May 2019 resumé
I have never been this late with a monthly resumé before, but I more or less missed out on a lot of the releases in May, so I had to take some time to listen. Score guide: 10/9 - 5; 8 - 4.5; 7 - 4; 6 - 3.5/3; 5 - 2.5; 4 - 2; 3 - 1.5; 2/1 - 1 |
| 1 |  | Decem Maleficivm
La Fin de Satán
Their Bandcamp says they're going to drop this album in October, but here it is nonetheless, so I don't know. Either way, the record is pretty spectacular, it works fantastically with its atmosphere and borrows from both old-school black metal, as well as modern day trends. So all you fans of black metal, do not miss out. 8/10
The Ceremony, La Fin de Satan, Before the Chaos |
| 2 |  | Sachiel
Return to Nothing
You're not going to believe this. This is an actually decent listenable blackened death metal album by a band based on an anime character. That's not something that should be a thing. 7/10 |
| 3 |  | NYT LIV
Ensomhedens Kolde Kald
Sludge and punk come together for an absolute atrocity of a record. 7/10 |
| 4 |  | N'Zwaa
Maha Kali
Yo, this year has a shit tonne of blasting beastial black metal that rips your ears apart. And I keep coming back to it. A ghastly effort that just keeps on giving. Perhaps lacking any engrossing melodic component, but making up for that in its completely off-the-rails shamanistic atmosphere and relentless instrumentation. Not for beginners, perhaps, but if you like black metal (or more like blackened death metal), then you'll lose your shiny iron balls over this. 9/10 |
| 5 |  | Skaldic Curse
Devourer
shoutout to Hawks
An ugly and dissonant little fucker this is. 7/10 |
| 6 |  | Time Lurker/Cepheide
Lucide
The better kind of more-or-less samey blackened death. 8/10
No One is Real, Lucide |
| 7 |  | Heaume Mortal
Solstices
Pretty much what you'd expect from a folky blackended death metal record, though it does sometimes overstay its welcome. 7/10 |
| 8 |  | Defeater
Defeater
A solid post-hardcore release that often manages to actually bring me to some emotional ravages. 7/10
List and Heel, Atheists in Foxholes, All Roads, Stale Smoke, No Guilt |
| 9 |  | Possessed
Revelations of Oblivion
I suppose it is the nostalgia or perhaps this record really is good, because I actually enjoyed it to a certain extent. I do believe that had it not been for the name recognition, this album probably would have gone largely unnoticed and lumped into that huge pile of throwback metal records nobody is all that interested in. Sometimes it comes off as samey, but mostly I am just quite happy that Possessed are making music again. 6/10
No More Room in Hell, Demon, Omen, Ritual |
| 10 |  | Rammstein
Rammstein
no idea what to say here. it does stumble a little in the latter half, but Rammstein on a weak day is still better than your favourite band on a good day, so fuck it. 8/10 |
| 11 |  | Black Usurper
Shadows Of The World
It's raw in that amateurish, low-budget way, which oddly enough doesn't make it sound like garbage (as many other albums in similar situation tend to do). The guitars are piercing and the drums are blasting, I just wish the song-writing was more consistent, cause the slower and ambient moments sometimes feel like a drag. 6/10
Ich Werde Nicht, Hallo Morgensonne, Verurteilen |
| 12 |  | Deletere
Theovorator: Babelis Testamentum
The band behind one of the most engrossing and grandiose black metal album last year is back with a short and tight EP that just proves their mastery. 8/10 |
| 13 |  | Saint Vitus
Saint Vitus (2019)
A little stoner-y and a little doomy. I guess, fans of the band will love it, but since I've never been one, this felt pretty boring to me. 5/10 |
| 14 |  | Insanity Cult
All Shall Return to Chaos
A little over-reliant on the bombastic grandiosity and atmospheric exaggeration and with vocals that felt a little repetitive, but still as enjoyable an atmo-bm as it gets. 7/10 |
| 15 |  | October Tide
In Splendor Below
More an attempt at recreating that old-school traditional death metal sound, but as per usual in October Tide's fashion, the album is pretty underwritten and lacks a lot of memorable or standout moments. It just happens and you are left wondering, what was it that you just listened to, cause you cannot remember. 6/10
Stars Starve Me, Seconds |
| 16 |  | Glassing
Spotted Horse
Post-sludge fans, rejoice. I ain't one of them, turns out. 5/10 |
| 17 |  | Vale of Pnath
Accursed
The tech death magicians are back with another ridiculous offering. I like the more atmospheric song-writing, it certainly makes this less samey than a lot of their contemporaries, but it still faults at that a little. 6/10
The Darkest Gate, Obsidian Realm |
| 18 |  | Full of Hell
Weeping Choir
Can you find beauty in chaos? No, you can't. Not this one, at least. It's a fucked up album, I say. 7/10 |
| 19 |  | Interpol
A Fine Mess
Certainly more cohesive and interesting than Marauder. That might be due to the short runtime, but it still stuck to me more than that album. 6/10
Fine Mess, No Big Deal |
| 20 |  | Batushka
Panihida
After all the crisis, drama and telenovela level of twists, I think we all deserve a little break and relief in listening to the real Krys' Batushka. And it's samey and a little forgettable, unfortunately. I reviewed it too, if anyone's interested. 6/10 |
| 21 |  | Misthyrming
Algleymi
You know I cannot resist some good noisy non-ambient atmospheric black metal. 8/10 |
| 22 |  | Verwoed
De Val
Unfortunately, Verwoed's newest is a little too repetitive and a little too directionless. Where it's supposed to be atmospheric, it drags; where it's supposed to be oppressive and detructive, it's muddy and messy. 6/10
De Kwelling Van Het Bestaan |
| 23 |  | Esoctrilihum
The Telluric Ashes of the Ö Vrth Immemorial Gods
I bet you these guys were fantasy-obseessed geeks as children. 6/10 |
| 24 |  | Deathspell Omega
The Furnaces of Palingenesia
I have to be honest, I never really much cared for Deathspell Omega. They were always in the same category as Portal or Imperial Triumphant (or that new Krys' Batushka record) or black metal that is only distinct in its viciousness. It's an album you put on to experience pure cosmic weight and disorder, but by no means is it memorable or filled with any truly captivating song-writing. And it's not like I am some kind of a sissy atmospheric bm only lover, I like it disorganised. However, there needs to be structure, but Deathspell Omega only present chaos and nothing much else. 6/10
The Fires of Frustration, Standing on the Work of Slaves |
| 25 |  | Destrage
The Chosen One
Oh good, another actually decent deathcore, you don't get something of the sort much often. 7/10
The Chosen One, At the Cost of Pleasure, Mr. Bugman, Th Gifted One |
| 26 |  | Plastic Mermaids
Suddenly Everyone Explodes
Sowing effect strikes again, as I've been able to enjoy something that strikes of summer. But that is mostly because this album's been ridiculously catchy. It reminds me of a more tasteful Temples and a more consistent Unknown Mortal Orchestra, if it were also produced by Tame Impala. 8/10
1996, Floating in a Vacuum, 10000 Violins Playing Inside an Otherwise Empty Head, Yoyo, I Still Like Kelis, Throwing Stones at the Moon, Taxonomy |
| 27 |  | Sebadoh
Act Surprised
Roses are red
Violets are boring
I rhyme like Sebadoh
Sebadoh are boring
5/10 |
| 28 |  | Hornwood Fell
Damno Lumina Nocte
As massive as this feels, Hornwood Fell, unfortunately, failed to evoke any sense of cohesiveness. It is all so grandiose and colossal, sure, but at the same time it feels empty and forgettable. Like the atmosphere and heaviness was all that interested them. The song-writing here is just vague, somehow. 6/10
Vulnera Pt. III, Vulnera Pt. V, Vulnera Pt. VII |
| 29 |  | Adrift
Pure
A decent enough stoner doom, but I feel like I'm not nearly high enough to appreciate it fully. 6/10 |
| 30 |  | The Burkharts
Lazy Dazing
shoutout to Brabiz
Fun and simple surfy pop record with the good kind of summer vibes (the warm and pleasant ones, not the sweaty and uncomfortable ones). 6/10 |
| 31 |  | Gaahls Wyrd
Ghosts Invited
If there is anything Gaahls Wyrd do wrong, it's that they have an average sense of consistency. Some ambient interludes drag out and some heavier moments are a little too repetitive, but when they get it right, boy oh boy is it grandiose. 8/10 |
| 32 |  | Griffon / Darkenhold
Atra Musica
It's another great bm split, nothing unusual. However, Darkenhold's half was rather timid. I understand the gimmick of acoustic black metal, but it probably just isn't my thing. 6/10
Si Rome vient a perir, Souviens toi Karbala, Jerusalem |
| 33 |  | Coal
Coal
Dense, screaming electronica for fans of Street Sects or putting your head in a microwave. 7/10
Wwitch, Spiritual Execution, Nailed |
| 34 |  | Nyss
Dépayser
Getting even more drawn out than previously and a little more boring at that. 6/10 |
| 35 |  | Pile
Green and Grey
A vibrant new release from Pile that certainly fills the hole there's been since Dripping. I like this softer kind of Pile, where it lets you notice the subtlety of instrumentation and composition. 7/10
Firewood, Your Performance, On a Bigger Screen, A Labyrinth With No Center, Bruxist Grin, A Bug on Its Back, Hiding Places |
| 36 |  | Big Thief
U.F.O.F.
Big Thief have always been anything if not a sweet band and their song-writing has always been captivating because of that, but once again what ends up happening is that I am simply bored to tears by this band. 5/10 |
| 37 |  | Flamingods
Levitation
On this record, Flamingods are a little more pop-y than one would expect or appreciate. Maybe it was just a matter of time before they went full King Gizzard, but then again, King Gizzard are great and so is this record. It's the more exotic King Gizzard. 7/10
Marigold, Astral Plane, Olympia, Club Coco, Mantra East |
| 38 |  | Drahla
Useless Coordinates
I like it when bands try on this kind of sound. This rash, coarse, ironic, late 70s/early 80s snark-fuelled disapproving-of-everything sound. 7/10
Gilded Cloud, Serenity, React/Revolt, Serotonin Level, Unwound |
| 39 |  | The Dream Syndicate
These Times
Only makes sense that they would go further into the Noel Gallagher-ian psych direction, but it only makes sense that I will like it even less. 6/10
The Way In, Still Here Now |
| 40 |  | Vampire Weekend
Father Of The Bride
And here, ladies and gentlemen, you can see Vampire Weekend become indistinguishable. 5/10 |
| 41 |  | Appalling
Inverted Realm
Bare bones and by-the-numbers, even if enjoyable. 6/10 |
| 42 |  | Dury Dava
Dury Dava
This is just instrumental wilderness. 7/10 |
| 43 |  | Veil Of Light
Inflict
Veil of Light are an extremely unimpressive band, however they did start to get on a track of improvement lately and while this mini-album is more or less generic, its dense electronic beats might just indicate that the band is willing to evolve and change for the better. 6/10 |
| 44 |  | Greys
Age Hasn't Spoiled You
Greys certainly have a certain appeal and their own original style of song-writing, but they have always been just, just a hand's reach away from releasing something actually incredible. I am sad to report that that is still the case, but I am happy to inform you that they are moving in the right direction. This album isn't their usual drawn out mess and actually features a lot of variety. It's like a display of various styles, out of which they will commit to one or two in the future and release something truly outstanding, which I know they are capable of. 6/10
Arc Light, Constant Pose, These Things Happen, Burning Chrome |
| 45 |  | Spirit Adrift
Divided by Darkness
Spirit Adrift are an incredibly consistent band and they have been releasing new stuff almost every year and are yet to release a dud. It's a pure quality stoner doom that isn't stretched to excruciating lengths, but rather works swiftly and with catchy song-writing. 7/10
We Will Not Die, Angel and Abyss, Tortured by Time, Living Light |
| 46 |  | Haelos
Any Random Kindness
Haelos are back with more of downtempo-ish chilly pop. I was previously left rather cold with their music, but now it seems like they've learned from their mistakes and put together a more varieted album that combines chillwave, shoegaze, RnB and a myriad of other influences. Quite an unexpected turn of events. 7/10
End of World Party, Kyoto, ARK, Empty Skies, Happy Sad, So Long Goodbye |
| 47 |  | The Get Up Kids
Problems
I'm sure that the Get Up Kids realise full well that they are far from their once mighty prime, so they're not even really trying to wow you with anything larger than life and just enjoy their time in the recording booth. 6/10 |
| 48 |  | Clinic
Wheeltappers and Shunters
Clinic doing Clinic again, jumping from bore to quality track by track. 6/10
Laughing Cavalier, Ferryboat of the Mind, Rejoice! |
| 49 |  | Jamila Woods
Legacy! Legacy!
This album is filled with some truly outstanding moments, but it also sometimes feels samey and repetitive and for the life of me I cannot tell Jamila apart from a pile of other such RnB/pop performers. She doesn't have a distinct enough song-writing to make her music stand out and she is not strong enough a singer to make me immediately view her as something exceptional. It's not a good sign, when the most stand out performances on your album are the few features you have. 6/10
Betty, Giovanni, Miles, Muddy, Sun Ra |
| 50 |  | Injury Reserve
Injury Reserve
Their appeal has long escaped me, but not anymore. If this is not the most banging and the wildest hip-hop album of the year... 8/10
Jawbreaker, GTFU, Jailbreak the Tesla, Gravy n' Biscuits, Wax On, What a Year It's Been, Three Man Weave |
| 51 |  | Holding Patterns
Endless
The cover made me think this'll be some by-the-numbers post-punk, the instrumentation at first made me associate this with some stuff like Hot Snakes, the whole album as it is made me fall asleep... like, immediately. 5/10 |
| 52 |  | The National
I Am Easy to Find
I'm all for melancholic slow-burners, but at 16 tracks, The National overstay their welcome way too quickly. 5/10 |
| 53 |  | Com Truise
Persuasion System
oh look, Com Truise are doing background music now. 6/10 |
| 54 |  | Crooked Colours
Langata
And here we have what I wanted that Com Truise album to sound, though also far from perfection. More of a Com Truise meets RJD2. 6/10 |
| 55 |  | Institute (USA-TX)
Readjusting The Locks
A vicious, dirty, vulgar old-school dose of punk, bitch! 7/10 |
| 56 |  | Sathamel
Horror Vacui
Two things that I wish had happened: 1. that the music featured some song-writing depth and wasn't so repetitive, and 2. that the album cover was an actual horror vacui. 6/10 |
| 57 |  | Duckwrth
The Falling Man
This is way too short to be an album and way too sharp to end up being this short. It's quite a shame that Duckwrth's eventual downfall on this album is that he just doesn't have enough material and that for as tight and great some of the cuts are, every single one of them feels like they are just, just this close to actually being finished. 6/10
Fall Back, Nobody Falls, A Wildfire |
| 58 |  | Artificial Language
Now We Sleep
In short: a step-down from their previous album, flatter instrumentation, more forgettable song-writing, but still one of the better prog projects and one of the better post-hardcore projects too. 6/10
Endless Naught, There's No Bottom to This, Keep Yourself Hidden |
| 59 |  | Dommengang
No Keys
A decent slap of atmospheric southern stoner blues rock. 6/10 |
| 60 |  | Duel
Valley of Shadows
...the same as Dommengang, but heavier. 6/10 |
| 61 |  | Haunted (UK)
The Marcid Sky That Glistens
Atmospheric DSBM that is a little short, but ultimately worthwhile. Besides, how often do you encounter a one-woman bm project? 7/10 |
| 62 |  | Pleasure Symbols
Closer and Closer Apart
One of the most surface-level, boring and indistinguishable coldwave releases in recent years, hands down. 4/10 |
| 63 |  | The Amazons
Future Dust
Amazons have taken me by surprise the last time, because instead of the expected washed out two-note tasteless mainstream The Drums-like pop, their self-titled album was heavy and raunchy, more reminiscent of Oasis, actually. Maybe that is why I enjoyed it so much and maybe that is why I now feel slightly more lukewarm on their follow-up. Honestly, I just didn't enjoy it as much and now I'm simply looking for words to explain why. 6/10
Mother, 25, Doubt It, Warning Sign |
| 64 |  | Kishi Bashi
Omoiyari
I do not think that Kishi Bashi can get any more enchanting and whimsical, expecially given the fact that all his previous records seem to have been leading him up to this. It's like Andrew Bird started collaborating with The Divine Comedy. 8/10
F Delano, Marigolds, Angeline, Summer of '42, Theme from Jerome (Forgotten Worlds), Violin Tsunami |
| 65 |  | Black Mountain
Destroyer
Black Mountain just do their thing at this point and they don't care much for change and we don't care much if they never change either. 6/10 |
| 66 |  | YONAKA
Don't Wait 'Til Tomorrow
The Katy Perry-s of the world meet borderline rock-like instrumentation. 5/10 |
| 67 |  | Death Angel
Humanicide
This really brings back a lot of memories to that one week in my twenties, when I was mildly intrigued by Metallica and Megadeth and the like. 6/10 |
| 68 |  | Darkthrone
Old Star
This really brings back a lot of memories to that one week in my thirties, when I was mildly intrigued by Darkthrone and the like. 6/10 |
| 69 |  | Denzel Curry
Zuu
This really brings back a lot of memories to that one week in my fourties, when I was mildly intrigued by Denzel Curry and the like. 6/10 |
| 70 |  | Remo Drive
Natural, Everyday Degradation
This really brings back a lot of memories to that one day maybe a year or so ago, when I heard their previous album. 5/10 |
| 71 |  | Sinkane
Depayse
Catchy, charismatic and pleasant bluesy pop-rock. I suppose, the album more or less consists of mildly throwaway track and you can pretty much take them or leave them. I can see many people disliking it, because it in no way feels like something actually significant, but rather as "well, I don't have a lot to do right now, might as well record something" kind of situation. 6/10
Everyone, Dépaysé, Be Here Now, The Searching |
| 72 |  | D Aphelium
Profetian om Dygdgen och Plikten
I know that a lot of black metal is repetitive (heck, it's one of its key characteristics a lot of the time), but this record just feels the same song after song. 6/10 |
| 73 |  | Urochromes
Trope House
SandwichBubble-core. 7/10 |
| 74 |  | !T.O.O.H.!
Komouš
90s called, said hi. 5/10 |
| 75 |  | ALASKALASKA
The Dots
What a sweet summery pop album and unexpected sax. Seriously, that occasional saxophone probably makes this record much better than it had any right to be. Why doesn't everyone just use saxophone all the time? 7/10
The Dots, Moon, Tough Love, Monster, Heaven |
| 76 |  | Sabbra
The Sun,The Moon,The Stars
Raw and crusty. Crude and harsh. Ugly and diabolical. 7/10 |
| 77 |  | Ares Kingdom
By The Light Of Their Destruction
It takes some talent to be this samey. 5/10 |
| 78 |  | Vader
Thy Messenger
Ride the waves of cliché and cheese. 6/10 |
| 79 |  | Cowardice/Grst
Cowardice | Grst
I don't know what is this need both bands had to make a longer hard-hitting track and a shorter more ambient-oriented one. Well, Cowardice overstayed its welcome with the longer one and the shorter was a dud, while Grst did a great job with the longer and a decent job in the latter half of the shorter. 6/10
None Shall Bear Them Away |
| 80 |  | Minuit Machine
Infrarouge
An okay dark pop album with a handful of duds, but also a handful of decent tunes. 6/10
DRGS, Empty Shell, Forgive Me For My Sins |
| 81 |  | Rosetta Stone
Seems Like Forever
A band nobody listened to in their active years makes a comeback to nobody listening to them now. 5/10 |
| 82 |  | Palais Ideal
Pressure Points
For fans of Editors' electropop fling. 6/10 |
| 83 |  | Frenship
Vacation
It's not tasteless, but it's not tasteful either. Run-of-the-mill pop, that's it. 5/10 |
| 84 |  | Flower Crown
Sundries
A summery, breezy jangle pop that doesn't churn your stomach with sugar. That's an unusual feat, so go get on it. 6/10 |
| 85 |  | The Sex Geckos
The Static Tapes
Just a sonic nightmare. 6/10 |
| 86 |  | Martyrdod
Hexhammaren
I don't know what was I thinking this was going to be, but it is a punky, crusty heavy metal with that southern US twang (even though the band is Swedish). It's pretty good at that. 6/10
Hexhammaren, War on Peace, Den Sista Striden, Judgement Day |
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