AnEpicDeath
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Album Ratings 734
Objectivity 74%

Last Active 11-18-19 11:02 pm
Joined 10-14-09

Review Comments 350

Average Rating: 3.53
Rating Variance: 0.48
Objectivity Score: 74%
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5.0 classic
Cynic Traced in Air
Gorguts Colored Sands
PUP The Dream Is Over
Radical Face The Family Tree: The Roots
Sieges Even The Art of Navigating by the Stars

4.5 superb
Aesop Rock The Impossible Kid
Anathema We're Here Because We're Here
Angra Temple of Shadows
Animals As Leaders Animals as Leaders
Animals As Leaders The Joy of Motion
You could call this a spectacular return to form after the disappointing "Weightless", but that would somewhat undersell this album. While the jazz has made a strong return, this isn't more of the same from their self-titled. The more rock-rooted drumming from "Weightless" returns, and the guitars draw inspiration from much broader ranges of funk, latin, and jazz, bearing more than a tinge of Javier Reyes solo project "Mestis". The overall result is an album much more loyal to their debut and yet fresh and unique in their discography - and likely their best release to date.
Artificial Brain Infrared Horizon
Avenged Sevenfold City Of Evil
Be'lakor Vessels
Beaten to Death Laat maar, deel vier: ik verhuis naar Endor
Bela Fleck and The Flecktones Left of Cool
Between the Buried and Me Colors
Between the Buried and Me The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues
Between the Buried and Me The Parallax II: Future Sequence
Blind Guardian Nightfall In Middle-Earth
Blind Guardian A Night At The Opera
Caligula's Horse The Tide, the Thief and River's End
Cattle Decapitation The Anthropocene Extinction
Children of Bodom Follow the Reaper
Coheed and Cambria In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Coheed and Cambria From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
Cynic Focus
Deafheaven Lonely People With Power
Death Symbolic
Deathspell Omega Paracletus
Dethklok The Dethalbum
Dream Theater Images And Words
Dream Theater Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory
Ensiferum Ensiferum
Evan Brewer Alone
Evan Brewer Your Itinerary
Fair to Midland Arrows and Anchors
Haken The Mountain
Howls of Ebb The Marrow Veil
Howls of Ebb Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows
In Flames The Jester Race
In Mourning The Weight of Oceans
Jethro Tull Thick as a Brick
Job For A Cowboy Sun Eater
Job For A Cowboy Moon Healer
Kamelot The Black Halo
Kauan Sorni Nai
Kauan Kaiho
Kiko Loureiro Universo Inverso
A thoroughly enjoyable Latin jazz/Jazz fusion record. Fantastic musicianship and memorable melodies the entire way through.
Lamb of God Sacrament
Leprous Melodies Of Atonement
Moody art-pop Leprous peaks here with an album that draws from yet-broader musical territories
while managing to maintain a much more cohesive tone than their last few albums. More to be said,
but I need more listens on this thing first.
Liquid Tension Experiment Liquid Tension Experiment
Mahavishnu Orchestra The Inner Mounting Flame
Mr. Bungle California
Oingo Boingo Only a Lad
Opeth Blackwater Park
Opeth Deliverance
Opeth Damnation
Porcupine Tree Deadwing
Porcupine Tree Recordings
Porcupine Tree Nil Recurring
Protest the Hero Fortress
Protest the Hero Volition
Quiet Company We Are All Where We Belong
Riverside Out Of Myself
Scale the Summit The Collective
Shadow Gallery Room V
Shadow Gallery Tyranny
Shadow Gallery Digital Ghosts
Sieges Even A Sense of Change
SikTh The Trees Are Dead and Dried Out, Wait for Something Wild
Steorrah II: Thin White Paint
Sufjan Stevens Carrie and Lowell
Switchfoot Nothing is Sound
Symphony X The Divine Wings of Tragedy
The Dillinger Escape Plan Calculating Infinity
The Dillinger Escape Plan Dissociation
The Faceless Akeldama
The Human Abstract Digital Veil
The Receiving End of Sirens Between the Heart and the Synapse
The Reign of Kindo The Reign Of Kindo
The Reign of Kindo Rhythm, Chord & Melody
Ulcerate Stare Into Death and Be Still
Ulcerate Cutting the Throat of God
Ulver Messe I.X-VI.X
Ulver The Assassination of Julius Caesar
Wintersun Wintersun

4.0 excellent
3 (USA) The End is Begun
7 Horns 7 Eyes Throes Of Absolution
A Million Dead Birds Laughing Xen
A Million Dead Birds Laughing Force Fed Enlightenment
Aeon Spoke Aeon Spoke
Aesop Rock Labor Days
Aesop Rock None Shall Pass
Aesop Rock Daylight
Aesop Rock Skelethon
After the Burial Rareform
After the Burial Rareform (Re-release)
Akercocke Words That Go Unspoken...
Akercocke Antichrist
Akercocke Renaissance in Extremis
Alarum Eventuality
Alarum Natural Causes
Alcest Écailles De Lune
Alcest Kodama
Alcest Spiritual Instinct
An Endless Sporadic Ameliorate
Ando San OH KAY
Freshest sound I've heard in years. Animals as Leaders/Scale the Summit-style guitar nerd puts the wank-metal aside to apply his considerable talents to an aggressive hip-hop context. EP slaps hard, very interested to see where he takes this going forward.
Angra Angels Cry
Angra Rebirth
Angra Hunters and Prey
Angra Holy Land
Anup Sastry Ghost
A surprisingly refreshing "djent" release. Anup's grooves are as tasty as they are technical, and the guitar and bass writing is unexpectedly impressive coming from a drummer. I'm tempted to lower my rating because the guitars/bass are programmed, which seems to me to cheapen the complexity of their parts. However, their sound quality is flawless, and the parts are well-written, so it doesn't detract from the album.
Art By Numbers Reticence: The Musical
Artificial Brain Labyrinth Constellation
As I Lay Dying The Powerless Rise
Atheist Elements
August Burns Red Constellations
August Burns Red Rescue & Restore
August Burns Red Death Below
Bad Religion True North
BATS Red In Tooth and Claw
BATS The Sleep of Reason
Be'lakor Of Breath and Bone
Beaten to Death Unplugged
Beautiful Bodies Battles
Behemoth Evangelion
Behemoth The Satanist
Belzebubs Pantheon of the Nightside Gods
Between the Buried and Me Alaska
Between the Buried and Me The Great Misdirect
Between the Buried and Me Coma Ecliptic
Between the Buried and Me Automata I
Between the Buried and Me Automata II
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy This Beautiful Life
This album finds Big Bad Voodoo Daddy mixing vintage swing with vintage rock, resulting in a driving, catchy album with a darker feel countered and complimented by elements of black comedy in the lyrics and a playful snarl tinging the vocal delivery. The musicianship is solid, and, while not highly technical, each musician delivers a memorable performance. The vocals lack range and at times are closer to talking than singing. However, this compliments the sinister bar-room feel, and the vocals add a lot to the album's atmosphere. This is a solid, energetic release that can appeal to fans of jazz, rock, and even metal alike.
Black Crown Initiate Song of the Crippled Bull
Black Crown Initiate Selves We Cannot Forgive
Black Crown Initiate Violent Portraits of Doomed Escape
Blind Guardian Imaginations From The Other Side
Blind Guardian At The Edge Of Time
Blotted Science The Machinations of Dementia
Born of Osiris The Discovery
Caligula's Horse Moments from Ephemeral City
Car Bomb Centralia
Carach Angren Death Came Through a Phantom Ship
Caravan Palace Caravan Palace
Cattle Decapitation Monolith of Inhumanity
Children of Bodom Something Wild
Children of Bodom Hatebreeder
Chimp Spanner At the Dream's Edge
CHON Newborn Sun
Coheed and Cambria The Second Stage Turbine Blade
Coheed and Cambria No World for Tomorrow
Cynic Demo 1991
Cynic Carbon-Based Anatomy
Cynic Traced In Air Remixed
Deafheaven Sunbather
Death The Sound of Perseverance
Death Individual Thought Patterns
Death Human
Deathspell Omega The Furnaces of Palingenesia
Devin Townsend Project Ghost
Diablo Swing Orchestra The Butcher's Ballroom
Diablo Swing Orchestra Sing-Along Songs for the Damned & Delirious
Diablo Swing Orchestra Pandora's Pinata
Dream Evil Dragon Slayer
Dream Theater Train of Thought
Dream Theater Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
Dream Theater A Change Of Seasons
Dream Theater Awake
Dream Theater Octavarium
Dream Theater Score
Dream Theater Systematic Chaos
Ensiferum Iron
Exivious Exivious
Fear My Thoughts Vulcanus
Finger Eleven Finger Eleven
Flogging Molly Drunken Lullabies
Flogging Molly Swagger
Freak Kitchen Move
Freak Kitchen Organic
Freak Kitchen Land of the Freaks
Ghost (SWE) Infestissumam
Ghost (SWE) If You Have Ghost
Ghost (SWE) Meliora
Ghost (SWE) Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic
Giraffes? Giraffes! Pink Magick
Gojira L'Enfant Sauvage
Gunship Gunship
Hannes Grossmann The Radial Covenant
Hannes Grossmann The Crypts Of Sleep
Hath Of Rot And Ruin
Hath All That Was Promised
He Is Legend I Am Hollywood
Hieronymus Bosch Artificial Emotions
Howls of Ebb Vigils of the 3rd Eye
Iced Earth Burnt Offerings
Iced Earth Horror Show
In Mourning Shrouded Divine
Insomnium Shadows of the Dying Sun
Intervals In Time
Intronaut Valley Of Smoke
Iron Maiden The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden A Matter Of Life And Death
It Prevails Perdition
James LaBrie Static Impulse
Jeff Hughell I Came To Hate
Kalisia Cybion
Kalisia Skies [Demo]
Kalmah Swamplord
Kalmah The Black Waltz
Kalmah They Will Return
Kardashev The Almanac
Karnivool Sound Awake
Kiko Loureiro No Gravity
Killswitch Engage Alive or Just Breathing
Killswitch Engage The End of Heartache
Lamb of God Ashes of the Wake
Lamb of God Resolution
Leprous Bilateral
Leprous Coal
Leprous The Congregation
Leprous Malina
Leprous Pitfalls
Levi/Werstler Avalanche of Worms
Megadeth Rust In Peace
Megadeth Countdown To Extinction
Mestis Basal Ganglia
Mithridatic Miserable Miracle
Mnemic Mechanical Spin Phenomena
Mol Diorama
Mr. Bungle Disco Volante
Such a hard album to digest. Some tracks, like the "hidden" track following "Carry Stress In The Jaw" and the hidden track "Nothing" at the album's end require some external digging to understand. Some tracks and portions revel in noise and chaos seemingly for the sake of noise and chaos. Yet, for all its quirks, this is one of the most unique and experimental records out there. "Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz" stands out as an avante-garde masterpiece.
Ne Obliviscaris Citadel
Ne Obliviscaris Exul
Nekrogoblikon Stench
Nekrogoblikon Heavy Meta
Nekrogoblikon Welcome to Bonkers
Obscura Omnivium
Oh, Sleeper Son of the Morning
Oh, Sleeper The Titan
Oingo Boingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo Good for Your Soul
Opeth Still Life
Opeth Ghost Reveries
Oranssi Pazuzu Mestarin Kynsi
OSI Blood
P.O.D. Satellite
Pain of Salvation Remedy Lane
Pain of Salvation Be
Pain of Salvation The Perfect Element, Part 1
Pain of Salvation 12:5
Periphery Periphery
Perturbator Lustful Sacraments
Pomegranate Tiger Entities
Porcupine Tree Fear of a Blank Planet
Protest the Hero Fortress (Instrumental)
Protest the Hero Scurrilous
Protest the Hero Pacific Myth
Protest the Hero Palimpsest
PUP Morbid Stuff
Radical Face Ghost
Radical Face The Family Tree: The Branches
Radical Face The Family Tree: The Leaves
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine
Raintime Tales from Sadness
Riverside Second Life Syndrome
Riverside Anno Domini High Definition
Riverside Shrine Of New Generation Slaves
Savage Messiah Plague of Conscience
Scale the Summit The Migration
Schizoid Lloyd The Last Note In God's Magnum Opus
Shadow Gallery Legacy
Shining (NOR) Blackjazz
Shining (NOR) In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster
Sieges Even Paramount
Sieges Even Life Cycle
While for the majority of Sieges Even's career they have been most influenced by Rush, Life
Cycle is by far most closely related to Watchtower (though one could argue that Psychotic
Waltz's early work more resembled Life Cycle than Life Cycle resembled Watchtower's
"Engergetic Disassebly"). This album is drenched in Watchtower influence, borrowing both
their overall style (a then-unseen angular, progressive, highly technical thrash) to details
like the flamboyant vocals and use of electronic toms. Fortunately, Sieges Even manage to
distinguish themselves from Watchtower by employing a slower pace, more prominent sense of
melody, and influences from other heavy metal and thrash metal groups (occasionally even
incorporating some psychedelic music). Life Cycle suffers from the same problems as other
tech-metal albums of its time (poor production, overbearing vocals, and terrible electronic
tom samples), but is an essential listen for anyone trying to understand the origins of
tech-metal and progressive metal.
Sieges Even Sophisticated
Easily Sieges Even's fastest album and most metallic album post-Steps. Sieges Even underwent
significant lineup changes between A Sense of Change and Sophisticated, which resulted in an
enormous change in the band's overall sound. New guitarist Wolfgang Zenk replaces the Rush-
influenced, mid-tempo soundscapes of his predecessor with a funky, sometimes angular, always
highly technical and high tempo style of his own, and the rest of the band accelerates to
keep up. Drummer Alex Holzwarth gives a busy, double bass-laden performance on this album,
while bassist Oliver Holzwarth either underscores or mirrors most of the guitar lines. Also
of note is the introduction of vocalist Greg Keller, who gives a more aggressive, theatrical
delivery than either the immediately preceding and following singers in SE's history.
Sieges Even Uneven
Uneven features the same lineup as Sophisticated, with the addition of keyboardist Börk
Keller. The core of their sound from Sophisticated (including guitarist Wolfgang Zenk's
virtuosity) remains unchanged on this album, but the album features heavier influences from
70s progressive rock and jazz fusion and a heavy dose of funk.
Sieges Even Playgrounds
I'm not a big fan of live albums, but this one is well-recorded, and with 6 songs from
Paramount, 3 from The Art of Navigating by the Stars, and two from A Sense of Change, it
serves as a good summary of the prog rock portion of Sieges Even's discography.
SikTh Death of a Dead Day
SikTh Opacities
Soilwork The Living Infinite
Sonata Arctica Ecliptica
Sonata Arctica Reckoning Night
Sonata Arctica For The Sake Of Revenge
Soul Cycle Soul Cycle II
Steven Wilson The Raven That Refused to Sing (And Other Stories)
Stolen Babies There Be Squabbles Ahead
Storm Corrosion Storm Corrosion
Sufjan Stevens Illinois
Sufjan Stevens The Age of Adz
Sufjan Stevens Javelin
Suspyre A Great Divide
Suspyre When Time Fades
Suspyre Suspyre
Suspyre tones back on this album, shifting emphasis somewhat from their symphonic and
neoclassical elements to jazz and prog rock influences. New drummer Gabe Marshall gives a
strong performance, though perhaps not as strong as Charley Zeleny's (Behold... The
Arctopus, Blotted Science, session drummer) on "When Time Fades...". Another notable lineup
change is the loss of guitarist and founding member Rich Skibinsky, though what effects this
had is harder to discern. Clay Barton gives as strong a vocal performance as ever, and
utilizes considerable diversity to help lend contrast to tracks like "Tranquility & Stress"
and "The Fire Dancer". While not quite as striking as "When Time Fades...", Suspyre's S/T
feels like a natural progression for the band and, tonally/sonically, sounds more organic. A
very solid prog-metal release.
Recommended tracks:
-Tranquility & Stress
-The Divided Son
-The Whispers Never Written
Symphony X The Odyssey
Symphony X Twilight in Olympus
Symphony X V: The New Mythology Suite
Symphony X Paradise Lost
T.R.A.M. Lingua Franca
Thank You Scientist Maps of Non-Existent Places
The Contortionist Exoplanet
The Dear Hunter Act I: The Lake South, the River North
The Dear Hunter Act II: The Meaning of, & All Things Regarding Ms. Leading
The Dear Hunter Act III: Life and Death
The Dear Hunter Act IV: Rebirth in Reprise
The Dear Hunter Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional
The Dillinger Escape Plan One of Us Is the Killer
The Faceless Planetary Duality
The Mars Volta De-Loused in the Comatorium
The Mars Volta Frances the Mute
The Ocean Precambrian
The Ocean Pelagial
The Ocean Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic
The Ocean Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic
The Ocean Holocene
The Protomen Act II: The Father of Death
The Red Chord Fed Through the Teeth Machine
The Reign of Kindo This Is What Happens
The Safety Fire Grind the Ocean
The Venetia Fair Every Sick, Disgusting Thought...
tobyMac Portable Sounds
Ulcerate Shrines of Paralysis
Unearth The Oncoming Storm
Unearth The March
Unearth Watchers of Rule
Unexpect In a Flesh Aquarium
Unexpect Fables of the Sleepless Empire
Vadrum Classical Drumming
Vanden Plas Christ 0
Veil of Maya All Things Set Aside
Potentially my favorite VoM album if you disregard the low-fi production.
Veil of Maya The Common Man's Collapse
Waltari Yeah! Yeah! Die! Die! Death Metal Symphony in Deep
WRVTH WRVTH
WRVTH No Rising Sun

3.5 great
A Night in Texas The God Delusion
Abnormal Thought Patterns Manipulation Under Anesthesia
Aeon Spoke Above the Buried Cry
Aesop Rock Spirit World Field Guide
After the Burial Forging a Future Self
After the Burial In Dreams
After the Burial Wolves Within
Agalloch Ashes Against the Grain
Alcest Les Voyages De L'Âme
Alcest Les Chants de L'Aurore
All That Remains The Fall of Ideals
ANCST Dominion
Are their earlier albums pretty different? Sput band description says ambient/crust/black, but this album sounds just like mid-aughts As I Lay Dying and Unearth. Not that I mind; they executed that sound really well, and it's been long enough to be nostalgic for that era.
Angra Fireworks
Angra Aurora Consurgens
Animals As Leaders Weightless
Animals As Leaders The Madness of Many
Animals As Leaders Parrhesia
As I Lay Dying Shadows Are Security
As I Lay Dying An Ocean Between Us
Atheist Jupiter
August Burns Red Messengers
August Burns Red Sleddin' Hill: A Holiday Album
Slightly disappointing given how great their previous Christmas carols are. This does include all of those, but the additions are lackluster.
August Burns Red Found in Far Away Places
Be'lakor The Frail Tide
Be'lakor Stone's Reach
Becoming The Archetype The Physics of Fire
Behold... The Arctopus Nano-Nucleonic Cyborg Summoning
Between the Buried and Me The Silent Circus
Black Crown Initiate The Wreckage of Stars
Blind Guardian A Twist In The Myth
Blind Guardian Beyond The Red Mirror
Blind Guardian The God Machine
Blotted Science The Animation of Entomology
Born of Osiris The New Reign
Car Bomb w^w^^w^w
Elliot Hoffman is spectacular, as always, but I found this album somehow seems both less energetic and less accessible than Centralia. It might grow on me, but it seems a lot harder to latch onto. Still, it deserves a relatively high rating at least on the merits of creativity and musicianship.
Caravan Palace Panic
Cattle Decapitation Death Atlas
Children of Bodom Hate Crew Deathroll
Children of Bodom Halo of Blood
It may not be the best Bodom, but it's the best Bodom in a LONG time.
Chimp Spanner Imperium Vorago
Chthonic 高砂軍 Takasago Army
Chthonic 武徳 Bu-Tik
Coheed and Cambria The Afterman: Ascension
This contains some of the best Coheed songs in a decade, but is also their most inconsistent release to date.
Control Denied The Fragile Art Of Existence
Cormorant Metazoa
Cormorant Dwellings
Cyborg Octopus Learning To Breathe
Cyborg Octopus put out a promising debut that showcases a different style of metal on
each track. Whether channeling bands like Native Construct/Animals as Leaders
(Data_M1nefield), cheeky neoclassical metal a la The Human Abstract (Divine Right in D
Minor), sarcastic hardcore (Shark Pit), HAARP Machine/Born of Osiris-like "Sumerian-core"
in Baptism of Clay, or even incorporating funk and post-hardcore influences (think
Venetia Fair) in Discobrain!, a lighthearted attitude and an extremely high level of
competency are constantly present. The common elements of their sound across the album
and its production are very reminiscent of a wackier Mike Semesky project.

Clearly they can play whatever they'd like well, which leaves the listener with a
question: What exactly is it they'd like to play? While a fun listen, this album doesn't
at any point present a sound of its own. These guys are definitely worth keeping an eye
on, as they have the talent to flawlessly execute whatever vision they become inspired to
pursue - and if they instead want to keep putting out goofy variety discs, well, there's
room for that too.
Cynic The Portal Tapes
Daath The Concealers
Dagoba Post Mortem Nihil Est
Dangers Messy, Isn't It?
Dark Tranquillity Damage Done
Destrage Are You Kidding Me? No.
Dethklok Dethalbum II
Dethklok Dethalbum III
Dormant Ordeal It Rains, It Pours
Dream Evil The Book of Heavy Metal
Dream Theater Falling Into Infinity
Dream Theater Black Clouds and Silver Linings
Einar Solberg 16
Equilibrium Turis Fratyr
Equilibrium Sagas
Eric Johnson Venus Isle
ERRA Impulse
Fallujah The Flesh Prevails
Fleshwrought Dementia/Dyslexia
Freak Kitchen Dead Soul Men
Freak Kitchen Spanking Hour
Freak Kitchen Cooking With Pagans
Another groovy albeit silly Freak Kitchen album. If you've listened to them awhile, you know what you're getting into. If you've only heard the exceptional Land of the Freaks, you'll be surprised by how goofy this is.
Ghost (SWE) Opus Eponymous
Giraffes? Giraffes! More Skin With Milk-Mouth
Gojira From Mars to Sirius
Gojira The Way of All Flesh
Gorillaz Gorillaz
Gorillaz Demon Days
Gorillaz Plastic Beach
Gunship Unicorn
Haste the Day Pressure the Hinges
Horrendous Anareta
Horrendous Idol
Ice Nine Kills Safe Is Just a Shadow
Imperanon Stained
In Flames Subterranean
In Flames A Sense of Purpose
In Mourning Monolith
In Mourning The Bleeding Veil
In Mourning The Immortal
The unique post-metal/groove metal blend from The Weight of Oceans is probably never coming back, but it's excellent to finally hear another melodeath/prog/groove metal album from these guys a la Shrouded Divine that's energized and not completely choked by unlistenable mixing and production like Afterglow. When they're at their best on this release, think a core along the lines of a groovier, bouncier modern-era Amorphis spliced with doomy/post-y melodeath like Insomnium or Be'Lakor.
Intervals The Space Between
Intronaut Null
Intronaut Habitual Levitations
Iron Maiden Brave New World
Job For A Cowboy Ruination
Kalmah Seventh Swamphony
Kamelot Ghost Opera
Kamelot Haven
Kardashev Alunea
Killswitch Engage As Daylight Dies
Killswitch Engage Disarm the Descent
Lamb of God VII: Sturm Und Drang
Leprous Aphelion
Machinae Supremacy Rise of a Digital Nation
Machine Men Circus of Fools
Mandroid Echostar Mandroid Echostar
A strong debut with influences such as Coheed And Cambria, Protest the Hero, and Periphery.
Masterplan Aeronautics
Crimson Rider's a 5, and I won't hear otherwise. Black in the Burn is pretty dope, and there are some other good cuts, but there's also a bunch of those signature schmaltzy Jorn Lande power ballads blanding the album up.
Mastodon The Hunter
Mnemic The Audio Injected Soul
Mnemic Mnemesis
Mol JORD
Mr. Bungle Mr. Bungle
Ne Obliviscaris Portal of I
Ne Obliviscaris Urn
Obscura Cosmogenesis
Oh, Sleeper Children of Fire
Oingo Boingo Dead Man's Party
Opeth My Arms, Your Hearse
Opeth Watershed
Ordinance (USA) Internal Monologues
Periphery Periphery II: This Time It's Personal
Pink Floyd The Dark Side Of The Moon
Porcupine Tree Stupid Dream
Portal (Cynic) Portal
Protest the Hero Kezia
PUP The Unraveling of PUPTheBand
Rammstein Untitled
Rammstein Zeit
Roadrunner United The All-Star Sessions
Savage Circus Dreamland Manor
Scale the Summit Carving Desert Canyons
Shadow Gallery Carved In Stone
Shining (NOR) Grindstone
SikTh The Future In Whose Eyes?
Slipknot Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses
Slipknot Iowa
Slipknot We Are Not Your Kind
Soilwork Sworn to a Great Divide
Son of Aurelius The Farthest Reaches
Son of Aurelius Under a Western Sun
Souljourners Mind Control
Spastic Ink Ink Complete
Spastic Ink Ink Compatible
Star Monarchy Volume 1
With only two musicians constant throughout the disc, Ray Riendeau's Star Monarchy project is inconsistent by nature, but respectable songwriting and some extraordinary guest lineups yield a mostly solid listening experience and a few magnificent peaks.
Steven Wilson Grace for Drowning
Sufjan Stevens Michigan
Sufjan Stevens Seven Swans
Sufjan Stevens The Ascension
Suspyre The Silvery Image
Mid-paced symphonic power metal dominates this disc, and it's neither a diverse nor an original album, but it's done quite well. Barton's singing is less recognizable and less diverse than it is on subsequent Suspyre albums, primarily staying within the traditional high-register clean style common to power metal, but his performance is strong and the melodies memorable. The music, on the whole, is substantially simpler than that of any subsequent Suspyre albums, but the musicianship and songwriting are nonetheless of high quality. There's some prog-metal influence on this album, but the band had not yet embraced prog or eclecticism to nearly the extent they do.
Switchfoot New Way to Be Human
Symphony X Iconoclast
TesseracT One
The Black Dahlia Murder Everblack
The Dillinger Escape Plan Option Paralysis
The Faceless Autotheism
Some tracks on here (Autotheist Movement II, Eidolon Reality, Ten Billion Years) make me want to give this a
4, but realistically it's a 3.5. "In Solitude" is the only track that I feel pulls off the proggier sound they were
going for in most of this album without sounding too segmented or derivative.
The Fall of Troy Phantom on the Horizon
The Human Abstract Nocturne
The Ocean Heliocentric
The Ocean Anthropocentric
The Protomen The Protomen
The Red Chord Fused Together in Revolving Doors
The Reign of Kindo This Is Also What Happens
The Venetia Fair The Pits
Theocracy As the World Bleeds
Threshold Dead Reckoning
Transgressive Extreme Transgression
Ulver Flowers of Evil
Undeath Lesions of a Different Kind
Unearth III: In the Eyes of Fire
Unearth Darkness in the Light
Unexpect Utopia
Somewhat more typical black and blackened death metal than the band's second incarnation. Very melodic. Neoclassical bits stand in place of later carnival motifs. In leu of piano are rather cheesy symphonic/atmospheric black metal keys. The production is thin and otherwise under par.
Veil of Maya [id]
Veil of Maya Eclipse
White Collar Sideshow White Collar Sideshow
A bizarre, oft mildly disturbing, nearly instrumental, surrealist video concept album that frequently approaches drum solo status in the minimalism of its strings and keys. The drums are truly exceptional, however, and manage to be fairly technical, inventive, and groovy. Most of the story, which chronicles addiction, is revealed through the video, and the album is clearly intended to be watched/listened to as a singular composition rather than individual tracks. Musically, this is very difficult to categorize, the drums drawing primarily from prog, metal, and some styles I couldn't identify, and the bass and other instruments drawing largely from industrial and ambient music. The atmosphere is relentlessly dark, though the driving optimism of the fifth track is equally well executed. It's one of the strangest musical experiences I've stumbled upon, but is well worth a listen/watch, at a minimum, and is even available freely from their label, Come & Live! music.
Wilderun Olden Tales and Deathly Trails
Wintersun Time I
I'm making appointments in advance with my therapist to work through all the inevitable disappointment that's about to rain down.
Witherscape The Inheritance
The immensely over-the-top style of clean singing Swano employs on this album renders an
otherwise largely successful disc rather cheesy.
Within the Ruins Creature
Within the Ruins Invade
Zeal and Ardor Wake of a Nation

3.0 good
Ade Prooemivm Sangvine
Aesop Rock Fast Cars, Danger, Fire and Knives
Agalloch Pale Folklore
Akercocke The Goat of Mendes
Akercocke Choronzon
Alcest Souvenirs D'Un Autre Monde
Alcest Shelter
All That Remains Overcome
Alter Bridge Blackbird
Angra Aqua
As I Lay Dying Awakened
August Burns Red Thrill Seeker
August Burns Red Leveler
August Burns Red Phantom Anthem
August Burns Red Guardians
August Burns Red Thrill Seeker (Anniversary)
The new recording sounds way better, but it's still the same collection of overly breakdown-heavy songs they wrote before they developed a strong sense of melody or a distinctive sound. Solid but unexceptional metalcore, especially if you're nostalgic for the 2000s melodic metalcore sound, but you can find much better in their discog.
Avenged Sevenfold Waking The Fallen
Avenged Sevenfold Life Is But A Dream...
BATS Alter Nature
Becoming The Archetype Terminate Damnation
Becoming The Archetype Dichotomy
Becoming The Archetype Celestial Completion
Behold... The Arctopus Skullgrid
Blessed by a Broken Heart Feel The Power
Born of Osiris A Higher Place
Carach Angren Where the Corpses Sink Forever
Caravan Palace Robot Face
Chthonic Seediq Bale
Coheed and Cambria Year of the Black Rainbow
Cyclamen (JPN) Senjyu
Cynic Re-Traced
Cynic Ascension Codes
Daath The Hinderers
Daath The Deceivers
Solid, probably better than their previous even. The new crew are all accomplished, talented musicians who leave their own marks on the album. But can you really say Daath is back without Emil Werstler? The chemistry between Levi and Werstler was the magic that gave this band its distinct sound.
Deafheaven New Bermuda
Deafheaven Ordinary Corrupt Human Love
Destroy the Runner Saints
Dethklok The Doomstar Requiem
Dethklok Dethalbum IV
Solid, tight DM, but not as memorable or as funny as their other albums.
Devin Townsend Project Deconstruction
Disciple (USA-TN) Scars Remain
DragonForce Sonic Firestorm
Dream Theater When Dream And Day Unite
Dream Theater A Dramatic Turn of Events
Ensiferum Victory Songs
Escape the Fate Dying Is Your Latest Fashion
Ever Forthright Ever Forthright
Fallujah The Harvest Wombs
Family Force 5 Business Up Front, Party In The Back
Far-Less Everyone Is Out to Get Us
Fear My Thoughts Hell Sweet Hell
Ghost (SWE) Popestar
Ghost (SWE) Prequelle
Ghost (SWE) Impera
Ghost continue their trajectory toward ever-greater camp and variety, to predictably mixed and generally "just ok" results. Still, it's fun - the album equivalent of a popcorn blockbuster. An enjoyable if not great record.
Gunship Dark All Day
Haste the Day Coward
Haste the Day return with a heaping helping of genericore.
Helloween The Dark Ride
Hourglass The Journey Into
Ice Nine Kills The Burning
Ice Nine Kills The Predator
In Mourning Garden of Storms
Into Eternity The Scattering of Ashes
Iron Maiden Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Job For A Cowboy Demonocracy
Kalmah 12 Gauge
Kamelot Poetry for the Poisoned
Kamelot Silverthorn
Kauan Ice Fleet
Album will probably grow on me considering how much I grew to love Sorni Nai and Kaiho. Weak first impression, though.
Keith Merrow The Arrival
Keith Merrow Awaken The Stone King
Leprous Tall Poppy Syndrome
Leprous Aeolia
Megadeth Endgame
Mnemic Passenger
Mutiny Within Mutiny Within
Nocturnal Rites The 8th Sin
Has some strong moments, but too often yields generic verses, mediocre musicianship,
lackluster drumbeats, and poppy choruses. Enjoyable but forgettable, it's hard to justify
fishing this one out of power metal's overcrowded sea.
Oh, Sleeper When I Am God
Oingo Boingo Dark At the End of the Tunnel
Opeth Orchid
Opeth Morningrise
Opeth Pale Communion
Opeth The Last Will and Testament
Orden Ogan To the End
Despite signs of brilliance like the anthemic and somewhat proggy "The Things We Believe In", the album spends most of its runtime retreading familiar power metal tropes. Still, it's well-executed, and merits keeping an eye on their future endeavors to see if they capitalize on the unique sound occasionally displayed.
Pantera Cowboys from Hell
Pentakill Smite and Ignite
Photoside Cafe The Beauty of Innocence Remains
Pink Floyd The Wall
Porcupine Tree In Absentia
PUP PUP
PUP This Place Sucks Ass
Pyrithion The Burden Of Sorrow
Riverside Memories In My Head
Savage Circus Of Doom And Death
Savatage The Wake of Magellan
Shadow Gallery Shadow Gallery
Shining (NOR) One One One
Not what I expected. Quite a bit less jazz, and the trance and other experimental
elements have been dialed back quite a bit as well. The result is a fairly experimental
industrial rock album.
Skillet Collide
Skillet Alien Youth
Slipknot Slipknot
Soilwork The Chainheart Machine
Sonata Arctica Silence
Sonata Arctica Winterheart's Guild
Steven Wilson The Harmony Codex
Switchfoot The Beautiful Letdown
Switchfoot Hello Hurricane
The Algorithm Tr0jans
Highly promising, but needs significant refinement. The Algorithm's blending of dubstep and djent is highly unprecedented. However, neither the dubstep programming nor the djent riffing are anything but ordinary for their respective genres. Additionally, the blend is a bit too dubstep-heavy in my opinion. Track 2 (Isometry) shows the best blend of the genres on the EP, featuring both greater extremes (both dance breaks and heavy breakdowns appear) and a more even mix of influences in the rest of the bits. Finally, I feel that it's essential that live drummer Mike Malyan be utilized on disc in future recordings. The programmed drums are serviceable but highly inorganic and tend to reduce the djent feel of the music. This music is highly unique and has a lot of potential, but some modifications and refinements are necessary for The Algorithm to take the place of a true hybrid rather than djent-influenced dubstep.
The Algorithm Polymorphic Code
The Dear Hunter The Color Spectrum
The Dear Hunter Migrant
The Fall of Troy The Fall of Troy
The Fall of Troy Doppelganger
The Gabriel Construct Interior City
The Haarp Machine Disclosure
The Human Abstract Moonlight Sonata
Production was terrible. The music was a good but unexceptional interpretation of the piece.
This doesn't live up to the quality of their "real" releases, but is an interesting side
project that would do really well on a place like YouTube. Although the brilliant A.J.
Minette wasn't involved, the musicianship was of course still impeccable.
The Reign of Kindo Play With Fire
Kindo no longer rules. All of the indie and prog in their unique blend of indie, jazz, prog, rand pop has been supplanted with funk and R&B, leaving an utterly typical jazz-pop record. Touches of brilliance make appearances, but only once or twice remain long enough to make a song that can stand up to their previous discography.
The Showdown Temptation Come My Way
This Fires Embrace Redemption
Thomas Giles Pulse
Thought Chamber Angular Perceptions
Thought Chamber Psykerion
tobyMac Tonight
Transgressive Fetus Factory
Trivium Ascendancy
Trivium Shogun
Twilight Force At the Heart of Wintervale
The exact same power metal you've heard a thousand times before. Well-executed, and if you just want to see new faces reciting power metal standards, it'll scratch that itch, but it's nothing you haven't been able to find elsewhere for decades.
Unearth The Stings of Conscience
Vanden Plas The Seraphic Clockwork
VOLA Inmazes
White Collar Sideshow The Witchunt
Wilderun Veil of Imagination
Wintersun Time II
Zeal and Ardor Devil is Fine
Zeal and Ardor Stranger Fruit
Zeal and Ardor Zeal and Ardor

2.5 average
Abbath Abbath
By the numbers old-school black metal. Pleasant enough, but rarely memorable or emotionally
gripping, and it doesn't bring anything particularly impressive or artistically interesting to the
table.

I would watch it live, though, if I had the chance. Current live drummer Gabe Seeber is quite
impressive.
Ade Spartacus
All That Remains …For We Are Many
Amon Amarth Deceiver of the Gods
Angra Secret Garden
Atreyu The Curse
Avenged Sevenfold Nightmare
BATS Cruel Sea Scientist
Black Majesty In Your Honor
Blessed by a Broken Heart Pedal to the Metal
Carach Angren This Is No Fairytale
Caravan Palace Chronologic
Cormorant The Last Tree
Cynic Kindly Bent to Free Us
DragonForce Inhuman Rampage
Dream Theater Dream Theater
Escape the Fate This War Is Ours
Fightstar Grand Unification
Firstborne Firstborne
George Kollias Invictus
Ghost (SWE) Skeletá
Grits The Art of Translation
Haggard Awaking the Centuries
The purest fusion of true classical and baroque music with heavy metal of any form (doom/death metal, in this case) to ever grace my ears, this album shows no lack of maturity and is fantastically original. If you're looking for technicality, you won't find it here as the guitars take a backseat to the (22 member!) orchestra, but you will find exceptional musicianship nonetheless. However, that said, it has major problems that drag down the album. The album is closer to an EP than a full-length disk, and is filled with short interludes and dialogue tracks. There are only five true songs on this album, and all but one feed heavily upon motifs from the title track, greatly hurting the diversity and giving the overall impression of only perhaps two distinct tracks. The title track, the 9 minute "Awaking the Centuries", is the lifeblood and focus of the disk, and is indeed an essentially perfect and outstandingly beautiful track that outpaces the rest of the album by leaps and bounds. Make no mistake; you are buying the disk for this track, and it is almost strong enough to justify the cost of the purchase despite the majority of filler present. The other distinct track, however, "Prophesy Fulfilled", is a largely lackluster piece that spends much of its time apart from the orchestra, but the riffs are simply weak and uninteresting. Basically, this album *is* the title track and assorted polish. And this track deserves 4.75 to 5 stars. But the rest of the album is hardly worth the price of admittance.
Ice Nine Kills Last Chance to Make Amends
In Mourning Afterglow
Kamelot The Shadow Theory
Lamb of God New American Gospel
Nekrogoblikon The Fundamental Slimes and Humours
Oceans of Slumber Winter
Opeth Heritage
Opeth Sorceress
Primal Rock Rebellion Awoken Broken
Queensryche Promised Land
Ride the Sky New Protection
Royal Sorrow Innerdeeps
Feel a little bad 2.5'ing this with so few ratings and a review that exists to say that this deserves more ears, but that got me to lend my ears, and what I heard was as generic as it comes :-(
Savage Messiah Hands of Fate
Slipknot All Hope Is Gone
Slipknot .5: The Gray Chapter
Sonic Syndicate Only Inhuman
The Human Abstract Midheaven
It certainly has some flaws (most noticeably, the vocals can be just horrendously off at points), but really is not nearly as bad as its reputation suggests. The classical approach was effectively left behind on this disc in favor of some sort of off-kilter hard rock/alternative sensibility. Tracks generally place more emphasis on piano and vocals than Nocturne. The guitar is still quite excellent for the most part, though AJ's presence is certainly missed. Though the vocals are occasionally awful, they are usually appropriate and pleasant, and are often the most memorable aspect of songs.
The Showdown A Chorus of Obliteration
Transgressive Seize the Means of Reproduction
Trivium The Crusade
Wilderun Epigone
Overblown Devin Townsend metal with (even) less memorable hooks and occasional token nods toward
death metal.
Wintersun The Forest Seasons

2.0 poor
7 Horns 7 Eyes 7 Horns 7 Eyes
Adrenaline Mob Adrenaline Mob
All That Remains A War You Cannot Win
Ayreon The Human Equation
Bush Sixteen Stone
Coheed and Cambria Vaxis I: The Unheavenly Creatures
Complete Freedom Alpha
Deafheaven Infinite Granite
Devin Townsend Project Addicted
Disciple (USA-TN) Southern Hospitality
Ensiferum Unsung Heroes
Firewind Between Heaven And Hell
Ghost (SWE) Phantomime
Inhale Exhale The Lost, the Sick, the Sacred
Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage
Lumsk Asmund Fraegdegjevar
Majesty (DE) Hellforces
Nekrogoblikon Goblin Island
Radiohead Kid A
I honestly have no clue what people see in this. The bizarre vocalizations and effects, the clipping bass drum, Yorke's incessant mumbling, the repetitiveness and utter simplicity... what am I missing? It has some nice ambient atmosphere, but that doesn't even make a dent in its faults.
Skillet Comatose
Slipknot Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.
Sonata Arctica Pariah's Child
Switchfoot Vice Verses
The Reign of Kindo Happy However After
Trvth Black Horse Plague
Volbeat Beyond Hell/Above Heaven
War of Ages Fire From the Tomb

1.5 very poor
3 Inches of Blood Advance and Vanquish
Agalloch The Mantle
Agalloch are undeniable in their originality, which I greatly respect. But originality is
not enough, and Agalloch have crafted one of the most boring albums to grace my ears. While
there are some highlights, such as the wonderful acoustic guitar solo in "...And the Great
Cold Death of the Earth", the memorable "Odal", various portions of the longer tracks, and
the high-pitched, vaguely Celtic plucked lines in "A Desolation Song", the entirety of the
album is drenched in unignorably highly mixed, rhythmically identical, often suspended
chord-based acoustic lines interchangeable not only with any other song on the album, but
even any given CCM/Christian Worship piece. (That last line might sound like an unfair dig,
but I'm serious; the acoustic guitar work would be right at home in a Matt Redman or
Hillsongs United shitpile.) The lack of tempo or build also detracts, especially given that
the songs are longer than most progressive metal tracks, as do the poor vocals, though they
are only present in roughly half the album. Add to this concoction aggravatingly poor
production, and you have an album more appropriate as background music than a serious
musical studypiece. Recommended for ambient fans and die-hard early Opeth fans.
Avenged Sevenfold Sounding The Seventh Trumpet
Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold
Avenged Sevenfold The Stage
Christopher Lee Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross
Delightfully terrible. This is a must-listen for anyone who loves Christopher Lee and for anyone who hates him.
Christopher Lee Charlemagne: The Omens of Death
DragonForce Ultra Beatdown
Ghost (SWE) He Is
Skillet Awake
War of Ages War of Ages
While I like War Of Ages' later works, their debut is, unfortunately, highly repetitive and generic, using loads of gallop-riffing as the main rhythmic tool. The lead work is decent and the solos are fairly good, but the same rhythmic and melodic ideas are employed song after song, especially during the verses and breakdowns. Most songs are slight variations of the following formula: chugging gallop riffs, alternating metalcore screams and hardcore/punk spoken word vocals, overlayed with semi-melodic lead guitar; the tempo then significantly slows down as a note is allowed to ring before beginning a long breakdown session in which the melody drops; the tempo rises as the solo then ensues, dropping back into another breakdown session at the end. This is a very breakdown heavy album, which is unfortunate only because of the slowed tempos and unoriginality of the breakdowns, compounded by the fact that the melodic segments demonstrate far greater aptitude.
If you're just looking for some brutal music to accentuate your angst or are dedicated to listening to solely Christian artists, this may be a justifiable purchase, but those looking for sophistication, technicality, or songwriting may want to look elsewhere. Unless strongly in one of these camps, I recommend giving each song a listen, and just picking up the highlights.

1.0 awful
Avenged Sevenfold Hail To The King
Family Force 5 Dance or Die
Skillet Rise
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