Saxy S's Reviews

Horrendous are a band that I have struggled with throughout their career. Starting off as a mostly pedestrian OSDM band, the bands 2018 album, Idol, added many more progressive elements and transformed itself into something closer to technical death metal, but not in the traditional sense of the phrase. And while I could sense a real quality in the performances, I still couldn't get into it as much of that album felt elongated for its own sake, instead of as an avenue to tell a complex story.

We've had to wait five years to hear how the band would follow up and what we ended up with was certainly more refined Horrendous, and I sound that I emphatically enjoy more than anything the band has done to this point. It's worth pointing out that every track on Ontological Mysterium has its own identity and tells a story, typically in a shorter amount of time than previously. I really enjoy the compositions of "Neon Leviathan" and "Preterition Hymn", while the title track and "Cult of Shaad'oah" impress with a very unique heavier side of the band, which definitely leans closer to technical thrash than death metal.

"Chrysopoeia" might be Horrendous' most ambitious track to date since it is the one that is closest to a progressive metal opus and for the most part, the band does a very good job of it, but given how this group is able to make other tracks work in a shorter amount of time really diminishes the opener's impact. Although, props to the band for making the longest track on the album the opener (besides "The Blaze", which is more of an intro). That allows for the progressive pivot to be front and center instead of waiting until the very end, which I appreciate for the full albums construction.

I will say, the production on Ontological Mysterium is great and enforced by some excellent structural compositions. I feel like the percussion might be the biggest turn-off for some of the OSDM fans out there, but the minimal work is not that bad. The guitar riffs can be infectious and are ususally complimented by some great sounding harsh vocals and thrash-y guitar solos. But of course, I could not go any farther without the bass and it is full of energy. The three part polyphony of the bass and two guitar players allow these songs to feel alive without becoming overindulgent by having way too many things happening all at once. 

But the biggest thing for me in the runtime, which was sort of mentioned earlier. There are still some longer tracks on this record, including the seven minute opener, but Horrendous have refined their songs to an alarming degree and they feel rewarding to listen to. Horrendous really stepped their game up here and made one of the best albums of their career.

Best Songs: Neon Leviathan, Preterition Hymn, Cult of Shaad'oah, Ontological Mysterium

It's hard to imagine the vast array of new (extreme) metal bands incorporating jazz fusion elements into their music. If it was of the progressive variety of music that would make sense in terms of pushing boundaries and, y'know the very act of being "progressive". But when it comes through in technical death metal as it has in the past with Cynic and Gorguts, and more recently with Imperial Triumphant, it leaves me more confused. How is it possible that a genre known for its improvisation draw parallels to a genre whose claim to fame is extreme technical proficiency and fully composed songs?

Now that does not make any of the previously mentioned groups bad; far from it. Which is why I was fascinated and intrigued by the debut record from New Yorkers Sarmat with Determined To Strike. And while the direction of the album is unique and really tries to double down on the jazz fusion elements where Imperial Triumphant have moved away from in recent years, the production of Determined To Strike is pretty lousy and leaves me with a bitter taste in my mouth and ears.

For starters, this record has a far stronger emphasis on the brass instrumentals with the trumpet, and my initial comparison for this record was a heavier version of Thank You Scientist. But that came to halt quickly after I heard the muddy mixing, which does everything in its power to make this record as loud and abrasive as possible. For fans of technical death metal, I can't see this as a big issue. But for others, its quite hard to tell what the hell is going on most of the time. In addition, the record refuses to outline a melodic phrase or motif in any of its six songs so I'm stuck trying to appreciate an album that is more about style than earworms. Together, they deteriorate an albums replay value since the only thing that Sarmat have going for them is their sound. 

This isn't an album that I have much to say about, even though it feels like I should. This feels more like a passion project than anything worth more than a glancing blow. I reckon the thought process for this record was the same for the new Dragoncorpse album: two genres that aren't known to stick, come together for a jarring, but interesting little endeavor. Unlike Dragoncorpse however, Sarmat have less than stellar production that does not highlight this albums real strengths. 

Best Songs: Arsenal of Tyranny, Landform

It's not very often that my nightcap album for the week warrants an album review, but I believe that Dragoncorpse are worthy of the exception. The Australian based band peaked my interest early by combining two genres that do not belong together: power metal and deathcore... is what I would say if I wasn't keeping a keen ear to the ground.

For those who have been paying attention to the modern scene will already know that symphonic deathcore is hot on the presses. The obvious starting point has to be Lorna Shore, considering they are one of heavy metal's biggest bands at the moment, but let's not forget about Shadow of Intent and Mental Cruelty. Dragoncorpse seems to be the next logical step in the progression towards accessorizing deathcore to a wider audience, by way of symphonic instrumentation, gigantic vocal choruses and "bro0tal" breakdowns.

And y'know what? I can see the appeal for a band such as this. Forget about the fact that these are just power/symphonic metal songs with the occasional blast beat and heavy breakdown interspersed, the merging of the two styles works much better than I could have ever anticipated. For every oppressive Lorna Shore breakdown that feels inconsequential to the three/four minutes of death metal assault that preceded it, Dragoncorpse litter their breakdowns with tiny callbacks to earlier in the track, whether that be a continued symphonic focus, or in the case of "Terror Eternal" the dual vocals of Mardy Leith's growls and Jesse Lindskog's high screams/wails. 

The album does run a little bit short as the concept does revolve around its cringy interludes, which are simply symphonic orchestration combined with guttural vocal poetry. The vocals sound like Alex Terrible and don't evoke any reaction beyond just how out of place they sound. Otherwise, the hardest part to comes to terms with is how little it does with its supposed hybrid status. This sounds like a power metal album through and through and the deathcore influence is only icing.

Beyond all of that, I find it hard to believe that anyone would actually listen to this in their respective clans. The power metal crowd will likely find the death metal influence overwhelming, meanwhile the deathcore kids will never touch something like this because of its clean singing and cheesy and quasi-uplifting stature. It certainly is a fascinating listen, but I worry that Dragoncorpse will shift one way or the other and will eventually just turn into a generic symphonic metal band with power or deathcore elements.

Best Songs: Blood And Stones, From The Sky, UNDYING

The new and debut record from Canadian progressive metal band, The Anchoret, is a perplexing listen for me. I find that It All Began With Loneliness is a solid enough of a record from a composition and performance standpoint and I find nothing wrong structurally with regards to production. And yet for some reason I cannot wrap my head around it.

And you would think for an album with this much instrumental variety that it would be right in my ballpark. Featuring a heavy assortments of organ, saxophone, flute and even a clarinet solo, mixed very well with a modern progressive metal palette, each part is given plenty of room to breathe and shine when the time arises. This albums highlight however, is the impressive use of multitracking on the vocals. While listening, I could hear plenty of Dream Theater influence, but that one addition brings these songs to life in ways that Dream Theater would never attempt in the modern era. Think of this as closer to a more accessible version of Native Construct or, to a lesser extent, An Abstract Illusion.

However, I still couldn't latch on to this as much I would have hoped. I think my two biggest criticisms of It All Began With Loneliness are how monochromatic it all sounds. I fully expect a thrash metal record, such as Raider's Trial By Chaos, or any plethora of modern metalcore records to be monochromatic, since they rely so heavily on those low open string, palm muted riffs. Whereas in progressive metal, it just doesn't sound like much of an effort was made to make these tracks unique from one another. My other biggest criticism, a continuation of the last statement, is that this record just does not have enough steam to plow through a full hour runtime. The songs "Until the Sun Illuminates" and "Someone Listening?" sound great and got my progressive juices flowing thinking that this was going to be a special album, but then the record just kind of sat there and did the same thing for the remaining five tracks. They aren't bad per se, but the record is so focused on this one niche (which works really well by the way) that it turns a record that should have been great into one that is average at best.

Best Songs: Until The Sun Illuminates, Someone Listening?, Unafraid

When I listen to modern thrash metal, what I would like to hear is a band that knows how to write a good melodic motif instead of beating their listeners over the head with riff after riff after riff. Too many newer acts borrow from progressive metal and try to blend multiple ideas together without any sense of connection. I've always enjoyed Kreator for that very reason and so it should come as no surprise that Raider's newest record, Trial by Chaos, falls very comfortably into a very similar mold.

Of course, my comparison to Kreator should not go unnoticed since this album takes a lot of influence from the heavier branch of thrash that dabbles in death metal. The primary vocals sound like they would fit right in with any number of classic (or modern) melodic death metal albums. They are also performed with an impressive level of precision and dictation, meaning that the normal thrash listener won't be thrown off by the death metal growls and shrieks. The instrumentals sound great and are carried by the guitar riffing and to that end, riffs have enough variety between them, but still feel connected to one another. Trial by Chaos only has eight tracks and Raider are putting their best foot forward as to not oversaturate. As for the soloing, there is some impressive shredding going on here, but it does not feel overindulgent; that is to say that this does not feel like a "wank" album.

Where this album loses me is the percussion. While it is performed with precision, I feel like it relies too heavy on the double bass to keep the album chugging along. The song "New Dominion" comes to mind as a mid song breakdown is mitigated by a percussion part that does not drop down with the guitar. And that kind of goes for the album as a whole. It's only about forty minutes, which is a great amount of time to play this kind of music without becoming too stale, but it would be nice to have an interlude or a break between, since nothing truly stood out to me. Overall it's a decent thrash album that fits the mold of what I like in modern thrash, but lacks some refinement.

Best Songs: Trial By Chaos, Fearless, Ark Of Empyrea, Devour The Darkness

Do not be fooled by the strange looking character on the cover wearing what looks like a military garb; this is not an industrial metal album. V.I.T.R.I.O.L. - Purging the Tunnels is an atmospheric sludge metal album with it fair share of obtuse songwriting decisions that lead it towards the avant-garde. The warbling vocal filter is fascinating, but not overwhelming when you consider the instrumental atmosphere on display. The nearly five minute ambient interlude during "Draining the Well" is kind of disturbing as shrieks of agony are felt wavering in the distance. And the monophonic strings that become progressively louder and more irritating and the final act of the first song reaches a conclusion. However, I did find those strings to not be the best choice, since they sound comically synthetic and mostly distracting as the song drones to a conclusion.

You'd think that after eighteen minutes that Terra Tenebrosa would be out of things to do on this record, but just for fun, there is another track here; "Apokatastasis". And I really enjoyed it. It's definitely a more straightforward piece of sludgy post-metal, but I really dug how the songs slow burn becomes so much more, even if the fundamental leans heavily into the minimalist technique with its hypnotic main guitar riff.

Avant-garde is really a tag that I think a lot of people explore with extreme trepidation. Perhaps that's why this Terra Tenebrosa EP was such a delight. While it can be unsettling at times, it never feels like the obtuseness of the compositions are taking over and rather play compliments to the atmosphere. And the secondary track is a nice piece of drone/minimalism that still feels like a fully developed piece of music. Quite the surprise from me, but if you like Rosetta or even the recent output of the Ruins of Beverast, give this EP a chance.

Progressive Djentcore with a Hint of HOLY BASS

I have made it no secret that deathcore is an acquired taste for me. The main reasons why it does not work for me is the lazy stich work compositionally and the atomic drops of the breakdowns that not only feel disjointed, but destroy the mixing of a project. The new Humanity's Last Breath album asks me "what if we just removed the patchy compositions and focused primarily on atomic drop breakdowns?" The answer is about as predictable as you might expect.

I do have limits when it comes to how massive a heavy metal record should sound and deathcore almost always tries to go the extra step too far and Humanity's Last Breath are without a doubt the genre's most egregious culprits. I don't know what kind of tuning the guitars are using here, but the mixing is very flimsy and wonky. Those lowest tuned strings with low gauges sound like they are wobbling at a snail's pace and it unfortunately carries over into the overall sound of the record. It almost feels like someone wanted to make a metal album, but had no idea how to mix guitar properly.

As a result, the percussion is putting in extra work to match the guitar, which is never a good compromise, while the bass and vocals may as well not even be here at all. I can't even really comment on the compositions themselves because I was so distracted by the mix peaking out every single breakdown that even if they were good, I couldn't tell you what they sounded like. The record does have some post-rock/shoegaze interludes which are nice, but come out of nowhere, kill whatever momentum the tracks may have had, and I can barely hear them because of how many times I had to turn down the volume just to make Ashen a bearable listening experience. Hot tip: if you're metal album causes to turn the speakers down because the clipping makes it sound like they are going to explode, you're doing something wrong.

Best Songs: Lifeless, Deathless, Withering, Labyrinthian, Death Spiral 

I have mentioned before that the early stages of deathcore were not my scene, even though many of my friends during the late 2000s were all about the craze. But somehow, it is I who have started listening to these bands with frequency in recent years; as these bands move further away from deathcore, their music seems to become more interesting.

Veil of Maya are yet another band who came out of the later 2000s Sumerian Records extravaganza, but have moved further away from deathcore in the years since 2008's The Common Man's Collapse, opting for more djent and progressive tendencies, while also changing their main style to something closer to melodic metalcore. Don't get me wrong, what we get on [M]other is still heavy as hell, and these melodic choruses only appear in maybe a quarter of the albums runtime. Most of it is spent playing chunky riffs that are groovy as hell, wacky tempo's and time signatures, and all sorts of unconventional guitar methods to create sounds.

And somehow it all works really well. The biggest thing is the production that is so clean and precise, so all of the electronics and industrial tones do not overpower the main fundamentals of the tunes. Some might say that the cleanliness of this record is a determent, since it nullifies the true nature of the "hardcore" sound, but the precise timings and mixing are not really suited for hardcore music anyway, so I'll let it slide.

Where djent fails most often for me is the lack of coherent melodies/motifs that keep tunes memorable beyond "that one quirky riff". Veil of Maya play this well also, as "Artificial Dose" "Red Fur" and "Disco Kill Party" all have catchy vocal melodies that are complimented by full, open chord guitar backgrounds and minimal percussion. It creates a very strange dichotomy between that and the disjointed nature of the djenty breakdowns, but I feel like these two ideas are still loosely connected. 

Overall, I enjoyed the newest Veil of Maya album. It's more melodically pleasing than your standard deathcore or djent record, song styles vary from full on aggression to synthesized countermelodies and melodic choruses and the production is crisp and pristine. It feels like a heavier version of Northlane's Obsidian from last year and that's a huge compliment, but like with a lot of djent, I think the rhythmic technicality of the whole thing may just be a little bit too overwhelming for some. In addition, some tracks may become less replayable for much the same reason.

Best Songs: Artificial Dose, Godhead, Red Fur, Disco Kill Party, Lost Creator 

Sevendust; one of the few bands that managed to survive the dredge of 2000s nu-metal with relative favorability. Although to be frank, I haven't really followed Sevendust all that closely. I usually stow Sevendust into the same category as Lamb of God of bands that consistently make good records, but that's about it. Nothing about new Sevendust screams at me to start listening to them again, since it all sounds so similar.

And so, Truth Killer should come as no surprise that it's more of the same since the last album. This time around though, Sevendust are diving into some of the more electronic elements, where "Sick Mouth" and "Holy Water" have a mean streak of Bad Omens influence in them. That is not a bad thing and I like the turn of direction, especially following one of the albums more alternative metalcore tracks "No Revolution".

But the album runs into a brick wall on "Leave Hell Behind" and cannot start the ignition again until the closing track. Not only are these songs longer than the first half of songs, but they also run way too comfortable. I guess it's mostly tolerable from an overall perspective of "Sevendust is old now, they don't need to innovate", and given the kind of music they make, I get it. But wouldn't it be nice to hear a Sevendust mean streak again closer to Animosity?

I mean you could always do a lot worse than a new Sevendust album. It's performed very well, Lajon has lost very little in the vocals, and the production certainly has more variety thanks to the aforementioned Bad Omens electronics/synths. If you can get over the hump that Sevendust are a legacy band that can steadily release good albums without anything resembling innovation, you'll enjoy this.

Best Songs: Won't Stop the Bleeding, No Revolution, Holy Water, Fence

It's been a long time since I listened to either Bestial Devastation or Morbid Visions. A large reason for that is that those original records by Sepultura were never received well in comparison to Beneath the Remains or Chaos A.D. and a lack of clean production made them sound really lazy and slapdash, even if for this style of thrash metal that would toe the line towards early death metal, the sloppy production was apart of the appeal.

Well rejoice Sepultura fans as those two original releases have been re-recorded under the name Cavalera Conspiracy. And while the album certainly sounds a lot heavier than ever before, it suffers by trying to toe the line between being an honest re-recording and adding modernizations. Perhaps for me, because we are so far removed from those early thrash/death metal albums, the heavy reverb of this album does not bother me as much since so many recent death metal records are so prim and proper. To its benefit, these records are quick and it never feels like the album is slogging to its end. I don't know who asked for this, but if you want to hear a modern vision of old school Sepultura, well cheers to you I guess.

It's been a long time since I listened to either Bestial Devastation or Morbid Visions. A large reason for that is that those original records by Sepultura were never received well in comparison to Beneath the Remains or Chaos A.D. and a lack of clean production made them sound really lazy and slapdash, even if for this style of thrash metal that would toe the line towards early death metal, the sloppy production was apart of the appeal.

Well rejoice Sepultura fans as those two original releases have been re-recorded under the name Cavalera Conspiracy. And while the album certainly sounds a lot heavier than ever before, it suffers by trying to toe the line between being an honest re-recording and adding modernizations. Perhaps for me, because we are so far removed from those early thrash/death metal albums, the heavy reverb of this album does not bother me as much since so many recent death metal records are so prim and proper. To its benefit, these records are quick and it never feels like the album is slogging to its end. I don't know who asked for this, but if you want to hear a modern vision of old school Sepultura, well cheers to you I guess.

I've gotten really lucky this month when it comes to discovering high quality black metal. It started when I selected Tómarúm's unbelievable record from last year Ash in Realms of Stone Icons for the feature release in the Infinite, and now we finally have the return of one of my favourite and unsung heroes in the modern black metal scene, Fen. 

When I originally listened to 2017's Winter, I was taken for a ride that went far beyond a typical atmospheric black metal album. This record left me shaking in my boots since it was the first extreme metal album I heard in quite some time that really resonated with me. The pure raw sound of the black metal was paired wonderfully with the post-rock/shoegaze elements and while the album was long, it never felt liked it overstayed its welcome. Paired with a concept that was bleak and depressing and it had all the makings of a classic.

While I did enjoy 2019's The Dead Light, something about it did not hit the same way. I feel like it must have been the added attention to the progressive elements as it kind of held the album back from reaching a true apex as the last record did. Well in 2023, Fen's newest album, Monuments to Absence is another quality release from the band and an easy lock for one of the best albums of 2023!

So what changed? Well the album certainly sounds a lot angrier than The Dead Light and it results in a return to the pummeling sounds that made Winter so great. When the album commences with huge power chords on "Scouring Ignorance" that do not stop, I knew I was in for a treat; and it looks like most others agree with me. That seems to be why many are praising "Truth is Futility" not only as the albums best, but also one of Fen's best individual songs. And I must admit that song is pretty great.

Monuments to Absence is a refined album that manages to split the difference between it's black metal intensity and the progressive elements that felt out of place on the last album. This record has very little (if any) of the uncommon time signatures and wacky song forms with guitar solos that run rampant throughout progressive music. The guitar leads are well incorporated into song structures and do not take away from The Watcher's incredible vocal performance. The one gripe that I have with this new album is that while Winter had an incredible sense of pace, the back half of Monuments to Absence does not hit the mark quite the same as the beginning. The Dead Light did experiment with shorter song's and some of that is passed on at the beginning of this record, but the record does take a little too long to get to its conclusion and may drain you on repeated listens.

But that is such a minor nitpick on what is quickly becoming an elite discography. Fen create a smokey kind of atmospheric black metal that is right up my alley, but unlike Panopticon or Saor, this smoke is because everything is on fire! Not to mention the stellar production work and impressionist storytelling and this band continues to impress with no sign of slowing down.

Best Songs: Scouring Ignorance, Monuments to Absence, To Silence and Abyss we Reach, Eschaton's Gift, Wraked, All is Lost

My adventures into black metal have been suspiciously limited in recent months so thank goodness for a recent release feature in the North for this month. This is Tilintetgjort, a Nordic group and In Death I Shall Arise is the bands debut release. And the style of black metal on display is very traditional in its execution and delivery, which does unfortunately come with more than its share of issues for me. 

I have made it apparent before that the old school, 2nd wave black metal sound isn't really my cup of tea. Something about the stylings of a band like Darkthrone and Mayhem leave me with an empty feeling upon listening and a lot of that comes from the lack of variety and growth in storytelling that I always prefer. I much prefer the larger soundscapes of Emperor and the atmo-black of WitTR and Drudkh. Tilintetgjort are at a disadvantage right out of the gate as they employ a very condensed mix that sound like Burzum. The heavy bass presence with plenty of solo opportunities is nice and does take some of the attention away from the very muddy and frankly unenjoyable guitar timbre. And while the vocals are serviceable most of the time, I found on numerous occasions where the layering was peaking in the mix and it didn't seem like anyone noticed because they occur frequently and it became distracting from the performances.

The bass is doing a lot of this record heavy lifting because the guitars pack no punch in their riffage and they leave the album feeling like a demo than a professionally produced record. Maybe some of this is my background; not being a huge fan of this kind of production, while those who are more familiar with old school black metal will not mind it as much. For me, In Death I Shall Arise is a pretty underwhelming release as a whole, and as a black metal album, does not attempt to reinvent the wheel in any way. There are a couple of quasi-thrash metal passages that sound serviceable, but they seem more like throwaways than ideas to be developed on further releases.

Best Songs: Sannhetens søyler, Mercurial

In the metal circles that I frequent here on the internet, I have determined that Avenged Sevenfold are either the most uninteresting band of all time, or the worst band of all time, with no room for nuisance or deviation.

Part of the reason for this is likely because Avenged Sevenfold are a band that have repeatedly pulled the bait-and-switch card on their fans over their two-decade long career. Whether that be the more straightforward, Iron Maiden-esque worship on City of Evil following their metalcore introduction on Waking the Fallen, the sellout album Hail to the King, or the progressive metal pivot on The Stage. This is a band that thinks they are at a point where they can release anything they want, and the fans can do nothing about it.

And so, it makes sense that following The Stage seven years ago, that Avenged Sevenfold would double down on the progressive elements and release one of the strangest albums of their career. While certainly an interesting record, I’m not sure it works as well as Avenged Sevenfold would like.

For starters, Avenged Sevenfold are clearly working on borrowed time here as M. Shadows vocals are not great. I am fully aware that the last few years have been hard on M. Shadows and are a primary reason as to why this albums release is so far removed from the last album. But I can also tell that they still think that they can perform in a virtuoso style that has been a staple of A7X’s sound for years. It also does not help that the instrumentals that are on display do not do nearly enough to compliment the change in timbre, creating this strange dichotomy where the music does not strengthen the vocals. There are some places where it works, but for the most part, these are sections where vocal layering and effects are implemented, such as the bridge on “Nobody”, the vocoder on “Easier” and the multitracking of “G”.

As for the instrumentals, they are also quite a mixed bag. For starters, this record is very experimental with harmonic progressions, as well as song structures. “Game Over” leaves a unique impression with its flamenco guitar intro, before rapidly transitioning into a thrash groove with no feeling of preparation. The same can be said for a track like “We Love You” but inverted. If anything, the closest we get to a simplistic idea on this record is likely the promotional single “Nobody”, but that song fails to deliver a real sense of direction or a finite conclusion.

The harmonic progression mentioned previously has to do with the sheer number of times A7X switch from a dark minor chord progression to a major one, again, without preparation. “Cosmic” is by far the strangest example of this but can also be heard on “We Love You” and “Life Is But a Dream…”. It can also be picked up on if you view tracks 8-10 as a trilogy.

It all leaves me with a feeling of bewilderment that a band like Avenged Sevenfold could make an album like Life If But a Dream… but here we are. As I mentioned at the start, I’ve learned to take my expectations about what an A7X album should sound like and leave it at the front door and if you don’t, then that’s on you. And I do think that there are glimmers of something great here, but I cannot help but feel like the execution was lacking in some way. Whether that be not complimenting the newer vocal timbre, or the more mismatched songwriting style, this is the kind of dream you cannot explain to without sounding like a lunatic.

Best Songs: Mattel, Beautiful Morning, Easier, G, (D)eath

I have been remarkably lucky when it comes to discovering post-metal. Whether it be through my regular progressive metal spheres or right here at Metal Academy, the cream of the crop always manages to find its way to the top, while a lot more of the simplistic, textured post-metal gets relegated to the purgatory regions of the subgenre. Now without everyone shouting their answers at the same time, can anyone guess where the Georgia based post-metal band, Irreversible, fall in this discussion?

Listen, it's hard to get excited for a new post-metal band like this when I already know what to expect before I even hit play on the first track. But Irreversible aren't even a new band! This self-titled record is actually the bands fifth studio album, which makes this sinking feeling of predictability run even worse through my veins! And while this self-titled record is certainly pleasant sounding, it does not do nearly enough of its own soul searching to make it anything more than a proverbial blip on the radar.

The album starts and I've already heard "Undertow" from bands like Solstafir before. I dig the unconventional rhythm structure that is presented as the intro, but when the vocals enter, the band has returned back to a pretty common time groove. The production is quite solid and textures are very warm with very little in the way of harsh vocals.

That changes quickly when "Absent Help" replaces the warm textures with much heavier and colder tones, while the harsher vocals create a more concaving environment to the listener than previously established. I must admit, I was originally on board with this bait-and-switch from Irreversible and thought it showed a different side of the band, only to be reminded that this album was released ten years after Rosetta's The Galilean Satellites. Sure, the textures are nice and pretty (or as pretty as it can be), but when you're presenting a style of post-metal that is practically unchanged from ten years ago, we have a problem.

And unfortunately, this carries on throughout the remaining tracks. The only one that stands out to my ears was "Mandatory Death" with its odd timbre snare drum that sounds like it's being doubled by an electronic one. This is while the instrumental is playing a very repetitive, almost hypnotic ostinato that gives off the impression of something closer to stoner metal. Unfortunately, the last song "Fade" does nothing to continue in this trend and simply returns back to paint-by-numbers, formulaic post-metal by way of Rosetta/The Ocean.

Attentive minds might be wondering why I skipped over nearly half of the albums tracks in my review up to this point. And the answer for that is because most of them are just extended interludes of electronic warble's to get the listener from one post-metal track to the next. Now, I've never been opposed to interludes like this before, but you cannot expect your interludes to have the same level of emotional weight as the "songs". Tracks like "Language of Paralysis" and "Armistice" are way too long to be interludes, but not long enough to be songs. So they just sort of fill up space and occupy an empty void in a record that is already pretty lacking in character.

I know I'm being overly critical of this album, but it really is not all that bad. If you like post-metal, or you just really like The Galilean Satellites and you want to hear more of that for some reason, then who knows, maybe you'll find a lot more to enjoy out of Irreversible than me. But I crave for artists to be more personable with their records; a clear a distinct message that is all your own and not simply copied from another source, even if that source is considered canon. Irreversible have none of that personable touch here and I would much rather just listen to The Galilean Satellites again.

Best Songs: Undertow, Mandatory Death

I would have had every reason in the world to stay away from Sleep Token in 2023. When I listened to this band’s 2021 album This Place Will Become Your Tomb, I criticized as being another standard piece of cult-esque worship band. I could never deny the talent that was on display, but thanks in part to a lot of poorly executed songwriting techniques and formulas, that record did not sit well with me.

But perhaps we were only just getting to the meat of the Sleep Token cult. You see, ever since Bring Me the Horizon dropped That’s The Spirit in 2015, there seems to be an alarming attempt to “popify” metal in recent years (perhaps you could call a new wave of British heavy metal?). More acts like Bad Omens and Architects using electronics, but not in the traditional industrial sense; instead opting for electronic percussion and heavy bass presence. Hmm, isn’t there a style of metal music that focuses on rhythmic virtuosity and heavy bass presence?

It’s bizarre to see so many metal fans become enraged by a band like Sleep Token, when all they’ve done is take Animals As Leaders to its next logical conclusion. And on Take Me Back To Eden, I will admit this album is not a flawless attempt at bridging the gap between pop and metal, but it is the best representation of that tonal shift that I’ve heard from Sleep Token.

For starters, the albums first handful of tracks are some of the best of Sleep Token to date. In terms of composition for starters, “Chokehold” and “Vore” are not meant to be pop chasing songs. “Chokehold” in particular starts with ominous synths and eerie tempo mapping that reminds me of a Lingua Ignota record! What happens next (and for the rest of the album really) is the well-balanced tightrope as Sleep Token switch between heavy, djent infused riffing and soft, atmospheric pop and R&B.

It can be a hard sell since metal fans crave the sound of live, acoustic percussion, but since this album has no issues in subverting your expectations at the outset, I think the way in which the percussion is not only balanced, but also unique between the two tales is worth commemorating. “Granite”, “Aqua Regia” and “Vore” do an excellent job of this.

Unfortunately, the album takes a bit of a bump following “Vore” and is never able to fully recover afterwards. Part of the reasoning for this is that the rest of the album falls into a predictable pyramid scheme for each track; where the heaviest moments are not implemented into the tracks rather than just expanding upon a pop chorus formula but now with guitars and thick drums.

I think that the guitar mixing is very well done as there is some truly spectacular dichotomies between the heavier djent passages and the cleans during the bridge of “Vore” and “Are You Really Okay?”. Vessel’s vocals are more dynamic than ever before, and while the heavy-handed percussion is par for the course over this style of metal music and mostly okay, it still does not change the fact that some of it can become really disorienting during the album’s softer moments.

Sleep Token are going to get a lot of flack for bridging the gap between pop and metal as directly as this. And while it may not be the grand masterpiece that anyone asked for, I have yet to hear anyone do it like this before. A lot of past experiences have shown that getting swallowed by an Imagine Dragon forces the artist to lose their sense of identity in the process, but I still think that Sleep Token have their best years ahead of them.

Best Songs: Chokehold, Granite, Aqua Regia, Vore, Are You Really Okay, The Apparition

Unearth are one of those bands that were very popular during the time I was just starting to get into metalcore during the late 2000s. They were always a band that I could enjoy their music, but never found myself returning to it in the same way as I did with Killswitch, All That Remains and, perhaps most importantly, August Burns Red.

The reason is because while Unearth and August Burns Red are quite similar structurally, ABR always had an advantage by just being slightly more progressive than your standard melodic metalcore band. Now I haven't actually listened to a mainline Unearth record since Watchers of Rule so I went in with muted expectations, but was surprised by what we ended up getting.

For starters, Unearth are not reinventing the wheel anymore than they already did back in the early/mid 2000s; very prominent guitar leads that form the harmonic progression for the chugging guitars and strong vocals from Trevor. Each track on this record has its own identity and the flow of the record is solid from top to bottom.

The mixing of the record is also quite solid. I did feel like the kick drum felt a little over-the-top on occasions, especially during breakdowns with prominent double-bass action, but when the guitars are soaring with those sweet melodic choruses, they tend to drop back and compliment the top two voices.

Unfortunately, like with August Burns Red earlier this year, Unearth are a band that are clearly stuck in that mid 2000s timbre of metalcore. As a result, The Wretched; The Ruinous does not reinvent the wheel in any meaningful way. Don't get me wrong; you will not confuse The Wretched; The Ruinous as a Killswitch Engage or Trivium album, so the band still has plenty of their identity still out there. But I was kind of hoping that this triumphant return of blazing guitar solos and chunky breakdowns might have received a modern facelift.

Best Songs: The Wretched; The Ruinous, Cremation of the Living, Invictus, Call of Existence, Broken Arrow

While I do enjoy a lot of the death doom metal that I listen to, I rarely find myself actively going out of my way to listen to it. Part of this is undoubtedly my very strict method of weeing through new releases to keep myself from becoming overly swamped, but that typically means certain subgenres take a backseat. Fires in the Distance broke through as this record drew enough attention within days of release so I figured "Why not?" Besides, I haven't listened to a new release in the Fallen clan here on MA yet this year so here we go!

First and foremost, Fires in the Distance are fantastic songwriters. I was worried at first when the opener was the longest track on the album and was closing in on eleven minutes, but within the first handful of chords, I could tell that the runtime would not be a problem. The connectivity of the record is truly commendable as main melodies and motifs are constantly called back to and permutated into alternative variations. This proceeds into all three of this records "long" songs, including "Crumbling Pillars of a Tranquil Mind" and "Idiopathic Despair".

The mixing is a little imbalanced though. On the positive, the inclusion of the piano as a primary melodic instrument is so well executed and implemented on each track. It does create quite the unique sound for Fires in the Distance and pushes the timbre of the record ever so slightly to gothic, before the guitars return and bring this record back to the My Dying Bride-esque death doom. And the three part counterpoint that takes place between the vocals, piano and guitar lead is something that I rarely hear; most artists stop at only two distinct voices and when the do add a third voice, the balancing act is almost never pulled off well.

However, the record is brought down by the timbre of the rhythm guitar. And because this is a metal album, the rhythm guitar is heavily prominent in the mix throughout the record runtime. For this style of melodic doom metal, something about the overly tinny guitar timbre just forces quite a few sections of deep despair to not hit with the same gravitas or authority as it might have if this was a Swallow the Sun album for example. I can certainly let it slide when the guitar lead or piano's are in play and taking away from the fundamental, but it's still a timbre that persists and I cannot fully appreciate this album for what it is.

Air Not Meant for Us by Fires in the Distance is a solid enough of a death doom album in 2023 and gets a huge boost in score for the songwriting alone. But the hit and miss production keeps this flame in the distance instead of closer to my heart than I would like.

Best Songs: Harbingers, Crumbling Pillars of a Tranquill Mind, Psalm of the Merciless

The new Enforced album is a thrash metal assault that does not beat around the bush. It gives you everything it has in a brisk runtime and credit where it is due, a lot of these tracks are pretty strong performances all around.

Granted this is thrash metal so the compositions do not have to be incredibly dense or conceptual. What makes this record stand out among the rest however is how well it blends the lines between old-school and new-school thrash.

The riffing on this record certainly has a few points, such as "Hanged by My Hand", " Nation of Fear" and "Empire" having riffs that sound borrowed right out of the Slayer playbook. But the lyrical performances are closer to that of Havok or Power Trip, instead of the "word vomit" style that Tom Araya popularized during the 1980s. And, like with Power Trip and Critical Defiance, War Remains is as direct with its listener as any; since tunes do not run overtime and go for a more progressive style of songwriting, the simplicity does not have time to become boring.

There are still problems however; the lack of a prominent bass line and instead opting for doubling guitars is a letdown, and the lack of sonic variety between the tracks can lead to some (not a lot though) of fatigue. War Remains is still a great modern thrash metal album and worthy of some sporadic neck pain.

Best Songs: The Quickening, Hanged by My Hand, War Remains, Mercy Killing Fields, Ultra-Violence, Starve

I have made it clear in the past that when it comes to extreme side of progressive/technical death metal, I'm not the biggest fan. Something about the balancing act that one band has to adapt to split the difference between technical mastery and melodic songwriting is paper thin and off the top of my head, I can only think of one band (Allegaeon) that pull this off with grace. Well prepare yourselves for the next band to attempt this in the form of Lunar Chamber's debut EP Shambhallic Vibrations.

Where a lot of technical death metal bands fail to impress is in the production. Most of the stuff that I have found gets popular are the bands that just put layers upon layers of sound and it turns into a cacophonous mess as every instrument is demanding your attention, and it leaves me with a sinking feeling as I'm gasping for air. Lunar Chamber have all the technical chops that you expect, but when it's time for the guitar to shine, the bass and percussion are well designed to compliment, not overpower. The same happens when you hear vocals.

In addition to mixing, the songwriting deserves credit. While it is certainly tech-death and you'll be hard pressed to find a cohesive idea spread throughout the runtime, I did not find these songs to be overindulgent. In comparison to the new Hoplites album, this record knows what it wants to be and credit to the ensemble for showing off that potential. In addition, the bass lines that are heavily promoted gives me Ne Obliviscaris throwbacks, and the closer "III. Crystaline Blessed Light Flows..." is a thirteen minute dirge closer to doom metal that gave me callbacks to a band such as Ahab, and that's high praise indeed.

Shambhallic Vibrations is a record that I went into with lowered expectations because of the genre association, but an album I left with huge potential and praise. This is the rare kind of tech-death album that knows how to write songs instead of using it as a platform for relentless wanking. It does not waste your time either, despite having a thirteen minute closer. If anything, the inclusion of two ambient tracks ("Intro" and "Interlude" respectively) can make a listener feel like its over in a flash...because it is. But I still feel like these three full songs on their own are so well executed that they do not really need to add much else. It will be very interesting to see if Lunar Chamber can maintain this kind of momentum throughout a full length LP.

Best Songs: Spirit Body And The Seeing Self, The Bodhi Tree

At what point during a musician’s career can we legitimately claim them to be a “legacy act”? I think that this conversation is far more confusing than it may initially seem because some artists can exist for as long, if not longer, than their more popular contemporaries and never get that special treatment. I had this conversation briefly back in 2020 when I discussed Terry Allen and Bob Dylan’s newest releases and I was generally more favourable to Dylan, even though I found the album less enjoyable than Just Like Moby Dick.

Testament and Metallica have a similar comparison in thrash metal; both have been around for well over three decades and yet one still demands attention when they release a new album, while the other silently releases consistently solid thrash metal records on a bi-annual basis. My history with Metallica has been complicated and I haven’t really discussed them much online because their album release cycle’s are abnormally long. After a very successful 1980s and more accessible 1990s, Metallica were ready to try something different in the 2000s. Enter St. Anger, an album loathed by most, but funnily has become more fascinating with each passing year for me. Here was a band who wanted to step outside of their comfort zone and attempt something closer to the popular trend at the time: nu metal, rather than staying in the comfy confines of dad rock/metal. And it isn’t like the band needed to do this after the success of the covers album Garage Inc. either. St. Anger did turn out to be garbage, but it was not a concept doomed from the start. So instead of developing this sound and trying for something that maintained the Metallica way, what did we get instead? Death Magnetic, a record that was so safe that Lars must have been wearing oven mitts to prevent blisters. It proved to me that Metallica didn’t actually care about the music they made, but rather the paycheck at the end. For me, Death Magnetic was the first time I had truly experienced a “selling out” moment.

It has been fifteen years since then and seven years since Hardwired…To Self-Destruct, which is a record that I almost ignored outright because of the promotional singles giving me the exact same visceral reaction to Death Magnetic. Perhaps this band achieved “legacy” status a long time ago and I missed it while I was in post-secondary and I would love nothing more than to bury the hatchet with Metallica. But along came 72 Seasons. So where do we go from here?

It’s fine. That’s the review. I feel like my intro had more heart and soul put into it than the last seventy-seven minutes that I spent listening to this album. But yeah, this late era Metallica album is trying everything in their power to replicate a sound that they mastered (pun not intended) and popularized almost four decades ago, even though thrash metal, and Metallica themselves are in a very different place than they were all those years ago.

Of course, when we say “replicate a sound”, we are not talking about the straight up thrashers like “Battery”, “Fight Fire With Fire”, and “Damage Inc.”, y'know, the iconic stuff. Instead, we have a collection that sounds like “Sad But True”, “Creeping Death” and “Enter Sandman” and yet somehow missing the feel those classic songs were able to create in spades.

And now I get to piss everyone off with one controversial hot take: Metallica songs were always drawn out and too long for their own sake. Looking back on classic tracks like “Whiplash”, “One”, and “Enter Sandman”, I can hear these songs going beyond what might have been acceptable on a Slayer or even a Megadeth album, especially during their intros. And while old songs vary in quality, on 72 Seasons, it’s actually quite simple. If you see a track with a runtime that exceeds six minutes, you already know that the first 60/90 seconds is going to be Metallica jamming out on that riff with very little variation. This is followed by the actual riff that each song is based on and then eventually James Hetfield enters with the first verse. The title track, “You Must Burn!”, “If Darkness Had a Son” all do this and it’s frustrating when the band prepares you for one thing, only to pull the curtain from your eyes and show you the “real” song.

And listen, I could point at the low hanging fruit and say “that’s why this album isn’t very good”, but at this point, the conversation surrounding it has been beaten to death so many times that it would be in poor taste on my part… and we all know I would never stoop that low right?

Lars Ulrich is a terrible drummer! I think what makes it so troubling is that there is absolutely zero rhythmic variety on 72 Seasons. The most exhausting part is on “Sleepwalk My Life Away” where the guitar riff is meant to be syncopated, but the percussion part cannot replicate that rhythmic deviation. An instance where a band does not play into the band's strengths and it sounds amateur. It’s no different when the band plays what’s meant to be a quarter-triplet and turns into a progressive rock time change. In addition, the mixing of Lars’ cymbals on this record is bad; like you can still hear the crash cymbals resonating well after initial contact even with the guitar riffing.

Furthermore, where is the stylistic variety on this album? Yeah it does have tempo variety, but nothing that resembles a ballad. The only clean guitar is during a bridge on the closer “Inamorata”. The band didn’t even attempt to write a song like “The Unforgiven” or “Fade to Black” and an album that is already long enough, is made even longer by not having that change of style, to make its heavier moments feel heavier.

At least the album has a bit more emphasis on the guitar solos than the last record did and despite the vocal melodies being unmemorable at best, James Hetfield is still a competent singer and the addition of vocal layering is nice for a band that has rarely used them in the past. The riffing on the record is okay in small doses, and while each of the six-plus-minute songs overstay their welcome, they do contain some good moments.

So, is Metallica a “legacy” act? Yes and I think that is an objective conclusion. So why am I so critical of it? Part of it may be the arrogance of its members, but I am more inclined to believe it is the fanbase that think this band can do no wrong. When James Hetfield even says that Metallica are average, you know something’s gone wrong between the band and the fans. As for 72 Seasons, James is right, this is average, even for a late era Metallica album. This playbook has been done before by the band post St. Anger and 72 Seasons sounds like it could have been released fifteen years ago.

Best Songs: 72 Seasons, You Must Burn!, Too Far Gone?

Hey Kids, ya Like Power Metal?

Powerworlf have been around for a surprisingly long time and have for a number of years done one thing and only one thing with their music; high octane, mystical power metal. And for the most part, Powerwolf are really good at this one thing that they do. It's usually produced very well, the record is performed to base standard of quality, the vocal performances are strong and match the record "epic" scaling, and it's usually complimented with some great guitar work from Matthew Greywolf.

Of course, being really good at one thing means that new records leave me with very little else to discuss. If you've listened to anything by Powerwolf within the last five years, you already know what to expect on Interludium. That also comes with many of the faults that previous albums have including, most insufferably, the piercing organs during "Midnight Madonna" and "Wolfborn".

Otherwise it's acceptable. Nothing really jumps off the page as being a cut above the bands best album (i.e. Blessed & Possessed), but you can't go wrong with it. I hope with a title like Interludium that Powerwolf are ready to break free of the chains keeping them held down by the confines of power metal, but something tells me that won't be the case any time soon.

Best Songs: Wolves of War, My Will Be Done, Altars on Fire, Living on a Nightmare

Sometimes a bands expectations precede them. There is a certain point when a new act is getting ready to break out and present the world with a new fresh new sound, only to see the names of album collaborators and then formulate relatively predicable expectations. That was the case with Iapetus, a New York prog-death band and their 2019 album The Body Cosmic. As soon as I saw the credits featuring the drummer of Ne Obliviscaris, any sense of wonder was squashed. The album was still good, but minus a few surface level changes, this really was not anything revolutionary in either progressive music, or melodic death metal.

And so, as part of the Review Draft, I had the chance to listen to the bands 2017 debut. And it was pretty rough as a whole. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the compositions on display here and how they split the difference between the post-metal soaring of Ne Obliviscaris, combined with a melodic death metal sound that is indebted to Insomnium. The performances are very impressive, but not super technical to whip me out of its very comfortable groove and flow. Overall, The Long Road Home is a very loud album with very few calming sections, and the few that we get are relatively short.

The album has a number of extended song structures, so it would be fascinating to hear how Iapetus are able to make these tunes work as part of a whole. Well the record is actually quite impressive in that regard. Like Ne Obliviscaris, songs have a sense of momentum and direction that is quickly changing, and sometimes it can result in some very strange style changes. But songs like "My Father, My God" know where they are going and how to say everything that needs to be said, while still making it sound like a coherent idea. "Lachrymae Rerum" meanwhile, does not get the album off on the right foot after the first two instrumental tracks, which are fine I guess, but I feel like they serve more of a textural purpose than a melodic one.

Given the influence, it should come as no surprise that this record dabbles in fantastical themes and environmentalism. As such, this can be a long album if you are not prepared for it. Considering how much it sounds like Insomnium melo-death instead of Ne Oblivscaris melo-black might also play into its length being a determent. "Eviscerate Divine" and "The Long Road Home" do not make for the epic conclusion that Iapetus were expecting, since both songs have very similar instrumental ideas and together take up nearly half of the albums runtime. Perhaps only one of them would have made this albums conclusion sit more comfortably, but here we are. In the end, I think Iapetus' biggest problem is that they have lots of good things going for them, but they try too hard to play into the "ten minute epic" school of progressive songwriting that it hurts them more than it doesn't. The Long Road Home is an album worth exploring, but you'll likely find yourself appreciating the destination more than the journey.

Best Songs: ...Of Hangmen & Vertebrae, Savior Solitude, My Father, My God, The Long Road Home

The third studio album from Californian tech-death metal band Entheos is my first exposure to the the bands music and it leaves me with a lot to think about. It is certainly a unique album in the technical death metal scene amidst an endless revolving door of technical guitar wankery, and overproduced, overperformed percussion. The bass on this record is heavily featured and left me with Ne Obliviscaris tones, which is a great place to take influence from. The vocals are the real standout though as Chaney Crabb is able to perform with an unprecedented range for any type of death metal in recent memory. There are clean vocals on this album, but they are spaced out and implemented with distinction and highlight this albums softer, progressive moments more efficiently.

While I do enjoy the modulating back and forth between more melodic death ("In Purgatory") as well as death doom stylings of "I Am the Void" and "Time Will Take Us All", it does not feel right when they are surrounded by "Absolute Zero" and "The Sinking Sun", which are just a couple of the albums technical death moments. And while the production is nice, it still does not change the fact that these tracks are not very well constructed; they fall into the very comfortable range of most technical death metal albums with their sporadic tempo/style changes and no sense of direction. Tunes like "Darkest Day" and "Clarity in Waves" are more tolerable due to shorter runtimes, but "The Sinking Sun" is over seven minutes and does not leave a lasting impression on me.

I think Entheos have some sparkling moments on Time Will Take Us All, but they feel held back by a number of issues that generally plague the technical death metal scene from its core. Shoutouts to a smaller band doing new and invigorating things in a subgenre that I do not particularly gel with all that well, but this ain't it chief.

Best Songs: In Purgatory, I Am the Void, Darkest Day

It has been just about a decade since BABYMETAL embraced the world with their presence and I think it is safe to say that the controversy around this group is long gone. Their brand of niche metal meets J-pop was a strange combination for most (especially in the west), but one thing you could never accuse BABYMETAL of was not having fun. And now, bands like Electric Callboy and older bands like Alestorm are showing resurgences among the quagmire of the same, boring metalcore breakdowns played to death by every new band.

BABYMETAL's biggest problem on their last album was lack of variety and that does seem to be resolved here, but probably not in the way the group was expecting. This record feels a lot darker than before, with tracks like "Divine Attack - Shingeki -" sounding closer to melodic death metal; and it isn't the only time a song like this appears on the record. Unfortunately the darker tones never feel as if they are fully realized. Metal Galaxy had a track featuring Arch Enemy's Alissa White-Gluz and a feature like that on songs like "Mirror Mirror" or "Believing" might have made them resonate better.

The strange thing is that when BABYMETAL are experimenting with synths and electronics, the hooks are vastly more enjoyable and the compositions feel more complete. "Time Wave" is clearly borrowing from Electric Callboy, while "Monochrome" and "The Legend" are about as close to "pop metal" as you can get (even if I could do without the terribly mixed glitchy pops before the chorus on "Monochrome"). My biggest issue with this however is that BABYMETAL are now closer to the western hegemony of mainstream alternative metal than ever before. While I am all for ditching "quirky" as a describer of BABYMETAL's music, some identity is lost in the process, with "Believing" performed all in English, and the worst example on the record.

In short, I wanted to like The Other One more than I ended up doing so. The darker tones can be a welcome new addition to the music, but always seem to be missing something, and while the electronics do produce the albums better moments, they do reveal cracks in BABYMETAL's armour as the j-pop/metal hybrid they were originally billed as.

Best Songs: Divine Attack - Shingeki -, Time Wave, Monochrome, THE LEGEND

Insomnium have always been a band that creates a style of progressive death metal that I should really enjoy. And for the most part throughout their career's, the band has succeeded at turning me into a fan. Despite what the general consensus may say, I still claim Winter's Gate as one of, if not the, pinnacle of death metal throughout the 2010s without much of a healthy competition to challenge that spot. Granted I am a nobody when it comes to understanding or appreciating death metal in its most straightforward form, and would much rather enjoy a melo-death thumping, so take my rating with a gigantic grain of salt.

That being said, with all of my past success with Insomnium in the past, I should have given the bands most recent album, Anno 1696 a spin when it came out, instead of just over a month later. Part of that had to do with March being an incredibly busy month for new progressive releases from Haken, Periphery and Ne Obliviscaris. And Insomnium kind of... flew under the radar. And after listening to Anno 1696, I understand why this happened.

Let's not mince words here: Anno 1696 is a great album. For Insomnium, they know how to keep a listeners attention without doing anything particularly ear popping. Despite the record having three tracks exceeding seven minutes, not one of them feels like it. Each track is well constructed and constantly refers back to the opening set of themes and motifs and further elaborates upon those themes, preventing "Godforsaken" and "The Rapids" from becoming stagnant and predictable, or slapdash and disjointed. Furthermore, the mixing on this record is superb! It takes a lot of work and practice to be able to match the electric guitars with the acoustic passages and have them both sound full and robust, but Insomnium did it here. Usually the acoustic passages are given a higher gain, which promptly butchers the death metal sections; a large reason as to why so many acts don't do it (unless they live in Scandinavia I guess).

However, Anno 1696 is a record where Insomnium are embracing their gothic sounds more than ever before. Tunes like "White Christ" and "The Witch Hunter" are slower and more brooding and have more in common with fellow countrymen Swallow the Sun than anything Insomnium have ever made. And hell, "The Unrest" has nods to Ghost with the vocal layering's during its chorus. In fact, the only track on this record that sounds closest to "death metal" is the closer "The Rapids". I clearly do not care too much for this style change because Insomnium have been able to work in gothic textures in their music before and this is just more explicit. However, I cannot help but feel like Insomnium had to give up a bit of their own identity in order to capture this progressive gothic death metal hybrid that they have created here. For what it is, Anno 1696 is a very good piece of music, but within the discography of Insomnium, it feels like a step down, despite the progressive songwriting. 

Best Songs: White Christ, Godforsaken, The Witch Hunter, The Rapids

Yet another solid output from one of metalcore most consistent (and best) acts. August Burns Red are one of the best at writing catchy melodic hooks in their music, without sounding too much like a Killswitch Engage, Bullet For My Valentine or Avenged Sevenfold. They have always been a band that have toed the line of how far metalcore can go before it isn't metalcore anymore through some sporadic time and style changes. Death Below is certainly no exception to this rule, but even the albums most intense moments, these tracks don't feel like they are falling apart. Each moment is particular to the cause and gives the album a real sense of direction instead of just breakdowns. Clean singing makes an appearance on this record also and if there was any band that could benefit from pop shout choruses it would be August Burns Red.

That being said, it is still an August Burns Red album and it does have its faults. Most notably, the inclusion of two tracks on the bookends of the album of nearly eight minutes. I like how August Burns Red are embracing some more progressive influence here, but "The Cleansing" and "Reckoning" are in two different ballparks in terms of quality. "The Cleansing" sounds fresh and innovative, even if the off kilter chord progression can make me uncomfortable. "Reckoning" is less impressive, opting for a soft bridge for Spencer Chamberlain's clean vocals to pierce through. And from top to bottom, this mixing of the snare drum is outright distracting; when playing in half-time it can be tolerable, but when the drummer switches to double time or god forbid blast beats, the snare sounds like a brick.

But despite all of that, I cannot say that this is a bad album. In comparison to the plethora of bog standard chugg-chugg-chugg metalcore albums that get popular, August Burns Red are always looking to push the boundaries of what can still constitute as metalcore, and they have been doing this for a long time. The progressive arc is a welcome touch and gives this album a unique sound among the rest of the bands back catalogue and despite its length, it never feels like its overstaying its welcome.

Best Songs: The Cleansing, Ancestry, Revival, Deadbolt

...I was nervous for this one.

I've made it clear that Ne Obliviscaris are one of extreme metal's most interesting and unique bands in the past, and I still think that Portal of I is one of heavy metal's most important records of the 2010s. In a year where Opeth drastically changed direction and started composing in a style closer to Rush progressive rock, Ne Obliviscaris took the elegance of Opeth-ian songwriting combined it with Allegaeon technical death metal, while the inclusion of dual vocals and violin melodic leads were the icing on the cake. However, my fascination with this group soured on 2017's Urn. While objectively a good album, I could not help but feel like this band had found their comfort zone and would stay here instead of continuously innovate; instead opting for a same-y progressive metal sound that progressive snobs would eat up on name recognition alone.

Turns out the band felt the same way. Instead of maintaining a two/three year release schedule, Ne Obliviscaris took some time off to work on this album and revitalized my anticipation with the promotion single "Equus". Now I have had the chance to sit and resonate with Exul and I am reminded once again why this band are near the top of so many lists that speak about modern progressive metal. It might not be the most outwardly progressive album, but beneath the new songwriting layers, Exul might be among Ne Obliviscaris' best.

If you've listened to Ne Obliviscaris in the past, then you kind of know what to expect. Otherwise; imagine if 2000's Opeth were heavier, but with violin melodic leads. While previous Ne Obliviscaris albums have always had a focus towards black metal, this time around the subgenre seems to be the other extreme metal giant; death metal. You can hear immediately on the opener "Equus" and into "Miseriorde I - As the Flesh Falls" through heavier blast beat emphasis and chugging guitar rffage. The buildup of "Misericorde II - Anatomy of Quiescence" is phenomenal with its attention to detail and allowing the tune to gradually build up to its cathartic release. The layering of the strings through layering is a decision that raised questions at first, but they fill out many of the arrangements during softer sections sans guitar. Like with all albums from this group, the heavy prominence of bass is well received and causes its heavier moments to hit with greater importance instead of just doubling the rhythm guitar with bass. And the dual vocals of Xeonyr and Tim Charles is one of the best chemistries in all of heavy metal music.

To be honest, it is quite difficult to nitpick this album. I guess "Suspyre" had some very strong ideas, but the track honestly felt too avant-garde for its own sake. Likewise, "Graal" is another great track that sounds like it could be a staple of the bands catalogue, but on a record that is so vastly different than other projects, having a more standard Ne Obliviscaris track can feel like a letdown. I am very happy that this band rediscovered what made them so revered initially and provided 2023 with its first essential metal listen.

Best Songs: Equus, Misericorde II - Anatomy of Quiescence, Graal, Misericorde I - As the Flesh Falls

There are few things in this world that disappoint me more than wasted potential. Suicide Silence were a band hellbent on a warpath to burn down every bridge they ever built when they dropped their 2017 self titled album, after telling fans who wanted them to "just play the old stuff" to fuck off. I respected the resolve, even if S/T was a very poor display of a new sound for the band.

Fast forward five years later and the band have gone back on their word and released an album that sounds like it should have been left in 2008. It should have been easy for a new look Suicide Silence to refine a nu metal sound for the modern age, without losing any bit of the bands identity. But instead, they caved under the pressure of those "fans" who could not bear to see their band evolve and change with time. The band just copied Metallica from St. Anger to Death Magnetic.

And so we have Remember... You Must Die, or The Cleansing, Pt. II. It is exactly what you would expect from a late 2000s deathcore record: overmicd kick drums, awful levelling, guitar chugging without any bass presence to compliment, lyrics about killing as well as being killed, and a heavy disconnect between the death metal and the hardcore breakdowns, both in terms of style and delivery.

This is about as barebones a deathcore album as you can get, coming from a band that should know better. Suicide Silence helped put deathcore on the radar, but now the band is stuck treading water. A lot of bands from that time are making vastly different music today and they have gotten a lot better for it, "fans" be damned. This isn't as bad as S/T, but that isn't saying much.

Best Songs: Capable of Violence (N.F.W.), Alter of Self

This Is Not an Album Review

We are now five albums into Periphery's career and this band is finally starting to figure out how to write strong pieces of progressive metal. This band used to be all about the technical wankery and it routinely found itself getting in its own way. Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre is the first record that seems to understand that the technical songwriting compliments the melodies, not overpower them.

I was genuinely impressed by the first promotional single "Wildfire" as well as "Dying Star" by how complete they felt. It is progressive metal of course, so you can expect plenty of technical prowess, and plenty of down tuned guitars for some chunky breakdown grooves. But you'll be surprised by just how much detail has been put into Spencer's vocal mixing.

Djent might be the name of the album, but that might be only scratching the surface. Whether it be the jazz interlude on "Wildfire", the plunderphonics of "Everything Is Fine", the ambient interlude of "Dying Star" or the full on late era Linkin Park song "Silhouette". The last of those tracks deserving special mention because it comes at an opportune time on the record as a much needed breather following four fairly aggressive tracks, before the album calms down considerably until the end.

This record has a lot of things going on throughout a runtime that exceeds an hour, and I must admit, it does get a little bit overwhelming at times. Perhaps in that regard, this record has the exact opposite problem of Morgan Wallen's One Thing at a Time. But Djent Is Not a Genre is far from boring. I think the overall progressive/djent sound of the record is consistent enough that I don't think people will be as quick to dismiss this as "just another Periphery album". This is a fine place for progressive djent to go and the most enjoyment I've had with a Periphery album since Juggernaut.

Best Songs: Wildfire, Wax Wings, Dying Star, Thanks Nobuo

Hindsight is going to be gracious for Kamelot this year because I did not expect much from The Awakening, but was pleasantly surprised. This new album seems to have refined a few quips that many noticed about the last record, The Shadow Theory, with how same-y it all sounded. An extended break between albums allowed for lackluster records from Within Temptation and Nightwish to drop uncontested and Kamelot knew better than to make those same mistakes.

The first half of this record is very good, from "The Great Divide" until "Midsummer's End". These tunes have variety and the choruses are well constructed and easily memorable. I was quite disappointed by how soft in the mix Tina Guo's cello is on their two features, especially "Opus of the Night (Ghost Requiem).

The back half of the album is much more hit and miss. Tracks begin to blend together when they have the same tempo and style like "Bloodmoon" and "Nightsky"; which structurally sounds horrible when these two songs are back-to-back. "New Babylon" features some counterpoint vocals from Melissa Bonny and Simone Simons, which was nice to hear; the rest of the record does have harmony vocals as well, but it was a welcome change of pace when those backgrounds were by someone other than Tommy Karevik.

The album is bombastic and powerful (as it should be) and when it hits its moments, Kamelot are firing on all cylinders. But the frequency in which these happen is not as frequent as I would have liked. It draws from Epica, but cannot perform its dynamic swells as concisely as an album such as Omega. A strong recommendation for fans of symphonic power metal, but then it's up to you to pick out the eye opening moments.

Best Songs: The Great Divide, One More Flag in the Ground, The Looking Glass, New Babylon, My Pantheon (Forevermore)

Sheol by Hypno5e is one of those albums that feels really easy to digest and welcome in to the new wave of progressive metal, but hidden beneath a thin veil of post-metal texture is a record that has a lot more to say than you may anticipate. This record has a gorgeous feel to it and songs are well constructed and executed. I really enjoyed the 2nd parts of both "Sheol" and "Slow Streams of Darkness"; even though both tracks have a lot of girth to them as big boy progressive metal tunes, everything sounds like it belongs together and is highlighted by a great dichotomy of sound. The post-rock and atmospheric portions make a big impact and when those heavy Gojira inspired heavy breaks hit, they have such a force to them that is just the kind of breakdown that I like to hear.

However, there are a handful of smaller tracks that connect these two part suites together and that seems to be where the album is at its weakest. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy "Lave from the Sky" and "The Dreamer and His Dream", but without the same attention to dynamic growth and complete songwriting, they do sound a little bit off. They do make for great individual tracks, but as part of a whole album, they feel less than involved and drag out the runtime by just a bit too much.

Hypno5e are doing great work with the progressive metal they make and are more than capable of carrying the torch that Gojira left when they became more accessible in recent years. But without any truly defining feature, this band is bound to fall into the purgatory of Opeth/Gojira imitators. 

Best Songs: Sheol, Pt. II - Lands of Haze, Lava from the Sky, The Dreamer and His Dream

The second full length album from Wisconsin based The World Is Quiet Here is a fascinating record, even if I cannot call it a great one. This is progressive metalcore with a heavy emphasis on the "metalcore" portion of that moniker. I entered into this album knowing nothing about the band, but seeing the subgenres my mind immediately went to Between the Buried and Me projects like Alaska and Colors. The was not likely the best comparison point because the record can only dream to live up to those standards.

I think a recent band that The World Is Quiet Here are closer to replicating is Fit For An Autopsy. The technical passages serve more as interludes and transition sections to more breakdowns and groovy parts. The band does have some variety with softer interludes on "Moonlighter", but they have a difficult time making those sections work as part of a whole rather than feeling like just a random style change.

There are some really well constructed songs here, but I found that most of them are the ones that don't exceed nine minutes; "Aphelion", "White Sun" and "Moonlighter" are well constructed, they don't overstay their welcome and feel like complete ideas. Whereas "Ossuary", "Heliacal Vessels" and "Impetus I: Torrid Sands" drag the record out... almost as if this band were trying to replicate Colors, which, as already mentioned, Zon sonically shares very little in common with that album.

I'm not even opposed to vocals of Lou Kelly. The cleans are certainly an acquired taste, but I think they give the record character. They definitely sound theatre-y and I've spoken about theatre vocals in the past and that they can become distracting if not executed properly. I think here the vocals are isolated enough behind harsh vocals that they don't become distracting, just... weird. 

I think The World Is Quiet Here are an acquired version of progressive metalcore, but I can hear signs of greatness. I think if this band cut back on some of the fat, wrote more concise with their songwriting, they could make a great album. For now, it's fine, but I wish there was more.

Best Songs: White Sun, Heliacal Vessels I: The Mothers of No Kin, Moonlighter, Aphelion

The last two Haken albums (Vector and Virus) have been surprisingly disappointing. One of the things that made Haken stand out in comparison to their progressive contemporaries was how much more fun their music would be, and that was displayed wonderfully on 2013's The Mountain. And so, it's been a decade since that release and Haken are finally back to enjoying making music again, and I must say, those who listen to it should enjoy it just as much.

I've said somewhere in the past that heavy metal music tries too hard to be angsty and angry all of the time that sometimes I just need a break from it all. It happened with Electric Callboy last year, and now Haken are attempting to reclaim their place at the table. And they pull it off in surprising fashion. Now don't get me wrong, Fauna does have a certain unease about it that stirs in the undertones and subtext, so if you expect the album to just tell you what it's thinking, you're going to get left behind. "Nightingale" sets the tone as a hybrid of their serious tones of the last five years, and molds it together with the bands signature quirkiness that was found on The Mountain ten years ago. As the album continues, tracks like "Lovebite" and "Island in the Clouds" are just so cool and refined; they tell a good story all on their own as well apart of a whole album concept, and they are both just fun songs.

What it boils down to is whether or not you are willing to accept a "return-to-form" where Haken are not concerned with telling a deeply personal concept with themes of death, destruction and a potential oncoming apocalypse. It is a nice change of pace coming out of heavy metal music and I will be eagerly awaiting the progression of Haken in the future.

Best Songs: Taurus, The Alphabet of Me, Island in the Clouds, Lovebite, Eyes of Ebony

If there is one thing (and trust me, there is ONLY one thing) that separates the new Godsmack album Lighting Up the Sky from recent output by the Offspring and Five Finger Death Punch is that Godsmack is not filling this album to the brim with covers of far better songs; the record is, at surface level, original. But even that comes crumbling apart after more than a glancing listen to this record.

This album is dull in a way that those bands mentioned previously would be thoroughly impressed by. I understand that this style of grungy, hard rock/metal was popular during the 2000s and for a time, I used to listen to records like Faceless. But this is 2023, and Godsmack have gone nowhere since. They've been pumping out iron and albums on a semi-regular basis with no forward momentum or drive. Good luck being able to decipher which song is which on Lighting Up the Sky because barring the terrible ending from "Let's Go" to the title track closer, nothing pops.

I hold a special resentment for bands like Godsmack and any of the nostalgia farming bands that never change because boomer dads will eat this shit up. This is about as generic butt rock as they come.

Enjoy the retirement home and lighting up Bar-B-Q's.

Best Songs: Soul on Fire

The new Avatar album continues in the same lane as Hunter Gatherer a few years ago as the band finds a heavier sound that remains controlled, without going full stadium rock as Avatar Country did.

One way that Dance Devil Dance separates itself from like sounding acts is how much more fun it sounds. The title track and "The Dirt I'm Buried In" are some of the standouts here. But what really separates them is while even though they might feel more "fun", they can still lure you in with darker tones and key centers. In that regard, this record does share a bit in common with Electric Callboy. That is until the truly slapstick "Gotta Wanna Riot" comes on and the whole feel of the record just plummets.

That's not to say that I do not like the back half of this album on its own, but the sequencing is bizarre. Something about the songs "Cloud Dipped in Chrome" and "Violence No Matter What" coming in after "Gotta Wanna Riot" just feels... wrong. While the record as a whole does not feel intrusive or bad at all, it is missing a true highlight as previous Avatar albums are known to contain. I would find myself hard pressed to listen to this anywhere outside of the dancefloor.

Best Songs: Dance Devil Dance, Do You Feel in Control?, The Dirt I'm Buried In

Well if it isn't my old friend Ron Jarzombek once again!

I must admit, I thought that as I was getting older my ears were not as great as they once were, but one playthrough of Blotted Science's only full length album, The Machinations of Dementia and I already knew which guitarist had their handprints plastered all over this record. This record is certainly not my cup of tea, but I can see potential for an album like this if it had that missing piece to put it all together. It needs a melodic line or a vocalist to keep the guitar wanking in check instead of allowing for it to go unchecked for almost an hour. The records first two tracks have some solid foundational work put into them and they sound like fully developed songs. Basically everything else falls into this empty void of impressive showmanship, but leaves me with nothing else to talk about. 

And what pains me the most is that songs like "Narcolepsy" have worked for me in the past, but once again, this one is missing one important piece to connect the parts together. I am referring to Between the Buried and Me's Colors from the same year. Structurally, they are nearly identical records, but Ron Jarzombek and company don't have the songwriting chops to do anything other than guitar solo for an entire album. By the time the eight minute track "Activation Synthesis Theory" was complete, I just wanted this thing to be over. There is only so much I can say about an album that does not evolve or reinvent. 

Best Songs: Synaptic Plasticity, Laser Lobotomy, E.E.G. Tracings, The Insomniac

I had a really good time listening to the new Klone album Meanwhile. Having no experience with this band prior, I went in with very little expectations and came out with a fine display of progressive meets alternative metal. These two styles rarely meet as they do tend to be counterintuitive to one another, but Klone have found a way to write some very catchy pieces of music in the Katatonia vein, while still providing a more than vast display of variety and power through the compositions and songwriting. I'm really enjoying vocalist Yann Ligner's style and delivery here as is an obvious standout to set Klone apart from their influences. This record has the feeling of a record such as Retribution by Nightingale, but so much more than that. 

Besides that, everything else leans into this bands favour for me; length of songs not outstaying their welcome, number of songs, length of the album, it all forms together into a neat, well performed package. One of 2023's first great records.

Best Songs: Blink of an Eye, Scarcity, Apnea, Night and Day

It is nice to hear In Flames returning back to a sound that is closer to melodic death metal such as Come Clarity. But that is not the complete story. Foregone still relies a lot on pretty standard instrumental riffage that, while certainly pleasant, does not do very much to distinguish each track from the next, whether that be through the same prominent key center on almost every track, or lack of tempo variety. This record still has its fair share of clean vocal choruses, but due to the lack of instrumental variety, this also seeps in to the vocal variety as well.

I wish there was more to say about Foregone. It has the pieces of a modern day Trivium album, but without any of the variety that band provides.

Best Songs: Meet Your Maker, Foregone Pt. 1, Pure Light of Mind

P.S. I've given this a few more listens since I initially reviewed it and I found that the return to melo-death is not as triumphant as I originally envisioned. While I am certainly no elitist who thinks clean vocals do not belong in death metal, when there is an instrumental lead, it is not able to compliment the vocals well, clean or harsh. It just makes those vocals feel superficial. In Flames can make an excellent melo-death album, but their years of The Court Jester and Whoracle are well behind them.

Norwegian industrial metallers Gothminister's seventh studio album is a fairly solid piece of industrial metal. The groove work is fairly solid from top to bottom and the vocal melodies compliment admirably. One of the reasons why I have never been able to appreciate Rammstein fully is because of the language barrier (my German is getting better though). Rammstein have solid melodies and tight knit grooves as well, but something about taking the intricacies of that language and creating a butchered English version does not help matters. Gothminister help by recording all the lyrics in English already....not that you need them because this is still standard in its gothic themes.

Speaking of gothic themes, does anyone else notice how much parts of this record sound like heavier Ghost? Forget about the industrial tinges and all of the synth leads, "Norge", "Mastodon" and "Star" sound identical. Which brings up my biggest issue with Pandemonium as a whole; the record is far too basic. It might borrow from Ghost, or EBM, or even other industrial metal giants like Rammstein, but not a lot about it feels innovative or unique to Gothminister. While I did enjoy it, too often I found the music falling behind and closer to background noise than anything I want to become invested in. 

Best Songs: Pandemonium, Sinister, Bloodride, Run Faster