GoM's Q1 2016
generic quarter 1 list, hit 2000 ratings woot |
| 1 |  | Wildways
Into The Wild
I used to really love this band, but they tossed all their potential out the window here. Virtually every second of this is spent on trend hopping within the confines of contemporary metalcore/post hardcore. It gets painfully abysmal once they start aping Issues and Attila. |
| 2 |  | Tonight Alive
Limitless
Sure, they were never a particularly impressive pop punk band but they were catchy if nothing else. Here, they tackle full on pop meets alt rock minus the catchiness. "Drive" is fun I guess, but only in a sugary guilty pleasure kind of way. |
| 3 |  | Erebor
Erebor
Random bandcamp find. Extremely generic death metal with flat production and abysmal clean singing. Couple of catchy riffs here and there but that's about it. |
| 4 |  | Sacrocurse
Destroying Chapels
Entry in the recent black metal tourney. Solid black/death with an alright bathory cover at the end. |
| 5 |  | Shadow Of Intent
Primordial
Halo themed modern tech death I think. Ok stuff, not too impressive though. |
| 6 |  | Megadeth
Dystopia
It's better than Super Collider, I'll give it that. I just don't buy into bands trying to get back to their roots after stylistic breaks, it feels more like faux thrash than anything authentic but it's not bad. Dave's vocals kinda grate, but the new lead guitarist is good. |
| 7 |  | Bury Tomorrow
Earthbound
This band has always been kinda stale in their stubborn persistence of playing early 2000s styled melodic metalcore, but a strong vocal performance and general energy kept them afloat. This is no different, and at least the album doesn't come close to an hour long runtime. |
| 8 |  | Fleshgod Apocalypse
King
I never hated these guys like some did, but this one pushed me to my limits. The mix is maybe marginally better, but it's so over the top that it's exhausting to get through. |
| 9 |  | Vargafrost
Honour, Blood, Spirit and Love
Another random bandcamp find, but a much more enjoyable one this time. Well done epic/pagan black metal, if a bit generic. When I originally found it there were only two tracks up, but the band eventually uploaded the rest until it became a pretty lengthy lp. |
| 10 |  | Lvthn
Eradication of Nescience
Black metal, remember it being good but not making much impression elsewise. |
| 11 |  | Pyrrhon
Running Out Of Skin
I appreciate the improv concept in place here, it just doesn't come across as compelling as the band wanted it to on record. The Death cover to close out the ep is really cool though. |
| 12 |  | Venereal Baptism
Progenitor of all Abberations
Black metal tourney entry. This one was memorable for the tongue in cheek song titles and lyrics, with solid music to match. |
| 13 |  | KGB Nights
Kill Me With Your Beautiful Noise
This was a Snox and Bandnewbac collab that I thought was pretty interesting. Like a lot of noise and drone influences and there was a track here that straight up sounded like a noise/doom hybrid. |
| 14 |  | Abbath
Abbath
The comeback project of Abbath after his departure from Immortal. Impressed me more than I expected. It's not mindblowing and the production isn't to my liking precisely, but it's an album chock full of what Abbath does well. |
| 15 |  | Future
EVOL
First experience with Future, thought it was a pretty good album and the length is preferable to that of his previous record. |
| 16 |  | Kolmiotaajuus
Pahuuden merkki
Dark ambient find from Archelirion. Really cool stuff. |
| 17 |  | The Wakedead Gathering
Fuscus: Strings of the Black Lyre
Well executed OSDM, but I swear there were some production discrepancies between earlier tracks. |
| 18 |  | Rotting Christ
Rituals
It's kind of a pedestrian take on ritualized black metal, but pretty fun all the same. Production is a little too modern but doesn't hurt the experience too much. |
| 19 |  | Hands Like Houses
Dissonants
They traded a keyboard player, and a lot of creativity off after Unimagine and it shows here. All the same, Dissonants is a catchy and concise alt rock record even if it's lacking more than a few things. |
| 20 |  | Ritual Chamber
Obscurations (To Feast On The Seraphim)
Murky OSDM |
| 21 |  | Anup Sastry
Bloom
I don't really djent anymore, but every once in a while I need a quick fix of some polyrhythmic junz and Sastry usually hits the spot. |
| 22 |  | Witchhelm
Jötunn
Somewhere in the middle of occult rock and stoner doom and maybe some sludge. The opening track is a bit monotonous but the remaining three are all interesting slabs of occult metal. |
| 23 |  | Lost Salt Blood Purges / Volcanic Queen
Movements Viewed Through a Variety of Lenses
Graveyard and Snox split. |
| 24 |  | Lost Salt Blood Purges
Only the Youngest Grave
The double album thing was a little bit of a hurdle, but Snox came up with a really substantial follow up to Voids. I think I still like Voids better, but only by a tad. |
| 25 |  | Krallice
Hyperion
I enjoyed the more gorguts styled death metal of Ygg Huur, but it's good to hear Krallice back to the YPM sound. |
| 26 |  | Single Soul
cold drone blues expanded
Yaknips' album. I thought that the growls and blasting on "New Wave Girl" (I think that was it) was cheesy and misplaced as all hell but the rest was great. |
| 27 |  | Lycus
Chasms
Funeral doom tends to hit the spot with me these days and Lycus are captivating by any standard. |
| 28 |  | Nadra
Allir vegir til glötunar
Doesn't really match up next to certain region mates like Svartidaudi or Misthyrming, but this is a really sweet bit of Icelandic black metal. |
| 29 |  | Entropia (PL)
Ufonaut
A sludgier and wholly alien followup to Vesper, but almost as captivating. |
| 30 |  | Tarot (AUS)
Reflections
Psychedelic rock. |
| 31 |  | Chthe'ilist
Le Dernier Crépuscule
Some seriously heavy hitting Demilich style death metal. |
| 32 |  | Fuath
I
Andy Marshall follows up Aura with a new project more or less meant to ape his influences (Burzum, paysage, Vemod chiefly) but it turns out to have quite a bit of his own signature flavor to it surprisingly. |
| 33 |  | Obscura
Akróasis
Unless the band in question is named Fallujah, I don't really flip for tech death anymore but this was surprisingly ripping. Probably Obscura's best record to date. |
| 34 |  | Skaphe
Skáphe²
Production is a little iffy, but the dissonant DSO style black metal is much improved over the debut. |
| 35 |  | Inverloch
Distance | Collapsed
I believe this is from some legends behind dISEMBOWLMENT and it fucking shows. Absolutely crushing. |
| 36 |  | Kendrick Lamar
untitled unmastered.
Way better than TPAB ;) |
| 37 |  | Killswitch Engage
Incarnate
It's not a departure or anything, but the vaguely more European melodeath approach here takes me back to the As Daylight Dies days and that really toots my horn. |
| 38 |  | Panopticon / Waldgefluster
Panopticon & Waldgeflüster
Sick split between Panopticon (the legend) and a band I hadn't really listened to before. Two folky black metal tracks and two just folky tracks, all awesome. |
| 39 |  | Cobalt
Slow Forever
I'm still not totally sure what to think of this, but I'm pretty sure I like it a lot. |
| 40 |  | Amon Amarth
Jomsviking
I just felt like the more mid tempo melodic approach and cinematic narrative theme really invigorated these viking legends even though it's not a radical change for them. |
| 41 |  | Howls of Ebb
Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows
Sits snuggly between Vigils and The Marrow Veil in quality. The definitive go-to when you want some hellish mind twisting and just strange death metal. |
| 42 |  | Yndi Halda
Under Summer
Post Rock. It feels like it's been a while since I had some really good affecting post rock and this hit the spot so goddamn hard. Helena is heavenly. |
| 43 |  | Hyperion (SWE)
Seraphical Euphony
I don't always bite with symphonic black metal but this strikes the same chord early Emperor and Dissection did, just in 2016. |
| 44 |  | Kanye West
The Life of Pablo
Tbh, this is still one of my more listened to albums from this year. The only Kanye record that ever really came close to MBDTF for me. Sure Kanye is crazy as absolute hell, but this album is so much fun. |
| 45 |  | Destroyer 666
Wildfire
Destroyer 666 comes back with a black thrashing vengeance. Their best since Unchain the Wolves. |
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