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Staff
Reviews 259
Soundoffs 177
News Articles 6
Band Edits + Tags 3,757
Album Edits 1,039
Album Ratings 7506
Objectivity 66%
Last Active 09-10-19 6:24 pm
Joined 03-11-08
Review Comments 115,708
| BEST USER REVIEWS: OCTOBER 2025
WE BACK!!!!! | | 1 |  | Helstar
The Devil's Masquerade
"The songwriting is pretty competent but can feel somewhat one-dimensional with the focus on speed. Songs like the title track and “The Staff of Truth” are tight though the hooks don’t break through to becoming true staples while others like “Carcass For A King” see some decent fluctuations while keeping things lively. The closing “I Am The Way” ends up being the most standout track but it’s debatable as to whether it packs the strongest chorus or just feels that way due to the army of guest vocalists on board for whatever reason."
-PsychicChris | | 2 |  | Escape the Fate
Hate Me
"Overall, Hate Me suprisingly satisfying. Escape the Fate have reeled themself in and create a consistantly enjoyabld record. The glitch effects are mostly gone, the exessive use of over produced screams are drasticly reduced and the guitar solos are riled in to fit the songs instead of trying to compete with DragonForce. That being said, there are still songs like "I Won't Break" that I'd describe as an instamt-skip, which showcases Escape the Flaw's flaws on full display, uninspired melodies, forced breaksdowns and misplaced shredding. Then again, no Escape the Fate record have been without their fair share of duds, but on Hate Me it really seems like they tried."
-Piem | | 3 |  | Fallen Letters
Mindfractures
"The genre diversity becomes the trademark of Fallen Letters, and somewhere mid-album, one begins to recognise the pattern of shuffling musical hooks. The band is not afraid to throw in some choral (like real choral) backing vocals, instantly jumping into the eerie metal ranks, only to immediately replace it with borderline post-rock vibes. Such a transition can be noticed in Submatrix to Drenched. From out of nowhere, a heartbreaking sax appears in the thread, and it is not for decoration only; it has a real presence and purpose."
-gbongzilla | | 4 |  | Fog Warning
Perils Below
"The band’s debut studio album, Perils Below, also follows this depiction in its sound; a very melodic backdrop and atmospheric venture overall, lead by heavy guitar riffs and guttural vocals. There’s a clear intent on making this sound nautical and celebratory at the same time. The lead single, “Cachalot”, is clearly a highlight with an instantly memorable guitar riff accompanied by sailor-like chanting in the chorus section. Other moments in the album are more focused on melody such as “These Edible Bones”, featuring a contrast of soft croons and clean vocals along with the harsher raspy voice. The variety in the vocal department keeps the audience engaged and makes this an interesting listen right off the bat."
-bananatossing | | 5 |  | Deep Inside Myself
At A Late Hour
"While the band is very symphonic with its use of the synthesizer, they also throw in some nasty metal riffs as a nice contrast. In fact, it's why it makes Endless Winter the best song on the album. It has a catchy melody, varied vocals, and the second chorus is quite aggressive with the black metal rasps. The rest of the album does do things similarly, but it doesn't come together as well as it does on the second track."
-brickhed | | 6 |  | The Midnight
Syndicate
"The Midnight has been a favorite of mine, also celebrated through family and friends. They're a nostalgic ensemble, weaving 80's basslines and vocal harmonies into a product that stands on its own two funky legs. Their offering unto retro-pop has been graciously accepted and understood, and sometimes, we get a reimagining of the sound, the likes only The Midnight can dream up, and satiate our souls of that old-school sound that just makes the hips pump. When you think you've had their sound nailed down, they scratch that itch for groovy-yet-atmospheric neon-drenched bump in ways you couldn't have anticipated, and keeps you coming back for more."
-NudeTayne | | 7 |  | Gisaza
Ya Kno
"The consistency on display is nothing short of rude, in the best possible sense. The album shifts gears seamlessly without ever losing focus. One moment you’re navigating dense, percussive thickets that feel ancient and unearthed; the next, you’re locked into the inexorable pull of low slung, eyes-down rollers tailor made for dancefloor hypnosis. Underpinning it all is a masterfully architectural approach to low-frequency sound design that's sure to captivate the 140bpm scene's most devout disciples. The bass here is felt in the gut as much as it's heard, changing the barometric pressure inside your body at a whim and sculpted with a malicious glee that's clearly intended to ask serious questions of even the most robust sound systems."
-Orb | | 8 |  | Anciients
Beyond the Reach of the Sun
"Fortunately, the band delivers exactly that in the album’s backhalf. Here, Anciients trade sprawling epics that traverse across the universe for something that punches holes in planets. The riffs hit harder, the hooks bite deeper. “Celestial Tyrant” drops you straight into a groove that feels like Baroness and Atheist coalesced. “Beyond Our Minds” abandons mood-building and rockets into the album’s strongest riffage, while “The Torch” sounds like Opeth channeling classic Black Sabbath, with riffs that are thick, grimy, and just as astral as the rest of the album. The album wisely wraps up with an excellent instrumental, followed by “In the Absence of Wisdom,” a final epic that captures the first half’s grandeur best off all."
-TheSonomaDude | | 9 |  | Amorphis
Borderland
"For a band as stable as Amorphis, they could get insular but this notion is countered by the very fact they are looked up to and serve as legends in the Finnish melodic metal scene, the country boasting more metal bands per capita than anywhere else on the planet. They stand alongside Dark Tranquillity, Wintersun and Soilwork as venturers and now veterans of Scandinavian melodic death metal who have slowly dropped the death with age for more folk focused symphonic sensibilities."
-Muzz79 | | 10 |  | Testament
Para Bellum
"The album’s final act begins with the anti-gambling warning shot of “Nature of The Beast”, which could probably slip unnoticed into the track listing of Metallica’s 72 Seasons. This NWOBHM throwback is fairly nondescript and doesn’t really fit the mood of the rest of the album, but the cymbal heavy drums and simplified forward motion groove has its merits and serves as a bit of a palate cleanser while you delete your “Draft Kings” account. “Room 117” limps along unimpressively save for Skolnick’s acrobatics once again stealing the show."
-DillingerEscapePlan | | 11 |  | Kero Kero Bonito
Intro Bonito
"Indeed, the band never loses its tongue-in-cheek approach, even on seemingly self-celebratory songs like the title track. The overall hyperbolic approach to pop music serves here not as a tool of self-aggrandizement, but as an extended hand to the listener and an invitation to have fun together with Midori and the boys. Musically, the record also seems to be foreshadowing a lot of modern trends with its bubbly beats and throbbing basslines. I’d say that a lot of ideas developed here eventually found their way to mainstream pop music to be expanded upon with varying degrees of success."
-LouBreed | | 12 |  | Bloody Tyrant
Heisen Monogatari
"As my fellow villagers and I stood there, watching the massive dragon fly closer and closer to our village, the village wizard suddenly appeared before us in a puff of smoke. “Hark!” shouted the village wizard, “Tis the dragon known as Bloody Tyrant! It hails from the distant land of Sun Moon Lake. But fear not, good people! I sense that Bloody Tyrant is not here to harm us. If this dragon wanted to harm us, it would have burned down our entire village by now! Nay, I sense that Bloody Tyrant is here for a different purpose, indeed.”
-Judio! | | 13 |  | Sabaton
Legends
"“Legends” is a heavy metal extravaganza on every level — flashy epic compositions, choral moments, cinematic atmosphere, and choruses built for arenas filled with thousands of raised fists. From the very first note of “Templars,” the listener is hit by Sabaton’s signature bombastic sound, now noticeably upgraded thanks to the return of guitarist Thobbe Englund. His presence rebalances the band’s tone and rekindles a dynamic we haven’t heard since “Heroes.”"
-piroga84 | | 14 |  | Dehumanized
Prophecies Foretold
"By track six the production noticeably changes as the album’s second half was recorded for a demo released two years earlier. Unfortunately, neither recording session managed to remedy the uneven mixing where the thickness of the guitar tone smothers the bass, leading to a somewhat dampened sound. This somehow does little to hamper the album however, as the raw tones only seem to add to the charm for established fans. Though not much in terms of variation, the songwriting formula works well enough to keep the listener engaged throughout the modest 36 minute runtime."
-RVAHC13 | | 15 |  | Tame Impala
Deadbeat
"But this is Tame Impala after all, and Kevin Parker still steps up to the plate. Despite being a step down, Deadbeat’s best moments still show off his songwriting and production chops, in particular his singular knack for infusing a bright melody with pathos. “My Old Ways” is a promising start, and with its repetitive piano motif and lyrics of self-loathing, it feels like being stuck in a depressing spin cycle. He also nails the ending, with the dancing-while-contemplating “Afterthought”, and then “End Of Summer”, which is a beautiful finale, equal parts anxiety-inducing and spiritually cleansing. You begin to remember how Tame Impala’s music can make you feel emotions so uniquely complex."
-brandontaylor | | 16 |  | Demoniac (CHL)
So It Goes
"So what are we supposed to make of ‘So It Goes’ roughly five years after it was released? This album sounded significantly better than their first, “Intemperance.” The mix is warm and crunchy and feels perfectly produced. It’s also much more experimental than their follow up album “Nube Negra,” despite the clarinet showing up there too, and it being an overall solid album. Was the experimentation on “So It Goes” a one-off? Or is Demoniac mostly concerned with writing whatever the hell they want? I think it’s the latter."
-AlkemestRedux | | 17 |  | Erdling
Mana
"Dominus Omnium revolves around a killer main riff that’s one of the best I’ve heard all year. Miasma has an anthem-like quality with smooth melodies and neat vocal interchanges. Ohne Uns blends catchy yet technical riffage with slick electronic backdrops. Hinter dunklen Wolken leans on dueling guitar melodies that soar and swerve but still have heft and impact. Sternenschimmer has epic overtones and the best solo on the album, making for a perfect closer. Mana is a massively enjoyable, unashamedly fun, but grounded and accomplished album that is well timed (37 minutes) and expertly paced (average song length around three minutes); a pleasure to listen to all the way through."
-PortalofPerfection | | 18 |  | Rolo Tomassi
In the Echoes of All Dreams
"With In the Echoes of All Dreams, Rolo Tomassi have cast off the barbed wire of their past extremities and slipped into something silken. This EP is not a labyrinth to be solved, it's a collection of songs so effortless they all but play themselves. It's the most accessible thing they’ve ever released, and just accessible like Time Will Die and Love Will Bury It or Where Myth Becomes Memory are accessible—this is on par with the way a Spiritbox single is accessible. You press play, and it happens to you. No effort required. No gymnastics. No mental excavation. Just vibes."
-Celestinaught | | 19 |  | Otep
Sevas Tra
"Otep’s sound would easily be classified as nu metal, but the riffs are a lot louder and deeper, and she growls as much as she sings, but the music can go so easily from quiet to heavy, the songs from 1 minute to 9 minutes long, that there is a real unpredictability to the whole album. For example, “My Confession” has a relatively quiet but tormented tone, suddenly turning into growled choruses before coming back to its soft verses, until exploding into the last verse where she screams “Shed my skin again, this will be my best revenge”. Other songs have this sort of changing, experimental sound, but that’s far from the only style on the album."
-Malen | | 20 |  | Psychedelic Porn Crumpets
Pogo Rodeo
"What sets this apart from prior efforts is the tremendous amount of focus at play, here. The entire track list is an exercise of precisely measured momentum. Each track carefully curates a distortion laden inertia. Such that each pause for air presents an opportunity to re-frame the riffs that preceded them. Paired with dry, pulsing percussion, it brings to mind the visceral sensation of an earthquake - with the moments between serving as geysers bursting through your footing, as the band gleefully knocks you on your ass. Forcing your perspective to shift with animalistic glee."
-SublimeSound | |
Hawks
11.17.25 | Took a bit longer this month, but here we are! Congrats all. | arthropod
11.17.25 | Yea, good writing here. I'm happy Deep Inside Myself got a little exposure. | Hawks
11.17.25 | Hell yeah bro. | brickhed
11.17.25 | suprisedpikachuface.png
judio's review still pops out at me every time i read it, i like how different it is from everything else here. | Hawks
11.17.25 | Agreed hard. | LouBreed
11.17.25 | Can't read some of the reviews to avoid spoilers for the albums that I haven't checked out yet, but I'm happy that this site still exists and people still do some quality writing here! | Hawks
11.17.25 | Hell yeah buddy! | Christbait
11.17.25 | I know a good batch of these came from the random album review and I read as many as I could. It was a very solid suite of thoughtful reviews, especially for those who had to review music at odds with their personal tastes. Lots of great writers/reviewers here, officially and unofficially. Good work and thanks for rounding these up, Hawks. | Hawks
11.17.25 | Hell yeah buddy, glad I can continue on the tradition that Sowing started! | RVAHC13
11.22.25 | Thanks again Hawks! | Hawks
11.22.25 | Any time bro! Well deserved. | Judio!
11.26.25 | Thanks for the shoutout Hawks! And thanks brickhed I’m glad you dug the review as well | Hawks
11.26.25 | Hell yeah bro. | Muzz79
11.26.25 | Yes thanks for the shoutout Hawks/ | Hawks
11.26.25 | Well deserved my brother. | Sevengill
12.15.25 | thanks for the shout on 4. bookmarking this list for my year-end binge of stuff I missed. |
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