genres: atmospheric death metal + black metal While overall it’s been a phenomenal year for heavy music, there haven’t been any true standouts in the most extreme genre corners. Sure, deathcore stepped up in a big way with Whitechapel and Lorna Shore elevating that subgenre to new heights, but there’s been little in the veinContinue reading “Vertebra Atlantis – Lustral Purge in Cerulean Bliss”
Category Archives: Mini Reviews
Mourn – The Next Life
genres: deathgaze (or post-hardcore + shoegaze + deathcore) If you threw Sunbather era Deafheaven and Like Moths to Flames into a blender, then added a bit of beatdown hardcore to the mix, whatever popped out would sound a whole lot like Mourn. This is a totally unrelenting wall of sound that trends towards the heavierContinue reading “Mourn – The Next Life”
Polar – Nova
genres: metalcore + melodic hardcore There’s few musical phenomena more fun than an established band taking everything good they’ve developed over their career and elevating it to an entirely different level. That’s what we got on Polar’s 2019 album Nova. Polar have had an extremely solid career as one of the most engaging and energeticContinue reading “Polar – Nova”
Far West Battlefront – Status Cross
genres: atmospheric deathcore Even six years later, this 2015 release remains one of the more unique releases in the broader -core scene. At heart, Far West Battlefront is a deathcore band. There’s not a ton of overt melody going on, the screams mostly reside on the lower guttural end of the spectrum, and there’s enoughContinue reading “Far West Battlefront – Status Cross”
Empty – MADE OF FIRE
genres: post-hardcore + electronic I really didn’t expect to like this album. Empty’s SolidState debut, Hope and the Loss of It, was a great nostalgic metalcore album that evoked early Underoath or the criminally underrated group The Overcomer. It was complex metal with a few electronic flourishes and a lot of emo sensibilities. MADE OFContinue reading “Empty – MADE OF FIRE”
Another Now – OMNI
genres: metalcore + electronic I’ve been sitting on this album for several months now, because I still don’t know quite what to make of it. Another Now aren’t doing anything that revolutionary – structurally this is pretty straightforward modern metalcore – but there’s something about it that just feels incredibly fresh. From the release ofContinue reading “Another Now – OMNI”
Vildhjarta – måsstaden under vatten
genres: thall + progressive metal + experimental It’s here! Only ten years after their debut, Swedish progressive/experimental band Vildhjarta are finally back with their sophomore release. The band has functionally created their own genre of “thall”, a subgenre of technical metal or “djent” that marries clean melodies with interspersed downtuned chuggs and a dissonant atmosphere.Continue reading “Vildhjarta – måsstaden under vatten”
Trivium – In The Court Of The Dragon
genres: progressive metalcore Trivium has never quite connected for me – before this, that is. I’ve appreciated their proggier moments, and their guitar work is of course wonderful, but at least their recent albums have had just a little too much “post-grunge” or radio-ready alt-metal flavor for me personally. I checked out opening single “InContinue reading “Trivium – In The Court Of The Dragon”
Pathway – renatus
genres: vaporwave + devotional I’ll admit I only checked this album out because I liked the art, but the music made me glad I did. Not to be confused with the metalcore band Pathways. Or the other (progressive) metalcore band Pathways (who incidentally has an intriguing new album coming out sometime soon). This Pathway willContinue reading “Pathway – renatus”
AXTY – Helpless
genres: post-hardcore + mathcore Going into this album, I didn’t have any awareness of AXTY. A song (“Until We Die”) showed up in my weekly recommended playlist from Spotify, and it was a good time. And then I realized it was part of an entire newly released album. A welcome surprise on one of theContinue reading “AXTY – Helpless”
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