Average Rating: 3.69 Rating Variance: 0.50 Objectivity Score: 68% (Fairly Balanced)
Sort by: Rating | Release Date | Rating Date | Name5.0 classicAn Abstract Illusion WoeWoe is quite simply one of the greatest progressive death records in recent memory. This album took me on a wild ride across the entire emotional spectrum; few albums combine utter joy, bitter melancholy, and biting despair as smoothly as this one. It is also a compositional beauty. Woe accomplishes the difficult feat of being meticulously constructed while feeling organic and spontaneous. Every part is placed exactly where it ought to be; this is no mere collection of songs, but a true coherence that will take you on an unforgettable journey. Converge Jane DoePeriphery Juggernaut: OmegaPeriphery Juggernaut: Alpha4.5 superbBetween the Buried and Me Colors IIBlack Midi HellfireCounterparts A Eulogy for Those Still HereDance Gavin Dance MothershipEmperor Anthems to the Welkin at DuskFawn Limbs Sleeper VesselsGreylotus DawnfallA wonderful combination of technical playing, emotive composition, and winding, epic song structures. One of the best death metal records of the year for me. Imperial Triumphant Spirit of EcstasyInjury Reserve By The Time I Get To PhoenixJohnny Booth Moments ElsewhereKardashev Liminal RiteMisery Signals UltravioletNe Obliviscaris Portal of INe Obliviscaris ExulOWDWYR ReceptorA consistently engaging fusion of a plethora styles - Tech death, Prog, Djent, Grind, and even a little thrash and classical all make an appearance here. If you like your progressive/technical metal heavy as shit then this is the album for you.Panopticon Autumn EternalPeriphery Periphery IV: Hail StanPeriphery Periphery III: Select DifficultyPeriphery Periphery V: Djent is Not a GenreRelient K Forget and Not Slow DownRivers of Nihil The WorkRivers of Nihil Where Owls Know My NameRolo Tomassi Time Will Die And Love Will Bury ItSlugdge Esoteric MalacologyThe Callous Daoboys Celebrity TherapistTorrential Downpour Truth Knowledge VisionWarforged I: Voice4.0 excellentAndy McKee Art of MotionAndy McKee DreamcatcherAseitas False PeaceBetween the Buried and Me The Silent CircusBlut Aus Nord Disharmonium - Undreamable AbyssesCarcass Surgical SteelCoevality Multiple PersonalitiesDance Gavin Dance Acceptance SpeechDawn of Ouroboros Velvet IncandescenceAn album with the drifting atmosphere of post-black and the sensibility of modern death. It's like if you made Rivers of Nihil write a post-black album. I'll be spinning this one for a while. Death HumanDenzel Curry Melt My Eyez See Your FutureDream Unending Song of SalvationDying Wish Symptoms of SurvivalEND (USA-NJ) The Sin of Human FrailtyEnslaved HeimdalEnslaved Axioma Ethica OdiniEntheos (USA) Time Will Take Us AllInter Arma Paradise GallowsIthaca They Fear UsMajesties Vast Reaches UnclaimedPeriphery Periphery II: This Time It's PersonalPeriphery PeripheryPorter Robinson WorldsProtest the Hero VolitionPupil Slicer MirrorsPupil Slicer BlossomReflections The Color ClearRivers of Nihil MonarchySaidan Onryo II: Her Spirit EternalTallah The Generation of DangerThe Red Chord Fused Together in Revolving DoorsUnearth The Wretched; The RuinousUnearth delivers a metalcore rager so full of great riffs and melodic hooks that it's easy to overlook its familiarity. Veil of Maya False IdolVein.fm This World Is Going to Ruin YouVenom Prison ErebosVoivod Synchro AnarchyWhite Ward False LightWithout Waves ComedianWormrot Hiss3.5 greatAugust Burns Red Death BelowBorn of Osiris The DiscoveryConverge The Dusk in UsCyborg Octopus Between the Light and AirDavid Maxim Micic ECODenzel Curry TA13OOGridLink Coronet JuniperHath All That Was PromisedIndighxst The Veil // The CrownThe Veil // The Crown is a surprisingly engaging and thoughtfully composed blend of melodic metalcore, prog rock a-la Circa Survive, and pop/R&B influenced vocals. Indighxst's unique and particularly anthemic take on these styles should win over even the most hostile towards the trend of blending metalcore with mainstream pop sensibilities. Only time will tell if they can craft a full length that lives up to the promise presented in these three songs.Kalmah KalmahLuminous Vault Animate The EmptinessAn idiosyncratic record blending black metal, electronic, and doom. Reflecting the diversity of its influences, Animate The Emptiness is ice cold yet filled with warmth. Sadly, it ends far too soon and could have used its electronic influences to greater effect. Neck of the Woods The Annex of IrePsycroptic Divine CouncilPsycroptic The Scepter of the AncientsTribal Gaze The Nine ChoirsUnderling BloodworshipVeil of Maya MatriarchVertebra Atlantis Lustral Purge in Cerulean BlissWithin Destruction LotusWithin Destruction has put out a fun, brutal, melodic, and surprisingly poppy album this time. Certain to aggravate fans of their early work, Lotus unashamedly steps up the trap and pop sensibilities, although this is by no means a radio-ready affair - this is still a deathcore album. Make no mistake however, this is the cotton candy of deathcore - overly processed, easily digestible, but so sweet. Within the Ruins Halfway Human3.0 goodArchspire Bleed the FutureDance Gavin Dance AfterburnerDeath SymbolicEnslaved FrostFirst Fragment Gloire EternelleGojira L'Enfant SauvageHangman's Chair A LonerIhsahn AfterJob For A Cowboy Sun EaterPeriphery ClearPolaris The Death of MePsycroptic The Inherited RepressionRelient K MmhmmRevocation Great Is Our SinRevocation DeathlessSleepsculptor Divine RecalibrationA consistently good mathcore record. Repetitiveness unfortunately hampers the score, with there being few moments that stand out. If Sleepsculptor can find something unique to offer to the genre, then they'll have a winning formula.Spiritbox Eternal BlueVeil of Maya [m]otherVenom Prison SamsaraWarforged The Grove | SundialWide Eyes OneironautTaken as a whole, this album is simply too long. There is not enough variety to justify listening through this album in one sitting. While most of the individual songs are brilliant, taking the listener through a range of twists and turns, with interesting recurring motifs and compositional ideas, it does start to blend together after the first thirty minutes or so. Some songs should have just been cut altogether. rWith an album this massive, one questions how the band intends for fans to listen to it; do they seriously expect us to listen for 2 hours straight? An album such as this is better experienced in chunks than it is as a whole. The nuances of each section become apparent when experienced this way, but when experienced as a whole, fatigue dulls the listeners ear to any articulation. rI realize that this sounds pretty negative so far, but I did enjoy my time with this record, and a year later after its release, I can't stop returning to it. Oneironaut it is the kind of record you can sink into, and immerse yourself in. You get to know it better over time; it opens up for you with repeated listens. Sadly, it's just too long to be enjoyed in one sitting. So do yourself a favor, and take this one slow; piece by piece. It is absolutely worth your time, if you listen to it correctly. r(I currently have a "revised" version of this album sitting in my Spotify, where I've cut the songs that I personally feel should have been left out. I would give that version a 4.5 but as it stands this album deserves a 3.) 2.5 averageBlack Matter Device AUTONOMOUS WEAPONSBrand of Sacrifice Between Death and DreamsWhile there are moments here that reach the lofty heights set by their first two albums, this affair feels more than a bit formulaic and the riffs are not as interesting. Chamber (USA) A Love to Kill ForCurrents The Death We SeekWhile there are some standout riffs and solos along the way, The Death We Seek is ultimately hindered by a formulaic approach to songwriting. "Metalcore Breaking Benjamin" is not an unfair description of how this album sounds. Dance Gavin Dance Jackpot JuicerDance Gavin Dance Artificial SelectionFrontierer OxidizedInvent Animate HeavenerIotunn Access All WorldsLunar Blood Twilight InsurgencyPeriphery IcarusSatyr TotemShadow Of Intent ElegyThe Home Team Slow Bloom2.0 poorBlack Cobra Imperium SimulcraGenghis Tron Dream Weapon
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