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User
Reviews 2
Approval 100%
Soundoffs 1
Album Ratings 102
Objectivity 76%
Last Active 07-18-19 10:36 pm
Joined 07-18-19
Review Comments 22
| JustPressPlay's Rock 2020
This is a spin-off of my overall 2020 list. Essentially, here are my rankings for rock albums from this year that I've listened to. I'll keep updating this list as the year goes on. | | 1 |  | Red (USA)
Declaration
Rating: 5.0
Alternative metal band RED has always seemed to have three... types of their brand of the genre. On the one hand, it can be anchored and based largely around soaring, lush and string-packed orchestral numbers. On the other, it often slithers into ear-pleasing, atmospheric and sometimes poppy industrial/electronic backgrounds. Their discography, which is incredibly strong, often can fall into one of those categories. However, there is a third; balance out the strings and electronics, move them closer to the background than the foreground, and let the guitars, drums, vocals, and lyrics take the stage. Declaration falls into this arena, and it's the band's first to do so since their third effort. RED proves themselves more than capable of a more meat-and-potatoes approach, combining their deep understanding of human nature with tightly crafted riffs, ferocious screams, soothing clean vocals, and even some experimentation (see "Float" and "Only Fight"). | | 2 |  | Pearl Jam
Gigaton
Rating: 4.0
First off, this cover art is absolutely beautiful (eat your fucking heart out, Green Day) and that alone convinced me to check this out. Beyond that, I would say this record set out with two goals; reassure fans that they can still rock hard nearly thirty years after Ten, while avoiding stagnancy by experimenting and pushing themselves out of their comfort zones, but not too far. There are several atmospheric and electronic, spacey tinges throughout Gigaton that only make the experience all the more immersive and the more meat-and-potatoes rock tracks and acoustic numbers do more than hold their own. For me though, the strongest ingredient of this dish is its lyrical potency. It would be a mistake to label this a purely political record, though it is socially conscious. Gigaton has a few token "don't worry, we don't like Donald Trump" references, but largely, it tackles everything from the current virus to climate change to political discontent in an accessible manner. | | 3 |  | Body Count
Carnivore
Rating: 3.2
This project starts out extremely promising. "Carnivore", "Point The Finger", and "Bum-Rush" are all punky, riff-centric rap-metal numbers filled to the brim with powerful energy, chunky guitar-work, and sharp-as-a-razor social commentary. After an extremely out of place cover of Motorhead's "Ace of Spades", though, the middle section of the record just drags. It gets boring, the lyrics lose their edge and shift either into overly braggadocio, Emmure-styled "I will fuck you up" taunting. Carnivore picks up steam again though with the massive "When I'm Gone", which is elevated by Amy Lee's haunting, operatic touches and a crushing chorus. From there, there's solid breakdowns, an enjoyable remake of Ice-T's "6 in Tha Morning", and an interesting lyrical blend of social commentary and the differences between real hate and fake love. With a weak, fairly lengthy middle portion and more than a few weaker spots in the lyrics, I recommend only some of this ribeye. | | 4 |  | In This Moment
Mother
Rating: 3.0
This album does get it right a lot more than others seem to want to give it credit for, but when it does so, it honestly feels more like luck than a calculated effort. Mother is deeply schizophrenic and it jumps around from style to style a lot and tries several different things. It tries to be piano-driven and atmospheric, it tries to be electronic and melancholic, it tries to be heavy and rousing. Again, sometimes it succeeds; Maria Brink is a powerhouse of a metal vocalist, the electronics can actually be engaging, and the guitarists put forward some pretty meaty riffs and power chords. There's some legitimately off-setting moments and Brink's chemistry with Joe Cotela of DED is a real treat, and I'll also throw a nod to some thought-provoking and intriguing lyrics. However, when this project gets it wrong, it fucks up badly. There are THREE covers on this record and none of them land and the title track drags on for what feels like forever. | | 5 |  | Breaking Benjamin
Aurora
Rating: 3.0
Without the guest vocalists and "Far Away", this would be a fairly mediocre release. Don't misunderstand; the renditions covered exclusively by Breaking Benjamin have their powerful moments (hitting their peak with "Never Again"), but powerful moments do not a project make. Further, Ben Burnley's vocal performance differs very little from the heavier originals, damning the album even more and making it more of a collectable than an essential. That said, the guest vocals are all brilliant, "Far Away" gave me the chills and this album's version of "Dear Agony" with Lacey Sturm actually brought me to tears. For me, that's worth the price of less-than-excellent-but-still-decent BB-exclusive acoustics. As a side note, why the hell are Saturate and WANA so under-represented here? | | 6 |  | Five Finger Death Punch
F8
Rating: 2.5
This… goddamnit, this. I won’t lie; I thoroughly enjoy the majority of the first three album of Death Punch’s catalogue. Those records aren’t trail-blazing but they are slabs of powerful, fun, and competently made groove metal. Since then, I’ve enjoyed songs from albums that the band has released, and I’ve enjoyed more songs from certain albums than others, but I can’t deny a noticeable drop in overall quality in the band itself. F8 feels like the band’s strongest attempt at a cohesive album since American Capitalist… and it is painfully average. The record has its moments; the production is stellar, the guitar work is overall quite strong, and Ivan sounds the best he has in years. Its efforts at experimentation via a few hip-hop/R&B tropes and electronic tinges help, but the group’s “signature” copy-and-paste riffs and tough guy lyrics show up far too often and seriously hurt the album as a whole. | | 7 |  | Sparta
Trust the River
Rating: 2.0
An alternative title for this album could be "Trust the Lazy River". For starters, much of this album is a ham-fisted attempt at replicating Foo Fighters-esque post-grunge. This doesn't necessarily result in travesty, but it does result in boredom ad nauseum. Track after track slogs by and puts the listener to sleep; there should be a drowsiness warning stickered to the front cover because I was driving and nearly fell asleep at the wheel listening to this. Further, vocalist Jim Ward largely insists on projecting in a monotonous, pseudo-country tone throughout the record, sounding largely like he himself is falling asleep along with the audience. On the plus side, "Spirit Away" is hauntingly gorgeous, successfully melding odd time signatures, female guest vocals and light orchestral strings. "Dead End Signs" is admittedly sleepy, but its piano melodies combined with one of the only powerful vocal performances all album is a treat. The closer also packs heavy power. | | 8 |  | Theory of a Deadman
Say Nothing
Rating: 1.7
I would much prefer mediocre cock-rock from these guys than this… whatever the fuck this is. At least I can get a few decent guitar riffs out of the cock-rock. Aside from “History of Violence”, which is admittedly a thought-provoking, reggae-tinged number that does have a chill vibe going for it, this is a painful attempt at aping both 311 and Imagine Dragons that falls flat on its face in nearly every possible way. | | 9 |  | Green Day
Father of All Motherfuckers
Rating: 1.5
Some will probably be mad at me that I have Green Day lower than Theory of a Deadman, but I could honestly fucking care less. At least Say Nothing doesn't sound like it was produced in a fucking tin can, and at least that album didn’t flounder everywhere in a desperate attempt to grab one sound that works. Bille sounds horrendous and strained, the guitars are thin and lifeless, lyrics are largely garbage, and the normally-strong rhythm section for the group comes to a screeching halt. The fucking album art isn’t even trying, for God’s sake. | |
Masochist
04.29.20 | So many of these bands I didn't even realize put out records this year! Glad to see Red can put out some quality stuff. |
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