Blind Guardian - Beyond the Red Mirror ALBUM REVIEW

Well, it looks like the year is half over and I haven’t written a single review. To get back on track reviewing my favorites (and least favorites) of the year so far I’ll start with an album from a very special band for me: Blind Guardian.

Pallbearer: Foundations of Burden ALBUM REVIEW

Pallbearer’s debut full-length, Sorrow and Extinction, impressed many upon its release with its utterly sincere take on traditional doom metal. It combined the core elements of Black Sabbath with the drama of Candlemass and the snail-paced crawl of funeral doom such as Evoken. It resulted in a very likable and worthwhile release that had many metalheads, young and old, raising their horns in approval, rocking out to the album’s wall of guitar sludge and soaring lead lines. Foundations of Burden, their latest offering, was met with even more acclaim from fans and critics than its predecessor, with Decibel in particular calling it a “goddamn masterpiece” and naming it Album of the Year. However, The Needle Drop criticized it for its lack of contrast and gave it a mere 5 out of 10.

Upcoming Reviews

I'm going to start writing reviews again! So here's a bunch of albums that I'll be dissecting and my initial thoughts of all of them...

• Nachtmystium - The World We Left Behind: This one disappointed me. The above song initially got me very excited about the finished product, but the band really plays it safe on this record and the result was very unexciting.
• Judas Priest - Redeemer of Souls: Same feelings as above, but to an even greater extent.
• Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden: This one comes out tomorrow. I haven't heard the whole thing yet but I was really impressed with what I've heard so far. It's looking better than the first!
• The Atlas Moth - The Old Believer: This came out a while ago but I still want to review it.
• Opeth - Pale Communion: This hasn't come out yet but I'll review it as soon as I hear it.

That's it. So stay tuned for these reviews!

BADBADNOTGOOD-III ALBUM REVIEW

 

BADBADNOTGOOD has been a very exciting young band to watch over the last few years with their irreverent take on jazz fusion. Taking much more influence from hip-hop and electronica acts rather than “classic” jazz artists, BBNG have succeeded in reinterpreting the jazz fusion style while simultaneously opening the doors for jazz musicians who want to incorporate hip-hop into their music, but were maybe too skeptical or self-doubting to do so. If BBNG are not reinventing jazz they are certainly injecting a large dose of fun and innovation into it, and that makes them an absolute joy to listen to. Their hotly anticipated third album has now been released and it continues their path of exploration and experimentation, and it’s their most confident, technically adept, and well produced effort yet.

Mastodon-Once More 'Round the Sun ALBUM REVIEW

Introducing Mastodon is simple; they are an Atlanta metal band that has proven to be uncaring when it comes to the parameters that have surrounded metal music before or since their inception, making them true mavericks in a genre that can be suffocating in terms of creative expression when held in the wrong hands. Starting out by crafting violently heavy monstrosities like “Shadows That Move” and “March of the Fire Ants” that borrowed from extreme metal and hardcore in equal measure, Mastodon cranked their technical ability knob on the impressively complex yet still bludgeoning Blood Mountain, followed by dabbling in heady progressive rock with their final concept album Crack the Skye. Anyone thinking that Mastodon would go further down the winding prog rock path would be dead wrong as their next album was The Hunter, an album that was strangely accessible coming from the band that wrote Remission, and the album was simply a fun and oftentimes catchy affair that didn’t sacrifice the band’s artistic integrity, at least not very much. With The Hunter sounding nothing like Crack the Skye, and Crack the Skye sounding nothing like Blood Mountain, it was hard to pinpoint where the band would go next. Now we have Once More ‘Round the Sun, an album that successfully marries the catchy accessibility of their previous album with the psychedelic complexity of the one before it, and the resulting collection of songs make an entirely new sound for Mastodon once again.

Triptykon-Melana Chasmata: ALBUM REVIEW

Can we possibly describe Triptykon’s debut album, Eparistera Daimones, without eventually resorting to ridiculous and redundant superlatives? Calling it a worthy follow-up to Celtic Frost’s Monotheist would be selling it sadly short; it surpassed its predecessor in every possible way from its minimalistic, yet monstrous riffs, its sludgy and gurgling vocals, all the way to its (slightly) less compressed production, Daimones was an outstanding achievement for Mr. Tom G. Warrior after Frost’s unfortunate and sudden demise. A long and tedious four-year wait would ensue before the metal masses would hear new Triptykon music, conceivably scratching restlessly at the imaginary worms crawling under their skin whilst nibbling on saltine crackers and pop tarts with their eyes glued to their computer screens waiting for any faint signs that a new Triptykon album was on its way. Their waiting has thankfully come to a blissful end now that Malana Chasmata, Triptykon’s latest, has been released.

100th Post!: Behemoth - The Satanist ALBUM REVIEW

Little needs to be said at this point about Behemoth frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski’s struggles with leukemia which led to such a lengthy delay between 2009’s Evangelion and 2014’s The Satanist. All that’s necessary to say is, “Nergal, welcome back.” Everything is just as you left it; not a single pentagram left without a severed goat’s head attached, nor a cross not properly inverted. And with the return of such a notorious, controversial, and brutally heavy band, we’re offered a noticeable stylistic shift from previous releases. This time, Behemoth roll back on the death metal and add in some old, fermented black metal ingredients into their metallic recipe for heavy, savory sonic satisfaction.

The Blair Witch Project - MOVIE REVIEW

Hey guys. So this isn't going to be a formally written 3rd person review like my album reviews are, nor does it give a plot summary; it will merely be my thoughts on a movie that might go down as one of my favorites: The Blair Witch Project.

Oathbreaker-Eros|Anteros ALBUM REVIEW

Metal and hardcore have been successful and productive allies ever since the first half of the ‘80s when bands like Metallica and Slayer began injecting punk-like speed and ferocity into their signature brand of heavy rock. The “crossover” of metal and hardcore has since bared many delicious fruits including D.R.I., Cro-Mags, The Accused, and more recently the violently aggressive Converge and the very popular Hatebreed. And while some metal fans want there to be a considerable distance between metal and hardcore (a “like one and hate the other” mentality) it cannot be denied how tightly intertwined the genres have become, especially since the oft-maligned metalcore subgenre has become so accepted and widespread over the last decade or so. However, if the decidedly whiny clean vocals and copious breakdowns of metalcore aren’t your style, then you have some more-than-decent options at your disposal, and the Belgian black metal/hardcore crossover band Oathbreaker and their latest album Eros|Anteros is well worth taking a look at.

Yung Lean-Unknown Death 2002 ALBUM REVIEW

Swedish teen rapper (as well as self-identified “sadboy”) Yung Lean’s debut album is puzzling to say the least, and it’s honestly hard to tell if it’s good or if it’s really, really bad. You would be contemplating this as well if your first exposure to the kid was the mind-bogglingly bizarre music video for the song “Hurt” which features a barrage of imagery that’s heavy on the Pokémon, Nintendo, and Arizona iced tea, of all things. He’s an enigmatic and polarizing figure in today’s hip-hop scene who will certainly attract haters like crazy, and it’s difficult to determine if he is a joke (which would be wonderful) or if he’s 100% serious (which would be even more wonderful), but for the sake of this review we will take Yung Lean and his music as seriously as possible. Welcome to Unknown Death.

Fail Friday: Falling in Reverse-Fashionably Late ALBUM REVIEW

This is the first time I'm attempting something this brave: I'm going to listen to an awful postcore album front to back and review it as I listen. Today, I'll listen to Falling in Reverse's latest album Fashionably Late

Metallica-Through the Never MOVIE REVIEW

So, I saw Through the Never yesterday and I was pleasantly surprised, however, I have a few complaints. Watch the above vid of me rambling about it and tell me what you think below. Keep it heavy guys!

Lycus-Tempest ALBUM REVIEW

A favorite genre among aspiring metal musicians who don’t have the technical ability to properly execute a perfect 64^th note harmonized run in 11/8 time, doom metal can be relatively easy to play, but not necessarily easy to listen to. The listener must first get past the fact that doom metal is rife with ten-plus minute dirges played at tempos so frustratingly slow that they seem to impede time. There are no shout-along choruses like in power metal or catchy riffs like in thrash, and this is particularly true for funeral doom, one of the main dervishes of the greater doom style that we have available for our dark listening enjoyment. Pioneered by European bands such as Esoteric and Thergothon in the 1990s, the microgenre has since spawned several acolytes who specialize in crafting the least commercial-friendly music imaginable, all played at (what feels like) 4 beats per minute. When done well, funeral doom can make for a compelling listen to those who are conditioned to the more extreme side of the metal spectrum, and one of the latest artists to emerge from this style is Oakland’s Lycus.

Yung Lean-"Hurt" TRACK REVEW

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The Black Dahlia Murder-Everblack ALBUM REVIEW

When it comes to consistency in metal, Michigan metal crew The Black Dahlia Murder is one band that’s always been worth paying attention to, even worth buying in to. Over the course of six albums, the band has refused to compromise on their signature and unmistakable brand of melodious death metal, producing music where its purpose and conviction is undeniable. On their most recent album, Everblack, BDM sounds tighter and more focused than ever before doing what they have proven to be most adept a doing. Unfortunately, “doing what they’re most adept at doing” also entails the total avoidance of throwing any surprises at the listener.

Future-"Missing": Worst Song Ever?

Until we come to a time where we will face a Lil Wayne/Drake/2 Chainz/Future/Wocka Flocka/Gucci Mane/Rick Ro$$/Lil B/Soulja Boy/New Boyz collaboration album (that might bring about the apocalypse) we'll all just have to suffer through each "artist" and their material individually. One of those rappers, the artistically worthless entity who for some reason goes by the name of Future, released a song called "Missing" a few months ago and it baffles me how anyone could consider this guy a viable rapper in the industry. It is simply one of the worst songs I have ever heard on par with songs from any of the other rappers I just mentioned, and I don't know exactly what to say about it.

Amon Amarth-Deceiver of the Gods ALBUM REVIEW

Must we apply a genre tag to every single little dervish that pops up in metal music? Apparently we must, as is evident from the two dozen or so metal genres and subgenres that have been created over the last four decades that fans use to categorize their favorite bands, whether the bands themselves approve of them or not. Some of the more, uh, interesting genre tags that have been concocted by fans include death-grind, powerviolence, death-doom, djent, blackened death metal and, of course, progressive/sludge/post-hardcore/tribal/ambient (the genre that Neurosis fits under according to metal-archives.com) and I can only wonder what people are going to call the new Altar of Plagues album with its black metal-meets-Godflesh sound. However, there are a blessed few bands out there in the metal world that defy categorization and fly above the stigma associated with certain sub-genres. Sweden’s Amon Amarth is one such band.

BADBADNOTGOOD-"Hedron" TRACK REVIEW

Thanks to a friend of mine who goes by the very epic name of Matias, I have become enamored with the Canadian trio of hip-hop loving jazz deviants called BADBADNOTGOOD. Their irreverent approach to jazz has struck a chord with me, and their innovations should leave modern jazz musicians who are still playing “Giant Steps” and “Take the Fucking A-Train” obsolete. Jazz purists be damned! BBNG is ushering in a new wave of jazz for young people who would otherwise avoid the hell out of their grandparent’s Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman records.

BASBADNOTGOOD-BBNG 2 ALBUM REVIEW

For quite some time now, there, unfortunately, haven’t been many big splashes in the jazz music pond worth noting. In fact, after the height of fusion’s popularity in the early to mid ‘70s, jazz started to fade in importance and esteem, save for prominent ‘70s and ‘80s artists like Pat Metheny, Weather Report, and Wynton Marsalis. Since smooth jazz is more commercial pop music than anything else, we’re left with many “true” jazz artists producing music that has flown pretty much under the radar over the last couple decades at least. Thank God, then, for a fine group of Canadian kids named BADBADNOTGOOD, a band that offers a fusion of hip-hop, jazz, and other influences that are hard to pin down to impressive effect.

CLASSICS: Nachtmystium-Addicts: Black Meddle Part II ALBUM REVIEW

Up until fairly recently, American black metal was rarely ever taken too seriously and was seen as a novelty by some, especially those who fall under the “black metal elitist” category who won’t accept anything that comes from anywhere else but Scandinavia. American bands that donned corpsepaint and leather armor and imitated Norwegian low-fi production styles were seen more as unfunny parodies of black metal and not as groups of earnest musicians, and by looking at silly photos of Leviathan, Xasthur, and Absu that ape early Darkthrone album covers, it’s not hard to understand why. It finally took some bands that were brave enough to opt out of that decade-old image and take black metal into new stylistic territories for critics and fans to start paying attention to what the Americans were doing with great interest. By no means has this pleased everybody; the stigmatized “hipster” tag gets placed on many of these bands, and even veterans of American black metal like Wrest of Leviathan have derided them for not being “satanic” (“Don’t call it black metal then.” He said about Wolves in the Throne Room and Liturgy in an interview with Decibel.) But the development of black metal since the Americans have taken over has been an exciting evolution of sorts, and who knows where the genre will end up next.