Average Rating: 3.80 Rating Variance: 0.97 Objectivity Score: 72% (Fairly Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicA Wilhelm Scream RuinerA Wilhelm Scream Career SuicideAmon Duul II YetiCardiacs Sing to God Cardiacs A Little Man and a House and the Whole World WindowCrystal Castles Crystal CastlesDissection The SomberlainJimmy Eat World ClarityLa Monte Young The Well-Tuned Piano 81 X 25 6:17:50 - 11:18:59 PMLinkin Park Hybrid TheoryLinkin Park MeteoraLiturgy AesthethicaThe album that separates the men from the boys. The boys who denounce this album are the same boys who sit in their mothers' basement all day weeding through 5th rate death/thrash albums pretending there's a difference between said albums. These kids, like the plebeians they are, use words such as "disjointed/random", "meaningless/pointless" and even "ironic/hipster", hah, to refer to this type of metal. Their arguments against this album are flat out untruthful, shallow or VERY hypocritical. For instance, "there is little to no variation", according to some oblivious guy who praises Transilvanian Hunger to death. This album, in terms of aesthetics, harmony and linear progression, is objectively superior to most metal, but metalheads don't like it because the logo isn't bloody enough.Liturgy The Ark WorkI'll never be truly passionate about music that i don't have a difficult relationship with.My Chemical Romance Three Cheers for Sweet RevengeNeutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the SeaThe strongest argument for the album format ever made probably, it's put together in such a way that not a single song, or a single moment feels redundant, and they all benefit from the aftertaste of the previous, or the prospect of the next song, adding up to much more than the sum of their parts.Nine Inch Nails The Downward SpiralPaul Dolden Who Has the Biggest Sound?Let me quote from the digital booklet: "The first piece, Who Has the Biggest Sound?, displays Dolden's talent for mixes that are dense in content yet retain transparency even when layering hundreds of tracks. His unique gift is the ability to imagine and then painstakingly realize orchestrations where the sum is not only greater than the parts, but the results are completely unpredictable from the parts. Is that atonal noise or a romantic sonata for cello? Is that country twang or is the earth spinning into an apocalyptic portamento? A field recording of cicadas or an Argentinean tango? It's all of that and more, as musical nanoparticles collide at the speed of light and splinter into volatile sonic projectiles that whimsically fuse and re-explode with unimaginable creativity. True to the spirit of outsider forefathers like Harry Partch, Dolden has created his own set of tools and tuning systems ideally suited to his artistic vision. This is equally evident on the CD's second work, The UnTempered Orchestra. Moments of detuned madness most remind us of Partch, but while Partch physically sculpted an original armamentarium, Dolden electronically sculpts familiar classical, rock, and world instruments into new harmonic shapes. If Who Has the Biggest Sound? proves Dolden shares Partch's biting wit, The Un-Tempered Orchestra extends the possibilities for tuning systems into dreamy realms beyond anything Patch could have imagined."Snowing Fuck Your Emotional BullshitSurvival SurvivalSystem of a Down System of a DownSystem of a Down ToxicityThe Books Thought For FoodThe Books The Lemon Of PinkThe Brave Little Abacus Masked DancersThe Brave Little Abacus Just Got Back from the Discomfort...The Knife Shaking the HabitualThe Smiths Hatful of HollowTitus Andronicus The MonitorTony Conrad Early Minimalism, Volume OneWendy Carlos Beauty in the Beast4.5 superb...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead Tao of the DeadA Day To Remember Common CourtesyA Wilhelm Scream PartycrasherA Wilhelm Scream Mute PrintAdmiral Angry BusterAttack Attack! Someday Came SuddenlyIts only fault is its sameness, really, which can be excused because it's so damn short. Now that's because their musicianship is limited, but they work very well enough within those limitations that i don't understand how this is supposed to be the worst thing ever, plus all of these tunes are amazingly singable and sweet. Which boils down to "perfect pop." On top of that, you can't imagine how much i love the fact that over all those years fucking metal and hardcore, such contrarian genres, could come to convergently culminate in something so un-"masculine", that so unashamedly embraces its pop-sensibility and stylings. As much as i love Enter Shikari's debut album, the synths weren't used well consistently, while here, i feel as though they're an integral part of the sound rather than a foreign body. So, they turned it from a gimmick to a genuine cliché with this album, which is no small feat imo. Therefore, i'd say it's a modern classic, on top of being just too sweet and addictive to deny.BATS Red In Tooth and ClawBubblegum Octopus Bad HappyCardiacs On Land and in the SeaDance Gavin Dance MothershipDeathspell Omega ParacletusYou haven't heard something this dissonant yet at the same time this fucking CATCHY since Skrillex.Destrage Are You Kidding Me? No.Enter Shikari Take to the SkiesEnter Shikari Common DreadsEnter Shikari A Flash Flood of ColourGodspeed You! Black Emperor Slow Riot For New Zero KanadaGuapo Five SunsHeccra The Last Weekend of Summerbrings together cap'n jazz and HORSE basically. totally exaggerated production with massive e-drums, flashy synths, shoegaze guitars and sometimes heavily manipulated vocals set this way apart from other emo. this whole thing has just such a great vibe and huge hooks, get on itHop Along Get DisownedIglooghost Chinese Nü Yr*sews bright red "Make 'Lol So Random' a Compliment Again"-cap from unicorn entrails*Iglooghost Little GridsIncubus (USA-CA) S.C.I.E.N.C.E.Joanna Newsom YsJournal UnlorjaKiss Kiss Reality Vs. The OptimistKiss Kiss The Meek Shall Inherit What's LeftLimp Bizkit Three Dollar Bill Y'allLiturgy Renihilationpretty damn unhinged but not exactly aggressive at all. overall sound obviously takes from nattens madrigal but the band's more tight and dynamic. hunter obviously knows a thing or two about harmony, too, doesn't just fancy dissonance for the sake of it like some bands. prob the best norsecore around, no jokeMe and Him Call It Us LossMindless Self Indulgence Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely SexyMudvayne L.D. 50My Chemical Romance The Black ParadeOneohtrix Point Never R Plus SevenParia The Barnacle CordiousPixies DoolittleProtest the Hero FortressSalem (US) King NightSet Your Goals Mutiny!Worst dual vocals since Pixies but it's the best pop punk since forever, particularly the first track, my god, it's like someone had a sensation of complete clarity comparable to religious awakening and he only ever listened to Blink 182.System of a Down Steal This Album!System of a Down MezmerizeSystem of a Down HypnotizeTerminally Your Aborted Ghost Inanimately SoundlessThe Books The Way OutThe Crinn ShadowbreatherOther soundoffs comparing it to TDEP aren't wrong but i want to stress how damn melodic this is compared to pretty much any other mathcore, while sacrificing close to none of the intensity because yeah, this is what i've been wanting from this genre.The Microphones Mount EerieUnexpect In a Flesh AquariumI feel like the "wackiness" or whatever of this gets a bit overstated. This is no band like Estradasphere that tries to dabble in every style they can, nor do they use theatricality as some kind of crutch. In fact, remove the chamber musical embellishments and you're left with something like Arsis, Psycroptic, Spawn of Possession, which is to say, songs driven by complex riff progression, that are still interesting. It's not to say however that their keyboardist and violinist are just there for show, nor that they would marr the band's metal side, no, i think they add a lot of depth, emphasis, impact to the riffage as well as obviously, a sense of grandeur, which somehow the convoluted songwriting just amplifies rather than detracts from. It genuinely feels like a Bosch painting. In turn i think this goth metal arrangement also heightens the contrast of a quick transition between riffs by having another shifting layer, thus the impact, tech death just feels so grey most of the time. So you get a record with innumerable unique memorable moments you can get hooked one-by-one each spin, and one that seems like a mess at first but slowly reveals connectivities, all of which makes it daunting though rewarding in the long run. Even the interludes sound like they had a lot of work put into them.Yowie Synchromysticismthey're still totally true to their philosophy, only they got better in terms of phrasing, transitioning and structuring their weird and intricate riffs so this might win over some who thought cryptooology sounded like a blur. there's a pulse to these tracks, this time they play with regards to where the strong beats lie which makes it all oddly dancey. on the downside the guitarist on their first lp was tons more distinctive esp because he loved that kinda string bending shit, here it's all dialed back, more straightforward, less idk, wiggly. it's definitely a drummer's album, check it out if you wanna hear some sick beatsYowie Damning With Faint Praisethere's a buncha nu-metal riffs on Eternally Collapsing Object. ergo DWFP > Cryptooology4.0 excellentAgent Fresco Destriervery much its own thing between art rock, alt-prog, djent, styles like that. the ultra-clinical production job actually contributes to the overall atmosphereAkhlys The Dreaming IAmpere All Our Tomorrows End TodayAnaal Nathrakh In the Constellation of the Black WidowAnd So I Watch You From Afar And So I Watch You From AfarAsking Alexandria Stand Up and ScreamBloodhound Gang Hooray For BoobiesBorn Gold BodysongsBrutus (BE) BurstEarly AOTY candidate, it's growing on me song per song. Their style is kind of hard to pinpoint, it's got cues from Blackgaze, Neo-crust, Hardcore, Post-Punk, Sludge, Post-Rock, it sounds like i'm describing Celeste, Thantifaxath, but they're not really similar at all. I'd say it's primarily a Post-Hardcore album in the more tradition sense of the term, as such it's concise and riffy, but it stills share Deafheaven's and Liturgy's harmonic sensibilites and epic buildups, i love that. Just listen to All Along, hear how it suddenly breaks open halfway through, that should convince anyone.Cats And Cats And Cats Mother WhaleChronic Future Lines in My FaceCutting Pink With Knives Populuxxedangerkids Blacklist_Daughters DaughtersDevin Townsend Ocean Machine: BiomechEden Maine The Treachery PactEnter Shikari The MindsweepFausto Romitelli An Index of MetalsThis piece mixes electric guitars playing material that sometimes sounds like Earth in with a chamber ensemble and synthesized voices that explore spatiality in the vein of Stockhausen. It sounds rich and nigh-orchestral for such a relatively small ensemble, usually everything is integrated into a kind of ambient drone style, even the solo vocals that sometimes sound like dream pop. After it lulled you in though, it slowly starts to rear its beastly, expressionistic head until just explodes at Hellucinations 23, while blowing everything Sunn O))) ever made out of the ballpark.Feed Me Jack AnatoliaGhost Mice All We Got Is Each OtherThe storytelling and the concept spread across the album in a non-linear way is pretty great, as is the sequencing, better yet the songs can stand on their own lyrically and musically regardless. Lyrically its dominant theme is the suicide of a close friend, with personal stories or songs about depression and how society treats them, so it's guaranteed to be a tearjerker, i have to be in a mood for those vocals though.Hiatus Kaiyote Choose Your WeaponHouston Bottom of the Curvefor the discerning alt rock listener. this band stands out from a vastly generic genre simply by virtue of creative yet meticulous songwritingI See Stars TreehouseI Set My Friends On Fire You Can't Spell Slaughter Without LaughterJoanna Newsom The Milk-Eyed MenderKendrick Lamar good kid, m.A.A.d cityKnocked Loose Laugh TracksMass of the Fermenting Dregs MASS OF THE FERMENTING DREGSMenomena MinesMy Chemical Romance Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous KilljoysNana Grizol RuthShinsei Kamattechan TsumanneSianvar Stay LostSilencer (SWE) Death - Pierce MeSonny Moore GypsyhookTerry Riley A Rainbow In Curved AirThe Books Lost And SafeThe Microphones The Glow Pt. 2The Northern SolsticeTiny Hazard Greylandi think i just witnessed the second coming of Hop Along as in, would-be generic indie elevated above and beyond that by way of eccentic songwriting prowess. there's a great sense of flow in terms of structure and melody, it walks that line between unpredictable and cohesive with ease, so it never outstays its welcome. the music's kinda ambient a lot of the time, it lets the girl take center stage, and she kinda reminds me of lana del rey but a bit more cutesy and i like that. the last track so sounds like an outtake from Ultraviolence only better. but nah she channels a lot of things over the course of this, always adapting to what the music calls for but retaining an own personality. kind of a "childlike" feel overall i guess, p quirky, p short Yellowcard Lights and SoundsYowie Cryptooology3.5 greatAhleuchatistas Heads Full of PoisonIt's an interesting development for them. While their early style was comparable to Yowie or Hella, here they're playing in a much more subdued, minimalistic style of post-rock. The 18 minute track is deceptive because it's more like a couple short tunes in one, stylistically this one's like javanese gamelan except well on guitar and drums, i feel like there's a lotta references to chinese folk tunes as well, so that's kinda interesting. The closer reminds of newer Earth albums.rAhleuchatistas ArrebatoArsis A Celebration of GuiltBlood Stain Child EpsilonBring Me The Horizon Count Your BlessingsClarence Clarity No NowThis album is hampered simply by its genre of choice. The guy just doesn't have the voice for any form of RnB, it's so weak, and sure the production sounds amazing but not in the context of a genre that's supposed to like ooze soul and sex or something. (I guess i have bad taste for implying Tim Smith meets Death Grips doesn't sound sexy, eh?) In combination it's even worse because his whimper goes under among all the colorful noises. I'm making it sound worse than it is but i kinda hope he releases a full abstract electronic project at one point or lets someone else sing, rap, whatever for him.Crystal Castles Crystal Castles IIEndon Through The MirrorConverge comparisons are more than apt, the production on this out-Jane-Does Jane Doe.ERRA DriftFirst Fragment DaseinFoxy Shazam The Flamingo TriggerThey grew more and more into generic pastiche sans the songwriting chops of the bands they were aping with each new release, but they left us with one of the more unique modern post-hardcore albums at least. The Blood Brothers comparison is very apt, the next best one would be Cardiacs, it just shines through sheer maniacal energy.Gonjasufi A Sufi and a KillerKlaxons Myths of the Near FutureKlaxons Surfing the VoidLucid Planet Lucid PlanetNeon Neon Stainless StylePierce the Veil Collide with the SkyRest Among Ruins Fuguesakuraburst deconstructing natureShiina Ringo Shouso StripThantifaxath ThantifaxathUlver The Assassination of Julius CaesarYung Lean Unknown Death 2002Yung Lean Unknown MemoryZircon Identity Sequenceeverything here from the synths, melodies, measured use of reverb, guest features, stereo imaging is smooth asf. it doesn't seem all that unique at first, but it unifies a bunch of different EDM-flavors ie complextro, trance, breaks, again really smoothly, and avoiding any kind of cheesiness inherent to those styles. though like so, it might end up being unmemorable. perfect night drive music anyways3.0 goodAdebisi Shank This is the Third AlbumAnaal Nathrakh EschatonBeherit EngramBoyfrndz NaturesHis enunciation is kind of weird, the first time i heard this i thought it was at least partly in japanese, but maybe that's just me. Really catchy tunes that flow smoothly and hypnotically like a jam.Bring Me The Horizon This Is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made ForDead By Sunrise Out of AshesDeafheaven Roads To JudahDeafheaven DemoElend The UmbersunFrontierer Orange MathematicsThe production is the real star here, it's one of the most massive sounding i've ever heard, loud as all hell but still very clear, i don't remember any particular riffs or anything though...Gorillaz HumanzHop Along Painted ShutWhen a sucky followup perfectly illustrates what was good about its predecessor. Get Disowned had an interesting kind of proggy approach where every song works differently from the last, and many of them have an element of surprise, i would have loved to see the band expand on that, but they devolved into generic indie pop. Nice enough tunes though.Iwrestledabearonce It's All HappeningWeirdly enough, it's pretty un-weird. esp the 2nd half gives you a good deal of atmospheric sections rather, take The Cat's Pajamas for example, it's a pretty straightforward track that builds up in a pretty linear way and it happens to be the best on here. There's a few odd samples that either announce a breakdown or stand in place for one but it doesn't happen as often as its fans, its detractors and perhaps the band would have you believe, seriously. I was both let down by that (and the thin production...) and positively surprised by how well they pulled off the clean and melodic segments. One could say they seem unaware of what they're good at.Joan of Arc He's Got the Whole This Land is Your Land in His HandsKel Valhaal New Introductory LecturesMount Eerie A Crow Looked at MeOn a meta level, this album ups the ante on maximizing sincerity in musical expression, minimizing the barrier that is the compositional process, for this, as Phil puts it, is "barely music", it sounds like it might as well all be one-take too. In fact it's in such a direct, almost profane way of putting its sensitive (dunno how to put it but you know) subject, it's seriously discomforting at a level where i feel as though it's imposing a question on me, of whether i'm really sure i really want real authenticity in my music, to what degree at least. I'd say no, i'll take fetishism, stagecraft and artisanry tbqhwy. It's not formally uninteresting though, it's pretty much completely in Free Verse structure with the sparse music following suit dynamically. Phil's also really good with closing lines. (I'm not)Psycroptic Ob(Servant)Redeem/Revive Free MindsSuicide Silence The CleansingThy Art Is Murder The AdversaryTwenty One Pilots BlurryfaceY'all know this is gonna be the most classic release of our time, c'mon.Yeah Yeah Yeahs Mosquito2.5 averageAJJ People Who Can Eat People are the Luckiest PeopleBetween the Buried and Me ColorsCrystal Castles Crystal Castles IIIDeafheaven SunbatherEven Oxen Arrayed Above the Seraphim LightsShows that Bear can write a good tune and is willing to experiment too, now those two facets of his just have to come together. For now i kinda like it but i hope this will become "that first home-recorded album no one actually listens to unless they're a completionist" of his discography 10 years down the river. ;)I See Stars 3DI Set My Friends On Fire Astral RejectionWhen a sucky followup perfectly illustrates what was good about its predecessor. There's so little space in the production it might as well be mono, the guitar tone is trash, way too loud and doesn't mesh with anything at all. The electronic arrangements on Spell admittedly weren't that creative, they usually stood seperate from the guitar-driven sections, but they sounded fitting by occupying the same sonic space, here they sound out of place and shitty like everything else. Well, at least they're not using the same song template over anymore, and the single and the title track are pretty good songs. Mostly though i'm just not feeling it as much to the point where it seems like contractual obligation to me, i really don't know, Laughter made it easy to describe the mood of a track at any moment even if at most it's contradictive, here it's just indistinct. That's what they mean when they describe albums as "soulless", and when on top of that it's not very interesting compositionally, poorly produced, or even catchy, what is there? Then again, i've still listened to those tracks an assload of times so what do i know... It's just weird man.Kendrick Lamar DAMN.Neaera Forging The EclipseSuicide Silence Suicide SilenceI appreciate the fact they're distancing themselves from all-too-clean and heavily compressed production, it actually makes this easier to stomach than anything they've released since The Cleansing. The vocals especially sound like one take, unlayered, like shit but in a way that works most of the time, especially on Hold Me Up, Hold Me Down where he sort of plays around with throwing tantrum either too close or too far from the mic. There's not enough song power, too much brooding pseudo-slowcore (might be a plus to some i guess, it's atmospheric, but it's Suicide Silence the expectations are probably uhh different ones) but it's not bad all told.The Color of Violence YouthanizeThe Irish Front UniverseThy Art Is Murder Hate2.0 poorBoris New AlbumIt's becoming increasingly more obvious. I can no longer deny it. This is boring; Flare is the only track worth listening to.Iwrestledabearonce IwrestledabearonceLess musical ISMFOF. I'd actually say their song structures are cool for their complete disregard of flow and proportion, nay, their actual attempt to destroy them, is undoubtedly radical but each section would have to be good in its own right and well, it's just third-rate mathcore most of the time. Cleans are good at least.Linkin Park One More Lightthankfully i'm not employed right now because this is the kinda music you hear in the background of your workplace and just wish it away but you're awkward and one of your coworkers is always like noo. listening to it at home or on the go though, it's enjoyable enough, coulda been worse, coulda been better. the title track could have been MUCH better though it's still the album's highlight. in line with songs like In Between or the first half of Iridiscent. for the most part chester sounds awkward, kind of ragged, singing above his natural range and brings the album down but i'd rather have him do this than try to scream again, after the disaster that was The Hunting Party.1.5 very poorAnaal Nathrakh The Whole of the LawDeafheaven New BermudaWhy does no one acknowledge the extremely obvious metalcore influence they picked up here? I thought people loved them for their genre blending?Dolorian VoidwardsForteresse Métal Noir QuébécoisPortal VexovoidRustie EVENIFUDONTBELIEVEgod, the gap between how much i want to like this and how much i actually do is wider than yo mamaShow Me The Body Body Wari don't really see this as a death grips clone, more as a terrible 21 Pilots (produced by Steve Albini)Wolves in the Throne Room Diadem of 12 Stars1.0 awfulMetabolist Hansten Klorktheir drummer's not terrible, not terrible at all. nothing that special, granted, but everything else is straight up awful in every way. i was promised zeuhl, industrial and krautrock-inspired post-punk but this mixes exclusively the worst aspects of every genre involvedNahvalr NahvalrIt's just a lazy, no-effort no-care piece of shit, there's not much of, say, originality or personality to it either, just nothing redeemable in any way. Plain bad, probably the worst thing i've ever heard.No Trend Too Many HumansWhitehouse Bird Seed
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