29 Sound-offs
Lots of lists concentrate on announcing a new comment landmark or the promotion of upcoming/written reviews yet none seem to ever capture the beauty of the soundoff! Here's the next 29 soundoffs I'm going to post sporadically over the next few days. |
| 1 | | Drowning The Light/Acherontas
Drowning The Light/Acherontas
Hailing from both Greece (Acherontas (formerly known as Stutthof)) and Australia (Drowning The Light) this is a split that features raw, atmospheric black metal at its finest. Whether it be the more apocalyptic and dissonant approach displayed by Acherontas or the lush grandeur of Drowning The Light, there is more then enough quality to go around on this short split. Rating: 4 |
| 2 | | Dazd
Dazd
Combing the organic free-flowing vibe of Widespread Panic with crust punk intensity and the dissonance of black metal, Dazd's self titled efforts strange diversity has it remaining to be a hidden gem of last year. Rating: 3.5 |
| 3 | | IV Empire Ov Terror
Interdimensional Slavery
From the name of the album to the cheap, casio keyboards presented on the album over this 2009 reeks of gimmick. Rating: 2 |
| 4 | | L/M/R/W
Drifts
A collaboration of four amazing ambient artists (Leo Fabriek, Mariska Baars, Rutger Zuydervelt, and Wouter van Weldhoven), Drifts is 3 slabs of swooning ambient drone perfect for just sitting back and tapping out. Rating: 4.5 |
| 5 | | Me and Mark
Me and Mark
Four tracks of attitude filled acoustic pop-punk Me and Mark may not be winning any awards for originality but this EPs infectiously catchy nature keeps it the perfect for anyone in a light mood. Rating 3.5 |
| 6 |  | P.O.D.
Satellite
Bringing back the nostalgia Satellite is a nu-metal classic. With powerhouse singles such as "Alive" and "Youth of the Nation", P.O.D. cemented their stance as a premier nu-metal group with this album. Rating: 4 |
| 7 | | Wereju
The Way Of The Cross
Beautiful melodic ambient drone and no doubt will hold your interest throughout it's hour length. Rating: 4.5 |
| 8 |  | A Thorn For Every Heart
Things Aren't So Beautiful Now
Excellent post-hardcore. Nice and catchy, yet still with a bit of rawness that keeps it fresh. Definitely not the stuff you hear on the radio (ADTR, ETF, etc...) and an album worth at least a cursory listen. Rating: 4 |
| 9 | | Talvihorros
Let Us Be Thankful We Have Commerce
AWESOME AMBIENTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT. |
| 10 |  | Aktarum
Gang of Trolls
Troll Metal? Essentially horribly generic melodic death/black metal hybrid with cheesy lyrics about trolls and gay keyboards. Rating: 1.5 |
| 11 | | Arrebato
Muchas Palabras en Poco Tiempo
Blackened crust from Argentina. Nothing revolutionary but entertaining nonetheless. Rating: 3 |
| 12 |  | Epheles
Les Anges de la derniere Scene
Once again France proves it's worth with another quality black metal band. Perhaps a bit more orchestral and "gothic" compared to their contemporaries, Les Anges de la derniere Scene still features some nice melodic passages, cool riffs and a cold atmosphere. Rating: 4 |
| 13 | | The Killigans
Honor
Don't lie, you know folk punk rules. Nice easy going melodies matched with pop-punks hooks it really doesn't get much better than this. Rating: 4 |
| 14 |  | Unfathoms
Rogue
lololololololololololololololol |
| 15 | | Ahulabrum
The Transitivity of Strangness
Raw Black Metal + Aliens = Terribad. Seriously. Rating: 2 |
| 16 | | Bilskirnir
Vorvader
Despite a hopelessly amateurish production job this one man NSBM group from Germany does feature some cool instrumentals. Rating 3 |
| 17 |  | Eighteen Visions
Vanity
Easily the most balanced 18V product. Visceral metalcore mashed with clean sung choruses (but by no means "mainstream) and excellent musicianship. While later albums saw the band struggling to balance their metalcore roots with doses of melody, on Vanity the balance was flawless. Rating: 4.5 |
| 18 |  | Eighteen Visions
Eighteen Visions
Forsaking the majority of their metalcore roots, Eighteen Visions on their self titled seem more interested in eye liner and lipstick then music. However, as far as mainstream rock goes, this stands above most. Rating: 3 |
| 19 |  | Los Lonely Boys
Los Lonely Boys
What do you get when you add warm melodies, excellent musicianship and quality songwriting? Los Lonely Boys self titled debut. Rating: 4 |
| 20 |  | Lustre
Welcome Winter
Obviously inspired by Filosofem era Burzum, Welcome Winter is like the aforementioned classic on steroids. Sure, after awhile it can be taxing to listen to, but overall this droning black metal monolith is an enjoyable listen. Rating: 3.5 |
| 21 |  | Lugubrum
Albino De Congo
When it comes to "experimental" or "avant-garde" black metal Lugubrum is one of the best in the genre. While earlier always displayed a rawer side of the band, Albino De Congo sees the band really bringing together black metal with the instrumental prowess of jazz. Rating: 4.5 |
| 22 | | M:40
Industrilandskap
A nice balance of crust punk and melody. Oh man is that even 50 characters? Rating 3.5 |
| 23 | | One Morning Left
Panda Heart Penguin
As if the name of the album wasn't quite indicative of what this might be, once more the world is slightly ruined by more generic electronica post-hardcore/metalcore. Points go to the screamer having his moment's where he sounds kinda like Spencer Chamberlain, but otherwise this is a mess of an album. Rating: 1.5 |
| 24 |  | The Push Kings
Far Places
Owing as much to the Jackson 5 as The Cars in terms of influence, from 1967-1992 there was no musical movement that The Push Kings took for granted. Excellent hooks and excellent diversity make this one of the most underrated albums in the indie pop genre. Rating: 5 |
| 25 | | The Rondelles
Fox
Indie rock/punk that is female fronted and kicks a lot of ass. Seriously tons of it. Rating: 4.5 |
| 26 |  | Sky Eats Airplane
Everything Perfect On the Wrong Day
Despite later falling into more generic territories Everything Perfect On The Wrong Day is a a great combination of metalcore, Nintendo melodies and post-hardcore hooks. Rating: 4 |
| 27 |  | Epeus Reichenbach
Etherized
Another astounding 2010 ambient release. Droning, creepy and dense there is nothing more to look for in this album. Rating: 4.5 |
| 28 | | Epic
Of Tears And Blood
Your ReasonSymphonic black metal that suffers from too much repetition. Not awful but forgettable. Rating: 3 |
| 29 | | Rim
Seas, Deserts and Skies
As the name might imply this is just spacey, expansive ambient. Great for falling asleep too. Rating: 4 |
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