Saxy S's Reviews

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

The modern alternative metalcore scene is a hard subgenre to pin down. While it certainly has its modern upsides in Bad Omens and Spiritbox, a lot of them begin to blend together after a while, as many simply latch on to already popular/dead trends hoping to make a quick buck. Motionless in White is one of those bands for me. After attempting to go more alternative with 2014's Reincarnate, they became a band that would release records that get a bunch of acclaim, but are as quickly forgotten about a month later.

Case in point, I did listen to Scoring the End of the World back in June of 2022 and thought it was...fine. Chris Motionless is quite capable when writing well constructed tunes with some decent melodies. And, most important to me, incorporating breakdowns that do not act as an aside from the original concept or idea. But the record is held back considerably by not having any identity of its own. I had to do a double take at first when listening to the chorus of "Sign Of Life" because I thought for certain that Benjamin Burnley was the principal vocalist here. 

And while the vocal comparison should not be that big of a deal, when the instrumentals sound like Breaking Benjamin too, that's where I have to draw a line. MiW goes a step further by having "Porcelain" sound like a modern Bullet for my Valentine tune, complete with some industrial/electronic spattering's that, while not offensive, I found to be more than distracting.

Scoring the End of the World has a lot of guest features and those tunes also feature some of the freshest sounds on the record. "Slaughterhouse" with Bryan Garris is a straight rump and serves as a good change of pace and intensity following the slower, more dreary "Porcelain". Then a trifecta of songs at the end of the record, however these tunes are not as enjoyable. starting off with "Cyberhex" sounding closer to a Mick Gordon track than even the title track, which actually features Mick Gordon! And in the middle of those two, we have the Marilyn Manson inspired "Red, White & Boom", which can be cheeky and fun, but I was not really feeling it.

And I think the reason why is because MiW have this long stretch of Breaking Benjamin/Bullet for my Valentine sounding tunes that aren't the most innovative things in the world. Sure they have breakdowns, but a metalcore band has to do more than add breakdowns to pre-existing formulas to make them enjoyable. And then, right at the very end of the album, they throw a curveball and show you something vastly different than what you've heard through the first ten tracks. The pacing of this record is so back heavy that I had less interest in those deviances than if they had been prominently featured early on in the record. Chris Motionless and company may have had some good ideas, but they are few and far between, and the sequencing is not good at all.

Best Songs: Sign of Life, Slaughterhouse (feat. Bryan Garris Of Knocked Loose), Cause of Death, B.F.B.T.G.: Corpse Nation

There are times when I'm listening to heavy metal music (and as I have become older, those times have grown a lot closer) when I just need a break. All of the aggression and ruthlessness can become overwhelming and sometimes I wonder "are you guys actually having fun making music?" Well allow me to introduce to you to Fellowship, the newest power metal outlet making some of the cheeriest metal music of the 2020s. 

My first impression of The Saberlight Chronicles was reserved as my first comparison point was Majestica and their 2020 Christmas album. And while I did enjoy Majestica a few years ago, something about this does not click the same way. Perhaps it was the promise of being uplifting, but then falling into a very comfortable, Rhapsody (of Fire) formula of songwriting, but perhaps without the indulgent guitar solo dominance. I find it to be adequate, but far from impressive, especially considering Blind Guardian and Avantasia have been able to push the power metal genre forward beyond over-the-top expansiveness.

At least the instrumentals are well performed. Unlike a record such as Pain Remains by Lorna Shore, the symphonic elements are clearly meant as supplements to the choruses. These backgrounds are well produced and compliment the leads well, instead of resorting to the Fleshgod Apocalypse approach of "MORE LOUD NOISES!" As for the compositions, songs like "The Saint Beyond the River", "Silhouette" and "Until the Fires Die" are likely to be complimentary mainstays in my metal playlists. The rest of it just flies over my head as sounding the same. The final two tracks "Still Enough" and "Avalon" are so basic and forgettable even after extending their runtime well beyond what was reasonable.

Perhaps Fellowship's brand of power metal is still in its baby steps and The Saberlight Chronicles is the band just getting their feet wet. Maybe the next album will sound completely different and Fellowship will set themselves apart from even the best that power metal has to offer at the moment. But for now, I thought The Saberlight Chronicles was satisfactory. There are touches of something greater, but too quickly resorts back to tired-and-true power metal formulas of Rhapsody and Nightwish.

Best Songs: Until the Fires Die, Glory Days, Scars and Shrapnel Wounds, The Saint Beyond the River

The newest album from Katatonia is exactly what you should expect from this band and at this point in their career. That does not make it a bad thing by any stretch since Katatonia are some of the best when it comes to writing well formed progressive music, while still being able to fully elaborate musical ideas and structures.

This time around, the band are returning back to a time that included stronger gothic themes such as on The Great Cold Distance. The instrumentals are performed exceptionally well, with only the opener "Austerity" feeling a lot more disjointed than the rest. Part of that is the progressive tendencies that have been slowly making their way to the forefront of the compositions. Most of the time they are excellent; very Opeth-ian in the execution, but that opener just feels closer to Dream Theater than I am particularly comfortable with. The vocal melodies are in proper and consistent form, but as a whole, I found the instrumentals to be a less than vibrant palette; too much texture and power chords to compliment Jonas' vocals style, but that has been a consistent issue of Katatonia's since Brave Murder Day so I'm inclined to let it slide.

One thing that I notice while listening to Sky Void of Stars is how influential a band like Katatonia have become in alternative metal throughout the years. The biggest influence is modern Stone Sour, but textured guitars have a Deftones flare to them. It is also apparent to hear how much influence Katatonia have on a group such as Soen.

To be honest, talking about a new Katatonia record in 2023 is challenging because I know it's a good album, possibly great, but I cannot rank it anything higher. Part of this is their legacy status; coming out of Swedish death metal boom of the 1990s and transitioning to a hybrid of gothic, alternative and progressive music that is better than their acclaimed 1990s work. And as a legacy act, Katatonia have nothing left to prove and as such, have not really evolved much since Dead End Kings. It's more of the same from this band, but more of the same is still really good.

Best Songs: Opaline, Drab Moon, Author, Sclera, Atrium

Industrial metal always seems to be a fickle genre to get right. For a genre whose sole purpose is to sound mechanical, many artists in recent years have been unable to to get out of a habit of obliterating the listeners ears with unpleasant and overbearing percussion mixing that finds its way right to the front and drowns out whatever groove/texture/melody is being performed by the guitar, vocals or whatever other instrument.

Now this is around the time in my review where I typically namedrop Daughters' 2018 You Won't Get What You Want, but in this case, I realize that record has more than its share of overbearing percussion. So I'll instead refer to my 2021 album of the year, Frontierer's Oxidized with its unusual blending of industrial and crushing mathcore and how that percussive texture only elaborates instead of dominates. Author & Punisher have a very similar effect on Krüller, but this time the foundation is plainly doom.

And this record is superb. The slower tempos make this album foreboding in a way that is almost new to me. I do not know how Author & Punisher were able to get away with song structures and melodic motifs this sticky and with this much passion infused into them; it feels counterintuitive at times. The use of a true electronic percussion does drag some of this albums' intensity down, but it does get redeemed by some monotonous vocals that are direct from post-metal, and the aforementioned doom infused guitar lines.

Compositions are great in terms of scale. The album has a dark text and subtext, but the song "Maiden Star" sits right in the middle of the record and throws in some unusual, but very welcome major key harmonies as a quick divergence before plunging back into the abyss on "Misery". It does not feel out of place at all and in much the same way, the full on electronic interludes on "Blacksmith" and "Misery" feel very much at home, since they were prepared by what came before.

I was in the need for some hard hitting doom metal today and man did I get a ton of that here! This is wonderfully produced, performed and executed by all involved. It's a doom metal album for those looking to step outside of the comfy confines of My Dying Bride and Swallow the Sun, without diving head first into funeral doomers Esoteric or Bell Witch.

Best Songs: Drone Carrying Dread, Incinerator, Centurion, Misery, Glorybox, Krüller

One of 2022's under the radar progressive metal albums was from the band Moon Tooth. I have seen the name pop up on occasion in my progressive spheres and many of them were excited to hear the newest offering. And while I am fashionably late once again, Phototroph is a well performed, constructed and unique record.

Phototroph has an interesting dichotomy in its performance, which is split between a hybrid of nu-metal and progressive rock, mixed in with some clean vocal stylings of Nick Lee. What makes this work is how powerful the vocals are; while the instrumental has some heavy crunch that sometimes bleeds into metalcore, the lead vocals are pronounced with a strong backing presence. Much of the time, these vocals could border on the side of prissy, but here they work by way of sounding like a cleaner version of Mudvayne's Chad Grey.

The progressive elements on Phototroph are limited, but that allows for the songwriting to take center stage. I really enjoy the riffs on this record and how well they compliment the vocal melodies of "Back Burner" and "Grip on the Ridge". When the album is not working, it is usually on the back of trying too hard for the progressive crowd, which does lead to guitar solos taking precedent over everything else.

The song "Alpha Howl" encapsulates everything that Phototroph is about; the Slipknot chugging riff, the Mudvayne vocals, the math rock guitar leads/solos. If these sounds interest you, then you will likely find something of value in the Phototroph. I really enjoyed this, but the midway point of the record does drag a bit, so I don't think I can call it great.

Best Songs: Back Burner, The I That Never Dies, Alpha Wolf, Nymphaeaceae, Phototroph

I must admit, I had overlooked Until Fear No Longer Defines Us as a member of the Ghost Brigade discography. I heard this groups remaining three projects and found myself gravitating a lot more towards Isolation Songs and One With the Storm and with no prospect of a fifth album, I had little reason to check in on the record that is sandwiched between those two mentioned previously. 

Upon listening to Until Fear No Longer Defines Us, I understand why I made that distinction because this album does very little to develop a melodic atmospheric sludge sound that Isolation Songs had figured out remarkably well before. Not that this was a bad thing; this album has a refinement on display that makes for a more consistent release for sure, even though I do not think its highs match those of the previous album.

Part of this is inevitably the sameness of the tunes. Many of them gravitate towards a similar tempo and remain locked in to that groove for a while. It isn't like doom metal though where the tracks can regularly exceed the ten minute mark; this records longest track is "Breakwater" at just under nine minutes. As a result of this, songs like "Torn" and "Divine Act of Lunacy" rarely outstay their welcome despite being fairly monotonous tracks overall. This also gives some greater emphasis to the songwriting on longer tracks like "Clawmaster", "Chamber" and "Soulcarvers", and these tunes do have some nice growth, even so considering how depressive this album can get.

The clean vocals of Manne Ikonen have a delivery that reminded me of some of Machine Head's softer moments on that groups most recent album, Of Kingdom and Crown, while the harsher vocals are a closer resemblance of The Ocean's lead vocalist, Loïc Rossetti. I think The Ocean comparison goes farther than just that the vocals sound similar, but the overall tone of this record has many similarities to The Ocean as well, from the tone quality of the rhythm and lead guitars, to the tempo selections, and even some of the percussive embellishment choices. Where Ghost Brigade succeed over The Ocean is a focus on melody, and "Clawmaster", "Grain" and "Cult of Decay" have strong melodic foundations, and the developments of those themes are more refined than any complete The Ocean album, and even the bands own Isolation Songs. 

In the end, this record was a wonderful listening experience. Sure, the record is pretty formulaic by Ghost Brigade, and modern post-metal standards, but it does a far better job of keeping the listener engaged with sticky motifs and development instead of wallowing in texture. 

Best Songs: Clawmaster, Divine Act of Lunacy, Grain, Cult of Decay, Soulcarvers

Progressive thrash metal is a genre that I typically view with a concerning eye. Part of my reasoning for this is of how drastically different these styles are. What I appreciate in a thrash metal album is something that can be punchy and direct, while progressive metal is usually elongated with uncommon song structures and conceptual formats. Given my recent thrash metal tastes in recent years, you can clearly see why this subgenre sounds interesting, but leaves me with very little substance. 

Of course, I also like melodically sound tunes that are well constructed, which leads us to Autonoesis and their 2022 sophomore record, Moon of Foul Magics. This record has some really good ideas that are being played and experimented with throughout its hour runtime. From a purely thrash perspective, the riffage on the title track, "Nihility, Endless Winter" and "The Conjurer" are very good and have a catchiness to them. Sure some riffs don't feel as exciting, however they have a uniqueness to them that, if this was the whole album, I'd be ready to call one of 2022's best.

But that's not what we get here. Progressive metal has a terrible habit of trying to blend multiple songs together and almost never pays off the way that the band expects. And so when this philosophy is brought over to a thrash metal idiom, it turns a record into Riffs: the Album with no connectivity. Autonoesis does a better job of this than most, but that simply because they are following the Vektor formula of slow-fast-slow. How do they change it up? Simply invert the tempos! It's a very basic way of writing progressive music, which in a way, does help Autonoesis with their thrash metal foundation. Tunes like "Raise the Dead" and the closer "Descending the Void" are decent, with varying levels of developing the riffage beyond the initial annunciation of the theme.

Another aspect that makes Autonoesis stand out is the heaviness. This band has clearly come out of the Possessed school of thrash with many elements sounding close to death metal, and even more tricks of the trade out of black metal. Acoustic interludes throughout the album such as "Vahöll" have a Saor-esque timbre, while the bridge of "Descending the Void" sounds closer to early Opeth. It honestly kills a lot of the momentum that has been building for passages prior, but many of them pick that intensity back up throughout and many of them sound excellent.

I will not admit to loving this, but I did enjoy my time with Moon of Foul Magics. The sound is rough and fowl at times and plays into the records benefit as both a thrash and extreme (blackened death) metal record. The riffing is above average and also knows how to balance (a)tonality. But the record could have been trimmed, many ideas are cut off before a conclusion because that's what the slow-fast-slow songwriting formula tells us to do, and momentum drops for much the same reason. I want to like this more since it seems like a thrash metal record targeted for me, but I feel like its missing something.

Best Songs: Moon of Foul Magics, Nihility, Endless Winter, The Conjurer, On Black Wings of Eternity

When this album begins with nearly eight and a half minutes of avant-garde choral chanting, you can expect some of the thing that you are going to get from Set Chaos to the Heart of the Moon. That transforms "Zâr" and then the three part "Vajrabhairava", which exemplifies all the reasons why Neptunian Maximalism are making some of the best drone music in modern times. This group is using the "drone" as their fundamental so that they can experiment/wank over the very simple ostinato found in the bass and sometimes in one of the stringed instruments as well. Saxophone and guitars galore performing in an unusual manner, while the chanting from the intro serves as complimentary material. The performance does not have a clear direction for melody per se, but the well established fundamental rhythm section before everything else kicks in gives each movement a sense of forward momentum and growth, which is quite the accomplishment for a genre that is notorious for having very little, if not any, momentum or growth (kind of implied in the name of the genre).

While I do enjoy "Ol sonuf vaoresaji ! La Sixième Extinction de Masse", it does not leave me with a lot to talk about. The two part "The Conference of the Stars" is far more interesting. Part one starts off simple enough, but about halfway through, the entire ensemble drops out allowing for a unaccompanied Soprano saxophone, with an octave filter, to take the lead. This was surprising since that droning fundamental bass line has been present throughout the entire performance up to this point; for it to disappear for as long as it does is shocking, and only exemplifies the crushing fundamental again when it returns. It's well placed and a much needed attention seeker, even for those more attuned to drone music than myself. Part two is a little less enjoyable. While certainly interesting as the rhythm section opts for a faster groove that is more closely aligned with post-metal, the chanting drops out as the guitar/saxophone duo trade over a single, slowly rising bass note. It's an interesting concept that saved by being the final "real" song of the set, but would likely fall flat as the final track of a studio album.

Neptunian Maximalism is a group meant to be experienced as a live performance rather than as a studio album. As such, this review is a little bit different than others. I rather enjoyed this new record from the band, and probably more so than 2020's Éons. That album was held back by it's length whereas this takes half of the time. This is a record that should be enjoyed as a complete performance instead of as subsequent parts. If that's for you, then Set Chaos to the Heart of the Moon is one of the best drone albums I've heard in a long time.

Best Songs: Zâr, Vajrabhairava (Parts I & II), The Conference of the Stars (Part One: Cleopatra the Goddess)

I knew when I initiated the review draft in the Infinite that I was going to have to listen to albums like Ron Jarzombek's Solitarily Speaking of Theoretical Confinement. This is pure guitar wank, delivered over a single, continuous idea, where the tracks are not serve as the end of an idea; it gives the record a conceptual feel. The biggest issue is that it takes the compositional approach of the Minutemen's fantastic record, Double Nickels on the Dime, with short song fragments and a whopping forty-five tracks! As a progressive metal album, this record comes nowhere close to matching Minutemen's punchiness and instant connectivity. 

Progressive metal has a hard time on the best of days to create a concept album that is conceptual, but this takes it to the extreme in the worst way possible. Ron is switching to and from different patterns and ideas like a schizophrenic and does not have a care in the world for making this record memorable beyond "look how quirky it is!" With almost every track on the album running less than two minutes, songs that were compositionally uninteresting before become unbearable on repeated listens. 

It becomes more apparent when you look at the names of some of tracks on this record and realize that most of them were likely afterthoughts: "Frank Can Get Drunk And Eat Beer", "Grizzly Bears Don't Fly Airplanes", "Sex With Squeakie" and "Tri, Tri Again" are just some examples that tell me nothing about the artist, or the artwork that is being presented. This is lifeless, guitar wank that I would like to thoroughly repress from my mind after being overrun with and endless stream of guitar students during post-secondary school who play this exact same shit. And now most of them are wondering why no one wants to hire them.

Best Songs: Melodramatic Chromatic, Battle Of The Hands, Sabbatic Chromatic, Two Thirds Of Satan, In The Name Of Ron

I feel obligated at this point in the year to talk about my Revolution album of the year. Although calling this hardcore is more of a misnomer. Fit For An Autopsy used to be deathcore, but now resemble something closer to technical death metal. It's a very similar career trajectory to Job For A Cowboy. And like with that band, Fit For An Autopsy have gotten better with age, with Oh What the Future Holds likely being the bands best.

Fit For An Autopsy know the art of songwriting and explore this over the unconventional foundation of technical death metal. For every breakdown that is present on "A Higher Level of Hate", "Pandora" and "Savages", each one is given time to breathe and is used as a compositional tool for breakdowns later on in the piece, but also for the technical interludes that exist between the chugging. Even the albums lesser moments like "In Shadows" are still good compositions, but are held back by less than stellar hooks.

Like with all tech-deah/deathcore, I should make a quick note about the production, since that is usually the one thing that pulls albums down for me and Fit For An Autopsy are not about to ruin a perfectly good idea with piss poor production. Each idea is allowed to flourish and plays in tandem with the other instruments. The guitar work here is fantastic and is given a solid foundation by the bass and percussion to solo/chug over. The vocals are likely the weakest part since they rarely deviate from a common mid scream, but that's hardly a big deal breaker for me. The instrumentals are more than enough of an adventure that a steady vocal timbre is a welcome return home so to speak.

Not a surprising release, but one that I was thrilled hear and am still thrilled by almost a year later.

Best Songs: Pandora, Far from heaven, A Higher Level of Hate, Conditional Healing, Savages

The newest release from Darko US is an album that I have a hard time trying to figure out who is meant to enjoy it. The deathcore tag here is misleading as there is next to nothing death metal about it. It has Tom Barber's vocals as well as pick scrapes, but Oni does not have a single blast beat on the record. On the other hand, it isn't metalcore either, because the vocals can become overbearing at times and those instrumentals do not provide the listener with a sense of comfort that you might expect from a record from August Burns Red or Killiswitch Engage. No matter what side of the Revolution clan you're in, you're all losers here!

This record is heavily dependent on groove instead of melody and so you'll find many of its breakdowns dependent on djent foundations. And while many of this records breakdowns are satisfying, I also find myself getting very tired of hearing them repeated over and over again without any direction. Darko US try to provide a semblance of growth and a much needed diversion by having Loathe-esque shoegaze/post-metal interludes. The biggest issue is that they aren't fully formed ideas and instead just feel like...well, interludes. The only one that comes close to resembling a full formed song is "Come Home", which is immediately followed by the albums non-closer "Redo". I don't know where the hype surrounding this album comes from. It's too heavy for the metalcore crowd, not heavy enough for the deathcore crowd, and those of us just looking for good music will have to look elsewhere.

Best Songs: Come Home, Dragon Chaser, Gantz

The Best Slipknot Album of 2022

I have been pretty hard on Slipknot recently...and rightfully so. As much as they served as a gateway toward a heavier portion of metal music, they also seem to have grown a tired act with very little keeping them afloat beyond Corey Taylor's sheer persistence. Older music has grown cringy, and new music lacks any growth. So why would I not be excited to hear a new era Slipknot, with heavier metalcore tendencies and glitchy electronics via Frontierer?

Well this record is basically just that, so if those descriptors appeal to you in any way, you might find Tallah's new album, The Generation Of Danger a good one. The problem is that it does not do much else beyond the initial hybrid. The vocal timbre is varied as Justin Bonitz uses the full vocal range; nu metal rapping, singing, pig squeals and gutturals to hide that many of these instrumentals are pretty basic. The electronics and unconventional guitar patterns occur almost on cue within every single track and without any suspense or divergence, the breakdowns that fill this album are not that efficient. Not to mention how breakdowns constantly peak in the mix, making them less enjoyable to listen to then the melodic passages anyway.

I think what sets this album apart is how melodic songs are kept separated in the track listing. It shows how Tallah can pull off a melodic hardcore and a frenetic mathcore at the same time and that dichotomy is sometimes well noted. However, just like with Slipknot, The Generation Of Danger is a long record, with every track eclipsing at least four minutes. This makes the frenzy filled mathcore tunes feel like they go on forever without anything that resembles a sense of growth or direction, whether that be within an individual song, or leading into a more melodic tune next in the album listing. I think back to Loathe's 2020 album I Let It In And It Took Everything and how those heavier metalcore songs were shorter to compliment the dreamy, Deftones inspired melodic ones. And this record does not have that level of complexity.

Why I still find myself viewing the album more favourably despite all of this is despite the mishaps, it still feels genuine and unique. All Hope Is Gone era Slipknot was the bands best in terms of its craftsmanship and execution and Tallah are running with that sound and turning it on its head, since Slipknot don't seem very eager to return to that form any time soon. The plunderphonics that have been added to enhance the sound may be challenging to adapt to, but creates something that can push the boundaries of what can be deemed "accessible" metalcore. But structurally, it falls flat compositionally and without much of a change of pace, even for just one track, the record does drag with how one note it can become.

Best Songs: The Hard Reset, For The Recognition, Telescope, Wendrid

Mike Patton is insane.

Are you surprised that he has a crossover thrash side project? Because you should not be. I will say though that when it comes to modern thrash music, Dead Cross might be some of the more forward thinking thrash metal that has been heard in a little while. Mike Patton brings his own unique sense of humor to this second album, while still managing to maintain some semblance of seriousness as this album's political overtones push it beyond just a gimmick project. I find myself on more than one occasion perplexed by compositional direction here, but the short runtime do not allow the Mike Patton-ism's to become overly distracting and makes for a pretty fun listen overall. 

Best Songs: Heart Reformer, Strong and Wrong, Christian Missile Crisis, Reign of Error

I might have to come to terms with the fact that thrash metal might just not be for me anymore. It feels like a toxic relationship at times; where I know I should leave, but something just keeps bringing me back hoping for a change. A genre that seems so contempt with playing a very safe formula of thrash music that borrows almost on cue from Megadeth, Slayer and Exodus. The genre has next to no innovation and until someone comes in to fill the void left behind by Vektor, I may never see a need to return to this genre again.

But that opinion does appear to be changing. While many mainstream outlets are paying attention to a new wave of Japanese metal, extreme metal seems to have found a comfortable mold in South America, and specifically, Chile. Within the last six months, I have been introduced to technical death metallers, Inanna, and in thrash, Parkcrest and Critical Defiance. And each album has provided some positive strides for their respective genres, with No Life Forms easily being the most surprising album of the bunch.

Let's get something clear out the way quickly: thrash metal is not a very difficult genre of music to perform. With roots firmly in punk, a messy and juvenile approach is very easy to replicate. For this, Critical Defiance would get a free pass, but would have to compliment it with something else, particularly in the songwriting. For that, Critical Defiance are doing thrash metal far better than most others. No Life Forms is melodic and hook heavy; every track is built on one or two ideas and weaved together instead of just piling riffs one after the other with no sense of direction. 

What also helps is the length of this record. I cannot begin to tell you how agonizing it is to look at a new thrash metal album with a runtime exceeding fifty minutes. Critical Defiance are literally being defiant here by having a record short of half-an-hour. Tracks are punchy and to the point. Guitar riffs take center stage on every piece and they influence every other piece of the song; from the bass lines (yes there are bass lines here!) to the percussion and the vocals. Solos are aplenty and most are implemented remarkably well, except for maybe the instrumental "Elephant", which does suffer from sounding like a glorified wank instead of say "Orion".

Compositionally I think No Life Forms is trying a little too hard to be like classic thrash, but Critical Defiance have a unique timbre about them making them stand out from some still clear influences. Such as the structure of "Kill Them with Kindness" being a direct copy of "Angel of Death". While the rest of the album (i.e. "A World Crumbling Apart", "Dying Breath" and "Warhead (Emotional Fallout)") takes a lot of liberties to early Sepultura.

No Life Forms by Critical Defiance might not be the most modern thrash album ever, but for what it's worth, it is a great album. Music does not need to be progressive in order to be good, it just has to sound like it. This band has mastered the thrash metal formula of old in order to turn it into something new and if more artists start following in their wake, thrash metal will be better for it.

Best Songs: Altering the Senses, Dying Breath, Kill The with Kindness, No Life Forms

I wish I hadn't called this in 2021, but it was quite easy to see the cracks forming through the last album and now we have reached the empty void of sellout Architects. Since I had very little experience with this band during their heavier metalcore days, I went into 2021's For Those That Wish To Exist with muted optimism, but optimism nonetheless. I thought the album was pretty bland, but Architects maintained some of their identity that was present on Holy Hell, but now this band is stuck in alternative metalcore purgatory. I cannot find myself excited about anything here because it all sounds formulaic and basic; none of the songs stand out and simply go through the motions of an alternative metalcore album. Not to mention the poor production from the last album has not been fixed, and the style changes and breakdowns evoke zero reaction.

Sam Carter has recently gone on record saying that metal music fans are elitists in that they do not want their beloved bands changing and becoming more accessible as a way to deflect criticism of this new record. Despite the fact that this happens in all types of music, I see the appeal of this sentiment. I've spoken many times on and off the internet about this very same thing and it baffles me that this practice still takes place today. What Sam Carter forgot to mention was the lost identity of Architects in that transition. This sounds like it could have been written by a computer. The new Architects album contains the classic symptoms of a broken soul.

Best Songs: burn down my house, a new moral high ground

The sudden acclaim that has poured at the feet of Lorna Shore is nothing short of incredible. Once a fairly generic deathcore band during the 2010s, following a multiple vocalist delay to the bands tenure, one which included multiple sexual misconduct allegations, Lorna Shore hired a fresh face in Will Ramos to take the helm. And following a 2021 EP that shook the metalcore world down to its core, we finally have a full length LP to indulge in.

And to say that it is conflicting is a bit of an understatement. This new sound can be best compared to Fleshgod Apocalypse by just how insane some of the instrumental work is. The drums sound inhumane at times, while the guitar is playing really fast tremolo picking patterns that are occasionally broken up by a solo. The low end is massive, and the symphonic elements give each one of these songs a genuine melody or two to build from. Will Ramos' vocals are really something in how they are able to be manipulated through screeching highs, guttural lows, and everything in between. Once again, I return to the word "inhumane" because that might be the only appropriate way to describe the pure hell that exists on Pain Remains.

Unlike Fleshgod Apocalypse though, this is a deathcore band so get ready for breakdowns, and a lot of them. Like with so many of the worst metalcore albums, the breakdowns are what make or break the record for me and I can tell that Lorna Shore does not do nearly enough to change this. Pain Remains seems to think that the best thing for its breakdowns is to remove the symphonic elements entirely, drop the tempos down painstakingly, and chug its way to the most disgusting stank face you can make. They feel very simplistic with very little variety. Some of the breakdowns on "Into the Earth", parts of "Sun//Eater" and "Soulless Existence" sound good, and the restrain to hold the pummeling breakdown to the very end of the closing suite "Pain Remains" is well executed.

But it's the production that keeps this record from achieving anything greater. This record is trying so hard to sound epic and transcendent that many of its most important elements are drowned out by the noise. A relentless percussion, especially the kick drum, sound overly mic'd and drowns out the symphonic melodies. In addition the vocals are pretty high concept with themes of depression as well as growth from that depression, so why are Ramos' vocals so condensed and hidden behind an endless wall of effects? I understand that, in this kind of music, the delivery of the vocals is more important than the words themselves. But then why would the band put so much time and effort into them like this? It all feels like far too much stuff is happening and nothing is allowed to breathe.

At the end of the day, Pain Remains is a good album. Not in a long time have I heard a technical death metal/deathcore album that was as melodically driven as this one. Not in a long time have I made a stank face during a breakdown as filthy as these ones. But the album is incredibly flawed in many of the same ways that so many other technical death meal/deathcore albums are flawed. And that starts with the production. It's an album that shows potential, but tries too hard for the sake of accessibility, and at the determent of the album's quality. These songs likely sound much better live than they do digitally. I guess the...high gain remains.

Best Songs: Into the Earth, Cursed to Die, Soulless Existence, Pain Remains II: After All I've Done, I'll Disappear 

Alter Bridge are a band that have continued to defy expectations of how generic an AOR band can be. Littering their songs with huge, anthemic vocal hooks from Myles Kennedy, the instrumentals continue to play an integral role in most tunes beyond just chords. And Pawns & Kings is no exception. Longer song structures with extended instrumental interludes, strong shout choruses, good use of dynamic contrast, and a production that does not give special preference to one part over the others. And credit where it is due; Alter Bridge have been doing this for a long time without becoming too stagnant on a greater scale. However, condensed within Alter Bridge's discography, you might start to notice some of the cracks. The shorter tracks like "Silver Tongue" and "Holiday" are decent singles, but don't highlight an older Alter Bridge at their best. Furthermore, the obligatory progressive song, "Fable of the Silent Son" serves as well placed detour within the tracklist, but cannot hold a candle to songs like "Blackbird" and "Fortress" from those respective albums. I think it shows that this band has good variety of style, which can be appealing to a younger audience still discovering metal. But after nearly twenty years, this band has become a one trick chess piece. 

Best Songs: This is War, Sin After Sin, Season of Promise, Pawns & Kings

My interactions with coldrain have been limited due to the Gateway spheres I frequent being slightly more on the progressive side. But I have heard plenty of tunes from this band thanks to the many song recommendations for monthly playlists. And in all honesty, I might have liked this band more during the 2000s as opposed to discovering them in the late 2010s. Their brand of melodic metalcore is fairly generic and the alternative leanings such as melodic songwriting sounds formulaic.

Case in point, the bands newest album, Nonnegative. When coldrain isn't directly ripping off older bands such as Slipknot on "Cut Me", Parkway Drive/Shadows Fall with "From Today", and a laundry list of chug-chug-chug metalcore bands on "Rabbit Hole", these tunes just are not that interesting. The album might have a decent guitar melody from time to time, but the vocals just feel forced and lacking in emotive drive. Nowhere is that more apparent than on the No Doubt cover of "Don't Speak", which, while not a great song in its own right, Gwen's vocals were timid and hushed as the protagonist goes through a breakup. The vocalist of coldrain doesn't seem to have a problem singing like the lead singer of a power metal band here, creating a weird dichotomy; not just between the vocals and the lyrics, but the instrumentals as well.

It all leaves me with a feeling of nothingness because I've heard all of this before...twenty years ago. coldrain's newest album does not do anything interesting to its influences, and when it does it isn't very good. It's attempts at alternative metalcore are met with a resounding "meh" from me as I have heard plenty of newer artists (i.e. Spiritbox, Bad Omens) and even older groups like Northlane growing the sound beyond the Of Mice and Men and The Devil Wears Prada's of the world. At least when BABYMETAL came out of the new J-rock scene, it was something new and got people talking. Maybe coldrain don't want to be BABYMETAL and that's fine and they will find their audience. But a well oiled machine has to keep moving, and coldrain are still stuck on ten year old technology.

Best Songs: Before I Go, Boys And Girls, PARADISE (Kill The Silence)

I never really god into Lamb of God growing up. I could tell that they were an impressive metalcore/groove metal band that knew how to write infectious melodies, but I could always tell that they were better served as a singles band and albums could never hold the attention of my pretentious prog mind for too long. They were clearly influenced by Pantera and received the hallowed status as that band did, which never sat well with me. 

Now I haven't listened to much LoG since Strum und Drang as my listening circles were far more diverse and less metal oriented. But after Adler left the group, a self titled album and now Omens, I was willing to give Lamb of God another chance. And yeah, this is pretty good. It feels like a return to form for the band; the return of heavier songs, faster riffs and less clean singing.

And once again, I am reminded that Lamb of God are absolutely a singles band. "Nevermore", "Omens" and "Grayscale" all contain peak Lamb of God tropes, while just being a straight up good song to listen to. But those deep cuts lose momentum and start to run together after a while. More so than any other Lamb of God record, this one is the closest to sounding like metalcore, specifically August Burns Red. The use of chugging riffs while a moving guitar lead soars above is fine, but loses its touch after about the fifth song.

"Denial Mechanism" has the band go for that more thrashier side like the old school Pantera album Cowboys From Hell. The issue is that it is the albums shortest track, and also the penultimate one before the slower "September Song" to close out. Neither of these changes of pace are presented well and leaves the album feeling like something was missing; a constant issue of later Lamb of God albums. 

Despite all of this, there is a reason why Lamb of God's name is so well recognized in the mainstream metal circles. They capture the heaviness of Pantera and develop it into a new age, without losing what makes Pantera songs like "Walk" and "5 Minutes Alone" so great. It is not an album I intend on returning to all that much, but for a late stage album from a higher echelon metal band, I cannot deny this record as being a lot of fun.

Best Songs: Nevermore, Ditch, Ill Designs, Grayscale

Call me pretentious all you want, but I liked Slipknot after they started going more mainstream. Everyone goes gaga for the S/T debut and Iowa because of (relatively) how heavy they were, but I could barely tell you anything about the records beyond Corey Taylor's whine scream/singing. As they cleaned up on The Subliminal Verses and All Hope Is Gone, songs became more memorable, even as deeper cuts held on to some hard hitting tendencies.

The next two albums split the difference between being too boring, and not boring enough! My review of 2019's We Are Not Your Kind was divisive as I couldn't decide whether I liked the experimentation or not. In 2022, Slipknot are back with the end...so far. It feels more like a return to form for the band as they brush up on their nu metal roots, while still playing towards a more accessible crowd circa late 2000s.

Corey Taylor's vocals are vastly improved and the shout choruses can be quite fun if given the time, including a vast improvement in maturity from the early days. Percussion is also greatly improved from the previous album; Jay Weinberg is finding his place within the ensemble and is doing his best to replicate Joey Jordison, while still retaining a unique charm to help normies distinguish The End, So Far from other Slipknot albums. 

It has many structural faults though. The first and most obvious one, is the lack of progressive focus. Now some bands do not need to be progressive to be successful, but Slipknot have already laid the foundation for this on their previous album. Longer song structure do not hide that we've heard these riffs time and time again. The industrial moments that were a major selling point of We Are Not Your Kind are almost completely removed. And Slipknot still cannot figure out how to write a metal ballad properly; throw in some harsh vocals and let the songs explode instead of letting them reach a climax is lazy stream farming.

But I cannot say that I hate The End, So Far. It's vastly improved from the previous album, but has nowhere near the same level of highs as before. The album is more streamlined and very pleasant to listen to, but if you're looking for anything beyond that, this is basically just another Slipknot album.

Best Songs: Adderall, The Chapeltown Rag, Hive Mind, Medicine for the Dead, H377

A Chilean progressive death metal album that is anything but uninspired. The band labels this album and the band in general as being a three part hybrid of the "70s prog-rock heroes" of lead guitarist Diego Ilabaca, early technical death metal giants like Death and Atheist, and the brutality of Suffocation, Gorguts and Morbid Angel. 

The first thing that strikes my interest is the compositions. For many years I have had issue with technical death metal acts having a number of different ideas or motifs that have been tied together by only the thinnest of hog ties, but Inanna have very little of that here. The albums slower moments such as "Evolutionary Inversion" and "Far Away in Other Spheres" are well balanced in how the incorporate technical abundance and having it so it compliments the section directly before it. This is made ever more impressive when it happens on "Mind Surgery". 

Death metal is not known for it soaring guitar melodies, but the leitmotifs that we do get out of the guitars also contribute to an albums cohesiveness. The brutality of the instrumentals are well established, but do not go by the wayside due to a lack of theme as so many other tech-death albums have been known to do in the past for me.

One thing Inanna did not take away from Pestilence or Atheist was their compact compositions. Every track extends pass six minutes with a couple surpassing ten and it can feel like some tracks drag on for far too long, especially those ten-plus minute ones. They can quickly diverge into meandering sessions while the band figures what the hell to do next. As well, the album does not end the best with "Cabo de Hornos". It tries to be more atmospheric and invoke ethereal nature, which over the death metal palette sounds cool, but forces the album to lose momentum. Also, Void of Unending Depths is yet another H.P. Lovecraft inspired wankfest, which does not help the closing tracks comparisons to Blut Aus Nord's album from earlier in the year, but also the album as a whole losing some creative points.

Overall, I think Inanna's newest record is a very solid one. As someone who has been overly harsh towards technical death metal in the past, Void of Unending Depths is a very well executed display of how melody can be implemented in a genre known for overvaluing brutality. But loses points for a lack of focus, and a tired concept.

Best Songs: Evolutionary Inversion, Far Away in Other Spheres, Mind Surgery

Recently, another reviewer whose content I frequent gave a short review of the sophomore Holy Fawn album, Dimensional Bleed and gave it some of their highest regards. This intrigued me, so I gave it a few listens myself and... the result was quite solid. One thing that this album proves is that heavy metal music does not need to be at its most brutal at all times to be effective. Dimensional Bleed's post-metal elements are scattered throughout the album and likely never take up more than half of the full runtime. But when they do; those anchoring bass lines are titanic and carry the dreamlike guitars and reverb soaked vocals to the edges of the the human condition. I noticed on more than one occasion where this album was so pleasant and comforting that I'd get locked into a sway, before realizing that I need to focus on the music itself!

That can be a good and bad thing depending on where you approach this album from. On one hand, because each song seamlessly transitions from one to the next and each track is an excellent composition on its own, you could say that Dimensional Bleed has excellent structure, form and delivery. On the other, because each song is built around the same tempo and groove, you might find less variety in the grooves. The only notable exception is "Void of Light", whereas the rest falls into a very cozy doom-y, post-metal, blackgaze sound; a sound quite similar to more modern Deafheaven.

That Deafheaven comparison might be worrisome considering how little I resonated with Infinite Granite. But here it feels more developed and better executed. I struggle to put it in my short list for AOTY because like with a lot of good post-metal, the comfort does not always make for a mesmerizing experience. But for what it is worth, Dimensional Bleed is ethereal so it does live up to its own standards. I doubt many MA members will find much with this, but as a relaxing piece of shoegaze/post-metal, it's really good.

Best Songs: Death Is A Relief, Empty Vials, Dimensional Bleed, Void of Light, True Loss

Another year, another metalcore band going mainstream, another fanbase ready to defile a band and there legacy.

I never listened to Parkway Drive during their 2007 peak, but when they started incorporating more progressive techniques into their music during the mid 2010s, I was intrigued. Ire was a fascinating release and now we have Darker Still. It has to be the breakdowns that have got the negative blowback here because song structures throughout the record are quite standard on "Soul Bleach", "Glitch" and "Like Napalm", and the breaks are not nearly as frequent as previous albums. Some tracks like "The Greatest Fear" have the foundation of a symphonic metal track, but lacks... y'know, the symphonic elements. I found it unique since Parkway Drive are not looking to become symphonic metal, and so having a song structurally like symphonic metal, while still sounding like Parkway Drive is an interesting idea.

When the band gets the most experimental though is when Darker Still is at its best. Perhaps ironically, the title track does contain some stronger symphonic elements, even though it has less in common with symphonic metal and more of Parkway Drive's more progressive tracks on previous releases. Songs like "Imperial Heretic" and "Land of the Lost" are closer to the standard Parkway Drive sound, but subtle intricacies make it stand out tremendously from Horizons era. But that would not be possible without the final track, "From the Heart of the Darkness", which made me do a double take; not just with who was performing it, but the rest of the album. My initial listen was not the most riveting and Darker Still would not be getting this score if I was basing this on my initial listen. "From the Heart of the Darkness" is certainly Parkway Drive, but has a special element that I can't put my finger on. When I went back, I realized how much bigger and expansive this album was, as well as how much Parkway Drive have grown up since Horizons, even on the back half of the record, which does lead into the albums pacing, which is top heavy and only saved by the final two tracks. During a time when every metalcore band wants to sound like Parkway Drive, the same named band wants to push outside of their comfort zone and succeeded. This was a pleasant surprise in 2022.

Best Songs: Like Napalm, The Greatest Fear, Darker Still, Land of the Lost, From the Heart of the Darkness

Dave Mustaine is one of the most overrated artists/composers in all of heavy metal. 

There. I said it. And god does it feel good! This is a man who was so salty about getting kicked out of Metallica that he went and started an anti-Metallica band whose 1980s albums lacked artistic focus and direction that Metallica were able to reproduce in spades throughout their golden run. And yet, Megadeth almost always gets a free pass while a bunch of revisionists will say "Metallica was always bad". Megadeth helped develop the environment in thrash metal where bands don't need to evolve or grow, and can reproduce Rust In Peace ad nauseum for their entire careers and elitists will eat that shit up.

Like Metallica, the 1990s saw Megadeth commercialize to mix results. Unlike Metallica, when their attempts at commercialization alienated longtime fans (or just failing miserably with Risk), they reverted back to an old sound as evidence that Mustaine and company didn't actually care about the music they were making. They basically paved the way for Slayer in the later portion of the 2000s and my complicated relationship with them.

And so, it should be no surprise that The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead! is exactly what you should expect. It's just more Megadeth; you've heard these riffs before possibly hundreds of times. The callbacks to Rust In Peace, Countdown to Extinction and Peace Sells... But Whose Buying? are blatant and have been done to death by Megadeth over the last five records and leaves me with nothing to say. The last Megadeth album that was worth giving a damn about was United Abominations for making a hybrid of the classic 1980s sound with influence from the bands best album, Youthanasia. If you enjoyed Dystopia, well you're in luck because this record is the exact same thing. 

Best Songs: Sacrifice, Soldier On!

During my recent scrollings through RateYourMusic to see which hot new album was getting the critics panties all twisted up, I saw the newest album from The Callous Daoboys recently featured. And in all honesty, I was not really in the mood for another dose of chaotic mathcore, so I decided to find an album myself to take its place. And this album could not have come at a better time. I caught on to Swedish outlet An Abstract Illusion's debut record, Illuminate The Path in 2017 and was knocked back by how mature it sounded for a debut record. It's progressive death metal that I can only dubiously describe as "atmoshperic death metal". If you listen to black metal in the vein of Wolves in the Throne Room or Windir, or even the blackgaze trailblazers like Alcest...that might be your closest comparison point to An Abstract Illusion. 

It's been a long time since that record came out and I have returned to Illuminate The Path much more than I originally anticipated. When the global lockdowns of 2020 happened, I started questioning whether we would ever get a new An Abstract Illusion album, but it's finally here! The band took their time to release some high quality prog death. A concept album rivaling Light of Day, Day of Darkness in it's ambition

The album begins marvelously with a short intro "The Behemoth That Lies Asleep" transitioning into "Slaves". It is not that dissimilar to how the last album began, and the change in pace is not forced. The intro has a short middle passage with lots of double kick pedals and open chord strumming in the guitars. That's followed by some vocoded leads, which remind me of older Between the Buried and Me. "Slaves" continues this comparison with its recurring short burst rhythm in the guitar over blast beat percussion, while the vocals try their best to match the intensity of Tommy Rogers distinguished gutturals. The bass lines are pronounced and given heavy prominence fundamentally allowing the guitars to soar above into some excellent melodies. The only gripe is the breakdown solo near the end; resorting to metalcore chugging riffs felt like a cash grab in my opinion.

Leading into "Tear Down This Holy Mountain", the listener is given a moment of reprieve following the previous track with ambience and a reverb soaked clarinet solo. The main them only begins after 90 to 100 seconds; a plentiful break before the return of the blast beats and tremolo guitar chords. The first half is a little disjointed for my taste, but the back half is where things get fascinating. Beginning with a slow guitar solo over electronic percussion is a unique choice and one I don't think works so well. Later on in the buildup, when the thick bass sustains come in, it switches back to a acoustic percussion, which sounds far more commanding. 

"Prosperity" is another song with a clear divider about halfway through. The first half continues some of the BTBAM comparisons I made earlier, while the back half resembles a simplified Meshuggah track. I enjoy it's incorporation better than on the outro of "Slaves", but it drags on for too long and does not develop enough to warrant its extended runtime. "Blomsterkrans" is great; a melodically pleasing piano interlude to calm down the adrenaline that has been firing on all cylinders since the beginning of "Slaves" leading into the albums longest track "In The Heavens Above, You Will Become A Monster", and serves a similar purpose to "Viridian" into "White Walls" on BTBAM's Colors. 

In regards to the aforementioned "In The Heavens Above, You Will Become A Monster", I cannot remember the last time I heard a more well constructed progressive metal song before this one. Every segment leads fluently into the next; the dynamic shifts are well placed, the tempo and style changes are built upon the previous sections, and each element connects the entire piece together into something marvelous. It is no surprise that this is the album's crown jewel, perhaps even surpassing "Vakuum" from the last album as the best song An Abstract Illusion have ever written. Which does beg the question: why didn't An Abstract Illusion put this much intricate detail into the album's shorter tracks? 

Unlike BTBAM's opus, An Abstract Illusion embrace us with one final track on this album, "This Torment Has No End, Only New Beginnings" and does it hardest to live up to the sky high expectations the band just set on the previous track. This is another wonderful piece that is intricately composed and performed, leading into the albums inconclusive ending. It's potential is fully realized and ends the album in a way that makes me want more, which in this case, is not a bad thing.

The reason I continuously referenced Between The Buried And Me in this album review is because compositionally, Colors might be this albums closest comparison point. What makes it so remarkable is despite how much influence it takes from the source material, An Abstract Illusion made an album that is uniquely theirs. At this point, An Abstract Illusion have no comparisons; they make death metal by way of atmo black bands like Saor and Drudkh. Their compositional power is fantastic, their songwriting is beyond even the best of their progressive death metal contemporaries. Instrumentals are brimming with life; ranging from ebullient joy to the downtrodden of lows. The bass production is superb, the guitar solos, while plenty, are not glorified wank sessions or scale practice. When I think of progressive death metal, this is what I want it to sound like. It feels so close to perfect, but the faults on a few tracks that were ratified on others is a little disappointing. This might be the album to beat in 2022 so far.

Best Songs: Slaves, Tear Down This Holy Mountain, Blomsterkrans, In The Heavens Above, You Will Become A Monster, This Torment Has No End, Only New Beginnings

The new album from I Prevail has the hybrid of sounds from a number of different nu metal, metalcore and industrial elements, but is unable to coalesce these elements into anything greater than the sum of its parts. I know a lot of fans will listen to the rapping on this record and will get a little bit squeemish, but it's not all that horrible, especially by nu metal standards. Sure, the triplet flows that close out "Self-Destruction" are out of place, but that does not happen on the rest of the album. In fact, one of the albums better tracks, "FWYTYK", is billed from the start as a rap rock song with a solid build up to a mostly satisfying finish.

Stylistically, the record sounds like a hybrid of your typical Spiritbox worship mixed in with the huge eight string guitar breakdowns of a Mick Gordon video game soundtrack. When you put all of these pieces together, True Power is an album that can hit like a truck, but not consistently, and not in the moments when I Prevail expects you to get hit. Credit to the band for experimenting with sounds and willing to step outside of their comfort zone, but this is not doing it for me. I Prevail have a sound that is promising, but misses the mark structurally in more than enough ways to really hold it back from anything other than mediocre.

Best Songs: There's Fear In Letting Go, Fake, FWYTYK, The Negative

It's hard watching a band that you once had so much favour with fall on hard times. Arch Enemy seem to have been on a descending spiral ever since Alissa White-Gluz took over as lead vocalist. Not by any fault of Alissa of course; she has filled in quite admirably for Angela Gossow. It is instead the compositions that have fallen flat in recent years. Arch Enemy have always been a band with some pedestrian song structures in the past, but at least they bothered to make each individual track sound distinct. Now it feels like Arch Enemy is trying to recapture a formula that made them popular fifteen years ago. I swear I heard callbacks to the singles on Doomsday Machine on this album at least half of the songs. Are "Nemesis", "My Apocalypse" and "Taking Back My Soul" good tracks? Yeah, but I want to hear 2022 Arch Enemy; this isn't 2006 anymore! 

Compositionally, Arch Enemy have always followed the Dragonforce approach of letting the lead guitar have a very heavy foot, but here they seem less sporadic, which is a nice touch as many of the leads/solos match the tempos/styles of the songs they are associated with. The vocals can seem forced at times thanks in large part to the opening track, "Handshake with Hell". After giving Alissa the opportunity to perform some clean singing here, it's never heard from again on the rest of the album. A little bit more variety here would go a long way for this album, and Arch Enemy moving forward. Overall, it's a solid enough of an Arch Enemy record. They took their time to release following 2017's disastrous Will to Power, and longtime fans will likely enjoy it. It sure as hell won't be deceiving anyone with it's sound, which is why I'm so mixed on it.

Best Songs: Handshake with Hell, The Watcher, Sunset over the Empire, One Last Time

I never thought in 20+ years that I would be reviewing an Alexisonfire album on Metal Academy, but here we are!

St. Catherines, Ontario isn't known for a lot of things; lying about ten minutes west of Niagara Falls, it's far enough away from the bustling Toronto area that many of its major attractions are a proverbial "best kept secret". That is except for Alexisonfire. This post-hardcore band have become one of this countries treasures in the rock and alternative communities, even as most south of the border associate us with Justin Bieber and Drake. Their sound can be best described as atmospheric hardcore with hints of metal thrown in as they matured. The dual vocals between Dallas Green and George Pettit sometimes remind me of the dual harmonies of Layne Stayley/William Duvall and Jerry Cantrell oof Alice in Chains albeit more contrapuntal instead of being straight harmonies.

So for the bands first studio album post-hiatus (Old Crows/Young Cardinals was released in 2009), Alexisonfire want to turn back the clock a little bit, while still continuing the trend that later albums hard with more atmospherics and slower tempos. George is screaming more on this record than the sing-scream that ran rampant on Old Crows/Young Cardinals, but I do not feel like they hit with the same intensity or bombast as they should. And I think it comes from Dallas Green of all things. Dallas has always had a smooth, grounded vocal timbre in Alexisonfire, allowing for George's to give more firepower. But here, not only are the clean vocals pushed back in the mix, but they are also swamped out with reverb and other effects that never felt this intrusive. As a result, George's screams feel cheesy and rarely fit with the tunes, even when they are the first set of vocals heard, such as on "Reverse the Curse".

This album does have some questionable moments production wise and most of them are in the mixing of the guitar. I have mentioned in rock albums reviews in recent years that the buzzy, compressed, and overall unflattering sound that has become commonplace thanks to bands like the Black Keys is inescapable, and how no one has been able to pull it off. Even Alexisonfire fall victim to this sound on some of their crossover songs like "Reverse the Curse" and "Sweet Dreams of Otherness", even though their sound is best designed for the open, wall-of-sound approach. That being said, I still enjoy "Reverse the Curse" because Alexisonfire know how to write a hook all these years later. "Survivor's Guilt", "Committed to the Con" and "Dark Night of the Soul" have wonderful crescendo's that culminate in some very nice releases. Even as some tunes (especially the closer "World Stops Turning") get me in that comfy vibe state that the best Alexisonfire songs have always been able to do, a familiar vocal motif does not let these songs turn into background noise.

I was fascinated by a new Alexisonfire record and I was not disappointed. It contains many of their classic traits, while doing enough to make it stand out from the early stuff. The albums best moments are stretched out instead of one track after the other, and even then, they do not live up to the expectations of an album like Crisis. Whether or not this belongs in the Metal Academy...since it sounds so much like previous Alexisonfire records, it's easy to just say no. This is a post-hardcore album through-and-through; a very good post-hardcore album mind you, and I hope this record will open them up to a wider, international audience. 

Best Songs: Committed to the Con, Sans Soleil, Conditional Love, Dark Night of the Soul, Reverse the Curse

A Much Needed Foundation Before The True Reconstruction

When you live in the moment, it can be impossible to tell what trends are going to kick off and who will be left holding the bag. In the year before BOTH Nirvana made Seattle a hotbed for rock, and Metallica made heavy metal cool,  Alice In Chains were laying foundations for both of them. The bands debut album Facelift lays the groundwork for a grunge album with crunchy guitars, but the usage of slower doom grooves, and the vocal stylings of Layne Stayley that can sound familiar to anyone who has listened to Glenn Danzig might give you a different impression.

Right out of the gate, "We Die Young" and "Man in the Box" give off this dichotomy of sounds that are not too dissimilar from one another, but still sound very interesting side by side. One is crunchy and heavy, the other is more melodic and comforting. While later songs, most notably "I Can't Remember" has an introductory riff that sounds like it could have been borrowed out of a Slayer intro circa South of Heaven. And it's all delivered with a cleanliness that is right for mainstream consumption. The dual vocal melodies of Stayley and Jerry Cantrell are splendid and harken back to Bruce Dickinson and the classic Iron Maiden run, albeit much darker and ominous. The guitar and bass riffs are precise and do not steal the thunder from the vocals unless they are called upon, and while the percussion is a little lacking, notably that snare drum that has been thrown through a reverb grinder, the simplicity makes the limited snare usage slightly more bearable.

However the one thing keeping this record down is the lack of direction. You would think with all of these influences that Alice In Chains wears with pride that this band may find a way to be a little bit more experimental. As it is, Facelift is a very safe record as quite a few riffs sound like they are being recycled throughout the record and not in a progressive way. The record sounds good and Alice In Chains have a sound that is all their own here, but they do not have the understanding at this point that each unique song needs variety. As a result, the final third of the album becomes quite tedious and kind of boring to be honest.

All things considered, I never liked Facelift initially. In comparison to what followed, this album felt very pedestrian by AiC's standards, but over time I realized how significant this album was. An album that had so many ideas, but could not execute them properly, seems to be the only reason I can ascertain that Facelift was not THE grunge album of the 90s, and Nevermind was. Same goes for Metallica and their S/T. But those bands owe a lot of their success to Facelift; preparing the landscape for both of their monumental 1991 albums. I wonder if Alice In Chains will do some reconstruction of their own before the next album...

The debut album from Oklahoma City based noise rock band Chat Pile reminds me a whole heck of a lot (for some reason) of the first two IDLES albums, Brutalism and Joy As An Act Of Resistance. Perhaps it is in the timbre of the lead vocals that lead to this assertion because not much else about this album reminds me of those first two albums at all. In fact, this album seems more like a hybrid of IDLES' first two albums combined with their art rock stylings of recent. And if you remember my reviews of those later albums (only on RYM), then you'll know that I found them less than thrilling experiences, especially last year's Crawler.

This is a muddy album; perhaps by design given it's noise rock roots, similar to early black midi albums, and this can work in some instances. The biggest problem is that this is more of the bog standard, political post-rock/metal album that I made note of a few weeks ago with the latest Ashenspire album. There is no song structure involved in the execution of these tracks; only free form mesh held together by some of the fakest sounding anger I've heard on a metal album since Korn. By the time I made it to the closing track, "grimace_smoking_weed.jpeg" I felt cold. Like I just gone through a miserable experience like losing the life of someone near and dear to me, but not in the "celebrate and cherish the moments that we got", but rather the feeling of sheer dumbfoundness within moments of hearing/seeing the news play out directly in front of me. This record has no click factor and is further exacerbated by terrible sounding production, mixing and performances. Sometimes this feeling can be rewarding, but here it just feels lifeless. This is an album I have no intention on listening to again.

Best Songs: Tropical Beaches, Inc., The Mask