like "I Love The World" & "What You Became" are the most obvious examples & are subsequently the biggest failures but "Something Real" & "Dream Again" aren't much better to be honest. Luckily, the back end of the album sees things taking somewhat of an upward turn but it's too little too late as far as I'm concerned with the impact of the stronger material still being curtailed by the production issues.

This latest experience with Anacrusis has not only left me disappointed with the widely praised "Manic Impressions" but has also led to me questioning my long-time position on Anacrusis as a whole given that neither of their two most popular records have managed to secure a respectable four star rating out of me. I'm not sure if my taste has just changed & become more refined over time or if I was simply naive to begin with but there's no way that I can justify these records being held up on the pedestal they so often seem to be. "Screams & Whispers" is clearly the better of the two though & I wouldn't hesitate in recommending that you give "Manic Impressions" a miss in favour of that release if you're new to the band.

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Daniel Daniel / February 09, 2024 09:03 PM
Lingua ignota: Part I

I'm not gonna lie, when I initially gave the new Persefone EP some listening, I thought I was hearing their melodic deathly progressive metal in full force, enough to give it 4.5 stars. But now that I've listened more thoroughly for the sake of reviewing, let's just say, the rating dropped a full star. This is the band's usual sound shining throughout their discography, so what went wrong?...

The problem here is the vocals (by new vocalist Daniel Rodriguez Flys, replacing longtime vocalist Marc Martins Pia) and the riffing. They both often sound closer to metalcore (though not enough for The Revolution). Now I love metalcore, and I know where the genre should stand. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Even during the intro, "Sounds and Vessels", the unfitting modern influences cause things to go down in sh*t with pointless filter. The first full song "One Word" makes up for that hard, and the clean chorus is a much better representation of their metalcore-ish experimentation. "The Equable" also has that kind of chorus but more unstable. There's more of the usual deathly progressive chaos going on, but when it's blended with the metalcore-infused riffing, things can sound a bit out of place. Of course, the guitarwork can still be good at times when it's performed more properly.

The best riffing comes on in the title track. Here we have some great guitar soloing to level up the surrounding riffing and give the EP some redeeming value. This definitely throws back to the band's better earlier material. Although the verses and choruses can sometimes get me ticked, they're still at their best here. The cleans should've been slightly reduced though. "Abyssal Communication" is a cool outro, but I should say no more.

Lingua Ignota: Part I is slightly disappointing compared to the band's previous releases, even Metanoia. It's not horrible, but it doesn't show the strength Persefone had early on. While there are a couple highlights, this new blend of deathly progressive metal with metalcore elements, which sounded cool in theory, better be improved for Part II....

Favorites: "One Word", "Lingua Ignota"

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Shadowdoom9 (Andi) Shadowdoom9 (Andi) / February 09, 2024 12:04 PM
The Sound of Perseverance

And Death’s nearly flawless discography comes to a close. The band had been advancing in progressive technicality with each album, and it culminates in their most complicated and impressive album yet.

The Sound of Perseverance, like the album cover portrays, was a monumental mountain of insane musicianship and songwriting. The guitar leads are neoclassical at times, weaving up and down scales of melodies, while the rhythm guitar is more rhythmic than before, opting for a more progressive chug. The rhythm section itself is slightly less aggressive, focusing on complicated polyrhythms even more than before. And of course, Chuck changes his vocal approach to a more high-pitched shriek, switching distinctly from a type 2 to a type 3 metal scream. It’s definitely the most difference in sound found on a new Death album.

For the most part, the album is the same incredible quality, and again, the musicianship here is just mind-bendingly good. However, this is the first Death album where I feel the band falls a bit into the “too-progressive metal” style. Songs still feature incredible, memorable riffing, but I do feel a little is lost by focusing on technicality a bit too much. Still, Death is less guilty of this than most Tech Death acts, and the album remains a fantastic swansong for the band.

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SilentScream213 SilentScream213 / January 29, 2024 01:36 PM
Twilight in Olympus

Much like the previous album, here we’ve got another Progressive Neoclassical release with a ton of Power and Symphonic Metal influence. Compositions are lush with layers of guitarwork, keys, synths and atmospherics.

All the music is played to clinical precision. Songwriting is strong and varied, with tons of shifts in speed and tonal style. The compositions are interesting in many ways, both in the multi layering of instruments and the unforeseen twists and turns each song attempts to take you on. And you bet these guys can play their instruments; impressive displays from each member pop up more than a few times across the album.

By rights, it seems like an album I’d adore. But like the previous two, it lacks something very important. Hooks! I don’t mean poppy vocal hooks. I just mean ANY hooks. None of the guitar leads are memorable, the riffs fall to rhythmic chugging most of the time, the synth melodies are nice but always take a back seat, and yeah, the vocals don’t provide any hooks either.

That’s a massive weakness, BUT all the strengths I mentioned prior are still going very strong. So, the album is still pretty great, but it can’t be more than that.

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SilentScream213 SilentScream213 / January 29, 2024 01:22 PM
Obscura

This album is a core influence upon much of what I can’t stand in modern trends of extreme Metal, so it’s no surprise I don’t like it very much. While a few Tech Death bands were already verging into what I call “Too-Progressive Metal” for the sake of pushing the skill envelope and showing off musical prowess, Gorguts took it a step further and created Dissonant Death Metal, which sacrificed all form of songwriting, riffing and memorable performance for the sole sake of creating something weird enough to continue pushing Extreme Metal in a… well, more extreme direction.

Much like how most Grindcore is simply taking things too far a lot of the time to prove they are the most fastest and most heaviest, so too does Dissodeath (at least in this Avant-Garde instance). Gorguts were more concerned with what they could do rather than what they should do. There is very little that is aurally pleasant on this album. The first song opens up with one of the most obnoxious guitar… leads, I guess, that I’ve ever heard. Atonal skronking, for what purpose? I guess cause it was new and unique. Then the guitar starts making some weird beeping noises, which is less offensive somehow. Atonal chords follow… Yeah, aside from the ever-impressive drumming and respectable talent, it’s just not my cup of tea. The songs jump around in sections so quickly there is no time to sit with anything they are trying to do. This leaves every song entirely unmemorable, save for the weird stuff they do that stands out (oh yeah, this is the track where the guitars sound like a choo choo train). Even the vocals started to wear me down, being a bit of a higher pitched bellow.

The worst part, for me, is that this totally worked for most people. Not only is the album hailed as a masterpiece, but so many bands took after them, deciding this insane new direction was the future. And yeah, it’s still going. A very unfortunate trend I see on many music discussion sites is that modern Metal isn’t worth your time unless it’s Avant-Garde Extreme Post Atmospheric Technical Progressive Metal. And that unfortunate obsession, all started right here…

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SilentScream213 SilentScream213 / January 29, 2024 12:35 PM
Hollow

Hauntologist are a post-black metal duo from Kraków comprising Mgła drummer, Darkside, and multi-instrumentalist, The Fall (Michał Stępień), Mgła bassist and backing vocalist for live performances. Hollow is the duo's debut full-length and seems to have been met with mixed reactions, a lot which seems to be based upon people's attitude towards Mgła and how much this does or doesn't sound like them. I don't mind Mgła at all, but I have only heard Exercises in Futility which I enjoyed, but not as much as many others did I suspect and so I'm going to buck the trend and take Hollow on it's own merit, not by it's comparison to another project.

I found this to be pretty interesting and hugely entertaining to boot, which may not be enough for some who need their world to be turned upside down by every release, but is more than enough for me. I often find post-metally BM to be a bit of a bore, to be honest, and went into this with a little bit of trepidation, but it kept me rapt pretty much throughout with some nice twists and turns, the three-quarters of an hour runtime seeming much shorter, which is always a good sign. Fast, intense passages of blasting atmospheric black metal are complemented by contemplative and melancholy airs that temper the furiousness of the black metal sections with more reflective atmospheres. There is a certain harshness to the production, coupled with The Fall's ascerbic vocals and icy-sounding tremolo guitar lines that gives the overall aesthetic an inherent frostiness. Darkside's drumming is top knotch throughout whether it's his withering blastbeats or skillful fills that are to the forefront at any one time. The faster sections aren't just composed of layers of indistinguishable tremolo riffing either, but rather The Fall focusses on producing cool and memorable riffs rather than just continuously swamping us with "atmosphere". Elsewhere there are the folky acoustic guitar and clean vocals of the title track and the gothic, post-punk vibe of Gardermoen but these sit well within the overall structure of the album and aren't at all distracting or obtrusive, giving the album a freshness of perspective. The album closes out with a gently self-reflective spoken word piece that leaves the listener slightly wrong-footed and provoking them to reconsider what they have heard during the previous three-quarters of an hour.

Overall this is a fine album of modern atmospheric black metal that draws on the tropes of post-metal and introduces influence from other, non-metal genres whilst still acknowledging the power of the riff in metal. It isn't very challenging to listen to and is, in fact, very easy on the ears, but I don't view that as an issue personally. The length is just about right and keeps things focussed with no tendency towards self-indulgence that may have blighted a lengthier runtime.

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Sonny Sonny / January 26, 2024 04:11 PM
Παραμαινομένη

Avant-garde music is not a style that I actively seek out. I want to like it, but more often than not I find myself trapped in a endless display of loud noises for their own sake. I have experimented in the past and there are of course exceptions, but music written for its own sake it not really something that resonates well with me.

I discovered Hoplites [Ὁπλίτης] due to a featured release recommendation last year and found myself very perplexed by the outcome. Trothisomeni (Τρωθησομένη) is an album that combined elements of black metal, death metal, technical thrash and brutal metalcore/mathcore. It came together in a full formed mess that somehow still had foundations that could have made it work if the songwriting was not so herky-jerky in its execution. Well, much like with King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard, Ὁπλίτης work at an uncomfortably fast pace. Τρωθησομένη was the first of three albums this solo act released last year and 2024 has another release not even two (2) full weeks into the year.

And yet, Paramainomeni (Παραμαινομένη) is somehow the best version of Ὁπλίτης that I've heard. This time Ὁπλίτης are only presenting six (6) new tracks to engage with, but this time we can see some huge girth. The longest record in the discography so far contains three (3) tracks that exceed ten minutes in length. While the remainder hover between six-and-a-half and nine minutes. And I could tell before listening that my bias towards avant-garde music and Ὁπλίτης as a whole was peaking out. But as I listened to Παραμαινομένη I found myself enjoying it quite a bit. With these extended runtimes, the songs on this album have a bit more of a minimalistic flare to them, so individual ideas are given time to marinate and resonate with the listener, presenting a strange sense of familiarity and comfort. This is until the next drastic change of style takes place and the cycle repeats itself. But the reason they work so much better here than anywhere else has to do with the connectivity of these phrases together to form a whole.

It is not perfect mind you; the metalcore/mathcore influence that persists throughout the albums runtime is quite insufferable given the thick chunk of the bass drum and guitar chugging. It becomes extremely unsettling when they take on djent inspiration on "Ἡ τῶν λυσσημάτων ἄγγελος". And, as I previously mentioned, the production can be quite lousy at times. The compositions may be solid, but the guitar timbre is mechanical and overstated. The dissonance of the scraping and saxophone solos feels like a executive choice to alienate this style of music from the general public, and my estimation is that it will work.

Which is a shame because when it comes to how I wish more avant-garde acts would create harmonic dissonance, Παραμαινομένη is the way I would have imagined it. It might be a longer album than most familiar with Ὁπλίτης will be comfortable with, but it shows that they have what it takes to make gripping music, regardless of style. 

Best Songs: Μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεὰ παραμαινομένη ἐμοῦ..., Παραδειγματιζομένη μουσική, Συμμιαινόμεναι Διονύσῳ Ἐλευθέριῳ

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Saxy S Saxy S / January 25, 2024 09:46 PM
Rashomon

At times when he's not recording or performing with his main band, Trivium frontman Matt Heafy has experimented with his own projects of different styles. Having been interested in black metal bands like Dark Funeral, Darkthrone, Dimmu Borgir, and Emperor, he wanted to explore more of the genre. Heafy also used some of the mythological lyrical influences heard in Shogun and In the Court of the Dragon to set an interesting theme for Rashomon, here based on Japanese folklore...

The end result is a blackened progressive metal album that's basically a whole different Trivium! Alex Bent's drum skills are heard throughout the album alongside Heafy's vocals, guitars, and bass. Guitarist Corey Beaulieu and bassist Paolo Gregoletto appear each only in one guest appearance. Trivium's formula of heavy screaming verses and melodic clean choruses are around with thick guitars and technical drum blasts. Heafy has a lot of vocal confidence, especially in the cleans. Adding to the uniqueness is the epic Eastern folk influences later used in Ryujin. All part of the extreme prog channeling Heafy's inner Enslaved and Opeth.

The waltzing intro "Hakanaki Hitsuzen" (Ephemeral Inevitable) starts off the album with Eastern symphonics and choir, but it doesn't have the epic feeling that I got from the latest two Trivium albums. Pretty much the only major negative part here. But then we crash into "Kagutsuchi", an incredible piece of violent yet melodic blackened prog-metal. How did I not hear this until now??? "Ibaraki-Dōji" can be considered the project's theme song. Lots of kick-A gold as Heafy brings out his Ihsahn influences in the guitars and vocals. An excellent underrated song, though it can do without the softer bridge that covers the 3rd quarter of the track. Steering away from the Trivium direction a bit, "Jigoku Dayu" (Hell or High Water) sounds closer to some of Opeth's softer classics.

"Tamashii no Houkai" (Destruction of the Soul) is another perfect extreme highlight with an epic chorus. "Akumu" (Nightmare). has Polish lyrics growled by Nergal from Behemoth, but it later has a strange marching bridge riff. "Komorebi" (Sunlight Filtering Through the Foliage) has a similar but more satisfying progressive structure.

"Rōnin" is the climatic 9-minute epic of the album to hook you up high. There's a long folk bridge, and in the heavier sections, Heafy has given unclean vocal duties to Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance. And HOLY F***!!! Gerard can perform memorable shrieking vocals more vicious than other black metal vocalists out there! One more heavy track, "Susanoo no Mikoto" has guest vocals by Ihsahn who also performed guitar in a couple previous tracks. "Kaizoku" (Pirate) is a fun accordion ballad to close the album.

Matt Heafy has not given up on his mythological ideas after In the Court of the Dragon. He used some of those ideas in the debut album of his own project Ibaraki. It has turned out well-done, though not as perfect as Trivium's 2020s albums. Rashomon has taken Trivium's incredible glory and gave it more adventure in its writing and lyrical theme of Japanese legends. I would probably have mixed feelings for this album if it came out when I was still a teenager who preferred melodic over extreme. The themes of Shogun have matured more in this project that shall be heard by any extreme progressive metal fan!

Favorites: "Kagutsuchi", "Jigoku Dayu", "Tamashii no Houkai", "Komorebi", "Rōnin"

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Shadowdoom9 (Andi) Shadowdoom9 (Andi) / January 24, 2024 06:55 AM
The Foam of Despair

According to RYM I have listened to over 1500 doom metal releases, so I think I can be forgiven for feeling a little jaded when approaching most new doom releases, particularly those coming out at the start of the year when, for some reason, the quality isn't always the greatest and especially by little-known acts who have been plugging away to little or no acclaim for years. Parisian four-piece, Mourning Dawn, are exactly one such act and their new album, the oddly titled The Foam of Despair, tagged as a Doom / DSBM hybrid, didn't exactly have me trembling with anticipation either. So, by the time opening track, Tomber du temps, came to an end, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself with a big stupid grin on my face as I was completely won over and enchanted by the preceeding ten minutes of downtuned bliss. Actually the original tags were a bit off the mark, The Foam of Despair is not black metal by any stretch and whilst it is rooted in doom metal it is really an album which should come under the atmospheric sludge umbrella and one which is given a freshness by pulling in additional influences from the likes of gothic and industrial metal.

That opener that so grabbed my attention has some really infectious riffing coupled with Laurent's howling vocals and a post-metal structure that plants it firmly in the atmo-sludge arena. What elevates it though, is some really nice soaring guitar soloing and spoken word interjections (an effective trope the band use several times throughout the album) that impart a melancholy air, with the cherry on the top being a reflective-sounding sax solo that closes out the track, bringing to mind some of the great work from Belgium's Messa.

Although Tomber du temps is the best track on the album, it is by no means downhill from here on in. Second track, Blue Pain, features a guest appearance by our old friend Déhà (who also mixed and mastered the album - how does he find time to sleep) who lends the track his desperate-sounding howls to provide a bit of a twist to what is otherwise a slab of Paradise Lost-inspired gothic metal. Borrowed Skin, the album's longest track, delves into the atmo-sludge playbook with a layered build to it and featuring some fine percussion work from drummer Nicolas Joyeux, the track's emotional tides rising and falling from becalmed quiet to looming and towering anguished waves, the only niggle here being the rather abrupt fade-out at the track's ending (which is also the case elsewhere with Suzerain).

Apex has a plodding chug to it that gives me an industrial metal vibe, albeit not as obviously as on closer Midnight Sun which goes full-on industrial with Nicolas Joyeux once more featuring with some imposing-sounding metallic percussion hammering away like Vulcan's Forge itself. Elsewhere Suzerain has a nice bass-heavy chugging throb with, once more, those solemn spoken word vocals and The Color of Waves is a depressive and desperate-sounding slice of post-metal atmospheric building.

The production is crisp with all the band members' contributions being readily distinguishable and allowing their inherent technical ability to shine through. However, the biggest plaudits go out to these frenchmen for their mature and interesting songwriting that encompasses multiple genres and forges them into a coherent and flowing whole, providing a compelling listen for fans of atmospheric and emotionally-charged metal and has made this my first must-hear album of 2024.

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Sonny Sonny / January 21, 2024 11:08 PM
Opus

This is a debut record of a very traditional progressive metal slab and takes a lot of its influence from giants like Dream Theater and more recently Haken. And Nospūn are really good at paying homage to their idols within progressive metal. The album is incredibly well performed, the song compositions/structures are given a lot of detail as to not make any of the tracks here (including the fifteen minute "Within the Realm of Possibility") feel extended for their own sake, and the production is top notch. I can hear each instrument with the utmost clarity, including the bass, and some of the tracks even have a decent melodic hook to anchor them down, including "The Death of Simpson" and "Back, Yet Forward".

But the record is marred by two major faults. The first is quite obvious: Nospūn do not really have much of an identity of their own at the moment. I am willing to be a little bit more forgiving in this regard since this is the bands debut album, and it's disingenuous of me to expect the band to rock the progressive metal world, in the same way that Black Sabbath did back in the 1970s. However, the other big issue has to do with this god awful synthesizer that persists throughout the entire record. When it isn't there, or not at the forefront of the track, Opus can sound really good, but "Dance With Me!" and "4D Printing" sound brutal as the keyboards rival even the most nasally pop-punk vocalists with their irritation. 

It's a solid debut, but I hope that Nospūn will take notes for a follow-up and carve their own identity within the world of progressive metal. Otherwise, they are likely to flounder just like so many others before them.

Best Songs: The Death of Simpson, Earwyrm, ...And Then There Was One, Back, Yet Forward

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Saxy S Saxy S / January 18, 2024 08:27 PM
Obsidian Wreath

Infant Island are a band that have been tracking well within the screamo world for a number of years now, but in early 2024, the band released their third studio album, Obsidian Wreath and I get to experience this band first hand and what they might have to offer.

And I do appreciate the effort that Infant island are presenting here on this album. This album is certainly post-metal in its instrumental palette as song structures and compositions are very minimalistic in nature. The record does not contain that much development through the individual tracks in regards to motivic development, but that doesn't really need to happen, since the melodic leads are so compact that they start to become infectious. This is especially so for the albums heavier songs, like "Unrelenting" and "Clawing, Still".

Obsidian Wreath had the potential to be a gorgeous album, but was thwarted by an early 2000s Converge production quality. This record sounds ridiculously muddy during its louder portions, with the kick drum actively disorienting the mix, and given the amount of double kick pedal that's on display here, it turns into a big problem. Some of the softer, post-rock sections during the records second half sound pretty and give the listener a nice reprieve before the next blackgaze assault commences. Overall, I think that I could forgive some of the production choices since it does have some of that grindcore and black metal influence interspersed sheepishly throughout the project. 

What I cannot forgive are these vocals. For a record that is supposedly very dense and filled with heavy socio-political commentary on "[the] climate catastrophe, the acceleration of capitalist extractive exploitation, the apathy towards social health which has emerged from recent mass death, and an endless stream of other ongoing crises too numerable to be named," (quoted from the albums Bandcamp page), Obsidian Wreath seems quite contempt with hiding these words in the very back of the mix. By comparison, Spanish Love Songs manage to invoke the same themes and influences over a pop-punk/heartland rock sound during their last two albums, and those vocals were not only more direct, but also right at the forefront; you could not escape them even if you wanted to. Perhaps a more fitting example for Metal Academy, Ashenspire's 2022 record Hostile Architecture was far more moving with its up front and center vocal performance. Once I accepted this, I found Obsidian Wreath to be more enjoyable when the vocals served as a instrumental embellishment, rather than them saying anything of value.

But that defeats the purpose of Infant Island writing these lyrics in the first place. Unreqvited present the exact same type of post-metal/blackgaze as Infant Island does, but with better production, and vocals that act as an instrument. And on that presumption alone, it's clear to see why I don't like this record as much as I want to. The melodic ideas are fine and I can forgive the bad production, but hiding vocals like this kneecaps this records emotional weight and leaves it feeling like either missed potential, or cocky, pretentious prog kids who want to deconstruct what makes a good song, and leaving an empty shell behind.

Best Songs: Clawing, Still, Amaranthine, Unrelenting

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Saxy S Saxy S / January 18, 2024 06:58 PM
Outsiders

Skyliner is a band who has all the usual hallmarks of a progressive power metal band that are utterly generic and forgettable. The early '10s were not a good time to be a power or a prog band, and both usually meant your album was going to be right at the center of generic and forgettable. Somehow Skyliner makes this work for them.

It's actually quite interesting. There aren't many interesting riffs, the guitars are more there because they have to be there; Because of this solos are often seem disconnected from the main meat of the song. The bassist might as well not be playing 95% of the time, an improvement over some. Almost no distinct melodies or sounds. They make up for this almost entirely on structure and flow, somehow despite all this it actually sounds pretty good.

Vocalist/guitarist Jake Becker has a voice akin to Johnny Indovina of Human Drama, but uses it in very different ways. Bit, moody, high-pitched for a man with a wide range, not necessarily of pitch, more of emotion. The resemblence of Indovina's mannerisms are too close at times to be a coincidence. It's an imitation, but an imitation of a master is still pretty good.

As it stands, a pretty good album, and with a little work, much more than that.

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Morpheus Kitami Morpheus Kitami / January 01, 2024 04:14 PM
The Enduring Spirit

I really enjoyed Tomb Mold's previous album, 2019's Planetary Clairvoyance. TM have evolved their sound even further since that album, branching out in a more technical and progressive direction, even dabbling with the ever more fashionable sorties into jazz metal territory. Whilst I understand and respect the band's desire to evolve and challenge themselves in both songwriting and technical expertise, it doesn't necessarily mean that I am fully on board with it. I have never made any secret of my lack of enthusiasm for the more technical style of metal and as for jazz, it generally has very little to do with me and is something I tend to keep at arms length. That said, the basis of TM's sound is very much in line with my preference for old-school, cavernous death metal and as such enables me to give them the benefit of the doubt. As I am exposed to repeated runthroughs, The Enduring Spirit is beginning to win me over, using the OSDM sound as a handhold I am finally coming to grips with Tomb Mold's continuing refinement of their direction.

In truth most of the evolution on the album is not as jarring as I first thought and is limited to some technical flourishes in the riffing and overall guitar work with the songwriting moving in a more progressive direction rather than a technical one, the band never going full-on Gorguts, which I am thankful for. Will of Whispers is the track I struggle with the most as the smooth jazz-like tone it employs in places is so at odds with the band's death metal roots and my own personal preferences, especially when the growling vocals are performed over the jazz sections (from around the four-minute mark), that it just sounds "wrong" to my ears. More generally, though, the technicality adds some spice to the riffing and battery that is the band's core sound, the technical aspect of the riffing on Fate's Tangled Thread, for example, gives an extra kick to what is actually already a bit of a killer and the more expansive and adventurous soloing in the latter half of the track is most definitely a cool direction to take it in. Tomb Mold almost seem like what would have happened if Autopsy had followed Death's career trajectory.

I think that for me the major takeaway from The Enduring Spirit is that this is not an album that deserves a rush judgement, it reveals more with every listen and I am definitely thawing to what I think the band is trying to achieve here. Most importantly, it still retains the ability to kick ass, no matter what it's technical or progressive intentions and that will always carry a metal album a long way with me.

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Sonny Sonny / December 24, 2023 03:54 PM
Dirge

Dirge are an Indian sludge metal five-piece, formed by members of hardcore punk band Death By Fungi in 2014. After almost ten years, this self-titled effort is only their second release, but they must have been busy honing their craft over the last decade, because this is a very accomplished slab of atmospheric sludge metal that certainly flicks all the right switches, at least as far as I am concerned.

Playing up to the sludge metal tag, this has thick, smoke-wreathed, stonerized riffs that serve as one half of their dual attack, in combination with Tabish Khidir's taut, throat-shredding roar, this is an example of the cudgel and the blade wielded with impressive adroitness and clinical skill upon the listeners aural sensibilities. Don't let me give the impression that this is relentlessly aggressive however, no there is more to Dirge in the songwriting department than that. They are equally adept when luring the listener into a misleading sense of calmness with gentler, soothing sections before unleashing their pent-up anger once more, such as during Malignant where the hypocritical politicians and businessmen of the world stumble into their lyrical sights and feel the full weight of Dirge's spleen being vented upon them (not as it bothers the bastards much I don't suppose, but you can't knock the band for trying).

I did label this as atmospheric sludge, but I mean that more as a description than in relation to the actual genre. Dirge don't exactly adhere strictly to the post-metal convention of build-build-release, but rather use gentler sections as a counterpoint to the general agressiveness of most of the runtime and thus render their conventional sludge metal more atmospheric as a result. I certainly wouldn't lump them in with Cult of Luna or Neurosis, but a better comparison for me is Germany's Hexer. The production absolutely nails the requisite sound, imparting a huge amount of weight to proceedings that an album like this stands or falls upon. I don't know too many Indian metal acts I must admit, but of those I am familiar with, Dirge top the tree.

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Sonny Sonny / December 22, 2023 02:59 PM
Mercury

Hearing a single from the upcoming Madder Mortem album made me excited for that album and up for more of this band. The frontwoman Agnete M. Kirkevaag has a lot of talent within her vocals, and you can almost consider this band a metal resurrection of Siouxsie and the Banshees. Honestly, I would go mad if I don't have this band's music in my life! And their doomy debut brings me to a fantastic beginning of their discography...

The only thing I hate about this album is the fact that I overlooked this overlooked masterpiece. There are some people who aren't fans of female-led metal bands, thinking they're incapable of "real metal" and more focused on commercial success than actual talent. Now that kind of opinion is unfair, not to mention sexist. I don't listen to a lot of the more popular female-led metal bands like Nightwish and Epica as much as I used to, but the fact that those bands' lead vocalists are female is not even close to the reason. For Madder Mortem, their debut Mercury is pure creative heaviness, and Agnete M. Kirkevaag profusely enhances it with her vocal talent and lyrical originality.

From the start, "Undertow" opens the progressive doom gates. The more melodic "Under Another Moon" adds some subtle autumnal folk elements. Same with "He Who Longed for the Stars", as the doom has slower emotion.

Another album highlight is "These Mortal Sins" with its Trail of Tears-like faster gothic metal sound. "The Grinding Silence" sounds more obscure, yet it gives the distant sound a more mysterious atmosphere. It's a great balance between the soft acoustic piano and the heavy electric guitar. Another killer favorite here is "Loss", having catchy heavy rhythm to headbang to.

More of the heavy riffing appears in "Remnants", right in the face, after the rest of the instrumentation lurks around subtly yet sinisterly. "Misty Sleep" has more effective vocals from under the deepest depths, rising in forlorn grace. Agnete's brother guitarist BP provides occasional background vocals that sound deep in contrast to Agnete's vocal harmonies. Ending things eerily is "Convertion". The closing epic perfectly summarizes the desolate Autumn atmosphere of the album and artwork. The distorted guitars, technical doomy drums, soft acoustic guitars, dreamy keyboards, and calm yet powerful vocals are all there. Truly hypnotic!

Before their heavier progressive metal sound, Madder Mortem took on melodic progressive doom. With gentle vocals and ethereal riffing, Mercury would have no trouble being part of the rare progressive doom club that included Atrox, The Foreshadowing, and The 3rd and the Mortal's Tears Laid in Earth. I wouldn't say this album is gothic as some people would consider it, though it has the bombastic drama of the genre at some points. The album is from a time when gothic/doom's pinnacle decade of the 90s was reaching its end, as Paradise Lost and The 3rd and the Mortal already discarded their heavier roots, and Theatre of Tragedy and Type O Negative each made their last doomy album before a more mainstream sound. Madder Mortem ended that era with a bang. With Mercury's influential melancholy, this bleak sound shall never die!

Favorites: "Undertow", "These Mortal Sins", "Loss", "Misty Sleep", "Convertion"

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Shadowdoom9 (Andi) Shadowdoom9 (Andi) / December 19, 2023 12:14 AM
Dream Theater

Whenever a band releases a self-titled album, there’s always that feeling that this is their definitive piece of work, something that so truly encapsulates their sound and legacy that no mere title will do. Simply put, this is supposed to be THE Dream Theater album.

And yet, it’s just that. Another Dream Theater album.

The progressive metal legends have been one of my all-time favourite bands since the early 2000’s, and each of their previous twelve studio albums or EP’s have all garnered a four or five-star rating. But sadly, the band have finally put out an album that doesn’t quite match up.

Why? I don’t know… the magic just isn’t there. Whilst previous album ‘A Dramatic Turn of Events’ saw the band continue onwards after the departure of original drummer Mike Portnoy, this outing is starting to show that perhaps without Portnoy’s drive and vision, the band really are on autopilot.

All the usual traits are here. Absolutely fantastic musicianship, with incredible chemistry between guitarist John Petrucci and keyboardist Jordan Rudess, and James LaBrie’s voice still sounds great despite wear-and-tear. But the songs, ugh, they’re not awful, but damn, these took a lot longer to get into than previous output. ‘The Looking Glass’ and ‘Along For the Ride’ are pretty decent, and the usual “epic track” of the album, ‘Illumination Theory’ is pretty good, but nowhere near holds up to classics like ‘A Change of Seasons’, ‘Octavarium’ and ‘The Count of Tuscany’.

Overall, ‘Dream Theater’ isn’t a bad album, it’s just, kind of there. When I can be bothered to listen to it, it’s alright, and has its moments, but mostly, I just find that I can’t really be bothered to actually listen to it.


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MartinDavey87 MartinDavey87 / December 15, 2023 04:58 PM
Disharmonium - Nahab

Probably one of my all-time favourite acts, Blut Aus Nord have multiple works that I rate highly. My recent revisit to the 777 trilogy of records really cemented my belief that there are very few other artists out there able to mix multiple elements and genres with such aptitude and still tell such a stark and apocalyptic tale at the same time. Only the mighty The Work Which Transforms God probably sits above that trilogy and Disharmonium: Nahab is one of the first modern releases in a while that reminds me of that record from all the way back in 2003.

However, the true talent that any good BAN record has is its ability to fill any room that it is playing in. Disharmonium: Nahab does this brilliantly. There is always a multitude of things going on with any track on here. Haunting and melancholic melodies carve slow cuts out of the very atmosphere around the listener whilst dense atmospherics constantly plunge you into some further incalculable fathom to try and orientate yourself with. The dizzying urgency that opens The Black Vortex soon settles into some undulating and pulsing construct that lurches with some unexpected grace. Yet that opening chaos is never truly lost in the track overall, it merely gets dialed into the structure and tempered a little by the pace of the track overall.

BAN also know how to arrange an album as well. The three Hideous Dream Opus’ prove this with their creepy presence being spaced perfectly to enhance instead of hindering the albums progress. That journey is tumultuous and constantly mines the bowels of terror itself to create a dramatic and thoroughly entertaining release. Every track has its own sense of identity and character. Each one is meticulously put together to achieve maximum horrific effect, making no effort to hide the nefarious intent that lies at the heart of this release.

Disharmonium: Nahab is BAN’s finest record for some time and one that reminds me of the band in their heyday around TWWTG and MoRT back in the early noughties. It ditches the overly melodic strains of their last Disharmonium album and instead focuses on intensity and listener immersion. Full marks.


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UnhinderedbyTalent UnhinderedbyTalent / December 15, 2023 08:51 AM
Let the Truth Speak

I don't know what it is about Earthside, but I have not been able to fully get into them despite many attempts at the 2015 album A Dream In Static. They are certainly well versed in their craft and know damn well how to make long songs that sound epic and all sorts of similar descriptors. But on Let the Truth Speak, Earthside are just going full balls to the wall with their pretentious progressive tendencies. It's impossible to call Let the Truth Speak a bad album, but something about it just does not sit well with me. Perhaps its the songwriting, which sits somewhere between technical progressive metal and atmospheric post-metal. Maybe it's the compositions, which are too self-indulgent for their own sake, and far too frequently.

Even still, the complexity of the forms and the way in which the album modulates between styles is impressive. It calls upon a very diverse cast of feature artists to play large roles. Most notably, Larry Braggs on "The Lesser Evil", which can be best described as a progressive jazz/funk rock opus with a heavy incorporation of strings and horn instruments. It may be the most unique song you hear all year, and I respect the hell out of that. But the album is way too long and does not do nearly enough to warrant it, and so much of this records "payoffs" feel less like a euphoric release and rather a "thank god they finally did something!" There is genuine quality here, no doubt about it. However, I won't deny that I was sonically exhausted when Let the Truth Speak was over. 

Best Songs: We Who Lament, The Lesser Evil, Let The Truth Speak 

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Saxy S Saxy S / November 30, 2023 01:39 AM
Epitaphs

I have been toiling with Epitaphs for a couple of weeks now. Drawn by the combination of the ethereal post-metal sections alongside the chunky sludge riffing, the album did a great job from the off in terms of conveying the fathomless depths of sorrow whilst also successfully iterating the harsher realities of pain. Ironically it has been this combination of styles that has led me to take so long writing this review. For the most part they work well in creating both present space as well as at the same time filling the space yet to come. However, there are times when the song structures just have an air of predictability about them and as a result the album comes off as having a lack of ideas around transitions.

More on that later though as I would like to concentrate on the positive in the first instance. Vocalist Zofia Fraś is top of the shop in this section. Possessing a voice that could never be described as serene (not by my ears at least), she instead carries a volatile power in her voice that does not always rely on the softer edges you would associate with post-metal. Often, she simply adopts tuneful yet not overly precious tone to her vocals in the slower sections, even deploying simple chants for the first part of Memories of Falling Down. In the heavier sections she chooses a heavier but not guttural style that provides aridity almost without ever coming across as sounding brittle. She is clearly supported by some excellent musicians, all of whom can play and are afforded lots of clarity in the mix also. The rhythm and percussion sections all have a chunky feel to them with the riffs often reverberating off the bass lines nicely whilst the busy but not at all intrusive drums land an assured footprint across proceedings.

Obscure Sphinx clearly have a connection going on throughout the band and their music reflects this depth of mutual respect with each of the component parts being allowed a real sense of presence but never at the expense of anything else. That having been said, there is still a little bit of work to be done to ensure that this marriage of styles sits a little more comfortably alongside one another. I would argue that there are tracks here that do not necessarily need a combination of post-metal and sludge with some of this clunkiness also being down to things just running a bit too long in some regards. As an overall album, fifty-seven minutes feels a little bloated and the previously mentioned Memories of Falling Down arguably could have done with a trim. In terms of consistency, it is the middle three tracks here (Nieprawota, Memorare and Sepulchre) that linger better on the ear as shorter tracks that just seem to choose a direction and get on with it.

I am still impressed by Epitaphs though, even taking into consideration my struggles, as it is an album with a depth that needs a few visits to it to really get to know the space in more detail. With strong Neurosis, Cult of Luna and Isis vibes going on, these Poles have quite a kit bag with them already. It just needs a bit more accomplishment and better arrangement (two opening tracks more than thirteen and twelve minutes respectively is a tough starting point) but I have every belief they will get there sooner rather than later.


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UnhinderedbyTalent UnhinderedbyTalent / November 21, 2023 09:08 PM
À l'aube

The atmosphere on À l'aube will be the true selling point as to whether or not you enjoy this. Something about its slow, brooding tempo reminds me a lot of doom or sludge metal, but the dynamics feel painstakingly reserved which I do not hear very often in the more direct styles of those two genres. This record uses space very well, since most of its most intense moments only appear for a short while before returning back to its very comfortable, whimsical post-rock/metal style. The record does feel like it's saying a lot over just five songs (5) and just under forty minutes (40), but it was difficult for me to remember what it was trying to say afterward. Something about the timbre of this album feels almost too comfortable. Nothing surrounding À l'aube really snaps me out of the sway that I found myself in while listening to it. As a result, the record turns into background noise after a while. Perhaps the vocals might be your spark, but when they are introduced on the opening track, their sporadic usage throughout the rest of the record was less surprising. All things considered, this album is pleasant enough and a welcome detour from the pummeling death and black metal that I have been going through recently, but compared to other post-metal bands like Holy Fawn or Dreadnought, it's lacking in something, and I can't quite put my finger on it.

Best Songs: Il sera déjà trop tard, Prêchant la mauvaise nouvelle, Nous sommes disparus

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Saxy S Saxy S / November 16, 2023 08:59 PM
La masquerade infernale

Arcturus' widely-praised debut album Aspera Hiems Symfonia marked a new symphonic ascension for black metal. After that, the band switched gears to a different avant-garde style. I love La Masquerade Infernale (The Infernal Masquerade) as much as their debut, here because they didn't repeat their earlier sound unlike most other symphonic black metal bands. You can still hear the great keyboard melodies and guitar leads that they can play without going too extreme.

As with Garm's other project Ulver, he was starting to move away from the black metal aggression and having more focus on expanding his singing variety. His vocals can range from electronic to operatic. And that's an epic aspect that makes this offering worth your time!

The guitar skills by Knut Magne Valle provide atmosphere for "Master of Disguise". Vocalist Kristoffer "Garm" Rygg can sing well in low beauty. There are some samples here, but I think Garm could've easily sung them. Simen "ICS Vortex" Hestnaes (guest vocalist who would later replace Garm full-time) sings in higher contrast with his operatic tenor. All in all, one of my favorite tracks here and the best opener! The neo-classical instrumental "Ad Astra" fits well in the album, but not as early as being the second track.

The more circus-y "The Chaos Path" has excellent vocals by Vortex. The title interlude has mysterious sound effects used as percussion to go alongside the somber piano melody. Blast-beats kick off "Alone" with a great boost.

"The Throne of Tragedy" has melodic bliss before jumping into melodic caverns. "Painting My Horror" is a true highlight, surpassing the opening track by a notch. Garm's vocals are awesome, even sounding eerie towards the end. "Of Nails and Sinners" is a killer closing track. Garm starts off with low operatic vocals, before rising into a nice chorus. A cool way out of the inferno!

All in all, any metalhead who wants to explore a more diverse, clean, classical side of the genre should get this release. It is an infernal carnival show not to be missed. A high recommendation for the open-minded!

Favorites: "Master of Disguise", "The Chaos Path", "The Throne of Tragedy", "Painting My Horror"

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Shadowdoom9 (Andi) Shadowdoom9 (Andi) / November 16, 2023 01:49 PM
Space Metal

Back during the early days of Ayreon when it's place was a bit stranger than it was today, there was Actual Fantasy, an album, rather than a concept album, took inspiration from various bits of media. (I struck to say sci-fi, because it's half Lucassen's dreams and half non-genre fiction) While this is wildly considered the worst Ayreon album, Lucassen's desire to explore the same general ideas as on that album, the usual knock-off of fantastical media, and Blake's 7.
There are four vocalists on this album, and they more or less appear on every song. Russell Allen of Symphony X, Dan Swano, Floor Jensen and Damian Wilson of Threshold and Arena. The problem here is that this album is like a later Symphony X album with a different keyboardist for half the songs. Allen dominates the album, sometimes to the detriment of the songs. But I must admit, Symphony X would at least have the guitar serve a purpose beyond half-hearted following along the keyboards. It's mildly annoying/amusing that a prog band treats the guitar as a bass and the bass as mostly non-existent.
This gives the impression I don't like the album, which is fair, but Lucassen rarely has much to criticize in the meat of his work. You either like his skills at the keyboard or you don't. The other three vocalists are impeccably chosen and the little keyboard flourishes are all very nice. There's just a certain amount of laziness that prevents me from fully loving the album. There's even this distinct habit for a bridge/chorus to go, someone singing/keyboard noodling/Floor sings, usually the title of the song. No manner how good the melodies are, once you notice that, you're going to notice it.
Expanded versions of the album add a few tracks, of note is a Hawkwind medley which has vocals from Dave Brock himself. It's a neat thing to hear, but gosh is it ever brief on the songs it covers. All in all a pretty good album.

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Morpheus Kitami Morpheus Kitami / November 15, 2023 01:33 AM
Paradise Lost

Heavy: 1. of great weight; difficult to lift. 2. of great density. 3. 'Paradise Lost' by Symphony X.

Symphony X's seventh studio album, 'Paradise Lost', is, simply put, heavy. The majestic sounds of their earlier releases are gone, and the more orchestral feel of their previous two albums have dwindled. Now, in their place, is an all-out assault of the heaviest, beefiest, and arguably some of the most aggressive music you'll ever hear.

The song structures, while still maintaining progressive characteristics, are nowhere near as complex as past efforts, and the keyboards don't have as prominent a role in the songwriting. Much of the music is based around guitarist Michael Romeo's massive riffs and vocalist Russell Allen's intense yet melodic voice, both fitting together so perfectly that it's easy to forget the bands more classically-inspired days.

'Set the World on Fire', 'Serpent's Kiss', 'Paradise Lost' and 'Revelation' are all fantastic-enough reasons to get this album, but then there's what I consider one of the heaviest songs of all time; 'Domination'. The sheer weight of its huge riffs is insane, amazingly produced to really give it the thickness it needs. You really don't know what "heavy" means until you've cranked this song out at full blast!

Overall, this is certainly not Symphony X's best album, but it's a natural change of direction for the band, and one which should help them appeal to a broader metal audience. And you'd sure-as-hell better be a metal fan if you're going to listen to this!


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MartinDavey87 MartinDavey87 / November 13, 2023 04:14 PM
Space Metal

You gotta admit, Arjen Lucassen is a true talented space metal genius. He can make a song with just a couple riffs and transform it into something beyond belief. I was once a fan of Ayreon and remembered the mind-blowing status of his albums. I suppose one day I can check out some of his former projects that I missed out on like Stream of Passion, but for now, let's escape into a wonderous dimension of progressive space metal!

Musically, Star One's debut picks up where Ayreon left off in Flight of the Migrator, including that album's heavier D-tuned sound. This time, only one of the two discs is the main album, and there are 4 vocalists in every song; Russell Allen, Floor Jansen, Damien Wilson, and Dan Swano. The music speaks in loud fury while in spacey beauty.

Beginning the album with mellow keyboards is the intro "Lift-Off" which is the perfect title in this space metal album. The upbeat heaviness ignites in "Set Your Controls". The deep synth/guitar momentum adds more heaviness to this song than any other Lucassen has made before then. Allen and Jansen's vocals stand out in "High Moon". With mid-tempo guitar heaviness, that song and the faster previous one are the best way to summarize what's next for the rest of the album. "Songs of the Ocean" is pretty good, though it sounds closer to the earlier hard rock of Deep Purple. Next track "Master of Darkness" is based on Star Wars. Being the Star Wars fan I am, I give the song a thumbs-up for that and the best Stratovarius-like guitar/keyboard soloing battle that greatly alternates with the climax lyrically based on the Skywalker father-son battle.

The ballad-ish 3-part epic "The Eye of Ra" breaks the earlier mid-tempo/fast pace and is so majestic, especially in the epic ending where all 4 vocalists plus background vocalist Robert Soeterboek sing in perfect harmony. "Sandrider" is a bit choppy in the riffing, but the pace is kept steady. Catchy strong vocals are performed by Swano and Jansen. "Perfect Survivor" is another slow track. It's not perfect but still solid. "Intergalactic Space Crusaders" is another brilliant highlight, as the keyboards, guitars, and vocals take you on a d*mn smooth galactic ride. Based on 2001: A Space Odyssey, "Starchild" is another long slow 3-part epic. However, unlike that other epic, the choir sounds a little annoying and pompous. The ballad-ish pace here is just too cheesy, though the song ends better than it began. Probably the weakest track here, but strong enough to maintain the 4.5-star rating for this album, or at least the standard edition...

The limited edition bonus disc starts with the kick-A "Hawkwind Medley" consisting of 9 different Hawkwind sections, with Dave Brock himself leading the vocal pack. "Spaced Out" is just straight-on rock. "Inseparable Enemies" has better guitar/synth harmonies. "Space Oddity" is a delightful cover of the David Bowie hit, sung by Lucassen himself. "Starchild" is given a slightly longer Dolby Pro-Logic remix, but it doesn't really improve much. Then there's a differently vocal-arranged version of "Spaced Out". The humorous hidden track "Intergalactic Laxative" (originally by Donovan) doesn't add much. Still most other limited edition bonus tracks are worth going that extra lightyear.

Having taken a break from my daily dose of metalcore/deathcore to check out a piece of Arjen Lucassen's prolific career, holy sh*t, I can still hear his amazing space magic! This Ayreon spin-off project of progressive metal with the speed of power metal and the cosmic vibe of Hawkwind is something not to miss out on. This man's a true genius!

Favorites: "Set Your Controls", "High Moon", "Master of Darkness", "The Eye of Ra", "Intergalactic Space Crusaders", "Hawkwind Medley", "Inseparable Enemies", "Space Oddity" (David Bowie cover)

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Shadowdoom9 (Andi) Shadowdoom9 (Andi) / November 10, 2023 12:14 AM