Zac124
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Reviews 53
Approval 98%

Soundoffs 6
Album Ratings 1927
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Last Active 05-14-22 5:21 pm
Joined 04-20-20

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 Lists
11.21.25 My Favourite TV Shows11.04.25 Amorphis Albums Ranked
08.30.25 Need Some Power Metal06.27.25 Rec Your Favourite Album: July Edition
04.21.25 Need some melodeath03.27.25 black metal that me like
01.13.25 The Objective Top 25 Albums of 2024 of 11.07.24 Ever Horror Film Watched In October 202
09.18.24 My Top 25 Favourite Albums09.05.24 albums that have riffs
06.20.24 Rec Me Something 'Summery'06.19.24 My Favourite 3 Album Runs
06.13.24 Recent Discoveries04.19.24 My Top 30 Mathcore Albums
02.29.24 Give me an album rec: MARCH EDITION02.23.24 New Discoveries That I Recommend
01.10.24 The Objective Top 25 Albums of 2023 of ♦12.15.23 Some random thoughts: part 2
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Rec Your Favourite Album: July Edition
1Rush
A Farewell To Kings

Struggling to find some new and great music, so I am doing one of these lists again.
2Insomnium
Winter's Gate

Rec me one of your favourite albums and I'll give my thoughts on it. No rules really, so any genre. Just make sure I haven't already listened to the album.
3Poets of the Fall
Carnival of Rust

Rec'd by arthropod

July 1st

Fairly average 2000s pop rock album but it stands out from the mediocre pack with some creative moments such as some dancey moments and riffs with genuine grit in them. Nice blend of the acoustic side of the genre too, albeit maybe drifts that side a bit too much for my liking. But the standout here is definitely Saaresto's vocals, with a smooth and powerful delivery. Nothing too groundbreaking here, I mean it's a pop rock album at the end of the day, but it is all executed very well.

Rating: 3.6
4Secret Stairways
Enchantment of the Ring

Rec'd by brickhed

July 2nd

Album has a nice atmosphere but fails to really go anywhere that interesting. But the music here does seem it would pair really nicely with a walk in the woods, especially Reflections On a Lake.

Rating: 3.2
5Primus
Sailing the Seas of Cheese

Rec'd by jrlikestodance

July 3rd

Man, Les Claypool is just one of the most creative bass players ever. So many great bass lines here. It is unreal. Jerry Was a Racecar Driver, Is It Luck? and Tommy the Cat specifically slap hard. Liked how sparse the guitar riffs are giving the spotlight to the bass, but when they decide to riff they hit fucking hard. Shocked at how heavy this was at points. But yeah, the crazy bass lines and vocals just make this an insanely fun and zany listen from beginning to end.

Rating: 4.2
6Cradle of Filth
Dusk... and Her Embrace

Rec'd by Hawks

July 4th

Really good album. The riffs are strong, the synths bring a nice atmosphere without ever coming close to sounding cheesy and the melodies are super pleasant to listen to. What drags this album down for me a slight bit is the ultra high shrieks. Just not a fan of that, but it is the only thing here that I didn't like. Everything else is super solid.

Rating: 3.7
7Old Coven
The Awake Of Ascendant Darkness

Rec'd by budgie

July 5th

Extremely solid blackened thrash album and does everything that this genre is for well. The riffs hit hard, the lead guitar sounds hellish and the vocals are great too. It just nails that evil atmosphere whilst being a fun listen too.

Rating: 3.8
8The Offspring
Smash

Rec'd by mryrtmrnfoxxxy

July 6th

The is some absolutely electric skate punk/pop punk/melodic hardcore, whatever it is. The riffs are bouncy, the hooks are infectious and the overall vibe here is just straight fun, snarky and an overall mood lift. Which is exactly what I want from this kind of album. Bad Habit, Come Out and Play and Self Esteem are the tracks here I will definitely be returning to a lot over the next few days.

Rating: 4
9David Liebe Hart
Astronaut

Rec'd by cylinder

July 7th

Not 100% sure what I think about this yet but it was certainly entertaining. The lyrics are amusing. It kinda sounds like he is making them up on the spot. But I find the instrumentals to be rather hit or miss. Some of it works but a lot of the time there is too much going on and everything just clashes. Still, this does have a weird charm with that charm peaking at Rap Music and I Eat My Veggies, but I just don't see myself really returning to this.

Rating: 2.8
10Emperor
Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk

Rec'd by Futures

July 8th

This has everything I loved about their debut but improved upon all the aspects that I found flawed there, namely the vocals. Here, there is so much more variety giving the music a lot more oomph. But yeah, the riffs here are just as stellar, if not more than Nightside. Also, the album has the best synthwork that I've heard from a black metal album. There is nothing remotely cheesy here. Just great riffs, atmosphere, vocals and a lot of good melodies. The best so far!

Rating: 4.5
11The Chasm
Procession to the Infraworld

Rec'd by DaveyMonsoon

July 9th

This albums best trick is the insanely creative riffs. It just riffs hard and that is basically why it is a great album. But it does have the odd melodic section and they are great as well. Particularly enjoyed Return of the Banished due to the stellar melodic guitar solo. But yeah, overall, come here for the riffs and you will not be disappointed.

Rating: 4.1
12Extol
Undeceived

Rec'd by Emim

July 10th

I feel like I should love this album. It is exactly my cup of tea. Its heavy with proggy riffage and lots of melody. It's varied as well with violins and acoustic guitar passages sprinkled throughout, which again, I usually love. But for some reason this album just didn't click with me. Like its fine and the musicianship is certainly competent and even commendable but it had no effect on me whatsoever. Idk, I definitely need to give this one another go as I should really like it, but for the time being I have to give this a fairly low score.

Rating: 3.2
13Wipers
Youth of America

Rec'd by Flashmobba

July 11th

Now this is probably one of the best post-punk albums I have ever heard. How the fuck have I not heard this before?! It just perfectly blends the punk riffs with the moodier atmosphere. The first three tracks I will need to return to as, despite them being pretty good, didn't quite jump out to me immediately, but the last three tracks are genuinely perfect. When It's Over is especially so. My only real complaints is that I wish the first three tracks did a bit more, in order to make the tracklist a bit less disjointed but I can see that being fixed on a relisten. The other complaint is simply that I wish the mix was a tad punchier but it is a rather minute criticism.

Rating: 4.3
14Ice Cube
The Predator

Rec'd by Drifter

July 12th

Hell has frozen over, I finally enjoy a rap album in its entirety. Ice Cube just has such a strong rhythm in his rapping creating for an infectious groove that just doesn't stop. Instrumentally, this is strong too with a consistently strong bass line that just gives everything an extra punch. What I still struggle with here is that by the end, this style just kinda starts to get old. While I don't think the later tracks are necessarily worse but after an hour, I get a little tired of this style. So, I think this is a bit bloated and I would enjoy this a lot more if it was around 35-45 minutes long.

Rating: 3.8
15King's X
Dogman

Rec'd by Butkuiss

July 13th

Firstly, I do not understand the Rush comparison at all. They sound more like Nickelback but with a bit more interesting instrumentation. Secondly, Rush is better. Yeah, this didn't really do much for me really, despite the praiseworthy instrumentation. And this is mainly due to the vocals as I they just did not suit the music at all. No tracks here really stood out to me either, outside Flys and Blue Skys, Manic Depression and the last half of Cigarettes due to some solid guitar work. Everything else here is just fairly standard grunge, and I am not that big on grunge.

Rating: 2.9
16Sufjan Stevens
Carrie and Lowell

Rec'd by Squiggly

July 14th

This is an album that I feel like I need to be in a specific mood to appreciate properly. Like, it is good but it is all too low key and subdued for my taste for me to fully enjoy without having that emotional connection with it.

Rating: 3
17Bello and Shem
Trapped in a Pocket Dimension

Rec'd by Shemson

July 15th

This albums strongest aspect is definitely the humour. It is consistently amusing but musically, it just isn't my thing. The rapping is fine, but a genuinely great rhyme is few and far between. Sorry, but the singing just isn't good but thankfully, there isn't a lot of singing here. But again, the humour here is what kept me listening.

Rating: 2.8
18Moonsorrow
Verisäkeet

Rec'd by Chippe

July 16th

Moonsorrow knows how to write a good folk melody and an epic. Most songs here are 10 minutes plus yet they are never drag due to how varied the instrumentation is. Comparing it to Hävitetty though, this is just far less 'impressive' - I put this in quotes cos this is still an impressive album. That album felt like a journey with some of the greatest atmosphere and climaxes in music ever. This just lacks that feeling. This is still a stellar folk metal album though with everything that I love about the genre. But it is hard not to make that, admittedly unfair, comparison to Hävitetty.

Rating: 4.2
19Ground Zero
Consume Red

Rec'd by ReefaJones

July 17th

Yeah, I think this is just not for me. For something that is 57 minutes long, it is way too repetitive. Especially within the first 20 minutes as it is literally just that hojok part looped with the odd bit of noise randomly chucked in. I get that it is supposed to be repetitive, trying to lull the listener into its certainly interesting atmosphere, but that first 20 minutes is really overblown. It only really gets interesting around the 30 minute mark and I quite like it from here on in. The hojok loop has very much overstayed its welcome at this point but there is a lot more interesting things around it with great drumming and other folk instruments. I am bit torn on its atmosphere. It is both very strong as it gives off this apocalyptic soundscape perfectly but it also heavily relies on the overplayed loop. So I am not really sure exactly what to think here. Because of this I am going to refrain myself from giving it a rating. *look in comments
20The Angelic Process
Weighing Souls With Sand

Rec'd by mystagogus

July 18th

Really soothing album, so soothing in fact that it put me into a very nice nap somewhere in the last half. Just love that wall of sound production style here. Definitely need to spin this again and stay awake throughout it all but this succeeded in what I think its attended effect was.

Rating: 3.7
21Nokturnal Mortum
The Voice of Steel

Rec'd by Azazzel

July 19th

This is some really strong folk metal with superb instrumental sections. The guitar solo in Valkyria and Ukraine are the highlights of the album along with Ukraine's catchy chorus and the softer Sky of Saddened Nights. I may have listened to wrong version though as something about the mix of the 2014 remaster sounds kinda off. Its quite messy at points with the synth really not gelling well with the rest of the instrumentation. But this gives me great folk melodies so album is good.

Rating: 4
22Steely Dan
Aja

Rec'd by Rowhaus

July 20th

Some really smooth jazz rock. Maybe a bit too smooth for my taste but the musicianship on display here is nothing short of incredible. Particularly enjoyed the guitars and drums here. This may get me some flack but I wasn't a fan of the vocals. Not that they were poorly done, its more that they didn't really add much to the soundscape in my opinion. I think this would be stronger if it was purely instrumental.

Rating: 3.5
23Masfel
Viperagarzon / Viperflat

Rec'd by gabba

July 21st

I really enjoy the mixture of jazz, funk and metal influences here. Its bouncy, rhythmic, groovy and heavy. But, it is never obvious where each song is going. Even though the songs here are all fairly long, they still are crammed full off cool ideas, riffs and godly funky bass lines. Really fun album from beginning to near the end. I found the last track to end in a fairly anticlimactic way.

Rating: 4
24Miracle Musical
Hawaii: Part II

Rec'd by PanosChris

July 22nd

I found this way too disjointed to get much out of this. I applaud the experiment here, but I think it failed, at least for me. I disliked the heavy use of vocoders here. I didn't think it added anything to the songs. The genre hopping was interesting but again, they usually lacked a proper connection to the rest of the song. My problem with the album is most evident with The Mind Electric, especially because I can hear a good song behind all the overbearing vocoder and reverse effects. Its a shame as the straight baroque pop songs here are really bloody good. The last two tracks here are fantastic and thankfully left me with some good things to say about this album.

Rating: 2.6
25Jandek
Chair Beside a Window

Rec'd by Supercoolguy64

July 23rd

Yeah, this is just not my thing at all. I think the only positive thing here I can say is that I can hear a lot of passion was put into this album and that is it. There is just no 'fun' or interesting instrumentation here, its just dissonance. I feel like this is doing a similar thing to Comus but they had some great melodic passages to give us a break from the overwhelmingly dark atmsophere and subject matter. This is just stays at the same level of drab from beginning to end.

Rating: 1.9
26The Cure
Disintegration

Rec'd by TheGreatQ

July 24th

This is completely different to what I've heard from The Cure before, which were straight jangle pop. They were fine but they were never something that I would choose to listen to. But this album is something else. First thing, this album does not feel like it is 72 minutes. It breezed by. And this is because of the absolutely gorgeous instrumentation and its lush and introspective atmosphere. Homesick, in particular, is beautiful. I think the only thing here that needs to grow on me a bit is Robert Smith's vocals. They aren't bad at all but are very reserved, but probably for good reason. Yeah, wasn't expecting to enjoy this but this has won me over on The Cure.

Rating: 4.2
27Tourniquet
Pathogenic Ocular Dissonance

Rec'd by Grimlin

July 25th

Man, this just riffs hard with some really cool proggy moments thrown in ever now and then to keep things fresh. Maybe this is a bit too long for what it is, but the musicianship here is top notch for sure. And I really enjoyed how batshit insane they got on the closer.

Rating: 4
28Nina Simone
Wild is the Wind

Rec'd by mkmusic1995

July 26th

Nina Simone has a seriously impressive and unique voice but the instrumentals here are strong to with some particularly beautiful piano parts. The first two tracks here are easily my favourite though. I Love Your Lovin' Ways feels like a proto-classic rock track and Four Women has an amazing build to an extremely theatrical climax. All in all though, this style is not really my thing. Each individual track is great but but it doesn't work as an album listen for me, if that makes any sense at all.

Rating: 3.7
29Cherubs
Heroin Man

Rec'd by mryrtmrnfoxxxy

July 27th

Vocals here are pretty weak imo due to them being too low in the mix and they lacked much energy, or at least the type of energy that I want in a hardcore album. I need something more commanding and less weird, I guess. But the sludgy riffs do make this a decent listen.

Rating: 3
30T.S.O.L.
Dance With Me

Rec'd by budgie

July 28th

Really solid 80s hardcore. No real surprises here, it just does the sound super well. Not much to say really but I really enjoyed it.

Rating: 4
31Poets of the Fall
Revolution Roulette

Rec'd by arthropod

July 29th

Not as much of a fan of this one. The opening three tracks are great with deviations that make them memorable (Like that guitar solo on The Ultimate Fling) and great hooks but after that it becomes your typical pop rock album. Nothing remotely offensive, but its all rather uninspired. The rest of the tracklist needed the creativity and the energy of those first three songs, cos then this would easily be a great album.

Rating: 2.9
32Dormant Ordeal
Tooth and Nail

Rec'd by Scheumke

July 30th

This is a solid disso-death album. Great tremolo riffs that feel like a punch to the face paired with some odd time signatures. Also liked how vaguely melodic this album could be at points, particularly in the instrumental closer. But this does fall into the issue I have with a lot of other disso-death albums, albeit less so than most, that being it is almost always at 100% all the time. With a near 50 minute runtime, this is not a good thing in my eyes. Riffs are consistently solid though, so I did really enjoy this despite that.

Rating: 3.5
33Bad Religion
No Control

Rec'd by jrlikestodance

July 31st

This does exactly what I want out of a melodic hardcore album, that being just plain and utter fun. Infectious hooks whilst still keeping that angry and political punk energy. Kinda reminds me of The Suicide Machines minus the ska influence. Anyway, really fun album and a great end to this list!

Rating: 4
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